To the Editor:
We have a new President. His name is Barack Obama, and it seems everyone here in the tri-state area that I have has conversation with hates this man. There are two main reasons that they give for hating this man with such passion. The first is that he is black and all whit people are going to suffer tremendously. Not true. He is just as much white as he is black. His mother is a white woman from Kansas. In my conversations around town, I hear a lot of the N word to describe him. The second reason they give for hating him is that he is a Muslim or terrorist. Not true. His father was a Muslim from Kenya and as with most cultures it is customary for offspring to take the fathers name. He wasn’t raised by his father. Instead he was raised by his mother and grandmother as a Christian. I spend a lot of time in a vehicle during my regular workday and listen to a lot of talk radio out of Knoxville and he is hated there just as much as he is here for various reasons. Main one in Knoxville is not enough experience and that when he is faced with a crisis such as Iran, North Korea, China, and Russia that we will be in real trouble. Well the truth is, the people running those countries are just big bullies. I am just taking a wild guess here, but I would think a bi-racial child with a Muslim name growing up in the 60’s, probably encounter a few bullies along the way. I am very proud of this man because despite all of this he still became President DESPITE of his name. Now as I was watching television on election night, I began to notice something I thought was very interesting. President Obama has a lot in common with one of our most popular presidents. John F. Kennedy. The next day I began to write some of the things they have in common and was quite stunned at how long of a list I had come up with. Here is what I came up with.
I am sure I could find some more if I dug a little deeper but still a whole lot in common for these two presidents. Now I would like to mention what I believe to be the crucial link between these two men. When Gov. Wallace of Alabama refused to let black students enter the University of Alabama, and Gov. Wallace actually stood and blocked the door, Kennedy said that the students WOULD enter the University and sent National Guard troops to ensure that they did. Which in my opinion really started the civil rights movement that made it possible for Barack Obama to become president. In summary, I just wish people could get their facts straight before coming to a conclusion on Barack Obama. He sure has a lot in common with one of our greatest Presidents. I really hope and pray that Obama’s Presidency doesn’t end in tragedy like Kennedy’s. God Bless America, and God Bless her President.
Sincerely,
David Smith
Harrogate, Tenn.
Carrying the cross
To the Editor:
Let’s talk about carrying our cross. Are you having a hard time in doing this? A song that has helped me so much in doing this that goes like this, with the cross on my shoulder, my feet will not strong, don’t take my burdens or my cross away. When we are willing to carry our cross we bear fruit. The fruit of a Christian is more Christians. That is why we are here. Through God’s help, I have led many people to God. There is no other way to do this unless we are willing to carry our cross. Be faithful.
Josephine Patterson
Tazewell, Tenn.
Veteran appreciates recognition
To the Editor:
On November 10th, I received a phone call from Cumberland Gap High School, inviting me and my wife, Evelyn Whits, to a Veterans Day celebration entitled “Let Freedom Ring”.
I’m a Korean War Veteran, and Evelyn’s father was a WWII Veteran, who received a battlefield commission, and later served time in a German Prison Camp (He’s 92 years strong!).
I accepted this invitation, and boy am I glad I did. We were treated with more food than we could eat, followed by a star spangled entrance into the gym. The entire program could parallel a Broadway production.
This was a very moving experience. Some veterans were in wheelchairs, some on crutches, and one on a walker, from WWII, was bent over slightly and having trouble walking, yet his head was held high, and you could see he was very proud.
A Vietnam vet with one leg gone leaned against the entrance wall after the celebration and related his “student call” and granddaughter’s invitation both prompting his 2 ? hr. drive (one-legged_ from snow falling where he came from, near West Va.!
The school personnel and students treated us like royalty. I had never received so many handshakes, hugs, smiles and thanks before. I wish I could personally thank everyone involved in this program.
All of you have my thanks and appreciation, and God willing, I’ll see you next year.
Tomy Stillings
Speedwell, Tenn.
P.S. We have a freshman and a senior at Cumberland Gap High School. Our reason for being there this year, however, we also have a fourth grader at TNT Primary, where we would have gone and had several years-they do spectacularly, too.
Survivor thankful for support
To the Editor,
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the people of Claiborne, Union and Anderson Counties as well as other counties across Tennessee and other states for all of their prayers and support during my past six months undergoing treatment for Leukemia.
In May 2008, physical symptoms took me to Claiborne County Hospital Emergency Room, where I was urgently transported to Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center for treatment of Leukemia. Dr. Barry Berman and his very competent coworkers of Thompson’s Cancer Survival Center were in charge of my care. When I arrived at Fort Sanders about4:00 p.m., I was met in the hallway for constant attention in different areas for the next twelve hours when I finally got to my room. In the meantime, my neighbor and lifetime friend, Doris Essary, was on the telephone requesting prayer in my behalf. Also, Pam Burnette, who is the TnClaibo-1 list administrator for Claiborne County, was on the list requesting prayer for me. My children set up a web page where anyone could follow my progress and send prayers and messages of good will. It was not long into my stay that I felt the great hands of God embracing me and letting me know that I was in His constant care and I would endure this ordeal with His help.
My doctors (I had a specialist for very system of my body) and nurses were excellent. I have to say that the doctors were guided by the Great Physician and the nurses were Angels of Mercy!!!!!!
Words cannot express the comfort that I received from all of the prayers! One can only experience this feeling and it truly is overwhelming to realize the Presence of God embracing your life.
If you asked of my well being of offered up a prayer for me, I may not know who you are but I felt the presence of prayer and I am most appreciative for your involvement. Thank you.
Joyce P. Watson
Tazewell, Tenn.
The Lord is my Shepherd
To the Editor:
I was getting desperate so I picked up this book,”Gods Psychiatry,” by Charles L. Allen. They were beginning to suspect bone cancer after months of tests of Degenerative Arthritis. I read this story The 23rd Psalm. It said if you would read this five times a day for seven days, it would change your life and change your way of thinking. God was preparing me for this valley I was to go through. I read it just like the book said, before getting out of bed, after breakfast, after lunch, after,supper, and before bedtime. So I read it and it changed my way of thinking and changed my life.I had never had so much peace or such a wonderful experience with God. I felt the best I had ever felt,was the happiest. Everywhere I went I could tell about thIs psalm and witness about Jesus. I had a experience and once you experience it for yourself, You can tell it. You don’t have to read or hear someone else’s story but you experience it. I had that life and life more abundantly and my heart was as pure as a newborn babies.
I was working with Devine,my patient and he liked to have the bible read to him. I would ask him question to stimulate him so he would sleep at night and as I was asking him, I was also asking myself. Sometimes he would read but a lot of times he would say his eyes were bothering him, so I said I would pray for them and he would. I was learnign so much. We started reading in 2007 and would read Paul the Apostle’s prayer for the church and would read three nites in a row of for months. We read in Ephesians 1:15-23, 3:14-21,Colossians 1:9-14
Eph. 1:15 talked about a Spirit of wisdom and revelations so we could know him better and I sure needed him more and more. Paul prayed for insight-deep and intimate knowledge for the Eph. church. That the eyes of our hearts be flooded with light so we could know and understand the hope to which he has called us, to know the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints. Can you just imagine what a flood would be like? Gushing in and overflowing the boundaries. He wants us to know him better than anything.
Then in Eph. 3, he wanted to strenghten us with power through his Spirit in our inner man.Devine and I talked about being rooted and grounded in his love (founded securely, not movable, established). I asked him how deep these roots go on these trees? He said he didn’t know. That’s the way a christian should be. He wants us to be filled to the measure of the fullness of God’s love,and be unmovable ,grounded in him. See in these scriptures how much he wants us to know him, to be intimate with him and during this revelation of the psalm I was close and asked him what he wanted me to do next. he was the one in charge.We go as deep as we want to. He wants us to have power to grasp, understane and experience what is the breath, lenght, height, and depth of it. See this love, there’s no way to measure it,no limit it, it’s a surpassing greatness of anything we’ve ever known. He wants us to personally experience this love for ouselves, so we can talk about. Can you see the richness of this love in these scriptures?
We read in Colossians 1:9-14,and I asked Devine about it. Paul prayed we would be invigorated and strengthened with all power, according to the might of his glory, to exercise every kind of endurance and patience (perservance,forbearance) . He said to endure trials without complaining and with joy. He knew and understood, this 91 year old sweet man. In James 1:2,It says to count it all joy when you fall into different trial and temptation’s. If you’ll let it it will draw you closer to God. He said to rejoice. It’s a chance to know him better. That’s what he wants. I was getting discouraged with work and someone told me this was my ministry with him. I was so blessed. He said he never did anything in church,sing, teach,or anything but I told him what a blessing he was to me. I had him singing, clapping his hands. He used to hunt possum a lot so I called him possum.
We started to study the 23rd Psalm’s then it showed me after much research, meditating,praying, that the good shepherd was what I needed for this trial. It showed me to trust and how much care and work it takes to care for sheep. They are special to the shepherd and he is the Good Shepherd, they lack for nothing. After I had studied and done all this ,my joy ws overflowing.He was showing me this was a Psalm of trust. He knew the best pathway for me , he was in charge and i hadn’t trusted doctors. I read all i could get on shepherding.
More on the Good Shepherd next time.
Margaret Brooks
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