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Brooksyne Weber
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Thursday, August 24,
2023
Galen
Martin on his
restored 1949
Minneapolis-Moline
tractor
(Click on photo for larger view)
(Click on photo for larger view)
"The
Blessing Of Restoration"
Note:
Today's
message is
primarily a
testimony
illustrating
our daily
text.
Message
summary:
God's nature
is to restore
and the
greatest
restoration
that can take
place concerns
our
relationship
with Him. But
we can also
experience
restoration
with others.
Listen
to our message
on your audio
player.
"He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers" (Malachi 4:6).
This
week begins
fair season
here in
Lancaster
County,
Pennsylvania.
Other states
have state
fairs and
there are many
county fairs.
But here in
Lancaster
County we have
several town
fairs through
mid October
beginning with
the
Elizabethtown
Fair in our
neighboring
town which is
happening now.
These fairs
are very
popular among
the local
population
with many
wholesome
activities
like the
crowning of a
Senior King
and Queen
yesterday at
the Etown
Fair.
"He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers" (Malachi 4:6).
This
week begins
fair season
here in
Lancaster
County,
Pennsylvania.
Other states
have state
fairs and
there are many
county fairs.
But here in
Lancaster
County we have
several town
fairs through
mid October
beginning with
the
Elizabethtown
Fair in our
neighboring
town which is
happening now.
These fairs
are very
popular among
the local
population
with many
wholesome
activities
like the
crowning of a
Senior King
and Queen
yesterday at
the Etown
Fair. When
I go to a
country fair
one of the
first
activities I
walk through
is the
inevitable
display of
restored
tractors. It
seems many
farmers have a
hankering to
restore a
tractor,
especially if
it was one
their father
or grandfather
drove or the
first tractor
they learned
to drive. Then
they like to
"show it off".
Our lead photo
shows our
friend Galen
Martin with a
tractor he
restored from
his childhood.
See below for
more photos.
God's
nature is to
restore and
the greatest
restoration is
our
relationship
with Him. But
we also
experience
restoration
with others.
One of the
greatest faith
builders are
personal
testimonies.
We enjoy
reading of how
the Lord is
working in the
lives of
others.
Some
stories take a
long time to
work out and
these can be
of special
encouragement
to others who
are also in a
long wait. In
our ABF class
this last
Sunday a
missionary
shared about
his
mother-in-law
who had come
to faith at an
early age and
then started
praying for
her family's
salvation. She
prayed for 60
years but saw
no fruit while
she was alive.
But since her
recent death
several nieces
have either
come to faith
or are
expressing
interest in
learning about
the Bible
through an
online Bible
study led by
their
missionary
cousin.
Some
stories take a
long time to
work out and
these can be
of special
encouragement
to others who
are also in a
long wait. In
our ABF class
this last
Sunday a
missionary
shared about
his
mother-in-law
who had come
to faith at an
early age and
then started
praying for
her family's
salvation. She
prayed for 60
years but saw
no fruit while
she was alive.
But since her
recent death
several nieces
have either
come to faith
or are
expressing
interest in
learning about
the Bible
through an
online Bible
study led by
their
missionary
cousin.We
enjoy
experiencing,
observing and
hearing
stories like
this and today
we will share
a longer one.
One
summer we
stopped by our
chaplaincy
office in
Springfield,
Missouri where
I hold my
official
endorsement as
a chaplain. We
had lunch and
visited for
awhile with Al
Worthley, my
chaplaincy
supervisor at
the time. Al
is now retired
but had been a
tremendous
blessing and
source of
encouragement
to us in our
chaplaincy
ministry, both
to companies
and over the
internet
through Daily
Encouragement.
While there we
also visited
for a few
minutes with
Valla Martin
who has a
wonderful
testimony we
want to share
today, a
testimony of
restoration.
She
spent most of
her life not
knowing her
biological
father. She
knew his name,
but very
little else
was known
about him –
good or bad.
She always
longed to know
more about
him. What was
he like? Was
she like him
at all? Did he
wonder the
same things
about her?
Fear of
negative
answers kept
her from
pursuing her
dream of one
day finding
him.
Eventually she thought, "Enough wondering is enough". If she found him for no other reason than to learn family history, that was okay. She had been very happily married for 33 years, had two children and three grandchildren, so her life was full. Well, almost full. If he didn’t reciprocate her feelings, she could go on. She had made it this far just fine. But, what if???
On August 12, 2010, she threw caution to the wind, sat down at the computer, and asked a simple private question on Facebook to the man she thought must be her long-lost dad: At 2:56 pm she wrote: "Are you the Dean from Kansas who has a sister named Barb?"
She shut the computer down and didn’t look at it again until the next morning. Little did she know that later that day at 6:48pm, he had responded: "Yes I am. My heart gave a little jump when I saw this on my email. I've not used Facebook much, so I don't know much about using it. You are beautiful by the way. This is a lot more answer than you asked for, hope you don't mind. Please let me know all about you and your family. I'm thrilled to hear from you."
From there phone numbers were exchanged, and the first phone call happened the next day. An hour passed by in a flash. So much to know! Where to start?! It didn’t matter! Valla had found her daddy! And guess what? He only lived about an hour away! He could have lived anywhere, for all she knew!
He had grown up and was deeply repentant of his previous behavior. He wasn’t the irresponsible young man who had abandoned her and her mom so many years ago. He had thought of her often and always thought of her on her birthday – Valentine’s Day, and hence the name "Valla". He LOVED her! He had become a Christian, and they shared the same conservative values and outlook on life. They processed information remarkably the same. They had the same type of personality and sense of humor. They "got" each other.
A week after the first interaction, they were able to meet face-to-face. So much communication had happened in that first week that it was a very comfortable meeting. Since then, they have seen each other almost every week. Phone calls happen several times a day – sometimes very short calls, sometimes they solve the world’s problems, sometimes just plain silliness, but always just because they CAN!
It wasn’t long before Valla learned that her dad was experiencing serious health problems. He only had one working kidney, and its function had begun to decline. With no hesitation, Valla offered one of her kidneys if she was a match. The question was never: "should she do it?" It was always: "Why shouldn't she?"
In
the fall of
2012, Valla
went through
all the
testing to
confirm that
she was indeed
her dad’s
match. She
passed the
tests with
flying colors.
On January 22,
2013, the
kidney
transplant
occurred.
Both donor and
recipient
recovered very
nicely. On
April 8, 2013,
her dad was
told that his
health
following the
transplant is
far better
than many
other kidney
recipients.
Valla had looked for family medical history; turns out she became part of his medical history. She found her identity and a sense of belonging that was totally unexpected! That's the blessing of restoration and a tremendous example of our daily text. "He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers" (Malachi 4:6).
Eventually she thought, "Enough wondering is enough". If she found him for no other reason than to learn family history, that was okay. She had been very happily married for 33 years, had two children and three grandchildren, so her life was full. Well, almost full. If he didn’t reciprocate her feelings, she could go on. She had made it this far just fine. But, what if???
On August 12, 2010, she threw caution to the wind, sat down at the computer, and asked a simple private question on Facebook to the man she thought must be her long-lost dad: At 2:56 pm she wrote: "Are you the Dean from Kansas who has a sister named Barb?"
She shut the computer down and didn’t look at it again until the next morning. Little did she know that later that day at 6:48pm, he had responded: "Yes I am. My heart gave a little jump when I saw this on my email. I've not used Facebook much, so I don't know much about using it. You are beautiful by the way. This is a lot more answer than you asked for, hope you don't mind. Please let me know all about you and your family. I'm thrilled to hear from you."
From there phone numbers were exchanged, and the first phone call happened the next day. An hour passed by in a flash. So much to know! Where to start?! It didn’t matter! Valla had found her daddy! And guess what? He only lived about an hour away! He could have lived anywhere, for all she knew!
He had grown up and was deeply repentant of his previous behavior. He wasn’t the irresponsible young man who had abandoned her and her mom so many years ago. He had thought of her often and always thought of her on her birthday – Valentine’s Day, and hence the name "Valla". He LOVED her! He had become a Christian, and they shared the same conservative values and outlook on life. They processed information remarkably the same. They had the same type of personality and sense of humor. They "got" each other.
A week after the first interaction, they were able to meet face-to-face. So much communication had happened in that first week that it was a very comfortable meeting. Since then, they have seen each other almost every week. Phone calls happen several times a day – sometimes very short calls, sometimes they solve the world’s problems, sometimes just plain silliness, but always just because they CAN!
It wasn’t long before Valla learned that her dad was experiencing serious health problems. He only had one working kidney, and its function had begun to decline. With no hesitation, Valla offered one of her kidneys if she was a match. The question was never: "should she do it?" It was always: "Why shouldn't she?"
In
the fall of
2012, Valla
went through
all the
testing to
confirm that
she was indeed
her dad’s
match. She
passed the
tests with
flying colors.
On January 22,
2013, the
kidney
transplant
occurred.
Both donor and
recipient
recovered very
nicely. On
April 8, 2013,
her dad was
told that his
health
following the
transplant is
far better
than many
other kidney
recipients.Valla had looked for family medical history; turns out she became part of his medical history. She found her identity and a sense of belonging that was totally unexpected! That's the blessing of restoration and a tremendous example of our daily text. "He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers" (Malachi 4:6).
Be
encouraged
today,
(Hebrews
3:13)
Stephen
&
Brooksyne
Weber
Daily prayer:
Father, we
rejoice with
Valla in the
restored
relationship
she has with
her birth
father. How
wonderful that
they share the
same faith and
same values
enabling them
to build a
loving bond as
father and
daughter in
their later
adult years.
There are
millions of
fatherless
children who
don't know
their birth
fathers and
feel unloved,
unimportant
and unwanted.
We pray for
responsible
parenting and
Biblical
morality to be
restored in
our land. How
desperately we
need a revival
where people
will be saved,
delivered, and
reconciled to
You, and seek
to reconcile
themselves to
those they
have cast
aside. We pray
for those who
are still in
the waiting
period for a
miracle such
as Valla's.
May they find
their sense of
belonging and
acceptance
through You,
our loving
and faithful
Father, and as
joint heirs
with Christ
who gave His
all that we
might be
adopted into
Your eternal
family. Amen.Note: The message is already long but let me share a burden of ministry. We see so many broken marriages and families typical of the age we live in. We are heartened by single fathers seeking to be good dads for their children. But we also see a growing, inevitable phenomenon. Fathers and mothers who really just walk away from any sense of connection and responsibility and appear to have no shame.
Today's Bible text has an interesting distinction. Before scrolling down for the answer below the last photo today do you know what it is?
Today's
Suggested
Music and
Supplemental
Resources
"Broken
Things"
Watch
video on
YouTube
Matthew West
"Graves
Into Gardens"
Watch
video on
YouTube
Red
Rocks Worship
Galen,
along with two
of his
grandchildren,
standing
beside his
tractor during
the
restoration
project in his
barn. The 1949
Minneapolis-Moline
tractor has a
lot of
sentiment to
Galen. His
father, Earl,
purchased this
tractor in
1949, the same
year Galen was
born and Galen
had worked on
it in the
fields through
his childhood
and his
younger
farming days.
(Click
on photo to
enlarge)
Galen
standing left
in the
background
behind his
tractor with a
group of
admirers. This
photo was
taken at his
70th birthday
party with his
70 year old
tractor. Galen
follows a long
line of Martin
farmers who
have worked
the soil. His
son Darrel is
in the photo
and carries on
for the next
generation.
"Farmers
Tribute: So
God Made A
Farmer"
Video
Here's a
thoughtful
oral essay by
the inimitable
Paul Harvey.
Galen
faithfully
demonstrates
the
quintessential
American
farmer this
describes.
Our
friend Nick
sent us these
photos of the
tractor
collection at
this year's
Etown Fair.
The
tractor in the
foreground is
the real
antique but
the
Allis-Chalmers
tractor in the
background is
similar to the
one on my
Uncle's farm
when I was a
child. Looks
like it needs
some
restoration
work though!
*
Today's verse
is the final
verse in the
Old Testament!
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WEBER -
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In considering support we are so pleased when we hear from you, our readers, that our messages are a source of teaching and encouragement to you. We also urge you to consider the mission aspect of these daily teachings that are freely available and read by many all over the world.
To
donate
directly
online
click here.
(This will
open to a page
that
designates the
offering
to: STEPHEN
&
BROOKSYNE
WEBER -
700001-237376 SERVING
IN SPECIALIZED
CHAPLAINCY)
If
you desire you
can also
donate
directly
through PayPal
using this link.
This will open
to a page that
states
"Brooksyne
Weber". We
keep this
option
available due
to the
familiarity,
convenience,
for
international
supporters,
and for those
who may not
need an
official
receipt. You
can also set
up for
recurring
donations.
Thank
you,
Stephen
&
Brooksyne
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radioPermissions: 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. We do request that you keep the contact, copyright and subscription information intact.
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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