Family (n.):

4. any group of persons closely related by blood, as parents, children, uncles, aunts, and cousins
5. all those persons considered as descendants of a common progenitor

Family? That is the definition of family? Okay. What if mine is scattered across the country, or divorced into multiple families, or what if I’m completely alone with no family? What then? Who is my family then?

I am part of the “severed and broken family” category. I am no theologian, nor do I study the Word as often as I should, but through what Scripture says about community, I have learned to make family wherever I go, as many other students at CBU have also discovered how to do. CBU is a portion of the body of Christ. We are a community of Believers, Hopers, Prayers, Lovers, Studiers, and Conquerors, united not by a name or family tree, but by the Father’s Son, whose death and resurrection granted us the opportunity for our names to be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life – the one, true and eternal family tree.

Man was not created to be alone, as God said amid His creation, developing the idea of community and togetherness through Adam and Eve’s wedded union as the first man and wife. As the earth populated, full and teeming with life as well as sin, the cusp of humanity – the life, death, and resurrection of the Messiah – brought to fullness the essentiality of the eternal family. In Matthew 12, as Jesus heals the lame and sick and is speaking, His earthly family request that they speak with Him, but He replies, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” and gesturing to His disciples, He establishes His family: “Here are my mother and brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” In that passage, He re-determines the definition of family to being a spiritual bond rather than a physical bond.

This school, overflowing with faith, wisdom, knowledge, companionship, and servanthood, is one of the most unique places we will be throughout our lives. With more than 6,000 students, most professing Christians, and hundreds of faculty with a 100 percent Bible-believing faith, we have the opportunity to build a family onto the Living Stone, the resurrected Christ, that will be of the eternal kind – the kind that the Father knits closer together than that of our own kinfolk because it seeks to do the work for His Kingdom together as one body. It is our duty to build up the Body, encouraging one another, bearing one another’s burdens, daily dying to our own desires for that of a brother or sister, so that when the world looks into our faces, they may see Christ looking back at them. As many other students can say along with me, I knew this was where I was meant to be. I could feel the Spirit moving through the community, patching together torn and empty hearts with the love and support of other God-fearing followers of Christ, bonding each student to the next to form one singular community.

Physically, I may not share blood with another student here nor bear the same family name, but because of the eternally-claiming blood spilled on Calvary, we spiritually have been named as God’s children – a bond that will transcend any earthly, relational name or family, lasting for all eternity in our Father’s heavenly house.

It seems that, from our campus, we can reach some major places like Disneyland, Downtown LA, Newport Beach, or Lake Arrowhead in about 45 minutes. I know, I know – who could possibly want to go outside of this all-inclusive CBU resort? – but on a weekend when feeling adventurous, these places are at our fingertips. It’s okay, escaping to a new land can be extremely exciting and liberating, full of craziness, happiness, and/or absolute confusion. As long as someone has Siri, we are our own tour guides (I’m convinced she is my fairy godmother: “Here’s the traffic for the 405,” “I found 14 Starbucks fairly close to you,” “Rerouting…”).

Fortunately enough for me, my sister and her husband live in a cozy, 1920s, old Hollywood apartment building about five minutes from downtown LA. This past Easter weekend, my best friend Kylie and I made the trek over the 60 and 101 to LA for a relaxing, (maybe, possibly, if we’re not too tired) adventurous, and cultured weekend with my favorite sister, Alison, and brother-in-law, Manny. As they worked Thursday, Friday, and Monday, we knew we would be at our leisure in their lovely apartment. Apart from a scheduled Downton Abbey marathon, a movie Saturday morning, and church Easter Sunday, we were left to our own muses (aka food, drink, and culture).

Naturally, everyone must do a little bit of exploring on a trip to a “foreign” place. Kylie and I became connoisseurs for a couple of days, trying Thai dishes, Korean barbecued meat skewers, Mexican favorites, and Italian paninis, as well as Boba (my first time… I was feeling adventurous!) and a local and well-known donut shop. All are within a 15-minute radius of our “weekend home,” might I add.

Our very own North Colony residence director, Becca Magnuson, recommended a retro, enormous, artsy bookshop called The Last Book Store to quench our thirst for literary entertainment for the weekend, so after Siri directed us (and rerouted us because of my driving challenges) to this place, we walked in utterly overwhelmed. A two-story bookstore, complete with book, loose-leaf page, and book binding wall art, with more than 100,000 books upstairs alone (all books upstairs $1… I kid you not). We were lost in paradise! In the downtown area alone, the blocks are bursting with life and opportunities for our imaginations. With major cities so close to us, as well as places saturated with culture, history, and wonderfully different people, create an interestingly curious area that we students should definitely take advantage of.

Take your Saturday and explore.

Here are the websites to our adventures this weekend:

http://www.itsthainoodle.com/
(Me: Kung Pao chicken; Kylie: Orange Chicken)

http://www.yelp.com/biz/toe-bang-los-angeles
(Both: Chicken and Beef Barbecued Skewers)

http://www.elcoyotecafe.com/
(Me: Tortilla Soup; Kylie: Shredded Beef Burrito)

http://visitkoreatown.org/the-boba-time-6th-street/
(Me: Strawberry Watermelon Slush, Strawberry Peach Smoothie with Boba; Kylie: Strawberry Banana Smoothie with Boba, Strawberry Peach Smoothie with Boba)

http://randys-donuts.com/
(Both: Maple and Chocolate Bars, Glazed and Sprinkled Donuts)

http://lastbookstorela.com/
(Both: More books than we should have)

This campus is full of life. As I’m sitting in Brisco’s having lunch, conversations are bubbling and overflowing with excitement, baseball games ever-present on TVs, and skateboarders are whizzing past to get to their next destination. The itch for activities is alive.

It seems like everywhere I turn, there is something exciting going on that moment, that afternoon, that evening to quench our thirsts for fun and enjoyment. Yesterday, a Quidditch Tournament (complete with broom [handles], Quaffles, Bludgers, and an agile teammate decked out in gold to be caught as the Snitch) filled the entire front lawn with laughter and intensity as the four Houses battled for the Cup. Crazy? Absolutely. Fun? Without question. On Monday, a Colony-wide Easter Egg-hunting mob scoured the entire living area in search of heavily-laden eggs for a total of $1000+ in gift cards and even an iPad Mini. People made out like bandits. This last weekend, the Marine Science class headed to Catalina Island for a beautiful, one-time lab, resulting in kayaking with sea lions, snorkeling in swarms of fish and sealife, and impromptu whale-watching on the ship ride back.

The opportunities prove to be endless as the CAB office offers a plethora of discounted ticket options for LA stage productions, local movie theaters, lifts at ski and snowboarding facilities, and an incredible amount of equipment for nature activities like snowboarding, mountain climbing, and camping – all at extremely affordable prices. Our beloved RAs, one of whom is my roommate and best friend, devote endless hours of preparation for their monthly events and living area-wide functions to provide an oasis, usually laden with delicious food and drinks. From flower-planting, to bagel breakfasts, to acoustic worship nights, to carnival-themed parties, to late-night pizzas and pazookies, our RAs use their creativeness and gifts to make our student life brighter, full of community and fellowship.

I can’t forget about the incredible, state-of-the-art Recreation Center, basketball and volleyball courts and intramural sports that also provide a myriad of opportunities for competitive sports and exercise, as well as our athletic teams that enjoy our support as much as we enjoy their talent! Where would our school spirit be without our award-winning, nationally renowned athletic department? What a way to represent our Lancer blue and gold!

Personally, my favorite school-sponsored events are the LA-area musical productions (naturally). This next week, a group of 25 lucky students are being transported to the Pacific Symphony in Orange County to hear Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony (dun dun dun duuuuun, dun dun dun duuuuun!) as well as a special compilation of Asian-inspired music with authentic Asian instruments. Earlier in the year, the School of Music sponsored a trip to the LA Opera to partake in the unforgettable Madame Butterfly. Today, for my Music History class, we met at Calvary Presbyterian Church on Magnolia Avenue to observe one of our own professors demonstrate the organ in the style we are studying. Just in my field alone, there are numerous opportunities to see live, professional performances, keeping my learning fresh with observations and practices of life applications.

CBU offers an overflowing number of student activities. Find one and sign up for a guaranteed time of enjoyment and refreshment!

In a previous blog, Don’t Worry About Tomorrow, I was learning what it meant to trust God for this day rather than fret over the days to come. The snowball effect of school is in full swing now, and sometimes the moments of today are so bloated with responsibilities that tomorrow is nowhere in sight. I ask myself, “How am I going to get from point A to point B to eventually point Q today?

 My best friend recommended a book to me because she knows my overwhelmed heart better than myself. Because of this book, I have a list going — a list of 1000 things I consider to be a gift to my life from the most ordinary, everyday things such as waking up to a choir of birds singing outside the window to significant blessings that deserve a myriad of thankful prayers such as a job surrounded by Godly people for the summer.

As I read this book, 1000 Gifts by Ann Voskamp, understanding the principles she was establishing as God-glorifying a single, continuous strand of blessings began to spool out of my mind. I had never actually sat and numbered by hand the daily gifts God lavishes upon me. As a kinesthetic learner, the handwriting concept ensures to inscribe whatever I am trying to memorize or remember into my brain to recall when the test comes.

The test does come – oh yes. Life as a student is full of tests — we are in college! Every day I am quizzed on composers, baroque vs. classical, vocabulary, musical sight-reading, and literature. My heart as well as my mind is tested, as well. Am I going to be ridiculed for that composition? Piano lessons drain the life out of me. Is this career path successful enough?

The temptation to drink the poison of distress is prominent as we college students fly solo in a fallen world of sin and brokenness; our minds and hearts at times are susceptible to relinquishing our Biblical truths.

However, God provides in every moment, even when discouragement veils our beauty-craving eyes. The secret to experiencing the provision of the Lord (which really is no secret at all) is to open those beauty-craving eyes to behold the majesty and pure beauty of our God.

Fully living life each moment of today is a goal I am striving to obtain, even as many moments are heavy with responsibility as I attempt to pick up and bear my own cross. Ultimately, that is what we are called to do. Finding the joy in thankfulness for each moment as we stand in awe of his sovereignty drops us to our knees in worship.

 The key to living life fully is finding joy in the smallest moments of the days and seasons that are so full of assignments, obligations and deadlines that you can not remember if you put your head on straight this morning.

CBU – get your hands on this book, buy a journal and start to find the moments of your overwhelming schedule full of joy as you observe the endless beauty of our Creator and continually worship the I Am.