Snow, Chili, and Church. What a Sunday!!

Is it really snowing? No Really…? It is March 29 and beautiful Indiana weather is not disappointing (Actually that is sarcasm there). I’m tired of this snow. I WANT SPRING!!! Anyways enough of me ranting and raving, my roommate is starting to get a little concerned.
Okay so that was my attitude for part of the day and then I remember, God made this day and He is showing off his beauty through the snow just as much as He is in the sun. Honestly, God could not have chosen a better day to have it snow because it was chili cook-off day at church. What meal is better than over 50 different types of chili to choose from at church? Holy Habakkuk it was fantastic! And having it cold outside makes the chili taste even better.
The church that I have absolutely fallen in love with since coming to Grace had an amazing time to come together as a body of believers and enjoy the blessings of chili this morning! The chili cook-off is a fundraiser for the mission teams supported through the church. Money was placed in jars beside your favorite chili and the chili with the most money wins! It is amazing to see God work to meet the needs of mission teams through a chili dinner. In conclusion I can pretty much say that this is the perfect day that my LORD has made. Bring on the snow, rain, sleet, or sun, everyday is God’s to do great things!

Water Balloons!

When I was a child, many of my summers were spent filling water balloons and throwing them at my deserving brothers. Thankfully, I have the opportunity to relive this past-time by participating in the Millennial Scholars sponsored Great Grace Water Balloon Fight. This intense fight will take place on Beta Field next Wednesday from 3:30-4:30. I have not yet signed up for one of the five teams led by faculty and students, but I plan to participate in the free-for-all at the end, which will use up all of the extra balloons. I most look forward to nailing Glenn Goldsmith, my breakout leader as a means of revenge for my last parking ticket (actually, I have never received a ticket from him). Anyway, if the weather is warm and sunny, the Great Water Balloon Fight will be a refreshing and anger-relieving event for those students who do not mind getting a bit wet!

Day of Worship!

WHASSUP GRACE COLLEGE?!? :)

Here I am, happy as a clam (are they happy, really? ;-), newly in awe of our Beautiful God after yesterday's Day of Worship. For those who don't know, once a semester Grace College has a morning completely devoted to worship: classes are canceled, and all students gather in the OCC for 3 hours of...*shhhh* always a surprise!

This Day of Worship focused on the Church's unification. We as a student body experienced church unified that morning: We worshipped with music together; We listened to a time of teaching together; We were given time to just laugh and and visit with each other plus reconcile with people on campus we are at odds with; We prayed for each other's needs, the needs of the universal church, and the needs of the world we live in; We took communion together after taking time to reflect, pray and be silent before God; We "broke bread" together with the clever idea of box lunches distributed from Alpha Dining; And finally, we cared for each other's needs with the use of a donation station that acted as an offering/Goodwill for students to give to or take from.

What a captivating idea! Now, my experience has been that there are a few students who take extremes on Day of Worship...some love it no matter what goes on, some save up skips for it so they can sleep in; some use it to "fill up" on God so they can be fine till next time. Others come to just mope in the back, others are front and center with hands raised the entire time. I for one am not always a huge fan of Day of Worship just for the sake of it...there have been a couple times that Grace hasn't done very well with planning relative student topics or activities for the day; and I can't STAND when Day of Worship appears manufactered. You know what I mean, just an image-driven routine (like a specific worship song specifically placed to make you start crying, etc etc)...

But what I needed, and got yesterday, in Day of Worship spring '09 was an oasis of healing and love with my brothers and sisters. I was given the precious gift of time to refresh my thirsty soul with focus on the Lover of my Soul; and I caught a glimpse of Church in relationship, as a beautiful living identity, the Bride of Christ! It has been a long time since I've actually wanted to be counted in with "the church". But now... Let's DO church, people of God!!! :)

Your sister,
Elly

Repentance

Today the chapel speaker, Tom Hocking a Grace Brethren pastor from California came and spoke to us about Repentance. That is such a deep and amazing topic, especially for me recently. I've been dealing with hurt feelings over past relationships and I have been letting that bitterness overcome me in my day to day interactions. God was really speaking to me throughout Chapel about confronting my sin and challenging me to be forgiving and being humble enough to ask for forgiveness. Saying you have forgiven someone is a completely different experience from repenting and asking for forgiveness. He also spoke to us about how the world constantly is battling Christ for our attention and devotion. He asked us to turn to the person next to us and say "don't let the love of the world squeeze out your love for Christ". Needless to say, that statement was very impactful on those of us who have been struggling with where to devote our time. It's so very easy to be caught up in school, sports, clubs, and what not, so much so that we squeeze out our God time. And that my friends, is what our main focus in life should be is focusing on the Almighty Savior.

The Face of Grace
j-MO
p.s. Grace made the elite eight at Branson! Our boys played extremely well! :)

Where are you going?

Unfortunately, my spring break will be spent in my hometown Sandusky, Ohio(home of Cedar Point, "America's Rockin' Roller Coast"), where the sun will not be enough to overpower the frigid cold. Usually spring break is characterized by migrating college students who head south for the week with the mindset the singer Sheryl Crow has always raved about; "I'm gonna' soak up the sun." Through my conversations with Grace students, I have heard spring break destinations such as California, Georgia, Kansas, and North Carolina. In addition, our very own Grace College offered three GO teams to Kyrgyzstan, France, and Great Britain, in order for students to soak up something other than the sun, culture. These teams left on Friday with the plans of evangelizing through building relationships, handing out Bibles, prayer walking, and sight-seeing. Although I am quite jealous of anyone who travels more than a 10-mile radius of their hometown, I have hope in knowing that I may be traveling to Romania next year with a GO team.
I believe it is a necessity to pray for these travels no matter how close or far away. So, I ask you now as you read this to take a couple of minutes to pray for the safety of those students, trip leaders, professors, etc. who partake in any kind of travels during break. May the Lord bless and keep them!

First Round Victory

  I waited until today to post because I wanted to share the Branson experience. As Jaimie wrote on Tuesday, we came to Branson, MO to watch the men's basketball team play in the NAIA Championship. This afternoon the men faced Warner Pacific. Going into half-time, the score was tied. By the end of the game, Grace had taken the lead and then won 82-72! It was such an exciting game to watch. 

  Me, Jaimie, and Kyla were the only students there from Grace. Other Grace students watched the game on campus in Alpha Dining and the OCC. Throughout the game we got texts asking for updates and people saying that they had just seen us on t.v. All of us are thrilled we were able to be there. 

   The team will play tomorrow afternoon and if they win they will also play on Saturday. We hope they keep winning! Getting up at 3:30 this morning and then driving 10 hours was worth it!

Branson, here I come!

Our boys basketball team is currently hanging out in Branson, Missouri till Thursday @ 2.45 when they play in the Warner Pacific-NAIA National Tourney! Last year we made it to the elite eight, when we weren't expected to survive the first round which we are still very proud of! This year we didn't get past the first round of the MCC Tournament, so our chances of going to Branson were pretty slim. But we were invited to return this year and I decided that I am going to make the ten hour trip to watch our boys play! I talked to my professors (some of which actually encouraged me to take the opportunity) and decided that it would be worth it make the trip! So Christy (another blogger), myself, and another friend Kyla Zenan are going to get up Thursday morning at three and watch our boys get themselves a victory! GO GET'EM LANCERS!

Pizza Pizza

This was the last weekend before spring break and midterms; so the stress levels are on the rise. What should you do when you have stress? Eat pizza of course. Due to the stress of the upcoming week, SAB is holding an all you can eat Pizza Hut night this Sunday. The campus heads 5 miles down the road to the local Pizza Hut. Students come out of the library and dorm rooms and line up an hour early to be the first to taste the cheesy goodness of some pizza. This is a great time to get together with friends and chow down, forgetting about schoolwork for awhile. Anytime college students can get their hands on pizza, the world is right!

Spring in Winter

During my walks around campus the past three days, I have seen more students outside than the past two months together. I am overjoyed by seeing the many students engaging in outdoor activities together.
The Indiana Hall residents playing numerous four-square games, golf-enthusiasts driving tennis balls across the walking paths, kites flying in the clear blue sky, couples walking hand and hand down to the lake, bike-riders zooming past slow walkers to class, students eating meals on the picnic tables on the Alpha Dining patio, lounging on the grass to study, and even a unicyclist cycling past Westminster Hall are just a few of the outdoor happenings that I've witnessed. I praise God for the refreshing weather we were able to enjoy. Although I was rejuvenated by the 50 degree temperature and the sun peaking through the clouds, I still had a negative thought lingering in my mind; winter is not yet over. The Grace campus has come out of hibernation for a short time but we may see a blizzard some time in March. At least Grace students know how to enjoy the weather in many unique ways while it lasts.

"What's up, Grace?"

"Grace is up!" Anyone who knows James Joiner, give a SHOUT OUT!!! He is returning this fall to teach a couple classes: Apologetics this fall, Ethics in the Spring...and I am so very excited.

For those of you who don't know James, for my first two years he was Grace's Chaplain and professor of several theology/philosophy classes (two subjects that interest me very much in my spare time away from music). Although I was never able to even meet him or take his classes because of my full music schedule, my respect of him grew as I heard him speak and watched him interact on campus. Finally, I introduced myself to him and was able to take his Logic class last Spring '08! Ever since then, I have looked up to him as a spiritual mentor and friend. He is a fantastic man of God and one of the most genuinely caring people you will ever meet. He brought an intelligent mind, reasoned faith, and gentle spirit to Grace's campus and never tired of sharpening students' minds with the encouragement to think for themselves, especially in their Christianity. He has been sorely missed ever since he left Grace College this year in order to pursue his PhD in Philosophy without any expectations of coming back. But thank God that He wants James back at Grace! I highly recommend his classes, but only if you are interested in being there and not afraid of thinking hard and being extremely challenged.

I also hope James never reads this blog about him because he would be very embarrassed by the attention... ;) WELCOME BACK SOON, JAMES JOINER!

Polymers Anyone?

  It has been a really busy couple of weeks. I'm starting to think that 18 credit hours of upper level classes may not have been the best idea. Oh well, live and learn.

  This week I had a client presentation for my Public Relations and Advertising Writing class. The president of Rainmaker Polymers came into our class to share information about his company and their products. The class was split into groups and we had to create a direct mail piece for the company. 

  It was a fun and yet difficult task. We had to familiarize ourselves with polymers and some of the technical lingo. We had a total of two weeks in class to create the piece. I felt that ours turned out really well. We presented it to the client this afternoon. I'm glad it's done because it became really time consuming. I was the person who designed the layout of the piece which meant for about 2 days the only assignment I worked on was that project. We don't know which piece the company will pick as the winner. I'm hoping it's ours :) Either way, I'll be able to use it in my portfolio. It was great to be able to work with an actual client and get some real experience. 

Beautiful Feet

Romans 10:14-15 14How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" This passage was the focus of the message today at the church I attend. Grace does not hold its own church service so students get involved in local churches. This message made me think a lot today about the way Grace prepares students to bring the good news of Jesus to those who haven’t heard. Several friends of mine have a heart to bring good news to unreached people groups all over the world, and Grace encourages this passion. The message today burdened my heart for people who have never heard the name Jesus and the hope that He brings. The idea of not having the peaceful, perfect relationship with my Savior is a horrible thought, so the idea of a people group never hearing the message is heart wrenching. I’m thankful for the reminder of the purpose of our lives whether we stay in Indiana or go thousands of miles away: we are to bring the good news to all. “How beautiful the feet of those who bring good news!” Lord give us beautiful feet.