"A Time To Laugh"

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 Wednesday, April 30, 2008 In the course of our travels throughout the county we came upon a country furniture store and a rather interesting means of getting the new chair delivered. When she passed us commented, "You're sure traveling in style!" Listen to us share this message on your audio player. "A Time To Laugh" "A time to weep and a time to laugh" (Ecclesiastes 3:4). The other day as Brooksyne and I were traveling to a company where we serve as chaplains we came across a most unusual site. We've seen a number of Amish "trucks" over the years (a buggy with an open back for hauling stuff), but this was our first sighting of an Amish delivery truck with a piece of furniture on it along with a riding passenger! The ladies were laughing as they were mounting the truck and during our exchange of conversation. The sight reminded us of "The Beverly Hillbillies" with Granny riding on the Clampett truck in her rocking chair. One of the greatest blessings in life is hearing laughter. We begin to laugh from a very early age. One of the maturing milestones for babies is their first smile and then their verbal laughter. The other day I was watching a video of babies laughing which brings out joy in all ages. I considered how therapeutic this pleasurable sound would be in the room of a patient in a nursing home. Just hearing the pleasant sound of laughter is uplifting to a downcast or lonely heart. Last night we had two babies in our home during our Small Group Bible Study. Nine month old David heartily laughed at the various laughter inducing-antics adults use to get babies laughing (making faces, goofy noises, playing peek-a-boo, and so forth). Three month old Adoree now smiles and sure is laughing here. "A time to laugh." Aren't you glad the Lord gave us the capacity to laugh? There's a lot to be serious about and there will sure be times in life when we weep. I've wept, but I've had far more occasions to laugh. I feel laughter is designed by God as a great stress reducer. The verbal expression for inward joy is first referenced in the Bible surrounding the events of Isaac's birth. In fact his name means "laughter." One of my favorite pictures of our Lord shows Him laughing as He embraces the little children. I recall many years ago a man who came to the Lord out of a drug background. He was quite intense and rather somber about the things of the Lord. In a conversation I had with him he made it clear that he was offended at the slightest notion that Jesus would have ever laughed. Now it's true that there is not a specific verse that states Jesus laughed but what would have been a more appropriate emotion or physical expression as "He took the children in His arms, put His hands on them and blessed them" (Mark 10:16). Would you prefer to picture Him with a scowl, frown or an emotionless expression? Today I encourage you to be thankful for the God-given gift of laughter, and make use of it often, for the Scriptures remind us that there is "a time to laugh." And I really hope you will have some good laughs today! Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily Prayer: Father, the day to day living can be so challenging and easily drain us of the pleasures in life if we're not careful. We thank you for our friends and family who pull us away from that mindset and add laughter to our lives. Would you bring genuine laughter to the hearts of our readers today as they go about their daily duties. May they hear laughter and may they make laughter, verbally, and in their hearts. In the name of Jesus we pray, amen. Note: Today's message is bit later getting out due to more than the usual phone calls, and a visit from our always joyful friend Bunny. Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources "Laughing Babies" Video The video mentioned at the beginning of today's encouragement. Info about multi-media files used on daily encouragement. Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne.

Administration Information Stephen and Brooksyne Weber "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. Thanks! See here for details. (2008 YTD financial offerings through 4/29/2008 $5,495.00) 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 placed 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 this message on! Daily Encouragement Net Reader Survey Please take a few minutes to help us better develop this ministry by taking an online survey. Your response is completely anonymous. To take the survey click here. 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"

"Different Gifts"

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 Tuesday, April 29, 2008 Three friends using their gifts in helping others (me!) Listen to us share this message on your audio player. "Different Gifts" "We have different gifts, according to the grace given us" (Romans 12:6). This weekend, as I was driving along, I spotted a nice looking riding lawn tractor at the end of a large lawn priced at $100.00 (as is). I asked the owner what was wrong with it and he listed several mechanical problems and then dropped the asking price to $50.00. I called Chris, a mechanically proficient friend, to ask his opinion. Then I providentially ran into Steve Parker, a friend I hadn’t seen for years, and asked his opinion. They both agreed that it seemed like a good deal. Then I took Brooksyne to see the tractor and we agreed to make the purchase. Last night three friends, Fred, Al, and Jay, came to the house and looked it over. Fred is a mechanic who works in a company that sells and repairs large farm machinery. The most obvious problem was that the tractor wouldn't start. When I turned the key and tried to start it, it only made a whirring sound. Fred immediately diagnosed the problem as some doo-hickey in the starter that was probably stuck (although he used the right name.) Then he asked me if I had a can of WD-40. He knew right where to spray it and after tapping the part with a hammer a few times the tractor started right up. Jay jumped on and mowed several rows of my lawn. So far it looks like I got a very good deal! It's great to have friends like this and I sure appreciate people who are mechanically inclined. It's a natural gift or acquired skill that is extremely important for our day to day needs. After puttering around with the tractor for awhile I invited the men into my office where we visited. Our conversation turned to the Daily Encouragement site and I showed them what Brooksyne and I do each day using a giftedness quite different than their gifts. I believe in many cases, particularly as we get older, we need to focus on the gifts God has given us and allow other members of the Christian body to fill in where we are ungifted. I still try new things occasionally but through the years God has made clear to me what my giftings are so my greatest energy is devoted to developing myself in areas where I have an apparent giftedness. In the reader survey last week I asked you, our readers, to list some of the ways you are serving Christ. Brooksyne and I enjoyed reading the variety of responses. We were especially blessed as we read about those being used in unconventional ways that went beyond the stereotypical giftings. One reader noted that he played the tuba in his church orchestra! It's an example of a very special gifting since few of us would play this unusual but very useful instrument. The Scripture says, "We have different gifts." What a blessing in the body of Christ to see the variety of gifts God has given us by His grace. Humanly we tend to esteem some gifts as more desirable and worthy than others, but this is a serious error. Gifts are distributed "according to the grace given us." If I complain because I can't sing or because I'm not mechanically inclined I am really casting aspersions on God's sovereign distribution of gifts. I encourage readers today to discover the gifts God has given you, further develop them, and frequently exercise them. As Christ's body let us find a place of ministry where we can use our gifts to impact others for His glory. As we fervently pray for God's leading and have a sincere desire to honor Him, He will lead us into effective service for Him. That's my desire and I trust that it is yours as well! Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily prayer: Father, You have called us, Your servants, to exercise our gifts of prophesying, serving, teaching, encouraging, contributing to the needs of others, leading, and being vessels of Your mercy. Help us not to be fearful or timid in exercising our spiritual gift that flows from Your power within us, since it is not for our own glory but rather for the building up of the body of Christ. We are inadequate within ourselves, but fully sufficient according to the grace given us through Your Holy Spirit. We seek affirmation from You, the ministry opportunities You provide us, and other mature believers, to confirm our spiritual giftings. In the name of Jesus we pray, amen. See Romans 12:1-8 Fred is also one of our church cooks who had a creative way of dealing with his tearing eyes as he cut up hot peppers for a meal we had at our church last fall! Fred is also a children's worker and sings bass in the choir. Brooksyne's Note: The Oklahoma country girl comes out in me when I'm around farm animals. Our neighbors have three very colorful baby bunnies that I enjoy holding. It takes me back to my childhood when my dad brushhogged during the summer months following his day job. He would often bring home a family of bunnies that were nesting in the weeds that he mowed. They got an unexpected haircut from the brushhog blade so I, along with my brother and sister, would try to nurse them back to good health. Daily Encouragement Net Reader Survey I want to thank all of you who took a few minutes in taking our online survey. I am compiling the results but this is not my specialty at all and I can't seem to get the results to chart in Excel! Here's a touching text response in regard to the question of how one of your fellow readers is serving the Lord: "Because I am in a wheelchair mostly and cannot get out I make my own greeting cards and send Get Well, Sympathy, Birthday, Anniversary Cards and Thinking of you Cards to church family, family or anyone I feel like needs to be encouraged. I use the phone to make contact also. I also send a card to first time visitors to back up the letter our church sends out. Mine is a hand written note." Lord, bless this reader richly in her endeavor to serve you! If you haven't taken the survey and would like to do so click here. Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources "Take My Life And Let It Be" Audio "Have Thine Own Way Lord" Video Through our workplace chaplaincy we regularly greet several Vietnamese people weekly. Although we have a very difficult time communicating, except through handshakes and smiles, we sense their warmth and friendliness. This Friday a Vietnamese pastor will join us, greet the people, and translate for us so we are excited about that. This song appears to be from a Vietnamese church and begins in Vietnamese (same tune) and ends with the chorus in English. I am so blessed to be a part of the worldwide movement to follow Jesus! "This Is My Desire" Video Info about multi-media files used on daily encouragement. Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne.

Administration Information Stephen and Brooksyne Weber "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. Thanks! See here for details. (2008 YTD financial offerings through 4/28/2008 $5,210.00) 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 placed 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 this message on! Daily Encouragement Net Reader Survey Please take a few minutes to help us better develop this ministry by taking an online survey. Your response is completely anonymous. To take the survey click here. 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"

"Never Forgotten"

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 Monday, April 28, 2008 Split rail flower bed on Nissley Road Lancaster County is known for its well-maintained farms. This is a side yard to a farm up the road from us. The livestock is at the back of the photo. Listen to us share this message on your audio player. "Never Forgotten" "The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him" (Genesis 40:23). "O Israel, I will not forget you" (Isaiah 44:21b). Have you ever been forgotten by someone else? Of course you have. Have you ever forgotten something very important concerning someone else or forgotten to do a favor for someone? Certainly you have. I just did this (again) yesterday morning after Brooksyne asked me to make a delivery of music to the men's ministry leader in our church. Brooksyne was unable to attend our own church because she was helping a new believer to find a church near her home on the other side of Lancaster. (Knowing, as a brand new believer, the young lady would unlikely go on her own Brooksyne picked her up and attended with her.) So before she left she went to the trouble of putting the important papers I was to deliver in the driver's seat of the van so I wouldn't miss them when I hopped in to start the engine. But, mindlessly, I must have put the papers beside the seat and forgot all about it. When she asked me if I made the delivery you can imagine that I was rightfully scolded for neglecting my duties! I shared about my day to day forgetfulness that we all deal with from time to time, some more than others and frankly foi us anyway increasingly as we get older. But today I want to look at two verses that show a remarkable contrast between the forgetfulness and neglect of man and mindfulness of God. The first one concerns Joseph who, as a prisoner, finally found the perfect opportunity for his release. He had interpreted a dream for Pharaoh's cupbearer, which had a favorable outcome, saving the cupbearer from death. Joseph appealed to him to mention his unjust imprisonment to Pharaoh. But the cupbearer, in spite of the remarkable turnabout in his life, forgot. Isn't it reassuring that God never forgets us? God remembered Joseph and He will always remember us. We can claim the promise in Isaiah 44. Although it speaks specifically of Israel, it surely also speaks to us today due to God's immutable (unchanging) character; "I will not forget you." This is especially important to remember during the mysterious delays of life. During times like this we may misunderstand God's "apparent" silence. Believing friend, He has not forgotten you any more than He had forgotten Joseph. Two full years later Pharaoh himself had a dream, and you know the rest of the story (if not, please read Genesis 41.) Are you facing a delay in life? Is there silence in regard to direction from the Lord? Perhaps it seems that God has forgotten you. No, no, absolutely not! Hold on to your faith. In His time He will make a way. Be assured He has not forgotten you. We are never forgotten by God! Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily prayer: Father, as we examine the emotional pain of our lives, when it seems as though You've forgotten about us, we often start out with the question of "Why?" But in hindsight we realize that those struggles taught us practical truths that we could not learn overnight but over time, and that there truly was purpose in our pain and in Your timing. Help us to model integrity and steadfastness in the midst of the severe struggles and sweeping storms of life. Your eternal purpose is greater than our temporal pain. Remind us that it may not just be for our own instruction but for others looking on who may learn from our difficult experiences. Amen. Brooksyne took Roxie on a recent visit to Longwood Manor, a local assisted living facility. Bess loves animals and she looks amazing for a woman in her mid 90's! One of our animal friends that we see daily on our walk. This goat, along with two others, always announce our coming with their Ba-ah's and come running to the edge of the fence. Dancer, the shetland pony, also accompanies them. Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources "All Your Promises Are True" Video An outstanding song! "God Will Make A Way" Video "Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus" Video Info about multi-media files used on daily encouragement. Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne.

Administration Information Stephen and Brooksyne Weber "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. Thanks! See here for details. (2008 YTD financial offerings through 4/24/2008 $5,210.00) 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 placed 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 this message on! Daily Encouragement Net Reader Survey Please take a few minutes to help us better develop this ministry by taking an online survey. Your response is completely anonymous. To take the survey click here. 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"