Festival of Life

This Friday and Saturday hundreds of teens from all over Georgia descended on Dublin, GA for the Church of the Nazarene's annual Festival of Life.

The purpose of FOL is to help teens develop and use their talents for God's glory. The two day event has teens competing in different categories such as sports, academics, performing arts, visual arts, writing, etc. First place winners (and those who make a sports team) go on to compete at TNT (Top Nazarene Talent) at Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville in April. (Regional Bible Quiz finals are also at TNT, but the teams for that are decided at State Teen Finals in March.)

This was my 4th or so time at FOL. I love going to FOL. For me, it's like a vacation. I get to chill out, watch really talented kids perform, and it doesn't cost me anything because the church pays the way for chaperones.

Hoodie Girl loves FOL and has been hoping for a chance to go to TNT. She has a really good shot at making the B Quiz Team so we thought that might happen. At FOL she entered 4 art categories and prose. In art she placed 1st in two categories and 2nd in another, and in prose she placed 1st. So now she has 3 entries for TNT, in addition to possibly quizzing.

This was Czarina's first time at FOL. Czarina is a bit shy of trying new things and especially going to new places. She was okay with this trip, and enjoyed her first stay in an American Hotel. "This is the life!" she said.

Czarina entered 3 art categories and poetry. She said several times that she did not want to win anything because she did NOT want to go to TNT (which is a 4 day event).

Czarina placed 2nd in two of the art categories. . . and FIRST in poetry!

(The girls were teasing me because when Anastasia got called up to get her first place medal, I started crying. Can't help it. It's what I do.)

Czarina wrote a song in Russian a month or so ago. Hoodie Girl helped her translate it into English. This is what she entered as poetry.

Czarina is not sure if she wants to go to TNT. I told her that the Jonas Brothers live in or near Nashville. I told her its like a 4 day party. They have a great concert on the first night, and lots of great food. And Trevecca has a beautiful campus. PLUS we get 3 nights in a hotel, and the hotel keeps the pool open after hours just for the TNTers. (Georgia usually has 2 or 3 busloads of people going to TNT, and we all stay at the same hotel.) She is thinking about it. She needs to decide fairly soon, because if she doesn't go then the 2nd place winner will represent Georgia.