Open House

What a whirlwind week!  The renovations went well, but as usual everything took longer than we had planned.  Inspections and weather put us two days later than we had hoped, but our contractor did a great job, and Brian and Joe got everything painted and decorated in record time! Thanks to my sister who came up for the week, our good friend Joe, and our teacher Sherry, we pulled it all together in time for the Open House on Friday.  We will need to work on the office and finish up some of the lessons in the classroom, but for the most part the room is all set and we are quite pleased with the results.

Thanks for some of your suggestions on marketing. We are more aggressive on the Internet and now that our signs are up we are getting more calls.  Here are a few pictures:

This looks a little cloudy, but Chris did a great job on the front doors!

Once inside, you are ready to enter the Children's House!  There is an area for visiting children.

This is a shot of the library

This is from the language area--looking into geography with art in the background

Part of the math area

The grammar area













We had a great time at the Open House and appreciate everyone who came out to see us!

Suggestions welcome

Marketing is an interesting thing.  There are so many options and so little money. People need to know that we exist.We have a pretty specific target audience and a clear vision   The classroom will be stunningly beautiful, the materials are amazing, the teachers are so dedicated and excellent, the curriculum is proven, but we must "get the word out".

Last month we did a quarter page (expensive) ad in a local magazine and only got one email response; yesterday I learned why:  we printed the wrong phone number!!  I couldn't believe that I missed that--I approved the copy that had an 8 not a 5.  The upside is that I spoke with the very gracious lady whose number we did print and she assured me there had been several calls--but of course she did not know the correct number to give them.  Ugh, I can't believe this, but it is done and now I must move on.

We do have another ad coming out in a "state of the schools" annual publication, but it won't be distributed until early August.  We also have a tentative date for an Open House, and we need alot of people to attend, but I am not sure the most cost effective way to let people know about it.

Theater ads would be great, but much more expensive than what we can afford.

We have a working relationship with a very talented, local photographer, www.ananchel.com and they will invite their clients and even give a discount coupon to all who attend.  What are some other ways we can let people know about our school?  I appreciate any suggestions you have.  We know there are children near us who are struggling with learning and who have lost their self confidence.  Our school CAN help them.  Would you please help us let them know?  Please comment here if you have any suggestions.  Our website is www.mchnf.org.

Lastly, if you missed the last post, we urgently need prayers for this Tuesday morning, June 29.  We need our plans to be reviewed and passed so we can start construction on the renovations Thursday morning, July 1.  Thanks so much!

Riding the Roller Coaster

Sometimes the ups and downs of living a life of faith are like riding a roller coaster--exciting, thrilling, terrifying, and can make one's stomach do awful things. This week has been like that.  The high points include knowing that we are only a few days away from taking possession of the leased space, talking with some great potential parents, meeting an amazing teacher who wants to support and encourage us, and finalizing the furniture order.  But the lows were pretty deep and twisted. When our contractor went to the county office to begin pulling permits he was told we needed the Architect to draw new plans and they could not review them until July 20th; this is almost three weeks later than our "countdown to opening" schedule!

I have said over and over that this whole project is a result of God's prompting and not only do we depend on Him "to meet all of our needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus", but we want to make sure that everyone who even hears of us will know that it is His school.  We pray that things will happen in such a way that ONLY God can get the Glory.  He continues to answer that prayer by placing obstacles in our path that require divine intervention!  We need our plans to be reviewed, THIS Tuesday and we need them to be passed--we are on our knees with anticipation.  I did speak to the man at the planning office with whom I had met a few months ago and pleaded my case. He said he would "see what He could do" and I was thinking 'great' and I will see what God will do! :)

On a more personal note, our family enjoyed a wonderful visit with family in California--the time went too quickly.  Edgar's dad is fading fast; he is in the last stages of cancer and at this point we are praying for a peaceful and painless ending.  We are reminded again that ALL things are under His control.

I don't really like roller coasters, I tend to be more of a carousel kind of girl, but I am so thankful that at least I know Who is at the controls on this ride I am on!  As always, your prayers and support mean more than you will ever know--thanks for journeying with us!!

More than just decorations

As the beginning of summer approaches, marked not so much by the June 21 date on the calendar as by this Memorial Day weekend, we have spent a little time at our house decorating.  My daughter was helping me put out the red, white, and blue flowers, the stars and stripes table runners, and several other nick knacks I always bring out at this time, she said, "Mom, why do you do this?"  It reminded me that patriotism is not automatic--we must teach it to our children and take every opportunity to remind them of our Christian heritage as well as the fact that while we are at the pool and enjoying a picnic this weekend, men and women, many only babes themselves, are across the ocean fighting for our freedom.

My dad served in WWII and rarely talked about the atrocities he witnessed, he made sure we knew to stand at attention and salute the flag whenever it passed and to hold our hand over our hearts when we were at a public gathering and the national anthem was played.  Not too many people do that anymore and it is very sad. We must certainly teach the facts of history but we must also instill the pride and passion on which our nation was founded.

This week as I have talked to several parents about enrolling their children in our school, I had the opportunity to discuss parts of our curriculum, I was thankful to be able to tell them that in addition to all of the wonderful Montessori materials we have to teach Math, Language, Science, Geography, and History, we will also teach Bible and patriotism!

A little school update:  yes we have talked with several parents and have enrolled some boys and girls this week.  Some of the students will benefit from the SB10 scholarship fund and some have been home schooled and will need some divine intervention to help with tuition.  We are telling everyone we know who lives in GA about the tax credit which is a win-win for the donor will certainly help our scholarship fund for all our students.  It is our prayer that every student who want to enroll will be able to do so.

Please do continue to pray for God to send us the students He wants to be with us and for Him to fill our school with those 21 children by the end of June.  God reminds me almost daily, that He is in control and that He is working things out in His time, but I am still impatient!  Your prayers are greatly appreciated!

I also met with the contractor and discussed the additional bathroom and petition we need to have.  Of course it will cost more than we had budgeted, but we are hoping to be under contract and have him
begin pulling the permits by the middle of June.  We take possession of space July 1 and hope to have all the renovations completed by July 10 so we can set up the classroom!  We finalized the order for the furniture and will lace the order in time for everything to arrive about July 10 also.

I hope you have a wonderful and safe weekend.  I hope you have time with family and friends, and I hope you take some time to remember why this is Memorial Day.

To God Be the Glory

This week has been so exciting as we have seen God at work in so many ways.  To see our school name really on the list of approved schools for SB10 monies was so exciting, but there have been many other ways God is showing His faithfulness!

We continue to have Montessori teachers apply to work with us, and we are continuing to pray about hiring one of them or sending someone to training that starts in a few weeks.  We need to have clarity on that soon.

Our one teacher began her distance Montessori training this week and she and I visited a very interesting Montessori preschool that works with special needs children.  The school is about an hour away and is directed by an wonderful Christian lady with whom I felt an instant kinship.  She spent a lot of time with us and we learned about HANDLE and are so excited to learn more.  (see www.handle.org for more info).  It is an amazing method, being used around the world to help children with brain function disorders. We think God has some plans for us to use this approach with our students in some way and to work with this delightful lady somehow.

We also launched our Facebook Friend page and have about 60 friends.  We will add news there and hopefully some pictures soon.

We also answered all the questions regarding our 501 c 3 application, we hope, and will get that in the mail this week.

Edgar and I had an interesting conversation this week; he is the practical provider.  It went something like this:

Edgar--"So you already signed the lease on the building right?"
Me--"Yes, we had to do that for our SB10 application April 1".
Edgar--"For one year or two?"
Me--"For two--that is the least they would accept."
Edgar--"And you have hired at least one teacher?"
Me--"Yep"
Edgar--"How are we going to pay for that if we don't have students?"
Me--"We are going to pay for it the way we have always planned--with tuition money."
Edgar--"How many students do we have now?"
Me--"We have one so far, Ryan, and his scholarship covers his entire tuition."
Edgar--"So how are we going to pay the bills?"  (tone of voice becoming a little more intense)
Me--"We are going to pay for it the way we have always planned--with tuition money."
Edgar--"But you just said we only have one student, our son!"
Me--"This is true, but it is only the 2nd week of May, I have asked God for a full enrollment by the end of June, and a waiting list by mid July--(I'm going for the 12 baskets left over!!)"
Edgar, shaking his head--"Okay."

It may appear as if i have blind faith--maybe I do, I am not sure.  I do know I have Faith.  Today our pastor, Andy Stanley, preached part 5 of his series Guardrails and it was regarding money.  It was not only a great message, but a wonderful confirmation that God is our Source for everything including the students we need to pay the bills for our school!  I have consistently asked God that if He wants us to open this school He would do it in such a way that it would be completely obvious that only HE could accomplish it.  I promised to be careful to give Him ALL the glory--Seems to me He is right on track!  Praise God!!

GREAT NEWS

Today we submitted additional paper work to the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship committee and we were APPROVED!!  This is such wonderful news and a miraculous answer to prayer.  Now those students who are currently enrolled in a public school and have and IEP Individual Educational Plan can receive scholarship funds if they choose to enroll in our program!!  This has been a long and tedious process, but so worth the effort.  Thank you for praying for us and for continuing to ask God to lead the 21 children HE wants to be in our school to enroll.

Marching Around the Walls--Lap 5

The last couple of weeks have been such a blur and and mixture of great excitement mixed with tremendous anxiety.  The new materials I ordered have come in, I spent two days visiting local up-scale childcare centers handing out our new brochures, we are driving around town with magnetic signs on our cars, and we assembled 25 enrollment packets.  My dreams are filled with classroom set up and we even purchased a couple of zoo toobs to set up some history lessons and story starters.  God has been so faithful in providing the place we wanted and the staff we need.  We have interviewed with a couple of other teachers and are feeling really good about our staff.  The third part of the puzzle; however, is not yet falling into place.  We really need students!

We have interviewed with a half dozen prospective parents and our school is really just what they are looking for, but no applications have come in yet.  I feel like Joshua marching around the walls of Jericho.  I know is not day 7 yet, but I am not seeing any indication that the walls are going to fall.  I keep looking for cracks, but all I get is an occasional pebble falling down.  It is times like this when the enemy really wants me to doubt:  did God really call us to do this at this time?  Is He really going to provide the students?  Are we really going to be able to make budget?  Are we going to get the scholarship funds?  Am I going to look extremely foolish to have tried to open a business in this economy?

I do believe know that God asked to to open this school in this place at this time and I am confident that He will provide exactly the 21 students who He wants to be here--I just wish He would give me an idea of who they might be!!  I have always asked for three basic things:  a place, a staff, and students.  He has provided first two already!  Our Big Idea in Upstreet last month was Trust and this month it is Patience--God does have a great since of humor!  Now for some great news!

Taffy was here and we served at the Orange Conference--while she was here we also visited Buckhead School Uniforms and selected our school uniforms--we will have Navy and Khaki skorts, shorts, and slacks.  The shirts will be Hunter green, light blue, and yellow!    Also, we partnered with Apogee to accept GA Tax Credit funds for our students' scholarships.  Please check out all the great information on that at our website--especially if you live in GA.  Today I am hopefully finishing up all the paperwork needed to submit our 501 c 3 application, and most importantly, I am talking one more time to the lady who heads the Special Needs Scholarship Program.

This brings us back to our most urgent prayer request.  We have 3 potential students who would love to enroll, but they must have the scholarship funds to do so.  The GA Senate is over for this session, and we were not able to get any assistance from the Senator's office--I am not fully convinced that the young girl trying to help us really understood the problem.  Right now our accountant is working on a projected profit/loss statement along with documentation from our coffee business to allow that business to sponsor the school--all in an effort to prove our financial viability to become a qualified school so the students who are eligible to receive the Special Needs scholarships can enroll with us.

I have consistently prayed that God would work such a miracle in allowing us to open this school that only He could receive the Glory.  We are in the final few days now to get our school approved and we need that miracle NOW, so please pray that hearts would be softened and the committee would approve us--we have one week before the final vote.

We are marching, we are praying, and we are EXPECTING walls to fall!

Let the little children come!

This week our website launched and we are so proud of it--the guys at Blue Tangerine Solutions did a great job, as usual.  Check it out and let me know what you think  www.mchnf.org !  We have magnetic signs on our cars and the big wooden sign goes up in the yard--at the school site--this morning.  The business cars and brochures should be ready on Monday.  We are asking EVERYONE to earnestly pray that God will send the 21 students He wants to be enrolled this fall and that He will provide a way for them financially so they can attend.

We have had a few discussions with a young girl at the Senator's office and are not totally convinced she understands the process and the battle we are up against, but have sent another letter to the Special Needs Scholarship Committee in an effort to gain approval for the children who qualify for that program.  We appreciate your prayers for that effort also as it will make a HUGE difference and in some cases a defining difference for some potential students to enroll.  The basic problem we are having is proving financial viability since we are not yet in operation and cannot produce a three month profit/loss statement.  If you know any creative CPA's who could help, please let me know!!

In addition to the great study in Esther that has been so meaningful in this process, I am also reading a book by Priscilla Shirer entitled One in a Million.  In this book she challenges us to be the one in a million who is totally controlled by God's leadership and uses the story of the Israelites' journey from Egypt to the Promise Land as the backdrop.  The fact that they spent 40 years in the wilderness before arriving at the land of milk and honey is a challenge to draw close to God during the desert experience and not to wander.  I know that the next few weeks of being TOTALLY dependent upon God to provide the students could be a time of wilderness, but I am praying for peace in my spirit and quiet confidence that "He who began a good work  will see it through to completion".  I know that "He is able to do IMMEASURABLY more than we ask or imagine".  From the beginning, we have asked that God work in such miraculous ways through this entire process that only He could receive the Glory and providing the students will certainly be something only He can accomplish!

Thank you again for your words of encouragement and for your prayers.  I am so excited to for the children who will be freed from the discouragement of traditional education and standardized testing and will become self confident and find joy in learning.  With God's guidance we will provide Exceptional Christian Education for Exceptional Students!!

For Such a Time as This?

As I said in my last post, we got our application to the Special Needs Scholarship committee turned in 24 hours early.  We felt really good about our application, until I got an email at 1:30 on April 1st.  By the time I was able to speak with the lady at the committee to learn exactly why we were denied, we had less than 2 hours to send in an amended application.  The real problem is that it appears the system is designed to not allow new schools to qualify.  


We knew from the beginning that they would be looking for us to be financially viable--what we didn't know was that the only documents they would accept are documents that we cannot produce until we have been in business for at least three months!  The other real problem is that if they do not approve us this year, any children who enroll in our school this year will never be able to receive their scholarship because the law states that the student must be enrolled in a public school the year preceding the year they apply for the scholarship. This is really unfair and discriminating, we feel.  We know that many of our students will not qualify for or need the scholarship, but we also know there a some that want to enroll but will not be able to attend without it.


Our Board has written a four page rebuttal to this decision and are fervently praying that the committee will reconsider.  We have even suggested that they grant us a provisional approval the first year which would protect the students: they could get their  scholarship this year and if we are not approved then the second year they could stay with us and lose their scholarship or change schools and keep it. Because of my study of Esther this semester, I has occurred to me that perhaps God will use our situation to set a precedent for other new schools. And who knows but that we have come to this position for such a time as this? We have a good friend who is related to our state senator and he discussed our situation with him today and gave him our rebuttal to review.  He told our friend that he would look into it and see what he could do this week!


So, again, I ask you to PRAY!!  First of all that we, like Esther, are careful to be respectful of the authorities in place and not offend them.  Most importantly, we pray that everything we say and do will Glorify God and be an example of Christ's love. We also pray that the Senator will carefully read the rebuttal and successfully intervene on our behalf.  Lastly, we do pray that the hearts of the committee will be changed and we will be accepted as a school eligible to receive Special Needs Scholarships and that God will provide all the students we need to pay all of our bills and be a financially viable school!!


Thank you for all of your prayers and encouraging words.  We KNOW that God is in the center of this entire project and that He is in control!  Our scripture this week is Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Holy Week--when God did the unthinkable

An amazing week.  It has only been two weeks since my last post, but so much has happened I hardly know where to begin.  My most overriding emotion is gratitude--to many of you who have faithfully prayed, to our Board and good friends who have worked hard, and most importantly to God for His faithfulness.  April 1 is the deadline to have our completed application in to the Georgia Dept. of Education to be a school eligible to accept SB10 scholarship recipients.  One of the biggest challenges to this application was getting the location for our school--documented by a Certificate of Occupancy and a signed lease.  The CO was quite challenging as it required several inspections, the installation of a fire alarm system, and the business license.  The tricky thing is that a church is meeting in the same space for the next 3 months and they needed to be approved also.  All this to say--it is done!!!  We sent the completed application in yesterday, with 24 hours to spare!

From the beginning we asked God for a place, a staff, and students.  Well, now it is time to start enrolling students, which is also a little challenging since we need to have at least 15, of the 21 total, enrolled by June 1 and we won't have a classroom to show anyone until about July 15th.  So again, we ask your prayers for God to select the 21 children He wants to bring to our school--the ones we can truly help.  The website should be live in about a week, which is about the time the business cards, the tri-fold brochure, the magnetic car signs, and the big wooden yard sign should be ready.

This next week we hope to finalize our 501 c 3 application, sign off on the insurance, and finalize the staff handbook.  We are also finalizing the design for the build-out that needs to be done the first week of July--it is going to look so amazing!  God has done so much in the last three months, and believe me, only He could have accomplished all of this!

But this is Holy Week, the time we stop to remember the incredible love of our Savior and the unthinkable sacrifice He made on our behalf.  I am once again overwhelmed by what that means. I pray that you will find the time in your busy day to pause and remember and to give thanks--not just for the way He daily answers our prayers blesses us beyond measure, but for the fact that He chose to love and forgive us when we were all so unlovable and so unforgivable.  Have a Blessed Easter--we are indeed blessed!

Timing is everything

This week in our Beth Moore Bible study on Esther we are to the point in the story where Queen Esther stands before the king and He extends his scepter allowing her to speak, and to live!   We learned about the importance of her fasting for 3 days before entering the court, but also how odd it was that when she had the chance to reveal her enemy for his evil plot she chose to wait.  There was a long discussion of why she waited, but we came away understanding the importance of timing.  We were reminded that "those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength", but also that those who wait upon the event, or the relationship, or the thing--will lose their strength!  That was profound for me, as I feel I have been waiting for so many things that are out of my control, and it was making me weary.

As I began to change my focus, and wait upon the Lord, trusting that He is in control and He is the God of the details as well as the God of the Dream, my anxiety lessened, and my strength was renewed.  Many things have come together this week and I am more confident that we will achieve the goals and meet the impending deadlines.

Our teacher "A" has worked out the details to join us part time and has a peace about it--Praise God!  We met with landlords and pretty much came to an agreement to lease the space we need.  The required improvements should be completed on time.  We opened a bank account, sent all of the necessary information to our account to complete the compilation report needed, secured our domain (www.mchnf..org), discussed business card design with the printer, assembled the binders to submit for accreditation and application to GA Dept of Ed for Special Needs Scholarship--only a few items to go to complete it.  We have our first Board Meeting scheduled for this week, and will hopefully get an approval from the insurance underwriters.

It is exciting to see so many things come together, in just the right time.  We see God's hand in providing two of the three main things we asked for from the beginning--the staff, the location, and now it is time to begin recruiting the students.  Please continue to pray as we have more important decisions to make and important work to be completed before March 25.  I will try to do better at updating this blog.

Blessings to all

Exceptional Christian Education for Exceptional Children

This has been a relatively peaceful week; I feel your prayers and thank you.  Not alot has changed in the last few days, but I believe we are on course.  We are still awaiting news that our "teacher a" will be able to work part time at her school and part time for us.  We need to be ready to sign a lease on the building within the next few days.  We are working on a packet to submit when we apply for accreditation.  We cannot be fully accredited until we are operational, but we just need a letter from the consultant stating that we are in the process.

We filed the papers for incorporation, so we are official!  Montessori Children's House of North Forsyth.  We almost have all of our board members--so excited for the great team God has assembled, and soooo ready to have a few more people reviewing and editing my work.  I got the rough draft of the 501(c)(3) application and thankful that the company who filed the incorporation papers will also assist in completing this 28 page form and file it!  We need to tweak the rough draft of the by-laws, but that should be very doable, especially with the assistance of some talented Board members!

A friend is working on our logo.  I took the old one I had in 1980 and she is going to modernize it a little.  I found the jump drive containing all the documents I created at my last job (Thank you, Jesus!) including the Staff Handbook, the Parent Handbook, and quite a collection of forms.  This is making my task sooo much easier.  In about 2 hours I had the Parent Handbook ready for Board review.  I will work on the Staff Handbook this weekend.

Today in Bible Study, (Beth Moore/Esther) Beth had us think about our greatest fears and how they can be so crippling if we let the enemy keep threatening us with the worst case scenario.  She challenged us to say "If (worst case scnario) happens, then GOD will still be on His throne and still take care of us!  I believe now, more than ever that we are called to open this school at this time and in this place for His Glory, IF this is not the case, He is still God and we will remain in His Grip.
Praying expectantly

Getting closer, but still a long way to go

It has been a few days and sooooo much has happened.  First of all let me say I can tell you all are praying and I really appreciate it!  Of course someone out there is praying for me to have patience, and when I find out who it is they are dead meat! :)

There have also been a few questions, and since I often get ahead of myself let me clarify the deadlines we are facing:  Because we have a very specific target audience--children who have been in the public system and have a current IEP because they can get free scholarship money to attend "eligible" schools--we must be an eligible school to insure a full class.  In order to be an eligible school we have to have our completed application in to the school board by April 1.  The application has to include the Certificate of Occupancy of the space in which we will be meeting, the resume's of the teachers, the proof that we are in the process of accreditation, and proof of financial viability.  There are many components to this process and they are all lined up like dominoes!

Now for this week's report:  we still do not know if we can lease the space we want, but it is looking much more favorable in our direction.  I spent some serious time with the landlords and the fire marshall this week, and I think as soon as I can go to the landlords with a real offer, they will accept it.

So disappointed that we might not get "teacher a", but trying to be open to whatever God wants, I put a small ad online to try and find a teacher.  I got three replies--2 international and one local.  I met with the one who is local and found her to be delightful!  She does not have an elementary ed degree, but does have a BS in liberal arts with a minor in psychology.  She has home schooled, worked in a couple of Christian elementary schools, and done extensive tutoring.  She is not Montessori trained, but has always been intrigued by Montessori and is willing to take the online course.  Her philosophy is very similar to mine and I think she would be a great fit!  I still think we need "teacher a" because she does have an elementary ed degree with a specialty in special ed and almost nine years experience.

Now for the really exciting part--if I hired the lady who is local, "teacher b", full time and could get "teacher a" part time I think it would work.  "Teacher a" and I talked about this option and she said if that were possible she would know with clarity that this is what God wants her to do.  She has really struggled with this decision as she believes to strongly in what we are trying to do and wants to be a part of it, but she is one year away from her long time goal of being vested and does not feel God wants her to give that up.  At any rate, she spoke with her principal to see if she would hire her part time next year.  This would allow her to complete her required 10th year in the system to be vested, and also let her work with us.  At first the principal said "no", but then said, "Let me work on it"!!! So needless to say we are so excited that this could be the win-win for everyone that we have been praying for.

The best part of all is that after several stressful days and nights, both "teacher a" and I have a peace that God is working things out and He has reminded us how trustworthy He is.  We still can't totally trace His hand in every detail, but we do trust His heart.  We are more confident than ever in the vision for helping children and offering exceptional Christian education for exceptional children at this time and in this place.

Thank you so much for your prayers--please continue to pray for God to guide each step and for us to clearly see what He wants us to do.  And if you are the one praying for us to have patience, please--quit it!!! :)

Decisions, decisions

We had a great weekend in Charleston with family and I let my mind relax a little as I continued to ask God to clearly reveal the next steps, if any.  We have had some very positive and encouraging things to happen.

Most excitedly (is that a word?), is the fact that Sunday afternoon I got a call from the owner of the place we originally wanted to lease.  As it turns out, the church is meeting in the space, but no contracts have been signed, and the owners really feel our school would be a better fit, so they wanted to know if we were still interested!!  This is the end unit of the building where hundreds of children with special needs come for therapy sessions each week.  They offer physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, etc.  One of the owners who is Ryan's therapist, told me this week she has at least six students who are very interested in enrolling!  Even better news is that they will do the renovations necessary to meet the fire code and although I would need to sign the lease soon so that I could get the Certificate of Occupancy before April 1, there is a possibility the church would continue to meet there until I needed to move in, July 1st.  This would give the church additional time to find another location and would help me as paying rent for 5 months before we have any income is a bummer.

I also have heard from six of the eight people we asked to be on the Board and five have agreed to do so!  The team is looking great as there is a diverse mix of people with varied expertise.

A lady called me and asked if I would be interested in doing some infant/toddler Montessori teacher education for her.  This would be an on going, part time job doing what I love!  It would be a way to earn some serious money for the school and would be very doable as I have done it several times before and have what I need--God provides!

The only real obstacle, and it is huge, is that our original teacher still feels she cannot commit to this.  I am very saddened as I know she would be perfect for the job.  I have listed the job through a couple of Montessori job search websites and spent a couple of hours reading resume's.  I emailed one girl who showed promise, but I do not have any peace about hiring someone I do not know.  I have spent a pretty sleepless night praying and thinking.

It is critical that when we open, we are a huge success for several reasons:  most importantly because this a venture of faith.  I know that God is directing all of this and His name is all over it in every way.  He must be glorified in all that is done.  It is also critical for children as it is a big step for parents to remove them from a public system, even a broken one, and move them to our school.  We must make a huge difference in their lives, and that responsibility lies directly on the shoulders of the lead teacher.  I know that this has been a difficult decision for "teacher A" but I am confused that she is getting one message, to stay where she is, and I am getting an opposite message:  she needs IS the teacher.

Our immediate prayer request is complete clarity.  I will need to give an answer regarding the building this week and I cannot sign a lease without the right teacher in place.  If I do not sign the lease, they will offer it to the church and that space is lost.  I am also running out of time to meet the April 1 deadline, so PLEASE take a few minutes now and ask God to clearly shut this down or to make His will abundantly clear as to who is to teach for us if we are to open this fall.  Thank you so much for your prayers!

Prayer

This was on Ragamuffin Soul's blog yesterday, but it so captures where my heart is today that I stole it.  I hope you will have the courage to pray this over whatever situation you find yourself and I really hope you will pray it for me.


My Lord God
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following
your will does not mean
that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that my desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope that I have that desire
in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything
apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this
you will lead me by the right road
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always
though I may seem to be lost
and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear,
for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me
to face my perils alone.
- Thomas Merton (1915-1968)

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Today has been a difficult day.  Several important things have changed and that could have a major impact on the ability to open the school this fall.  I am trying to not be discouraged, as I must trust this is all part of His plan, but I am confused and not quite sure what to do next.  Let me elaborate.

First of all, as I said at the beginning, I have been preparing for some time to be ready in case God leads us to open a school again, but I have not tried to manipulate anything. So, when Ryan's teacher said she had been giving great thought to leaving her job and helping me provide an environment for him and other kids in his situation, I felt this was perhaps a nudge from God.  Then when so many other things feel into place so easily, it seemed apparent this was THE time.  I (and many of you, thank you) have been faithfully praying for God's leading each step of the way, and I trust He is leading, even today.

Today, our teacher told me she has decided not to move ahead with us, and although she believes in what we want to do, she is unable to be our teacher.  While I certainly do not ever want anyone to do something unless that is what they feel God wants them to do, I thought we were past this.  I am saddened on many levels because if she is not the one, then the chances of some of the other student's at Ryan's school who we had hoped would join us, probably will not.  This means that we will need to look harder for students and more importantly that Ryan will not have any of his friends move with him next year.  I am struggling with understanding this since we are well into the process.

Secondly, we are facing an approaching deadline that could be very difficult.  In order to have the school eligible to receive the scholarship funds we must have our completed application in no later than 5:00 pm on Thursday, April 1, 2010.  There is one part of the application that seems impossible at this point:  we must have a signed Certificate of Occupancy.  This gives us less than 2 months for the architect and the site engineer to finish their drawings, the owner/builder to bid the renovations, the bank to approve our mortgage, and all of the work to be completed!  The really frustrating thing is that the meeting to approve our application will not take place until May 13th, so the application will sit there for 6 weeks, but we cannot submit it unless it is totally complete on April 1--no exceptions.

So......we have already paid the architect a sizable deposit--do we have him just stop?  We are not sure where to begin to recruit a teacher and have no one "in the wings".  What does this mean?  Is God putting the brakes on this all together or is this a test to see if we are willing to hang tough?  I really don't know, and would really appreciate your prayers.

Did I mention that we sent letters to all potential Board members this weekend?  We also completed most of the paper work to file for incorporation--do we go ahead and submit it, along with the $1500 fee?  I am just not sure and would really appreciate clarity.  Also, as a side note, I almost didn't share all this lest we appear as a failure before we even get off the ground, but that would seem to really be hypocritical; we have shared all of the good things, and so it seems we must also share the bad and the ugly.  This is where we are--sure wish we had the Board of advisors now!!

February 4th

Thirty years ago today I opened Montessori Children's House on Merritt Island--what a long time ago--I don't FEEL that old.  In some ways it seems like just yesterday.  I had worked for my Bible College professor in Kansas in the little school she opened.  I saw all the work that she did and I spent two years getting to the little church building before dawn on Monday morning to set up the school.  Then I stayed late on Friday to pack it all up.  Those were long days, but I was young and it worked.  The children taught me so much and my professor, Betty, taught me so much.  When I moved back to FL I was sad to leave, but vowed to never open my own school--it was just too much work!

When I got back to Florida I worked several part time jobs, including doing some substitute teaching in some of the local elementary schools.  I saw some amazing teachers and some precious children.  I also saw many worn out, over worked and underpaid teachers who had no joy.  The "system" had drained from them the ideals and dreams that first inspired them to teach.  They were not bad people, they just lost their motivation to give their best and it was the children who paid the price.  Day after day I saw children whose eyes were once filled with curiosity and excitement gradually glaze over and they lost their self confidence.  I remember the day I came home and told my parents, "Even if I do everything wrong, I can do better than this."

Seventeen years ago today I had the honor of beginning my Montessori birth to three training--that was life changing.  Rachel was just a toddler herself and I learned so much.  Since that time I have not only opened several infant and toddler classes.  I have also been blessed to teach adult students some of the amazing things I learned.  This day early in February has significance for me in my Montessori career.

I believe opening a Montessori for older children who learn differently is what we are supposed to be doing at this time.  I don't have all the answers, we don't have all the funds, and I am not totally convinced that we have found the location.  I do know that there are children, my son included, whose eyes are beginning to glaze over and who are losing their self confidence, and even if I do everything wrong, I can do better than this, and I must.

Yesterday was a very busy day!  I talked to my accountant to discuss getting on with filing our incorporation papers and filing for our 501 (c) 3 status with the IRS.  I knew this was an involved process and was prepared to put in the time necessary; I did not know how expensive it is!  For Pete's sake we are non profit, that means we don't have an extra $100,000 lying around to fund this project!!  Well, it is not that much, but it will cost about $2500 for him to do the work and then the IRS can take a year to tell you if they accept your application.  He suggested I do more internet research before I contract with him.

To make a long story short, I spent several hours researching, viewing sample bylaws--the writing of which is a big part of the process, and praying about approaching potential Board members.  I learned alot and think we will use a different, faster, a little less expensive, service to incorporate, but we must do that today! We also decided we are not ready to hire the grant coaching/writing service yet.  They, too are expensive, but until we have our status approved by the IRS our chances of getting funding are very slim.

Edgar and I talked again about how much more work this is to rent and renovate the house as opposed to locating a place to lease that would require much less work.  We feel the house is the best location, but determined to drive around a bit more and just look for a place to lease.  We then reviewed our commitment to this venture and our motive for doing it.

It is true that I feel this is my "life's work" and I have a strong passion for doing this well--I also have a basement filled with Montessori materials that really need to be used!  The real urgency for this though is our son.  Ryan is an amazing little boy whom we adopted late in our life.  Most of our friends have grandchildren his age, but we love him so much and are so grateful to have him!  He is struggling in school and I feel we can, and must do better for him.  We don't care if he makes great grades, we just want him to reach his God-given potential and feel great about himself.  He is on the Autism spectrum but we refuse to let that define him.  He learns differently and we praise God for those differences.  He should not be forced to remain in a system that requires he be measured against children who learn conventionally.  Scripture teaches that we should "train up a child the way he should go..."  The idea being that we should give support and structure to the personality, and development God intended.  He has two more years of elementary school and we must to everything in our power to make sure he can be successful.

Okay, I will get down from my soapbox, but I say this to say we are absolutely committed to opening a program this fall and are confident God will show us where it is to be and how we will do it.  For now I am working on the bylaws and a letter to invite Board members who share our passion and are willing to help us accomplish it.

One last note--the owner of the 7 acres called me to see what we thought about the property.  He also mentioned that a church was looking at it too!!!!!  I asked God what in the world He was thinking, (God and I go way back; He is not offended when I question Him).  I am reminded:  one step at a time, one step at a time.   This post should give you some specifics to pray about, and if any of you have suggestions/experience regarding the non profit filing and bylaws I would love to hear from you!

Some professional assistance

As it turns out the little house around the corner is charming.  It does need some renovations but it is almost across the street from the elementary school, which means advertising to our target audience would be greatly simplified.  It is also zoned correctly, sits on an acre of land, and is about a mile from my house---sweet.

Today I spent most of the day with the architect, the fire inspector, the folks at planning and zoning, and the realtor.  This house is very doable, but we had to hire an architect to draw plans as the house was built in 1936, and we will need to add a bathroom and open up a few walls.   We will also need to hire an engineer for the site plan.  The owners of the house are custom builders and will give us a bid on doing the required work.  We are hoping they will do most of the work at cost so that they can sell the house and we can include the cost of renovations in the mortgage--feel free to add any and all of that to your prayer lists for us!

I believe that private schools should be accountable to an outside agency.  The preschools I have directed or owned have always been licensed and often won awards.  We want to have our elementary program accredited by the Georgia Accrediting Commission.  This will not only give credibility to our program, but more importantly, it will allow us to accept SB10 Scholarship money from our parents.  This will not only be of great value to our parents, but will virtually assure us a full class.

We moved to GA in the summer of 2006 and in the spring of 2007 our Govenor signed SB10 into law; he signed it on my birthday. :)  This is designed for children with special needs who have been in the public school system and have an active IEP for at least one year.  Should they decide to enroll their child in a private school, they are eligible for scholarship funds from the state--funds which will continue through the 12th grade!  The interesting thing is that schools must qualify to receive the scholarships, but they do NOT have to do anything to accommodate the needs of the student!!  In order to qualify, the school must be accredited and complete all of the paperwork for the scholarships correctly.  We can qualify as a non-traditional program, but by July 1, 2013 we must have a campus that is at least 4 acres.

So, while the architect was here we walked the 7 acres that we found two weeks ago--did I not mention that yet?  Oh yeah, God is just showing Himself faithful in so many ways.  We were driving on a road near our shop that we travel all the time, but just noticed a little "for sale by owner" sign. The 7 acres are about 5 miles from the house and the owner will finance the property! Since we know we have only 3 years to build on at least 4 acres, this was an unexpected blessing!  It is in a great location and the architect walked it today with us and felt was a great property--flat enough but with some great trees!  Not sure how we are going to finance two properties at once, but we are taking this one step at a time.

Lastly we are supposed to sign with a grant writer/coach tonight.  It is exciting, scary, fun, and amazing watching God orchestrate this amazing adventure!  Thanks for your prayers!

Never presume anything!

Almost 18 months ago we were all set to open a small Montessori preschool program.  The typical model of Montessori schools is that a single preschool room opens and as the waiting list grows, another class is opened.  Then parents love the program and want their children to continue in Montessori, so a lower elementary class is started, and/or they have younger siblings so a Toddler program is added.  This was our plan also.

We found the "perfect" location as it is in a great location--highly visible from a major highway and in a building where occupational services are offered to children--so it gets alot of traffic from families.  We spent time checking with all the local officials and did a budget, a floor plan, etc., and all was going great until we got the Environmental Health office.  It seems this relatively new building was built on a small piece of land and does not have a sewer system.  Since preschools require a lot of sinks and toilets and the septic field was already at maximum capacity we were stopped in our tracks!  Very disappointing but we took it as a clear indication that this was either not the time, not the place, or neither.

A few weeks ago as it became more clear that we needed to start with an elementary program, we went back to the "perfect" space we wanted to lease--it has set new, unoccupied for almost 3 years.  This time, because we were talking about older children, the bathroom was no longer an issue--yeah!  We got permission for 15 students and 2 adults.  We were so excited and called the  landlord to hear these words, "Oh, I wish you would have called sooner--we are signing a contract with a church this weekend to lease that space."  Wow!  I  was really surprised and had a flashback to a very difficult time in my life 22 years earlier.

In 1980 I opened the first Montessori school in Brevard County, FL.  The school began in my home church in a rented space, and in 1983 I built a building for 100 children.  When Edgar and I met in 1986 and decided to get married, I knew I would need to sell the school.  We had two groups who wanted to buy it.  Both groups promised to keep the staff and students; one was a couple whose child was enrolled in the school, the other was the church to whom I had been leasing the school to on the weekends.  The church had an investor who was out of the country but who had pledged to front the money when he got back in town before the end of the school year.  Both were good offers, but we wanted to support the church so we accepted their offer and the parents invested their money elsewhere.

Two weeks prior to the closing the investor came to town and decided he didn't want the church to own our building and he withdrew his offer.  To say this created a huge amount of stress is an incredible understatement!  I won't recount the entire story, but suffice it to say it was a difficult time. Now, I certainly do not want to have our school anywhere but where God wants it to be, but this thing with churches is a bit unnerving!

Believing that we are supposed to open this fall with an elementary program, we sent back to our knees and asked God for the next step.  This was on a Thursday.  Friday afternoon Edgar came home and said, "Hey, what do you think about that little house just around the corner?  It is for sale and I think we should go look at it."  So we did.....stay tuned.

Something is going on

While waiting to see if God was going to ask me to open a school, I was busy doing all I knew to do--I think I mentioned a few of those things in my last post.  The really surprising thing is that all the while I had a real peace about the whole waiting thing.  I seriously was not anxious or impatient, just peaceful.

I was not as peaceful regarding my son's education.  I know I am somewhat idealistic, but I want him to retain his excitement for school, his wake up in the morning before dawn and eagerly prepare for the day happy.  I also want him to learn, but more importantly, I want him to want to learn.  He used to.  But this year he is in the third grade and the majority of his education involves testing and preparing for testing.  If he is being fully educated it is not translating.  His joy of learning is fading, and that is leaving my spirit anything but peaceful.

Early in the school year I asked one of his former teachers if she would consider tutoring him.  She said "yes" and that helped some, but this is a year that requires the memorization of math facts and the ability to process abstract concepts in language and math--things that are difficult for a child who is just beginning to think abstractly.  And he has homework--I don't like homework.  He gets on the bus before 7:00 am and I pick him up from after care about 4:30.  That leaves 3 hours to have dinner, shower, brush his teeth and play.  Yes, play.  I think it is important to still be a child and play.  If he can't get it in the 7 hours he is in the classroom, then he is just not getting it and sending him home with more school work to be completed is just insulting; I don't like it.

Around Thanksgiving I began to suggest, jokingly of course, that she resign her job and just homeschool Ryan and a few of his friends--as it turns out she is tutoring several of them.  I painted a lovely picture of a shortened work day, the opportunity to inspire children, and help them accomplish individual goals.  Obviously she could not afford to do that, so I reluctantly dismissed the thought.  Evidently she did not.

Just after the first of the year she told me she had been given serious prayer and thought to what I had said.  I could not believe my ears, but decided I should further investigate the possibility of getting together a few kids and hiring her.  When I began to look into all that would be involved, things begin to happen so quickly, so easily, and so unexpectedly, my only conclusion had to be--"hmmm I wonder what God is up to?"   Let me tell you--He is up to alot!!  I will tell you more next post.

I believe He asked

Blogging is an interesting thing and obviously there are a variety of reasons why one chooses to blog, for me it began as an easy way to communicate with family and friends. Then came Facebook and Twitter and that seemed easier so I have not written on the blog for over a year. Now I want to begin again, and for a specific reason--I want to share my current journey and I need to know there are a group of you supporting me--in prayer, in well wishes, and with advice. So if you would like to accompany me, read on.

I have had an amazing life and am so grateful for the millions of experiences I have had, wonderful friends and family in my life, interesting jobs, and glorious Bodies of believers in many states with whom I have had the honor of serving. Not all of the paths were paths of my choosing and some were difficult, but my loving Heavenly Father has used each part of the journey to perfect His plan for my life. I am still here, so obviously He is not finished--thank you God.

About 2 years ago our pastor, Andy Stanley, preached a sermon based on the story in Matt 14 when Jesus walked on water and Peter joined him. The part I had not really noticed before was when Peter said, "tell me to come to you on the water". See, Peter asked the Lord to ask him to come and when He did, Peter was able to walk on the water.

I have had a dream for several decades that I wanted to open another Montessori school--one that was fully Christian and would honor God, but 'I have been there, done that', and I know the work and risk involved, so I have not opened another school. After hearing that sermon, God began to work in my heart and I felt a strong conviction to say, "tell me to come (do)" and I even wrote and asked some of you to pray for me as I waited on the Lord to ask; thank you for those of you who have prayed--He heard you.

I felt that God was asking me to do some things as I was waiting, so I did what I knew to do. I have been listening to many podcasts on leadership, reading blogs and even some books on leadership, I lost 65 pounds (still hoping to lose another 40) so I could work on the floor in the classroom if I needed to teach, and prayed earnestly for God to give me a specific vision for what He wanted me to do.

I believe He is asking and I think it is time for me to blog about this journey for several reasons. First of all for accountability--I need courage to follow through and do the work. Also, there may be some of you who are feeling called to do something bigger than yourself and hopefully following my journey will be of help to you. So, if you are interested, check in--I will write as much as I can and would appreciate your insight, suggestions, prayers and feedback.

Thanks and hang on, this promises to be quite a ride!