Ordinary

He made some days holy and important, and made other days ordinary.
Sirach 33:9 

Today was decidedly ordinary. I decided to take the day off, there were things at home that needed my attention and I needed also to rest up from the week. I've pushed hard this week and I'll pick up tomorrow where I left off.

Tonight brought us a good steady rain, much needed. I love to listen to it falling through the trees...it's so peaceful. 

It was good to have a simple, ordinary day today. 

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=amcGIfMu0bw

Press On

Run your best in the race of faith, and win eternal life for yourself; for it was to this life that God called you when you firmly professed your faith before many witnesses.
1 Timothy 6:12 

It was another good day. I finished measuring the office building I have been working on, which has been a large undertaking. It has been quite tiring being on my feet on hard floors for hours on end as I've worked to detail what is a somewhat complicated building... but it has been such a great blessing to have a project of this size to do!

As I was pulling out of the parking lot this song came on the radio:

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=yQsRKCH59qw

I just love it!

Lots more to do to get it all drawn up...I press on. :)

Measuring

He took the measuring rod and measured the east side, and it was 840 feet. Then he measured the north side, the south side, and the west side; each side had the same length, 840 feet,   Ezekiel 42:16-17

Yesterday was a 19 hour day that started at 4:00 AM and I realized this morning that I didn't get a post done! Oops! Even though it was a loonnng day it was a good one.

Today I continued measuring a large multi-tenant office building to be able to draw as-built plans for the building owner. It is an historic building that was once home to tobacco manufacturing, and when it was renovated to become office space they kept the exposed high ceilings, glass block windows, and other original details. It's really cool space and I love the feeling of connection to history. 

While there are parts where I still use a good old fashioned tape measure, mostly I use a laser tape to determine distances. It makes it go a lot faster and I'm able to measure everything by myself. I was interested to find this Scripture...imagine having to measure a large building with a rod! And yet, they were able to build the temple with all of its intricate details. God inspires every generation.

I'm thankful for the opportunity to document this building. And I'm thankful for the modern tools to get it done.

Learning

People learn from one another, just as iron sharpens iron. Proverbs 27:17

I got a new phone today.

Lord, help me.

I'm thankful for my kids who can teach me how to use it.

:)

Rest

And Jesus concluded, “The Sabbath was made for the good of human beings; they were not made for the Sabbath.   Mark 2:27 

After several days of hard labor in the yard, today was a true day of rest. We had a family church time at home this morning...no rushing to get dressed and out the door today. We spent time at the in-laws having a mini family reunion with all of my husband's siblings (from out of town and state) for lunch and most of the afternoon. We put the boats in the lake and fished, and then met friends for dinner out.

Admittedly I am not good at stopping. I'm pretty driven and with two teenagers, two dogs, a busy consulting business, and a traveling husband my cup is always full to overflowing. But I'm learning to make deliberate time for rest. It is God's plan for our benefit.

And it's great... :)

Cleaning Complete!

The pressure washing is finished! It took about six hours today to finish it up. All the while this song kept coming into my mind:


http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=OOjpkqrCEOU

Washed

Remove my sin, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.  Psalm 51:7

I've been on a mission to clean up the yard. Beds have been edged, weeds removed, and for two evenings I've been pressure washing the front porch, sidewalk, and steps to the driveway. We had the sidewalk replaced seven years ago and I'm not sure it's been washed since. Maybe once? But for sure and certain it was gross, the steps had moss and all kinds of weeds and junk growing on them, and the front porch had enough dead plants on it to look like we had moved. Yuk!!

But now? It looks brand new!

Little by little the dark, dingy sidewalk revealed a clean, bright white. And the further I went along the dirtier I got from the spray. There was some grime being flung and by the time I was done I was covered in yuk from head to toe!

All the while I was cleaning I thought about how God through Christ washes us clean. About how He took our "yuk" upon Himself so that we could be clean and made like  new. How that Grace powers through the deepest layers to remove the yuk to the point that it's like it was never there in the first place.

Just the way I felt after showering and watching it all go down the drain.

Blessed...washed...