I pulled out the shorts and flip-flops today. It felt so amazing outside. Nothing beats the start of spring on the mountain. It’s so incredibly beautiful. I’ve had dinner outside the last two nights… just eating, relaxing with friends, talking, and enjoying being at Covenant. It’s nice to be able to appreciate where you go to school and to actually enjoy being in a place of work and school. I won’t deny that there are hardships, struggles, and times of discouragement here… but that’s part of life.

I had a Finite Math exam earlier this afternoon. Saying “it was hard” wouldn’t do justice… maybe it’s just my tendency to cramp up and forget information when I take tests, but it was definitely one of the harder and more frustrating ones. We’re not allowed to use calculators which is a frustration when the vast majority of the problems deal with algebraic equations. Whatever… it’s done, and I did my best.

I’m going to work on some Doctrine homework tonight, as well as try and get some research done for my Management project coming up. My group’s topic is “Offshoring.” It’s going to be an interesting project. I’m excited about it.

Yesterday was the start of Scholarship Weekend on campus. There are some 180 students previewing on campus, the vast majority (or all) of which are applying for a major scholarship – anything from the Maclellan Scholarship, the Donaldson Science Scholarship, the Business Scholarship, the Education Scholarship, and a vast array of other ones that I can’t remember..

It’s been a lot of fun so far. The junior varsity basketball guys played against the faculty and Covenant staff in a game of basketball tonight. It was funny – President Nielson refereed the game.

I should be in bed right now… goodness, I have six classes tomorrow, the first of which is starting at 8:00 a.m. I love Fridays.

Chorale is singing their final Christmas concert, along with the Covenant orchestra and Madrigal Singers, tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Covenant Chapel. I’m excited… my parents are coming up to see me and Bets sing (along with the rest of the chorale, obviously). I do believe this will be the first time I have ever sung or performed on stage in front of my parents.

It’s going to be good, so be there. We’re singing four a capella songs — Joy to the World, Lux Arumque, Sing We Now of Christmas, and What Sweeter Music Can We Bring… followed by several other songs with the orchestra from “The Many Moods of Christmas,” suites 1 and 3.

Statistics exam tomorrow morning at 7:00.

Mac Movie Night tonight at 8:00 p.m. in the Chapel.

And Thanksgiving Break starting on Tuesday night…

It’s Day of Prayer today at Covenant. Classes are canceled for the day, and we have a chance to rest, do some extra studying, and spend time in prayer. I had a really restful morning so far… I slept in until 9:00 a.m., which was definitely a first for me in a long time. I had breakfast and read some in this book I have to read for Doctrine called Jesus Christ: Savior and Lord. It’s a good book so far – it’s pretty indepth, and I’ll admit that I don’t always understand the fancy words that the author uses. But it’s eye-opening as far as understanding the various “theologies” surrounding who Jesus was and still is… again, I only just started the book, so I’ll keep you posted as I continue to read. Click to continue »

This past weekend was Homecoming at Covenant. My family was going to come up for the weekend but ended up not coming because my grandparents were out of town. But it was an awesome weekend – it was cool to see a lot of alumni faces who knew my parents or my older siblings. And besides that, it was just a fun weekend with the different activities and things going on. Click to continue »

It’s a Wednesday evening, and just like any other Wednesday evening, I’m tired and feeling rather unmotivated. After a good 5 hours of solid classes this morning and this afternoon, I’m wiped out. This week has been fairly slow though in terms of tests and papers.. a short two-page paper was all that i’ve had this week. I’ve been spending a fair amount of my free time painting for Dr. Kapic, as well as trying to catch up on some studying for accounting and statistics, as well as microeconomics, art, and doctrine. And then again, there are always the starbucks runs with my sister or friends. There’s nothing like spending a good hour or two just sitting and having a vente carmel frappuchino with a friend… what a beautiful and welcome study break.

Jazz on the Overlook is this Friday night… get ready for some serious swing dancing! I already have dibs on my sister Bets for the first dance :)

Homecoming is this weekend. Get excited for the Faculty Follies and all the other exciting events going on.. it’s going to be good.

Friday night was the night the entire Covenant community had been awaiting for since last year’s grand Mountain Affair. For those of you who are unfamiliar with what Mountain Affair is, allow me to give you a brief explanation.

Mountain Affair is an annual performance that Covenant holds for students who have outstanding talents – may that be in the art of break-dancing, singing, dancing, or playing any number of musical instruments… from the violin to the piano to the electric guitar to the trumpet. Anyone is allowed to audition (this year brought over 100 students who auditioned), and a select few are chosen to actually perform. This past Friday at 8:00 p.m., the final eleven people/groups who made the audition performed at the annual Covenant College Mountain Affair.

The doors to the chapel opened around 7:15 p.m. People pushed their way through the crowds to find good seating. To give you an idea, the Chapel can fit approximately 700 people. It had 1000 people crammed into the actual Chapel building, while another 200-300 students and people sat on the Chapel lawn watching the performance on a live screen. The performances began at 8:00 p.m. and continued on until 10:00 p.m.

The night was incredibly beautiful and well-done. There were three winners who took home cash prizes of $750, $250, and $100… in order of 1st to 3rd place. But after talking to several of my friends who performed in the contest, apparently everyone had an amazing time. Just the opportunity to perform in Mountain Affair alone seemed to be a  blessing and incredible experience.

Every year, Covenant has this dance called Kilter. No doubt, most of you have heard of the Sadie-Hawkin’s Dance where the girls ask the guys on dates… it’s kind of the same, except there is a specific theme for every year. This year, it’s “Kartoon Kilter.” It’s been funny to watch all the girls trying to find a guy to ask… and to see who can come up with the most original and creative way to ask a guy to Kilter – anywhere from hiding an invitation inside a box…inside a box… inside another box… and you get the idea. OR writing an invitation on a stapler and then making jello around the stapler… in a very “Office” sort of way. OR hiding an invitation at the bottom of the pool..

Good times.. this year, Kilter is on September 15th and is taking place at the Creative Discovery Museum in downtown Chattanooga. The first time I ever went to Kilter, about two years ago, it was at the same place. Fun times.

It’s been a good, long, daunting, and exciting start to the fall semester. I’m tackling 18 credit hours with Statistics, Accounting I, Christian Doctrine, Microeconomics, Intro to Art, and Chorale. I have never been so excited starting into a new semester. I’m excited about what God is going to be teaching me and where He is going to be leading me this year… anywhere from classes to friendships to the Five Points. I’m excited about the changes that are happening on campus. The new residence hall is up and running, and the new academic building is making progress towards the spring deadline. But past the new building changes, I’m excited about the people.. the new RAs, RDs, professors, and even our own beloved chaplain Aaron Messner who gave his first chapel talk this morning. What a blessing to be a part of this change, growth, and maturing spreading throughout campus.