Recent Reminders & Realizations

I have learned a few new things and have been reminded of some old wisdoms the past week or so.

I was reminded this week that life is short and that we must live it to the fullest everyday. Unfortunate circumstances prompted this reminder in me. First of all, another Midway student passed away about two weeks ago. The Sampson paper featured a story on him which recapped about eight of the other most recent students who have died from my alma mater. What was most unfortunate about the story for me was that it didn't even include another six or seven students who I knew personally who died in my time at Midway. The numbers are astounding. Midway seems to have some kind of "Kennedy Curse" or something.

In addition to this Midway student dying, my best friend told me that two 18-year old boys from her community, who attended the school she teaches at, died this weekend. I was with her on Saturday and we had the best day. Then when I texted her on Monday, she was attending her second funeral that day and she just said it had been an awful weekend and she'd tell me about it later. All of the feelings and memories of those horrific phone calls, wakes, and funerals flooded back into the forefront of my mind.

Life is short, my friends. We are never promised another breath. Live your life purposefully everyday and make it count.

I was also reminded this week that relationships take a lot of work and that the work must be reciprocal for it to work. Many of my friends have given up on me over the years. It seems like many more have since college because we have all moved away from our central location at school and are building our lives. It is sad but I am fortunate to have the few friends who truly make the efforts to know me and be a part of my present life, not just memories from the past.

I was also reminded this week that I do not need to give up or get jaded with people, specifically, the male species. It's a great time to be single but no so great a time to deal with the antics of 20-something men! I thought that they would be mature by now (or at least getting there), but I have realized that I am wrong. But I was also reminded that I'm an amazing catch and God is still working on me. My best friend and I renewed our vows to refuse to settle for anything less than butterflies. :)

This week I also realized that a fundraiser is a person, not an event. The event is called a fund raising. Make sure you get that straightened out in your head so that you can be accurate in the future! I won't even divulge how I obtained this new knowledge, but I will say that it was news to me and I will never again get that wrong!

Besides all of this, I've had quite a few brand new experiences over the past few weeks and I'm learning new things everyday. It's wonderful to keep your life fresh by experiencing and learning new things. :)

Something new to love, Part II

The baby is here! It's a boy! Micky Garan Odom, Jr. was born yesterday (July 16) around 1:30 p.m. We will call him by his middle name. Michelle did really good. She was in a little pain last night from the epesiotomy. We were kind of hoping for a little girl but we love this little boy already so we're keeping him! :)

One of the most amazing things about the baby is that he's so perfect right now. He hasn't been tainted by any of the problems of the world yet. He knows nothing but love right now. The baby is just so amazing. The miracle of childbirth is amazing. God has mysterious ways!

Check out the pics of this beautiful new life!

Tolerance v. Accomodation

I read a really good article in The Sampson Independent about a week and a half ago. The article was talking about being tolerant of the views of others without backing down from your own beliefs. The writer offers a Christian perspective that I agree with on many levels. I hope that the article will provide insight for you too.

Tolerant but not accomodating
by Robbie Millard
Published:
Friday, July 4, 2008 8:45 AM CDT
There was a disturbing article about religion in Time magazine recently. It was so disturbing in fact, I felt compelled to respond. The article published the results of a religious survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life done last year. The survey had 35,000 respondents, so it wasn't a small deal. The survey found that 70% of respondents believed that many religions can lead to eternal life. What was even more surprising was that 57% of so called “Evangelical Christians” were willing to accept that their way was not the only path to salvation.

Different people will interpret the results of this survey different ways. I see it as a subtle trend away from God. A type of watering down of religious beliefs. It hasn't just started, it's been going on for years, but it seems recently it has really found its footing

It seems to me many people have confused being tolerant of others religious beliefs with accommodating them. This is dangerous ground! I believe everyone should be tolerant of every individuals religious beliefs. By this I mean we should respect everyone's right to worship as they see fit. After all, this great country was founded because people didn't want to be told what to believe. It was founded on religious freedom. We would be hypocrites, therefore, if we did not recognize each person's right to worship as they choose.

This, however, is where tolerance should end. When we as Christians start accepting that there are other ways to heaven other than through Jesus Christ we have gone too far. We have stepped over the line of being tolerant and have now become accommodating. Tolerance and accommodation are not one and the same. I think the results of this poll proves how many Americans are confusing the two.

Christians, when you are confronted with the question of whether or not there is more than one way to eternal life, I urge you to read John 14:6 which says, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Folks, this scripture makes it plain and simple. If you believe the Bible, there can be only one way to eternal life and that is through Jesus Christ. This also means all these other religions who offer other ways to eternal life will not work.

We should all remember this. While it is OK to be tolerant of another's religion, it is most certainly not OK to accommodate it. Accommodation leads down a path away from Christ.

Something new to love

My cousin's wife, Michelle, (which I guess makes her my cousin now too) is expecting a baby pretty much any day now. A couple of weeks ago, my aunt called me and said that Michelle was at the hospital--she had started bleeding a little bit and was dilating. She's due on the 20th of this month and the baby was already 7 pounds but the doctors decided that they needed to stop labor if they could. They gave her the drugs and sent her home. We're pretty sure she's not going to make it until her due date but we're just waiting for the baby to come. Micky and Michelle went down to the beach with us this weekend. My uncle Micky took the three of us out on the boat. Of course my aunt and my mama were going crazy about the idea thinking that Michelle didn't need to go out and that my uncle had better not drive crazy and that we better call them if anything happens, etc. I told them it would be fine. Michelle watches A Baby Story on TLC everyday so she feels confident that she could talks us through a delivery ;) haha.

Michelle is the cutest pregnant person ever. She's gained about 20 pounds and now tips the scales at about 135 pounds. Seriously. She looks like she swallowed a watermelon. It's all belly, all in the front. Unless you see her from the side, you wouldn't even know she's prego. The girl wore a hot pink bikini on the boat. She wears soffe shorts and tanks or tee shirts on a daily basis. I am very jealous because I will probably look like a beached whale when I'm pregnant one day in the distant future.

It was so weird to watch her belly moving around as the baby is moving. We are really hoping that she has a little girl so we keep referring to the baby as "she." I'm really excited because we need a new baby in our family. It's been a while. My generation is all old enough to marry and procreate now so I hope that Micky's baby is the first of many more to come in my family! :) Keep Michelle & the baby in your prayers!