Nancy Parker Brummett

Author Writer Speaker

Back Porch Break

I’ll Be Home for Christmas

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After a year when so many lost their homes through war or natural disaster, I was especially grateful to decorate the place we’ve called home for almost 10 years and to share it with friends and family. This is where we live and this is home.

Yet another home comes to mind this time of year. The big white house on the hill where I grew up in Tennessee was still there until a couple of years ago. Although the house has been demolished and the surrounding land sold, I can still visit there in my heart and mind any time I want.

I close my eyes and I’m pulling my car up the long driveway and parking between the screened-in side porch and the dogwood tree. As I get out of the car I see my mom looking out the kitchen window where she’s been watching for me. By the time I get to the door she’s rushing to it from the other side, clapping her hands, smiling with her whole face, and calling out, “Nancy’s home! Nancy’s home!”

For most of us, even in the best of times, the Christmas season brings tears. Tears of sadness, tears of joy, maybe tears of gratitude for all we have or all we’ve loved and lost. Each year I tear up the first time I hear Amy Grant’s “Tender Tennessee Christmas.” She sings, I know there’s more snow out in Colorado than my roof will ever see, but a tender Tennessee Christmas is the only Christmas for me.The song connects two states that have been home to me. As a T-shirt I have reads, “I’m just a Tennessee girl in a Colorado world.”

At times, often after I’ve visited Tennessee, I begin feeling that rather than having two homes I don’t have any place to really call home—that geographically speaking I no longer belong here or there.

“First Moment in Heaven,” (c) Christian Photoshops

That’s when the Lord gently reminds me that it’s normal to feel this way, because we won’t truly be home until we are with Him for eternity.

The joys of this past year were many, but we also experienced some devastating losses and far too many memorial services. As we reflect on those who are no longer here experiencing Christmas with their families, we take comfort in knowing that because they were followers of Jesus Christ they are “home for Christmas” in the truest sense.

 

And until we join them, we’ll continue to be grateful for, and blessed by, our earthly homes present and past.

May you be blessed to be home for Christmas this year, and if you don’t know where your true home is, turn your eyes upon the Babe in the manger and the grace and truth He still brings to the world. Merry Christmas!

Falling for Fall Again

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This is a reprise of an 11-year-old post but still sets the mood for the season to come. Happy fall y’all!

Fall is here in all its glory. With each leaf that swirls and floats toward the ground, I’m reminded of what a wonderful time of year this is to make a change. Whether the change is monumental, or so small only you know the difference, it can have lasting benefits. Here are some fall-inspired ideas to get you started.

Fall in to a recliner and just relax for a change. Watch some football. Make sure there’s a big bowl of popcorn within reach. If you really must feel more productive, add a holiday craft project to the game plan. But if you just want to sit and watch football, do it guiltlessly.

Fall out of bed a half hour earlier and take a walk around the block. Soon you’ll be buried under a comforter listening to announcements of wind chill factors and school closings. Take advantage of the cool, crisp mornings to clear your head…and work off some of the popcorn you ate watching football.

Fall in to a huge pile of leaves and just lie there looking up at the blue sky and cloud formations. No leaves in your yard? Show up at a friend’s house with a rake and volunteer to help for the pure joy of having a pile of leaves all to yourself. (Don’t pick your over-achieving friends. They won’t understand.)

Fall out of the habit. You know the one I mean. If you’re still smoking, quit now before you spend another winter shivering out in the cold on cigarette breaks. Not a smoker? Sarcasm can be a habit. So can cynicism. Pick a habit you want to break before the first snow falls, and fall out of it.

Fall in love. If you’re married, fall in love with your spouse all over again. Taking five minutes to make a list of things that first attracted you to him or her is a great place to start. Focus only on those things for a week, and before you know it, you’re head over heels again. No love interest at the moment? Fall in love with an adopted kitten or puppy. Their love is unconditional, and they’ll always be around for a snuggle on a blustery evening.

Fall out of line. I’m not recommending anything illegal or immoral, just out of the ordinary. Take a new route to work. Shop at a different grocery store. Read a book by an unknown author. Be less predictable. No one will really care, and you may find out you’ve been in the wrong line anyway.

Fall in over your head. Immerse yourself in something you’ve only dipped a toe into until now. Maybe it’s a dream, a relationship, a foreign language, or a career you’ve wanted to pursue. Fall is a great time to dive in fearlessly.

It’s fall…time to make a change for all seasons.

Back-to-School Prayer

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It’s happened. The sunflowers in the park where I walk bloomed and the back-to-school photos showed up on social media—two sure signs another school year is off and running.

Each year the timing of this event catches me and others of my generation off guard. How fondly we remember three long and lazy months of summer, with not a thought toward putting on those stiff new jeans or plaid dresses until after Labor Day. Yes, things change, but we can’t help thinking our grandkids are being robbed of a few more precious weeks of summer–more time to just be before they are asked to perform.

What hasn’t changed is how parents and grandparents hope the new school year will be kind to their offspring. We want their minds to be as sharp as those number two pencils in their backpacks and their hopes and dreams to be as bright as the neon colors in that new box of crayons. So we admire the photos, tell them we love them, and pray:

Lord, You know how hard it is for us to send the children we love out in to this ever worsening world unprotected. You see more evil than we do, and You weep when we weep over every school shooting or bullying incident.

Some senior fun!

Go with them, Lord. They need the armor You provide, for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12). Equip them, we pray, with your belt of truth (v.14), breastplate of righteousness (v.14) and shield of faith (v.16).

You may have provided new school shoes, but we pray you will also fit their feet with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace (v.15). Give them the helmet of salvation (v.17) to protect them and the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God (v.17). And Lord, in your mercy, please help each child to have at least one good friend, for as You know, that can make all the difference.

They are yours, Lord. You love them even more than we do. Go with them we pray.

Connection

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The mayor of Colorado Springs, Yemi Mobolade, partnered with community organizations and set a goal for 1,000 neighborhood gatherings in our city in 2024. As of now the city has recorded 453 times neighbors have come together for potlucks, backyard picnics, impromptu sports activities in parks, etc., so we’re well on our way to meeting the goal.

Why? Because connection matters. There is an epidemic of loneliness in our society and our city at the base of Pikes Peak is not immune to this problem. A person can have half a million friends on social media and still feel lonely. Newcomers to town may find it hard to meet anyone. Hard working neighbors come home weary, enter their homes through their garages, and stay inside. There’s no connection.

Studies have proven that feeling alone can lead to mental illness, so our city set out “to encourage neighbors to connect with one another to address social isolation and loneliness.” Each neighborhood event held can then be registered on the city’s website.

The neighborhood we live in had a head start. Every summer our HOA sponsors monthly gatherings in our common area where neighbors can chat and eat together. In June we enjoyed wine and cheese. This month we had an ice cream social. Next month is a dessert gathering. What’s not to like? A few stick-on name tags, some extra camp chairs, and we’ve got ourselves a party.

Could making an effort to connect be the answer not only to loneliness, but to problems like neighborhood disputes and crime as well? Once we know someone, we’re much more likely to work out an issue with a dog or a fence before it escalates, or to keep watch over someone’s house when they are on vacation. As the sense of community grows, so does the feeling that we belong—that we aren’t alone after all. And it starts with connection.

Connection could even help us get through this election season with fewer wounds. Respect for one another’s opinions, and maybe having a second serving of ice cream instead of regaling a neighbor with exactly what we think and why, could go a long way toward closing the huge divide we have in our country now. Since the assassination attempt on former President Trump, both parties have talked about tempering the hateful rhetoric. Maybe they will do so and maybe they won’t, but we can do our part. With God’s help, we can think twice before we speak, use language that is respectful, and love our neighbors as ourselves.

Those who watch The Chosen series get an inside glimpse into the life Jesus shared with His disciples, who didn’t always get along well with one another in case you didn’t know. This disgruntled bunch must have been dismayed when He said as recorded in John 13:34, “A new command I give you.” They had spent their lives trying to live up to all the commandments of the Jewish faith, so they wouldn’t be too excited to hear about a new one. Imagine their surprise when He continued, “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” Love. The best connection of all. And the best way to combat loneliness and isolation in our society.

Savoring Souvenirs

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It’s vacation time again and I’m thinking about all the souvenirs I collected on vacations past. Some I still have and others have traveled elsewhere, but it’s fun to remember them all.

The summer I was 12 my family took the longest, most memorable vacation ever. My dad spent all winter planning the route we would take, every site we would see, every motel we would stay in, almost every meal we would eat. Finally it was time for my two sisters and me to climb into our 1959 white Chevy station wagon, with a grill that looked like a giant steel emoji grin, and hit the road. Our journey took us from Tennessee to California and back in a huge loop through at least 10 states. Adventures and back seat squabbles abounded! But back to the souvenirs.

For years the bookshelf in my room held my treasured souvenirs from that trip. A favorite was a Native American doll from somewhere out west with a real suede dress, headband with feather, and her own metal stand. She was stunning. Next to her sat a three-inch high porcelain oriental doll from China Town in San Francisco. Never mind that I got to see my first stage musical, South Pacific, while in that city. I got to buy an oriental doll in China Town! But best of all, standing next to her was the small bronze donkey with “Pikes Peak or Bust” printed on the side.

Couldn’t decide on just one color so I went with all!

Yes! I bought it at the top of Pikes Peak in Colorado, never imagining that 17 years later I would move to that state and then spend the next 47 years of my life (so far) living at the foot of America’s Mountain. Pikes Peak or Bust indeed!

Without a doubt I’ve spent more on souvenirs from adult vacations, so they may be nicer but not as memorable. I do remember a trip I took to Mexico with my two sons during my single parent days when I purchased souvenir Christmas gifts for all my family back in Tennessee from vendors on the beach. I shipped them all off, but at the last minute I decided that since the boys would be with their dad for Christmas, I would go to Tennessee. I hadn’t imagined actually having to watch my distinguished, always well-dressed, Southern-gentleman dad opening his multi-striped serape from Mazatlan!

A print from our honeymoon in Maui, a sculpture of a Native American man and his wife from South Dakota, and two oil paintings from Taos have always found spots in our homes. I still have silver jewelry from another trip to Mexico, porcelain rabbits from the flea market in Santa Fe, a menorah from Israel, and Murano glass jewelry from Venice. Yet as the years went by and our home got smaller, most of the souvenirs I’ve collected recently are smaller as well—magnets, shells, or post cards for the most part.

Recently we attended a 100th birthday party for a neighbor. Her family displayed a board containing post cards from all the places, all over the world, that she and her husband visited. It was really a display of memories. After all, the memories of each trip we take are the best souvenirs of all. Get out this summer and collect some more!

Also published in The Country Register, July-August 2024.

Is it May?

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I live in Colorado where we might have crocuses peeking through the snow any day in May. But we can rely on the traditions May brings to assure us that while it may not feel like May outside, it really is the month predicted to follow April showers with flowers.

One tradition that was more popular in the early 20th Century than today may deserve a second look—the May Day basket. Thought to have European roots from countries like Germany and England, in this tradition people gather baskets of flowers, small gifts, or baked goods and leave them on the doorsteps of neighbors or loved ones on May 1st to welcome spring and spread goodwill. Also on the first day of May some communities still hold May Day celebrations which include crowning a May queen and dancing around a maypole intertwining brightly colored ribbons. Maybe we should dance our way into May!

Cinco de Mayo also lets us know it’s May even if the weather outside doesn’t seem to agree. A Mexican holiday, it’s widely celebrated in the United States, especially in states like ours with large Mexican-American populations. Sometimes celebrated with parades and parties, the date commemorates the Mexican Army’s victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. It’s a meaningful holiday for many, and a wonderful excuse for everyone to enjoy some tacos and enchiladas.

Of course Mother’s Day is always the second Sunday of May, falling on May 12th this year. This celebration originated in the early 1900’s as a result of the efforts of Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia, PA. After her mother’s death in 1905, she proposed Mother’s Day as a way of honoring all mothers everywhere. President Woodrow Wilson signed a bill to formalize the holiday on May 8, 1914. While it’s reported that Anna was later dismayed by the growing commercialization of the holiday, surely the cards, gifts, and brunches we enjoy today only enhance our efforts to honor mothers.

You know it’s May when you have graduation invitations in the mail or dates to attend ceremonies circled on your calendar. This year we have a grandson graduating from high school and look forward to the pomp and circumstance—and the party!

The month closes out with Memorial Day, observed the last Monday of May and preceded by the weekend that traditionally marks the beginning of summer. But as children are joyfully released from school and the burgers hit the grill, let’s not forget that the meaning of Memorial Day is the solemn remembrance of those men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. So whether you’re in flip-flops or snow boots, attend the parade, fly the flag, and close out the month of May with gratitude for this country and all those who fought to protect it.