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Mark Eastman

The World is Full of Miracles

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Why Do We Overlook Them?

John the Baptist was put in prison by Herod for sharing the message of Jesus. John had spent his whole life declaring the message of the coming Messiah. As he was trapped there in prison, he may have been having second thoughts about this. Had he got this wrong? Was Jesus really the Messiah?

While he was in prison, John sent two of his disciples to Jesus to find out. When they went to Jesus, they found Him curing people who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirts. Also, he was giving sight to many who were blind. (Luke 7:21)

They asked Jesus, “Are You the one who’s coming, or should we look for someone else?” (Luke 7:20)

He answered them, “Go back, and tell John what you have seen and heard:

Blind people see again, lame people are walking, those with skin diseases are made clean, deaf people hear again, dead people are brought back to life, and poor people hear the Good News.” (Luke 7:18-23)

Jesus was telling these disciples and John the things they had been taught. These things had been predicted in Isaiah.  

Last week we looked at Isaiah telling us about the Messiah in chapter 9. Between chapter 9 and chapter 34, Isaiah is telling the people of the harsh judgement to come. That’s a lot of chapters about what the people can expect because of how they have been living.

In chapter 34, Isaiah switches it up.

He goes back to the message of hope for restoration.

He tells the people that God is coming. Deserts will become green. The Lord will display His glory. He is coming to strengthen those who have tired hands and encourage those who have weak knees. He will say to those with fearful hearts,

“Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.”

And when He comes, this is what it will look like:

“He will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf. The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy! Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the wasteland. The parched ground will become a pool, and springs of water will satisfy the thirsty land. Marsh grass and reeds and rushes will flourish where desert jackals once lived.” (Isaiah 35:1-10)

These miracles that Isaiah predicted happened.

We’ve heard of these miracles that Jesus did. The Bible is full of examples of Jesus performing miracles.

Miracles just happened in the Bible though…right? Wrong.

The world around us is full of miracles. It’s nothing but miracles.

Miracles don’t have to be some miraculous healing (not that they can’t be). Doctors, nurses and medicine are miracles. Technology that allows us to communicate virtually with people around the world is a miracle. The fact that the sun comes up right on schedule every morning, as it has for thousands of years, is a miracle.

I think Albert Einstein summarized it will when he said, “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”

The world is a miracle full of miracles. We just need to open our eyes and see them.

Keep Your Business Balanced and Supported

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An Out-Of-Balance Business is Like a Short-Legged Table

Have you ever felt like your business and/or your life were out-of-balance? This is a common situation with self-employed companies. It’s like a three-legged table with one short leg…kind of wobbly.  

I know I’ve felt this way and sometimes still do. You’ve probably heard the saying feast or famine. This saying is used quite often in the building industry.  

Balance time and money

It refers to the common problem of having too much to do. Or worrying about how you are going to pay the bills if you don’t get some work soon.  

Sometimes this is caused by situations beyond our control. The economy, the weather, or some other external force. More often than not it is an out-of-balance business. It’s wobbly like a table with one short leg.  

Most of us that are self-employed started out by learning our trade as an apprentice, working for someone else. I know this is how I got started.  

The problem with this is that while I learned how to build a building, I wasn’t taught how to build a company.  

After years of struggling and learning things the hard way—paying the expensive tuition to the school of hard knocks—I’m still not close to graduating yet. 

This became apparent this past week. I realized that I was not maintaining balance in the business. I was letting things distract me and not being intentional about what I was doing. 

One of the things that I implemented years ago was having a different focus for each day of the week. I had been neglecting this. So, I was intentional this week to focus on the specific focus for that day. It was a productive week. 

Keeping the business balanced and supported is an ongoing process. 

I was reminded that my business is like a three-legged table.  When all the legs are the same length, it helps provide a level, sturdy platform for my company to sit on.  

When any one or two of them are short, the table starts leaning. If it leans too far the company will slide off.  

It’s never good when a company crashes to the floor. 

The three legs of the table are: 

1 – Sales/Marketing – Searching for and finding customers that you can help. Sharing about your service and/or product through word-of-mouth, advertising and awareness. Meeting with potential customers, determining what they want/need and preparation of estimates, proposals, and contracts. 

2 – Production – Organizing, scheduling and maintaining projects or products. Determining who the right people are to perform specific tasks. Knowing the parts that are needed and making sure they fit. Maintaining communication between all parties involved. 

3 – Administration/finance – The preparation of documents needed to communicate, track, and record all aspects of the business. The filling out and filing of income, expense, banking, and tax papers. This leg is one of the easiest for ‘tradespeople’ to neglect.  

When any one of these legs get short, it can really cause the whole table to lean. 

The tabletop is the big picture: planning and organizing. It’s what connects the three separate legs. It’s easy to give too much attention to one or two legs and forget the other.  

Getting so focused on the production of a project that we forget to follow-up with a new customer. Or working so hard on preparing proposals that we forget to invoice. Or even working so diligently on tracking expenses that we don’t leave enough time to work on the construction project.  

There is no perfect answer to keep the table from ever leaning.  

The most important thing is to realize that it can happen and to continually work to keep the table balanced.  

Updated from a previous post 4/30/16 

We’re All Given a Name

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And He Shall Be Called…

What’s in a name? This is a question that is often not given much thought. I know I haven’t given much thought to what my first name means or why I was named Mark. I just know who I am.

However, my middle name is Eugene which was my dad’s middle name. This name I’ve thought about. I am proud of this name. It’s also who I am. I’ve shared this name with my oldest son.

The reasons names are given to people by parents are all over the map. There are family names. People named after singers, actors, characters in movies, TV shows or books. Or maybe they are just a clever “play on word” name. Some of them make me scratch my head, “What were these parents thinking?”

I’ve known people, for whatever reason, didn’t like their names.

How do you feel about your name?

Are you living out who you were named to be?

In the Bible we find people named for a variety of reasons. Many of these were significant.

For example:

  • Moses means drawn from the water, son, deliverer – this is a pretty accurate description of who he was and who he became.
  • Abraham means father of a multitude – it started as Abram which just means father until God changed it to Abraham.
  • Jacob means grasping the heal – which is what happened when he was born. It also means deceiver, underminer and sneaky. All of which he was.
  • Benjamin was originally named Benoni by his dying mother which means son of my trouble or sorrow. After his mother died, Jacob changed it to Benjamin which means son of my right hand. This second name seems to be a more positive name.

Isaiah tells us that God named his first son Shear-jashub – a remnant will return (Isaiah 7:3). This was looking to the future and what they could expect in the future. God gave Isaiah’s second son the name Maher-shalal-hash-baz – swift to plunder and quick to carry away (Isaiah 8:1-4). This is what they could expect first.

Isaiah followed up with a message of hope in chapter 9 verses 2-7. He tells them about the Messiah. That darkness and despair will not last forever.

He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

These names mean – there will be restoration, going back to the way things were in the beginning.

Names mean something.

In Exodus 3, Moses encounters the burning bush. When he goes to take a closer look, God called to him. Moses answered, “Here I am.”

I don’t know about you, but if a burning bush called my name…I’m not sure that I wouldn’t have turned and run.

But Moses stayed and it’s good that he did.

God went on to say, I am the God of your father – the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” (Exodus 3:6) God went on to tell Moses to go rescue the Israelites from the Egyptians. But Moses protested and said, “Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?”

God told Moses that He would be with him. Moses still pushed back and didn’t feel that he could do this.

Don’t we all feel like this when God calls us to do something that we feel uncomfortable doing.

Moses asked God, if I tell the people that the God of their ancestors has sent me, they will ask, “What is his name? Then what am I to tell them?”

God replied to Moses, “I Am who I Am. Say this to the people of Israel: I Am has sent me to you. This is my eternal name, my name to remember for all generations.”

This name says it all. It tells us who God is and who He will always be.

What Should Be Done First?

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It’s Amazing How Clear Things Become With Limited Time

There are so many things trying to get on the “to do” list and each one is competing for the top position. Deciding which one should get the number one spot is tough. There are so many important things that we need or want to do.

The past few weeks have been crazy trying to keep up. You might have gathered that from last week’s post about the runaway train.

It’s easy to say that we have limited time, but it’s hard to schedule that way.

Several years ago, I had a computer with a battery that was not lasting as long as it had when it was new. One day while working out of the office, without the power cord, I had 2-3 things that I needed to get done before the computer shut down.

This limited time forced me to sort and prioritize.

How do we decide what to say yes to?

Emergency situations often require triage. This is the process of prioritizing patients’ treatments based on the severity of their condition and the resources available. In these situations, victims are divided into three categories:

  • Those who are likely to live, regardless of what care they receive.
  • Those who are unlikely to live, regardless of what care they receive.
  • Those for whom immediate care might make a positive difference in outcome.

These choices aren’t easy and often require a quick “gut decision”. A pre-determined system, training, and experience aid in the process. This provides for the greatest number of survivors.

Another life and death choice is deciding who gets a transplant when there are a limited number of organ donations available. Take for example a set of twins who both need a liver transplant, and their father has only one to give.

Which little girl gets it?

The early thoughts of a father would be to give half to each. The problem with this is that half would help neither. The final decision will be determined by which one needs it most or which one is most likely to survive.

Most of the choices that we make in business aren’t this critical…or are they? Decisions we make can mean life or death for our business.

In medical life or death situations, there is a system and plan in place beforehand. This same type of system should be implemented in our business. We should predetermine how we are going to choose the most important thing for the life of our business. This is where things get hard.

What should be the highest priority? Should it be production or proposals, record keeping or customer service, marketing or staff? We’re faced with tough decisions in business every day.

What makes one thing more important than another?

I can’t answer this question for you. Are you tired of struggling with this dilemma? Having the right business BUILDing tools and training can help you be better prepared for business “triage”.

If you would like to give your business a better chance of survival, schedule a free 30-minute coaching call.

This is a revision of a previous post on Nov. 3, 2019.

Instructions Lead to a Better Outcome

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Three Marys and a Martha

The Bible is full of strong, brave, wise women. These include names like Esther, Ruth, Mary, Martha, and Hannah.

Women were typically looked down upon by society in the first century.

In the Jewish world in the 1st century, women were little more than servants. Many Jewish men prayed each morning, “God, I thank you that I am not a Gentile, slave, or a woman.”

In Greek society, the woman’s situation was even worse. Because concubines were common, a wife’s role was simply to bear legitimate children and to keep house.

In Roman society, things were worse still. Marriage was little more than legalized prostitution. Many women did not want to have children because it ruined their bodies.

Reflecting on these three situations shows that women were treated terribly. Men used their social privilege for their own advantage.

Jesus treated women differently.

This is one reasons He received so much push back. He was doing things differently than what was normal at the time.

Look at how the people treated the woman who poured the perfume on Jesus. Jesus told them to leave her alone. What she did was a good thing.

Let’s look at three Mary’s and a Martha.

The first Mary is Jesus’ mother. Consider for a moment what Mary would have endured in that time. She became pregnant before she was married. This would have caused her life to be turned upside down. Even so, she was faithful to the instructions she received from the angel.

Next is Mary Magdalene. She was one of many women who were following Jesus. She had been healed and had seven demons removed. Can you imagine how she was treated, being processed by evil spirits? Jesus changed her life, and she was following Him. These women were sharing the instructions of Jesus.

Lastly is Mary and Martha. These two women are an example of how important it is to focus on the right thing. Martha was caught up in being a good host. Being a good host isn’t bad if it doesn’t become our focus. Mary was focused on Jesus.

Instructions

Like Martha, we’re all presented with instructions.

We’re all aware of situations where someone is attempting to put together a Christmas gift and neglects to read the instructions. More times than not, this doesn’t turn out well.

Why is it that we think we know better? We don’t need any instructions. We’ve can figure this out on our own.

As we were talking about this in Sunday School, I realized something: this is just like people who know about the Bible and don’t read it. We think we have life all figured out and don’t need anybody or anything telling us how to live.

Just like the Christmas present that falls apart, the same thing will happen to our lives.

The Bible is the instructions for building our lives the way they were made to be built.

It’s up to each of us to read those instructions.

Riding on a Runaway Train

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Getting Control of Your Busy Life

For years I’ve used the example of a runaway train as a comparison to my busy, on-the-go, overscheduled, out-of-control life. It’s like I am riding on a speeding train of which I’m supposed to be in control.

The problem is, instead of being seated comfortably in the engine car at the front, I am barely hanging onto the ladder on the back of the caboose, trying to not fall off. The train keeps speeding along, with no way for me to get control from the caboose.

I start pulling my way forward, one train car at a time. First through one, then another, then even a third. Look at me, I’m making some real progress here. It won’t be long now and I will have this train back under control.

Then—wouldn’t you know it—the train hits a bump. I lose my grip and catch the caboose as it goes by. Now I get to start clawing my way back toward the front all over again.

How am I ever going to get this crazy train called life under control?

Runaway train

If you’ve ever felt like this, then here are some ideas that might help:

            Have a plan – This is where gaining control starts. How are you going to make it to the engine? The key is to not quit. Don’t ever let go of your train unless you’re dead. As long as you are still alive, you can do something about your situation. You need to be intentional about how you want your train to operate.

            Review the past – Look back at what has worked and what hasn’t. What was it that caused you to lose your grip from the train? Determining this will help you to know how to hold on as you move forward next time.

            Find your purpose – God has given each of us specific talents that fit who we are created to be. It is up to us to find out what they are and put them to good use. This determines who we are and what kind of train we have. Is it a freight train? A passenger train? Or maybe something different?

            Don’t overload your train – Once you have determined what kind of train you’re on, you can decide what kind of cars it should have. Most likely there are some that will need to be disconnected and left behind. Overloading your train is a very common problem. Most of us think we have a ‘super train’ that can pull as many cars as we hook onto it. It’s okay if we don’t pull them all. They might fit in someone else’s train better or are just a waste of good fuel. Who knows, maybe you will need to add some different cars. The important thing is to know how many are too many and which ones don’t belong.

            Get help from other trains – Sometimes when our trains are overloaded there are others that can help us with our load. Maybe they can give us a push, a pull, or take some of our cars. It’s okay to get help. Our train isn’t the only one. If we get our load right, then we are better prepared to help other trains when they need help.

In this world, there is no such thing as a perfect train. We will never have complete control or a ride without any bumps. What is important is to not give up or quit. Keep working to make your train better. Be aware and understand what your train should be.

Work every day to make your train the best train it can be and remember, ENJOY THE RIDE!

This post is reworked from my previous post on June 16, 2016.

Where Does Our Arrogance Come From?

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It Comes from Our Humanity

The ability as humans to think and plan sets us apart. The tendency is to assume we have everything all figured out. This power of choice that we’ve been given can lead to arrogance.

The further we get from God, the more arrogant we become.

In chapter seven of Isaiah, King Ahaz of Judah is freaking out that they are going to be attacked by Isreal with the help of Syria. God told Isaiah to go to King Ahaz and tell him to stop worrying. The Lord promised that this wasn’t going to happen.

He said, “But, if you don’t trust me, you will be defeated.”

King Ahaz was afraid to test God. Then Isaiah said, “Listen, every one of you in the royal family of David. You have already tried my patience. Now you are trying God’s patience by refusing to ask for proof. But the Lord will still give you proof. A virgin is pregnant; she will have a son and will name him Immanuel. Even before the boy is old enough to know how to choose between right and wrong, he will eat yogurt and honey, and the countries of the two kings you fear will be destroyed. But the Lord will make more trouble for your people and your kingdom than any of you have known since Israel broke away from Judah. He will even bring the king of Assyria to attack you.” (Isaiah 7:1-17)

We see humanity’s arrogance throughout the Bible. It started in the Garden of Eden and continues today. We are given free will and we abuse it. Then we beg for forgiveness. We do better for a little while and then…we abuse it again.

We get cocky and think we know what’s best.

Just like King Ahaz was given the opportunity to trust God, we are given this opportunity. This is why God sent His Son to earth. To pay for our mistakes. But we must choose to trust God. This makes us feel like we’re giving up control and we don’t like giving up control.

It doesn’t have to be one or the other.

It’s about making the right choice.

Just like the virgin birth of Jesus was a miracle…so is our ability to be who we are intended to be even if we choose to follow Jesus.

God can do anything…He is God. The supernatural is natural to God.

Our humanity comes from God, it’s up to us to remember this and not become arrogant, thinking we’re more than we are.

I Want To Be More Accountable

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How Can I Do This?

As it seems to happen fairly regularly, the business mastermind that I’m a part of discussed accountability. This topic came up regarding things we need to accomplish in the last quarter of this year to be prepared to reach our 2025 goals.

Accountability is not a new topic for me to discuss. Back in June of 2021, I wrote about how being accountable is up to me. This post was also generated from that same mastermind.

Accountability is a hard thing to do.

Being accountable is taking responsibility for what you do or have done. Accountability is the quality of being accountable.

In the previous post, there were some examples of some subcontractors taking responsibility for problems and doing the right thing.

A couple more cases have come up just this past week.

One of my subs had an employee drill some holes through floor joists that they weren’t supposed to drill. The owner of the company is going to install some supports that are code approved. This is accountability!

The other situation was a breaker that tripped. This led to the food in the customer’s refrigerator going bad. The electrician offered to pay for the food, even though they weren’t sure if they were responsible for tripping it. This is accountability!

Being Accountable, take 100% accountability

Being accountable is good business.

Why do we avoid doing things we know we should do?

For me, there are a few different reasons, all of which are within my control.

There’s fear – being afraid that we’re going to fail, afraid we aren’t good enough, or afraid it’ll cost too much.

What about busy – I don’t have time to do that, it takes too long, and I already have too many other things to do.

Don’t forget uncertainty – I don’t know how to do that thing and it’s going to require me to learn something new.

I previously wrote about filtering my life using my core values. One of those is being accountable.

Ultimately, accountability is up to me. It is a choice.

One of the struggles with accountability is trying to do too many things. Overpromising and underdelivering is not very accountable. Scheduling better will help.

Five things that will help with scheduling:

  1. Find the balance of accuracy and urgency – This is a big struggle that I have when scheduling. I know that I’m deadline-oriented. If I allow two hours to do something it will most likely take twice that long. If I allow four hours, it reduces the level of urgency, and I will procrastinate. Something else will take its place. I’ve figured out that if I schedule myself short on time, I focus better, and the increased urgency will get it done faster. Figuring out your balance of accuracy and urgency can be tricky, but is critical.
  2. Give as much importance to my schedule with myself as to others – When I put things on the calendar that are for myself, I tend to be more lenient. This is different than when I have a meeting scheduled with someone else. If I am going to honor God and others, I need to also honor myself. This is hard for me but is one of those areas where I need to be more accountable. If I hope to spend my time efficiently, I need to be realistic when scheduling with myself and honor it.
  3. Stop trying to do too many things – But there are so many important things that need to be done. If I don’t do them, they won’t get done or they won’t be done right. This tendency of trying to do too many things has always been a characteristic that I have been proud of. This is what movers and shakers do, right? Being a micro-manager doesn’t help either. There are just too many pieces to put together by myself.  I need some clarity of focus on what my time is best spent on and to stop trying to do everything if I want to be the best steward of my time.
  4. Take into account the number of things out of my control – The bigger the project being scheduled, the more things there are to schedule. One small delay can have a snowball effect by pushing things farther and farther back. There needs to be some margin scheduled in to cover these delays. The important thing is to not let the margins become areas of wasted time. It is critical to communicate clearly to those involved the importance of being on schedule. I use two different schedules with projects. One with the customer and one with the subcontractors.
  5. Plan for unforeseen things that interrupt the plan – There are always things that can’t be planned for. It doesn’t matter how well you plan, if something breaks down or there’s an accident, the priority and focus can change quickly. This is out of my control. The difference between this point and the previous one is in the frequency and the level of disruption. We can only plan for these things to a certain point. It is more about being aware that it can happen and being ready to deal with it the best we can when it does. This is flexible rigidity.

Being accountable is being aware of these things. Understanding them. Taking intentional action to do something about it. And continually learning.

As a construction contractor adding coaching and consulting to my list, it seems that construction projects are more important than coaching and consulting…or is it?

The question is, how many more people would benefit from construction companies knowing how to do business?

Being accountable is up to me. Ultimately, it comes down to this…

I’m accountable to God.

What am I going to do about it?

What’s the Purpose You’ve Been Called To?

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Here I Am Lord, Send Me

Pastor Lisa is preaching a series on the prophets. This week’s prophet was Isaiah. As is the case with most prophets…the people hearing the message weren’t very receptive.

We don’t like it when someone tells us what we’re doing is wrong.

We like to think we have it all figured out. This is how it was for the people of Judah and Jerusalem when Isaiah shared God’s message with them. He was telling them to change their ways or there was going to be price to pay.

The Bible is full of people being made aware of their mistakes. It’s also full of examples of what happens when the warnings are ignored.

In this week’s Scripture, Isaiah 6:1-8, we hear about Isaiah’s vison of the Lord sitting on His throne. There were six winged creatures flying over Him covering themselves with four of these wings. They were calling out,

“Holy, holy, holy,
    Lord All-Powerful!
The earth is filled
    with your glory.”

As Isaiah witnessed this, he realized how unworthy he was. Then he cried out, “I’m doomed! Everything I say is sinful, and so are the words of everyone around me. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord All-Powerful.”

purpose

Then one of the creatures took a burning coal from the alter and touched Isaiah’s lips and said, “Your sins are forgiven, and you are no longer guilty.”

The Lord asked, “Is there anyone who I can send? Will someone speak for us?

Isaiah answered, “Here I am Lord, send me.”

We need to be willing to do what we’ve been called to do.

This doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy. It’s a more difficult road for some than others.

This is the case of Ayaan Hirsi Ali. She is a Somali-born Dutch-American writer, activist, and former politician.

She is a critic of Islam and advocate for the rights and self-determination of Muslim women. At the age of five, following local traditions in Somalia, Ali underwent female mutilation organized by her grandmother.

She received political asylum in the Netherlands, gaining Dutch citizenship. In her early 30s, Ali renounced the Islamic faith of her childhood and began identifying as an atheist.

In 2003, Ali was elected to the lower house of the States General of the Netherlands. While serving in parliament, she collaborated on a short film titled Submission, which critiqued and depicted the oppression of women under Islamic law.

This led to death threats after the film’s release. At this time, she became more outspoken as a critic of the Islamic faith. Her outspoken criticism of Islam made her a controversial figure in Dutch politics. Following a political crisis related to the validity of her Dutch citizenship, she left Parliament and ultimately the Netherlands.

Moving to the United States, Ali established herself as a writer, activist, and public intellectual. Ali founded an organization for the defense of women’s rights—the AHA Foundation.

Ali was a central figure in New Atheism. She was strongly associated with the movement, along with Christopher Hitchens.

Writing in a column in November 2023, Ali announced her conversion to the Christian faith. In this article she claimed that in her view the Judeo-Christian tradition is the only answer to the problems of the modern world.

So, what changed? Why does she call herself a Christian now?

“Part of the answer is global. Western civilization is under threat from three different but related forces.

We endeavor to fend off these threats with modern, secular tools: military, economic, diplomatic, and technological efforts to defeat, bribe, persuade, appease, or surveil. And yet, with every round of conflict, we find ourselves losing ground.

But we can’t fight off these formidable forces unless we can answer the question: What is it that unites us? The only credible answer, I believe, lies in our desire to uphold the legacy of the Judeo-Christian tradition.

That legacy consists of an elaborate set of ideas and institutions designed to safeguard human life, freedom, and dignity—finding their roots in Christianity.

And so, I have come to realize that my atheist friends failed to see the wood for the trees. The wood is the civilization built on the Judeo-Christian tradition; it is the story of the West.

Yet I would not be truthful if I attributed my embrace of Christianity solely to the realization that atheism is too weak and divisive a doctrine to fortify us against our menacing foes. I have also turned to Christianity because I ultimately found life without any spiritual solace unendurable—indeed very nearly self-destructive.

Atheism failed to answer a simple question: What is the meaning and purpose of life?

That is why I no longer consider myself a Muslim apostate, but a lapsed atheist. Of course, I still have a great deal to learn about Christianity. I discover a little more at church each Sunday. But I have recognized, in my own long journey through a wilderness of fear and self-doubt, that there is a better way to manage the challenges of existence than either Islam or unbelief had to offer.”

Like the people that Isaiah was speaking to and Ayaan Hirsi Ali we all tend to think we have it figured out. Some people chose to follow Jesus, and some don’t. The question is…are you going to say, Here I am Lord, send me?

You’ve been given a purpose. It’s up to you to decide what you’re going to do with it.

There’s Not Enough Help for Construction

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What Does This Mean for the Construction Industry?

As part of my morning routine, I listen to Albert Mohler’s podcast: The Briefing. This past Friday’s episode started out talking about the falling birth rate and the effect this will have on the world.

We’ve heard how extreme this situation is in some countries like South Korea, China, and Japan. Dr. Mohler pointed out that this is not just happening in these countries, but around the world.

This is a problem because ultimately, if we continue down this path, there’s not a future for civilization if you’re not having babies.

A falling birthrate means you’re not going to have enough workers.

Not enough help

You’re going to have more aging people leaving the workplace than younger people joining it.

Just look at what’s happening in Japan, where they are using robots to take care of people in nursing homes. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want a robot taking care of one of my family members.

The Communist Party of China enforced a one-child-only policy to prevent a future threat where they had too many babies. It turns out, the threat is too few.

They’ve ended up with an imbalance of males to females because of the preference for male babies. Now, there are millions of Chinese men who aren’t able to marry anyone because there aren’t enough women.

That’s a shortage in the tens of millions.

This got me to thinking about how the struggle of finding good, qualified help in the construction industry.

This is not a new problem but seems to be a growing one.

I think this is due to more than just the decreasing population. I think it’s a combination of a society that has gotten spoiled and untrained.

A lot of young people see life as something owed to them. They’ve not had to learn to work. Then, you have those of us who’ve been doing construction for a long time. We’ve been too focused on our work and never bothered to share our experiences and knowledge.

It doesn’t matter if the shrinking number of qualified people is due to a shrinking or an untrained work force.

What matters is getting the ones that are out there, trained.

That’s why I’m working to find ways to coach and consult people in the construction industry that need some mentoring and guidance.