After today, I feel like I've become more of a meteorologist than a blogging, church member and construction volunteer. We've seen it all the past 10 days... rain, floods, lightening, thunder, sun, heat, and today--hail. That's right. This afternoon all hail broke loose after we had, thankfully, packed everything up. It cut our day a little short but we got the important part of siding the front done, and that's the layout.

The photos show the front of the house that's beginning to look like a house! Ken is so proud of the way it's looking and we were just getting rockin' and rollin' with the lap siding. If I must say so myself, it will look terrific when we're finished. Ken worked inside today replacing the drywall around the sliding glass doors to the patio where we had to reframe. And Ken, I do have 1 question for you. What are you doing using the table saw to cut that itty, bitty piece of wood? And what are you going to do with it once it's cut? Inquiring minds want to know!

Speaking of myself, most of the folks working are very quick to question my abilities. "Are you sure that hole's in the right place?" "Is this the side that's 1/4 in. higher? Are you sure it's not supposed to be 1/4 in. lower over here?" "Did you check to see if this is level?" Question after question after question. The other day I mentioned that Ron thought we ought to have titles; he's the Safety Director and Ed is the Superintendent. Today I've assigned myself a title: Project Perfection Manager. (It's very similar to being a Quality Control Manager but I like the word Perfection in my title. Hey, I'm writing the blog, I'm assigning titles, so I get to choose. Period.)

Carol once again provided lunch and included watermelon! Therefore her title continues to grow; it's now Carol's Catering, Deli, Grille, and Farmers' Market. We have become like Pavlov's Dogs... asking earlier and earlier, "What time is it? Is it lunch time yet? I wonder what we'll have today?" Carol, a simple thank-you seems inadequate; but Thank You.

As I mentioned to you in yesterday's post, the inspector is supposed to come out again on Monday. Today, Superintendent Ed went around the house putting nails everywhere! If we still don't pass on Monday, it definitely won't be because there aren't enough nails. That siding is going nowhere.

Mary Alyce was back out with us today and we had another first-time contributer to the project. Patrick came out to give us an opinion and instruction on dealing with the electrical concerns on the outside of the house. When we get ready to put the siding up behind the electrical service to the house we have a plan and we have licensed backup. Thank you Patrick and Dawn Electric for your support.

We will be taking some time off from this project this next week. Several of us have had personal plans in place for a long time now so we won't be working a set schedule. Please stay in contact with Ed or me and we'll let you know what the schedule looks like.

I look forward to seeing you in church tomorrow!

Welcome to "I have good news and I have bad news" Friday!

Most people want the bad news first to get it out of the way and end on a positive note, soooo, here we go.

First, to give you an overall status check on the project after a week, all the prep work is complete and we are ready to begin siding. It has taken us longer than anticipated, but I guess that always happens. The crews each day have worked hard and I'm thankful for their enduring the weather... wet, wet, wet at the beginning and hot, hot, hot here the past several days! Y'all are the best!

O.k., you will notice from one of the photos that our work was 'disapproved' today by the building inspector. Seems like he didn't like our nailing pattern on one portion of one side of the house. It wasn't a big deal to us, all we needed to do was to pick up the nail gun and add some nails, which honestly we had forgotten. While we are to submit to our governmental authorities, it was frustrating that a small section forces us now to wait until Monday to have it reinspected to make sure we added enough nails! He did allow us to work on the front of the house and to begin putting up the lap siding; and we will tomorrow! We move on..........

Russell and Joan rejoined the 5 amigos of Ed, Mark, Byron, Ron, and me so we had a good group working today. Carol's Catering, Deli and Grille provided sloppy joes for lunch; with drinks and chips and gooey fudge brownies for dessert!

Take a look at the photos and you can tell how hot it was today. Mark discovered that pouring the cold water from the cooler over our heads felt tremendous, and was effective at cooling us off. We might have to have 2 coolers tomorrow; one to drink from and one to 'shower' with! You'll also notice that I found a job I liked... it was in the shade and I could wield the nail gun while lying down. Neat! Too bad there's no more of that to do!

Our superintendent, Ed, made a very un-superintendent-like mistake today. As he was changing blades on his table saw, getting ready to cut the Hardi boards, Russell said, "Is that the way that blade turns or are you going to cut it with the blade on backwards?" Ummm, Ed, how 'bout it? Which is better?!!!

Now for the good news. Byron asked to share a word of testimony regarding our work this past week. It was better when he said it but I'm going to try and share his good sentiments with you. As a real estate broker in these economic times, his work has been, should we say, challenging. He had been working with a client since April and everything had fallen through and it looked as if they were at the end of the road and had parted ways, from an agreement perspective. He put it away, and then this past Wednesday he got a call (while working with us on the house). (And speaking of getting a call, Byron lives with his Bluetooth ear piece in his ear and this post's photo of him in the trailer pointing to his ear is him indicating to me that he was on the phone. At least the trailer was shady and he was sort of away from all the noise we were making.) 'Out of the blue' both of these parties that were involved got together with a positive outcome. The same thing happened again the next day (which was just yesterday) with a client with whom he had been working since January! Byron's testimony was that maybe God was telling him that when he/we put our focus on others, we in turn are blessed... sometimes in tangible ways like these business successes and other times at later dates and in less tangible ways. We are told to be obedient and to 'feed my sheep' and not worry about tomorrow or from where our sustenance will come. God will provide. God is good!

Well, tomorrow is the last scheduled day for our ministry project. We obviously aren't finished but we will have to schedule from week to week from here on. If you are still able to help and would like to know when we will be working, please let us know and offer to let us call or e-mail you with dates and times. Keep checking in here and I'll give the blow-by-blow report.

'When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' --Matthew 25:39-40

Just a quick update for today, Thursday.

The siding was delivered today and that was the extent of our work! Ed and Ron were on hand to accept the delivery and check things in and the rest of us either worked at our regular jobs today or rested.

If you will allow me to whine (I'm going to do it anyway. Why did I ask?!) it's been really hot and we kind of 'hit a wall' and needed a rest. I'm sure we'll be refreshed and ready to get going again tomorrow and Saturday!

Some folks just don't understand editorial license so I feel compelled to express a clarification. Our pastor complained that he was completely misrepresented in my Tuesday blog post. (He should have known, however, that when you're dealing with this group, anything goes... and no one is immune from the writer's pen.) That not withstanding, he did NOT actually name names each time he vigorously used that hammer stapler. And while I can NOT read his mind to know what he was thinking when he was swinging that thing, I do know that voicing names he did not do. We can only guess what he was thinking but now that I've had a chance to think about it, since it is Shepherd Richard we're talking about here we must assume that it was something Holy. We're thankful that you were willing to serve and minister with us and to lower yourself to the level of getting sweaty and getting your nice white tennis shoes muddy!

Well everyone, as I mentioned earlier, we will be working all day Friday and all day Saturday. The building inspector is scheduled to pay us a visit tomorrow, Friday, so he can tell us how wonderful a job we have done thus far! Once he has complimented us, we can begin to cover up what we've done and install the real siding.

Thanks again for checking in on us on this blog and for supporting those of us doing the manual labor. I don't know about a village, but it takes a congregation!

One day at a time...

We're making progress and have accomplished a lot but we are beginning to hit a wall. The quartet of Ed, Mark, Ron and Doug were at it again today and have made it around to the front of the house now.

We've developed a system and are motoring along. Thank goodness that we were able to work in the shade today. (Ed, I don't know what we would have done without your tent!) God heard our prayers for dry weather and has supplied us with 3 days without rain. It was, however, a HOT one today! Us old guys (sorry Mark, I'm generalizing!!) are taking a lot of breaks. The front of the house is shaded by a nice big tree but today was the first day that we've had to break out the pruning utensils and cut shrubbery away from the house so we could work. Mark kind of disappears in the plants in one of the photos; sort of looks like he's in the jungle.

Well, let's see who I can pick on today...

Ron has decided that we all need official titles and responsibilities. He assigned himself the first title: Safety Director. Now I'm not real sure what the job description is but he did a superb job today of taking the boards we removed, bending over nails that were protruding from them, and placing them in the trailer. That's a very important part of the job and keeps us from stepping on nails. As the saying goes, 'a clean work site is a safe work site'.

Hey Carol, what's for lunch? Turkey on slider buns, wheat or white, with raspberry mayonnaise; chips; veggie tray; lemon squares (killer!); drinks. Yuummm!

Today's work included some tedious work around a lot of wires... wires for the phones, wires for the cable/internet, and wires for electricity. We did pretty good. We managed to not electrocute ourselves. And there was cable/internet all day. The phones, however, were a different story. Our disconnection of the phone line wasn't readily apparent; if you don't call out, you don't know anything is wrong. That was us today until about 3:30 when Marie asked, "Do y'all know why the phones aren't working? Did you have to work around some wires?" As a matter of fact... ummm, we did. Considering that this crew is good at what they do, it was not a big deal to get communications back up and running, although, when Byron and I first looked at all those wires in that box, we weren't totally confident. "Do you have an inside wiring service contract with your provider?" we asked. But wait! I think if we connect these blue wires--- Eureka! (Are we good, or are we good.)

The Hardi Board siding and the rest of the materials get delivered tomorrow and then maybe we'll start getting the house to actually look like a house again. It won't be an easy task; for most of the rough prep work we've done, accuracy and details aren't required. Anyway, thanks for reading the blog and keep checking back to follow along with our progress! (By the way, you can comment on any of the posts by clicking on comments at the end of each of them.) Enjoy!

Today, Tuesday, was a 'weather grace gift' as it was the first work day that it did NOT rain! God is good! (But we knew that already, didn't we?!)

A lot was accomplished today as Byron, Ed, Mark and Doug worked all day and were joined in the afternoon by Ron and... another new face at the work site... Pastor Richard! You can tell from the sweat on his T-shirt that he "...didn't just come for the photo op. Hand me something and tell me what to do!" As is typical of the Pastor, he doesn't let any grass grow under his feet, and he didn't let any grow under ours either! For some strange reason, he really took to the hammer stapler, stapling the house rap up. He was going at it with a vengeance and it seems that with every swing and blow he mumbled a different Deacon's name. (Not quite sure what that meant but it couldn't have been a positive thing!!!)

We found out at lunch today that Carol's Deli has undergone a name change. We feasted on homemade beef BBQ sandwiches and drinks. It is now Carol's Grill and Catering. (Thanks again!)

With superb teamwork, excepting a small portion of the left side of the house, we completed all the work necessary to begin putting up the Hardi Board siding. As you can see from the photos, we had to replace the framing around the sliding patio doors around back and for most of the morning there was a gaping section with no wall. There are a couple of photos that show the 'pass through' that was created and then the final cover-up and wrapping. I just realized why Ed spent most of his time working on that this morning. It was the only spot on the work site that was air conditioned!!! (That's why he's the superintendent.) Anyway, as you can also see in the photos, everything now is wrapped up and waiting to accept the siding.

Now what would my blog posts be without a little humor, hummm? There is a photo posted today of the typical Ron pose... sitting! I feel slightly bad in that we don't have a recliner on site for him like we've had in the past. (Sorry Ron, we love you anyway. Maybe the next project we can find a recycled recliner for you in a dumpster somewhere.) Seriously though, while we are good at ribbing each other we have worked hard and the fellowship has been tremendous. Truly this a ministry not only to Ken and Marie but to those of us who have been working and hopefully to the neighbors.

Speaking of ribbing, I usually get needled about something and usually it's about something that's not even apparent. For several days now I have been teased about a 'pink extension cord' that I own. Has it been with me at the site? No. Did that keep anyone from talking about it anyway? No. Did I cower and leave it at home? NO WAY! I brought that pink cord with me today and even posed for a photo with it. (It was a great value... an excellent cord for a low price. Even then, Ron said he wouldn't have it even if they had given it to him. Whatever.) Someone else asked today if the pink meant this was a Powderpuff Ministry.

Well, I'm going to close today's post with a reminder and a realization that this is truly a ministry, an opportunity for us to put action to our words. Thanks to all who are involved, whether you're on site, making meals, contributing dollars, supporting us with your prayers, offering encouragement, or any other way.

God is good!

Day 3 begins with apologies to the hymn writers...

"Heavenly sunlight" was the theme of the morning; as we arrived at 8:00 a.m. to begin our day's work it was beautiful. Alas, if it had only lasted longer than about 11:00 a.m. God, I know I'm not in any position to complain, but, about this rain...

This was our largest participation day so far with another new face in the crowd, Mary Alyce. So today we had Ed, Byron, Frank, Russell, Kelvin, Joan, Mark, Mary Alyce, Doug, and homeowner Ken. All the more to work hard and get wet! (More on that in a bit.)

The crew today was able to finish the preparations for the siding to go up on the long side that we started on Thursday. We finished the framing and under siding, marked the stud locations (the house studs!), nailed the flashing up, and wrapped with the house wrap. So, we're ready to begin siding there.

Work continued across the back of the house and around the other side and we managed to get it torn off and covered back up before we left for the day... not, however, before the rains came, but we were ducking in and out of the tents during the rains, everyone committed to the task! We'll have to do quite a bit of work around the patio doors, replacing some framing and even doing some drywall repairs inside. Ken began the inside work today.

Carol was once again the lunch wagon, today with sub sandwiches, drinks and some sweets. Thanks again, Carol... we couldn't do it as easily without those of you providing the noon sustenance.

That was also about the time that the rain began.

"There shall be showers of blessing" or in this case, there were also showers of water, and lots of it! ("Shall we gather at the river?") I still say maybe half of us should have been working on the siding and the other half building a big boat. I know, I know-- God promised to never do that again, BUT... "Lord, plant my feet on higher ground." You will notice in today's photos, we spent a fair amount of our afternoon huddled together under the tents, trying to avoid the rain. Unfortunately we all weren't completely successful. Someone (a Deacon, no less) suggested that we have a Deacon wet T-shirt contest. Now that you have had enough laughing to last you a lifetime, I mentioned that to say that we can have fun together and do ministry at the same time. (Thanks, Byron, for the suggestion!)

Remember I said that today's blog post has a hymn theme to it? Well, how's this for being apropos? "I've seen it in the lightning, heard it in the thunder, and felt it in the rain; my Lord is near me all the time, my Lord is near me all the time." And did we ever see it in the lightning! In fact one strike was so close, we not only saw it, some of us felt it! You know what I'm talking about? The kind of strike that's so close that you hear the sizzle, the 'sszzzt', the hair on your body stands up, and then you immediately see the flash and hear the boom. We've already been through that at IVBC, Lord!

We finished up a little early today because of the rain, but looking back, it's been a very productive 3 days. Thanks again to everyone who's had a part, and thanks to you for following along with us by viewing the blog; check us daily to see if we've added anything. See you at church tomorrow!

"Stir Your church, O god, our Father, move throughout its life today; cultivate a sense of mission in our hearts and minds, we pray. Help us to renew commitment to a way of ministry which interprets for our culture how Your truth can make us free."

Day 2 of this project saw participation from some newer faces. Your blogger had to work his real job today, but I did get to take a few photos and to get the 'skinny' on some of the crew and their escapades. (As you might have guessed, that's real easy to do with this bunch. Someone is always eager to throw someone else under the bus!)

Ed, Byron, Frank and Mark were at it again today and were joined by Russell and Joan. Yesterday's returning foursome, at the close of today, wondered 2 things: why didn't they just put on their wet clothes from yesterday, and, what do they have that's dry that they can wear tomorrow. (In fact, Byron had a tennis shoe blowout, a flat, that you can see in one of the photos. Not good.) I think we're going to rename this mission project 'The Noah Project'. We have our own Sea of Galilee right here in Orange Park.

Well, I was wondering how long it would take, and who the winner would be, that would put a nail into a PVC water line. If you guessed Day 2, and Mark Eckles, you would be correct! When it was explained to me this afternoon, it was said, "It was sooooo close to missing! In fact it was just a tiny nick in the pipe." But it still had to have an emergency repair to keep the water from imitating Yosemite in the wall! Like we needed more water at the site!!!

Cherryl was today's lunch caterer; thanks for seeing to it that the workers today were well-nourished, even though it was not a nice day for a picnic.

The blogger needs to come clean and explain one of the photographs. You probably were wondering why I included a lovely picture of Ed's sturdy, yellow, metal (steel) saw horses. If you ask Frank, he would tell you it's because Ed needs a photo as documentation for an insurance claim against yours truly. See, yesterday I was fastidiously cutting away when it felt like I had hit a knot, or even a nail, in one of the boards that were on said saw horses. Little did I realize that someone had adjusted the depth of cut on 'my' circular saw and I proceeded to almost cut Ed's 2 steel saw horses into 4 pieces. See those perfect cuts? Things of beauty. I even managed to cut off one of the handles. He didn't believe me, that I could even do that but, hey, I'm good at whatever I do!!!

We will begin Day 3 tomorrow at 8:00 a.m., 'Lord willing and the creek don't rise'. How true, how true, how true.