March 15 – “That’s a good one”

Well, this morning all our Arlington friends and workers joined us at Seaside.  They had time to worship with us before they had to head back home.  It was sad to see them go.  I guess we can remember them every tinme we look at our ceiling.   They weren't the only ones to join us at Seaside this morning.  A large group of Spring Break workers came as well.  They were from three of the groups who have been assigned to work at Seaside next week.  Actually, the Nehemiah's Vision project leader who was there only expected two groups.  He said there wasn't going to be room for over thirty people.  They would just get in each other's way.  Come to find out, one of the groups was assigned to Seaside when their outdoor project was canceled.  When I heard that, I said, "I know of an inside project you can do … sheetrock my house."  I expected to have to make a few phone calls to follow proper procedures.  In fact, the first person I mentioned it to said just that.  He gave me the guy's number.  But then he said to wait a minute.  Instead of having me make that call, he said that he would send over one of their crews.  He introduced me to their team leader, Richard.  As we talked, Richard asked, "When do you want us to come over?"  "Whenever you can," was my reply, desperately hoping that they could be there early in the week.  And his answer to that?  "How about right now?  We came down here to work."  I went inside to get Chris and Mom and we headed for the house.    By around 2:30, they had ten or fifteen people cutting and hanging sheetrock and insulation.  I joined the insulator.  They got quite a few things done, and they plan to be back in the morning at 8.  You're right.  I have to be there.  And I am so tired I can't keep my eyes open to write.   On my way home I remembered last night's blog.  The one about being disappointed.  That's a good one, Lord!   1 John 4:16 says, "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.  God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him."   Father, forgive my disappointment.  Thank you for inspiring trust.  Amen.

March 14 – “Happy and Disappointed”

Okay, I am disappointed.  But I have no right to be.  I just have to get over it.  I'm really happy, too.  We started out early this morning hitting the sheetrocking and insulation really hard.  There were two teams of sheetrockers working on the ceilings – the nail crew and the screw gun crew.  There were also two insulation crews.  The teenager in the group spent the morning breaking up the mortar on the bathroom floor so we could have it refilled and tiled.  I had the luxury of moving between the different crews as I was needed (read here "Go-fer").  We stopped briefly for lunch and continued until around 6:30.    Our output?  The ceilings are completely finished (well, except for one small strip – looks about 2 feet by 3 feet - in the hall.  No one knows why it was left open).  They look amazing.  The insulators really outdid themselves.  Every outside wall is done.  The ceiling is done.  The walls around the bathrooms are done.  The wall between the house and garage is as done as it can be pending sheetrock.  We still have a lot of insulation left, so we'll probably insulate all the interior walls as a sound break.  And speaking of sound breaks, it is noticeably quieter in there.  All in all, we really did have a great weekend.  And we got a lot done.   But we didn't finish.  I really wanted to finish the sheetrocking.  The windows and back door are due to arrive Monday or Tuesday.  The whole look of the house is different already.  And I can't wait … again.   Dinner on the Grounds tomorrow at church, and we will have plenty of extra mouths to feed.  About ten of the Arlington folks will be there.  And at least ten of the people coming in to work on the church will be there as well.  Wild and crazy fun once again.   Psalm 11:4 says, "The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord is on his heavenly throne.  He observes the sons of men; his eyes examine them."   Father, just keep on keeping your eyes on us down here.

March 13 – “Living Up to Promise”

Today had the promise of the beginning of a wild weekend.  It lived up to its promise.  The AC guys came back to finish cleaning up.  The electricians were there to finish up the jobs they needed to do.  The framers were there to do some last minute, before-the-sheetrock framing.  The folks from Arlington were there to begin insulating and sheetrocking.  The contractor was there to make sure everybody was on the same page.    The framers left after a few hours because they didn't want to work with the insulation fumes flying.  The electricians left after a few hours because they finished.  The AC guys left after a few minutes, because they didn't have all that much left to do to clean up.  That left the good people of Arlington with the promise of a full day of insulating and sheetrocking with a passion.  And they lived up to their promise.   The day began with the promise of being cold and dreary and rainy.  You guessed it.  It lived up to its promise.  So well, in fact that the roof sprung a leak … or two … or three.  One of them was from a temporary patch the framers put on the roof over the old hot water heater.  Another was from the spot for the new hot water heater.  The third was from the roof vent for the new heater.  After waiting for the rain to let up, I finally gave in and went out on the roof in the rain.  It was cold and wet.  I covered the flat roof patch the best I could.  The other two were trickier, though.  I had to wrap some tar paper around them and hold it on with duct tape.  Hope it holds until we can do something more permanent.    When most of the roof insulation was complete and the roof sheetrocking had begun, Brad the sheetrock superstar came over to me and whispered, "Have you noticed it yet?"  Well, I had no idea what he was talking about, so I said I guess I hadn't.  He pointed up to the insulation and said, "Notice the quiet?"  Once he pointed it out, I had to admit that it was a lot quieter.  I assumed it was because the other two professions had departed.  But Brad said it was because the insulation absorbed the excess sound.  Quiet amid the chaos of all that work.  What a concept.  I hope it holds tomorrow so we can get a lot done.  The day promises to be a long one.   2 Peter 3:13 says, "But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness."   Father, thanks for your promises.  Amen.

March 12 – “Nail it”

We had really high hopes for today.  The sheetrockers were due to begin arriving this afternoon.  We had to return the wrong insulation and pick up the right stuff.  We hoped to start insulating today if possible.  The sheetrock was scheduled to be delivered.  The air conditioning guys still had to finish installing ducts and the heater – well, everything.  The framers had to remove the old smokestack (we're moving the fireplace), and patch the roof so the roofers could come in later (and so the rain would stay out), and frame out the hole in the wall that dreams of being a window some day, and do a bunch of little tiny jobs as assigned by the contractor.  The electricians had to come back and touch base with the contractor on some minor revisions and things forgotten.  And somewhere in there we had to find out for sure if the electrical work had passed inspection, or we couldn't do any of it.   I was the first one on site – about 7:15 – followed shortly by one of the framers who promptly went back to sleep in his truck.  I got my truck loaded down with insulation, moved it across the street, and was waiting for Nathan to get there to load up the rest in his.  The framers had no sooner unloaded some plywood into the garage than the sheetrock delivery arrived.  They moved the wood, and after some nifty maneuvering by the driver, the sheetrock settled into its new home – part in the garage and part in the driveway.  Nathan got it covered with plastic just in time for the rain.    Apparently the inspector cleared us, so Chris we went over the post-inspection electrical changes with the contractor, while Nathan and I went on the insulation run.  We had to explain three times what we were bringing back and what we wanted in exchange.  The difference in price was only a few dollars.  Ain't accounting grand?   Chris and the contractor were talking about the kitchen when we left.  And they were still talking about the kitchen when we got back.  I think the two of them could talk about this house all day if I didn't get in their way every now and then.  I try to intervene on occasion with my favorite builder's phrase: "Nail it!"  They don't listen to me much anymore.   The team from Arlington arrived while Chris and I were at Home Depot getting boric acid for the-inside-the-walls roach treatment and Nathan was at Lowe's picking up our dining room cabinets.  They did a walk-through to see what we had to do tomorrow and Saturday – all the insulation and all the sheetrock.  This weekend is going to be hectic.    All six of the Arlington folks came to the Omega Bay house for the night.  Three more will arrive around midnight, and three more are coming in the morning, including our son Josh.  We'll give them the option of staying here again the next two nights, or moving over to Seaside.  I hope they stay.  This group is a lot of fun.  I have missed the ones we knew long ago, and I enjoy the ones we just met.  It's always easier to work when you have a connection with your fellow workers.   Ephesians 4:1-6 says, "As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to one hope when you were called—  one Lord, one faith, one baptism;  one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."   Father, thank you for fellow workers.  Grant us your peace as we work out our unity.  Amen.

March 11 – “Duct Tape is for Ducts”

We had to run to Sam's this morning.  This Sunday is dinner on the grounds at church, so we had to replenish the kitchen supplies.  After lunch I left to teach at Seaside Christian Academy.  I had the kids tell me the story of Noah.  Then we watched the rest of the movie Evan Almighty.  They did a good job noticing parallels with the Noah story.  They all stayed awake, too.  Always a good sign.   After class I hurried to meet Nathan and April and Cailyn at the house.  Nathan and I were going to McCoy's to pick up the insulation.  When I drove up to the house the air conditioning guys were there and hard at work.  They already had the vent boxes up and had begun running duct work.  The boss said they wanted to get as much done today and tomorrow as possible, because they didn't want to be there Friday when the sheetrockers come in.   Nathan and April were in Mom's garage going through some of their boxes.  They hope to move into an apartment by the first of April, so they wanted to see what they still have to buy.  It was fun to hear April cry out, "Look what made it!"  I told them we'd be doing the same thing in a few weeks.  Cailyn slept through the whole thing.   We finally got to McCoy's and I realized that I didn't have the receipt we needed to pick up the insulation.  I called Chris, but got her voice mail.  So Nathan called April and had her ask Chris to get the receipt.  Chris was talking to her Mom through all this.  While still talking, Chris got her keys and purse and headed to our rescue.  Then we met problem number two.  The receipt was supposed to be yellow instead of white.  I had to go inside to retrieve the right one before we could get the stuff.  We got it all loaded in our two trucks.  As we pulled out to leave I saw Chris and Nathan talking to a Billy, a Seasider who moved last year.  He was back in town doing some work.  It was great to see him and hear about his family.  It's always a little bittersweet to see someone who has gone out from our midst.   We took the insulation back to the house, and after we unloaded it all, Nathan noticed that we had the wrong size for the ceiling.  It was supposed to be fifteen inches wide and we had twenty-four inches.  Nathan said he noticed because he got to thinking that 24 inches was a long way to reach in his bunker gear.  We'll have to take it back in the morning before we get started.   We noticed something else as well.  The AC guys actually used duct tape to hold up a few of the ducts.  We laughed at that.  Why in the world would they use something for its intended purpose, especially duct tape?        Psalm 139:14 says, "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."   Father, you made us for the purpose of praising you.  That's beautiful.  And wonderful.  Amen.

March 10 – “Not a problem.”

I went to the house with Nathan this morning to pick up the fireplace and take it to a sandblaster friend of his.  We also took a cast iron frying pan set and a couple of antique irons that were very rusty.  He'll do it for us when he gets some spare time.  He said he may even teach Nathan how to do it.  "Not a problem."  The electricians were at the house when we got there, cleaning up and finishing the AC wiring.  They pronounced their work complete.  I said it all looked great, and I didn't want to hold up the inspection, but there were four things they needed to fix.  "Not a problem," they said.    Then we went back to the house and picked up all the scrap galvanized pipe left over from our new plumbing job, as well as some old metal from mom's house.  We took it over to the recycling center.  Got about thirty bucks.  Plenty to cover lunch at Sonic for everybody.  "Not a problem."   We got home just in time to get a call from Kel.  His dental surgery from Friday was hurting pretty bad.  He wanted to know if I could come over and be with the boys while Christina took him to the doc.  "Not a problem."  He thought he was losing some stitches on one side.  As it turned out the stitches were OK.  But the doc cleaned the area five or six times before pronouncing himself finished.  He put him on more antibiotics and told him to come back in if it got even a little bit worse.  No charge.   While I was there our contractor called.  The phone connection was pretty bad, but I pieced together that we are about one day behind where we need to be for the sheetrock to go up this weekend.  The inspector needs to check off the electricity.  The AC guy needs to get the vents run and the outside and inside units installed.  Somewhere in there we need to put some attic flooring in.  Then we need to hang the insulation sheets.  The contractor is pretty optimistic, though.  He thinks if we work together we can make this happen.  "Not a problem."  I like that way of thinking.  This weekend promises to be wild and crazy.  Let's do it!   Chris took her mom and dad to Houston for doctor's appointments.  First appointment was for eleven.  But they like to leave early – 8:30.  Got there in plenty of time.  After the 11:00 one, the next one was not until 1:30.  But instead of eating lunch at the deli in the building, they decided they wanted to wait and go to On the Border for Mexican food.  "Not a problem."  Well, nice choice, but that meant another very long wait in a waiting room.  After seeing that doc they headed for supper.  Chris finally got home around 9:00.  She was exhausted.  At least until Cailyn came out for a visit.  That rejuvenated her for a little while.    My day ended at the Seaside Christian Academy School board meeting.  It was a big one – lots of strong emotions and passionate speeches.  Good results in the end, though: work on communication.  Parents and school board work together to develop a discipline plan.  Get some parents to serve on school board.  Get some parents to come to the school during the day.  "Not a problem."  Now I was exhausted.   Ephesians 4:3 says, "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."   Father, I know that the only one who can truly say, "Not a problem," and be absolutely able to back it up, is you.  It's you I want to hear it from.  Amen.

March 9 – “Questions”

We went by the house today, anxious to see the last bit of electrical work totally completed and the inspector on his way.  Not happening.  No one was there working.  I even had a check to pay for the plumbing work that has been done so far.  But the contractor was not there, either.  It is tough to go from the super high of getting a roof and electricians everywhere to an empty house.    On a positive note, the group called Nehemiah's Vision actually paid for our insulation and sheetrock.  They are coming to Galveston over Spring Break with a bunch of volunteers.  They are doing a lot of work at Seaside.  So we followed our instructions and went to McCoy's to order sheetrock and insulation.  We pick up insulation on Wednesday and sheetrock is delivered on Thursday.   But I'm worried that we may not get to start.  That's not a big deal on the insulation.  We are doing that ourselves.  Kel and Christina and Nathan and Chris and I are all going to pitch in and have a stapling party.  But a group from Josh's church in Arlington is coming in Thursday to start on sheetrock.  That opens up all kinds of questions.  Does electrical have to have passed inspection?  Will the Air Conditioning guy have time to get all the duct work run?  Will we be able to get the attic floor in without too much trouble?  Questions.    Back in Omega Bay I started wading through computer work and phone calls.  I called our contractor.  No answer.  Left a message.  I returned a call about a wedding for June 27.  Something about that date sounded familiar.  I checked my books and discovered that I already had a wedding scheduled for that day at 6:30.  But this new one is at 11:30 in the morning.  I called them back, and it's doable, so that's definitely going to be "Wedding Day" for me.    Chris went to her mom's this afternoon.  Her Mom has another doctor's appointment tomorrow in Houston, and Chris drives them.  This has to be taking a toll on her.  It sure is on me.   We are tired.   Takes me back to Isaiah 40:30-31: "Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."   Father, give me rest.  Give Chris rest.  Amen.