SermoNetties

In a time where there doesn't seem to be much to be joyful about, Nettie shares ways to put away old messages, heal old wounds, and find ways to be grateful in the moment.  Sharing an old wound, just recently healed, Nettie claims her joy with gladness.

We get to choose what to do with the lemons we are handed by others;  Sit around and suck on the sourness, or add a little sweetener and make lemonade.  This is just another way to re-visit, "Do What You Can, Not What You Can't," a recurring theme in Nettie's messages.  

Perseverance and Resurrection in the time of Covid?  Nettie explains this pairing as we live "Ground Hog's Day everyday.  

Nettie welcomes her first guest interview when she brings in Fred, her husband, to talk about the Fourth of July.  Is there much to be grateful for this year?  What makes this year a particularly difficult time to celebrate.  Nett and Fred lovingly look at the good that has always been and still exists in our country.

Today, Nettie proclaims she is a WEIRDO! She has come to a new understanding that God has called her, and wants that weirdo as His witness.  Finding herself all boxed in by the expectations of others and self on her journey, she needed to be convinced that God wanted her just the way He made her. God nudged her out of the box to be just who He wants her to be, A First Responder in Love and light to others in the world.

Nettie shares sweet memories about her father and just how much she appreciates all of his qualities and the evidence of the same qualities in her and her children.  Despite tough beginnings and horrific experiences during World War II, he chose to come home and live life with love and generosity, grateful for all the blessings he had.

Nettie walks through the 5 stages of grief as it applies to where we are with Covid-19 and makes some interesting insights as to where we are with our grief regarding the death of George Floyd.

Nettie recalls Fall 1965, and the painful  experience for her and her two new friends from across town.  It was the first year of desegregation and busing and the events of that time became a life-long lesson filled with grief, confusion, guilt and anger for Nettie.  It is a lesson Nettie continues to work on and encourages others to place themselves in the agonizing place our friends-of color live in everyday.

Balancing life in general is not the easiest thing, but throw in Covid-19 and we are even more challenged to meet the needs of others as well as our own.  It's time to be willing to let go of some of the good things we do and choose the best of what we can do.  It's about balance, and letting go of unreal expectations and offering ourselves a little grace.

We are not helpless nor alone during Covid - 19.  In Episode 7, Nettie talks about how to do what you can, not what you can't.