remodeling

i will never be confused for bob villa or tim "the tool man" taylor. do-it-yourself is a code around our house that roughly translates: "amy's dad will have to come fix it later." since becoming a home owner, i have had to stretch my home improvement comfort zone. while i do not have mad skills, i can deconstruct things with the best of them. to alter a quote from eddy murphy in coming to america, "when you think of demolition, think of kyle."

i say all this to set the stage for the following announcement of insanity in the mcclellan home: we are remodeling our kitchen and family room. paint, new countertops, painting the cabinets and a new floor are on tap in the kitchen. the gig sheet for the family room includes a new sliding door, a hardwood floor and paint. while i realize ty and paul from extreme home makeover could knock this out sans bullhorn, it will take my father-in-law and i more than a couple of days to do all this. tearing carpet out is fun - putting hardwood in may not be so much. this will require a significant amout of sweat equity on our part.

i began a series thru genesis this week. it will take us a couple of years, probably, to get through all 50 chapters and still take time for advent and easter. as i was ripping out carpet last night, genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24 and 26 came to mind. while God was creating everything - he simply spoke. "and God said" becomes a central motif in the creation narrative. while marduk and the gang needed the dead body of apsu (the enuma elish) and athiestic evolution needs time, chance and matter that mysteriously appears from nowhere, God only needs to speak. when my frustration with the week in and week out task of preaching grows, this is a welcome balm to a tired pastor: God's Word is infinately powerful. by speaking, He creates all that is out of nothing.

too bad our remodeling project cannot follow a similar line. it would make my father-in-laws life much easier.