Windows are in and painting begun

We are finally working on a house we purchased last Fall. We kept shoving it back on our list of things to get done but the time has come to get it remodeled. The electrician has gotten the fuse box replaced with a breaker panel and the HVAC guys have put in central air. Now it is up to us to get all the cosmetic stuff done.

 I think the house was a landmark in Oskaloosa. You knew where you were because the green house really stuck out as you were driving down A Ave.

The screened in front porch had degraded since we purchased the house. This photo was taken the day we made an offer on it. After we purchased it one of the screens blew out and the screen door was sagging badly.

This afternoon all the windows have been replaced and we have started painting. (by we, I mean me as Matthew seems to never have time to paint. He made the statement last night that no one except him seems to go into attics and crawl spaces. My reply was no one except me seems to be able to pick up a paint brush or roller.) We enclosed the screened porch and made it a 3 seasons room.

This photo was also taken on the day we made an offer on the house. The windows were so bad, 1 of them actually blew out last winter. That was when we shut the heat off and let the house freeze up. There were 1/2 inch gaps around the windows. 

This is the same side with new windows and one much smaller window in the bathroom. A window at toilet level just seemed such a bad idea.

We are now to the place the house is almost sealed up. We have added insulation where there was none and the windows are tight in the frames and double pane. We can keep heat and cool in and the elements out.

I know commentators who like to talk about the Old testament Israelites building a wall and equating it with building a wall to keep out immigrants from this country. That Old testament story of building a wall around Jerusalem has nothing to do with the movements of people. It is about what you are letting into your life.

We put in windows and insulation to keep the house temperature stable and keep the wildlife and birds out. We all need tight walls in our lives. We need to be discerning about what we let into our lives. What do we read on the internet, what do we watch on TV, what books do we read and what shows do we attend? Make sure the windows of your life are keeping the world out. make sure the insulation of your life is keeping out all that will lead you away from the will of God.

I don't believe in banning books, but I do believe that everyone needs to be discerning. I read things I disagree with so I can hone what I believe. I have read the Koran and the Book of Morman, but I refuse to read books laced with profanity or explicit sex. 

I am willing to read what others believe so I can formulate my response but I have no desire to visit the gutter. 

Build walls around your life to be sanctified, not to shut out everything by putting on blinders.