Spelling Love

Hey girls! This is something I wrote for the Pansy Press a ways back! I just wanted to share it with y’all so maybe you can understand a bit of how you’ve all touched my life and shown me Christ’s love! I miss you all and can’t wait to wear my letters with you all again very soon! Delta Love! –a silently proud Tri Delta Gamma Chi

“Love” has always been a tricky word for me. Growing up, anyone could tell you that I was a “loving person.” My mom still enjoys telling stories of our trips to the toy store, where I would pick out the stuffed animal, no matter my personal preference, that had the most still on the shelves, because I was worried it was feeling left out. However, to me, love was always just an emotion. It was often an overwhelming emotion, a desperate pulling of the heartstrings. But I failed to understand that love is actually a choice. That love is useless unless accompanied with action or manifested in some way. I did not know how to express this emotion I felt for people, nor did I attempt to learn. In my mind, it was just enough to feel love for them.

This all changed drastically on October 17, 2006. I was sitting in my social studies class as a junior at Seven Lakes High School in Katy, Texas. All the sudden, I heard the sound of a gun shot. Five seconds later, the entire school was on lock down, and my teacher was closing the blinds, desperately dialing 911. Laying against the wall for two hours in the dark, I started thinking of ways in which my love should have been expressed: I should have told my parents “thank you;” I should have hugged my brother more; I should have said “I love you” to my little sister.

Eventually, the vice principal moved us to a different room. When I went towards the window to collect my things, I saw the aftermath of whatever had happened outside. It was a terrible image. But the tragedy was yet to be revealed. As they finally released us to go home that day, the school authorities revealed to us that what had taken place was a suicide. As the remaining days of that week went on, I realized just how sad the entire situation was. No one knew his name. Few people wanted to talk about it. The sense of loss that should have hung over all of us was replaced with busyness.

I can honestly say nothing has been the same since those words were said to me. Suddenly, I knew that feeling love was not enough. I understood that love needed to be something shared, something seen, and something more tangible. However, my fallen self still lacked an understanding of how to go about showing love to others.

Then I found my way to Baylor and somehow was blessed enough to join Delta Delta Delta. They taught me the power of simply knowing someone’s name because they knew my name. They showed me the mystical, binding power of sharing secrets with someone. They opened my eyes to the beauty in everyone, no matter how different they were, and that enabling them to take the lead in an area where they could effectively use their gifts to serve is often the best healing a broken heart can undergo.

In these ways, my sisters in Tri Delta have strengthened me to the point of rehabilitation. Now I have seen great examples of love and am ready to pass it along. This coming semester, I plan on beginning a university chapter of To Write Love On Her Arms (TWLOHA) at Baylor. TWLOHA is a non-profit organization dedicated to giving hope and getting help for those struggling with depression, self-injury, and suicide. Baylor needs this organization to create a safe community, just like the one I found in Tri Delta, in which these dark issues can be openly discussed and met with compassion. Self-injury and suicide are especially a taboo topic of conversation in our modern society, but they are certainly not irrelevant issues amongst the college community. With the assistance and encouragement of my Tri Delta sisters, I will be able to begin this loving and nurturing community. Hopefully, it will touch the lives of people who find themselves in dark places and bring them a little light. Because, as Tri Delta showed me, sometimes a little light can grow into an entire movement centered on not darkness, but love.



Written by one of our beautiful Gamma Chis (thus it will remain anonymous until the Spring).

A Song to Download

AliHef has been listening a playlist of 5-6 songs over and over again for a week as we study at 1919. I kept hearing this song pass, and it was just so beautiful.

I looked up the lyrics, and then realized what a beautiful song to Jesus the song is. Below are the lyrics. Please look up the song, listen to it, download it. It's amazing.

"The House You're Building"
Audrey Assad

Yeah, these are old shoes that I've been walking in
I'm wearing weary like it's a second skin
I've been looking for a place to lay my head.

All this time like a vagabond
A homeless stranger,
I've been wandering
All my life
You've been calling me to a home
You know I've been needing...

I'm a broken stone
So lay me in the house You're building
Yeah, come on
You are a shelter for every misfit soul
We are the four walls and You're the cornerstone
You are, and You're the solid rock that we are built upon

All this time like a vagabond
A homeless stranger,
I've been wandering
All my life
You've been calling me to a home
You know that I've been needing,

I'm a broken stone
So lay me in the house You're building
'Cause in You I find my meaning,
And in You I find my beauty.


<3 Becka

From a homesick Panhellenic Delegate…

There’s nothing quite like standing in the hall of the Stacy Riddle Forum during Fall Parties, the only contact with your sisters being the sound of their voices carrying out the door between parties, to make you realize how much a group of people can mean to you. I was a teensy bit jealous of each of those potential new members who got to walk in the door and be greeted by one of my sisters. I wanted to walk in the doors and see my sisters’ smiles and get a giant hug TOO!

Ok, ok. Enough of the pity party. I really do love serving Beta Tau on Panhellenic Council, and I wouldn’t trade the opportunity to have this office. But, as happens so often in life, good things come with a trade-off. So, I’m taking this chance to reflect on just how important time spent with sisters is to me—and hopefully how important it is to each of you.

Cheesy skit day flashback alert: our chapter room feels like home to me. Really. And when it’s Preference Day and each of you are dressed up in your beautiful cream, I’ll probably tear up a little bit knowing that I’m separated from the experience of hearing “One Voice” by silence. A little ironic, huh?

Moral of this sappy story: I miss my sisters. And I can’t wait to come back on Bid Day and stand in the room with each of you to welcome our PC ’11 baby dolphins. Just promise me you’ll help me meet them all!

Delta love from the bottom of my heart,

Your favorite panny delegate.

Italian Cream Cupcake Recipe

Ok, so after meeting tonight I decided to procrastinate a little more! I made Italian cream cupcakes, and I want to share the recipe with all of you!

This recipe came from a bakery in Henderson, Texas. The lady never would give my grandmother the recipe; however, when the owner passed away her son gave it to my grandmother so the recipe would live on!

Mix well:
2 Cups sugar
½ Cups Crisco
½ cup oil
Add 5 egg yolks one at a time
Beat all together

In a separate bowl:
2 cups cake flour (sifted)
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup angel flake coconut
1 Tablespoon vanilla
Add into other mixture

Then fold in 5 egg whites stiffly beaten

For Cupcakes: Bake for 14-15 min @ 350, or until done
For Cake: Bake 25 min. @ 350 in 3 large pans

Icing:
1 8oz package of cream cheese
1 stick of butter
1 box of powder sugar
1 ½ cups pecan pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla

-Rebekah R.

Sseko Sandals

Hey ladies!

If you like helping a great cause WHILE wearing adorable shoes, then you need to check out Sseko Sandals!

Sseko Sandals was started a little over a year ago in order to help Ugandan women our age pursue a college education. In Uganda, there is a nine-month gap period between high school graduation and college so that students can earn enough money for college. However, in the male-dominated community it is extremely difficult for women to find fair work. The women of the Cornerstone Leadership Academy, who are particularly bright and could contribute a great deal to their community, would usually be unable to afford college tuition and end up simply going back to their villages instead of pursuing a career.

Sseko Sandals gives these students an opportunity to earn and save money during that nine-month period to pursue a college education. The women make and sell these beautiful sandals and save the profits for their future education. As their website says “These women will not make sandals forever. They will go on to be doctors, lawyers, politicians, writers and teachers that will bring change and unification to a country divided and ravished by a 22 year-long war.”

With Sseko Sandals, you can buy multiple different ribbons that you thread through the soles to make literally dozens of different designs. These shoes are incredibly versatile, allowing you to express your own creativity through them. It’s like buying 10 cute sandals for the price of one pair of shoes. Who doesn’t like that?

Let’s make Sseko Sandals the new TOMS shoes and help out these women our age across the globe! If you would like to purchase a pair, or just want to learn more about this great organization (it is truly fantastic!), then check out their website: http://www.ssekodesigns.com/

Delta Love,
Brittany Limes

Groovshark: A New Way to Listen and Buy Music

"Hey girls you HAVE to check out one of my favorite websites: http://www.grooveshark.com this is the best invention since Pandora. You can type in any song you want to listen to and listen to the whole song for FREE! But wait there's more! You can save playlists that you've made, you can find pre-made playlists, you can listen to their radio (that will play songs related to the one you picked like Pandora), AND you can buy the songs right off of Grooveshark into your iTunes, and you can upload songs from iTunes or other music libraries to expand your playlists. I absolutely love it, it's a great way to get a ton of variety of songs and make different playlists based on your mood without having to actually buy the songs. Check it out! Another website great for random playlists (especially for pump up songs on a Friday night) is fratmusic.com ... yes, KSIG boys did show me this surprised? haha Enjoy!

∆Love,Liz Cole"

To the ladies of PC '07...

What a journey these four years have been! Thank you for all the memories and fun times we've shared. I remember our first Pearl Jam and stressing about what pajamas I was going to wear in front of 200 of my new best friends and today I stressed again about what I'd wear to Pansy Tea. How time has flown! Thank you for supporting me throughout my years at Baylor, I don't know what I would have done without y'all by my side.

Delta love, Molly

Need a Dress for Events??

Hello hotties!

There's this wonderful website:
http://www.renttherunway.com/
where you can rent designer dresses for a fraction of their original cost.

I'm renting my dress for formal! :)

How it works:
1. You go online, choose the dress and date you need it by.
2. And they overnight ship it to you.
3. You sent it back on the fourth day after recieving & you're good to go!

The website is free to be a part of, but it takes them a week or so to put you in the system in order to browse the site.

There are so many dresses of different styles and colors. Dresses perfect for any event.
To rent the dresses cost anywhere from $50-$250 plus shipping. & They also offer accessories.

If you have any questions let me know <3
Becka

When I Grow Up...

"I wanted to be a cat."
?????
Mallory Golding is definitely one of THE funniest people in TriDelt hands down. I think we'll all remember that one for a long time.

But yes, we had our new member dance this past saturday, and people showed up in various costumes representing ALL SORTS of things they wanted to be when they grew up! Including but not limited to:

Ninja Turtles:

Barbie:

Superheroes & A Princess:

and A Lion Tamer:

We also had a grandma & grandpa, doctors, teachers, dancers, disney characters, and so so many more. Gotta love TriDelt Creativity.

We are the TriDelts at Baylor University in Waco Texas

and this is Our Life.

We are a family of over 200 members, and we love.
We love each other.
We love our sisterhood.
We love coffee, cookies, and froyo.
We love the bachelor, glee, lost, and gossip girl.
We love dancing, singing, acting, reading, writing, science, math.
We love playing, laughing, smiling, living.
We love life.

This site isn't about updating the world in a formal fashion about our lives. This is the real deal. Our funny stories. Our joys, our pains. Our Pictures. Our recipes, crafts, ideas. Our lives. Our real, everyday lives. Therefore, Welcome to the journey of the Beta Tau chapter of Delta Delta Delta. We're some crazy fun.

-Becka