Slowing Down

This semester has been incredibly busy. Now, if you know me at all you know that I can not STAND being bored. I'm not happy unless I'm doing SOMETHING. But this semester it's felt like every single minute of every day, every weekend has been filled with something and while I've loved every minute of it, the pace has been exhausting.

It was into this crazy whirlwind of activity that God began to breath rest into my life. It was as if He was telling me, "I know you can keep going and this breakneck pace, but I care more about you than that. Here, it's time to rest." And He gave me a wonderful gift: down time. 

This gift of rest came in two parts, each involving massive quantities of ice, and each part teaching me something different about the nature and importance of rest. Part I of my "gift" came the weekend before Thanksgiving break when the ACtivators trip I was supposed to take to Happy, TX (just outside Amarillo) was cancelled do to a sever ice storm. While I was disappointed that we weren't going to be able to go, I needed that weekend like nothing else. I had already done all my homework and hadn't made any other plans, so after the trip was cancelled I found myself with an entire weekend with absolutely nothing to do. It was the first weekend all semester that I didn't have something I had to do. So I sat in my room and watched movies. I read. I journaled. I rested and recharged. It was glorious. 

So that happened, but then this past weekend, Sherman was hit with an ice storm of our very own. Overnight Sherman was transformed from a town into one giant ice rink. Classes were cancelled. Meetings and events were cancelled. Finals were rescheduled. In short the day to day life at AC came to a screeching halt. Rest Part II. 

The difference between this weekend and the one I just mentioned was that this past weekend was all about play. My friends and I spent hours playing music together, slipping around on campus on the ice, watching Christmas movies, and of course eating (we are college students after all).  There also may or may not have been a dangerous (but TOTALLY worth it) trek across town to go sledding...maybe. 

{Snowpocalypse 2013}

{Preparing for the sledding trip that may or may not have actually happened...it definitely did}

{Driving on Ice}

Just to be clear here, I really dislike being cold, and while I enjoyed the novelty of the wintry mix for all of about 30mins I am very much ready for winter to be over. 

{My favorite thing about Winter? When it's over}

But here's what I've learned this weekend. First, there are a lot of people that work really hard to make our lives here at Austin College super easy. Housekeepers, food service workers, the maintenance crew, no one every really seems to notice all they do, but let me tell you, this place falls apart without them (literally and figuratively). 

Second, there's something beautiful that happens when everyone's stuck together in one place doing nothing. The experience of being iced in, was collective. Everyone at Austin College will remember this weekend and how we survived the 2013 Snowpocalypse. When we come back as alumni, this will be one of the stories we tell. Sure, the ice may have been inconvenient and it changed all our plans, but it also helped to build a stronger community and we're better for it. 

Moving Up and Moving On

Earlier this month I had the privilege to spend some quality time with some of the coolest people I know.  We literally just sat around and talked for hours and hours, and it was SO good.

These girls have become so dear to me and I don’t know where I would be without them. They have faithfully stood by me when things were hard and everything seemed lost.  They've laughed with me and encouraged me and I have been both inspired and humbled by their faith. I honestly don’t know where I would be without them!

So you can imagine my anguish when I realized that this was one of the last few weekends we would be spending together at Austin College. 

You see, Susie will be studying abroad this semester, Kelsey’s studying abroad in the spring, and it’s my senior year…

For those of you who don’t already know, I will be graduating in May—yes, a whole year early. So this is my last year as a student here.  The thought is both terrifying and exhilarating and like almost every other thing about my college experience thus far, when I was first told I could graduate early I did not want to do it.

When I met with my mentor at the end of last semester to register for Fall classes, she explained that I only need 8 more credits (2 semesters) to graduate and had 16 spots (4 semesters) to do so. As I left her office I burst into tears. I LOVE this school. (If only I were pre-med I would be the Austin College poster child. True story.) Leaving a YEAR early was the just about the last thing I wanted to do. 

So in typical Alena fashion (you would think by now I would get it!) I looked for any other option. Study abroad? Add another major? They were all good options, but deep down I knew that wasn't what I was supposed to do. 

Even as I was moving back into the dorm—I mean “residence hall” for my second year as an RA, I was having trouble wrapping my mind around the fact that I would be leaving the place and people I so dearly loved. But a funny thing’s begun to happen. Every day is an affirmation that I am exactly where I’m supposed to be doing exactly what I’m supposed to be doing.  A few years ago, I did NOT want to attend Austin College. The Lord knew better. I did NOT want to be an RA. God knew better. I did NOT want to graduate early, but God knows better!

As someone who likes to be in control, that’s a scary thing to admit. It terrifies me that I don’t know the plan for after graduation. It freaks me out that I cannot see what the next step for my life is, but at the same time I have this unexplainable peace.   I know God will take care of me. I know that I serve a God who has promised never to leave me. 

So I’m cherishing these moments—time goes SO fast—and looking forward to the next adventure. 

Houston Drivers

This summer I have the opportunity to work as the marketing and development intern for MBF. MBF is a nonprofit that helps build sustainable, faith based medical care around the world.  I’m really enjoying the work and it’s been a great experience. What’s not so great is that like most other grown up jobs, I also have a grown up commute.

Guys, Houston traffic is THE worst. ---ok maybe not THE worst, but definitely the 4^th worst.  I’ve been making my commute for a good while now and one thing that I’ve noticed is that no matter what, no matter when, you will always be able to find these 10 people on the road. (Finding them is a strange cross between Frogger and Where’s Waldo—you don’t always see them, but you have to be careful you don’t get hit.)

So without any further ado, I present 10 Houston Drivers You Are Guaranteed to Find on Your Commute: 

1. NSCAR Nick—Nice car. Too bad this is the beltway and not the speedway.

2. Wanna- be- NSCAR- Nick—Drives like our friend Nick, but without the sweet ride. Stop.  You’re not cool either.

3. Gypsy Joe—has his vehicle stacked so high and so wide with so much stuff that you’re unsure whether to marvel in awe at this incredible feat of Tetris, or cower for fear that the precariously perched tower will tumble down in an avalanche of mismatched merchandise.

4. Left Lane Larry—ALWAYS drives in the left lane. No. Matter. What.  --Never mind that he’s driving 55 in a 65 (that’s 75 in Houston digits) and everyone is being forced to pass on the right, he refuses to budge.  Sir, while you may think it’s time for a Sunday drive, it’s Monday morning and the rest of us have to get to work.

5. Jacked up Jim—obviously compensating for something. There’s absolutely no legitimate reason for a truck that big.

6. Clueless Carl—Doesn’t see you because he’s busy yackin’ on the phone or taking selfies.  STOP. 

7. Tailgating Tom—WE ARE SITTING IN WALL TO WALL TRAFFIC. It is physically impossible for me to ANY faster. Back off and give a girl some space.  The fire will just have to wait.

8. Last Minute Mike—Backs across four lanes of traffic to make his exit. STOP! This is how people die!

9. Weaving Walter—finds it impossible to stay in his lane for more than 10 seconds. In the words of Tracy “Stay on your side!”

10. The Foreigner—Anyone not from Houston. Still believes in the power of turn signals, possesses the ability to yield and clings to the hope that there will actually be road signs to direct you to the places you want to go.

{First Time in Houston Traffic}

Kidquake

In 1 Corinthians 12 the apostle Paul talks about how the church, like a body, is made up of many parts. That just like our physical bodies are made up of arms, eyes, ears, and toes, the body of Christ is made up of many different people with many unique gifts and skills. Paul goes on to explain how every person in the Church has an important part to play and that no one person or job is more important than another.

   “But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be?  As it is, there are many parts, but one body.” 

{1 Corinthians 12:18-20} 

This scripture never feels more real to me than working at events like Kidquake, a weekend church camp/retreat for 1-5^th graders put on by ACtivators. The ACtivators are a group of Austin College students who work with our Chaplain (a super cool guy named John) to plan and lead regional Presbyterian Church (USA) youth ministry events. Throughout the year we divide up into teams and choose scripture-based themes and prepare keynote presentations, small group materials, music, and recreational activities for weekend youth retreats.

Fun Fact: Since its founding in 1995, the ACtivators program has involved 478 Austin College students who have traveled over 150,000 miles to plan and lead 544 ministry events involving over 44,000 children, youth, college students, adults, and senior citizens from 13 states. Pretty cool, huh?

Of all the things I’m involved at here at AC,  ACtivator events are some of my favorite. This past weekend I went to Camp Gilmont to help lead a Kidquake. Although I love working with the kids at these events, what I love most is watching the way everyone comes together as a team. Some of us lead worship while someone else runs sound, while a couple others act out the keynote skit, but only after someone else leads energizers...well you get the picture. There’s always a place to use our unique gifts and talents and everything gets done because someone is always ready to jump in and help. I love that! The body of Christ at work.

               

                

{Awesome small group #9}

{Chapel in the Sky: Well worth the walk} 

4:00am Is Too Early To Be Famous

Once upon a time Alena took her cluster to a workshop entitled "Dress for Success."  The presenters for the workshop were some of the directors of Texoma Goodwill industries. During the course of the their talk, they mentioned that they were going to be having a wedding dress fashion show for one of the local TV stations and were in need of models. Alena, being the kind and generous and slightly narcissistic person she is, thought "Sure! Why not?" It was only after I had agreed to be in the little televised fashion show that they mentioned the show would be taking place at 5:30AM ...as in the morning, you know, early. And so the adventure began.   

Now, I'm a morning person, but I have to admit that getting up at 4:00am  in order to do my hair and makeup for this thing was a struggle. It felt a little ridiculous to be prancing around in a wedding dress in what might as well have been the middle of the night. Even more ridiculous was the sight of four girls, drowning in a sea of white crinoline, climbing in and out of a mini van. 

The ridiculousness didn't stop there. TV stations themselves are kind of silly looking places. When we watch the news, we don't realize that it's really just one giant room. It's funny how a very specific camera angle can make one little section of a warehouse look like an entire room. And don't get me started on weathermen... Of course I knew that meteorologists don't actually have a giant map of the country behind them when they give their reports. ---I mean come on you learn that in like fourth grade. However, this knowledge does not make the fact that they are pointing to invisible things in front of a giant green screen any less funny.  

And then there was the little mishap with the camera robot. When it was finally time for our 4 minutes of stardom, the camera freaked out. I honestly had no idea it was even possible, but it shorted or something and just started spinning, recording just about everything in the studio but us. But hey it's cool, I mean it's not like we'd gotten up at 4:00am for this or anything. 

Once the camera issues had been resolved, we started over and modeled the dresses for all to see (the 12 people who were awake at the time anyway ;) ). Moments later we piled back into the van and stopped off at IHOP before attending our 8:00am classes. Thus the adventure was brought to a close. 

To watch our four minutes of stardom click HERE 

{The Studio}

{The "Brides"} 

{The earliest I've been up in a LONG time}

http://www.kten.com/story/21085016/fashion-friday-planning-a-weddingprom-on-a-budget

Urbana 12

           If you’re friends with me on facebook, you’re probably aware that I was in St. Louis over Christmas break

{Quality Brother/Sister Bonding Time}

{When I first met these girls, I was 11. For the past nine years I have been blessed by their friendship, love, and encouragement} 

{Don't let the smiles deceive you. Snow is cold and miserable} 

{The Group}

                 I think it’s pretty clear from the pictures that my friends and I had a blast exploring the city, but what might be lost in all those snap shots of our shenanigans is the very reason why we were in St. Louis in the first place. Since 1946, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship has hosted a global missions conference for college aged students known as Urbana. (In case you didn’t know the conference received its name from where it was originally held on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.)

                As the queen of all church kids I thought I knew what to expect from a fancy conference like this. I knew there’d probably be some cool speakers, a little rockin’ and emotionally charged worship, and lots of warm fuzzy feelings to keep me warm on the plane ride home. What I did not expect was how genuinely I would be challenged and just how much I would learn about God’s character, the way He’s working in the world, and myself.

                Now I’ve been on short term missions trips before and when I’m packing for those types of trips I’m also mentally preparing to be taken out of my comfort zone. Being uncomfortable is to be expected when you know you’re going to a Costa Rican jungle for ten days, but St. Louis is a nice modern city, I should feel right at home there right? WRONG. I was surprised just how uncomfortable St. Louis made me. I’m not used to trotting around cities and it was cold. (I REALLY don’t like being cold…) Even simple things like going to dinner proved to be character building experiences, but that’s a story for another day.

                And yet these trivial discomforts were nothing compared to spiritual and emotional discomfort that were in store for me. Throughout the week we were blessed to hear the testimonies of people who said "Yes" to God’s call and followed Him into dark, dangerous, and uncomfortable places. As I listened to their stories, I began to hear God whisper “Would you go?” I tried ignoring that whisper, but as these things have the tendency to do, the whisper soon turned into a shout. It seemed everywhere I turned I was being forced to answer the question.  “Alena, would you go?”  The question terrified me.  Part of me was attracted to the idea of living with such reckless abandon, but the idea of leaving all my family and friends to risk my personal safety and comfort was just too scary.

                As the week continued, God continued to move and work in my heart.  I found it horribly ironic that as the weather in St. Louis got colder and colder, my numbed heart began to thaw. One skit in particular really grabbed by heart. I found out later that it was entitled The Deep, and it depicts the story of when Jesus tells Simon Peter to go fishing in the deep water even though he and his buddies had been fishing unsuccessfully all night. Peter obeys and ends up with the largest catch of his life. In fact there were so many fish that the nets began to break and their boats began to sink.



               

                Back on shore, Peter falls at Jesus' feet and says "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" —I always thought this a weird response for someone to make after they just made the biggest career move of their life, but during the Bible study of this passage, my brother pointed something important out. The disciples’ boats were sinking. Their livelihood was about to be laid to rest at the bottom of the Lake and they were going down too. They could have died. This was the catch of a lifetime, but the whole experience was nothing short of terrifying. This Jesus guy messed with the normal way of doing things. Fishing during the day? In the deep water? People don't DO that! But Jesus came to turn the world upside down and inside out. He tells Peter, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.”

               As I read those words, and watched this skit, I heard God saying, “Trust me. I got this. Of course it’s going to be scary, but it’s also going to be the adventure of a lifetime.  Alena, don’t miss out. Will you go? ”  And I said “Yes.” 

                And God said, “Good. Now that your heart’s in the right place, go back to school.”

                WHAT!?

                Lord, I just agreed to go WHEREEVER you want to send me and you’re sending me back to Sherman? Really? What the heck?!

                In the moment I was super disappointed. (Definitely one of those “Awh man” moments) But then I realized that the question I’d be struggling with all along wasn’t so much, “Will you go?” but “Will you follow Me?”  As Christians we are called to be faithful followers wherever God leads us, whether that be rural Uganda, a corporate office, or a classroom in Sherman, TX.

                For me, Urbana 12 wasn’t a call to "go", but an affirmation that I was exactly where God wanted me to be.