Help Us Build a Bear Hunt
Text your address or email to Cindy and we will add you to the map. 903.603.4053 or cindy@lovingtheworld.com
I wanted my Teddy Bear for a shot in my sermon video this week. I thought I knew just where he was, but that den was empty. I started searching my house. I even went into the attic. I could not find him anywhere. After spending too long, I called out for help and a number of people “auditioned” their bear for a cameo in my sermon (see the gallery above). Kristin Brown’s bear matched the best and she was thrilled to loan him to me. When I got him, I realized how close her’s was to mine the tiny bright red felt mouth was exactly the same. They both had short cropped hair, mine was a bit darker.
I have been a wracking my brain, searching in old memories to find my faithful bear, but no insight has come to me. I’m still searching. I have this nagging feeling that I put him somewhere safe. It’s so safe, no one will bother him, including me.
I honor of my bear I want to create a “Bear Hunt” around the city of Athens. If you have a teddy bear, a bear sculpture or sign would you put it where someone from the street could see it if they drove past your house? I’m talking about bears in my sermon this week and wanted to follow up with the idea of going on a bear hunt, like the children’s story
The object is to give people something they could do safely, “outside.” We hope that we can get enough people in town to do it, that it could make driving around super fun.
When I was a kid, families put a blue hand in the window to tell kids it was a safe house to go to if you were in trouble. This could be like that. When someone see a bear in a window they will feel just a little bit more connected, more loved, and more supported. If you don’t have a bear, you can just draw one. If you can’t do that, just write “BEAR” on a piece of paper and put it in the window. Like it says in the Bible, “Love bears all things, 1 Corinthians 13:7 ESV.
We started by putting one in a church window. He is big and brown and ready to be discovered. We put one in our window at home and hope you will join us. Next week we are going to try to build a “crowd sourced” treasure map of where bears are located in town, so be looking for the link and the add you name to the map.