SouthFloridaDaily

During my junior year, I came home from a weekend of camping, opened my bedroom door and found this scene. My then friend, who a year later became my boyfriend and is now my husband, had filled hundreds of dixie cups with another guy and covered my entire floor. It was a pretty great prank, even though it really inconvenienced me as I was so excited to take a shower and put on clean clothes before having to run to a meeting…I wasn’t able to make it to the closet across the room and had to stay in the same clothes I’d warn all weekend. Oh the fun of college.
Watching: lots of commercials during ncaa games

Another Davidson Tribute: Our football team, taking a knee for an injured opponent.
With 1700 students, it is pretty amazing that we play Division I in all of our sports except football, in which we’re Division IAA. Our humble stadium probably has less bleacher seats than a high school.
WooHoo Davidson! Way to blow out Wisconsin last night. Elite 8 for the first time since 1969!!
Watching: Michigan State vs Memphis

Another Davidson College tribute: I think that this is probably my favorite place on Davidson’s campus. It’s a small section of the longer loop of the cross country trails and as you can see it is completely overtaken by kudzu. There were often times when I would take the longer route just to get to jog through this beautiful and peaceful place. Good luck tonight Wildcats!!
Listening to: the Tennessee basketball game playing in the other room.

Another tribute to Davidson College: Chambers is our main academic building and a place where all of us Davidson students spent (or spend) hours of our lives during our college years. On any given afternoon you can walk out onto this lawn and see a pick-up ultimate frisbee game underway or a group of students (who couldn’t bare to remain inside during a beautiful North Carolina spring day) sitting in a circle with their professor conducting class. All of the campus is laced with these beautiful brick buildings! I messed around with the exposure, highlights and tint in this image to give it the look I ended up with.
Listening to: life-long friends talking in the other room

This was taken when I traveled to Scotland with several of my college friends. We had taken a class in the Reformation (when leaders in the movement broke away from some of the Catholic Theology and created the Protestant movement…that is a very brief summary. Read up more on Martin Luther, who for the first time realized “it’s about grace” and John Calvin to learn more) and were so intrigued by the history of Edinburgh. Anyway, a lot of the Reformation movement in Scotland was lead by John Knox who happened to be buried behind this cathedral. There is so much amazing history in this church.
Check out their website if you’re interested in learning more:
http://www.stgilescathedral.org.uk/history/
I also like the contrast of modernity (the red phone booths) with history (the gray cathedral).
Listening to: A funny bird making a really loud calling noise outside

This shot was taken while I was studying abroad in Sevilla, Spain about four years ago. It’s one of my favorites with the Plaza de Espana appearing to be gold, the moon, and the mirror-like reflection in the water.
Listening to: La Puente de Triana (a song our Spanish friends consistently played in their cars.)

Listening to: Belfast to Boston by James Taylor

This was taken a couple of years ago when I lead a group of high school students on a trip to the Dominican Republic. After we had all gotten on our horses, small Dominican boys jumped on behind each one of us and took over the reins. They basically sprinted the horses the entire way. Needless to say the boys thought it was awesome and the girls were yelling in fear the entire time. But she looks like she’s having a lot of fun too.
Listening to: The silence of my apartment on a Friday morning off of work.

Listening to: The sound of an electric screwdriver as my husband puts together a new desk.

Michael Duni died on December 12, 2004. He was a junior in high school and loved by all of his friends. At the time, I was a volunteer leader for Young Life, a high school ministry. We had already planned a trip to the Dominican Republic during the high school students’ 2005 Spring Break and Michael was planning on being on the trip with us. In his honor and remembrance, his friends built this wooden cross and climbed to the highest point on the property where we were staying. There are endless words I could use to describe the feelings we all were experiencing that year, but I truly believe that in this case, “a picture says a thousand words.”
Listening to: Collide by Howie Day

Michael Duni is my cousin Mike’s, son. When I heard the news I didn’t know what to say or do. It was stunning as we read the news reports and heard what had happened. I knew how to pray, which was about all I could think to do. I wondered how a family could get through such a tragedy.

I felt the shock. I wondered how they’d face another day.

Six months later, my daughter, Kristin, who had just graduated from college, was murdered by her ex-boyfriend. I wasn’t thinking immediately about the Duni family, but as the first week wore on, my mind drifted to North Carolina. I wondered how WE would face another day.

Please pray a great and loving family in the Dunis. And please allow a few words and thoughts for others who have lost loved ones decades before their time. Believe me, they need it.

So, how do you get through it?

You pray to God. You get very good at it, too.

Every day is another mountain to climb. No two are alike. Holiday seasons, birthdays and anniversaries are the toughest. Songs remind you of them. Similar-looking people remind you of them. Little children who look like them when they were younger bring tears. And time doesn’t heal all wounds. Songs you used to love make you cry. Places where you used to go become off limits. You dread the stack of photo albums you collected, or the family video tapes. It’s hard.

The Duni family is going to make it because their faith grew after this horrible event. They were a good model for us, because we also needed to face reality, and ask God for answers.

This tribute to Michael is a wonderful thing. His friends love him and are remembering him. I’m sure Michael is doing the same for them at this moment.

Bill Mitchell