Uncategorized

In younger days, the backyard shed was for lawn equipment – or if you were lucky and it was empty you could turn it into a fort or other valuable structure.

This weekend we had some of the kids drive in from Calgary.  They enjoyed a visit and we enjoyed their presence.

As well, we hauled them off to build a backyard shed.

Now, these sheds have emblazoned on the box that they are “easy to assemble.”  If you are a puzzler, that may be true.  If patience is not a virtue, not so true.

Thankfully the combination of those working on the project was just right.  The planner and director, the grunt workers, the analytical types and the just plain “I showed up, what can I do” types.

The shed was up in a few hours.

Thanks to all those who helped.

What consumes us?

I want to call those the sagas of our lives.  At various points those things may include schooling, marriage, children, retirement, addictions, death and dying.  Those are some of the biggies!

Most of these call us back to God.  We find that our own abilities are less than what is required and we seek for a greater power.  As a Christian, I realize that access to God is through a very real person who experienced what I will experience – Jesus.

But today, I am consumed by a lesser saga.  That of our renovations.  I awoke this morning with new and creative ideas flowing through my head.  I have tried to also make my morning awakening time part of a spiritual journey to seek God’s help. 

The distraction of renovations makes that very hard.  I wonder how many other distractions of lesser value but greater immediacy occupy us.  A musical endevour, gardening, puzzles and gaming.  The list could go on.

Recognizing the danger of loss of immediacy in our connection with God is the first step in keeping life’s balance.  The next is to do something about it.  This morning I headed my renovation train of thought into the station for a few moments while I chatted with God. 

Perhaps I need to map our more train station stops in my life.

Not a bad idea!

For all the movies that have shown people jackhammering, this is my first experience in real live flesh.

The impression is that you need to be burly and have muscles that are sizable.  I have neither.

But the jackhammer does the work.  I just do some lift and carry.  Which is considerable considering the consideration that the jackhammer is around 60 pounds standing naked by itself!

My hope is in to complete a cracking of concrete today that will allow us to put in new plumbing for our basement bathroom.

No mean feat, but I figure a good days work and a massage at the end of the day ought to do it!

Check back with me tomorrow – perhaps I’ll be a little bit sorer but certainly a whole lot happier if things work out!

Maybe we need to plan more for interruptions!

I imagine the coffee break was one of those planned interruptions.  Working for hours on end can be both boring and unproductive.  A good manager makes sure that time is taken off to rejuvenate.

I have this tendency to work incessantly.  Just because things need to get done.  Like a horse with blinkers (a reference to my heritage there!), I just go, go, go.

And often times I slow, slow, slow.

So yesterday, a lady in our church provided the interruption – with iced tea, some of the best cookies I’ve ever tasted and with a rhubarb crisp for later. 

I had another fellow working with me.  We both determined 30 more minutes of work would reward us with these delicacies.

And then the joy of interruption! 

Wouldn’t it be interesting if we proclaimed each time we were interrupted that joy had entered our lives!!