Joshua’s House

So, I have those meeting coming up very soon - they are just around the corner. There has been a lot going on in my mind about what my goals are for theses meetings, how I’m going to present what I have to say, and even what it is I’m going to say. I probably won’t have time today to do much actual “hard copy” work on meeting preparation (Wednesdays are my busiest days), but I will be spending today going over my possibilities with God and praying that He will show me what He would have me do. Keep praying. I’ll keep you posted on how things are going.

Yup, that’s right. I have some good news and some bad news. Which would you like to hear first? Okay, I’ll get the bad news out of the way first. Sadly, the audio Bible that I was SOOO excited about isn’t quite the right fit. I have to say, it is definitely the best I’ve heard so far, just not quite what is needed for Joshua’s House. That means we will have to create our own from scratch. But You know, God will provide and He will bless the efforts!

Now, for the good news. I have two important meetings next week. I’m so glad they were scheduled for a week away. I have a lot of work and praying to do over my presentations before I present again. It is good however, that they are kind of soon. I’m not really sure what to expect out of these meetings. At the least I’m hoping for some support, guidance and direction. And at the most …. well, nothing is impossible with God. Who knows what He has in store.

That gives you a little update. Thank you for all your prayers and support. Continue to pray that things will keep moving forward so that we can reach children and their families with the word of God, that they may grow in Him.

God bless you!

So I’ve realized, Joshua’s House does have a huge budget planned for a full staff. I had given up on volunteer work of any kind, but why? I have been praying a lot, and why should I wait for all the money and staff we need to move things forward? I shouldn’t. So, while I am still going to meet with people and I’m still going to be pressing forward, I will also be building more materials in the background. I will be searching for volunteers. However instead of finding a graphic designer for the organization, I can find volunteers who are willing to do smaller chunks of things. What’s even cooler is that as soon as I get non-profit status. I can look for volunteers on online volunteer search engines! How cool is that. So, here I go. Keep praying - God has amazing things in store!

To be completely honest, not a whole lot has happened since my last blog. I’m eagerly awaiting the arrival of the audio Bible New Testament to come in the mail so that I can sample it. I am praying that it will turn out to be something that will work well with the goals of Joshua’s House. Other than that, not a lot has been going on.

I missed a phone call from someone important that I’m trying to schedule a meeting with. Unfortunately, I didn’t get his message until after he had left the office for the week on Thursday. I look forward to returning his call on Monday (probably morning).

That’s pretty much it. Like I said, not a lot has happened, but I wanted to at least keep you informed.

Have a blessed weekend!!

Oh, I almost forgot. God also brought another really awesome idea to mind! It is very important to have the memory verses put to music to help kids learn them. What if the kids are actually the ones making the songs? I am going to work very hard (of course not right now, this will be down the road a little bit) to talk to Christian schools and various churches. Children’s choirs or individuals can write songs for the various passages, record them and then submit them to us. The winners for each passage will be featured online and then will be included on the memory verse CD. This is great because first of all, it will get the kids more involved. Secondly, it will spread the news of Joshua’s House and hopefully draw more kids into Gods word. And last of all, it will cut some small costs for Joshua’s House which makes this dream even closer to a reality. Isn’t our God awesome!?!

Well, I have some good news. I have done some follow up on some of the information that I recieved at my last meeting. I may have found an audio Bible to use on the Joshua’s House websites, rather than creating our own. (This could be a savings of close to $100,000 a year!!) I have listened to dozens of audio Bibles and was not please with any of them, that’s why Joshua’s House was going to create their own. However, I was led to an audio Bible company that I somehow completely missed in all of my earlier research. I ordered the New Testament, and I should be able to listen to it soon to see if this is something that will truly work with Joshua’s House.

The ministry that produces these audio Bibles looks like one that would be thrilled to work with Joshua’s House. The REALLY cool thing is that if all of this works out, Joshua’s House will be able to reach out even more by providing Bible audio and activities to kids all over the world in several different languages!! How cool is that? Keep praying that God will truly help things to move forward!!

Okay, so God has given me ambition and He’s given me this wonderful vision for an amazing ministry, but…I seem to be falling short when it comes to the meetings and presentations. I’m not doing a very good job at helping people to see how much of a need Joshua’s House really is. A lot of people see the scope of the project and the budget and are scared off. (Honestly, I probably would be too.) What they don’t see is the reality of what Joshua’s House really is. They don’t see how much of a need there is for this ministry. I fail at sharing the passion. When I present I get so caught up on the obstacles and trying to figure out what I’m asking for from the person that I’m meeting with, that I fail to spread the mission.

Before I schedule any more meetings, I am going to spend a lot of time in prayer. Asking God how to share this vision with others. I am going to spend time researching so that I can provide statistics and facts to help people see this great need. I am going to try to meet with some professors to see if they can help me with the presentation part of things. I am going to pray that God will give me confidence so that when I go into a meeting I’m not thinking of how others might find me credible. No, I will go into meetings as God’s ambassador, ready to share His plan with them and to see how they would like to become a part of it.

Pray for me as I seek God’s counsel for these things.

I have had some more meetings, and while I have to admit I was hoping for more enthusiastic outcomes, I know that God is moving things in the right direction.

One thing that is positive about all of the people that I have met with is that most of them have been more than happy to supply me with names. I have gotten names for all sorts of things. So now, I am busily working on contacting as many of these people as I possibly can and setting up meetings with them. I have to admit, I sent out a lot of e-mails today, and haven’t heard back from anyone yet, but I’m not afraid to e-mail someone twice. God has told us that He will remain faithful to us. I know that He will. I will continue doing all that I can from this earthly venue while constantly seeking His guidance.

I have decided that rather than trying to wade through all of the confusing paper work for the 501(c)(3) process, I am going to try to get the funding to hire a company that is really good at this process. I have done some homework on the company I’m considering (I’m by no means done gathering research yet), and I’m happy with what I see. They have a 100% success rate of getting 501(c)(3)s pushed through, they deal with the IRS and they mostly handle the paperwork. It would save so much time and hassle, and money. It’s cheaper to hire them than having to file twice because I did things wrong, and besides that, they have a money back guarantee. It makes sense to me to leave this process to them rather than trying to figure out all the legal jargon that totally goes over my head.

Other than that, there is not much to tell as of yet. I am still waiting to meeting with people. That’s what will get things moving at this point. I have one meeting on Thursday, and another on Tuesday next week. Keep me and these meetings in your prayers. I know God has amazing things in store, I just can’t wait to see His plan unfold!

So not really a whole lot has happened since my last post. More meetings, more meetings scheduled, more work like normal. It’s kind of hard to decide what to work on at this point. I’ve been doing more research - this is a constant, and I have really enjoyed it.

Even if I don’t figure out what all I need to file for the ministry, and the order in which it needs to be filed, I’m hoping to get started on some of the stuff that I am sure of. I’m also planing on contacting possible people for the board of directors, spending much time praying over more names, and maybe contacting a few more people.

I guess that’s pretty much all that I have to share. Hopefully I’ll have even more to share soon!

God bless!