Remodeling

Recently, I was given permission to repaint my office and was thrilled. Of course the prospect of making some much needed updates and changes was exciting. However, a major part of the excitement for me was incorporating others into the discussion and planning phase, rendering this project more of a "we-thing" than simply a "me-thing." I truly believe this can represent great ministry possibilities for the two churches with which I work. I have many talented and blessed-of-God-to-minister-to-others type folks in both of my churches ... and I want church ministry for us to be more of a we-thing than a me-thing.

Here are some pictures of the office before I moved in:



Here are some pictures that were taken after I moved in, but before I remodeled.

Here are some pictures taken of the remodeled room, and, yes, your eyes are not deceiving you. The above picture was Windows 95 in the Spring of 2007!









The "before pictures" were all taken during daylight. So you can see that it was a fairly dark room. The first four pictures of the remodeled room were taken at night. The remodeled room is now brighter at night than the old room was during the day time. You can see how shiny the book shelf is now. Before the bookshelf was only stained with one or at most two coats. The wood was super scratchy, because it had not been sanded. Thus, I sanded the book case and the boards, before painting the book case (and wood paneling!) with semi-gloss. For whatever reason the builders decided it would be a great idea to put ceiling pop-corn on the upper trim and the upper half of the wall. I scraped and sanded all of that off. The paint went on remarkably. As long as I have a choice in the matter, I will only use Sherwin-Williams paint. Sherwin-Williams, you rock the house (and my office!).

Needless to say, the room needed some serious updates (I can't believe wood paneling was ever in style!). But with a little attention it looks great now (at least in my humble opinion). Even the wood paneling, once painted, looks great. Instead of sucking all of the light out of the world like a black hole, the room reflects light beautifully. It no longer has the feel of a dungeon or storage closest.

The room beautifully reflects what the Holy Spirit can do with some willing materials for church ministry.