Monday, April 3, 2017

Home Management

A very important part of managing a home is seeing that various systems are properly maintained - electrical - plumbing - heating - security - to name a few. It is important that all homeowners periodically inspect the different systems in their homes to avoid major issues. Verifying that electrical circuits are not overloaded - hot water tanks are periodically flushed - water softeners disinfected - furnaces checked for cracked heat exchangers - security - contacts - batteries all functioning. Marking a calendar to remind to do an annual inspection - one very good tool in the process. One reminder that is published for the public yearly is to check smoke - fire alarms to make sure batteries are fresh - time to replace units over ten years old. We recently had one of our smoke alarms go off - inspecting that one unit in our Arizona home alerted us to the fact that it was time to replace all the units. Reviewing Phoenix building codes we learned that all hard wired units - which the majority of homes have - now required to be replaced with a sealed unit with a ten year lithium battery. Replacing the units involved a slight re-wiring issue but it was simple to do and new units now meet current building codes - home in good shape. 


Many areas of our lives are regulated by rules - regulations - codes - for personal safety - for community safety. There are those who hate these codes - guidelines - ignore every chance they get. Most others - follow the rules - regulations as listed by reliable authorities. The most common signs we see - traffic signs - lights - informing us when to stop - go - how fast we may travel. In Lent the Church sets down guidelines for us also - specifying fast days - days of abstinence.  Although many do not understand - most comply with these regulations. It is for our benefit that all these rules are posted - everyone informed. As we continue into this fifth week of Lent - these regulations now very familiar - not an issue. No longer on our minds - focusing instead on how well we manage our spiritual homes - our relationship with God. Happily for us - with God - all things possible. 

Deacon Dale