When my wife and I decided it was time to replace our wooden fence enclosing our backyard I began to price shop different companies in our area. The seemingly obvious choice was Amechi Fence in Turnersville. They were well known and had been in business for over two decades. But I’m not the type to just go with the first company that comes to mind or that is recommended. I like to price shop; if I don’t compare costs then I’m always left with this nagging feeling that I might have been ripped off. So I called around and got quotes from three other local fencing companies. All of these quotes came in a few hundred dollars higher than Amechi. I asked a couple of the guys I spoke with from those other companies why they were more expensive. The answers I heard ranged from the quality of nails used (saying that Amechi used cheap nails that would rust in a few years) to size of company (Amechi could charge less because of the higher frequency of work). One thing, however, was told to me be every other person I talked to: “You will not get quality customer service from a company like Amechi that contracts out all their jobs.” As much as that thought lingered with me, I decided to save the money and go with Amechi Fence. Over $3,000 later and a few scheduling push backs due to bad weather our new fence was installed (mostly) in mid-July 2008.
UPDATE:
I received a call from Bob Meeks, the manager at Amechi Fence today. He told me that he spoke with the installer and the owner, and that they have agreed to cover all cost and material to replace the warped wooden posts. He went on to say that he thought a lot about it and realized that this had been dragged out way too long and that he was impressed by the patience shown on my behalf.
Well, the process was wrong, but the outcome was right. What an answer to prayer!
November 11, 2008
Contract Killers
October 2, 2008
Time For the Harvest
Headed to the Wachovia Center this weekend to see Greg Laurie speak, plus see some great free music. If you haven't heard of the Harvest Crusade (https://www.harvest.org/crusades) check it out. We are taking the youth over on Saturday to see Kutless and Toby Mac - good times!!!
So what is the Harvest Crusade? Well, here's a snippet from their website:
Since 1990, Harvest Crusades has put on large-scale evangelistic outreaches around the United States and in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. More than 3,793,000 people have attended a Harvest Crusades event in person, and more than 310,200 people have registered decisions of faith in Jesus Christ.Sounds good to me. See ya there.
Harvest Crusades events are designed to be opportunities for Christians to invite unsaved family members, coworkers, friends, and acquaintances to hear the life-changing message of the gospel in an environment that is entertaining, yet nonthreatening.
The cornerstone of each event is the presentation of the gospel by Pastor Greg Laurie. Biblically-sound and culturally relevant, Pastor Greg brings a clear gospel message, providing an opportunity for people to make a decision to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
-jim
September 9, 2008
Rhett and Link - Incredible Talent
If you've heard of Rhett and Link then you know - they are very talented and extremely funny. If you haven't heard of them, check out their YouTube site (http://www.youtube.com/user/RhettandLink) and definitely check out this video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyPDHh4d1Xo
September 4, 2008
Summer Blur
It seems like the summer arrived and then left in the matter of days - too quick for my liking. Regardless, we had fun this summer: beach days with the youth group, Jack Johnson (Dani came up to visit!), Dave Matthews, landscaping and new fence at the house. What a year so far.
January 30, 2008
In turns...
Quick update::senior high snow camp was awesome! After one day of rest I find myself down in Virginia. Virginia is for lovers, so it can't be all bad...
Josh, Mike the Mascot, Wade, (soon-to-be) Randy and I are here at Liberty University during their Church Planting week. We are representing Discovery Church and getting students to sign up for summer '08 internship positions with us. Liberty really stresses church planting and summer missions/internships, so we have been well received and had a lot of fun so far. We set up a really cool booth in Demoss Hall, except no one was coming up to us at first...then I realized why...
Once Josh stopped showing so much leg we got to work. It was a long day, but we had over 40 students sign up for more info on being an intern at Discovery this summer! Most of them are from the Jersey area, although some are from as far away as Michigan, Ohio and Florida. We capped the night off by attending the Wednesday night Campus Church with about 4,000 other students. Ed Stetzer spoke and challenged the students to take the next step if they really felt God calling them into church planting - to come down front and meet with some of the church planters (us and about 20 others). I had the opportunity to pray with many students who came forward...it was pretty awesome. Here's a pic of the auditorium (from the balcony) about 10 minutes before the service started:
So thats all for now...I'll post some more later. Oh, and Wade says hi. :)
-j
January 25, 2008
Blessed...to be busy?
As the new year hits full stride I can say one thing for certain - I am blessed by God to be in the position I am. Working here at Discovery has revolutionized my life. Meeting Kerri has revolutionized my life. I have been...revolutionized! Seriously though, I am excited about this year and the direction God has me in.
At a dinner recently a friend of mine made a very cool statement. He was talking about the moments in our lives that we can look back on that were pivotal - life changing - and how we don't even realize it (usually) until much later. The day I met my wife, for instance. Looking back it's so cool to see how God interlaces all the events and happenstances that lead up to today. Do you think God, in those pivotal moments, is giggling to Himself? He knows how big the moment is even when we don't.
Josh and I are off to our Sr. High youth winter camp this weekend. Keep us in prayer! And pray that teenagers lives are changed, that the Kingdom increases this weekend.
Thanks!
-j