Tag Archives: Chattanooga

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Surgeries & their “Sleepy Time”

. Fitness, Physical Fitness, Physical Maintenance . , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

If you have had a colonoscopy, you know that the prep for the procedure is “torture”. However, the sleep during the procedure is “divine”. If it were only thus for two of my three surgeries. I have had three surgeries, the appendectomy, the prostate biopsy, and the most recent double inguinal (groin) hernia surgery. Yes, I know the anesthesia is different when a person has a colonoscopy, but for such intrusive and post pain procedures, could they not make the sleep enjoyable for regular surgeries?

I didn’t have a real surgery until I was 48 almost 49. It was  Saturday April 25, 2015. It was an emergency appendectomy. I had ZERO symptoms until 15 hours before my surgery. I even jogged 3 hours before my abdomen started aching. Once at Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga, I spent about 2 hours crawling to the Emergency Restroom Bathroom or rolling in constant discomfort on the waiting room floor. About 3 hours later, the ER physician said I needed pain medicine, but NO NURSE or whomever was attending, came to check my chart/computer. I lay and had dry heaves for another hour. I finally told Sean who was sitting by my side, “I don’t care who this disturbs, but I’m whistling for help!” I started, and the nurse walked in and said, “Sir, you are being too loud.” I answered, “I’m in pain!” The nurse continued, “… the doctor hasn’t given me any orders.”, I exclaimed, “He was here, and I asked for something for nausea.” Sean added, “yes, he was here and said he would prescribe Zofran.” I cannot remember if the nurse looked at a computer in the room or went to her station because my eyes were closed, but in a few minutes, she returned with the Zofran. I think she apologized, but it didn’t matter, the pain subsided until the CT scan was completed and read; appendicitis! This was approximately at 4 AM, and the emergency appendectomy was scheduled for about 7:30 AM that Sunday morning. The rest that I received from the anesthesia was spectacular. I did not even wake up from the surgery with a headache. Around 2 PM, the nurse had me walking, smiling, and talking as we strolled down the halls of Memorial Hospital. I was dismissed around 5 PM that evening. The BEST things to come of this emergency surgery were my surgery sleep/relief after 15 hours of abdomen pain and the surgeon on call, Dr. Walter Rose. I will mention him again later. The subsequent surgeries to come were lackluster to the appendectomy.

Fast forward 8 years to 2023 and my battle with a high Prostate Specifical Antigen along with an enlarged prostate. The MRI had shown LOW percentages of possible cancer; however, to be 100% sure, I wanted a prostate biopsy. It was at Erlanger with my urologist, Dr. Singh. The wait for this surgery was different, and I did not like it at all. The wait AND the post op was worse than the surgery! The sleep was okay, but Dr. Singh had NEVER said anything about being intubated. I did not realize they had stuck the tube down my throat until I could not swallow during lunch that afternoon. I never had a headache or felt nauseous, but I was “in a fog” all that Thursday. Friday and the weekend found me with lower abdominal pain and that was all. Thanks be to God I was 100% cancer free. If my prostate doesn’t behave, it could all happen again. Once again, neither a comfortable nor dignified experience, but at least the “rest” during surgery was so-so. I had not been battling agonizing abdomen pain for 15 hours, so I guess , perhaps, I didn’t appreciate the sleep as well. LOL

I wish someone would have shared that the longer the surgery the worse I would feel after the surgery. Not the pain, but the effects of the anesthesia. Back at Memorial on August 29 of this year, I found myself waiting for my hernia surgery. The surgeons in Knoxville could not even do an evaluation until the second week of September. Dr. Rose from Chattanooga could perform surgery a month earlier! As I lay on the gurney right before the surgery, the nurse anesthetist gave me my initial shot to “relax me”. I immediately felt the burn. OUCH!  In a few seconds, they began rolling me out of my private, pre-surgery holding room ( I do have to say KUDOS for the individual preop rooms at Memorial. The multi-patient preop room at Erlanger was horrible.) As I rolled to surgery, I remember seeing a few faces, but then I “was gone”.  When I started coming to, I could hear the quiet chatter around me, then the movement to a post op, individual room. The more I came out of the anesthesia, the worse I felt. I have an idea that most of us can take healing pain because we know that it will wane and finally subside, BUT that nausea accompanied by a headache! I did not want to open my eyes, and barely did for 6 hours. Most of you probably don’t know how much Sean loves popular music. As Sean and I pulled away from Memorial to return home to Knoxville, I asked Sean to turn off the radio. He made it over 2 hours without music because he knew how badly I was feeling; true love! I had nausea until up into the morning of August 30. It had been 24 hours. Four weeks later, there are just a few twinges of recuperation pain in my lower abdomen. I am lifting weights again (no squats as of yet) and jogging. However, the memory of the headache and nausea live on!

I will never forget listening to a wonderful, family friend, Gladys Souther Wilson, from Varnell ,Georgia. She had undergone multiple surgeries by the time she was 58, and she once said that every surgery is different. She was correct. If you have several minutes, share some of your surgery experiences. Does everyone have bad side effects from anesthesia? Does everyone go through headaches and nausea? Was my last 24-hour bout of anesthesia withdrawal normal?

So, to finish up, 1 ) Please , do, leave a comment. 2) I know most of us don’t like to plaster our surgeries across social media, so if a procedure or a surgery comes up where you would appreciate some prayers, reach out to me (DM on Facebook, Instagram, or a text message). I will do the same to you.

Last thing… thank you God for the people who have created anesthesia for surgeries whether they’ve been good or bad experiences afterwards. The sleep during surgery is one of Your mercies.

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“Joy to the Earth” (TO build your schema…this blog entry IS NOT about Christmas)

. Family, Jesus Christ Follower . , , , , , ,

Joy to the Earth, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and FLOODS, ROCKS, HILLS and plains
Repeat the sounding joy…

Once a day, we try to walk together as a family. We often discuss the topics of the day, but sometimes we all walk in silence for a few minutes before one of us, usually Sean or I, start a new conversation. Carter and Ammon had their yearly physical, well-exams yesterday. They both concurred this morning that they felt flat: They had two vaccinations. Sean and I researched their TDP vaccination, and it confirmed that it could cause the “flatness”. We decided that Ammon and Carter did not have to walk today because our walks are fast-paced for cardio endurance and heart health. In August, we four started a new route in the Enterprise South park, and I have been very anxious to jog it. It has two good-sized hills and one is quite the incline for at least a half mile. We looked at the radar (rain all afternoon), and we decided that we adults needed to exercise outside ASAP. It was an opportunity to jog my new route. I dressed and “made a bee-line” to the park.  

This is NOT Enterprise South.. just an awesome autumn likeness.

It was barely sprinkling, and I began my jog. I went up the Hidden Lake Road, turned on Boulder Point Road (I’m doing this for my Chattanooga folks who can , perhaps, visualize what I was doing), and I was winding down to Dogwood Ridge road. A few heavier drops of rain began to hit the oak trees that form the branch-awnings over Boulder, and acorns began pelting the ground. I took my shirt off (thank you, Jesus it was a warm rain), rolled it up and used it as a shield to fight any falling acorns. I kept jogging and smiling. By the time I was turning right on to Harrison Branch Road, it was a steady rain, and by the time I turned right on to Poe Run Road, it was pouring.

Enterprise South: Chattanooga, Tennessee

As you can imagine, there was NO ONE in sight. A blessed cedar tree awning gave me a 2-second umbrella of dryness. I thought, “There is a bunker up here on the right. If it is, by chance, open, I am stopping for a few minutes until this lets up!” The next thing that happened thoroughly surprised me. The Holy Spirit touched my spirit and shared, “Sing Joy to the World!” I did. Suddenly, the lyrics, “… while fields and FLOODS, ROCKS, HILLS, and plains repeat the sounding joy.” The rain drops, rocks, and hills enveloping me, were repeating the sounding joy (Joy to the world, the Lord, Jesus the Christ, is come). I kept jogging, and I sang to the top of my lungs while concentrating on less lung fatigue as well as using my diaphragm, “Joy to the world, the savior reigns….”. I was VERY SURPRISED  that the bunker was, indeed, open. It was still pouring. I stepped into the entrance of the dark bunker and the Spirit said, “Repeat the sounding joy!” I sang the verse again in the round bunker while the words echoed and repeated the “sounding joy”. Before I left, the Spirit reminded me of “Shower of Blessings”.

Showers of blessing,
  Showers of blessing we need;
Mercy-drops round us are falling,
    But for the showers we plead.

The sound of “Shower of Blessings” echoed as well. I smiled and began to praise God for the rain, the jog, Jesus Christ, and my family. By the end of my prayer, the constant rain had stopped with only a few, scattered droplets here and there.

Friends and family, you deserve or really NEED some alone time with God, Jesus, and the Spirit. I know your families, your jobs, your daily activities, so I understand how busy your lives are. Your moments do not have to be like I had today. Sometimes the moments happen during a quiet moment of cooking, cleaning, or doing some yard work, and, yes, I’ve even had them at work before. Look for the moment. Be in the Spirit. Thanks be to our risen Savior, Jesus the Christ, we have intimacy with the Holy Spirit in prayer or song. Acts 2:38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, and don’t forget…God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth. (John 4:24).

Isn’t intimacy with the Spirit something awesome? Do you choose to experience it? Do you want to experience it? For Haven, my spirit communicating with the Holy Spirit is so uplifting and joyful especially in this crazy 2020. Are you tired, worried, fatigued with what is going on around you? Are you “thirsty” in your spiritual life? The Spirit is like a water tap, the more you turn open the flow, the more volume of water you get. Heck, God will even allow you to never open the water tap. Whatever your “Spirit feelings” may be, I challenge you to find your intimacy with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit and I sang several songs together today….

Joy to the Earth, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and FLOODS, ROCKS, HILLS and plains
Repeat the sounding joy…

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Train Whistles & Granddaddy Alexander

. Family, Nanny & the Alexanders, Train Travel . , , , , , , , , , , ,

Train Whistles & Granddaddy Alexander

(Like Wikipedia, I welcome people to add names & pics… I will add things as I find them).

Update: October 21, 2020

I finally found my photo of Granddaddy Alexander’s 1914 Southern Railway Engine. The photo’s date is stamped July 22, 1914.

train_alexander

steamengine_TVA

(Thanks, TVA for the pic.. this is a restored, 1904 engine that ran on Southern Railway!) 

William Oliver Alexander : May 15, 1875 – June 29, 1935. Southern Railroad Locomotive Engineer.

Friday evening September 28, 2018 location = Collegedale, Tennessee, Collegedale Greenway 

I was jogging beside the railroad track headed toward’s Collegdale’s Southern University, and I heard a train coming: Sometimes it’s a BNSF train, and sometimes it’s a Norfolk Southern train. Traveling at about 35-40 MPH a Norfolk Southern diesel locomotive comes barreling into the clear. I smiled, kept jogging, and I waved. Of course, trains blow their whistles at the crossings, and the engineer had just passed the College Station Crossing. I had no idea if my waves would illicit a friendly blow, but THEY DID …. “Toot, Toot…. toot ,  toooooot”: I smiled from ear to ear and continued jogging. Granddaddy Alexander whom I never met (he died 31 years before I was born) immediately came to mind…. However….

Join me  the summer of 1988.

My dear friend of  mine, Loraine Morgan Hammontree (February 2, 1913- May 13, 1989) , and I had been cultivating our awesome, Varnell friendship, and she had said, “Uh, Haven, would you like to visit my sister (Ralph Morgan, I’m tracking you down for her name! LOL) in Dalton. She can tell us some stuff about Varnell from our childhood.”  Loraine’s sister was several years older than Loraine and she couldn’t drive, and neither could Loraine who had heart failure. I rearranged some of my busy, summer schedule (I was in town for the weekend from Lipscomb University Summer Semester where I was just about to finish my last year) , and we drove to Dalton. Loraine’s, sister was so hospitable and so sweet, and charming. I fell in love with her lovely demeanor immediately.

Loraine: Haven, I was just a kid and I don’t remember, but my sister remembers living in the Alexander’s house in Varnell. (Turning to her sister) Tell Haven about living there and Mr. Alexander.  Mr. Alexander was Haven’s great-grandfather.

Loraine’s sister: (With a huge smile). I didn’t know that! Let me tell you.  You know , Mr. Alexander had a fixed schedule, and we always kind of knew he was coming. He would begin tooting the whistle as he entered Varnell, and we would run down to the track. The train went right in front of the Alexander house, and he was going slow. Depending on what he had, he would toss it out to us kids. Sometimes, it was candy wrapped in sacks and sometimes it was bags of coal we needed for our coal-burning stove. It was like having Santa Claus!

Loraine: (Turning to me with a huge smile.) Yeah, just like Santa Claus, that’s just what I was thinking.

The visit was perfect, and I had spoken with someone who knew Granddaddy Alexander personally. I took Loraine home with a full heart and lots of joy.

Before I finish this Santa Claus tale of  Granddaddy Alexander, I ‘ve got to share one more thing (I could be dead tomorrow, and I want Carter & Ammon to know) LOL ….

Trains (Steam engines in the 1900s – 1930s) were steam engines and so different from the powerful diesels of today. The trains stopped at every “pig trail” in those days. Granddaddy Alexander’s route took him from Atlanta to Chattanooga. When stopping at the “pig trails”, boys from the local area would bring stuff (nuts, berries, live animals such as baby squirrels or baby opossums) to sell to him. He would buy whatever for a few pennies. On up the line, while stopping for water, coal, or passengers, he would let the animals go free. He sometimes would even take a baby squirrel or a baby opossum back to his house in Atlanta for Nanny, Madeline, and Florence to play with!  In a few weeks he would put them back in his pocket, take them to Inman Yard where his engine was then carry them back up towards Chattanooga where he would set them free.

Back to September 28, 2018-

As I turned around to face my jogging destination, I was overcome with emotion, and tears came unexpectedly into my eyes as I started sobbing  with happiness about Granddaddy Alexander as I trotted onward.

No one is ever perfect, but William Oliver Alexander was a good, caring human with a wonderful heart.  His girls (Mary Naomi Alexander Caylor, Gloria Madeline Alexander Kirk, and Florence L. Alexander Sheeley) adored him. Nanny always shared how he loved life, loved to joke, and loved nature.

With my memories and the wonderful avenue of the Internet and/or writing journals, I can keep Granddaddy Alexander and his story “alive”.

-Happy Saturday to all- Haven

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Thursday January 14, 2016: Educator Reception/Author Discussion

. Books, Learning, Parenting . , , , , , , ,

"Parenting Strategies on the Go" -Haven Caylor, Ed. D.

“Parenting Strategies on the Go” -Haven Caylor, Ed. D.

Raffle Tickets for the 12 Noon Drawing can the purchased the DAY OF the event: January 14, 2016-Thursday 11:00 AM -12 Noon. $200 Barnes and Noble Gift Card (Show your Barnes and Noble receipt of Parenting Strategies on the Go , get a ticket, must be present to collect your gift certificate if your name is drawn)

2100 Hamilton Pl Blvd #315, Chattanooga, TN 37421
Phone:(423) 893-0186

It’s Educator Appreciation Week at Barnes and Noble . Bring or rendezvous with a retired, semi-retired educator/mentor who has made a positive impact on your life for some refreshments and fellowship. Treat them to a new book from Barnes and Noble, take them out to lunch afterwards on Thursday January 14….

Homeschool parents, ANY PARENT if you are available, Grandparents, check out Parenting Strategies on the Go: to help create plans of action for teaching your children as you travel in 2016. One thing I would like to emphasize from the book is learning with Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences.

Along with a discussion on teaching strategies from me, there will be special refreshments for everyone and activities for the students. Children 11 and under have the opportunity to become a Bookseller-For-A-Day and learn the ins, the outs, and the behind the scenes of how Barnes & Noble Hamilton Place runs. 12 and up will have the opportunity to work with a variety of electronic and coding workshops.

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Carter & Ammon Shine in a Personal Courtesy Interview

. Family, Learning . , , , , , ,

Carter and Ammon Shine in a Personal Courtesy Interview

Volkswagen & Children

“Ich heisse Carter.”
“Ich heisse Ammon.”
“Ich heisse Catharina.”

I stood grinning ear to ear. Carter had initiated our introduction with Catharina Mette (Volkswagen of Chattanooga, Tennessee Plant Communications ) a native German who is now living and working in Chattanooga, Tennessee our home town. Carter started with “My name is Carter.” Then Ammon and Catharina followed with sharing their names. I was so pleased that Carter and Ammon were practicing their interpersonal skills without any prompt from me. We had been working on interpersonal skills for over two years, and now they had combined both interpersonal skills and speaking German.

I wrote to the Public Relations in the middle of September, and explained how Ammon and Carter were homeschooled, were studying the German language, studying the German culture, and needing to practice their interpersonal skills with a simple interview. I asked if there was a native German in personal relations with whom we could conduct an interview. They graciously agreed to an interview with Catharina Mette with whom I soon arranged an interview date and time. I was honored that someone from this multi-billion dollar industry was taking time to spend with two 5 year olds from Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Catharina personally greeted Carter and Ammon at the visitor’s check-in station with a warm smile and greeting. There was an immediate bond between the three. We were then ushered into a visitor reception room. Carter and Ammon gave her the red roses we had purchased for her as a “Thank You”. There were comfortable chairs, tables, and a mini-theater with a huge flat screen television on the wall. After initial greetings and a review of Carter and Ammon’s travels to Germany, Catharina interjected, “Let me show you two a couple of videos on the history of this Volkswagen plant.”

Roses for Catharina

We all sat comfortably in the mini-theater where we viewed two videos.The first video was on the history of the Chattanooga Volkswagen plant. It was so professional and personal to our hometown in which Carter and Ammon are so proud. “Wow, Chattanooga!”, Carter whispered to me. The video ended with a focus on how the Passat (the plant’s car) won Motortrend’s 2012 Car of the Year Award, and it all connected to the hard working team at the Chattanooga plant. The second video was only 3 minutes, but it showed a 12 -hour time lapse of how a Passat is fabricated. Ammon and Carter sat riveted. When the video finished, Carter exclaimed. “Wow, they made that car fast!”. We all giggled.

Rivited

“Now, I understand that you two have some questions for me.” , Catharina said while leading Carter and Ammon into their interpersonal interview.

The four main questions Carter and Ammon had created were regarding the cultural areas of food, clothing, types of shelter, and the composition of family units in Germany. Ammon and Carter took turns asking questions.

Ammon and Carter love to eat pretzels, and we had studied that pretzels were a favorite snack tradition in Bavaria, eaten them during our vacation there in 2012 ( http://bit.ly/ZvyR7c, http://bit.ly/13CXrSZ) and made them in our home during the study. Through questioning, they found out that German pretzels are not traditional snack foods from the region of Wolfsburg, Germany, Catharina and Volkswagen’s hometown.

Carter then asked, “Do you have lederhosen?”, “No, Carter, lederhosen is a traditional style of dress, once again, from Bavaria. I do not have lederhosen.” Ammon then took her cue for the next question with, “Does your house look the same as houses here in Chattanooga?” “Well, kind of….,” Catharina said continuing with, “…we have more rock and brick houses.”

Carter then asked, “Do you get to see your family in Germany?” “Well, yes, I return home to see them several times a year. As a matter of fact, I just returned last week.” , Catharina stated.

Our meeting ended splendidly with Carter’s free question, “Do you have a Volkswagen like this one (the Passat)?” Carter inquired. “
Catharina quickly replied, “No, but I have a Volkswagen Tiguan. It’s like a van.” We then Googled an Internet photo of a Tiguan. “Oh, that’s nice!” Ammon exclaimed.

We then agreed that our questions were over and that Catharina had to return to work. We snapped photos, and Catharina had the reception desk make Carter and Ammon Volkswagen Visitor badges. They were so proud! We then departed with smiles and hugs, and a few “Auf Wiedersehen” .

Thanks to Catharina’s personal courtesy, Ammon and Carter’s interpersonal interview had been a huge success.

If you made it this far (LOL), please learn more About us and give me, Haven Caylor, a Google. Thanks to all!

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Ash Wednesday

. Church, Family . , , , ,

Genesis 3:19. “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

ash_wednesday

Luke 9: 23:  “Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

Ash Wednesday

I love, appreciate, and admire those Christians who wear their ashes in such an outward manner today!  By no means does an outward form of appearance show what is in the heart of a person, but it is one of the few times in the year that people in droves of numbers actually show that they are followers of Jesus Christ as they go out and about with an ash cross on their foreheads. Ammon and Carter understand the tradition, and they understand wearing ashes to show their faith in Jesus the Christ.

Non-Christians, maybe take a few minutes today to “google” Jesus Christ, or Ash Wednesday. The event isn’t found in the Bible, but it is an event that many use to remember Jesus as a human and his sacrifices. This is the first event in a Christian “season” that leads up to Easter over 40 days from now.

ash_wednesday-1

Christians in Chattanooga, I know the Episcopal, most Methodist, and Presbyterian churches will have Ash Wednesday services: usually morning, noon, and maybe an evening service as well.

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Peggy, Janie, Kelly, & God…thank you all!

. Books, Christmas Hawk, Family, Parenting . , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

prayer-for-friend

Friends & Family

There was a chain reaction that started with Peggy Lamb (Carter and Ammon’s aunt) helped me get in contact with a local author, Janie Dempsey Watts (You need to read her Moon Over Taylor’s Ridge Moon over Taylor’s Ridge ). Janie gave me the suggestion to head to Barnes & Noble to speak with the manager Kelly Flemmings. I have been so blessed that these wonderful people have helped me to write. I now have 2 books! It took 2 years, but I did it.

 

My parenting/travel/memoir is Parenting Strategies on the Go , and I had a great “kick off” book signing at Barnes and Noble in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

My other book is Christmas Hawk

 

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Head Shaving for Pediatric Cancer

. Family, Parenting . , , , , , , , , ,

Chattanoggins: June 10, 2012

If any of my family ever has cancer (Mamaw is a 13 year survivor of Breast Cancer), goes through chemotherapy, and loses hair, I want Carter and Ammon to look back and see that it’s okay to be bald and “different” especially when you are battling a disease.

Carter hasn’t been too happy with my hair cut and has told me so several times, but Ammon has been supportive with hugs and kisses and rubbing my head “for luck”. It was also a cool thing to give a donation to the Children’s Hospital of Chattanooga.

Hoping and praying that all is well in your worlds this Monday, and I am sending up prayers for those who are battling cancer or know someone who is battling cancer. Haven and the Crew

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Granddaddy/Grandmaw Stone

. Family, Parenting . , , , , , , , ,

September 10th (yesterday) would have been my
granddaddy’s 94th birthday. Once again, his name was Troy Dewitt
Caylor. He was born on September 10, 1917, and he died on March 29, 1979. He
was one of those grandfathers that could almost be an ideal cliché: He smoked a
pipe, he could do carpentry, was an excellent farmer, loved yard work, could
fix anything that had an engine, could make crafts and holiday sceneries, and
most of all, he loved his family. I was almost 13 when he died, but I have so
many cherished memories of that man. I loved him dearly, and he loved me. As I
have said before, he showed all of his grandchildren so much love. I have
someone else to add to my “Happy Birthday” to Granddaddy message. I simply know
her as Grandmaw Stone.

My granddaddy’s
family was hit hard by the Spanish Flu of 1918. Granddaddy’s parents and four
siblings were gravely ill, and, unfortunately, one of his older sisters, Billie,
died. The family lived in Varnell, Georgia. Granddaddy’s grandparents, the
Caylors, lived there as well. However, afraid of the flu themselves, they did
not enter my grandfather’s house for fear of catching the dreaded disease. They
would bring food and supplies to the house, but simply leave it all on the
porch and return home. Grandmaw Stone did not live in Varnell. She lived in
Chattanooga, Tennessee. She was Granddaddy’s step-grandmother. My great-grandmother Mattie Stone Caylor’s mother had died when she was a young girl, and her father remarried the woman of whom I am writing, Grandmaw Stone. Well, the family was “falling by the way-side”: They were all sick, and Billie had died. Enter Grandmaw Stone: A woman of faith, courage, and love of family.
She had other children and grandchildren
to worry about, but she left her “disease-free” home in Chattanooga, took the
train to Varnell, and walked right through the front door of my Granddaddy’s
house. She took over! She nursed my great-grandparents and Granddaddy’s three
surviving, older siblings, cooked food, cleaned the house, and started the
laundry. When everything had calmed down, she found my Granddaddy who had been “tucked away and forgotten” basically resting peacefully in his crib without, praise be
to God, the flu. She picked him up, changed his soiled clothes, and fed that
boy. She told my Nanny Caylor years later, “That boy was just about starved to death!”

My Nanny and Granddaddy were married in 1938, and I know
Grandmaw Stone was still alive then. My Nanny loved her! Nanny said she was so
kind, loving, and had lots of pep for a lady her age. Nanny said one thing
Grandmaw Stone always said for the years left that she knew her was that when
she saw Granddaddy, she said, “There’s my boy!” She had several other grandsons
and nephews, but no one else was “her boy” but Granddaddy because of that bond
they shared. So, thank you, God, again, for Granddaddy, and thank you for Grandmaw
Stone . Oh, my, the admiration and love I have for Grandmaw Stone, and she died
many, many years before I was born.

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Gordon Temple & Suzanne Burch

. Christmas, Church, Jesus Christ Follower, Parenting . , , , , ,

The congregation of St. Martin of Tours Episcopal Church is gaining a full-time rector in June. We are losing our Interim Rector, Gordon Temple, and our deacon, Suzanne Burch. Please follow along and celebrate these precious human beings with me.

What do you all like in sermon from a preacher, rector, or priest? Do you want a sermon on philosophies on religion, or do you want to know how to live a religious filled life? St. Augustine a Christian from the 4th century believed reason to be a uniquely human cognitive capacity that comprehends deductive truths and logical necessity, and I have heard sermons associated to his infusion of Christian doctrine with Neoplatonism (most of us are like..’What the heck, and how can I apply that to my daily life?’) I have also seen and heard sermons from preachers/rectors who use works of Thomas Aquinas and his Summa Theologica (God’s thinking and willing, Aristotelian Ethics, and Jesus protects all in both Heaven and earth) and drone on and on for an hour about such. Folks, I don’t need religious philosophy to live by, I need every day acts that represent how we should serve God and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. For approximately a year, God saw fit that the congregation of St. Martin of Tours in East Brainerd, Tennessee and I had our hearts and minds filled with these types of sermons from Father Gordon Temple.

When Jesus was here on earth, he taught with simple parables (everyday life situations that have heavenly meanings), and that is what I need and appreciate in a sermon. Those are the kinds of sermons Gordon Temple preaches.  I love Gordon’s sense of humor, his smile, his genuine concern for everyone around him, his love of family, and his love of children. The joy this man has in the tone of his voice and the sparkle he has in his eyes as he talks about his wife, his children, and his grandchildren are priceless. He simply loves children. On Father Gordon’s last Eucharist on Sunday, I was holding Carter when he handed me the communion bread. When Father Gordon blessed Carter and touched him on his forehead, Gordon had such a twinkle in his eye, and he tapped Carter on his nose. Carter’s face lit up with a grin. Gordon doesn’t think he is a good teacher in the classroom, but he is great. I don’t know how many times we went past the “hour allotted” in our Sunday school class because we had asked questions and we were intently discussing and enjoying his answers. I also love the fact that he was raised in Chattanooga. He is living history for all of us living in this city. Father Gordon, we love you, and you are an inspiration to all you come in contact with. Thank you for being a reflection of Jesus Christ and for being such a great preacher and shepherd for St. Martin’s.

Gordon Temple: May 15, 2011

We only saw Suzanne act as a deacon for a year, but we saw her love and enthusiasm for taking care of the physical needs of the St. Martin congregation and the community during the 2010 Christmas season. She was glowing during the whole month as we gathered and gave in the name of Jesus Christ in honor of his birthday. She like Gordon uses such finesse in weaving everyday thoughts and feelings into sermons from the Bible especially in the life of Jesus and how we should live like him. Wherever she goes, the congregation will be so lucky to have her. Suzanne, we love you and God bless you.

Suzanne Burch and Gordon Temple: May 15, 2011

A special thanks to our church buddy, Jerry Thurston, for taking these pictures on Sunday and sharing them with me so I can share them with you all.