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This Past Year With Jesus.

Megan Friday, February 17th, 2012

I remember coming into APU and wondering where I would be at spiritually if I went here. (After all, I did give up my dream of moving to New York City and attending an Art School in favor of a Christian University that I thought I would really grow spiritually in.) I remember recently laughing at how I used to say I would NEVER in a million years go to a school that was Christian, I was so used to attending secular schools and being the odd one out. Now, I can NEVER imagine myself attending a university that is not APU, that does not uphold Christian values and morals.

This past year and a half of being at APU I really have experienced Jesus in new ways (to say the least). If you want to send me an email, a comment, or anything like that, I would love to expand on other things God has shown me. This blog doesn’t even cover near a tenth of it.

I have experienced Jesus through community and relationships. I would be lying if I gave the impression that everyone here has it all together, that everyone is on the straight and narrow path, and that everyone is walking the perfect Christian walk. It would be the farthest thing from the truth. But there ARE most definitely some of the most SOLID, faithful followers of Christ here. I have never felt so encouraged and loved then I feel on this campus daily. I used to have a rather short list of people that I would go to whenever I needed someone, a short list of people I trust and respect with everything inside of me. Now the list has grown to be increasingly long. When I need someone, I struggle with the thought of who to call first, there are just honestly too many options.

I have become ever so present of this world, the issues in it, and how blessed I am to be where I am at. I used to seek thankfulness and admire people that saw the glass half full. Now I live thankfulness and my glass is always overflowing. Through being able to serve in Tanzania this past summer for 2 months specifically, I have viewed life so differently then before. Life is so beautiful. Also, through classes I am taking right now I am learning and seeking the bigger picture.

Jesus has taught me patience and what it looks like to be fully consumed in HIM. To be honest, the whole ‘Ring by Spring’ philosophy is very much true. There are a lot of people in long-term relationships and a plethora of engaged and married upperclassman. However, I think that taking each day moment by moment is really important to me and has really been something God has shown to me. I think a fair amount of people (even me sometimes) get caught up the future, so much so that they forget how privileged we are to be right where we are at.

I have learned what leadership looks like in my life and how important it is to me. (God is still teaching me a lot on that as well.) God has shown me what obedience looks like, what it feels like to rely on Him 100% and have no comfort to fall back on except Him. There have been moments of breaking down and feeling like I am on top of the world, God has been in the midst of all of those.

I have found joy in brokenness. I have realized that Christ really does use the most unworthy, the weakest of us to glorify Him and bring Heaven down on this Earth. I have sought and found Fruits of the Spirit that I never thought were possible to see outpouring in my life. I have seen Christ change my heart in ways that only can be possible from the God of the Universe. I have seen the church in the most beautiful form, and it did not take place in a typical church building as one might expect. I have experienced God every single day, and I think that before coming here I could not exactly say that. God’s beauty is so evident here. I truly feel that there is no better place to be right now in my life than this place I attend school and live. How lucky am I?

My life is so different, my faith is so different, from where I was before I came here. I had no idea all this would happen to the extent that it has. My walk with God is so much more intimate, God is so much more personal. I am now intentionally reading the Bible so much more, I yearn for it and nothing fills me like God’s Word does.

I think that there is such beauty and honesty in people’s walks with God at APU. So many incredible people with so many different stories. I can’t explain the encouragement I have found in peers, professors, and leaders of mine here.

But I encourage you to not wait until you step foot in college to be where you want to be with God. Meet God where you are at, seek God day to day, and when you finally set foot at APU take that for what it is as well. God is just as real here as He is where you are at.

This is an excerpt from a journal entry I wrote during my senior year of high school. (Incase you were wondering, the fire has definitely kept growing. Praise God for this answered prayer!)

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Note to Self

Megan Monday, November 21st, 2011

I could reiterate this fact a million times, as much as I have said it plenty before, the statement stands true that I could not imagine myself anywhere else besides right where I am. As we are nearing the end (sort of) of the Fall semester I am still astonished at how fast this past year and 3 months has FLOWN by. I feel like it was just yesterday I was stepping into a university (and a whole ‘nother world it seemed) of things that were so new to me. I thought lately about what I would tell myself 15 months ago as I was nearing move in day at APU, if I knew what I know now.

This post is pretty out of line of what I usually post, more deep perhaps, but nonetheless I felt it may be beneficial/exciting for those that are thinking about coming to APU or maybe even JUST found out they got accepted to APU for next school year (Congratulations by the way!) Know that everyones experience here differs, I tried to encapsulate the fact that I would not be myself without being here, yet it hasn’t always been the easiest of times. Life is life, after all. I do know though that if you end up here by the hand of God, view it as a blessing on the daily, and seek out why He wants you here, you will never be disappointed. NEVER. And you will be like me in the fact that you will never go a day wondering how life would have been if you ended up somewhere else. You will never have wanted to end up elsewhere.

Dear Self,

You are stepping into the future that you yourself never had planned in your wildest dreams, it can only be said to be God’s hand at work instead of your own. You had your own plan for your life, God said no, and as much as it didn’t make sense and it was tough to release your grip on your own life plans, it will make sense in a couple months time as to why you are at APU and not anywhere else. As nervous, anxious, and overwhelmed as you are, rejoice and yet be still because all that nervousness will fade once you truly come to grasp how great of a blessing God is about to place in your hands.

You are entering into a world of self discovery, growth, leadership, incredible friendships, and learning. You are going to step into the school as one person and step out of it another person entirely. God is going to use you in ways that you cannot even fathom right now. You are going to struggle, fall short, endure hard (and sometimes long) trials, but at the other end is such a hope and restoration found in Christ. He is going to bless you with a community of friends, of sisters and brothers, of FAMILY, that will never let you feel like you are doing life on your own. They will encourage you, uplift you, motivate you, inspire you, and love on you endlessly. You will be poured into at this university more then ever before, and you will be given amble opportunities (that you will take) to pour into others.

You will learn the definition of success that turns out to be one you could have never foreseen it being. You will live out that success by experiencing true joy and developing even more of a genuine, real faith.

You will allow yourself to be vulnerable with people like never before, you will serve until you have run dry and then serve some more, you will travel the one place you never planned to (Africa), and you will see sides of California that you never thought existed through a leadership position you never would imagine you are about to be blessed with (Alpha).

God will teach you what a woman of God looks like, what a man of God looks like, and what your life may look like in the end. You will be overcome with stressful exams, tough classes, endless projects, and long essays. But you WILL look back time and time again and realize how blessed you are for the education you are receiving. You will be blessed with an incredible roommate freshmen year that only God could have hand picked for you and you will be blessed sophomore year with two incredibly Godly woman to love and pour into your life. Why you ever stressed out with who you were going to live with is beyond me.

Please make the most of your time at home, days that you are stressed and miss your family you will wish you did. Please eat a lot of home-cooked meals and build the high school friendships you desire wholeheartedly to keep. Please don’t stress out about making friends, because when you set your two feet on APU’s campus you will never have to worry about who to sit next to at lunch or who you can come to during hard times. You may grow distant from high school friends you never ever thought you would, but you will grow immensely close to the most incredible friends that you could not (even in your wildest of dreams) have picked out for yourself. You will never have to sit at lunch alone (expect random people to sit next to you because they will here) and you will rarely even have to open your own doors (thats what happens when your surrounded with men that know the name of Jesus).

Please pray that your stress and anxiety would be replaced with peace. There is no use in stressing out about being about to enter into the most incredible, life-changing years of your life.

Love, Self

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one. more. month.

Megan Monday, April 11th, 2011

One more month of my freshmen year. The last time I will ever be a freshmen… in my life. Crazy. This year has seriously flown by faster then I ever thought it would. I feel like I just got here, move-in day seems like it was just yesterday. By far, it has been the best year of my life. I have met people that I can’t imagine living life without. I have met people that have inspired me, encouraged me, and shown me what it means to pursue Christ with all of your being. There are people that I can never repay for the way that they have poured into my life. I have grown as a person, and even more so I have grown in my relationship with God. The way I have experienced God while being here is extraordinary.

It is insane to think of how originally APU was not on my rater of colleges at all. I had a whole different plan, but this was God’s plan for me. And it is infinitely better then any other place I could have ended up. This is my home now, these people are like family. This community is like family. For some people, picking a college is all about the city your in, or the look of the campus, or how great their food is, or even how good the school name will look on your resume. While I would fare to say that there are so many schools that rank better at those things then APU, I would also fare to say that in terms of community and the people, APU ranks number one. I could never imagine myself anywhere else, surrounded by any other group of individuals.

Besides school ending next month, I have a little over one more month until I leave for my mission trip to Tanzania. It is surreal at this point. The way that God has opened doors for this trip, prepared me and equipped me personally for this trip, and bonded my team is just so amazing. It has been a true testimony to how God will get you somewhere if He really wants you there. God really wants me there. If I ended up at any other place, I would not be going on this mission trip in a month. And that in itself is just a weird thought. This mission trip IS where I am supposed to be, and APU got me here. I haven’t even been on the trip yet and I already cannot imagine my life without it.

One more month until I move out of the dorms. Oh boy, that’s going to be a sad day. I will miss spontaneous trips to ‘The Hat’ or ‘Donut Man’ or ‘In-N-Out.’ I will miss beach days with my hall and waking up at 3AM to pillow fights outside and girls screaming in the hall (I know, weird thing to miss right?). I will miss Monday night cramming into a room and watching The Bachelor. I will miss constantly having my door open and never being able to get homework done because people walk in every 2 seconds. I will miss moving my mattress into other rooms and having sleepovers. I will miss spontaneous dance parties and movie nights. I will miss getting ready for GYRAD and walking into the bathroom every morning to see the whole bathroom filled with girls getting ready. I will miss spending hours on end in the study room during finals, but never having a dull moment because there are 10 other girls studying in there too. I will miss never having to be alone, unless I choose to be. I will miss sitting out on Trinity Lawn doing homework on a beautiful sunny day. I will miss every single thing about living in the dorms, it was hands-down one of the greatest parts of my freshmen year. Some of the girls on my hall will be my friends for eternity (seriously).

But there are so many things to look forward to:

  • I am going to be an ALPHA LEADER next year, which I could not be any more excited about. I am so blessed to be able to pour into the lives of incoming freshmen. I can only hope that I influence the lives of my “alphies” as my alpha leader influenced my own.
  • Next year I will be living in an apartment with two of the girls on my hall. They are some of the most caring, encouraging, and fun girls I have ever met. I can’t wait.
  • My schedule of classes for next semester…. THREE art classes. So stoked.
  • Spring Semester I am planning on studying abroad (either South Africa, England, Italy, or London!)
  • Much far into the future… my Junior year… I am going to pursue being an R.A. for the freshmen in the dorms.

If you are going to be a freshmen at APU next year I have one piece of advice for you… GET EXCITED. Your life will be changed and will look nothing like what it does right now (in a good way). You will grow, learn, experience things you never imagined you would, and make friendships that will last a lifetime. Looking back, I enjoyed high school, but college is a new level of enjoyment.

If you are not going to be a freshmen at APU next year, GET EXCITED ANYWAYS. Be in prayer about where God is leading you, be pursuing Him, and rejoice in all that you do have right now.

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A Birthday and A Roadtrip

Megan Tuesday, March 1st, 2011

Last month, a couple friends and I decided that a road trip was much needed with all the craziness of school. So often we are so busy with homework and all the activities at school that we don’t get to actually GET AWAY much. We took a free day and drove about three hours to Salvation Mountain, a beautiful man-made mountain of art created by a guy that’s crazy about Jesus and Jesus’ love. I have to say, it blew my mind, and as an artist myself it was a huge inspiration of how our faith and our art can go hand in hand. All of my friends that went absolutely loved it as well. Pictures don’t do it justice, but all you prospective students- when you get a chance to attend APU it is a must see work of art that can end up being an amazing road trip with friends. It’s pretty liberating just being able to jump into your car with four friends and drive off for a day’s adventure.

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Then, earlier this month as a little celebration for my birthday I went out to dinner with a couple of my closest friends at school to Bucca Di Beppo. I don’t know how its possible for dinner to be that much fun but it was either the amazing Italian food or the great company, its a toss up.

Later that night I rang in my birthday with driving half way to San Diego to pick up a hall mate with some of my friends blasting the song by 50 Cent that says “we gonna party like its your birthday.”

Then I woke up to my roommate carrying in a chocolate cake singing Happy Birthday. As simple as this whole birthday sounds, it was wonderful. I came to the conclusion that good company is all you need to have an amazing birthday. Here’s to my 19th year of life!

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10 Things I Wish I Knew Before Coming to APU:

Megan Tuesday, October 26th, 2010

1. It is really easy to make friends. The major difference between Azusa Pacific and other schools I looked into before applying to colleges is the people. If you try and sit alone at lunch, someone WILL come up to you and ask to sit with you. You have to really make a conscious effort to be lonely and bored. People are always surrounding you and they are the friendliest group of college students you’ll probably ever come across. Stressing out before getting to APU about friendships is unnecessary. All the freshmen are in the same boat, you will make friends faster then you can snap your fingers! Spend some alone time before coming to college… cause it might be a while before you get that again.

Alpha Group Bonding!

Alpha Group Bonding!

2. College is not like High School. The school work is challenging and time-consuming. Busy work is less common and tests and essays are more common. Don’t expect to be able to get off the hook easily and don’t expect for A’s to be easy to come by. Good grades DO take effort in college.

3. Roommates are one of the Best Parts about College. I spent endless hours worrying about what roommate I was going to be randomly assigned to and come to find out she’s the best roommate I could have ever asked for. 99% of my friends are completely happy with their roommate, whether they are now best friends or they just get along well living together. I wouldn’t have spent so much time worrying if I knew the reality of what I was worrying about. Choosing to get a randomly assigned roommate may be out of your comfort zone, but its worth it. Meeting someone new who you live with for a year out of your life is a priceless experience.

Roommate Love.

Roommate Love.

4. Facebook will Destroy your Life. Yes, you heard me. When it comes to homework and Facebook, Facebook always wins.

5. School Pride is Necessary. It is perfectly acceptable to know your school is better then every other school on the planet. It is perfectly acceptable to wear face paint and deck yourself out in the school colors to football games. It is not only perfectly acceptable, it is expected. College is not like high school. In high school there are few school-spirited people, in college- you are PAYING for this education, be proud of your school.

APU PRIDE.

Showing our APU PRIDE during a hall hike.

6. There is Nothing like Mom’s Homecooking. I promise you that no matter what college you end up going to, you will miss homecooked meals. Enjoy them while you can, for as long as you can. Eat the entire plate and lick it while you’re at it. Cafeteria food and fast food restaurants will never, ever compare.

7. Community Bathrooms are Part of the Experience. I remember having horrible visions of having to share bathrooms with 40 other girls. Being here, the bathroom situation is not a big deal at all. There are always open showers and stalls and faucets. It is a good way to see all my hallmates throughout the day and catch up with people while getting ready for class or getting ready to go to bed.

8. Bring Summer, Winter AND Crazy Clothing. Just a couple days ago it was 90 degrees, now its raining. I wasn’t aware this was Florida… but whatever the case make sure you pack a little bit of everything. Even if you live close it is best to just bring everything you might need for Summer and Winter weather.

Also, make sure to pack some random, crazy clothing. Every week each hall has a night that they go to the Cafeteria to eat a family dinner. Every week is a different theme, and there is often other events going on with different themes as well. You want to make sure you have a good variety of crazy outfits in the likely change that you will need it. Its not always easy to run out and buy an outfit for these events. They happen often and you probably won’t want to spent the money on an outfit you’ll only wear once in your life. From cowboys to animals to tie dye, college thrives on making average things UNaverage.

OLD LADIES Themed Hall Dinner

OLD LADIES Themed Hall Dinner

9. Sleep is a Privilege. An average night of sleep is about 5-7 hours for me. Depending on how much homework and studying I have to do, how much I have procrastinated, and how many activities are going on that night. It is hard to really prepare yourself to have less sleep then you are used to in high school, but if it is possible to prepare yourself, do it. In the end though, I like to think that a good college experience and having fun is worth missing sleep over. You aren’t paying for college to sleep a lot right? You’re paying to learn, get a diploma, and have fun.

10. Organization is Key. In order to make sure that you have time for everything and you have your priorities straight, it is absolutely necessary to get a planner or calender of some kind. My planner saves my life. Write everything down that you want to do or need to do and then make sure your priorities are straight on what is necessary for that day. Homework often gets forgotten about and then it is not done until 3AM, you don’t want to be that person falling asleep in class the next day. You are going to want to make sure your homework is done well, you have time for yourself and having fun, and time for God.

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…Who Am I? And Why Am I Here?

Megan Tuesday, October 5th, 2010

I figure that this post is appropriate. My first blog entry gave a little insight into where I am at now and my experience thus far at APU, but I figured it was equally important to know where I am coming from.

I am a freshmen at APU, majoring in graphic design. I am super passionate about anything artsy, creative, or design related. I also love writing and would gladly write an essay on the weekend just for fun (I am aware that some people think I am crazy). I have a blog of my own, which led me to checking out these APU blogs when I was a perspective student. I desired to get involved with participating with these APU blogs this year because they were actually a huge part of my excitement in coming to APU. You hear all these amazing experiences, and want one of your own.

I grew up about an hour from Azusa. I lived in the same city, house, and room my entire life. So my move to Azusa Pacific was something very new to me.

I am very close to both of my parents, who are basically my best friends, and my older brother is currently attending community college in Colorado. I take after my dads sense of humor and love of criminal justice and I take after my moms personality and love of cooking.

My favorite TV shows are Big Brother and 24. My favorite color is red and my favorite animal is elephants. My favorite movie is Little Miss Sunshine and my favorite book (besides the Bible) are The Irresistible Revolution and Left to Tell. My favorite foods are pasta and rice, and my favorite place to shop is Urban Outfitters.

You may be wondering what brought me to APU? That question gets thrown around a lot during the first month of living here. I actually ended up at APU through a long train of God-oriented events. My original plan my entire life was to attend a prestigious design school in New York City. I was set on applying- so I enrolled for a month-long summer program to see if this was really where I wanted to be. Long story short, returning home from the trip I realized the strange strain on my relationship with God that I had while being in NYC. I was so consumed in work and school and the city, that my faith was pushed aside. After returning home I realized that my faith was of utmost importance, much over any major, career goal, city, or school.

Azusa Pacific continually was sending me mail and calling me. Before then I had never really heard of APU, but after looking at their website and looking deeper into the school I become more interested. After a lot of prayer I decided on visiting the school “just to see” what it was like. The first visit I fell in love with everything about APU. It honestly just took one walk around the campus and one hour in Chapel and my decision was final. This was the place that I pictured myself in, a place where I could grow in my relationship with Christ and where I could utilize my talents and strengths in a way that would glorify God and draw me nearer to him. I gave up my “dream” of art school in NYC because growing closer to Christ I knew was HIS dream for me, and this plan of APU I am beginning to view as the “plan I never knew, I always wanted”. APU was the only school I applied to when sending college applications because I just tend to be that person that sticks to what I believe in and what I want. I could not imagine myself settling for ‘second best.’ I believed this was Gods will and I am beginning to see the ways in which God is already using me here.

Above all, seek God, and if you land up at APU hang on for the amazing ride.

My first visit at APU, with my parents.

My first visit at APU, with my parents.

“Of all the things Christ wants for us, loving Him and focusing our attention on Him are the most important.” -Charles Stanley

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