1 post from November 2008

I got to thinking about some of the people who have made an impact on my life and situations that have led me to be where I am today. Some people have left their mark on my spiritual life, while others have impacted my "physical" life. Here are just a few of the many people that have had an impact on my life, reasons why/how it has.

Tommy Tidwell, Jon/Tami Stroud, and Camp Inagehi:
I wouldn't be the person that I am today if it wouldn't have been for Tommy Tidwell. I wouldn't have been where I was (Freed-Hardeman) if it hadn't have been for Jon and Tami Stroud, and who knows if I would be a Christian yet if it hadn't been for Camp Inagehi. Tommy has made and impact on my life because of two reasons. Our talks and his walk. It has been great getting to know him over the years. Each year at camp, I learn more and more from him. Every Friday night of camp, he stays up late sitting in the middle of the boys "village," just to make sure the guys stay in line. One year, I joined him out there. We probably ended up staying out there talking until like 3:00am. I learn so much every time I talk with him. About life, about love and relationships, and about God. I really appreciate and cherish all of those talks. I have gotten emotional, but he gives his encouraging words of wisdom and I know it will work out. He also has shown me how to walk the walk. I think this past year at camp, I learned the most from him. He taugh me the most important leadership lesson I have ever learned: To lead is to do what nobody else wants to do and to stand up for what is right when nobody is standing for it. To be a true leader, you aren't going to be the most popular most if not all of the time, but you keep the best interest of others as the most important thing. I wish I could put into words for Tommy all that he means to me, and all that he has done for me. Jon and Tami Stroud are two awesome people. They do so much for South Cobb and for Camp Inagehi. A lot of people dont see all the work they do, but they are best examples of those getting the job done behind the scenes. They have influenced my life in a way they probably wouldn't know, in addition to making me a huge Mac addict and finally getting a Macbook (which I love). They are probably the reason why I went to Freed-Hardeman University, which indirectly has allowed me to make some of the best friends I have ever had, and also finding the girl of my dreams. I don't know why or how I heard about South Cobb church of Christ youth group going to Freed for RUSH, but somehow I heard about it and Jon Stroud let me go with the group. I had a blast, it was so much fun. That was my sophomore year of high school. By my junior year, I had decided that is where I wanted to go and got in early and everything was hunky-dory. But I think what the two of them did for me the most, was allow me to be apart of a youth group and be able to make other Christian friends and grow in that regard. I am so thankful for that opportunity. I still have some of those people as friends today, who will be lifelong friends. Meagan, Julie, Carlie, and more. I love all of them, and I am so thankful for that opportunity.

David Powell:
If you want to ever meet a true, genuine, loving man, David Powell is the guy you want to meet. After not really knowing him at all, and needing to get an A in a Bible class at Freed, I decided to take Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy as a fluff class. I did get my A, but what I wasn't counting on was the fact that I was going to be at the feet of a man who is very wise and taught me so much about the Old Testament and how to make it relavent to my own life. I couldn't get enough of his classes, so I ended up taking Paul's Epistles III (I & II Corintians) with him the following semester. I learned so much in those classes, I wish I would have taken his classes from the beginning. He was so supportive and encouraging, he just made me want to live on fire for God. What I think he taught me the most was standing for the truth. I had conversations with him in addition to classroom discussion about marriage, divorce, and remarriage that even though it was hard and I (and he) didn't want to draw the conclusions that we wanted to, he taught me to stand up for the truth, even if it would make you unpopular. He is a great man and taught me a ton about the Bible and how to live my life.

Stacey Groves:
After talking about all of these people that have influenced me spritually, I dont want to make Stacey sound like she wasnt very spiritual, but she helped me out in my career. Though our relationship was a professional one, we were able to talk from time to time about religious things and I know she is a great spiritual person who is very disciplined when it comes to life, exercise, and God. She did though influence me in more of a career way. She gave me my wings in the sports world. It was the beginning of my spring semester and I was starting to realize that there was no way that I wanted to spend the rest of my life being an accountant. I enjoyed my major for the most part, but it just wasn't my passion. In Feburary of 2007, I applied to be a student assistant for the Sports Information Director (which was her). I have always loved sports, and I had never though to possibly pursue my love for sports into a career path. I saw that they were looking for some help, and I applied. I had zero experience when applied and I don't know how I got the job, but she thought my trial write-up of a basketball game was good enough to give me the job. Over the next year, I learned a lot about writing and the whole package of what it is to be in the sports industry. It wasn't always the easiest job, but I can say being able to work for her has given me not only the experience in my pocket, but something that people open their eyes at when looking at my resume for a possible job or internship. [sidenote: Be praying for an internship that I had an interview for last week. Hopefully I will be moving back to Tennessee to work next season with the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx, a AA Minor League Baseball team in Jackson, Tennessee] She was a blast to work with and actually listened to ideas and let me really have an active role in working with the athletic department at Freed-Hardeman.

Those are just a few people who have impacted my life. My family, my friends, and my lovely girlfriend are also those who have had big impacts on my life, but It is almost 2:00am and I need to get some sleep before I have to be at work at 9:00am.