Music for the Weekend--8/15

Seems to be the theme in my life this week and hopefully the rest of my life.

Give Me Your Eyes by Brandon Heath

Not Your Typical Garden

Last Monday, my Mom and I packed up the car and headed down to Shelbyville, Indiana. We were making a much-needed visit to my Uncle Steven, his family, my Grandma and Papa. After the roughly five hour drive and obligatory Chick-Fil-A stop, we arrived at my Uncle Steven's house and the visit began. The two days included a lot of talking and catching up on each others lives. One of my personal highlights of the trip was spending time with my Papa who I had not seen in thirteen years. Needless to say, we had both changed tremendously in that span of time.

I was entranced by his passion about his relationship with God and sharing his story with everyone around him. He was a farmer basically his whole life and because of recent health issues he decided to leave his farm to be closer to family. Most people would be resentful about having to leave what they love to do, but not Papa. I am sure that he went through a period of adjustment and wondering what his purpose is now that he is no longer on the farm, but when he spoke all I could see and hear was love of his animals and work, acceptance of what God has for him in his life now, and gratefulness that he is still on this earth to do God's work.

One story in particular that Papa told about his farm stuck with me. I don't remember all the details of the story, but it happened very shortly before he got sick and decided to leave the farm. In fact, this event was part of the reason he ended up leaving. He began by saying, one day he had planted hundreds of tomato plants and bell pepper plants. Since my Papa is old school, he had done all the planting manually (on his hands and knees). After a long, hard day of work, he looked over what he had done and was so happy. He even said that he looked up at the beautiful sky and thanked God for the beautiful weather. Not long after this, him and the guy that had been helping him, returned their gazes to the sky and saw an ominous storm cloud looming above them. Before they knew it, hailstones about the size of tennis balls were plummeting to the ground not sparing a single tomato plant. After the storm had passed the next day, Papa got up and headed to buy more tomato plants. So with plants in hand, he replanted over a hundred tomato crops, once again on his hands and knees. When time came to harvest his work, he paced through the rows of tomatoes noticing something was wrong. His crops had been scavenged by rodents, who had peeled the tomatoes and then eaten them. Another crop ruined. Stubbornly, Papa returned to buy even more tomato plants for his last try at harvesting them. After planting them, he returned later to discover that they had been struck with blight.

Now Papa did not tell this story in search of pity or to show his human determination. No, he told it to show God's imprint on his life. Many comments were made about the similarities of these events to some sort of divine plague issued by God. Papa, in his calm and straightforward way, agreed that God was sending him a pretty clear message. Papa continued by explaining that, after that third crop of tomato plants were ruined, he finally got the message. God wasn't testing his strength or determination, because God clearly knows that Papa is a stubborn, hard-working man. God was saying "This farm is no longer your home or your work. You work solely for Me now." Shortly after that Papa fell ill and left his farm.

Papa spoke with such purpose and saw the humor in the way God chose to speak to him. God knew that the only way to get straight to Papa's heart was to target his beloved farm. Although he misses his goats and chickens, Papa repeatedly explained that he is where God needs him and he now more than ever sees that the things of this world are temporary. When God calls how should we respond? In the same way my Papa did: "Lord my ears are open and my tired feet are ready. Where to next?"

Movie for a Monday!

I know I know I am slacking on the actually blog writing but I wanted everyone who reads this blog to watch this movie: "Lord, Save Us From Your Followers"

This is just the trailer, but I want you to get the feeling for what this extremely interesting and well-done documentary is all about. Here you go:

Music for the Weekend--8/8

So this newer artist is Katie Todd! I had the pleasure of seeing her and her band perform at the Lilith Fair a couple weekends ago with Thais and Jackie. She had a unique sound and her band even included a trumpet player. Needless to say it was a very enjoyable show! Here are her songs Love, Love, Love and Leave. Enjoy!






Peace.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

This post is a little different. For now, I just want to share this Bible passage without providing any of my own commentary. Man, how this kind of situation can be seen everyday!

Luke 10:25-37 NIV
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?"

He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'

"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"

The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."

My own experience to come... M.C.


hmmmmmm...

A Question of Manhood

I recently saw a commercial for a popular, largely-feminine, soap product, which has started a campaign to target male consumers. The goal of the commercial was essentially to persuade men that if you have accomplished all the basics that are required of a man, including being "good at sports," "always looking cool," "getting a nice girl to marry you," "having three kids," etc, then you should be comfortable enough in life and in your manhood to use this soap product.

When I saw this commercial, which initially ran on Superbowl Sunday, I was left wondering: Is this the checklist that men need to go through to feel comfortable with their life? Is this what manhood looks like or should look like? I know I am bringing this rather superficial commercial to a deeper level, but this hit me pretty hard. Most of these steps or accomplishments don't define manhood, nor do they, alone, make a man. I think that manhood should be defined more by who the man is, how he loves, what he values, rather than a checklist of accomplishments. At least that is what I would search for in the man who could someday be my future husband. I will let you decide what you think. Here is the commercial:



Mackensey

Music for the Weekend

This weekend's music post was delayed a day due to events to be related to in future posts. Here you go. Actually this recommendation comes from a lifetime friend of mine (David Ulrich) and our childhood obsession with the group Hanson. This photo to the left shows the boys during their 1990s prime, which just so happened to coincide with my tween years!

Just releasing their new album, the three brothers reunited to create this song that is actually quite catchy. Gotta love there nerdy dance moves, reminds me of their boyish charm.: Thinking 'Bout Somethin' by Hanson



Enjoy!

Mackensey

Prodigal Blogger

Okay, okay so the title is lame, but I guess my week sabbatical turned into a couple weeks. Do not fret, though, because I am back. These past couple weeks have gotten away from me, but I am here to stay. Kaitlyn's whirlwind visit of Chicago was well worth the wait! The visit was packed full with amazing Chicago activities including delicious food, a sleepover at Heath and Thais' house, discussions about education reform, and TONS of walking. Her visit was much needed and I am glad we got to catch up on each others lives. Anywho, after my hiatus I am refocusing and writing once more. Today I will share with you a poem I wrote, which is pretty raw, but thought you guys might enjoy it. Here goes nothing:

We are all in this together
Mankind, human beings are messed up
Beautifully dependent on Him
No one man can surpass another
We are all painfully, incredibly indebted
We strive on our own but never succeed
Yet this sweet realization frees us

Recognizing our equal dependence,
we can choose love through grace
Leaving pretense, judgment, pride
all corruption and violence,
Why would we kill when we realize
we need that person to fully live?

We are all in this together
This one fact frees us to live
Allows us to stop and listen
Mercy replaces injustice
Love replaces war

Recognizing we are in this together,
we unite under our King
Only through God's grace and mercy
are we set free of ourselves.

M.C.

A Week Sabbatical

Well I am sad to say that I won't be posting on my blog this week, but for good reason! My friend Kaitlyn is coming to visit the amazing city of Chicago so I must show her the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of my new home! But don't worry, I will return shortly with some great stories and adventures. Also be looking forward to blog posts about love, risks, and living in God's will.

So for this week, please comment on this post if there is a topic, current event, issue, or random subject that you would like me to blog about!! And if you haven't already, add yourself to my followers list!

Until later,

Mackensey

A Little Music for the Weekend

Every weekend I am going to give you a little taste of the music that I love listening to. Sometimes it might be a popular band or singer and sometimes an up and coming artist. So I just want to share some of my favorites with you!

This weekend I have chosen a group that has just become popular on the radio with their single Breakeven, but that is not the only amazing song that they have on their album. So please enjoy The Script and their song The Man Who Can't Be Moved on their self-titled album: The Script.



Let me know what you think!

There's something about a baseball game...

Ok so it doesn't have to be a baseball game, but there is something magical about attending a sporting event. Not because of the ridiculously over-priced food, large crowds of people (unless you are attending a Florida Marlins or Kansas City Royals game), or the obnoxious fans that are rooting for the opposing team, although all of those add to the magic of a sporting event. No, what I am talking about is when you are one of those obnoxious opposing team fans. I mean you don't even have to be so obnoxious to stand up and cheer, jeer, and mock the home team when your team is winning, but just wearing your team's jersey with pride in a stadium packed with haters or having a prideful hop in your step when your team wins is obnoxious enough.

At this point you might be asking, Mackensey, get to the point, how is being an obnoxious fan ever magical? Well, I have not gotten to the magical part yet. So, let's say you are an Angel fan and you walk into Wrigley Field proudly wearing your red Angel jersey. Now the Cubs and the Angels aren't major rivals, there really is no bad blood between them, just a regular day at the ball park, but the magic still remains. The magic that I am talking about is a simple smile, eye contact, or high five from a person who is also proud enough to strut his or her Angels' jersey in Wrigley.

It is so strange and interesting to me that when you are a minority fan, rooting against the home team, other minority fans flock to you. There is some unspoken brotherhood between fans of the same team, especially if you put them in a stadium where they are few and far between. Yes, when you are in the majority at your home field there is still a sense of camaraderie and there might be a high five here and there, but the magic in the act fades because it is taken for granted.

When you are a fan in the minority, it doesn't matter where you are from, how much money you make, the color of your skin, or what your political opinions are, because, if you are wearing that jersey proudly, you are the good guy to other obnoxious fans. If only this kind of loyalty could be seen outside the ballpark, no matter what team you root for, but after the game we all shed our jerseys and with it put back on our prejudices. Everyone becomes white, black, Hispanic, poor, rich, Catholic, Muslim, unemployed, instead of who we are: people. So if you haven't already, put on your team's jersey and experience the magic.

Father's Day

Since yesterday was Father's Day, it got me thinking about how lucky I am to have a present, caring, and incredible father in my life. Between the events and activities yesterday, I started wondering what it must be like for children or even adults who grew up without a Dad or even a positive male role model. What is their Father's Day like? Is it a day of hurt and pain, grief and sadness or is it like any other day?

The amount of children growing up in fatherless homes is astounding and increasing dramatically. Oftentimes the mother is emphasized as the most important person in a child's life, but the father plays a crucial and irreplaceable role. My father has shown me what it means to be determined, confident and a leader. He has taken care of me when I was sick, read books to me when I was little, explained the ins and outs of sports and politics, and has always been there to give me a better perspective.

This, I'll call it, "father-problem" we have in our society today probably also affects how children see and relate to their Heavenly Father. If God is suppose to be their Father, yet they don't know their fathers or their fathers are not good guys, then how are they suppose to know and love this God? Yet truthfully, God is the perfect Father and can heal the wounds created by the brokenness of all earthly fathers. God can show an even more perfect love than the love that should be experienced from your father on Earth. I hope Father's Day was no longer a day of pain and regret but a day for celebrating the healing and love experienced from the Heavenly Father.

Even children raised with a father should remember that the only father that can give you perfect love, eternal approval, and complete healing is God the Father, but if you do have a wonderful father who has mirrored God's love for you in your life, I hope you gave him a big bear hug yesterday! Happy Father's Day!

Education for Peace

Before reading this blog post, you need to know a little bit more about me. In my second year at Georgetown I stumbled across a class on Justice and Peace Studies (JUPS) and have since then committed myself in some ways to this new-found passion of mine. I have learned about everything from disarmament to genocide to nonviolent communication and I am here to say that I am better for it. Unfortunately, because of a lack of funding, Georgetown does not offer a major in Justice and Peace Studies, only a minor or a certificate. Therefore, for now, I am only enjoying the few classes I have taken and will not graduate with any official degree in this field.

Although I do not usually like to ascribe labels to anything or anyone, I will make an exception here in order to give you a better idea of what my opinions are about war, peace, violence, and change. I am a supporter of non violent resistance. Think Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., the Solidarity movement in Poland, Otpor's ousting of then Serbian president Milosevic, etc. My opinion is that in order to create change, violence of any sort should be the last option. I do concede that in many cases where human right violations are being committed, violent means are needed in order to quickly end any such violations or danger, but such cases are few and rare. Nonviolent resistance, while it does usually take a longer amount of time, is more effective and less destructive than violent reactions to a problem.


Now that you have a small background on my views on this topic, I want to revisit a subject that my JUPS class visited multiple times. ROTC and the absence of a peace education equivalent. On this topic, I actually disagree with many of my JUPS colleagues, because I believe that, although ROTC is essentially training students for war, there are many benefits to this type of program, including learning discipline, determination, respect, etc.

But, if there is a program training students to be fighters and soldiers, shouldn't there also be a program teaching these same students how to make and sustain peace? Correct me if I am wrong, because I haven't done tons of research on the topic, but currently there is little to no peace-keeping training provided for ROTC students. In my opinion, this does not make sense, because many times one of the United States' purposes for going to war is to eventually settle the problem and have some sort of peace. Even if this is not a main goal, maintaining a balance between educating a student for war and educating a student for peace seems to be an intrinsically good idea. Maybe if peace education was better integrated into the ROTC curriculum, the military would lose some of its soldiers, but the remaining soldiers would also have been taught about different perspectives toward violence and war.

While I know this idea seems idealistic, I am okay with that, because change has to start somewhere. I am nowhere close to an expert on military affairs or even the life of a soldier so if you are, I apologize for any unintended misrepresentations and would love to discuss this more with you. I greatly respect and support the men and women in the armed forces, even if I do not always agree with their job description.



Until next time, I leave you with that little discussion and this quote from the great Martin Luther King Jr.:

Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time; the need for mankind to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence. Mankind must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.~ MLK Jr. 1964

Peace.
MC

A New Outlook

The past two weeks I have decided to change the purpose of this blog a little. Don't worry you will still get little anecdotes and updates on my life, but I will also be writing about stuff that moves me, thoughts that I have had, and practicing my writing skills more consistently. Hoping to figure out what I want to pursue in the future, I will be filling this virtual journal with my passions. So get ready to see what goes on in my mind, God help you with that.

I am going to start this with a little light listening. Really only my parents know this, but recently I have been obsessed with the band Train. You know the kind of obsession where you put a certain song, artist, or album on repeat and just play it all day long. Well that defines my obsessions with Train, but especially their latest album, Save Me San Francisco. This is my plug: if you haven't listened to this album yet, you are missing out. Go buy, listen, steal (I don't know how you spend your free time), download this album immediately. Here is a little sneak preview for you to entice you even more:

Train - If It's Love: "Save Me, San Francisco"

So tell me what you think!

Thanks for checkin' in and add yourself to this blog's followers list if you want to.

Mackensey

Snapshots

The result of my newly found hobby, photography:














For more of my photos check out my facebook!

Mackensey

Hallelujah

What a fitting word for this blog post!

God is good.

Chicago is the city that I now call home, but home has become a strange word for me. I have lived in four cities within the last two years, after spending the first eighteen years of my life in one lone house. Oh how I miss that house and the familiarity of Mission Viejo, but moving and changing has been good for both me and my parents. God has blessed us and we hope to use the blessing He has given us to further praise and glorify Him!

God is good.

You may now officially call me a junior in college. What a crazy thought! I know this phrase is so cliche, but it feels like just yesterday that I was a freshman moving into my cramped dorm room, worried about EVERYTHING. I have finished my sophomore year not without gaining some scars and lessons learned. When people have asked me how it feels to be done for the summer all I think in my head is 'sigh.' I have no words for it, because in some respects it marks a milestone of being halfway through my college career, which is scary, but really I am so happy to never see sophomore year again. It was a tough one, tougher than freshman year in many ways.

But God remains good.

Softball is over as well and I am sad to say that the end of this season brings me more happiness than sadness because, by the end, I was ready for a break. Don't get me wrong there were many tears, especially saying goodbye to a couple of our seniors who are so special and important to me, but overall this season needed to meet its end. I can say that I am excited for next year all that I want, but honestly I need a break right now. After the summer I am going to be ready to play ball once again, especially since next year will include a reunion between myself and my best friend, Jenna. One bright spot on the season, that I can only attribute to the grace and power of God, is I was named to the 2nd Team All-Big East, improving my stats both in pitching and batting. I know it was only God's strength that got me through this tough season and through Him I can celebrate the small victories and see the bigger picture.

Therefore, God is good.

I have struggled, been knocked down, beaten, and to be honest I am still healing physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, but throughout it all I have realized that God remains the same. No matter how many times I wandered away from Him or decided that my plan was better, whenever I returned He was always there waiting for me. Yet every time, I was surprised by His consistency and could hear Him saying "I have been waiting here for you and now that you are back, I will give you peace and rest." I am still wrestling with all this, but throughout it all:

God has been good.

Mackensey

Opening Weekends!

Hey Folks!

So if you follow my parent's blog as well you may know that the past two weekends have been jam packed with softball. Two weeks ago the Hoyas drove the five hour trip down to Elon, North Carolina. We played four games, two games against both Elon and Rider. It was such a relief and excitement to get back on dirt (which we hadn't touched since before Christmas), putting on brand-spankin'-new cleats, and competing with my team once again. Sometimes I forget the excitement that I should feel when I play the game of softball, because it has almost become my job and I am always doing it. But this first weekend it was like I was ten again and I actually GOT to play softball. It was definitely exciting. We had a good start going 2-2 losing both games to Elon, but we definitely could have gone 4-0 for the weekend. Unfortunately, in one of my at bats, I fouled a ball off my ankle bone so that has been an injury that I have been seeing the trainer about every day, twice a day these past two weeks.

After returning back to school and barely getting time to unpack and settle into our normal routine again, we were on the road but this time we were headed to Chattanooga, Tennessee. It was definitely an effort to actually get there, because the travel included: an hour bus ride to BWI airport where we caught a plane to Atlanta, Georgia, where we picked up our two rental vans and one SUV and drove the two hours to Chattanooga. We made it safely and were tucked in for a good six hour sleep before we were rudely awakened by our alarms. I haven't seen 7:15 in I don't know how long and that was my wake up time every day last weekend. We played five games and we came out of the weekend 2-3. That final record was somewhat disappointing, but we haven't hit our stride yet and are lacking some consistency with performance. We will get there though! Unfortunately, I was not able to pitch as much as I would have liked, because of the injury that I received last weekend. The swelling from my ankle actually moved down to the outside of my foot making it very painful to walk or run.

So coach had me take it easy last weekend, but I am ready to go this weekend! We leave tomorrow for the start of our spring break extravaganza which includes a trip back down to NC State and then a cross country flight to Fresno, Ca. So excited to get to see the California Carters and I feel so lucky that my parents have been able to come to every game so far! My dad has been able to take some awesome pictures of the Hoyas in action and I posted the link below so you all can check them out!

Elon Tournament
Chattanooga Tournament

Lent has been going well so far and I hope that continues! I have felt distracted the past couple weeks with the beginning of season and midterms, so if you could be praying that God uses this time over spring break to just refocus me and pray that I would draw close to Him so He will draw close to me. Also just pray for me because I have been experiencing some frustration with softball and just that I wouldn't let that affect my performance, my attitude, or my experience this season. Thank you so much for following me on this journey and I just hope that you will let me know if there is anything I can be praying about for you as well!

Peace. Mackensey

Another Year, Another Lent

Good morning! (or good whatever time you happen to read this specific post)

Valentines Day is over, President's Day basically didn't exist because since we had four snow days last week the Provost decided to re-institute school today, and now the season of Lent is starting on Wednesday. Most of you know that I am not Catholic, but going to a Jesuit institution has shown me that there are so many amazing practices and understandings of faith that are practiced in Catholicism. Lent is one of those practices that, even before I came to Georgetown, I decided to adopt into my spiritual life.

For me, Lent is a time to choose something that has become more important to me than God and takes time away from growing in my relationship with Him. I take Lent as a time to recenter and refocus my life on the Lord by removing all the noise around me. Although this is not everyone's interpretation of the time of Lent, that is how I practice it. Also it is easy during Lent to get stuck in attitudes of self-appraisal or being prideful in this practice, so this year especially I am going to focus on the passage in Matthew 6 where Jesus speaks of what not to do when praying and fasting:

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you...When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

Please be praying that I don't take time to delight in the sacrifices that I am making but in the sacrifices God has made for me! So I won't see you on Facebook anymore, but hopefully I will keep up with my blogging throughout the next few months!

Peace, Mackensey

Snowpocalypse 2.0... Get Out While You still can.

I don't know if you watch the weather channel or not (mom and dad I know you do, you can't deny it, but if you haven't DC has been hit with an inordinate amount of snow. I am talkin' crap loads! This past Friday a blizzard hit DC and left us with just over two feet of snow to try and climb through. It has been an interesting week since the past three days of classes have been canceled. DC has a problem with clearing snow from the roads; they seem to not like to do it. Well anyways we are suppose to be hit with another 10-12 inches tonight and tomorrow so we are all bracing for maybe a whole snow week... To be honest the snow is getting quite annoying even though it has brought it's benefits. Check out the pictures I took:
Snow Album

In other news next weekend is our opening weekend of softball season! The Hoyas are traveling down to North Carolina, where hopefully there is not snow on the ground, to play in a tournament at Elon. Hopefully the games go well even though we will not play on dirt until the first game of that tournament, so that shall be interesting. Wish us good luck! I will definitely keep you afoot on the happenings with the Georgetown softball team since that will be my life for the next few months.

Also, unfortunately I won't be going to Uganda this summer because of logistical things. But keep the group that will be going in your prayers and hopefully God will open a door for me for another time!

I think that is all for now.... thanks for reading!

Mackensey

Wow how time flies!

Whew! Soo I think my last post was about Christmas break well fast forward a few weeks past good times relaxing with my parents, taking pictures, working out, etc. Now I am back at school and let me tell you we are in full swing both athletically and academically!

First things first though, I am contemplating/already signed up for a trip to Uganda this summer with NCC, the church that I go to here in DC. The trip would be to northern Uganda, the area affected by the 23 year long war, and we would be building a Village of Hope, which is basically care taking facilities and orphanages for the children of Gulu, Uganda. I have felt God calling me to this devastated country for a few months now and there is no better time than this summer!

Anyways back to school! So last week we started classes again which I was both excited about and dreading at the same time if that is humanly possible. This semester I am interested in ALL my classes which is a very good motivation to do the work because it is enjoyable. I am taking Education and Society, Theories of Personality, Ethics: Moral Psychology, Conflict Transformation and Social Justice, and Intro to Christian Ethics. They will be a lot of work and a lot of reading, but I guess that is what I signed up for with this whole college thing.

Speaking of things I signed up for, Tuesday marked the beginning of softball for this semester as well. Unfortunately that means a repeat of the run test that I trained for all Christmas break. I PASSED! Yes, this was only the second time that I have passed on the first try, but I did and Coach Pat was generous enough to not have anyone else run it again even if they didn't pass. So Wednesday we started practice and it feels so good! I love the feeling, minus the incredible soreness, of being back in softball gear, practicing, and being with my team. I feel like it is going to be an amazing and unforgettable season! (It better be since this is the last time I will be playing with Demetria... but we don't talk about that!)

Chi Alpha has also kicked off full speed ahead with events and meetings! I feel so grateful to have a group of people that I can share with and be challenged by! Chi Alpha is such an important part of my college life at Georgetown so I am so thankful for it! My favorite event so far was the 24-hours of prayer. Starting at 10 pm on Tuesday night there was one person from Chi Alpha praying every hour for 24 hours in St. Williams Chapel on campus, for Georgetown, Haiti, and just letting God speak to them. My hour was on Wednesday night from 5-6. I rarely set aside huge chunks of time to solely spend time with God, but that was a powerful experience and it opened my eyes to what I have been missing! It's hard to explain the feeling of connectedness and closeness I felt to God when I just surrendered a portion of my time to Him to lead me where He wanted me to be! Praise God that we were able to do that!

I think that is all for now because I am exhausted and I have practice again tomorrow! Jenna comes next week which will be fantabulous! :)

peace. Mackensey

P.S. here are some photos I took in Massachusetts