BACKSTORY. "Measure twice, cut once," it is said in woodworking. At HW2KH we practice this as well. As it goes in carpentry, it often goes in life. While you may begin with nothing more than a rough idea for where you will be able to serve, or how to go about finishing the creative work with which you been tasked, things often [humorously] don't always end up the way you planned. Maybe you made a promise to help, to support, to be available with your gifts and talents; you wanted your "Yes," to mean "Yes." But you discover that you don't have the time you need. You don't have all of the skills that are needed to complete a project. Or you don't have all the materials required. Often, you are forced to start the project just "a few boards short of a full load." And when you are moving from town-to-town in an RV ... well ... sometimes things get a little complicated.
...Hey guys, what is "Improvisational" crafting...?
FAILING ISN'T FAILURE. Sometimes your day doesn't go as expected and three hours at the project site or in the craft room turns into six. Six turns into eight. And so on. Yet you keep going. Keep drawing. Keep shaping. Keep sanding. Keep painting. Pushing forward. Being encouraged. Drawing and cutting and painting over and over again. If you sit around and wait for all of the pieces to line up -- for all of the conditions to be perfect -- you prolly won't make it very far. Time is a resource, too. To make it in life, you need to be ready for the unexpected; you will be called to improvise. Even the best thought-out plans can crash. Being flexible and learning as you go will fuel you to completion. Failure is OK -- to God's Glory, that's education. Learning as you go, understanding composition and components -- where everything fits -- with a dash and pinch of patience will drive you to satisfying completion. Sometimes it doesn't finish the way we expected, but we know we did the best that we can. We lean on "Improvisational Crafting" when things get fun like that. In crafting, in woodworking, in life ... Finishing Well is the goal, regardless how far out in left field you might feel.
...What's up with the "3:13" in your logo?!?
PASSING IT ON. We have shortcomings. We don't always produce what we set out to do. Or in the time allotted. In fact, the name of this website started out as "3thirteen." At the last minute, we were led in another direction. In all, we believe God has been honored in our work regardless. He has blessed HW2KH with opportunities to serve His Kingdom in each of our Adventures in Faith from coast-to-coast. In these travels, several verses became important to us. They all have something in common. We want to share them with you:
As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good..."
-2 THESSALONIANS 3:13
Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gains understanding...
-PROVERBS 3:13
…exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today...,”
-HEBREWS 3:13
Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
-PHILIPPIANS 3:13-14
…[E]veryone should eat, drink, and take pleasure in all of his toil – this is God’s gift to man…”
-ECCLESIASTES 3:13
