Service, Missions, Leadership

My favorite part of the event came during the eating. NO...not just because we were eating. We had the awesome privilege of eating with the Pastor, John Nicholson, and, his wife, Vanessa Nicholson. They are HILARIOUS! They even got my jokes! We had so much fun talking about our lives and what our passions were. It is a great feeling to be able to be around like minded Christians and talk about God's ministry. Just from observing their desire to get to know people and make people feel comfortable is comforting. To see people in God's ministry act the way they do encourages me to do the same.  I am really excited about getting to know these awesome people and seeing what projects God gives us to do together. (Yep, there are going to be some whether they like it or not. Haha.)

After eating, Brother Nicholson shared a short devotion with us about fellowship. How appropriate. :) He said that one of the spiritually strongest activities we can do as Christians is fellowship. It's a time of getting to know our brothers and sisters in Christ or demonstrating God's love to those who don't have a relationship with Christ. And, IT'S FUN! Why not do it from time to time? We should be active in trying to know people more intimately. To fellowship brings unity. It allows a body of people to understand each other better which enables us to help one another in any situation.

This event was one of the best I have been to in Marion, Alabama. It allowed me to branch out and meet people that I normally wouldn't meet. I am so excited that I have made new friends and I can't wait to develop these new relationships.

To all of the Judson students reading this, I urge you to seek out these times of fellowship in the Marion Community and extend a Christian hand of fellowship. It's one of the greatest opportunities ever! 

With Love through Christ Alone,

 Breathe Out

As the school year comes to an end, I find myself practicing breathing techniques more often. Even those Hee, Hee, Hoo breathing things they teach you at lamaze classes and I'm not even pregnant...(however, they do work).

Breathe In

Why am I breathing so heavily? In the next three weeks, I have to write two papers equivalent to 20 plus pages, take 5 finals, interview for an RA position for next year, start writing a grant for the GED program, get ready for missions in Perry County this summer, present 2 ten minute presentations, pretend like I know where my life is going, and the list can go on.

Breathe Out

Don't get me wrong. I am not complaining about any responsibility that has been given. I am just a little overwhelmed.  

Breathe In

The kicker is I realized something that should have been obvious a long time ago...God gives us opportunities to serve Him, we don't have to take on every job that comes our way. God wants to give us the chance to do something for Him, but He gives us the free will and discernment to choose which responsibilities to take on. Why? Because, we aren't God. We don't have the power to save the world. Onle He does. We can't be at all places at once.  Only He can. God allows us to help if we so choose.

My point is this: Psalm 46:10

¹⁰ "Be still, and know that I am God;
       I will be exalted among the nations,
       I will be exalted in the earth."

In this overwhelming time, I am really having to be still and recognize God's voice. I am having to discern between which "works" are prompted by God or which "works" are prompted by Ryan? I am having to prioritize between school and service. And, I am having to realize that before I can help anyone else I have to be able to help myself. I can't help myself right now. Why? Because I need to be still.  I need to hear God and hear His instruction.

Breathe Out

As a Judson student, I am encouraged to participate in many activities, service projects, and leadership roles. I love this! It's one of the reasons why I love Judson so much. People here want to see us grow closer to God. I just have to remember to remember God and be still before I say yes to every opportunity that comes my way.

Breathe In

I will be a junior next year. I will have more responsibilities that I can count, I am sure. But, I have learned many valuable lessons this year. The most valuable is this one; to be still and know that He is God.  

Breathe Out

I believe I can breathe a little better, now.

 With Love from Christ Alone,

Every March or April, the CM council organizes a spring concert that showcases local Christian artists. This year was especially fun because we had bands coming from all over the place. RainingAmi is from north Florida, House57 is from Jasper, Alabama, and Red Letter Affair is from Tuscaloosa, Alabama (look ‘em up on facebook :)). It was a night of serious intensity and a lot of fun. To boost attendance, we had door prizes. I know that most events do, but we had an IPOD shuffle! Woot, woot. Too bad I couldn't win it. :/.  Along with the door prizes, we had a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors and a guest speaker for intermission. All in all, I think we had over 70 students in attendance. Which is huge considering it's close to half of our student population.

I think the most fun I had all night was seeing the Judson students enjoying the time of worship. Everyone seemed to love the bands and they really provided an awesome night of praising! During one of the worship songs, I looked around and saw my fellow Judson sisters praising God. Some of them had their arms in the air, their heads lifted toward the heavens, or their eyes closed in their worship. It was truly spirtually warming to see and it made all the prayer and hard work for the concert worthwhile.

With all the Campus Ministry events that we have, it's my goal for our Judson sisters to have fun in a Christian environment and hear God's word. I know that this goal was accomplished at the concert. The Judson students responded well to the guest speaker and they told us they had fun! I am glad to know that months of planning helped our Judson sisters relax and worship God.

Soon it will be time to start planning next year's event. If you know of any good, local Christian bands let me know! We would love to have them.  

A few weeks after Summer, Cat, Amber, Susan, Tonya, and Ashley went to NYC to visit the UN, I FINALLY have the updates. :) After spending a week in NYC and going to Spring Break a week after getting back, the girls had a lot to catch up on. With all the business of trying to catch up, Summer and Amber found time to answer a few questions about the trip for us! They are:

1. What was the most memorable part of your trip?

Summer: We got the opportunity to meet with Shelby Knox (a young activist that any young lady should research).  We had lunch with her and had an open forum for conversation. It was absolutely fantastic!

Amber: The most memorable part of my trip was probably the subway. I loved it. It was so nice to get on, travel a bit, and then get off where you needed to go. I think I'm in love with public transportation.

2. What was the funniest memory you have from the trip? Amber and Summer seem to have the same subject for this one. Way to go, Ashley!

Summer: There are way too many to just pick one.  Ashley Wigley in New York alone was a funny memory.

Amber: Tuesday night Summer, Tonya, and Ashley ice-skated at the Rockefeller Center while the rest of us watched. Ashley was talking smack about her wonderful ice-skating skills leading up to the outing, while Summer and Tonya were excited about learning to skate. We didn't have too many falls, no bruising, broken limbs, etc. Susan managed to get most of the action on video. Right before we were leaving she was filming Tonya and Summer discussing their ice-skating experience, while Ashley took one more lap attempting to pirouette and astound us all with her skating skills. As she neared the group she tried to spin one last time and went flying face first into the ice. What made the moment even better was watching it on video. One moment, Summer and Tonya laughing, the next, Ashley flying into the frame and eating ice.

Either that or being wedged into the subway next to Summer and a random dude, while Summer making the situation as awkwardly as possible by making googly eyes at me.

3. What was the UN like? Big, crowded,...

Summer: The UN was amazing! You could just feel the atmosphere around you.  It was so enjoyable to meet people from around the world and to know we are all working toward a common goal.

Amber: The UN was pretty large and filled with women from all over the globe. I'm pretty sure I heard every language on the planet during the week we were in New York. I thought it was interesting how the guards at the UN building were from different countries as well. Let's just say I found the gentleman in the furry hat with a Russian accent very intimidating.