Labor Day is one of my three favorite holidays each year. Christmas being my favorite. (This is no big surprise). Labor Day and New Year’s Day are tied for the second spot. These two are not typically ranked in most people’s top three.
My extended family celebrates both holidays in an almost identical way. Both start with parades in the morning and conclude by spending the rest of the day playing games, eating, and enjoying time with family.
This doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy the other holidays, because I do. These three are just my favorites.
As I was looking forward to the upcoming holiday, I began thinking about the reason behind the celebration. Labor Day was started to show appreciation for the hard-working labor force in America in the late 1800’s.
We often forget the reasons behind holidays.
We need to remember the reason for this and all holidays. Don’t just look at it as another reason to barbecue with friends or go to the lake.
The problem I have with Labor Day is the view that there is a separation between labor and management or employees and business owners.
No doubt there’s a difference in the roles of these two groups. Too often it’s seen as a battle between the two. It’s us against them. There certainly have been and still are situations where this is true.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
This attitude is a problem for both groups. It’s a view that there is a limited amount of pie and if I don’t get my piece, there may not be any left.
This “scarcity thinking” in a world of abundance isn’t beneficial to either side. God will provide enough for everybody if we do the work we’ve been called to do. If we would quit viewing labor and management as two competing entities.
Instead, we should look at both as being on the same team working together. Then both would benefit.
Having been on both sides of the employee/owner relationship, I can tell you that both work hard to achieve success. It is easy to look at other people and think they have it easy. This is rarely the case.
If all involved work hard together toward the same goal everybody wins.
The definition of labor focuses mainly on the physical, while work refers to both physical and mental actions. Work seems less divisive than labor. We can and should work together toward the same goal.
On the first Monday of September this year, I’m going to celebrate WORK instead of labor.
In this week’s sermon, Pastor Lisa used algebra as an example of learning. Really, algebra…
I never was a fan of algebra. I could never understand why it was necessary to mix the alphabet in with math. People that like algebra naturally get it. Not me. I just don’t get this.
Algebra is the branch of mathematics that studies certain abstract systems, known as algebraic structures, and the manipulation of statements within those systems. It is a generalization of arithmetic that introduces variables and algebraic operations other than the standard arithmetic operations such as addition and multiplication.
This makes my head hurt.
Pastor Lisa’s point was that algebra is a mathematical example of looking for and finding an answer to a problem. Now that I understand.
Why can’t it be as simple as using a box or a blank for the unknown piece of the puzzle? Why does it have to be a letter?
We need to find the number in this box. And what number, when added to 10, gives us 13?
Simple, it’s three; we can see that 3 plus 10 equals 13. The puzzle here only contains numbers.
Okay…enough about algebra.
The real message here is about learning.
Learning is acquiring wisdom. And the Proverbs are full of acquiring and sharing wisdom. In Proverbs 1:1-7, we are told how the Proverbs can be used to learn.
Proverbs will teach you wisdom and self-control and how to understand things with deep meanings. You will learn what is right and honest and fair. From these, an ordinary person can learn to be smart, and young people can gain knowledge and good sense.
The Proverbs are not promises. They are a probability.
We can go through life ignoring the opportunities to learn. Or we can soak up every lesson, both good and bad, and build better lives. It’s up to us.
We shouldn’t just take things at face value. We should scratch and think and ponder, trying to find the right answers to the right questions.
I was having a discussion with a sub-contractor. They were venting their frustrations with a general contractor they had worked for. This GC bid the project low to get it. Then after getting it, continued raising the price through change orders.
The sub-contractor felt this was dishonest and unethical.
Core values are the building blocks that make up the foundation your business is built on.
Core values are fundamental beliefs. They are your guiding principles. The definition of CORE is the central or most important part of something. This is the most inner part of who you are. This is also the most inner part of your business.
It’s like your conscience. Deep down, on the inside, who God made you to be. VALUES are the regard that something is held to deserve; the importance, worth, or usefulness of something; a person’s principles or standards of behavior; one’s judgment of what is important in life and business.
You choose these values. How you want to be, how you will treat others, etc. This doesn’t mean they have to be good. Some people’s values may be selfish or greedy, but regardless, we choose what values we will live by.
A wise person builds their business on a solid foundation. The rain can pour down, rivers flood, and the winds beat against the business. But if it’s built on a solid foundation, it will not fall. (Matthew 7:24-25)
Bad core values will not support the business in the long term.
The foolish person builds their business on the sand. The rain can pour down, rivers flood, and the winds beat against the business. It will fall with a crash. (Matthew 7:26-27)
The core values that my business is built on are a collection of some things that I’m naturally good at and some things…not so much. I’m constantly working to get better at all of them.
These things are in alignment with what I believe God wants from me and my business.
These core values, other than the first one, are in no specific order. Some you may recognize as quotes or common sayings. Others derived from things I’ve heard or experienced. All of them are values I hold high and am striving to live out daily. Here they are:
We all make mistakes. Some mistakes are more serious than others. The thing to remember is that the mistake doesn’t have to be the end of the story.
King David is remembered as someone after God’s heart even though he made a lot of mistakes. One of the reasons he is remembered this way is because of his willingness to admit his mistakes and repent of them.
This is evident in the Psalms. Many of the Psalms are of David repenting. This week’s Scripture, Psalm 6 is one of these. We don’t know exactly what mistake(s) David is referring to in this chapter. What we do know is that it’s an outpouring of David’s regret. To the point of bringing him to tears.
David’s penance is one of the reasons he was remembered as he was.
Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of repentance for sins committed. The word penance derives from Old French and Latin paenitentia, both of which derive from the same root meaning repentance.
This is a sincere change of heart and feeling of remorse. Repentance refers to the genuine interior sorrow for one’s hurtful words or actions.
Repentance implies a purpose and the resolve to avoid such hurtful behavior in the future.
The superpower that we all have, but too often neglect to use, is the power of choice.
David made a lot of choices, knowing they were wrong. But he also chose to openly repent, asking for God’s forgiveness.
We are faced with choices every day. It’s up to us to ask God for His input before we make the choices. This will reduce the time of repentance.
Working on the Business is Not The Same as Working In It
Even after being in business for more than forty years and all that I’ve learned over that time…there is still more to learn. Delegating is one of those areas where I need to do better.
I’ve just recently finished reading the book The Highest Calling by Lawrence Janesky. This novel is about business struggles and success. It’s a story of helping others and learning how to do the right things in order to succeed. It shares important and powerful business principles.
It reminded me of things that I know but haven’t done well.
One of those things was delegating. After years of doing everything, I forget to share the load. And, as a recovering perfectionist, I have a high level of expectation. This makes it hard to delegate.
Last week, we discussed the need to find a different electrician. We looked at how this is possible through connections.
As hard as it is to just find subcontractors, it’s even harder to find good ones.
Too often when we get to a point where we desperately need help. The situation is serious enough that we hire the first warm body(s) that shows up.
We all know how this turns out.
We assume that everybody has the same values and understanding that we do.
Surprise…not so.
I’ve found over the years that hiring people who grew up working on a farm, have military service, or were serious athletes increases your odds of getting good help.
In addition to finding subcontractors, it’s hard to get them to perform at the level I expect. Of course, it’s not fair to them if they don’t know what I expect.
Add to this that I tend to be meek. This leads to me letting things slide and not calling people out on things. I need to be bolder. One of the twelve life principles in the book The Legend of the Monk and the Merchant is…
Be meek before God, but bold before men.
I’ve worked to do something about this problem several different times over the years without success. The last attempt was in February of 2023. We worked on a process for explaining what we expected from our subcontractors and a way to evaluate them on their performance.
At that time, I wrote a series of blog posts about raising the bar of expectations:
I can’t expect contractors to work toward the level of excellence that I expect if they don’t know what that is. The question is…what am I going to do about it?
A maze is defined as, “A path or collection of paths typically from an entrance to a goal. The word is used to refer both to branching puzzles through which the solver must find a route, and to simpler non-branching (“unicursal”) patterns that lead unambiguously through a convoluted layout to a goal.”
Life is like a maze. It has a beginning and an end. We can choose what we want the end goal to be. Do we want to spend eternity in heaven or hell?
We start down a path that seems clear. We’re sure is the right one. Then we run into a roadblock. Now we have to turn around and go in a different direction. And just when we think we have it figured out…there’s another dead end.
This maze we call life can be frustrating.
But if we persist, we will eventually find the goal. Finding our way through the maze is easier if we have a map and help. The map is our Bible. The help is God, our church, family, and Christian friends.
This Sunday’s message was from Psalm 5. It is a morning prayer for help…and boy, don’t we all need help getting through this maze called life.
David starts out by stating who he’s praying to and asking God to hear his prayer. He confirms that God does not like evil and will not support sin. He asks God to make His teaching clear and to guide him. He then closes the prayer asking for protection for those who love God.
Starting our day off in prayer is a good way to begin each daily portion of the maze.
In Psalm 1, we are shown the way to happiness. We are also shown a different path. One path is to success. One is like straw blown by the wind. Verse 6 tells us, “The Lord protects everyone who follows Him, but the wicked follow a road that leads to ruin.”
So, if we are aware of the maze of life, understand how it’s better with help, take intentional actions, and continue learning as we go…we’ll make it to Heaven in the end.
And You Never Know Where Those Connections Will Come From
The first couple of years as a self-employed construction contractor were a lot different than Gene expected. He’s beginning to wonder if owning his own business is worth it. It certainly isn’t what he expected.
All the headaches and problems that he’s encountered are causing him to have second thoughts about his construction job and going into business.
Working long days doing construction and late nights doing paperwork feels like being stuck in a rut. With help not showing up and Gene having to do more work, the rut just gets deeper.
Add to this the truck transmission going out. Having to borrow money to fix it. The disagreement with the customer that cost Gene $1,000 and the bottom of the rut has now turned to mud.
Then, the bottom of the rut falls out when Gene finds out he owes more than $17,000 in income tax and he doesn’t have the money to pay it.
At the end of the day, Gene could make more and work less flipping burgers.
It’s been a rough couple of years for Gene, but this isn’t to say that everything has been bad.
At the end of the day, it’s rewarding to look at what he’s built. There are customers whose lives have been improved by the construction projects he’s done for them. The freedom of having control is nice. Not to mention that Gene did have a profitable year…otherwise he wouldn’t have owed the income tax.
As another week winds down, Gene decided to do something that is nearly unheard of…he’s going to take a day off work.
Some of Gene’s friends have been pestering him to come hang out with them like he used to.
One of these friends, Dave, has a lifted 4×4 truck project that he’s been working on. Some of these guys have been hanging out on Saturdays and helping.
This past week, Gene ran into Dave at the lumber yard. They got started talking about the project and how it was going. Once again, Dave threw out the invitation to join them.
“I know how much you love working on truck projects,” Dave says, “We’re going to be dropping the motor in Saturday and could use some extra hands. You know you’d have fun…not mention how cool it is to hear a new motor fire up that first time with open headers.”
So, after Gene gets done on Friday, he calls Dave, “Hey, are you still planning to put that motor in your truck tomorrow?”
“That’s the plan,” Dave responds.
“Would it still be okay if I came over and helped?” asks Gene.
“Sure, we plan to start at 9:00. Bring the coffee and donuts,” he says with a laugh.
The next morning Gene shows up at Dave’s shop with a dozen fresh donuts and a thermos of hot coffee.
A couple of guys are already there. When Gene comes in with the donuts and coffee, they all act like they’re fainting.
After some jousting and poking fun at Gene for not coming around for so long, they dig into the donuts. As they catch up, a couple of others show up and join in on the ribbing of Gene.
After the tormenting slows down a little, Dave asked Gene, “So, why have you been avoiding us?”
His question catches Gene off guard, and he replies, “I haven’t been avoiding you.
I’ve just been trying to run my business. It’s a lot more work than I expected.”
As they began working on the truck and getting ready to drop the motor in, there was a lot of discussion about the construction industry and what it takes to run a business.
While they were talking, Dave brought up his boss who is the owner and operator of a large, successful construction company. Then Dave stopped what he was doing and looked at Gene, “Maybe I could set up a meeting with you and John. I bet he could help you understand how to BUILD a better business.”
Maybe this is just what Gene needs.
This unexpected opportunity might just be the connection that Gene needs to turn things around in his business.
We never know where connections will come from or where they will lead.
I want to share some real-life examples of some of the connections I’ve experienced in my business.
The first example is my amazing virtual assistant (VA), Emily.
Back in 2010 or so, my wife and I were struggling financially. We were tired of things the way they were.
We found out about Dave Ramsey, and I began listening to his radio program. Dave shared various books and people that he followed. Among them were people like Michael Hyatt. Then, from Michael I learned about Andy Andrews and Donald Miller. Then, I found out about Ray Edwards and began to follow his blog posts and podcasts.
Then in 2020, I had the opportunity to join a mastermind that Ray Edwards was starting.
This led to my meeting Becky Warner. Then through a 90 Day Launch course, I met Vickie Adair who is now in the current mastermind that I’m in.
As I was looking for a virtual assistant, Vickie told me that her daughter Katie was looking for a job as a VA. It worked out that Katie became my VA.
Then Katie had another job opportunity that was more hours. She connected me with Dori. Dori became my next VA.
Then Dori became pregnant with her second child. She felt that two small children and working was going to be too much. She connected me with Emily…my current VA.
I could never have imagined that listening to Dave Ramsey’s radio program would have connected me with Emily…but here we are.
The second example is a construction related connection.
The electrician that I’ve been using for years made a career change, which means I need to find a new electrician for a couple of residential projects.
I reached out to a couple of electricians that I have used in the past or knew. One—Mitch—called me back. He told me he was no longer doing residential projects. He gave me the name of Integrity Electric.
We’re planning to look at these jobs tomorrow.
This connection goes a lot further than it first appears. Mitch used to work for Galen. I knew Galen from high school and later when we were both on the local Trades Board.
Before Galen had his own business, he worked for Finn’s Electric. I also knew the owners of Finn’s Electric because we went to the same church.
Had I not had these connections, I wouldn’t have the wonderful VA that I now have or the opportunity to keep these construction projects moving forward.
My point of all this is that we are connected, and these connections can help us BUILD a better business.
I wonder if Gene will be intentional and take advantage of the connection that Dave is offering him?
Clothes are an outward indication of who we are or want to be. This is evident in commercials and advertisements. The latest and greatest thing is bombarding us everywhere we look.
How we dress is one of the first things people see. Our clothes show others who we choose to be.
Clothes can be an accurate or inaccurate presentation. At funerals, typically the dead are dressed in their best suit or dress even if while living they never dressed like that.
Granted, at our own funeral, we have no control over how we’ll be dressed.
This week’s Scripture was John 11:32-44. Most of us have heard the story of Lazarus. He was the brother of Mary and Martha and a good friend of Jesus.
Lazarus was sick and his sisters sent word to Jesus because they knew he could heal him. But as the story goes, Jesus was slow in getting to Lazarus. By the time He arrived, Lazarus was dead.
There was some frustration that Jesus hadn’t got there in time to save Lazarus. “He gave sight to the blind. Why couldn’t He have kept Lazarus from dying?”
They went to the grave and Jesus told them to roll the stone away.
But Martha said, “Lord, you know that Lazarus has been dead four days, and there will be a bad smell.”
Jesus told them to have faith.
After the stone had been rolled aside, Jesus looked up toward heaven and prayed, “Father, I thank you for answering my prayer. I know that you always answer my prayers.”
When Jesus had finished praying, he shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” The man who had been dead came out. Jesus told the people to take off Lazarus’ burial clothes.
Jesus makes it possible for each of us to have our burial clothes removed. It’s up to us to accept this offer or not.
Too often we continue to wear our burial clothes…we don’t have to. All we have to do is to accept that Jesus has paid the price for us by dying on the cross and our burial clothes will be gone.
We can also wear clothes for the wrong reasons. They can be worn to present an image to others.
Maybe we’re wearing our Sunday morning, “look at me going to church clothes”. Or maybe it’s our “going out on the town clothes”. Could be that it’s our “look at me I’m better than you” clothes.
There’s nothing wrong with wearing better clothes that present a better image. We just need to be sure we’re wearing them for the right reason and who we’re wearing them for.
What kind of clothes are you wearing and who are you wearing them for?
As someone who has been in construction for more than forty years, I’ve worked for my share of hard customers. This does not mean that they are bad customers. On the contrary, more often than not the opposite is true. They are the best customers because they have a high standard and expect high quality.
There are, however, those customers that are difficult. Ones that perceive the process of a construction project to be more of a battle that they need to win.
These aren’t the kind of customers that I’m referring to when I’m talking about customers being hard work.
Most of the time the problem is with the “professionals” doing the construction. For whatever reason, they expect construction projects to be simple, that everything will go just as planned.
This isn’t the way life is. Why would we expect construction projects to be any different?
As construction contractors, if we’re doing our job well…it should be hard work.
Hard work isn’t bad. Actually, I think the opposite is true. I think if we’re doing our job well as contractors…we will be working hard.
So, what is it that makes a customer hard work?
I think the number one reason is the contractor and customer approach construction projects from different perspectives. The customer sees their dream project in its completed and finished beauty. They have little or no idea of the processes and struggles that it takes to get the project there.
The contractor, on the other hand, knows that there will be bumps and detours along the way.
The problems arise when there is a breakdown in communication.
Often the contractor isn’t hearing what it is that the customer wants. Or he’s more interested in making money than fulfilling the customer’s dream.
As contractors, even when we have a clear idea of what the customer wants, sometimes isn’t obvious to the customer until they see it.
When faced with these situations we can say, “This is what they said they wanted. It’s what they agreed to in the scope of work that they signed.” This answer is the easy way out for the contractor.
Or we can put in the hard work and find a solution.
We’re currently working on a hundred-year-old tongue and groove wood floor that had never been finished. The customer liked the way the floor looked as it is. The plan was to sand it down and put a low sheen clear finish on it.
The problem arose when the clear finish brought out a red tint that was unexpected. Now what are we going to do?
Some contractors would tell the customer that it looks good, and they’ll get used to it. And wouldn’t that be the easy way to handle it?
The other option would be to listen to the customer. Make solving this issue as important to you as if it were your own project and you didn’t like the way it looked.
We’re going to sand it down again and work on different options. This might mean applying a stain to cover the red tint of the wood. Or maybe we’ll apply an oil finish to it. Or…maybe we’ll just leave it unfinished.
Ultimately…we’re going to work hard because this customer is worth it.
We’ll keep you up to date on how the project’s going and what we do with the floor in future posts.
That is, If the Routine Includes Doing Good Things
A routine is doing tasks, chores, or duties at a regular or specific interval or time. It is a habitual procedure constantly repeated.
Prayer is a good routine to have.
This is part of the Jewish religion. The Jewish Law calls for praying three times daily. In the morning, the afternoon, and at nightfall. The morning prayer is called (shacharit), the afternoon prayer (minchah), and the evening prayer (arvith or maariv).
It is taught that the custom of praying three times a day was introduced by the Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Abraham introduced prayer in the morning, Isaac in the afternoon, and Jacob added one at night.
Routines can help you stay organized, be productive, and even find meaning. Certain studies have associated family routines with parenting competence and marital satisfaction.
Not all routines are created equal and failing to examine or alter bad habits can have a negative effect on our lives.
Habitual behavior can cause us to be unaware. A series of habits can set us on autopilot. This can lead to losing touch with who we are made to be.
For example, scrolling through our phone can seem pretty harmless, but we may be missing out on interaction with others. Similarly, items we pressure ourselves to include in our routines may be taking up time that could be used for better things.
Whatever our personal habits may be, it’s worth considering the ways they may be affecting us negatively. These routines may prevent us from engaging with the world around us.
Routines can start out with good intentions, but the good can get lost in the routine.
If we are doing the routine just to do it, we may have lost the reason behind why we’re doing it.
Going back to Jewish routines, many of the Sadducees and Pharisees in the Old Testament got caught up in the routines and forgot the why.
We need to periodically step back and ask ourselves why. Why are we doing this routine? Is it still an effective part of who we are and what we’ve been put here to accomplish?
As for the Jewish prayer routine, they consider Psalm 4 an evening prayer. It is one of David’s Psalms. In this Psalm, David:
Talks to and gives God his problems
Speaks to the people and reminds them that he was called by God
Advises the people to not hold on to their anger, to not dwell on their anger overnight, and to give their anger to God
Trusts in God
Asks God for peace and joy
Praying regularly and often is a good way to stay connected with God. This can be especially true as we come to the end of our busy days.
There can be a sense of guilt when falling asleep before you’re finished praying. It’s okay…it’s like falling asleep in your parent’s arms.
Prayers don’t need to be some elaborate thing. They can be simple. Like the “Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep” prayer that many of us learned as a kid. I found out in the children’s message Sunday that there are variations to this prayer.
Here’s one I really liked –
Thank you Lord for another day, The chance to learn, the chance to play. Now as I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. Please, guard me Jesus through the night, And keep me safe till morning’s light. But if I should I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. And should I live for other days, I pray that God will guide my ways. Amen.
Routines help us remember to do things. But we need to do the right routines for the right reasons.
It’s important to be intentional with our routines.
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