What a busy couple of weeks!  After a brief lull in activity around here, the construction has progressed by leaps and bounds.  The shelter over the north basement doors is now completed.  With the exception of gutter installation, there remains little to do outdoors at this point, so most of the work has been indoors: the finishing!  The wainscotting (wood half-way up the walls) went up very rapidly – it was all up and varnished by Wednesday last week.  Thursday and Saturday were days of work on window frames and mouldings.  One of the young men from our Bible study came over to help us out.  Thank you, Ryan, for your excellent work.  We express much gratitude also to Ryan’s family for sharing your skilled worker!

   The whole look of the place has been drastically altered – it is looking more and more like a room instead of a construction zone.  The bathroom at the back of the room is also progressing.  The walls are plastered, the exterior wall on the side of the original house is also dry walled and plastered, and the wooden ceiling is in place.  The pictures speak for themselves…

Some things require extreme precision…

   The question in many minds now is, “How soon will it be all done so that we can move in?!”  A lot still remains to do, however.  The mouldings around the doors as well as the openings into the original house have yet to be finished.  The flooring will be a massive endeavour, and even after that there are the baseboards, etc.  We continue to dream of the day it will all be finished…

   While all this was taking place in the extension, another project was also underway: fixing up the front door.  Though a beautiful wooden door, it is sorely inadequate at keeping out the cold during the winter.  Nathanael took it all apart, put insulating into it, and put it back up.  We shouldn’t have the problem of frost covered screws next winter!

   Construction/renovation was not the only thing going on this past week.  Mommy, Evelyn, Stephen, Sarah, and William worked on cleaning out the 28-year-old chest freezer in the basement.  It was a formidable task to take everything out, sort it all, clean the freezer all out, and put everything back!

   We have not only been busy at home either.  Friday afternoon was spent at our grandparents’ home helping them with clearing out weeds and repainting the balcony.  It was a wonderful team project – even Amy helped!  We loved doing this for them.

   Sunday was a day of ministering to others at the Grace Christian Home for a service with the Godfreys.  Singing hymns, playing a few pieces on our instruments, listening to Mr. Godfrey present many creative ways of sharing the Gospel, and talking with the residents afterwards was such a delight!

   In all this busyness, I pause to consider a thought: What is the purpose in it all?  We can be busy about many things without knowing where we are heading, or precisely on what we are focused.  Is our focus simply to get something done?  The apostle Paul stated in I Corinthians 10:31, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” (emphasis added)  This is to be our focus: the glory of God, seeking to make Him known in all we say or do.

   “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”  Colossians 3:17