Week 64

This weekend the weather started to change to fall.  It was nice having a cooler weekend.  We started out with our usual Saturday morning meeting.  Facio gave us updates on where we were at on the houses.  Dry wall is in up to lot 10 (Yeah! our house).  The first three houses are ready to be painted.  Leticia had a group of friends come out to help with the painting, so we found out which of the homeowners were okay with them doing the painting.  After that was decided, we all went back to work on our different jobs.  This weekend we worked on siding, trimming front porches, roofing, building cabinet soffits, and painting. 

 The group that came out to help us. They worked on paint on lot 8.

 Deena's house with first coat of brown. (lot 7)

 My house with dry wall in (lot 10).

Standing in dinner looking into Ian's room.

Standing at the front door looking from living room into the kitchen

Deena's garage and lot 6.

 Alfredo and Naty's house lot 6.

Debbie's house lot 16 getting her roof put on.

Lot 9 siding.

Paul working on water lines.

John working on lot 12 front porch

Brandon working on lot 11 front porch.

Siding on lot 9

Siding completed on Deena's garage.

On Sunday, we had another meeting.  This time we voted on whether to start at 7 a.m. or 8 a.m. The vote was 7 to 5 in favor of the 7 a.m. start. We start our new hours this upcoming weekend.  We  then all went back to where we worked yesterday.

This was a hard weekend for me.  I don't feel like a got a lot accomplished. I was not feeling well. My allergies and asthma were bad, which made me slower.  Hopefully, I will feel better by next weekend.  We need to get the siding done on these homes.

Prayer Requests:

1) Wisdom on Facio for teaching and job assignments and that we learn our jobs and do them quickly and well.
2) Health
3) Child care issues get taking care off (caused by new start time)
4) Energy and endurance.
5) That we complete these homes by March/ April. We have a lot to do before we can move in.

We received our property tax bill Saturday.  I think we all were surprised by how much it had increased from last year.  It is costing us money every month not living in our new homes.  We have to pay property tax and homeowner insurance on top of our rent. Immediately after opening the bill, I get stressed and start to worry. I then start to think about all the other expenses coming between now and when we move in. Where is the extra money we need going to come from?  This has been on my mind since I opened the bill.  So this morning as I try to decide what verse do I want to share this week, God brings to mind Philippians 4:4-9 and Matthew 6:25-34.  We need to tighten our budget and pray.  God has always provided for our needs.  I know we will be fine. Day by day we will do what we can to save and trust God with the rest.
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Philippians 4:4-9

 

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. ⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
⁸ Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. ⁹ The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Matthew 6:25-34

The Cure for Anxiety

²⁵ “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? ²⁷ And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? ²⁸ And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, ²⁹ yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. ³⁰ But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! ³¹ Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ ³² For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But seek first ^[His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
³⁴ “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own

Week 63

We started Saturday morning with our morning meeting.  Facio updated us on where we were with inspections and subcontractors.  He then told us we would be meeting with Phil after first break to look at our choices for flooring, cabinet colors, and counter tops.   We then went to work on where we left off on Sunday.

Debbie's house getting roofed.

Brandon and Patricia's front porch getting finished.

Steve and Maria's house

Our home

Here are two tile choices, 1 cabinet, and all the counter tops

 We have until next week to decide.  The counter tops have been the hardest for me to decide.

Facio helping Jacob digging the trenches for water lines.

 After lunch, Toby taught Debbie and I how to install siding on lot 9.

John, Steve, Paul, and Brandon working on lot 9's porch.

Debbie's roof

Siding going up.

Debbie cutting the siding.

Deena, Debbie, and I installing the siding.

Pat and Paul installing the boards on the ceiling of the porch. (lot 9)

 Debbie's house

Alfredo working on the siding on his gable ends.

Steve and Maria's front porch columns wrapped.

This is how far we got with siding.

The long trench Jacob had to dig around our house.

Our house waiting for dry wall to be put on this week.

Slowly we are making progress each week.  We are looking forward to getting the exteriors done, so we can move on to the interior of the homes. 

Prayer Requests:

1) Wisdom for Facio how to lead our group and teach us
2) The subcontractors continue to come out when we need them
3) Health and Safety.
4) Debbie, Deena, and I that we learn how to put siding up and can do it quickly.

This past week we celebrated my birthday.  The gift I wanted was to go to our home and write Bible verses on the studs.  So after dinner, we headed to the house.  Everyone wrote their favorite verses on different studs.  We had to use the light from our cell phones to see what we were writing.  This was a great way to end my birthday. I love the idea that someday someone will open up the walls of our home and know that this house was a gift from God.  He has blessed us way beyond what I could have even wished for.  It is so exciting to see the colors the house will be, the flooring, the cabinets, and counter tops.  Building this house has been a very hard, many hours of labor, but worth it because it comes from God.  This morning during my devotion time I read Psalm 127, it was a great reminder of this.

Psalm 127

 

Prosperity Comes from the Lord.

 

127 Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord guards the city,
The watchman keeps awake in vain.
² It is vain for you to rise up early,
To retire late,
To eat the bread of painful labors;
For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.

³ Behold, children are a gift of the Lord,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
⁴ Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
⁵ How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;
They will not be ashamed
When they speak with their enemies in the gate.