November 20, 2018
By: Dwayne Page
Civic, community and business leaders came together to pray and give thanks this morning (Tuesday) during the 48th annual Chamber Prayer Breakfast held at the County Complex Auditorium.
The guest speaker, Nancy Trapp, admonished her audience to follow the example of Old Testament Prophet Nehemiah in their lives.
“Nehemiah was a common man. He wasn’t much different from anybody in this room. He was Jewish by faith and birth and he desired from the deepest part of his heart to see his hometown of Jerusalem be restored to its greatness”.
“For us to practice what Nehemiah practiced, what we need to do is pray. Pray every day without ceasing for any and every burden we have for our county, town, church, friends, and our families. We must pray daily and often. We should always remember that God’s time and our time are never the same,” said Trapp.
“We need to make a plan and execute the plan that the Lord gives us boldly and we should look for the resources that the Lord will provide. We need to look in uncommon and unlikely places for the resources that the Lord is preparing to provide us with right now. As part of this plan, we should protect ourselves against the outside evils. We need to work with the Sheriff’s Department, Police Department, EMS, and all the protective services, and with the security team at your church to protect ourselves because there is evil out there. The Lord calls on us to protect ourselves. We should also protect ourselves from the inside evils. The evils of selfishness, greed, extortion, a pecking order, any illegal banking practices, or anything that will destroy us from the inside. We need to call out this evil and get rid of it,” Trapp continued.
“Finally, we need to praise. We need to have genuine daily every moment, on-going praise in our minds and in our hearts and our praise doesn’t need to stop on Sunday morning. Nehemiah lived a very thankful, grateful, and blessed life. He was thankful for the little things. He was grateful to his employer, to his friends, and the men who rose up to come and work. He was blessed with the Lord working through his own life and through the lives of other people,” she said.
Trapp then spoke of personal tragedies she has encountered and overcome through faith, prayer and the support of this community and as she prepares to relocate to Louisiana to be closer to family, Trapp said she will draw on that strength as she strives to continue to live thankful, grateful, and blessed.
“A majority of you know the struggles that I had for almost 10 years to find and give forgiveness to the man who murdered my sister and tore my family apart with lies and malicious intent. What you may not know is that I have lived in DeKalb County and Smithville for almost 20 years and about five years ago for a 15 month period of time I watched my brother who lived in Cookeville, my mother-in-law who was from here, my father, and my husband who was born and raised in DeKalb County all die. I know each one of them received their reward in Heaven but what you may not know is there was not one single moment that I ever felt alone because I had you. The men and women of DeKalb County have been part of my greater prayer life, my prayer warriors. The people who helped me plan my next step. People that protected me from the outside and the inside evils that would come. Each and every one of you were always willing to be a praise partner. So when I leave here moving forward and moving on and unfortunately being called to go back to Louisiana to live where my family is, I will carry in my heart as I move away, the part of each and every one of you that you have given me and I will live thankful, grateful, and blessed,” said Trapp.
The program began with welcoming remarks from Chamber President Rita Bell and County Mayor Tim Stribling. Boy Scout Troop #347 presented the flags and led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. Noah Gill, DCHS Student and member of Leadership DeKalb gave the Invocation. State Representative Terri Lynn Weaver sang the National Anthem and Award winning entertainer Darrin Vincent of the popular duo “Dailey & Vincent” performed. Donna Mathis-Herbert of the DeKalb Human Services offered a prayer for military and emergency response personnel. Jannie Mulaski of DTC Communications read scripture. Greg Vinson of Middle Tennessee Natural Gas, prayed for our children and families and Alex Woodward of Wilson Bank & Trust prayed for our communities and their leaders. Shan Williams of Ascension Saint Thomas DeKalb Hospital introduced the guest speaker.
The meal was prepared by Jason Evans of Evins Mill.
Chamber Director Suzanne Williams and County Mayor Stribling made announcements about upcoming holidays events in December.
The guest speaker, Nancy Trapp is a graduate of ULM University of Louisiana-Monroe, is CNOR-certified in operating room procedures, and has her master’s degree from UT, Knoxville in nursing administration and nursing education. Nancy is a member of Smithville First Baptist Church, Sigma Theta Tau Nursing, and AORN Nashville. She worked for Saint Thomas DeKalb Hospital 11 1/2 years.