Success - One Day At a Time

Yes, I have STILL been renovating - so much so that I haven't had a lot of time to blog (well, at least that's what I am blaming it on...truth probably is closer to the fact that I am a terrible blogger!).

So, the trash is gone thanks to Ben and Jason! How many bags does it take to hold a plaster wall? Apparently so many that the man who came to pick up the dumpster couldn't lift it. His wife called complaining that he had to get someone to help him unload it a little before he could empty it.

In my defense, I told her EXACTLY what I was planning to use the dumpster for. Shall I be held responsible because I made good on what I had said and because I hired to geniuses to pack it? I THINK NOT!

The brick wall is repaired and sealed.

Things are getting painted. Here's my cute table. It WAS olive green and not that pretty olive green, but that ugly, "OMG who thought this was a good idea?" color. I am also working on my bookshelf.

The bathroom is well on it's way to functional. It went from this...

(That is Melanie's bathroom...check out that beautiful wall! You would NOT believe the mess that we found in that corner of the building! Sheesh! Rotting floors, tin cans to patch the wall, a door covered with plaster, and some other unidentifiable metal garbage on the wall. Can we say HOT MESS?)

to this...

to this.

Dad thinks we will be operational by this weekend. Super pumped about having a functional bathroom since I have to pee so often!

Still have a LOT to do (as you can see from the supplies that are left.

Slowly but surely. AND we figure out how to operate the display lights last night! Success - one day at a time!

REVIVAL

We have all seen the signs. We have probably all been to a 'revival'. Since our church just went through this exercise, I really felt the need to talk about it. When I see these signs or hear about these events, I almost automatically think: southern gospel, crazy evangelist, a lot of people sitting in their pews and feeling good for a few days then going back to exactly the way things were before the event. Probably wrong of me, but that's the only type of 'revival' I've witnessed.

Calling a series of meetings a 'revival' has always driven me to the point of legal insainity - and I don't need any help! How can we call something a revival if no one has yet to be revived. Shouldn't we wait until someone or something is revived to call it revival?

Here is the definition of revival according to dictionary.com:

re·viv·al  /rɪˈvaɪvəl/ [ri-vahy-vuhl]

  –noun

1.restoration to life, consciousness, vigor, strength, etc.
2.restoration to use, acceptance, or currency: the revival of old customs.
3.a new production of an old play.
4.a showing of an old motion picture.
5.an awakening, in a church or community, of interest in and care for matters relating to personal religion.
6.an evangelistic service or a series of services for the purpose of effecting a religious awakening: to hold a revival.
7.the act of reviving.
8.the state of being revived.
9.Law. the reestablishment of legal force and effect.

Here's what I know:
-Revival typically involves LOTS of people coming to know Christ, as well as others coming to find a deeper relationship with Him
- There have been several actual revivals in the history of the world. The first that I really ever learned of was Jonathan Edwards and the Great Awakening (Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God - ya, hell, fire and brimstone won those people to Christ!). Or, we could talk about John and Charles Wesley, Charles Finney, Dwight L. Moody and the movements they were associated with. The early 1900's saw the Azusa Street revival in LA and in the 1990's the Brownsville revival occured in FL.

There have been many more, less-prominant instances of God showing up and turning a place inside out, but I have never personally experienced what I KNOW my God can do! I think alot of people get warm, fuzzy feelings during these series of meetings (it may resemble gas!), but regardless of what I have seen God do, I think that most of us have YET to experience what He really WANTS to do!

Revival doesn't begin because you host a series of meetings. Revival begins because someone is hungry for God and wants more...their desire becomes contagious and it spreads, like fire!

Oh God, give us true revival! Bring Your people to a point of realizing how much we really need You and how little we really are depending on You. God, help us to rely on You and You alone. Show us the fullness of Your Holy Spirit. Grant us the power and boldness that comes through Your Holy Spirit! Give us eyes to see and ears to hear the things of You, God. Give us hearts that love unconditionally. Stir our hearts so that we can never be satisfied...we always want more of You! God, help us to forget about the things of this world. Let our lives be lived out with such truth and transparency that there is no room for pretending to be something we are not. Revive us, dear God. Revive us!

Stress Relief

Sunday afternoon/evening was spent creating one big, fat mess! My not-so-little little brother and his friend Anthony joined my parents and I as we tore plaster off of the brick wall and removed all of the ceiling tiles. It seems that beating the tar out of plaster is great stress relief!

Dad worked on the bathroom...it needs ALOT of help! ICK!  See for yourself.

Behold the sink...

The toilet - bluh!

The ceiling...pretty, right?

and...the door that has a lock, but won't lock...because the door won't shut!!

I am SO glad that someone other than me thought that the bathroom needed help! I'm a girly-girl when it comes to stuff like that, but when my dad said, "That bathroom is gross!" it made me feel so much better...mostly because that meant that he also thought it needed to be fixed and then it became his first project!

Now, here is what I am most excited about:

BEAUTIFUL BRICK!!!! YAY!

And the ceiling tiles are down.

But we left quite the mess. However, that pile was cleaned up yesterday.

The rest of this week will be spent cleaning up plaster, sealing the brick and painting. And dad is taking off on Friday to fix the bathroom. Totally pumped about how everything is progressing. More to come soon....

Ghetto-Rigged

So, Friday was "Menard's Day" for the studio. My dad decided that we would go and get everything and take it back to the studio. One problem: He failed to account for exactly how much stuff we were getting! We had one of his trailers and the back of his truck, but we still have to go back and pick up stuff because there wasn't enough room!

I wish that I would've had my camera because we ghetto-rigged the trailer to make it home. It was so loaded down that the fenders were starting to rub the wheels. My dad's solution? Tie straps...we already had 4 on the trailer, but he added 2 more - one running from each fender well to the back of the trailer and he tightened them so much that it pulled the fender away from the wheel. We had prayer...ALL THE WAY TO ANNA! It was SO ghetto! However, most of the supplies are there so it's time to get to work!

This week's agenda: demolition and painting (shelves, ceiling strips, frames). And I'm sure my dad has his own agenda...he wants the studio done. I'm still trying to decide if it's because he is excited for me or because he wants his life back. Just kidding.  He's acutally been volunteering. I haven't even really asked - except for help at Menards...that's is OVERWHELMING!

So, hopefully I will have some progress to report by week's end and next time, I'll remember my camera because I am really sad I missed that shot yesterday!