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(Click refresh or reload for current message) Tuesday, July 16, 2024 Early this morning we passed the swimming lake at Mount Gretna. With a heat index forecast for 109 degrees this afternoon this will surely be a very busy place. (Click on image to enlarge) "The Hard-Working Farmer" Message summary: Our word of encouragement to you today is to thank God for all who are expressing obedience to God by engaging in productive work that benefits society, especially the hard-working farmer. Listen to our message on your audio player. "The
hard-working
farmer ought
to be the
first to
receive his
share of the
crops" (2
Timothy 2:6). The extent of my "farming" is tending to our lawn and landscaping. Currently the extreme heat and lack of rain are sure taking a toll. Brooksyne waters her flowers each day so they look good but our lawn is a dry stubble. It is 99 degrees today as we post this. Uncomfortable
for sure but
we especially
consider the
weather's
impact on our
farmer
friends.
Although it's
not planting
or harvest
season these
farmers are
very busy in
one way or
another year
round since
there's always
work to do on
a farm in
every season!
And this very
hot weather is
a tremendous
strain in many
ways.* Here I find a helpful study note from Stephen Olford: The hardworking farmer is not a glamorous metaphor like the athlete or soldier, for the farmer begins his demanding work early and often goes late, limited finally by the dimming light of day. His work is often tedious, boring and unexciting. Not many farmers ever become celebrities unlike soldiers and athletes. He is often called to endure cold, heat, rain, and drought. He plows whether the soil is hard or not. He waits not for a convenient time because the seasons do not wait for him (2 Timothy 4:2). When it's time to plant, he must plant. When weeds appear, he must extract them. When the fruit ripens, he must harvest. What drives the farmer to labor under such grueling, unpredictable conditions? Is it not because he is looking forward to the bountiful harvest (2 Peter 1:11). But while he tarries, the bulk of his labor is tedious, humdrum, and unexciting. Unlike the teacher, the soldier, or the athlete, a farmer often works alone with no students to stimulate, no fellow soldiers to fight alongside and no crowd in the stands to cheer him on. The lives of many believers are like the farmer's life. To be sure, there may be seasons of harvest excitement, but for the most part the daily routine is often mundane and seemingly unrewarding. But like the hardworking farmer, faithful believers are promised God’s blessing and reward not only in this life but in that which is to come. They may be underpaid, unjustly treated, or unappreciated but they have yet to see the bountiful harvest reward Christ will present to the faithful hardworking farmer. (Stephen Olford Ministries International) Today let
us all give
thanks to God
for the
farmer. In our
home we tend
to be specific
when we give
thanks for our
food
considering
not only God's
blessing but
the specific
labor and
laborers that
made it
possible for
the food to
reach our
table. We
encourage our
readers to do
the same and
consider that
it most
certainly
involved some
vision,
expense, and
hard labor.
Be encouraged today, Hebrews 3:13
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily prayer: Father, we thank You for the hard-working farmers who work the soil, plant the seeds, and then busy themselves with other farm chores as they await the germination and growth of the seeds planted. It's all a work of faith since many crucial factors are out of their control; too much rain or lack thereof, the proper growing temperatures, disease and harmful insects can make or break the harvest, and catastrophic storms can affect the fields for this season and the next. So we thank you for those who year after year toil in the fields to provide healthy, vibrant and delicious foods to fill our plates. It's generally a family effort so we pray Your blessings upon the entire family as they work together to make a very productive contribution to our well-being. We also give thanks for our spiritual leaders who contribute to our spiritual well-being, who work hard at feeding our souls. They, too, deal with troubling elements out of their control following their seed planting, so faith and persistence are key tools in the results of their labor and future harvest. Bless them, their families, and give them fruit for their labor, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. We
dedicate
"Hard-working
Farmer" to my
(Brooksyne's)
cousins on
Mountain Top,
Arkansas. I
took the above
photo 7 years
ago of my
Uncle Carroll
Sherrell who
farmed his
whole life. He
went to be
with the Lord
last month at
82 years of
age. My dad
was always
proud of his
"little"
brother. Not
long before I
took this
photo he had a
run-in with a
mean bull
which landed
him in the
hospital. It
really tore up
his face and
eye requiring
plastic
surgery. We
will be on the
mountain next
week and I
will sure miss
seeing him, as
now there are
only two of my
dad's siblings
still living,
the oldest
being 98 years
of age.
*Galen is our longest term friend here in Lancaster County and his farming family goes back many generations and his son is following him as a farmer. Another farming friend, Bob, operates a large dairy operation and his wife told me Saturday on a class bike ride that the hot weather and drought will most certainly impact crop yield. We saw the stunted and dry corn as we traveled through Lebanon this morning. Mike, a long-time friend who works with chickens, described the chickens as panting in the heat. Jim is a newer farmer friend who told me Sunday before class it was going to be a rough week for his livestock: chickens and hogs. And there
are many other
challenges.
The other
evening I
stopped by to
visit with
Chris, an
Amish farmer
neighbor up
the road from
us. He was out
in the field
with two of
his sons
dealing with
some type of
blight that is
affecting some
of his squash. We list many of the hardships that come with farming in our message today, but we should also comment that, perhaps due to the many hardships, farmers are some of the greatest men of faith that we have met along life's journey, including Brooksyne's grandpa. Their reliance on God as their faith is tested from year to year, for many farmers, brings spiritual maturity that we all long for. Hughes
sums up the
farmer's life,
each of these
characteristics
having
spiritual
application... 2) Constant toil (plowing, sowing, tending, weeding, reaping, storing); 3) Regular disappointments—frosts, pests, and disease; 4) Much patience—everything happens at less than slow motion; and 5) Boredom. (Hughes, R. K., & Chapell, B. 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus: Preaching the Word. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books)
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
Ruby's
Gardens
Yesterday
morning
Brooksyne took
a video of her
flowers around
our house and
Ester placed
it on Facebook
here.
Her sister,
Elaine, whom
we'll be
seeing in a
few days,
purchased a
home in the
Nashville area
and is
re-doing her
landscaping so
Brooksyne made
the video for
her to get
ideas for
plants and
flowers. Ester
set it to
music thinking
it would last
the entire
video.
Unfortunately,
it did not so
you will hear
the pets loudly
trying to get
her attention
so they could
come out and
join her. I
teasingly
named it
Ruby's Gardens
since she has
a beautiful
"little ruby
alternathera"
plant and
because it's
Brooksyne's
first name.
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