So what about the rest of us? What about Valentine’s day? Upon coming to campus we were advised to avoid “freshman dating season.” That wasn’t to discourage us from being friends with the opposite gender but advice to follow so that we could get into the swing of things before we start a committed relationship. My small group leader sent out an email to all of us ladies, some of us engaged, in a relationship, and the rest single, to remind us that our one true Love is Jesus Christ and our hearts should swoon for Him first.

I enjoyed having a single Valentine’s day A few of the girls on my floor made valentines for all of us. It was really cute!

So just because you go to a Christian school doesn’t mean you’ll find “the one” here. And there’s no need to rush anything. There are plenty of seniors on campus who are happy to be single; yes, God has a plan for them. And not every guy or girl who flirts with you means that they are interested. My advice: guard your heart and just work on being friends.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

So when my friend asked me about curfew I told her what the expectations are. And it’s not like you can’t be a couple minutes late, just don’t make a habit of it She asked me if I liked it and I told her that I did. I mean I chose Bethel for a lot of different reasons but I knew that I needed structure in a school and I feel safe and secure here at Bethel. And she also asked me about the food. Let me just say that it’s so much better than high school

I just wanted this to be an encouragement. Rules may be lame but they’re for our own good. So don’t complain and just follow the rules

This semester had proven to be a little bit more difficult and challenging, not because of school work but because of just the thoughts and things we are dicussing in class are so beyond my finite mind. But I love being challenged and fighting for what I believe and why I believe it. So not only am I learning a lot academic wise but I’m learning a lot about my faith and where I stand on issues…it’s awesome.

And I know that this is a completely different topic but I’m just loving dorm life and life in general. I’m making new friends and falling in love with the Word. And I’m finally really involved in a church and I love it. Life is just really good right now and I can’t wait to see what God has in store for me next.

I was at CDYC, which is where I first heard about Bethel, and there were statistics about human trafficking on giant pieces of cardboard. Those statistics wrecked my life. I was deeply moved and I knew God was calling me to do something about it. At the same time, God was calling five of my friends to do the same thing. And that is how Bought At A Price started.

Five of the six of us were seniors, three of us going to Bethel, one to IU and one to Asbury, while Jaron was still just a sophomore. We hadn’t given much thought to the future but focused very much on the present. So we started with selling t-shirts and bracelets. Then we decided to put on a concert, the only problem being we didn’t have a band. But God was working and Disciple called us and asked to play at our concert. It was such a God thing!

B@AP is partnered with Tiny Hands International, and they had a representative come to our concert. The coolest part was the money that was raised, nearly $1,500, which saves about 75 girls from being victims. And in the summer we held a worship night and raised $500 to give to two missionaries that were going to Cambodia to work with the girls.

Then it came time for us seniors to go to college. We decided we’d still be part of the group and we’d still spread the word any way we could. We were concerned that it might fall apart but it’s done the exact opposite.

The three of us at Bethel have given speeches on it, sold t-shirts, had a video shoot and next week we’re having a photo shoot for the Bethel magazine. God has continued to use us and it’s just so awesome to be a part of something bigger than myself.

I am a social butterfly and I hold friendships and quality time higher than school work sometimes…most of the time. But God has a way of showing us our faults, sometimes gently, sometimes not. So one thing that I was really convicted about last semester was time management and the importance of doing work on time and to the best of your ability. I’m so glad I learned that my first semester of freshman year, I just hope for my sake that I continue down the right path.

And I thank God for is grace and the grace of my profs, who are more than willing to work with you to make sure you pass…most of the time at least.

So my advice to you procrastinators out there is to make a “To Do” list, in order of high importance to least importance. It helps tremendously. And ask a more responsible friend to help keep you accountable. And maybe even set up an award system for yourself.

Good luck!

Anyway, what our speaker talked about on Monday reminded me a lot of a speaker that was at Passion. The emphasis of this week was “life-calling.” And so what I want to talk about is what I’m passionate about and what I feel my calling is.

I have a heart for people and community, which is a huge reason why I chose Bethel. The people here are just phenominal and the community is wonderful, everything I had hoped for and more. And because if the testimony that I have I feel called to be a youth pastor, to mentor kids who are going through what I went through growing up. So the other reason I chose Bethel was because of the awesome Youth Ministry program they offer. I feel as though Bethel has the best profs in the nation…even my Gen. Ed. profs are such genuine, fantastic people.

God bless.

Anyway, as many “Shupesters” were decorating, Shupe itself was being decorated. And I surprisingly like it. It makes Shupe feel more homey.

So while I may not be all into the decorations and all the Christmas music, I must say that I am pumped for eggnog and watching “Elf” (which will never get old) !

Someone challenged me to step back and look at the bigger picture when it came to Christmas. Is this season really about getting new things or all the food? No. This season is about the birth of our Savior. I know there are many songs out there that talk about it but how often do we really let it sink in that this is why we celebrate? So that’s what I’m challenging you to do this year. God bless.

“The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.”

I live on the second floor in Shupe and there are girls on my floor from Hawaii and California..they have never experienced the snow. So us Mid-westerns told the other girls, “Hey! It’s snowing!” Oh my word, a wild frenzy broke out. Suddenly we were all rushing outside to watch the girls scream and holler and laugh in the snow. “It’s a blizzard!” they said, and we all joked at them, thinking out loud to one another, “they have no idea.” Facebook statuses changed and many pictures were taken as the girls danced in the snow with their parkas on. It was hilarious.

But when we came back inside, some girls said, “Oh, they’ll hate it soon,” or “Duh it’s snowing, we live in Indiana.” And I laughed because I know it’s true…but I felt conviction in my heart.

I had heard the girl from Hawaii say, “This is a blessing from God!” And it got me thinking about how critical my thinking is. Snow is beautiful and I think it holds a lot of biblical truth. Jesus washed our sins “white as snow” and what a true blessing that is. God is so good all the time and here we are bickering that it’s cold. Where is our child-like wonder? Where is our carefree attitude? I think this year I’ll look at the winter season in a whole new way…

Let it snow!

Seeing as how it was on Halloween, most everyone dressed up. It was awesome. I was kinda bummed that I wasn’t going to be at home to go trick-or-treating, or trick-or-canning (a fundraiser we did at my high school). I didn’t think I’d get to dress up and where a costume to classes, which is what I would normally do. But a group of friends asked me if I wanted to be in their group to go to the game. Jack pot! So what did we dress up as? Carebears!

Tip-Off Madness was a blast! And the rest of my week was great, too! Some friends from back home came for visits and I got some packages from my church and my friend’s mom. I just felt so blessed this week and I pray that you would find peace and joy…even in the chaos.