via TJC
The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it. Genesis 2:15
Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways! You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.
Psalm 128:1-2
When I was growing up, Labor Day was about family, friends, and the harvest. Harvest in the form of putting up hay in the barn for the coming winter months. Family and friends would gather at my grandparent’s house, and we would bale and haul hay from the fields, and then stack it in the barn. Everyone pitched in. Neighbors and extended family. It was a day of work, but also a day with people that I loved spending time with. It was the day that I learned how to drive a “3 on the tree” truck, a Massey Ferguson tractor, problem solving when equipment went down, and the value of just plain hard work, but with many hands, and having fun while doing it together.
At the end of the day, we would come together for a big dinner, complete with fresh vegetables from the garden, and share in the fellowship of work well done, giving thanks for the harvest, and the Lord’s blessings. For the longest time when I was a child, I thought that Labor Day was named as such so that there was a day to catch up on the work that needed to be done before school started! The memories are fond for me about Labor Day, except for the itchiness from handling the hay that lasted for days later when I was back in school that same week (remember when school started right after Labor Day?).
Daily Battle Order: Prayer
Dear Lord, this Labor Day, we give thanks to you for work and for the harvest. Labor in working is good and you made us to do it. Our nation is experiencing one of the most difficult times regarding work as truly the workers are few. We pray for your blessings on the work of our hands, and our families. We pray for and thank you for your promise to provide for us, as you so ably do, and so often in ways that we know not of, and at just the right time. We thank you for your provision, and we ask you that the harvest would be plentiful, as our food sources and distribution systems are strained. Not only in our nation, but around the world, due to wars, rumors of wars, pestilence, famine, drought, and unrest. We need you, Lord. We seek you Lord. We thank you that you are Lord of all and over all, and that you are good. We ask and pray these things in the precious name of your son, Jesus. Amen.
Join us on the Gettysburg Battlefield, October 14-16. More information about this upcoming event can be found here:
It is good to remember our past and lessons; they inform our future. and thank you for calling out the need to work and challenges of today. The difference is obvious as the author recognizes community in our work; how different that seems today when we are on-line and unity is no longer a goal.