Laying a foundation is not the easy part of a building project, but it is the guarantee of your future work.  To illustrate the importance of this unseen, under-appreciated work that makes our lives possible, I recall a unique place on the earth that would not be found in anybody’s tour guide book.

As we were pioneering miracle evangelism in Central Asia, we were given a rare opportunity to stay at the presidential palace built for Russian leader, Leonid Brezhnev.  At first glance it looked like a beautiful place for inspiration with its marbled walls and golden framework, but between meetings it quickly turned into an amusing challenge of survival!

We nicknamed this place the ‘ice palace’ because they built it without proper connections to the city heating system, nor did it have any individual heating system.  We sat around wrapped in heavy blankets watching our breath fog the room. To prepare sermons, I moved my desk into the bathroom and steamed up the shower to create enough heat to write. What had looked glamorous on the outside became an icebox of endurance on the inside.

Our outside value is only as good as our inside function. Consider what you build, and don’t forget the plumbing!