![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tide4christ.ua.edu\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Dalton.png?resize=400%2C400\")
Dalton Counts is from Buford, Georgia and is majoring in News Media. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The weather in Tuscaloosa is always hard to predict. Sometimes, it isn\u2019t the prettiest in the early months of the second semester. Often in the spring, there is severe weather in \u201cDixie Alley\u201d that forces students to endure hours locked in storm shelters on campus. This is also accompanied by countless texts, calls, and emails from UA and concerned parents wanting us to be safe. In a word, the second semester at The University of Alabama always seems to be inconsistent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
At Tide4Christ, we recognize that college students are very similar to the weather previously described. Sometimes hot and sometimes cold, it is hard to focus on the grace of God with all of the daily distractions. However, we have learned this semester that inconsistency in college will only establish inconsistency in our future lives as professionals. Therefore, we are committed to serving Christ every day, which is something we have done this semester in Tuscaloosa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I first noticed this on March 27 when I organized for the group to volunteer at The West Alabama Food Bank. Incredibly, 26 college students met at The Central Church of Christ at 8:30 am on a Saturday to serve\u2026 Praise God! However, there was a miscommunication, and we were unable to volunteer and only discovered this after driving to Northport. I was embarrassed and slightly annoyed! However, our students decided that they still wanted to serve the risen savior. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Everyone split up and went to various Central Church of Christ members houses who had been solely worshipping online. Thanks to the recommendation of Dr. Chandra Clark, we spent hours in the lawns and on the front porches of members who missed the church. This was an incredible reminder that there is no special tie to 304 Hargrove Road. The church is truly defined by those who meet on Sundays at 10am, even if they are tired college kids running on coffee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I had lots of stories I wanted to tell in this newsletter, but this short one really encompassed the semester because it was unpredictable. We never really know what God has in store for our lives. HIS mercies are truly new every morning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, whatever your relationship is to Tide4Christ, I want to remind you that God has more for your life. He has more peace for you than anything on this earth. He has more love for you than any person you will ever meet. God has a better plan for your life, but do you accept that? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We must keep going. Through study, hard work, and dedicated service, we will discover His better plan for our lives! Colossians 3:23 says, \u201cAnd whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.\u201d We will work hard and continue to give all the glory to Him. After all, His love is far more powerful than any tornado or earthly trial we can face. His love is the most dangerous thing you or I could ever encounter, because it will completely wreck the things we know. At Tide4Christ, we want this destruction because it is the only way we can know the grace of Jesus Christ. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, here\u2019s to an incredible semester. Here\u2019s to 3 midnight Bible studies through the book of Hebrews. Here\u2019s to a local retreat where we \u201cconnected\u201d with one another and even added a new member. Here\u2019s to friend\u2019s day where we had 5 new visitors come back and hear the Word of God. Here\u2019s to 4 life groups who met every Sunday night and studied God\u2019s word together. Here\u2019s to $10,764 raised for Walk4Water sponsoring a water well in a developing country. Here\u2019s to the 7 ladies in the congregation happy to teach on becoming a \u201cWoman of God\u201d to the T4C Women\u2019s ministry on Wednesday nights. Here\u2019s to a singing night where we came together with 2 other campus ministries and refused to allow the devil to divide us. Here\u2019s to the young men confident enough to give a devotional in front of the congregation on Wednesday nights. Here\u2019s to the T4C girls who eventually taught the girls class on Wednesday nights, those who refused to be quiet and use a skill God had blessed them with. Here\u2019s to countless memories filled with laughs, pool games, gym runs, smiles, and fellowship with young Christians. Here\u2019s to the tears shed throughout the semester as we recognized our faults and the dependence we have on God\u2019s flawless plan. Here\u2019s to the radical, revolutionary love that God has for each one of us. Here\u2019s to God\u2019s son Jesus Christ, who lived a perfect life only to die a painful death for our imperfect lives. Finally, here\u2019s to something more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
With Love, Dalton R. Counts <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dalton Counts is from Buford, Georgia and is majoring in News Media. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The weather in Tuscaloosa is always hard to predict. Sometimes, it isn\u2019t the prettiest in the early months of the second semester. Often in the spring, there is severe weather […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-student-blogs"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s8LSHf-2021","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tide4christ.ua.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tide4christ.ua.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tide4christ.ua.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tide4christ.ua.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tide4christ.ua.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1466"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/tide4christ.ua.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1466\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1470,"href":"https:\/\/tide4christ.ua.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1466\/revisions\/1470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tide4christ.ua.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tide4christ.ua.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tide4christ.ua.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}