Too much? I thought I'd start this post with another wheel pun, but as you'll find out there is also a good reason for it.

Yikes! I haven't released a blog post since mid-December. How about we remedy that today?

Since I started making videos late last year, I have been able to keep up with the weekly schedule. It's been fun working on the videos and learning how to increase the production quality. I hope you have been enjoying them because I sure have enjoyed making them! From the outside looking in, it might seem like that is the only thing I have been doing as of late. However, that has not been the case. I have a few ministry and personal updates to share so you can see when I have been up to.

The biggest news has to do with IRS Form 1023, which is the application for 501(c)3 non-profit status. In early December, the Foundation Group finished the preparation of the form. After I reviewed it and had some questions, they made a few minor changes. I was able to submit the form on December 13 and I am now waiting for it to be approved. I can expect to be contacted by the IRS within 180 days from the date of submission, which would be by June 13. If I don't hear from them by then, I can contact them to follow up. Pray that God would give me wisdom and insight as there are a few business-related matters I need to figure out before I receive approval. 

Since my last update, there have also been a couple board meetings. The most recent ones have been less eventful, mostly because there is not much to do until non-profit status is approved. The most recent two meetings have only consisted of approving a couple documents, sharing some ministry updates, and discussing business operations. If you're interested to see who is on the board of directors, the About page on the website has been updated with those details.

Aside from these things, not much else has been going on for Wheel Truth. There have been plenty of personal things that have been occupying my time, that make it difficult to even consider doing more than one video a week. With God's help I'm sure that will come in time, but don't expect it anytime soon. Here is some of what has been going on:

I have been in the process of getting a new wheelchair for the past nine or ten months. I believe I was fitted for that back in June. The wheelchair arrived in October after waiting on insurance, and it has been quite the process getting it to be usable. You might be thinking, “Why is it taking so long?” Well, there are a few reasons. For one, it has a custom molded seating system. That's great because the final product is really comfortable, it just took a few appointments to get it right. Once we got that all figured out, it was time to position everything. That includes footrests, headrests, shin pads, armrests, joystick, etc. It's no small feat. The only problem was we could not find a position where I could use the joystick like I do in my current wheelchair, although that has been getting difficult anyway. It doesn't do me any good to get a new wheelchair that I cannot drive. This led to a series of additional appointments to try out different driving systems to see what would work the best. I only recently found a workable solution a couple weeks ago. I'm still going to visit a specialized clinic in Denver to see if I can find an even better long-term solution to ensure that I can drive many more years to come, hopefully. As you can see, when your disability is as advanced as mine, there is a lot to getting a new wheelchair. I'm just thankful to God that I should finally be getting it next week.

I have also been considering speech therapy for a while now. My disease affects every muscle, and that includes my vocal cords and respiratory muscles. I have always been somewhat soft spoken to begin with and the muscle degradation has only worsened the strength of my voice. That has made it difficult for me to project my voice and it is hard for others to hear me except in the quietest environments. I believe this has also affected the clarity of my voice. Since producing videos for this ministry heavily uses my voice, I thought speech therapy would be worth it to train my voice and preserve function for as long as I can. Those appointments start later this month.

As always, I appreciate your prayers for me and this ministry. It is clear to me that I could not be doing this without help from the Lord and the prayers of his people. I'm sure that this post has given you many ideas of what to pray for, but let me provide you with a list:

• Pray for continued creativity and good ideas for my videos.

• Pray for the 501(c)3 approval process.

• Pray that I get some things taken care of before that approval.

• Pray that God continues to give wisdom to myself and to the rest of the board.

• Pray that all goes well with the appointment for my wheelchair.

• Pray that the clinic in Denver can find a more long-term solution for driving.

• Pray that speech therapy will help my voice.

To finish this blog post, I thought it would be appropriate to use the line I always say at the end of my videos. Until next time, walk in the truth!