Rule #1

He (The Lord) said, “I hereby make a covenant. Before all your people I will perform marvels, such as have not been preformed in all the earth or in any nation; and all the people among whom you live shall see the work of the Lord; for it is an awesome thing that I will do with you.”
Exodus 34:10

Most people who have ever tried to read through the bible, front to back, quit in Exodus or Leviticus. Genesis and the beginning of Exodus are filled with exciting and well known bible stories. Then the end of Exodus and all of Leviticus have detailed descriptions of the new laws of the land and extensive information on the building of the temple. Not the most thrilling reading to be found in the book.
You all know how Jordan and I like to compare what we are currently reading to what we are currently doing. Well, we are hoping not to lose you here during our time of Leviticus. The crazy Genesis (hitchhiking) stories are over for awhile. We made it through some boring parts of Exodus (we cleaned the garage our first few days here; tools are accessible and ready to use) and now we are learning the Leviticus (Ray’s house) laws:

• Shower every night so the sheets stay clean (I know this doesn’t sound too bad but for those of you who really know me… well.)
• House shoes must be worn inside (Anne- Thank you for the new slippers!)
• Work clothes come off after work, lounge clothes are to be worn when lounging (I like this one, a good reason to be in my pajamas by 6pm)
• No lounging on top of the comforters, especially the one handmade in Iraq (Ray worked in Iraq and had a lovely duvet made and shipped home; Jordan likes to lay on it because it is fluffy)
• Help keep the house clean, i.e. clean up after yourself and vacuum (we like this one because we get to help out around the house and show our appreciation for letting us share their home)
• Make yourself at home (this is Anne’s favorite rule)

All joking aside we are really thankful for their hospitality and like God’s laws helped the Israelites stay on track and live in peace with Him, we know by following our simple rules our time here will be in peace with our new family in Christ.
Now to building the temple!
Well not exactly… we striped a few walls last week (old pine tongue and groove) and this week we preserved the wood in plastic wrapping for Ray to use elsewhere. It was time consuming and mundane but he reuses or recycles building materials; which is right up our alley. With that work done, today we moved on to another house. Jordan worked on this house while he was here in August. It had extensive hurricane Katrina damage; Jordan’s team put the house back on a firm foundation so the walls no longer slant. They also installed new floor joists and sub flooring. Since August another AmeriCorps team visited and put up the drywall. Now the home needs a fair amount of taping and mudding, sanding and painting, baseboard and trim… general finishing. We will most likely be working on it the next two weeks.
We are excited for ‘Wonderful Wednesday Worship’ tomorrow night at Ebenezer, and will hopefully learn something we can share with you on our next blog.

Thank you for all your prayers -- Peace and Love,
Jessie and Jordan