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<Previous Message Next Message> Wednesday, May 7, 2014
![]() Live Oaks in New Braunfels, Texas The name "Live Oak" comes from the fact that evergreen oaks remain green and "live" throughout winter, when other oaks, such as those growing in our area are dormant, leafless and "dead"-looking through the winter season. "The Blessing of 'Home Folks'"
![]() "God places the lonely in families" (Psalm 68:6). "I kneel before the Father, from whom His whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name" (Ephesians 3:14,15). Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love; The fellowship of kindred minds Is like to that above. We returned home from our trip to Texas in the early evening hours yesterday. To use an old cliche, "It's always good to be home!" Ten days away has made a lot of difference in the greening up of the trees and lawns so we have lots of yard work and will resume our chaplain visits tomorrow. Yesterday morning before our flight back home we received a brief email from our pastor that touched our hearts: "So good to hear you are having a wonderful time but we miss you all. Hurry back soon to us, your home folks. Love, Pastor John". John grew up in a rural part of Pennsylvania and we enjoy hearing his folksy words and colloquialisms that come out in his preaching and conversation. I really like the phrase "your home folks". What a blessing it is to have home folks, especially those who notice when you're gone! ![]() The faces of lonely people occupy my thoughts this day. Loneliness is a universal phenomenon that many experience in every culture, regardless of race, nationality, age, or any other factor. You can be in a huge crowd and be lonely. An old rock song states, "All the lonely people, where do they all come from? All the lonely people where do they all belong?" The word "lonely" conveys such sadness and isolation. Many lonely people are not necessarily at a distance from other people. In fact they may very well be surrounded by people in a city, office environment, or their own family members. Even as the planet gets more and more populated it seems loneliness spreads as well. ![]() ![]() In the beginning God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone" and made a helper suitable for him and thus ordained marriage and "places the lonely in families" (Psalm 68:6). We may also refer to our church body or Christian friends as the "family of believers." Jesus defined the meaning of the spiritual family when He expressed to his biological family in Luke 8:21, "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it." Right now there are people in our church that I can easily relate to as a spiritual sibling or a spiritual parent. Today I urge you to treasure and nurture your biological family ties as well as your spiritual family. However as I conclude I still consider the precious souls reading this who are lonely today. It may be that you are separated from your companion or soul-mate by death. Perhaps you've been abandoned by an unfaithful spouse, or are dealing with estranged children. I don't minimize your pain even though it is not presently my experience. Several considerations: 1) Lean
heavily upon the steadfast love of the Lord that never ceases. You will
find Him to be a friend that sticks closer than a brother.
2) If you aren't already, become active in a local Bible-believing church with a caring pastor and congregation. 3) Often the quickest way to end loneliness is to reach out to another who has a need. When we put others needs first, God has a way of fulfilling our own inner need. 4) If you're lonely due to past hurts and you remain guarded, seek God for healing and start giving of yourself again to cultivate a friendship. We hope each of our readers have the blessing of home folks! I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God.
I've been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His blood! Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod. For I'm part of the family, the family of God. Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber ![]() Here are some more photos of our visit to the King Ranch. ![]() A longhorn cow and two calves. Ninety percent of Texas is in some level of drought with about 49 percent in “severe” or worse drought conditions. Circular troughs the size of small ponds which are supplied by artesian wells are provided for the cattle. As we rode the ranch tour bus we saw quite a few simply standing in the middle of the troughs seeking to cool themselves on a hot Texas afternoon. ![]() Old longhorn bull ![]() Due to the size of the ranch and the many gates they developed the bump gate. ![]() An old building on the ranch. ![]() Brooksyne was resting against a sprawling live oak tree when I took this shot of the rattlesnake warning. She checked with the tour guide about all the warning signs and they told us they'd only seen a couple in recent weeks. She was thankful she didn't see or hear ANY rattlesnakes! On the other hand I (Stephen) would have liked to have seen and heard a rattlesnake! Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources "Blest Be The Tie That Binds" Video Homecoming gathering "The Family Of God" Video The Hoppers & Collingsworth Family "Praise His Name" Video This is a video of the Easters recording "Praise His Name". We were on our way home yesterday and were listening to the words of this stirring song that speaks to one who feels all alone in their struggle. "You're not alone so how can you feel lonely" speaks to the fact that "Greater is He that is within me" reminding us that we are never alone if Christ resides within our hearts. We will overcome by the word of our testimony. 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 2014 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA |