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Welcome to
Daily
Encouragement Net!
Stephen
and
Brooksyne Weber
"We
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you daily in your walk with Christ!"
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prepared by Stephen and Brooksyne.
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prayers:
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Ministry:
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contact us Daily
Encouragement chaplains: Information about our
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Perspectives:
Articles on various contemporary issues.
"A
Little Foolishness" I
invite daily encouragement readers to visit our new
blog which will be a collection of humorous and satirical
stories
drawn
mostly from our years of ministry, as well as my sometimes fertile
imagination. We also welcome submissions from readers. Humor:
Have a laugh based on real experiences we have had as well as stories
submitted
by readers.
These are a
selection of books that Brooksyne and I have read that have impacted
our walk with the
Lord and we especially recommend to others!
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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 honor God through my
faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for
eternity."
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Encouragement Net
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Encouragement Net
495
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Us
Wednesday,
August 27, 2008
(Click here for message for Thursday, August 28)
Last night's sunset over Newport
Rhode Island (Click on photo to enlarge)
Listen to
us share this message on your
audio player.
"Encore,
Encore"
"They who
dwell in the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs; You make the
dawn and the sunset shout for joy" (Psalm 65:8).
During my
lifetime there have been nearly 20,000 sunsets but only a few I
specifically recall. In
the mid-nineties we visited with Hope (whose funeral I preached at
yesterday), her late husband John and late sister Rachel on
Martha’s
Vineyard. At that time Rachel had a modest summer home on the
island
that had been in her family for several generations.
Hope
told us that the sunset view from Menemsha Harbor was acclaimed as one
of the most outstanding in the world. She also said that a
good sunset
view has not just water but a land element and the sunset view from the
beach at Menemsha Harbor on the northwest side of the island had both.
On a lovely late afternoon in July we joined many others at the beach
for the display.
As the sun disappeared over the distant horizon everyone on the beach
stood up, broke out in applause and some shouted, "Encore! Encore!" (We
didn't get one.) It was an astounding sight and memorable experience.
Most were clapping for the sheer beauty they witnessed, but for my
family and friends, it was another opportunity to praise the Lord for
the awesome power of His mighty works.
For many years I have enjoyed watching sunrises and sunsets. In fact I
have shared that often and the current ministry logo for our Daily
Encouragement internet ministry is a sunrise photo over the Atlantic
off Cape Cod.
As the sun rises I contemplate the activities that will occupy my day.
As the sun sets I consider what was accomplished throughout the
day. Wherever you live on this planet you have a sunrise and
sunset but it's not a distinct visible moment for all to view at the
same time.
Today's Scripture verse declares, "You
make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy."
That sure is an interesting way to view a sunset; shouting for
joy. Sunrise and
sunset are signs reminding us of God's greatness and faithfulness that
all who dwell in the ends of the earth can see. This evening wherever you live, even to the ends
of the earth, remember this verse when the sun sets and join with the
sunset in praise to the indescribable God of the universe!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen C. Weber
Brooksyne's
prayer:From
the rising of the sun until the time that it sets I praise You,
Almighty God! Your name is to be praised when the day is yet
before me and as the day comes to an end. Your faithfulness reaches to
the heavens, spreads throughout the earth, and is personally
experienced in my life daily. Amen.
Personal note: We prepared this message from our hotel
near Newport, Rhode Island
(google map). Today we will travel back down I-95 through Connecticut,
around the north metro of New York City and through New Jersey and
spend the evening with my brother and his wife in Easton Pennsylvania
before returning home on Thursday.
Also for map afficianado's like me here is a Google map showing where Menemsha
Harbor is.
Yesterday's funeral service for our 89 year old friend Hope Winchoba
was a blessed
event. She lived her life well and prepared for her departure both
spiritually and practically. Her daughter Ellen gave me a letter she
had written to me detailing several points she wanted me to make as
well as a brief reading called A Parable On Immortality
she wanted me to read. I made
another one of my many ministry faux paus when I solemnly introduced
the
reading by saying A
Parable On Immorality and then immediately realized what I
had said! Henry Van Dyke, preacher and poet, who wrote the
hymn text to Joyful,
Joyful We Adore Thee, also penned this beautiful
description of our transition from earth to heaven. He writes,
A
Perspective on Immortality
I
am standing upon the seashore. A ship at my side spreads her
white
sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean.
She is an
object of beauty and strength and I stand and watch until at last she
hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come down
to mingle with each other. Then someone at my side says,
"There she
goes!"
"Gone where? Gone from my sight....that is all."
She is
just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my
side and just as able to bear her load of living freight to the place
of destination. Her diminished size is in me, not in
her. And just at
the moment when someone at my side says, "There she goes!" there are
other eyes watching her coming and other voices ready to take up the
glad shout, "Here she comes!"
*******
A highlight and most unusual component of the service was
that
Hope had written her own eulogy longhand and recently appointed her
oldest grandson to read it! Please allow me to share one page
from her
eulogy that is most applicable to all who read our message today.
She
wrote:
Now
as the song says, "There's a better home awaiting" with none of those
nagging questions such as, "How do I get rid of all those falling
leaves? What do I do about those dead spots in the lawn?
Why does the
furnace make a buzzing noise? Should the house be painted
this year
and who will do it?" None of these are important now.
Only this;
"Is Hope's name written there?"
Well,
those who knew Hope are confident that her name was written down many
years ago in the Lamb's Book of Life and she now enjoys the eternal
joys of heaven where sickness, aging, and separations no longer exist.
Below are photos of several friends we visited.
Joyce
Reed, Ester, and Veda Shibilo
Joyce is the Women's Ministries leader
and Veda was my very competent and diligent secretary who continues to
serve the congregation in Taunton, Massachusetts.
Kathy Viera is a friend we've known only
through Daily
Encouragement Net until yesterday. Hope introduced her to our
ministry and she
now lives in Florida.
Today's
Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
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