Grace In The Wilderness, February 15, 2015

Grace In The Wilderness
A Sermon delivered February 15, 2015
University Christian Church San Diego
Rev Dr Steve Shepard

Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, 17 who brings out chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: 18 Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. 19 I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. 20 The wild animals will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches; for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, 21 the people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise. (Isaiah 43.16-21)

In my thinking I keep coming back to the theme of “wilderness” as I think about our life in recent times. Ours has been something of a wilderness experience. The concept of wilderness, of course, has a rich history in our faith tradition. Our Hebrew ancestors had a seminal experience that was central to their identity when they were liberated from Egyptian bondage, miraculously crossed the Red Sea, and then "wandered in the wilderness" for 40 years before they reached their "promised land".

Our wilderness experience has lasted just over 2 years now, which is not too bad in comparison!

A wilderness experience is a time of change, a time of movement, often a time of loss. There is often a sense of disorientation, a shaking up of the ways things have always been.  Like that old Jerry Lee Lewis song: “There’s a whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on.”

A wilderness experience is not necessarily a negative thing, although it may feel that way at times. It can actually be a very stimulating and creative time.

Frank Herbert, who wrote the novel Dune, said, “A person needs new experiences. They jar something deep inside, allowing [us] to grow. Without change something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens.”

I have noticed that about our church life recently – there has been lots of excitement and energy; an interest in revival, a new willingness to jump in and get things done.

The wilderness experience of ancient Israel was so significant that they have been trying to make sense of it ever since. The recent movie “Exodus: Gods and Kings”, was one more recounting of their wilderness experience in hopes of understanding it. Because when something like that happens, we humans have to make sense of it somehow. That’s just how we are wired.

Early on some of the best Hebrew writers and poets considered it a punishment for their mistakes. In the book of Numbers the writer says, “the Lord’s anger was kindled against Israel, and [God] made them wander in the wilderness for forty years.”

Other writers saw it as was way of forcing them to trust God, a kind of coerced obedience.

After that some of them considered it an opportunity for God to treat them like a helpless child. In Deuteronomy the writer says to Israel, “in the wilderness… you saw how God carried you, just as one carries a child.”

Still others considered it an opportunity for God to teach them some hard lessons about life. In Deuteronomy 8 it is written that the wilderness was intended “to humble you and to test you, and in the end to do you [some] good.”

Still other Hebrew writers explained the wilderness as a way of getting them to see what was in their hearts.

Jeremiah says to God’s people that “those who survived [their struggle] found grace in the wilderness.”

And then there is the novel explanation from the Book of Ezekiel: Israel’s wilderness was a time for God to be tested. The Lord was so angry that he planned to destroy the people, but at the last minute couldn’t do it, and God’s mind was changed. (Ezekiel 20) 

How do you explain our wilderness experience of the last couple of years? I am sure you like me, have tried to find meaning in it. What has it been for you? A punishment, a time of testing, an occasion to learn life’s hard lessons, or a way of finding grace?

Maybe it has been a little of all those things. Okay – not the punishment part. Let’s discard that one.

Here’s my point this morning: Our wilderness journey is an opportunity to find grace.  And grace will be ours as we “learn our way through” this transition period, taking responsibility for our life together and perceiving “the new thing” that God has in mind for UCC. There is grace in the wilderness for us.

A Wilderness Year

The year 1978 was a wilderness year for me and my family. At the time we were living in Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley. At the end of 1977

·       I lost my job,

·       I lost my income,

·       I lost my church family,

·       and much of my personal support,

·       I even lost my denominational affiliation, which for a minister was no small thing. I was in transition big time. Fortunately Cindy was still gainfully employed.

Our son was less than a year old when the year began, so for most of 1978 I was Mr. Mom, a stay at home dad.

·       I changed a lot of diapers,

·       made sure Nathan was fed well,

·       took him to the park and the occasional dr’s appt,

·       gave him afternoon naps

·       and did all the other things that go along with caring for an infant.

As with any wilderness experience, despite the difficulty, the uncertainty and the personal struggle, it was an exciting and memorable time.  It turned out to be one of the best years of my life. It was the year of my first connection to University Christian Church, as I got some personal guidance from ministers Wayne Bryant and Rich Perry. 

In the middle of that wilderness year, I had a literal wilderness experience. Here are some pictures of that experience 37 years ago. 

I took a group of church youth on a weeklong backpack in the wilderness of Sequoia. We parked at the Lodgepole Camp ground on a Sunday afternoon in July and headed north into the wilderness, getting only a few miles in before setting up our first night’s camp. 

That first night a bear made off with one of the two bags that held our entire food supply. So there we were, Monday morning at our campsite, packing our backpacks, looking at only half of the food we had brought for the entire journey, debating what to do.

These kids were pretty adventurous so we decided not to give in to our losses. Instead of heading back down the trail to our cars, we headed up the trail, further into the forest. To our great surprise we made it through the entire week just fine. Our stomachs weren’t full after every meal, but we never went hungry. We not only survived, we thrived and we came home with great stories to tell and a readiness to go again.

We discovered that what we had was enough.

UCC, we are discovering that same measure of grace in our life together at this particular time. We have lost some important leaders in our church life recently:

·       Paul Svenson,

·       Tim Tiffany,

·       the Girl Band,

·       Paula Elizabeth,

·       Ron Dewes,

·       Pastor Jill,

·       and others.

How do we move on after losses like that? We discover grace in our wilderness by understanding that who we are right now, and what we have right now, is enough to move forward. We make it enough. Our financial resources, physical resources, and especially our human resources are sufficient to get the job done. How can I say that? Because, in the words of Isaiah, God is “about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, don’t you see it?”

Hand wringing will not serve us well; faith in the God who has been in this church for over 100 years is what we need. And will lead to some pleasant surprises.

Free Climbing El Cap

Last month, two men, Kevin Jorgenson and Tommy Caldwell, accomplished something that had never been done before. They climbed the 3,000 foot face of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. And they did so without using all the apparatus used by every other climber who has ever ascended it. Here are some pictures of El Capitan and their climb of that monstrous peak.

It was considered impossible to free climb El Capitan, using only one’s hands and feet and a safety rope.

·       The face was too steep.

·       The dangers were too great.

·       The toll it would take on one’s hands and feet was too severe.

But they did it. It took an amazing amount of planning and preparation, but they did it. It took them 19 grueling days to make that 3000’ vertical climb from the Valley floor to the top.

They rested in tents that hung out from the cliff, hanging hundreds of feet above the Valley.

The climb was broken down into 32 “pitches” or sections. The most difficult section was about half way up where their route took them sideways rather than straight up. On that particular section, one of them fell 11 different times, and dangled like a spider on a string before being caught by his safety rope.

It was a wilderness accomplishment that captured the attention of people around the world. Even President Obama tweeted them congratulations afterword and said, “So proud of Caldwell and Jorgesen for conquering El Capitan. You remind us that anything is possible.”

There is something about that climb worth noting: they planned for the occasional slip, and learned how to survive what would have been deadly falls. They endured the occasional mishaps for the sake of their primary objective.

All of us are tempted to think that the future of UCC is all about whether I will like the pastor, or whether I will get enough out of worship, or if the music meets my needs. But there is grace for us in our wilderness when we keep the mission of this church the most important thing. And what an incredible mission we have.

Our mission has to do seeking wholeness in our lives and in our community. It has to do with helping the homeless. It has to do with celebrating God’s presence within each one of us in worship. It has to do with welcoming and assimilating people into this fellowship without regard to sexual orientation or any other human condition. 

We have an amazing mission that must ever be kept before us. It is larger than each one of us, but it includes each one of us.

Those mountain climbers kept their primary objective in sight at all times. They overcame the occasional mishap for the sake of the mission. As we do that in our life together we will find grace in the wilderness.

Wild

The recent motion picture Wild, starring Reese Witherspoon, is the true story of a young woman named Cheryl Strayed.

She had experienced some tragic losses in her life.  Her mother had died of cancer -- way too young.  Her marriage had fallen apart – in large part because of her own poor behavior.  She had spent years in reckless living, jumping from relationship to relationship, finding herself in a downward spiral. She found herself in a hopeless place, a personal wilderness, struggling for wholeness and peace.

Jerry Harvey wrote a book about organizational life some years ago, with this title:  “How Come Every Time I Get Stabbed in the Back, My Fingerprints Are Always On The Knife?” It is an unwieldy title to be sure, but the message is clear: take responsibility for whatever has happened to you, for that is the beginning of grace and an avenue for change.

Cheryl Stayed understood that and took responsibility for her actions. After a lot of soul searching she decided to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. She was not an experienced hiker. She did not even live on the west coast; she was from Pennsylvania. Her resources were limited. She simply knew that something was needed to bring healing and wholeness to her life.

The Pacific Crest Trail is an amazing wilderness journey. It is called one of the best trail experiences on earth. Beginning here in San Diego County at the Mexican border it winds over 2500 miles ending at the Canadian border in Washington State. It meanders over foothills and through deserts before following the backbone of the majestic Sierra Nevada Mountains.

At one point in her journey she meets another hiker named Stacey.

“Why are you here?” she is asked.

“I don’t know. I just need to find something in myself,” she replies.

She went OUT from her home, OUT and away from her losses and her friends. She went OUT into the forest, OUT into the wilderness. But she went inward and discovered who she really was.

As she reflected on her journey she wrote,

“I knew that if I allowed fear to overtake me, my journey was doomed. Fear, to a great extent, is born of a story we tell ourselves, and so I chose to tell myself a different story from the one women are told. I decided I was safe. I was strong. I was brave. Nothing could vanquish me.” 

She learned something in her wilderness that we are discovering as a church: that her past losses could not defeat her. She had the resources within herself to complete her journey – and not just barely. She finished her trek with great flair, defeating the twin demons of fear and a mentality of scarcity.

UCC’s wilderness journey is a time to outwardly search for a new pastor. But grace will be ours – in the process – as we journey inward and discover who we really are as UCC. How deep is our faith? How great is our love? How strong is our allegiance to our God and our church? And how patient are we as we wait for God, who promised, in the words of Isaiah, “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, don’t you see it?”

Conclusion

In Stanley Elkins novel “The Living End”, God is asked “Why all the variety and differences in the world, why all the mess and madness?” God’s answer, “Because it makes a better story.”

Our journey may not feel like it right now, but there is grace in the wilderness for us as we get a vision of the larger picture. For in God’s scheme of things, it’s all a part of that “better story” that awaits us. Amen.

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Tomorrow Is Valentine's Day! February 13, 2015

Don't talk to me about Valentines Day.

At my age an affair of the heart is a bypass!

~Joan Rivers  

Happy Birthday Gloria! Happy Birthday to my cousin Gloria Harrell Watson of Knoxville, Tennessee on this Friday the 13th! Gloria's mother Vicki Gower Johnston lives in Oak Harbor, Washington. 

All of my cousins, including Gloria, spent most of their growing up years in San Diego, and now live in diverse locations throughout the western United States. Gloria left San Diego some 40 years ago and, being in Tennessee, has not had much contact with her cousins over the years. I did receive an email from her recently in which she said she is doing well. She had a couple of stents placed in her heart last fall and is still in Cardio Rehab. Best wishes to Gloria for a continuing recovery and for a wonderful birthday!

Happy Valentines Day! Following is an updated musical photo presentation for Valentine's Day tomorrow. It shows various members of our larger family, smooching, snuggling or otherwise showing their affection for one another. May it be a way of helping you celebrate Valentine's Day!



          

"Show Me The Love." Valentines Day is a perfect opportunity to recognize people in our family tree who have shown love in their lives to other people. As I think about the people I have discovered from our past, one person comes to mind who showed outstanding love in his life. Unfortunately we don't know a whole lot about many of our family members of generations past. But we do know a significant amount about this particular fellow. 

His name was Richard Gray and he is my GGG Grandfather. Here's my lineage to him: me / Maida Gower Shepard (b. 1924) / Nola Shannon Gower (1903-2004) / Samuel Pickens Shannon (1858-1930) / Peggy Ann Gray Shannon (1829-1899) / Richard Gray (1803-1882). 

Richard Gray was born in South Carolina to an Irish father and an American mother. After moving to Mississippi he married Polly Gilmore and with her had at least 4 children, including the woman whose GG grandson I would one day become, Peggy Ann Gray. 

About the time the Civil War started, the Gray family began moving westward from Mississippi, most of them to Stone County, Arkansas. Daughter Peggy Ann Gray Shannon and her husband David Reid Shannon, however, moved to Louisiana, where David died in 1864 serving in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. Peggy and her 7 children were left to fend for themselves under dire circumstances. 

Word got back to Peggy's 62 year old father Richard in Arkansas of her plight, and his heart was touched. He accepted the difficult task of traveling 400 dusty miles -- probably in a wagon -- from Mountain View, Arkansas to Sugartown, Louisiana to gather up Peggy and her children and move them to Arkansas. What else but a father's love for his only daughter could make a man do what he did? 

Moving Peggy Ann Shannon and her 7 children from Southern Louisiana to Northern Arkansas in the aftermath of the Civil War was no easy task. It was a slow, difficult journey that must have taken weeks. The South had been decimated in the war, people were desperate, poverty was rampant and travel had great risks. To undertake this journey required a heart full of love, a pocket full of greenbacks, and lots of help. The help Richard received from his sons -- Peggy's brothers -- James, Samuel and Lawson, who made the journey with him to rescue their family. 

As a result of Richard's venture of love, the family was reunited and they lived out their lives on homesteaded property west of Mountain View, Arkansas. Richard died in 1882 at 79 years old, and is the first burial in Gray's Cemetery near Timbo, Arkansas. Richard Gray gets my vote for the "Show Me The Love" award.
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Steve Shepard

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice, February 7, 2015

Sugar and spice and everything nice;

that's what little girls are made of.

Happy Birthday today to my cousin Paula Harrell Tuzzolino. Paula lives with her husband Frank Tuzzolino in Sun Lakes, Arizona. Her mom, Vicki Gower Johnston lives with husband Duke in Oak Harbor, Washington.

The first picture shows Paula on the right, next to her daughter Heather and Heather's husband Sean and their children. This picture was taken last summer when Paula and her part of our family had a reunion in Oak Harbor, Washington. In the background of this picture is the scenic and historic Deception Pass Bridge near Oak Harbor.

Paula is originally from San Diego and is one of the 12 grandchildren of Leroy and Nola Shannon Gower. All 12 of us grandkids were mid-century children born in Southern California in the two decades after the Gowers moved from Oklahoma to San Diego in 1942. Actually two of the Gower grandchilden, Paula's brothers David and Michael Harrell, grew up in San Diego, but were born in Japan when their father Carl Harrell was stationed there while in the military in the mid 1950s.

Paula and husband Frank split their time these days between warm and sunny Arizona and scenic Western Washington. They also occasionally make their way to San Antonio, Texas where daughter Heather lives with husband Sean and their children Lexi and Tori, Paula's grandchildren.

It seems these days I am being drawn to family pictures of babies and young children, pictures that capture the feel of childhood and family life in the early years of our Gower and Shepard families, especially in San Diego. 

The second picture I am including (above) is a pajama pic showing 3 or 4 year old Paula on the left with her cousin Linda Shepard (1950-1971) on the right.

They were born just months apart and were very close as children. This picture appears to have been taken in front of the Shepard home on Ulric Street in San Diego about 1954.

The third picture was probably taken a couple of years later and shows Paula on the right and her sister Gloria in their Sunday finest, gloves and all. It was probably taken in San Diego although I cannot identify the exact location or the circumstances. Happy Birthday and best wishes to Paula!
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Steve Shepard

Happy Ground Hog Day! Feb 2, 2015

The farther backward you can look,

the farther forward you can see.

~Winston Churchill

Happy Ground Hog Day! Today also happens to be the birthday of Cindy Dillon Shepard, the wife of my brother Gary Shepard of Oak Harbor, Washington. Cindy has been in our family now for over 35 years, ever since she and Gary were married in Southern California in 1979. They have lived in western Washington ever since Gary retired in San Diego in 2003. Best wishes to Cindy for a very special birthday!

The first picture shows Cindy with husband Gary on the left, and me and Cindy on the right. This picture was taken last summer in Anacortes, Washington. Thanks to nephew Steven Paul Shepard for taking this picture.

William Elmer Shepard (1862-1915). Today is also the birthday of my Great Grandfather William Elmer Shepard. William Elmer lived a very interesting life. Born during the Civil War, his father William Shepard (1835-1862) died from a war wound when young William Elmer was but a few months old. His mother remarried into a family where William Elmer felt unwelcome. He ran away from his mother and his step family as a teen and never looked back.

William Elmer was a man of great adventures, having struck out on his own as a teenager and ventured as a free spirit westward across 19th Century mid-America. After a few vagabond years, he found a wife in Illinois, and some years later made a home with Elvira Owens and their two children in Oklahoma where he lived out the rest of his life. 

100 years ago today, when living in Beaver County, Oklahoma, William Elmer celebrated his 53rd and last birthday, although it could not have been much of a celebration. He was deathly ill and would not live but another two weeks. He had been diagnosed with untreatable stomach cancer the previous fall.

He probably gifted his son, my grandfather William Shepard, with a spirit of adventure and wanderlust, as well as the complementary gift of story telling.

The second picture shows William Elmer's headstone in the Sophia Cemetery in Beaver County, Oklahoma. Shown below is the entrance to this small country cemetery where a number of our Shepard and Davis ancestors are buried.

I never knew William Elmer Shepard, obviously. But I did know his son quite well, and I knew his Shepard grandsons very well, my father being one of them. And I often wonder how much of William Elmer's personality was inherited by his offspring, in particular how much of his understanding of fatherhood and manhood took root in them. It is difficult to determine with any precision of course, but it is worth pondering to what extent, beyond his DNA, this fatherless vagabond had an effect on future generations of men, especially the 7 of us who are his great grandsons (Rex Russell, me, Gary, Darrell and Russell Shepard, Dane Shepard, and Darren Boyd).

William Elmer's death 100 years ago in February, 1915 occurred during a time of incredible change for his family. His wife Elvira was just 49 years old with a lot of life ahead of her. Their daughter Sadie Shepard Pruett and her husband Levi Pruett had 3 small children and another one yet to be born.

Their son William Shepard had recently fallen in love with the teenager Bura Davis and they were waiting for the best opportunity to marry. When William Elmer died in February, the time was not right for a family celebration. Just a few months later, however, on June 2, William and Bura did marry and the grieving son set out on the greatest adventure of his life, his marriage to Bura Davis. After the death of his father, it was a well deserved turning point for him and the rest of his family.
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Steve Shepard

Babies For a Hundred Years, January 28, 2015

There are words in the soul of a newborn baby,

wanting and waiting to be written.

~Toba Beta

I received in the mail a recent picture of the newest baby in our family, Mason Shepard of Bothell, Washington. His parents sent me this latest picture so I feel compelled to include it in this post and share the joy with all of you. Mason was born just last month to my nephew Patrick and his wife Nicole Haw Shepard, but for a new born, a month is a long time! The first picture shows little Mason by himself on the left, and on the right with his parents Pat and Nicole, and his older brother (by 17 months) Logan Joseph Shepard. 

As an interesting comparison, I am also including a baby picture of Mason's father Patrick when he was a baby, some 24 years ago. This picture was taken in Anacortes, Washington, where Pat's grandparents lived and where he visited often. Also in this picture is Pat's cousin Steven on the left who, like Pat, was born in 1990.

Further it would be even more interesting to compare the previous two baby pictures to yet another baby picture, this one taken 61 years ago and shows Mason's grandfather Darrell Shepard.

This picture also includes Darrell's older sister Linda Shepard (1950-1971) and was taken in San Diego, possibly on the steps of the home of Darrell's grandparents Leroy and Nola Shannon Gower, who resided on Arizona St. in San Diego. Darrell was the fourth child and Linda the third in the family of Eugene and Maida Shepard. 

And finally, this baby photo spread is complete (at least as complete as I can make it from my photo library) with a baby picture of Mason's Great Grandfather Eugene Shepard (1921-2003) sitting in the lap of Mason's Great Great Great Grandfather James Brooks Davis (1870-1928).

This picture was taken in 1922, probably in Beaver County, Oklahoma, where the Davis and Shepard families lived at the time.

So there you have it -- 5 generations of fathers and sons with one exception. Unfortunately I have no picture of Eugene's father William Shepard as a baby. These particular photos -- among all the tales these pictures contain -- tell of the migration of this part of our Shepard family from Oklahoma to San Diego to the Great Northwest -- Portland, Seattle and Anacortes. 

But no matter how many changes take place in our culture, no matter how diverse the generations or varied the particular settings, some things remain the same. Parents and grandparents cherish their baby pictures, while they smile at the memories and the unique stories each one tells.
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Steve Shepard

"Romance Can Blossom Any Old Time", January 21, 2015

Love knows no season, love knows no clime

Romance can blossom any old time.

~Robert L. May

In my last blog post, I celebrated the 150th wedding anniversary of my Great Great Grandparents Bill and Maggie Spear who were married on Jan 15. In that post I asked why anyone would choose to marry in January, especially in Indiana where the winters can be so harsh. In response I heard from a long time reader of the The Shepard's Crook, my 3rd cousin Roberta Owens Brooks, a fellow family researcher who said,

"I have another reason William and Maggie may have married in January. Life on a farm in the Midwest in the 1860’s was difficult and extremely busy most of the year. But in January after their tools were cleaned and repaired and the animals taken care of, there was little to do and people had more leisure time. Time to socialize with friends and neighbors—and to marry. Who wouldn't like to have such an event to attend in the dead of winter? It would be the highlight of the season!"

Thanks to Roberta for these thoughtful comments. This got me to thinking: historically, what months of the year have we and our ancestors chosen to get married? Thanks to having my family history records on computer, I can answer that question fairly easily. In my records of all our family members and ancestors, I have dates for 342 marriages. Some of those marriages were very recent, others go back to the 19th century or even earlier. 

Here is what I discovered: August has been the most popular month to get married, followed by December, then June, then January. That August and June were popular marrying months is not too surprising. But I did not expect December and January to be among the most popular months. Almost 25% of all marriages in our families over the years occurred in those two winter months. Equally surprising is the fact that July was the least popular month to get married. Of those 342 marriage dates, only 9 (2.6%!) were in the month of July. 

I don't want to make too much of all this. Although those of us who did get married in winter can feel a little more mainstream than we might have thought. Perhaps it just goes to show you the truth of the words in the song Winter Wonderland: "Love knows no season, love knows no clime, Romance can blossom any old time."

Happy 5th Anniversary to Havilah and Kevin. Speaking of blossoming romance -- and winter weddings! -- this Friday, January 23, is the 5th wedding anniversary of Kevin and Havilah Colgain Wardle. Havilah and Kevin have been living in South Texas, but just recently returned to Utah, their long time home.

Havilah is a Great Great Great Granddaughter of Bill and Maggie Spear. Here's her lineage: Bill and Maggie Williams Spear / James and Callie Spear Davis / Will and Bura Davis Shepard / Elmer and Beryl Swinney Shepard / Art and Joan Shepard Colgain / Havilah Colgain Wardle.

In my last post I mentioned that the January 1865 wedding of Bill and Maggie was an act that defied the elements. But Kevin and Havilah took defiance to a whole different level! They were married in the winter of 2010, and not in some warm, cozy church. They defied the elements and were married in the snow of the backcountry of Utah! The first picture (above) shows Kevin and Havilah on their wedding day 5 years ago. The second picture (left) shows the two of them in more recent times.

Whether in the 19th century or the 21st century, genuine love is something that has made couples in our family raise their fists to all opposition -- whether the elements, convention, or the spirit of the times -- and say "We will not be denied!" It's a family story that has repeated itself many times and I am sure will be played out many more times in years to come.

Havilah: Yes, we are back in Utah! After living apart for 6 months, we are thrilled to be together in our new home, in Utah. The property in Texas is officially sold to a wonderful family, and we are loving setting up the new house in Utah. Shocker here, but the new house is in excellent condition, and we were able to move in the day we bought it. Getting to decorate rooms vs demoing rooms- feels luxurious! As for the animals, we brought the majority with us. At the buyer's request, I left a few hens in Texas, otherwise, we have a backyard full of furry and feathered "kids." Egg season just started for Quackers The Goose, and the 130 pound puppy, Henry, has discovered, and fallen in love with snow.

 We plan on sticking close to home for our anniversary, and honestly, that feels like the best celebration I can imagine!

Happy Birthday today to Dane and Nathan Shepard. Havilah's uncle Dane Shepard and Dane's son Nathan Shepard share a birthday today, January 21. Dane, who lives with his family in New Castle, Oklahoma, is the son of the late Elmer and Beryl Swinney Shepard and one of the Grandsons of Will and Bura Shepard. This third picture is a recent photo of Dane.

Dane: I'm grateful for the opportunities and the health to stay as busy as ever.  I'm thankful to "wear various hats" as an elder, claims adjuster, and song worship leader and trainer, as well as continuing in hymn writing, recording, and publishing.  And most of all, I like being a husband and father.  At the end of the month we will be headed to Texas for a song worship event and on to Florida to attend lectures there and see Nathan.  He continues to enjoy his second year at Florida College pursuing a business degree.  He manages to stay very involved with music as a percussionist with the jazz ensemble and the touring Friends band.  Being near water and waves, Nathan has also taken up skim boarding in his spare time.

19 year old Nathan Ross Shepard is a second year student at Florida College, a Church of Christ school in Tampa, Florida. Best wishes to Nathan and Dane for a wonderful birthday celebration. This final picture shows college student Nathan with his sister Kaylan, taken at Christmas.
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Steve Shepard

A Cold Sunday for a Warm Event, January 14, 2015

Families are the compass that guides us,
the inspiration to reach great heights,
and our comfort when we occasionally falter.
~Brad Henry

A 150th Anniversary. On Sunday, January 15, 1865 in Owen County, Indiana, our ancestors William Spear and Margaret Frances Williams were married. Why in the world would anyone chose this particular day to get married? The middle of January is the coldest time of the year in Owen County, the average high and low temperatures being 34 and 15 degrees!

Bill's grandfather James Spear had immigrated to America from Armaugh, Ireland around the turn of the 19th century, being one of the most recent immigrants from Europe in our family tree. The Spear family settled in Ohio at first, then immigrated to Indiana in the mid 19th century. The Williams family also had recently immigrated to Owen County in the new state of Indiana, but they had come from nearby Kentucky.

We can only guess why the young couple Bill and Maggie simply could not wait for summer or even spring to get married. Recent years had been emotionally exhausting for them. Bill had married Caroline Spear (Maggie's older sister) in the spring of 1861, with a child, Isolena Belle, being born to them in the spring of 1862. A year later, 24 year old Caroline died, leaving an infant daughter, a devastated husband, and a brokenhearted family, including her sister Maggie.

The first picture (above) shows Margaret (Maggie) Frances Williams Spear with her stepdaughter Isolena Belle Spear (at 3 years old on the right) and Maggie's first child, the infant Caroline (Callie) Spear in her lap. Taken in 1865, this may be the oldest family picture I have ever seen. I found it in a Davis family history (Our Heritage Generations Past and Present) compiled in 1995 by Jerry Davis and Ronald Davis.

In January 1865 when Bill and Maggie were married, the Civil War was still in full swing. At its beginning many thought it would last but a few months with minimal deaths. But by 1865 it had stretched on interminably with hundreds of thousands of young deaths, many of them from Owen County. The numbers continued to climb and the heartbreak all across the country only grew.

After burying his young wife Caroline, Bill found great solace in his sister-in-law Maggie Williams -- 13 years his junior. It was solace that turned to love. And sometime in the early winter of 1864-1865 they decided to marry and refused to wait till spring when "a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love" (Tennyson). So in mid-January, in the dead of winter, they were joined in holy matrimony.

A small church had recently been started by new residents of Owen County, the New Union Church of Christ. According to "The Churches of Christ in Owen County, Indiana" (by Rev. A.T DeGroot), Bill and Maggie and many other ancestors of ours were members of that church. It may have been in that little church on Rattlesnake Rd, northwest of Spencer that they were married.

Just as the marriage of Bill and Maggie in January, 1865 marked the beginning of better times for the Spear and Williams families, that same month marked the beginning of better times for our country with the end of the Civil War in sight. Bill and Maggie did not know it at the time but on the day they got married, January 15, 1865, Ft. Fisher, North Carolina, a major Confederate sea port, fell to Union troops, an effort supported by numerous Indiana soldiers. It was a major defeat for the Confederate cause, one more indication that the war would soon draw to an exhausting close.

Bill and Maggie's winter wedding 150 years ago was an act of defiance. It defied the elements by refusing the let winter get in their way. It defied convention by refusing to wait till spring. And for Bill and Maggie it even defied the spirit of the times, dominated by the horror and sadness of war.

Bill and Maggie eventually had 8 children. The second picture (above) shows Maggie (middle right) with 6 of their children: Callie, Pearl, Clayton, Sarah, Morton, and Effie (with the guitar). On January 1, 1896 their oldest child, Callie Spear, would marry James Brooks Davis. The first of Callie and Jim's 7 children -- and one of Bill and Maggie's grandchildren -- was Bura Emerald Davis, my paternal grandmother.

It has been exactly a century and a half since Bill and Maggie married, an event that is still a cause for celebration. After all these years the power and the marvel of their love remains and the effect of their devotion to one another still moves us.

Congratulations to Kim and Jeff! One of Maggie and Bill's Great Great Granddaughters is Kim Boyd Ortiz-Clark who will celebrate a January wedding anniversary this Sunday. She and Jeff Clark of Blue Springs, Missouri, were married 8 years ago on January 18, 2007.

Kim: 8 years have gone by so fast. Jeff is thinking more about retirement. We are looking into getting a motor home. Oh dear, we must be getting old lol but it sounds like fun to me. We have our house on the market, so after it sells .......our life may change. This picture of the two of us was taken 2 weeks ago in San Diego.
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Steve Shepard

A Family Is What You Make It, January 7, 2015

A family is what you make it.

It is made strong,

not by the number of heads

counted at the dinner table,

but by the rituals

you help family members create,

and by the memories you share.

~Marge Kennedy

This week three birthdays occur in our larger family, all of which are for people who are descended from William and Bura Davis Shepard, or have married into that family.

Happy Birthday Carsyn Slaughter! Monday of this week, January 5, was the second birthday of Carsyn Slaughter, the great granddaughter of Thelma Shepard Boyd. Carsyn is the daughter of Courtney Boyd and Cody Slaughter of San Diego, and the granddaughter of Darren Boyd of Coronado, California.

The first picture shows little Carsyn being held by her mother Courtney Boyd, with her great grandmother Thelma on the left and aunt Kim Boyd Clark on the right. This picture was taken last month when Thelma's family was all together in San Diego for Christmas.

Happy Birthday Cindy Shepard! Today, January 7, is the birthday of my wife Cindy Harris Shepard, with whom I have the great privilege of living, here in San Diego. Cindy was born in the San Joaquin Valley town of Visalia, California but came as a young child with her family to San Diego where she was raised.

This second picture is one of my favorites and shows Cindy as a child with her father Joe Harris (1922-1999). It was taken about 1950 when she was 2 or 3 years old, possibly in the San Joaquin Valley near where the Harrises lived.

Cindy and I actually met 50 years ago this year (no, that can't be right; I need a fact checker!). At the time we were in our senior year in High School -- hers was Hoover High and mine was Kearny High. We got acquainted through our involvement in our Church youth groups -- hers was the Allied Gardens Church of Christ, and mine was the Linda Vista Church of Christ. Our youth groups co-mingled often for outings, Bible studies, and numerous other activities. 

The result was a few marriages (like ours), and many friendships that have endured through the decades. Several of our friends from all those years ago are Facebook friends even today, including Mel Storm, Frank Hankins, Ron Storm, Connie Shaw Cleland, Linda Cranford Elliot, Jennifer Daniels McGoldrick, Tom Skinner, and Jane Saxton Harris.

These days Cindy enjoys the retired life and relishes being an active grandmother of 3 little ones. She also finds time to be of assistance to her mother and aunt, nonagenarians who live in Allied Gardens not far from where we live here in the San Carlos Community of San Diego.

This third picture shows Cindy with her granddaughter Preslea, who is the oldest of the three rug rats. This picture was taken a few months ago at the home of Preslea's parents Nathan and Chenda Sou Shepard.

Happy Birthday, Mary Shepard! This Saturday, January 10 is the birthday of Mary Medina Shepard, wife of my brother Darrell Shepard. She and Darrell live in Kirkland, Washington and are the parents of 3 grown kids and the grandparents of 3 little ones, all of whom live in the Seattle area. Mary is originally from Chicago but met Darrell at Abilene Christian in Abilene, Texas. They have lived in the Great Northwest now for most of their lives.

The fourth picture is one I snatched off of Facebook recently and shows proud mom and grandmother Mary on the right with daughter Rachel and Rachel's son Kellan Shepard, grandson #2 of Mary and Darrell.

Best wishes to these three for memorable and joyful birthdays!
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Steve Shepard

Happy New Year! January 1, 2015

The littlest feet

make the biggest footprints

in our hearts.

Happy New Year to all of you and your loved ones! 2014 was an amazing year for us and for our entire family. Among the most important things that happened in our family in 2014 was the birth of 3 babies. Pictured below are Karver Bearden (parents Lyndsey Aquiningoc and Colton Bearden), Kellan Shepard (parents Rachel Shepard and Bryan Miller) and Mason Shepard (parents Pat and Nicole Shepard).

It's All About The Babies. In the last 5 years, 8 children have been born into the family of Maida and Eugene Shepard. That makes 8 births in 57 months, or about one birth every 7 months since 2010.

Consider that in that same period of time 3 other births occurred in my aunt Thelma Shepard Boyd's part of our family. That means that in the last 5 years, the descendants of William and Bura Davis Shepard have produced a total of 11 children, approximately one birth every 5 months. Clearly that is a rapid clip, and qualifies as a baby boom for our family. I do not know of another time when so many babies were born among us over such a short period of time. We celebrate these new members of our family and rejoice with the happy parents and grandparents. 

Here are the names, birthdates and hometowns of these 11 children:

Preslea Shepard (3/26/10) - San Diego
Logan A. Shepard (5/15/11) - San Diego
Isaac Ortiz (4/23/2012) - San Diego
Dominic Ortiz (4/23/2012) - San Diego
William Shepard (7/28/12) - San Diego
Carsyn Slaughter (1/5/13) - San Diego
Kambree Bowman (6/14/13) - Weatherford, Texas
Logan J. Shepard (7/21/13) - Bothell, Washington
Karver Bearden (9/23/14) - Weatherford, Texas
Kellan Shepard (10/01/14) - Kirkland, Washington
Mason Shepard (12/12/14) - Bothell, Washington

It is gratifying to know that the future of our family is assured and is in good hands.

Happy Birthday Chenda! 3 of the births mentioned above are children of our son Nathan and his wife Chenda Sou Shepard, whose 35th birthday is today! Best wishes and many happy returns of the day to Chenda, who lives with her family in San Diego. She stays busy with her 3 young ones and her job as child care attendant at our church. Chenda also loves gardening and tends a beautiful landscape around their house. The second picture, taken last month, shows Chenda with William, Preslea and Logan.

Happy 32nd to Darrell and Mary! Before leaving 2014 altogether, I want to wish happy anniversary to my brother Darrell and his wife Mary Medina Shepard of Kirkland, Washington. They were married in Abilene, Texas 32 years ago yesterday. Darrell and Mary are the proud grandparents (and I DO mean proud!) of three of the baby boomers mentioned above. Pictured below are Mary and Darrell with Darrell's mother Maida Shepard.

Mary gets the last word today with the following, which she posted on Facebook a few days ago: Wishing all of my family and friends and facebook peeps a very Happy New Year! This past year was a year of many changes and many blessings. I am thankful for all of the people in my life and thankful most of all for my 3 beautiful grandsons, Logan, Kellan and Mason. You boys give me the most joy of anything in this world! I am also thankful for my children who are doing so well and are all happy. My husband and I will celebrate 32 years of marriage on 12-31, and it has been a fun ride, bumpy at times, but mostly fun! I hope that each and every one of you that reads this knows how much you enrich my life and how much I love you and hope that you are doing well in your life! May 2015 bring many joys and much laughter and abundant love to you!
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Steve Shepard