Daily Encouragement (08/15/08) "Generations"

A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. Home · About Us · · Podcast · Free email See here for more info. <Previous Message · Archives · Archive/print edition Friday, August 15, 2008 Aunt Frances McKelvey Listen to us share this message on your audio player. Friday, August 15, 2008 "Generations" "Generations come and generations go" (Ecclesiastes 1:4). We are in Nebraska for our 33rd annual Steincross family reunion. Throughout my childhood we gathered at my grandparents' house in Harwood Missouri, but I don't remember calling it a reunion. Following their deaths in the early seventies their children established the annual family reunion. Brooksyne attended the very first one the summer before we were married. Now only my Aunt Frances, the youngest Steincross child, remains from that generation. We will celebrate her upcoming 85th birthday Saturday evening. Fourteen of the sixteen cousins (my grandparents' grandchildren) are here. We are now all over 50 and of course there are many from the succeeding generations as they are expecting around 70 to be in attendance. I found this picture when going through my mom's belongings after she passed away three years ago. My mom is at the lower left in the photo, the second youngest child. Aunt Frances is on the other side in the front row. Mom was 12 years old at the time this photo was taken in 1933. My grandpa was 51, about the same same age as I am now. A farmer and the president of the only bank in tiny Harwood Missouri, he was a vibrant, colorful man. As a young man he traveled across the west on rails and climbed Pike's Peak one night. On each birthday well into his eighties he rode a bike to assert his youth. I assume I get some of my personality traits from him. I sure hope so! My grandmother was a quiet woman but my spiritual heritage can be traced back to her and a little white framed church. They had 65 years of marriage as I recall. "Generations come and generations go." A multi-generational family reunion especially underscores this. This last winter my Uncle Jim (Aunt Frances' husband) passed away after 63 years of marriage. Of course he is especially on our hearts this year - he never missed one reunion over the years. Just three years ago my mom went to her last reunion here on earth. I sat across from Aunt Frances last night at dinner and tried to glean information about my heritage, especially my grandmother's side since she grew up in an area in Iowa west of Des Moines where we had passed through on the way here. She was the daughter of a pioneer. I understand she was Pennsylvania Dutch which means her parent's may have come from the area I now live in. There's a popular ad series that has the line, "Life comes at you fast." Actually looking at the photo sure underscores that life not only comes at you fast but goes by very fast as well. We all need to regularly examine ourselves and do a thorough check to see how we are living our lives. Most certainly "Generations come and generations go." A question that we should all consider is "How am I living today in light of eternity?" Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily prayer: Lord, in the looking glass of Your Word, may the choices I make this day honor You and also honor my family name. I choose a good name above riches, prestige or fame. I pray that I would reflect the good character that comes from following Christ to my present generation and that it would be passed on to the generations that follow, for the glory and honor of Your Holy Name. Amen. My older brothers Mike (middle) and Pat. Our younger sister Genelle is not with us. My cousin Doug McKelvey and his wife Georgia from Wisconsin are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. Their three children gave them an engraved crystal plate. Georgia and Brooksyne are good friends as family inlaws and share similar interests, especially flower gardening! Cousin Richard Mayberry and his wife Pat from Florida I wrote about Richard several weeks ago in regard to his finding a cockroach in a bottle after he drank a soda when we were kids. It's one memory he'll never forget! The grounds here at Mahoney State park. Today there are many activities for all ages including a long walk among the beautiful grounds. Bird of Paradise flower, also known as Crane flower in S. Africa. On our walk yesterday we discovered a small conservatory on the grounds with beautiful tropical plants and flowers. Personal note: Today (Friday AM) we are at our Steincross family reunion at Mahoney State Park here in Nebraska. We will be here through Sunday AM and then work our way back to Pennsylvania, seeing several friends along the way. Here is our trip route. We hope to get a message off Monday morning from our hotel room near Davenport Iowa. We then spend a night near Toledo Ohio and then, Lord willing, we'll be home late Tuesday evening! Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources (Click on the link to play) "My Tribute" Video Info about multi-media files used on daily encouragement. Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne.

Stephen and Brooksyne Weber - May 6, 2008 "We want to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!" Personal Ministry Update Revised 04/15/08 Each weekday morning Brooksyne and I prepare these messages and distribute them at no cost to you and many others all over the world. Would you please consider a financial offering to support us in this encouragement ministry? Donations are tax deductible and will be receipted directly by my chaplaincy endorsing ministry. Thank you for your consideration! See here for details. (2008 YTD financial offerings to Daily Encouragement Net through 8/14/2008: $13,784.00) Join: To receive these free "Daily Encouragement" devotionals each Monday-Friday through email see this page to subscribe. You can also subscribe to the rss feed. Cancel: To remove your address from this mailing list merely use the link automatically inserted by the mailing list software at the very bottom of each message. Weekly Version: The weekly version is designed for those who do not check their email regularly. It is merely the Friday message with a link to previous messages. To receive the free weekly version, send a blank email to this address. (To change addresses cancel your old address and then join again using your new address.) Please feel free to pass these messages on! Our other blogs: "A Daily Prayer" - The daily prayer from each daily encouragement message. "A Little Foolishness" - A collection of humorous and satirical stories drawn mostly from our years of ministry, as well as my sometimes fertile imagination. "Clear Minded" - Longer, periodic articles on specific issues impacting the church. Daily Encouragement Net is an affiliate of Christianbook.com. Any orders placed to Christian Book Distributers using this link or any specific product link to a recommended resource in a daily encouragement message will help our Daily Encouragement ministry through a small commission on the sale. Thank you for using these links when purchasing online through CBD! Personal Mission Statement "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and I make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and to prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity." How to become a child of God Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission; and the King James Version. © Copyright 2008 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved Daily Encouragement Net Stephen & Brooksyne Weber 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 Contact us "Living securely today anchored in God's solid foundation"