Pergola and Porch

Our company had the opportunity to remodel a screen porch and add a pergola for a client this week.   I love building pergolas and helping our clients enhance their outdoor living areas.

This project started with the plan of opening up an old screen porch and blossomed into a full covered porch redo with cedar T&G ceiling, cedar wood trim, cedar post and a custom built cedar pergola.

We still have  a few days left on this project but here is how it is progressing.

Removed all support post and building a bigger header to open the span.

New header

Cedar T&G roof going in with new can lights

Completed cedar ceiling

Pergola view from porch

Pergola view from back yard

 

 

The Builder

In the mid 1990’s, I participated in a leadership development program called, IMPACT.   During this program we were guided by several skilled facilitators, educators, and leaders.    One such person was Ed Gash, who has been a good friend and mentor over the years.

I remember Ed challenging  each of us in the group to create a personal mission statement.    Here is the mission statement I created in 1995 …

I will build a strong Foundation by learning, experiencing and sharing the basic principles of God.

I will build solid Walls (family, friends, peers, etc.) by being a father, husband, teacher, mentor, leader, and deacon and most importantly by being a true believer that my foundation will hold whatever I build.

I will build overlapping Roofs with love, compassion, empathy, caring, listening, nurturing and the giving of resources and myself.

I will fill my buildings, by creating an atmosphere of positive living that inspires physical, social, emotional, mental and spiritual growth.

I will invite everyone into my HOME!

…this statement still holds true for me today.  As I continue my journey to the good life outside of corporate America I want to make connections that count.   The best way to do this is to hold true to my mission and invite everyone into my Home which has an atmosphere of positive living that inspires physical, social, emotional, mental, and spiritual growth.

Living the Good Life,

Watches – Does anyone care what time it is, anyway?

Image by practicalowl via Flickr

Another one of my good life resolutions was to stop wearing watches.    Why you ask?   I am not really sure.

I do know that when I was in corporate life I was driven by schedules, having to be here or there at specific times…..always feeling like I was checking my watch to see when I needed to be at the next meeting.  Thinking about how rude that must be for the other people in the meetings.  Of course, they were checking their watches too.

Today I am not driven by schedules each day.   I no longer wake to an alarm clock.  I have a slower start to the day and I don’t have a set time I go to bed.  My schedule is very flexible, in turn, I feel less like a prisoner to my watch.

The only day I wear a watch is on Sunday.   As I was thinking about my blog topics for this week, I asked myself why did you quit wearing watches except for Sunday?

Was it to check the time as Pastor Ronnie went well past noon again?   Surely not, as our Sunday services always go beyond the hour mark.   Was it because the pastors message was not engaging and I wanted to check my watch to have a distraction?  Surely not, as Pastor Ronnie has delivered some great messages lately.  Maybe it was the music and I wanted to check my watch to see when Pastor Ronnie was going to get to speak to us?  Not sure that is the reason.

So why wear a watch on Sunday……It is the only day I really dress up (business casual at best as I don’t wear suits or ties anymore) so maybe I was feeling a little undressed not wearing a watch.

I could not come up with any good reasons, so this week I will not wear a watch on Sunday!

Join me and quit looking at your watch on Sunday morning as your pastor is pushing the lunch time hour.   Where would we be if God only gave us an hour each week and kept checking his watch as we tried to talk to Him?

Living the Good Life,

Work or Play?

For years I had the following quote hanging in my corporate office.

“The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he’s always doing both.”   James A. Michener

Many would drop by and wonder…is David working or playing?   Of course, they could always hear me laughing across the building or when I stepped off the elevator.   I believe that you should have fun in all you do.  If what you are doing is no longer fun, then you should quit!   Life is too short and it makes all of us old to be miserable.

In my quest to live the good life, I am still living by the above quote.   I want people to ask, are you working or playing?    For me, the work I am doing is like playing as I am having lots of fun!   I am pursuing my vision of excellence in all that I do……..as a father, husband, general contractor, volunteer, farmer, real estate broker, etc.

How is all of this possible?  I have a strong belief that my God will provide for me and my family according to his word:

“Therefore do not worry, saying, ; What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we wear? For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ( Matthew 6:31-33)

Living the Good Life,