This is the day after Thanksgiving, and as I look back on how the Lord has blessed me this year I can’t help but recognize His hand in bringing me my first large woodworking job. A father from church who works for a drapery company referred to me the job of creating wood molding around an arch window (28ft x 23ft). The location was the National War College at Fort McNair. The main purpose of the wood trim was to provide a secure and stable surface on which to install 200lbs of drapery.

I went for a site visit on August 31st to take measurements, and the installation was 18&19th of November. I’d like to recount some highlights of how the Lord provided & helped me with this project.

• Wood Source - One thing I needed to do was find a good local supplier for lumber. I asked some friends and through their suggestions I found an excellent lumber supplier.
• Design & Engineering – Early on in the planning stages I had some questions that I didn’t have answers for. After asking questions of some men from church I got lots of them answered.
• Safety – During the same time period that I was working on this project I experienced a tablesaw kickback which could have been very serious. The Lord protected me, and I only needed 4 stitches and to take a couple days off.
• Stain/Varnish – I planned to put on the stain and varnish the week of the install, but it just barely dried in time to allow me to meet the deadline. I ended up using a fan, a space heater, and two dehumidifiers in the room to speed up the drying.
• Installation – I had to use different fasteners to make the molding stay on the wall. Dad helped me locate the best fasteners. I switched from self tapping screws concrete to expanding anchors. Also, the Lord kept me safe up on the ladders and provided my brother as an install helper.