The Roof Guys

Random and unorganized valentine thoughts

Guys are pathetic. It is so true. We are every bit as sentimental as the ladies, though we exsude much energy to hide this fact. Yet, behind and beneath the countless layers of “toughness,“ you find within us men a disturbing amount of mush. Josh Harris was the first to help me realize I was not alone when he made the confession that he was “in love with love.”

This is not an attempt to reveal a tender side. This is an attempt to reveal that us guys can be down right pathetic. Sure, we might like to think that we are beyond it.

I came across a poem that I wrote about 1 ½ ago, when I was struggling in my contentment with singleness. That was a real turning point in my life where I began to see (largely) my singleness as a gift, and began to find much joy in it. I hope you all appreciate the enormous humility and vulnerability that is taking place to make this point.

Oh love, you dormant friend of mine

Hidden deep, yet so sublime

When shall you wake and show your face,

Within my heart to take your place?

 Yet still you sleep, as well you should,

until the master says 'tis good.'

But on that morn do brightly shine

upon the one who shall be mine.  

And at that time with boldness say,

that this is God's appointed day.

In love with love. I would have to say that of all those that I know, no guy has been more guilty of this than my childhood friend and hero, Ben Laughman. The man will make any of us feel like we are as stoic and unmoved as a Russian army. I was able to witness this truth about Ben when he pursued and married my sister. This bearded, carhartt wearing warrior electrician was and and continues to be hopelessly in love with loving my sister. It has been disgusting. I dare not go into details. 2 years after their marriage, with their second child on the way, Ben continues his passionate pursuit of my sister. Sometimes it is a little embarrassing to witness. Yet, the best part has been to see how his love has changed my sister.

Charles Spurgeon wrote of the Christian Marriage:

“Happy woman and happy man! If heaven be found on earth, they have it! At last, the two are so blended, so engrafted on one stem, that their old age presents a lovely attachment, a common sympathy, by which its infirmities are greatly alleviated, and its burdens are transformed into fresh bonds of love. So happy a union of will, sentiment, thought, and heart exists between them, that the two streams of their life have washed a way the dividing bank, and run on as one broad current of united existence till their common joy falls into the ocean of eternal felicity.”

Uh. Happy Valentines?

For the poor man

I was just reading something that I thought was worth posting. 

My buddy and fellow roofer, Stefan, pulled a book of his bookshelf and bestowed it to me as a birthday gift.  I feel like I have found a hidden treasure.  I can't help but wonder if men like Martin Lloyd Jones, and Charles Spurgeon were reading and learning from this book, as their writtings seem to reflect this.

The book is entitled, The Poor Man's Morning and Evening, and was written by a puritan named Robert Hawker.  It is outlined much the same was as Spurgeons Morning and Evening, with two "short"  devotions a day.  The book is much larger than Spurgeons, however, and requires slightly more purpose and intent in reading it.

Just to salt your oats, here are parts of the February 4th morning devotion..

""The Comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me."  Lam I. 16

Whence is it, my soul, that those distressing thoughts arise? Pause, and inquire.  Is the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, indeed withdrawn, when Jesus, they Jesus, sweetly and graciously promised that he should abide for ever?  This cannot be.  Is the righteousness of Jesus less; or hath his blood to atone and cleanse, lost its efficacy?  Oh no!  Jesus' righteousnes, and Jesus' all-atoning propitiation, like the almighty Auther of both, must be eternally and everlastingly the same; 'yesterday, and to-day, and forever;'

Hath God thy Father forgotten to be gracious?  Oh no!  God thy Father proclaimed from heaven that he is well pleased for his dear Son's righteousness' sake; and never, never, shall a word gone out of the Lord's mouth be altered.

From whence then, my soul, is the leanness, thy fears, and despondency?  Canst thou not discover?  Oh, yes!  It is all in thyself, and thy unbelieving fram;  thou art looking to thyself, and not to all-precious Jesus! ... Can anything be more plain, than that thou art making a part savious of thy feelings, and not a whole Savior of they Jesus?"

Also check out David Crowder's new album, Collision.  It is great... "I saw the light.. I saw the light..."

Goodbye

Dear bloggers,

This will be my last regular blog entry. I appologize for the abrupt departure, but it is a move I really need to make. I love writing, and blogging has seemed to be an ideal venue. However, I am ending my life as a blog author for 2 main reasons.

1.     Because of the gracious referals from other blogs, I have had a surprisingly high volume of readers on this blog. For this reason, I realize that there is a level of responsibility to not simply use a blog as a "mouthpeice" to get my opinions heard. I really have nothing novel or new to bring to the blogosphere, and that which I can or might say can be said clearer and better by others. I did not set out with the soberness of mind to approach a readership as large as I have had. At this time, it is not a responsibility that I am ready to take on.

2.     The second reason, and perhaps the largest reason is time. I need to be reading more. I need to be in the word more. I hope that by cutting back on the time that I have spent lately blogging, and by increasing my time in the bible and learning from wiser men in the faith, I will reap a much better harvest in my life. This is what I need most in this season.

Thank you all for the encouragement, the e-mails and the comments. I have enjoyed "meeting" many of you, and look forward to eternity together. I will probably occasionally update this blog with updates from the Wold's for family and friends (or anyone!) interested. Below I have listed a few blogs that have been most edifying and encouraging for me. I highly recommend them to you.

"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." Hebrews 10:23-25

coram deo,

Daniel Wold

Worship Matters

Solo Femininty

Challies

Married Life

Between Two Worlds

Puritan Belief

Distracted

Two accessories have been added recently to my collection of electrical gadgets. The first was a Christmas present and is called an iGrip. It is simply a rubber pad about four inches wide and seven inches long. You put this puppy on your dashboard and you set your iPod, cell-phone etc... on it. Friends, this thing works. My truck is heavily weighed down with tools and ladders , so my ride can be rather jostled. Yet, despite the most extreme bounces, bumps and turns, you can be at ease as you see your dearest traveling companions resting undisturbed. The days of frantically searching for my cell phone on the floor of my truck are over. A new and brighter future awaits me.

The second accessory is simply a blue tooth wireless head set for my phone. Maryland roads are five percent safer now that I have this thing. These things are anything but cool. I can tell that the manufacturers have been trying to streamline the ear pieces, and give us some cool color options, but to no avail. The fact of the matter is, they still look like industrially super-sized hearing aids.

Being on the road for about two to three hours a day, this ear piece is already making long phone conversations with friends, family and customers more feasible.

It was blue tooth that allowed me to carry on an extended conversation with my friend Adam yesterday.

It is Adam that this blog is really about.

I have known Adam for about four years, and though he lives in Milwaukee, we have kept a friendship alive via phone conversations. The big news for Adam is that somehow, through cunning, tactful, aggressive and otherwise appropriate ways, he has successfully wooed the woman of his dreams. It has been four years coming, and I am glad to see him finally engaged. He was telling me the story yesterday... nothing really original. He got down on one knee, and asked Sarah to be his wife. Than she laughed at him. Adam responded, “This is not a joke! I am being serious.” Adam was making the story worse than it really was, because he later informed me that it was really a laugh/cry. We all know that there is a huge difference between a laugh/cry and a laugh. A simple laugh is not a good sign when you are on one knee. A laugh/cry however is an excellent sign. So this laugh/cry was really a yes, and they are planning on converting her “I will” into an “I do” later this year.

Now the waiting begins. With all the affection and love that Adam and Sarah have for each other, this season will be one of anticipation and eagerness. Adam and Sarah “eagerly” await the new life they will have together. It is because Adam treasures Sarah so very much that this upcoming season will be defined by the hope of that coming day.

Adam was in my prayers this morning, and I thought of him again as I read Hebrews 9.

“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him” Hebrews 9:27-28

Those who will be saved at the coming of Christ are marked by their eager anticipation for His return.

During this season of engagement, Adam is going to do a lot of stuff. He is going to take his bar exam and continue operating his moving business. He’ll eat, work, play, study, sleep, and be mean to his younger brother. Life will continue as normal. He may even occasionally call and talk to me. However, all these things well ultimately be passing events leading up to his wedding day. He will be consumed with looking forward to that day.

As Christians, we need to be consumed with anticipation for the coming of Christ, and the appearing of His Kingdom. As I work, study, eat, drink, sleep, and be kind to my younger brothers, I need to be distracted. Distracted by the realization that soon I will worship Christ and declare Him to be faithful and true with the rest of the saints. Distracted when I am reminded of my sin at the thought that some day I will live eternally in a land where righteousness reigns, and my sins will be forbidden. Distracted by the reminder that every tear that I see fall around me will be wiped away by our Savior’s hand.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” 1 Timothy 4:7-8

I guess this post wasn’t really about Adam either =) May you all have a wonderful day of worship to our Savior, who is worthy.

College Ate My Friends

I want to apologize for not finishing what I started in my post, "Should College Be Our Default." I initially thought I would take a swing at that topic for the following two reasons...

1. I started feeling like the "imperishable beauty" guy. The posts on imperishable beauty and physical beauty were spreading and being quoted on a lot of different blogs. That was great, but it was time for a change.

2. College is something that I think is overrated and overemphasized in our culture today.

After that initial post, I realized that due to my lack of college experience, I am not qualified to speak authoritatively about the subject. I also realize that I harbor some level of animosity toward college. For this I don't completely apologize. Why the bitterness? Hear me out...
College ate my friends.

No, it's true. The American undergraduate system came and devoured.  Left and right, guys and girls I had grown up with were uprooted and swallowed. I am not sure exactly what happened to them. I do know this, they are gone.

I am learning that college hasn't completely consumed them. Rather, college merely grasps them and gnaws on them for a few years, and than spews them out. The problem? They don't always land back home. Sometimes they do come back, but oftentimes they are misplaced to different states or even countries.

I am not sure why I got passed by. Perhaps I looked to be a little academically lean. Perhaps college looked upon me, and for once had a wave of pity. Whatever the reason, I was left behind. For this I am grateful.

College isn't a complete tyrant. No, for a couple times a year, i.e. summer break and holidays, he bends down and opens his mouth. When he does, I look in and behold my friends. Brief reunion. They look horrible. They use terms that I am not familiar with like "all-nighters", "finals", and "energy drinks". They say, "We should get together!" And we do! How sweet these times are. Oh, but they are only for a brief season, as college once again closes his mighty jaws, and they are gone.

So here is my admission. College ate my friends, and I am forever biased. To serve you better, I will not be waging war against college on this blog.

Instead, let me simply give a word of encouragement. When coming "of age", our first questions ought not to be, "What college should I go to?" or, "What degree should I pursue?" Instead, we ought to consider these questions...

"What gifts has God given me?"

"How can I cultivate these gifts to best edify the church, and further the renown of Christ?"

The answer won't be the same for all of us. Further education can certainly be a wise stewardship of God's gifts for some of us. However, we ought not assume that college is automatically the best place to be equipped to serve the church. Don't fall into the trap of equating your value and meaning in life with whether or not you pursue the "American dream" of formal education. These have been the richest years of my life in terms of my sanctification and learning. I wouldn't trade the opportunities I have had through this season for a PhD.

Done.      

Fear of Death

I must admit to you all that I have joined the rest of America in the "Beginning-of-the-year Health Binge."  Last year, I watched as the gym that I so faithfully attended went from being fairly empty before New Year's, to a madhouse the day or two after.  I had a hard time finding a free lane in the pool, and you can forget the treadmills.  All of the 'faithfuls' would sit around talking about how it would only last for about two weeks, and then the New Year's motivation would wane, and the true Fitness Family could once again fellowship in exclusive unity.  I was happy to be among them.

This year, I am no longer part of the faithful few.  Alas, it has been several months since exercising was a top priority in my life.  However, the holidays being over, I am now among the crowds at the gym, fighting to take another stab at it, and to rid myself of the holiday pounds.  I hear the faithful few in the locker room declaring, "It will only be a couple of weeks"; it only spurs me on.

While I was at the gym, I was remembering how I used to want to exercise and stay healthy in order to prolong my life here on earth.  Death scared me.  I knew that it was going to happen, but even as a Christian, I didn't look forward to death at all. 

Since my gym is primarily full of elderly people, I quickly learned that motivations for staying healthy change for people as they age.  Listening to conversations, I realized how the elderly can idolize those who can do the most, the longest.  Those who seem to get nearer and nearer to death, yet don't seem to be affected as it approaches.  Yet, death is inevitable.  I remember one elderly man declaring to his group of friends, "You know why we exercise?  So we'll look good at our viewing."  The inevitable is near for all of us, and in our hearts we know this. 

"Since, therefore, the children share in the flesh and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery." Hebrews 2:14,15

When I read Scripture I get very excited about verses like these. These to me are "Treasure Verses". Nuggets of gold that remind us of another way that Christ has freed us.  Freed from the penalty of sin, freed from the power of sin, freed from the vanity of life, freed from the concerns of this life, and freed from the fear of death.

"Fleeing from death is the shortest path to a wasted life."  ~John Piper

I remember as a boy hearing a sermon on the fear of death by a pastor from a communist country.  His story was truly amazing, as one of the miraculous works of grace that God did when He saved this man was to completely remove any fear of death.

As this man preached and shared the Gospel in his country, he was arrested numerous times.  He was beaten, imprisoned, and tortured.  Never killed.  He told of a time when he refused to promise to stop teaching God's Word.  He was in a room with some high-ranking police officials; they were irate at his resistance.  They were beating him and throwing things around the room.  Finally, one of the officers pulled out a gun, stuck it to the pastor's head and yelled, "It's over!"

The pastor told of how, at that time, the grace of God completely put him at peace, and that God removed any hint of fear of death.  So in response to the officer, he just chuckled.  He told the police, "You can kill me.  By killing me, it will only mean that God is finally allowing me to go home to Him.  You will carry out His sovereign plan, and His kingdom will continue.  However, my God is a God like none other; for my God has the ability to use your wicked deeds to accomplish His sovereign plan, but to hold you completely guilty for your actions."

"Some of you will die in your service to Christ.  That will not be a tragedy.  Treasuring life above Christ is a tragedy."  ~John Piper

God is glorified when we bank on His promises.  If we desire to have a life that is truly for the glory of God, and the furtherance of His kingdom, than our lives should reflect faith in what God has told us.

How would our lives change if we lived everyday with the understanding that our time here is almost done?  How would we use our resources differently?  Would we spend as much energy and time worrying about future careers, marriage, and homes?  How would a man be different if he truly valued Christ over this life?  What changes would you expect?  Do our lives display the radical nature of this kind of faith? 

I had a meeting with my pastor yesterday, and we were discussing books we are reading or have read, on heaven.  He was talking about how important a proper doctrine of heaven is for singles.  He told me how he longs to see singles see and understand the temporariness of marriage in the light of eternity. We need this encouragement.  We need to be reminded of what and who we live for. 

"If, than, you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth."  Colossians 2:6

Happy New Year

Heaven

Eternity is a subject to which we as Christians give far too little thought.  As sojourners, we often take a look around us and find that this foriegn country offers plenty of distractions and amusements that can preoccupy our time until we are taken home.

We think too little about heaven.  Randy Alcorn makes a superb observation in his book, "The Law of Rewards":

"Satan deceives us into thinking of the afterlife as a ghostlike existence, while Scripture portrays it in very tangible and earthly ways.  He deceives us in order to turn our minds away from the wonders of heaven, our true home, and set them on things that will not matter in eternity.

So we come back to "reality"- our present lives and possessions that we can see, hear, touch, feel, and taste.  Things are real.  Now is real.  We return to the pressing business of the day, that which is immediately relevant, those all-important matters of the present.  These might include what's happening in Hollywood, on Wall Street, in Washington or London... 

We live as if these shadowlands were the real world, the ultimate reality.  But Scripture tells us they are not."

How easy we forget that this life is passing quickly.  We have forgotten those who have gone before us, as this world will soon forget us.  We are a breath, a vapor, a fleeting thought.  Yet the wonder of the Cross of Christ is that we have been rescued from the vanity of the moment and ushered into the kingdom of heaven. 

Though our life here is short, it is anything but meaningless.  How we live our lives here will have vast and eternal consequences.  Right now we have the ability to store up treasures in heaven.  We have the opportunity to believe Christ and live a life that He will someday reward. 

We need to escape the deception that Randy Alcorn refers to.  The deception that our eternal future is some 'unreality' in which we merely float about in spirit form, in clouds disembodied.  Scripture never paints eternity like this.  Instead, we are told of cities, homes, rooms, banquets, labors, and physical bodies. 

"God will surely not give us less creativity in heaven but more, unmarred by sin, unlimited by mortality  We will compose, write, paint, carve, build, plant, and grow.  There will be no temple, no church buildings.  Christ will be the focus of all.  Worship will be unaffected, without pretense or distraction.  We'll be lost in our worship, overcome by God's magnificence and the privilege of being his children" Randy Alcorn

Christ ascended into heaven in bodily form.  Before His crucifixion, He tells his disciples, "I will not drink the fruit of the vine until I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." Matthew 26:29.  We are given no reason to believe that Christ is speaking figuratively here.  Why should we doubt that the kingdom of God will be very physical, very real.  There will be vines, and we will harvest the fruit and drink of the wine.

Seeking to cultivate a scriptural understanding of what heaven is will help us to set our gaze there, and to hope with abandonment upon it.  That day is coming, and this world will be done and the new will begin.  The temporal will be behind us, and the eternal before us.

Single Desire

It is January 2^nd; the holidays are officially over. Congratulations to singles everywhere!!! We made it! The Christmas season tends to be a time where being “single” becomes more of a defining quality, and the battle to be content seems to intensify. I think this is for a number of reasons.

First, we get together with family and friends whom we may not have seen for a while. This means there will be the continued inquiries of, “Have you met anyone yet?”,or, “Are you seeing anyone?” I greatly appreciate the interest my friends and family take in my life, and don’t mind these questions. However, these conversations do seem to take your "singleness status" off the shelf for public consideration and critique.

Another reason this season can be difficult for the “completely” single, is that all of your “not completely” single friends find this to be an ideally romantic time to reserve their future spouses via the asking of a question and the giving of a ring.

And, so this season went for me. Continued questions about my relational status. A few tips and pointers freely given by well-meaning friends. Another friend telling me the “big news.” (Congratulations Adam!)

It has been a relatively difficult time to be single. I think we would all like to see ourselves so strong and independent that we are unaffected by a desire to get married. We do not want to be “desperate”, and rightly so, but that can lead us to be in denial of what desires we do have.

We know that God gives us the desires for marriage. It was our Creator who declared, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him,” Genesis 1:18. While our desires are often cultivated to unhealthy levels, they are natural and good for us to have. I remind myself of that often. A strong desire to be married, to have a helper and co-laborer, is in no way something to be embarrassed about.

The question is, when does that desire cross the line of becoming an “idol”? Webster’s 1828 definition of an idol is “Any thing on which we set our affections; that to which we indulge an excessive and sinful attachment.”

Isn’t this the horrible work that sin has done in our hearts? All the desires and affections God created to be good, we have twisted and inflated into something that is out of proportion and wrong. Lust and immorality with our sexuality. Gluttony with food. Drunkenness and excess with wine. Our sin cheats, plays dirty and ultimately can spoil the game on God‘s playing field of good desires. Sometime we want to put the ball on the ground, throw our arms in the air, declare “I’m not playing anymore!” and storm off. Instead, God’s sanctifying work would have our desires be under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

A complaining heart is the red flag of idolatry for me. When my heart groans and complains, I have taken my eyes off the vast and innumerable blessing of what God is for me through Christ, and instead am gazing longingly on what I don’t have. I am literally saying to God, “It is not good enough. You haven’t done for me as I want you to do.” The Cross of our Savior, the forgiveness of our sins, and the hope of eternity all fade out of sight in the complaining heart.

Instead of complaining about our singleness, perhaps we take a more “spiritual” approach. Perhaps we complain to God, not that He hasn’t given us a spouse, but that he hasn’t taken away our desires. Do we begrudge God for creating us with strong, natural desires for marriage, and than calling us to a season of singleness?

This is often where I battle. I either want to be married, or be a single man totally free of marital desire, given fully to unhindered and undistracted Christian service. Yet the Captain of my sanctification, the Lord Jesus Christ, has seen fit to accomplish His will in my life in a different way. He knows what I need to become conformed to His image. He knows exactly what desires I need to be bearing and submitting to Him.

I just listened recently to a message by Jeff Purswell on the phrase in the Lord’s prayer, “Thy Kingdom come.” You can download the message for free from Covenant Life’s website (the Message is dated 2/20/05).  It is excellent and has vastly changed the nature of my prayers.

My “kingdom” would be one in which my desires were never deferred. The Lord’s Kingdom seeks the glory and renown of Jesus Christ! As John Piper has so faithfully taught us, the Lord Jesus is glorified when He and His Kingdom are desired and treasured more than anything else.

Instead of seeing our strong desires for marriage as a curse, we should see them as an opportunity to desire Christ even more. Competing desires sets the bar higher. As we find ourselves treasuring and esteeming Christ above all else, our other desires will be subjected to the glory of God.

How 'bout this idea?

    I am visionary. Not a very effective visionary, but one just the same. My ideas almost always lack proper motivation or patience. The enjoyable part for me is coming up with ideas and discussing them, not necessarily following through on them. I love being around visionary people. Idea people. Especially entrepreneurs. You know who I am talking about! The guy that always has a great invention. He is always looking around and thinking of ways to do things better. 

Idea people. Give 'em a cup of coffee, a revolutionary idea, and watch their eyes sparkle. We are always being criticized for not following through. Oh, but that is not true. Visionary people always follow through, we just hit road blocks. A big one being lack of time or money. Usually money.

I am a visionary thinker. My friend and fellow roofer, Tim, is a visionary "do-er". I probably call him twice a week with new ideas for roofing, or totally unrelated stuff. Our conversations always end the same way... I am out of breath from excitement, pacing the room and resting my arms from all the waving and charismatic activity. And then he says.." That is awesome! What are we going to do about it?"  He wants to put wheels on ideas.  He loves to research. He calls professionals and talks over ideas with them. He knows how to take an idea from thought to fruition.

We have come up with about fifteen different "inventions" that we think will sell. I have forgotten them all. Tim, on the other hand, has a notebook where he has them all written down. He has phone numbers of companies he has talked to. He has friends in the patent office. He is always researching, always thinking. Tim is pure, undefiled inspiration.

We have seen a couple of our  business ideas take off, and we both make our living doing them today. That is incredible and a lot of fun.  No inventions yet.  Maybe someday...

Every Christmas, my friend David from San Diego and his wife come to town. We can't get together and talk for five minutes without coming up with a business idea. Every year we have a great idea, and every year is the year that we are really going pursue it! This Christmas is no exception, and right now we are pursuing another business fling. Here is an excerpt from an e-mail I got from David this morning...

"Daniel: I had a great time chat’n and maintaining our friendship. Please keep in touch! Give me a call soon!  I think our ideas can take off if we don’t procrastinate!"

He enclosed a document that showed me that he is taking this seriously, and has already begun investing time. Wow! I am getting goose-bumps.

Here is some advice on interacting with idea people:

1. Hug them. We get discouraged easily.

2. Finance them, (kidding.)

3. Never say, "You never follow through with your ideas!!"

4, Ask them if they have been getting enough sleep.

5. Monitor their coffee intake.

6. Listen to their ideas, show excitement, and don't tell a soul.

7. Don't tell a soul their idea's.

8. Don't tell anyone the idea that your visionary friend told you.

9. If a visionary friend tells you one of their ideas, don't tell anyone the idea.

10. Try thinking of an idea. Take your friend to Starbucks, buy them a cup of coffee, and tell them your idea. Just watch. It'll be fun.

11. Buy them a notebook for Christmas. They will use it.