Summer

Dear Summer-

You SUCK! I LOATHE your heat and humidity. Please go away!!!!

Thanks,
Sheena

"Enough is enough!" - and I've most CERTAINLY had ENOUGH!

I can't help but agree with my friend Kate in her most recent blog where she says, "Being stripped down to the very tenants of your faith sucks"....boy does it ever!

Then I read "The Shower is Still a Good Place to Cry In" . Oh how I relate. When God strips things away...maybe something I had just gotten used to, something I thought I was entitled to, something I thought I needed to be complete, something I thought I needed to be 'happy' - I just CRY! I cry ALOT!

I know we're supposed to praise Jesus - for being good, for being faithful, but let's be honest...sometimes you just don't feel like it. You aren't even sure that you believe it and can't muster up the energy to say it.


In the CRY blog, she says, "I yelled and pounded a pillow with my fist and say,"I don't want to thank You for the pit that I am in. You put me here, remember? OK, wait, forgive me for blaming You. But I hate it here. Why would I ever thank You for Your goodness when this feels so not good?" "

Can you relate? Please tell me that I am not alone here! However, the truth of the matter is, He IS faithful. He DOES understand suffering and can relate even when we are at our lowest and the sun stays hidden for days, weeks, months....He promised to NEVER leave us or forsake us.

Standing in the middle of the storm, you typically do good to put one foot in front of the other, but I am reminded of a poem that you have probably read, but I feel compelled to share...it's a nice reminder for me today.

Footprints in the Sand

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord.

Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.  For each scene he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonging to him, and the other to the Lord.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand.

He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints.

He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life.

This really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it: "Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you, you'd walk with me all the way".

But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints.

I don't understand why whenI needed you most you would leave me."

The Lord replied: "My son, my precious child, I love you and I would never leave you.

During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints,it was then that I carried you."

Mary Stevenson

Renovating me...

So, renovation continues....

The beginnings of the 'teaching room' and that back wall is up and about half covered in sheetrock here.

Another wall. Things are moving along quite nicely.

A better shot of the unfinished portion of the back wall. The floor was so out of level that we had to shim with a 2x4 and a piece of paneling (look real close by the brick wall). Good Grief....get a level people!

More progress.

And we have a room! (looks sorta like a jail cell at that moment, though).

This all happened on Tuesday! Dad got a LOT accomplished while I was at work. That black board is to insulate the room for sound...don't want to disturb the neighbors! :-)

A special 'thank you' to Don Laster and Kenny Dexter for your help!

 SO PROUD OF THIS!!! My new door signage! AWESOME! It looks so official!

 

What will eventually be my coffee table...4 hours of sanding the legs and the little areas that have no varnish here, THEN my dad tells me that they make stripper stuff to take off varnish! Thanks, dad!

the finished coffee table legs...

My rockin' new PA system! Jon Hiller LOVES it. It sounds fantastic. It has an iPod dock and is completely portable. Sounds 10X better than the Fender Passport systems! I can hardly wait to use it!

I LOVE it when a plan comes together! What you can't see is all of the electrical work my dad has done. There are new outlets in this room. YAY!

The inside of the room and one lonely ceiling tile....we needed to make sure that it fit!

Mom's wonderful job on insulation behind the back wall. This will eventually have black board over it.

The UGLY door is going...praise Jesus!

We will have a lot to do, but it's MUCH better than it was! My dad is most certainly a jack of many trades! I am very fortunate and honored to have him around. God is truly doing a work in our relationship through this process...He's renovating us...making improvements!

Sacrifice

According to dictionary.com:
sac·ri·fice   /ˈsækrəˌfaɪs/ Show Spelled [sak-ruh-fahys] Show IPA noun, verb, -ficed, -fic·ing.


–noun
1. the offering of animal, plant, or human life or of some material possession to a deity, as in propitiation or homage.
2. the person, animal, or thing so offered.
3. the surrender or destruction of something prized or desirable for the sake of something considered as having a higher or more pressing claim.
4. the thing so surrendered or devoted.
5. a loss incurred in selling something below its value.
6. Also called sacrifice bunt, sacrifice hit . Baseball . a bunt made when there are fewer than two players out, not resulting in a double play, that advances the base runner nearest home without an error being committed if there is an attempt to put the runner out, and that results in either the batter's being put out at first base, reaching first on an error made in the attempt for the put-out, or being safe because of an attempt to put out another runner.

–verb (used with object)
7. to make a sacrifice or offering of.
8. to surrender or give up, or permit injury or disadvantage to, for the sake of something else.
9. to dispose of (goods, property, etc.) regardless of profit.
10. Baseball . to cause the advance of (a base runner) by a sacrifice.

—Synonyms
relinquish, forgo, renounce.

Sacrifice is something that I have heard about all of my life. 'They offered a sacrifice to God on the altar...Jesus was a living sacrifice for humankind.' However, I have been thinking ALOT about sacrifice during this whole renovation process.
 
This world has become so self-absorbed that you don't see neighbor helping neighbor as often as we should. However, I have seen a different view in the last several weeks and a perfect example of sacrifice. My dad has given up a lot over the last several weeks to make certain that my studio gets completed. He has sacrificed a LOT of time. This week he took 3 days off of work. A couple of his CMA friends sacrificed their time on Tuesday night. I am amazed and humbled.
 
I have very few carpentry skills. And while I could've 'made do' with a lot of the building, my dad wanted better, so he has given up taking care of things at the house, riding his motorcycle, sleep...the list could go on and on. My dad needs surgery on this shoulder, but he insists on getting the studio done before the surgery because he won't be able to for a while after the surgery....SACRIFICE. Let's not forget my mom. She has proven to be a great mason, a fabulous painter, insulation queen...she can do it all (just ask her!).
 
We HAVE gotten a lot done. I will post pictures soon, but I just wanted to say thanks to those who sacrifice for me. I am learning that sacrifice doesn't necessarily have to be painful, but it does require relinquishment (which can be painful sometimes). Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for us. If we're supposed to be disciples of Christ - imitators of our Lord - why aren't we sacrificing more for others?