Our current situation

 It's been a long time since I blogged about the business.  Mike's business is doing well.  I read a statistic recently that was staggering.  Some 60% of people over 40 are miserable in their jobs.  Isn't that sad?  I am not one of them and neither is Mike, but he would have been had he stayed in his prior job.  People approach me all the time, with anticipation in their voice, "Does he just love it?"  Here's the truth, he likes it.  I think Mike is open to any new opportunities that might come his way, but for now Cornerstone is very busy and with that comes steady income which is always a plus.  As with any business there are challenges, but I had a conversation with Mike in the last few weeks that spoke volumes to me.  At this point he's getting a lot of referrals and new business.  I can tell you I would have failed at this endeavor months ago.  I'm an organized person but I could not keep all the balls in the air that Mike has to keep going.  I asked him if it was stressing him out, after all, if he goofs up, it's on him (and costs him money).  He said that it didn't stress him out, that there is not a pit in his stomach which is something he carried with him in the years leading up to his departure from his prior employment.  I've posted these pictures of what our garage, driveway and shop currently look like.  I don't do it to complain.  I am reading the book of Numbers in the Bible.  Trust me, the last thing I want to do is complain as my daily reading reminds me of the Lord's tolerance for people who complain.  Ha!  I post these pictures so that maybe one day, when and if we get a building, we can look back at these pictures and say, "Remember when?"  I know another angle of this process is the learning process for Mike, which really is between him and God.  If anyone would have showed me these pictures 4 or 5 years ago, I would have denied that Mike would have let projects "overrun" his shop.  But in this particular situation, he has no choice.  He is utilizing every square inch we have.  The first picture (above) is of a play house that isn't quite finished yet and a float for a parade.  Hey, we make it interesting around here. 

 I took this picture a few weeks ago.  This is a dishwasher.  We now have two toilets surrounding it.  Soon, Mike will install of these lovely items and they will be out of our garage, until the next items roll in. 

 This is a TV cabinet that Mike is working on for us.   He has a table set up in back of it for shelves he was making.  Oh and in front of the cabinet are the boys' four wheelers.  Oh and on the ceiling are three kayaks.  Let's just say that when the boys go fishing, I stay out of the way as everything has to be moved around and the last thing we need is the kayaks falling on Mike's works. 

 Here we have cabinet doors that Mike stained for a customer, stacked up in the back of our garage, against a grill.  And we haven't even made it into the shop yet. 

 Here's the shop.  Mike has something on the floor which he was using to make window boxes.  I know enough to know it's not wood because I've learned you can't lay wood flat on a concrete floor.  The moisture will warp it.

 Here's a barn door he made.  It's stacked against another one of his "working" tables in the shop. 

 Here's more wood on the floor.  This wood was okay to leave on the floor because it wasn't being used.  Mike need it for the measurements.  It's like playing twister in his shop. 

And my last picture.  It just shows again that every square inch is utilized in his shop and everywhere else for that matter.  God is good!  I am thankful for the steady business.  I am thankful for Mike's health.  And recently we attained two additional lots that are right next to our house.  If and that's a big if, we ever build a building, we will put it on those new lots.  I don't spend a lot of time thinking about it because honestly this is Mike's thing.  I know there are days when Mike wonders why he is doing this, he questions what this is all for, but he never complains.  This man works harder than any other man I have known - truth!  He works for significantly less money, no benefits, and to have a day off is a gift.  He has sacrificed time with his children, vacations - all the "normal" stuff that most men get to do and make big money going to a 9 to 5 job.  I tell him all the time how proud I am of him.  Mike has handled this with strength, humility, confidence and sheer determination.  The rest we are leaving in God's hands.