Fall semester catch up: Part 1

For a journalism grad, I'm really terrible at keeping my blog updated...I apologize. If anyone wants to be my blog accountability partner, please be my guest. (Seriously.)

This is part 1 of the photo edition of fall semester — I started off with one post and realized I have too many photos. This post covers August through early October. (I do have another detailed/more thoughtful version in the works, and that will be posted later; but sometimes, it's fun to let the photos and descriptions tell the story.)

Back to school cookout on campus: Sally (one of our new freshmen), Kayla (returning sophomore), Anna (returning senior), and Amber (returned to us after being away at another campus for a bit!)

David, Brandon, & Spencer playing Giant Jenga at the cookout. Chris got the
idea from another RUF campus minister, and it was a hit. (Leave me a comment
 if you want instructions on how to make your own!)

We set up Jenga on the Campus Green for almost two weeks. It definitely helped us
meet lots of students! Phillip (returning junior), Chris (our campus minister),
and Taylor (returning senior) are playing a round here in the shade.

Thankful for students like Christine (returning sophomore), who helped us man
the RUF table, played Jenga, and talked to newcomers. We did this on campus for two weeks.

New meeting place this year — thankful that First United Lutheran Church (on campus) has
allowed us to rent space. Also new this year — the nametag and welcome table! This enables us to greet and get the names of students before they walk into large group.

Several of our girls, including Anna and Chelsea, faithfully helped chalk up campus
on Monday nights to promote RUF. (And by the way, it worked! We have students who
found out about RUF because they saw our chalk!)

This photo is dark because it was taken around 12:30 am ... and that makes for a good story: We had a great turnout for our first big chalking event. I split the girls up into groups and we went our merry ways around campus, careful to obey Kennesaw's chalking regulations ... or so I thought. I got home around 11 pm, and thought I'd doublecheck my KSU handbook. Much to my dismay, I found we had accidentally violated the chalking policy — in about 15 different places on campus! Matt (holding the water jug) and Steve (with the broom) answered my desperate text messages for help, graciously provided cleaning supplies (water jugs, a pesticide sprayer filled with water, and a broom) and scrubbed away the illegal chalking. Guys, y'all are my heros. I don't know what I would have done without y'all!

First large group of the semester — so many students that I couldn't get everyone in the photo!

The new place means we get to plug in for music! Thankful for our band: Joel (guitar), Josiah (banjo), Anna (vocals), Matt (guitar and vocals), Eli (bass and vocals). (Not pictured: Phillip, who does our sound, Kayla, who does vocals, and Jordan, who plays djembe.) And yes, they're all in matching shirts for RUF photo night!

This was one attempt at a group photo. Sadly, the lighting is pretty 

terrible — but you get the general idea. 

The city of Kennesaw had food trucks every Monday night for the "summer" months (June through October). That meant several great trips with the girls (great for the food and fellowship, but not so much for the waistline). Sally and I split an apple pie sundae, and yes, it was crazy delicious.

Thus ends part 1 of the photo update — thanks for reading. Stay tuned for part 2, which includes fall conference, Halloween party, semiformal, and other shenanigans...

Ministry team retreat

This summer, I didn't spend a lot of time blogging about my blessings. OK, correction — I didn't spend ANY time blogging about my blessings. I did write some of them down, but never got around to blogging about them. While I want to start the 1000 Gifts challenge again, this isn't the blog post for that ... it's about one big blessing.

Meet the Kennesaw State RUF ministry team! (a couple weren't able to
attend the retreat, but this is most of them)

This past weekend was one big blessing: RUF at KSU held its first ministry team retreat! I cannot begin to express how encouraged, blessed, and humbled I was to be part of this. During his second year at KSU, Chris had a student leadership team, but the group graduated and he hasn't had one since then. The Lord has answered the prayers for a ministry team again! After being part of RUF at MSU for four years, and then working with RUF at MTSU for a year, I didn't realize how I took the ministry team for granted. The one at State was huge, we met weekly, and we got a lot accomplished. It was a vital, necessary part of RUF due to the sheer size of our group (over 300 people). The one at MTSU was smaller, we didn't meet weekly, and the students were getting the hang of taking charge and being responsible for the ministry.

When I first moved to Kennesaw, I remember being surprised when Chris told me we didn't have a ministry team. He was hopeful about starting one, but wasn't sure when that would happen. We wanted student leaders, and we prayed for dedicated and eager students. Several months into the semester, it became obvious that God had given us a committed"core" group of students — and suddenly the idea of a ministry team at KSU didn't seem like such a crazy, far off idea.

Hanging up hammocks — we camped on Friday night.

Chris held interest meetings during the spring semester, and we now have eight guys and seven girls on RUF's ministry team. We went on a retreat for 24 hours this past weekend, where we sang, worshipped, learned about RUF and leadership, and planned/discussed what we want to accomplish this year.

Chris illustrating a point with a diagram. (Points to the intern/RUF staff
 who can name what this is!)

It is such an incredible joy to see students owning the ministry and taking charge. I'm so grateful for how the Lord has provided these students and for their desire to serve. Praise God for His faithfulness and provision, and join me in praying for our team as they seek to invite, encourage, and reach the campus this year.

Worshipping with songs

Reminder on why I'm pro-life

The link that I've posted below is hard, horrible, and graphic (descriptively, not visually) read on the sobering reality of abortion in the United States, but one that I want you to read anyway (if you're over age 13). Obviously abortion is something very real to me, and I'm grateful to the Lord for keeping me from being one of those aborted babies!

Thank you Ada Moore for posting this via Facebook, and thank you Kelly Clinger for sharing your story. May the Lord continue to use your story and life for His glory, and may He continue to give you boldness!

"We Can't Handle the Truth About Abortion" - Kelly Clinger

One thousand gifts challenge, week 6

86. Hunger Games premiere (at midnight) — yes, that was a couple weeks ago, but I forgot to put it on the list

87. Being with family (immediate and extended) for Easter — and my aunt looking great and feeling well enough to be with us and eat!

88. Finding an old gift card that still has money on it

89. The home button working (somewhat consistently) on my iPhone

90. Stephen sweetly cleaning out my iPhone and case after I mentioned that it still had colored powder in it from the Color Run

91. OH! Being able to eat sweets/sugar/desserts again because the 40 day fast is over!

92. Part of Poplar Pike/Park being repaved in Memphis — a lovely unexpected surprise

93. Homemade food (thanks for cooking, Mom)

94. Pineapple (Mom send me home to Kennesaw with a whole one — yum)

95. Good discussion at last week's Bible study, even with a small turn out

96. Being reminded that good discussion and "success" isn't dependent upon the number of students at Bible study

97. Summer conference filling up quickly — so glad to see students excited about a week of fellowship and teaching

98. Mindless TV. Sometimes you just need to turn your brain off for a bit.

99. Not having to get my windshield replaced (I have a couple new cracks in it — but no new windshield yet)

100. Jerry's Sno Cones in Memphis with my brother and cousins

101. Being home with my family this past weekend

102. My campus minister graciously encouraging me to read my Bible this past week

103. The tankini that I needed being on sale at Target (hello summer conference!)

104. Friends and family who are good listeners and graciously put up with me

105. Gas not being $4/gallon yet

106. Pash getting to enjoy Scotland and England this week with our cousin Mary Ellen

107. My mom doing incredibly sweet things for me this past weekend — like just being at home and sitting with me and doing my laundry (even washing my dirty Color Run shoes!)

108. My dad doing incredibly sweet things for me this past weekend — like filling up my tank with gas and making sure I had enough oil in my car

109. Beautiful photography — like these wonderful photos from Annalissa and Rob's wedding (http://www.sullyclemmer.com/2012/04/mississippi-wedding-annalissa-rob/)

110. Coming home to Kennesaw today to find a package and kind note from Adam's dear parents. They have no idea, but it was exactly what I needed.

111. Safety in traveling home to Memphis for Easter (and traveling back to Kennesaw)

112. My iPod — helps keep me company on long car trips

113. Podcasts and sermons — I listened to Brian Habig, Nathan Tircuit, & Brian Sorgenfrei this weekend thanks to iTunes/iPod/technology. Wonderful.

114. Smiling at my reflection in the mirror when I see the stray strands of pink in my hair left over from the Color Run (although to be completely honest, I'm a little ready for it to go away)

115. Chocolate

116. Being home at Riveroaks for Easter and Good Friday services

One thousand gifts challenge, weeks 4 & 5

Well, I had it going for three weeks in a row ... oh well.

65. More amazing weather. It really does seem like spring (well, summer) is here to stay. I hate cold weather, so this makes me incredibly happy.

66. Kennesaw RUF started ministry team interest meetings, and we've got students coming! Praise Jesus.

67. Being reminded of the basics of RUF/thankful for what it stands for.

66. Kennesaw's SABAC (Student Activities & Budget Advisory Committee) awarded RUF money so that we can scholarship students for RUF summer conference! (How amazing is that?! I've never heard of a school that does this.) We had one of our students go present to the committee and tell them about summer conference, why we go, what we learn, why it's good to take students, how it builds community, etc., and then we were awarded money.) This money greatly enables RUF to take more students and offer a reduced price to an awesome conference. We currently have 19 students signed up (and 2 more have said they're coming — they just have to register). I'm amazed and super excited.

67. On that note, it's less than 40 days until summer conference. Get me to the beach.

Our logo/t-shirt design for this year. I like it.

68. My grandmother celebrated another birthday this month! I am so thankful for her kindness, graciousness, and caring spirit.

69. Safety for our students over their spring break. Yes, it was a couple of weeks ago, and yeah, we had not one but two students end up with broken ankles (separate trips, separate incidents!), but it made me realize how fortunate we are to have all of them return back safely to Kennesaw.

70. Kiefer Sutherland being back on TV. (Is that shallow? Oh well. Anyone else watching Touch? I'm intrigued. And Jack Bauer is the man.)

71. Celebrating lots of birthdays this past month — not just my grandmother, but several of my students AND my boyfriend!

72. Traveling mercies to Birmingham (with bad weather), then to Jackson, then back to Birmingham, then back to Kennesaw — all in one weekend.

73. The reason I did all that traveling — to be part of one of my dear roommate's wedding! Two of my favorite people got married and I was incredibly blessed to be part of their wedding. Rob and Annalissa, it was a joy to be with y'all and to celebrate the Lord bringing y'all together.

The four of us lived together at State our senior year. I love y'all dearly!

74. Seeing and catching up with lots of dear friends at the wedding. Y'all are an incredible encouragement and blessing to me, and I miss y'all!

75. Having a free place to stay in Jackson — thanks Amy!

76. Being back in Mississippi for a bit. (It's not home, and I don't want to move back, but I do miss it and enjoy visiting.)

77. Stephen getting interviews/applications in with several companies. (Add him to your prayer list for jobs please!)

Team RUF Runners ready for the Atlanta Color Run: Jessie, Mallory, Lexi, me, Chelsea, Anna, Jen, & Kayla.

78. Getting to run in the Atlanta Color Run with some of Bible study girls and Jen! SO FUN. Memphis and Nashville friends — y'all gotta do the ones there in October. (And side note, those of who know me should realize that me agreeing to do a 5K is huge. Granted, I didn't get to run the whole thing due to lots of walkers/it being super crowded/strollers/a super narrow path for running, etc., but I found myself wanting to run more of it! What? Who am I?!) On another note — I'm still trying to wash the pink and blue out of my hair (six washes and it's still there!), so please forgive the random color streaks in my hair.

Jen, Kayla, me, Lexi, and Anna after the race!

79. The Lord watching over my aunt who had surgery to remove cancer this weekend. (Add her to prayer list too, please.)

80. Catching up with a couple of people via phone this week. (Thank y'all for bearing with me and my terrible phone skills.)

81. Spicy salsa (like "clear out your sinus cavities" spicy). Hit the spot this week.

82. Baking (Specifically this week, baking a cake for birthdays. Don't you love how it makes the house smell so good? Mmm.)

83. The fact that my fast from sweets/desserts is almost over. I'm so tempted to cave. I've forgotten what chocolate tastes like.

84. The apartment pool area staying open — as you can see from the photo, we can't swim in it yet (not that I'm big on that anyway), but catching the sunshine rays and getting some much-needed vitamin D? Yes please.

No water = they do not want us swimming yet

85. My not-so-little Honda Passport hit 189,000 miles today. Thankful that it's still running and doing well.

One thousand gifts

Three weeks in a row — woohoo!

44. My parents celebrated 29 years of marriage this week. I don't think I have to say anything else — that's pretty impressive. I'm thankful for them and for the godly example that they've been.

45. Veggies at the school cafeteria that aren't soaked in salt

46. Strawberries AND blueberries on sale this week at Kroger (side note: blueberries were my favorite snack as a kid. Mom used to stick a big bowl on them on the kitchen table and I'd finish them off — but oddly enough, I named my favorite doll "Strawberry," not "Blueberry")

47. Aloe (I got sunburned last week!)

48. Daffodils blooming on campus

50. Trees, flowers, grass, etc. blooming everywhere

51. Allergy medicine to help with all that blooming (today's pollen count is over 9,000! yuck!)

52. Ladies Bible study — the insight, encouragement, and fellowship it provides for me

53. A lit and safe pathway at the park for early evening runs

54. Grace (and a little bit of wisdom) in listening and participating in some hard conversations

55. Growing relationships with my girls

56. Not just knowing but seeing God at work in the lives of students

57. Hymns — thankful for them for lots of reasons, but here's two thoughts: 1. Glad I grew up in a church and a family where we sang them all the time 2. Glad my church, family, voice teacher, and choir teachers taught me the importance of memorizing the words — which all came back to me this weekend while singing a baby to sleep!

58. A long hike with good conversations, fellowship, and rain (and safety during the last two miles where we hiked back on the road to our car!)

59. The marriage conference at Midway Pres last weekend

60. Home cooked food at that conference — it's been a big fruit, oatmeal, cafeteria food, and cereal week, so it was especially exciting to get good food

61. The book of Deuteronomy — it's part of the RUF Bible reading program this month, and Chris is preaching through the Ten Commandments this semester. I haven't read it in a while ... and it's nice to be "rediscovering" it.

62. Finding a knee brace for my 90 year-old knees — and I can run (pretty well) while wearing it!

63. Red Gatorade (the not so sugary kind. I forgot the actual name)

64. Lots of glorious sunshine last week and this week

One Thousand Gifts Challenge, week 2

The One Thousand Gifts challenge continues:

21. My supporters. I got to send out newsletters this past week, and it's a joy and blessing to be able to thank God for each one of them as I fold, sign, and seal their letters. Words cannot express how incredibly grateful I am for each one of them.

22. Sharpie pens. My fav. I always keep a couple on hand, and I used them a lot this week for newsletter duty.

23. Friends who are kind enough to proofread my personal statement (for grad school) on super short notice and give me good feedback. (Thanks, Kyle, April, and Hannah!)

24. My alma mater — for many reason, but here's one unique one: Mississippi State plants a tree for every student (and faculty member) who dies before they finish school/while working at school. (They get permission from the family to do so, but the university pays for it and puts a plaque up under the tree.) I always thought that was really special, and it just adds to the beauty of the campus. Last week, my journalism adviser posted a photo of the one they planted for my friend Adam. It will look absolutely gorgeous in the fall.

The tree looks a little scrawny without leaves, so here's the plaque.

25. Yogurt. Yep, that simple.

26. Good conversations with friends — specifically Rebekah, Katy, April, & Amy in the last two weeks.

27. Being able to share a former struggle/hardship with someone (and trusting that part of the reason the Lord put me through it is to help and share with others).

28. Spring break. Being able to take a break.

29. Seeing Stephen for a whole weekend.

Final UT home game this season — and they won!

30. Traveling mercies while driving to Knoxville. The weather was pretty nasty, and I missed all of it.

31. Stephen fixing the messed up screws on my MacBook. (They weren't put in properly after I had my battery replaced, and it had been bothering me for months.)

32. A great church service in Knoxville last Sunday with a challenging message on forgiveness.

33. New brakes for my car, and the Goodyear guys who looked out for me and my safety.

34. RUF for doing such a wonderful job of loving its employees and taking great care of us. They have really displayed the love and character of Christ to me, and are incredibly patient and gracious.

35. Pandora while I work, cook, clean, and study.

36. Reading the chain e-mails in my intern class and seeing how the Lord is blessing our crew with jobs, entering seminary, marriages, and a call to a third year of the internship.

37. On that note, especially thankful for my crew of third year RUF interns. There's going to be a good number of us, and I'm really excited about serving with them for another year.

38. This sweet kid:

Don't worry — she's not mine.

39. The Gospel Coalition, specifically, its wonderful website with blogs, resources, and much more.

40. Having my parents and sister in town for a weekend, getting to hang out, eat, and explore.

41. Finding another ticket to The Color Run 5K so that Jen can join us.

42. The promise of 80 degree weather this week.

43. Sandals/flipflops — and being able to wear them again!