Pictures of The House God Built

Now that the dedication has happened and the Thomas family has seen their house we thought we would share some pictures of the finished work. The blog has been deliberatly quiet on details and pictures as we have been trying to keep some surprises. The family has not been inside the house since framing occurred or to the house at all in one week.

Dedication Day

Today we will celebrate the completion of The House God Built. It has been an incredible journey. Most of those involved with this project have learned a lot about construction but we've learned even more about other things. We've learned how to bridge the divide between the predominantly white north Cape and predominantly black south Cape. We've learned how to be less reliant on our own means and abilities and more reliant on God to provide. We've learned how to take what we're given and turn it into something beautiful that represents faith in action. And most importantly we've seen His power firsthand.

We've asked for your help to build this house and many have answered above and beyond that call. We now ask for your help in it's dedication. Please come celebrate with us at 10 am. Following the program there will be tours of the first floor of the house and a BBQ afterwards. It should be an awesome day.

The House God Built is at 529 S. Hanover. We recommend parking on College which can be accessed from West End near it's intersection with Highway 74.



Just because construction is done doesn't mean that the blog is ending. We will be uploading pictures of the last phases of construction and dedication soon.
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Last day of construction set for Friday

Thursday was a very productive day at The House God Built. The house is very nearly a home! Thanks to all who have contributed to this project through prayers, material or financial donations, or volunteerism. We have been blessed to have had the opportunity to work with each of you.

Friday will be another marathon day to complete construction. Work will resume at 8 am and continue late into the night. We still have projects that are being completed and are working through these quickly. Also we have two critical inspections scheduled today so please be in prayer for The House God Built as we work through this last day.


Please come for the dedication on Saturday at 10 am. We're expecting a big crowd and would love it if you could be a part of it. Following the dedication will be tours of the house and lunch. Parking is limited so please carpool if possible and the best parking will be on College. For directions see the map on yesterday's posting below.

Thursday and Friday plans

The house is very nearly complete. We need to finish one more major project and lots of little details. We will be working Thursday and Friday night until The House God Built is done. Our plans are to have all tools and building materials removed from the house on Thursday if possible and Friday night at the latest. If you have left tools at the house please pick them up one evening this week. We have limited space in the construction trailer for tools that cannot be picked up now but the trailer will be removed from the property this weekend and returned soon.

Plans are also coming together for the dedication on Saturday. Please join us at 10 am to celebrate what God has done and is doing in Cape Girardeau. Following the dedication we will have tours of the house and lunch is provided at noon.

Hanover is a rather narrow street and parking is limited. We want your entire family to come but please come in one car if possible. We also suggest parking on College and walking up to THGB. Hope to see you Saturday!


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Tuesday update and plans for the week

Tuesday was a very productive day at The House God Built. Numerous tasks are being completed daily and decorating has begun. Details and pictures are being withheld until after the dedication this Saturday at 10:00 am.

We can still use your help. Our plans are to work this afternoon and every night this week.

Tuesday plans

Monday night our plans were dampened by the rain. We were able to adhere the majority of the bricks on the sidewalk but were not able to complete the job once the downpour began. If it dries out enough we'll try to finish this on Tuesday afternoon. We were able to finish much of the first floor porch and should be able to finish this and the second floor porch on Tuesday.

On Tuesday we'll start working at 10 am and continue until 9 pm. We would like to finish any work possible on the porch and bricks so that the landscapers can finish their work out front soon. We also need to finish the stair rail and do some last minute touch-ups.

Monday night work and Tuesday plans

Our plans are to meet at 6 pm on Monday night. Our priority is to adhere the bricks edging the sidewalks and the front portion of the driveway to make it possible to turn those areas over to the landscapers. We also would like to work on finishing the front porch and working on the stair railing inside the house. If you can help please come over to The House God Built at 6 pm.

Tuesday will be an all day work session to finish up as many items as possible. More information regarding Tuesday will be posted later today.

Another great weekend comes to a close

Thanks to a fantastic turnout at The House God Built today we got all of the bricks moved across the street and placed onto the driveway and sidewalks. Due to the numerous hardworking volunteers we were able to achieve this in about 4 hours. That's a lot of bricks in not very much time! All that remains to complete this part of the project is to cut numerous half bricks and then go back and adhere the edge bricks to the concrete. We hope to complete that on Monday night so the landscapers will have free reign on the front yard on Tuesday.

Inside, the stair railing continues to go up. Lots of cleaning and arranging happened inside THGB also. Because of this the house is now closed to visitors and will only be open to those who are working inside the house. It will be open again on Saturday to walk through during the dedication.

Until Saturday we'll be working at the house every evening starting at 6 pm. Tuesday we are planning to have a big push to finish up many of the last minute details and we will be working most all day. Please come help that day or any evening if you have the opportunity.

Great progress on Saturday, more planned for today

Saturday was a very productive day at The House God Built. We had a great turn-out of volunteers who came willing help out in any way they could. Thank you! Outside the landscaping is coming along great - the backyard is now approaching it's final form with the soil graded and plants planted while the front yard was also graded and planting there also has started. Inside THGB, the fireplace was rocked and looks fantastic! We also have all plumbing completed, all electrical completed, and all doors and door hardware installed. Walls were touched up with paint and the upstairs and parts of the downstairs were cleaned. Decorating will probably begin soon in those rooms.

Today our primary focus will be on laying bricks on the driveway and sidewalks. Our plan is to secure the perimeter bricks to the underlying concrete and then lay in the remaining bricks. We need your help with this! This is obviously a labor intensive process but one that could go much more quickly with lots of help. If you have time to help please come over to The House God Built to volunteer anytime after 1 pm. We will work until dark if necessary.

Last weekend of work at The House God Built -UPDATED

This is the last weekend to work at The House God Built. If you have time please come out to help. We need experienced painters to help with some final paint touch-ups and carpenters to help with the stair railings and complete the porch. We also would like to rock the fireplace this weekend so if you are experienced with this task we could use your help. Very soon we'll begin laying bricks on the driveway and sidewalk so we could definitely use help when that time comes. Weather permitting we will lay brick on the sidewalk and driveway on Sunday starting at 1 pm. We need lots of help for this! No experience required. Come out to help if you can.

Thursday update and weekend plans

Thursday the last four interior doors were delivered and installed. We also continued painting by working on doors, trim, and touching up walls and ceilings. Work also continued on the stair railings Thursday.

There will be an afternoon and an evening work session on Friday. The afternoon session will begin around noon while the evening session starts at 6 pm. We also will have our last weekend sessions on Saturday from 8-12 and 1-9 and Sunday from 1-9. Our plans inside The House God Built are to finish installing and painting the remaining trim, finish painting doors, finish touching up paint inside, and finish the fireplace. We also plan to finish the plumbing trim out on Saturday. Outside we will begin laying the bricks on the driveway possibly as early as Saturday. Please check the blog for updates as the weekend proceeds.

Wednesday progress and Thursday plans

Wednesday saw many things crossed off the to do list at The House God Built. Outside the remainder of the concrete was poured for the driveway and sidewalks. Inside we started assembling the stair railings, finished painting most of the interior doors, touched up trim, put a first coat of paint on the inside of the exterior doors, and sealed the grout in the upstairs bathroom.

Our plans to lay brick on the driveway tonight have been postponed. We will continue to finish up tasks inside THGB to be able to turn rooms over to the decorating team as soon as possible. Tonight we will continue with paint touch-ups and hopefully be able to install the last of the interior doors and trim. We also will continue with the stair railing installation. If you are able to help please come on over. We'll start working at about 6 pm.

Tuesday update and plans for the week

As was mentioned in yesterday's posts much of the concrete was poured at The House God Built on Tuesday. Plans are to pour the remainder of the driveway on Wednesday. We will continue working on the interior of the house each night this week and try to completely finish one or more rooms each night. If you have time to help we'll start at about 6 pm each evening.

Concrete update

Concrete is going down at this time. Here are a couple of pictures and a video. More information on plans for later in the week will be posted later.

Concrete is on the way

Great news this morning from The House God Built. We received word over the weekend that we would receive a donation of a crew to pour concrete this week. Last night we received a call that it would happen today! We met with the concrete crew and the landscape designer this morning to coordinate plans and the pour will happen today. Check back later for an update on how this is going.

Less than two weeks to finish The House God Built

Another fantastic weekend of progress ended Sunday with lots of things crossed off the to do list. We now have both retaining walls finished, most of the appliances installed, most of the plumbing trimout completed, most of the ceiling and wall paint touch ups completed, and most of the doors and trim installed.

The remainder of the doors and trim are scheduled to be availalbe on Wednesday as is the remaining appliance. We are expecting a big push this week to see this project through to completion. Check back often for updates.