Psalm 77:11-14

 ¹¹ But then I recall all you have done, O Lord;
      I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago.
 ¹² They are constantly in my thoughts.
      I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works.  
¹³ O God, your ways are holy.
      Is there any god as mighty as you?
 ¹⁴ You are the God of great wonders!


 Working on my lesson for Sunday morning and watching football this evening tonight while Beki is at school.  Football is almost over.  I'm going to be really sad when there is no more football on Sundays.. Mondays... Thursdays... Sunday nights... Beki might not mind though  :)   Maybe I'll do something useful with all my free time.  Any suggestions?

This week I'll be teaching about how Joshua was so good about thanking God and taking the time to make a remembrance/memorial when He does great things in their lives.  So I'm hoping that with the lesson and craft the kids will do the same in their lives.  This week we will be making paper plate memory holders.  On the front flap we will glue on verse 11 from Psalm 77 and on slips of paper we will write down memories of God's work in our lives or prayer requests for Him to fill.  I think it will be good.

I'm kind of hoping that this blog becomes something along the same lines as that paper plate mail box.  I need to remind myself of what God does in my life, so I can look back and remember His good works.  I think everyone should do something like that in their own way.

Now onto something completely unrelated.

Have I talked about my new job-site yet?  I'm helping replace/upgrade the portion of the main sewage treatment facility in Denver that basically filters liquid from solid.  Ever wonder where it goes when you flush the toilet?  Well if you're in the Denver-metro area, it goes to my new job-site  :)  Basically what we are doing is replacing the current wiring for the grit filter and because the facility is a pretty big deal, the material we are using is a bit on the overboard safe side.  Instead of just running the lighter weight and less expensive underground conduit we are using steel conduit that is covered with a rubbery PVC plastic coating for additional protection.  Each stick (2" OCAL) of 10ft pipe is 2 1/2 inches wide and weighs probably 30lbs each and we've been threading, bending, and installing about 200ft a day.  These conduit will be buried and encased in concrete, so once the wires are installed they will be definitely protected.  Oh and with the snow, mud and wind its been even more challenging.

I really need to work on my brevity.  The whole point of this is that I've been sleeping great this week.  I think hard physical work is the best remedy for tossing and turning all night.  I also think that there is something inherently rewarding to good down and dirty hard work.  It pushes you physically and mentally.  While you're digging trenches and carrying heavy materials on your shoulders there is really no joy to be found in it.  Definitely not fun to have a frozen face or runny nose, but when you're working together with other men and can look back at the work you've completed that day, there is definitely a sense of pride and camaraderie created. 

I'm pretty sure God created men to labor and labor hard.  The sweat and soreness is so rewarding and full of purpose... kinda like doing man work and having man hands.  For those guys who work indoors all day in an office or cubicle I truly think they are missing out.  So many of Jesus' parables have elements of labor, farming, and earning wages.  Jesus was a carpenter, Peter, Andrew, James, and John were fishermen, Paul was a tentmaker.  There is so many life lessons, self value gained, and team building involved in manual labor that I would have never have been aware of if I wasn't on the path I'm currently on.  Our culture says that the paycheck or the education or the window office is what we must strive for... but i disagree.  When I see that garbage man, postal worker, car washer, etc doing their job.. an honest, thankless job... i have learned that they deserve just as much respect as a professor at a college for example.

Get out of your comfort zone.  Hop on google and find directions on changing your car's oil instead of paying someone else to do it.  Come in the house with 3 day stubble, filthy clothes, and chapped hands from working in the yard all day and see the response your wife gives you.  First she'll say that you're disgusting, then she'll secretly think to herself, "wow, he's pretty hot, I don't see him all manly like this very often."
There's a reason why as kids every single one of us loved Tim "the Tool Man" Taylor.  Now that we're grown up we can be that man for our family.  Work is good,

- J