This has probably been the longest I've gone without posting. Things have been a little... intense. A lot has changed... I even have a new computer!! Another HP, of course... my favorite! Rivers, you served me well, and your death was honorable after 4 years... but I have to admit, Gilda is pretty slick. Haha. I'm such a nerd... But anyway, might I update you all with my life? (If anyone even still checks this thing... lol!)
I graduated with a final semester of straight A's, including on my Thesis, so that was pretty sweet. Then, it was straight to Chapter Camp. My experience was different this year than any other year, and honestly, it could have been better... but that's nobody's fault but my own. And through it all, God was still able to teach me and love me, because he's just that awesome. :)
Nadia and Jessica moved in with us, and it's been a little crowded and loud at times, but like I said, it could be much worse. Overall, I think it's going really well, and it's teaching me some about letting go of control, and of not stressing over things that aren't important. But I still can't wait until we move into the new place and have some more space! haha.
Aaaaand I got in to grad school!! USF College of Public Health, for Maternal and Child Health. I was super excited, because it took FOREVER to hear back from them. Now the question is, how will I pay for this?? I have some money saved up, and that will probably suffice for the first semester... but after that, I don't know. I'll either need a full time job on campus so I can have tuition reimbursement (I've already applied for two of those!), or I'll need scholarships... which are pretty hard to come by on the grad level, I'm beginning to discover. Or there's loans. Ugh. I've avoided them up until now... but I don't know if I'll keep that up. We'll see...
And also, Mexico was cancelled. Kind of seems like old news now, but it's worth mentioning. There was a lack of interest (a concept that still boggles my mind), and so they cancelled it... and then the whole swine flu thing happened, so more people probably would have dropped out after that. I've come to terms with it by now... I mean, as you see in my previous post, I sensed that it was coming, so I was prepared to hear it. The good news is, there's sort of an extended JJP type thing for all us college kids, called TMX, that I'm super stoked about. And the price is pretty sweet too... $138 or something (And remember when my parents gave me $150?? How convenient... Funny how things work out, lol). My JJP experience last year was really, really powerful, and it was only a weekend long. It truly impacted and changed my life, no exaggeration... read the post I linked to, if you don't believe me. So needless to say, I'm super stoked about this year! (If anyone wants to register for this year's JJP weekend, it's not limited to our church, so hit me up!! It's slightly less than $40 for the whole weekend, food included... you can't beat it! Check out www.jesusandjustice.com for info.)
Oh, and I'm taking a Summer Institute class with the Underground... I'm taking Brian's class on the New Testament. We've only had one class meeting so far, but I LOVE it already. I'm going to learn a LOT... maybe I'll start makign up for the fact that I don't have years of Sunday School knowledge like so many other people. I'm really looking forward to knowing the Bible better by the end of this, and understanding the culture and history that surrounds the stories of Jesus and of the early church. I love learning. :)
That's all for now. Pretty superficial, just to catch up... hope I can write something more significant soon. And I hope someone still reads this.
.
Showing posts with label Chapter Camp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chapter Camp. Show all posts
Monday, June 8, 2009
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Reflections...
(This might be a little long. But it is an awesome example of God's great power, and also His great love!)
The highlight of Chapter Camp this year:
Josh.
Josh was Ryan's roommate in the dorms this school year. He was curious about God, he liked Jesus, but he was never ready to truly give his life to God. He was afraid. He didn't want to lose control. So many times, he came SO close... and then ran away from God once again.
We really wanted him to come to Chapter Camp, so he could have some space to truly consider God without distraction. We wanted him to come so badly, that Jeremy was able to find a donor to give him a full scholarship! (A huge THANK YOU goes out to that person, whoever you are!!)
So we arrived at Chapter Camp. Josh immediately became sick. Literally, he came down with some bug and was throwing up with a fever. I felt really bad for him. We all did. And the worst thing was, he was missing out on camp. He missed the first two days!! And the part that sucked the MOST of all: He missed the extended prayer/worship night. He missed a powerful talk on how God is the perfect father, and not the same as our earthly fathers. Some people have broken relationships with their fathers, so to call God a father... well, it doesn't really mean much if a person's only experience with a father is being let down by one. But God is the perfect father who loves you and never lets you down... and someone who needed to hear this message so badly was sick and asleep in his bed. Josh has some issues with his family, and issues with trusting God. We knew he would have been really moved by the talk.
That night, a student from UCF decided to give his life to Jesus. We knew exactly what had happened, because all the students began crowding around this one kid in the middle, and praying. Then, suddenly, they all burst into applause, and everyone started hugging. It was a beautiful sight, but at the same time, my heart broke for Josh. I felt so defeated. The song we were singing right then was called "You Overcame."
Savior, worthy of honor and glory,
Worthy of all our praise,
You overcame.
Jesus, awesome in power forever,
Awesome and great is Your name,
You overcame.
As I was singing, I began praying so so hard for Josh. I prayed that God would overcome all the obstacles that were in Josh's path. His sickness, his doubts, his fears... everything. I prayed with such desperation... which is kind of funny, because when I Googled those lyrics, the results said the song was by Desperation Band. Weird.
Fast forward to the next day. Josh was finally feeling better, and was able to fully participate in camp. That evening, the talk was about things that hold us back from trusting God. It was good, and when it was about over, Stacy came up on stage to close us out for the night, but as she started talking, she paused. She then said that she didn't want to rush us out if the Lord was moving in us, and she asked us to just spend a few minutes praying, and if anyone needed someone to talk to, find someone and pray together.
Ryan was immediately called away when Greg asked him to pray. This left me sitting by Josh. I looked at him, he looked at me. He mumbled, "I need to do this." I said, "Do what, Josh?" He looked nervous. He said, "I need to put a stone in the water." (In part of the room, there was a cross, and in front of it was chalk, stones, and a bowl of water... if you wanted to, you could write something on a stone and put it in the water, washing the stone clean as a symbol of what you are giving up to God.) I said "Okay, well let's go!" And we walked up to the cross.
He sat on the ground. He wrote "CONTROL" on a stone, and sat there with it in his hand. He looked so nervous. I asked if I could pray for him, and he said okay. I don't even know what I prayed. I was internally freaking out. I was terrified. I had a feeling what was happening, and I didn't want to mess it up. We prayed, and he dropped the stone, and a huge smile came over his face. He told me he felt so happy. He felt so relieved. He had been so scared of giving control of his life to God, but now a weight felt as if it had been lifted off his shoulders. I said "What does this mean Josh? Are you ready do do this, for real?" He said "No... I need to forgive my mom..." I told him that he doesn't need to become perfect before he comes to God. In fact, God could help him have compassion and forgiveness for his mom. He smiled again, I think he started laughing even, and crying too.
At this point, Ryan came over. The three of us talked. Mostly Ryan and Josh, I was too scared to say anything. And I think that was "the moment," when he truly decided to follow Jesus. I wasn't sure what was happening. But then Jeremy came over, and started praying. Then Josh H. came, and then Gus, and Jordan, and Heather, and Theresa, and more and more, and we were all crowding around him, and Jeremy was praying and we all had our hands on Josh and each other. And then we started clapping, and then we all began to hug Josh and each other... and I started crying. Just the night before, I was so desperate for Josh to come to the Lord... and 24 hours later, it happened right in front of my eyes, just as I had hoped. It was beautiful. I was so blown away! I can't even begin to describe it.
God is amazing. He is so faithful, and He overcame!! I come from a family of non-Christians, and a lot of my friends don't follow Jesus either. Sometimes I lose hope, and I fear that they will never know God. But then Josh... the first time a person who I knew and cared about decided to follow Jesus. And the fact that I was able to play some small part in God's plan... I am so honored and so thankful. Thank you.
Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made US alive with Christ!! (from Ephesians 2)
I am still amazed. More to come soon.
The highlight of Chapter Camp this year:
Josh.
Josh was Ryan's roommate in the dorms this school year. He was curious about God, he liked Jesus, but he was never ready to truly give his life to God. He was afraid. He didn't want to lose control. So many times, he came SO close... and then ran away from God once again.
We really wanted him to come to Chapter Camp, so he could have some space to truly consider God without distraction. We wanted him to come so badly, that Jeremy was able to find a donor to give him a full scholarship! (A huge THANK YOU goes out to that person, whoever you are!!)
So we arrived at Chapter Camp. Josh immediately became sick. Literally, he came down with some bug and was throwing up with a fever. I felt really bad for him. We all did. And the worst thing was, he was missing out on camp. He missed the first two days!! And the part that sucked the MOST of all: He missed the extended prayer/worship night. He missed a powerful talk on how God is the perfect father, and not the same as our earthly fathers. Some people have broken relationships with their fathers, so to call God a father... well, it doesn't really mean much if a person's only experience with a father is being let down by one. But God is the perfect father who loves you and never lets you down... and someone who needed to hear this message so badly was sick and asleep in his bed. Josh has some issues with his family, and issues with trusting God. We knew he would have been really moved by the talk.
That night, a student from UCF decided to give his life to Jesus. We knew exactly what had happened, because all the students began crowding around this one kid in the middle, and praying. Then, suddenly, they all burst into applause, and everyone started hugging. It was a beautiful sight, but at the same time, my heart broke for Josh. I felt so defeated. The song we were singing right then was called "You Overcame."
Savior, worthy of honor and glory,
Worthy of all our praise,
You overcame.
Jesus, awesome in power forever,
Awesome and great is Your name,
You overcame.
As I was singing, I began praying so so hard for Josh. I prayed that God would overcome all the obstacles that were in Josh's path. His sickness, his doubts, his fears... everything. I prayed with such desperation... which is kind of funny, because when I Googled those lyrics, the results said the song was by Desperation Band. Weird.
Fast forward to the next day. Josh was finally feeling better, and was able to fully participate in camp. That evening, the talk was about things that hold us back from trusting God. It was good, and when it was about over, Stacy came up on stage to close us out for the night, but as she started talking, she paused. She then said that she didn't want to rush us out if the Lord was moving in us, and she asked us to just spend a few minutes praying, and if anyone needed someone to talk to, find someone and pray together.
Ryan was immediately called away when Greg asked him to pray. This left me sitting by Josh. I looked at him, he looked at me. He mumbled, "I need to do this." I said, "Do what, Josh?" He looked nervous. He said, "I need to put a stone in the water." (In part of the room, there was a cross, and in front of it was chalk, stones, and a bowl of water... if you wanted to, you could write something on a stone and put it in the water, washing the stone clean as a symbol of what you are giving up to God.) I said "Okay, well let's go!" And we walked up to the cross.
He sat on the ground. He wrote "CONTROL" on a stone, and sat there with it in his hand. He looked so nervous. I asked if I could pray for him, and he said okay. I don't even know what I prayed. I was internally freaking out. I was terrified. I had a feeling what was happening, and I didn't want to mess it up. We prayed, and he dropped the stone, and a huge smile came over his face. He told me he felt so happy. He felt so relieved. He had been so scared of giving control of his life to God, but now a weight felt as if it had been lifted off his shoulders. I said "What does this mean Josh? Are you ready do do this, for real?" He said "No... I need to forgive my mom..." I told him that he doesn't need to become perfect before he comes to God. In fact, God could help him have compassion and forgiveness for his mom. He smiled again, I think he started laughing even, and crying too.
At this point, Ryan came over. The three of us talked. Mostly Ryan and Josh, I was too scared to say anything. And I think that was "the moment," when he truly decided to follow Jesus. I wasn't sure what was happening. But then Jeremy came over, and started praying. Then Josh H. came, and then Gus, and Jordan, and Heather, and Theresa, and more and more, and we were all crowding around him, and Jeremy was praying and we all had our hands on Josh and each other. And then we started clapping, and then we all began to hug Josh and each other... and I started crying. Just the night before, I was so desperate for Josh to come to the Lord... and 24 hours later, it happened right in front of my eyes, just as I had hoped. It was beautiful. I was so blown away! I can't even begin to describe it.
God is amazing. He is so faithful, and He overcame!! I come from a family of non-Christians, and a lot of my friends don't follow Jesus either. Sometimes I lose hope, and I fear that they will never know God. But then Josh... the first time a person who I knew and cared about decided to follow Jesus. And the fact that I was able to play some small part in God's plan... I am so honored and so thankful. Thank you.
Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made US alive with Christ!! (from Ephesians 2)
I am still amazed. More to come soon.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
2 parties, 1 day... must be graduation season!!
So today was fun... parties are nice. I'm gonna miss all the graduates tho... *sigh* ah well, one of the things I've gotten better at since coming to college is dealing with change. I mean, come on, I've moved AT LEAST once a year for the past 3 years... I lived in the same house my ENTIRE life, and then during the past three years I have lived in 5 different places. Meanwhile, apart from a core group of friends, people in my life come and go every semester. It can get hectic, but InterVarsity has been a nice bit of stability in all that insanity. Now some of the IV people are leaving too, though. However, I've learned that though things change, life still goes on... never exactly the same as before, but still just as wonderful.
Today was really fun though. First was Tianay's party in the afternoon at Lettuce Lake Park, which is actually a pretty cool place. I've never been there, even though it's just down the street from USF. But there's these nifty boardwalk paths that go all through the swampy area and everything, it's pretty cool. We all saw some alligators, ate some delicious food, and had a good time just hanging out with each other.
Then after a quick trip to Target and a stop back at home, we were off to Lauren's party! It was pretty sweet, we had an awesome dance party at the Telford House. Trina had her iPod hooked up to the TV's sound system, and we were breakin' it down to some old school awesomeness (my favorite might have been "Creep" by TLC... haha!). It was a really good time, I was dancing (and sweating) sooooo much, lol. We opened the windows and the front door, and you could hear the music playing and bass thumping aaaaalll down 22nd Ave. Good times. :)
I left kinda early though 'cause my stomach is really hurting for some reason. I dunno. I still need to pack, but the thought of standing right now is not fun. I can't really stand up straight at the moment. Maybe I can pack sitting down or something... it would be nice to get it over with so I can sleep in a little...
Anyway. We leave for Chapter Camp from the MC parking lot at 8:30 in the a.m. tomorrow, and I'll be up on a mountain in Jasper, GA until Friday night. Have a wonderful week, and hopefully I will do the same!! Peace.
Today was really fun though. First was Tianay's party in the afternoon at Lettuce Lake Park, which is actually a pretty cool place. I've never been there, even though it's just down the street from USF. But there's these nifty boardwalk paths that go all through the swampy area and everything, it's pretty cool. We all saw some alligators, ate some delicious food, and had a good time just hanging out with each other.
Then after a quick trip to Target and a stop back at home, we were off to Lauren's party! It was pretty sweet, we had an awesome dance party at the Telford House. Trina had her iPod hooked up to the TV's sound system, and we were breakin' it down to some old school awesomeness (my favorite might have been "Creep" by TLC... haha!). It was a really good time, I was dancing (and sweating) sooooo much, lol. We opened the windows and the front door, and you could hear the music playing and bass thumping aaaaalll down 22nd Ave. Good times. :)
I left kinda early though 'cause my stomach is really hurting for some reason. I dunno. I still need to pack, but the thought of standing right now is not fun. I can't really stand up straight at the moment. Maybe I can pack sitting down or something... it would be nice to get it over with so I can sleep in a little...
Anyway. We leave for Chapter Camp from the MC parking lot at 8:30 in the a.m. tomorrow, and I'll be up on a mountain in Jasper, GA until Friday night. Have a wonderful week, and hopefully I will do the same!! Peace.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Loner for the evening...
So I'm chilling at home for the night, which is cool I guess. My friends are heading to a little party, but I've been up since 6:50 this morning (took my car in to the shop at 7:30, ew!) and I just feel like staying home. Plus, they're playing beer pong, and it gets REALLY boring really fast if you don't play (like me).
It's been a super good day though. My car is fixed, I had some time to lay out by the pool, we had a little barbecue at Nelson's (the kid grilled half-pound burgers!! literally!!), and OH YEAH, exams are over!! Been over since yesterday, actually! :) So now I can just focus on getting ready for Chapter Camp! We went to Wal-Mart tonight, I had to get some flip-flops for the shower and ended up spending like $30 on all this random stuff... go figure. That's Wal-Mart for ya. *sigh*
But yeah, Chapter Camp should be awesome. I can't wait to see some of my buddies from UF, since they'll be there the same week as us, along with USF St. Pete and SPC (I think)! Plus like 10 other universities, but I don't know anyone from those... lol. I'm excited about doing the Leadership track this year, too. (At Chapter Camp, you choose a topic that interests you, and some of your time is spent in that "track" learning about whatever it is and being trained in that area.) Last year, I did Small Group Leaders, which was really good and helpful because I ended up actually leading a small group Bible study this year, but only 5 USF people were in that one. However, there were about 20 USF-ers in Leadership. lol. I think we have 50 kids going this year, and I can't wait. It's definitely gonna be great to spend some quality time with God, the free time is awesome for getting to know USF people that I don't know very well yet, and it is BEAUTIFUL up in the mountains!! However, I'm NOT super excited about driving 8-9 hours to Jasper, GA and then driving poor little Matilda (my Honda Civic) up a mountain, but she did it last year, so hopefully she can make the trek again with no problems. Gas is gonna kill, though... I think it will cost about $120 there and back! Yikes.
Anyway. I'm just rambling. I'm so relieved the semester is over, though. It was getting pretty crazy, but now I suddenly feel like I have all the time in the world. It's so refreshing, because during the entire semester, my exams were spaced out just right so that at any given time, there was always SOMETHING I should have been studying for, and I never felt like I could truly relax. It's really nice to have a chance for my brain to rest a little, though.
Life is lovely... <3
It's been a super good day though. My car is fixed, I had some time to lay out by the pool, we had a little barbecue at Nelson's (the kid grilled half-pound burgers!! literally!!), and OH YEAH, exams are over!! Been over since yesterday, actually! :) So now I can just focus on getting ready for Chapter Camp! We went to Wal-Mart tonight, I had to get some flip-flops for the shower and ended up spending like $30 on all this random stuff... go figure. That's Wal-Mart for ya. *sigh*
But yeah, Chapter Camp should be awesome. I can't wait to see some of my buddies from UF, since they'll be there the same week as us, along with USF St. Pete and SPC (I think)! Plus like 10 other universities, but I don't know anyone from those... lol. I'm excited about doing the Leadership track this year, too. (At Chapter Camp, you choose a topic that interests you, and some of your time is spent in that "track" learning about whatever it is and being trained in that area.) Last year, I did Small Group Leaders, which was really good and helpful because I ended up actually leading a small group Bible study this year, but only 5 USF people were in that one. However, there were about 20 USF-ers in Leadership. lol. I think we have 50 kids going this year, and I can't wait. It's definitely gonna be great to spend some quality time with God, the free time is awesome for getting to know USF people that I don't know very well yet, and it is BEAUTIFUL up in the mountains!! However, I'm NOT super excited about driving 8-9 hours to Jasper, GA and then driving poor little Matilda (my Honda Civic) up a mountain, but she did it last year, so hopefully she can make the trek again with no problems. Gas is gonna kill, though... I think it will cost about $120 there and back! Yikes.
Anyway. I'm just rambling. I'm so relieved the semester is over, though. It was getting pretty crazy, but now I suddenly feel like I have all the time in the world. It's so refreshing, because during the entire semester, my exams were spaced out just right so that at any given time, there was always SOMETHING I should have been studying for, and I never felt like I could truly relax. It's really nice to have a chance for my brain to rest a little, though.
Life is lovely... <3
Friday, April 18, 2008
Fluff Post
I feel like I should write at least SOMETHING today...
hm.
I'm pretty excited about Saturday :) InterVarsity is having their banquet for graduating seniors, and I'm gonna go since Ryan is a senior. Each senior can bring 2 guests for free, and any extras have to pay $31 (because it's all catered and stuff). Ryan is bringing his parents, so I was gonna have to cough up some dough... but tonight before Common Ground, Melyssa asked me if I wanted to be one of the "greeters." All I have to do is show up an hour early in a white polo and khakis, and I eat free. Psh... heck yes I'll be a greeter!! Free food, AND I get to meet everyone! Sweet.
Though I don't have the shirt OR pants I need... so I'm gonna hit up the Salvation Army tomorrow. The one on Nebraska between Bearss and Fletcher is friggin' HUGE! I enjoy thrift stores. That one will always hold a special place in my heart because it's where we got our AMAZING couch and loveseat! Haha.
I'm just rambling about nothing, really...
Chapter Camp is in just a little over 2 weeks. I'm SOOO ready.
Life is good. Time for sleep.
hm.
I'm pretty excited about Saturday :) InterVarsity is having their banquet for graduating seniors, and I'm gonna go since Ryan is a senior. Each senior can bring 2 guests for free, and any extras have to pay $31 (because it's all catered and stuff). Ryan is bringing his parents, so I was gonna have to cough up some dough... but tonight before Common Ground, Melyssa asked me if I wanted to be one of the "greeters." All I have to do is show up an hour early in a white polo and khakis, and I eat free. Psh... heck yes I'll be a greeter!! Free food, AND I get to meet everyone! Sweet.
Though I don't have the shirt OR pants I need... so I'm gonna hit up the Salvation Army tomorrow. The one on Nebraska between Bearss and Fletcher is friggin' HUGE! I enjoy thrift stores. That one will always hold a special place in my heart because it's where we got our AMAZING couch and loveseat! Haha.
I'm just rambling about nothing, really...
Chapter Camp is in just a little over 2 weeks. I'm SOOO ready.
Life is good. Time for sleep.
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