I recently read 2 Chronicles chapter 1 for my morning scripture reading...... the account of Solomon (as new King of Israel succeeding his father David) asking God for wisdom and knowledge to rule the people, in response to God appearing to him telling him to "ask for what you want me to give you".( v.7) If you know the story, Solomon was blessed by God with wisdom, knowledge and riches.... yet his heart was gradually led astray by his taking of many wives and concubines who worshiped other gods. It struck me that all the wisdom and knowledge in the world is useless without Obedience...............and how easily we are corrupted by material things, power, comfort and sensual pleasure.............. Read "the...
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...
This past weekend was The Prodigal Carpenter's first experience participating in a Festival or Artisan Fair. For anyone who has undertaken one of these, we don't have to tell you the amount of hard work that goes into preparation, facilitating, and post event handling. We learned a lot from our "initiation" into the outdoor market world. 1 Nothing replaces personal interaction with potential customers. The feedback was invaluable. It was affirming to have so many folks express admiration for the quality and craftsmanship of our products and admire what we do. 2. Know your Target Market. Handcrafted items of high quality are not produced inexpensively They take time, craftsmanship and quality materials. Consequently they're not what everyone is looking...
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....
