Memorial Service
Ben’s memorial service is going to be held in the chapel at 7 p.m. tonight. It’s going to be a rough day for many of the students and faculty. If you’re reading this entry, if you could please just say even a short prayer for us, it would be much appreciated it.
I’m not going to lie, the later it got last night, the closer it got to today, the more signs I saw for Ben’s memorial, the more difficult it was for me to do anything. Now today is here and I’m just barely pulling myself together enough to attend my classes.
I did have a good friend remind me that I don’t have to have it all together. It’s okay that today I am not well. It’s okay that today I need others to be there to support me. It’s okay that I am sad and that I miss Ben. I think this is a weakness and vunerability that we should be seeing in the body of Christ daily because we do not have it all together. We are broken creatures in a broken world. Things are not as they should be. But Christ is redeeming it to himself even as I write. In Christ we find our only hope.
For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.
-Psalm 62:5
Published on Sep 4, 2008 at 1:59 pm.
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Filed under Life Issues, Prayer, School Activities, Uncategorized.
Swingfest 2008
Swingfest was last Saturday at Coolidge park (awesome place to go!). Each Labor Day weekend the best local swing bands get together and perform at Coolidge in hour long sessions. There are also free swing dancing lessons, which are pretty neat. Pretty much ALL of Covenant College attends. It was tons and tons of fun! And when you get tired of dancing, you can just walk around downtown, visit the shops, play in the fountains.
Picture thanks to Rebekah Marbury =)
Published on Sep 3, 2008 at 12:29 pm.
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Filed under School Activities, Uncategorized.
Classes Begin
Classes started last Thursday. I’m trying very hard not to be overwhelmed because my workload is definitely doable–I just tend to worry myself to no end. My roommate and I decided that we would keep each other accountable to try not to do work on the Sabbath. We worked our tails off both Friday and Saturday (I think I read about 200 pages), but it was worth it for the rest we were able to enjoy on Sunday. If you haven’t considered resting on the Sabbath, I would really encourage you to try it. I went to church in the morning, had lunch with friends, did some quiet time, wrote some letters, and attended a RUF prayer meeting and hall meeting. I felt very replenished and rejuvenated–ready for classes to begin on Monday.
So now that it’s Tuesday I’ve had a chance to experience all my classes this semester. I’m thinking Abnormal Psychology, Living and Working in a Multicultural Context, and Doctrine I are going to be my most difficult but most rewarding classes. I’m so excited!
Published on Sep 2, 2008 at 10:06 pm.
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Filed under Classes.
O-Team 2008
I have been so bad about keeping you all updated these past two weeks. Not to make excuses, but orientation (otherwise known as “Launch 2008″) was pretty intense! I got back to Covenant in the evening of August 16th and orientation team training began on the 18th at 8:00 a.m. We were pretty much in training from 8:00 in the morning until 9:00 or 10:00 in the evening. Training lasted until Friday when orientation started and the new students began to move in. I think I’ll just briefly describe a couple of highlights during O-team training.
Three words: busy, but FUN! Many people think that in doing O-team they can settle in earlier in the school year, but it’s really not true. I didn’t finish unpacking/decorating until classes began. We were in meetings/preparing welcome packets/running over technical details pretty much all day every day. But it was so awesome to hang out with a group of students (both familiar and unfamilar) who shared in the same passion and spirit of welcoming new students to Covenant. In the two weeks we spent together we really became a close knit group of friends with experiences we will not forget (i.e. the talent show). I really appreciate the new friends I made and the lessons they taught me about being myself and being aware of my own weaknesses. Most O-team leaders had O-team partners who helped them welcome their group of students, but all O-team leaders were involved in a core group with a Core Team leader. This support, which seemed kind of silly to me at first, was seriously a core part of my sanity when Orientation started (now I know why they call it core!) and for that I am so grateful!
Published on Sep 1, 2008 at 10:35 pm.
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Filed under School Activities.
Orientation
Here is a link to the New Student Orientation site! If you look at the left hand menu there’s pretty much everything you need to know ranging from your orientation team leaders to a list of things to bring and things not to bring. There are schedules and FAQs. I hope this helps!
Regarding what to bring and what not to bring, the lists the website provides are pretty thorough. I would just advise that you talk to your roommate(s) before hand so that things like phones, irons, ironing boards, and mirrors can be split up. My roommate and I even shared laundry detergent and liquid dish soap! Another thing I would add to the list is sunblock. I don’t usually get sunburned (and I live in FL), but I definitely get burned at Covenant when I’m sitting outside studying on a sunny day. Just a heads up from experience. =P
New Student Orientation Website
Published on Aug 14, 2008 at 3:50 pm.
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Filed under School Activities.
Back to Covenant
I’m heading back to school this Saturday morning. A couple weeks ago I couldn’t wait to get back to school, but now that the time is actually drawing closer I’m starting to feel less excited. Less excited not because I don’t want to go to Covenant, but rather I don’t want to leave home. I guess parting is a way of life. I’m going to miss my friends and family here, but I can’t wait to see my friends and my Covenant family! I know that once I start driving up that mountain, I’ll feel back at home again. =)
Packing is probably the most stressful thing. It’s already as hard as it is, but moving in for the first time is even more crazy! So during the course of this week I’m going to try and come up with a list of things to bring/not to bring for everyone moving into Covenant for the first time this year! I can’t wait to meet you all!!
Published on Aug 11, 2008 at 1:03 pm.
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Filed under School Activities.
Adventures with Chinese Acrobats
One of my best friends and I have been visiting a Chinese acrobatics group here in Orlando every week. They’ve been resting this past month and go back on tour in September. The performers in the group are all around my age and have been training as early as four years old. The things they do are amazing. I’m so used to watching them perform on stage I didn’t really know how to talk to them at first, but it turns out they’re just ordinary people with a not so ordinary lifestyle.
The group is made up of ten males and two females (the other three females went back to China). We took the two girls to the mall last week and they had the best time! They told us that usually they don’t get the chance to look at anything “girly” because the boys always overpower them in numbers. But the highlight was definitely having lunch with them. All 16 of us (12 acrobats, the two of us, their teacher and his wife) sat around this big round table eating Chinese porridge and steamed buns. The steamed buns pretty much look like white rocks about the size of your fist (typical Chinese food, really good, do not taste like rocks at all!) They had this huuuuge bowl (if you put your arms out in front of you and make a circle and then imagine the diameter about 4 inches longer) full of them. One girl held the bowl while the other tossed the buns to everyone around the table! It was exciting! I don’t know about you, but we don’t usually toss food at my house. =P
This week they took us fishing down by the lake in their back yard. While we used fishing poles, two of the guys waded out into the lake with large sticks. They caught two very large fish by knocking them out–wow. Skills. We almost caught three little fish (maybe 4 inches long) but they all fell off the hook before we could reel them all the way in. Talk about “losing face”. Haha.
Well, stay tuned for more adventures next week! [My Chinese has really been improving! Maybe that's my mom's secret reason for encouraging me to visit...]
Published on Aug 8, 2008 at 10:37 am.
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Filed under Just A Normal Day....
A Glimpse of Eternity
I think one of the biggest blessings God gave me when He took Ben back home into His arms was a better view of eternity and a better grasp on just how precious, how marvelous, and how amazing Jesus’ sacrifice for me really was. Now the words “one day every tongue will confess you are God, one day every knee will bow” and “better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere” have taken on a new level of meaning for me. I have found myself longing for the day when we will all be reunited with Christ and reigning over the new heaven and new earth together in the presence of the Holy one. What a great blessing it is that we can be hopeful for that day.
And because now I can grasp the concept of eternity a little better, I can better live everyday on this earth as if it will pass away. Somethings just aren’t as important as we make them out to be and somethings are more important than we give them credit for. Knowing that I was created, not for this earth, but for eternity, I can be a little less selfish, a little less greedy, a little less anxious, and a little less scared. I can be a little more generous, a little more kind, a little more caring, a little more gentle, and a little more patient.
Published on Aug 1, 2008 at 10:14 am. No Comments.
Filed under Life Issues, Thoughts.Daily Blessings
Our church held a yard sale yesterday. All the proceeds went to China earthquake relief agencies. A month ago, while this event was still in the planning mode, I set this weekend apart and moved other engagements so that I could participate, but God had a different plan. I was unable to work at this event because I was out of town for Ben’s funeral service. Then I heard my mom telling my dad that she didn’t know how all the items were going to be labeled and that until they’re labeled the room the items were in would be unusable. Since I came back from vacation Wednesday and I had to drive up to North Carolina on Friday, I decided to take Thursday off work as well to label things for the yard sale. It was nice because I was able to spend some extra time with my brother (who came to help me label). And God allowed me to participate in the yard sale anyway, though it was not the way I had planned.
We ended up raising about $480 with the yard sale. Praise God! =)
Published on Jul 27, 2008 at 9:36 pm. No Comments.
Filed under Just A Normal Day....Daytona Beach
My family spent the beginning of this week staying at a beach side hotel in Daytona. It was very relaxing. We all made the agreement not to bring laptops, which are definitely part of our daily lives, because we think that vacations should be out of the ordinary. We brought our cell phones but only used them for emergencies or to find each other.
My mom made a bunch of great food and there was fresh fruit at every meal. We exercised together, read together, played board games together, and relaxed on the beach together. It was really nice to get away for a couple of days. I really needed a break and the step back to reevaluate all that went on the week before.
We found three starfish =) Don’t worry, we put them back out into the ocean after their photo shoot.
This fly was on the window next to where we had dinner. I thought it was interesting because I could actually see its tongue and the gunk on the window it was eating.
Published on Jul 23, 2008 at 10:18 pm. No Comments.
Filed under Family.
