Built on a Strong Foundation

My first job in construction started in June of 1965, just a few days after I graduated from high school. We were pouring concrete into foundation footings for a home in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Although I came home at the end of that summer day thoroughly exhausted, I was hooked. It became apparent that a love for construction was as much a part of my DNA as my German nose.

Over the next few days of setting the heavy plywood forms on top of the footings for pouring the foundation, I saw how important it was to have those footings straight and true. But it wasn’t until several years later that I experienced the evidence of straight verses crooked foundations. This lesson came from wallpapering a bathroom. Really.

The pattern my wife, Bobbie, had chosen for the bathroom wallpaper was an attractive striped design. And the net effect of hanging striped wallpaper revealed how well—or how poorly—the foundation for our house had been laid. Straight foundation, straight walls. Crooked foundation…well, you see where I’m going, don’t you?

Children rarely wake up when they’re 7 or 8 years old and say to themselves, “You know, until now I’ve witnessed nothing but rude and thoughtless behavior in my home, but I think I’m going to be polite from now on.” And at 15 or 16, teenagers seldom choose honesty and purity unless it’s been modeled for them all those years.

Straight foundation, straight walls…straight wallpaper.

Before going any further, let me assure you that our home was far from perfect. It’s as though “strong-willed” was stapled to all our birth certificates so you can imagine that there were times of heated conflict and tears, strong words and broken hearts.

Our secret to success in our family was not a matter of drawing on our own cleverness or strength. Early on, we learned that open confession to each other and humble reliance on God’s Spirit for wisdom provided our only chance for survival.

So it’s out of this experience that the articles and books on our website have been written. We hope you enjoy them all…and are inspired. And we welcome your ideas.

“Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors, there is safety.” Proverbs 11:14