January 26, 2021
“Behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the Child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you.” Mat 1:13
I can’t say it came to me in a dream, but it was that in-between time when you wake with a wonderful problem on your mind, and then suddenly, with a bolt of lightening, you know the answer.
The answer that came to me that morning in early November of 2020, and which sparked everything that has come out of The Flight House since, was the simple idea of a communal crowd-funding platform that brings together 25 Catholic creators, to learn together, grow together, and hold each other accountable.
I was a bit ower-awed by this idea. It so perfectly married two problems I was trying to sort out: whether or not to continue to grow my author crowd-funding platform (which I had just begun earlier that month), and how to raise funds and build a following for the podcast my friend Ina and I were starting.
I came into the living room of our lovable little apartment where my brother sat at the work table, grinding away at the sales job that was slowly sucking away his motivation, and I told him the idea.
Seldom, before, was my brother so receptive to my grand-scheme ideas, but this one made so much sense, it satisfied a creative craving in both our hearts, and promised community, a livable income, and everything else that seemed too good to be true, and yet the solution seemed suddenly so simple and feasible.
BEHIND THE NAME
“And you know what the name is? Flight House!”
Tim smiled. Another piece of the puzzle that made perfect sense. Of course it would be named The Flight House - it was nestling snuggly into the vision we had had for The Flight House from the first.
What is The Flight House?
Back in September of 2020, when I was still living with my parents, I was out driving one day. It was one of the few moments in my life when I was guaranteed to spend time alone. During that drive, I lifted a prayer to St. Joseph. “I want to move out,” I prayed. “I want to flee this position in life that I know is wrong for me. I want to enter into the world and find my place in it - wherever God intends. This is my Flight into Egypt. Please help me to move out, and when I do, I will name my new home, Flight House.”
After that, St. Joseph worked swiftly. He introduced Tim and I to downtown Lisle, he showed us many apartments, and he opened Tim to the idea of paying rent for both of us right away, until I could contribute to the household expenses as well, and filled out hearts with the desire to fill our home with friends, community, and creativity.
Both in our mid-twenties, we needed to move out of our parent’s home, and St. Joseph was helping to make it happen. But little did we know how obvious he would be about taking credit.
There was one apartment building in downtown Lisle that had open apartments within our price range, but the issue was that they were all one-bedroom. One bedroom? I don’t think so.
But we had resolved to look at a place every week until we found the right spot, so we decided to look at this one. I remember the drive over. Every time we drove to Lisle, it felt like coming home.
We got to the complex and fell in love with our landlady. I had forgotten my mask, but she let that slide, which put us at our ease. And when we saw the apartment...!
It was a large front room, a large bedroom, and a tiny sliver of a fully-furnished kitchen. But the icing on the cake - will you believe it if I tell you that it sat right across the street from a creek called St. Joseph?
And the apartment address itself was St. Joseph Creek Road.
Truly, I say to you, it was so.
We moved in a week and a half later. We divided the bedroom with bookcases, filled the apartment with our books and bookshelves, and hosted our friends so that the large space felt small; and immediately, it became our home.
The Flight House: named for St. Joseph
The dream: to fill our home with community
The vision: to write books, publish podcasts, and discuss beauty... how could we not carry the Flight House name beyond our brief sojourn on St. Joseph Creek road?
This crowdfunding idea was the unifying string that would tie the whole project of moving out and building an intentional life for ourselves together. It carried the beauty of St. Joseph’s patronage forward into our future lives.
FROM THE GROUND UP
That crowdfunding idea is still at the root of the Flight House, but it has also become so much more.
We have added in a course for creators, to teach creation, promotion, and profit.
We have started so many creative ventures: podcasts, videos, books, articles, and more.
We have onboarded Ina Castillo, my friend and podcast companion, as our third member of the Flight House, in our process of slowly building toward 25 members. And the graces that come from her presence have been spilling over into our lives with great abundance! Christ gives us everything we need, and as we encounter each new step in our process of building this from the ground up, we have found that to be true.
The Flight House is fundamentally a training ground. It lays the groundwork to teach how to build community among creatives, develop a devoted following and audience, earn a livable income (even an income capable of supporting a family), and most fundamentally, create quality work on a consistent basis.
Mission Statement:
The Flight House is spearheading the training and promoting of artists for the New Renaissance. At the forefront of Catholic creation, The Flight House is channeling an explosion of Catholic Art.
INVITATION
We would like to invite you to join us in our journey. We have several opportunities for how you can enter with us into this amazing mission.
Take our Course
Private Coaching
Crowdfund us as a Flight House Member
Sign up for our email list