A
daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and
exhortation.
Friday,
November 19,
2021
A preserved* farm on Grandview Road near Mount Joy. Tuesday we saw two deer racing across the field but too quickly for a photo.
(Click on photo to enlarge)
"World
Toilet Day"
Message
summary: Today when you count your blessings, naming
them one by one, be sure to include the toilet and your
own digestive health!
Listen
to this message on your audio player.
"I praise
you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm
139:14).
Today
is World Toilet Day. Did you know that? Indeed there
really is such a day. If in doubt, see here if you're like Thomas. We read:
"WHO CARES ABOUT TOILETS?... the 3.6 billion people who do
not have access to a safely managed sanitation service. We
should all care more about toilets. If you have a [good
functioning] toilet be thankful. Life without a toilet is
dirty, dangerous and undignified. Public health depends on
toilets."Well I hope
the other 4.15 billion that do have a toilet also care and
are thankful, although many take having a toilet for
granted.
We have
little experience regarding having inadequate toilet
facilities, although there were times in life we probably
wish we had more. Brooksyne grew up in a family of seven
and they used an outdoor toilet for several years! We both
recall outhouses at our grandparents. Brooksyne's
grandparents used theirs for decades, but for my
grandparents it was just a remnant from the time before
they got indoor plumbing. An outdoor toilet was still
useful when extended family gathered during the holidays.
Apart from a camp setting,
our only memory of not having access to an indoor separate
bathroom goes back some 30 years ago during a visit to
Guatemala. We had hosted Marvin, a young Guatemalan boy,
who had a serious medical condition and after his surgery,
recovery and return to his home we went down to visit him
and his family. They lived in a barrio near Guatemala City
in a two room house and shared a community bathroom with
others in the village.We've stayed
in touch with Marvin through the years. He is now in his
mid-thirties with a wife and children. He's done well both
medically and vocationally, working with the national
forestry department in Guatemala. Above all he's serving
the Lord and is active in his church. And I'm pretty sure
he has an indoor toilet!
Back
to "World Toilet Day". This morning I visited with several
plumbers at JK Mechanical. Plumbers are at the forefront
of public health. No matter how advanced or affluent a
country is if the plumbing goes down we'd all, rich and
poor, be in deep trouble, real fast. Since it's
World Toilet Day and we are approach Thanksgiving week let
us give thanks for two likely under-considered blessings:
1)
The blessing of our own internal plumbing system, also
known as our digestive system. We easily take it for
granted but it's a wonderful design and anyone who has had
serious digestive problems know that any alternative is
not nearly as good as the original. Indeed we are
fearfully and wonderfully made.
2)
The blessing of our home's plumbing system. The Bible
doesn't say much about bathroom practices. In the Law it
refers to a primitive hygienic method in Deuteronomy
23:12, "Designate a place outside the camp where you
can go to relieve yourself". This is followed by
some rather frank instructions in v.13. Although toilet technology is
different, this was indeed an effective practice long
before humans were aware of microscopic germs.
Today when
you count your blessings, naming them one by one, be sure
to include the toilet and your own digestive health!
Be encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)
Stephen
& Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father,
we thank you for the grand design of our human
bodies. And we give a hearty amen to the Psalmist's
assessment and proclamation, that indeed we are
fearfully and wonderfully made! When we are strong
and healthy, we often take it for granted and even
expect it, but when a part(s) is out of sync or
dysfunctional we soon realize how wonderful it is to
be healthy and functioning properly. In addition to
our health, You provide us with comforts and
conveniences that makes life easier, to the point
that we take it for granted and even expect it. We
count among our blessings our houses that provide
privacy, that protects us from the elements and
extremes of heat and cold. We also thank You for
indoor plumbing that makes clean sanitation possible
both in the kitchen and bathroom. We're grateful for
plumbers who come to our aid when the need arises.
For all things we are grateful. Amen.Today's
Suggested
Music and Supplemental Resources
"Good
and Gracious King" Video
CityAlight This has nothing to do with
the theme of today's message but I couldn't
think of any song that would! Of course I did
allude to "Count Your Blessings". Video
Two
years ago I wrote a message on World Toilet
Day approaching it from a different angle: "The Value Of The Plumber"
*
A preserved farm: Pennsylvania leads the
nation in the number of farms and acres
permanently preserved for agricultural
production. See here.
JK
Plumbers ready to head out to work this
morning.
Finally
today:
Two
days ago we wrote a message about my tracking
and anticipating an electric bike, expecting
it Wednesday. Well actually it arrived
yesterday (so much for accuracy in tracking).
I assembled it and so far so good. I took it
for a several mile ride before it started
raining.
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& Brooksyne
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