My 12 year-old daughter Annie and I have a running joke. It started one day while I was folding laundry (yes, you read that correctly). Annie asked me why I like doing laundry so much.

“Excuse me,” I asked, astonished at the question, and laughing at the absurdity of me actually liking to do the laundry.

“You don’t do the laundry because you like doing it?” she clarified.

“Ha! Not even close, Annie. I do it because it needs to be done,” I replied.

“Oh,” she said, her eyebrows furrowed with this new piece of information.

The running joke, now, is that I love doing laundry. Annie will say, “Well, Dad, I would help you, but I know how much you love to do the laundry and I wouldn’t want to take away all that joy you get.” Or, she will say, “Dad, why don’t you let someone else do the laundry for a change?” Annie makes me laugh.

It has given us occasion, too, to talk about the nature of work. We’ve talked about how work is hard, and often takes a lot more energy and time than we had imagined. She’s asked me why some people get to do what they love and others do not. We’ve even talked about the fact that some very hard-working and determined folks cannot find a job.

Thorns and thistles…“By the sweat of your brow,” the Bible says. That’s what we are talking about. The reality that often, our work is hard. Time conspires against us. Problems creep up, miscommunication causes confusion even among the best team. Thorns and thistles.

These are good conversations. I had them with Annie’s older brothers (they’re now 21 and 18 years old) around this time in their lives. Now, Annie’s thinking about these things.

Our 2:10 team have been challenged by some thorns and thistles over the past 6 weeks to get the website assessment experience finally launched. We have an ETA…December 15. Yes, that’s right around the corner, which is why we are asking you to pray for this final step. We are almost there…by the sweat of our brow!

Thanks for standing with us in partnership.

Marc Fey and the 2:10 Team