Mighty Who?

As agreed with my pastor a dozen or so years ago, I volunteer a few hours at church each week. Most of that happens on Mondays and Tuesdays. This has been good for me and hopefully good for the church as well. In addition to coordinating the small groups ministry, there is a good bit of minor maintenance stuff that occupies a good bit of the time spent there. The business of a little structured time has kept me from a stream of consciousness existence at least for two days a week. There are some other obligations on Thursday and Friday. So, jokingly, Wednesday is my day off and my journey to church Monday and Tuesday is referred to as "going to work". Everything we call work should be so rewarding.

This past Monday, my trip to "work" involved a funny, vibrating noise that I soon discovered changed pitch with varying speeds of the heater fan. In fact, at top speed, it seemed like the dashboard was going to come off. I put up with it (pretty bearable on lowest blower setting) until today (my day off if you recall), Armed with an assortment of screwdrivers and such I disassembled the necessary plastic parts to gain access to the recalcitrant heater motor. Because of where we live, what greeted me at that point was not too surprising.

Living in the woods has been a lifetime thing for me and I would not choose otherwise. However one constant in the arrangement is putting up with the critters that share the woods. It would seem a mouse had taken up residence in the heater system. building a nest with various parts of air filters and insulation material. Mice can get through such tiny holes that it's virtually impossible to keep them from invading such an inviting space. Although cleaning out acorns and replacing the cabin air filter is pretty much routine, the rascally rodent was never in there when I did this in the past. This time was different unlike the larger rodent who choose to come out last week, this little one stayed put and when the heater fan (think centrifuge) cranked up it did him in and, although small, his body was sufficient to really upset the balance of the fan. I can run the heater full speed now. But, hopefully, the larger rodent. Phil, was right and it won't be necessary.
 

Two Fire Night

Although we have an oil-fired hot water system that supplies the bulk of our home heating, we have always supplemented the oil by burning wood. That was accomplished for years with an old fashioned box stove that had been salvaged from a less than desirable storage situation. It worked, albeit with moderate efficiency. Since it was in the basement and warm air tends to rise, it did help limit the number of times the oilman had to show up.

Then a few years ago we replaced the old timer with a new air-tight model figuring that less wood would be required and it seemed a bit safer in that you could only see the fire through the glass door. The new, safer stove however had a shortcoming. The firebox capacity did not allow for the same amount of heat the old one did and the only really warm spot was in the basement in front of the stove. There has to be a better way.

A second stove in the form of a fireplace insert proved to be a good solution. We still buy some oil and appreciate the fact that going away for a day or two is not the problem it would be if wood was our only fuel. Our winters generally have been warmer the last few years and the stove in the basement rarely gets used. Tonight is different. The Polar Vortex, a term that had no meaning for me for seventy years is misbehaving and the temperature is supposed to be bitterly cold tonight and tomorrow. Tonight and the next couple nights as well will be two stove nights as we deal with this new, at least to me, creature called the Polar Vortex.

I am so grateful to have access to firewood and will plan to get a little more stacked up next year in case the situation repeats. Thinking that old  saw, "Money doesn't grow on trees."  should be revised. Thanks for reading and hoping you are warm wherever you may be.

Resting Up

Today was less than what I would call a productive one. Other than keeping the wood fire burning and opening the stuff that magically (almost) appeared from Amazon it was a matter of keeping my favorite chair occupied. There is some sort of bug going around and fortunately I, unlike many, have the option to rest up in hopes that my body, as it usually does, fights off the malady. I was so good at doing nothing today, it conjured up thoughts of running for congress. From what I see, some of those folks have figured out a way to capitalize on sitting still.

Tomorrow will be different. Some of that stuff Amazon sent will provide what's needed to make some repairs on broken equipment and, since it will be Thursday, there's things going on that will get me out of the chair. My Christian men's group starts the day with breakfast at the diner followed by some study of God's Word and sharing concerns. During the winter months, Thursday is also when I make soup for our church's weekly community meal each Thursday evening. The day ends with one of two regular weekly "Out of the Woodwork" sessions. Coming home after that will allow me a bit of time in my chair without the guilt I felt today.

To be fair, a good bit of my chair time today was spent reading a great book about the restoration of the American Chestnut tree. If you have a few minutes, (well, quite a few minutes) ask me about how that restoration effort is coming along. Any time spent reading can hardly be considered wasted. Right? There, I feel better about the day now. Thanks for the chance to explain myself.

Motoring On

In the wood shop, the real workhorse is the stationary circular saw. Some would call it a table saw or some other variation of the machine's possible names. Virtually every piece of wood that makes its way into a finished project is, at some point, sometimes various points, passed through the table saw. So it was important to figure out what to do when it became apparent that the motor that drives the saw started making disturbing noises and little pieces of the ball bearing on one end of the motor worked their way out into the open, This is not not the way things are supposed to be.

A replacement motor, though pretty expensive, was available and, although delayed a bit by "extreme weather conditions" was delivered in less than a week. We're back in business now and it would appear that replacing the bearing on the original motor will enable us to have a spare for the future. Repairing rather than replacing is usually my choice since we deal entirely too much with an attitude that says, "Get a new one:!". The saw is working fine for about one fourth the cost of replacing it and a spare motor is now available for about one tenth the cost of a new one.

I like the idea of fixing things rather than replacing them when its not ridiculously  out of the question. Fortunately our Father feels that way about us too. He has it within His power to replace us when we are broken. He has this wonderful thing called grace that is offered to all of us once we realize we are broken  If you're feeling a little worn out, just talk to Him about a refurbishing. He has promised to be with us until the end of the age.

Who's This For?

How much of what we do are we able to say is done for the benefit of others? When the ministry "Out of the Woodwork" was just getting started, I liked to tell myself that, "This is really not for me, but to give opportunity to others." Who knows? The idea of sharing tools and work space with others seems like a pretty altruistic thing to do and it might even put a star or two on that "good behavior" chart that someone somewhere must be keeping. It hasn't exactly worked out that way however.

It would seem that the primary beneficiary of the whole share the wood shop idea has turned out to be me. What started as a tentative, "if it doesn't work out we'll just stop doing it", turned into "if I stop doing this, it's going to leave a big hole in my life". Looking at how this has come about is perhaps instructive. At first, having the shop available regularly seemed like an obligation and needed to be fit into the "important" things I was doing. Somewhere along the line, that changed into "What would I do without this wonderful experience?"

If there is a key to what has allowed Out of the Woodwork to become a welcome habit rather than a nagging responsibility, it is a realization of something I had professed, but, at one time, failed to practice. Once we accept the idea that we posses nothing except for the grace of God, it becomes not only selfish, but downright sinful to refuse to share. So, here we are several years into the program and although there has been benefit to lots of people, no one has gained more than I. With what has God entrusted you? How are you sharing it? Don't hesitate. God trusted you with everything you have: time, talent, and treasure. You'll be closer to Him if you share it. 

Generation Next

One of the greatest things that can happen in our lives is to see folks younger than ourselves taking an interest in the things the older generation finds pleasurable and or worthwhile. So it was with some satisfaction that I got to spend some Out of the Woodwork time with my two granddaughters and my two sons. We got a chance to spend a couple hours making some useful stuff out of trees that grew not too far from where we turned them into items of utility.

Cutting boards are always fun projects for me ever since making the obligatory pig-shaped one for my mother in 7th grade shop class over 60 years ago. Dad ran that one through the planer a time or two over the years to smooth up the knife-scarred surface and although the pig got thinner, it still functions pretty much as it did when new. My daughter-in-law indicated that she would like a couple small boards to use as general use and sandwich servers and, inspired by her request, off to the wood shop we went. Each granddaughter made a cutting board making use of some tools that their great grandfather bought for the shop long before they were born and I have to believe that he was smiling with approval.

Should I be given the opportunity to work with my kids and grand kids in coming days that will be cherishable, The places where we get to intersect with the younger folks diminish, especially as they mature into adulthood. If you have opportunities to do things with your heirs, take advantage of the chance to make memories not just for you, but for them. Steven Covey, in his great book. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, suggested that habit number 2 was to consider what you would like people to say about you at your funeral. We would all do well to want those who survive us to say that we shared that which God gave us with the younger folks.

Warming Up

This summer has found me in a curious position of indecision, procrastination, and wonderment. There is no doubt that, in our sober moments at least, we all want our lives to have mattered; to have made a difference and hopefully improved the situation we inherited. Sorting out what is fact and differentiating that from opinion is of utmost importance and this is what has me in a bit of a quandary. An issue that has bothered me for some time, is the matter of global warming, climate change or whatever one may wish to call it.

Climate scientists overwhelmingly agree that the earth is warming and changing weather patterns are responding at a very fast (for such things) pace. That the scientists agree is not a matter of opinion. That I agree with their assessment makes it my opinion. Scientists also agree that warming of the planet is sped up by higher levels of gases that result from the burning of fossil fuels. Once again, that scientists agree is factual. My choice to agree with them is considered opinion. So here I am caught in a space supported by evidence and still considered an opinion.

Back to my assertion that we desire to make a difference. I would ask any who take the time to read my stuff to consider how important this matter of climate change is. There is little doubt in my mind that my opinions will not convince anyone with differing ones to accept mine. I would ask, however, that we all consider the evidence and the need to be serious about preventing runaway global warming that will make life, as we know it, difficult if at all possible for future generations.

Unfortunately the issue has become a political one and although single issue politics is less than desirable, I cannot support any candidate who believes that this issue is not real and therefore needs no attention. Our planet is a gift from God (opinion again I guess). But if you share that opinion then not supporting the care and preservation of the gift is no longer political. Unfortunately, it seems this is the arena in which the battle takes place. Jesus assured us that, "In this world you will have tribulation," But He never said, "Don't do anything about it."  Thanks for reading. Comments appreciated.