Our Shepherd of Love

It is the fourth Sunday of Advent.  We light the candle of LOVE.

     I was writing this when I took a break to pick up lunch for my colleague, Gretchen and me.  The saying on the bag was about - LOVE.

 Timely.

     One of my Advent disciplines has been a daily reading from The Wonder of Advent, Experiencing the Love and Glory of the Christmas Season by Chris Tiegreen.

     The Scripture reference for December 23 is Luke 2:8  "That night there were shepherds n the fields nearby guarding their flocks of sheep." 

     "Of course,  there were shepherds in the fields", said Tiegreen at the beginning of his devotional.  Shepherds were ALWAYS in the field. Where else would they be?  That's where the sheep were.  And sheep are not that smart.  They need someone to care for them - day and night.

     Have you seen a job description for a shepherd?  Only one requirement

     "Know your sheep".

     I was in the fourth grade when the theme for Vacation Bible School was "Jesus is our Shepherd".  I remember that my great aunt, Lila Newton, dressed as a shepherd and taught us the 23rd Psalm, Isaiah 53 and John 10.  "The Lord is my shepherd"; "All we like sheep have gone astray. . ."; and "I know my sheep and my sheep know my voice".  (Psalm 23;1; Isaiah 53:6 and John 10:14).  She taught us that shepherds were known to be people who did their job.   They care about their sheep.

     I'll always remember with love the afternoon Rev. Kevin Pound personalized the 23rd Psalm when our daddy was dying "You are Earl's shepherd," his pastor repeated.  Daddy did not respond - he didn't have to.  We knew that he knew that to be true.

     Yep.  Shepherds are a good thing.  Even poet Christina Rosetti knew that when she wrote: "if I were a shepherd, I would give a lamb".  Shepherds are caring.

     That's why we have a group at our church who are the shepherds of different groups of our congregation. They care; they share; they love!

     And that Baby whose birth we are celebrating - loved - and more He is love!

So although I think Carrabba's food is delicious, I must disagree with the words on the bag.

     There is no love more sincere than that of our Shepherd of Love!

May your life be filled with enough sunshine

 to make you appreciate the shadows

Count it all JOY

 It's guest blogger week.  My daughter, Renee, and one of her ministry partners, Todd Villemont, put together an Advent Devotional for the children and parents they serve at the First Baptist Church of Naples, Florida.  I asked Renee if I could share it.

Christmas of 1995 was full of joy for me because it was the year that Wally Blain asked me to marry him!  JOY!  In the fall of 1999 and the summer of 2002, I felt a joy that I had never felt before as I celebrated the news that I was going to be a mommy!   JOY!  In the fall of 2006, I felt a fear I’ve never experienced when we learned our youngest had been diagnosed with a life-altering illness.  FEAR!  Yet in the midst of that, we were challenged to still find JOY!  How could that be possible?

Mary and Joseph offer an amazing example of finding JOY in the midst of circumstances that could seem fearful or uncertain.  Mary, a young Jewish girl steeped in tradition, was engaged to be married to Joseph.  JOY!  What an exciting time for both of them.  Enter an angel with the news of a baby- news that should bring JOY but most likely initially brought some FEAR!  

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.   When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. “(Matthew 2:18)

In the midst of celebrating an engagement, they now have news of a baby.  And a baby before a wedding would promise to bring a lot of questions in Mary and Joseph’s life!  So, Joseph came up with a plan. BUT, because God is sovereign, an angel delivered different news to Joseph that encouraged him not to be afraid, but to understand that this was ALL a part of God’s perfect plan! (Matthew 2:19-21)

As the angel delivered this news to Joseph, he was sure to let him know that Jesus was to be called Immanuel- which means, “God with us.”  This news is what turns Joseph’s fear into JOY!  Because, he has the assurance that NO MATTER WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES COME THEIR WAY- GOD IS WITH THEM!.

This is how we can find JOY in the midst of fearful and uncertain circumstances.  This advent season, allow yourself to be reminded of the promise that when Jesus came to earth, He became GOD WITH US.  No matter what we face- HE WILL ALWAYS BE WITH US!

I have been a part of those times of JOY and FEAR as Renee and Wally walked through them.  I was reminded of a sermon that one of our dear friends, Rev. Jimmy Wilburn, preached many years ago.  He referenced James 1:2,3 “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.” and since that time when my family and I have been faced with trials I have endeavored to remember to 

Count it All Joy!

May your life be filled with enough sunshine

to make you appreciate the shadows

Shalom

"Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me..."

Easy to sing.  Not so easy to practice.

Especially during the hustle and bustle of Advent and the Christmas Season.

I read of a woman who was so obsessed with her holiday decorations that her husband accused her of being a "holiday hoarder".  Not much peace in that relationship.

And who among us has not experienced the Christmas Eve nightmare of putting a toy together - you know 100 easy pieces?  And how about the traffic  .... haven't you had an experience when you wanted to just give someone a piece of your mind.

Oops - wrong use of the synonym. Besides I'm talking about the word SHALOM - the expression used in ancient days when the goal is to offer encouragement and love.

One of my favorite parts of liturgical worship is the passing of the peace.  It signifies warmth and welcome.

I also love it when the words from Philippians 4:7 are used in a pastoral benediction "And the peace of God which passes all understanding shall  keep your heart and minds through Christ Jesus."

It was wartime (1863) and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow had lost his second wife and his son had been badly crippled as he fought as a Union soldier.  Christmas Day was not a happy one for the poet and he penned the words to "Christmas Bells".  This stanza is an expression of the grief he must have been experiencing.

"And in despair, I bowed my head; "There is no peace on earth," I said;

"For hate is strong, And mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

And yet somewhere from deep within his spirit, he drew these words:

"Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;

The Wrong shall fail, The Right prevail,

With peace on earth, good-will to men."*

I have friends and loved ones who are feeling a little like the great poet must have felt.  Some are in trouble financially, some are unhappy in their marriage and some are going to lose a child or a parent soon (without a miracle). Not really easy to be at peace.

One of those friends has a quick answer to my question - How are you?  "Thankful".  She knows peace - and it shows.  I think it might begin with her.  I hope I can catch it!

Shalom.

May your life be filled with enough sunshine

to make you appreciate the shadows

*The information about the writing of I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day is from Wikipedia.

The Candle of Hope

"I had about given up hope".  

"Oh, I hope we win"

"What are you hoping for - a boy or a girl?"

How many times do we hear the word HOPE used? Webster defines it as cherish a desire with anticipation.  Sometimes it means to trust.  It's an important word in Scripture, appearing more than 100 times.  I have a couple favorites.


Jeremiah 29:11
 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for   welfare and not  for evil, to give you a future and a  hope.

I Peter 1:3
 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
 According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again
 to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the   dead.

Christmas, 1982  - We were new to the role of single-parent family and I was having a very difficult time with planning and financing Christmas.  

I had no idea that two of my children wanted bicycles.  But in Sunday School a few weeks before Renee who was eight and her five-year-old brother, Tray answered the question when their teacher asked for prayer requests.

It was for bicycles.  They were hoping for bicycles. In our family, we prayed about everything.

You can imagine my surprise, two days before Christmas,  when their Sunday School teacher and her husband arrived at our door - with two bicycles.

Please don't misunderstand, me I don't think every prayer is answered so easily.  I have always been glad however that m children understood the value of praying for all things - believing - or in this case HOPING.

There have been many times in my life when I felt like there was no hope.  There were times that I came close to giving up hope.  But I recently heard these words:

  "Hope begins when you stand in the dark looking out at the light"

So I light one candle on the Advent Wreath and watch the flame flicker.  

That's really what the candle of hope is about   I can only TRUST that what I hope for will come to past.  That must have been how Mary and Joseph felt.  What a scary time.  And yet, they followed what they believed to be was God's Will for their lives.  I really hope I will always do that.

Ann Nesmith Beardslee - 4/3/29; Elizabeth Nesmith Weitzel - 6/14/37
Iva Nesmith Huffingham - 3/12/23; Carolyn Nesmith Capp - 7/12/27
not picture - Thelma Nesmith Wakeman - 8/5/25 - 11/5/11

And speaking of HOPING -- I think all of my Mercer-Nesmith cousins HOPE we look like this when we have passed our 80th birthday.  We have a great legacy of hope that is passed through them from our Grandparents - Ellie and Pauline Mercer Nesmith.  One of the things Granddaddy wanted us to practice is the faith, hope and love of that baby born to Mary more than 2,000 years ago.

He is HOPE!

May your life be filled with enough sunshine

to make you appreciate the shadows