"Built (Ford) Tough"

Not a lot of people know this about my husband, but he is a pretty good craftsman. I guess you could say it's a hobby of his. There are quite a few pieces of furniture in our house that he has built himself. Not only are they nice and "built tough", it saves us a lot of money doing it that way. The above piece of furniture is one that he just finished last week. I think it turned out very nice and I am impressed that he can do these things. Often times, Matt will be working out in our garage (he really would like a shed to work in...maybe he should BUILD one) and our neighbor Shawn will come over and ask, "What are you building now?"

Good question...what ARE you building?? Well, for me, I don't have the same talent as my husband does. I can't build those things...well, maybe I could "help" with it (I did do a little sanding...not much though), but to take something from scratch, to have an idea in my head of what I want to build and then actually build it...nope, not me. Matt can though, and he does a very good job.

There is something that we ALL can "build" though...and that is our faith. I don't know about you, but when hard times come, it's those times that I feel like my faith is built on sand. It's not, but I sure "feel" like that. You all remember the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus preached about the wise and foolish builders. You can find this in Matthew 7:24-27. As you read it, I can almost hear some of you singing and doing the motions, "The wise man built his house upon the rock..." I also like it as it's told in The Message.

"These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit-but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock. But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don't work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards."

So let me ask you...what are YOU building your life on? I know that if a threatening storm came right now and destroyed my house, that this cabinet that Matt just built would most likely be destroyed along with it. It's nice, but it's not built THAT tough to be able to withstand just anything that comes its way. With God on our side though, our faith, our complete trust in Him, CAN withstand ANYTHING that comes our way. If you haven't learned that yet, well then be ready for it. God teaches many lessons in the storms of life. If we hang on to Him, He promises to never leave us. He is built tough...He is our foundation and without Him, we will become weaker and become discouraged at anything and everything that can knock us down. We have to be "built tough".

What are you "building" your life on? What are the things that need to be "built tougher" in your own life? Or what have you learned in one of your storms of life that has come your way? (Or if you just want to put your order in for a piece of furniture! :) Leave me a comment...I'd love for you to share.

By the way, we don't own a Ford...