Thanksgiving is tomorrow, but when I rose this morning I was greeted with cold and 22 mile per hour winds, gusting up to 50 mph! It was still dark as I stared out the window and saw my angel blown over, lying on her side and barely hanging on! It seemed a perfect picture of the fight we have been in to create a Christmas outreach to our friends, Church, and neighborhood.

It all started with a huge fire in which the barn burned down, charcoaled one side of teepee, and created a huge mess! My first thought, (or second or third. Somewhere in there. 10th? Anyway.), I began thinking, what beauty can God raise out of this tragedy? A vision rapidly came and we have been off to the races ever since.

Building requires a vision. You got to have at least some idea of what you’re going for. What direction is your creation going? You may not know how it is going to end up, but you got to at least have a general direction.

I’ve been working with the grandson that accidently burned down the barn. I’ve been talking to him about being a “Builder”, not a destroyer. We can spend a lifetime building something, and it can be destroyed in seconds. A single act can destroy years of work. It takes real courage, wisdom, and effort to be a builder. A destroyer takes very little effort. Just doing nothing can destroy a lot!

So today we talked about how building begins with a vision. We need to be a visionary. And we need to know a good vision when we see it. The old saying talks about people who work very hard to climb the ladder of success, only to discover it is leaning against the wrong wall! How depressing that must be!

I’ve had a few visions in my time and built a few things that made my world a better place. I’m involved with a ministry called Life Wise, for an example, if you know what that is. And if you don’t you can google it. But this Christmas outreach here at our farm in Whitestown Indiana really has me pumped! I’ve been working on it at every chance. Winter is racing in. Rainy days and strong winds. I’ve worked till dark on most days. I’ve climbed all over the teepee and I’m no spring chicken anymore. And I’ve loved every minute of it. I’m a Builder. And I’ve got a vision! Where’s my hammer?

So I ventured out into the 30 and 40 or more mph winds. I had an angel display to rescue. Not a real angel. They rescue me! I see them with me as huge limbs bounced around over my head in the trees. We have some big trees. One is right over the teepee. I rescued the angel and she now has found her home in the loft of my teepee. It’s perfect!

When it gets dark and I light her up, it will be spectacular! It will be as though an angel is sounding her gold trumpet and announcing the King is coming! We will invite people from all around to share in a holy night spectacle. Parents will roast marsh mellows with their children while sitting on the ground around the fire, Christmas music playing and lights glowing. I can hardly wait! I have a vision!

Tonight I will get pictures of the angel lit up, but for now this is all I have. Imagine with me what can be!