Life without a kitchen

     The week after Christmas, we demolished our kitchen.  The cabinets had been refaced 16 years ago, but the 48 year old cabinets were falling apart.  We pushed to action when had a leak behind the sink.  I vacuumed 10 gallons of stinky water out of the block wall!

We took down all the drywall, removed the flooring, removed the dropped ceiling, widened the four doorways that entered the kitchen, and relocated the plumbing for a new sink location.  

And now we are rebuilding.  The walls are back up, the electricity is reconnected, the cabinets are installed.  Over a month without a kitchen is stressful and inconvenient.  We are hoping we make it, but we’ll see!

     If you want to see some time lapse videos of the work, you can click on the words below:

Day 1 (removing the cabinets)

Day 2 (pulling down the drywall)

Day 3 (jackhammering up the old tile)

Day 4 (removing door, plumbing, kayak break)

Day 5 (lights, pulling nails, insulation, floor prep)

Laying tile

Cleaning tile

In January I began another project with Cru that reminds me of our kitchen remodel.  It’s not the same, but we are taking a healthy look “behind the drywall” of a part of Cru.

Arrowhead Conferences and Events (ACE) was started by Cru 30 years ago to help set up the hundreds of life changing conferences we hold every year across the country.   They save Cru and other ministries lots of money because of the volume of the bookings.

I’m helping ACE take a look at what they do and how they do it and will help them make any changes needed.  We are already seeing areas where we can  help them be even more effective in serving the body of Christ.  

       We are enjoying our work with Cru more than we have in years. Thank you for your partnership in sharing the love of Jesus.

With love and thanks,

Endurance

I may be smiling, but my body was crying.

        I turn 55 this month. There were times in this kitchen project (jackhammering up the old tile, and laying the new tile) when my body was screaming for me to stop.  My knees, my back, my fingers!

        You can watch me work by clicking on the video links on this page.

        I literally thought of it like climbing a mountain or running a marathon…I just had to keep going. 

        Sometimes that is life.  There are times of rest, but also times that seem unbearable.   I hope that you experience God’s presence during those times.  

        Our prayer for you and us is that you will be…“strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience…”  Col. 1:11

I finished with one tile leftover.

Thank you

I often pray at dinner, "Thank you God for all we have.  We recognize that everything we have comes from You."

For us, as missionaries, the temptation is to see our ministry partners as the source of our provision.  For those in "normal jobs," it may be easy to think of an employer or employment itself as the source of provision.  But when my head is clear and my heart is right, I realize that God is the source of every blessing.

So, our thanks goes to the Lord.

But it also goes to you and all of those who give to the Lord and His work.  Your heart yielded to His Spirit is generous.  Your desire to invest in His kingdom is a great encouragement.  He uses so many who invest in our family and our work to enable us to serve Him.

We do not feel alone.  In fact, your gifts reflect your concern for us, your heart for the Lord, and your desire to see people come to know Him.

So thank you.  I doubt my ability to ever convey how grateful we are to the Lord for you, and how grateful we are to you for your support as we walk by faith.

May you have a joyful Thanksgiving Day as you reflect on all that He has blessed you with as well.

With love and thanks,