..Tam.Odom..

Isn’t it hard to believe that it is only a couple of days until we will greet a new year? I love Christmastime so much that I put all of my decorations up at the beginning of November just to enjoy them longer. During this last week in the 2009 year, it is hard not to want to look back and remember what has happened in the last 12 months and see just how SOVEREIGN and GRACIOUS the Lord is in my life.

Last year I went through a lot of different events that helped to grow me in knowledge, character and perspective on life. This year I experienced new adventures and gained even more perspective on ministry, relationships and God’s grace. There has been a reoccurring theme in the lesson God has been teaching me this year: “Run the race in such a way to win the prize…” (1 Corinthians 9:24) “Do EVERYTHING for the Glory of the Lord…” (1 Corinthians 10:31) “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart…” (Psalm 37:4)

I moved from the house in Summerville to an Apartment with my friend Julie. I met Julie through her sister who was a friend of mine at CSU. We have a BLAST together. She has definitely helped pull me out of my shell and loosen up some. Living out your FAITH on a daily basis has become more a reality as I learn more about ministry too. Sure that might sound like a given, but God is still stretching me to come beyond myself to think about others…like HIM!

In the summer, I was promoted to the Director of Women’s Ministry and Creative Arts at CSU. Didn’t mean much change to what was expected of me, but I did focus more on reaching out and loving more of the females on-campus. I had the privilege of being the Chaplain for the Volleyball team this Fall and it has been such a blessing to be a part of something bigger than yourself. The girls have embraced my love just as much as I have embraced being a major part of their team. In the Spring, I will be hanging out with the softball team.

Another thing that happened over the summer was I was reunited with a friend from like 10 years ago. She found me on Facebook (surprise!) and we reconnected. I ended up flying up to Ohio to meet her and her kids. Needless to say she missed me so much we have been talking pretty much every week since the reunion. (haha!) She is out in New Mexico – yes! I do plan to visit that state since I’ve never been there!

I am thankful for my mentor and big sister, Lynette, this year as she has been such an encouragement during many tough days of questioning why I am in ministry to why am I still single to how do I  understanding God’s grace. For most of the year our conversations and meeting times were scarce. Then I began going to work with her and cleaning while talking about family, friends, guys, love and how to apply God’s promises to our lives.

I got really close with Savannah this year and I’ve been blessed with someone I trust and love. I hope that while she is away in Costa Rica during this new year/spring semester that God will speak to my heart more about best friends. I hope to have a friendship like King David and Jonathan. Whew!

And now the end of the year is here and preparing for a new one. What do you hope to accomplish in 2010?

Time has been zoomin’ by these past couple of weeks for everyone. With a lot of things going on and having a long list of things to try to accomplish before the semester ends you could imagine that things get overlooked, people get irritable and some times we lose focus on our purpose.

The Lord has definitely been working on my heart in the last couple of weeks especially  with my relationship with different people. I have been shown many of my flaws such as unrealistic expectations, selfishness and how inconsiderate I am. As I am reading this book, No Other Gods (K. Minter), I am learning that I tend to put so many people and expectations before God and that has become my god. We are all guilty of allowing things, people and emotions to control us to the point we lose focus on GOD and refocus ourselves on our gods.

As I was talking to Lynette the other day while we were cleaning I finally allowed the confession that I am not sure I am really ready for marriage or even a relationship because I have a lot of high expectations that are probably going to be unmet. I said it out loud which made it even more of a reality. So many times I find myself being pretty irrational with what I expect from people…and I don’t even mean just a boyfriend relationship, but from friends, co-workers, and others.

I am learning that I am a pretty selfish person too. As I have been working through Savannah leaving for Costa Rica next semester I have come to realize that I am very selfish with my time with her. Days keep flying by and I feel like I am not getting enough time with her to satisfy what I want (there again the unmet expectations).

Lastly, I have been so inconsiderate of the emotions and needs of those around me. Thanks for all of the prayers you guys lifted up on my behalf as I went home to visit my family. They are definitely some that I am most inconsiderate towards. I need to be forgiven for my cold heart. I also have realized that I spend so much money on things that I could have been spending to help cure someone’s disease or feed the kids for a week or something that is more eternal than what I chose to invest my money.

Any way, I just thought it was important to take a few minutes to confess my heart and the flaws in the heart. One thing that struck me this morning was someone on the radio said that their advice to someone was to follow their heart. Why do we think that is good advice IF the heart is deceitful. (Jer. 17:9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?”) This is where we must be careful because when we follow the thing that is most deceitful then we tend to be more selfish and irrational.

Please pray for me in the coming days as I am trying to finish this semester out strong and run the race in such a way to win the race. (1 Corinthians 9:24)