Well it was our first Sunday back in the church that my wife and I Pastored for almost 12 years. We have been gone over two full months and it was so weird to just sit in a service. For the last 12 years when we went to church it was time to go to work. We had to make sure everything was in place, including all the people who were doing various things in the church, that the sound system was working, heat and ac were working, that it was not too cold or too hot, that it was not too loud or too soft, that the sermon notes were printed, the doors were unlocked, the coffee was brewing, and everything was ready. Now we had a lot of help doing those things but as it stands, the boss is the one in charge and I take the notion that if it is not done or done incorrectly even if someone else does it, it ultimately is the bosses responsibility. And to walk in and not have to correct or make sure of things was a weird feeling.
What was weirder was my want to take care of things. I wanted to make sure everything was ready even when I was no longer in charge. Is that weird or what? I am wondering how long it will take me to get over being in charge?
Everyone told me the hardest part of a change is letting go of the things of the past... even those things that are a pain are hard to let go of.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Things I have learned remodeling an old house...
1) Never assume.
Never assume anything is reusable, standard, square or fixable in an old house. During my upstairs remodel I thought I would be cost conscious and a green builder and reuse some of the lumber. What I found out is that the old 2x4s were not the same size as the new 2x4s which was not a shock to me, what shocked me is that the old 2x4s were not the same size as the other old 2x4s. I had some that were thicker, some that were thinner and some that were in between. That really messes up your walls when you try to put in door casings and get your sheetrock flat.
2) Always plan for the worse.
When I was redoing my plumbing, I planned that I would be dealing with cast iron drain pipes so I got all the pieces to be able to work with that material. Unknown to me someone had already done some plumbing so I had lots of PVC to work with. Bonus! That was what I thought until I get to the edge of the house and saw where the PVC and the cast piping came together, in the middle of the foundation. Planning for the worse, I was able to work around it but if I had not planned for it I would have been in a world of hurt.
3) Nothing is as easy as it seems.
We decided to tear all the lathe and plaster off the walls and replace with sheetrock, easy right? Tear down the old lathe and plaster, and put up sheetrock, simple. Except when the lathe pieces are actually what is holding up a wall that is not secured to the ceiling or the other walls, now it is replacing the wall itself. A half day job turned into a week long nightmare.
4) Don't underestimate how much trash you will generate.
Who would have thought my house held 3 TONS of lathe and plaster. If my house was on "The Biggest Loser" it would be lapping the field.
5) Refinishing wood floors is cheaper than carpet.
Well this one is probably true, unless you figure up how much your labor is worth. Me, I work for beans and cornbread so I am pretty cheap, but after 40 hours of sanding, sanding, finishing, and more sanding, I am thinking carpet looks pretty good.
6) You never know what you'll find.
I was really hoping to find a bag full of money while remodeling, or jewels, yeah jewels would have been nice. But nope, no jewlels, no money. I found about a thousand old razorblades, a mouse and a bird skeleton (not in the same place, they did not shack up together), an old medicine bottle with the top broke off, an old newspaper and lots of mud dobber nest. Still searching for that bag of money though.
7) If it can fall, it will.
Never trust something to stand on its own. If it has the ability to fall, it will. Trust me, my couch shows the evidence of it.
8) Have fund.
No that is not a typo. Have fund, lots of funds! It will probably run you 10 to 20% above what you have estimated. It is kind of like the extra nuts and bolts you end up with when you are assembling something from a box of parts. Except when you are remodeling you end up short.
9) Have fun.
If you don't have fun doing it, well, you won't, you know, do it.
10) Enjoy it when you get done. No one else is going to enjoy it as much as you are going to, it was your sweat and blood that put it all together in the first place.
1) Never assume.
Never assume anything is reusable, standard, square or fixable in an old house. During my upstairs remodel I thought I would be cost conscious and a green builder and reuse some of the lumber. What I found out is that the old 2x4s were not the same size as the new 2x4s which was not a shock to me, what shocked me is that the old 2x4s were not the same size as the other old 2x4s. I had some that were thicker, some that were thinner and some that were in between. That really messes up your walls when you try to put in door casings and get your sheetrock flat.
2) Always plan for the worse.
When I was redoing my plumbing, I planned that I would be dealing with cast iron drain pipes so I got all the pieces to be able to work with that material. Unknown to me someone had already done some plumbing so I had lots of PVC to work with. Bonus! That was what I thought until I get to the edge of the house and saw where the PVC and the cast piping came together, in the middle of the foundation. Planning for the worse, I was able to work around it but if I had not planned for it I would have been in a world of hurt.
3) Nothing is as easy as it seems.
We decided to tear all the lathe and plaster off the walls and replace with sheetrock, easy right? Tear down the old lathe and plaster, and put up sheetrock, simple. Except when the lathe pieces are actually what is holding up a wall that is not secured to the ceiling or the other walls, now it is replacing the wall itself. A half day job turned into a week long nightmare.
4) Don't underestimate how much trash you will generate.
Who would have thought my house held 3 TONS of lathe and plaster. If my house was on "The Biggest Loser" it would be lapping the field.
5) Refinishing wood floors is cheaper than carpet.
Well this one is probably true, unless you figure up how much your labor is worth. Me, I work for beans and cornbread so I am pretty cheap, but after 40 hours of sanding, sanding, finishing, and more sanding, I am thinking carpet looks pretty good.
6) You never know what you'll find.
I was really hoping to find a bag full of money while remodeling, or jewels, yeah jewels would have been nice. But nope, no jewlels, no money. I found about a thousand old razorblades, a mouse and a bird skeleton (not in the same place, they did not shack up together), an old medicine bottle with the top broke off, an old newspaper and lots of mud dobber nest. Still searching for that bag of money though.
7) If it can fall, it will.
Never trust something to stand on its own. If it has the ability to fall, it will. Trust me, my couch shows the evidence of it.
8) Have fund.
No that is not a typo. Have fund, lots of funds! It will probably run you 10 to 20% above what you have estimated. It is kind of like the extra nuts and bolts you end up with when you are assembling something from a box of parts. Except when you are remodeling you end up short.
9) Have fun.
If you don't have fun doing it, well, you won't, you know, do it.
10) Enjoy it when you get done. No one else is going to enjoy it as much as you are going to, it was your sweat and blood that put it all together in the first place.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Been a while
well I have taken an extended leave of abscence from blogging. Not sure why but I have.
A lot has changed in the last six months of my life. My wife and I resigned our pastorate, started a new business, sent two girls off to college and decided to remodel the upstairs of our home.
As I said, a lot is changing.
I am kind of feeling that in my soul more so now than ever before. The last eight weeks we have secluded ourselves from being attached to church. We just decided that the new pastor needed time to establish himself and we needed a break from the people. This break has really stretched me, in more ways than one.
First I have found it is really hard to remain neutral in a work you have been neck deep in for over a decade. Decisions that are being made that I am finding myself evaluating them as if they were my decisions. It has been really much harder than I realized to just let go, both physically and emotionally. I have to be really careful that I do not let my emotions get the best of me, as my first instinct is to step in and fix it for everybody, well that doesn't work so well when you are not in charge.
Secondly it has been really hard on my to admit that I can fall into that trap of not going to church very easily. My schedule has been heavy, I am tired from my normally work related duties and throw in a house remodel on top of it and I am very weary, what better way to ward off weariness than the sleep in on Sunday morning? I will say it is nice to get up, drink coffee with your wife and not have to worry if you have enough teachers for the morning service, if the nursury will be covered and if you got all your notes printed off correctly for the service. But there is a lull that comes over you when you miss those appointed days in the house of GOD. I am not dry by any means, and I have continued in some personal studies, but I miss the experience of worshipping with people of like faith. I miss the congregational organism which is the church when all of its parts are together and one in the service. I miss the body of Christ.
Well our sabbatical is almost over, we will go back next week to our first service in over two months. Will it be weird just setting in a pew and watching someone else fret over all the details of the service, yes. Will it be good to just get to set among the people of GOD? Yes it will.
A lot has changed in the last six months of my life. My wife and I resigned our pastorate, started a new business, sent two girls off to college and decided to remodel the upstairs of our home.
As I said, a lot is changing.
I am kind of feeling that in my soul more so now than ever before. The last eight weeks we have secluded ourselves from being attached to church. We just decided that the new pastor needed time to establish himself and we needed a break from the people. This break has really stretched me, in more ways than one.
First I have found it is really hard to remain neutral in a work you have been neck deep in for over a decade. Decisions that are being made that I am finding myself evaluating them as if they were my decisions. It has been really much harder than I realized to just let go, both physically and emotionally. I have to be really careful that I do not let my emotions get the best of me, as my first instinct is to step in and fix it for everybody, well that doesn't work so well when you are not in charge.
Secondly it has been really hard on my to admit that I can fall into that trap of not going to church very easily. My schedule has been heavy, I am tired from my normally work related duties and throw in a house remodel on top of it and I am very weary, what better way to ward off weariness than the sleep in on Sunday morning? I will say it is nice to get up, drink coffee with your wife and not have to worry if you have enough teachers for the morning service, if the nursury will be covered and if you got all your notes printed off correctly for the service. But there is a lull that comes over you when you miss those appointed days in the house of GOD. I am not dry by any means, and I have continued in some personal studies, but I miss the experience of worshipping with people of like faith. I miss the congregational organism which is the church when all of its parts are together and one in the service. I miss the body of Christ.
Well our sabbatical is almost over, we will go back next week to our first service in over two months. Will it be weird just setting in a pew and watching someone else fret over all the details of the service, yes. Will it be good to just get to set among the people of GOD? Yes it will.
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