OnFire Encouragement Letter
Hi Folks:
I’m back from my conference and getting settled back into life. I’m looking forward to this time at home for a while. It felt like I was just getting settled, and then I was away for board meetings, and then the conference. So, it is good to be back. I was feeling really out of touch in so many ways. It was hard for Jan and me to keep our schedules coordinated. My senior pastor and I hardly saw each other. Things were piling up in the office and at home. It is good to be back.
Some fun things happened this past week. My article came out in Christian Week. Under a column called Pastor with a Point, I ask the question, “Why Do Whiners Win?” You can read the article at http://www.christianweek.org/stories.php?id=221&cat=pastor
On Saturday, our neighbour let me take Mark for a drive in his Corvette. What a rush. We took it out for a little spin and did a few 0 - 60 tests. Very awesome!! There is a saying that comes to mind, however. Never test-drive something you can’t afford! The mini-van just doesn’t seem the same anymore.
We continue to do well. The boys are doing their normal things. Eat, sleep, go to school, eat, eat some more... Continue to pray for our friend Dwayne. His family has a website at http://caringbridge.org/visit/dwaynesleep
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Renovation is a big theme in my life these days. At church we are worshipping in our gym because the sanctuary is filled with an impressive amount of scaffolding. The pews are gone, and the workers are repairing and painting. To work on the ceiling, they have created a temporary floor about 25 feet in the air. Wow. Roofers continue to work outside. Check our church website at http://www.highfieldbaptist.com/home/index.php/Gallery/category/C40/ to see the pictures.
At home I am finishing work I began after we moved into our house. Yesterday I replaced a bathroom floor and put down tile. Later this week I’ll hook up the sink and install a new toilet. This is interesting for me since I’ve never replaced a bathroom floor before. I had to figure out how to cut the hole for the sewer pipe in the proper spot. After measuring carefully several times, I cut my hole and tried it. Thankfully I got it right. I have been known to cut twice and still be short!
I faced several challenges in the bathroom renovation. One was to measure the hole properly. For this I used my measuring tape. It has standard markings and won’t stretch.
I had to choose a wall to measure from. Not all were straight or true, but one was close enough to line up my plywood, and so I chose this one.
When it came time to lay the tiles, I needed a straight line to make sure I didn’t get off. For this I used the factory edge of the plywood. If I didn’t have that, I would have had to take some measurements and snap a straight mark with my chalk line.
Standardization made my job a lot easier. The factory edge on the plywood is straight and the corners are perfectly square. The marks on two different tape measures are reliable. And I can buy plumbing parts to fit standard pipe sizes and fittings.
Standardization is not a new concept. We read many times in scripture that God measures against a standard, and we even have comparisons with measuring tools. “I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line.” (Isaiah 18:16 NIV)
When it comes to right and wrong, we don’t set the standard, God does. When I was putting down the tile, I thought I had lined up exactly along the edge of the plywood. After several courses, I realized I must have been off slightly, because each course was just a little more off than the one before.
We may start off close, but if we are not lined up exactly with God’s standard, eventually it begins to show, and the further we go, the more it shows. We have some people in our church who put down tile for a living. They tell me that they have to check constantly against their chalk lines to make sure they are running true. It is the same for us. We have to keep coming back to scripture and prayer or we start going off.
I hope this helps. Be on fire.
Troy
OnFire is a weekly letter on faith and character written by Troy Dennis. This letter published Oct 29, 2008. To subscribe or reply, email him at onfireletter@gmail.com. Archives are located at www.onfireletter.com