Speeding By

So the other day, Reverend Bill pretty much took it upon himself to remind me that I had a blog. It’s a good thing that he did because honestly, I hadn’t really thought about updating since school has started. I haven’t really had time to think about writing anything. Truthfully, High School isn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. Sure there’s a lot of homework and, of course, the endless hours of marching band practice. But it really isn’t that bad.

It’s really hard to believe that we’re already three weeks into school! So much has gone on over the past three weeks that it’s all kind of a blur. To start with, the RHHS Marching Band has gotten so much better! We tried to have our first football game last night in Pembroke, but we lost power and had to call it. They played today at 10AM and won 24-22! Go Cats! Also, the first Georgia game was today! The Dawgs played Georgia Southern and absolutely murdered them 45-21! I’m ready for a great season!

By far, the biggest thing to have happened in the Hill has been the welcoming of our new staff member at RHUMC. Jared Curtis moved here from Cocoa Beach, Florida last week and has settled into his new position as our Youth Leader. All the youth knew that things were going to change a little bit with new leadership, but Jared has done a great job getting to know the youth and trying to get everything up and running as normal. Of course, there’s nothing harder than saying goodbye to some one that’s been a part of your life for 5 years. Kristin is now serving as the Youth Leader at Riverstone Church in Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia. Kristin devoted 5 years of her life to the youth of Richmond Hill United Methodist Church and we will never forget her.

Anyway, that’s pretty much it! It may not seem like a lot, but trust me, it’s all very exciting. I’m going to try to start updating at least once a week! See yall soon!

From the Hilltop,
Hunter Odom
hunter2444@coastalnow.net
Romans 8:28

The Mountain of God

Over the past two weeks, I have been waking up every morning and heading to Richmond Hill High School for our annual Marching Band Camp. The Richmond Hill Marching Wildcats have often been spoken of as the best band south of Macon. This week, I learned why. Each and every day the band, and staff were enthusiastic and ready to work our way to the top. This year's show was written especially for the Marching Wildcats. The show includes three songs, a fast paced opener, a beautiful ballad, and a very exciting closer. The theme is ROCKY!

During these past two weeks, many people have asked me how Band Camp was going. As much as I hate to say it, my response always seemed to be: "it sucks"! That response was usually right on the money. Every day for 8 hours, we were running around a parking lot playing instruments. When we weren't marching, we were getting yelled at in sectionals for not knowing our parts. To top it all off, it's been 90 degrees ALL WEEK! Even though this week has pretty much sucked, we all know it's going to be worth it in the long run!

Yesterday, as I was listening to HisRadio, a song came on that really got me thinking. The song was "Mountain of God", by Third Day. As I listened to the lyrics I thought about how it related to Band Camp and how it relates to almost every other situation.

Part of the song says:
"Even though the journey's long,
and I know the road is hard.
You're the one who's gone before me.
You will help me carry on.
And after all that I've been through,
Now I realize the truth.
That I must go through the Valley to stand upon the Mountain of God.

As I listened to these lyrics, I started thinking about all the situations that this relates to. It related to Marching Band because we have to work our tails off at Band Camp before we're good enough to win at competition. It can relate to many other things to. The biggest connection I made is how this relates to life. As we go through life, there are times when we feel lost, confused, and hurt. The cold, hard truth is: sometimes, life pretty much sucks. The good news is, life is just one of the Valleys through which we have to pass. Once we get through we will get to feel the joy of standing upon the Mountain of God.



From the Hilltop,
Hunter Odom
hunter2444@coastalnow.net
Romans 8:28