It Doesn’t Take Much

by Fran Geiger Joslin

How much does it take to make me smile?

Well, most people would say I smile all the time, but I mean what does it take to get me really excited?

The answer? Not much—and yet, so much! Let me explain.

I work among writers. Good writing makes me so happy! If I receive a manuscript or a blog article that strings great words together, I could get out of my chair and dance a jig. Great writing is hard to come by, believe it or not. When I see it, I laugh out loud with excitement!

In a ministry where the buck stops with me, I constantly ask the Lord questions like, “What’s next? What do I do about this situation? How do I expand the ministry?” I constantly pray over our authors, our leaders, our staff, donations, and the people who read our books.

For years I have prayed for a team of great writers. It’s easy to get discouraged when two or three of us are writing but producing very little. I know we can’t meet all the needs out there if we constantly work at a slow pace.

We often meet online with authors and potential authors. When I speak for just a few minutes with someone I feel can enhance our ministry with their message and their writing, I shout, “Hallelujah!”

Let’s be honest. I’m not good at fundraising. As a matter of fact, I hate it. I’ve been pressured in the past to give. Because of that, I never pressure anyone to give. I pray about it and figure the Lord will take care of us. This year, I did reach out to a few churches to see if they would consider helping us out.

There was a time when I prayed for a million dollars. I can tell you that would certainly bring me joy! These days, though, I rejoice over every donation we receive, knowing the Lord can put it to good use.

This year the Lord has brought a lot of things together for us. We are building a great team of authors. We are building a translation team. The donations are rolling in. Africans and Mexicans are begging for more books. This year? I’m dancing and singing, and shouting, “Hallelujah!” There is no greater joy than to see your prayers answered. To see them answered all in one year? Now, that will make me not only smile, but I might just get out of my chair and dance some kind of jig.