Gene Laratonda's Blog

Some helpful sheets:

Polar Grid Paper (.pdf)

Trigonometry Identities (.pdf)

A properly kept logbook is a legal document. It can help validate your case if problems arise on prevailing rate pay, worker’s compensation cases, unemployment, and many other concerns that can and do arise in the construction industry.

To keep a journal, you should use a bound book, written in ink and do not teary any pages out. Your journal should be written on your own time (i.e. lunch time, after work). List as much information and details as you can.

AT THE START OF EVERY NEW JOB YOU SHOULD RECORD:

• Contractors Name, Address and Phone Number
• General Contractors Name, Address and Phone Number
• Superintendent Name
• Foreman’s Name
• Steward’s Name
• Name of Job and Address (location)
• Owner of Project, Address and Phone Number
• Cost of Project

DAILY:

• Date
• Weather conditions, job site conditions
• Type of Work You Did
• Hours Worked (any overtime or double-time)
• Any Accidents or Injuries (in as much detail)
• Working With Any Unusual or New Material

Remember just five minutes after work everyday could save you from financial ruin.

It is also a good idea to keep a disposable camera in your lunchbox
or toolbox.

Source: Greater Pennsylvania Regional Council of Carpenters’ Website (http://www.greaterpacarpenters.org)

A great logbook for you as a Christian is the Our Daily Bread daily devotional booklet from RBC Ministries. It’s a great daily read to keep you in the Word of God and it’s FREE. Get signed up at https://www.rbc.org/devotionals/our-daily-bread/order-devotional.aspx.

Every morning when I get to work a little early I turn on the interior light in my car, open my ODB to fill out yesterday’s information, and read the passage for today. It’s also a good idea to keep a pocket Bible handy in your glove-box to read the references to scripture.

Cmon’ people. I can live with bad drivers now and then, but it really stinks to sit behind someone riding the same speed as the car beside them for miles on end. Either slow down and get behind them or speed up and let the line of 20 cars get past you.

Then there’s the person that sees you behind them in the fast lane with no one in sight in the right lane. I still can’t fathom what goes through a persons mind to say I’m not moving, just stay behind me or pass me on the right.

If I were a conspiracy theorist I would think that these people are just undercover officers pace setting traffic.

Maybe we just need to call attention to the signs. I wonder if we can get these signs to light up in a broadway style. Chaser lights around the border or something.

Perhaps I’ll buy a nice set of airhorns.

Most probably I’ll just sit in the line behind these people and think of other things to rant about.

The single greatest action that you can perform to look more valuable to your employer is to just show up every day. This shows the employer that you have a good work ethic and that they can depend on you.

How much more important is it for you to “show up every day” as a true Christian to God? This doesn’t mean that your 24 hour day consists of nothing but prayer, reading your Bible, eating, sleeping, and working. What it does mean is that outside of those things you live your Christianity. Whether you spend 5 minutes or 5 hours reading your Bible isn’t as important as taking what you’ve read and applying it to your life. In this way you are growing closer with Jesus Christ.

A being outside of time, space and matter created the universe. This being pierced His creation and lived among us. He lived a perfectly good life without breaking any of His Laws. He paid the debt that everyone owes by breaking His Law. We owe Him everything and deserve nothing.

We give our employers 8 for 8 (eight hours work for eight hours pay) so just remember that as a Christian accountable to our Lord we owe him 24 for 0. We do good works because he is working in us, not because we are trying to get anything.  His plan is absolutely awesome.

by H. Michael Brewer

Before Jesus was a teacher and a healer–before his life changed the world–he was a carpenter. Woodworking was his occupation for most of his time on earth, and the years he spent in Joseph’s shop clearly shaped his message and ministry.

Now, by gaining an understanding of first-century carpentry, you can revolutionize your faith through the discovery of surprising insights into Christ’s life.

The ministry of Jesus was spiritual carpentry. He rebuilt broken people and constructed a new world. His workmanship still amazes all who put themselves in his hands, and his principles for constructing a solid life are as relevant today as they were two thousand years ago.

In Lessons from the Carpenter, you can sit as an apprentice at the feet of this amazing master carpenter. And learn firsthand how he builds and rebuilds beautiful lives meant to last forever.

by Josh McDowell

With over ten million books in print Josh McDowell’s timeless examination of the true nature of Christ and his impact on our lives is one of the best-selling Christian books ever. Written by a former skeptic of Christianity, it is a hard-hitting book for those who doubt Jesus’ deity and his purpose. In a concise, understandable manner, Josh explains how Jesus’ life and the testimony of history unmistakably affirm his claim to be God.

1 Corinthians 3:10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. His contractor was sorry to see such a good employee go, and asked him if he would build just one last house as a personal favor. The carpenter agreed but his heart was not in it. He resorted to bad workmanship and using cheap materials.

When the carpenter finished his work, the contractor came over and handed the front-door key to the carpenter. “I appreciate all the hard work you’ve done for me all these years and I’d like you to have this house as a token of my gratitude.”

The carpenter was shocked! If only he had only known he was building his own house, he would have worked much harder! Now he owned a house that wasn’t built very well.

We should think of ourselves as carpenters, and our lives here on earth, as our house. Each day we hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall, we must build with care! It is the only life we will ever build. And what we do here will count for eternity!

Our lives today are the result of our attitudes and choices in the past. Our lives tomorrow will be the result of our attitudes and the choices we make today! Let’s proceed with caution.

Jesus went out from there and came into His hometown; and His disciples followed Him. When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands?  “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him. (Mark 6:1-3)

Some try to explain this verse away by changing the meaning of carpenter. Some feel that this verse is not true. All scripture is given by inspiration of God and to say that this verse is false is to call God a liar.

In his own hometown the people knew him as the carpenter. This makes sense because Jesus’ stepfather, Joseph, was a carpenter:

“Is not this the son of the carpenter? (Matthew 13:55)

The scriptures suggest that Jesus, as first born son, followed the trade of his father. So from the time of a young man to the time of his ministry (33 years of age), Jesus was indeed a carpenter. A builder. How fitting for the master builder of the universe! Jesus was fully God, working miracles and living a sinless life, and fully man, doing the menial work of a day job as a carpenter. For those stuck in lackluster jobs, remember to look to Jesus as a model of a humble servant at work in an low-rate job.

The early church writer Justin Martyr wrote, “He was considered to be the son of Joseph the carpenter; and He appeared without comeliness, as the Scriptures declared; and He was deemed a carpenter (for He was in the habit of working as a carpenter when among men, making ploughs and yokes; by which He taught the symbols of righteousness and an active life)”. [Justin Martyr, a 2nd century Christian writer writing in  Dialogue with Trypho the Jew]

Let’s consider the City of Sepphoris (Modern day Zippori), situated a mere four miles from Nazareth. It was the largest city in Judea outside Jerusalem. Herod the Great had made it his Galilean Capital, but when he died in 3 BC his three sons were in Rome to confirm their inheritance. While they were absent a rebel leader named Judas attacked Sepphoris. The Roman legions soon crushed the rebellion, burning the city and enslaving the inhabitants. When the sons returned from Rome, Herod Antipas determined to rebuild the city, and he initiated a great building program that lasted for 20 years until he moved to Tiberias in AD 26. Jesus was about nine years old when the work began, and obviously much labour from Nazareth was employed in the work, including Joseph and his apprentice Jesus.

Joseph of Nazareth: Lessons from a Carpenter
From Jack Zavada

As a carpenter, Jesus must have learned many tricks of the woodworking trade from Joseph. While tools and techniques have changed a great deal over the past 2,000 years, three simple rules that Joseph lived by still hold true today.

1 – Measure Twice, Cut Once
Wood was scarce in ancient Israel. Joseph and his apprentice Jesus couldn’t afford to make mistakes. They learned to proceed with caution, anticipating the consequences of everything they did. It’s a wise principle for our lives, too.

As Christian men, we need to be careful in our behavior. People are watching. Nonbelievers are judging Christianity by the way we act, and we can either attract them to the faith or drive them away.

Thinking ahead prevents a lot of trouble. We should measure our spending against our income and not exceed it. We should measure our physical health and take steps to protect it. And, we should measure our spiritual growth from time to time and work to increase it. Just like the timber in ancient Israel, our resources are limited, so we should do our best to use them wisely.

2 – Use the Right Tool for the Job
Joseph wouldn’t have tried to pound with a chisel or drill a hole with an ax. Every carpenter has a special tool for each task.

So it is with us. Don’t use anger when understanding is called for. Don’t use indifference when encouragement is needed. We can build people up or tear them down, depending on which tools we use.

Jesus gave people hope. He wasn’t embarrassed to show love and compassion. He was a master at using the right tools, and as his apprentices, we should do the same.

3 – Take Care of Your Tools and They’ll Take Care of You
Joseph’s livelihood depended on his tools. We Christian men have the tools our employer gives us, whether it’s a computer or an impact wrench, and we have a responsibility to take care of them as if they’re our own.

But we also have the tools of prayer, meditation, fasting, worship, and praise. Our most valuable tool, of course, is the Bible. If we sink its truths deep into our minds then live them out, God will take care of us, too.

In the body of Christ, every Christian man is a carpenter with a job to do. Like Joseph, we can mentor our apprentices–our sons, daughters, friends and relatives–teaching them the skills to pass the faith on to the generation after them. The more we learn about our faith, the better a teacher we’ll be.

God has given us all the tools and resources we need. Whether you’re at your place of business or at home or at leisure, you’re always on the job. Work for God with your head, your hands, and your heart and you can’t go wrong.