I am not sure who is, or is not familiar with the radio personality Dave Ramsey. But even for those who have heard just a few minutes of his show, have probably heard him say “better than I deserve” when a caller asks him how he is doing. Generally speaking, I can’t help but feel the same way, especially as I reflect on where life has brought me,
As I think about all the blessings that God has bestowed upon me, it is impossible not to haven a strong sense of gratitude. Please don’t misunderstand what I am saying. I am not claiming that I have never encountered any struggles, or avoided any low points in my life. Quite the contrary. I simply mean that while I would consider myself a good person who tends to think the best of others, I know that I am far from perfect and have made countless mistakes.
It is usually around this time every year (near my birthday) that I have very similar thoughts. This self realization, and reflection on my life is brought about by many influences, such as all the well wishes and “happy birthday” messages I receive from so many, near and far.
Now you can think I am weird, but this year there was a single gift that really sparked this years reflection on the blessings in my life. I received some pretty great gifts this year, but the one that made me feel especially blessed came from my wife. She got me an Alaskan chain saw mill. On the surface one might think… “it is just a tool”. Which is true. But the difference between this tool and others, is this one won’t really save me or my family a considerable amount of money as I tackle any home projects. Now it could eventually save me from spending money on hardwood lumber needed for future furniture projects. But that is not why my wife bought it for me. She bought it not with any self serving agenda, but simply because it got me excited.
Enough with all the mushy, reflecting on life junk… Let’s talk about the saw mill.
Currently we have plans to get somewhere between 6 to 9 trees removed from our back yard. They are mostly pine trees that I don’t want to fall on the house. And now i’m even more excited to have them removed, because now once they are cut down, I’ll get to test out the new saw mill. They are perfect trees to start with. They are tall, straight, and don’t have many branches on the trunk. And they are just pine. So if I mess it up, I will just add it to the wood we use for the outdoor fire pit.
Eventually I do hope to get my hands on some good quality hardwood trees someone had to cut down for whatever reason. I plan to keep my eyes open online for trees people simply looking to get rid of. Knowing myself, I’d be foolish to think I won’t find some way to monetize this new endeavor. It’s just how my brain works. It is almost instinctual for me to think that way. At a minimum, once I start slabbing up some hardwoods, I will probably post them for sale on Facebook Marketplace, and/or Craigslist. My wheels are already turning, thinking about what I could do to be as efficient as possible.
Cheers to another year of life that is filled with many more blessings than I deserve… and plenty of trees to mill into lumber.