By Jim's Blisters, We Are Floored!

The hours were long. The progress seemed slow. The saw dust, the blisters, and the splinters were abundant! We are grateful, excited, and awestruck that some friends from Greenville have helped us put in a hardwood floor. We had been discussing flooring options because of Macayla’s wheelchair and soon she will have a patient lift and a bed with casters. The carpet in our house would hinder those items from moving. So, we knew we needed to do something, but we were not in the position to do it quite yet. Some friends of ours knew of our need and got their church small group from Catalyst Church in Greenville to help out along with other friends, Sarah & Eric, who Jennifer used to work with. They gave of their time, talent, and treasure to do this for us. It was an amazing surprise and blessing. We got the furniture and carpet out of the way with the help of our neighbor’s hand truck and two friends from Oakwood Baptist here in town. Then the flooring crew came in. With two hours of prep work on Friday, they were ready to start at 8 a.m. on Saturday. We didn’t finish until 10 p.m. that night but the floor and all the shoe mould were in place and even a few pieces of furniture were put back. It was hard work, but it came together in a single weekend. We are so thankful to Jennifer’s parents for taking care of the kids and giving us beds to sleep in while our house was a work zone. We are thankful for Mr. Jack and Mr. David for helping us pull carpet, staples and tack strips. Thank you, Eric and Sarah, Dr. and Mrs. Mabie, John and Shelley, Ken and Patty, Danny and Anne, & Jim and Lea Ann for the sweat, time, money, food and love. Thank you to my Mom for helping with cleaning up the aftermath. Thank you to my Dad for his pneumatic floor nailers that sped the process up. I know that Scripture declares that “No one has greater love than this – that one lays down his life for his friends.” We remember during this Easter season that Jesus laid His life down for us because "by His wounds we are healed." By His wounds and His work at the cross, we are transformed. I must say that great love was shown this weekend from some people who have been transformed by that cross. They may not have laid their lives down, but they certainly put them on hold for a day or two and gave out of what they have been given. By Jack & David’s time, by Dad’s nail guns, by Mom’s dust rag, by Danny’s supervision, by John’s organizing, by the Mabie's and Sarah & Eric’s support, by Kenny’s persistence, and by Jim’s blisters, we are floored!