Decisions....Decisions......Decisions

What would you say comprises your existence at this very moment? Is it your money, status, education or job? If you said any of these than you were correct, your current position is life is a result of your decisions. Wherever you are in life is a result of cumulative decisions you have made thus far. We rise and fall based on our decisions. How we respond to life impacts our circumstances in a positive or negative way. More importantly, there are some qualities needed to become a good decision maker in life. The first one is principle. Principles can be defined as core values, code of conduct, ideology or morality. Core values anchor your thinking and giving you clear understanding of right and wrong. As image bearers it is our greatest responsibility to live a life that reflects God; He gave us dominion. We are to express the image of God with a sense of purpose. People fail to realize that when you lack a sense of purpose in your life it gives birth to bad choices. We should put forth the effort to make choices that are in line with God’s agenda. As you strive to do the will of God there will be hard decisions and sacrifices. All of these things will correlate and create your sense of purpose. If you do not understand the purpose of something you will abuse it. Having a sense of purpose allows you to prioritize who and what you should put first. Things can either cloud or clarify your decisions. Your past is your greatest tool in prioritizing your life. You can make a decision based on your past. Sometimes we are ashamed of our past but we should be proud of our checkered past. The past can strengthen you and make you become wiser. The dichotomy of your past is that you can linger in it too long. You can only rest on your past laurels for so long. It can get old listening to someone telling the same, sad story over and over again. Don’t get comfortable telling the same old story—let God give you a new one. I’ve come to point in my life where it is time for God to give me a new story. As a member of the class of 2012, the time has come for me to bid Point University farewell. I hope my fellow classmates will take these words into consideration on your journey in life. But no matter where I go in life, I will always remember to POINT others to Christ. Thank you all Respectfully, Natasha Alleyne

UnPOPULAR

By: A.S.B. Jr.
Edited By: Kamilah Veone Smith

Luke 21: 19
Stand firm, and you will win life.

While in my 4^th and 5^th grades years in elementary and middle school I rode on “the short bus.” I didn’t go to the nearest school to my house because I was bused to a remedial school, I had troubles hearing and learning on the same level as “normal” children. I had to wear a hearing aid and sit in a kowtow manner in the front of the class. These circumstances made me a target for ridicule. Hanging with “average” students was hard because some acted very callous. I got teased because of my big ears which didn’t make my life any easier; I had learned not to hold grudges and to try making peace with everyone which made those same people respect me later on. We all have learned to grow up and be able to survive under certain pressures life throws at us. With your different talents and capabilities that God has given provided you can overcome extreme obstacles. I am for certain most of us in our past have felt in some way unpopular. Most of the greatest people who have walked this earth in their time were unpopular: Abraham Lincoln, Vincent Van Gogh, Ulysses S. Grant, Dr. Martin L. King Jr., Paul L. Dumbar, Moses, and Jesus the Christ to list a few. These people may or may not have seen their impact while they were living, but yet they made a huge impact in the world.

Choosing to be unpopular is relatively easy but has consequences. Being hated, disliked, and rebuked are a few examples. Some of the post-modern things that have been noted as being un-popular are as follows: taking the time to listen to anybody, following directions, remaining quiet at times, encouraging others, enjoying life, not having sex until marriage (that includes oral sex), reading for fun, writing for fun, thinking positive thoughts, refusing to lie, living healthy, arriving on-time, spending time with family, challenging yourself to go beyond your boundaries in a positive manner, defending peaceful situations, being open for constructive criticism, learning from the mistakes of others, being creative and also being ready to fail at times. Please note that even I am working on some of these things myself. Jesus is telling His disciples in Luke chapter 16 to stand firm in the fight for life while living day by day, because in the end you will be judged by wither you associated with God or the devil. It’s not hard to be unpopular, just follow Jesus’ ways and it’s a sure thing.

Love you much.

Long time; No post

I figure now's as good a time as any to post, since I know I have not posted here in forever. Basically, the semester's wrapping up WAY too quickly for me to be happy. I have to say that this past year has been the best one so far (out of the past two, anyways). In less than a week I will be moving from the house I have learned to love, and loved to learn the idiosyncricies of (the Redmon House), into the standard-issue student apartments.

This past Friday, however, was our last spring formal in Atlanta before the move to West Point, and it went so much better than I was expecting. With being the SGA treasurer, I got to see the behind the scenes workings, and was really worried about how it would turn out - since a lot of things were being done different (we had a real photo booth instead of a photographer, for instance - see above). But all in all  it went super smoothly, and it was a lovely evening. I even got to take the leftover cakes to the house for the guys - since what better way to get rid of three extra cakes than to give them to a house full of 7 guys!

I was accompanied by my wonderful date (and girlfriend), and we enjoyed a dinner beforehand with about 9 other friends of ours in midtown right off of Peachtree Street, and wandered around some (attempted to go to the top of the Sundial, until we found out it was $6/person) before going back to Piedmont for the nights festivities. Once there, we ran into Jamie-Grace who was making an appearance, and we all got to catch up while riding the golf-carts to the venue. But, that was almost topped once I got to taste the Reese's chocolate fountain provided by the caterers. Mind. Blown.

And once we got it all packed up, my girlfriend and I made our way to Dwarf House, and had late-night chicken biscuits until we could barely stay awake (well, we had one each, but we were exhausted - it was 3:00 by the time we got back to campus, after all). Needless to say, I have spent the last 48 hours playing catch-up on sleep...luckily I don't have any finals tomorrow...haha.


This week will truly be bittersweet, but the future is brighter than ever for not only myself, but for Point University - so I'm excited to see what happens for everyone!