It has been a fast and furious holiday season for us here at Home Porch & Patio Kits! We are in a business that is largely seasonal, which means that April through September is when we make ‘hay!’ We have been doing this for over 17 years now and if we were to be honest, it has been hard at times. Not with respect to finances, for we know from where our provision comes (Matthew 6:25-34), but rather hard in knowing when or where to draw the line with respect to work and the rest of life. Surely some of you can relate!

We have worked hard to put together a group of DIY products and a system of delivery that is effective, efficient and ensures the greatest level of customer satisfaction. Have we arrived? Not a chance! Frankly that is still part of the allure of our business and as such there have been many times of consecutive weeks without a day off, and as the years continue to fly by, we have realized we needed to learn to balance work and life.

We have a strong faith and we have families; there is more to life than work. You can’t just put your head down, work hard, and hope everything else will be OK. You have to live all the time, even at work, with your head up, looking for the areas where you are needed other than in a work capacity.

When a daughter calls to say “Hey Dad! I’m having a good day! I wrote an exam and I think I did well. I handed in my book report and I did a presentation in English” it is not something you shrug off and just turn back to computer. The next ten minutes engaging in her day, encouraging her in the integrity which she displayed as she prioritized school & play in her own life, was living with my head up. We all have ‘moments’ like this in our days. How we respond is usually a reflection of our character and of the things we value.

We are looking forward to a great year! We are as committed as ever to live up to the promises that we make and to keep quality DIY products flowing throughout North America. It is fun for us! Like most of you we take our work seriously, but we also know that taking it too far is detrimental to our health, our family, friends and our emotional well-being. We encourage all of you, this coming summer season, to look for balance between work and play, and if you for some reason can’t thrive without sacrificing life, then maybe you’re doing it wrong.

As for us, if we have called it quits at 5:00 pm on any given night, it might mean we are investing in the lives of our children, or in the community in which we live. We know you will understand!