As our beloved homecoming week is coming upon us, I thought we should talk about how we should approach this wonderful week full of activities.

If you're a part of the residence life crew, I'm going to assume you're stressing about homecoming projects for your dorm and worried about everything going smoothly.

If you're a student, you're probably stressing about balancing homework and other obligations on top of the competitive homecoming festivities.

I want to encourage you all to remember what really counts. It's not what dorm has the most involvement, or who wins in each event. It's not even about the bragging rights at the end of the football game. What actually matters is that we glorify God with our thoughts and actions during this crazy busy time in our lives.

During homecoming week, it's easy for us to get caught up in the competitiveness between dorms. I've seen first hand how people from one dorm will shun another dorm and justify their actions by saying "we're just being competitive". This is not just between two specific dorms, I've seen it all over campus. When did homecoming become about shaming others for one's own glory? I want to challenge us to change our thinking!

"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."- Matthew 5:16

We should approach SBU Homecoming 2016 with humility and an eagerness to shine our light for God! Let's encourage each other, from dorm to dorm. Let's all strive for the same goal of showing our love for Southwest Baptist University and pleasing God with our actions.

"Not to us, O LORD, not to us, But to Your name give glory Because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth." - Psalm 115:1

Even though we are competing for "bragging rights" between dorms, we should not be seeking glory for ourselves. We should be seeking to glorify God with our ambitions and our performance.

I'm proud to be a Bearcat, a Leslie Lady, and an RA... but I'm more proud to be a follower of the One who deserves all of the glory, honor, and praise. I'm challenging myself along with you all to remember this throughout the next week. Let's tug on that rope while covered in mud and with all our might so we may honor God by giving our all. Let's dance away at Spirit Chapel, but dance so that we will be pleasing to our Lord. Let's race with humility and run knowing the power of God is within us. Let's march alongside our floats with thankfulness in our hearts. Let's cheer on our football team while obeying God's command to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Let's stand together across this campus, knowing that God already knows what is going to happen. He has everything in His hands. We just need to trust in Him and give Him the glory in all that we do.

LET'S GO BEARCATS! GIVE GOD THE GLORY!!