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 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 Follow Daily Encouragement on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn     See here for more info. <Previous Message · Archive edition Friday, October 10, 2014  Yesterday we passed these boys and girls playing baseball at an old-order Mennonite school near New Holland, PA. Look closely and you will see the teacher is pitching. Seeking to be less intrusive Brooksyne takes these photos from the passenger's side of our van but through the driver's window, and yet we can still get some pretty clear photos. (Click on photo for larger view) Note: Today's message is a bit different. It is especially written from our hearts and is based on our experience in seeking to do the work of the Lord. The first part may actually not seem very encouraging but if you hang in there we believe you will get a good dose of hope at the end. "Strength To The Weary" "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint" (Isaiah 40:29-31). For nearly twenty-five years our ministry, which we both trained for in Bible College, was my pastoral role in two local churches; one in northern Pennsylvania and a second in New England. Of course Brooksyne worked right alongside me and since we teamed together in campus and community ministry even before we married, we have considered our work for the Lord similar to Aquila and Priscilla in the Book of Acts. Since 2001 we have been involved in chaplain work among companies as well as writing these daily messages.* Between these two types of ministry, in addition to serving interim pastoral roles here and there, we keep very busy to say the least! Most regular readers should have a pretty good sense of what our writing ministry involves, although many would not understand how much is involved in the underlying technical steps involved we post each day to our various outlets. Our daily encouragement ministry takes around 4 hours each for every message; sometimes more, sometimes less. Our chaplaincy ministry primarily involves visiting various companies in our area. We have two long days of this and several shorter days. On the long days like yesterday we start very early in the morning and by the time we get home in the late afternoon we are very tired. In part because of the nature of traveling from location to location and walking through and talking to hundreds of employees. Yesterday we visited 6 separate work site locations and were on the road a total of 90 miles. Since we are both nearing 60 years of age we are just plain "pooped" when we get home! Now to be sure we have many light moments with brief encounters that may not be necessarily spiritually oriented. We think of these as "bridge-builders" so people are comfortable in sharing their life needs with us. But we have also have many serious discussions based on several categories;
 I attended a chaplaincy conference this summer where I encountered the term "compassion fatigue". Of course anyone involved in people work can experience this and some of our readers may realize they have or even are presently going through this.I first heard the term in a teaching by a longtime friend from the early 80's. Dr. JoAnn Butrin has served in medical missions for over 40 years with visits to over 90 countries, many of these being during times of crisis. She works in some of the most tragic of human conditions and illustrated her experience with compassion fatigue working among the Rwandan refugees during the horrific civil war. The movie "Hotel Rwanda" describes this awful period in human history. Currently consider the compassion fatigue of those serving in countries affected by the Ebola. In the preliminary note I said this message would end on a hopeful note so please read on. Let us especially consider the words from our daily Scripture text. "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak." The cure for compassion fatigue is receiving the strength the Lord has to offer to all who come to Him. He stated, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). We may understand this rest in a one-time sense of a sinner coming to the Lord and experiencing His rest in providing full salvation. But let us also consider the ongoing need to come to the Lord who continues to gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily prayer: Father, we thank You that You give strength to the weary and You increase the power of the weak. Though youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall, those who hope in You will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Our wisdom, strength and discipline come from You who generously provides for all our needs. We ask that you would especially strengthen all who may be dealing with compassion fatigue as they deal with human needs all over the world in the Name of Christ. Amen.* Since 2001 I've held several part-time interim pastoral roles at four churches accumulating about five more years of chaplaincy ministry, but for the last several years we have been able to devote our energies exclusively to chaplaincy and Daily Encouragement Net We are refreshed during our journey between chaplain visits and see many interesting sights along the way. Our opening photo today is children playing baseball outside a Mennonite one room schoolhouse.  Corn shocks near Martindale PA.  We passed these painted horseshoes for sale in front of a house near Gordonville, PA.  We stopped at a roadside produce stand near New Holland PA where Brooksyne is holding a huge sweet potato with a regular sized one for comparison. It would probably be suitable to set it up next to the big turkey on Thanksgiving, weighing in over 7 pounds.  All through the countryside so many of the Amish and Mennonite farms have something for sale along the road. These apples for sale are near Martindale, PA. Coming home yesterday from Palmyra in Lebanon County we passed a farm with a table of small pumpkins and gourds for 10 cents each! Brooksyne picked out twenty and placed the money in the honor system tub as she saw out of the corner of her eye two very young Amish boys wearing their straw hats watching from afar. As we drove off we watched in our mirror as they dashed from the house and came running out to the table to collect the money! Perhaps their mom told them they could collect the proceeds and they were excited to see how much! Sadly people are increasingly stealing produce and money from these honor system stands. Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources "Burdens Are Lifted At Calvary" Video "Lay Your Burdens Down" Video Chuck Girard "Lay Your Burdens Down" Video 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. 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"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 |
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