A Typical Day at Ellerslie

View of my dorm room. I'll be surprised if you can't guess which bed is mine.

The alarm goes off at 4:30 am. I jump out of bed immediately, which is a sign that I am getting more victory over the claims of sleep, because before, I would have buried my head in the pillow for 5 more minutes. I take a shower and get dressed.

The other side of our dorm room. My chair is in the middle.

Corporate Prayer begins at 5:30. The first few times, we had the most incredible, valuable instruction on prayer that I have ever heard, and that jump started our praying onto a whole new level right from the beginning. Now we just spend the whole time praying.

At 6:15, we are dismissed for personal Bible study and prayer.

The Everett Center, where breakfast is served. We also have internet access here during our free time.

Breakfast is at 7:15, and I always make myself a bowl of oatmeal with granola and a sliced banana. There are lots of other yummy goodies for breakfast, too, like bagels, coffee cake, and cereal. Sometimes we even get donuts.

The Chapel

At 8:15 we have to be in the chapel for Corporate Stillness. This just means being silent before the Lord, waiting on Him, and listening for His voice. We are allowed to pray, read, and journal during this time.

8:40 comes around and someone brings a 20-minute devotional message. All of the devos I have heard have been powerful, convicting, extremely well-prepared, and evidently the outcome of much prayer, because they fall on our hearts with power. A different person brings the devo every day; someone on staff or an intern.

At 9:00 we have Corporate Worship. This is a time of singing our praise to the Lord. Ben Zornes usually leads this on his guitar. He is the best guitar player I have ever seen. Every day he plays half an hour worth of music without any sheet music or chord sheets, or even a list of what songs he's doing. He remembers the order of the songs, all the chords, and all the stylistic variations that he uses for each one, and this allows the music to flow without interruption. He leads the music in a very God-honoring and blessed way. I have often fallen to my knees, unable to continue singing, due to the sheer majesty and glory of God that comes among us during these times. 

Eric and Leslie Ludy

9:32-ish marks the beginning of our first session. Mr. Ludy arrives and teaches it, and it lasts until about 11:30 or 12:00. 

The dining tent

At 11:30 (or whenever the session ends) we eat lunch. The ladies who cook for us always provide a great deal of quality food and tasty variety in the menu. It's yummy, wholesome, and doesn't taste like it came from a package. 


I usually have time to take a 20-minute nap after lunch, which I am very grateful for, because without it, I'm struggling not to fall asleep in the afternoon session. 

Roomies! Me, Oriana, and Moriah

At 1:15 we return to class and have another session that technically lasts until 3:15, but it usually goes over. Sometimes Ben Zornes teaches this session, and occasionally they split the girls and guys and Sandi McConnaughey (our dean of women) teaches.

Sandi and her daughter, Grace

Then we have free time from 3:15 to 5:30. We can make phone calls, get online, go off campus, go to the store, take a walk, or lavish our free time on Jesus!

The food line

At 5:30 we eat dinner. Yum yum yum! 

After dinner, we sometimes have assignments and sometimes have student activities. I usually go to bed by 9:00, tired and happy and blessed by the day.

The Ellerslie Campus