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Welcome to 2026! We pray this year is filled with good times, exciting opportunities and God's abundant blessings. It's hard to believe, but 30 years ago about this time we were working on our first album that launched our ministry. What an adventure it has been! Pam and I are working on some special events to mark this milestone year that we'll be sharing with you a little later. In the meantime, if you'd like to bring us to your church for the first time or a repeat visit, drop us an email at office@philandpammorgan.com. Our Sunday mornings are very limited and will fill up fast, but there are still several openings for evening concerts. Speaking of a new year, it's that time when many people make New Year's resolutions. (Actually, by this time many of those same people have already abandoned theirs.) One of my fellow woodworkers made an interesting observation I'd like to share with you. He questioned whether we are interested in Reinvention or Calibration. Allow me a little wood shop illustration... My first tablesaw was a dinky little piece of junk. It would bog down on heavy cuts, and no two boards came out exactly the same width because the fence wouldn't hold tightly. As I grew in my woodworking skill, I could have held on to that saw for sentimental reasons, but it would have limited me and caused endless frustration. Instead I decided to get rid of it and get a quality machine. There was a cost (financial in this case) but instead of it being an expense, I considered it an investment in my future. My friend calls that Reinvention. Now that I have a quality saw, I have no desire to replace it, but that doesn't mean I don't need to occasionally recalibrate it. I check to make sure my fence hasn't gotten slightly out of alignment with the blade. I clean and lubricate the moving parts so they glide easily and don't resist my efforts. I even have a little digital doohickey that measures to make sure my blade is set to exactly 90° to the table for perfectly straight cuts. These small calibrations also have a cost (my time in this case), but they are crucial to make sure my work is the absolute best I can do. Plus, a well tuned machine makes my life so much easier and enjoyable. A new year is a great time for evaluation. There maybe some things in your life that just don't fit your needs anymore or are even holding you back. It may be time to let them go and move forward to a brighter, lighter future. There are probably more things in your life that don't need to be completely replaced or reinvented, but could certainly use some calibration. Refocus on your ultimate goals and purpose. Adjust those areas that have wandered off course. Fine tune your actions and thoughts to move you forward instead of slowing you down. You may even need a doohickey to make sure your life is straight and true. (The Bible is the ultimate calibration tool!) As a bonus, a well-tuned life is so much easier and more enjoyable. I can't think of a better game plan for this time of year than the first two verses of Hebrews 12 - "...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles (reinvention). And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, (calibration) the pioneer and perfecter of faith." Blessings for a straight and true you in 2026, Click Here to Check our Concert Schedule! Check us out on Facebook! - http://www.facebook.com/PhilandPamMorgan |
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ADVENT IN THE WOODSHOP - Part four, JOY We've come to the end of our exploration of the themes of Advent - presented in wood! So far in our wood turning journey we've selected the wood, smoothed off the rough edges and shaped it into it's final form. Now it’s time to take our creation off the lathe and put it to use. We may have created a bowl for a yummy salad, a snack platter for holiday entertaining, a vase to hold a bouquet of flowers or a dish to keep rings and jewelry safe at night. Or...
ADVENT IN THE WOODSHOP - Part three, LOVE Welcome back to the woodshop for another look at the themes of Advent. We've selected our log and smoothed off the rough places. Now it's time to get down to the real work of discovering just what is hiding inside this piece of wood. We'll use a variety of tools, some very aggressive to take off lots of material and others very delicate to create fine details. Along the way there will probably be unforeseen places where a deformity or crack in the...
ADVENT IN THE WOODSHOP - Part two, PEACE We continue our look at Advent through eyes of a wood turner. Last time we selected a chunk of wood in hope of a masterpiece hiding inside. Now it's time to chuck it onto the lathe. We start by trying to find the approximate center of the piece. No matter how close we get, the odd shape of the rough wood will cause the lathe to shake a bit as it turns. We ease the roughing gouge slowly toward the spinning wood and it jumps and jerks in our hands as the...