It has been almost 2.5 years since I strapped on my tool belt and headed off to work in a truck early in the morning. Its mid summer here, its humid and its hot. The morning air is really thick and sticky. The dew is so heavy on the grass like it rained. I've been working this week with my friends Eric and Hank. We've been building a deck and doing some remodeling for some folks. The one thing I've noticed is that with all the training I did in the Army, the running, the road marching, the push ups and the sit ups, I have found that those exercises do not translate very well with doing carpentry labor. My back is screaming! It could be that I'm getting old too. I've noticed that my legs fatigue faster than they used to as well. Climbing up ladders all day takes the spring out of my step. I
remember learning how to work from my dad and grandfather. I hated splitting wood and mowing grass and
cleaning up job sites when I was a kid. But one thing I have rediscovered is the joy of a hard days work, where you are just physically spent after accomplishing something productive. I suspect its part of that creative nature that God has fingerprinted on us. I looked it up and the word "work" or some form of it is used in 513 verses in the Bible. From Genesis to James the Bible speaks of God's creative work in Creation to His his creative work in His people. It speaks of the work of craftsmen. It proclaims that the work of people glorify God. So could it be that building a deck that someone enjoys or putting up a piece of crown moulding is in essence a creative act that glorifies God? I believe it is. I
believe we are also walking in the image of our creator when we rest and look at what has been
accomplished. When we are tired and say, "I'm glad
that's over, but it sure does look good." The Bible is clear on one point that in all things that we do we are to glorify God by the excellence of our work and the
excellence of our rest in what has been accomplished.
It has been almost 2.5 years since I strapped on my tool belt and headed off to work in a truck early in the morning. Its mid summer here, its humid and its hot. The morning air is really thick and sticky. The dew is so heavy on the grass like it rained. I've been working this week with my friends Eric and Hank. We've been building a deck and doing some remodeling for some folks. The one thing I've noticed is that with all the training I did in the Army, the running, the road marching, the push ups and the sit ups, I have found that those exercises do not translate very well with doing carpentry labor. My back is screaming! It could be that I'm getting old too. I've noticed that my legs fatigue faster than they used to as well. Climbing up ladders all day takes the spring out of my step. I remember learning how to work from my dad and grandfather. I hated splitting wood and mowing grass and cleaning up job sites when I was a kid. But one thing I have rediscovered is the joy of a hard days work, where you are just physically spent after accomplishing something productive. I suspect its part of that creative nature that God has fingerprinted on us. I looked it up and the word "work" or some form of it is used in 513 verses in the Bible. From Genesis to James the Bible speaks of God's creative work in Creation to His his creative work in His people. It speaks of the work of craftsmen. It proclaims that the work of people glorify God. So could it be that building a deck that someone enjoys or putting up a piece of crown moulding is in essence a creative act that glorifies God? I believe it is. I believe we are also walking in the image of our creator when we rest and look at what has been accomplished. When we are tired and say, "I'm glad that's over, but it sure does look good." The Bible is clear on one point that in all things that we do we are to glorify God by the excellence of our work and the excellence of our rest in what has been accomplished. 
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