Lessons from a Shed 13

Lesson 13: Don't Spare the Shingles

Roof shingles serve two purposes, the main one being to protect the roof from the weather. Rain, hail, and snow can do a lot of damage. Shingles are the shield against the elements. The other purpose is to make the shed look good. I chose asphalt shingles for my shed because they are tough, economical, and look pretty good as well. If you ask at your local building supply store for bundles that are broken open you may get them at half-price (I did). The shingles are fine; it's just the plastic wrap that is broken. The shingles go on the roof in layers overlapping one another. They are fastened to the roof with roofing nails.

In every life, some rain must fall. Often some hail, and snow as well. This is true of the Christian life as it is of any life. The Bible says that God "causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous" (Matthew 5:45). We are not going to be exempt from bad things happening to us just because we are Christians. But we can have the assurance that these things will not ruin us. Like the shingles on a shed, God is above us protecting us from spiritual harm and guaranteeing our eternal salvation.

2 Corinthians 4:8,9
We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

Lessons from a Shed 10

Lesson 10 - Making Walls

The whole purpose of a shed is to create an enclosure into which you put things that you want to keep safe and secure. The only way to do this is to build walls. Walls provide protect from the elements. Walls hide things from prying eyes. Walls discourage thieves. After I laid the foundation and the floor, my next step was to make and erect the walls. For this I selected straight (not warped) 2x4s from my stack of used lumber and overlaid this with 1/2 inch plywood sheeting. With the help of my crew (by now my wife, daughter, and son-in-law had all volunteered to assist) I quickly had the walls up.

In our spiritual life, we are protected by the Spirit of God. The Bible says, "the LORD surrounds his people both now and forevermore" (Psalm 125:2). As the walls of my shed surround the things inside, so God surrounds those who trust in Him, shielding them from the the devil's attackes and from temptations of the flesh. In Christ we are safe forevermore.

Psalm 139:5-6
You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.
 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too lofty for me to attain.

Lessons from a Shed - 9

Lesson 9 - Laying a Solid Floor

I had already laid the foundation of my shed. Two solid pieces of pressure treated 4 x 4's overlaid with sturdy 2x4's would hold up the shed nicely. The next job was to lay the floor. I went to the local building supply store and inspected the various 4x8 sheeting.

When the knowledgeable salesman asked what I wanted I said, "Two sheets of half-inch plywood." I was thinking of cost, and figured this would be cheaper.

"What is it for?" he asked, obviously sensing my inexperience.

"The floor of a shed I'm building," I replied.

"You'll need at least three-quarter inch plywood for a floor," he said, explaining that anything less than that would not hold any weight and would buckle.

I bowed to his superior knowledge of building material and purchased the 3/4 inch plywood for the floor.

Once you have Jesus Christ as the foundation of your life, you must choose carefully what to build on that foundation. If you try to skimp and take the cheap and easy route you may find that what you build is inadequate for the life situations that you will face later. Watching a 1/2 hour Christian TV show a week will not be adequate to build your faith. You need the 3/4 to 1.5 hour service at a real church on Sunday and then supplement this with a 1/2 private devotions every day.

1 Corinthians 3:10

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care.

Lessons from a Shed - 8

Lesson 8 - Appreciate the Hidden Things

People who saw my shed for the first time told me they liked it. The men said "good job" and the women called it "cute." What they saw was the exterior, the painted, plywood walls, the white trim, the shingled roof, and the fancy door. They probably never gave any thought to all the hidden things that are holding it together. Underneath the paint, the shingles, and the trim are several hundred nails and screws silently doing their job without ever being noticed or admired. But even these had to be selected with care to ensure that the right size nails and screws matched the job they were doing.

As you build your life people may admire the big things you accomplish - your education degrees, your promotions, your inventions, or even your house or car. But its the little things that will determine your character - the kind things you do when no one else is looking, the silent prayer you make when alone, the annoymous donation you give to a homless person, the words of encouragement you speak to a young person. These hidden things are what will hold your life together.

1 Samuel 16:7
The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

Lessons from a Shed - 7

Lesson 7 - Check the Bylaws

This lesson should have been number one or at least number two. When I began planning my shed I phoned the city hall to find out what the local bylaws were relating to building a shed in my backyard. Did I need a permit? What restrictions were in effect? What were the regulations I had to follow? I was told that if my shed was less than eleven feet high I did not need a permit. The one restriction was that the shed had to be at least two feet from my fence. Within those guidelines, I was free to build to my hearts desire.

There are guidelines also within which we must build our lives. We all recognize the laws of nature and accept the fact that we must live within them. The law of gravity, for example, will not permit us to build a shed in thin air. God has also created moral and spiritual laws. We must recognize these and build our lives within them. There are general moral and spiritual laws like those contained in the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount. And there are specific guidlines that apply to each of us individually. As you build your life, contact the Divine Lawgiver and ask Him what the guidelines are for your life.

Psalm 119:1(NRSV)
Happy are those...who walk in the law of the Lord.

Lessons from a Shed - 6

Lesson 6 - Assemble a Team

It is rarely a good idea to work alone on a building project. Even though for my small shed project I might have managed most of the work myself, it was much more fun doing it as a family. In addition, the job was much easier when I had someone else to hold the end of a board. And things went faster when several people were working on different aspects of the project at one time. And then there was the safety aspect; if I had injured myself while working alone I could have been in big trouble. Besides all that there is the fact that everyone got to bask in the glory of the finished project. It didn't become a one-man job, but a team effort.

The same is true in Christian life. Service for Christ was never meant to be done alone. Even though sometimes you might not have any alternative, if the opportunity is there for you to invite others to join you in the work, do so. As with building, Christian service is easier, faster, and more satisfying when you are able to share it with someone else. And if you become injured in the sense of becoming discouraged or insulted you have others to talk to about it. And when the work is completed, you can rejoice together because of God's grace to everyone.

Matthew 6:7
Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority....

Lessons from a Shed - 5

Lesson 5 - Count the Cost

Everything has a cost--including a backyard garden shed. You get get quite fancy and build an elaborate structure using cedar and fancy mouldings and high grade siding. Or you can build plain and simple using basic material. The choice is yours. But you will not likely build your shed for free. My shed is the basic type. In fact all the framing is used lumber from one of my previous projects, a deck on my trailer which I sold. So I saved money there. And when I bought shingles I picked the packages that were broke open and got them at 50 percent off (the shingles were fine, it was just the plastic wrapping that was broken). I got the paint from the Habitat for Humanity ReStore at a bargain price. So my shed cost about $150 to build.

In life, no matter what we do we must always consider the cost. Jesus said “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’

There is a cost to following Jesus. You will have to make sacrifices. You will have to surrender your will to God's will. You will have to deny yourself and take up your cross daily if you are going to truly be a Christ-follower. But to choose the alternative is to lose your soul. Count the cost of the decision that will determine your eternal destiny.

Matthew 16:26

What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?

Lessons from a Shed - 4

Lesson 4 - Select the Right Material

My shed was not going to be a Taj Mahal. Nevertheless I needed good, solid material that could stand the wind, rain, and snow of the Canadian climate. Besides the pressure treated 4" x 4" skids I selected pressure treated 2" x 4" lumber  for the joist to support the floor. For the wall studs and the roof rafters I used recycled 2" x 4" from a deck I dismantled when I sold my trailer last year. Then I bought plywood sheeting, shingles and a good supply of nails and screws to put it all together. The shed would be built with a combination of new and used material.

It is important when building our lives that we also choose the right building material. We create our lives out of such things as relationships, beliefs, knowledge, and experiences. The people we surround ourselves with make us stronger or weaker. The beliefs we embrace make us secure or insecure. The knowledge we acquire helps or blocks our progress. The experiences (including our careers and jobs) we engage in enable or hinder our potential.

As you build your life, choose your building material carefully, and remember too that some of the "old stuff" from previous generations is still useful today.

1 Corinthians 3:12-13
If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light.

Lessons from a Shed - 3

Lesson 3 – Lay a good foundation

Let me state the obvious—sheds have to be built from the bottom up. Lesson three: Lay a good foundation. For my little garden shed this meant two solid pieces of pressure-treated four by four skids. The pressure treated wood is more resistant to rot, fungi, and insects than is untreated wood. Of course if you are a purist you would probably go for cedar, which does not require being chemically treated. However, that was beyond my budget. With my four by four treated skids as a foundation I was ready to go.

Life also needs a good foundation. Jesus once told a story about two men, each of whom built a house. One built on sand, and one built on rock. When a storm came, bringing wind and water, the house built on the sand fell, but the one built on the rock stood firm (Matthew 7:24-28). Jesus went on to explain that a man who builds his life on Jesus’ teaching is like a man who builds his house on solid rock. That life will stand in the storms of life. But the man who ignores Jesus’ teaching is like one who builds his house on sand—that man’s life is on shaky ground.

Matthew 7:24 (NIV)

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

Lessons from a Shed - 2

Lesson 2 - Choose the best location

Every shed has to be built somewhere. You just can't build it anywhere. As with all real estate, location is of prime importance. Since the backyard of our property is small I chose one corner, the east corner, on which to build. The west corner was occupied by large, flat stones on which I planned to put our garden swing. Besides, the stones were heavy and would require a lot more work to move.
After measuring the ground and staking off the corners, I asked my wife what she thought of this plan. She looked at the location, paused, scrutinized the situation and made her decision. The shed, she said, will not work there. It will have to go in the west corner because the angle of our irregular-shapped backyard created more room there.  In her opinion, the shed would look better there, and work better as well.
So I pulled up my stakes, got out my pick and shovel and began the back-breaking, sweaty task of removing the heavy stones to build in the better location.
The same is true in life. Where we choose to build our lives in important. Most of us will live in a number of different locations in our lifetime. Where we live will influence how we live. A life lived in a city will be quite different from one lived in the county. A life lived in the Far North will be different from one lived in an African village. Choose carefully and ask God for advice.

Genesis 12:1

The Lord said to Abram: Leave your country, your family, and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you.

Lessons from a shed - 1

Lesson 1 - Make Plans

My "Fred Shed" is almost a year old--and its still standing! Hopefully it will stand for a good while to come. As I reflect on this modest construction project, I realize that there are many lessons to learn from such an experience, not the least of which is learning how to use some of the power tools I collected over the years, but was not able to use until this past year.
Lesson one: You have to have a plan. Before you buy lumber, purchase nails, and accumulate shingles you have to have a plan. You can't just start building not knowing what you are going to build, or where. I have a very small back yard so I had to downscale my dream shed to one about 7ft by 6ft. For such a small shed I did not want to purchase expensive plans so I went on the internet and downloaded free plans. Even then I had to change all the measurement to fit what I could build in the space available. Following the plans I made, I now have a shed that is perfect for my backyard.
The same is true in life. You have to have a plan if you are going to accomplish anything worthwhile. You can make your own plans or you can ask God, the Masterbuilder, to direct you. The choice is yours, but since you've never built a life before, I recommend getting the best advise available.
Proverbs 3:6 (NKJV)
In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

Old Friends

We've probably all used the expression "so-and-so is an old friend," meaning that the person is a long-time friend. I'm beginning to discover that the phrase is taking on a more literal meaning now that I am retired. My old friends really are old...and so am I - at least in the eyes of the twenty-and-thirty-somethig generations.
The problem with "old" friends is that we sometimes lose them. This past week my wife and I attended the funeral of such an old friend. By our standards she was not really old - just in her mid sixties. Two weeks ago we visited her in the hospital. We reminised together. We laughed together. And we prayed together. Exactly one week later we received news that God had taken her home.
We attended her funeral, which, because she was a Christian, was a real celebration of her life and faith. There were humourous moments as speakers recalled the funner side of our friend. There were serious moments as some recalled her committment to Christ. There were moments of joyful reflection as we professed our belief that for a Christian "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord."
One of the beautiful things about Christianity is that our "old" friends become our "forever" friends. While we cannot imagine what Heaven is like, we have the assurance of Jesus that it is a real place and that we will continue to have fellowship there with Him and with one another.
My God keep us faithful and may all our old friends remain with us forever.

Potluck Christians

I love potluck dinners! I mean the true potluck dinners where you never know who is going to bring what. Last week I had the privilege of attending TWO pot luck dinners. The first was at our Bible study group which waited until the new year to have their Christmas dinner. The second was the adult fellowship group at the corps. In both cases there were delicious and delightful surprises.
It is surprising how many people's favourite dish is mac & cheese and how many people's favourite dish is meat balls. While there were seveal dishes of mac & cheese and serveral of meat balls, no two of these tasted the same. Every dish was different - even those with the same name. And every one was a savoury delight.
Along with these there were many other differnt dishes and a large variety of desserts.
I think that church potlucks are a kind of parable in that they reflect the essence of Christian fellowship. Just as every dish is different so too is every Christian in the church. Even those of us who carry the same label are unique in character and personality.
Salvationist Christians are different from Pentecostal Christians who in turn are different from Baptist Christians who are different from.... well, you get the picture. And then again Salvationists in one community are different from those is another, and those in Canada are different from those in the UK.
What a dull Church it would be if Jesus insisted that every Christian be the same or even that every brand of Christiantiy be the same. Saint Paul talked about different parts in the same body, saying that there are many parts but one body. The same can be said of Potluck Christians: there are many dishes, but one dinner - and the world is invited to tast and see the Lord is good.

Let it Snow

When I told people that I was moving from Burlington to Barrie their reaction was always, "That's the snow belt," or some similar statement that included the word "snow." I would then be given sage advice about buying a snowblower, putting snow tires on my car, and preparing for a long, cold winter.
Having spent many a winter in Newfoundland I am used to snow. I figured that Barrie could not dish out anything in the line of blizzards, squalls, snow, sleet, or ice that I have not already encountered. But after celebrating another 60+ birthday in early December I figured I was due for a snowblower of my own.
The weather was holding out. There was no snow in the forecast for a few weeks. I began reading the flyers that were dropped of at our door, looking for bargains on snowblowers. My plan was to hold out until the Boxing Day sales.
The days passed. The routine was repeated. Check the flyers. Check the weather forcast. Look for the best deal. Pray that the snow would not come.
Then came a flyer from a large department store that advertised hundreds of dollars off a new snowblower. I was excited. The small print said the sale started on Boxing Day. I checked the weather forecast. There was snow predcited for Christmas Day. Should I hold out? The advertisement said the store would open at 6 A.M. on the sale day. I really did not want to fight my way through hundreds - perhaps thousands - of shoppers to lay claim to that bargain-priced blower.
Then I had a brilliant idea. I would go to the store on Christmas Eve, make a deal with the sales manager to buy the coveted blower at the Boxing Day price. But would he go for it? When I presented my proposal he said, "I will give you the snowblower now and you can come back next week for a price adjustment."
So on the afternoon of Christmas Eve I brought my new snowblower home, unpacked it and prepared to face winter. Let it snow! Ha. Ha. Ha.
Late on Boxing Day, when the crowds had thinned out, I went back to the store and receive a $237 refund. I also had $150 worth of in-store credits from a previous purchase of furniture. That totalled $387 off my snowblower. I felt like a pirate.
When more snow began falling this week I started the blower and sang up and down my driveway, "Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow."
Winter in Barrie looks like it's going to be fun.

Perfection

I have finished my "Fred Shed." It is perfect. Don't get me wrong - it's not a perfect shed, but it is a perfect "Fred Shed." In fact it is one of a kind...as each Christian is.
As a Salvationist I am a member of a holiness church. Holiness churches teach spiritual perfection. Jesus once said, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect"(Matthew 5:48 KJV). God is perfectly divine; we cannot be that. We can however be perfectly human. Even more precisely, I can be a perfect me, and you can be a perfect you. In fact I can be more perfect today than I was yesterday.
In the words of Nicodemeus, "How can these things be?"
Let me illustrate. Have you ever held a newborn baby and looked at his or her tiny body and said he or she is perfect? Even though the baby had no teeth, no hair, was wringkled and could not walk or feed itself, you declared him or her perfect. Simple - he or she was perfect for the stage he or she was in.
So it is with my "Fred Shed." It is perfect for the stage it is in. If I compare it to another shed or compare it to what it will be like next summer (when I add some improvements) I would likely not judge it to be perfect. But it is the perfect shed for me for today.
So it is with your life as a Christian. If you are daily following Christ, you are the perfect you for today. But tomorrow you will be even more perfect.
Celebrate you perfection and go on to even greater things.

The Fred Shed

 This week I proved the truth of the saying that we learn best by doing. I built a shed. I call it the Fred Shed. It is the first thing I have ever built that could stand up by itself.
Although I have quite a collection of power tools - skill saw, chop saw (given to me by the widow of a close friend), table saw, band saw (which I bought at a yard sale this past summer), drill press, and grinder, to name some of them - I had not the opportunity to use them until now. I recently retired from full time ministry and am learning some new skills.
My shed project (I still have to install the doors and trim) has been a blend of old and new technology. For starters I went to the Internet and googled "how to build a shed." I found complete plans that contained a materials list and step by step instructions. I read the instructions for Step One, went out and purchased the material, completed the step and then went back on the Internet and read Step Two and so on until I am now at Step Seven, the last step.
Along the way I have learned a lot of things about shed building. I have learned how to operate my vaious power tools. I have learned where to purchase building supplies. I have learned a whole new vocabulary - joist, lintel, stiles, and gusset. I have learned how to spell sheathing and jamb.
I have also learned some things not directly relating to shed building. I have learned that one has to be careful when around tools, patient when the weather turns bad, persistant when mistakes are made. I have also learned that I can do some things that I did not know I could do - that it is possible to teach an old dog new tricks.
And there has even been a spiritual lesson in all of this. I thought about the fact that Jesus was a carpenter and worked with wood. I thought about Paul's illustration of the Church being God's building and each individual Christian being a stone in that building. Or to use the shed anology, each Christian would be a nail or a board in that building.
I can hardly wait to get on to my next learning project.

Champions

This week I had the privilege of attending a Hope in the City breakfast sponsored by The Salvation Army. The guest speaker was Catriona Le May Doan, the Canadian Olympic Speed Skating Champion and gold medal winner in two consecutive Olympic games.
Catriona is an inspiration to everyone who strives to do his or her best, especially to those who try and then fail, but who get up and try again. While the bio on her website speaks only of her wins, at the breakfast she spoke of one of her most devastating failures in a championship race when she fell and came in last place - 33rd in a field of 33 skaters. While she spoke a video played on a nearby screen showing her falling and crashing into the wall.The event caused her to doubt herself she said. She wondered if she had what it took to be a champion.
Catriona told about how she overcame those negative thoughts and went on to become the fastest woman on skates in the world.
As she spoke, I wished that every child and teenager who has ever failed a test or did not qualify for a team could hear her story. I thought too of all the people who have been let go from their jobs during these difficult economic times and who have not been able to secure new jobs yet. The message is simple: never give up.
In one of my Bibles I have a bookmark that was given to me by the residents of one of the seniors residences I used to visit. The bookmark contains a poem The Road Ahead by Helen Steiner Rice and read like this:

Often your tasks will be many, and more than you think you can do.
Often the road will be rugged, and the hills insurmountable, too -
But always remember, the hills ahead are never as steep as they seem,
And with faith in your heart, start upward and climb till you reach your dream.

My God give you the courage and faith to reach your dreams for His glory.

Transplanted

It was the English poet Dorothy Frances Gurney who wrote

The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God's Heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth.

This past week my wife and I gave attention to our backyard in preparation for winter. We cut back plants, trimmed bushes and filled large brown paper bags with leaves and brush. Our biggest task was to dig up a large bush and transplant it to the front of our house. I needed the space for a shed I am planning to build, and there was a bare spot at the front of the house occupied by an old, dead stump.
The bush had roots deep into soil. It did not want to let go easily of the place it had occupied for who knows how long. I had to use my pick and shovel to dig a deep, wide trench all around it. Every ten minutes I tugged on it to see if there was any movement. After more than an hour, it reluctantly let go and bowed to my wishes.
Then I had to prepare the new location. More digging. Another half hour with the pick and shovel. Then came the actual move. I hauled the bush around to the front of the house and placed it in its new home. After filling in the soil around it I gave it a good watering. The next day it looked as if it had always been there.
I thought of all the moves my wife and I made during our 40 years of ministry. The decisions to move were never ours. Sometimes we moved with great reluctance. Sometimes with eagernes. But always with a sense of trepidation as we wondered what lay ahead. But like our transplanted bush, it was never long before we felt as if we were always there and that it was the place where God wanted us to be.
Now in retirement our latest move has been our own choise...or was it? I like to think that God had His hand in our decision making, especially because we made it a matter of prayer. Our challenge now is to "bloom where we're transplanted."

Bargain Priced Computers

Since my wife and I retired at the end of June this year we have been "right sizing." We moved into the first house that was really our own. For the past 40 years we were living in Salvation Army housing in about 20 different locations. I've sold off some things on Kijiji and put a few dollars in my pocket - enough for dinner for two at a fancy restaurant.
But what to do with four old computers, which I knew no one wanted? The oldest was one I purchased in 1991 at a cost of almost $2,000. The others were replacements over the years, but because of my paranoia over people stealing personal information I hung on to these and they  moved with us.
My computer savvy daughter and son-in-law convinced me that it was OK to dispose of them and that they would make sure no one was able to steal any vital information off the hard drives. So a sunny Tuesday morning last week son-in-law and I loaded my minivan with four old computers and took them to the metal recycling depot (I was wondering if I should take at least one of them to an antique shop). We passed several electronic recycling boxes along the way but my son-in-law said that he knew of a place that would give me money for the stuff. Money always sounds good.
We drove into a huge warehouse where forklifts and truck were burying long dead electronics. Actually they were dismembering them, cutting them into little pieces, and sorting them into piles of various metals. We unloaded the computers along with several monitors and an old DVD player and placed them on a weight scale. The recycling engineer (a.k.a. the junk guy) stared at his computer screen and then announced that the current value of all our thousand-dollar computers was $9.00.
I gave the money to my son-in-law for gas.
As we drove away I remembered that " a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions" especially when those possessions become obsolete overnight.

You Have to Start Somewhere

Hi Everyone,
Today I created my first blog. I recently retired after more than 40 years in ministry with The Salvation Army and have begun my full time writing career. I was writing for The Salvation Army since 1968 and worked in their editorial department as a staff writer and editor for 13 years. Now I am on my own - but not really on my own because I believe that this is the door that God has opened for me.

There is an old saying that you have to start somewhere, so here I am at my home in Barrie, Ont. I have set up a study area that looks out upon a park. The changing leaves on the maple trees speak of seasons yet to be. I am looking forward to seeing what colorful things God has in store as I begin this new season of my life.