Haverford Christian Fellowship Retreat

Hey everyone!

I know I haven't written anything in awhile, and I missed my regular Friday post. But I was extremely busy this week doing extra homework so I could afford to take some time off. This weekend I went to the Haverford Christian Fellowship Fall Retreat!

Though I wasn't sure what to expect, I ended up having a great experience. Friday I was having a bad day and didn't feel very well, but the retreat gave me exactly what I needed. It gave me time to stop and breath. It gave me time to focus on things other than work. It gave me time to get to know my bible study mates better. It gave me time to have fun. It gave me time to refocus myself and my priorities on God, and I learned a lot about myself.

As far as the structure of the retreat, students from Haverford, as well as Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore, spent the majority of our time intensely studying God's word. It's hard to describe how this could be relaxing, but I think for the most part the change of pace from the college grind did the trick. We studied the stories of Mary, Martha, Lazarus and Jesus. We took small passages one at a time, beginning with the passage that helped me get through my exam a few weeks ago, Luke 10:38-42. Though it's only 4 verses, we 2 hours dissecting this passage! It was hard to believe, but we did.

This is typical of InterVarsity, the Christian college ministry that organizes the retreats. We had several other sessions on Saturday of similar length. With each session, we began the next passage in the story. These included Lazarus' death, his resurrection, and Mary pouring the oil on Jesus' feet and washing it with her hair. They printed out the passages on plain paper double spaced so that we could annotate them. We had time to study the passages alone, in small groups, and with everyone together. It was really amazing what there was to be learned by looking at passages in so many different ways!

We studied intensely, but we also got to have fun too.

We played an Amazing Race game, where we had to make M&M elevators, spray a can of whipped cream into a bowl and eat all of it as a group, pass a frozen banana down a line with our feet, make a marshmellow toothpick tower (above), and much more.

Overall, I had a great time!

How are your bible studies going? I hope learning as much from them as I learned this past weekend!

(pictures taken by Erin Kennedy!)

Frugality and the Bible: What Do You Have?

This morning I read 2 Kings 4:1-7 during my bible study time. Though I don't share what I read every morning, I found this passage particularly insightful. This is the story of the Widow and the Oil, where a widow cries out to Elisha for help when a debt collector threatens to take her children as slaves unless she pays off her debt--and soon. (I suggest you take a look at it, the verses are much more eloquent than my summary!)

Though I've read the story before, today I read it with a new perspective. As I've gotten older, I've become fascinated with the idea of frugality. I've studied the subject for hours on end, because so much of the ideas behind living frugally, simply, and beneath your means can be applied in living a life pleasing to God. In my case, I'm passionate about serving the poor and meeting needs whenever I see them. A frugal lifestyle is perfect for me, because the more money I save, the more I can spend serving others and God.

Looking at this story again helped me to realize other reasons a frugal lifestyle can be pleasing to God. If you didn't click on the link to read the passage, watch this video. Or do both.

Notice the emphasis Elisha puts on the question, "What do you have?" (Watch closely at 0:45-0:50.) He is surprisingly forceful. But I think he does this to prove a point--we often focus on what we don't have, not on what we do have. I've found that no matter how bad my financial situation, focusing on what I don't have will not get me anywhere. However, when I stop, breathe, and pray to God to help me trust him, I often find peace, if not a simple way to take steps towards solving the issue. He may not give me the entire solution all at once, but he will give me the peace and strength to take action.

Though this story is about much more than frugality, it really reassured me choosing such a lifestyle.

How does this story inspire you? I'd love to hear your input--it's amazing how every person will learn something different from the same story!

(I'm doing a study from the Freestyle Living Blog. That's where I found the video, so I wanted to make sure and give credit! Also, credit is due to Crown Ministries for the video itself!)

Sunday Adventure

Happy Sunday everyone!

As you can probably tell, weekends and Sundays especially are my least busy days, so I will post more often on these days. However, I have a couple of post ideas floating around in my head, so I'll try to get them up soon. Anyway. . .

Last Thursday I attended Haverford Christian Fellowship (HCF), where I met some new Christian classmates and saw a few familiar faces. We had an ice cream social, and got to know each other. I learned more about the people, the structure of the group, and several options for attending church. I really enjoyed it!

So, today I attended church for the first time since I've been at Haverford! Kaitlyn, one of the HCF leaders, invited us to join her at Covenant Fellowship Church. The service ran from 11:30-1 pm, and two of my freshmen friends also attended. We were a bit late so we missed worship, but I did experience an excellently convicting sermon. The message was based on the "Year of Jubilee" passage in Leviticus 25. It's definitely impressive when a pastor preaches from Leviticus--it's not the most exciting book of the bible. However, the thing about Leviticus is, God lays his commands out plainly and simply. In this passage especially, he tells us how to react in specific situations:

“‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and are unable to support themselves among you, help them as you would a foreigner and stranger, so they can continue to live among you. ³⁶ Do not take interest or any profit from them, but fear your God, so that they may continue to live among you. ³⁷ You must not lend them money at interest or sell them food at a profit. ³⁸ I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God."

I think sometimes Christians make excuses for themselves and say, "I don't know what God wants me to do!" I definitely do this all the time. However, I think God's plan for our lives is not always as ambiguous as we might think. He states his command quite clearly in the above passage, as well as many other places in the bible. But it's up to us to seek out answers in the Word, and to encourage one another to do so. How are you seeking out ways to follow his plan in your life?

After the sermon at Covenant, a man came up and spoke about the ministry of the church--how the church was following God's will. Covenant is partnered with three African churches, through Covenant Mercies. They have a child sponsorship program which they have continued for the past nine years. They focus especially on educating children and sharing the good news with them. They have supported over 900 children, who otherwise would have been forced to drop out of school. This was a testimony to me that this church just doesn't talk about their faith, they live it out.

I had a great experience this week; hopefully next week will go just as well!

Side note: Comments are always welcome and greatly appreciated! I love hearing other people's thoughts!

My First Haverford Experience

Hello St. Louis folks!

It’s hard to believe that today I have ended my first experience at Haverford: Multicultural Leadership Institute. Before I left, I shared with some of you at home that I would be attending this program. I received some skeptical comments, along the lines of “Be careful, just because this claims to be a diverse program does not mean they will take kindly to Christians.” I also received encouraging advice to attend the program if this was really something interesting to me. Now that I’ve done it, I’d like to clarify the question: What does the Multicultural Leadership Institute actually entail?

About 70 freshmen applied for the program, but only 30 had the privilege of attending. I was definitely surprised to be chosen. Not because I didn’t think I was capable, but because I know that everyone in the class of 2015 is equally, if not more gifted and talented than I am. They had exceptional grades in high school, have traveled across the world, and were leaders in a wide range of activities. Nevertheless, I received a spot in the program.

This honor filled me with joy and exceeded my expectations. I have always been extremely interested in topics concerning diversity. I also really enjoy discussing taboo topics—politics, religion, etc. and we dug into these ideas every day as whole group and also in smaller groups with a Student Resource Person (SRP) leader. We had about 3 workshops per day, and our topics included Socioeconomic Class, Privilege, Race, Gender & Sexuality, Spirituality & Religion, and Leadership. As we delved into these topics, we really got to know one another on a concrete and fundamental level within only a few days—something I had not experienced with previous classmates I had known for years. It was freeing to be able to speak honestly with each other, without the fear of becoming an outcast or being labeled in a negative way.

To those who may have been skeptical concerning the tolerance of Christians in this type of secular program, I can tell you that it surprised me how openly we shared our differences in religion. There were students who had grown up in one denomination or religion but had switched to another, those that were unsure about the religion that they had grown up with, and those who had followed the same religion their entire lives. As this was one of our final workshops, we had gotten to know each other well beforehand and were comfortable enough to go around the circle and share a statement about our religious background. Even being in a room of friends, sharing my Christian identity was still scary. However, openly discussing our faiths ended up being an empowering experience. I hugged an atheist and had meaningful conversations with other Christians. I am less afraid of rejection. I know that if I share my faith with others who are close minded or rude, I won’t take it as personally now because their intolerance is their problem, not mine. With this confidence, I can continue to love those who reject my beliefs without feeling insecure.

The religion workshop was definitely one of the best parts of my experience, and it’s amazing to think the program almost dropped it due to time constraints (according to my SRP leader). I suggested that it be left in, and even be extended, because it was one of the shorter workshops.

 For now, I’m just grateful to have met all of these other wonderful, passionate students from the class of 2015. It’s comforting to know I have a group of friends before orientation even starts!