Joshua’s House

Last night I spent a lot of time in prayer. Much of that time had to do with Joshua’s House. I have to apologize to everyone for losing sight of the original goals and purposes of Joshua’s House. I have been so focused in the production process - what we can produce and how fast we can pump it out - that I have lost sight of the ministry.

The rate at which we produce things, even the fact that we are producing anything at all is not the main purpose or goal for Joshua’s House. Joshua’s House is a ministry. It’s a ministry that takes on whatever shape God crafts it into. If it means reaching out to people one-on-one then that is Joshua’s House. If it means providing funds for families in need - then that is Joshua’s House. If it means providing refuge for children or families in need, that is Joshua’s House. And, if it means providing resources - that is Joshua’s House. Joshua’s House is not my ministry. It’s not your ministry - It’s God’s ministry and we must all be willing to move and mold it to fit His purposes.

So what does all of this mean for Joshua’s House? Yes - we’re still working on a website. Yes - the audio dramatization is still in full swing. Finances are not as much of a concern - God will provide. The goal is not to build a fully functioning business with offices and our own equipment and full time staff, etc. These things may be in God’s plan, and if they are, that’s fine; but this can’t be my goal and what I’m striving for. The goal must be simply this - seek God daily and follow His direction.

I ask that all of you pray for me and all of those working on Joshua’s House. That we will allow God to be our C.E.O and that we will remain faithful to all He leads us to do. Feel free to ask us how we are doing with this new goal. It will help us to be held accountable and will continually remind us what is the most important.

Click here for printable PDF version. 

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’”

~ Matthew 25:37-40

Get together as a family and spend some time praying about the ways that you can reach out and help others. Make sure to keep a list of all the ideas. If you’re having a hard time thinking of things, or if you don’t know about the needs in your area, visit volunteermatch.com.

You can decide on a one-time outreach that the whole family can be involved in planning, or you can decide on something you can do together every week or month. Each time an activity is over talk to your kids about what they learned from the experience of serving others.

There’s nothing more rewarding than meeting the needs of others. Beyond that, you will also grow closer to one another and to God. Be sure to share with us about what your family is doing!

Here are some other websites you can check out for ideas:

http://www.charityguide.org/
http://pbskids.org/zoom/activities/action/
http://www.dosomething.org/

That’s right, the paperwork to incorporate Joshua’s House and make it official are in the mail. If all goes according to plan, the process will take less than a month. Pretty cool, huh? This paperwork is all for the state. When we are done with this process, we can raise the money to become an official 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization at the national level. That’s pretty exciting.

We had our first Joshua’s House board meeting on January 14. If you want to find out all about what we discussed, you can check out our minutes on the new “Board of Directors” Page. You can get to it by clicking on the link on the menu above, or on the menu to the left.

The search is still on for an employee or two for Joshua’s House. If you are interested in working for us, you can fill out this application and mail it via mail or post (e-mail is preferred).

Thanks for all of your continued prayers and support. I continue to be excited about where God will lead in this fantastic adventure!

Click here for a printable PDF version. 

This is a great activity that all the kids can get involved with. There are two variations below. You can use part of one and part of the other or mix them up however you want. Enjoy.

Rainy day version
On a rainy day when your kids are getting restless, grab some paper, a hole punch, glue, markers or crayons, some yarn and pictures or magazines. You can also use other items you might have around your house that can easily be glued to paper.

Together, pick out some of your favorite Bible verses.

Pick out at least 5-10 verses. Write one verse on each piece of paper. Try to keep the verses on the edge of the pages so that you have plenty of room to add things to the middle.

Now take your magazines or objects and add pictures. Try to add a picture that matches the verse. This can be fun as each kid uses their imagination to hunt for pictures that go with the verses they chose.

When all the pages are filled up, punch holes in them and tie them together with the yarn to make a book.
Sunny Day Version
Go for a hike outside on a sunny day. If you have a digital camera, use it to take pictures of all sorts of things you see in God’s creation. If you don’t have a camera, start collecting things that are small and flat, like leaves, flowers and small sticks.

When you get home print out your pictures and/or spread out all your collected items.

Glue your pictures and/or objects onto paper. While they are drying, spread out all of the pages and look for Bible verses that go with the objects. You may want to use a concordance for hard things. Be creative.

Conclusion for Both

When you are done, you will have a scrapbook to look at and share with others, and your children will not easily forget the lessons taught in the verses you illustrated together. Spend some time to talk about what all of the verses mean. Then, keep the book forever, to remember your fun hike and God’s Word.

To really help the lessons sink in, open the scrapbook to a page and set it where everyone can see it throughout the day. For one week work together to learn the verse on that page. By the time you go through the whole book, you and your family will know many more of God’s precious words by heart.

This is some exciting news! Within the next month we will be hiring one, possibly two student workers from the nearby College to help out with some of the needs here at Joshua’s House. My husband and I looked at the finances and we can sponsor half of two students. So all we need for each student is someone who is willing to sponsor between $900-$1,000. Not too bad.

Our first hire will be a student to take over the production of the audio dramatization. This is a big job, and having someone else oversee it will help me move forward in some of the other areas of Joshua’s House. We will hire this student first. And actually plan on doing the hiring within the next few weeks. Hooray!

We will wait to hire the other student until we have our two sponsors. This student will help with some or all of the following: layout and design, web work, funding and development, art, etc.

I am so excited that God has opened these doors for us. This is a big step for Joshua’s House and will bring us closer to having a finished product that will help to bring families and kids closer to God.