Dated August 24, 2016

Some acquaintances believe I’ve retired since leaving my city job over three years ago because I’m always working on my Upland property. However, I simply changed professions.

I left a stable and straightforward government job with good benefits to become self-employed and work from home. My current work is more demanding, lacks benefits, and offers no traditional security. Despite that, I am now my own boss, a freedom I value greatly.

I accept that I’ll always need to earn a living, implying I’ll work for the rest of my life. This doesn’t bother me, particularly since it involves working on my Upland. Besides, I enjoy working.

Many Christians believe work is a curse from Genesis 3: 17-19. I disagree.

It seems the curse isn’t work itself, but its difficulty. Work became tedious after the fall of man.

The Bible states God will create a new heaven and earth. Since he accomplished this once, repeating it shouldn’t be difficult.

This new earth, free from sin’s corruption, will be a tangible place where righteousness dwells. This is where Jesus Christ’s followers will spend eternity, according to my understanding of traditional biblical teachings.

Therefore, dismiss any notions of heavenly ease filled with clouds and harps. While those elements might exist, I believe there will be work to do, and not the kind confined to cubicles and computer screens.

I envision eternity’s new earth as an agrarian paradise, resembling the Garden of Eden. Work won’t be arduous but joyful and fulfilling. The results of this labor will be extraordinary beauty and abundance.

My view might be inaccurate, but it’s how I prefer to imagine eternity. Regardless, I anticipate it.

Meanwhile, I have ample work and responsibilities in this world to keep me occupied.

In the photo, I’m sharpening a wheel hoe blade. I’ve been crafting and selling wheel hoe kits to discerning gardeners since the spring of 2009.

I certainly don’t sell as many wheel hoe kits as other makers who offer pre-assembled ones. Most people prefer not to build their own. Moreover, my wheel hoe doesn’t have multiple attachments, just a single oscillating stirrup blade. It’s a single-purpose tool, incredibly effective at shallow soil cultivation and eliminating small weeds.

Over the past seven years, I’ve received positive feedback on my Planet Whizbang wheel hoe. Several small farms, after experiencing its effectiveness and durability, have become repeat customers.

My wheel hoe kits cater to a niche market. While the profits are modest, they add up. More importantly, I derive satisfaction from crafting, distributing, and receiving positive feedback on them.

The most challenging aspect of making these kits is sharpening the stirrup blades before bending them into a “U” shape. I used to pay someone locally $3 per blade, but he eventually found the task tiresome. As the picture shows, I now sharpen them myself.

I purchased the 3M respirator last year after selling numerous wheel hoe kits to afford it. This investment in my health has been invaluable. It draws air through a filter and pumps it into the sealed mask, creating positive pressure and preventing dust inhalation. The battery and filter are located at the back.

In my younger days, while doing home renovations, I inhaled a lot of harmful dust due to not wearing a mask or using ineffective ones.

I recall a particularly dusty job where my coworker, Steve, and I devised a unique air filtration method using cigarette butts with filters. We wondered if we could seal a filter in each nostril and breathe through them.

Steve tried it, but a single filter couldn’t seal a nostril. I suggested using three, four, or five filters in each nostril or sealing a single one with silicone caulk.

Steve wasn’t keen on those ideas, so we never tested them. Still, I believe our concept had merit.

This anecdote illustrates my past approach to respiratory safety, reminding me of the saying:

“We get too soon old and too late smart.”