Called to Sacrifice (Prayer Devotional for the week of April 20, 2014)

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As he concluded his inaugural address on January 20, 1981, Ronald Reagan shared a story about a young man named Martin Treptow who lost his life in the First World War. He related the story to the economic woes of the time by saying: “The crisis we are facing today does not require of us the kind of sacrifice that Martin Treptow and so many thousands of others were called upon to make. It does require, however, our best effort, and our willingness to believe in ourselves and to believe in our capacity to perform great deeds; to believe that together, with God’s help, we can and will resolve the problems which now confront us.”

President Reagan was referring to his goals for improving America’s standing as “the world’s strongest economy,” but I would like to suggest that similar words could be said of our faith-walk, particularly in the context of Easter.

For every Purple Heart recipient and Gold Star military family, there are thousands of men and women in the armed forces who serve our country sacrificially in less drastic ways. In the same way, Jesus doesn’t call each of us to follow in his literal footsteps by facing death for our faith. However, I do believe that he calls us to be ready, and to be willing to make sacrifices for what we believe. Romans 12:1 (ERV) puts it this way: “So I beg you, brothers and sisters, because of the great mercy God has shown us, offer your lives as a living sacrifice to him—an offering that is only for God and pleasing to him. Considering what he has done, it is only right that you should worship him in this way.”

It is too easy for us to become comfortable in our comfy little bubbles and forget that around the world at this very moment, our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ are facing very real persecutions – including death – for their faith. This Easter and in the weeks and months to follow, let us remember not only Jesus’ sacrifice and glorious resurrection, but also how we can put our faith into action so that “… with God’s help, we can and will resolve the problems which now confront us” locally and around the globe.

DIY Replacing a Toilet

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I have changed the flapper, adjusted the chain, replaced the whole inside guts of a toilet tank, and plunged more than my fair share of toilet bowls (especially with five boys in the house). I finally decided that I’m tired of constantly trying to fix them, and I just need to upgrade to a toilet that does what it’s supposed to do on the first flush, every flush. So, this is how I spent part of my day off today …

I’ve been researching options for a while, starting with auto-flush sensors. I realized that not only are these very expensive, but they could be problematic if the toilet is clogged. The last thing you want to do in that situation is flush repeatedly! (Spoken from experience, I might add.)

The problem, as I see it, is two-fold: 1) Water-saving toilets are a pointless, ridiculous invention. It doesn’t save water if it takes three flushes to get everything down the drain! 2) Flappers frequently need to be adjusted and/or replaced, and if I add up all the money I’ve spent fixing them, I could’ve probably bought a new commode.

So, I bought a new commode.

I really need to replace all three toilets in the house, but I decided to start with one and be sure that I could handle it. Besides, the installation fee offered by the hardware store cost more than the commode (!!), so being the stubborn frugal gal that I am, I wanted to see if I could do it myself. I’m sharing the adventure with you, so you might feel more confident to try something like this, yourself.

2014-04-18 15.18.54My 14 (and a half) year-old helped me with lifting , as well as some of the work that required squatting down on the floor, like loosening bolts. They were pretty badly rusted, but with the help of some WD-40, we made it work.

(As with my foray into washing machine repair, I would not recommend replacing a toilet as a one-person job — it can be quite heavy.)

It certainly wasn’t a graceful endeavor. I put a throw pillow in the bathtub to rest my knee on as I straddled the edge of the tub so I could reach the toilet. It wasn’t pretty, but it helped!

Disconnecting the old toilet wasn’t very complicated — it was just a matter of turning off the water supply, disconnecting the hose and loosening the floor bolts. First, we flushed the toilet to get the water out of the tank, but there was still some left in the bowl. Be sure to have some towels handy, because water will leak out from the hose and/or the base when you move it!

2014-04-18 17.00.402014-04-18 17.00.33The next part was pretty gross, but I just kept reminding myself that it was only wax. For the record, whoever decided to make the wax rings for toilets the same color as poop has a sick sense of humor. Why not make them out of clear wax? Eww.

The photo on the left shows the hole beneath the toilet that goes into the sewer. I have already scraped off the old wax ring and adjusted the new bolts in place. The photo on the right shows the new, albeit still disgusting-looking, wax ring in place on the new toilet, ready to be squished into position and bolted to the floor.

2014-04-18 17.09.23At this point, it was just a matter of tightening bolts — first the two on the floor, then the three in the tank.  Then, I connected the hose and turned the water back on. Oops! I didn’t tighten one of the tank bolts firmly enough, and it started dripping. Turn the water back off, tighten more, repeat.

2014-04-18 17.21.14Check out the canister in the tank. It came completely assembled, so I didn’t have to do anything with the mechanism. There’s no flapper! It is supposed to flush more efficiently, more powerfully, and best of all — not clog. If I never have to plunge this commode again or waste clean towels by sopping up an overflowing toilet, then it will be money very well spent!

Voila! One down, two to go …2014-04-18 17.45.49