By Donna Traywick
Mt. Olivet News
It looks so lonesome to pass the Mt. Olivet parsonage and you see no life. Bro. Charles
and Amanda were there for 11 years. You could always see some form of life.
Sometimes they walked two little white dogs. They are totally remodeling the parsonage
since there has never been any repairs since it was built.
Everyone enjoyed the ice cream supper at the church Saturday night. Before we had ice
cream we had an outstanding supper of grilled chicken and all the trimmings. Vernon
Ferrell was the chef over the chicken.
Phil Tidwell is always the chef over all ice cream. He uses his secret recipe and an ice
cream making machine using a John Deere motor. Lynda Browning Davis had stayed
an extended visit after her mother, Elizabeth Browning’s funeral. She was able to come
to the supper, as well as church on Sunday.
The spring Panola County Singing Convention will be at Mt. Olivet this Sunday, May 19,
at 3 p.m. A large group of talented singers will be there. There will always be
congregation singing. This year’s convention is dedicated to the memory of Martha Jo
Childs Hall. She was one of the main persons that voted to revive the long since
forgotten singing. There was all day singing and dinner on the ground back years ago.
So far, the singing has been a big success.
Sunday was the most wonderful Mother’s Day that I have enjoyed. First, church began
with Sunday School class with Karen Patterson as our teacher. She is one of the most
innovative teachers. In a lesson on faith she used the most unusual analogy.
Concerning the scripture that said “If you have faith of a mustard seed, if you say to a
mulberry tree,’ Be uprooted and planted in the sea and it would obey you” She said that
many of us should “start to water our mustard seed” I ask her if I could borrow her
quote. Brother Ricky Reese also gave a lesson about faith.
Because it was Mother’s Day, the choir did a beautiful rendition of “if I could hear my
mother pray again.” During the children's church, they gave their mothers,
grandmothers, great grandmothers a beautiful red rose. Then they gave a rose to the
youngest mother. It was Taylor Browning Horne. The Matriarch of the church was Mrs.

Brucie Newcomb. They young people enjoying going over all the church to do this. They
gave out various others until a dozen roses were gone.
To help finish off Mother’s Day, Jeff Palmertree, the only nephew I have now since the
loss of Harold Baker, brought two plates of delicious food. Cindy is a fascinating cook. I
tell them that I eat on it for two days. He does this quite often.
Mid-afternoon, I went to LaDonna’s for a crappie supper. Alex knows that this is my
favorite fish. He not only does the catching, but the cleaning, fileting, and then cooks. All
we had to do was eat. I enjoy looking at the spring coming alive on Traywick Hill.
When the trees were yellow, orange, purple, in the fall, then still beautiful bare and now
wow every time I go there is a surprising change in nature. The humming birds are
starting to make their appearance.
As soon as Alex’s two labs get there, they hit the famous pond that Shady Grove used
to baptize their converts.
Ponder this: A messy desk is a sign of genius, according to science- Mark Twain,
Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs just like most geniuses. Boy, did that ever
make me feel good. What about your desk?
donnatraywickmusic@gmail.com