After my adventure last week with the lamp and some uncooperative Styrofoam, I decided that it was time to fix that outdoor outlet that I found out did not work when I tried to plug my Christmas lights into it. For the ones that know all outdoor outlets are ground fault outlets, which means that they have a push button system on them that will trip when they get wet for extra protection. These are used on all exterior outlets and all outlets in the basement.
The first step to doing this project is to make sure that the electricity has been turned off to the outlet. I knew how to do this since I had been trained on house wiring in college, the problem is that I did not have a meter to guarantee that the outlet had been turned off. So, I use the next best thing: a purple hair dryer. Why do I own a purple hair dryer you might ask, I do not it belongs to my wife. The hair dryer was very handy, because I could plug it into the outdoor outlet right outside the basement door and could hear it turn off when I flipped the correct breaker.
I got this circuit breaker turned off, went outside, disconnected the old outlet, connected the new outlet, put everything back together, and went to turn the breaker back on. Since the hair dryer was already out, I used it to make sure that the new outlet was working correctly. I felt so accomplished and just knew that everything was correct. I plugged the hair dryer in and the outlet did not work. What I did not realize is that you have to push the test button and then the reset button to make it work. Once I did that, I plug the hair dryer in, turned it on, and started drying my hair right there in front of my house.
This leads me to my point for today, before you do anything, or make any important decisions, read God's Word and test your thinking and your actions against what the Bible has to say. When we do, it will keep us from going down the wrong path, or even worse, being shocked by an outcome we did not see in advance.
“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:14-17