You are all God’s children through faith in Christ Jesus. All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free; nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Now if you belong to Christ, then indeed you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to the promise. – Galatians 3:26-29

• First – and if you haven’t already – I’d like to invite you to read my thoughts about today’s inauguration of Donald Trump as POTUS. If you think you’ve already made up your mind… maybe not. Click here to read The Inauguration is about America.
• Then – for today – here’s part two of the roof portion of our ongoing home renovation. To date it has involved the new kitchen, driveway, HVAC, and roof. Next month’s master bath project will likely wrap things up; pending – that is – Rebekah’s next big idea!

It may be a rainy day today, but yesterday’s sunshine highlighted the new roof beautifully. And not a moment too soon, because we all know it will be covered in pine straw within a few weeks. The trees around here shed like Lassie, the golden retriever I grew up with, just twice a year but for six months at a time.

At any given moment we have had between three and six vehicles parked in our driveway. Roofers, carpenters, painters, fascia specialists, gutter guys, siding experts, supervisors. I was impressed with everyone involved. Hard workers; they knew what they were doing; no standing around; a lot of attention to detail. Like the guy on HGTV says, “Let’s get this done right!”

Also, I found a kind of poetry and artistry in the whole process; like some of those iconic Industrial Revolution paintings featuring factories and machinery, the juxtaposition of hard work and hard hats with the restful homescape; tool belts, power tools, and over-sized pickup trucks standing in contrast to our quiet cul-de-sac.

Big projects like this facilitate an overlay of such a diversity of people, and I am reminded of how easy it is to hide from the rest of the world, insulated at home – everything else tidily shuttered out.

If we’re not careful, our churches can be like that too, more of an extension of our own living rooms – or clubhouses – than a place where God’s love interfaces with a world more varied and uniquely created than we care to admit.

Fact is, this is a beautiful world, populated by beautiful people. Hard, rugged work is as refined in its way as an etching by Rembrandt or a symphony by Beethoven. And so, while I am thankful my head isn’t ringing anymore from the constant hammering of roofing nails, I am also thankful for what I have learned.

Always a student, always something new to appreciate – DEREK

You can view images from part one at Jesus Doesn’t Decorate… Here are a few from this week.