Stevey-Wonderfu!’s Burning Bush Story

From about the age of eleven I battled, what is diagnosed as, a chemical imbalance/severe depression/bi-polar 2. I had the luxury of trying to develop self-esteem in the vacuum of depression in a city where no one looked like me (children don’t try this at home). In spite of that, I was given the gift of exhortation/a cheerleader & lover of people, with the ability to find something good about most everyone. In watching my mom over the years, I developed a fearless ability to approach strangers and developed a habit of finding opportunities to compliment people. I noticed that people are starved for affirmation, and irrespective of how we appear on the outside, have something in us that longs to be acknowledged.

During high school, I had a friend tell me “you love Stevie (Wonder) so much we should just call you that!” Then in February of 2002, I was reading Psalms 139:14 and God highlighted the Words “I am…wonderful”. He began to minister His Daddy heart towards me, which was critical to me since I always felt like I was supposed to be daddy’s little girl, but grew up in a single parent household. First, He began to change how I saw myself, so then I could begin to effect change within my sphere of influence. In August of 2004, I trekked down to the courthouse to legally change my name, but as I handed the clerk my documents asked if I could have punctuation in my name, and had her write the “L” in wonderful as an exclamation point, changing my name to ‘Stevey-Wonderfu!’. It seemed rather random to me at the time, but over a short time God revealed that He wanted me to live my life as an exclamation rather than the tentative, purposeless question I had lived for so long.

Around that time I had one of those years where the answer to every prayer, complaint or question was “it’s not about you.” God began to show me that the blessing for so many others is on the other side of my instant & complete obedience to His promptings (Matt 8:13 I go, He does). In June 2007, reading Philemon verse 6, God revealed it to me this way: “the sharing of my faith in God, in people, and in His purposes for our lives may become effective because I acknowledge* every good thing that is in me in Christ Jesus!” It has became my personal mandate “to affect people I do not know and will never meet, by inspiring the greatness in the very few, out of 6+ billion on earth, that I have the privilege of encountering.

I met, my now husband of 14.5 years, Lyman during my sophomore year at the U. He is what I call vanilla covered (white) and I am chocolate (black/African+ American). We seem to attract, or are ‘set up’ with, couples that look like us. In seeing these couples get married and have children, I noticed that it was very difficult to find a gift or greeting card with people that looked like us. Then God gave me the idea for a greeting card company that would target this specific audience and a company name based on a childhood passion. Since I was in young I have loved pandas and thus began to collect them, which means pretty much every gift I received had something to do with pandas. > Every gift I received from God has something to do with my destiny in developing my business, “Panda-People”; the adorable black and white bear representing the unique, God-kissed, patchwork beauty of their amalgamation, as surely is God’s heart for all peoples.

As I began to ponder the concept in my heart, God began to give me a supernatural confidence in His ability to perform a great work through me. He reminded me that in developing a healthy self-image, how important it is for children, and even adults, to see themselves positively represented in cards or toys they may purchase or receive, as well as in visual images in society as a whole. My spirit was stirred and creative ideas birthed to incorporate other products that would build self-esteem based on a God perspective of the value of each individual. It was then that my company name changed to “Panda-People Greetings & Inspirations”.

The next facet of the vision for my business, in doing His business, was revealed to me by hearing some of the business people at the Prosperity with a Purpose Conference express a desire to live off a fraction of their income and give the rest away. It was reinforced around learning of my friend JoAnne’s annual ministry trip to a Ugandan church and orphanage. Although I had NO desire to make the trip my(germ-freak)self, a burning desire to finance such trips was birthed in me. God gave me an idea for a non-profit organization to which 51% of my business’ profits would go. I would serve as an example to the world that success isn’t based on what one gets but on what one gives; that I could be wildly successful by giving away more than I keep. The proceeds of my business would go to both secular and religious organizations, with a focus on children’s charities in the USA and abroad. Other businesses would also be able to contribute at whatever percentage or dollar amount that seemed reasonable to them. The foundation would have two distinct divisions, so that no one would miss the opportunity to participate in giving based on their beliefs.

Scriptures pertaining to the vision:
*Psalms 139:14* “I will praise You, for I AM fearfully and WONDERFULly made”
*Prov 13:16* “every prudent (wo)man ACTS w/knowledge, but a fool LAYS open his folly”
*Prov 3:26* For the Lord will be your confidence, And keep your foot from being caught (stuck)
*John 9:11* “A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and I received sight.””

What has God put in my hand to do right now?
*A smile, from the inside, that people can feel that I love them, which opens the door for me to share His surpassing love with them
*Freedom of not being tied down to a traditional job; Time
*Unlimited creativity and fresh & new, soul mending ideas --I AM a seamstress of the soul!