October 1, 2011

94 Students Indicate Decisions for Christ at UF

by Sus in CCC News Tags: athletes, Denver Broncos, Florida, football, Gainesville, Gators, Heisman Trophy, students, The Swamp, UF, university, University of Florida

If you know our family, you know we’re University of Florida Gators fans.  Both Ben and Josh graduated from UF in physics and mechanical engineering, respectively.

Naturally, we were thrilled to learn that at the first UF Cru meeting of this year, ninety-four students indicated decisions to follow Christ!

“It was just an amazing night really,” says Allen Williams, our UF ministry campus director. “I definitely felt the Holy Spirit there moving in people’s hearts and knew something special could take place there. It’s exciting to be a part of it and get to witness that firsthand.” (Read the entire article on ccci.org.)

Some of our other UF Posts:

• Our popular post about sending Ben off to college, When Your First Child Leaves Home for College
• Tim Tebow and the remarkable witness of his family.  Tim won the Heisman trophy while at UF and is now with the Denver Broncos.
• Peter Tebow, Tim’s brother, was working as an intern with UF Cru

NOTE: The image of the UF mascots, Albert and Alberta, are in the public domain.

June 4, 2010

The Memorial Day Weekend Mashup: Part 1

by Sus in Ben, Bonnie, Family News, Family Photos, Jenn, Josh, Mike, Sus Tags: aquarium, barbecue, Disney, family, family life, Florida, Gainesville, gardens, highway, interstate, Orlando, pictures, recommended, restaurants, road trips, things to do, tourist attractions, UF, university, University of Florida, zoos

We had a busy Memorial Day weekend. Ben flew in from Washington with his girlfriend, Bonnie, so we could meet her… and so he could introduce her to Central Florida in one long weekend!

On Friday, we went to Sea World and found out Bonnie had never been before and had never been to an aquarium or on a roller coaster or on a flume ride, so we took care of that. We made sure to take her to our favorites: the Kraken rollercoaster, Journey to Atlantis, Wild Arctic, Jewel of the Sea Aquarium, Stingray Lagoon, Dolphin Cove, Penguin Encounter, Shark Encounter, Manta Aquarium, Pacific Point Preserve, and the Blue Horizons show. We didn’t know the park was closing early, otherwise, I’m sure Ben and Josh would have taken Bonnie on the Manta rollercoaster and we would have taken her to A’Lure, an acrobatic show. We had a barbecue dinner at the Voyager’s Smokehouse.

On Saturday, Ben, Josh, Jenn, and Bonnie went to Gainesville, Florida. She was able to meet some of Ben’s good friends and they took her around the University of Florida campus. For dinner they went to a very unique pizza place, Satchel’s. (I explained more about Satchel’s in a January 2008 post.)

Sunday, we went to church and then stayed around home for a yummy dinner and belated birthday party for Ben. He turned 25 this year! He loves to make cakes, so he actually made his own birthday cake, a Black Forest Cake.

See tomorrow’s post for news about the rest of our big weekend, a video of barnacles, and a link to a photo slideshow about our weekend visiting St. Augustine, the beach nearby, and Campus Crusade for Christ headquarters. Or just click here for a slide show with pictures from our fun-filled family mini-vacation.

Want more ideas about visiting Central Florida?
See older posts on St. Augustine, Gainesville, and Sea World.  This post is part of the series of recommended tips for enjoying I-95.

February 8, 2010

Tim Tebow

by Sus in Faith Lessons Tags: athletes, Bible quotes, Denver Broncos, Florida, Gainesville, Gators, Heisman Trophy, Prayer, recommended, The Swamp, Tim Tebow, UF, university, University of Florida, videos

You are probably aware of the pre-game uproar about the two Super Bowl ads featuring Tim Tebow, University of Florida’s quarterback, and his mother, Pam. After watching these two commercials, I felt many would enjoy and appreciate them and the naysayers were pre-judging the content.

If you have ten minutes, you would probably be very interested in the back-story for the Tebow family at Focus on the Family. Click on The Tebow Story for a video interview with Tim Tebow’s parents as they reveal God’s hand on Tim’s life even before he was conceived. I could not help but think of Psalm 139.

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
~ Psalm 139: 13 – 16 (NIV)

NOTES:

• Be sure to watch the video posted at the top of this post and Click here … and here as well… for more videos about Tim and his family, including the two controversial Super Bowl ads.
• In 2007, Tim became the first underclassman to win the Heisman trophy.  He was nominated again in 2008 along with two other Christians, Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy.  He had the most first-place votes, but didn’t win the trophy that year.
• Learn about the NCAA “Tebow Rule” instituted in 2010 prohibiting messages on eye black.
• “Tebowing” became an internet phenomenon during his career at the Denver Broncos.

Related posts: on Gainesville.