Articles
Christmas Cruise
Download the attached PDF for info about the 5th Annual Christmas Cruise! (see bottom right corner)Save the Date
The 5th Annual Christmas Cruise is pulling into harbor December 5, 2009!!! Thanks to my passed AS proposal of $1500 and funding from the Alumni Department (thanks, Rick Bee!)...the Christmas Cruise is only going to cost $10 this year. So mark your calendars and find a date. A more formal invite will come shortly. Peace, AnthonyDid you get to be a part of Biola Gives Back?
If yes--Thank you so much for coming out and spending time with the La Mirada Community! If no--There is no need to fret because we plan to do it again some time. We met at 10am on Saturday morning and had a nice time of worship with Mark Heath and then a word on service from Justin DeVesta. Both did a really great job and helped lead us into an attitude of service. Parts of the day allowed us to show are flexibility but all in all we were able to bless people in the community by lending them a practical hand and a loving heart. If you want to be a part of the next Serve Day just keep your ears open or feel free to contact me or Justin DeVesta with any questions or suggestions!
Got politics?
Are you involved in a political party? The Biola College Republican party wants to help you get involved and be aware of the political process. Find out how...
November Calender
The AS November Calendar is attached (you'll find it as a download in the bottom right-hand corner). Highlights include: Shane and Shane Concert November 6th at 7pm and 9pm Pre-sale tickets are $10. Door price is $12. Buy them from a Senator or in the AS Office. Shane Claiborne Thursday November 12th at 9pm Sutherland Auditorium. Chapel Credit will be given. Free tickets are available in the AS Office.
Headline: Youths in Guinea On Hunger Strike for 'Dialogue', 'Justice'
A glimpse at socially active youth worldwide...Don't Forget The Egg
Hey guys, just reminding you to not forget about the egg. Because we can still get dorm points for finding and hiding the egg. if we find the egg we get 300 points, and 150 points for hiding the egg, so keep this in mind because we want to stay dorm champs.Slip N' Slide Party!!!
Hey guys Friday 10/6/09 is our first event. We are having a traditional slip n' slide/ beach party event. We will offer free donuts, and other snacks. During the event we are going to have a water fight with water balloons. where something you can get wet in, and for you lady's out their bring a towel to sun tan.OCC BBQ
The OCC BBQ is FRIDAY, October 30th from 4-7pm. Come out for FREE food and FELLOWSHIP out by the Mailboxes.Freshmen Representatives: Thanksgiving Dinner and Movie
PASSED ON 10/27/09 FOR $281. I am proposing for the funds to purchase the license to show the movie Dr. Seuss’s How The Grinch Stole Christmas, the Jim Carey edition at The Freshman Family Thanksgiving Dinner on Thursday Nov. 19th from 8pm-10pm.Torrey Conference Volunteer Opportunities
Would you like to volunteer at Torrey Bible Conference 2009?
Consider praying for others.
There will be a 24-hour prayer room in the AS Conference room (lower SUB) available to all students who need an environment in which they can be prayed for at any hour of the day or night.
It has been said that "compassion" is to "suffer with" another person.
This will be a main focus at Torrey conference! God wants to teach us to tangibly take compassion upon each other, not just "feel" compassion, but to live it! To SUFFER WITH our brothers and sisters.
"We stand in awe of the ocean, the thunderstorm,
the sunset, the mountains, but we pass by a human being
without notice even though the person is God's most magnificent
creation" - St. Augustine
It is a blessing to care for others because it opens us up to the heart of the Father, it gives us a glimpse of a new dimension of His deep love for His most loved creation. His Beloved. His son's and His daughter's.
Would YOU consider praying for others this week in general?
This Year?
Sign ups are available through our AfterDark coordinator (who is overseeing the 24-hour-prayer room).
Do a directory search in BUBBS for "After Dark Coordinator" and ask for a time slot (slots are one half hour each).
Sign up for as many as you like!
Take advantage of this opportunity, whether to be better stewards of the blessing of brothers and sisters whom God has given us by praying for them. Or by allowing God to break you and accepting the compassion of others.
In John 11, an account is written of Lazarus - a close friend of Jesus - who was dying. Jesus chose not to come right away. But rather Jesus showed up at the city where Lazarus lived 4 days LATE. One sister of Lazarus, Martha, admits her frustration with Jesus saying: "Lord if you had been here my brother would not have died..." (21) She admits that Jesus could have done something about it! Where was He when His friend needed Him? But then Martha admits to Jesus something she also realized about Him (though she did not fully comprehend her own words): "but I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask." (22) And after this, Jesus saw the sisters and the crowd of people who had gathered to morn the death of Lazarus, even weeping and "He was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. 34And he said, 'Where have you laid him?' They said to him, 'Lord, come and see.' 35 Jesus wept." Wow!
The story goes on to say that Jesus was AGAIN moved with compassion deep in His Spirit because of the people. It was after this that He had men move the stone and raise Lazarus from the dead!
Jesus had this in mind ALL ALONG. Even when all others could see was Jesus leaving the sister's to feel totally lost and hurt as they watched their brother die, and his great friend (Jesus - the only one who they believed could keep him from dying) come into town 4 days late. But Jesus sets the people up for 2 great things: First, the experience of His compassion! He demonstrates that He wanted to take compassion upon the pain that the sisters and that the crowd was feeling. He was moved in His Spirit to suffer with the people. Even leading Him to weep, because He was so near to them in their pain and suffering! What a God we serve. The second thing was only made valuable to the people because of the first: Jesus displays His glory and power by raising Lazarus. But by first having deep compassion Jesus communicated the heart with which He was raising him: Compassion. A heart that had suffered closely with people.
Sometimes all we want is for Jesus to fix our problems, to "Raise my Lazarus" if you will. With a complete disregard or thirst for the compassion that God wants to shower upon us. If we served a God who was constantly fixing our hurt without taking compassion on us, we would not honor him, no, we would (in our flesh) desire to constantly take advantage of him. But our God wants to suffer with us. So that we can grasp what He is doing when He chooses (yes, whenEVER He chooses) to raise our Lazarus - that He has first taken compassion on us utterly depraved people. But He sees us as hurting and broken sons and daughters, for whom He cannot help but burn with Compassion.
I propose that when we reject the compassion of Christ, we miss His glory when He brings us through suffering. We must first accept compassion from Christ in the midst of our suffering in faith that even now whatever He asks from God it will be given to Him, only then will we grasp and appreciate what Christ has done for us! It is only then that we can look back on a trial of suffering and say, "I am glad it worked out that way." Because our focus in the midst of our suffering was completely saturated in the loving compassion of Christ that was there alongside us, suffering with us, even weeping with us.
If you would like to practice compassion, and pointing your brothers and sisters to the God who can do all things but first wants to reveal His compassion to them, then please consider this opportunity.
If you find that you have missed the opportunity to signup for a slot, feel free to walk in and begin praying for others that may or may not be in the room. But do not miss the blessed chance to grow in grace by suffering with others during this conference.
Blessings
Introducing....
Spirit Board finally has their Staff for this year!! We are proud to Introduce... Miles Johnson... as Spirit Board Assistant. It is the Assistants job to assist the Chair in the planning, organizing and implementing of all Spirit Board events. Tyler Sharp... as Spirit Board Athletic Director. It is the Athletic Directors job to be the line of communication between the Athletics Department and Spirit Board, as well as being in charge of the promotion of all sports games. Stephanie McEachen... as the second Volunteer Coordinator. It is the Volunteer Coordinators job to be the line of communication between the Spirit Volunteer Board and the Spirit Staff, as well as organizing and coordinating the Volunteer Board for each Spirit Event and in Sports Promotion. These three will be joining Brianna Stewart and Jessica Wagenbach who previously made up Spirit Board. Brianna Stewart is the current Spirit Board Chair, and Jessica Wagenbach is the current Volunteer Coordinator.A Slice of Scientology
Hello, Blockians. Below are some general announcements and reminders. Hope they are helpful to you! Punk N Pie Auditions are this FRIDAY from 8-Midnight. Sign up for a slot in the AS Office. "How Do You Live Responsibly?" CSA Advocacy Chapel is Monday, October 12 @ 9 pm. Chapel Credit is offered. ASDRAR Scientology Lecture is October 13 at 7 pm in Mayer's Auditorium. Ed Dearborn, Director of the Scientology in Orange County, will be speaking. Chapel Credit is offered. Need to purchase Shane and Shane Concert (09.06.09) tickets for $10 each? Contact me or visit the AS Office! The Annual Tree Lighting will be held December 4 @ 7pm. Mark your calendars now to attend this great tradition! Also, don't forget to check out the new proposals on the main AS page and email me with your thoughts!Hello!
Hello East Alpha-ites! So while there seem to be so many things happening with my school work there also seem to be a few less things happening with AS. But don't fret. Allow this little break in time prepare you for the great things to come! Punk N Pie and Shane and Shane and Sola soul...all of these events will be great so keep your eyes and ears open for more information about them. For now, just enjoy a little break from social events and work on your school work. I know I certainly need to. Last night I had a great time getting to know more of you and really hearing what is on your hearts! I would love a chance to get to chat with everyone so be on the look out for me and get your opinions and ideas ready! With the AS events slowing down for a bit don't forget about sports. Volleyball, Soccer, and Swimming are in full swing and in need of your support so wear your red sea shirts and scream loudly (can you scream at swimming?). Please remember if you need anything or have some questions and concerns please feel free to stop by my room--352! Hoping to see you soon, Anna KennedyNot Your Modern-Day Leviticus
Is Biola's contract just another attempt at legalism, like a modern-day Leviticus? Are the Community Standards just training up "Pharisees," or is there actually a heart behind the matter?"The Grinding Stone" Block October Newsletter
Attached you will find the October Newsletter for The Block!
New Events
Hey everyone, hope your week is going great! just a couple of things to up date you guys. first of all each dorm has received a calendar for the current month, which has dates of events, as well as who is speaking for chapel. This will help everyone out so there wont be questions about when an event is suppose to take place. thanks to Cameron Spencer (VP of MARCOM). Also on 9/30/09 at 9:10 Chapel board and MCR is bringing you after dark this week. the topic is "the spoken word". another great event is the Poetry lounge in common grounds, which takes place 10/1/09 from 8-10pm.The Stewart Update - Issue 2
From now on, I'll be posting a digital copy of the newsletter under the "Articles" tab.Dr. Corey and Donuts
So here's a couple of things you should know... DONUTS! If you aren't currently aware, the Commuter Senators (Cynthia and Estella) hold a bi-weekly event for all commuters near the Bell Tower. Once a month, however, they offer donuts to all commuter students. In the past, the Block and Bluff residents haven't been participants in this event. Bummer, right? HOWEVER, because the Block and Bluff are included in the OCC Community, the Bluff Senator and I have proposed for funding so you all can get FREE DONUTS once per month. More info will come on this soon (as soon as we know if our proposal has passed). Dr. Barry Corey will be speaking this upcoming Wednesday (9/30) on the Dancing Policy at Biola. No official decision has been made, but he will be addressing the current status of that discussion. Punk 'n Pie Auditions will be held October 9th from 8pm to 12am. Start preparing your acts for public scrutiny. Shane and Shane CD Release Party is on November 6th. There will be two concerts - one at 7 and another at 9. Tickets are available in the AS Office for $10 each. You can also buy them from ME! Email senator.rosecrans.apartments@biola.edu for more information.
Pre-Season Photos
Hey guys, here are some photos from pre-season. I encourage you to e-mail me more so i can put them up!
I'm an Eagle Scout, So Trust Me On This
One thing that is unique to lower campus life is that we get the pleasure of trekking up the steep hill to the cafe several times a day (Except for this saturday when I stayed in my room all day and survived on PB&J). Biola recognized the gravity of this journey and just this year we received an actual walkway as to reduce the risk of vehicular-pedestrian interference, or as I like to call it, "the frogger effect". Thus far I've relished this new "foot movers only" path, though I don't suggest walking it barefoot (the concrete pattern is similar to walking on sandpaper). I do however worry that this hill needs more signage. Personally, I find that my excess height makes me well adapted to climbing steep surfaces, and my mountain climbing experience has made me well versed in hill climbing techniques. I worry though for those of you who find themselves less apt to adopt a new incline or adapt their inner ear to a changing slope. The other day I was departing the cafe with some of my comrades when we spotted a campus safety SUV flashing their lights and low and behold there lie a fallen peer, immobilized by what I could only guess to be a swift fall due to the potently canted hill. All this to say, be careful. Biola is a safe community but sometimes we forget the many simple dangers that we face every day. My suggestion is to lean forward a little bit when you walk up the hill and to lean back when you go down the hill. Ladies, if you are in compromisingly high heels, I suggest you forgo the cafe hill and take the detour of the bookstore parking lot. Be careful out there.
Nationball Recap
Dear dedicated, painted, rowdy, ladies of Alpha East, WAY TO REPRESENT at Nationball! We may have lost the game this year but people better watch next year because we are coming on strong and will only get stronger! Thank you to all the ladies who stopped studying and put some blue on to come out and help us take a stab at the title "Nationball Champs". We met at 9:30 and rallied together the troops and made an excellent entrance and impression. Our hopes were high but not quite high enough to take down Stewart. We held our own for a good few minutes and were even helped by our wonderful brothers from Emerson but we just couldnt pull it out! I know this loss is disappointing but I think it would be best to use it as fuel to help us win future competitions! There are many more opportunities ahead for us to come together and show the rest of campus whose boss! Let these pictures tell all the fun we had!Is Space Real?
Hello faithful blog readers! Today I post my second blog to challenge your view of reality and give you the facts that “the man” hides from us.Event Ideas...
Hello Hart!! There are some ideas for events that I would like to hear your feedback on. In November, we would like to have a lower campus movie night, with food (popcorn from a popcorm machine, candy, drinks, etc.) and watching the Movie Up. If you guys have any thoughts about the movie selection, or any thoughts, feel free to post them below, or to e-mail me at the address below. Second, in the Spring, the Lower Campus Senators would like to have a Party similar to the Upper campus Christmas party, only centered around a Spring Holiday. We would probably have entertainment, like a live band, food, activities, etc. What are your thoughts on this event? Do you think people would be interested? What activities might you like to see at this kind of event? Any and all feedback would be appreciated. Up-Coming Events: At After Dark in conjunction with the CSA, Wednesday, Septermber 23rd: Liberty in North Korea Reminders: The CSA Chair is still looking for people to volunteer for her!! E-mail via BUBBS - Just type in AS CSA Chair in the To Box. AS is still looking for volunteers to put up signs for AS Events. If you are interested, E-mail me or The AS VP of MARCOM. Thanks Guys, Stephanie Wilkerson Hart Senator hart.senator@biola.eduUp coming events
Hey guys, Just a few things... Club Rush is happening WED. 9/16/09 around lunch time on Biola AVE. so if you would like to sign up for a Club keep your eye out for something that looks interesting to you! I will be walking around HORTON tomorrow WED.the 16th to update all of you guys, and if you would like to be thinking of issues you would like to change or improve around Horton or Biola! thanks
Evaluation for Nation ball
Hello everyone. i just wanted to get some feed back and know how you guys like/disliked nation ball! Please feel free to email me or come talk to me in person i want to know your, Favorite thing about this event? Least Favorite thing about this event? How could this event be improved? And any other comments on this event? For the most part Nation ball seem to be a great event, i personally had a great time. We did a great job and it was to bad we lost to the O.C.C. but we put um a good fight. Thank's to all of you who joined in to help Horton!My First Article of the Year
Hello Emerson Residents! I needed to start posting on this websit and I thought, "what a fantastic opportunity to be able to share my engaging and sometimes controversial ideas!"The Color Purple
...is the color of VICTORY! That's right, congratulations to all the Off Campus Commuters who came out and dominated at this year's Nationball competition. We dominated our first round against Hope, knocked out Sigma, and then squashed Horton - all in a miraculous display of purple power! As He-Man would say, "By the power of Greyskull, WE HAVE THE POWER!" Way to show up and throw down, everybody!Nationball...because youth should never be wasted on the young.
So I know most of you have pretty much checked out of the whole "dorm competition" thing, BUT just because we live OFF-campus doesn't mean we have to be OUT-of-touch. Therefore, I have a proposal for you: Come to NATIONBALL! It's tomorrow night in the Gym at 10pm. As members of the Block, we'll join the Commuter Team (which means we'll be wearing PURPLE) for some great competition. And if the enjoyment of free dodge-balling doesn't attract you, maybe FREE FOOD will. Yeah, that's right. FREE food. The commuters (aka YOU) are invited to the Collegium between 7-9 for food, fellowship, and celebration before the big game. Hope you join me!Welcome!
Hello Blockians! Welcome to the 2009-2010 academic year! As we start this year, remember to renew your commitment to fulfill Christ's calling to love. Remain in prayer with and for one another. Seek to encourage your brothers and sisters daily. Practice a habit of fasting and thanksgiving. Every day, sow seeds of joy, love, peace, and patience into your relationships. As members of one community, build up the Kingdom of God as one Body. If we do this, God will work amongst us and do great things for His honor and glory. To the residents of The Block Apartments: Welcome! And may God bless you as you begin... Check back regularly for more updates and posts on information about AS, Biola Events, Clubs, and more. Seriously. Bookmark this page. Right now. Do it. Ciao, Anthony
Retreat: Big Bear, Bigger fun
The AS retreat was this weekend and we went to Big Bear. It was a great time and I got to know a lot of AS much better. The Retreat gave me a lot of ideas on how to serve you and continued to assure me that being the Hope North senator is the job for me. My favorite event was the hike up to Castle rock. We hiked about a mile up a mountain and then climbed up this tall rock structure where we were able to look out over all of Big Bear Lake. I love hiking and nature and it was just a blessing to be reminded of the presence of God's beauty everywhere. School is a busy stressful thing and we all need a retreat in one way or another. I know the floors go on their own retreats but it's important to get off campus throughout the semester and devote a little time to forgetting how much we all have to do. I know for me: with the end of the semester comes many more late night visits to Denny's with my friends. But I digress, the retreat was great and I know that all of AS is super excited to serve the Biola Community. Go Biola. Go Big Bear. Go Be Great.One week in...
This week the International Student Association (ISA) didn't have a Monday night prayer meeting, but we celebrated Labor Day with our International Student Community Volunteers. Here are a few things I've learned about Labor Day since I've been at Biola....Welcome Back, Welcome Back, Welcome Back
It's a new year, with a new name. I'm Peter Heald and I'm excited to be the Hope North senator this year. You'll be seeing me around keeping you updated and asking your opinion. I encourage everyone to keep checking this site because I'll be updating it often and putting new articles and announcements up. If you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns about Hope North or Biola in general, please feel free to contact me. If you Bubbs "Hope North Senator" you can find me. Don't be afraid to introduce yourself or holler out if you see me around campus. I'm 6'7" so you will be seeing me.
Club Rush
If you were walking around campus last wednesday, the 18th, you couldn't have missed the swarms of people crowding around tables outside the Bell Tower to learn about clubs at the Club Rush. 50 clubs participated in Club Rush this year from 9am to 1pm. This is the largest number of clubs to ever participate in a Biola Club fair. Biola student clubs/organizations are fast-growing... Already this semester, 10 new clubs have received official recognition at Biola, bringing the total number of student clubs to 65, the largest in university history. If you are looking for a great way to become involved in the Biola community, grow in leadership and teamwork, and develop interests/goals that can further the kingdom of God, then please don't hesitate to come into the AS Office or contact the Club Chair for more information on what the best club is for you!