Random thoughts on Kennesaw

Several of you have asked what I like about Kennesaw, how it's different, what's surprised me, etc. Here's my short list of things I've discovered/done/though in my first 40 or so days here:

1. I'm slowly making my way around the touristy-stuff in Atlanta. I already knew I loved big cities, but I really do like the Atlanta area. Last weekend, Kate (my roommate) had a friend in town, so I joined them in Atlanta at the World of Coke. It was fun to learn the history of Coke, see all the artworks and marketing campaigns, taste Coke products from around the world, etc. For dinner, we hit up Gladys Knight's Chicken & Waffles restaurant. Delicious.

Artwork from the World of Coke

2. Parking decks are one of the best inventions/necessities for a college campus. Kennesaw has four of them. Honestly, I have no idea why State and MTSU don't have them (besides the whole money thing, and no one wants to donate a million dollars to get their name on a parking garage). If I'm ever wealthy, I'm donating money to State for a parking garage. Sorry they're not pretty, but they're so useful!

3. Having said that about parking decks, I have absolutely no reason to complain about parking at any other school ever again. Parking at Kennesaw is INSANE. I've been very fortunate to be able to park in visitor parking (and while it's a hike, I'm guaranteed a spot). Students and faculty members = not so much. I've never seen such a crazy parking situation. Seriously, I am never complaining about university parking again.

4. I have officially tried Zumba class once (and going again this evening), and like I anticipated, I am no pro. I was honestly a little self-concious about going, but it was a good workout, and a lot of fun — a great chance to laugh and burn calories with lots of girls! My lack of dance skills is just sad, though ... if I have daughters, they are ALL doing dance classes for a VERY long time so they don't inherit their mother's abysmal dance moves. Clearly, three or four years of ballet wasn't enough for me.

5. Kennesaw is a big-time commuter school. Big time — 85% of students commute (this means they don't live on campus). While some "commute" from the apartment complex a mile away, others commute from over an hour away. Crazy. This makes community and getting our group together a challenge.

6. Campus is dead here on Fridays. Most students don't have Friday classes, but if they do have one, it's usually because they registered late or got stuck with a late orientation. I'm kind of jealous that most of the freshmen I know don't have Friday classes. I always had a Friday class — except for first semester of senior year.

7. Kennesaw offers Saturday classes. And yes, some of the students I know have to take Saturday classes because it's all that was open. Sad day.

8. There is a Waffle House that's practically on campus. If that isn't genius, I don't know what is. There's also a Wendy's across the street, and a Subway, Jimmy John's, and Mellow Mushroom within comfortable walking distance. There's a ton of places within a mile or so of campus — which makes getting off campus for a one-on-one very easy (who doesn't love escaping the cafeteria for lunch?).

Our Waffle House looks a lot like this one. Thanks, Google.

9. Kennesaw's "cafeteria" is like a food court. You swipe your card (they only take KSU IDs), and that gets you whatever food you want while you're inside. There's no take-out, and once you leave, you have to swipe to get back inside. I've been impressed with their gluten and dairy-free ice cream, as well as several other gluten-free products. You can even request gluten-free pizza at the Italian place. It's good to see a university working on special food needs and allergies — way to go, Kennesaw.

10. Student groups are allowed to chalk around campus. Chalking was considered "vandalism" at Mississippi State (seriously), and it wasn't allowed at MTSU. I still slow down to read almost everything chalked around the sidewalks at Kennesaw — I'm not used to seeing it.

11. Georgia has lots of divided highways — they're everywhere. This makes the "Georgia u-turn" (as my roommate calls it) an everyday occurrence.

12. Traffic here is .... interesting. Last year, I lived less than a mile from campus, so it took me maybe five minutes from my doorstep to parking on campus. In Kennesaw, I'm 5.2 miles from campus. On a good day, it takes me 15 minutes to get to campus and park. On a bad day, it takes 45 minutes — seriously. I learned this the hard way my first week ... thankfully, my campus minister was very gracious about me being late!

13. I'm slowly learning more about the the Braves. I went to my first Braves game last month, and really liked it. Hopefully they can pull it together in these last few games...

View from my first Braves game — that's Chipper on the board.

14. Kate and I live right by a Walmart. I've loved being able to walk to get my groceries. (Really, I do.) We'll see how long I can keep that up, especially once it gets cold. It's also weird to walk in to Walmart (or another grocery store) and see a whole wine aisle. After living in Tennessee my whole life and doing college in Mississippi, I'm not used to that (grocery stores can't stock wine in TN and MS).

15. We also live right by a Starbucks. Thankfully, I don't have a severe caffeine addiction (otherwise known as RUF intern syndrome, since half of job involves drinking coffee and the other half involves staying out late with students...kidding...but it is part of the job!). If I did have a caffeine addiction, living within 100 yards of Starbucks could be a major problem. None of the baristas know my name (yet), so that's a good sign, right?

16. There is a lot to do around here, and they have almost everything within 20 minutes of driving...however, I have found that there's no Pei Wei or Backyard Burger close. (I just started thinking about restaurants and fast food places that I hadn't seen yet, then Googled them. I found everything except those two.)

17. Recycling here is so easy, and I love that. Our apartment complex does recycling (and we live very close to the bins, so yay for convenience), and campus has bins in every major area. I grew up assuming that it was easy and convenient to recycle everywhere — then I moved to Mississippi State (and then Murfreesboro) and discovered otherwise.

It's easy being green!

18. Everyone here pretty much cheers for Georgia (Bulldogs) or Georgia Tech (Yellow Jackets). (Kennesaw doesn't have a football team, but they're getting one in 2014.) The rivalry is similar to Ole Miss/Mississippi State. Several weeks ago, I asked the students which team I needed to cheer for, and I listened to their arguments. Normally I cheer for the SEC, but I'm a little uncomfortable cheering for both sets of SEC Bulldogs...so come November 26 (when they play Georgia), I'm cheering for Tech!

19. I really, really like it here. And you should come visit!

"How do we love them?"

This is a question I've found myself discussing with several students over the past two weeks. Last week, the question came up twice in two separate one on ones with girls, both of whom were asking the following:
"How do I love the gay people that I work with?"
"How can we be friends when we don't believe the same things?"
"I know I'm supposed to love them, but I have such a hard time knowing how to show them love without thinking that I'm disowning what the Bible says about this."
"How do I convince them that we can be friends, but I can't agree with their lifestyle?"
"How do we love them?"

Hard stuff, right? I definitely don't have all the answers, but the Lord has graciously allowed me to enter into good dialogue with these girls who are thinking about tough issues.

Today, I entered into that conversation again today, but from a slightly different angle. For those of you who haven't been on a public university campus in a while, it's very common for universities (especially the larger ones) to have "crazy preachers" or "screaming preachers" come to campus for a day (or a week). They hold large signs, usually yell in a loud voice, and stir up lots of controversy on campus.

Regardless of your personal views on evangelism and what is or isn't effective, most of the time, these preachers aren't preaching the true gospel. They'll point at girls around campus and yell out, "Whore! You wear shorts!" (Seriously, I'm not making this up! I got called out by one during my sophomore year at Mississippi State — yes, I was wearing shorts and an RUF t-shirt.) Needless to say, that's not particularly effective, and usually angers the crowd. Most universities have the preachers guarded by a policeman or two, and they have to stand behind a line of police tape so that students can't touch or hit them.

(For those of you protesting and wondering how this is legal, just remember — free speech!)

Anyway, today the screaming preachers are here at Kennesaw. I took a few photos to show the crowd and some of the signs. Several students made opposing signs and stood silently in the crowd, or walked around. Others waved their Bibles and entered into dialogue with these men, who argue that they haven't sinned. The photos don't show this well, but there were about 100 students crowded around the preachers this afternoon:

These are the signs from the preachers.

The yellow and green signs are from Kennesaw students.

Today, I found myself dialoguing with Christian students:

"They make us look bad. This isn't the true gospel."

"Why do they come and yell and scream? Don't they know it isn't effective?"

"They're wrong, but how do we love them and show them Jesus anyway? And how do we show this crowd that we love them?"

Whew. Tough stuff, but good conversations. As much as I dislike the screaming preachers, I have to be thankful for the opportunities they create — not just for students to ask questions, but for me to consider how I love others. Do I really believe Jesus is big enough and great enough for everyone? Do I really believe that because He's shown such love and compassion to me, I'm to show that to others? What does that look like?

Welcome to Georgia!

So … I now live and work in Kennesaw, Georgia!

Most of you already knew this via my mailed newsletter, but I figured it was time to blog about it! (If you didn’t get a newsletter, please send me your address and I’ll add you to my mailing list.)

Effective two weeks ago, I became the RUF intern at Kennesaw State University (close to Atlanta). I transferred from Middle Tennessee State University and will finish the second year of my internship here at Kennesaw. I was approached about the need for a female intern at KSU and offered a transfer. After praying about it, I really felt like the Lord was calling me to KSU.

My last year at MTSU was challenging, but I learned so much about the Lord and His faithfulness. I’m thankful for how He has worked in my heart over the past year, and I’m incredibly grateful for how He used my family and friends to support me.

MTSU’s RUF is healthy and is continuing this year — that wasn’t why I transferred. I’m thankful for Paul and his family, the MTSU students, and the church back in Murfreesboro. I’m thankful for the time I spent with them — they have taught me much!

As of today, I’ve been in Kennesaw for two whole weeks! I’m so excited to be here. It has been a whirlwind of change and new things: new place, new city, new university, new students, new church, new CM (campus minister) and his family, new roommate, new apartment, new traffic; EVERYTHING is new! At times, I’ve found myself a bit overwhelmed by simply not knowing anything, but I’m learning, and the Lord is teaching me to rely on Him instead of the familiar and the comfortable.

I’m incredibly thankful for Chris and Jen (the KSU campus minister and his wife). They have taken me in and have been so kind and welcoming. Their lives have been pretty crazy this month, as they just had their first baby on August 3, and unexpectedly got an intern that same week! Sweet Phoebe is doing great, but do pray for the Bowens as they adjust to life with a little one.

In the past two weeks, Chris and I have been on campus getting to know students and getting the word out about RUF. Chris has led me around campus and has been so very patient with me as I try to take in everything. We spent Wednesday and Thursday of last week passing out freezer pops and handing out candy and RUF cups, as well as flyers about RUF. We met a lot of students, and I was really encouraged by how many of them stopped by again for our cookout on Monday. I’ve spent this week meeting with girls on campus, and am excited to be meeting girls who are active in RUF as well as girls who are looking to join the RUF community. Please be praying for diligence and perseverance as I work on campus, especially with the semester just now beginning. Pray that I’ll be bold with the gospel, and that I’ll be open and honest with students.

Tonight, we’ve got a group headed to watch the Kennesaw Lady Owls soccer team take on College of Charleston! (Kennesaw doesn’t have a football team — yet. Supposedly they’re getting one in 2014.) Our first large group will be this coming Tuesday, so please pray that the Lord will bring students, and that He will use Chris to preach His Word diligently. Our small groups will be starting up shortly, so pray that the Lord will raise up students to come, as well as bless those who will be teaching.

If you’re interested in looking up Kennesaw, you can check out our RUF site here. Again, thanks for all your prayers and support — stay tuned for updates (with more photos, once I get my Internet at the apartment working!). 

Attended my first Braves game with 23 students last Friday! 

Summer conference

One of the great perks of my job is RUF summer conference. Two weeks at the beach in May with over 1,500 college students, 40+ seminar opportunities, great main speakers every evening, fellowship with my fellow intern class (as well as the older interns and the incoming interns) — and did I mention two weeks at the beach? ;)

Some of the female interns out to dinner — representing 11 different RUFs in 7 states!

I've spent many weeks at good ol' Laguna Beach Christian Retreat Center. I started attending RYM (the youth version of RUF summer conference) back in seventh grade, and I only missed it once through my senior year of high school! I went two years in college with Mississippi State as well. This year, I loved being a part of the "behind the scenes" crew running summer conference. What did this mean? It meant sometimes instead of attending a seminar, I was locking (or unlocking doors) all over campus, figuring out how to get the air conditioner fixed in a room (don't worry — they didn't have me fixing the air conditioning!), or patrolling the campus after lights out (armed with a huge flashlight, cellphone, walk-talkie, and always with an intern partner!).


It was a pleasure to serve alongside many interns, the RUF Atlanta staff, and many campus ministers. I never realized how much time went into planning the conference and keeping it running. I'm so thankful for the number of people who have faithfully run and planned these conferences for so many years!


I was so encouraged by the fellowship, seminars, and large groups this summer. I got to attend most large group nights (taught by Rev. Joe Novenson and Rev. Keith Berger the first week, and Rev. Richie Sessions the second week), and heard some great talks on sanctification. Throughout the two weeks, I attended seminars on community/fellowship, prayer, justification/justifying one's existence, anger, and a girls issues seminar. I'm so thankful for the Lord's wisdom and the preaching of the Word throughout those two weeks!

Week one with Courtney and Julian (both MTSU students)

Week two with Lindsey (headed to Liberty as an intern!), Jerrica, & Kaycee (all MTSU grads)

Seriously, if you (or your children) haven't been to summer conference, you have to go next year! Check out this year's website here, or the site for RYM (junior high and high school) here.

A long overdue update

Just thought about my blog last week, and knew I was due for an update, but wow, it's been February since I last posted something? Oops.

The spring semester at MTSU was really busy — much busier than I anticipated. We were so blessed to have a solid group of freshmen (mainly boys!), and it was such a joy to watch them grow to know and love one another. By the end of the semester, they were hanging out all the time — grabbing wings or BBQ, eating lunch together in the cafeteria, going to Nashville for Predators games, and coming to Bible study. I know all of this is the Lord, and I'm so thankful for how He has brought them together. It was wonderful to be in freshman Bible study with many of them this semester and to hear them asking questions. We went through Tim Keller's "The Reason for God," and they really seemed to enjoy it and get a lot out of it.

Paul preached through Daniel this semester at large group, and we moved our large group time up an hour and a half (from 8:30 to 7 p.m.) — big difference! It was great to have more time to hang out afterwards, and we look forward to doing it again this semester.

We took a great crew to winter conference in February at Fall Creek Falls. Over 500 students from about 15 schools came, and it was a great time of teaching and community. We enjoyed hiking, great seminars and music, and lots of time with each other!

Our group at Fall Creek Falls

Our spring break missions trip was to New York City. We took 12 students (along with the staff of 3), and joined with Wake Forest's RUF. The trip was an incredible blessing. We spent our mornings meeting with leaders from around the city, and got to attend Redeemer Presbyterian (aka Tim Keller's church) as well as City Campus (New York's RUF), where Michael Keller is the campus minister. I loved seeing how RUF works in New York, and loved seeing its diversity. During the afternoons, we worked with a church in an after school tutoring program. We loved being with the kids, and hated to leave at the end of the week! Additionally, we had free time at night, and that meant lots of exploring one of my favorite cities — Rockefeller Plaza, Times Square, Broadway, and food ... lots of food!

Ashley, Aubra, & Matt at Sylvia's for lunch in Harlem before tutoring

Got to revisit Rockefeller Plaza — first time I've been back since 2008!

Loved taking students to Rockefeller Center during a free night!

Right after New York, I drove home for the wedding of one of my dearest friends — I've known Rebekah Davis since we were little through Riveroaks. She moved away in sixth grade, and although we saw each other some in high school, we really got to know each other when we attended Mississippi State together. She married John (met through RUF at State!) at Riveroaks, and I was glad to be part of their wedding! I got to see a lot of friends who I haven't seen in a while, including my sweet roommates:

Aubra, Amy, Rebekah G, and Annalissa at the reception. Love y'all!

John & Rebekah left to ringing cowbells. Hail State!

Some of y'all know I'm a country music fan (as one of the freshman guys commented, "Your car radio is ALWAYS on a country station!"). Stephen and I got to go hear Brad Paisley (and Darius Rucker) in Nashville in February, and it was SO fun! I highly recommend going to see him live. :) 

Waiting for Brad Paisley to start!

In March, I had the privilege of speaking at the Life Choices banquet. I am so thankful for any opportunity to share my testimony, and am SO thankful for the ministry of Life Choices. God was gracious enough to raise $190,000 that night!

Hannah and Gloria were so sweet to come!

That's pretty much the spring semester — got lots to report on for the summer (I know, summer technically just started, but "summer" to me means anything after school ends), so that will be another blog post. Again, thank you for your prayers and support of RUF at MTSU!

One year ago

The 2008-2009 Reflector editorial board. Adam is on the left 

(in maroon and white) sitting on the angel's arm.

It's getting late, and yet I can't sleep. Exactly one year ago today, I was doing almost the exact same thing — unable to sleep and up late, thinking about one person: my friend Adam Kazery.

Exactly one year ago today, I found out that I — no, the world — had lost Adam. I lost much more than a coworker that day — I lost a dear friend who I knew I could count on for anything.

Though it's been a year since he's been gone, not a day goes by that I don't think about him. Last year as I told everyone at work that he was gone, I vividly remembering looking into the teary eyes of my dear friends, thinking, "This is going to change our lives forever." I've lost people in my life before, but Adam was so unexpected. There are still days when I pick up my phone to text him or think about posting a link to his Facebook wall — it's like my brain still hasn't completely realized that he's not here anymore. I'm not kidding when I say that I still think about him every single day — whether it's an Apple product announcement, a photo of a cat doing something stupid, the new Radiohead album, someone's Facebook status written in binary code, a black Nissan truck — not a single day has gone by where I haven't thought about him. I still expect to see him grinning every time I pass a black Nissan truck. I still expect to get random, hilarious text messages from him. I still expect him to know my order at Zaxby's. (My new friends here haven't caught on that I get the exact same thing every time!) Just last week, I was showered with wonderful Valentine's Day gifts, yet all I could think about was wanting one of Adam's silly yellow Post-It note "valentines," which he stuck to the computer monitors at work with a funny message, signed, "Love, Adam."

To say I miss him would be an understatement:
- For a while when I moved to Murfreesboro, I tried to avoid driving down a certain road to avoid the Nissan dealership — which always has a row of shiny black trucks parked right out front for everyone to see. I couldn't stand looking at those black trucks at the stoplight — it reminded me of all the times Adam took me home after a long night at the office. I remember him being appalled that I would walk 15 minutes to apartment late at night; so especially when it was cold, I'd wait until he finished at the office and gladly climb into that truck. We'd always have good conversations during that five minute drive home, whether it was about music, office politics, or what we could do better at work. Adam didn't give rides to just me — he willingly did it for anyone who didn't drive to campus. He was quick to give, and quick to look for ways to help.
- On his last production night before his death, he volunteered to go get Abner's for everyone. We knew it was going to be a late night, and by the time we realized we were all hungry, everything in the student union was closed (or we were sick of it). Adam quickly announced he would drive to Abner's, and we could pay him back later. (The Monday that he appeared "missing," I actually carried around $6 all day in my pocket for him.) Later that night, Adam danced around the newsroom and kept us laughing with his new "fashionable" plastic ring (he got it off a cupcake — read the full story here on April's blog). That night was one of the longest ones of the semester, yet thanks to Adam and Bob's antics all night, it wasn't miserable.
- I heard about the new Radiohead (one of Adam's favorites) album last week, and I got teary — I wouldn't get to see Adam all excited about it. I still haven't even listened to the album yet.
- The littlest things make me miss him. I'd be here for hours if I kept going ...

Last year, Kyle and I were debating over who should get the editor of the year award. I told him it belonged to Adam because of all his hard work, dedication, and responsibility. Adam was never late, never missed a meeting, and always finished his work — then stuck around to help everyone else. It was never in his job description to read over all the pages, yet he did it willingly — and he caught so many mistakes! There is no telling how many times Adam saved us from some really embarrassing typos and misprints. A few weeks after Adam's death, Kyle announced that he and our adviser had decided to rename the award to the Adam C. Kazery Editor of the Year award. I was so honored to receive the award last year, and it was a blessing to have Adam's family present at our banquet. April (who's editor this year) reminded me that five of the editors this year really didn't know Adam — and what a shame. How do you even begin to explain someone like Adam?

So what has a year without Adam taught me? I've learned (and not just known in my head) that life is hard and painful, and we don't always get answers. After a year, I have finally come to terms with the fact that God may not reveal to me why Adam was taken away — and after a year, I'm finally beginning to accept that. God doesn't have to tell me why it happened, and realizing that has slowly begun to give me peace. I've been reminded this year (and not just through Adam) that trusting that all that God does is right and good brings immeasurable peace and joy.

This year has also taught me how blessed I am with family and friends. One of my resolutions this year was to tell the people in my life how much they mean to me. I felt like Adam knew how much me meant to me, but I never really said it enough. I regret that, and I don't want to have that same regret with others.

So Adam, know that I miss you terribly, and I'll still be thinking of you daily. I miss you riding the Bully bike through the office to make us laugh. I miss you making sure we had good music on our computers to keep us smiling throughout the long days and nights. I miss your random text messages filled with those crazy emoticons. I miss talking about Apple products with you. I miss seeing your face and your silly grin when you were up to something mischievous. I miss your random photos. I miss your yellow Post-It note messages. I miss your crazy computer antics — like turning your entire page into Russian just to make me laugh after a long afternoon. I miss you spontaneously yelling out hilarious photo cutlines and headlines. I miss your laughter as you leaned too far back in that treacherous chair of yours. I miss you friend — and I'm not going to forget you.

Note: I blogged about Adam back in June — that post can be found here. April blogged about him as well back in May (click here for that read), and she beat me to blogging about him today right here. You can view Adam's website, as well as some of his photography, at www.adamkazery.com.

Is this normal?

"Is this normal?"

That's the question I've asked myself a lot quite recently — and surprisingly, it's been about the weather here in Murfreesboro. I guess I've been spoiled living in Mississippi for the past four years. I've been unpleasantly shocked at just how cold it's been, as well as how many times it has snowed or iced over here! In Mississippi, if I woke up to a light dusting of snow (because that's pretty much all Starkville ever gets), it was great — school was canceled, even if work wasn't. Here — no sir. Life goes on, which means school goes on, which means I have to get out of my toasty apartment and go walk on campus.

Most of you are probably laughing at me because Tennessee's cold weather is nothing compared to anywhere up north...and yes, I know that...but still, it's been an adjustment this year!

Three of the nice things about the cold weather here: snowball fights, snowmen, and sledding. Here's some photographic evidence of what the RUF crew has been up to this semester:

Charging up the hill for a snowball fight!

Rob & I with our snowman — Rob's from Florida, so it was his first snowman!

Sledding by Fraternity Row — by the way, that's my new roommate — huge answer to prayer!

More updates (including an e-mail update) to come soon — just wanted to post a few pictures!