"When they had all had enough to eat, he said to His disciples, 'Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.'  So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten"  (John 6:12,13).

God has blessed me with a wife that is very resourceful. She grew up in a large family in rural Oklahoma that worked hard just to get by. Once I was illustrating resourcefulness and spoke of how she could make delicious banana bread out of ripe tomatoes.  The sad thing is I often don't hear myself misspeak and am clueless till I see the restrained chuckles throughout the congregation.  Later people were asking Brooksyne for her banana bread recipe using ripe tomatoes! (Of course I meant to say "ripe bananas".)

Resourcefulness is one of those virtues that we see diminishing today.  Have you ever thought much about the daily text?  Jesus had just fed the multitude with five small loaves of barley bread and two fish (apparently what a caring mother had determined would be adequate for her child.) 

After a prayer of thanks by Jesus, the people "all had enough to eat."  The scene changed from a "What are we going to eat?" dilemma into a veritable "all you can eat" feast.  No skimpy portions here!  That's just like our Lord.  He truly satisfies!  Psalm 107:9 says, "For He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things."

Then Jesus instructed his disciples to go through the crowd and collect the leftovers.  That's amazing to me.  Why be concerned for leftovers, when He could do the same thing the next day and every day that follows?

Perhaps Jesus instructed the disciples to collect the leftovers to illustrate that more was actually left over after the full meal than they had in the beginning. Even after the meal the pieces of the original five barley loaves filled twelve baskets!  That's pretty neat, but I don't think that's the reason. 

We find that in Jesus' instruction when He said, "Let nothing be wasted."  I have a feeling a number of excited folks took "doggie bags" home that day and had some mighty good bread later! 

Resourcefulness is one more way we can live in obedience to God on this day.  So, how can we be resourceful?


Be encouraged today,


Stephen C. Weber

Brooksyne's Prayer: "Lord, out of the abundance of Your harvest we have so many delicious foods to enjoy.  Thank you for Your blessings upon our gardens this summer.   What a pleasure it is to plant fresh vegetables, herbs and fruit and to enjoy in due time the reward of our labor.  Thank You for the rain, the sunshine, helpful insects, and the nutrient rich soil that nurture and grow the seeds.  Thank You for the overabundance of vegetables that we are able to share with our neighbors and friends.  You are faithful in providing for our spiritual, physical and emotional needs and we are grateful this day for Your marvelous blessings in our lives.  In Jesus' Name, Amen."

---

We now have plenty of tomatoes and my do I enjoy them!  Brooksyne prepared a big plate of tomatoes with fresh basil from the garden this morning. I am quite sure I got my daily portion of lycopene.

---

Final note: My younger days I observed and worked alongside hard-working farmers who tend to be very resourceful.  I recall how many uses a farmer could find for baling wire. My father-in-law was such a proponent of baling wire that he had it wrapped around trees on his property in Arkansas in preparation for a future use.  The problem is the trees grew and he was unable to get the wire off! Today I am so thankful for duct tape!  Several years ago I was eating at a diner in Oklahoma when a T-shirt slogan caught my attention, "WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH THE TOUGH USE DUCT TAPE."

---

Trip to northern Pennsylvania
Trip to New England
These page have photos and comments regarding our recent trips to New England and northern Pennsylvania.