#ucsdiv

Looking for reasons to go to Spring Retreat? Here are a few!

1) Chef Darcy's amazing food! If you graduate from UCSD without having once tasted Chef Darcy's food, you'll have missed out on the next best thing to studying abroad!

2) (For extroverts) All the people! With over 100 people on the island, there's always someone to talk to or hang out with! You'll never be lacking for company!

3) (For introverts) All the free time! With plenty of free time throughout the day, you'll have plenty of opportunities to nap, journal, walk somewhere by yourself! 

4) The teachers! From classics like B.J Carter, to new staff like Jenn Krauss, you'll get a chance to learn about God's kingdom from a variety of amazing people!

5) The classes! It's not often you get to spend an entire day studying a manuscript and seeing how God is speaking to His people through it! This is a unique experience that only comes once a year! You don't want to miss it!

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Looking for something to listen to on a rainy day? Look no further than Beautiful Eulogy's sophomore album, "Instruments of Mercy". Hailing from Portland Oregon, this trio of two rappers (Odd Thomas and Braille) and one producer (Courtland Urbano) combine hip hop,folk music, and theology to present their audience with a truly unique sound. 

Their introduction, Cello From Portland, is a perfect way to start off a walk around your neighborhood right after the rain has ended. It has a lively tone to it and with just a few words, Beautiful Eulogy quickly informs you who they are. 

Although hip hop, folk music, and theology aren't usually seen as things that can be combined, Beautiful Eulogy does an amazing job at bringing the three elements together. Songs like "Signs and Symbols" featuring fellow rapper Propaganda, show that the group isn't far away from their underground hip hop roots, while collaborations with fellow Portland musicians such as Hello Abigail and Josh White reveal the terrific combo of hip hop and folk music. Meanwhile their theology flows from each song as they talk about topics such as the general revelation of who Jesus is (Vital Lens), our ultimate destination of being in God's presence (Acquired in Heaven) and our struggle with sin (Release Me From This Snare). The album is bookended by two spoken word pieces from each of the MC's which give us an amazing picture of both the weight of our sin, and the beauty of God's grace.

The perfect album to listen to on a rainy day while sitting with your Bible, the best part of this is that it's completely free! Beautiful Eulogy and their label believe in freely giving away their music. You can download it at www.humblebeast.com . If you love it, their previous album is also free and can be found at the same website.

Eunice!

Can I just say that I have been blessed with such amazing co-leaders? I remember in my application for leadership that I was worried I wouldn't get along with people, but the opposite has been quite true. They are all amazing women of God who have made the process of leadership so much easier. 

Today during leadership, a funny thing happened. Dilean started talking about how we've helped her a lot. While she was saying that, I was writing the exact same thing in my journal. I tend to go through depressive moods at time that come and go with the flow. Today I was having one such moment. We were released for half an hour to just reflect on life. We were given questions to think about. I jotted down quick answers. I didn't feel like responding. I was sad and I didn't know why. I spent most of that half hour praying to God for strength. I went back close to the end of the half hour. Carissa, Iris and Dilean were talking about something. I don't remember what it was, I just remember that just listening to their conversation cheered me up right away. It made me start feeling a lot better about the day and circumstances. 

Last night I decided to go to Large Group. Or rather, I decided to actually go in. I haven't been feeling the motivation to go in for some reason. I'm not really sure why. I just wanted to isolate myself from everybody. 

For me, one of the problems that I have is that I tend to isolate myself from others and as a result, I tend not to tell people the problems that I'm facing. Eventually those issues start to consume me until it affects everything I do. I've been reaching this point for a while and I've actually told a few friends what the issue was. But it wasn't until last night that I feel like I took a step towards resolution. 

I told my co-leader for LaFe, Paloma about what was my issue. I initially didn't want to because Paloma is close to the situation so it felt a bit awkward but I'm glad that I did. Paloma gave me really good advice. It made me rethink the whole situation. I hadn't thought of looking at my emotional attachments through a spiritual lens. Paloma prayed with me and then we went to Large Group. 

I stayed outside but then I decided to go in because Anna was speaking. She talked about how after Peter denied Jesus, Jesus asked if Peter loved him. Basically, Jesus redeemed Peter's failure. Throughout this whole time, I had this overwhelming urge to go pray. So I went outside. While there, I told God that I was ready to give everything up to him including my relationships which is an area I'm weak in. I felt like God was asking if I truly knew the cost. What if nobody ever came? Or what if it took years? Or what if I had to go through more emotional pain? I told God that I would put it in His hands no matter what that might mean. Afterward, I got to talk to Jonny who prayed with me and reminded me that Jesus was a single man who focused on doing God's will. He also told me how our culture glorifies relationships but there are some things that a wife can't give you but that God can. It felt really good to hear that from him.