Missions-minded Samantha Gwinn tells of her passion for ministry

The opportunity to take mission trips as a Lipscomb student fits right into freshman Samantha Gwinn’s plans to travel the world and help others. Gwinn is studying elementary education, but her dream is to be a missionary. Already, Gwinn has quite a bit of experience in mission work. A few places she already has visited are Mexico, Honduras, South Africa and Swaziland, as well as many places in the United States. “The summer before my senior year of high school, I knew I was being called to do something more than just a week of mission work,” Gwinn said. “I’ve wanted to be a missionary since seventh grade, and I just wanted more of it.  So, I spent a summer in Swaziland two summers ago with a group of people I had only known for four days.” Gwinn mentioned the joy that she has encountered through the people she has spent time with during her journeys. “I enjoy seeing people from other cultures worshiping God. Sometimes we think that we are the only ones who love God, and that we are such good people for going out and spreading Christ’s love. Well, the love is already there,” Gwinn said. “Often times, it is more there than it is here. The kids seem joyful so much of the time, no matter if they’re wearing ratty, dirty clothes and only eat one meal a day. They have the joy of the Lord inside of them.” Gwinn says that she hopes her mission trip travels continue. “Madagascar is high on my list,” Gwinn said. “I’ve learned about it during a project, and God...

Jessie Jerkins’ love of horses stems from family tradition

1, 2, 3. That’s the countdown all babies hear as their parents stand them up and let go of them for the first time to start walking. For Jessie Jerkins, the countdown was not for the same reason as most small toddlers. Jerkins first heard this as her parents let her ride her first horse. Jerkins is a junior studying geriatric social work and minoring in psychology. When she’s not busy doing school work, you can find her at home taking care of her 24 horses. For as long as she can remember, horses have always been a part of her life. “I have been taking care of horses and riding horses since I was born,” Jerkins said. “My grandfather Gigi owned draft horses, and it just started from there with my family and horses. My mom and dad said my sister and I were riding before we were walking. So I have been riding horses for 21 years.” With school work and commuting, life can get pretty stressful for just about anyone. For Jerkins, stress is something she knows how to deal with. With help from her horses, she is always ready to face the next thing life throws her way. “My favorite part about having horses is how calming they are,” Jerkins said. “I go out any time I am stressed out, and they will just let me ride them or sit next to them. It’s more calming than most people think. “There is nothing better than having a horse give you a big old kiss when you are stressed out.” Jerkins also noted a horse’s ability to...

Ninth annual Lighting of the Green shines brightly with timeless talent, good cheer

By Bridgette Begle and Brianne Welch  The ninth annual Lighting of the Green brought rich tradition and holiday spirit to the Nashville community Tuesday night. Show regular Amy Grant was joined tonight by Ben Rector, David Phelps, Brenda Lee, Nicole C. Mullen, Hymns for Hunger & Friends (feat. Cindy Morgan and Andrew Greer) and the Stella family, including Nashville‘s Lennon & Maisy, for a night of music, merriment and plenty of bright Christmas lights. Fourth and fifth grade students from Lipscomb Academy, as well as the high school chorus, joined the University chorus on stage throughout the performance. The younger chorus tipped off the night with a medley of holiday classics, and the University chorus sang “Deck the Halls.” “We came here to hear one of our children sing in the chorus,” parent Heather Duncan said.” Our daughter is in the fifth grade at the campus school, so we’re looking forward to hearing everyone sing tonight.” About halfway through the show, Brenda Lee, singer of holiday classic “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” came onto the stage and ignited enthusiasm throughout the crowd. She asked for “eight really good singers,” and ended up with about 15 children, ranging from ages five to 20, to join her in the Christmas classic  “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” Lee shared her delight in being a part of the night’s fun. “You know, when miss Amy Grant asks you to do something, it’s just awful hard to say no,” Lee said. “So I’m awfully proud to do this for Lipscomb. It’s a wonderful event.” Christian artist Nicole C.Mullen insisted the crowd stand during her song “365.” People...

Memories abound in alumni newspaper ‘The BabblerExpress’

The third floor of Beaman Library is home to the Lipscomb archives, including those of The Babbler, the university student print publication that ceased in 2009. The third floor is also where Marie Byers, the Beaman Library archivist, volunteers her time, scanning in old stories and photographs to use in The BabblerExpress. “I like to show off my stuff,” said Byers, motioning to the archive room in the corner behind her chair. The BabblerExpress is a new Lipscomb paper, published by the Senior Alumni Council and mailed out to alumni ages 55 and older. Similar to the Nashville Retrospect, The Babbler Express pulls from old student publications to compose a bi-yearly newspaper for the senior alumni. “The idea came from the Nashville Retrospect, which is the newspaper that’s published, I think monthly. It is a newspaper – only it’s bigger than the current Tennesseean, and it’s larger, like the old newspapers used to be, but it just re-prints articles from The Tennessean, the Nashville Banner and earlier Nashville newspapers from, say, the 19th century.” Byers emphasized that although everyone reading the Nashville Retrospect doesn’t remember what happened fifty years ago, the people who lived at that time do and the stories are sentimental. The same is true of The BabblerExpress. The committee makes it a priority to include a “little of this, little of that” in order to connect with all the alumni, many of whom enjoyed different interests, Byers said. “We do have some guidelines,” Byers said. “We don’t have all sports. We don’t have all beauty queens, and we don’t have all Singarama. We try to show student activities. We try to have something about faculty. “This was the campus newspaper for many...