Renovation Update November 21

Praise God! Several things we've been waiting on are now moving forward. Here's a few updates before some pictures.

1. We were hooked up to full power last week
2. Gas was repaired and hooked up to the building this week
3. We will hopefully have heaters running in the building today
4. Acoustic treatments are almost finished in the worship center
5. Final drywall repair work is being completed
6. The chapel ceiling was repaired, now making the way for the room to be carpeted
7. The cabinets came in for the kitchen and office. They will be placed and then counter tops will be measured and built.
8. Locks, windows and knobs are being placed in all the doors.
9. Information booths are in the lobby and waiting for counter tops.
10. Blinds were installed throughout the entire building this week.
11. Some cabinets are being installed in the pre-school area

This is not an exhaustive list, but certainly illustrates that things are moving along. Tomorrow (Saturday) morning we'll be doing some skilled and cleaning projects from 8:30-1:30 pm. Hopefully we'll see some of you there. Services are looking more likely on December 7th. I am praying it will be no later than that because the 14th is our Christmas celebration! (keep praying!) Here are some pics from the facility:

The kitchen and lobby now filled with cabinets. After the cabinets are set, counter tops will be ordered.





Thanks to Don Drake and Tom Aunan, the preschool has coat hooks.



Repairs to the chapel ceiling were completed Wednesday.



Cabinets and sinks are going in the preschool rooms.



Sound treatments and sound system were part of this years general budget. Our renovation has given us the opportunity to install them in one fail swoop.



Ceiling sound baffles are going up today.



Tom Sundblad and numerous others are putting a new face on our stage. Notice the teaching platform that rolls into the stage front. Parkview engineering at its best!



Blinds are now installed.



Kirk Walters has completed our information booths.

How to Write Emails

I love productivity tips like this from the What's Best Next blog. I'll be having the staff at Parkview read this one. No question, it's worth writing emails properly because it increases the likelihood that it will be read and improve your ability to communicate information effectively.

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1. Make the Subject Line Specific

Make the subject line descriptive so the person knows right away what the email is about. Don’t use a headline such as “Interesting,” “Good Article,” or even just “Proposal,” because they don’t provide anything specific about the content.

Instead, a good subject line would be something like: “Proposal for New Hires in 2009.”

2. State the Required Action, or Other Purpose, First

The very first thing should be a brief greeting, such as “Hi, Fred. Good job in the meeting today.”

But then move right to your point. State your point, as specifically as possible, in 1-3 sentences. If you have ideas that you want Fred to consider, for example, say that you have ideas for him to consider and state specifically (and briefly) what your main idea is.

Don’t just say “Fred, I have some ideas for you to consider,” and then spend 3 paragraphs getting to your main idea. Instead, state specifically what your idea is. For example, say: “I think we should consider hiring an additional widget manager next year because of the planned 23% increase in production. I am wondering what your thoughts are.”

3. Give the Background Second

After you’ve stated your main point, then provide the details.

This is key, so I’ll say it again: Give your main point, and then provide the background.

This is different from a detective story, or a novel, or any other type of writing where the discovery is part of the fun. With email, there isn’t time for this. And especially when doing work email, there is a business purpose to your email. You need to save the other person’s time by telling them your point right away, and then only after that providing the details in the event that they need to see things fleshed out more.

4. Keep Your Paragraphs Short

When providing the background, keep your paragraphs short. Wall of words are hard to read. Be short and to the point. And keep it relevant. Use bullet points when possible.

4. Close by Clarifying the Next Steps

If the background section gets longer than a few paragraphs, it is a good idea to close by summarizing the action step(s) again.

5. Don’t Forward Emails Without Summarizing the Point at the Top

Last of all, a word on forwarding: If you need someone’s opinion on something, don’t simply forward them a long email thread and say “what do you think?” Instead, summarize the main action you need from them right at the top, and then summarize the main point of the email thread.

Try to make it so that all the thread is needed for is to provide the details, if the reader feels that they are necessary.

See Ancient Rome A.D. 320

This is a very cool new feature on Google Earth. For those of you who love history, you will undoubtedly find this fascinating.



(HT: JT)

Miriam Alexander Testimony

I just discovered the site Pure Passion. It is a site/television series dedicated to helping people struggling with sexual addiction and brokeness. This is one of the featured testimonies by Miriam Alexander. Though everyone's story of healing is unique, Miriam's understanding that healing comes from knowing and loving God is really powerful.

The issue of sexual addiction is epidemic in our society and something the church must be committed to addressing aggressively.


Pure Passion Season 3 / Episode 3 - Miriam Alexander from Pure Passion on Vimeo.

November 3 Renovation Update

Well Friends, things continue to move forward at 15 Foster, though I must admit, more slowly than initially hoped. We are presently waiting on MidAmerican energy to get us the proper equipment for final hook-up. We also have a significant amount of plumbing work, some of which is contingent upon the cabinet work that is yet to come in. All of these tasks are necessary for occupancy, so until they come and are installed, we won’t have any substantial confirmation regarding when we can once again occupy the location for services. Consequently, it is looking likely that we will push back our occupancy hopes by an additional few weeks. I should have some level of confirmation on this as soon as tonight.

Despite the hold-ups, some good progress is being made, as you can see in the following pictures.

This picture shows the finish woodwork at the entryway to the main office area. This section represents the woodwork that will slowly start showing up throughout the church.



These are the bathroom patricians that will make bathroom activities a private experience.



The speakers in the worship center are now installed.



These structures will house sound baffles in the Worship Center.



Toilets waiting for a final resting place.