Joshua’s House

Things are getting exciting around here!  Ever since the letters went out I have been receiving a lot of positive feedback.  I had no idea their would be so much enthusiasm.  Apparently other people are aware of the great need for this ministry as well.  It’s so nice to know that are so many people supporting and praying for me and for Joshua’s House.  If you check out the Current Goals page, you will see that we are fast approaching our goal for the 501(c)(3)!  There is more money coming in too!  I just get more and more excited as every day passes!

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”  - Luke 6:38

We have an amazing God who loves us so much!!

Today we got our first contribution for Joshua’s House!  A $10 donation, which is a good start as we raise money for the 501(c)(3).  Praise the Lord!

I have a meeting scheduled with the person in charge of Graduate programs in the education department.  He is going to look over some of the projects that Joshua’s House needs to have completed, and he may assign some of them for His graduate students!  That is so exciting!  I’m hoping that maybe the students can come up with some of the activities for the main part of the website, and maybe even some stories and some of the community service stuff.  I really don’t know what their classes are about, but I will be coming in with an arsenal of ideas.  I’m so excited to see where this meeting leads!!

I do have a prayer requset regaurding this, however.  Next week is the last week of classes, and then there are finals.  As you can imagine, this is a busy time of year!  My meeting with Mr. Swafford is planned in the middle of finals week.  By God’s grace, I will be able to get it done, I simply ask for your prayers.  God is moving in exciting ways!! Horray!

Click here for printable PDF version. 

One of my favorite things about this time of year is the gardening. It’s time to start digging in the dirt and having some great fun! Have you ever taken time to do some gardening with your kids? It’s fun for the whole family. Even if you live in an apartment and don’t have much space you can grow at least a few flowers, some herbs, or even a tomato plant in a pot inside. Here are some great ways you can help your kids get to know Jesus a little better through gardening:

Fun Idea #1

If you’re starting your plants from seeds, watch as your plants grow and learn a lesson. One thing that is vitally important to the growth of these little sprouts is sunlight. If you put your sprouts in a window sill, you will quickly notice that they lean into the light and begin to grow in the direction of the sun. Now turn the plants around. Check them the next day, and they will be leaning toward the sun again. Talk to your child about how they are just like the little sprouts. In order to be healthy and to grow up strong, they need to make sure always to be growing toward Jesus, their source of strength.

Fun Idea #2

Gardening takes a lot of responsibility. Some plants take even more care than others. As you are teaching your children about the care required for your special plants (you may even be learning yourself), talk about how Jesus is the gardener for us. There are so many parables in the Bible where God is referred to as the gardener. Why do you think Jesus uses that parallel? Don’t forget to tell your kids how much God cares for and tends them.

Fun Idea #3

Did you know that the first occupation in the Bible was a gardener? That’s right, Adam and Eve were gardeners in the garden of Eden. Read the story of creation with your children. After reading the story, talk about how you think Eden might have looked. Then plant an Eden garden of your own. (If space is limited, you can let each person pick out a plant for one or two pots.) Obviously the garden you plant won’t be close to what the original Eden was like, but whenever you and your family see it, you can be reminded of how much God loves you. You can also remember that he wants to be close to you like He was with Adam and Eve. You can thank Jesus for the beauty that He has given us here on Earth and for how much more beautiful things will be in Heaven.

How About You?

Share some ways that you like to share Jesus with your kids through gardening. It’s always great to learn more about Jesus and His love!

Well, it’s official.  The first Joshua’s House fund-raising campaign is underway.  Today I mailed out almost 20 fund raising letter.  Yes, I realize that 20 is a small number, but, we’ve got to start somewhere. It only took 2 loaves and 2 fishes to feed 5,000 people, so I’m hoping that God can multiply the blessing with 20 fund raising letters.  The current goal is to raise the needed funds so that Joshua’s House can become an official 501 (c) (3) cooperation! Wooo Hooo!

In other news the school year is coming to a close (just a few more weeks), which means you will be hearing a lot more from me and Joshua’s House.  There are already some pretty awesome leaps forward planned for this summer, so stay tuned.

Again, I want to thank you all for your prayers as this ministry moves forward.

For those of you who are used to the old blog, you can tell a few things are different.  Within the next week or two, I hope to start a letter writing campaign to raise some money to get a 501(c)(3) for Joshua’s House.  This new set up will keep volunteers and donors more informed, along with providing some fun information.  So, that’s pretty much what I’ve been working on lately.

Click here for printable PDF version. 

The summer is a time for watermelon, ice cream, vacations and swimming lessons. If your child is taking swimming lessons this summer, don’t miss the opportunity to point them to Jesus. There are so many ways to do this!

Idea #1
Sit down with your kids and a concordance (the one in the back of your Bible is fine). Find all the verse you can that talk about water. Then, pick out your favorite one to memorize. An example could be Isaiah 43:2. “When you pass through the water, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you” (NASB). Then, when your son or daughter is a little scared in the water, you can recite the verse with him or her as a reminder that God is there too.

Idea #2
There are so many object lessons with water and swimming. One example would be a kick board. When kids are learning to kick they will stay floating on the water as long as they are holding on the the kick board. It’s like that with Jesus. As long as we are holding on to Him, he will keep us floating, and He will not let us sink. There are so many lessons that we can learn from the water. How many can you think of? Post a comment with all of your ideas so that others can learn from them as well.

Idea #3
When playing in the water, there are so many great Bible stories that you can share with your kids. Here are a few: Moses in the Bulrushes, the parting of the Red Sea, Jesus’ Baptism, walking on water, calming the storm, healing Namaan’s leprosy. I’m sure you can think of a lot more. Get your family together, and maybe some friends and act out a fun water story. Don’t forget to have everyone share something about what makes the story so important!

Have fun with these fun warm weather activities!

Isn’t it amazing how God can lift our spirits? I am super excited about the way things are moving with Joshua’s House now, and I think there will be some pretty big advancements coming up. I am going to be spending a lot of time this week working on some pretty cool things that will help to find more involvement and interest in Joshua’s House. I don’t want to say too much, because there are a lot of surprises, but I am very excited to see where God continues to lead and guide!

I had my meeting with OCI on Thursday. While it wasn’t bad, it certainly wasn’t as encouraging as I hoped. The reality is that I still have to raise $1,500 for my 501(c)(3) before I can get much of anywhere. I’m trying to figure out how to do that. Should I do some type of fund raiser? Should I just send letters out to people I know asking them each for a small donation? Should I take time to try to find one person who can donate all the funds? I don’t know.

Aside from that there are at least a bazillion other things I can/should do with Joshua’s House right now. A few of the things are - work on the organizational side of things (i.e. grant writing, making long term plans and coming up with official goals), there is a lot of work that needs to be done on the activities (i.e. creation, testing, modification), there is always fund raising, updating the current website (i.e. Making it more active and providing a way for people to get involved both financially and by volunteering their time) and there is networking (i.e. looking for volunteers, meeting with names and references I currently have.) This alone is enough to keep me busy for quite some time.

But even with all of this, as the end of the school year approaches, and classes pick up the pace, I have to face the reality that I cannot invest the amount of time that Joshua’s House currently needs. This is an issue in many areas of my life. While I am praying for more discipline, it’s going to take more than that. Please pray for me as I try to figure out how I’m going to get all that I need to done.

Wooo Hooo. I had a really good meeting yesterday with John Swafford and Mary Jo Dubbs. Actually the best part about it was just to have people excited about it and ready to support me. This was by far the best meeting I’ve had so far! They gave me lots of helpful advice and also gave me names of some people that will really help a WHOLE lot, and that’s wonderful! Also, they are encouraging me to get my 501(c) (3) filed really soon, to pull some stuff together, and to set up a booth at the national ASI meeting in August. I have a few months, but it’s coming up soon, so I’d better get a move on!! Thank you for all your prayers. God is truly blessing as Joshua’s House continues to move forward.

This morning I have yet another meeting! Wow, so many people willing to meet with me to help me out - it’s great how God works! I’m meeting with Steven Garbner at OCI. He knows all about helping ministries get started and I’m hoping he can help me with ideas for getting volunteers and leading me as to where I should go to get the funds needed to file my 501(c)(3). Things are moving fast, and God is so awesome. I just pray that He will help me figure out my schedule so that I can devote more time to this AMAZING ministry!