My wife never ceases to amaze me. This past Sunday we went to our home church and worshipped together; afterwards we were part of a group of hundreds who packed Christmas boxes for Operation Christmas Child (check this outreach ministry: https://www.samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child/…/). On our ride home my wife asked me to turn the car around after we passed a homeless man standing on side of the Interstate exit. She said the man just "looked so sad," so we went back, shared with him the love of the Lord and ended up driving him to get something to eat. After dropping the man off my sweet wife was in tears because of the hurt this man was experiencing. I was reminded of...
Election Day is tomorrow, and after months of endless insults and disclosure of improprieties Americans will decide who will lead our country over the next four years. This election is unprecedented in that it includes the 2 most unpopular presidential candidates in the history of our country; so the proper question would be: why are these our choices? I am not advocating for support of a third party, fourth party or any other party or person, my question is: why don't we have better and more palatable option? Is it perhaps that people are so sick of politics that no one wants to run for office anymore? Think about it, who wants to expose every part of their life...
Lately I've been working on a "special" project. It's nothing complicated..... no new or innovative design............not particularly "fine" woodworking............and yet, it's immensely satisfying. I was asked to make toy cars to place in Christmas "shoe boxes" that will go to needy children with a message of God's love. Such a "small" thing...........but a welcome opportunity to allow the Lord to use my woodworking skills for something to impact the hearts of little ones I will probably never meet. Everything I have is mine only by the grace of God...........and that goes for my talents and abilities. As I cut, sand and drill these little wooden vehicles I can imagine the hands that may treasure a small toy and the heart...
One of the common questions that came out of our first festival participation was “Where do you get your wood?” (usually posed by another woodworker or weekend hobbyist) This question sparked several conversations that led to an exchange of valuable information. It's human nature.............we enjoy sharing things we've discovered with others who share our interest. As far as wood sources go, for convenience there are the Big Box stores, but without offending anyone,they're primarily good for plywood and structure based wood (2 x 4’s, etc). Then there are lumber yards; however many of them are also focused on building materials. The places where you get prime hardwoods are specialty lumber businesses, generally to be found via online searches...
My wife and I took a ride the other day to purchase a load of wood. Our journey took us eastward through the "foothills" area of the north Georgia mountains. Once past the multi-lane congestion of Atlanta, we wound our way through the picturesque countryside on the way to our destination. It was a beautiful early Fall day. The destination turned out to be a workshop full of some prime hardwood which was being sold in preparation for closing out the shop. The owner, a very pleasant and industrious young man was preparing to pursue missionary work in Africa in a few months. He patiently took the time to let us look through his wood supply and make our selections....
