Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Yes, I'd Like a Blog Entry, Hold the Metaphysics, Please.

This week, in Elizabeth-world, we're going to stay focused on Things I've Done and not so much on Things I've Thought, which I'm aware, can get somewhat boring.

Things I've Done, A List

1) On Sunday, I went to help a friend paint a house. It was a lot of fun but the downside? I went on Sunday, and I still have paint on my arm. Any ideas how to get it off? I've taken four showers since then. It's starting to look like a permanent feature of my arm.

2) On Friday, I took an Old Testament test. (Because I'm a nerd,) I'm going to gush a bit and you can ignore me if you want. There is nothing better than a teacher who knows what he's talking about, and who can make his subject interesting for his students. OT history is taught by Dr. Hooks, and he is an awesome teacher. He knows everything (slight exaggeration, but only slight) and he makes his (admittedly somewhat dry) subject meaningful to your everyday life.. I look forward to his class every day, and good news for you guys! OT history is a required course for freshmen here at ACC.

3) A friend and I stayed up really late discussing the pros and cons of younger marriage from a Christian perspective. It's really interesting, and you should go check it out. The discussion was really good, but we stayed up WAY later than either of us intended, and I'm still trying to catch up on my sleep.

4) A group of us went to Oz (the local pizza place) for trivia night. This was our second night, and I've got a vendetta. There's this other team, and they call themselves the "Special Ones" (I know, right?) and... they win. Every night, they win, and eventually WE will beat them. Trivia is kind of my thing.

5) I'm still trying to come up with an equilibrium between studying and socializing. I'm a freshman, remember, and I've never LIVED with this many people before. In high school, you're with everyone from 8:00 to 3:00 and then you go home and you have to make an effort to see them again. Sometimes you make that effort, but most of the time you're just at home by yourself... doing homework. At college, it's different. You have to make a concerted effort to be by yourself, doing homework, and sometimes it's like a game of Where's Elizabeth? and all of your friends are determined to find you and distract you. In the cafeteria, people stop and talk. In the dorm, people knock on your door. In McKinney's there are always people passing through on their way to work out. I've had a bit of luck with the library. They have these individual desks and I've claimed one upstairs in the.... Wait. Clever. You almost got me. Tell, and have my last quiet spot taken away from me? I think not. All joking aside though, it's a challenge to get a good balance between socializing (which is FUN) and studying (which is NECESSARY and ALSO fun)

Okay, new list.

Things I Have Not Done, A List

1) My paper for critical reading and writing that's due tomorrow after lunch. I'd better get on that.

OH! But before I go, I'm really jealous of Jamie-Grace who's got this awesome idea for a video of the blog post, and I'm going to blatantly copy her. This is the video of the blog post. You should go watch it. He sings well. And he's pretty cute. And BRITISH! (No, it's not Robert Pattinson)

Monday, September 28, 2009

Did I Mention Fun?

Warning: This post consists of many parenthesis and apostrophes and may be confusing to one expecting perfect grammar. *smiles*

When I tell people, "I'm a motivational speaker; mostly to young people" they're usually pretty thrown off, as I am only 17. However I know that even at 17, I may or may not ("may or may not" once again meaning "totally") have a lil' somethin'somethin' to say (Because of God, of course :) ).

One thing that I love to put emphasis on, specifically when speaking to young girls, is their - our - worth. It's so important for young, and older, girls to know their worth!! We somehow got to this topic and briefly talked about this in my d-group (small discipleship groups on campus) today... it's. so. important and is one of those topics that is really close to my heart.


I say all this to defend my choice of a good movie. (PS - this is partially sarcasm.)

Usually when people say, "What's your favorite movie?" everybody says a random romantic comedy or an intense action/drama film. Me? Princess Diaries 2! And apparently Storey and Mandy think the same. They're both students @ ACC and I'm hanging with them watching this incredibly cheesy yet amazing Disney movie. How can one resist?? (Answer: one can't.)


I guess movie watching is just one of those things that many people like hence the every-other-Wednesday movie night we have here on campus. Last movie night we watched "Nacho Libre" starring Jack Black - AMAZING! Everytime I see this movie I continue to quote it for days after...
I am also elated for this coming Wednesday: "The Brave Little Toaster"! I honestly don't remember much of this movie, except that 'Blankie' was my favorite character, so I cannot wait to grab some blankets, snacks and reminisce with everybody, ha. :)


In other news, I am taking a Developmental Psychology class and part of the course requires each student to go to a class with the Georgia Pre-K program for 1 hour a week for 10 weeks. Though we're in different Pre-K classrooms, my Dev Psych classmate Alicia and I go on Mondays and today was our 3rd week. It's crazy because I have noticed how the kids are starting to really open up to me and ask questions, tell me stories and I am starting to see how they're growing up in just 3 weeks.

I have approximately nine gajillion cousins and I teach the young kids at my church so I'm used to being around the little munchkins, but this is the first time where I know that I am looking for different ways different kids develop, you know? As I mentioned before, I'm a children's ministry major and I think this class will be a great asset to my degree and such.

Well, the climax of the movie is approaching and I can't miss it! ;) Crazy world you read this - thanks though. Come to ACC, ok? You can watch Princess Diaries 2 with us.

Peace,
Jamie-Grace

video you should watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtX8nswnUKU

P.S. All the Princess Diaries fans out there! Love the quote, "Make all the boy moose go 'WAHHH!'"

Friday, September 25, 2009

Friday At Last!

Wow, it's been a really long week. I had three tests and a paper due this week, and of course I waited until the last minute for everything. We had our first D-group (discipleship group) this Monday. Each student is assigned to a D- group led by a teacher or faculty member. Freshmen are in Peer groups that are lead by a Campus Life Minister (CLM), which is kind of like an RA. My D-group leader, Mrs. Taylor, always bakes something for us. This week she made her apple squares which are my favorite.
But the week is over and it's Friday! One of my roommates from last semester is coming to stay with us for the weekend. I'm excited to see her. She wants to go to the Dwarf House tonight, so I'm looking forward to a chicken biscuit. There is a volleyball game tonight at 6pm, so I'll most likely be going to that. The boys have a soccer game at Lagrange today. There is a Fan Van taking any students who want to go to the game. I'd love to go, but I am seriously tired and feel like taking a nap. I'm really excited about tomorrow because I'm going to the GA game. I've never been to a college football game and I can't wait. So I guess I need to go and find some red and black to wear tomorrow!

ACC... WOW!


Hey all-

Sorry for not writing in awhile.....

I must first start off by saying..I'm terribly excited about Wednesday Sept. 30th! We are watching 'The Brave Little Toaster' for movie night! I love that movie and it's going to be awesome up on the projector! :D I cannot wait!

School is so crazy right now! LESSON PLANS LESSON PLANS LESSON PLANS, that's what my life consists of right now! I enjoy teaching and being around children as much as I can but this whole lesson plan writing thing is kicking my butt, so to speak! Wow... crazy fun! ;) Soccer is going well! We have picked up a few players and we are up to 15 from 7 at the beginning of the season! I must say we are doing much better and I thank God everyday for allowing us to do some much recruiting once school started because being without soccer for a whole year would most definitely be really hard on me! Soccer is my way of "de-stressing"! All my worries go away on a soccer field and I am totally relaxed after a game. Well on the other hand.. I'm not relaxed is the best word, more so dead tired would be a better term! lol But I do love it and I hope and pray we get an awesome recruiting class for the '10 season! (so if anyone is interested, please feel free to contact me, lol)

The sorority is doing good! We have a lot of girls in our new recruitment class this year! These girls are so on fire for our sorority and for God. They are definitely going to make our sorority an even better place to be once they cross over! I love all these girls so much and they are just starting out! I can't even explain to you guys how excited and blessed I feel to have these girls in my life, not just the recruits but all my sisters as well. I am an only child and I didn't grow up with sisters I could confide in or argue with! I love each and every one of these girls dearly and I wouldn't trade not one of them for anything!

Also my birthday is tomorrow and it's going to be great minus the homework and the awesome lesson plan writing I have to do! ;)

Well have a super day, night, weekend, week or whatever!! :D

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Of VeggieTales, True Love Waits, and Old Testament Survey

As part of an Atlanta Christian College-wide program, I've been reading The Unlikely Disciple, by Kevin Roose. Basically, Roose is a freshman at Brown University (really prestigious, really liberal arts school) who transfers to Liberty University (Baptist college started by Jerry Falwell) basically to see if we as Christians are as weird as everyone thinks we are. This book had the potential to be really derogatory, but Roose actually comes very close to being respectful, fair, and unbiased, which is almost impossible when discussing religion (he gets mad props for that achievement of Herculean proportions).

What I wanted to discuss in this blog post was how hard it was to put myself into his mindset. At the beginning of the book, he's very antagonistic towards evangelical Christians, and the Christian sub-culture is foreign to him (and we do have a sub-culture; don't let anyone tell you otherwise). Things I have taken for granted, like, "Duh, I have an Old Testament Survey class" or "What? Co-ed dorms?" are completely out of his realm of experience. Throughout the course of the book, he finds himself in proximity with these Christian cultural norms like VeggieTales, going to chapel twice a week, having a True Love Waits ring, going to Bible studies, taking communion, being baptized, the I Kissed Dating Good-bye scene and he is as lost as you or I would be if we were plunked down in the middle of the Ukraine.

As a high school student, you have a choice of where you want to attend college. I had this choice, and I chose to attend a Christian college. My friend went to West Georgia University (a completely secular school), and another friend went to Shorter College (which has a Christian background, but is not, strictly speaking, a Christian school. I, obviously chose to come to ACC (a Christian school, with Christian rules).

Not every student at ACC is a practicing Christian, but every student came with the knowledge that they would have to live by Christian rules. As a Christian, I don't find these rules (rules other people find strict) to be suffocating, but liberating, as I am part of a group who has chosen to live by these guidelines. There is strength in numbers, and I have specifically chosen to live with others who believe like I do. I may have done this because I wouldn't be able to handle the pressures of a secular college. But the fact remains: I am growing in my faith because I have made a commitment to living in a Christian community.

Oh, and by the way? The Unlikely Disciple is an amazing book, whether you read it from a Christian perspective or a secular perspective. It's really given me a new insight into how my world looks to someone who isn't a Christian. I think it's necessary to look at our way of life from a non-Christian perspective in order to understand where they're coming from as well as where we come from. Basically, you should read it. You'll like it.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Post = #1. That would be me.

Listening to: I'm Not Who I Was - Brandon Heath

What's up? I'm Jamie-Grace. I'm a sophomore @ Atlanta Christian College; your future school, right? ;) To whomever is reading this, I hope you will find my stories about life @ ACC either relevant to your own life or just exciting to read. Having said that, I hope I, in general, can relate to you guys and to see how that will play out, I'm guessing I should tell you about myself.I may or may not have started college 2 years early. (PS 'may or may not' means 'totally'.) I was homeschool from Kindergarten until graduation and was able to work at my own pace and maintain being 2 years ahead which I started at the age of 3 in Kindergarten. I was used to homeschool groups, sports + church activities and being around people older than me so the transition to college wasn't too hard aside from the typical adjustments most freshmen face at any school. Or for that matter, the typical adjustments that anyone will face in a new environment.

I enrolled in ACC in the Fall of 2008 (class of '08 represent!) as a Counseling major. I am a musician and filmmaker and wanted to focus on those things so after one semester I transferred to a school in Tennessee where I could focus more on music and communications. To make a long (very long) story short, I got involved with a children's ministry while in TN and found that I could be a filmmaker, a musician - but God wanted me to work with young people. That's something I've known all along, but I didn't truly realize that until about June of 2009. So I came back! :)

As of 2009, ACC has entirely new department for Child & Youth Development and my major is in this department: Children's Ministry. It is SO a God thing how everything worked out. I wish I could elaborate and tell you every little aspect, but we have chapel in a little bit and I don't think I have time to. ;)

Another fact about me, that you will probably never guess, is that I have Tourette Syndrome. TS is a neurobiological (aka brain, ha!) condition causing uncontrollable movements and sounds called tics. I have had TS for nearly 10 years so the head jerks, arm twitches and "ah" noises that cause me to stutter are completely normal for my family and friends. When I was younger, before I knew the cause of the tics, I would hold them in while in public and this has become a not so great habit of mine as the tics I mentioned before (and many other ones) "catch-up" with me later.

I say all of this not for pity or sympathy, but to emphasize on the community at ACC. I know that God is everywhere, but I can really feel a strong Christian community here especially when it comes to my "disability." (Note the quotations.) Yes, I receive special assistance for some aspects of academics and that is awesome. Yes, the smaller class sizes for serious help me out with focusing and understanding what the professors say. But the community here...


I remember freshman year (I talk like I'm a senior, ha) one of the student leaders made sure I knew that if my tics were bad and I needed to 'let them out' her room was an open door. Way important to me! I was even hanging with some new students the other day, and they asked me about my Tourette (which I am so cool with). The students told me they were talking about Tourette to some sophomores and they told them I had Tourette and was cool about opening up about it. Having TS sometimes means the butt of most jokes, but in this case it was an opportunity for me to share who I really was because some of my friends took the initiative to share what TS really is.

It's the simple things, that could possibly happen anywhere, that reassure me that ACC is where I belong. Though I love it here, I know that God had me transfer to understand what I was really looking for. If I never left, I may not have been involved with the Christian kid's tour and tv show that I am now. So leaving, as odd as it is to say, was in a sense the right thing. But coming back was even more right. (Does that make sense?)

So in a nutshell, that's me. The dorky thumbs-up kid with the six-string in the picture above, and the 17 year old who is in awe that God for seriousness has His hand on her. That would be me.

Peace,
Jamie-Grace

You Should Know: If someone has MacBook and is in McKinney's (ACC coffee shop) at the same time as you? You will be expected to be in a photobooth picture. Or two. Or fourteen.

Video to Check Out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unW4GOJw4ro
do you remember?

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Hello, World!

So, for those of you who don't know me (yet), my name is Elizabeth, and I'm a new freshman at Atlanta Christian College, home of the ripping, roaring, mighty, fighting Chargers. What a Charger is, I'm not sure. As part of orientation activities, we did a scavenger hunt around campus, and we were required to take a picture of ourselves acting like "Chargers" in front of the gym. We pretended we were horses. We also won the scavenger hunt.

A little bit about me? I'm a Biblical studies major here at ACC, and I'm thinking about maybe a double major (because I'm a nerd). When I get older, I want to be a missionary, and I'm seriously considering Bible translation (because I'm a nerd). I like to read, write, insert pedantic words into blog posts to show off my large vocabulary, knit, read, talk and hang out with my friends, read, doodle, read, correct spoken grammar (I'm an official grammar Nazi), and read.

I know I'm coming into this thing a little late (as it is a grand total of four weeks into the school year) but I'm going to do my best to make up for lost time. You'll soon learn how much I like to talk, and you're sort of a captive audience. i want a cookie. This previous sentence, in its abject capitalization inaccuracy, was typed by my friend, Cody, who is also a freshman here. I don't want a cookie. I do, however, want to tell you about my freshman experience. Oh, look. A cookie. Yum. :)

I was pretty terrified at the prospects of college. I'm shy, and I don't always interact well with other students. Public school was purgatory, and I could tell you enough horror stories to fill up a Stephen King novel. That being said, college has more than passed my expectations. I'm making friends, getting involved, learning so much about fascinating things....

Time out. I'm going to give you a list of three things, and you need to pick two that go together. Panda, Monkey, Banana. If you picked panda and monkey, then you think more like a Westerner (like the USA or most European countries). If you picked monkey and banana (like me) you think more like a person from the east (Japan or China). If you picked panda and banana..... Well. Westerners see things in categories, like animals and fruit while Easterners see things in terms of relationships, like monkeys eat bananas. THIS is what I'm learning in my sociology class.... and you could, too. So fascinating.

Time in. College is cool, and I know my experiences here are in no way unique. I'm honestly glad God chose to send me here to ACC for school. I've really enjoyed college up to this point, and with this brief recap of the last four weeks, I promise the next time I blog, I'll tell you about something awesome that's happening in real time.

Until then, I remain your faithful blogger,
Elizabeth

Sunday Nights!

Sunday Nights was awesome this week. Maybe it was just me, but everyone seemed slightly more energetic and excited than usual, which is a good thing! For those of you that don’t know, Sunday Nights is a student-based worship service that happens on campus every—well, Sunday Night. This year I’m apart of the team that helps put it together every week. I’m working a lot with the music and helping to organize bands to lead worship. In past years, when I’ve led worship, playing at Sunday Nights was often the highlight of my past week, and a good way to help kickoff the upcoming week. Even when I wasn’t playing, Sunday Nights was always that something I could look forward to at the beginning of the week. For me, another cool thing about Sunday Nights was getting to see it kick off and then take off. Sunday Nights started my first semester here at ACC when I was a freshman back in 2006. It was something new, but it never got old for me! Little did I know that in my senior year, I’d get to witness and be apart of what Sunday Nights has become.
I think that’s what I really like about ACC…you get to see the start of all the great things God is doing around here. And even better, you get to be play a part in all of those great moments. It makes me wonder, as I prepare to graduate in May, what God has in store for the classes after me. Can’t wait to come back and visit and just being flat out amazed over and over again!
Well, I have about 60 pages to read of Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis before my Inklings class tomorrow! I’ll update again later!


-I created and worked on the PowerPoint...this is a picture of my computer showing what's on the overhead...I wish I had had my Nikon D60 and done a long exposure shot on this.

-Morgan

Monday, September 14, 2009

Has it really been a month?

Man...now that school is back in, it seems like time won't slow down! Back to being busy, having to write down what I have to do each week, and taking every opportunity to nap! Well, this weekend was a nice change of pace though. A bunch of us all went to IHOP Friday night, and went bowling On Saturday, and it was a blast. I didn't bowl myself (saving up money for a new car..almost there...) but I did sit with everyone, and we goofed off into the night.






















After a weekend like that, I'm ready to get this week started right. Just a few more weeks before it's time to prepare for midterms...yikes! Better start studying now...

Business As Usual

So last week was short but busy. I had my first test of the semester and my first paper due the same day. My test was in my Life of Christ class. Luckily the professor, Dr. Blackburn, had a study session the day before the test which really helped prepare me. The paper I had to write was for my Biblical Interpretation class. Part of the paper required us to read 1 Corinthians from three different Bible translations. I used the NIV, NLT, and ESV. It was actually pretty interesting because I've never really read anything except the NIV.
Besides school work there were a lot of other things going on around campus. The boys had a soccer game against Toccoa Falls, which they won. Toccoa is one of our rivals so it was an intense game, and a lot of fun to watch. That same night there was orientation for the Access program, so the campus was really crowded. Thursday night there was a campus prayer walk. Students gathered together and walked around campus to different stations where they worshiped and prayed together. I didn't get to go because I was studying for my test the next day, but some of my friends who went said it was great. Last week I also wrote my first article for the Charger. The Charger is our campus newspaper. It's small, but it highlights some of the things going on around campus. I interviewed one of our professors, Dr. D.J Dycus. He recently received his doctorate so I asked him a lot of questions about that process.
I guess this week will feel a little longer since I only had two days of class last week. At least I don't have any tests or big projects due. The boys have another soccer game today so I'll probably go watch, but other than that I'll just stay busy with school work as usual.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Labor Day Weekend

Yesterday was Labor day and I have a four day weekend on account of that whole no class on Tuesday thing. I've had a pretty good four days off. Friday I stayed late at school so I could go to the volleyball game. The girls lost, but it was still a fun game to watch. After the game I left campus and made a three hour drive to Nashville, GA. You've probably never hear of it, and that's probably because it's an incredibly small town with like three stop lights. Anyway, one of my uncles died so I drove down for the funeral. While it was a sad occasion, it was nice to see all my family again. It was especially nice to see some of my extended family members who I only see maybe once a year.
Sunday night I drove back to school and spent the night. Labor day I went home and played tennis with my dad. He's a really good tennis player and I' just a beginner so he kicked my butt on the court. We played for an hour and a half and my arms kind of hurt today. After tennis I went with my family to have dinner at Outback with my sister's fiance and his family.
So now it's time to get back to school and back to homework. I'm going to work really hard today to catch up on my school work, because the boys' soccer team has a game tonight and I really want to go. The team is really good and I'm excited to watch them play. So first things first, I need to get my homework finished and then I can go have fun.