I N D E P E N D E N T

 

Elijah, Hope,
& Iina

A few years ago at a July 4th cookout, a dear Japanese friend asked me about Independence Day. After telling him we won the war against England for our independence, he waved his American flag and shouted, "Congratulations, you won!"  I'm not writing about The American Revolution, but I think about him every year during this holiday. 

As we celebrate our independence from a tyrant, we wave the flag and sing patriotic, or as my Mississippi music director says "patrotic," songs. We should  be proud of our independence as a nation. The road to independence wasn't easy.

My daughter, Hope, will be joining the Gamecock Gateway community where she'll take her 1st 30 hours at Midland's Tech but live in a residential hall, eat, study, play, and join a group on the campus of University of South Carolina.   South Carolina has a reputable Hospitality Management program, and her dream job is to become an event planner for Disney Company, of course. Preparing for her freshman year is time consuming, but luckily there's a group of exceptionally informative and organized contact people; in fact, I've enjoyed communicating with them.

orientation

I thought they enjoyed communicating with me, too, but April's "information" session hinted at something else. "We have a facebook page for Gamecock Gateway students.  Parents, you may look but not join our page."  Well, alright.  I felt slightly slighted.  April, May, and June, I continued to e-mail about the compass test, roommate assignment, dates, books, etc.  You know, all the things I need to control. A few weeks ago, Hope and I, as her supporter, attended Gamecock Gateway orientation. Apparently, I'm no longer in control.

 

Hear Ye, Hear Ye, On Wednesday, June 28, 2014 Gamecock Gateway made a declaration.



 

We the People of Gamecock Gateway, in Order to form a more independent Student, hereby establish communication only with students.  Student emails and phone calls shall consist of inquiries from their supporters (that would be the tyrant parents); in fact, supporters may reside in close proximity of the communication device and provide inquiries as to time, place, and manner, but we the People of Gamecock Gateway will only give our Yeas, Nays, and knowledge to students.  Supporters are welcome to read correspondence and are strongly encouraged to continue communication with students and secure Blessings upon them, but from henceforth, it is time for students to responsibly communicate with Gamecock Gateway to insure their independence until such time as a bill passes through the House of the Supporters.  At which time, it will be for the general Welfare of students for the supporter to offer coin for this bill.

My control of Hope's communication has ceased. I'm here to support Hope, but she is responsible for communication with the People of Gamecock Gateway. Her independence has been declared in preparation for the day she leaves the House of her Supporters.

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. Hebrews 4:16

Last week, I wrote about heaven.  As much as I would like my grandparents and aunt to put in a good word for me, "hey, God, Katy says hello, thanks for the blessings, and will you forgive her sins?" That's not possible. I'm ultimately responsible for this communication. On earth, Jesus didn't say,"tell me what you want to say to My Father;" instead, He taught them how to communicate.  Then, He left a Helper for support. 

And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. Romans 8:26 NLT

students & supporters
at information session

Do I have earthly supporters? Yes. In fact, I recently asked several friends to pray when I couldn't.  That's common in a season where dialogue is difficult. Supporters teach and guide us in our walk.  Eventually, though, we have to communicate independently even if our grandmother is a saint, our husband a deacon, and our brother a pastor. 

 

Jesus fought and won for us. No longer is it necessary to go through man to talk to God. We're on our own and free to approach His throne anytime. He's waiting on us to independently communicate with Him.

Hope & Michelle

Congratulations!

Katy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loose Track of Time

Glenda Knox &
Grandson, Knox Sanders

Written in memory of
Glenda Kay Brown Knox







I don't feel complete without my watch.  I wear it every day and constantly check the time.  Now, this doesn't mean I'm EVER on time.  I'm not.  I simply like to know the time since I usually have something else to do (or I'm bored), but when I'm doing what I love, I don't look at my watch and lose track of time.




Luke, David, Sheila,
Glenda & Sam
Chimney Rock, N.C.

If I walk on a track or a treadmill, which is never, I constantly look at my watch hoping time will speed up; however, when I walk in the woods or hike in the mountains where there's rocks, waterfalls, trees, and a worn path,  I lose track of time.  When reading fiction, I neither know nor care about time.  Several hours pass, and I lose track of time and forgot about problems.

Katy & yard
 helper, Hershey

Gardening is strenuous; I dig, pull, and plant.  I do this in South Carolina; I sweat, and the mosquitoes love all over my dirty self.  I DO NOT care. After hours in my yard, I'm oblivious to time and don't want to stop.  If I happen to think about problems when gardening, I talk to God, so it's a great way to relieve stress.

Life is so stressful, isn't it? There's so much to do and think about.  Worry and strife never ends, does it? Because we're human.  We make mistakes and live with consequences from our actions and the actions of others.  I can complain, yet worry, stress, and strife continue.  Again, it's life. 

yellow daylilies

When digging and planting, I think about a gardener I love and miss.  In November of 1996, my aunt Glenda dug up two clumps of yellow daylilies from her yard, put them in a plastic grocery bag, handed them to me and promised, "you can't kill a daylily."  I planted them dormant in my yard and hoped for the best. One beautiful March morning only 4 months later, I saw daylilies coming up for the first time in my yard. A few hours later, Glenda died suddenly of a heart attack while trimming a butterfly bush, one of the saddest days of my life.  We sold our house and moved in November when the daylilies were dormant, but the following March, the new homeowners allowed me to dig up my aunt Glenda's daylilies.  The flowers stayed under my house in a pot for a month until I dug a special place for them to grow and multiply.



home around Japanese
maple tree

Susi, Katy, Amy

I've never worked in my yard one time in the past 17 years that I didn't wish Glenda could see her yellow daylilies, given to her from my grandmother, and many other flowers growing in my yard.  I know she would be proud of me.  She'd give me gardening advice but also constructive criticism.  She'd probably comment, "you should see Amy's flowers; they're beautiful." So, feeling a little jealous, I'd text my cousin Amy, her daughter, to hear, "Mom always says, 'you should see Katy's flowers,'"  and we'd have a great laugh. We often share and laugh about Glenda.  

Amy & Glenda
my wedding

But, this can't happen.  On Glenda's birthday in March, Amy shared this.
If my mom were alive she would be celebrating her 74th birthday!! She was a tough chick but loved and appreciated by so many! Oh how I'd love for God to let me spend an afternoon with her again...to fill her in on our lives since 1997....however, I know there is nothing happening here that is more glorious than heaven! — feeling peace

I have no idea what heaven is like, but If I had to guess, I'd say Glenda isn't looking at her watch.  She's worshipping God and doesn't want to stop.

No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. Revelation 22:3 NLT

Some versions state servants will serve him. Heaven is not of this earth, so we can't fully comprehend what this worship or service looks like, but we won't have any desire to stop.  I believe, and this is strictly opinion, we'll lose track of time. We'll worship God continually, and this will be our only desire.

Other than God and other believers, including people I love and miss, I don't know what's in heaven.  I only know what's not: headaches, back aches, or surgeries.  There are no insecurities, mean spirited words, or jealousies.   There are no heart attacks, cancer or Alzheimer's patients, hospitals or nursing homes. There is no abuse or deception.  There are no traumas, addictions, mental illnesses, or broken hearts. There are no murderers, victims, money problems, poverty, or hunger. 



Glenda & Stuart

He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever. Revelation 21:4 NLT

Will we lose all track of time in heaven?  Maybe. Maybe not. It's more than I intend to study.  But, can you imagine a life where your feelings are never hurt? There's room for you and me, and strife will be over. Pain will be gone. Tears will be dry.  Our time will be spent with God. 

Hope & Glenda

I don't think I'll need my watch,

Katy

Makes No Sense

                                                                                                                                          
Traveling by car, I lounge back in sweat pants and no shoes with prized possessions (books, snacks, and whatever else no matter what size) within arm's reach for my traveling pleasure. There's laughing and singing any time I please.  So needless to say, I hate to fly.  There's measurements, weigh-ins, scans, shoes in a tray, pat downs for pre-boarding then another line, a tiny seat, and do not disturb others on the plane. That's the hassle of flying.

Tim King
Southwest

The worrying begins about a week prior to the hassle. Flying makes no sense to me.  I'm not a bird. I don't have wings.  I'm not supposed to be up here amid the clouds. It isn't natural being in a 350,000 pound metal contraption that somehow rumbles, shakes and lifts to 35,000 feet going 550mph IN THE SKY while being controlled by a normal, everyday human, who was once a wild and crazy teenage guy and perhaps an even wild and crazier adult guy.

Makes no sense.  How can this heavy thing stay up for hours?  All that fuel, all those bags, all these people up here watching a movie like it's normal to be flying. You'd think I'd feel more at ease, though, with the safety demo.  "If you're sitting near an exit, please read the manual.  If you CANNOT FULFILL YOUR DUTIES, please notify an attendant."  If MY duties require understanding this manual with a picture of a woman looking distressed, yet not a hair out of place and dress still below her knees, floating in the ocean, I'll need a runner up. 

My kids? They're looking out the window excitedly taking pictures, watching movies, playing games. "You want to see?"  NO, I'm good.  I'd rather not see that I, a mere mortal, am flying above the Grand Canyon, where even the happy Brady Bunch had trouble.



aircraft landing in
San Francisco

Once settled, I forget I'm not a bird and quickly peek out the window.  Not thinking about Makes No Sense, I read or write comfortably.  Then the unsettling turbulence, the horrible pain in my ears, or landing at 120mph over the dramatic, chilly San Francisco Bay reminds me that it makes no sense; I'm not supposed to be up here, but there's soon calm or stable ground, and I'm fine. 

Big Sur, California

California! Truly Golden.  An amazing place to visit.  We could've spent four days driving there and back and miss either Sierra Nevada's grand Sequoias, Big Sur's majestic mountains resting at the Pacific Ocean, or San Francisco's enormous Golden Gate.  Instead, we flew and experienced over 1,000 miles of unforgettable landscape.  

 

 

 

 

Sequoia Nation Park

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.  John 14:26 NKJ



Yosemite Nation Park

A man walking on water, living in a fish's belly, or rising from death makes about as much sense as a virgin birth or a talking donkey.  And this worries so many.  I'll admit, I question it, too, and have considered having no part in believing because it MAKES NO SENSE. Here is an option. Peter was only a man, so I'll have no part of faithfully looking to a Master and conquering fear.  Virgins don't conceive, so I'll have no part of a Prince of Peace.  Jesus was a great teacher, but crucified men who are left dead don't walk around talking and loving, so I'll have no part of a Friend of sinners whispering my name so beautifully that my broken heart leaps for joy.

Susi Brown
very comfortable

I have no idea how this 250,000 lbs. metal contraption holds us in the air, but the pilot, flight attendants, and engineers know and understand its power.  My sister, Susi, is a flight attendant.  She's flown for 25 years and is familiar with the aircraft that makes no sense to me.  She doesn't think about the airworthiness of the plane.  Her focus is passenger safety.  She trains other attendants to look for safety issues and makes sure every passenger has the best chance of survival.



Susi (middle) & US Airways
trainees

At the airport, I watched an airport employee, ugly blue tie flapping in the wind, talking to an orange vest dude and pointing under the plane.  I imagined him saying, "there's a big hole directly under seat 27B." However, all the beauty I saw and the fun I experienced was worth it, and I would do it again.



Mission Santa Barbara

I can miss hundreds of life saving verses of truth because a few of them make no sense to me.  Or here's another option. I can simply read, listen and become so familiar and comfortable that I understand I'm held up every day by the beautiful power of the Holy Spirit. 

 

 

 



Bixby Bridge
Pacific Coast Hwy
Big Sur, California

 

 

 

That makes perfect sense to me,

Katy

 

 

 

My People

 

Reba, Bonnie
Brett

One of my favorite memories is of my very young niece, Bonnie, and the identification card for her new wallet, which she proudly filled out...

Name: Bonnie Glymph

Address: Greer, S.C.

Blood Type: Chair O Key

Bonnie's Ma'ma Reba, my mother-in-law, taught the importance of family blood type through stories of her grandmother's people, and she was proud to be a Cherokee.

Geneva, center

As a child, I was proud of my Cherokee blood type, too, and enjoyed people asking if I had "Indian Blood." Trips to Asheville allowed me to see my dad's cousins with dark skin, hair, eyes, and high cheek bones.   Without the aid of a computer, my aunt Gladys traced our Cherokee blood line. Since Native Americans seldom kept written records, she interviewed relatives and was told by a great aunt that her great great grandmother, Lucy Kate, lived near a Cherokee reservation and "was never married, she just took up with some Indian, but you shouldn't go around telling things like that about the family."  This "took up" resulted in a half Cherokee daughter, Kate Black.  Kate's granddaughter, Geneva White, married a Brown and had a son, Troy, who married a Scottish girl, Sue Grant.



Troy, Jim, Sue

My uncle Jim Brown's description of his parents, my grandparents: 

 

My mother was a fiery, red headed 5' 2'' whirlwind from the Scott Highland Clan Grant. My father was a 6' 4'' tall, dark and handsome man with 1/4 Cherokee Native American blood flowing in his veins. She was from Bat Cave, NC. He was from a small rural township just North of Asheville, N.C. Woodfin, on the French Broad River.  They made a striking pair. Her with fair skin, blue eyes, and fire red hair. He with thick locks of black hair, deep brown eyes and a dark (not red) complexion that is so prevalent among the Cherokee.  Add to that the 1 foot difference in height and 130 pound difference in weight, they couldn't help but draw attention to themselves. As to temperament, that shock of flaming red hair was a warning to not dismiss her diminutive size while father's towering stature disguised a deep, slow to anger, soul behind dark pools of steadiness that were his eyes. I will say this for posterity sake. My father never raised a hand towards my mother or towards me, but I cannot say the same as to my mother as she was a terror when angered. I learned early from him to give her wide berth when you crossed "her" line and she had counted to 3.

Troy and Sue

I can recall many an occasion as a child, when we would travel to Gatlinburg, TN to camp at Elkmont National Park and the obligatory stop in Cherokee to let Daddy walk around among "his people" as he would call them. And invariably, one of the locals would ask him if he was "of the Cherokee Nation" which would make him puff up with pride and declare in his low resonant voice with a simple "Yes."

Our looks are passed down from generation to generation by blood. Physically, my dad and I looked like our Cherokee people, while my sister inherited red hair from Sue Grant Brown and my mom's Scotch/Irish people. However, our personalities were more complicated. The two red-heads in the house were much slower to anger than the two Cherokees.

My dad, Ed & my
grandfather, Troy

By blood AND example, we inherit from our people both positive (peace seeking, good natured) and negative (worrisome, combative) traits and pass those down by blood AND example.  Hopefully, we have positive traits (kindness, faith, generosity) given to us by our earthly fathers and pass those down, hoping to give our people much more than eye and hair color. 

Despite our blood line and traits from our earthly fathers, we have the same Abba Father,

So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” Romans 8:15

and as we grow, our eyes open to traits, good and bad, passed down by blood or learned from our people, and we see our Father and strive to be more like him.

If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!” John 14:7

Troy and Sue

Whether our blood type is A, B, O or Cherokee, Irish, or Scottish, our Abba Father walked this earth  showing us how to live and gives us His traits (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control) to pass to our people.

Happy Father's Day,

Katy

 

 

 

 

 

 

Because of You, Henry Adair

 

In what situation would you expect to hear, "I'd rather be right here with you than anywhere else?" Somewhere fun? With close friends or family? How about a high school? Who would speak those words at a high school? Students speaking to each other, maybe?  Certainly not a principal.  Unless it's Mr. Henry Adair addressing students, alumni, and parents at Senior Award's Night at Westside High School where he retired as principal after 31 years. Actually, it was after the awards and after his surprise.
 
He didn't except a flash mob singing his favorite song, What a Wonderful World. Westside alumni  who had waited, for a few minutes in the rain, in an abandoned parking lot on Hwy 28 by-pass across from Westside, surprised their favorite principal, affectionately called "Daddy Adair."  He was touched and said, "I'm honored.  I don't deserve it, but I'm honored, and there's nowhere else I'd rather by than with you." Anyone who knows Henry Adair, knows he most certainly deserved this honor.

 

He wasn't an ordinary principal. It wasn't simply a job. Westside is family to him.  Yes, he has a family and shows them incredible love, support, and respect.  But he treated parents, students, staff, and anyone else with that same love, support, and respect; in fact, he said, "There may have been times I didn't like you, but I always loved you."

 

His children told me his favorite bible passage was Psalm 23.  I didn't expect that, but it's appropriate for Henry Adair.  He has been through the valley of the shadow of death, but it doesn't take long to realize he spends time with God giving evidence to a restored soul, renewed strength, and a life guided along right paths bringing honor to His name. 

 

Parents saw this; in fact, we have his cell number and called him when we needed him.  He met with us and was genuinely concerned about the welfare of our children.  Always sharing a positive attitude, he dealt fairly with staff, students, and parents.  

 

Students saw this and knew he cared about them. He stood on the sidelines and watched their games, weekend football and weekday volleyball, basketball, softball, and on and on. He attended concerts, awards ceremonies, and meetings.  If they were ill, he knew about it and expressed concern.  He saw them at Waffle House after the prom, took a selfie, and paid for their meal.

 

May 24, 2014 was Mr. Adair's last graduation as principal of Westside High School.  Luckily, my daughter was one of his graduates.  The valedictorian, Joshua Wright, reminded us of the tremendous influence he has on our community, "We could be so lucky to make the impact Mr. Adair has made."  

 

A few of Mr. Adair's final words from graduation prove that he's a man of God whose cup overflows with blessings, and in turns blesses those around him.

Make the rest of your life a great adventure.  Use your education and do your part to make the world a better place.  Set your goals high.  Don't be afraid to try new things.  It's ok to fail.  I dare you to be a good person. Be kind, courteous,  slow to condemn and quick to stand up for what is right. I hope Westside has made you different. I hope you're a better person. I hope you can see it's a wonderful world because of you. You have been my passion, my life.  You're the reason I get up.  I'm a better person for knowing you.  Do not trade evil for evil, only good for good. You'll always have a home at Westside.  It's been my honor and pleasure.  You've helped me more than I've helped you. You loved and supported me through Jane's (his late wife) illness and death. You'll live on in my heart.  No matter where you go. We'll always be there for you.

 

The Lord is my shepherd.  I have all that I need.  Psalm 23:1

Surely goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.  Psalm 23:6   NLT

The Shepherd guides Henry Adair's life along right paths, so we're the ones better for knowing him and have the privilege and honor to share his world. Students, staff, and parents experienced God's unfailing love and goodness by knowing him.  

 

We think to ourselves, it's because of you, Henry Adair, that it's a wonderful world.  

 

 

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