A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope,
encouragement and exhortation.
Mascot Roller Mill was built in 1760 along Mill Creek on Stumptown Road in eastern Lancaster County. For nearly 250 years this old stone mill has stood the test of driving rains, rising streams, and howling winds.
"The
Blessed Sound Of Millstones"
Today's text refers to "the
sound of millstones". I wonder if
you've given much thought to this sound and
what this phrase means. Have you ever heard
"the sound of millstones"? We have a
lesser known tourist attraction here in
Lancaster County known as Mascot Roller
Mills. You can tour the mill and they
actually "turn it on" so you can actually
hear the sound of the millstones. It is a
distinct sound which would have represented
a good harvest and thriving economy.
Although we don't hear the sounds of the millstone much now in our modern life we may hear other similar sounds representing God's blessing on mankind's work. We made chaplaincy visits to five different companies yesterday and heard these sounds:
Daily
prayer: Father,
we're thankful for the immense variety of
sounds that fill our day such as voices,
machinery, music, prayer, wildlife, insects,
and so much more. Those we usually
take for granted are blessings You give that
bring joy and gladness to our lives. We pray
for our brothers and sisters who are hearing
impaired and thank you for the aids and
support given to them through various
ministries and organizations. There is no
greater "sound of joy or gladness" than that
of hearing the voice of one(s) who
surrenders his or her life and receives
glorious forgiveness. Help us to be faithful
workers in the harvest so that we can
rejoice in the victorious sounds of the
spiritual harvest of the souls of men and
women, boys and girls. In the name of Jesus
we pray. Amen.
Note: Today's text uses millstone in a positive sense. But I suspect when most of us think of a millstone in the Bible we think of this verse, Matthew 18:6.
Yesterday we passed this sign near New Holland where a tent revival is being held in a farmer's field.
Message
summary: Today
let us especially consider the blessings of
the sounds of commerce.
Listen to
our message on your audio player.
"I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp" (Jeremiah 25:10).
Let us consider pleasant
sounds. Right now in our area every evening
we hear scores of crickets, locusts and
other creatures making their loud night
sounds. At times it seems so loud we wonder
if it would meet OSHA workplace safety
standards for a safe sound level in a
workplace! But we enjoy it. I, more so than
Brooksyne since she gets a little sad as
summer is nearing an end which always brings
about these creature sounds. I, on the other
hand, always look forward to the cooler
weather during the fall season.
A great sound early in the morning is the crowing of my neighbor Marvin's rooster. It's not loud but quite distinct and a reminder of country living.
Another
great sound is the sizzling sound of meat
grilling over a hot fire. ("Sizzle" is one
of my favorite words!) It brings to mind a
thick juicy hamburger or steak on the grill
or bacon in the frying pan. Or when the
waiter brings the sizzling Fajitas out in a
Mexican restaurant! However I would probably
not enjoy that sound if I saw sizzling
locusts, although people in some cultures
would, along with John the Baptist!
The daily text is a prophetic statement describing conditions that would occur when the nation of Judah fell captive to Babylon. The sounds indicative of the good life would be banished from them such as those things and experiences that bring about "sounds of joy and gladness".
The text illustrates with the sounds of a wedding, "the voices of bride and bridegroom". Weddings have lots of joyful sounds. These sounds include music, the vows and perhaps some impromptu sounds that make every wedding unique. When a phone started ringing in the middle of a wedding the minister was not amused. As he started lecturing the congregation about turning off their phones, he realized it was his cell that had been ringing. Oops.
Today let us especially consider the blessings of the sounds of commerce. There are a lot of these sounds. Let me share some I hear in the early morning as I step outside before 6:00 AM in our quiet rural setting before we leave for work:
Listen to
our message on your audio player."I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp" (Jeremiah 25:10).
A great sound early in the morning is the crowing of my neighbor Marvin's rooster. It's not loud but quite distinct and a reminder of country living.
Another
great sound is the sizzling sound of meat
grilling over a hot fire. ("Sizzle" is one
of my favorite words!) It brings to mind a
thick juicy hamburger or steak on the grill
or bacon in the frying pan. Or when the
waiter brings the sizzling Fajitas out in a
Mexican restaurant! However I would probably
not enjoy that sound if I saw sizzling
locusts, although people in some cultures
would, along with John the Baptist!The daily text is a prophetic statement describing conditions that would occur when the nation of Judah fell captive to Babylon. The sounds indicative of the good life would be banished from them such as those things and experiences that bring about "sounds of joy and gladness".
The text illustrates with the sounds of a wedding, "the voices of bride and bridegroom". Weddings have lots of joyful sounds. These sounds include music, the vows and perhaps some impromptu sounds that make every wedding unique. When a phone started ringing in the middle of a wedding the minister was not amused. As he started lecturing the congregation about turning off their phones, he realized it was his cell that had been ringing. Oops.
Today let us especially consider the blessings of the sounds of commerce. There are a lot of these sounds. Let me share some I hear in the early morning as I step outside before 6:00 AM in our quiet rural setting before we leave for work:
- My neighbor (same one that
has the rooster) leaving for work in his
big construction truck. Marvin's a hard
worker and that's a blessing.
- Each Thursday the garbage
truck stops by around 6:00 AM to pick up
our trash. These men must get up really
early and work hard all day and given
little notice except when they're blocking
your path on the road.
- The predictable sounds around 6:00 AM of the large UPS and Fed-Ex jets flying over on their approach to Harrisburg International Airport bringing in all the stuff that will a short time later be loaded into trucks for delivery throughout our region.
- If I listen carefully
depending on wind direction I might even
hear the sounds of our neighbor Lester's
milk barn and the sounds of the early
morning milking.
Although we don't hear the sounds of the millstone much now in our modern life we may hear other similar sounds representing God's blessing on mankind's work. We made chaplaincy visits to five different companies yesterday and heard these sounds:
- A group of engineers working together to improve a product
- The distinct sounds of
welding, huge laser cutting machines,
presses and other machinery.
Part of our thankful, positive attitude in
life is expressed as we listen to the many
sounds around us, not only the sounds of
nature and a joyful event like a wedding,
but also the sounds of commerce as we hear
the Lord at work in a variety of ways.
Listen today for pleasant sounds in your
life that are often taken for granted.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father,
we're thankful for the immense variety of
sounds that fill our day such as voices,
machinery, music, prayer, wildlife, insects,
and so much more. Those we usually
take for granted are blessings You give that
bring joy and gladness to our lives. We pray
for our brothers and sisters who are hearing
impaired and thank you for the aids and
support given to them through various
ministries and organizations. There is no
greater "sound of joy or gladness" than that
of hearing the voice of one(s) who
surrenders his or her life and receives
glorious forgiveness. Help us to be faithful
workers in the harvest so that we can
rejoice in the victorious sounds of the
spiritual harvest of the souls of men and
women, boys and girls. In the name of Jesus
we pray. Amen.Note: Today's text uses millstone in a positive sense. But I suspect when most of us think of a millstone in the Bible we think of this verse, Matthew 18:6.
Yesterday we passed this sign near New Holland where a tent revival is being held in a farmer's field.
It's
a huge tent and we hope there are big crowds
with people of all ages to hear the Gospel.
Here's the website.
They are posting a live feed each evening
and you can also watch previous messages.
Stephen and I watched last night's service
which brought warm memories of my spiritual
heritage of sitting outside in an open air
tabernacle where I surrendered my life to
Christ at a youth camp during my young teen
years. While we watched the service online
it was a beautiful sight to see the
responsiveness of the Plain and old-order
Amish and Mennonite folks. You can also hear
the insect sounds in the background!
Stephen
is a young enthusiastic agricultural
engineer at Val-Co company. He showed me his
tug-of-war rope he made out of baling twine.
The
company had a tug-of-war competition
yesterday with 4 teams of five striving to
win the prestigious company tug-of-war
championship.
Our
friend Joe took these tug-of-war photos.
The
champs!
We
always enjoy the traffic on the rural
back-roads
Today's
Suggested
Music and Supplemental Resources
The
sound of the millstone Video They say you
can find about anything on the internet so I
checked and indeed here it is!
"The King Is Coming" Video Gaither Vocal Band
The first verse of this song alludes to silence in the marketplace
"The King Is Coming" Video Gaither Vocal Band
The first verse of this song alludes to silence in the marketplace
The
marketplace is empty
No more traffic in the streets
All the builders' tools are silent
No more time to harvest wheat
Busy housewives cease their labors
In the courtroom no debate
Work on earth is all suspended
As the King comes thro' the gate
No more traffic in the streets
All the builders' tools are silent
No more time to harvest wheat
Busy housewives cease their labors
In the courtroom no debate
Work on earth is all suspended
As the King comes thro' the gate
Mascot
Roller Mills and Ressler Family Home
"Take My Hand, Precious Lord" Video Marshall Hall, Angela Primm, Jason Crabb and Homecoming Singers This video is set in an old-time tent revival service.
The Pleasant View
Community Chorus of Manheim and the Calvary
Church choir (the choir Brooksyne is in) will
present a remake of the Old-Fashioned
Revival Hour radio broadcast in a presentation in the Calvary Church auditorium
(here) on Sunday, August 26, at 3 p.m.
The audience is invited to sing along with the choir on familiar songs from a bygone era.
Admission is free, and tickets are not required. For more information, readers may call 717-509-6249.
Brooksyne's note: I am very excited about the "broadcast" being recreated on Sunday afternoon. I was at practice last evening and had the opportunity to see firsthand the broadcast format. It was delightful and also created a very spiritual setting. The choir will sing with the congregation 10 or 11 hymns and choruses commonly sang in bygone years. Afterward we in the choir talked about how spiritually uplifting it was to sing the hymns we grew up learning. I hope you can come, for I assure you it will be a blessing to you and whomever you bring.
"The Old Rugged Cross Made the Difference" Video Guy Penrod and the Gaither Vocal Band (We are looking forward to hearing Guy Penrod in a concert in Lebanon this coming Sunday evening. See here for info.)
Finally today:
"Take My Hand, Precious Lord" Video Marshall Hall, Angela Primm, Jason Crabb and Homecoming Singers This video is set in an old-time tent revival service.
The Pleasant View
Community Chorus of Manheim and the Calvary
Church choir (the choir Brooksyne is in) will
present a remake of the Old-Fashioned
Revival Hour radio broadcast in a presentation in the Calvary Church auditorium
(here) on Sunday, August 26, at 3 p.m.The audience is invited to sing along with the choir on familiar songs from a bygone era.
Admission is free, and tickets are not required. For more information, readers may call 717-509-6249.
Brooksyne's note: I am very excited about the "broadcast" being recreated on Sunday afternoon. I was at practice last evening and had the opportunity to see firsthand the broadcast format. It was delightful and also created a very spiritual setting. The choir will sing with the congregation 10 or 11 hymns and choruses commonly sang in bygone years. Afterward we in the choir talked about how spiritually uplifting it was to sing the hymns we grew up learning. I hope you can come, for I assure you it will be a blessing to you and whomever you bring.
"The Old Rugged Cross Made the Difference" Video Guy Penrod and the Gaither Vocal Band (We are looking forward to hearing Guy Penrod in a concert in Lebanon this coming Sunday evening. See here for info.)
Finally today:
We
are abundantly blessed with our home grown
tomatoes. There's nothing like the taste of
a fresh tomato pulled right from the vine.
If you live nearby drive over and we'll
share our blessing with you.
For
dinner tonight I had plenty of tomatoes so I
made a couscous vegetable salad and, if I say
so myself, it was tasty. At least Stephen was
very happy with the outcome! I made some
couscous first, then chopped the following
vegetables: 1 large tomato, green
pepper, 1/2 onion, one jalapeno (minus the
seeds) chopped very small, 1/2 C. fresh
uncooked corn, one avocado, 1/2 C. or more of
feta cheese. I added chopped lebanon balogna
and then stirred in cider vinegar and olive
oil (probably 1/3 C. mixed together - enough
to make it easy to stir). This isn't exactly a
recipe but since I just threw it together I
don't have one. I know our readers like a
recipe when I feature a dish. Actually this is
only 1/3 of the bowl I mixed together as
Stephen and I ended up eating 2/3 of the salad
before I thought to take a photo. Let me know
if you try it.
Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne
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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 make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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