Opposition to Your Rebuilding

Christina is a junior who loves to cook and spin in color guard.

Checkout this video!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdjRmM0Q0qs

I’ve come across a lot of opposition in my life; whether it is from church, friends, school, family, or elsewhere. But I’ve got to say that the strongest opposition usually comes from me. When I come across something new, fears from within leave me apprehensive, even when it’s something good. This fear feeds on my discouragement and fills me with nerves which make me more fearful and more discouraged which gives me more nerves, and, well, you get the picture. It’s just one long arduous cycle. And the way to stop it? Well you can’t. At least not by yourself. You see, when you fall into a cycle like this, you become so enveloped in the emotion of it all that the only parts you can see are the parts that are keeping you in. And when you finally get to the spot where you can see a way out, you’ve felt this way for so long that removing yourself from the cycle is new and scary enough to spin you further or make its own apprehensive cycle. The good thing is that God created us to be social beings, to desire to help each other and to distaste when others are unhappy. This means that even if you’re not comfortable reaching out for help He’ll send someone to your life that is comfortable reaching out to you. Now be careful, this doesn’t mean that once this person comes you get to forget about everything and the cycle just magically ends. You have to be willing to reach for the hand they give, accept their help, and be willing to work. And this is hard stuff.  To do all this you have to be vulnerable, you have to be open-minded, you have to be willing to help them as well, and you have to be willing to continue working, even when it’s painful, exhausting, and seems pointless. I’m not saying this to discourage you; I’m saying this so you know what’s coming. And I can say from experience that even though this way takes the longest and hurts the worst, it works the best. When you work through opposition this way, you know that once you’re done, you’re done. There’s nothing left to haunt your future, everything is in the open, and you’ll have courage and strength to move forward.

Lent Devotions

Hello friends!  Happy Lent!  We wanted to encourage you to be devoted to walking with God through this period of preparation before Easter, so we have been working on having students write short Lenten devotions on many different experiences, topics, etc.  The plan is to post one each day so you can read it and reflect on how God is working in your life.  We are also going to make some hard paper copies which you can pick up in the chapel if you would prefer that!  We hope that you will check back each day.  Each devo is unique some have links to youtube videos, others come with song lyrics, or references to a book.  At the beginning you will find a short bio about the author, you can email them if you want to share your thoughts, or better yet, post them to the blog!  


Here is our first blog :) Enjoy!

Author: Elisabeth is super creative and passionate senior! She is doing her student teaching right now for Art Education. If you are looking for new delicious treats, just stop by and try one of her culinary creations!

Ash Wednesday is something I never really observed when I was growing up but was just always that day when some people had gray smudges on their forehead. Last year I went to a service in town at night.
I guess I hadn’t ever seen the stained glass windows back lit from outside; they are beautiful. Some of the songs I had never heard, but I sang them anyways. I liked the dimmer lights and candlelight. When it came to the part of the service for the imposition of ashes, I liked that the pastor explained them: where they came from, what they symbolized. I was one of the first pews so I heard many repetitions of out of ashes you come and into ashes you return. Somehow it was almost comforting to hear. It brought to mind how everyone will die some day and return to the dust from whence we came. I noticed that each person returned to their seat with a large, distinct cross on their foreheads, unlike the smudges I had seen on most people in classes. 

It made me think about how most of the time, our faith is invisible, but for one day a year, we very clearly show to the world our faith. I thought that was interesting, but kind of backwards; we should always be showing our faith to those around us. I don't think we should all get tattoos of crosses on our foreheads, but maybe that we should be more concentrated in living out what we believe and showing it to others.

Religion vs. Jesus

Hello friends,

  This video has gone viral on YouTube and facebook! With over 11 million hits in just 6 days, people are obviously fascinated by the concept of Jesus and Religion being entirely separate entities. If you have not yet seen the video, click on the link below. The video is entitled, "Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus."

   What is your take? Leave a comment if you feel strongly one way or the other. I personally believe this student has some good points and really makes us think about the way we live out our faith. Do you think religion is "behavior modification"? or that your faith is defined only on your facebook page? Church should  "not [be] a museum for good people, it's a hospital for the broken." I think if we all looked at our faith in the wholly ensconsing perspective this student has, we would all get closer to God. The line where he says, 'if Jesus came to your church would you let him in?' is thought-provoking. Think about this. Would you? I mean, would you believe it was him, drop what you're doing and follow him, like the disciples? In a generation in which we are programmed to think logically, would you truly believe in what he said?

   This is surely something to think about even if you disagree with parts of the video. Are you living out your faith to "give you vision"? Or are you blind to the real reason we follow Jesus..? Let me know what you're thinking.

Food for thought! 

                   

                         Rachel

Hope

                                                                         ~HOPE~


December's theme at Chapel is Hope. But what does hope really mean? Is it just a term we use instead of want, such as I hope I get a puppy for Christmas? Chapel this month has helped us get down to the root of what hope truly stands for. Hope, according to Webster, means to expect with confidence or to trust.

Coach Keisha Brown showed us that hope can save your life. If you trust God with confidence you can conquer the inconquerable. Because through God all things are possible! This inspiration is especially helpful during exam week when, even though it seems small scale, everyone is scared of failing and the time crunch! I have hope that God will get me and the rest of the Alma community through this stressful week of papers and exams.

2 Corinthians 1:7 – And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

Ephesians 1:18 – I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

Peacelovegodbless,
             Rachel

---

Spotlight: Linsey Hough

Hello everyone!


 My name is Linsey and I am a senior this year. I am majoring in Integrated Physiology and Health Science (formerly known as Exercise Health Science) as well as minoring in chemistry and Spanish. With this I will attend medical school next year.


 With that goal in mind, last summer I worked for a program called the Mobile Health Fair. It is through the Presbyterian church. This program strives to provide medical care and medical education to people without insurance. So, this summer 6 people, including myself, traveled all around Ohio and Michigan for 9 weeks. We set up health fairs and did free health screenings for people. We mainly worked with the homeless and migrant workers and their children. It was such a great experience and such a blessing.


 I always think I know what God has in store for me when these opportunities come along and I always underestimate what he wanted me to get out of the experience. Working with these people and helping them has been one of the best experiences in my life, and has really shown me what I want to do in life. It is a great program for anyone wanting to go into the medical field and loves working with spanish speaking people :)

Here is a link if anyone is interested!
http://www.covenantmissionexchange.org/mission-profile/userprofile/mobilehealthfair.html

Spotlight: Kait Squanda

Hello again everyone! 

It's kind of late, but here is one awesome lady that you should all get to know. Her name is Kait Squanda. Here is a little bio that she wrote for y'all.

I participated in summer research on campus over the summer in the PRISM program with Dr. Karen Ball. I also worked at Stucchi's Ice Cream and helped with the opening of the new store! I am an Integrative Physiology and Health Science major class of 2014 (sophomore).


 I LOVE dogs and have one at home, but nothing at school, except my plant. My favorite thing about Alma is the friendliness of everyone-staff, students, and all workers on campus. AND the pretty trees in the fall!


 My favorite thing about chapel is of course God and how everyone in there is my brother and sister in Christ!! I am involved in Fellowship of Christian Athletes, a softball player, and I plan on getting involved in a small group as well this year.


 I am a PRISM mentor for first year students and my favorite color is bright yellow! I LOVE to cook/bake and experiment with food and I love to exercise and be creative and crafty. Helping and encouraging people gives me energy!
Thank you for getting to know me and this honor!!
Kait Squanda

A New Year!

Welcome back for our old friends and welcome home to our new friends!

It's me, Elisabeth again. I am back and ready to keep the blog updated.

I hope today finds you happy and ready for this coming year. Keep posted and we will let you know of things happening with chapel and religious life on campus as well as helping you get to know some people from the chapel community.

This week, Carol will be speaking in chapel and we look forward to seeing you!

This past week Rob preached on James 1:1-4, try taking a minute today to go back and read through this again.  Think about how God is challenging you in the beginning of this new year to make you stronger.


So that's it for now, enjoy the rest of your day even if you still have classes and it's so great to see everyone!