Quiet Wisdom

For all of my teacher friends out there...

For all the ones who toil,
day after day,
attempting to help their students in the ways
that seem so small at the time...

For all those who offer
bits of direction,
and assume that there is only once concession,
well... maybe...

For all of those instructors
who instruct sincerely
and know in the end that very clearly 
that only a few were listening...

For every single educator
who educates from the heart
hoping each day that just one will start
to change...

For the teachers out there who counsel
though counselors they are not
this role they fill on the spot
when one child's ears are open...

Keep this saying in mind:
"The words of the wise
heard in quiet
are better than the shouting of a ruler
among fools."
Ecclesiastes 9:17 (ESV)g

Public Transportation?

I have been thinking about trying the Danville Mass Transit for my work commute.  I have only tried public transportation a couple of other times.  Once it turned out really well, the second time it wasn't so good... But I have never done public transportation on a regular basis.

Why am I considering this?  Well, mostly because it would cost less money.  I don't know exactly what I would be paying, but I do know that it would be significantly less than what I am already paying for gas.  You may also be wondering, why don't I carpool?  Well, if I am going to ride, then it would be nice to use that time to get things done.  That would be approximately 50 extra minutes per day to read, write, grade papers, study, etc. It actually sounds a little bit fun... if...

See, there is that if.

How much will it actually end up costing?  How accurate is the bus schedule?  Do I really want to sit outside and wait for the bus? Is the bus clean?  Does it smell?  These are the things that I am wondering about.

Do any of you use public transportation?  More importantly, do any of you use Danville Mass Transit?

Piper's Sabbatical

Pastor John Piper is taking a sabbatical. Here is an excerpt from a letter on the Desiring God website:

I asked the elders to consider this leave because of a growing sense that my soul, my marriage, my family, and my ministry-pattern need a reality check from the Holy Spirit. On the one hand, I love my Lord, my wife, my five children and their families first and foremost; and I love my work of preaching and writing and leading Bethlehem. I hope the Lord gives me at least five more years as the pastor for preaching and vision at Bethlehem.

But on the other hand, I see several species of pride in my soul that, while they may not rise to the level of disqualifying me for ministry, grieve me, and have taken a toll on my relationship with Noël and others who are dear to me. How do I apologize to you, not for a specific deed, but for ongoing character flaws, and their effects on everybody? I’ll say it now, and no doubt will say it again, I’m sorry. Since I don’t have just one deed to point to, I simply ask for a spirit of forgiveness; and I give you as much assurance as I can that I am not making peace, but war, with my own sins.

He goes on to reaffirm that it isn't because of one particular sin, which is what most of us think when a guy says he is going on a sabbatical to work on his marriage. My mind started heading that direction right away. What really struck me was this next comment:

In 30 years, I have never let go of the passion for public productivity. In this leave, I intend to let go of all of it. No book-writing. No sermon preparation or preaching. No blogging. No Twitter. No articles. No reports. No papers. And no speaking engagements.

A "passion for public productivity" is not something that I struggle with, with but I could understand that drive in slightly different ways. I have found at work in me, though I would normally characterize myself as a lazy bum, an increasing desire to be productive, to get something done all of the time, everyday. I get up early everyday, even days off so I can accomplish something. I have spent this spring break working, from the time I got up to the time I went to bed.

What is the balance between taking time off and "redeeming the time" (Eph. 5:16)? I am not sure.

A Few Finished Rooms

A few of the rooms at our house are finished.

The Master Bedroom

The TV Room / Study

The Bathroom 

The Kitchen

The upstairs and the boys rooms are also finished, but I don't have pictures of those yet.  The trim (around the doors of the two rooms and the bathroom isn't done yet, but here is a picture of the trim.

Umm ... Who needs video games?

Who needs video games?!? I have a fuel system to play with!

I had to replace the corroded parts. This just didn't look safe to me.

Looks good to me. Now it is time to stick it in the tank. I hope this part goes well!

Big Red (Day 2)

I could summarize the entire day in one sentence:

"I spent 2 hours and 15 minutes trying to loosen 2 bolts."

Yeah, that about says it all, but here are a few pictures of the first day. I am currently waiting for the dew on the ground to be sufficiently dried up before I go out there. I will try to post some more pictures later.

I have a fear of the vehicle falling on me, so I make sure that it is securely jacked up.



Taking off the clamp on the big hose where you fill the tank.



This is at the beginning of the 2hr.15minute brawl that ensued between me and the tag-team bolts!



Say hello to my little friend!



Lowering the tank down with a jack.



The tank is now lowered, but now I have to disconnect everything from the top of the tank.


In case anyone might want to search this out,I will put in a few key words:
this fuel pump replacement is for a 1995 Chevy Astro Van.

Big red

My first official day that I am not in school.

Normally this would result in heading off to work... my other work. In the summer I am a mover. (If you didn't already know this... they you haven't really been reading my blog.) And usually the very first day after school I am headed off to my summer job.

This year is different though. This year I have a ton of work to do right away, because I am getting ready to move. It looks like everything is going well on the house selling, so I need to get to work fixing the things that I agreed to fix.

I need to replace a glass window pane. I need to put in soffit vents. And there is some electrical work to be done. (I can't do that last one myself.

So, here I am, all ready to get to work on this lovely Monday morning, and guess what... Big Red won't start.

My wife's parents were here, so they took her to work on their way out of town, but that still leaves me with a big red, big pain! I think that it is the fuel pump. This has happened before. (Read about it here and here.)

God has used vehicle repairs in my life on many occasions. While I am replacing alternators, God is replacing attitudes. While I am putting in a new fuel pump, God is putting in new trust. While I am swapping out belts and pulleys and fluids, God is swapping out faulty beliefs about Him. I am not joking with you. Broken down vehicles have resulted in more change in my heart than almost any other thing.

So, pray for me today. Pray that as I tackle this fuel pump... which is located inside of the fuel tank... (equals giant pain!), that I will also be receptive to what God has to teach me today.

Without any further ado, I am off to get the parts that I will need. Big red, here I come!

Final Day

In January 2007, I was in desperate need of a job... A second job.  I had just been praying for an overly flexible job when a guy from the church called me up.  I can still remember it, I was standing in the backyard raking (and burning) leaves when he called.

I, of course, said yes to his job offer.  It didn't pay much, but it was really flexible, and just about the number of hours that I needed, without being too much.

It was a great job, and I have to say, it never really felt like a job.  It always felt like I was just serving at the church.  Especially when the paychecks started getting direct deposited... Then I didn't really see any of the pay.

My boys came to work with me almost 50% of the time.  Most of the time they would just hang out, but I would always try to give them a little job or two to do.  My oldest was really turning out to be a good worker.  He had learned how to do almost every job that I did.  He was such a good help that when I brought them with me, it would cut my time in half.  My yougest couldn't do as much, but he had amazing intentions.  He always wanted to help, so I would give him a little job or two to do.

They wanted to come in with me because it was the last time, so I took them to Sonic to celebrate the final day of cleaning at the church.  We worked together one more time.  It was alright.

I have to admit, I am feeling a little sad about the end of this job.