What is Advent Really

~ Brad Sheppard ~ Leave a comment

what is Advent really
but a potent pause
to refuse the hustle
to stop on the roadside
to watch for the One coming

what is Advent really
but a deliberate listening
for a Word from the wilderness
that swarms like locusts
and is as sweet as honey

what is Advent really
but an earth-shattering spectacle
as valleys go high
and mountains go low
and God arrives with the heavenly host

what is Advent really
but a glorious invitation
to turn right around
to follow the light on the horizon
to find the new way home.

Of Bumblebees and Gratitude

~ Brad Sheppard ~ Leave a comment

All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
and all your faithful shall bless you….
My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.
Psalm 145:10, 21

I tend to notice bumblebees. They tend to be slow and take their time meandering from one flower to another. I tend to be slow and take my time meandering from one flower to another as I water them. So, I usually see the bumblebees. I also notice how the flowering plants come and go from spring to summer to autumn so that there is always something blooming from which the bumblebees can feed. I delight in how nature works that way and am humored by how pollen clings so heavily to the bumblebees that I wonder how they can fly!

As I read Psalm 145 I find myself wondering too about how the bumblebees thank God. I can honestly say that I really had not considered that question before now. Yet, the psalmist claims that all of God’s works shall give thanks so that must include the bumblebees. Maybe it’s something expressed by their buzzing. Maybe it’s how they just be as bees without worrying about anything. Maybe it’s in how they delight God in a way not so different in how they delight me.

It seems to me as it does this psalmist that gratitude is essential to who we are. As creatures we recognize our reliance and dependence on our Creator. In reality there is no more a self-made person than there is a self-made bumblebee. We simply cannot make it on our own. We belong to and depend on an intricate web of life created and sustained by God. When we can acknowledge that we can then appreciate it. And, then we realize the essentialness of gratitude.

So I am going to continue to attempt to make gratitude a habit—a practice I choose each day. Hopefully, it will stick like pollen to a bumblebee! And, hopefully, my gratitude expressed the best way I know how will delight God and bless God’s name forever. I invite you to do the same. Say thanks to God and practice gratitude in the best way you know how. I assure you God will be delighted!

All Kinds of Folks

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Went to Sam’s to pick up a rotisserie chicken and a macaroni and cheese for supper—convenient and quick after getting back from a marching band regional competition at 3:00 AM. I noticed and appreciated all the diversity I encountered—the different generations, a multitude of hues and accents, various ethnicities and countries of origin. I felt a certain joy in it. I found myself thinking, “This is the America I desire. A place where all kinds of folks find welcome and home. A place where we can make and share community together. Heck, where we do the simply things like shop at Sam’s together and make space for one another as we check out the prepared foods.”

But I know this not the America everyone wants. Too many minds and mouths are full of racism, bigotry, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia and all other kinds of discrimination based in hatred and fear. Not a few of them will just as quickly profess faith in Jesus. Honestly, I simply cannot comprehend that. Now, I know the long history of Christian faith and practice being poisoned by hate. It’s just hard for me to see folks so blinded by it.

So some humble advice, be aware of how easily hate and evil can slip into your thinking about others—especially others who are different from you. And as well, be aware of folks who can as easily proclaim Christ as they can spew fear and hate and dehumanize others. Ask yourself, “Do they really know Jesus?”

Well, I must say if you haven’t tried Sam’s rotisserie chicken you’re kind of missing out on a tasty deal. And if that’s not your thing, at least take a stroll through a Sam’s or Costco, a local festival, a farmer’s market or some other place where folks gather, and find there a certain joy in the diversity we are and the diversity we ought to embrace and celebrate.

Good Morning

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good morning

the sun crosses the thin horizon
swiftly skyward as if on a string
the light it gives is still surprising
as the darkness vanishes away

the sound of brilliant birdsong
brings blessing to this morning
the rise of notes from her voice
uplifts the start of this new day

how can I not be hopeful
while bathed in such light
and serenaded with such beauty?

how can I not be joyful
when offered such a promise
and graced with such a gift?

how can I not be curious
about what the new day brings
and what new thing might happen?

I could choose to solely mourn
to grieve all the disaster
I could elect to curse what is
and fear what happens after

but I possess another choice
one granted by the Giver
to wake to this good morning
and to live in love and laughter.

Brad Sheppard
March 10, 2025

The Crocus

~ Brad Sheppard ~ Leave a comment

when the first crocus blooms
I feel I can breathe
the harshness of winter
no longer seizes me

the fragility of the flower
withstanding spring rain
gives me the courage
to weather the pain

the vibrancy of color
dispels winter’s bleakness
lifting my spirit
despite any weakness

I admire great oaks
and ancient mountain ranges
that weather it all
like the wisest of sages

but the crocus of spring
is resilient and faithful
giving me the hope
that I might be able.

Brad Sheppard
March 17, 2025

~ Brad Sheppard ~ Leave a comment

From where I sit to regularly work
I see out a window into my front yard
where birdfeeders hang and beckon for visitors.

I see a variety of assorted birds—
sparrows and nuthatches,
finches and chickadees,
doves and woodpeckers.

On a recent morning to my utter surprise
a pileated woodpecker landed on an adjacent tree trunk.
I had seen one before deep in the woodlands of Kentucky
but certainly not in my own yard.

I hastily moved to the front door
and peered through the glass.
Still surprised I took it all in
not knowing when I’d see one again.

There are days when I see less
not because there’s less to see
but because I do not look out as much.

I get too busy.
I am too anxious.
I become too distracted.
I am in too much of a hurry.

The same can be true of other ways of seeing.
What could I see if I look beyond myself?
What is waiting to be seen on the horizons of my life?
What might be nearer than I realize if I would only look up?

I try to remind myself that there is good in the world—
actual good that I can see.
I also try to remind myself to look for it—
even when I do not expect to see it.

I am going to look out today—
beyond myself
beyond my doubts
beyond my limited expectations.

I am going to see today—
see what good there is
see what God is showing me
see God in the midst of it all.

unwearied

~ Brad Sheppard ~ Leave a comment

you are not made weary
when you make the sun to rise
and set again at day’s end

you are not made weary
when you awake the seed to sprout
and water it until fruition

you are not made weary
when you stir the waves upon the seas
and still the streams from which we drink

you are not made weary
when you lift us up when we struggle in the mire
and set us firmly upon the foundation of your presence

you are not made weary
when you love us when we cannot love ourselves
and heal us when we consider the depth of our brokenness

you are not made weary
when you grace us with a mercy unmerited and free
and forgive us again and again and again

you are not made weary
when you see that our weariness is all consuming
and we can go no further

you are not made weary
when you strengthen us for today
and promise to strengthen us for tomorrow.

  • Inspired by singer and songwriter Sandra McCracken during a workshop on the creative life at the 2025 Symposium on Worship in which she commented on how our God never grows weary.

Traveling with the Holy Family

~ Brad Sheppard ~ 1 Comment

On a mission trip to eastern Europe in 2005, I acquired not one, not two but three nativities of the holy family. The clay one pictured above I prized the most and to this day it remains one of my favorites in my collection. When it came time for our group to return to the States I carefully wrapped and packed the holy families in my carry-on backpack. Astonishingly, on each leg of the trip as we passed through security lines and by custom officials I was not even once stopped or inspected despite the fact that others in the group routinely had to open their bags for examination. Afterwards and to this day, I always give full credit to those holy families that traveled with me for getting me home without avail!

Now, as I did here, I always tell this story a bit tongue in cheek! I don’t particularly ascribe much power to these nativities but it certainly makes for a great story! That being said, I do find an important lesson for the life of faith in this humorous coincidence.

When we enter the season of Advent to prepare our minds, hearts and lives for Christmas we often speak of it as a journey. We travel through the season of Advent to make our way to Christmas. Much the same, we think of the life of faith as a journey. Again, we make our way along a path in which we strive to follow Jesus ever dependent on him for guidance and strength. This journey is not seasonal but yearlong and year upon year upon year. It is our life’s work to walk the way with Jesus.

Each Advent season my family places our numerous nativities on display in our home. This task in recent years has been taken up by our son Ian—lover of all things Christmas. We see these various nativities all season long and up to the celebration of Epiphany. Then they are carefully packed away until next season comes around.

But not all of them. There is a very small one piece nativity—composed of Mary, Joseph, the babe Jesus and two llamas that sits year-around on my desk at home. It remains there as a reminder—a reminder of the One I seek to follow and the One who seeks after me. It reminds me that I do not travel the road of faith alone but with great companions. Not only am I reminded of Jesus and all that he did and does for me, I am also reminded of the remarkable faith and tenacity of Mary and Joseph who’s “Yes” to God changed the world. They inspire me to try and say “Yes” to God day after day.

You too can walk the journey with the holy family. As you make your way through Advent, Christmas, Epiphany and the whole year long, may the presence of these three guide and inspire you all the way home.

An Autumn Afternoon

~ Brad Sheppard ~ 1 Comment

On Sunday afternoon while the rest of the family were about their various obligations I decided to take in the fall foliage at the Carillon Historical Park in Dayton. I knew I could walk among its trees and climb its clock tower for a view of the surrounding area. If I lucked out I would also catch a glimpse of the eagles that nest in the park that lies along the Great Miami River.

I made my way through the park snapping photos of various trees and the natural settings around the park. To my disappointment I did not eye an eagle. I climbed the clock tower and though I appreciated the view I did not find it particularly awe inspiring. I descended the tower, took a few more photos and headed to the parking lot.

I had parked under a row of maple trees adorned gloriously in shimmering red leaves. After having visited the park I nearly snickered to myself as I concluded that the most fabulous fall foliage ended up there in the parking lot! So I decided to take my time under the canopy of the nearest maple tree. I took note of how the light shown through and how the wind gently rustled the leaves. And then I spotted something entirely by chance—the smallest of little beetles perched in the sunlight on a leaf. It quickly gained my full attention. I watched it intently and I moved about to attempt to capture a good photo of it. I felt amused, amazed and awed by it and the moment I found myself in.

I realized later how my full attention had settled on that tiny insect to the point that it was as if it was just me and it in the world. It didn’t take me much longer to realize what a gift that beetle had become to me. In the midst of so much on my mind and so much happening in this world I was able for a moment to just be—the beetle, the maple, the wind and me all surrounded and all infused by the glory of an autumn afternoon.

I had gone looking for beauty and for that perfect fall photo. I had assumed, wrongly, that I would find it in the park or up on the clock tower and not in the parking lot. But, thanks be to God, I looked up as I neared my car to see that beetle sitting just so on a glorious but temporal leaf. For that moment under that tree with the smallest of creatures I am thankful. Long after the leaves are gone I am sure I will still be grateful for the grace of that day.

I Believe…

~ Brad Sheppard ~ Leave a comment

“I believe

that I shall see

the goodness of the Lord

in the land of the living.”

Psalm 27:13

I believe….

It takes a lot to trust.  To depend on another.  To lean into the unknown.  Belief is a confident stance even when the odds seem low and the way unclear.  Belief is bold.  Belief is mighty.  Belief gives life to hope.

…that I shall see….

Vision can be a funny thing.  We can look without seeing.  We can fail to perceive what should be obvious.  We can assume that nothing new will appear among the mundane, the everyday, the familiar.  The blind sought out Jesus.  Not only to see but to believe.  Jesus granted sight to the willing, to the ready, to the faith filled.

…the goodness of the Lord….

The bad.  The wrong.  The unjust.  The evil.  It leaves us feeling forsaken by any good.  It tends to surround us.  It bombards us.  It is hard to escape.  Yet, the good is plentiful.  Sometimes out of sight.  Rarely calling attention to itself.  Always going about its business of love.  The good does want to be found.  Outside of us.  Inside of us.  Nothing fights evil like discovering the good.

…in the land of living.

God showed up in the garden.  The garden of Eden.  The garden of Gethsemane. The garden of Easter morning.  I usually find God in the garden.  Maybe to find God we simply need to plant more, water more and wait for beauty and abundance.

“I believe

that I shall see

the goodness of the Lord

in the land of the living.”

Psalm 27:13