✝ Daily Encouragement (1/29/25) "The Path Not Chosen"
Published: Wed, 01/29/25
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(Click refresh or reload for current message) Wednesday,
January 29,
2025 
Snow
still covers
the ground
from the storm
10 days ago
since temps
have stayed
below freezing
most of the
time. But with
temps
projected to
be in the
mid-40's today
we expect it
will begin
melting. This
farm is in
Manor
Township.
Click on photo to enlarge "The Path Not Chosen" Message summary: Today may the Lord God help each of us to consider our ways and direct our footsteps according to His Word. We may plan out how we want and expect our life's journey to be but ultimately the Lord directs our steps, sometimes in ways we just can't understand.
Listen to our message on your audio player. "The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps" (Proverbs 16:9). Early this
morning I
overheard
Brooksyne as
she was
dressing in
our bedroom
which is next
to our office.
At our age we
have some
aches and
pains but she
said, "Thank
you Lord for
my legs that
work". I said
"Amen". She
was startled
that I had
heard her,
thinking she
was speaking
under her
breath
!
But I did and
it was a
prompt for
today's
message. Yesterday I stopped at A&B, an Amish farm supply store, to buy a gas can (A&B stands for Amos and Barbie). Amos, the owner had a diving accident about 20 years ago as a newly married man and became a paraplegic, losing the use of his legs. His plans in his early life changed for sure but he made a vital necessary pivot to another vocation. His store is well-stocked and provides for his large family. This week I am transporting his oldest daughter who teaches at the Amish School a mile up the road from us.
Life
for Joni and
Amos and so
many others,
doubtlessly
including some
reading this
today, has
been an
unplanned
journey on a
path not
chosen (by
you).
Unplanned
journeys are
something we
all experience
in different
ways and in
different
degrees of
severity. We
wisely plan
ahead but have
all
experienced
detours in
life. Some
detours are
life-altering
making life an
unplanned
journey.
Gospel
singer Karen
Peck in her
outstanding
song "I Choose
Christ"
writes, "It
was not the
path I would
have chosen".
We've all been
on paths we
would not have
chosen. It was not the path I would have chosen I could see no hope from where I stood Even though I knew what God had promised I didn't see how He could work it for my good Yet that road where pain was my companion Took me to an unexpected place And standing in the middle of the darkness That was where my heart would learn to say
In
our daily text
we have a
simple truth,
"The mind
of man plans
his way, but
the Lord
directs his
steps". We
may plan out
how we want
and expect our
life's journey
to be but
ultimately the
Lord directs
our steps,
sometimes in
ways we just
can't
understand, a
path not
chosen but
providentially
intended for
us.
The
chorus of the
song expresses
the resolve we
all need to
have,
especially
when on an
unplanned
journey. I choose Christ when everything around me says give up I choose faith, I choose to trust To believe He is good, He'll come through like He said He would Every time, oh, I choose Christ.
Be encouraged today! Hebrews 3:13
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
"I
Choose
Christ"
Watch
on YouTube
Karen Peck
& New
River
"Trust
His Heart"
Watch
on YouTube
NewSong
All things work for our good Though sometimes we can't See how they could Struggles that break our hearts in two Sometimes blind us to the truth Our Father knows what's best for us His ways are not our own So when your pathway grows dim And you just can't see Him Remember you're never alone God is too wise to be mistaken God is too good to be unkind So when you don't understand When don't see His plan When you can't trace His hand Trust His Heart
"Reflections
on the 50th
Anniversary of
My Diving
Accident"
by Joni
Eareckson Tada
Brooksyne's
Note:
After editing
Stephen's
message today
my mind
drifted toward
a book that I
am halfway
through: "Beauty
Beyond the
Ashes"
written by
Cheryl
McGuinness
whose husband,
Tom, was the
co-pilot of
American
Airlines
Flight 11 -
the first
plane to crash
into the World
Trade Center
on 9/11/01.
Cheryl
has shared her
story all over
the country,
how God
brought her
through her
loss and grew
her faith in
Christ. She
remarried
about 13 years
ago and
continues to
walk with
Christ.
Cheryl
remembered one
of the last
things that
Tom told her,
"If anything
ever happens
to me, you
have to trust
God. God will
get you
through it.
Just surround
yourself with
loving people,
people who
know Christ,
people who
will surround
you in
Christ-like
love."
Even through the worst storms of life, Cheryl learned that God is present, even orchestrating circumstances throughout our lives.
You
can read a
brief
summarization
here
though it is
not up to
date. I
include this
link because
it also has
resources for
widows who are
grieving the
loss of their
spouse.
Shortly
after 9/11 we
received a
note from
Cheryl who had
read one of
our messages
at that time
she found
encouraging.
Stephen's
note:
Yesterday when
I paid for my
new gas can
Amos was
teaching his
young daughter
(8-10 years
old) how to
run the cash
register and
make change
for the
customer (me).
I observed his
kindly
patience as he
guided her
along and
realized a key
to the Amish
way of
life.
Both
of the
schools, where
I am
transporting
the teachers
this week,
have this wash
basin in the
front serving
also as a
drinking
fountain along
with cup
storage. The
sign says, "A
goat will butt
and never
learn, but
children are
polite and
wait their
turn".
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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
make it my
life's goal to
please the
Lord. My
mission in
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honor God
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prepare myself
and all whom I
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