• Kelly Cyr, a UMBC graduate student and alumna (class of 2012), describes building a volunteer force to help animals at the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS) 
• Jen Treger, Community Health and Safety Specialist in the Division of Student Affairs, invites students to learn how to be advocates for safety and justice through the Green Dot program.  The initiative's kickoff event will take place this Friday, September 21st.
• Communications Manager Dinah Winnick shares Governor O'Malley's call for a day of service on Saturday, September 29th, and provides links to UMBC initiatives through which students can dig more deeply into the issues the event will address.
• Political Science professor Carolyn Forestiere, recipient of a BreakingGround course development grant, describes modifications to her research methods course that will position students to connect with community members and provide them with information about themselves.
• Craig Berger, my Co-Create UMBC writing partner and Coordinator of Student Life for Campus and Civic Agency, reflects on BreakingGround themes emerging at the annual Student Government Association retreat.

--David Hoffman

Co-Create UMBC is a blog for and about UMBC, written by David Hoffman and Craig Berger from the Office of Student Life. Join the Co-Create UMBC group on MyUMBC. Like Co-Create UMBC on Facebook. And follow David and Craig on Twitter.

New York City Bus Trip

(seb)

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Bus departs The Commons Circle @ 8:00am

All Guests = $30

Ticket #: SOLD OUT!

King's Dominion Bus Trip

(seb)

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Bus departs The Commons Circle @ 11:00am

All Guests = $35

Ticket #: SOLD OUT!

Renaissance Festival Bus Trip

(seb)

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Bus departs The Commons Circle @ 10:30am 

All Guests = $20

Ticket #: 6 of 49

Homecoming Comedy Show: BJ Novak

(seb)

Saturday, October 13, 2012

8:00pm

RAC

All Guests = $10

Ticket #: 190 of 2000

Ira Glass Lecture

Saturday, October 13, 2012

10:30am

University Center, Ballroom

UMBC ID = $5.00 (limit 1/ID)

Ticket #: 25 of 70

Midnight Premiere: Paranormal Activity 4

(seb)

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Bus departs The Commons Circle @ 11:00pm

All Guests = $5

Ticket #: 1 of 260

Hershey Park Bus Trip

(seb)

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Bus departs The Commons Circle @ 12:00pm

All Guests = $35

Ticket #: 6 of 48

From 6:00pm to 7:30pm on Wednesday, October 3, come explore UMBC's Cybersecurity Graduate Program options, and learn how a master’s degree or graduate certificate can help you advance in this exciting and critically important industry. Dr. Rick Forno, the graduate program director, will be available to answer questions and provide insight into courses, credit requirements, and prerequisites and admissions processes.

You can RSVP for the information session here.

Matthew 7:24-29

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

Reflection:

Jesus uses a powerful illustration to help understand how to live our lives.In our context, this illustration could be the activity of building sandcastles. While baking under the sun, one tirelessly goes back and forth to the ocean to get buckets of water, excessively sweating, and of course there seems to be sand everywhere - face, eyes, ears, mouth, swimsuit, etc.And then after all the effort to build a magnificent castle, if it is magnificent at all, one wave from the incoming tide can wash it all away. All the hard work is destroyed in one instance, and what was once magnificent is flattened to insignificance. We can make it as poetic as we like, but this simple illustration has important parallels to how one lives and builds for what lasts.

Response:

What are we building for?What ways are more ’sand’ castle than ’stone’ castle?God’s Word is the only solid foundation from which we can ‘build’ our lives in ways that will stand the storms and seasons of life.What God has done for us in Jesus Christ, who is actually the cornerstone to our lives, and all that God provides for His people through His Word are ‘rock’ for a life built to last and built to bless.Unlike the futility of sandcastles, as fun as they can be, as we hear God’s Word and put it into practice truth by truth, it is God’s magnificence that radiates from our lives. Today, let’s spend time remembering and putting into practice the things we have been learning since Sunday, applying God’s truths to how we live and love others. Let’s pray for the Spirit’s guidance so that we will build appropriately with Christ continually being our cornerstone.