I’ve never personally had a Facebook account, and can live happily if I never do. However, since March, I’ve appeared on Facebook sites doing a short message every Friday.

It’s not solely about agriculture, and I’m not the star. It’s a once-a-week devotional featuring Emmy. Yes, you guessed it, Emmy is a sheep!

This project started out when our local church suspended services due to the pandemic. It’s a wonder it got off the ground. My wife, Carla, regularly scrolls through Facebook but seldom posts anything. She agreed to film my simple devotional each week. The easiest way the person she asked for help knew to do it was through Facebook Live. So, believe it or not, I’m on Facebook Live every Friday around 8 to 9 a.m. EDT, more or less. Then the three- to four-minute post is available for others to see later.

Dress matters!

Some of these posts were shot in the barn, showing baby lambs. I’ve even carried a lawn chair to the pasture and sat, with sheep behind me, to talk about being a good shepherd to the flock.

But on one early summer morning, I returned to the barn to show people how much some of the lambs had grown since we started our Friday morning ritual. I was dressed in my favorite barn garb, bib denim overalls and a T-shirt. I have quite a collection of T-shirts with various logos going back years. On that morning, I wore one of my “oldie but goodie” T-shirts that dates to the early days of cover crops. It features the slogan “Don’t farm naked!” over artwork that shows a field of grass, representing a cover crop, with the rest of the slogan, “Cover up,” underneath it.

Little did I realize that all that was showing above my bib overalls that morning was “Don’t farm naked!” Even Carla missed it.

But, oh, the power of social media! It didn’t take long before Carla was getting text messages and even phone calls. The callers could hardly keep from laughing. “Does Tom farm naked sometimes? He’s not going to take his clothes off next week, is he?” The comments and catcalls went on and on.

I don’t even remember the message that morning. I just remember that I learned a valuable lesson. If you’re going to be seen by other people on social media, be careful what you’re wearing.

Show must go on

The next week and every week since, I must pass Carla’s “dress test” before we begin. It doesn’t matter as much now, though. I’m only the front man for the real star: Emmy, the sheep.

Once the county fair was over, this sweetheart lamb became a regular on the devotional. After I get her halter on each Friday morning, she beats a path for the back porch, where we shoot most of the videos.

As I read a few verses from the Bible, she will nudge it with her head, or act like she is going to put her head on my lap. If that’s what it takes to entice people to watch, it’s OK by me.

So, check out The Good Shepherd and Friends on Facebook. Emmy will be there, and so will I — fully dressed!