Pray for a house.

It was an average morning,
and I was driving to work.
In those days, I began my day with a question:
"Lord, what do you want me to do today?"

"I want you to start praying for a house."

That was sometime in the summer of 2005.
I didn't even write it in my journal.

Six months later,
that prayer began to get real.
God asked me to quit my job,
and start living by faith.

And a few months after that,
my friend Vinny Difilippo,
a successful artist and toy designer,
gave me a prophetic word
that I was going to do something
special with artists.
The rest,
as they say,
is history.

I learned a long time ago not to tell people
that I wanted a house for artists.
They immediately either thought I was a wild eyed dreamer,
a L'abri wannabe,
or a hippy.
I hate lentils.

Honestly,
the fact we have prayed for a house for 20 years
is a bit mind-blowing.
The house we prayed for
has turned out to be a real movement
of artists and creative people
looking for a city not made with hands.
In twenty years I learned who I was,
that what I was doing was valuable,
and I tried to create a place for artists and creative people to belong.

If we had gotten the house in Akron,
we would have become servants of the house,
rather than have a house to serve our calling.

The house was about the Friday emails,
fabulous dinner parties,
twelve books,
daily prayer,
and a lot of transformed lives--including mine.

A few years ago,
I let go of the dream.
When you let go of a dream
it often comes back and surprises you.

Right now I need some help before we can start receiving money.
I need a few key board members,
help with our online community,
and folks who can help put financial and legal structures in place.

Thanks for reading an extra email from me this week,
for your prayers,
and for walking with me on this great adventure.

If you are interested in helping out,
shoot me an email at belonginghouse@tuta.com.

He Never Fails,