A Brother's Love this Holiday Season...

We wish all of you the very best this holiday season.  Hopefully this will be a time of restoration for you and your family. 

This past year has been hard for me concerning my father and his side of the family especially when it comes to my younger brother.  About 7 months ago we had bit of a falling out and we haven't spoken since.  I think we have just been waiting on the other to make the first move.  He's only eighteen and we haven't had a lot of time together over the years because we lived with different parents.  When we have been together I've always considered it time well spent and always wished I would have been able to be more of a brother to him growing up.  The last time we spoke he told me I was never there for him as he was cussing me out.

He happened to be my cashier at the Burger King drive through today.  We said a few words and as I was driving off he told me he loved me.  That will likely turn out to be my greatest Christmas gift this year.  I hope he and I are able to continue to be restored with one another.  We all need to be loved...

I'm thinking...

that most of us forget God created us to be whole and complete.  We were meant for so much more than we sometimes limit ourselves to.  Over the month and a half we have been working with our first single mother.  She has many strengths; she is responsible, trusting, sincere, as well as many others.  Though she has many strengths she also struggles to herself as a person who can do incredible things with her life.  All too often the people in her life have told her that she can't do it or she's not worth.  It's so hard to see people broken in this way and just when I want to feel pity I remember my own struggles in this area.  The Fall not only separated us from God but it also separated us from our true selves.  I'm so thankful that Jesus came to rescue us.  He is our hero who sees us for who we really are. 

Where the Rubber Meets the Road...

Well, here we are, 27 months after God laid this incredible vision on our hearts of helping to restore single mothers and their children back to His good intent for their lives.  It has been such and adventure but unsurprisingly, Mandy and I feel like the adventure has just begun.  This past weekend CBS did two local news stories on The Restoration House, one for our Open House & Dedication and the other when our first family moved in the next day.  This is when theory becomes practice and we begin to see if we have been traveling in the right direction.  At our dedication I spoke about relationships; all the relationships it has taken to get us here and all the relationships it will take to help the families here grow into the families they always hoped to be.  Mandy and I are truly are amazed by all those God has brought in our path to encourage, support, and educate us a long the way.  This truly is a ministry in partnership.  We love you all.

- Daniel

So You're 501(c)3...

Sounds scary doesn’t it?  We’ll that’s what we are, 501©3 (a tax exempt organization).  I am remembering the many newsletters in which we updated you about the status of our 501©3 application. The pile of papers filled with IRSese, if you will, was finally sent in right at five months ago. We were so relieved, and in turn celebrated the seeming victory of completing it. Well, this month we are so proud to announce that The Restoration House of East Tennessee is officially a 501©3 organization! Ssshhh…can you hear the Hallelujah chorus playing in the background? This short turnaround time was greatly unexpected. We believe God has his hand on those papers and on us as we completed them with the help of our dear friend and lawyer Kelli Thompson. Thank you to all of you who, during this time stayed up to date, asking questions and praying for us throughout the process. We are so excited!

It's All Good...

Last week was incredible.  The Restoration House (TRH) received another grant from a local foundation for $31,000, a church is considering supporting TRH with a gift of $10,000, TRH was accepted into Knoxville Leadership Foundation’s Center for Communities, a local Boy Scout is building a playground at the first TRH site for his Eagle Scout project, and a car was donated for the first single-mother family TRH will begin partnering with this this fall.  God is so good.  Its as if he has this all figured out…

Denver and Back in 4 Days...

This past week Mandy and I traveled to Denver, CO to receive some consulting from Warren Village (www.warrenvillage.org).  It was an incredible trip and we learned a ton.   I really appreciated the openness of their organization.  There was no sense of competition that you sometimes find in the nonprofit world.  They have been serving low-income single parent families in the Denver area for over 30 years.  They have a 93 unit apartment complex and they use a model they developed called ‘transformational housing’.  We were able to meet with most of their staff one on one for a couple of hours each.  There were many things we learned that we will replicate into The Restoration House and their were others things we saw that just doesn’t fit our context.  They gave us a copy of their 370 page replication manual as well as host of other tools.  Their volunteer coordinator, who has been there for almost 20 years, was extremely helpful.  Please be in prayer for us as we take all of what learned in and begin to translate it to our context.  We are so thankful to our board for encouraging us to take this trip.

More than we Imagined...

Well this past weekend we had our first volunteer information meeting.  It is the first time I’ve ever had a larger response than invitations sent.  Mandy and I were very excited to see almost 30 people present; many of whom had never spoken to us about volunteering before.  It is amazing how God gifts each one of us so differently.  There was such a mix in the room.  Our prayer is that our very gifted volunteers can help the families at TRH maximize their own gifts and talents as they work toward a better tomorrow.  

We can’t say thank you enough to everyone who came.  God is continuing to build his vision for The Restoration House.  It is so good to be apart of such an exciting adventure.  The whole Restoration House family is anxiously awaiting the time when we beginning serving our first family this fall.  If you would like to help please visit our volunteer page at http://www.therestorationhouse.net/Joomla/content/view/100/118/.

Back from Camp...

This past week I was at Smoky Mountain Christian Camp in Cokercreek, TN.  For the past five years I’ve been the co-dean of Teen Ministry Week.  This week of camp is for high school students.  Each year we focus on growing the servan’t heart within all of us.  This past week was phenomenal.  For the past six months we prayed that this year camp would feel much more intimate than it has in the past.  Well God answered our prayers by sending only 13 campers.  We had 24 people at the week including campers and faculty.  Everyone memorized Luke 14:25-35 as we worked through this hard teaching.  Not once during the week did we have ‘a time of decision’.  We really felt like Jesus was asking us to stop and consider through this teaching.  It was so freeing.  I left renewed knowing that God believes in me and that the costs are always worth it.  My sense of purpose with The Restoration House has been renewed through friends, service, and the ‘word’.  I will miss this time next year as I am passing the torch.  It has been an amazing five years.

It's Been Too Long...

Well let’s just say that my posts over the last few weeks have been nonexistent.  This blogging thing is great when you first start but without a little encouragement from those in blogdom its kind of hard to keep going.  I mean if I knew someone was actually reading this I’m sure I would write at least every other day.  So, if you’re out there I could use a little blogger encouragement.  Just write a little comment and I will keep everything flowing.

Form 1023 Part II...

Well a friend of a friend really came through for us.  Our Form 1023 is completed and ready to go because of Kelli.  Kelli is a lawyer at a major national law firm.  She has never met us but a friend of mine works with her.   Our mutual friend asked Kelli if she would help us with our 501©3 application (Form 1023).  She agreed and has spent hours reviewing our 60+ pages of application.  Now I don’t know about you but my experience has shown that a lawyer’s time is very valuable.  Our adoption lawyer charges $225 hour and she is worth every penny of it.  If Kelli makes anything near that she has given a significant donation to the work of The Restoration House without ever meeting Mandy and I.  This just reminds me that The Restoration House is more than Mandy and I, it is the work of God and God brings all kinds of people; with all kinds of gifts; for all kinds of reasons into His work.  Praise be to God.

He is Risen...

Today is ‘Resurrection Day’.  It is the day that commemorates and celebrates this risen Savior, Jesus.  The resurrection of Jesus has long been seen as the event that closed the gap between people and God forever, but we must remember that this day has to do with so much more that just us getting to heaven.  Jesus was about bring heaven to earth.  All throughout his life He demonstrated and made the way for the will of God to be realized on earth.  Remember his prayer, "Your will be done on earth as it is on heaven".  Can you imagine God’s will being fully done on earth?  That is the way it was always suppose to be.  The effect of the will of God on earth or anywhere is ‘shalom’.  A friend of mine, Mark Nelson, says that ‘shalom’ is defined as ‘the way things ought to be’.  This is our prayer for the women and children who come to The Restoration House, that they will see the resurrection of Jesus effecting every aspect of their lives.  That single event is the most powerful demonstration of God desire for shalom throughout the whole world.  May we be advocates for His will today and may we share the shalom of God by humbling ourselves in service to others.

Air Waves...

If you’ve ever had the experience of being on the radio you know it can be little anticlimactic.  On one hand its cool because your on the radio and your voice is traveling hundreds of miles over airwaves that you cannot see.  All this and your voice falls on who knows how many ears of people you will probably never meet.  Mandy and I were on Joy 62’s ‘Drive at Five’ earlier today.  They told us their listening audience is around 2,000 folks.  We spent 40 minutes sharing the history, vision, and mission of The Restoration House, and now we trust; we trust that the Spirit will takes those words and stir people to action.  We may never know what that 40 minutes will do in the life of The Restoration House, but we know God is faithful and he is always at work.

Sacrifice...

When Mandy and I started on this Restoration House journey back in August of 2005 we knew it wouldn’t be easy.  I have asked myself over and over again why does this feel so hard.  It is during those times of questioning that God reminds me why we are in this to begin with.  He desires for single mothers and their children to be restored back to all the goodness God intended from the beginning.  God actually desires this for everyone but He has called us to specifically care for this often overlooked group of families.  What Mandy and I have been experiencing to a large degree is sacrifice but our sacrifice is nothing compared to the sacrifice single mothers have to make every day on behalf of their family.  These women often struggle to make ends meet, to provide for their children’s future, and for having the time to care for their children the way they truly desire.  If we can encourage these families toward the wholeness and restoration God can bring through supporting them with love and resources then all of our sacrifice is worth it.

Form 1023...

Ok.  I’m sure the title has you intrigued.  Form 1023 is the 60 page application that has to be turned in with $750 to the IRS in order to gain 501©3 tax exempt status.  You would think after paying $750 they would just turn around and deem you exempt, but no; after they receive the application you don’t hear anything for 6 to 8 months.  Anybody know a good lawyer?

The Pizza Guy...

Today I had a meeting with Doug Harris.  Doug owns more Papa John ’s pizza stores than anyone else.  When meeting with him today he said,"I use pizza to the grow the Kingdom".  Over the years Doug has lived out that statement over and over again.  He helped start the Compassion Coalition, he serves on the board of Knoxville Leadership Foundation, he has given money to Project Grad, and a host of other Kingdom growing activities.  Doug really gets God’s vision for community and Kingdom growth.  He is totally in support of The Restoration House.  In our meeting I was really encouraged by everything he had to say.

So next time you have a warm slice of sausage pizza, think of Doug, the pizza guy and how you can use what God has given you to grow the Kingdom.

City Council...

Well tomorrow is a big day.  Mandy and I are having lunch with Steve Hall, the city councilman for the third district in Knoxville.  The Pine Bluff apartments we are looking at purchasing and renovating are in Steve’s district.  In May he will be voting on a CDBG grant we turned into the city for part of the acquistion costs.  If the Pine Bluff project is ever going to work out we will need his support.  If anybody has any tips for approaching city council feel free to post them.  Other than that your prayers concerning tomorrow are greatly appreciated.

The New Blog

Well it’s time.  I’m entering the world of blogging.  Let’s see how I do.  This blog is going to be for all those who believe in the vision of The Restoration House.  Check back here and we’ll keep you up to date on what’s been going in the life of TRH.