Chapter 4

In which September comes and goes

September is a month of change, a transition from one season to the next. 
This has been doubly true in the Crandall household.

Josiah started the new month a year older.

The Crandalls celebrated the launch of Sycamore Church.

Renewal's podcast officially began and includes interviews with an artist, a missionary, even a hummingbird! You should go check it out if you haven't.

Books were purchased and cataloged.  

And the search began for a space to hold the Renewal Library.

(The Crandalls need a place to keep all the new books after all.) 

Every day was a new adventure, but more than that it was a celebration of God at work. 

In one of the interviews Josiah conducted, he was reminded of the beginning of Psalm 121, which says:  

Unless the Lord builds the house,

    those who build it labor in vain.

Renewal is not something that the Crandalls are building, it’s something God is building. And they are grateful for those who have joined with them in God’s calling.

Chapter 3

In which Amanda discovers a journal entry

It was Sunday morning. The Crandalls had just finished the time of worship at church and were now sitting and listening to the preacher. As the first slide appeared on the screen, Amanda reached into her bag to pull out her pen and notebook. She flipped through the journal, looking for a space to write, when she glanced at an entry from over a year ago.

It was just what she needed in that moment, a reminder that what their family was doing right now had been a part of God’s work in their lives for a long time.

Here is what she read:

- Library: two things I was considering yesterday -

• “Do not lay up for yourself treasures on earth where moth + rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but build up treasures in Heaven that will never be destroyed.”

• He also is faithful with a little…

Throughout the day I thought this meant that I was not to build a library that can easily be destroyed, and I was ashamed that maybe we are not given a lot of money to do things because we’re not very faithful with the little we have — the little money, little house, little collection. So basically I’m not fit for running a library or a bigger space.

But in praying with Josiah last night, it dawned on me that there’s another option — perhaps as we handle physical objects, we need to keep focused on what they are used for. They are not our treasure. What they point to is the treasure, and we are just a guidepost for people to experience Renewal in Christ, the true treasure.

I need to keep my eyes on our true goal: not owning a library, but helping people see Christ.

And for being faithful, we do have a lot, and it keeps growing. Our expertise is growing, our dream + passion is growing, our vision is clarifying. Our connections are growing, and our library is growing too.

Laura Wifler said in an email, the best advice she’s gotten is “you focus on depth, let God determine the breadth.” 

There are lots of ways to force things to get big, but that’s God’s job to control the results.

“Put your heads down and do excellent work. Trust God to take care of the rest.”

This helped me realize that I don’t need to worry about making the library happen, or be discouraged if I think maybe it won’t happen. That’s not up to me.

What I have before me now is a love for living books, a perspective that ideas can help us grow, a passion for following Jesus and helping others do the same, a little money to buy books, and all the things listed above, and 3 wonderful children to teach in a living way.

What could be better??

God, I trust you have a wonderful plan, and I’ll let You accomplish that without worrying about it. :)

Chapter 2

In which the Crandalls set to work

It’s been about two months since the Crandalls officially began Renewal. Most days you will find Josiah at his desk, sleeping dog on the bed behind him, books spread around the room and 20 tabs open on his browser. Right now he is composing this blog for you, but he has also been busy talking with guests for the Amazing Interviews podcast, and rearranging furniture to film a pitch video.

In the evenings Josiah and Amanda have traversed the jungles of CRM and spreadsheets, worked through budgets and tried to figure out exactly what it means to build something from the ground up.

As the Crandalls have been reflecting on this season they are continuously reminded of God's faithfulness. How he has provided so many wonderful partners to walk alongside them in this ministry. How they are to almost 75 percent of their funding goal. And how every day He walks with them intimately!

Know also that they pray for you: that as you go about the ministry God has given you, His faithfulness would surround and inspire you. And just as you have been an encouragement to them in this season, they pray that this reminder of God’s goodness would be an encouragement to you.

Chapter 1

In which God calls the Crandalls to a new adventure 

Where do we begin our story? Let's see, do we begin one month ago, when Josiah and Amanda officially decided to set aside other employment options and pursue full time ministry work? Do we begin maybe 4 years ago when the dream of lending quality literature began to take shape in their hearts? Or maybe closer to 6 years ago when it became increasingly important and enjoyable to share living stories with their children, first inviting Laura Ingalls Wilder into their imaginations. But wait, I do believe it was about 12 years ago that Josiah first mentioned to Amanda that he was interested in one day running a library of good books. But then if you count that as the beginning, it would only make sense to go back to when Josiah and Amanda married nearly 13 years ago, uniting their lives in the pursuit of God's calling. But then again, that never would have happened without the countless moments orchestrated by God to bring them together, or teach them His truths, or inspire them in love for Himself and the world He created. But then it would only make sense to go back just a touch further, nearly 30 years ago, when God first called young children named Josiah and Amanda to a saving knowledge of a Holy God, drafting them into His own Story.

Those are only some of the parts I know, but I suppose this part of the story begins when you, Reader, came along. Because truly, for each of us, God has been at work long before we realized it. That's the way Josiah and Amanda see it, at least, because they know they are just a small part of a much larger Story that was started in the beginning.