A New Year, A New Semester

I am back at Biola and LOVING it! So blessed to be back in the dorms reunited with all my sisters:) I will update at the end of the week about classes.
On New Year's Day I opened my Bible and stumbled upon Romans 12:1-21.

A Living Sacrifice

 ¹ Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Humble Service in the Body of Christ

 ³ For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. ⁴ For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, ⁵ so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. ⁶ We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; ⁷ if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; ⁸ if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

Love in Action

 ⁹ Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. ¹⁰ Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. ¹¹ Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. ¹² Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. ¹³ Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
 ¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. ¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
 ¹⁷ Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. ¹⁸ If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹ Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. ²⁰ On the contrary:
   “If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
   if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
 ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

As I was reading this passage, the Lord revealed to me that He wants me to do these things this year:
1. Offer myself as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God-as a spiritual act of worship.
2. To not conform to the [fallen] world around me.
3. To not be boastful. To humble myself. And to find my identity in Christ. (not in good deeds or other things)
4. To live and work together in harmony with others.
5. To recognize we all have different gifts.  He wants me to grow into the gifts He has graced me with and not compare myself with others.
6. To love compassionately and sincerely.
7. To look for those who need to be loved and love all those around me regardless of their background, situation, or what others will say or think.
8. To put OTHERS first.
9. "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, SERVING the Lord."
10. "Be JOYFUL in hope, PATIENT in affliction, FAITHFUL in prayer."
11. To practice hospitality-focus on others, not myself.
12. To love all people of different status, social circles, races, and religions. No one is beneath anyone else.
13. DO NOT BE CONCEITED.
14. Love others despite their downfalls or actions because Christ loved me like that. Offer grace that reflects the grace I have been given.
15. Accept grace both from God and those around me.

I want this to be an "others focused year" and in that, find personal growth. I am excited to not only see what this semester holds but what this year holds. (I know I'm about a month late for all this hopeful "New Year's Talk") I'm praying for growing and learning with my academics as well in my spiritual life and where God is going to lead me to serve Him.
 Have a blessed week and be open to what God may be asking you to do this week, month, or year. Everyday is a new opportunity for a fresh start. Don't think you can only make resolutions or changes in your life on January 1st or at the beginning of a season in your life.

Full of hope,
Amanda

Top 10 Things About Fall Semester

1. Dorm Life-living on the wonderful floor SOUL. I have enjoyed every moment, every late night food run, and getting to know all the wonderful, amazing girls on my floor:) I love them all! And my roommates are the greatest!
2. Chapels/Sinspo-I loved going to Chapel and Singspo and having the opportunity to worship God.  I heard so many new songs that LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!
3. The "spur of the moment" moments-during midterms some friends and I went and played in the mud and then during finals we went and played in the leaves. I loved it! We had so much fun :)
4. CANDYLAND-basically the most magical way to celebrate Halloween!! I got to be creative, see little kids, and we even won a cupcake maker! Which is super cool :)
5. Meeting new people-I have realized how much I seriously love to be with and meet new people.  I love getting to know so many amazing people.
6. The Caf-Oh man I love the caf!! It has been so good to me:) and the discovery of Commons(the on-campus coffeeshop). I always knew I loved the smell of coffee and I am slowly started to like the taste of coffee. Still trying to figure out how I like it best.
7. Disneyland-I have really, really liked being able to go to Disneyland throughout the semester:) So magical!!
8. Getting to meet DBC-I was able to me DBC, our president, FINALLY! It was so cool, so fun, and so nice to sit and talk to him in his amazing office!
9.Working-I was blessed with two on-campus jobs.  I love hosting high school students when they come to visit and have really enjoyed being an Eagle Host.  I have also learned so much being in the Event Society!
10. Seeing how much God has worked in my life-As I reflect on the last semester, I can really see how much work God has done in my life and I am so excited about the work He is going to continue to do next semester,

The Last Month

Well the end of my first semester of college is here. The last four months have been BEYOND amazing and of course, nothing short of magical! I have enjoyed every moment here and am looking forward to seven more semesters at Biola!
Since the last time I posted A LOT A LOT A LOT has happened. (I seem to say that in every post now. hehe). I have been writing lots and lots of papers taking tests and preparing for finals.  I picked out all my classes for next semester and am so so sooooo excited! I will be taking: Biblical Interpretation &Spiritual Formation, Old Testament, English, Intro to Public Communications, Intro to Teaching, and Intro to Public Relations. I will be taking classes for the three career paths I am considering pursuing so will get a little flavor of each of those and will get to compare and see what I enjoy doing most. Unfortunately, I have 8am classes everyday! But no night classes!!
December 3rd, we had the Christmas Tree lighting ceremony, a Biola tradition. It was really cool to see so many families and alumni come to kick off the Christmas season on campus.  Christmas is everywhere on campus! In the dorms, in the caf, we sang Christmas carols in Chapel, and the tree in from the music building is absolutely beautiful!
On December 4th, my floor had our GYRAD, or Get Your Roommate a Date. It was really fun and we went Extreme Candy Bowling. I went with someone I didn't know and had so much fun!! We all wore ugly Christmas sweaters and ate in the caf with our hands all tied to each other so it was a kind of challenging to eat but still super fun!
Ciara's birthday was also the beginning of this month so Hannah and I decorated her bed and went out to dinner with her. It was a lot of fun!
Alpha had a Christmas All-Hall and we all wore our ugly Christmas sweaters and took awkward family photos with our floor. It was great! We did some Christmas Karaoke and decorated cookies. So much fun!
Last week we had a Christmas party for The Event Society and it was so nice! For once we didn't have to serve or clean up after people, we got to relax and enjoy being together. We built Gingerbread houses! So much fun!
I have been spending lots of time in the library lately. That's actually where I'm currently sitting.  My record is 7 hours in one night. I see myself beating that record in the future(most likely next semester when I have 18 units!) Sitting in the library is not a bad thing though. I love the library:)
One of my "semester-long dreams" came true this morning. I was finally able to officially meet our President, Dr. Barry Corey, a.k.a. DBC! My wonderful senator, Natasha Cheeley, said she would set up an appointment with him for me.  She contacted his secretary and I was able to go and sit in his office and talk with him for about 20 minutes. (The view from his office is AMAZING!!)  We are so blessed to have him as our president and I am honored that he took time out of his day to meet with me.  Definitely the best way to start off my finals week!!
As I reflect on the last semester, I would not change a single thing. It was so amazing and I would not trade it for the world. The experience I had just in the last four months is definitely worth all the loans I will be paying off the rest of my life.  I cannot imagine myself at a better place or a more magical place! God has done a lot of work in my life and I'm looking forward to what He has in store for next semester.  I am so thankful for the opportunity to go here and all the people I have met and experiences I've had.  I thank God everyday for blessing me so much and allowing me to go here.
This week I have 5 finals and then I will have officially completed my first semester of college. I will be home for 6 weeks and hope to start playing guitar and watching Gilmore Girls while managing to get to the gym a few times a week. Mom has already done lots of baking and going to the gym will definitely be important over break!!
I pray that as the Christmas season quickly comes and goes, that you remember the true  reason for the season is Jesus :)
Much love and joy,
Amanda

Update

Well life here seems to get crazier and crazier every week.  I wouldn't change one second of it! Lots and lots has been going on around Biola and in my life since the beginning of this month. Here's a few things I've been doing:
-November 7 was MIDNIGHT MADNESS! It was crazy, super fun, I got to dance(kinda!) and there was red and white confetti! It was pretty much High School Musical Biola edition:)
-Because we won 2nd place for our door for Candyland, we got a really cool cupcake maker! It's a little oven type thing that bakes 6 cupcakes in 10 minutes...right in our room! It's really exciting! :)
-No Sugar November has not been as bad as one would think.  (It was a bit more of a challenge at Chrysalis but I survived!) I'm going to get frozen yogurt with Ari in 10 days! I went to the gym everyday this last week.
-I've been having lots of lunch and dinner dates which is one of my favorite parts of college!
-Chrysalis was absolutely amazing! The Holy Spirit did SOOOOOO much work in just 72 hours(as usual!).  I had so much fun being weekend coordinator with the fabulous Stephanie Sharp:) Although I've never been so exhausted after working a weekend before! Despite my exhaustion, I loved every moment of it!!
-The homework never seems to end! I've been reading, studying, and writing papers like there's no tomorrow.  Very much looking forward to Christmas break! Unfortunately, Thanksgiving break will only be an excuse to go home, not to stop doing homework:( Mom wants to do crafts while I'm home, I  must write 4 papers and study for 2 tests. I will do both!
-On Tuesday night the caf served a Thanksgiving dinner.  My floor wore Indian headbands and went as a "family". 'Twas lovely! The caf was CRAZY CROWDED!!
-On Wednesday my floor had a worship night and bonfire out on McNally field!!! It was soooooo much fun! :) I've been wanting to go to a bonfire so I got to hang with my Soul Sisters, listen to Ari play guitar and sing(SO AMAZING!), worship, and smell the fire. Such a great night!...Then I stayed up until 3am studying for a test! hehe
-This past Friday I went to Disneyland with my roommates and our RA Kelsey.  It was so much fun and super magical! Going to Disneyland at Christmas time definitely puts you in the Christmas spirit!
-Soooo yesterday my roommates, Hannah and Ciara, and I had a lovely day of bonding and spending time together:) We went to the library for 5 hours to study and get work done, went to the football playoff game to watch some friends play, and then went to WalMart to get some decorations for our room. We came home and put lights up(SO MAGICAL!) and painted on stockings all while listening to Christmas music and had the virtual fireplace burning. We will be decorating our door soon:)
-I taught 3rd graders today at church. They are definitely not my grade.  It makes me so sad how important "stuff" is to those 8 year olds.  Today they said they are thankful for their iTouch and the internet.  What about family, a warm place to sleep, or health? So sad.  I think I like the little ones better ;)
-My beautiful friend Sarah "flo" Martin will be coming to visit me tomorrow! I am so very excited! Then she is taking me home Tuesday afternoon for Thanksgiving break.  I can't wait to see my family, hopefully some friends, do crafts(and write papers!), and eat delicious food!!

I hope life is treating you all well as you prepare for the upcoming holiday season! Find joy in all God has blessed you with and all you do. Be thankful for the loved ones in your lives.
In His Unfailing Love,
Amanda

The Crazy Life...and Candyland!!

It has been WAAAAAAAAAY too long since I've updated! Over two weeks! So sorry. My life has been C-R-A-Z-Y, to say the least.  Here are some things that have been going on here:

1.)We had Torrey Bible Conference at the end of October, that was a nice way to mix up the routine of classes and somewhat relax from our normal schedule. Every student is required to attend eight conference sessions.
2.)We had Candyland which was sooo magical and super fun but OH SO MUCH WORK! I will talk more about that later.
3.)We had midterms the last two weeks of October so there was lots and lots of studying, tests, papers, and work in general.  Since then the work has not slowed down and I don't feel like I will ever have a handle on my school work!
4.)I started helping with Sunday School this last week.  They are going to move me around a bit to see which age group I do best with/and enjoy the most.  I also started helping elementary school kids with their homework for two hours on Tuesday.  I really enjoy it!
5.)Things have been so busy that if I don't put something, including dinner dates with friends and naps, it's not happening!
6.)I hosted two students for 3 nights last week for Biola Bound which is a preview program for out of state students. I love my job! And I have two checks to deposit this week:) It's pretty cool getting paid to do something I absolutely love!!
7.)I've been working events with The Event Society. We had the Golf Tournament last week and the Provost Installation this morning.  It was really cool to see lots of important Biola people. (and dress cute and professional! hehe)
8.)Midnight Madness is on Sunday night! It's the biggest pep rally of the year and I'm so STINKIN excited! There is going to be so much school spirit! And it's going to be all red and white like High School Musical and I get to be in it!! AHHHHHH it's going to be sooooo magical!
9.)I've been kind of trying to start figure out my schedule for next semester. It's going to be a lot of work! But I'm going to attempt to take 18 units to get the most bang for my(well mom and dads) buck!
10.)Some girls on my floor are doing "No Sugar November". It's going to be rough but I'm actually really excited! We started Monday.  And I've been working out this week and have a new found love for the eliptical!!

Now onto the most magical way to spend Halloween!!
Every year for Halloween, the dorm I live in, Alpha, is transformed into a magical land of wonder! Every door is decorated with something that matches the theme of each floor.  Our floor was Mr. Mint Goes to Hollywood. We were the only floor that had something on every door and had the most participation.  We also decorated our whole floor with red and white streamers and candycanes and such! It looked so cute!! We chose UP for our door and built the house and had real balloons and we won 2nd place! Our prize was this really cool cupcake maker that makes 6 cupcakes in 10 minutes and all the ingredients to go with it! I'm so excited to use it...to make cupcakes for other people. (because of No Sugar November and because I love to share yummy food with people!)  Our door looked super cute but took so much work.  I went to bed at or around 4am everyday because I was working the door then had homework.  I loved Candyland so much but it was a lot of work! Our floor really pulled together and everyone helped make it look great! I am definitely looking forward to be a part of it next year.  The day of Candyland(Sunday 10/31) was insane! The lobbies were complete transformed and looked nothing our lobbies and had huge murals and trees and stuff set up for games! About 800 kids and their families came through to trick-or-treat.  The kids were so cute and it was so magical to see all of them:) I really enjoyed it!

Here's our door: