Mary Crisp Jameson - copyright material







Sunday, June 26, 2011

Significance of A Friendly Shade

     Thinking of the significance of a friendly shade, I am reminded of a large, beautiful oak tree that grew in the midst of a forty acre field.  That oak tree did not appeal to me in the least during January or February when daddy had me cutting persimmon sprouts out of the field.  It really did not mean much to me when we planted cotton or the early plowing of the cotton.  But when the sun began to heat up the air and burn the skin, then I developed an entirely different perspective of the tree.  It became a refuge in which I found comfort from the broiling sun.
     In the frozen wastelands of northern Alaska or Canada you won't be hearing conversations about the need for a friendly shade.  Those conversations only come about when the situation arises that would cause the desire or need for the friendly shade.
     A person's path may take him/her into a variety of situations in which there is no need nor thought about a friendly shade.  But the statement about the possibility of rain falling into your life is true for, "Into each life some rain must fall."  So you can be sure that into each life there will come the time for the need of a friendly shade in which one can escape the problems of life.  Jesus Christ wants to be the friendly shade for each of us.  Perhaps, today, He does not look as if He is beckoning to you, yet he still says, "come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest".  Just be aware there is a shade to be found, and you will find it to be "a friendly shade".

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Christian Devotional from the words of Robert G. Lee

     Robert G Lee was a pulpit giant and proclaimed  “a legend in his time.”  He was noted for his chuckles, the way he brought forth the word of God, and the impact he made for the cause of Christ.  Today's writing in A Friendly Shade does not include any of his humor but it ends with one of his poems and applies to the lives of all people. 
     As I was reading his memoirs in the book, Payday Everyday, Dr. Lee wrote, “It is not how long people live, but how much they live that matters most.  Life Is not measured or evaluated by birth-dates but by deeds.
   We live in deeds, not years,
   In thoughts, not breaths,
   In feelings, not in figures on a dial.
   We should count time by heartthrobs.
   He lives longest who lives the noblest,
   Acts the best-
   Lives more in weeks than in years
   Do some whose fat blood sleeps
   As it creeps along their veins.
                         Robert Greene Lee

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Christian Thoughts and Truth

I enjoy tossing my writing ideas around with Charles, my co-author, and as I was sharing what I was trying to do with a children's book about Joseph and forgiveness, Charles began to give me a comparison between Jesus and Joseph.  It was one he had researched and presented during one of his sermons several years ago.  I had never heard this comparison, but found it interesting and worthy of sharing.   So here it is.

Both were dearly loved by their father
Both were sent by their fathers to their brethren
Both were rejected by their brethren
Joseph was stripped of his coat and put in a pit; Jesus was stripped of his robe and put in a grave
Both were taken down into Egypt
Both were betrayed into the hands of the Gentiles
Both were accused by false witnesses
Both were silent in their own defense
Both were betrayed for silver
Both were placed in judgment with two others
Of those in judgment with them – one was saved and one was not
Joseph was imprisoned three years- Jesus was entombed three days
Joseph took a Gentile bride after prison – Jesus took a Gentile bride (church) after the grave
Both provided salvation for their people
The brothers of Joseph recovered his bones and took them to the promised land – God resurrected the body of Jesus and took it to Heaven

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Humorous True Story

May is truly the month for weddings, and as I rest beneath my friendly shade today I thought about a humorous true story Charles and I wrote in A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Morgue and decided to share the story with you.  Laughter is where you find it, and if you enjoy laugh-out-loud short stories click on the book.  It will take you to Amazon for a quick review; it is one of the many websites that sells it either as a paperback or a Kindle edition.    


     There comes the first time in every preacher’s life when it becomes his honor, privilege, or task to officiate at his first wedding.  This first time officiating at a wedding sometimes leaves the minister more nervous than either the bride or the groom. 
     So my friend, Coy, it is rumored, was doing just that, conducting his first wedding.  And also as predicted he was more nervous than any of the others who had a part in the ceremony.  When Coy came to the part where he pronounces the couple as being joined together in marriage, he said, “I now pronounce you male and female.”


         

The title is "Clarifying The Gender"