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!

November/December 2010: The illustrated edition

I apologize for the delay/lack of blog posts. As my co-intern reminded me last week, "You haven't blogged since November!" Whoops — and thanks for reminding me, Rob. :)

One of the many new things for me this year was an RUF parents' brunch. Lots of RUFs do a parents' brunch to introduce parents to what RUF believes and why it exists on campus. It can also be a good time to help fundraise. We had a good turnout for our brunch this year, and had our area coordinator John Stone speak, as well as MTSU's campus minister Paul Boyd. One of our seniors shared about how RUF has impacted her life, and the intern crew also got up to do a Q & A with the parents.

John Stone, our area coordinator, speaking to parents.

I hosted a freshman/new student Christmas party at my one-bedroom apartment — and we had 28 people show up! We enjoyed snacks, did a White Elephant swap, and watched "Elf." It was really great to have so many people show up, and we were encouraged to have people inviting their friends.

Part of our freshman crew before the White Elephant swap.

White Elephant gifts!

A family from Trinity Pres graciously hosted RUF's annual Christmas party. We had a tacky Christmas sweater competition and a bake-off!

Intern Rob with three of our freshman guys 

Interns at the Christmas party in our tacky sweaters — sorry for the blurry picture!

Thank you again for your prayers and support throughout this semester. We are excited about what the Lord has in store for us this semester — please continue to pray for us!

October: The illustrated edition!

I realize it's definitely no longer October (it is actually COLD here!), but I thought I'd give a photographic representation of some of what MTSU RUF did last month!

Over our fall break, we went to St. Louis for a missions trip. Here's the illustrated edition of that story. :)

On Friday, we loaded up a 12-passenger van, and there were 12 of us. We got close!

We met with New City Fellowship (PCA) and played with kids (mainly children of African refugees) in a downtown neighborhood all day Saturday!

On Saturday night, we went out for dinner and walked around. These are all the girls on the trip!

Sunday after church, we visited the arch and the St. Louis Zoo! Taylor & I were freaked out by this Black Mamba.

On Monday, we visited with Covenant Theological Seminary, and attended two classes. Here, Rob and I were getting ready to listen to Jerram Barrs! (And yes, he was awesome.)

We also brought back RWF this year — that stands for RUF Wrestling Federation! We had a guys bracket and girls bracket. Participants had to enter with a wrestler name (some examples: "The Lumberjack," "Rumble Bee," "Fashionably Undead," "Dora the Explorer," and "The Italian") and a costume to go with the name. Participants were assigned to a bracket and "wrestled" each other — first, they did Indian leg wrestling, then they proceeded to the arm wrestling table. In the event of a tie (if one student won the Indian leg wrestling, but the other won the arm wrestling), the final event was thumb wrestling. Sounds crazy, but the event was a hit!

Our campus minister Paul was the referee!

Jerrica and Marie preparing to arm wrestle.

Julian and Aaron thumb wrestling for the guys championship!

Rob with our winners! (We had a girls champ, guys champ, and costume/dance off champ.) One of our students made these great wrestling championship belts!

And there you have it — a good part of our October in photos!