Ode 17

Interview with Senator Jason Atkinson

If you have been following my blog for a while you may remember me letting you know about my cousin in Oregon, Senator Jason Atkinson, shot in the leg while working on a friend's bike. Check out this interview. I'm blessed to be from a family of faith.

Georgene Rice Radio: Senator Jason Atkinson gun story

April 16, 2009

Below is a transcript from Georgene Rice KPDQ-FM radio interview with Oregon State Senator Jason Atkinson about a gunshot accident that nearly took his life.  The story of his recovery is inspiring.

Georgene: Tell us what happened on that day in July of 2008.

Atkinson: I was working on a bike and accidentally dropped a bag I was removing from under the seat. It usually carries tubes and tools for the bike. I heard a popping noise and found myself on the ground bleeding to death. My wife quickly put her finger in the bullet hole and used a bike tube as a tourniquet. 

Psalms 23 says, “He makes me lie down”. I used to think that was optional. But it’s really not. In a split second our lives changed. I went from being the hard charging person to being made to lie down.The next several hours we didn’t know if I was going to live. In the weeks after, we didn’t know...

African Children's Choir to Appear

This coming Friday night, May 1, at 7 PM, the African Children's Choir will appear at Sugarloaf United Methodist Church in Duluth Georgia. This will be a great night! The event is free, but come ready to sponsor a child if you can, purchase a souvenir of the night, or simply donate to help this famous choir continue to make an impact on the lives of so many children in Africa.
This is the African Children's Choir that has performed on American Idol, before kings, queens, and the Hollywood elite. They continue to change lives wherever they go. This event is one that you will not want to miss!
Call 770-814-2050 for more information.

Eeyore or Tigger?

On my walk with Mr. Bean yesterday, I listened to the end of The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. If you know anything about Pausch or his lecture and/or book you will know he found out that he had terminal cancer and only had months to live. In one chapter he wrote that you can either be an Eeyore or a Tigger. Remember them from Winnie the Pooh? Eeyore always has a dark rain cloud hovering nearby while Tigger obliviously bounces on his tail in a overly happy state of mind; Eeyore=gloom and despair, Tigger=a hurricane of happiness.
This morning when I bounced out of bed I had the song, Today is the Day by Lincoln Brewster running through my head. I told you once before that I get these songs in my mind and don't even realize that I'm singing them. This...

Expand Your Soul

"When I admire the wonder of a a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in worship of the Creator."    Mahatma Gandhi

Last evening I lit the outdoor fire and sat in my patio recliner reflecting upon my day and the past months. Things have been much harder at the church, watching it grow into its years of adolescence. This year Sugarloaf UMC will celebrate its 13th birthday. Truly, the past couple of years have presented its share of challenges as SUMC has struggled a bit with its identity. So I sat by the fire, lost in my reflections, watching the sunset grow into a starry night.
When I gaze into that endless sea of eternity it helps me adjust my thinking. Problems may come and go (and they will) but Polaris still points to the north. Saturn, Venus, Jupiter, and Mars are common sites as they rotate slowly in the blackened night sky. No matter what pandemonium...

How I'm Spending My Saturday

I'm in a class called The Wesleyan Movement. Our professor is Bill Clark. We are having more fun than in any other class I have taken in the past, and learning quite a bit at the same time. This goes to prove once again that God works in mysterious ways. He knows just how close I came to not attending ...and just how badly I needed to laugh. Thanks to Bill and to the class.

I've Been Away

With another fantastic Easter service under the belt I entered the week facing lots of meetings and papers to write for a class I'm taking up in Tennessee. Now that the papers are written I'm about to get in the truck and drive to Hiwassee College near Knoxville. I said all of that to explain why I haven't been much about the blog this week. I promise to get back into it next week. So keep checking back in. I'm glad you are a supporter of Ode 17!

A Different Kind of Sacrifice

Giving has been off drastically at our church. There are reasons for the decline and the sagging economy is one of them. Last night the personnel committee and the lead staff had a grueling meeting to see if we could figure out ways to make our budget work without cutting ministries. It looks like we'll be able to do so by cutting our salaries. This is not an uncommon event in our economy today as corporations across America and around the world adjust so that they can continue to operate.  We are happy to do all that we can do so that Sugarloaf UMC...

The Meaning of Maundy Thursday

I was asked what Maundy Thursday is just yesterday. I figured there are a more than a few folk who don't know. Here is a definition:

Maundy Thursday is the Christian feast or holy day falling on the Thursday before Easter that commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles. It is the fifth day of Holy Week. It is preceded by Holy Wednesday and followed by Good Friday.

On this day four events are commemorated: the washing of the Disciples' feet by Jesus, the institution of the...

Wounded Warrior Project

I have not necessarily been a country music fan in my life. I happen to really enjoy jazz. However, I watched the Country Music Awards this past Sunday night. I found it to be a fantastic evening. You could actually watch it with your kids if you wanted to. That's something that can't be said about most music  awards shows. Anyway, toward the end of the show performer Trace Adkins got up to sing a very special song to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project. I can't tell you how moving the song was. When I investigated where the song could be found I learned it is available on itunes with proceeds going to benefit this worthy organization.
My point today is to say:
--You can look for this song to be performed at Sugarloaf UMC on Memorial Day weekend
--I recommend you download this song to enjoy and to provoke your emotions and thoughts
--I also recommend you check out the Wounded Warrior Project (click to be directed to the site)
Let's not forget our soldiers and the sacrifices they have made ...ever.

Relationship Worship

"I never knew how to worship until I knew how to love."
                                                    Henry Ward Beecher

Joanie rolled over this morning, looked at me and stated softly, "I love you," with a gentle smile. What better way to start my day than to hear that from my wife. We try to begin and end our days with those three words spoken to each other.
There is another who desires to have that same relationship with us. He speaks words of love to us all day long and watches over us when we sleep, waiting for us to awake and to know His love another day. How often I catch myself getting a running start to the day without taking those moments to listen to His voice or to offer mine in return.
"Father God, I love you. Thanks for being an awesome God, the creator of the universe yet the keeper of my heart."
"And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him." 1John 4:16