Service, Missions, Leadership

I will give you until just after 8:00am (by the time I get here, go get my coffee, and turn on my computer) to post your two blogs...

-The words of my boss.

Why would she be sending me this message?

Well, it's the second message to remind me to write my blogs. I am grateful for her. Most bosses would have fired me by now, but since my boss is a graduate of the Ole JC she knows what the month of April is like.

What's up with April?

Finals.

The time when days fly by only to stop to smack you in the face when it's time to take that test you stayed up until 4am to study for only to fail it.

Breathe.

Okay, it's not that bad.  

On days like today when running none stop from 6am until 2am makes my schedule, I think all is lost, until I count my blessings. To start counting, here are just a few:

1. Classmates who understand that you are always in a state of confusion. And, sometimes when you email them with a list of class work that you don't have any clue what it's about, they will email you back without being condescending and answer your questions. Thus, completing said assignments and not flunking out of college. Fantastic! I love them!

2.  Amazing coffee given by people who love you. I have been blessed beyond measure with people in my life that KNOW what makes me feel better when I am stressed. One of those things besides Jesus time: Coffee. It warms my insides and it feels, oh, so much better going down when my friends care enough to make me a cup on nights like tonight. Thanks. :)

3. A good playlist to keep the night rockin'. I know it's weird, right? But, hey, when I need a pick-me-up I sign into my Pandora account and nod my head to the beats of Lacrae, Zac Brown Band, Lauryn Hill, Adele, and many more awesome artists that keep me motivated.

You are probably reading this and thinking, "Are finals really this crazy?"

For most, yes.

For me, most definitely.

For you future Judson girls or current ones, NO worries.

Just follow these steps and you will be okay:

Take a deep breath.

Say a prayer.

Ask for help if needed.

Drink a good cup of Jo.

Put on some good tunes.

And get ready to burn the midnight oil.

Because you are ready to do it!

*Note: These steps are based on my overzealous, procrastinate because I don't know where to start schedule. Please only attempt this at school if necessary.

Until Then,

We had our last Chapel for the year last Tuesday. This chapel is dedicated to Class Day, a day where new Class officers, SGA officers, and Honor Council members are sworn in.

Why was this day so bittersweet for me?

It's also the day where a new Campus Ministries President is appointed.

 I passed my Campus Ministries President robe to Paula Fendley- a symbol of passing the responsibility of leading Campus Ministries from me to her for the coming year.

I am really excited that God is allowing Paula to be the President next year and I know she will follow God in whatever happens.

From what I hear, many new things and things that need a face lift will be happening all for God's glory next year.

The bittersweet part:

I won't be on Campus Ministries council anymore to experience it from the beginning. Yes, I had a chance of re-applying for council next year, but God told me not to.

I will be finishing up classes and preparing for my student internship next year and I won't have time to adequately do a good job on council.

It's not that I want the title or anything because I will still participate in CM activities. It's that a have found who I am in Christ so far through following Him by completely submerging myself in this ministry.

I have become a little more confident in my walk, a little more confident in the Word, and a little more confident in my God-given abilities because of Campus Ministries.

And, so much of my Judson career has been centered on this ministry. It's going to be hard to fill my time slots that once had "Campus Ministries" written on them with something else.

But one of the many lessons I have learned from serving on the council is that God will use His people whenever and wherever He wants to.

He isn't finished with me yet and I don't want Him to be.

So, I will gather my lessons learned and say adios and above all thank you God for allowing me to serve on the Campus Ministries Council-a soul changing experience.

Until then.

The one thing that I absolutely hate to love in life is change. There is no way to prepare for it and, oh, how I wish I could. Why? Because the change that has happened this past month has almost been unbearable. It seems like every day something dramatically changed in my life that I was certainly not prepared for. And the only constant reassurance and comforting thought I have had is,

"God will provide."

And He has.

When my mother totaled her car four weeks ago, God made sure that she wasn't injured. He made sure that she had a vehicle to transport her to and from work. And, He made sure that I had friends to help me get my car to my mom for her to use after she had to take the rental car back.

Getting my car to my mom is actually a funny story. My car is a '92, two-door, 4 cylinder, manual, Geo Tracker. Picture a go-cart slightly more elevated than usual with a roof and that's what my car looks like. This thing has been through it all-rain storms with the top off, the doors falling off the hinges while I was going down the road, numerous stalls because I was learning how to drive it, but my favorite is its belt problems. For some reason, the main mechanical problem as to why I am stranded somewhere at least once every two weeks is the belt. One of the freshmen, Ashleigh Hagan, named it the Banshee and for good reason-the belt was loose and it screeched every where it was driven.  

Now that I have given a description of my car, here is the story. It was the Sunday night of my mom's accident and I needed to drive my car to her. By the time I found out about her accident it was around 8 pm. Because of my belt, my car kept dying. It wouldn't crank without someone jumpstarting it. So, I decided to wait until morning to drive down Hwy 5 in case my car stalled and I got stranded. The librarian, Andrea Abernathy, thought this was a good idea, too. However, I needed to drive it about a mile down the road to my pastor's house so his wife, Vanessa, could follow me to Tuscaloosa the next morning. Getting my car to their house was certainly an ordeal. Ms. Abernathy and I spent 45 minutes trying to even start the car. I finally figured out that if I didn't turn my headlights on then the battery wouldn't die. With the help of a librarian, a security guard, a freshman, and a junior, my car finally reached its temporary destination around 11 pm that night.

The next morning was easier. Without any headlights and hardly any use of windshield wipers while it was drizzling, Ms. Vanessa and I made it to Tuscaloosa bright and early Monday morning.

God provides.

The next change came two weeks later when my Granny passed away. Through this time of sorrow, God has provided me with a school that genuinely cares about the well-being of their students. See, my Granny lived in Tampa, Fla. My family and I had to drive to Tampa for the funeral. This was extremely hard for our family. Granny's death was sudden. None of us were ready for her to go. She was ready, though. If you know the Lord and you're 89 wouldn't you be ready to party with Jesus? Judson College could have said sorry, but you can't make up the test you have tomorrow if you miss class or I don't care that someone you loved died. They didn't. I am blessed to go to a school that understands situations like this. Judson said take what time you need and we will be praying for you. What an awesome school God has provided for me. I can't write too much about this subject for fear of crying and not finishing this blog. Haha. Just know that I will be eternally grateful for Judson's compassion in this time.

God provides.

This past week, I had to have a wisdom tooth pulled. Talk about painful. Not only was the procedure painful, but the infection I got from the procedure was and still is, too. Yep, another week out of school for Ryan. I have missed the past 10 school days! This is not acceptable! I need to be in school! I miss school! My jaw needs to be its normal size and the pain needs to go away! The provision: God allowed me to be at home with people who have taken care of me and Judson has kept me up-to-date on my homework. Tomorrow I hopefully have my last dentist's visit and the dentist will make this huge knot disappear so I can get on with life.

That's my prayer anyway.

Like I said earlier, I hate to love change. I know it's vital for growth, but, yeesh, can there be some change due to happy situations? Haha. I know there have been many happy changes in my life. It's just here recently the sad situations have overshadowed the happy ones. No worries though, the one constant is God and His promise to provide for me-whatever the provision may be. He has proven it so far. Why doubt now?

Always a lesson learned.

WOOHOO for January!

I thought 2010 was never going to end. It was a great year, but by Dec. 31 I was ready for something new. I don't know what it is about a new year. I guess it just gives everyone a chance to say, "This year is going to be different." For me, it has been so far and I am grateful, EXTREMELY grateful.

A few ways it's different:

Attitude

Instead of trying those New Year's Resolutions that are only meant to be broken, I am just going to do what is necessary to have a better year and be a better person. The first is having a different outlook on life. For instance, some people really ticked me off last year and I let it get to me. Sometimes it affected my self esteem and school work. God and I both agree that can't happen again this year. When someone does something that offends me, my attitude will be positive and instead of wanting to fight back, God and I are going to have a talk about it first (like it should have been done in the first place) and then try to resolve the issue. In other words, James 1:19 "Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry." 

Getting things done

 It's amazing what a person can do when they actually do it. I am trying really hard to not fall behind in any of my classes this semester. I do have some stuff from last semester to get done; however, that's one of the lessons learned from last year-just do it! I could have gotten a lot more stuff done if I would have just done them instead of complaining about dumb or confusing assignments. For the people who are reading this and shaking their heads because they told me to "just do it", my argument is people learn from experience. Haha. J Colossians 3:23 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." Just do it.

Be/Being Encouraged

God has blessed me with a great support system that I take for granted all too often. I am amazed at the constant encouragement that is given on a daily basis. Sometimes my spirits are lifted with a smile and a few kind words and other times God places people in my life that know what to say and when to say it in my darkest of moments. For this New Year, I am going to make a more conscious effort to take note of these little and big encouragements. It's selfish of me not to. I think this will help my first "resolution" to have a good attitude, as well. It's a win-win situation.

        SO, 2011!

           GET READY!

        THIS IS GOING TO BE THE BEST YEAR YET!