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Mark Eastman

Life is Full of Struggles

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What are You Going to Do About Them?

We all experience struggles in life. We also have opportunities to celebrate peace and harmony. The question is which you’re going to focus on.

This past Sunday we celebrated getting new hymnals at church. Pastor Lisa pointed out that, at different times different things speak to us. This is true in worship.

It might be a prayer, a liturgy, a Scripture, or a song. Music is certainly something that can move us. A hymnal is more than just a book of songs.

It is a gathering of history. It is scriptural. It is a part of a journey. It gives us direction.

One such song is Great is Thy Faithfulness.

This popular Christian song was written as a poem by Thomas Chisholm in 1923. It was about God’s faithfulness over his lifetime.  Chisholm sent it to William Runyan who was affiliated with the Hope Publishing Company. Runyan set the poem to music. It quickly became popular among church groups.

Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father; 
there is no shadow of turning with thee; 
thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not; 
as thou hast been thou forever wilt be.

Refrain: 
Great is thy faithfulness! 
Great is thy faithfulness! 
Morning by morning new mercies I see:
all I have needed thy hand hath provided–
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!


Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
join with all nature in manifold witness 
to thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love. [Refrain]


Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, 
thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide, 
strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! [Refrain]

Great is Thy Faithfulness, Thomas Chisholm

These Biblical lyrics reference Lamentations 3:22-23.

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
    His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
    his mercies begin afresh each morning.

Lamenting is crying out. It is to express deep sorrow, to mourn, or grieve.

This is what the book of Lamentations is. In the Bible, people would wear sack cloth and throw dirt. I remember when people would wear black for a while to show their feelings of lamenting. Now people get on social media.

Lamentations 3:19-26 gives us a good plan for dealing with life’s struggles. It tells us to get these struggles out and share them with God. It professes God’s daily mercies and peace we can have. It points out that it is up to us to look to Him for this comfort.

We need to tell God how we feel and have faith in Him.

It is up to us to believe. Christians do not lament as the world does.

Give your struggles to God and live in His peace.

A Successful Business Needs a Good Foundation

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What Supports That Foundation is Just as Important

Building something that will stand the test of time and the elements requires a solid foundation.

A building foundation is made up of two parts: the footing and the foundation. The footing creates an attachment point between the foundation and the soil. The role of the foundation is to support the building and help prevent settling.

The foundation is the base and support of any building structure. It transfers the load from the structure to the ground. It also provides resistance from external loads exerted on it.

If the foundation of a building is inadequate or not maintained…the building will collapse.

The foundation of a business is the same. It is who you are. These are the non-negotiables. The things that, when faced with decisions, will help you withstand earthquakes. Your business foundation consists of your core values and mission.

We discussed business core values back in August. Core values are your fundamental beliefs. They are your guiding principles. It’s like your business conscience. It’s the building blocks of your business foundation.

If the foundation of a business is inadequate, it can be changed.

A foundation is built. Depending on what it’s going to support determines how it should be built. The other thing that needs to be determined to build an adequate foundation is…what is the ground like?

Is it dirt, sand, or rock? This is the most important thing to know. It will determine what kind of foundation is needed to support the structure. If the foundation or the structure doesn’t match the ground…maybe you should build somewhere else.

The ground of your business (and life) is your purpose. It goes beyond who you are. It is who you were made to be. It is why you exist. You need to start by asking the questions.

Who am I? What is my purpose? Why am I here?

This takes some work and some digging. It isn’t an answer that’s going to magically appear. It’s like looking at the surface of the ground where you want to build a building. You won’t know what’s underneath without doing some work.

When it comes to knowing what’s below your surface, you need to ask, “why am I here?” Then like a small child curiously ask it again. And then ask it again and again and again.

This is where the foundation of your life and your business will be built. Don’t start building your business without knowing what kind of ground you’re building it on.

Knowing what supports the business (your purpose) is critical if it’s going to withstand the test of time and the storms that will come.

I Killed Jesus

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Now What Am I Going to Do About It?

This past Sunday the men of the church led worship. Jim Miller gave us a great message. At the end of the service, we took communion.

Communion is a part of Christian worship. It was instituted by Jesus on the evening before His death. It is the partaking of bread and wine, which was presented before God the Father in thankful memorial of Christ’s sacrifice. This became (through the sacramental blessing) the communion of the body and blood of Christ.

Like all religious ceremonies, communion can become routine. Just another habitual thing we do.

As we were preparing to take the sacraments Jim said something that caught my attention. He said, “We caused Jesus’ death.” Our sins are the reason Christ died on that cross. And it hit me…

I killed Jesus.

It’s not just that Jesus died to pay for our sins. I killed Him.

At that moment His sacrifice hit me. I directly caused His death. I’m responsible for this.

Now what am I going to do about it?

The Scripture Jim used was 2 Peter 1:1-11. This is an outline for a Christian life.

The Lord has given us everything we need for life and godliness. That you may share the divine nature and escape from the world’s immorality that sinful craving produces.

  • This is why you must make every effort to add moral excellence to your faith
  • And to moral excellence, knowledge
  • And to knowledge, self-control
  • And to self-control, endurance
  • And to endurance, godliness
  • And to godliness, affection for others
  • And to affection for others, love.

If all these are yours and they are growing in you, they’ll keep you from becoming inactive and unfruitful. Whoever lacks these things is shortsighted and blind, forgetting that they were cleansed from their past sins.

Do this and you will never ever be lost. You will receive a rich welcome into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.

How do we apply this outline to our daily lives?

Jim being a rancher, gave us a cowboy analogy for this.

In different seasons cattle need to be given supplements to keep them healthy and living their best life.

He used a story about supplements from a cattleman’s magazine. This story used staves in a wooden barrel as an example. These are narrow vertical boards that are used on the sides of wooden barrels.

If one of these staves is shorter than the others, the barrel can’t be filled. It will only hold as much as the shortest stave.

The point of this magazine article was…cattle will only be as healthy as the shortest thing in their diet. This is where supplements come in.

Taking supplements is not something that is done once. It needs to be done on a regular basis over a period of time.

This is the same in our spiritual lives. We need to take supplements to live the best life. These supplements are regular reading of the Bible and prayer.

Reading and applying scripture and praying daily, living the life that God has called me to, these are a way to repay a small portion of my debt for killing Jesus.

How Would You Like to Take Control of Your Business?

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It Means Getting Past the Intangibles

Construction companies regularly find themselves stuck in the rut of doing the same thing over and over hoping for different results. Most of these businesses get started knowing construction, but not business. They plod along doing construction hoping that something is going to magically happen so they can get control of the business side of things.

Your construction business isn’t what you expected.

What are you going to do about it?

take control, if not now, when?

This is where the hard work begins because you don’t know what to do about it. Or if you do, you don’t have the time or energy to do it.

Knowing something needs to be done, but doing nothing, is the most common problem construction companies deal with.

This problem comes down to tangible vs. intangible.

Construction deals with the tangible. The ability to touch and see the benefits of your actions each and every day. This is one of the most rewarding sensations in construction.

I’ll never forget that feeling of exhausted accomplishment at the end of the day. Looking at those walls that are there now and weren’t when we started. Having a blueprint of where the walls are supposed to go. How the parts are supposed to fit together. Laying out those studs and wall plates, nailing them together and standing the wall. This physical accomplishment is evidence of progress.

These things are tangible.

On the other hand, building a construction business is intangible.

We can have ideas and plans for building a business. We can see it in our mind, but it’s not a building. This process doesn’t require boards and nails. There is no physical reality that doing any of these actions is going produce anything.

We can work on building a business for days and weeks and still not be able to step back and see that anything was built. It’s not like looking at a newly framed and stood wall.

The fact that building a construction business is intangible is why most aren’t doing it.

It is hard to commit to something that is intangible. It sounds great but…what if it doesn’t work? What if it takes longer than I expected? The unknown is scary.

Ultimately, it’s up to you.

Do you want your business to be more than just a job?

If you do, it’s up to you to do something about it. Change is required. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. I know change is hard, but this is the only way things will change.

The evidence of progress with the business is more subtle than physical construction. It shows up in places that you don’t normally look. Places like increased profit, consistently happy customers, having money to pay bills and taxes, construction projects going smoother than normal.

You have a choice. You can continue doing things the way you have or change.

The only way you will ever get control of your business is by pushing past the intangibles. If you would like some help taking control of your business, schedule a free 30-minute construction company consultation.

We Don’t Need To Be Scared

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Even If It Is Halloween

As I write this, tomorrow is Halloween. There are a lot of scary decorations in yards and on houses as I drive through town. There are a lot of scary movies on TV. Kids will be dressing up in costumes and trick or treating. There will be scary sounds and scary things as they go from house to house.

 As scary as this can be, most people will know that there’s no real danger with these decorations and sounds…but it’s nice to know there are others close by that have our backs.

As scary as Halloween is, there is something else that’s scarier.

In Matthew 10:28 we are told, “Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body but can’t kill the soul. Instead, be afraid of the one who can destroy both body and soul in hell.” We should be afraid of Satan. Matthew goes on in verse 31 and tells us, “Don’t be afraid…”

We have Christ’s protection available to us every day. If we acknowledge Jesus before people, He will acknowledge us before our Father in heaven. But if we deny Christ, He will also deny us before God. (Matthew 10:32-33)

As a parent you’ve probably had situations where your kids are hounding you about something. You tell them no. They keep asking and asking. You continue to tell them no.

Then comes the question…why?

And the answer…

Because I said so!

This is because you as the parents know more than them as the kids.

This is the same thing Jesus tells us. He knows more than we do.

As we’ve been going through Isaiah, we’ve heard him warning the people and telling them what to expect if they don’t quit doing the things they are doing. As scary as this is, they don’t seem to be taking it seriously.

He goes on to tell them the peace they can have if they believe and change.

It can be hard to believe if we don’t have proof. These people were being told to believe something and they didn’t have any proof…yet. We do.

In Isaiah 61:1-2, we see what Isaiah told the people they could expect from Christ. The Lord’s spirit is upon Him. He was sent “to bring good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim release for captives, and liberation for prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and a day of vindication for our God, to comfort all who mourn…”

In Luke 4:14-21, Jesus has returned to Nazareth, where He had grown up. One Sabbath when He was at the synagogue, He was given the book of Isaiah to read from. He unrolled the scroll and read:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me.
He has sent me to preach good news to the poor,
    to proclaim release to the prisoners
    and recovery of sight to the blind,
    to liberate the oppressed,
    and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

He sat down and everyone was looking at Him. He told them, “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled just as you heard it.”

Like little kids we’re continually asking why. Why is this so hard? Why did this bad thing happen? Why…

And the answer…

Because Jesus said so.

The world can be a scary place. It doesn’t have to be. Jesus is our protector. We need to trust Him. He knows more than us.

What Should I Do First?

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Deciding What Your Big Rocks Are

Self-employed people, especially those in construction, struggle trying to keep up with all the things there are to do. I’ve experienced this from both sides. First, as a general contractor, struggling to get subs to show up when they said they would. Second, as the construction contractor, who didn’t accomplish what I said I would, when I said I would.

This practice of over-promising and under-delivering is all too common.

More times than not, over-promising and under-delivering is unintentional. We mean it when we say we’ll be there at a certain time. Then life happens and everything gets derailed.

I’ve been dealing with this problem quite a bit lately, when subs or suppliers don’t follow through at the time they said they would.

This has led to multiple conversations about prioritizing.

What makes one thing more important than another? What are the most important things to focus on today if I’m going to achieve my goals?

This reminded me of this post that I wrote back in January of 2021. It was about focusing on the most important things (the big rocks) first.

What are the big rocks that I need to put in the jar first?

I read about this time/priority analogy several years ago in Steven Covey’s book, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. In this book there’s a good analogy of managing our choices.

Here’s how this story goes:

One day this expert was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration I’m sure those students will never forget. After I share it with you, you’ll never forget it either.

As this man stood in front of the group of high-powered over-achievers he said, “Okay, time for a quiz.” Then he pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouthed mason jar and set it on a table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar.

When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, “Is this jar full?” Everyone in the class said, “Yes.” Then he said, “Really?” He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks.

Then he smiled and asked the group once more, “Is the jar full?” By this time the class was onto him. “Probably not,” one of them answered. “Good!” he replied. And he reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in and it went into all the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, “Is this jar full?”

“No!” the class shouted. Once again he said, “Good!” Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked up at the class and asked, “What is the point of this illustration?”

One eager beaver raised his hand and said, “The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard, you can always fit some more things into it!”

“No,” the speaker replied, “that’s not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is:

If you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all.”

Dr. Steven R. Covey, First Things First

I love this big rock example of prioritizing our actions.

Too often we approach time as though there’s no limit.

There are so many great things to choose from but there is a limited amount of time.

We all need to do better at managing our time and what our priorities are. If I’m going to be the most productive, I need “focused intensity” on the big rocks that will help me to achieve my goals. 

What are the big rocks in your life?

Growing in your faith? Spending more time with your family? Serving your customers better? Paying off debt? Taking better care of yourself physically and mentally? Helping with community projects?

Here are a couple of short videos of how putting the big rocks in first matters:

Time Management & the Jar of Life

Jar of Life

Remember to Say Thank You

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We Take Gifts for Granted

We are surrounded by blessings. We can get so used to them as a part of life that we forget to be thankful. We need to slow down and be intentional about seeing the blessings and being grateful.

As we have been going through the book of Isaiah, we have seen how the people were warned of the impending disaster if they didn’t change their ways. But there is hope if they do. (This is pretty much the message throughout the Bible.)

Isaiah spells it out for the people.

What you’re doing is wrong. If you change, the punishment won’t come. If you don’t, it will.

In Chapters 40 – 52 there is a message of hope. This is the hope of the coming Messiah and the price He will pay for our deserved punishment. Isaiah tells them in Chapter 53, verses 1-9 what’s going to happen 600 years in the future.

Who can believe what we have heard? He possessed no splendid form for us to see, no desirable appearance. He was despised and avoided by others; a man who suffered, who knew sickness well. Like someone from whom people hid their faces, he was despised.

 It was certainly our sickness that he carried, and our sufferings that he bore, but we thought him afflicted, struck down by God and tormented. He was pierced because of our rebellions and crushed because of our crimes. He bore the punishment that made us whole; by his wounds we are healed. Like sheep we had all wandered away, each going its own way, but the Lord let fall on him all our crimes.

He was oppressed and tormented, but didn’t open his mouth. Like a lamb being brought to slaughter, like a ewe silent before her shearers, he didn’t open his mouth. Due to an unjust ruling he was taken away, He was eliminated from the land of the living, struck dead because of my people’s rebellion. His grave was among the wicked, his tomb with evildoers, though he had done no violence, and had spoken nothing false.

Even though this had not happened yet, it was being told by Isaiah as though it had already happened.

Granted, it might be hard to believe someone telling you things that hadn’t happened yet. We have no excuse, because it did happen, just like Isaiah said it would.

We need to remember to say thank You for this gift that we have been given by Jesus.

We say thank You by accepting it.

Your Construction Business Isn’t What You Expected

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Now What Are You Going to Do About It?

If you had known how hard it was going to be to own and operate your own construction business…you probably wouldn’t have done it.

It’s hard work, time-consuming, and risky.

The problem is that no one told you how hard it was going to be. Or, if they did, you didn’t believe them.

This isn’t to say that it’s not worth it…because it can be.

The problem is being faced with things like –

  • Finding the time to do the physical construction and the paperwork
  • Constantly feeling like your life is out of control
  • Construction projects behind schedule
  • Not having enough money to pay the bills
  • Construction projects going over budget
  • Disappointed and upset customers
  • Misunderstandings with customers and production teams

And not knowing what to do about these problems.

If you work in the construction industry, you’ve probably experienced some or all of these things.

So, what are you going to do?

Are you going to just keep plodding along, hoping that something is going to change? You know the definition of insanity is “Doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.”

If you want different results, you’re going to have to do something different.

The question is…what are YOU going to do? Are you going to continue living in the current insanity or are you going to do something different? What you know about the crazy mess that you find yourself going through daily seems less scary than the unknown.

New and different is scary.

Deciding to do something different is the first and hardest step in a series of hard steps.

If you want to stay in business you need to take this hard step. You need to DO SOMETHING. Otherwise, you will eventually go out of business.

You need a change of perspective. Some new and different ways of doing things.

As scary as this is, it can be less scary than going out of business.

What you need is someone to help you with this. You need someone who has been there and done that to guide you through finding the solutions you need.

This doesn’t mean that it’s going to be simple or easy. Building a new building isn’t simple and easy.

When you started working in the construction industry you didn’t know what you know now. Building a business is the same way.

Someone taught, trained, and helped you to learn your construction trade. What you need now is someone to teach, train, and help you to learn how to build a construction company. This teaching, training, and help is available for you at Solution Building. We’ve been where you are and would love to help you with our forty plus years of experience. If you have questions about how we can help, you can set up a free, 30-minute construction company consultation.

The World is Full of Miracles

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Why Do We Overlook Them?

John the Baptist was put in prison by Herod for sharing the message of Jesus. John had spent his whole life declaring the message of the coming Messiah. As he was trapped there in prison, he may have been having second thoughts about this. Had he got this wrong? Was Jesus really the Messiah?

While he was in prison, John sent two of his disciples to Jesus to find out. When they went to Jesus, they found Him curing people who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirts. Also, he was giving sight to many who were blind. (Luke 7:21)

They asked Jesus, “Are You the one who’s coming, or should we look for someone else?” (Luke 7:20)

He answered them, “Go back, and tell John what you have seen and heard:

Blind people see again, lame people are walking, those with skin diseases are made clean, deaf people hear again, dead people are brought back to life, and poor people hear the Good News.” (Luke 7:18-23)

Jesus was telling these disciples and John the things they had been taught. These things had been predicted in Isaiah.  

Last week we looked at Isaiah telling us about the Messiah in chapter 9. Between chapter 9 and chapter 34, Isaiah is telling the people of the harsh judgement to come. That’s a lot of chapters about what the people can expect because of how they have been living.

In chapter 34, Isaiah switches it up.

He goes back to the message of hope for restoration.

He tells the people that God is coming. Deserts will become green. The Lord will display His glory. He is coming to strengthen those who have tired hands and encourage those who have weak knees. He will say to those with fearful hearts,

“Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.”

And when He comes, this is what it will look like:

“He will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf. The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy! Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the wasteland. The parched ground will become a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land. Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish where desert jackals once lived.” (Isaiah 35:1-10)

These miracles that Isaiah predicted happened.

We’ve heard of these miracles that Jesus did. The Bible is full of examples of Jesus performing miracles.

Miracles just happened in the Bible though…right? Wrong.

The world around us is full of miracles. It’s nothing but miracles.

Miracles don’t have to be some miraculous healing (not that they can’t be). Doctors, nurses and medicine are miracles. Technology that allows us to communicate virtually with people around the world is a miracle. The fact that the sun comes up right on schedule every morning, as it has for thousands of years, is a miracle.

I think Albert Einstein summarized it will when he said, “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”

The world is a miracle full of miracles. We just need to open our eyes and see them.

Keep Your Business Balanced and Supported

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An Out-Of-Balance Business is Like a Short-Legged Table

Have you ever felt like your business and/or your life were out-of-balance? This is a common situation with self-employed companies. It’s like a three-legged table with one short leg…kind of wobbly.  

I know I’ve felt this way and sometimes still do. You’ve probably heard the saying feast or famine. This saying is used quite often in the building industry.  

Balance time and money

It refers to the common problem of having too much to do. Or worrying about how you are going to pay the bills if you don’t get some work soon.  

Sometimes this is caused by situations beyond our control. The economy, the weather, or some other external force. More often than not it is an out-of-balance business. It’s wobbly like a table with one short leg.  

Most of us that are self-employed started out by learning our trade as an apprentice, working for someone else. I know this is how I got started.  

The problem with this is that while I learned how to build a building, I wasn’t taught how to build a company.  

After years of struggling and learning things the hard way—paying the expensive tuition to the school of hard knocks—I’m still not close to graduating yet. 

This became apparent this past week. I realized that I was not maintaining balance in the business. I was letting things distract me and not being intentional about what I was doing. 

One of the things that I implemented years ago was having a different focus for each day of the week. I had been neglecting this. So, I was intentional this week to focus on the specific focus for that day. It was a productive week. 

Keeping the business balanced and supported is an ongoing process. 

I was reminded that my business is like a three-legged table.  When all the legs are the same length, it helps provide a level, sturdy platform for my company to sit on.  

When any one or two of them are short, the table starts leaning. If it leans too far the company will slide off.  

It’s never good when a company crashes to the floor. 

The three legs of the table are: 

1 – Sales/Marketing – Searching for and finding customers that you can help. Sharing about your service and/or product through word-of-mouth, advertising and awareness. Meeting with potential customers, determining what they want/need and preparation of estimates, proposals, and contracts. 

2 – Production – Organizing, scheduling and maintaining projects or products. Determining who the right people are to perform specific tasks. Knowing the parts that are needed and making sure they fit. Maintaining communication between all parties involved. 

3 – Administration/finance – The preparation of documents needed to communicate, track, and record all aspects of the business. The filling out and filing of income, expense, banking, and tax papers. This leg is one of the easiest for ‘tradespeople’ to neglect.  

When any one of these legs get short, it can really cause the whole table to lean. 

The tabletop is the big picture: planning and organizing. It’s what connects the three separate legs. It’s easy to give too much attention to one or two legs and forget the other.  

Getting so focused on the production of a project that we forget to follow-up with a new customer. Or working so hard on preparing proposals that we forget to invoice. Or even working so diligently on tracking expenses that we don’t leave enough time to work on the construction project.  

There is no perfect answer to keep the table from ever leaning.  

The most important thing is to realize that it can happen and to continually work to keep the table balanced.  

Updated from a previous post 4/30/16