One for the Books

Hey y’all!

All I can say is WOW! This week has been one for the books. Yes, yes, I know – sleep deprived many of us may be, but, life in general has been pretty gosh darn wonderful, filled with ample reflecting time and ah-ha moments. This morning, I even found myself humming the theme song to Jojo’s Circus. You know the one: “Hey, JoJo, what do you say. We all want to know what you learned today” yada, yada, yada. Okay, so maybe that’s just me and how my crazy mind works, but this week has definitely been quite the learning experience. I feel like I’m finally finding my bearings, but, above all, understanding what it means to trust, especially during times of worry and fear.

We are roughly knee deep in our dissection of the Sermon on the Mount, though, I may have read a wee bit ahead from where we are currently at in Chapel (I just couldn’t help myself!). Should you feel so compelled to read on as well, page through to Mathew 6:34. It is here, where you will be greeted with the words: “do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

As profound as this statement may be, it is not as easy as it sounds. I am not one of those people that has the fortune of being exalted from all my worry, however, I am putting forth my best effort to keep these words in mind during my own moments of distress. These past few days, I’ve slowly begun to let my guard down, invited more people into my often discombobulated life, danced like a crazy person (and proud of it), and veered out of my comfort zone to be found in the presence of a group of wonderful Hope women. These past few days have provided me with the opportunity to see what life can be if we allow ourselves to trust. I pray that you may also have the opportunity to experience this freedom. Now, go forth and enjoy this marvelous week that is soon to begin. I’ll be eager to hear what unfolds for you.

Sincerely,

You’re fellow Hopester, Emily

Women’s Night Out 2015

Even Year Wins!

Well, readers, the title says it all. Even Year won the Pull yesterday, and it was intense. As an Odd Year student standing on the odd side of the Black River, the Odd Year Pull team gave it their best, but was outdone by even year.

For those of you that don’t know what The Pull is, it is basically a huge tug of war that goes from one shore of the Black River in Holland to the other. Crazy right? The team that wins doesn’t win anything, just pride. Apparently the tradition was started in 1898, and this year was the 118th year of the tradition, one of the oldest college traditions in the United States! Here are some more neat tidbits about this Hope College tradition. They have all the stats and history and it’s a great site for quick facts!

Like I said before, I’m Odd Year (because I graduate in 2017). Last year was a proud time because Odd Year won the Pull and set a record for how much rope was pulled ever! It was amazing watching them get to run in the Black River and celebrate their win. This year though, the Odd Year team had to watch as even year took that swim in the river. Saying that though, Odd Year truly gave it their best effort and made their 1-9 Pull family proud.

Here are a couple of pictures that were taken from my vantage point at pit #7!

Congrats even year! It was awesome seeing you win and get to swim in the river!

Until next time, Readers!

 

Questions about what I wrote, or about life in general? Check the bio and shoot me an email!

Schoon Chapel: Graves Hall’s Underground Secret

So a few weeks back, a friend of mine let me in on a secret about Graves Hall. I know writing it out in a blog post defeats the purpose of it being a secret, but nevertheless it’s too much of a gift not to share:

In Hope College, there is a building called Graves Hall:

Graves Hall

In Graves Hall, there is a dimly lit stairway:

Stairway towards Graves Hall Basement

At the bottom of the stairway, there is a door:

Opening the door...

Through the door, there is a hallway:

Basement Hallway

At the end of the hallway, turn right. Keep walking until you reach the lounge, then turn left. There is a door that reads “Schoon Chapel”:

Schoon Chapel Entrance

And in Schoon Chapel lies a most beautiful sight:

Schoon Chapel

According to this website on Graves Hall, the Schoon Meditation Chapel was made in the 1960s after Rev. Henry Schoon, a former Hope professor. This morsel of Hope history boasts several quaint pews face an alter with a carved, wooden cross peeking through translucent white drapes. The room carries the type of silence that hums in your ears. Christmas lights are strung along the walls of the room, filling the room with a solemn warmth. I would’ve considered it creepy if not for the throw blankets, the notes, and the journals scattered along the pews, evidence of visitors like me who have come to trust the room and its white walls.

Schoon Chapel

Behind the pews are tables and shelves that hold Bibles, other reading material, markers, and a board with colorful words:

Books and Bibles Prayer Request Box

Poster filled with empowering words
Try to find my contribution: Relief

Although I didn’t know the exact purpose of the board, I had written relief because that was the most prevalent emotion I had felt at the time of my first visit. The burden of school work, social drama, and loneliness had slipped away, and I was filled with peace.

I found myself this past week wandering in and out of the room, sometimes bringing my Bible to study, other times sitting in the front pew and praying silently (Songs I like to play when I’m alone in Schoon Chapel). For future students who need a few minutes away from the world or who want a place to worship without fear of judgement or distractions, Schoon Chapel extends her arms to you.

If you want 24/7 access to the room, contact Campus Ministry at (616) 395-7145 or chaplain@hope.edu. All you need is your student ID number and they’ll have it open for you within 24 hours. Enjoy this little Hope secret!

The Facade of the First Few Weeks

Dimnent Chapel
Dimnent Chapel, where the Gathering takes place every Sunday night.

The first few days of college are strange, but the following three weeks are the strangest. I made a lot of friends when I moved in, but that’s not the hard part.

The hard part is the pretense that comes with being in a new environment. Everyone just moved in, and everyone wants to meet their new best friend. Everyone wants to be awesome. Everyone wants to be seen at their best.

As a result, unleashing the depth within us all takes some time. We goof off, grab donuts at 2 a.m., and laugh a lot. But, most of the time, we don’t get around to deeper things. The true conversation, when we drop the facade.

So when the sermon at the Gathering is about mourning, and you realize you have been holding back a lot of loneliness, and you find yourself weeping into your hands during Communion next to people you only met days ago, you feel a bit lighter. You realize that everyone feels the same way.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

We hate the facade. We want to be seen for who we truly are. Being in an environment with new people is strange, but slowly the facade fades and we learn that we can be honest with each other. In sharing the truth about ourselves, we will be comforted.

A Letter on Faith, Part One

Lighthouse
Sometimes we’re called to go when we don’t know where the path will lead.

Over the past few weeks I’ve been throwing the word “trust” around in my head, but it makes my mind swirl.

I’ve been busy with difficult classes and work and Bible studies and friends and God, trying to figure out how it all fits together.

And the truth is, I don’t know.

But what’s been striking me the most is the way that my faith increases as I understand less. It’s a form of wishful thinking, I suppose. Wishful thinking with expectation.

What causes me to pause in all of this is the thought that we, as students and people and adults alike, have at least one thing in common: the notion that it is easy to have faith in things that we can predict.

I have underlying faith that I’ll eat dinner tonight, that my homework will be complete, that I’ll have clothes to wear for tomorrow. But that’s not the life that God is calling us into.

He’s not calling us to have a predictable faith. He’s not calling us to know.

He’s calling us to have confidence in the things we cannot yet see; the things we cannot yet fathom, the things we don’t understand.

He’s calling us to trust. Trust is faith.

And I keep thinking about the verses that say, “if you have faith the size of a mustard seed” – the ones about trees and mountains being thrown into the sea and telling mountains to move – and I realize my faith is so small, smaller than a mustard seed.

If Jesus is talking in reference to a physical mountain, I’d love to have faith the size of a mustard seed so that I can see what He says take place.

It amazes me to see Him continue to move and rearrange my life to make me be the person He created me to be to do the things He created me to do. But what’s even more amazing is that He provides me with the grace to be able to change.

With all that He has done already, I have full confidence He will continue. In the midst of my schoolwork, studying, cleaning my room, doing my laundry, driving my car, walking to class, I will persevere. I will have patience. They are indications of faith and they lead to more faith.

I flipped open my Bible last night to find a verse that comes from James 1:4:

“Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

And because perseverance leads to faith and faith leads me closer to God, it is true; at that time, I will be lacking in nothing. Because the cross was enough. Jesus was enough. He always is and will always be enough.

That’s what I know. But it’s not all that I know. Because even at the end of today, I will have grown another half-inch on the ruler of my faith. And I will persevere to the finish.

Cue “The Weekenders” Theme Music

Readers, I’m so sorry. I feel like I’ve been living for the weekend lately in my posts, which I generally try not to do because each day is a wonderful gift from God, but sometimes there is just so much good stuff to look forward to on the weekends!

So here I go again. Talking about the weekend. I’ve decided I have no shame because this weekend is about to be awesome!

First up on Friday, we have Women’s and Men’s Night Out through the Keppel House! I’m not quite positive what the men are doing, but the women are playing Capture the Flag at the beach and eating some pizza. So who wouldn’t want to do that, am I right? I mean that’s right up my alley, so you’ll know where to find me Friday. To sign up, go to the Keppel House website – there’s still time to get your name on the list!

Saturday is just as good, because two really big events are happening on this day! First up is The Pull at 3 p.m. at the Black River (don’t ask me for directions to that location because I honestly have no idea. Go ask a Puller/Moraler aka the people in camo pants and either a red or maroon t-shirt.) The Pull is SO much fun! It’s a huge tug of war (more info to come on that in my next blog post) and has been a Hope tradition since basically forever. Head over there Saturday to check it out! *Subtle plug for Odd Year – ooh rah.*

This was a picture I took of Odd Year winning The Pull last year! It was such a great thing to experience. Everyone needs to at least once while they're at Hope!
This was a picture I took of Odd Year winning The Pull last year! It was such a great thing to experience. Everyone needs to at least once while they’re at Hope!

Then after The Pull, the Student Activities Committee is putting on a new event called Fall Into Fun. This is a sort of after-party after The Pull for students. It has yard games, and a dance party after the sun sets. HOLLER AT THAT. I love to dance like no other.

That’s all I’ll be doing this weekend, although there are endless possibilities for you! Enjoy the beginning of this fall season, readers!

Until next time.

Questions about what I wrote? Check the bio and shoot me an email!

A Sunday Night Adventure

Sundays can be kind of weird. I always start out the day with going to Pillar Church, eating lunch and then… Well, most weeks, the rest of my day is consumed by homework. Every other week I also get to help lead at our Sunday night worship service, the Gathering, so I am at the chapel from about 5-10 PM on those weeks.

This week was different.

Somehow I got all my homework done on Thursday last week, so I didn’t have to worry about my Monday homework on Sunday at all. It was awesome. It was also one of the most beautiful days I think I’ve ever experienced. So, in honor of all these wonderful circumstances, my friend Stephanie and I decided to ride bikes to the beach. Since I have not ridden a bike in a long time, this was more of an arduous task than I expected, but it was on Steph’s Hope College bucket list, so I was happy to join her for this adventure! It was great to be outside for so long and just to enjoy Holland State Park and spend time with one of my best friends.

We also made some new friends when we asked them to take a picture of us and they said they only would if we would also take a selfie with them. I have no idea who any of them are.

Bffs
They asked me to please caption this photo “BFFs.”

On our ride back to campus, we stopped at Captain Sundae for chocolate-covered bananas. They really hit the spot! As we talked on our way back to campus, we realized that we were both on board for another adventure. We decided to stop at home for a little while to shower and do some quick reading for class this week, and then we hopped in Steph’s car and headed out to South Haven, which is about 30 minutes south of Holland.

My family used to always go on vacation in South Haven, so I have a few favorite spots there. I’ve been trying to take my friends to Sherman’s Dairy Bar since freshman year and we’ve just never gotten around to it, but Steph and I were determined to make it there (Sherman’s was also on Steph’s Hope College bucket list). But first, we decided to go to the beach in South Haven for the sunset. Steph and I both love a good sunset at the beach and we also both love ice cream so it was the perfect plan. Please don’t mind the fact that we had already eaten Captain Sundae earlier that day…

Wow, it was perhaps the perfect sunset, and I loved showing one of my friends around a town that is close to my heart! I made a video of our adventure to South Haven and I would love for you to watch it, so that way you can see the amazing sunset and cute town for yourself!

Thanks for reading! Keep up with my adventures by following @hopekathryn17 on Twitter, @kathrynekrieger on Instagram, or sending me an email at kathryn.krieger@hope.edu.

“For the Lord God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.”

– Psalm 84:11

It’s Always Good To Have a Hobby!

Hey Everyone,

I hope you are all having a wonderful week. Today I’m writing about the stresses and worries that come with the college life. They are very real and can be very troublesome. If you don’t mind I would love to give you all a little advice.

  1. Find something you love to do and in your spare time, do it!
  2. Pick a hobby that is low stress and hassle in itself.
  3. Make it meaningful to yourself. Maybe from memories or new memories you want to have.

This can be a huge factor in how well you handle your stress. I have been fairly stressed this year with all of the extra obligations I have besides school work. I have a few different hobbies or activities I really enjoy doing to take my mind off of things. Ill give you some examples;

  1. I really enjoy a good Netflix session on the futon.
  2. Hammocking can melt your worries away.
  3. Spending time with a loved one. (family, significant other, etc.)
  4. Music is a huge stress reliever.

I actually just started a new hobby this week. Some of my friends have record players and collect vinyls. I have been intrigued by it and have invested in a turntable and a few vinyls to start myself off. I’m very excited about this, which also takes my mind off of stress.

image1

Since we are broke in college, purchasing things can be stressful. A great way to start a hobby that involves a cost, with minimum stress, would be to ask for it as a birthday present. This gets you started and you can slowly build your collection over time.

Remember to do things you love!

Thanks for reading, have a great week everyone. Remember to relax and take time for yourself!

A Day in the Life of a Hope College Squirrel.

Has it ever crossed your mind what it might be like to be a squirrel, not just any squirrel, but the quintessential, Hope College squirrel? I may have thought about it once or twice…

 

“Code Red! Code Orange! Code Yellow!”

“There goes Barry again,” I said.

“Well, he does have a point, Greg,” Brenda replied.

“The leaves are changing AND starting to fall! You know what that means–soon     that white wet stuff will be falling instead!”

“But does he have to go about it like that?” I gestured towards his tree along the path through the pine grove. He scrambles back and forth along the branch, barking away, annoying the rest of us with his weather report, and drawing the gaze of a couple passing students with his antics.

“Gather all your nuts and grass, build up your nest and forage the trash!”

At that Barry’s neighbor, Bernie, raced up the tree barking unmentionables then chased him round and round the trunk till Barry accepted defeat and scurried to the ground. He then began the journey to the trash can by the chapel pausing between leaps and bounds to check out his surroundings for anything that might be beneficial for his winter stockpile.

“He does it because he cares,” Brenda rationalized, “He just wants everyone to be ready.”

“Yeah, well he doesn’t have to be such a know it all,” grumbled Bernie as he made his way back to his own gathering efforts.“We all know what to do.”

It’s true. We all know the drill. The students have been back on campus for about a month now. The weather has slowly cooled, they fill up the pine grove with their blankets and hammocks every nice and sunny day we get. The tops of the trees are beginning their shift from green to shades of red and orange and yellow. Everyone is beginning their stockpiling in earnest. Running about here and there with everything they find and hiding it here and there determined that they will remember where every single piece is this year. Whether or not they do, we’ll all be ready and more than prepared. It’s what we were made to do.

The bell tower tolls and a few minutes later students begin filling the sidewalks after classes. Barry picks this opportune moment to hop out of that trash can scaring not one, but two unsuspecting humans in the process.

“Nice one, Barry!” I commend him, hoping he wasn’t upset by Bernie’s grouchiness.

“Thanks, Greg—you’ve got some catching up to do,” he gloats. He is currently ahead in our running tally of trash can scares this year–for now. Clearly he didn’t let Bernie get to him. He bounds off with his find, a nice half of an apple, and disappears into the bushes by Graves.

“Fore!” some human shouts as one of those plastic discs they toss all over the place lands in the grass a few feet from me. I launch over to the nearest tree and take a look at it from above. Mhmm, just as I expected—one of the Super Squirrel discs. They love us here. So much so that they put a super hero version of us on their favorite game! And they even made a very nice memorial for Bernie’s uncle’s friend over by Phelps.

It’s a lovely place, Hope College. Good squirrels. Good humans. Good acorns and trash pickings. Lots of nice trees and bushes. The perfect place to call home.

Hi. I’m Greg.
The popular Super Squirrel disc things
Bernie’s uncle’s friend’s memorial who lived over by Phelps

 

Thanks for reading!
Erin
-Avid Hope College Squirrel Fan

Bible Journaling

My bible and bible journal 🙂

I believe that there are many languages in life. Of course there’s the spoken one- English, French, Chinese, Spanish, Dutch, etc. In my mind I see many other languages too: love languages, the language in actions, and different learning languages; these are all different ways that we go about life. They’re a part of who we are.

My learning language, or the way I feel I best grow and learn, is through words. I’m a huge note taker; yes, I’m that girl scribbling down every word the professor says as fast as she can so that I can go back and study it later. When I feel lost, jotting down my thoughts clears my mind. When I’m inspired, I write creatively.

Last year I struggled growing in my faith. Yes, students at Hope struggle with faith. We’re not perfect disciples with amazing discernment. I felt stuck, like I wasn’t progressing from where I stood in my faith in high school; I wasn’t growing in the one area I truly needed to.

I never thought to apply the way that I learn in classes and the way that I express myself creatively to my spiritual life. At the beginning of the year I began noticing people with journals at Chapel (a twenty minute worship every Monday, Wednesday, Friday) and the Gathering (A service every Sunday from 8pm to 9:30). That’s when it clicked to me that maybe getting a journal of my own would help me journey deeper into my faith. I went to the bookstore and  bought a small journal for a few dollars.

Since then, I’ve been taking notes at Chapel, the Gathering, and my bible study. I cannot explain the difference that it’s made in my faith and journey with God, just in a few short weeks. After listening and writing down key points and verses, I usually reflect on how the message applies to my own life. I can look back on these entries any time I want or need to, and it has made such a difference.

I encourage you to look at the ways you learn or progress in your life and apply it to your faith or something that you feel you need growing in. Maybe you’re an auditory learner? You can listen to chapel and Gathering audio recordings here.

Thanks for reading,

Brooke

If you have any questions for me you can contact me at brookelyn.wharton@hope.edu, through Facebook, or my Twitter @hopebrooke18! I’d love to answer them!