My First Big Accident

When I was little my family took a trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. One of the days that we were there, we went to a place called Ober Gatlinburg which is mountain in Gatlinburg that has a lot of fun things to do. There is ice-skating, arcades, ski slopes, and so much more. Our family decided to go ice-skating. I had never been ice-skating before so it came as a challenge for me. I eased my way to the ice, stepped on, and began to glide very caustiosly while holding on to the hand rail on the side of the ice-skating rink. I went around the rink a couple of times, and felt I was getting descent at it. Mom let go and started to glide on her own so I was on my own. A few minutes later, I took a nasty fall onto the ice face-first. I got back up and felt fine. Mom glanced back at me and gave me a horrified look. She came up to me and put her hand under my chin and pulled it away covered in blood. She grabbed my hand and pulled my quickly off the ice. I began to feel my chin start to sting. I had busted my chin wide open. She took me to the emergency center they had there. They covered my chin in bandages and told me to go to the ER because I needed stitches. After we went to the ER, and they stitched me up I was fine again and ready to carry on with our vacation. It was the first big accident I had ever suffered!

Open Dorms

It's open dorm night, and I'm definately glad that our dorm is not coed! It is kind of frustrating because people are loud, and I know that if I were to be doing my homework, I wouldn't be able to focus! People have been screaming and acting crazy! I also don't like that anyone and everyone is able to come in. I like to have privacy and be able to have peace when I'm in my dorm. It feels like guys are invading my personal space! However, it would be nice if NGU allowed visiting hours for guys to come in girls dorms, just because it is easier if we wanted to watch a movie. Sometimes it's easier to just hang out in dorm rather than having to drive and waste money to hang out somewhere else! Overall, though, I'm glad dorms at NGU are not coed!

God vs. Satan

Over the summer at church camp a really bad storm came up one night! It honestly looked like a tornado was about to hit. The next morning, the guys told us that a tree had fallen on their lodge. Luckily, no one was hurt, but the boy's room that the tree fell on top of did lot of damage. He wasn't in his room at the time that the tree had fallen, but if he was he could've been seriously injured or even killed. Everyone that week was on a spiritual high, and we believe that Satan came in and pushed that tree down to shake us up and put a damper on that spiritual high. God, however, turned this situation 180 degrees in the opposite direction. Apparently, the boy was not saved and he said that he felt like God was after him to get saved. That night, after the tree had fallen he prayed to recieve Christ. God's power was displayed to me. He did all of that just for one person to come to Christ! It's amazing to see God's glory!

A Miracle

Psalm 77 is about comfort in trouble in recalling God's mighty deeds. God is definately a miracle worker. He has worked so many miracles in my life whether big or small. Some small miracles He's done for me being able to attend this college, having awesome family and friends, giving me breath every new day. One miracle that really astounded me last year was when my aunt had an MRI and they had found a mass in her brain that could've been cancerous. She was already a cancer survivor, so there was a possibility that the cancer could've came back. With all the cancer my family has had, I figured it was probably cancer. I was scared because I knew all the pain and heartache my family had already suffered, and I didn't want us to go through it again. My aunt went in for a biopsy to find out if it was cancerous. I remember that night before she found out the results, I was crying out to God. I asked Him to just let it not be cancer. I prayed really hard that night. My aunt found out the results the next day, and to my dismay, it wasn't cancer! All I could thing about was how God had answered my prayer! It was truely a miracle in my life. God is awesome!

Life is Changing

Since I've been at NGU for about 2 months now, many things are different in life. When I go home on occasional weekends, I'm bored most of the time and wish I was back at school. I love my friends and family to death, but its so different when I go back home now! I have so much more freedom here, and when I go back home I feel like I'm back in confinement again! However, I never really ask to do stuff anymore, I just do my own thing at home and she doesn't really care. I guess I just like the freedom of being here on my own and learning new things on my own. I also love my roomie and all the friends I've met here, and when I go home I miss hanging out with them. I usually end of texting them the whole weekend anyways. Life is so different since I've been in college and I love it!

SC State Fair

I went to the fair this weekend in Columbia, SC. It is a family tradition for our us to go every year. There are so many rides to ride, and I am the daredevil of the family so I ride some stuff alone. My favorite ride was Drop Zone. I was strapped into a seat and raised really high in the air, then when I least expected it, it dropped me all the way to the bottom. No one else would ride it with me so I had to ride it alone. We rode many of the other rides as well. The other awesome part about the fair is the food. Fair food is so fattening, but it tastes so amazing! Pretty much all the food they sell there fits into 2 categories: sweet or fried! I had a corn dog for supper, and then topped it off with an amazing Elephant Ear. I also ate some of my mom's fried mushrooms and then a slushy later on. The cool part about the state fair is that they have many exhibits to look at. Every year they have an amazing sand sculpture that surpasses the imaginable. It is absolutely incredible the amount of time and detail they work into the sculpture. I enjoy it so much every year.

Surprise

When I was in the second grade, my mom and dad planned a major vacation for me but kept it a surprise. They were planning to take me on a cruise to the Bahamas. They had already informed my teacher that I would be missing school because of this. My mom had been telling me that she had a surprise for me, and one day at school me teacher slipped and said, "Have fun on the cruise, Morgan!" That caught me off guard. I then began to wonder if that was the surprise mom was talking about. I went home from school that day and asked her if this was true and she asked me how I found out. I told her the teacher told me. The next few days were spent packing and driving to Florida to board the ship. When I stepped on that cruise ship for the first time, I was in awe. I had never seen anything like it before. The other surprise was, my mom and dad had told my aunts, uncles, and grandparents that we weren't going to be able to go on the cruise, but little did they know that we were. After we got settled in our room, we searched the ship for them. We finally found them on the upper deck of the ship. They were all surprised! The rest of the cruise was spent relaxing and exploring the islands of the Bahamas. It was truely the experience of a lifetime!

Fall Break

Fall break is finally here! I live in Aiken, SC which is about three hours away! The drive home is so boring, but I play my music loud and jam to it the whole way home. It's mostly back country road all the way home. I can't wait to get home to see my mom and brother and my best friend. Most of my friends, however, don't have fall break the same time as NGU, so on Monday and Tuesday I will be bored out of my mind trying to find stuff to do. I will be doing homework as well as tryin to catch up on understanding Biology over the long weekend. Then, on Tuesday afternoon I will be driving back up to NGU for the long torturous 3 hour drive.

Something Most People Don't Know About Me

I have always loved to sing, but being the shy type I'm not one to admit it that I can. When I was little, I would sing in plays at my church for the children's ministry. Then, when I was about 12, my family was throwing a surprise party for my dad at my church. I told my mom that I wanted to sing with my cousin at his party, and she told me I could. It was the first time I would actually stand up in front of people and sing for a large crowd. After that, I really didn't sing much except in the car or in my room with the radio blasting. Then, last year me and my best friend were talking at church camp. We both discovered something about each other that we didn't know. We both thought we had a descent voice, but never really acted on it. We decided that we wanted to sing in church for a youth service. We were terrified, but we loved it! We did it again the following year and we also had the opportunity to sing at another church! I love to sing, and even though I don't get many chances to, I still enjoy doing it in my spare time.

Wednesday's Chapel

I really enjoyed chapel on wednesday! I can't remember the speaker's name, but he was by far the best one we have had yet. He wasn't afraid to say what he thought! It was about dating, and it really spoke to me! One thing that made an impression on me was when he said that we should be happy single. I've had a couple guys come in and out of my life for the past month that have treated me not so well, so it's left a bad taste in my mouth for dating. It made me realize no one can complete me but me. I didn't lose interest in chapel this time. I really enjoyed his message.

My Summer Mission for 2010

The past few years, I have attended a church camp called Go Tell. Every year it was an amazing experience and every year God moved in so many amazing ways. They had my favorite speaker, Clayton King, preach every year. God never failed at showing me something new every year. This past summer was my last year to attend as a camper, but I want to be a counselor this summer at this camp. Two of the couselors I met last year attend NGU. I've talked to one of them about being a counselor, and it sounds like an awesome opportunity and a way to minister to teens in profound ways. All of the counselors at the end of camp get to take a mission trip to one of 2 locations. I think not only will it be an awesome way to minister to teenagers, but it will change me in numerous ways and allow me to be humble and greatful for what I have! This is my mission for the upcoming summer!! Pray for me.

My Testimony

I grew up in a Christian home. My family attended church pretty much every Sunday and Wednesday, and we were also involved in other activities the church had. When I was about 7 my parents told me Christ died on the cross for me, and told me how I could be saved. I went through the motions like a lot of young kids do and thought I was saved as a child. However, continuing to grow up, I kind of assumed I would just always be saved. I would read my Bible occasionally and pray, but I started to fall away from God. When my dad passed away with cancer, my eyes began to open. He left me his Bible in his will. His wish for our family was to remain srong in Christ even though he would no longer be with us. That hit me hard cause I didn't want to let my dad down. My freshman year in high school, one of my best friends invited me to her church because she would be sharing her testimony. I went, and it hit me hard once again. I went home that night, but I couldn't go to sleep. My friend's testimony related so much to my life and how I'd been living. I felt this burden on my heart, and its like no matter how hard I tried God wouldn't let me go to sleep. I lay there thinking that if I were to die, I honestly didn't know where I would spend eternity. I couldn't take it anymore. I sat up in my bed and called mom into my room and told her how I felt. She told me I would need to go on Sunday and talk to our youth pastor. It was only Wednesday and I was scared to death that I wasn't going to make it to Sunday. Sunday rolled around and after church I went to talk to our youth pastor. He prayed the sinner's prayer with me, and I instantly felt that burden lifted. I no longer was had doubt of where I would spend eternity. I'm not perfect, and I still make mistakes, but I know I'm a child of God and that will never change!

Why I Chose NGU

About two years ago, I didn't know that North Greenville University existed. One of my good friends from my my church back at home graduated last year and was coming here. I began to hear some stuff about it by her talking about it. My senior year in high school, I decided I would take a trip up here and visit it because in a strange way I almost felt like God was leading me here. My family came up on one of the Encounter days last year, and I instantly fell in love. I loved that it was in the foothills of the mountains. I loved the Christian atmosphere. I liked that it was a smaller college. I knew that this is where I belonged. Mom, however, wasn't quite sure if I could go here due to the cost of the college, but she told me that if I could get enough scholarships that she would allow me to come here. Luckily, many things fell into place, and I got to come here. I don't regret anything at all! I love it here and I know that God has a major plan for me!

Never Give Up

When I was in the sixth grade, most of my friends tryed out for a cheerleading squad, and I didn't want to be left out, so I tried out as well. Tryouts lasted a week, and at the end of the week I would know whether or not I made it. When the week was over, my best friend at the time and I went to go look at the postings to see if we had made it. She made it; I didn't. I was really upset. The next year came around for tryouts for the middle school cheerleading squad, and I decided I was going to give it another shot. One of my friends that lived down the street told me she would help me if I needed it. I took advantage of her help, and she was over at my house for hours to make sure I got the dance and cheers perfect. It took a lot of effort and time, but at the end of the week I tried out, and, to my surprise, I made it. With time and effort put towards something, anything is possible. I cheered those 2 years in middle school, and 4 years in high school! For once, I felt like I was actually good at something. I decided I wouldn't cheer in college, so I could focus on school and get a job. However, I kind of regret that decision now because I love cheering. I'm strongly considering cheering next year, but God will lead me in the direction I need to go.

The Sister I Never Had

My best friends name is Brianna Meeler! We met 4 years ago at the end of our freshman year in high school! At that time, neither of us liked each other. She didn't like me cause she thought I was stuck up, and I didn't like her cause I thought she was stuck up. Little did we know, we became best friends after playing softball together for our church. At that point in my life, one of my best friends at that time, ad stabbed me in the back, and we were no longer friends. I was extemely upset and felt like I didn't really have anyone that I was close to. I prayed to God and asked him to send me a best friend cause I really needed someone. I decided I would invite Brianna over one night after a softball game to spend the night. She came and ever since then, we've pretty much been inseparable! Honestly, I wish she was in my life a lot sooner than just four years ago. We tell each other everything. She is an amazing Christian girl who loves God with all her heart, and I know she can give me wonderful advice anytime I need it. We decided we would be each others accountability partners so that if one of us goes in a wrong direction we are there to pull each other back to the straight path. We have so many inside jokes and so many memories together it is ridiculous! The hardest part was leaving her to come to college. For the first time in four years we wouldn't see each other everyday of our lives and that was hard to imagine. If Brianna's not with me or I'm not with her, most people's reaction is, "Where is your other half?" She's like the sister I never had. Our favorite quote is, "I promise that we will stay best friends forever, and when we are old, we will be tearing up the nursing home in our hot pink wheel chairs." She will always be my best friend, even if I live hundreds of miles away for the rest of my life. I love her to death!

Destin

I love to travel to new places. I have been on many different and intersting vacations from Lancaster, Pensylvania to the Bahamas. However, my favorite vacation spot is Destin, Florida. Destin is located on Florida's pan-handle. I went about two years ago with my family, and when we arrived and saw that coast for the first time, we were all amazed! It was the whitest sand and the bluest water I have ever seen in my life. It looked like a picture of paradise right out of a magazine. We stayed in a condo within walking distance of the beach, and went to the beach every day we were there. There is also a lot of attractions in Destin, including, my favorite, shopping! Destin is definately the ultimate vacation spot!

Current Life Lessons From God

Currently in my life right now, God is teaching me to have patience and to wait on Him. A lot of times I try to take matters into my own hands because I am impatient, and this leads me no where. I've found recently that taking matters into my own hands has caused me heartache and grief. I've had enough of feeling down. I know that no matter what, God will answer my prayers. I have a specific heartache right now that I have been dealing with for the past few months. Slowly I am getting over it, but through it all God has shown me that if I just wait on Him, He will bless me in a countless number of ways.

My Biggest Fear

My dad and I in front of the Hard Rock Cafe

My past contributes to my biggest fear! My biggest fear is cancer! Cancer runs through both sides of my family, so everytime something minor hurts on me its always in the back of my mind! When I was about 8, my dad was diagnosed with cancer. He underwent surgeries and therapy and fortunately was able to be in remission for awhile. However, about a year later my aunt (my dad's sister) was diagnosed with cancer, and a few months later my dad's cancer had come back. Never in my life did I imagine something could bring someone as strong as my dad down. Both my dad and my aunt went through so many treatments, chemotherapy, surgeries, etc. Being so young, it never occured to me that my dad could die. I always shoved that to the back of my mind, except for one day when my mom and I were riding in the car. She brought up the fact that dad was getting progressively worse and that he could die. I openly denied that. A few months later, my aunt passed away. It hit me really hard in her funeral because I was sitting next to my dad, who was still battling cancer, and there he was sitting at his sister's funeral. I held his hand tight and I could tell that it really bothered him. Three months later my dad took a turn for the worst and passed away on August 8, 2003 in the morning. It devastated me more than anyone knew. A few months later my aunt (my mom's sister) was diagnosed with cancer, and around the same time my grandpa (my mom's dad) was diagnosed with cancer as well. It seemed like it would never end. Fortunately, my aunt is still alive today, but my grandpa went to be with the Lord. Through all the trials, our family somehow managed to get by. It's not easy though. I fear one day I'm going to get cancer, or someone else in my family will. It honestly terrifies me, but I know that God will be by my side the whole way! I miss my dad so much!

My First Experience With the Po Po

I got my driver's license in the 10th grade, and from that day on I drove everyday to school and to all the errands my mom sent me on. I consider myself to be a good diver. I've never wrecked, and I don't speed most of the time. However, one morning my 11th grade year, I was on my way to school and took the same route that always took. I cut through the Atlanta Bread Company parking lot to get to a road that leads to my high school. That morning, I had just cut through and almost reached the school, when I looked in my rearview mirror and saw blue lights flashing. I pulled over off the side of the road to let the cop pass me, but no he pulled over behind me. At that moment, I started freaking out. I hadn't done anything wrong that I could remember. I rolled down the window. The cop asked me if I knew what I had done, but I was so terrified I somehow managed to say no. He told me I was pulled over for avoiding a traffic light (aka cutting through the Atlanta Bread parking lot) to get to school. I was dumbfounded. In my head I was thinking, "Your seriously pulling me over for that?" Practically the whole school did that, but I was the one that got caught. The good thing is I didn't get a ticket for it, just a warning. The moral of the story is to NEVER cut through a parking lot!

Home Sweet Home

College life is definately a different experience! I've now been away from home for about 2 weeks, and I've never been away from home for that long. However, I am thoroughly enjoying it! I miss my family so so much, but one thing I really miss is my dog. My dog's name is CJ. He is a Chihuahua-Jack russel mix. He is a very very hyperactive dog. We brought him home from the SPCA several years ago, and he is by far the best dog we have ever had. He learns tricks so fast, and he knows if he has done wrong. He is a very smart dog! Some tricks he can do are sitting, laying, shaking hands, a special game that we play with him, and, our favorite trick, "army crawling". I'm going back home in 2 weeks, and I can't wait to see him cause I love him!!