50 Most Influencial People In My Life #40-31

In continuing with my top 50 most influencial people in my life, I continue with #'s 40-31.

40. Edwin Goodwin: Edwin is the son of Harris Goodwin, mentioned in yesterday's post. Edwin ran the Amicus Clinic in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. When I started doing my own campaigns, he would run the show for me. He had an impact on thousands of people worldwide, but had a special place in my heart. Adopted as a young boy by Harris, he was able to turn his blessing of life into a blessing for so many. Edwin passed away at around the age of 40 from complications due to pneumonia.

39. Patricia Bush: Ah, Mrs. Bush. Ou est la fenetre? Je ne sais pas? Mrs. Bush had many special places in my heart in high school. She was my class sponsor, my French Teacher, my tour guide through England and France, and accompanied me and several of my friends on our Senior Trip to Gulf Shores. She was a loving woman, and her husband was just as special to me. She made learning the French Language a joy. She made my first trip to Paris, France a great one!

38. Frank Bell: Frank is the caretaker at Mid South Youth Camp. He also went on all of the Scotland Campaigns that I have been on. He is a goofy guy with a great sense of humor and is able to lighten the mood in any setting. He was always there to lend a listening ear and a caring heart. We'll forever go down in history as creating the "Round About" song, set to the tune of "Ring It Out"

37. My Great Uncle Jack Widick: Here's the interesting point on my Great Uncle Jack, I only knew him up until I was about 6 or 7 years old. But I'll never forget him. We would go to his house after we made the rounds at Thanksgiving. He passed away from Alzheimer's Disease when I was in first or second grade. The reason he is on this list is because of the influence he had on my father, and how much my father used to talk about him. I'll also never forget his funeral, because it was the first funeral I remember attending, and it was also the first time I saw my father cry.

36. Tony and Melba Blue: These two wonderful souls were like grandparents to Kristen and I while we were in Ashland City. Never have I met more generous people, giving us money for trips we took in the youth group, helping us out when we went on mission trips, and inviting us into their home. One day, when Kristen and I both came down with a terrible case of the flu, Melba made us her famous Taco Soup, and to this day Kristen and I still eat that throughout the winter, and always will.

35. Dave Ramsey: Okay, so my communication with Dave is very limited. I called to ask him one time if he would help us out with some fund raising, and if not if he could give us some fund raising advice. That's the limit of my communication with him. However, he has had a tremendous impact on my life. I first heard him when I was in college, and vowed never to use a credit card. To this day, I never have. My wife and I have no car debt thanks to him, and are almost done paying for her student loan thanks to his advice. After that, the only debt we will have left is my student loan. We have an emergency fund to take care of problems, and hopefully we'll be able to give money away thanks to him.

34. Mike Wamble: Mike used to be the youth minister at Henderson Church of Christ, and now is youth minister at my mom and dad's home congregation at Maple Hill in Lebanon, TN. Mike has given me wonderful advice in youth ministry. He sat down with me for about 2 hours before I took the current job I'm in to help me understand transitioning and how to do that most effectively. He is a great youth minister, actually training teenagers to study and use the Bible. I respect him, and owe him gratitude in helping me in my struggles as a youth minister.

33. Granddaddy Widick: My granddaddy Widick is awesome. He is around 80 years old, but still gets out in the yard and does his yard work, and walks several miles a day. As long as I can remember, he's been the strong grandfather type person, always there for you, squeezing your knee to make you squirm, giving you candy, and letting us play in his basement. He continues to amaze me as he gets older. Most of all, he helped mold who my father is today.

32. Granddaddy Smith: Really, 33 and 32 are in a tie. My Granddaddy Smith was a tremendous Grandfather. If you needed anything fixed, he could do it. He served as a mechanic in WW2, and was the janitor/maintenance man for several places in Nashville. I loved going into his basement and playing with all his tools. He used to take me to the park near his home when I was younger. Mainly I'll always remember him taking me to Krystal to eat those wonderful little burgers. He passed away when I was in college. I'll always blame him, however, for me being bald (he was bald when he was around 20 like me, and as you know, you get your hair from your mother's father).

31. Scott Freeman: Scott was my youth minister when I was a junior and senior in high school. Scott is now a minister in Waco, TX. Scott had a warped sense of humor, and to be honest, I had a hard time getting to know him and like him. However, the more I was around him, I saw a passion for God in him that was unequaled. He went through some adversity in his life, and came out ahead of that by giving his life continually to God, instead of giving up. He's married now and has several kids, and his website has over 50,000 hits on it! Check it out HERE!