Voice of Hope

Mr. Odie H. Spears  87 of Westmoreland, TN passed away Thursday, January 29, 2015. Funeral services for Mr. Spears will be held Monday, February 02, 2015 at 1:00 PM from Lakeside Church of God of Prophecy with Bro. Leon Graves, Bro. Ron Spears, Bro. Mike Creasy and Bro. Gerald Graves officiating. Interment will follow in Sumner Memorial Gardens.  Pallbearers will be Jeff Graves, Stacey Graves, Scotty Graves, Josh Graves, Spence Creasy and Angela & (Chad) Fields.  Honorary pallbearers will be Tyler Graves, Caleigh Graves, Taylor Graves, Alec Creasy and Connor Graves. Visitation will be:  Saturday, January 31, 2015 from 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM at Woodard Funeral Home and Sunday, February 01, 2015 from 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM at Woodard Funeral Home and Monday, February 02, 2015 from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM at Lakeside Church of God. Mr. Spears was retired as an Assistant Grocery Store Retail Manager at Smith's Cee Bee Store after over 24 years of service . ...

Someone asked, "Are you on your way to another funeral?"  My answer was, "No, I am on my way to a resurrection."  Tonight, after having preached my sister's funeral, two church members funerals and visiting a friend whose brother had passed away, I had a little quiet time in my home office.  As I often do, I reach for an old book  I've found that some books written long ago can speak to my heart.  This time, it was a book published in 1946.  This passage from J.B. Chapman touched my heart, hope it does yours too.  Victor Hugo exclaimed, "The frosts of seventy winters are on my head, but the springtime of eternal youth is in my heart." "Sometimes we look at the gray hair of a ripening saint, and say, "Old man, the frosts of many winters are on your head."  But he answers, "That is not frost.  I am getting ready to wear the crown of life, and my hair is taking on tint agreeable to the color scheme."   We say, "Ol...

Just this week, death visited our family once again.  This is not a new journey for us, it is one that we have faced, traveled and dealt with before.  To many it is something to be feared and faced with a great sense of dread.  Not so with the McKinley family. I have often commented that I grew up with death, which is probably the reason why one of my favorite poems was written by Dylan Thomas, "Do not go gentle into that good night."  It is an appointment we will all have one day. You may live your life in fear of it, or you can respect it and make preparation for what happens once your appointment is fulfilled. As a child, I remember going to "lay-outs" for family members in Kentucky, where the deceased were kept in the living room of the home until burial time.  I've spent many long days in the funeral home break rooms listening to the old timers talk about the deceased, while they chain-smoked, possibly hastening their own demise.  Then all of our...