Grace Alive!

Upcoming Events: May

2009-04-19T16:43:00.000-07:00

Ultimate Questions will be continuing May 1st and 8th at the GVCC gym at 6:30...
Look for dates TBA for Country Night and Beach Day!!!

Upcoming Events

2009-04-08T20:23:00.000-07:00

Coming up next...
April 17th 6:30 pm, GVCC gym: Part 4 of our Ultimate Questions series!

Recurring events:
Midweek Bible studies: contact Trevor at trevorjha@gmail.com
Friday morning Prayer Meetings: Willows apartments #228, 7 am
Wednesday night Bible studies: 7 pm, Hunt 100 (whole group)

Need any more information please contact Trevor...

Spring Retreat April 3-4, 2009

2009-04-08T19:50:00.000-07:00

Grace Alive! headed down to Leoni Meadows for a weekend so that we could focus on desiring God's presence...and of course there was time for fellowship and fun!
Meals were enjoyable and delicious, from spaghetti to scrambled eggs to sandwiches...

The drive was about an hour and a half but who can complain with such wonderful company?!

Amazing cabinmates...

Warm campfire on a cold night...with lots of worship, too!

Mr. Perry spoke on the theme of desiring God's presence...here he illustrates what it's like when we control our lives and want to relegate God to the sidecar...

Lots of worship, prayer, and fellowship...

Winter Quarter 2009!

2009-04-08T18:42:00.000-07:00

A brief look at what Grace Alive! did during Spring Quarter, between January and March 2009

January 3rd: Kicking off the quarter with our traditional prayer day to ask God to give us grace throughout the quarter...

January 17th: We took a trip up to the snow for a day of play...snowboarding, sledding, snowball fights and everything slushy!

February 6th: We kicked off our Ultimate Questions course, which continued on February 20th and March 6th and will further continue during Spring Quarter, on April 17th, May 1st, and May 15th. This course consists of dinners and times for discussions about big questions relating to God, the meaning of life, the Bible, the person of Christ, sin...anyone is welcome! Read more by clicking on the link at gracealive.net!

February 14th: We had our annual Evening With Grace Alive! fundraiser at GVCC, and this year we had almost 100 kids! The theme was country and included line dancing lessons, lassoing challenges, a cakewalk, crafts and more!

Sarah let the kids put stickers all over her...

...and Jennifer kicked up her heels!

February 21st We had a movie night in the gym...we watched The Ultimate Gift, a thought-provoking movie, and had some delicious snacks!

March 13th Some of the members of GVCC put on a career fair specifically targeted to high school and college students, which included about many booths, about 6o distinct career opportunities and suggestions, and an open forum where we could ask questions!

Grace finds out about opportunities for an English major

More coming soon!

The rest of Fall Quarter 2008...

2009-03-30T15:27:00.000-07:00

Ok everyone I apologize for this very delayed post...I realized I haven't updated the Grace Alive! blog since October, and yet there's been so many exciting things going on! Here's what happened during the rest of Fall Quarter:

October 31st Grace Valley Christian Center, the church we are affiliated with, held a Reformation Day celebration and we attended the play there, written by and starring Grace Alive! members, then some of us helped with the activities for the kids...
November 8 Some of us attended the Causeway Classic where only a few of us were excited by Sac State beating UCDavis for the first time in years!

November 14/15 We had our annual Fall Retreat, which was a great time full of devotion to God, encouragement, praise and worship, wonderful food and fellowship, and of course some fun games!

November 19th Grace Alive! continued our Faith and Reason lecture series by hosting UCDavis professor Richard Spencer...

November 22 The big Thanksgiving Cook-off...Each of the four teams got a budget of under $30 and then were sent to the grocery store to buy enough ingredients to make a meal...plus each team had to come up with a commercial to 'advertise' their dish!

December 5 For our Christmas party, we held a White Elephant party and dessert...besides winning some gifts like fake reindeer-antler headbands and 1-lb bars of Belgian chocolate, it was a great time of fellowship and prayer and thanksgiving for a great quarter! We also exchanged prayer requests and had a great time before going into finals!

December 31st After a couple years of a live lip-syncing competition on New Years Eve, we switched it up a bit this year and instead made lip-synced music videos and watched them together...completely hilarious and completely fun! Then we ate and played games and wished each other a happy, wonderful new year!

That wraps up Fall Quarter 2008...Winter Quarter 2009 coming soon!

Costume Bowling 2008!!!

2008-11-15T20:04:00.001-08:00

Our fifth annual Costume Bowling night on October 25th was themed "Hollywood" and everyone had a great time. How can you go wrong when you mix a bowling tournament with costumes with pizza?? We started out the night meeting at the Smiths' house (mostly for pictures) then went to the MU for bowling and then ended the night at the Manukyans' house with pizza, a slideshow, and a short skit by an Ali G look-alike. If a picture is worth a thousand words...how do you describe the night from the photos below? :)

Campfire by the Creek!

2008-10-18T20:45:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post one of our huge and brand-new and exciting events this year! Grace Alive! had a campfire by Putah Creek Lodge with a bbq and time for worship on September 26th! It was exciting and a great time of fellowship!

Our terrific BBQers...

Nametag table with Jennifer and Allison!

The ministries also put out tables to introduce guests to what they are all about!

Worship Night 2008!

2008-10-18T19:47:00.000-07:00

This past Wednesday, October 15th, Grace Alive! had its annual worship night...and we all enjoyed taking time to focus on God and not on the various worries we all have...with midterms coming up soon, life can get stressful and often it's easy to forget to rely on God. During the busy times of life, though, is when we need God the most! Naomi started off the night with a slideshow that reminded us of who God is--such as our Rock, our Savior, our Lord--and how much we need His salvation! Nick and Allison also shared personal testimonies and Jim led the band in several worship songs, plus we had the pleasure of hearing the Grace Alive! quartet sing "How Deep is the Love of Christ" before Mr. Perry closed out the night with an encouraging word. The band prayed before starting...

The band, with Nick as one of the worship leaders..

Matt played drums...

And Allison gave a testimony!

Sunday lunches!

2008-10-18T19:13:00.000-07:00

To welcome new students to UCD, and to welcome back returning students, Grace Alive! has been hosting and organizing lunches after church these past few Sundays. It's been great getting to see new faces, reconnect with friends, and enjoy encouraging fellowship!

Sunday 9/28:

We went to James and Matt's house and enjoyed sandwiches (and, for some people, the football game!)
Getting food outside in the sunshine...

Sunday 10/5:

We split into groups and tried out some different restaurants in order to experience what Davis has to offer...I was in the group that went to 2KThai!
James and Brittany enjoying a Thai lunch...

Keturah enjoying conversation after a satisfying lunch...

Sunday 10/12:

Trevor's family graciously opened their house and we all slurped down some delicious spaghetti and meatballs!

Bethany and Rachel did a wonderful job of making spaghetti, salad, and garlic bread!

Grace Alive! Welcome Night 2008

2008-09-25T17:39:00.000-07:00

Grace Alive! had its annual ice cream social Welcome Night last night. It was a great introduction to the upcoming year--all the ministry leaders introduced their ministries, Adrianne gave a testimony, James introduced the schedule for fall quarter, Bethany made a great slideshow, and the band led us in a couple worship songs.

Then we went outside for some delicious ice cream (or sundaes, if you chose to add toppings) and some more fellowship. Thanks to all who came out! We met lots of new people, and look forward to seeing what God has planned for our group this year!

Mystery Revealed!

2008-09-25T17:21:00.000-07:00

It's Jim!
Jim Lischeske is our Music Ministry co-leader. Jim is currently a Chemical Engineering senior at UCD, and we are really excited to have him back after he spent most of the summer at an internship in Berkeley. Congratulations to everyone who guessed correctly!!

Meet a Member Mystery part two

2008-08-29T10:52:00.001-07:00

Time to meet another Grace Alive! member! Read the clues, then leave guesses in the comments section, and the member's identity will be revealed soon!

1. Studying advice for new students: Actually study. Treat it like a 9-5 job, and you'll have more free time than you know what to do with, not to mention better grades than you could hope for!
2. Gender: Male
3. Favorite color: Green (like slime, per kindergarten, highly "teenaged mutant ninja turtles" influenced preferences).
4. Favorite worship song: I'm forgiven (Amazing Love)
5. If you could rename yourself, you'd be: [name] the Great!
6. Favorite restaurant: Tacqueria Guadelajara. SUPER-BURRITOS!!
7. Favorite random activity: One time, I played pogo with a yoga ball on golf court....
8. Favorite dessert: I'm on a Haagen Dazs kick right now, but I do love me some baklava.
9. City you'd love to live in: San Francisco
10. Favorite book as a child: My Father's Dragon. I still occassionally say "Bum Cack! Bum Cack! We dreed our nagon."
11. Animal you most relate to: Bears. [Beat. Battlestar. Gallactica.] In seriousness, they're strong and smart. And they like honey.
12. Beach or Mountains and why: Mountains. Did you see the sunburn I got last week?? oh man....
13. Vegetable you think is most disgusting: Oh man, I don't know what its called, but there was this one vegetable in this dish at this restaurant in China Town....
14. Article of clothing in fashion now that you hate: Tight pants on men. Please sir, I don't really want to know how shapely your calves are....
15. Six Flags or Great America? I haven't gone to a theme park since junior high.
16. What time do you go to sleep/wake up: 5:30 - 6
17. Character quality you wish you had more of: Humility
18. Favorite Bible verse: Maybe not my favorite, but one that's stuck with me is Proverbs 17:28 "Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue." Now if only I could follow that implicit advice...
19. Favorite breakfast: I've had frosted mini-wheats almost every day now for over a year. A little boring? Maybe, but I have great fiber!

There you have it...so who is this mystery man?!

Mid Summer BBQ!!

2008-08-27T15:47:00.000-07:00

On August 15, Grace Alive! had a bbq/potluck at Grace Valley Christian Center. We played volleyball and enjoyed great fellowship and delicious food. If you're interested in other Grace Alive! activities or just interested in our group, please visit www.gracealive.net and read about us!

Jenny and Linda talking after dinner...

...Bethany was one of two Grace Alivers to give a testimony...Bethany recently also got into nursing school and will be starting in the fall!

Matt was a tremendous BBQer and BBQed all the chicken for our chicken salads!

Some Grace Alivers preferred to watch the volleyball game :)

4th of July

2008-07-07T21:59:00.000-07:00

Happy Independence Day! For the fourth of July, Grace Valley Christian Center again celebrated with a service--at which we celebrated and prayed for America, as well as learned about Samuel Adams, an influential Christian in American history--and then a BBQ. Grace Alive! members helped--with facepainting, the dunk tank, the bakesale, selling meal tickets, and serving food--as well as enjoyed the excellent food and fellowship, volleyball, and other activities. That night, we met at Matt's house for some food, a testimony by Angela, and games, and then we walked over to Community Park to watch the fireworks together. It was enjoyable not just because we had such a great time, but also because we got a look at some of the Christian background our country has. What a blessing to live in a country with freedom of religion!

Lidiya, David, and Rod enjoying the BBQ at church...

Walking to the fireworks at the park...

Mary, Nicole, and Annie settling in to watch the fireworks...

Back at Matt's house to play Taboo...

Water Wars!!

2008-07-07T21:50:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, June 27th, Grace Alive! invaded the UCD campus quad for a fun evening of water balloons, relays, water wars and dessert. It was especially wonderful given the 100 degree-plus days we've been having, along with the smoke in the air from the recent fires. Nick also gave a challenging testimony about being on fire for Christ and shared how exciting life is to him as he serves such a great God!

Left to right: the group gathers for instructions, Tracey and Angela participate in a relay, the dessert table.

Summer Retreat 2008

2008-06-24T08:28:00.000-07:00

Grace Valley Christian Center went on its annual retreat to Sugar Pine Point in Tahoe June 19-22 and Grace Alive! was there with the church. The retreat was themed "Make Your Calling and Election Sure" this year, and we were able to hear five meetings worth of sermons related to this topic.

The weather was relatively mild this year, with the addition of a few raindrops, and overall it was very comfortable weather. Grace Alivers also got the opportunity to eat meals with families in the church and get to know church members better. In the afternoons, people went on hikes, went down to the beach, enjoyed relaxing at the campsite and, often most importantly, took showers!

The Morning Plunge...Sunday morning at 7 am a group of brave Grace Alivers and alumni hiked down a hill and jumped into a freezing cold creek. From left: Will getting out; the whole group who plunged; Megan, Ashley, Keturah, and Yessi jumping in.

Saturday afternoon Grace Country, GVCC's country band, played at the Ehrman Mansion beach.

Friday night after quiet hour at the campsite we took a hike down to one of the beaches to look at the stars. Above is Angela at the beach...it was pretty dark at 11 pm! But the stars were gorgeous!

Playing beach volleyball...Abe, Megan, and Trevor

Left: Bethany and her crew set out delicious breakfasts (and coffee!) for us every morning...
Right: Rachel and Jim enjoy that breakfast (and coffee!!!)

Mystery Revealed!! part one

2008-06-10T10:49:00.000-07:00

And the answer is...Ashley Clumpner!!

Ashley will be transferring to Sac State next semester as an English major. Her favorite English-related topic is British Literature. In Grace Alive! this past year, Ashley was instrumental in organizing Suppers for 8, in which older Grace Alivers would cook dinner for newer ones in order to get to know them better. Ashley is also one of four singers in the Grace Alive! band.

She says that the most important lesson she's learned in her time at college so far is that it's important to surrender all worries to God, because He cares for His children. She also learned that it's important to study your hardest then put it in God's hands.

Summer Reading

2008-06-08T15:43:00.000-07:00

Missing school reading already? Wish you had something to read during the long hours you'll be outside tanning? Or maybe you want to learn about some influential Christians or study theology. Mr. Perry encouraged us all this morning to make a point of reading some Christian books over the summer in order to fill our minds with thoughts of God and that we might draw nearer to God. He gave several suggestions and categories of books:

*Devotional books:
:Cost of Discipleship (Bonhoeffer)
:Pursuit of God (Tozer)

*Biographies:
:Susannah Spurgeon (Ray)
:George Whitefield (Dallimore)
:Autobiography of George Muller

*Church History:
:Fox's Book of Martyrs
:Worldly Saints (Ryken)
:Evangelicalism Divided (Murray)

*Commentaries:
:Let's Study...(series, Jackman)
:Matthew Henry Commentary

*Theology:
:Standing on the Rock (Boice)
:Concise Theology (Packer)
:Systematic Theology (Grudem)
:Institutes of the Christian Religion (Calvin)

*Topical:
:The Believer's School of Prayer (Murray)
:Soul Winner (Spurgeon)
:Passion and Purity (Elliott)

Fiction:
:Pilgrim's Progress (Bunyan)
:Screwtape Letters (Lewis)

Contemporary:
:Postmodern Times (Veith)
:Darwin on Trial (Johnson)

*Puritans:
:Ten Commandments (Watson)
:Communion with God (Owen)
:Religious Affections (Edwards)
:Holiness (Ryle)
:Studies of the Sermon on the Mount (Lloyd-Jones)

You can find books for cheaper at abebooks.com...happy reading!

Meet a Member Mystery part 1

2008-06-08T15:28:00.000-07:00

If you're asking, 'what on earth...??" about the title, I don't blame you. I want to do an introduction to one Grace Alive! member about once a month. I'll give at least 10 clues and trivia facts about the member on Sunday or Monday, and feel free to leave your guess(es) in the comment section as to who it is. I'll reveal the member on Tuesday or Wednesday along with a little blurb about who they are and what role they play in Grace Alive!...good luck!

1. Gender: Female
2. Language she wishes she spoke: Italian
3. Favorite color: Sea green
4. Favorite worship song: Give Us Clean Hands
5. Dream career: Judge on American Idol
6. If she was to be renamed, she would choose: Maggie Pennington
7. Favorite restaurant: Cafe Soleil
8. Favorite random activity: Golfing with her dad
9. Hidden talent: Pigeon Imitation
10. Activity she'd like to do in Grace Alive!: Broomball
11. Favorite dessert: Haagen Dazs Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream
12. Favorite perfume: Tommy Girl Sport
13. Favorite vacation she's ever taken: Hawaii
14. City she'd love to live in: New York City
15. Favorite book as a child: Goodnight Moon

End of the Year BBQ!

2008-06-05T08:30:00.000-07:00

Last night, instead of our usual Grace Alive meeting, we had a BBQ as well as a special goodbye for the international students we met this year. For the first part of the evening, Keturah made a special slideshow to remember the internationals' time here, and David made a slideshow to summarize how Grace Alive! has changed and what events we've had over the past year. Two international students, Chiai and Jang, talked about what Grace Alive! has meant to them during their time at UCD. Outside, James and Dwight cooked up all the burgers then we came out and ate a delicious dinner!

Clockwise from top left: Bryan gets some water; David giving his slideshow presentation; James barbecuing; Tyler C and Tyler K filling up; Yessi getting ready to enjoy her dinner; the international slideshow

Grad dinner for class of 2008

2008-06-03T09:55:00.000-07:00

Last night we celebrated the graduations of Katharine, Tyler, Jennifer K, Will, David, and Todd over dinner. Each grad gave a testimony about what God has done in his or her life over the past 4 or 5 years of college, shared memories, and gave practical advice to students still in school. Jennifer S put together a great slideshow of pictures from infancy till now, as well as a video of each grad sharing embarrassing memories, secret talents, and lessons learned. We got the added blessing of the pastor and several elders from GVCC, who came to support the graduates and speak to all of us. In the next year, these six will be moving on from college--working at real jobs, applying for law school, leaving to Harvard Law School and Oxford, and getting married. We wish them all well--God bless!

All ready for dinner!

The slideshow...

The grads taking pictures post-dinner

Thanks also to Bethany and Angela, our wonderful kitchen crew, and everyone else who helped!!

Ultimate Frisbee Semis/Finals

2008-06-03T09:41:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Team Nocturne!!!

As the last IM team left this season, Grace Alive's Ultimate Frisbee team went all the way to the finals! The semifinal game, played at 4 in the afternoon, was close for awhile but some amazing catches (particularly the game-winner by Will) helped get the victory. The final game was played at 9 pm the same day and, while close near halftime, it ended in a 9-6 loss by Nocturne. It was a great season!

team huddle before the game...

Great catches by Nate, Will and Todd...

...and the gamewinning catch at the semifinals!!!

Sunday announcements 5/25

2008-05-26T08:44:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we had Grace Alive! and church and here are the main announcements in terms of upcoming events:

Monday June 2nd: Graduation dinner; 6 pm, church
Wednesday June 4th: End-of-the-year celebration--BBQ on campus; 7 pm, Hunt 100
Thursday June 19-Sunday June 22nd: Whole Church Retreat at Tahoe

Carwash Fundraiser!

2008-05-24T22:18:00.000-07:00

Today we had a carwash and bakesale to raise money for an upcoming missions trip to El Salvador. Waking up, I was disappointed to see the gloomy gray weather but God really blessed the day and we were busy on both ends!

Yessi enthusiastically passed out flyers in front of Nugget letting people know what we were raising money for...

Luis and Jennifer washed cars...

As did Mary...

As did Ben!

Thank you to all the bakers for making such delicious treats!!

Thank you everyone who helped out today...praise God for a successful day! :)

IM teams Spring 2008

2008-05-23T12:01:00.000-07:00

This quarter Grace Alive! members and alumni got together and made 5 intramural teams. One of our co-ed volleyball teams, with Will, Trevor, Angela, and Ashley won their division and moved on to the playoffs!!

Our women's volleyball team with Liya, Kristina, Brittany, Sarah and Yessi made it all the way to the finals before losing in a close game!

Two other co-ed teams, one with Nate, Yessi, Eric, and Liya, and the other with Brittany, Todd, Laura, Ara, and David made it to the playoffs as well--and these two teams played each other!

Our ultimate frisbee team, with Nate, Liya, Brittany, Todd, Will, Trevor, Josh, Katharine, Kristina, Sarah, Gerrit, and David just won in the quarterfinals last night, and are on to the semis!!

Welcome to Grace Alive!

2008-05-23T11:25:00.000-07:00

Hey guys...this is a new blog for the Christian group Grace Alive!, which is primarily based on the UCDavis campus. I'm hoping to be able to keep everyone updated about events that have recently happened in the group, and what's coming up next. :) The picture above is just of some of the people in our group.
Grace Alive! is a dynamic Christian fellowship. We meet for a Bible study every Wednesday night on campus, and get together multiple times a week for different activities ranging from prayer meetings to bowling tournaments--in costume! to running to fashion shows to country line dancing and all sorts of other things! For more information, check out our website at www.gracealive.net

As for me, I'm Jenna, and I'm a student at Sac State. I'm a third year English major and am done with finals for the year! Summer starts today! Good luck to UCD students finishing up the year! :)