A few random and very unspiritual things

#1- AU Basketball. We may have lost our first appearance in the NCAA tournament, but I think our team did better than most people expected. Watching the game in Mary Graydon with a crowd of students was really fun despite the loss.

#2- The Peep Show. One of my favorite things in the Washington Post is the annual Peep Show where DC residents create dioramas using Peeps (an Easter treat I fail to see the value of). Check out the semi-finalists here. I especially enjoyed #34 Project Peepway and its attention to detail.

#3- The Library of Congress. I fell in love today with the main reading room. It is one of the most beautiful spaces I have ever seen in this city. I may go there to study all the time now.

I've Been Podcasted!

If you're interested in hearing my sermon series from January, check out this link:

http://web.mac.com/auxamike/iWeb/Site/AUXA%20TNW%20Podcast/AUXA%20TNW%20Podcast.html

(Mine are towards the bottom of the page)

The World Keeps Spinning

Apologies to my loyal readers for a lack of updates! The semester got underway in the middle of January and we've been going strong ever since. A couple things that are new for this semester:

Small Group Bible Study: Last semester, I just met with the girls who were leading small groups, but this semester I'm leading one as well. We're studying spiritual disciplines like prayer and Bible study, as well as less-talked-about ones like celebration. And last week, we filmed video announcements for the rest of Chi Alpha in the format of a music video modeled after "Ice, Ice, Baby." I had hoped to post the video on this blog, but the film was unfortunately destroyed. Needless to say, it was quite the bonding experience.

Sermon Series: I got to speak at our worship service twice in a row at the end of January. It's the first series I've gotten to do, which made me a little nervous. By the end of it though, I felt much more comfortable in that role and I just might become a good preacher one day :)

The Darfur Project: A small group of us are spending our Spring Break raising money for a school in Darfur, to help victims of genocide who are now living in a displacement camp. It's probably the most challenging task I have this semester, due to my lack of administrative prowess, but the difficulty is good for me. I also need something that makes me look beyond my own comfortable life.

Those are some of the highlights! Hopefully, I will continue to update you with stories as we finish out this school year.

Empty Nest Syndrome

Two of my girls are graduating at the end of the semester. I love all the girls I meet with, but my relationship with each is different. There's a special bond that girls tend to have with their first college small group leader because of everything that happens in that transition. I've had these two girls in my group since they were freshmen and it's crazy to think that they're done with college already (I console myself by remembering that they're graduating early). Last night we talked about the things God did in their lives over the last three and a half years. They have changed so much. One of them reminded us that she wasn't a Christian coming into college, but got involved in Chi Alpha because she liked a boy who was a small group leader. She's come a long way... :) I will miss seeing them as much as I do now, but I'm also excited to see who they will be in the years to come.

A Few Thoughts

I was reading a book by a campus minister named Steve Shadrach and came across this quote:

"Students are looking for something bigger and beyond themselves to give their hearts to... Don't challenge students with small dreams... Small challenges receive small commitments, so don't embarrass yourself or the Lord by asking for too little."

I wonder sometimes if I make students feel better about where they are at, or if I challenge them to dig deeper into their faith. I fear that I support the status quo. There's so much I have to learn when it comes to ministry. I guess this makes sense seeing as how I'm only 22. I just hope I have enough persistence to keep growing instead of accepting the status quo in myself as well as others.

Giving Thanks

I had a blast over Thanksgiving visiting my friend Deanna up in New York City. She's studying to be an opera singer and lives on the Upper West Side. It was a good mix of relaxing and exploring the city. We went to a cute tea place with an Alice in Wonderland decor and then I got to indulge in browsing for used books. On Thanksgiving, I got to meet some of Deanna's friends and we managed a full feast--without an oven! We opted to watch the parade on TV, but saw the balloons being blown up the night before. We also visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Frick Collection, strolling through Central Park on the way back. I feel very rested now and ready to tackle the last two weeks of the semester. It also reminded me of how wonderful God's family is--even when I can't be with my own family, God provides friends who fill the void.

Me in Central Park with the city in the background.

A Bit of Fall Fun

One of our student leaders brought a bunch of medium-sized pumpkins back to DC from her home in Pennsylvania. So we had a decorating contest between the small groups. Here are two of them:

A little inappropriate, but probably my favorite of all of them: John the Baptist's head on a platter.


A pretty good rendering of a basketball by one of the guys' groups.