A daily, Bible-based message of hope and encouragement. Having trouble reading this message?
Read mobile edition online
 A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation. Home About Us Archives Free email subscription  Listen to these messages  Text only for printing  See here for more info. <Previous Message · Archive edition Monday, August 4, 2014  Black-eyed Susans we saw at a community garden in Lafayette Indiana "The Blessing Of A Blessing" Note: Due to travel a podcast was not prepared for this message. Today we are in Delavan Wisconsin visiting with family. We may be unable to send off a message tomorrow since we plan to take a morning boat trip on Lake Geneva. "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace" (Numbers 6:24-26). Today we are in Wisconsin where we are gathering with family for a reunion of the cousins on my (Stephen's) mom's side. We have eaten at a number of restaurants during our trip seeking a variety of cuisine, but mostly good old country cooking we both enjoy such as you find at the Crackerbarrel. Of course Brooksyne always enjoys their attached gift shop as well! However yesterday we did have a special meal at a restaurant we enjoy mostly because of the name, The Weber Grill. Now most think of the Weber Grill as what many have for outdoor grilling but the same company has several restaurants. We were seated the other day at a restaurant in Lafayette Indiana and met a server who looked like she'd had a rough life. She was friendly but seemed a bit socially clumsy, untidy in appearance, and even a bit ungraceful in her skills as a waitress. I noticed another server giving her a dirty, besmirching eye as she glanced as her disapprovingly. Brooksyne and I both felt compassion for the woman and sought to express a greater level of kindness as she seemed to be a needy soul. As we departed the restaurant we discussed how there are so many people like her everywhere. In fact you likely know one or more people like the waitress we met. They need an extra measure of kindness and blessing from those of us who've experienced multitudinous blessings from God. I (Brooksyne) typically read our local newspaper online for headlines and obituaries in Lancaster County and just this morning I saw the obituary for a woman whose last name is "Blessing". It made me stop and consider what it would be like to have the last name "Blessing", Brooksyne Blessing, for instance. I'm pleased to be a Weber, but wonder if my last name was Blessing, would I seek to be a greater blessing to others so I could literarlly live up to my name. Ester could quickly tell you my catch phrase every time she was invited to someone's house as a child and admittedly even in her adult years I still say, "Be a blessing!". How fun it would be if Blessing was actually your last name when you sent your child off with that admonition! Of course you'd likely get raised eyebrows and rolling eyes either way with the wincing look that says, "You've told me that a thousand times!" Now that I no longer have small children I must confess I do remind our dogs when we leave them in the care of others such as our trip this week, "Mollie and Roxie, be a blessing to John and Joan!" They don't raise their brows or roll their eyes at me. In fact they wag their tails and look me directly in the eyes with their big smile, tongue wagging. Of course they don't understand what I'm saying either, but I guess it's still the "mom" in me that makes me say it to them since I want their caregivers to have a pleasant experience. (I'll be making a phone call today to see whether they are being a blessing, as I told them to be.) On a more serious note, today we want consider the blessing of a blessing. Today's text is known and the Aaronic blessing. The Full Life Study Bible states, "The imparting of God's blessing is being assured of His protection from evil forces and all that is adverse to one's spiritual walk in life. The shining of the Lord's face indicates God's favor and His unlimited grace directed toward His people. The turning of the Lord's face toward those He blesses reminds us that God is always compassionate and giving heartfelt love toward those who look to Him. The blessing also includes that of peace. The Hebrew word for peace is shalom, meaning far more than the absence of conflict. Its basic meaning indicates harmony, wholeness, soundness, well-being and success in all areas of life. To find peace within our own souls is the greatest expression of this blessing." Isn't this indeed the timeless blessing we all desire to experience and impart to others? Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily prayer: "Lord, even as Moses instructed Aaron and his sons to bless the Israelites by praying this blessing I bless the readers of our encouragement ministry by pronouncing this very personal blessing upon each of them today: 'The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace.' In Jesus' name, Amen." We stopped by a community garden in Lafayette Indiana and got this idea for a portable cart. Perhaps this would also meet some of our gardener friends' needs when it comes to washing fresh vegetables outside or potting plants.  The Indiana State Fair had a display of creative flower arrangement such as this "vase". Do you recognize what it is?  This calf was getting fresh with a volunteer retired farmer! He or she was especially taken with his neckerchief. The farmer told us, "Last year a calf ate my good hat" ("good" meaning it was his very comfortable hat he had broken in for nine years.)  I'm not sure how far this farmer scarecrow will cart his scarecrow companion, but at least she is resting comfortably in the meantime.  Never know what you may see on the road. We could be wrong but considered this to be a House on Wheels which is growing in popularity these days. The stained glass certainly sets this one apart from the typical wood houses. Readers, please set us straight if you know otherwise.  The Weber Grill was invented by George Stephen in 1952 He was working at Weber Brothers Metal Works in Chicago, Illinois, manufacturing marine buoys when he came up with an idea for a better grill. His invention: a dome-shaped grill with a lid to protect food from the elements, while sealing in that only-from-the-grill barbecue flavor. George Stephen cut a buoy in half, added some air vents and legs and, in the process, invented the grill that would spark a backyard revolution, backyard grilling. Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources "Make Me A Blessing" Video Instrumental with lyrics Weber Grill Restaurant Listen for the sizzle when the page opens! Today we are in Delavan Wisconsin visiting with family. We may be unable to send off a message tomorrow since we plan to take a morning boat trip on Lake Geneva.  Yesterday we visited a huge mega church in the Chicago area we have often heard of (Willow Creek). A four lane highway leads from the state highway to the parking lot. As we typically do in our church we found seats about seven rows back in the huge auditorium. The service was a bit different for us and very loud, to us seeming more like a concert in a venue like the Giant Center. (My heart was throbbing at times.) The amount of audio and visual special effects was a bit overwhelming to our senses since we are not used to these such as spot lights that periodically came on right in our eyes and flashing blue strobes. We walked the campus after the service and they had a food court like a mall with a humongous sitting area. We realize many of our readers attend churches like this and are accustomed to what we describe but we are quite satisfied in our small country church and were heartened to receive a note from our pastor this morning that we were missed!!! Now that sure blessed us. We are so thankful for the congregational singing and the sound Bible exposition messages our pastor preaches.Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne  Stephen and Brooksyne Weber (Click on photo to enlarge) About Us "We want to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!" Personal Ministry Update (Revised 10/21/13) Are our daily encouragement messages a blessing to you? Each weekday morning Brooksyne and I prepare these messages and distribute them at no cost to you and many others all over the world. We ask you to consider an offering to Daily Encouragement Net so that we can continue to prepare and provide this daily resource which is accessed by believers and seekers all over the world. Daily Encouragement Net relies solely on the generosity and financial support of its readers and podcast listeners. See here for more information on supporting this ministry. Gifts are tax deductible. Click here to donate online.2014 YTD offerings to Daily Encouragement Net: $7,835.00 SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION  If this email was forwarded to you, you can subscribe here.These messages are never sent by us unsolicited. It was sent to you because you either signed up to receive it OR it was forwarded to you. You can also subscribe to the Wordpress rss feed or as an email subscription through Wordpress email subscription. (See the email subscription on the right side after opening this page.) Cancel: These messages are only sent from us to people who request it; please accept our apologies if it reached you in error. You can unsubscribe from this list at any time. If you no longer desire to receive these messages you can remove your address from the list by merely using the link automatically inserted by the mailing list software at the very bottom of each email message. (To change addresses cancel your old address and then join again using your new address.) Weekly Version: The weekly version is intended for those who may not check their email regularly or who may desire less frequent mailings. It is Friday's message with a link to previous messages. To receive the free weekly version, send a blank email to this address. Daily Encouragement on Facebook and Twitter:  The daily message and prayer on Facebook. The daily message and prayer on Twitter.Reader Survey: Please take a few minutes to assist us in improving our ministry effectiveness by filling out this online reader survey. To take the survey click here. Your answers are anonymous and I we are unable to respond. If you want to send a personal message use the Please feel free to pass these messages on! Our other blogs: "A Daily Prayer" - A blog simply posting the daily prayer. We keep this up each day since it's merely the prayer from the Daily Encouragement Net message! "A Little Foolishness" - Humor/satire blog (a great outlet for non-serious writing but at times with a subtle message!) (Note: This material is satire!) "Clear Minded" - Longer, periodic articles on specific issues impacting the faithful believer and church. (Actually this is my intent but I haven't done much with it!) "Hymns of Hope" - Brooksyne along with two friends made a CD using classic hymns. Brooksyne tells the background story of the 11 hymns. All of these songs are also available for download on the site. 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, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version. Other versions are also occasionally used. © Copyright 2014 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved Daily Encouragement Net Stephen & Brooksyne Weber 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552  Endorsed chaplain "Living securely today anchored in God's solid foundation" www.dailyencouragement.net |
Daily Encouragement is issued Monday-Friday. To make sure you continue to receive these e-mails in your Inbox (so they're not sent to a junk folder), please add scweber@dailyencouragement.net to your address book or safe sender list. You are receiving these recurring messages as a subscriber to Daily Encouragement Net because you signed up on our website or otherwise requested it unless someone forwarded the message to you. If you desire to unsubscribe use the link below. However, please do not use this link unless your address is the subscribed address below as you will otherwise unsubscribe the person who forwarded it to you!
| You are currently subscribed to dailyencouragement as: stephencweber.dailyencouragement@blogger.com Add scweber@dailyencouragement.net to your email address book to ensure delivery. |
Forward to a Friend | Manage Subscription | Subscribe | Unsubscribe | Snooze |
