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Had my weekly RFJ meeting this morning to keep updated with finances, rooms, etc, etc. We were joined by a pastor friend of mine who is considering coming on board to be a "connector/ministering" support for Room For Joy. I had asked him his opinion on whether or not I should follow up with another pastor I am waiting to hear from re: church/organization sponsorship of the next room. My dilemma is this: I waiver back and forth between trusting that God is working in the situation and my lack of patience in just waiting for Him to respond, and my neglecting my responsibility to move forward into opportunities He has put in front of me. It's kind of like, Do I push forward trying to get the funding for the next room, or is that me trying to take charge of something that is clearly not my "gift" or responsibility?

So, this very wise, God-led friend says, "I believe that if a church, or an organization, or even an individual is approached for funding for what is clearly a ministry, meant to honor God, and they make the decision based on available funds instead of whether or not they feel God has called them to do this, then they are being disobedeint to God. Therefore, the funding will come as God calls people into the organization to be a part of it in this way.

Wow! It really made me stop and completely rethink my approach. And, it completely confirmed and validated how I feel about the "funding" of Room For Joy, but have been unable to verbalize. If we give to an organization/ministry/church, based on whether or not we have put it into our budget instead of whether or not we feel called to do so, then we have completely left God out of the equation! When I am approached to consider giving, contributing or tithing, and my first response is to look at the $ amount in my checkbook, how am I honoring God? However, if my first response is to pray and ask God for guidance about whether or not He wants to use the my resources  for this purpose, completely knowing and trusting that ALL resources, financial and otherwise come from Him, then in the end, He gets the glory for that. Whew! Takes all the pressure off doesn't it? Imagine, being faithful enough to let God guide us and call us into the organizations, ministries and churches He wants us to give to and support. And, ultimately, if we believe God has called us to support something for the advancement of His kingdom, then surely He will provide the resources to do so and not moving forward in support would be disobedience! As Erwin McManus puts it...."Never underestimate how far God can take the momentum of what you feel is your nominal influence".

So, my prayer from here on out, regarding funds to support Room For Joy, is this; God, please send those people, companies, churches, into our path that you would want to use to grow this ministry and build your kingdom. Allow them the opportunity to be blessed and bless others by using their resources to support Room For Joy,  if that is what you have called them to do.

Have a blessed day!

So, there we are, living a completely different life, in just a matter of weeks! Our stint working and living as full time houseparents was one of the most rewarding and most challenging things I have ever done. We fell in love with the kids, made some lifelong friends, who are more like family and grew in our spiritual life by leaps and bounds. Wouldn't trade it for anything! And yet, less than a year into it, I knew in my heart this wasn't what God had in mind for me long term. I missed the creativity of design and really felt like my gift was utilizing my design experience in some way.

After we were at the children's home for about two years, our church began a series called "40 days of Purpose". As a church, we began to read Rick Warren's book "The Purpose Driven Life". Ok, time for a quick plug for this book! If you have never read this book, I can't recommend it highly enough. It literally transformed my life. So, anyway, we read the book, do the study that goes with it, and I begin to pray in a different way. I begin to ask God to show me what He would like to do with my life. Before, I spent alot of time praying for God to do this or do that FOR ME. I began to understand that I may not be the best one qualified out of the two of us, to decide what to do with my life. Maybe God had a better plan than I did and maybe if I let go of my control issues, He would direct me on a path that was better than my own. Go figure!

Around this time, I received an email from my sister about an organization in a different state that designed bedrooms for sick children. I know this sounds very dramatic, but I truly had a tingling sensation run through my body. I KNEW that this was the path God was going to send me on. Creating dream bedrooms for sick children was my mission.

The next two years are a series of stumbling blocks, brick walls and generally going nowhere fast. They were also a time of growing in faith, learning not only to depend upon God, but expecting Him to do amazing things. All of that continues to this day.

We got our federal tax exempt status in March 2006. We are an official 501(c)3 organization.

So that is the short version of the background of Room For Joy and how I got here. In future posts I would like to share some of the stories of kids and their families with you. I have encountered so many amazing people and feel compelled to introduce you to them. So, until next time:

Have a blessed day!
Tory

Room For Joy is the four year old, faith based (more on this later) non profit organization I began to make a difference in the world. We create dream bedrooms for chronically ill children, focussing on their individual wishes, needs and medical conditions. The kids are referred to us from local children's hospitals and are from families who are struggling financially and would be unable to provide a dream room for thier child on their own. As well as providing the rooms for the kids, when appropriate,we strive to connect them to local churches in the community for ongoing support.

How did you come to start this, you ask? It comes from my belief in a loving God, who can create amazing things out of pain, sorrow and strife, if we let Him. I was born with scoliosis, which is a fancy name for curvature of thes spine. For the majority of my childhood I was in and out of the hospital, fitted for braces and casts and eventually had corrective spinal surgery. By the time I turned 16 and got out of my final back brace, I had become a bitter, rebellious teenager. Besides the usual teenage craziness, I was making up for lost time and a frustrated childhood. Suffice to say, my parents were thankful when I moved out and launched into adulthood without any major incidents. As I look back, I can testify, for a fact, that God had guardian angels watching over me to protect me and keep me out of trouble!

Flash forward to the 90's: I am married to my highschool sweetheart, have two amazing daughters, went to design school and am working as an interior designer for a local company. I spent 10 years with the same company, helping to build a design business within the walls of a warehouse type of setting, training other designers, doing some design segments for a local women's magazine show, etc. etc. Don't want to bore you with my resume, just setting the stage as it helps put into perspective how I got where I am.

So! Working 40+ hours a week, raising kids, living the American Dream, right!? And yet, there was something missing. I know it is cliche, but I felt like a hamster on one of those exercise wheels. Working really hard, moving fast, but going nowhere with no purpose in life. In the late 90's my husband and our kids joined a local "mega church" that some friends recommended. We had been feeling like we needed a new church and wanted our girls to have God in their life. I hope I'm not losing you, but this part coming up is soooo important, as it is the catalyst for where I am now.

After attending this same church for several years, my husband and I both began to talk about walking away from our current life and doing something more meaningful than just "working to pay the bills". Don't get me wrong, we all know it's important to pay the bills, but we were neck deep in debt, living paycheck to paycheck, working longer hours and feeling like their was just no point to any of it. Around the same time, I had come in contact with a local children's home through my tv segment contacts, and after touring it, found myself very intrigued with their mission. Long story short-my husband and I went and interviewed with them to become houseparents. If I'm honest about it, we went out of curiosity more than anything. They offered us a position but we told them we owned a home that we had listed to sell for the last two years and the only way we could move there and accept a position was if our house sold. The director told us to pray about it. So, we prayed that if God really wanted us to move out there and become houseparents to 10 little boys, He would have to sell our house for us.

Just let me pause here and offer a word of advice: Don't ever challenge God with a prayer unless you are prepared to move into His will for you!!

Our house sold within two weeks. We sold most of our furniture and stuff (at the time our personal living quarters would consist of a very small two bedroom apartment and we lived in an 1800 sq.ft. house), stored our "valuable possessions, and packed up the essentials to move. We both quit our jobs as being a houseparent is a 24 hour a day, 7 days a week, year around responsibliity. It would end up taking every bit of energy and teamwork we could produce to do the job.

Ok, stay tuned until tomorrow, if you aren't bored to tears! Thanks for beginning this journey with me!

Blessings,
Tory