Monday, April 30, 2012

April 30

Second day of finals is over with!  Today has been pretty busy with catching up on things, running to the store, and taking my Christian Spirituality final.  Oh yeah, and I worked some on editing the play video... Anyway, then I finally got the video done and uploaded from the SMA retreat.  So make sure and go to vimeo.com/joelcsutherland/sma and watch it. :)

Anyway, I'm off to bed now!  Goodnight! :)

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Finals Week!

Finals week has begun!  But it's actually a nice break. :)  I need to use this extra time to start packing and stuff...  But anyway, today I had my Intro to Ministry final in the afternoon.  This morning we had our SALT alumni breakfast, which was really good!  Nearly everyone made it, which was really neat. :)

Anyway, I'm off to bed!  Goodnight! :)

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Sabbath

What an amazing day!  This morning I listened to two more powerful sermons by Derek Morris - Radical Dependence and Radical Protection.  They were incredible!  And then I ate in the cafeteria before heading over to a nursing home to sing and give a talk.  After that, we went out to Chickamauga Battlefield with the Chatt. First church and walked around some and explored, then went to East Ridge for vespers which was a concert by Magnify.  That was really good!

Anyway, it's late and I need to get to bed.  And we have a SALT alumni breakfast at 9:00 in the morning at Michelle's house, so I'm looking forward to that. :)  Anyway, goodnight! :)

Friday, April 27, 2012

Happy Sabbath!

If you're a student at Southern and you haven't caught the missionary spirit, I have no idea why!  Vespers tonight was a special vespers to consecrate the 24 graduating Religion Majors, the 86 of us who are going on ERC mission trips, and the 50 some-odd who are going as student missionaries for a year.  Derek Morris is here for the weekend, so he spoke a powerful sermon about the Radical Prayer.  And then we were all called up one by one, given a candle, and then we surrounded the sanctuary.  It was pretty powerful.

Anyway, I need to get to bed, so goodnight!  I have to get up and listen to two more sermons by Pastor Morris.  I can't wait. :)  Goodnight! :)

Thursday, April 26, 2012

April 26

Well, today has been pretty good.  Had my last real assignment due this afternoon.  A big paper for Intro to Ministry class.  So I got that done this morning.  Convocation was different in each department, so I went to the Religion one.  It was really good!  It was Goodbye and Hello, and Dr. Tryon spoke near the end.  Quite powerful.  Then I ate lunch with Amy in the cafeteria before my last two classes.  In Intro to Ministry class, we finished watching a movie that we started last week called The Reading Room.  It was really good!  Definitely taught a lot of the principles of leadership we've been learning.  Anyway, then this afternoon I played racquet ball with Seth for a little bit before doing some follow-up stuff for work.  Then I watched Sarah Chang's championship soccer game.  And they won!!!  So we were really proud of the Seoul Sistas! :)  Then Descant had a concert at 7:30.  That's a group that a lot of our friends are in, including Rebekah Luchak and Anna Fink.  And now we're actually off to bed early!  So goodnight! :)

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Wednesday night

Today has gone well.  My last Hebrew test is done and out of the way.  So is my final for Fitness for Life and the final for Web Development.  So classes are starting to get finished and out of the way!  Anyway, I'm tired, so will get to bed.  Goodnight! :)

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

4/24/12

Wow.  The closing notes of the oratorio "Neither Life nor Death" are still ringing in my ears: "Neither life nor death shall separate us from the love of God!"  Wow.  The first time I've ever performed in a choir with a full symphonic orchestra.  Definitely one of the highlights of my life!  There were several places in that piece that were just so amazing!  And then the feeling after we were done.  People hardly even waited for the last sound to disappear before they were on their feet applauding.  And then the composer came up and once people finally quieted down he said a few words of appreciation.  Then the family had a reception for those of us who performed it.  And they gave us each bookmarks that had Romans 8:38-39 on them.  And I had Tim Rumsey sign mine. :)

Other than that, my day has been packed with homework and classes.  I've been working on the Web Development homework ever since I rolled out of bed this morning and I finally finished it about 11:30.  It was being extremely difficult!  Between all of that, I took the final test for the Computer Concepts Class and had lots of choir practice and went to classes.  And then tonight I've gone over a little bit for the Hebrew test I have at 8:00 in the morning.  But I haven't really studied at all.  So I'll need to get up early to do that.  And since it's after midnight already, I need to get to bed.  So goodnight! :)

Monday, April 23, 2012

Monday night

Well, today has been long but really good.  Hebrew this morning, then I had my speech in speech class.  Well, actually that was after Fitness for Life where we had our post assessment with sit-ups and push-ups and height and weight and stuff.  Yeah, that wore me out.  Then I had my speech.  It went better than I was fearing.  After that, I stood at the SALT table that we set up in the student center for an hour before grabbing a sandwich and rushing off to meet with the pastor.  At 5:00 I had choir rehearsal again.  Boy, I still can't make it through the third and fifth movements of that piece without choking up!  And it's kind of hard to sing when you're that way. =P  Anyway, that got over at 7, so then I picked up Julie and we went to Louise's house for a Bible study.  Julie and Travis were the ones who knocked on her door back during the Summer of Evangelism, so it was nice to get them back together again. :)  Anyway, finished that and got back around 9:30, then I grabbed something to eat, visited with Eric and Seth for a bit, called home, and now I'm off to bed!  So goodnight! :)

Sunday, April 22, 2012

April 22

In case you read this, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my favorite 9-year-old in the whole wide world!!!!!!!! :)  Tried calling you this morning and again just a few minutes ago, but realized you all are still out at Summit probably having lots of fun without me. :(  Just don't kill yourself on a snow machine or sled or something. lol  Anyway, I'll try to call tomorrow. :)

Now, to my day.  Got to sleep in until 9:00. :)  Then went over to Ryan's aunt's house for breakfast at 10:00.  They just got back from Thailand, so it was good to see them again.  And it was a really good waffle breakfast, too. :)  Then I came back and worked on homework for the rest of the day.  I have a speech in class tomorrow and I still have no idea what I'm saying...  I've written quite a bit down but I'm still not happy with any of it.  So hopefully inspiration strikes me in the morning.  At least it's only a 2-3 minute speech, but still...

At 5 we had choir rehearsal.  This was our first rehearsal with the full orchestra for the concert Tuesday night.  It is going to be amazing!  So if you're inclined, you can actually listen to the concert on April 29 at 4 PM Eastern at wsmc.org.  It's the Rumsey Oratorio.

After that, at 8:00, we had the Strawberry Festival.  It was a movie documenting the year here at Southern.  It was very well done!  I sure hope I can get it on DVD so I can show it to you all...

Anyway, I'm off to bed now.  So goodnight! :)

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Sabbath

Wow, today has been a lot of fun!  Went to Chatt. First for church as usual, then Eric and I went over to Donesky's house for lunch and the afternoon.  We had lasagna for lunch, then we went outside and had a bonfire and shot BB guns. lol  It was pretty epic.  Then I had to meet at the church at 6:15 for Evensong.  The choir sang for it tonight...  So that was at 7:30.  At 9:00 we had the last Studio 4109 event in the cafeteria.  It was the only one I made it to all semester, but it was so funny!  It's like the comedy/music show that happens once a month.  Dr. Beitz was the host.  Yeah, and they had free pizza and drinks and stuff. :)  But anyway, now I'm off to bed, so goodnight! :)

Friday, April 20, 2012

Happy Sabbath!

Wow, long day!  But an epic one! (I don't think I've used that word for awhile, so I should be able to use it again. =P)  Anyway, last vocab quiz in Hebrew 2!!!  Then I had the rest of the day to work on homework and pay the VISA bill and stuff before choir rehearsal at 3:00.  And that was the closest I've come to fainting in my entire life.  I hadn't eaten lunch because I was planning on eating at 5 when the cafe opened.  But the heat of the lights and being up front in the church during dress rehearsal really bothered me.  I started feeling dizzy, I couldn't even sing, and then I started sweating profusely, but when I felt my skin it felt like a refrigerator.  Yeah, not good.  So I had to stumble off stage in the middle of one of the songs and get some water and lay down for a bit...  But I made it through rehearsal.

This evening we had vespers out at the Goliath Wall and it was a concert by different students.  It was amazing!!!  And the last song totally blew me away.  It was a girl singing "In the Name of the Lord".  As soon as I heard what she was singing, I was like "This is either going to be really good or really horrible."  But she totally did that song amazingly!!!  Nearly as good as Sandi Patty herself!  Yeah, I was totally impressed...  But anyway, then a bunch of us went for a walk on the Greenway.  That was a lot of fun, but we had to rush back in time for curfew at 11:15. lol  But now I'm off to bed, so goodnight! :)

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Thursday

Well, I slept from 9:30 last night until 6:30 this morning, so I was feeling much better today!  That was SO nice! :)  And I led the very last song service this morning.  I decided I'm not going to do that next year.  I'll be busy enough with the Southern Mentor job and my Bible work job.  And if I get into Destiny Drama (yes, I'm going to try)...  So yeah, leading song service is something I don't want to have to deal with.  So Anna Fink had the privilege of leading it with me for the last time. lol

Had a test in Intro to Ministry class, but I think that went well.  And the other classes went well too.  The choir has two concerts coming up, one on Saturday night and the other on Tuesday night, so we have rehearsal tomorrow afternoon as well as Sunday afternoon.  But they should go well and I'm looking forward to them. :)

Oh, and the last homework is due in Hebrew in the morning and the last Vocab quiz as well!  So I'm excited about that. :)  The semester is nearly over!!!

Anyway, I'm off to bed.  Goodnight! :)

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Wednesday

Today has been pretty good, although I haven't been feeling very good.  My stomach has been bothering me... :(  Anyway, besides that, it went well.  Classes and homework.  And I got the blog and video done for the mission trip!  So make sure and follow the blog.  Click here for that.  And then go and check out episode 1 of the video series!  It is here.  So that's my big news of the day...  Oh yeah, and if you're on Google+, make sure and follow the page I have on there as well.  But I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired, so I'll go to bed to try to remedy this. =P  Goodnight! :)

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Tuesday

Wow, it's late.  I need to get to bed.  I have to get up early tomorrow to finish studying for a paradigm quiz in Hebrew.  Today went pretty well, except I ended up with my sinuses hurting so bad this evening I had to come home early from outreach and lay down.  I actually slept for about a half hour, which was nice.  Anyway, I'm off to bed.  Goodnight! :)

Monday, April 16, 2012

Monday


Wow, where has the day gone?  At least I got quite a bit accomplished.  Besides classes and homework, I met with the pastor and did a couple visits and Bible studies.  And I did a short video for my power point class tomorrow.  I have a speech to do and I'm supposed to have a video clip in it.  So I'll post the video below.  Anyway, I'm off to bed now.  Goodnight! :)

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Sunday

Today went pretty well.  Got to sleep in until 8:00 or so. :)  Then I took a shower and worked on Hebrew homework.  This afternoon I played Tennis for awhile with Eric and Matt.  That was a lot of fun!  Then I ate lunch around 4:20 or so.  That was the only meal I had today, besides an English muffin this morning. lol  This evening, Seth and I filmed a couple more scenes for our various mission trip intro videos (Stay tuned for more info about that...) and then we went to a concert by the Wind Symphony.  I always enjoy those. :)  Then it was back to my room with Seth, Eric, and Stefan where we finished watching Pendragon.  I love that movie!  Anyway, then I called Mom for awhile and now I'm off to bed.  So goodnight! :)

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Sabbath

It is very late, so can't right much.  There was a music program for church, which was really good.  Then we crashed the potluck at another church for lunch.  And I handed out Great Controversies with the East Ridge Church this afternoon.  This evening was spent hanging out with Seth, Eric, Stefan, and Ethan.  Anyway, I'm off to bed now!  Goodnight! :)

Friday, April 13, 2012

Happy Sabbath!

Today has been busy but good.  Hebrew class was spent in going over the results from the last test.  I got an 83%...  Next to the worst score I've gotten all semester...  Oh well.  Then I spent the next few hours working on my speech that I gave at 12:00.  Giving a speech with nearly no voice isn't exactly the best, but it worked.  I just wish I felt better...  Anyway, this afternoon I worked on Sabbath school for tomorrow.  How to Present Bible Studies...

Vespers this evening was the home show by Destiny Drama Association.  It was a play called "The Witness" and it was really good!  Talked about standing up for what is right no matter how many of your friends don't agree with you.  And then we had nachos in the guys' dorm afterwards.  But now I am off to bed.  I'm exhausted...  Goodnight! :)

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Thursday

Yippee!  Another week nearly over!  Unfortunately, I have Hebrew homework due in the morning, then a speech I have to give at 12:00, and Sabbath School to prepare for before 9:00 on Sabbath morning.  Yeah, tomorrow will be crazy...  But anyway, my homework is nearly done, so just a little bit to finish in the morning.  And then a speech to work on...  But I already said that.  So yeah, today has been pretty good.  Lots of homework and schoolwork.  Convocation was amazing!  A Native American musician spoke.  He told his story about when he first realized that someone could love him.  I don't think there was a dry eye in the building by the time he was done.  I wish I could have gone to his concert tonight, but we had housing fair, so I had to go pick our room for next semester.  Anyway, Seth and I ate at CiCi's Pizza this afternoon.  Since we're both getting low on money on our account and it would cost more to eat here than there, we went there.  Boy was it good. :)  After that, I came back to my room and worked on Hebrew homework while Seth went and did more interviews for his mission trip video.  Oh yeah, this morning I started shooting the first part of the introduction video for my mission trip as well.  Can't wait to get that done and posted to the blog so I can share the address with you all! :)  Anyway, I'm off to bed now.  Gotta get up early in the morning...  Goodnight! :)

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Wednesday

Well, today has been a typical Wednesday.  Sort of.  It's been really good, though.  It started with the SALT breakfast this morning at 7:00.  Deborah led out and we talked about the Law of Initiation.  How leaders have to react to things and initiate responses.  Then I had Hebrew class at 8:00.  That was fun.  When I got finished with that, I went over to the bank on campus and opened an account so I could deposit the checks I had gotten for fuel from the church into it.  That took a lot of my morning, but it was something that had to be done.  At 11:00 I had Fitness for Life class and today we could do anything we wanted to for 30 minutes!  So a bunch of us decided to play Ultimate Frisbee.  That was SO much fun!  I definitely need to play more often...  Then I had speech class.  One of the speeches today was given by one of the girls about women's ordination.  We've been doing persuasive speeches the last few class periods, and this is definitely a speech I had been looking forward to.  She at least brought me up to a neutral position, I think, until I have the time to study it out further.  Yeah, a couple of the people in the class have picked very controversial topics.  Another one was abortion.  Anyway, but back to ordination, the Southern Union just voted on Monday that they would not ordain women and they would stand behind the decision of the General Conference, which I was very happy about.  If the General Conference decides something, I believe that the Unions need to abide by that.  Unfortunately, several of the other unions have not done the same as the Southern Union, but I'm glad our Union made the decision it did.  But as far as women's ordination, I definitely want to study that out more.

After speech class, I went and ate lunch with Seth.  Or rather, Mr. Popular.  We finish eating and we're trying to leave, and he decides he has to talk with someone for awhile on our way out.  After that, I start heading for the door of the cafe and Seth starts heading the opposite direction.  He had found someone else he wanted to talk to. lol  At least I saw Valerie sitting at the very back of the cafe, so I was able to visit with someone I knew. lol

We met Katie and Amy at 2:00 for racquet ball.  This was a rematch of our game last week.  Katie and Seth beat Amy and I pretty bad, so we wanted to prove we could win.  Well, we didn't exactly prove that, but we came close.  So there will be another rematch next week. lol

After that, I worked on more homework, then did some work before supper and prayer meeting at the church.  Then Katie and I did our weekly Bible study after that and now I am off to bed.  So goodnight! :)

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Tuesday night

So, I should not have eaten so much sugar last night.  Oh when will I learn?  Anyway, I'm trying desperately to stay somewhat well.  But I have a sore throat and stuffy nose.  Ugh.  Today was pretty good other than that.  Sarah Chang helped me with song service after I ate breakfast.  Then I hit homework.  For once it's 9:45 on a Tuesday and I've played racquet ball already and don't have any homework that still needs to be done by 11:55!  So that makes me feel very good.  But everything went well.  It's just a count-down to school over now.  Just a couple more weeks!  If I can make it...  So anyway, I'm off to bed now.  Goodnight! :)

Monday, April 9, 2012

Monday

Well, today has been good.  Long, but good.  Hebrew homework was postponed until Wednesday, which made me happy.  Other than that, I've been working on my speech quite a bit as well as preparing for a Bible study I gave tonight.  And meeting with the pastor for awhile as well.  Yeah, pretty epic...  Anyway, I'm off to bed now.  Maybe my brain will be functioning better tomorrow. lol  Anyway, goodnight! :)

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Easter!

Well, today has been quite epic.  Started with getting up.  Or rather, sleeping in. lol  That was the epic part.  We didn't get up until nearly 9:00.  After getting up, we went and grabbed something to eat at CK's, then Seth left for his kayaking trip while Dad and I went and visited Jordans for awhile.  We had a lot of fun over there.  After that, Dad headed home while I went to working on Hebrew homework.  And I worked on that and other things for much of the short afternoon before eating lunch and going over to the girls' dorm for their open house.  It felt somewhat awkward at first wandering the halls of the girls dorm, but we got over it. lol  We visited a bunch of rooms and ate lots of sweets.  Anyway, I think I might head to bed pretty quick.  Unless we watch Dad the Hero on Vacation.  Still debating.  Anyway, goodnight! :)

Saturday, April 7, 2012

SonRise!

Well, today was quite the day!  Started the day with SonRise breakfast at 7:00.  Then our showing was the first one at 8:45.  All I can say is that SonRise is one of the most powerful things I've ever been a part of!  I was playing John and I was sobbing for like the last half of the thing...  Yeah.  Anyway, so I made it through show one, then Musgroves came and Dad came up to the church and they went through my second showing.  That one went better in some ways, but not in others.  Oh well.  After that, I showed Musgroves around campus for awhile, then they left and Seth, Dad, and I went to Donesky's house for awhile.  Then a bunch of friends threw me sort of an early birthday party.  We went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant, then we went bowling.  That was a lot of fun. :)  But anyway, I'm off to bed.  So goodnight! :)

Friday, April 6, 2012

Friday night

This morning was our Hebrew test.  That went decent, but not as good as it could have been.  I guess time will tell.  Anyway, I helped Katie with the movie they are doing for Psych class.  My car is in it's second movie now. lol  After that, I had speech class, then lunch and sound check for SonRise.  Then we had rehearsals all evening.  But Dad is here, so I am will sign off and get to bed!  Goodnight! :)

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Thursday

Today has been pretty good.  Led song service again this morning for worship.  Anna Fink helped me - finally!  Things kept coming up, but today she was actually able to do it. lol  Then convo at 11:00.  It was the awards ceremony for all those over-achievers in the school. lol  Then choir and classes.  This afternoon I worked on preparing for the Bible study I had this afternoon as well as studied a little for the Hebrew test I have in the morning.  Then the study with Louise before rushing over to Thatcher chapel for the evening meeting where Deborah and I led song service.  Sarah Chang played the piano. :)  But I walked in right at 6:59, and it was supposed to start at 7:00.  I got several people worried. lol  (including myself...)  After that, I went to the last part of the SonRise practice for Pilate's Judgment Hall, then studied some more for my Hebrew test.  I really think I'm going to fail it, but oh well.  Now I'm off to bed so I can think in the morning!  Goodnight! :)

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Wednesday

For some reason I've been thinking all day that today was Thursday.  But it was Wednesday.  And it didn't seem very productive to me.  No homework done...  But it was a good day anyway.  Sorry about not posting anything last night.  I didn't get to bed unit 12:30 or so and I was so exhausted I just plain forgot.  Yesterday was all homework.  Yeah, typical Tuesday.  This morning I was back up at 6:30 to try to memorize the vocabulary words for Hebrew at 8:00, then I went to the SALT breakfast at 7:00.  Then Hebrew.  Then I cleaned my room and organized my drawers and folded my laundry and stuff until Fitness for Life at 11:00.  Yeah, that killed me.  I had to run 2.2 miles on the biology trails.  I did it in 17:59 though!  I was impressed. :)  I think I'm getting much better than I used to be.  And I signed up for the 5K run that's in a couple of weeks.  I get 25 extra points for that. :)  Anyway, after lunch Seth and I played racquet ball with Katie and Amy for awhile, then I did some outreach before prayer meeting.  Then Katie and I did a Bible study and I'm back in my room now exhausted.  So goodnight all! :)

Monday, April 2, 2012

Monday

Today has been pretty good.  Kind of frustrating because I didn't get much done, but it was still nice.  This morning we had Hebrew, then wrote an essay in the testing center before fitness for life and speech class.  Then I met with the pastor, then attempted to follow up a Bible study before stopping at WalMart and coming back to campus to do laundry then go to SonRise rehearsal.  After that I played Tennis for Fitness for Life, then Eric, Stefan, Tyler, and I cheered for Sarah Chang in her soccer game at 9:00. :)  The only problem was that I realized I knew 2 people in the opposing team. =P  Valerie and Anissa, but oh well.  We still cheered for Sarah. :)  Sarah lost 0-1, but they gave the other team a long run for their point.  Anyway, now I'm off to bed.  Goodnight! :)

Sunday, April 1, 2012

SMA Retreat!

Wow, the weekend was amazing!  Sorry I didn't post anything here, I didn't have cell service really and the internet was horrible in the cabins.  Anyway, Friday afternoon a whole bunch of us left for the Student Ministerial Association retreat to Cohutta Springs.  It was so much fun!  Friday night after supper Elder Ron Smith spoke for several hours.  On Sabbath, I had to come back to Chattanooga First for church, but then I rushed back out there in time to grab a bite to eat and then head out on a hike.  That was fun, then we went canoeing for awhile.  It was so nice to get back into a canoe again!  After that we spent several hours singing.  And whoever thinks that young people don't like singing hymns anymore should have stuck their head into the lodge yesterday afternoon.  There were a bunch of us young people with hymnals singing plain old hymns and having an epic time!  But maybe that's just a phenomenon that happens with the religion department at Southern. lol  After that, we had supper, a short vespers, and then we played all kinds of games.  Outside we played Man Hunt (in the dark, of course), which is sort of like hide and seek in teams...  It was quite epic!  Our team won. :)  Then we played Ninja and Mafia.  We got to bed by 11:00, then were back up in time for breakfast at 8:00.  And yes, I got up, packed, and loaded my car in 10 minutes and got to breakfast on time. =P  After breakfast I rushed back to campus for the SonRise walkthrough at 10:00, then worked on Hebrew homework for awhile with Kayla before the Home Show with the Gym Masters at 2:30.  That was incredible!  I decided that Caleb needs to get into gymnastics so he can join them when he gets here.  (And yes, Caleb, you'll probably end up here sooner or later =P)  But those guys are incredible!  There is this one guy that was insanely strong.  He would be sitting on the back of a chair, lay over backwards, then do sit-ups holding a girl who was standing on his hands.  Then later he was rolling on the ground balancing a girl from hand to hand as he was rolling and she was somehow keeping her balance.  But the part that reminded me of Caleb was the guy on the trapezoid.  He was doing all kinds of tricks on that thing.  Anyway, this evening I finished up my Hebrew homework, then put together a rough edit of the video footage I took over the weekend.  We'll see if I ever get something good enough to upload done...  But now I'm off to take a shower and get to bed.  Goodnight! :)