Like Those Who Dream: Chapters 22 and 23
-Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow
Chapter 22: Half of a Desk
Trust in the LORD
with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways
acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)
As we began
to make preparations to return to the States in the spring of 1971 we received a letter of
encouragement from Don Leetch, and a letter from Dean Kerns with a check
enclosed to help with our travel expenses; Included was a note that read, “Get
in touch when you arrive.”
Before
leaving the Island I wanted to buy Char a new dress. We didn’t have a lot of
cash at the time, and needed most of it to cover our upcoming travel expenses.
However, I was convinced that a new dress was something the Lord wanted me to
provide for her. It was so much fun for
us to go shopping together in search of the right dress. Char’s eyes fell on a
beautiful red dress that we both loved…To this day, I smile inside whenever I
think of Char in that red dress, and remember the blessing it was to her once
we got back to the States.
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As the plane
from Puerto Rico to Los Angeles flew over the waters of the Caribbean, I was
once again amazed at the sight of the clear aqua-blue color of the sea…It was
an image that spoke of new things ahead, of seeing God’s plan more clearly
revealed to our hearts, and discovering afresh the beauty of His ways.
When the plane
landed at LAX we walked to the baggage return area, picked up our five
suitcases, set them outside on the sidewalk, and waited for our ride. As I
stood there, with everything we owned in the five suitcases that stood at my
feet, I became filled with peace. In that moment, the voice of the Holy Spirit
dropped a thought deep into my spirit, “Everything you own materially is in
your suitcases. Whatever is added to your life from this point on will never be
able to add one ounce of peace to your heart, and whatever is taken away from
you will never be able to diminish that peace.”…
With no
possessions, no money, no bank account, no house, no car, and no job, I
couldn’t have been more content, more secure, or more confident in God’s plan
for our lives.
Once in Los
Angeles it didn’t take me long to contact Dean. My phone call to him was packed
with surprises. He started off by telling me about a family he knew that had
recently moved to Europe. “Before leaving,” Dean added, “they placed many of
their furnishings and kitchen items—including pots, pans, bowls and dishes—
into storage. They turned it over to me with the following instructions,
‘Please give these to anyone that you feel is in need of them, at no charge.’”
Dean told me
that he believed the Lord had made it clear that Char and I were the ones who
should have these items. He went on to add, “There is one more thing…they also
gave me the keys to their car. It’s a Chevy station wagon. That is yours as
well.”
After Dean’s
call I learned some more news that helped us get settled. There was a family,
not too far from Fellowship Press, that
was leaving the area for a few months and wanted someone to house-sit their
place and look after things while they were gone. The outside of the house
needed painting and if I was willing to get it ready for a painter we could
stay in the house for free. It was too good of an offer to pass up. Within a
few days of our return to the States we had a temporary place to stay,
transportation, and a good start on furnishing our own place once our
house-sitting responsibilities were completed.
With a car to
drive and a place to live, I decided to meet with Don and Dean at Fellowship Press and see if there might
be a job available. During our meeting I updated them on my experience in
Puerto Rico and the things I learned about Christian literature and the selling
of Christian books. As we talked we found that our hearts were being drawn
together in a deeper way around a vision for Christian literature.
The demands
of their responsibilities at the print shop left them with no free time for
anything else. Since my time was free, we discussed the possibility of how we
could work together. The plan we agreed upon was that I would work part-time
for the print shop and focus the rest of my time on selling Christian books and
working toward developing some products that could be printed at Fellowship Press. (The goal was not to
grow the size of the print shop, but to set something in motion that could one
day release Don and Dean from the print shop.)
There was
limited space available in the print shop, so Don and Dean cleared off one half
of a desk and made it available as my work space. Initially, my part-time work
for Fellowship Press consisted of
finding new accounts that would bring in additional business to the print shop
(this would help pay my salary). The rest of my time was focused on setting up
book tables and selling Christian books at various Christian meetings and
conferences.
Once things
got underway everything moved fast. Within a few weeks the work I was doing
away from the print shop was demanding most of my time. In addition to the book
tables, I was also beginning to come up with some new product ideas. I knew an
illustrator/designer was needed to turn the ideas into products. To me, Russ
Flint seemed like the perfect choice.
Russ and I
had been friends since I had met him while attending Homewood Community Church (the same place I met Don and Dean). Russ
had actually worked at Fellowship Press for
a brief time while in college. When Russ finished college he took a designing
job with Harry and David in Medford,
Oregon. After talking it over with Don and Dean, Char and I decided to make a
trip to Medford to see if Russ and Cheryl might want to move and become a part
of what we were doing.
The drive up
to Harry and David was beautiful.
Tall pines, lush green meadows, and rolling hills dominated the landscape. In
the natural it was hard to imagine why anyone would want to leave this setting
to live in smog-filled Southern California. Char and I were warmly welcomed to
the Flint’s home and spent a couple of days talking and praying together.
During our visit there came a strong indication that God had been speaking to
their hearts.
Russ was
willing to step away from his job and join us. I was elated! I contacted Don
and Dean and told them about our time with Russ and Cheryl. We agreed to all
meet together in Lodi, California (a half-way point) to seek the Lord and find
out what our next steps should be. The time in Lodi turned out to be a pivotal
moment for all of us. Our main purpose was to hear from the Lord and decide if
He wanted the four of us to work together…
We rented a
motel room for the day and spent the time talking, reading the Bible, and
praying. By the end of the day we were all assured that God had called us
individually and collectively to work together. The commitment of the four of
us to begin a new work was born in Lodi that day. (At the beginning the new
venture was called Outreach Publications,
eventually the company name was changed to DaySpring Cards.)
With the
addition of Russ, more office space was a must.
Directly
across the street from Fellowship Press
was an old one-story business building called the “Arcade”. It had a long
hallway with various sized offices on each side. Each office had a glass front
that allowed a complete view of the working space inside. We packed up our
things from Fellowship Press and
moved across the street. We picked the second office on the left. It was a
small space that was divided by a paneled wall which cut the room in half. We
set up two desks and a working area in the front half of the office and used
the back half for storage.
*
It was an
amazing thing to realize that God chose to start a new publishing company with
four people who were not trained as business men, who had no cash reserves, no
investors, and no long term business plan…In Lodi, God called two former
pastors, a former missionary, and a Bible college art graduate to launch a
company that we knew could never make it without God’s help, blessing, and
favor.
It Took Something More
It took something more than a vision by Russ, Don, Roy and Dean to
start DaySpring Cards; it took a call from God.
It took something more than human efforts and natural abilities to
accomplish anything; it took the gifts of God.
It took something more than material resources, financial plans and
marketing strategy to see the business grow, it took the prosperity of God.
It took something more than a sales force and sales techniques to
bring the product into the stores; it took the favor of God.
It took something more than nice art and good copy to make
DaySpring’s products successful, it took the anointing of God.
Jesus said that without Him we could do nothing. There is only one way to start, build,
maintain and continue to expand a Christian company – It must never turn away
from its total trust in the Living God, its total obedience to His Word and its
total dependency upon His Spirit. If He
is to be glorified through what we do He will try our hearts and test our
motives; He will purify our faith and make straight paths for our feet; He will
call us to a higher standard and direct us down a different path.
He will not let us get away with things that other companies seem
to get by with or let us deal with people in ways that serve our own
interests. He will not allow us to look
at our competition as our enemy but rather as His friends. He will not allow us to substitute favors for
fairness or place profits above people.
In order to use us as a light He must keep us from darkness; in order to
share His heart with others He must fill our hearts with His love.
We must seek His favor in all we do and depend upon His power to
accomplish the thing He has called us to do. We must seek His perfect approval
and long for Him to say, “This is DaySpring, a business with whom I am well
pleased.”
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Chapter 23: Jesus People
There are people who make a difference in our lives because of
their character, their example, and their practical expression of the love of
Jesus Christ. These are the people who are truly God’s ambassadors to us and to
the world.
Russ and
Cheryl moved south shortly after our meeting in Lodi in the summer of 1971.
He joined me in the Arcade office and we started doing more creative work and
product development. I started doing most of the writing and Russ did the art
and design. The birthing of our new
business came at a time when a spiritual awakening was taking place on the West
Coast. It was an exciting time to be in Southern California. In the late 60s
and 70s God stepped into the midst of the hippy culture and captured the hearts
of thousands of young men and women. They were radically changed from free love
to holy love; from drugs to the new wine of the Holy Spirit; from dropping out
of society to coming into the Kingdom of God. They were called Jesus People.
The heartbeat
of the movement was in Costa Mesa, California in a small church called Calvary
Chapel, led by Pastor Chuck Smith. The church was less than an hour away from
where we lived and we kept in close contact with the spiritual change that was
taking place in the area. Weekly, young people were turning to Christ, being
baptized in the Pacific Ocean and coming into the church to grow in Christ. A
new wave of evangelism swept across Southern California. New praise and worship
music was being written by rock musicians who had a new song to sing and a new
faith to proclaim.
Don, Dean,
Russ, and I wanted to connect with these new believers and place into their
hands some witness items that would help them express and share their faith.
One of our first products was a line of six mini-stickers. These stickers were
first designed to be bumper stickers, which were very popular at the time. When
we decided to print them as mini-stickers instead of bumper stickers they
quickly caught on. They were printed on brightly colored, florescent paper with
short proclamations of faith and a graphic image. Some of the sayings included
“Hallelujah, Jesus is Lord”, “I Know the Author of the World’s Best Seller”,
and “One Way—Jesus Christ”. We called them Glo-Goers…We spent many nights
sitting at our dining room table assembling small packages of Glo-Gloers,
sorting them into sets of six, and putting them into plastic bags before
stapling a label at the top.
At this time
I had only written two Gospel tracts. One was as a student in Bible College,
and the other was written before our family had moved to Puerto Rico. With the Jesus People desiring more witnessing
material I had the opportunity to write a new series of Gospel tracts
including:
What’s Better Than a Happy Face?—A Happy Heart.
He is NOT Jesus Christ Superstar—But Jesus Christ the Lord.
Some People Let the Stars Control Their Lives—Why Not Let the One Who
Made Them Control Yours!
Soon,
postcards, posters, and poster calendars were added to our product mix. One of
our posters had a bright blue background with white letters that read “Jesus is
Coming!” The second coming of Christ was a strong theme among the Jesus People.
We were a
little business that was growing fast!
*
As the summer
drew to a close it was time for my family to move from the place we had been
house-sitting in Glendora, about five miles from the Arcade where Russ and I
were working. Through some friends, we were offered a house to rent that seemed
ideal. It was in good condition, had plenty of space, and was affordable.
We packed up
our things and moved; however, it would turn out to be one of the most unusual
moving experiences we ever had. As soon I walked into the house I had no peace.
I immediately knew we were in the wrong place and needed to leave. I told Char
not to unpack (she ended up spending the day writing letters as she waited on
me to come up with a new plan). I contacted the owners and told them we would
not be staying. It was an awkward thing to do and embarrassing to say the
least. Thankfully, they were very understanding and extended mercy to us.
We relocated
to an apartment complex a couple of miles from the Arcade. We moved into the
former manager’s apartment. It was a little more expensive than the other
apartments, but it also had a few extra features. We couldn’t believe we were
living in such a nice place. It was good to know the Lord had given us His
peace. The apartment was strategically located, not only because it was near
work and close to where our children would go to school, but also because of
the relationships we would build with others who lived in neighboring
apartments.
One of our
neighbors, who lived two doors down, was a single mom with two young daughters.
One day, as we were about to enter our apartment, Char looked at me and said,
“I believe the Lord is prompting me to bring a bag of groceries to Carol and
her girls.”
Char’s sensitivity to the voice of the Holy Spirit started when
she was young in her walk with the Lord at Bible College…
She reported to work one afternoon and was given instructions by
her supervisor. She was also told not to spend time talking while she was doing
her work. During her work assignment, Char did spend time talking with another
student. At the end of the day she was convicted by the Holy Spirit about not
following her supervisor’s instructions. She decided to humble herself and tell
her supervisor. When she did, her supervisor smiled and without any word of
condemnation said, “Charlene, I am so happy to know that you have heard the
voice of the Holy Spirit and were willing to obey Him.”
When we got
into our apartment Char went straight to the pantry and filled up a grocery bag
with various food items. She walked over to our their apartment and knocked on
the door. A few moments later Carol answered. When she saw Char standing there
with a bag of groceries she was surprised.
After a
cordial greeting, Char said, “When I got home this afternoon the Lord put it on
my heart to bring these groceries to you.”
As Char
extended her hands and gave the bag of groceries to her, Carol’s eyes began to
tear.
“Do you know
what I was doing just before you came?” Carol asked.
“What?” Char
curiously replied.
“I was with
my girls at the dining room table. I had just finished thanking the Lord for
our meal when I heard your knock at the door. I didn’t know where our meal
would come from because there is no food in the house.”
Char was deeply touched and
so thankful she had obeyed the Lord, and was used to bless our neighbor when
she was in need.
(Join us next week as we continue this journey of Roy's memoir, Like Those Who Dream. The book is available through DaySpring and Christian retailers everywhere.)
#likethosewhodream #ministry #roylessin #memoir #dayspring
©2022, Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. ©2021 DaySpring, used with permission. All rights reserved.
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