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

Grandma's blue bowl

"He knoweth the way that I take and when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold" (Job 23:10)

I thought it had belonged to my Grandma Nesmith.

Well, actually it did belong to my Grandma Nesmith.

What I didn't remember was that she got it from her mother, Marianna Michau Mercer and she got it from her mother, Mary Elizabeth Cook  Michau.

Until recently, I just thought it was Grandma's blue bowl.  I knew it had survived a fire at my parents' home in 1977 and then I was reminded it also survived a fire in South Carolina many years ago.

It was on a shelf in my parents home until my mother moved away -- and she thought I should have it so it now resides with me.  That means I am the fifth generation owner.

It has a lot of character, don't you think?

It's blue, but do you see the gold trim.  Look carefully.

And do you see that the pedestal is broken?

Fortunately, it still stands.

Somehow that bowl is a picture of life...my life to be exact.

There have been times when I felt wobbly - like part of me was broken.

There are times when I feel blue.

And yet. . .

It is a reminder to me of these words:

Words that were given to me on my 70th birthday by my lifelong friend and cousin, Bonnie Smith Allen (we share Great Grandma Mercer and thus Great, Great Grandma Michau).  We know that our grandmothers (hers - Florence and mine,  Pauline) were great women....and we appreciate that part of our heritage. And let me be quick to acknowledge - lots of women - great women - join us - my aunts, their aunts and cousins.  The list could go on an on! And somewhere in that family history is that one of our ancestors swam the English channel ( I think that's right - it's a part of the LORE that we have all heard).

So what happens to the bowl next?  It stays on my shelf until I am gone and then the two great women who call me mom (Becca and Renee) can determine whose shelf on which it gets to stand.  And then one of their daughters will inherit it.  Unlike a family recipe that many can share, there is sadly but one bowl.

In the meantime, it is a constant reminder to me of our heritage...of the hard times and good, the laughter and tears, and the fact that all of us know -- when He hath tried me, we shall come forth as gold!

May your life be filled with enough sunshine

to make you appreciate the shadows

A Cornucopia of Emotions

This is my little cornucopia.  It is far different from the beautiful one of my childhood.  My Grandma Nesmith had been a florist and she had a real knack for arranging flowers - and at Thanksgiving - fruits and vegetables.

I have always loved November.

I love the change of colors in our surroundings.  I know I live in Florida and there are not that many changes, but I love driving toward San Marco and enjoying the vibrant color of the golden rain trees.

I like the food that we enjoy - especially the combination of cranberries and turkey,

I enjoy the celebration of Veteran's Day.  If my daddy instilled anything in us more than his love for the Florida Gators it was his love for our country.  He didn't think he needed to install a love for God or our mother.  He just expected that to be a part of who we are!

And I absolutely love the fact that I became a mother in November.  First on November 26, 1971, when Rebecca Lynn was born.  I knew from the first time I held her that she would be Becca.  I brought her home from the hospital and she became my sounding board.  Poor baby - the things she heard from her mother's lips.

Three years after that I heard the words "what's your first child?" And when I answered a little girl, the doctor said: "And now you have two".  And what a  joy that second little girl, Paula Renee, (11/17/74) has always been.  Her ears have also heard much from me.

Those girls (Becca and Renee) come from a long line of great women - some we remember especially in November.  As it would happen, Becca was born on my Grandma Nesmith's birthday.  She would have been 70 that day, had she not gone to Heaven just a few months prior.  Another great woman was born in November. Amanda Gentry (11/11/01), was the mother of Margeret Parker who was my first mother in law - She was a great woman - who raised a good son.

Four of my dearest friends, Linda Peppers Gurganious, Laurie Lemminn, Kathy McAlpin and Virginia Jeffries Pillsbury celebrate their birthdays in November. Each of these women have been a blessing in my life.

So those are happy emotions.

There is also a very scary one.  Tray was 2 and a half when he was impatient to get the hot chocolate that I foolishly put in a paper cup and told him to wait...The burns on his little leg were horrible.  And as we drove to the hospital he and I were both so scared.  I remember him saying "sing, momma" and he would try to sing "Jesus Loves Me" and the theme song to McDonald's  "Nobody can do it..".
That was 38 Thanksgivings ago.  Today he has a very small scar (or that's what he's told me).  But it's certainly included in my cornucopia of emotions.

And then there' s sad one.

It was a lovely November day.  A mid-afternoon phone call from my husband, Rich, indicated that he didn't feel well.  Two hours later I heard an emergency room physician tell me that my husband "did not survive".  We had been married 8 months and 4 days.  I was devastated.  We were planning a great life of joy and happiness together and he was dead just 10 days shy of his 49th birthday.

That was 19 years ago.

Happy Thanksgivings and painful ones.  Even the one that includes the passing of Margaret Parker when my children and I went to tell her goodbye.  That day included my parents and some other family members enjoying a turkey breast in a park in Georgia as we traveled to North Carolina on Thanksgiving Day.

The important thing remains - that love for God that my parents assumed we would inherit is still a part of who I am.

I hope that never changes.

May your life be filled with enough sunshine

to make you appreciate the shadows

No bless your hearts

"He needs a constant."

Those were my words when my son, Tray, was a pre-teen.  I think you could also say those words were my prayer. A bit of a selfish prayer I think.  Because what I was really praying for was to have a man in my life.

It was about that time that I became friends with a lovely young woman named Kathy McCalpin.  We were both in a singles organization.  Kathy loved to laugh and shared her daughter, Amanda, with my children and me.  We enjoyed doing things together.

And Kathy was crazy about Tray - she laughed at everything he said and always told our other friends how cute and adorable my youngest child was.

And suddenly it dawned on me.  Kathy could be the fluff in Tray's life, and I was the constant.  I was the one who made sure he did his homework, brushed his teeth, was nice to his sisters.  When I felt like I had to be strict, Kathy didn't have to.

Both of us were necessary.

I recently told my daughter Renee about a time in my life that I have remembered with sadness.

Tray was playing in Little League ALL STAR baseball game.  His sisters and I had been to all the games..  Their dad lives in another state and it was very rare for him to be at a game. (Please note - I'm not trying to throw anyone under the bus - it's just a fact).

However, this particular game was the exception.

Our team was losing by one run.  Tray was up, got on base and was credited for an RBI when one of his teammates tied the score.  And then he stole second and probably third (he was "bad" about that).  Another base hit - and Tray crossed the plate.

Our team won the game.

And Tray came off the field with these words "Where's my dad?"  I was appalled.  I had been sitting in the stands watching him play ball all summer.  And he wanted to see his dad?

Renee had no "bless your hearts" for me.

" Mom," she said, "Tray knew you would be there.  You were always there."

Hum-I was the constant.

I love it when my children teach me something  (most of the time).

I don't think I ever to ask the Lord to make me the constant in my children's lives as we embarked upon our time as a single parent family.  However, as I look back, I am grateful that I could fill that role.

And I've been reminded of the fact that I have a constant in my life as well.  I remember a song from youth group - "Yesterday, Today, Forever, Jesus is the same;  All may change, but Jesus never Jesus is the same" (Hebrews 13:8).

I'll never try to convince anyone that I was a perfect parent (or that I will ever achieve that status). What I am convinced of is that I know first of all - that God my Heavenly Father is the perfect parent and that He is my constant.

Which makes me think that I can hear my grandma Nesmith Singing - Constantly Abiding.

I love memories!