Last night, after dinner and Bible time, some of us went to Joseph’s house for a quick work party. The reason for the party? Dad and Mom will be writing at Joseph’s house soon (exciting!), and because of ongoing construction projects, the house needed a bit of cleaning. We wiped down walls, floorboards, door frames, and cleaned the floors and bathrooms. It was awesome to work together ;).
Joyfully His, Sarah
“The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute.” Proverbs 12:24
We have really enjoyed our stay here at John James Audubon State Park. Being a large, active family makes us a bit of a curiosity at an RV park since each day we exercise, some of us do our school or work outside, and we also do our music practice outside weather permitting. We love the talking time we get with our neighbors. It provides great opportunities to share the gospel of Jesus in some way or other!
Everybody likes dad. He is one of those who makes friends with everyone! He always has the right word of encouragement, compliment, or humor to whomever is around. While we girls started on our walk this morning, Darryl, a very industrious park employee, was driving by on his golf cart, and stopped us. He told us he had just spoken to our dad and said how much he enjoyed his conversation with Dad. Darryl continued that Dad’s encouragement was just what he needed. It’s been exciting to hear all the conversations different family members have had with our neighbors here.
We look forward to Louisville this weekend and what the Lord Jesus will do.
Jesus’ Girl, Mary
An iPhone photo!
We all enjoyed exercising in the mornings! Another iPhone photo. Work time!
Such a nice little trailer, but wait ’til you see what it unfolds to be! Sarah got pictures of the “unloading” process.
A great, mobile pop-up tent! Smoothie time. One of the guys treated us to a meal at Cracker Barrel. Dad and his new friend.
“O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches” Psalms 104:20
Trip preparations have been in high gear today! We each had things to do from running errands, to packing (okay, everyone had that), food prep, music practice, details to wrap up, and yes, more packing. Everyone pitches in to get things done.
We look forward to seeing some of you in Belleville (St. Louis area) tomorrow night and Saturday. Please join us in prayer!
Joyfully His, Sarah
“Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee.” Psalms 116:7
Saturday was a “work on Joseph’s house day”! Because of the quantity of items to be thrown away, Joseph rented a dumpster. By Saturday evening, the dumpster was full: carpet, doors and door frames, toilets, bathtub, shower, ceilings from the dining room and kitchen, partial walls, the back porch, and more were piled into the 40-yard container.
It is exciting to see Joseph’s house take a different twist, although it definitely is in its roughest shape until the rebuilding part begins. Out with the old and in with the new! Reminds me of a spiritual analogy. As we rid our lives of sin and repent, the Lord cleanses our heart. Removing sin isn’t easy, just like demolition. In fact, it can be a messy job, as sometimes it requires going back to individuals we have wronged and asking forgiveness. Rebuilding, which is like cleansing from sin, takes work. It takes effort. “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.” (Ezekiel 18:30)
The girls scraped ceilings.
John demolishing the porch
John tore down the porch. It was quite the job. Although at first glance, one might have thought the porch was fine, it wasn’t. The wood was rotted and falling apart–too much to bother trying to repair.
The guys put up a temporary beam to support the ceiling. If you look at the last picture, you’ll see they took it down.
The living room
Dad and John taking a brief break.
Jesse tore out the master bath.
Dad tore out the half wall between the stairs and the living room to open it up.
It took John all morning to tear the porch down.
The girls made a great team, and despite the heat, they perservered.
To open up the kitchen, Dad tore out the wall between the dining room and kitchen. Joseph tore out the dining room ceiling as it was built rather strange.
The header comes down!
Anna and Mary
Mixed into the day, Christopher and I worked on two photo sessions with Joshua. He slept most of the time, so that made it nice. Isn’t he adorable?
Back to the work scene:
John and Jesse hauled the porch, piece by piece to the dumpster.
Anna tore the sheetrock off the east wall so two windows can be added.
Mary peeled and scraped the wallpaper.
Break time!
It was a warm day, and since the guys had taken the ceiling out in the dining room, the attic heat seeped into the house, and it would have been no use to turn on air conditioning.
The demolition progress looked like tornado aftermath. Dust masks and gloves were a necessary item.
Jesse Anna pulled up tac strips left behind after carpet removal.
Near the end of the day, Joseph cut part of the living room wall to open up the dining room a bit more.
Thank you all for your enthusiasm. Even though we haven’t met many of you in person, your support and love for our family is an encouragement.
Love, Sarah PS – No news on Melanie. She is now 39 weeks and her due date is Friday.
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
–Ezekiel 36:26
The Maxwell family and ministry blog of Titus2.com.
