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Thursday, August 7, 2014

Essenhaus flower wagon
Das Dutchman Essenhaus in Middlebury Indiana

"Be Prepared To Stop"

Note: Due to travel a podcast was not prepared for this message.


"'Stop!' Samuel said to Saul. 'Let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night.' 'Tell me,' Saul replied" (1 Samuel 15:16).

"Be prepared to stop" sign
Today we are in Shipshewana Indiana, a small tourist type town in the rural northeast part of the state. We will explore the area today and attend a Collingsworth Family concert at the Blue Gate Theater this evening before our long drive back home tomorrow.

Yesterday was mostly a travel day since we drove right through Chicago which, along with suburbs, goes on for miles and miles. We moved along pretty good since our city travel was not during rush hour. However we did encounter some road work and the inevitable warning signs that warn, "Be Prepared To Stop".

"Stop" is not one of our favorite words and certainly not when you have a destination in travel and are stopped in a traffic jam or for road construction!  But as we grow older we recognize it's packed with meaning and it's a good word in our vocabulary. In our responsibilities in caring for children and pets we often use this word to redirect one's behavior or for safety prevention. It's an extremely important word and does not always have a negative connotation.

We need to go through life with an attitude of having our spiritual eyes on the "Be Prepared To Stop" signs.

In our daily text Saul had disobeyed God and Samuel's response was that of judgment. On this occasion Saul did stop and reluctantly received the message. I consider today the many ways that God has provided His command to "STOP" as a loving warning to His children. The "STOP" may be a recollection of Scripture, a Holy Spirit prompting to our conscience, a spiraling consequence, or sometimes it's a word spoken from another person. When tempted and tried we need to see these stops as a blessing.

Yet we are often torn between the desire to obey and the strong appeal to disobey. We pray for ourselves as well as each reader that we will recognize the loving and protective motivation behind God's "stops."  I'm thankful for the all-wise and caring God we serve who still says "Stop". May our ears be quick to listen and our hearts be prompt to obey the voice of the Lord.


Be encouraged today,


Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Praying manDaily prayer:
Jesus, would You help me to be quick to recognize and respond to Your promptings. Often You speak to me through Scripture, daily prayer, and other believers. You also speak to me through the undesirable consequences that come from acts of disobedience. May I see Your cautions and "stops" as part of Your loving way of keeping me from danger and redirecting me to that which will be of blessing in my life and to those around me. Amen.



Some scenes from our travel yesterday

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore along the southern shore of Lake Michigan.

Essenhaus flowers
A large flower arrangement at the Das Dutchman Essenhaus.

Essenhaus quilt garden
A "quilt" flower bed at the Das Dutchman Essenhaus.

Shipshewana Amish gathering
A large group of Amish were gathered at the open red barn in the background in Shipshewana last night. Later we had a steady stream of horses and buggies pass our hotel.

Shipshewana lake at sunset
Sunset over Shipshewana Lake

Tractor seats at Esh
This morning Brooksyne shopped at an Amish store which had all kinds of interesting items on the walls including these colorful tractor seats.



Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources

"The Best of the Collingsworth Family - Compilation"   Video 
This is the group we will hear this evening.

Shipshewana Indiana is here (Google map)

Tomorrow we hope to get an early start to head home and will try to send out a daily message from our home late Friday or on Saturday.


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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."

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