ReConstruct’s New Toy - “Making missions a little easier.” :)

Thank you to the Nashville Predators Foundation for a grant to purchase ReConstruct’s first shingle lift.

Bill Parker

I’ve done this “reconstruct thing” for about 10 years now to the point I can almost do it in my sleep.  Working on logistical issues for projects is almost as easy as breathing. The best part about that though is it seems to have freed me up a little to really watch what God is doing during a project week. Take today, for example. I was having lunch with a group from Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church in Wilmington, NC when all the sudden the post lady came to the back of the house with 4 Domino’s pizzas. She just wanted to give the group something for what they were doing.

Bill Parker, their former youth minister and now my friend started talking to her and called us over to circle around her to pray for her and a member of her family with a terminal illness. After doing so, one of the ladies with the group said, “you know, there is so much more to this than roofing a house.”

Today I thank God for Bill Parker. He’s led groups to ReConstruct for 6 years and they come here to be used by God to change lives, not just repair a home.

Golf and the Boss

I love this commercial

Eating with Debo and the Boys

It’s Spring Break. We’ve never been a family that travels to the beach during this time. Usually we don’ t go anywhere. This year’s different. We’ve taken a couple of days and traveled to Atlanta. The day started out great with breakfast at Cracker Barrel. We even had a great “server.” I say this because most every time we have some issue with service at CB.

We have three destinations in mind. The Lego Store in Lawrenceville, The Coca Cola Museum, and the IKEA store. We left with no directions and no reservations. This is pretty unusual for us. We did, however, discover there was a Dreamland BBQ in Norcross. I assure you they’re the best ribs in the world. Not to mention the cole slaw is perfect. If you ever travel to one of the cities that has a Dreamland, you need to stop and eat. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

One of the things I loved about eating at Dreamland today was eating with Debo, David, and Matt. The boys and I split two full racks but we shared a couple of ribs with mom too. Don’t worry. She got a kids meal. We didn’t leave her out.

Debo and I laughed about having a 14 and 15 year old boys and the first two places we went today were the Lego Store and KB toys.

It’s been a good day!!

Matt’s Birthday

Our son, Matt, turns 14 tomorrow (Friday).

A few years ago some friends gave him their son’s drum set. Matt and his friends have jammed to the point that the head on the bass drum finally gave out. Time for a new set.

I was discussing the purchase of a new set with a friend and he questioned if we really wanted to have another one and the noise that goes with it.  That never occurred to me. Why wasn’t it on my radar? All we knew is that if he doesn’t get a new drum set, where will they go to play? Answer? Somewhere else. He could even end up at someone’s house that we didn’t know that well and let’s face it. They’re boys. They can get into to things in the blink of an eye. The new drum set keeps them coming here. Don’t get me wrong. Our boys go to other people’s houses all the time. But this creates the environment of the friends wanting to come here because the drum set is a new and good one. We consider it a small price to pay to create that environment. As far as the noise goes, it’s never was an issue.

Now as you can see, it’s a Pearl set. I’m not drummer but I’ve always liked Pearl drums. Maybe it’s all the Classic Rock I listen to. We didn’t pay an arm and leg for the set either plus it’s just a great color.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATT!!!

A New Quote

I had meetings in Dalton, GA on Tuesday. It was a really good day. Our last meeting was with the headmaster of Christian Heritage School. After we nailed down all the logistics for the summer, we started talking about ministry and what he’d done in the past and now looking to the future. He was discussing this with a friend earlier in the day and sharing a new vision God had given him for ministry. His friend said the following to him which he relayed to me. “If you don’t carve out time to pursue the vision that God has given you, the devil will whittle it away.”
Two quotes from compeating computer companies come to mind here. Microsoft’s motto used to be, “Where do you want to go today?” Apple’s motto was, “Think Different.”
In order to pursue that which God has laid on you, you have to do those two things. Ask where and think different.

Anvil

This weekend, for the second year in a row, I went as a leader for Anvil. This is an all guys student retreat that the student ministry at my church puts on.

We left at 4:30 on Friday afternoon and returned at 6:00 on Saturday evening. You ask, “why such a short retreat.” Twenty-four hours of 6-12 guys only is the equivalent to a week-long co-ed camp. It’s hard to explain but there’s a certain balance the estrogen brings to all the testosterone.

Here are some great highlights of the trip.
Meat - We had grilled hamburgers and Nathan’s hot dogs for supper and then after that we had Ostrich, kangaroo, crocodile, rabbit, and black bear. Yes. That’s right. We ate like real men.
Worship - Listening to 60 guys participate in worship is great experience.
Michael Boggs did a great job leading them.
Smashing - We some Gallagher moments with smashing items with a big wooden mallett.
Courage - The theme this year was on courage and how we should, as men, step up and take a stand.

Great weekend. Couldn’t go more than 24 hours but it was just enough to make the impact that God set us out to do.

Spiritual Growth through Service

A long time friend and I occasionally have the discussion about success measurements, especially in organizations. as a society, we are so numbers based. The bar chart looks better if the bars go up. The revenue pie chart looks better if there’s no dominating piece of that pie.  It’s been said that some churches measure their success by the 3 B’s, Buildings, Baptisms, and Budgets.

One measurement we never could come up with is spiritual growth. How do you measure the spiritual growth of an individual. If I measured mine, the charts would be all over the table. There are times that I have less spiritual growth than others.

Here’s some food for thought with the measurement to back it up. A student minister and now friend who has brought his group to ReConstruct for the past four years gathered some attendance data on his student group. Below are his findings on the percentage of students that participated in a ReConstruct Project and who are still active in their church.

Since                        %

2004                        68%

2005                        58%

2006                        76%

2007                        91%

Please keep in mind that this also includes those who have since gone off to college. What does this say?  Serving matters in our spiritual growth.  It’s just as much a part of our Christian life as discipleship and worship. I would never suggest us putting a percentage on our spiritual growth. I would, however, use this measurement given by my friend to prove that the majority of those involved in service stay plugged into the local church and work on the other parts of our lives that help us grow spiritually.

The new car. My Dad. Your Dad

My son, David, will be 16 in May.  He’s had his permit since his 15th birthday but we wanted to find him a car so he can get used to it.  This is what we found. It’s a 92 BMW 325i with 98,000 miles on it. It ‘s also a 5 speed, which by the way he’s already learned. When anyone in my family bought something, my dad would always ask, “how much (did) you give for it?” I don’t mind telling you. $3,500. My dad liked cars. He would’ve liked to see this one. When checking into insurance for it, I wished he’d been here for me to pick his brain about how much coverage I should have. He’s been gone from this earth for almost 3 years and there’s so many times that I think about him. Like today, I was at the grocery store deli buying lunchmeat. They always give me a sample of the first slice. When they gave me a sample of the Pepper Jack cheese I’d ordered, I thought of the first time I every tasted it. It was with my dad on a Sunday night when I was about 13. We both loved cheese, especially Pepper Jack.
I had some friends, a bother and sister, who lost their dad earlier this month. I know it’s been hard for them. There are so many things that you wanted to say to him and other memories you wanted to make. We just want him here. I want you to remember that he is still here. He was your dad and is a part of you forever. That being the case, he’s always with you. Even if it’s as insignificant as eating a slice of Pepper Jack cheese or deciding about car insurance, that memory will never go away.
God Bless You. I know He has.

Spam: It’s not what it used to be

Here’s something to think about; Spam. (now also known as junk mail.) There was a time when Spam (pictured here) was a common product in anyone’s pantry. Especially those who are male and now in their 40’s. Spam will never be as good as my favorite, the All America Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog. They both, however, were inexpensive ways to get a filling meal during The Great Depression. In fact, it’s still the same today. Most low-income individuals have to buy cheaper food which is not as good for you. When I visit some of the homeowners served by ReConstruct it’s not uncommon to see Spam, potted meat, and other low cost foods.

Me? I loved Spam growing up. It was especially good fried with melted American cheese on top on wheat bread. My 15 year old son and I were talking about Spam the other day and he decided he wanted to try some. I obliged. They didn’t have Spam Lite growing up. I thought I’d give it a try. Not the same. We only took 3 bites of our sandwich. Maybe it was the “Lite” that turned us off. I’m not sure. All I know is, just like the definition of Spam today, it’s not what it used to be.

By the way, if you don’t know much about Spam, I think I left you plenty of links.