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<Previous Message Next Message> Tuesday, September 3, 2013
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The Olde Mill House Shoppes along Strasburg Pike in Lancaster County.
"Enjoying Your Work" ![]() "There is nothing better for man than to eat, drink, and enjoy his work" (Ecclesiastes 2:24). Yesterday was "Labor Day" here in the USA, the last holiday of the summer and the unofficial start of the Autumn Season. Most American readers had the day off and are back to work today. We know a good number of our readers who are representative of the entire constituency of Daily Encouragement Net. Just considering the types of work you do reveals a vast variety. We are often asked to consider whether we find our work fulfilling or if we enjoy our work. So many have a view of work as drudgery, a dreaded necessity. This is not healthy nor is it Biblical. Each day is a day the Lord has made and we are called to rejoice and be glad in it. Ecclesiastes 2:24 speaks of enjoying work so today let us examine four aspects of work that can bring joy: 1) The joy of obedience. God has ordained work into His created order. This ordaining of work predates the fall (original sin) although the difficulty of labor increased as a result of the fall. When we work we are expressing obedience to God. "Six days you shall labor and do all your work" (Exodus 20:9). Psalm 40:8 states, "I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart.” 2) The joy of providing. This is a critically important attitude. It grieves us greatly to see the rotting fruit of a system where people aren't expected to work to provide for their own needs and that of their family. Many years ago I encountered a man who had left his wife and children, giving no thought to their future since he expected others to care for them. I still recall sternly using this verse, "But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever" (1 Timothy 5:8). God has ordained that we provide for our own! What joy that brings. ![]() We will use some examples we see weekly in our chaplaincy ministry:
![]() Let us experience the joy of work, whatever that looks like; today and in every season of our life! Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber ![]() Note: Also when you see others working consider how are they contributing to the needs of others? Yesterday we shared about the corn harvest across from our house. Today the fields are being prepped for future plantings with an application of highly noxious animal waste fertilizer! This is not the most pleasant time to live out in the country. I can look over at the tractors and huge manure tanks with disdain or thankfulness. After all we drink milk from cows and cows eat alot (feed from the silage harvest this weekend) and make waste (a lot of it!) Something needs to be done with the waste and spreading it on the fields as fertilizer is a beneficial use. I am thankful for the contribution the farm workers make in spreading the fertilizer! The Olde Mill House Shoppes We
visited the Old Mill House Shoppes on the Strasbug Pike, a quaint
collection of older buildings selling fine gifts and lighting.
![]() The old mill is on the other side from the main house and shops. It still has an old advertisement on the side. ![]() Lots of pretty large coleus flowers ![]() ![]() Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources "We'll Work 'Til Jesus Comes" Video Gaither Homecoming Singers (We used this song yesterday but it fits again today. While this song is probably primarily referring to our work for the Lord I believe a good application is work in general as well!) The Olde Mill House Shoppes ![]() To receive the "Daily Encouragement" each Monday-Friday through email see this page to subscribe to our email list. You can also subscribe to the Wordpress rss feed or through a Wordpress email subscription. (See the email subscription on the right side after opening this page.) ![]() Permissions: Please feel free to pass on, reproduce and distribute any material on Daily Encouragement Net, in part or in whole, in any format, provided that you do not alter the wording in any way or charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. It is our desire to spread this material, not protect or restrict it. I do request that you keep the contact, copyright and subscription information intact. Text only version for printing: To make a text only version for printing (without photos or any of the supplemental materials) 1) Open the basic text editor that comes with all computers (known as wordpad, textpad, etc.) You can also use a program like Word and select paste text only. 2) Select and copy the text from the portion of the message you want to print. 3) Paste into the text pad. (The photos won't show up but you will have a brief text description of the photo which you can delete or just ignore.) 4) Format if you desire (change font, increase or decrease size, etc.) 5) Print! 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. 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." © Copyright 2013 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA |