Let There Be Light

I'm dead serious about this kitchen project. You see, you can only look for a job so much in a given day and my wife is convinced that keeping me busy is the next best thing. So, after resting on the Sabbath, I dug in yesterday and put in the can lights. Mid-afternoon, I nearly put the project on hold, but two trips to the attic later, voila......lights. The pictures below don't indicate the back pain I feel from walking on the 2x6's across my attic with 4 ft of clearance. I'm not tall, but I am taller than 4 ft and not the most flexible. That 2nd trip up there was guaranteed to be the last one. Can't wait to get the cabinets painted!

Radical Transformations

This job search is bound to make a change in who I am. These major changes in life always do, right? So to overcompensate for my depressing week last week in the job hunt, my wife and I decided to go radical. Some of you know that our dream is to makeover our kitchen/family room into a large updated kitchen. Sitting here last week realizing that the savings account is going down rather than up, and realizing that our dream is many moons away, we decided to make our kitchen more enjoyable...NOW. So, I spent the better part of Saturday re-organizing the kitchen cabinets and pantry (not my wife's strong point), and down came a set of cabinets. We have not liked those things since we moved in, from the fact that you can't cook in the kitchen and see your guests in the family room, to the bright fluorescent bulbs shining in your face when you look toward the kitchen. Here are the before and after pix. Thanks to my friend Tyson who came to help me move the heavy things. We love it already and haven't even painted yet. Just wait! Can lighting and paint for the walls and cabinets this week! So, the kitchen and I can go through the radical transformation together. Make it a great day!

God Spoke at Church Again Today.....To Me

It's been a tough week. While I have been a finalist for 3 jobs recently, I realize that I won't likely get an offer from any of them. I will spare you the details how I learned this (it definitely has NOT been from the companies), but at any rate, it's a depressing way to start the new year. Then I went to church this morning. Keep in mind I was really in no mood to go to church this morning, but I knew that God would meet me there right where I'm at....He always does.

So, the message this morning was from Exodus 2, the familiar story of Moses getting left in the reeds by the Nile river. Today the story had a little different twist than other times. Remember how Pharoah's daughter came to find the little boy in the basket? Those of us who know the story well, get warm fuzzies remembering that part of the story as the rescue. Imagine being present (as sister Miriam was) when this happened though. It was likely the WORST thing that could have happened. You are kidding me! What luck. Pharoah has decreed that all baby boys be drowned in the Nile and now his daughter is the one to find Moses? Things can't get worse. Yet we know that the story unfolds to allow Moses' mother to nurse him and even get paid by Pharoah's daughter to do it. Seriously? So the one step back in having Pharoah's daughter show up, actually turned out for good?

Pharoah's daughter visited me this past week. It was clearly a step back in my job search. It was depressing. It has been a time of anxiety. Money is finite. Benefits are ending this month. God is really working on my dependence on Him, and most days I fail. But, everyday I'm given the choice: Am I going to be positive and depend on God, or be miserable and depend on myself. I woke up this morning bummed out and depending on self and at worship, God said, "Cut it out...this step back this week is only to prepare you for what I know lies ahead for you." OK, God I will depend on you more today and I am choosing to face the day with a positive attitude and reliance on You.

Make it a great day, friends!

Happy New Years!

Back to the routine today. The kids are off to school and my wife is back to work. The kids were ready to go back....the wife, not so much. I am very hopeful that I hear about a job this week. We had a great two week break. The kids played well, watched movies, played games and spent a couple of nights over at the grandparent's houses. Good memories. We ate too much and spent time with friends and family...one of our favorite past-times. So, today we start the New Year with resolutions that may or may not be kept, but a hope that 2010 will be one of the best yet. I hope it is for you too!