A One Stop Shop

The title of my blog is "Crosses and Woodshavings," and in the initial post I promised both theological discussion as well as some woodworking stories. Thus far, two months into this project, all it has been is my ruminations, contemplations, rumblings and bumblings as a pastor and child of God.

That is - hopefully - about to change.

My shop has power. My shop is about to come to life.

By way of a quick back story, when I interviewed at Zion back in February, the congregation discovered I enjoy woodworking. So, after I accepted the Call, they decided to build a free-standing shop for me to use. (That, along with the beautiful covered porch they also built, tells you something about the people of Zion and their generosity.)

The shop was built - a beautiful 20x20 shop that is well-insulated, high-roofed, and with plenty of windows for air flow - and ready for our arrival. But, due to circumstances beyond the control of the congregation, an electrical contractor didn't get an installation correct, and then there was an issue with the power company, and then there was a question about what we really wanted and needed for power supply. So, instead of the shop being ready me to make sawdust at move-in, it took a few weeks to get this wrinkle ironed out.

Tuesday, Victoria County Electric Co-Op made the necessary changes to the power supply and, with a flick of six circuit breakers, I had power in the shop. With a quick check with a circuit tester to make sure everything was good to go, I flipped on the lights and, for the first time, plugged in Dad's old radial arm saw and fired it up. (Pic is from the house in Crosby - not the new shop)

I'm as excited as I can be. I need to get things organized and squared away. I need to figure our the best floor-plan for efficiency as well as maximization of my space. I need to...

...thank all of those who generously and thoughtfully made this shop a reality. I understand there was an "anonymous donor" (or donors) who covered all of the expense so the church didn't have to incur construction costs on the shop. There were several men who stopped by, regularly, during the building process to make sure things were going as planned. After the electrical snafu, there were several other men who were involved in getting things figured out, communicating with electricians and the Co-Op, and making sure it was done correctly per code. Thank you, thank you, thank you...for this incredible gift of a woodshop.

And one of these days - soon, I hope - I'll be making big boards into toothpicks and sawdust. I'm good at that.