Bathroom Complete!!!

Well, after about 3 months we have finished our bathroom. We showered in it for the first time last Friday morning. Everything works perfectly and we are very pleased with the way it has turned out. God has bless us so many times as Dale came across problems and pondered how to deal with them. Enjoy the pics.

Holy Ground

I was reading my Bible before work this morning and was struck again by the account of Moses and the burning bush. As I grew up I was always fascinated by a bush that burned but was not consumed and identified with Moses when he hid his face as a voice came from the bush for I knew that I would be afraid in the presence of God. But as an adult I have realized that I am always in the presence of God and have become as occupied with the fact that God ordered Moses to take off his shoes because he was on holy ground.

As I have pondered this I have wondered if I am too familiar with God. We are always before God and I don't believe He expects us to wander around barefooted, so why does this speak so strongly to me when I read it. I believe I have come to know the answer after much consideration.

There are places and times when I need to be especially humbled and open before God. Even if I don't physically take off my shoes, I need to become defenseless before God. (I think being in the desert with no shoes would have left a man in a dangerous position of not being able to care for himself.) When I am in our sanctuary at church singing the praises of God and hearing His mighty Word preached, I need to have nothing between my heart and God. I need to be laid open to hear His Word and allow the Holy Spirit to apply it to my life - even if it is painful or humbling. When I am praying, I need to have my mind and heart open and defenseless before my holy and mighty God. When I find myself before someone who needs to hear His Word, I need to empty myself of me and be filled with His thoughts, His words and His Spirit.

How I pray that God will let me see less and less of myself in me and more and more of Him. I pray the same thing for you.

Bathroom Remodel Part 3

It has been a while since my last update but my life has been like a runaway train. Seems like always something going on. Here are some new bathroom pics. As you can see my hubby is working hard when he has a chance and it is starting to look great!!

We have two of these cabinets in the bathroom. They are 7" deep.

Our vanity matches the cabinets and will have a black granite top with gold flecks.

Here is my sweet husband hard at work.

The tile had not been cleaned here or grouted, but this gives you an idea of how it looks.


Still not grouted but has been cleaned. I really like the way it looks.

I went and bought maroon towels and curtains (those of you who know me know I love color!!) I hope it continues to go well.

Bathroom - Part 3

Did you ever get excited watching paint dry? Well, ok neither did I - but I am excited to see the painting done in the bathroom. I know it doesn't look like much, but I am happy. Dale had never done sponge painting before but he did a fantastic job and it looks great! Next we (meaning my darling husband) gets to start doing the tile work - floors, lower half of the wall and the tub surround all the way to the ceiling. Every thing is one step closer to being back to two bathrooms!!

36 Wonderful Years

Here we are on May 17, 1974. I was 17 (almost 18) amd Dale was 19 (almost 20.)

Here we are Dec 2009, standing at the edge of Lake Michigan. We were freezing on the outside, but our hearts were warm with love on the inside.

I praise God and thank Him for the 36 years of joy together.

Perseverance

Every morning I get on the treadmill before I get ready for work. It amazes me how different mornings bring different physical feelings. There are some mornings I begin my workout and jog easily for the allotted time and the time goes quickly. Then there are some mornings I feel like I am running with hundred pound weights on my legs and time drags. I have wondered about what is the difference between one morning and the next.

But it also brings me to consider what Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:7, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith." My spiritual life seems to be similiar to my physical workouts. There are days when my prayer time seems to soar - I am focused on Christ, I truly meet with Him and rejoice in the time. Then there are days when I am distracted and struggle to keep my mind focused and have to plead with God to keep my eyes on Him. My daily desire is to serve Him and keep my thoughts and desires focused on Him but there are days when "For that which I do I know not: for not what I would, that do I practice; but what I hate, that I do." Rom. 7:15

Bathroom - Part 2

This is the cement board around the tub. You can see the plumbing for the faucet, knob and shower.

This is the plumbing for the sink. You can see the edge of the tub on the bottom right. The vanity will run from the tub to the wall.

The hole in the wall to the left is for a 7 inch deep cabinet. Storage has been a major problem in this bathroom but the toilet sits beneath the window you see on the right so we didn't want a cabinet sticking out making it so we would bump our heads. Dale came up with the great idea of recessing the cabinet so it will only stick out 3 inches. Didn't I say he was wonderful?

He only has one more thing to do before he can start on the flooring. I get more nervous as we begin finishing. Decorating is not my forte' and I worry that I will not like the granite top with the tile we chose. We will have 12" tiles on the floor and 6" tiles on the wall going about half-way up in the room and to the ceiling in the tub area. We chose a light tile (vanilla) since the bathroom is small but chose a darker color (mocha) to do accent lines.