Hope for the Tortured Soul

Are you a tortured soul?

Are you in a dark place?

At some point in our lives, we’ve been in a dark place. Restless. Seemingly no purpose and without hope.

Some are even good at hiding it. They are one thing to others but alone in their thoughts they are miserable.

Religion, Christian cliches and Bible verses are useless when you are in a deep dark place in your soul. This world is an angry and bitter place. Sometimes help is nowhere to be found. What do you do to pull yourself out of the tortured place of your soul?

Find the place where you can best quiet your mind and listen to God. It may be nature. It could be a place or music.

For me it has been the ocean. Anytime I go to the beach, I try to take time to sit there with my eyes closed and let the ocean breeze filter my mind and melt away the negativity in me. That is when I feel the closest to God.

Does He speak to me? Not in an subtle voice. I would say I sense His presence. Usually it is that intense His arms around me and assuring me that He is there.

That’s just me. It is something different for others.

The most important thing to remember when you are in a dark place is to make an effort to get yourself out. You are the only one that can do it.

Dark places tempt you to end it. End the pain you are feeling and end the hopeless feeling. Suicide is never the better option. Fighting for your soul is worth it. YOU are worth it.

For me, I was reminded about the depth of God’s love for me in Romans 8 where it says: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

You may or may not have a faith in God like I do. Maybe this some religious stuff that doesn’t speak to you. If it doesn’t, I can tell you that when you are in a dark place that you need to find your way out or it will consume you. Don’t listen to the lies that the darkness makes you think. The darkness feeds on the lies and negative thoughts. Break away from it. You are highly valued. The only person who can change it is you.

Football Friday Night: Week 3

The teams that I follow were 2-1 this week. Clinch County and Villa Rica got wins this past Friday while Warner Robins notched their first loss of the season. Here's how it went for Dude's three teams:

Villa Rica 30, South Paulding 13
Leading Villa Rica to victory were Emmanuel Ajayi and Josiah Walker. Ajayi rushed for 121 yards and 1 TD, while Walker picked up 139 receiving yards and 1 touchdown. Ajayi has had no trouble finding paydirt recently, averaging 1.7 rushing touchdowns per game over his last three games compared to 0.2 in his first five games last season. Villa Rica had 462 yards of total offense.

This is Villa Rica's first 3-0 start since 2007 when they finished 6-4.

Next game: 9/11 at Seckinger

This will be their first meeting against the Seckinger Jaguars who are in their in their fifth season of football.  Seckinger, which plays in Buford, is 0-2 so far this season.  They dropped the last game to Cedar Shoals 33-17.

Clinch County 35, Miller County 3

The Panthers finally got their first win of the season as Traviian Miller threw for 61 yards and 1 touchdown. Malik McNair was his top target, rushing for 38 yards and 1 score, while also picking up 35 receiving yards. On the ground, Kyiis Mingo rushed for 58 yards and a pair of TDs on only 8 carries.

Clinch County's victory was their seventh straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 1-2. The wins were due in large part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 28.3 points over those games. As for Miller County, their loss was their first of the season and makes their record 2-1.

Next game: 9/18 at Bacon County

Clinch County leads the all-time series 21-11.  They won 25-6 in last year's game.  Clinch County has a 16-game winning streak.  Bacon County's last win was a 14-12 win in 1985.  Bacon County is 2-1 this season, they lost their first game to Vidalia this week 28-14.

Northside Warner Robins 32, Warner Robins 10
The wheels came off in the second half as Northside ended a decade long losing streak for the first time since 2016. 

After a Warner Robins field goal cut the Northside lead to 18-10 in the third quarter, the Eagles marched 77 yards, with Keirion Tate finishing the drive with his third rushing touchdown of the night. Aron Diaz added the extra point for a 25-10 advantage.  Northside added another score later when Ja'noah Hicks took the snap, faked the run and found Tristan Harry for a 50-yard touchdown pass. Diaz’s extra point produced the 32-10 final.

Next game: 9/11 at Newton

This will be the first meeting between these two teams.  Newton is currently 3-0 with impressive wins over Douglas County, Roswell and a 71-7 thumping of Locust Grove in the last game.  

Football Friday Night Week 2

This week my teams were 2-1. Let's see what happened this week:

WARNER ROBINS 21, NORTHEAST 20
Antavious Hawkins scored on a 3-yard run with 16 seconds left, and the extra point won the game. Chandler Dyson was 7-of-18 passing for 66 yards and a touchdown.  He rushed for 101 yards on nine carries. Warner Robins led 310-204 in total yards.

There was some bad officiating in this game.  Probably the worst in a while but both teams pushed through.  Warner Robins had a chance to pull away in this game but let Northeast back in.  The Raiders very nearly pulled off the upset.  Warner Robins continues to be undefeated in the series history.  

Next: Friday vs. Northside (Warner Robins) (1-1)

Warner Robins leads the all-time series 43-25 and have won the last nine games in the series.  They won last year's game 22-13.  I have attended this rivalry game and can tell you that you can throw out the records when these two teams meet.  Anything can happen and has happened in these games.  

VILLA RICA 27, HIRAM 9
Villa Rica football secured its first 2-0 start since 2017 with a 27-9 win at Hiram on Friday night. The game did not start out pretty for the Wildcats, but a 17-0 scoring run in the second half clinched an impressive comeback triumph. Villa Rica (2-0) fumbled on the second play from scrimmage at Hornet Stadium, giving Hiram (0-2) the ball deep in Wildcat territory. Fortunately, Michael Hilbert’s defensive group held the Hornets to only a field goal.

Villa Rica has already exceeded my expectations with their 2-0 start.  I had projected they would finish 1-9, so this is quite a start for the Wildcats.  

Next: Friday vs. South Paulding

Villa Rica is 2-6 against South Paulding but has won the past two meetings.  They won last year's meeting 31-17.  

JEFF DAVIS 42, CLINCH COUNTY 7
Clinch County, playing without four starters, scored the game’s opening touchdown on Lamarcus Bryant’s 41-yard run but was down 21-7 by halftime. Traviian Miller rushed for 83 yards on 18 carries and was 12-of-20 passing for 111 yards. Bryant had 140 yards from scrimmage. 

The Panthers last started 0-2 in 2021 when they finished the season at 3-7.  I am a bit surprised that the Panthers are 0-2 to start the season.  They will need to get it together when that play undefeated Miller County.

Next: Friday at Miller County (2-0)

Clinch County is 18-9 against Miller County and have won the past six meetings between the two teams.  The Panthers won last year's meeting 35-6.  Miller County has defeated Kendrick (51-8) and Atkinson County (51-25) to start the season.