After all, Satan tries to get us into sin through small things. He never suggests we outright murder someone, but plants seeds of anger and hate that, left unchecked, will grow into murder. That's a lot like this project. It started as a simple "paint the walls" kind of deal. Now, after a few steps, we've tore up carpet to restore the wood floor buried underneath. But since this project was my wife's idea, she felt that maybe I was referring to her as the devil, which is not something I'm able to do while maintaining a happy marriage.
Instead, she suggested that I should write "Remodeling the bedroom, just like God would" and talk about how God will restore our old beauty to us, and though it may take lots of blood, sweat, and tears, the end result will be much like this finished wood floor: beautiful and worth all the effort. Go figure, huh? So rather than debate with my wife which it should be, I'll shut my mouth and move on to something entirely different.
Instead, I will blog about my new favorite tool: the heat gun. For those of you who have never used one before, it's not quite a flame thrower, but it's way better than a blow dryer. I will say that using it makes me feel kind of like the guy in the picture. There is a very real sense of power and destruction when using one of these things. Now if you've ever used a heat gun, you know I'm dramatizing a bit here (or a lot...), but it is a pretty fantastic tool. Truth be known, it's an awful lot a blow dryer, only more powerful. Currently I'm using it to heat the glue that is on the aforementioned wood floor so that it may be scraped up easily. Unfortunately, it is a difficult process, but it is the best I've found yet. Let me detail my anguish for you:
First, we tried sanding the glue off with one of those high-powered floor sanders that you have to rent from a hardware store and throws your breakers, leaving you standing quietly in the dark. Yeah, good times. This thing actually created more problems for me. Sanding the floor got the glue hot, which made the glue sticky again, and then hardened it more than it was before. So, after a rental fee and lots of sweat (and also gluing a sheet of sandpaper to my floor), we tried something else. Namely, mineral spirits.
They sound so elegant and lovely, don't they? Mineral spirits. It brings to mind something that fancy people drink in France after a high-dollar dinner with cheese and snails. No. No. No. It's more like turpentine. The jug warns of the burns you will receive if you touch it, but promises to be a beast when it comes to removing adhesive. From experience, the answer is no. While no glue came up, I did manage to get a dizzy feeling that reminded me of high school (where lots of bad things happened). So, forget the solvents.
Remembering how the sandpaper was glued to the floor, the next thought was to get the glue hot and scrape it up. Except I still hadn't heard of a heat gun, so I used a clothes iron instead. All I had to do was get a rag wet, lay it on the floor, and then put the hot iron on the rag. And you know what? It worked! Slowly. Also, the glue managed to work it's way through the rag and coat the iron. It will never touch clothing again. Finally, someone suggested the heat gun. I'd love to say the rest is history, but it's still a work in progress.
Anyway, all that being said, I've learned some pretty valuable lessons that cross over into the spiritual realm. First and foremost, when you're getting into uncharted territory, it is okay to ask for help. Video tutorials on YouTube do not count. Find someone who has been there and let them help you. Had I done that, the sander would not have been rented until after the glue was off the floor, and the glue would have likely come up with some light scraping. In the same way, you are not the first person to walk the road you are on. You have 2,000 years worth of experience ahead of you. Your first line should be to pray about whatever difficulty you are facing. After all, God knows. Second of all, ask some men in your church, maybe your pastor, or any other man who has been there. Your situation, however difficult, is not unique.
Second, you may never get the job done until you get the right tool in your hand. It doesn't matter how long you keep your nose on that old grindstone, you will just end up without a nose. Try something different. Change your approach. Stop beating your head against the wall. So many times, a church will say that they do things a certain way because they always have. People change, both inside and outside the church. Try a different approach. I will agree that the gospel never changes, but the packaging can. Just like Jesus used parables on farming when talking to farmers, you can be relevant, too. Prostitutes and drug addicts probably don't get the farming stories.
And probably most important of all, fire makes any job easier. Just like the heat gun is really doing wonders on this stubborn glue, the disciples learned on the day of Pentecost how vital that Holy Fire really is. You have simply got to have the power of God behind you if you expect to be effective. Sure, you can do some things without it, but if you really want to set your world on fire, you'd better bring the flames. Otherwise, you are all talk and no spark.
That's it for now. If you need me, I'll be on the bedroom floor, trying not to burn my house down.
Ryan Saffer
Community Site Coordinator
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