Judson College :: Choir, FAITH, Ensemble

When I signed up for Ballet this semester and everyone I told found it funny, maybe I should have taken a hint, but of course, I didn't.

I've always been interested in different kinds of dance.  Because of where we lived when I was growing up, taking ballet lessons was never really a feasible option.  I talked to some of the ballet students here who said I would be fine in a beginner class, that there weren't any prerequisites, and I should try it, so I signed up.  I can truly say I belong in the beginner's course.  When I came back from Christmas break, I was pretty excited.  I have wanted to take ballet for as long as I can remember, and I finally had the opportunity.  For those of you who are involved in ballet now or have taken it before, let me just say that I admire you.  My first class consisted of trying hard to do things that looked easy...deceivingly so.  Our teacher Jill has been dancing for 14 years; she makes everything look so easy!  She has been a great teacher and we are all learning so much.  I am sure she finds our attempts at certain steps amusing, but she bears with us anyway.  : )  It is definitely not as easy as it looks, but if it was, I suppose that would be boring.  I have now had classes twice a week for about a month now.  I am proud to say that I know what certain moves are, though I have no clue how to type them, and more importantly, I can actually do them now! 

Like anything, it takes some getting used to, and I'm excited to be learning what I am.  I even ordered ballet shoes, and I can hardly wait to finally get them! 

My first few classes, I figured maybe I really was crazy for trying to revisit a childhood wish at 19.  The following weeks made me glad that I stuck with it.

Ballet class is one more reason Judson is amazing, and comes highly recommended in my book as a class to take during your time here.

As for me...well, I'll keep trying.  :)

"If you can walk you can dance. If you can talk you can sing." 

Zimbabwean Proverb

It's hard to believe January is almost over!  It has been a packed month for sure.  I experienced my first Judson Christian Emphasis week the Tuesday , Wednesday, and Thursday of this past week.  During the first day, the choir sang a few songs, one of them introduced everyone to our theme song for the week, "Come Away".  Our choir increased in size quite a bit from last semester - it is good to have so many voices singing.  Dr. Bullard, a religion professor here, was our speaker for the week. The theme was "The Christian Life as Journey."  Dr. Bullard spoke on the importance of prayer and the danger of falling away from God.  He also talked about the different kinds of prayer, our job as Christians and several other things.  I learned quite a bit listening to him speak those three days.  It always amazes me how I never stop learning.  While having chapel 3 days in a row made things a little more hectic, it was worth it.  

On Wednesday nights, I have been going to Siloam Baptist Church for Bible Study.  We meet around six for some food and fellowship, head upstairs to sing a few songs, and go back downstairs for Bible study.  This time, Jonathan talked to us about the importance of sharing your testimony.  I never thought about how my testimony could have such an impact on a person.  He challenged us to find one person a week to share our testimony with, whether it was to minister or to share.

I can definitely say that with the end of this week and 4 hours of teaching from other people, I have been challenged in many ways.  I can hardly wait to see what the next chapel service and Wednesday night Bible study will show me!

If your heart needs mending, come away

If your soul needs tending, come away

Come away with me, to a place where you can be

In a quiet, slower time; in a simple state of mind

Come away with me and rest now, come away

As the days grow longer, come away

As the nights grow stronger, come away

Come away with me, to a place where you are free

To ponder and remember, the way of deep surrender

Come away with me and rest now, come away

 

 

 

The first week of school was definitely an interesting one.  Classes were cancelled for two "snow days" due to possible "winter weather" conditions.  While it didn't end up snowing, my roommate and I took advantage of having only 1 day of classes and rearranged our room.  We both like it so much more now.  :)

Friday night, I went with a group of girls to a local restaurant here in Marion.  The name of the restaurant is J and Rs, and each Friday and Saturday night they have Karaoke.  They have these 3-ring binders packed full of songs you can sing!  You pick out a song, write down the code, turn it in, and wait for them to call you up to sing.  At first, I was just going to watch, but I ended up singing several songs.  A few of the girls even went up in groups and sang together.  We had so much fun Friday night that we decided to go back for more Saturday, with one change...

I still hadn't asked Bethany to be my big sister.  We both like songs from Alvin and the Chipmunks, so I decided to ask her by changing the words to "Christmas Don't Be Late."  I just had to figure out how I was going to set it up.  When it came up to go to J and Rs, I thought it would be perfect - she would be there, and I could just act like I was going to sing.  Of course, there are three chipmunks, and the professor, so I had to have some help.  Audra volunteered to be the professor, and Ashley and Holly Beth were Simon and Theodore.  Audra and I headed over early to talk to the man in charge, make sure it was okay, and inform him of our plans.  When it was finally time to sing, we all went up, sang, and the last line of the song asked her to be my big sis...she said yes! After the song we took pictures and enjoyed the rest of the night.  I'm so glad to have such a great (potential) big sister.  I can't wait for it to be official at the banquet at the end of the month!

Well, I have had my break, and now it's time to go back to school for a "Round 2."  I'm ready to go back and get in a routine again, but of course I'm a little nervous about my classes.  I'm so glad to have had some time to relax and recharge for a few weeks; it was a much needed break!  I've had a chance to catch up on some sleep, spend time with family and friends, as well as several other things.  I was able to meet my roommate and suitemate Heather and Miriam for a little reunion in Montgomery before Christmas to catch up and do a little last minute shopping.  It was definitely strange to go so long without seeing them after being around them nearly every day for 3 months.

I also had a chance to do some painting...spray painting to be exact.  During Christmas break, I took it upon myself to do some home improvement work.  I took it upon myself to paint a few pieces of furniture (for lack of a better word).  After much deliberation, my Mom and I decided the best way to accomplish this was spray painting.  Did I mention that paint - particularly spray paint - has a temperature rating that should be heeded?  I usually would paint in the summer or warm weather, like a normal person, so it being warm enough didn't really occur to me at first.  I found out after I decided to do this project that it was borderline too cold.  Well, it was still possible, and I was determined.  The heat of the day took on a whole new meaning as I waited for it to be warm enough, then hurried to paint before it got too cold.  The last day I painted, I ran out of paint, so I left the things outside while I waited for Mom to bring home more paint.  That wasn't the best idea.  You see, I also learned what you're painting has to be a certain temperature too.  For all of you who have wondered what the point of a temperature rating is, I am here to tell you that if it is too cold, the paint will shrivel up.  The step after that is sanding and starting over.  Nevertheless, my project turned out to be a success, even though we had that unexpected cold snap right in the middle of the project.  The moral of the story is this: don't paint in the winter.  However, if you do, make sure it's above 50 degrees.  :)