Back in the Groove

So School Is BACK!

Am I happy about this: Yes

Am I still happy about this: Yes

Am I going to be happy about this in the near future: eh Maybe.....YES

I am so glad to get back to having a schedule and I am EXTRA glad to be reunited with my favorite roommates! My classes are a little bit easier this semester. All week, my classes don't begin before 10 or 11 a.m (awesome) and I have NO classes on Friday's! How awesome is that!?? The new students that came in this Spring semester are pretty cool and are finally getting into the feel of things around here. The campus is back to being filled with laughter in the hallways.

As for me, I am back to my terrible sleeping schedule but still having the time of my life!

ACC fun and exciting events: "Vintage Love" dance, Thrashers game, Open Mic night, Roller skating rink...along with many other events. It's good to have events sprinkled into your schedule. Without them, I don't know how I would survive.

Well, I am glad I got to share with you my random thoughts for today. I am glad that school is back in session and that we are not covered with snow and ice anymore. Cheers to a new semester and meeting new students!

So much traveling..So little time!!

Hey Lovelies!!

Today is February 1, 2011!! CRAZY right?!? Right! So life has been crazy since I last updated! I've laughed, I've cried, I've been so busy it's unreal! Besides starting outreach, we traveled to LONDON!! (: It was so amazing to see all the buildings you see in movies and pictures but you don't know how beautiful they are until you actually see them! We saw Big Ben (and that was on my bucket list!) the London Eye, Parliament, Buckingham Palace, Westminister Abbey (Where the Prince will marry Kate) The British Library, The British Museum, rode the Underground, shopped (didn't end up buying ANYTHING!), and a million other things that I just can't seem to remember!

Last week- Monday night was Canvas' first church service! (They did such a good job!) after was pubquiz (I always feel so dumb after these) then the little team went out together and played some pool and had a good time! (even at my expense from falling flat on my face from try to walk. HA!) Tuesday night- TC's (Always fun) Wednesday- it was good,then really bad, then good again...( A wave of homesick hit me) Thursday I had coffee with a friend and then went to trivia night at Canvas (SO much fun!) Friday- I had a quiet night in and it was a great way to end such a busy week!


The weekend- The little team went to Oxford! Such a great trip! We saw where Harry Potter and Alice and Wonderland was filmed, and we saw Eagle and Child which is where C.S. Lewis use to hang out. We saw the Mary Shelley exhibit and the Museum of Natural History. we shopped, (This time I bought stuff!) and stayed in a hostel, and made plenty of memories! It was such fun, but I was so glad to be home in my own bed!

This week is still to be determined but so far so good! For now, I have to go get groceries, and head to the Canvas house to help cook for TC's tonight!! Can't wait!! Until Next time!

XX-
Katie

An all new kind of adventure!!

Hello loves!!

First I will start off by telling you I am a Junior at ACC! I love it there, but this semester is a little different for me! I am studying abroad with Globalscope!! (:

I am OFFICIALLY in the Motherland!! My flight left Sunday night and for those of you wondering, yes I flew in style (First Class)!!! We (the team) landed in Manchester, England at 10 AM, Monday morning!! I stepped off the flight (Exhausted! forgot a sleeping pill!!) and went straight to customs! It was pretty intense, and it took a little while to get around, but we got the stamp in the book and off we went to Birmingham! We dropped our stuff off at our new house, and went to lunch with Natalie.. I tried "Fish and Chips" and for all of you unfamliar with English culture that means fried fish and french fries!! Then we did a bunch of other stuff, like touring Downtown Birmingham, going on a scavenger hunt and eating Mermite(yeast extract) and black pudding (pigs blood) which is, by default, absolutely repulsive! We had our first bible study at TC's and I absolutely LOVED meeting new people and making new friends!! I can officially say I have friends from America (obviously) England, and Ireland!! (: By Wednesday we had made our first trip to the grocery store (it's pretty interesting seeing all the things they have different names for! I.E. Ground beef is actually called minced meet, or just minced!) and I cooked dinner for my team (Taco's! I thought I would bring a little bit of (Mexican) America to England!! HAHA! We tried curry...yeah it wasn't my cup of tea...and then began outreach tonight... Obviously there was much more in between but I won't bore you to death with all the nitty gritty details!! All I can say is, England isn't getting rid of me ANYTIME soon!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE it and I just know God is going to rock my world this semester! It's going to be the best. most crazy,most unforgettable semester of my life!! (: I can't wait to see what all it brings!!

P.S. For all of you concerned that I'm not on a real mission trip, let me prove to you I am! I live in a house with 6 other people (3 guys, 4 girls), We share 1 bathroom, there isn't a single full length mirror, there is 1 hair straightener for the girls, you can only fit 2 people in the kitchen at a time, and I don't have a closet or a dresser...and my bed.. is a cot! Yup! Definitely legit!! XX

my life is changing a little bit.

I contemplated posting this as I didn't want to come across s arrogant, but really it has so little to do with me and 100% with what God is doing in my life!! So, I thought I would share with you my new song "Hold Me" featuring tobyMac. :)



::In Texas right now, preparing for the first weekend of The Revolve Tour as I'll be singing and sharing my story. I've been a little nervous the past few days and though the nerves keep coming back, it turned into pure excitement earlier today.

All of us speakers were sharing our stories with eachother and the staff. It's a time where we get completely into "character" and give each other feedback and advice. Chad is hilarious but very realistic. Shares insightful information that you wouldn't really think to be able to explain! I shared my story. Then Jenna shared. Oh my goodness I almost cried!! She is so REAL! I really relate to Jenna as we had similar upbringings so it's always exciting to hear her speak. ...Her passion for Jesus is so so much. I found myself seriously leaning over in my chair waiting for every next word!

We then took a lunch break and came back to Kathryn - tears! Not in a bad way! I almost completely cried though as she shared her heart and her dreams.. this stuff is real! Ahh!!

...I feel so... blessed to be a part of not a tour I mean I love that aspect but being on this team of God loving young people just like me yet different me who I can learn from, encourage, spend time with and build friendships with. I can't WAIT for Friday to see what kind of exciting things the first weekend brings. But first, must get sleep. I have 7:30 call time and gotta get breakfast. PEACE! :)

--Jamie-Grace

Well, Merry New Year To You!

The things I'm looking forward to in 2011...

January: Starting my internship for my major (www.revolvetour.com) here at ACC, releasing an EP, meeting new students and seeing current students again!
February: Valentine's Day. I feel like as a single females we can pity ourselves on this day but this year I'm making sure not to be a downer on the 14th.
March: I don't know yet.
April: April Fools... not!! I'll be out of town touring with a group of crazy (...) young people... I'm terrified.
May: ACC graduation! So proud of so many of my friends.
June: Not sure.
July: I dunno.
August: School starts back!! Possibly by last semester here... I kinda don't wanna graduate the closer it gets...
September: Uhh
October: What?
November: I turn 20... oh my gah
December: Christmas comes back.

Peace, love and Jamie-Grace

The World is Mine! (I Don't Know Anything)

In 2010 I...

...survived two semesters of college.

...attended the funeral of one of the best men I've ever known.

...made the best reference book purchase EVER.

...had more mind opening experiences than I ever wanted.

...watched the Olympics and made a snow family with friends.

...wrote two epically awesome songs.

...watched my favorite cousin get married in Minnesota

...and got eaten by massive Minnesotan mosquitoes.

...celebrated my best friend's 18th birthday extravaganza.

...ruined half my clothes painting a house

...and wore paint covered clothes long after they should have been thrown away.

...successfully and finally forgave two friends who hurt me very much.

...read. And read and read and read some more. :D

...wrote. Journals, essays, blogs, poems, text messages, with varying levels of time consumption.

...watched two friends go from friends to dating to engaged to married!

...changed my major.

...fell out of love

...and into friendship.

...made new friends.

...kept some old friends.

...started listening to lots of new music.

...went to my first seriously professional concert.

...preached one (1) really really awful sermon and two (2) decent sermons.

... overcommited myself (again) (by accident).

...met one of my favorite authors and made a complete idiot of myself, but got him to sign one of my books.

...became more comfortable being uncomfortable.

...realized that I'm a fairly normal human being.

...reveled in this fact.

...started volunteering at City of Refuge with their afterschool program.

...cried an acceptable amount for a young woman of my level of emotional maturity.

...turned twenty

...and was promptly reminded how young I really am.

...held my own in a discussion with an adult who wanted me to agree with him very badly.

...moved on and circled back around.

...laughed. Just a bit for good measure.

Elizabeth

Merry Christmas! (3 days ago...)

Christmas is the best day in the world. First off because the best person everrrrrr was born. Also because of the entire season. The cliche of kindness, gratitude, giving... Christmas trees, decorations... Elf with Will Ferrell. ;) And for collaboration videos to wish people a merry Christmas!! And though I'm 3 days late, I wanted to share a Christmas video with you! It's from most of us over at "The Revolve Tour (2 day conference)." We made our parts back at home and the Revolve editors in Texas put it together. Personally, I filmed my part outside of my dorm at ACC. :)



---Jamie-Grace

A NEW YEAR

5,4,3,2,1,Well the Christmas season is over and the New Year is just a few days away, and with all the New Years celebration preparations being made I'm really excited,but I'm not just planning for New Years, I'm also am preparing for the new semester that is around the corner. Books, books and more books is all I can seem to think about. I'm happy to have new classes.I am looking forward to another wonderful year at the best college ever, new students! new professors and new books, "if I can afford the new ones", I love the smell of new books all crisps and clean!!!! I'm excited about a New Year, because its new beginnings a fresh start. My new year resolution is to win souls to Christ and not to be compromising and to have a wonderful year in school. I pray that we all start the New Year right. I hope everyone enjoys their New Years celebrations, but I also hope that you're being mindful and preparing yourself for the new semester as well. January 12th will come quickly, so enjoy! It's going to be an AWESOME year at ACC!!!

Destiny

Christmas Party With The Vice President

Finals are over!!

Tonight, SGA (student Government Association) went over to Mr. Huxford's house tonight for a Christmas party. It was awesome to sit around and relax (and get fed) by the Huxford's! What other school has amazing faculty and staff that invite the students over for free food? I love our friendly professors who care about us!

All 15 of us sang Christmas songs around the piano while Mrs. Vicki played. It was most definitely a memorable moment.

The campus is silent and glad to be on break! finally...

As much as I love to have breaks from school, this is my home. I am not so happy to leave it. :( We shall however, be back before we know it. Thank the Lord!!!!!

p.s. We love and appreciate all of the faculty and staff at ACC! Thank you all for being amazing!

It's Over

Choir is over for the semester and it's awesome. All I have to do is get through finals. Done. The End. Freedom.

Like William Wallace... but not really.

I am so excited to be done. But there are quite a few exams between me and freedom. I have two today, two tomorrow, and one on Wednesday. Then I am free.

I really want Christmas. Right now. It's cold, I'm happy (these are very much connected). The Christmas spirit is everywhere. It's great.

Now to just get through these exams....

Zach

Make it or Break it!

Finals week is approaching!

You can always tell when finals week is here simply from the stress that is filled in the air. There is a certain vibe I get as I walk around campus or eat in the cafeteria. People just seem different.

There is that feeling of confusion, stress, anxiety, etc. In college, finals can either make you or break you. At the end of each semester, ACC has a midnight breakfast. This is a chance for students to eat late at night (or early morning) while they do some final studying. The faculty, staff, and some students help prepare the meals and help serve food to the zombie like students. Some students attend this meal not to study, but because of the delirious atmosphere. They get a kick out of it! People are tired, stressed and want nothing more than to be done with the semester. The midnight breakfast is also another event that makes ACC seem more of like a family.

I LOVE IT!...but I don't appreciate finals. That is all for now.

Black Friday and sleeping 18 hours

So, I had the privilege of working Black Friday at GameStop.

We were open from midnight to midnight. And I worked midnight to 9am.

Surprisingly, I had a lot of fun. It was exhausting, though.

I had been up all day for Thanksgiving so I took a two hour nap and then went in to work. 9 hours, one venti mocha frappuccino and many funny stories later, I got off and went to pick up some jeans and then went to my other job.

So, at this point, I've been up for about a full day now (minus the nap), and I going in to work for a few more hours. (I have the wonderful privilege of having a job where I choose when I want to go in, however, it is janitorial so don't get too excited). You can imagine the work ethic that I showed.

So, since I wasn't doing anything, I went home, laid down, and slept. I slept for a total of 18 hours. This is something that I am quite proud of. The only reason that I didn't sleep for 18 hours straight was because my moronic friend decided to call me at midnight to ask the stupidest question. I was ticked. But I guess it would be smart to turn off my phone when I sleep...

So, now you know everything that happened on my break. All of the pointless details. You're welcome.

Zach

things i don't eat.

I can't sleep, so I decided to compile a list of foods I don't eat.. yes. That pointless.

jalapenos
sushi
cinnamon
mushrooms*
squash
eggplant
fried things that shouldn't be (i.e. twinkies... oreos...)
corn
mustard*
olives
things that shouldn't exist (i.e. McRib)
anchovies
ice cream (i'll eat it sure... not too enjoyable though)
brussel sprouts (then again...who does?)
potato chips
cookies
caramel
crackers (i love saltines though)
ritz crackers (they get their own line...)
ritz crackers (unless i have 2 cheese cubes per bite)
ice cubes (i love water, though)
(most) cakes
chewing gum
(most) candy
squid
carpet
scones
snacks (i'f ima eat... ima eat...)
tea (except for most warm throat stuff)
coffee
iced tea
sweet tea

...i think that's all.

*i can eat in moderation. i.e. mushrooms on pizza or a little mustard on a sandwich.

....goodnight!! :)
Love, Peace & Jamie-Grace

Oh Holidays...

I always love Thanksgiving! What a wonderful holiday; an entire day dedicated to giving thanks. Family gatherings have always been...well, adventurous. I will never forget this years get together.

To slightly relate this blog to ACC and it's majors, I will tell you all a funny story about this years Thanksgiving. My boyfriend went with me to meet my family. He began telling my aunt what he was studying at ACC. He said "Biblical Studies and Preaching." She said "Oh wow, so you like telling people about God? That's pretty cool." He then replied, "Yeah, I love speaking in front of big crowds." Then, out of the blue...my aunt said "Would you like to pray for the food?"

(Now let me help you understand this image a little more. There are around 30 people, whom I only speak to once a year. Since we arrived, there have been many awkward, mostly silent conversations. My grandfather ALWAYS prays for our meals. This was also the first time my boyfriend had met my family! So my aunt just completely made everything even more awkward)

My boyfriend then agreed to pray for the meal. As he was praying, I couldn't help but be so confused the entire time. "Why did they put him on the spot? Is it because he is a Biblical Studies Preaching major?" HHAHAHA I am so confused...

-Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks: I am thankful to have a wonderful family and I also appreciate my hilarious and understanding boyfriend.

(Anyone else have funny holiday stories?)

Post-Thanksgiving Lunch (Turkey Sandwich)

Oh, what's this, Blog? Elizabeth is writing again when she ought to be doing homework? What's new?

But it's Thanksgiving, you say. Why would you have homework over Thanksgiving break?

I'm glad you asked, Blog. You see, Virginia, once you get to college, you'll think you have all this free time because you're in class for less than eight hours a day. But the workload will be far beyond what you expect and plan for. You'll start falling behind in your reading (of which there will be copious amounts), you won't keep up with all your assignments, and you will start disappointing your favorite teachers by bursting into tears when they look at you cross-eyed.

Do you speak from experience, Elizabeth?

Not at all. Why would you assume such a thing? At any rate, this, as I reminded my much beloved Charger staff, this is a working holiday. (It makes me feel very British to say that.) And because I ought to be working, I am blogging.

My father is giving me this look that says, "Elizabeth. You are a college student and I know you have homework. Why don't you put your laptop down and work on your homework? I think you'd be happier in the long run if you would stop fooling around on the internet and pick up that book you've been complaining about for so long." My father has very expressive looks.

Oh wait. He just picked up my book and began flipping through it. I bet he starts reading it next. Never fear. I have multiple books that require my attention over the break. I'd planned on doing some pleasure reading. That was a pipe dream. BUT!

But I wasn't joking when I said I had gobs of homework to do. I'd best get on that. It was lovely having lunch with you, Blog. Let's do it again soon, shall we?

Elizabeth

I Broke A Promise.

I said I was going to tell you (yes, you) how the Andrew Peterson concert was and I never did. So, here I am... making that up to you...It was awesome!

Lasted about 3 hours (not kidding, he just kept going) and it was well worth it. Honestly, I didn't know that many of his songs in the beginning but I ended up enjoying it. One of my particularly favorite parts was when his band (guitarist and pianist - they both sang, PS) took the stage for two songs each. Just before the show I sat down with Andrew & the band (he works with some of the people I work with) and he shared some of his wisdom with me as I'm an upcoming artist and he has had great success.

One of the things he shared with me was when I find that band that I want to travel with me, they should be like my family and they should be some of my closest friends. I really appreciated him for saying that and respected him for it even more when his bandmates played their original songs.He didn't use them as openers or anything like that, they actually played during the concert - it was legit. (I really need to expand my vocabulary...) They were hilarious, and their songs were very moving, as well as Andrew's songs. Everything in the whole night was the perfect mixture of genre and style and I'm so so glad I went!

So, when (yes, when. not if. *smile*) you come to ACC and when we're having other legit (...........see?) concerts, we can go together! And when can see how awesome they are.... yep.

Love, Peace & Jamie-Grace

Crossing Over to the Dark Side

My friend, Rob, and I have a running joke that we're both just pretending to be college students. We keep each other updated on how well we're fooling the people watching us. But honestly, sometimes I don't really believe we're just kidding.

It's really easy for me to think, "Elizabeth, you were in high school like, yesterday. Nobody really believes you belong here. Go home to your mother." I turned 20 the other day, and I mean, I think that makes me an adult: my parents are no longer legally required to support me financially and I can do all kinds of things: get tattooed, buy cigarettes, vote, sign up for the army, get married without permission...

I feel like a child. I mean, like, today, I felt like a child: completely unable to handle myself. I forget I'm not perfect and I forget that I need to cut myself some slack. I focus on the fact that I forgot to go to the humanities study session (I'm the tutor) and forget that I did a fairly decent job on my sermon this morning.

If college is about finding out who you are, then I think I'm confused. Some days I feel posh and sophisticated and other days (like today) I'm afraid they'll realize I'm just pretending and make me go home.

Even this blog post: I feel like it's less than my usual, but I don't have a happy "let's think about the moral of this story" way to tie it into something positive. I feel sort of awful right now but Meg asked me to blog and so I have. Oh, I know. I'll share a Bible verse. How epically Christian is that? :P

"The Lord gives me strength and a song. He is my salvation."

Psalm 118:14

I guess the song I'm singing right now is A Song About An Anglerfish by Hank Green. Enjoy my irreverence.

Elizabeth

Open House!

YAY! Last thursday and Friday was Open House at ACC. Open House allows awesome people (prospective students) to come hang out at the school, get to know the students, play super fun games with the students, as well as sit in on some classes and meet wonderful professors!

There were a ton of people that came. We had an open mic night that was filled with talented people. Open mic is a fun event that SGA puts on. People sing, tell jokes, maybe dance, etc. I always enjoy open mic nights that are held in our coffee shop.

After open mic night, we all went down to the fire pit and had hot chocolate. Very relaxed. I love these events!

Me being random

These last two weeks have been breezy!

The girls and boys Basketball teams have been doing really well, I have been getting caught up with my study hours and homework, and there haven't been any tests. This is the first time (this semester) that I have felt relaxed and have actually spent some quality time with my roommates.

Tonight, I went to Greg Well's Junior recital. He has the most amazing voice EVER! That was pretty fun.

I have been playing pool a lot this semester. I am much better than when I first started! HA

This blog is a random one...sorry.

I am now spending quality time with my best friend/roommate and watching Pocahontas! :)

...Is November Always This Cold?

Legit, I have on a scarf, thick jeans, boots, a couple shirts and a hoodie. People.. people.

I thought November was supposed to be warm and cozzy but a legit amount of coolness and just enough lack of sun so that's it's cool but I don't have to dress as if it's in Winter.

Hmph... I'm so confused.

---Jamie-Grace