Snow.

so, it's snowing and it is the end of the semester, which means i'm done and don't really care about school anymore. this is a big problem because all i really want to do is watch christmas movies, drink hot chocolate, and snuggle down under a quilt. instead, i need to do some research first and then actually write my research paper today. ugh. anyways, the snow is beautiful and after tuesday, i will be almost done, with the bulk at least! happy snow day!

Houses.

love this house.

Peace.

a little wisdom my roommate shared with me today. we are attempting to finish this semester without complaining and to be truly thankful for the bounty we have been given.

                             truth

                   + thankfulness 

                      peace.

Some nights.

          School has quickly overtaken my life. that's how i feel at least. a couple of nights ago, i realized that i have a fourth research paper due in the next few weeks. sometimes i rock at life. right now is not one of those times. :) anyways, amidst all of that, i am struggling to actually be productive on this lovely fall night. with one of my roommates taking control of the living room with a bunch of nursing students who are all studying for a big exam, me and another roommate are camped out in my room where the candles are lit, only a couple of lamps are on, iron and wine is on in the background and with hot chocolate in our hands, life is too good. i am even enjoying the biography on sitting bull that i have to read for my 19th century american history course. that is saying a lot.

          i registered for classes tonight. there are perks to being an upperclassman. for once, i got into everyone of the classes i needed. thank heaven because i did not even have a plan b. tonight when i was meeting one of the nursing students, she took one look around our living room and told me i was creative. i love being told that. after she said that she realized she hadn't even introduced herself. it went like this. katie, my roommate, said, "this is my roommate, gretchen. she's the one that made all of this." [apparently they had been talking about my stuff before i came into the living room.] i said, "hi!" and she responded, "you're creative, oh, i'm rachael by the way." ha. it's the small things that count.

          some nights i need to do something creative. i couldn't focus earlier as i was trying to read and decided to make something and switch some things around in my room. having done that, i could then focus once again on sitting bull. good thing i have found an outlet! i'm getting impatient for brookie and eric to find a house. all i want to do is paint and decorate and living in a dorm, what i can do is minimal. oh well, i'll find something to change around soon.

          last weekend i went to chicago. a few friends from this area and i took off to spend some much needed time with more friends in illinois. so glad it all worked out. i hadn't realized how much i missed some of my friends and how great it was to finally get to talk to them face to face. friends are such a blessing.

          i started a new book list. ever since college, i hadn't made a new one, so hopefully in the near future i will be able to tackle my list. so far, mere christianity and axiom. when i was in junior high i attempted reading mere christianity. the problem was that it was way over my head and i never have gotten back to it. axiom is a book we read a few chapters out of at camp this past summer. it is written by bill hybels and i really enjoyed it because it offered such wisdom in a few pages. hopefully one day i will have time to read the books i want.

          for diana's final paper, she assigned us to pick an author from the 19th century and analyze what was important in their time from their perspective. in diana's classes we do this sort of assignment quite a bit, but we usually all read the same book. this time around, we choose individually. i chose Hope, Leslie by catharine maria sedgwick. i don't really know much about her except that she had more of a conservative view on women's rights during her lifetime. usually history courses only focus in on progressive women, so it will be interesting to see how she views her position in life. i'm kind of excited for this paper. crazy? most likely.

wow, i didn't realize i had so much to say.

well, goodnight, and i hope your night was just as relaxing and enjoyable as mine was.

Blessings.

every once in a while, i realize how oblivious i can be. 

lately, i looked through some of my old posts and i was reading the one right before i headed off to camp. i had four very specific requests and now that i look back, i can see how God really fulfilled every one of those requests, even when i didn't notice it.

1. even though i was going to michigan in the buick that is waiting to die, i made it safely there and back and had some wonderful conversations that helped me to get to know a few people way better.

2. the new staff was great; never have i felt that the whole staff was able to get along and get that close in just one summer's time. i definitely became much closer with a few people, even some people that i just met this summer and others, that i have known but learned so much more about them this summer. all in all, it was a huge blessing.

3. i think i mentioned this before, but this summer at camp, i had a renewed sense of passion for camp. all of a sudden, the campers and their short encounter with camp, meant a lot to me. comfort didn't seem to matter all that much as long as i was able to affect the way dads and daughters/sons grew together.

4. what i set out to accomplish this summer, i was able to do because of the focus that i, and others, prayed for.

i think i need to write more prayers out so that i can fully realize how big God is and how he never fails us. you should try it too. let me know how that goes.

                 p.s. october is another blessing. it really is the best month of the year!

Sunday and someday.

hello friends. don't you just love sundays? they always seem to be sunny and beautiful. this morning my roommate, carly, and i got up and baked; carly, some banana bread muffins and me, some carmel rolls to have with our morning coffee. we both just wanted to bake, decorate, and clean our little home all day, but no such luck, homework beckons. 

anyways, i thought i would take some time to share this with you and a few thoughts i have been dreaming of. i have been dreaming of cities. that is unusual for me, because i usually am longing for the woods or small little towns; something like where i grew up. within the last few months though, i have thought it would be such an adventure to move to a city and actually live in the city, not like the suburb i live in now. wouldn't it be fun to move to new york for a year or long enough to feel like you know the area like the back of your hand? i do. or seattle, boston...the list continues. i want to see these places and not just visit, i want to really know them without just knowing the tourist hot spots. i guess we'll see what happens. 

hope you enjoy your sunday!

A day for encouragement.

one night this past summer, a friend of mine at camp and i were sitting on top of the climbing tower talking. she played this song for me and i fell in love with it. right at that moment, listening to this song, all was well with the world and i get that feeling each time i listen to it. i hope you enjoy it as much as i have within the last few days and even when life gets stressful and busy, remember that there is a much bigger picture.

it is a perfectly lovely fall day; the air is crisp, the leaves falling, and the green fading away. life is good.

Books: a love, hate relationship.

It has been forever and a day since i last wrote. Camp is over once again and i am back at school, reading my days away. Once again, camp was lovely, one of my most favorite summers in fact. But oddly, i was ready to move onto the next thing. I am not sure what that something was because the sound of school sounded daunting, and had nothing else on the agenda; i was simply in the mindset of that i have come and done what i set out to do. I have been mulling over the idea of going back for one more summer, but alas, i must quit because right now i have a million other things on my mind. I am already far behind in readings for class; i am unsure how i will ever catch up. It's not that i haven't been doing them, it's just that there is so much. Today i read a book titled, The Idea that is America: Keeping Faith with Our Values in a Dangerous World. A very interesting read and i thoroughly enjoyed it. However, i still have a rising stack of books/articles/textbooks that need to be read. Next item up for tonight is Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain. It needs to be completed with a discussion guide by next Friday; the book is 434 pages! I might die. I love books, and long books have never scared me. The problem is i am unsure when i will read all of that in just a week with everything else. I guess, somehow it always gets done, no sense in worrying. 

I love all my classes. I am once again with the famous Diana Magnuson and Gordon William Carlson, my two favorite profs. They sure are work horses, but i still like them...sometimes. :) In G.W.'s class, there were three of us who had had him in his Classics in Western Political Philosophy, so he picked on us immensely and scared the sophomores immensely with his direct questions, which are intimidating. One poor girl completely forgot the Pledge of Allegiance when asked to recite it during class. I felt bad for her, she was so embarrassed. Anyways, i shined in his class when he asked me to tell the class all i knew about the Pledge, which was actually quite a lot since it fascinated me during one of G.W.'s previous lectures. I left feeling pretty confident. 

One funny story and then i should read for class again. So, last year when i was in G.W.'s office and discussing my thoughts on grad school and working in a museum, he somehow got the impression that i was a man hating type of feminist. Not really sure which part of my thought process gave him that idea. Anyways, he continued to tell me a story about when his daughter was at Bethel. A certain young freshman boy was pursuing her and gave her a book to read before he would date her. The main thesis of the book was that females should be completely submissive to male authority in the marriage. G.W. asked me what i thought she had done after reading the book. I responded that she probably gave the book back and said, "no thanks". He laughed and he will forever remember that day in AC211. In class he was telling this story to the entire class and asked me to tell the class how it ended and worked out for the hopeful couple. G.W. likes me. I am much more confident beginning my second class with the famous G.W. than i was last semester. I am thankful for that bit of confidence.

And i'm off...again!

Hello all. i realize that i have not written in almost three weeks, but i have an excuse for that...pathetic internet here at home. anyways, my mind is everywhere right now as i am finishing up all my last minute packing for camp. i have had two weeks to start and go through my college stuff and figure out what i need for camp, but i waited until today to start, hence the mind in 1000 directions! i am really excited to get back up to camp. i don't normally do so well with change, and with all the staff changes it can be challenging, but this year seems to be shaping up well and it will be more than i could ever expect, i'm sure. tomorrow i will head out for minneapolis and stay with brookie and eric where i will meet up with the lovely katie, who will drive up to camp the next day with me. this summer i would like you all to keep a few prayer requests in mind for me.

1. safe travels. the trip is 17 hours one way and i will be going to some camp friends' wedding during my time at camp on top of all the traveling we do on our days off.

2. the new staff. that we all mold well together and new and intentional friendships are formed.

3. energy. energy to get me through work that can get to be monotonous, especially after a few years of doing some of the tasks.

4. focus. 

if any of you would like to write me while i'm up at camp, i would love to hear from you and maybe if you are lucky, i will send one back! here it is:

Camp Paradise

Gretchen Luhmann

P.O. Box 657

Newberry, MI 49868

P.S. i almost forgot to pack my watch and alarm clock. that is a big no-no at camp paradise!

i hope you all have a jolly good summer and i will see you soon!

Sweet.

that it will never

come again is what

makes life so 

sweet.

-Emily Dickinson

Life right now.

as i sit in my living room, trying to muster up the energy to actually start a paper and listening to my roommate play her guitar, i am realizing that life is good right now. even though i had no idea how everything was going to get accomplished these last three weeks of school, i have realized that i do not need to worry. in  the end, everything always works out, so that is not on my mind so much tonight. today was spent with some of my siblings, their families, and my parents. we enjoyed each other's company, ate great food, and had a lovely campfire complete with the first s'mores for the summer. it was a lovely prelude to this summer.


 i feel like i am in a weird stage of life where everyone is starting to move on with their lives and going after their dreams; i don't really know where i am heading right now, but that's okay. we don't always need to know where we are heading as long as we are enjoying the ride. so, that's what i am doing right now. also, most of my friends are older than me, so that makes a difference too and i need to remember that.


i actually started running again. more consistently rather than sporadically like i have been doing this spring. i don't really like running unless it is a race. i need a running partner. exciting news: i got new running shoes today. so happy. some more exciting news: my toe, that i hurt last summer, is now fixed since i went back to the doctor to have it looked at again. so happy. last exciting news: the doctor also fixed my wrist that has been hurting. what did he do, you ask? he just popped a bone back into place. all that pain, for nothing. oh well, it isn't the beginning of arthritis, which both mama and i were worried about, so that's good.


i feel like i am rambling.


music is powerful. i have always known that, but there is just something about a song that can comfort you like nothing else. i think instead of starting this paper, i should just go lie in my bed and listen to some music and maybe read a fun book. or better yet, i will write. i haven't done that for awhile. yep, i am going to. 


good night.

A Few Good Days.

These last few days have been much needed. Due to assessment day on Wednesday, I didn't have class, which left class on Monday and Friday. Pretty great, huh? Anyways, Tuesday arrived with Brookie heading over to sew, run, drink coffee, talk, and eat. Great day. Wednesday came along and I really should have done more homework, but a roommate suggested we watch a movie and walk to cub for ice cream and a movie at night. Of course, me, not being able to focus, enthusiastically complied. Probably should not have done that since I spent the morning running, working out with a roomie, and working at the library. Anyways, I did it and we watched Moneyball, which was fantastic, so it was okay that I procrastinated yet another night. Today, Jennifer picked me up and I hung out with her and her two youngest munchkins for the day. Also great. It was just so relaxing to go and just sit and play with the babies away from school. I feel like I am going on and on about school, but right now I am very conscious that I am still here and many other students are winding down with their school year. As for me, I still have a month, so that has been a little disheartening and made doing homework even harder. whew... So basically, if anyone wants to do anything fun and pick me up from school, I'd be in! ha! Just kidding, but seriously... As for right now, I better get back to finishing the assignment that is due tomorrow that my prof told us not to wait until the night before to do. I am SUCH a great student. (sarcasm)

P.S. If you don't really know me, I am really into sarcasm. Sorry if I have ever offended you. :)

checked out.

once again i have fallen way behind on writing. not only have i neglected my blog, but it seems that i cannot possibly write anything. i checked out long ago...even before spring break which exacerbated it exponentially. as of tonight, i am off on easter break. i love no class on tuesdays and thursdays. :) i'm trying to remember everything that i kept adding to my mental list of things i had to write about. let's see...

so, i keep a list of crafty things i want to do/small little goals that i want to work on. some of these crafts include skirts, my quilt, a sign that i have been sewing for quite some time but haven't finished yet, my cowl that i started a coons age ago, etc. my two main goals is to learn how to play guitar and train to do a half marathon! the only problem is i don't know when the heck i will ever have time to accomplish them. i always think, "after school gets out, i can really get busy", but then camp comes and i think "i'll do some of them at camp!", but then that doesn't happen either and i am back at school and nothing productive ever happens at school. so, ya see, i have a real dilemma.

we signed up for rooming for next year just tonight. now i really need a bike because i will be way out in the boonies, but i will have a kitchen! what i am trying to say is that if you have an extra bike just lyin' around, give me a call! while we are on this note, if you have an orange station wagon or a jeep grand wagoneer also lyin' in your pile of treasures, give me a call, for these are my two dream cars. what the heck, if you have any furniture that could be useful in a college dorm that you were hoping to get rid of, give me a call ;) i promise, i am done now!

one thing that has been on my mind a lot is a j-term trip next january that will travel across germany, france, belgium, and england. it is a world war one trip and i am thoroughly excited for the people that are planning to go, the profs that are going, and the trip itself. it sure will be swell.

i promise,

i WILL right more soon.

PARCELS.

tonight has been grand.

nothing happened; it was true bliss. after leaving my room at 7:30 this morning, i finally was able to come home by 6:30ish. this week is the week of tests; i had a ten page paper that was due this morning for my Classics in Western Political Philosophies class (it may just be the hardest paper i have ever written), a test this morning, a test wednesday morning, and one on friday. like i said, it is the week of tests, but that also means not too much homework. so many things happened today that confirmed that i am doing what i am supposed to be doing and that is always a welcome feeling. after much thought, i have decided to drop the education part of my degree; i have spent time talking to my much admired professor, diana, about it as well as one of my new favorite profs, the distinguished intellectual, gordon william carlson, who is retiring this spring after 40 years of teaching at bethel. he's quite the fellow. i decided that i am passionate about history; i have been since i was a little girl, and so i have decided to pursue only history and a political science minor since i am already half ways there...and maybe one day go to grad school. yikes. i also realized that i am not passionate about teaching per se, but i do love helping people/talking about history and hearing/telling stories. so what am i going to do, you ask? i'm going to work at a museum...my dream since i was at least an eighth grader and maybe even earlier. i have had wonderful teachers that have believed in me from the start and they have talked to me about this with complete faith in me to make something amazing.

today, as i walked into g.w.'s office, he looked up at me (let me remind you that i have only met him four weeks ago and he and i are just becoming friends)(also, we get along g.w. and i. i am an old soul and he is an old man)and said, "well, how is my brilliant scholar doing today?" i think he likes me because i'll always sit and listen to him talk after class as everyone else rushes out. this man dearly loves to hear himself speak and i dearly love to listen. :) anyways, i also met with a career counselor this afternoon. i made an appointment after one of my roommates boasted of the great staff that helped her figure out all her major stuff. i took a personality test and guess what the top two jobs were? it was too perfect, my results came back that people with my similar results were either a curator or an archivist. so, that's what i am going to do.

i have decided that one of the first big purchases that i will buy is going to be camping stuff. two of my friends and i have this plan to just jump in a car one weekend and drive north, pitch a tent somewhere, hike and explore, and just sit by a fire, drinking warm things and reading lovely scribblings. yep, we are going to do it. this weekend, for funsies, two of my roommates and i went and hung out at r.e.i. Bad decision. i left with a backpack that is also like a nice daypack for hiking and other sweet things. it's so cool, so now i want to go hiking even more than ever. oh, the reigns of college that hold me back! not really, but it would be nice to just be able to leave. not that i think that i will be able to do that when i am a "real" adult however. :) i think that's it for tonight. must.do.work.

now that i have four less credits, i will try to actually post more.

good night.

oh, also here is a picture for annie flaunting my new necklace that came in the sweetest little parcel today.

Hodge Podge.

This post will most likely be a jumble of things that have been going through my head since i last wrote. Sometimes when i take a break from posting it is hard to get back to it because i feel like i have to catch people up on why i haven't been posting, so here it goes!

i have decided i am a full blown 90's kid. That's right. i didn't want to jump on the band wagon (like usual), but there is no getting away from it. Every time i see a blog or someone posts something like "if you remember this, you were a true 90's kid..." There were many things that i had forgotten, but the minute you see them, you think, "ah, those were the good times." Movies from the 90's will always be my favorites. For real. During this past weekend i watched the beginning, and only the beginning, of Hope Floats. Made in 1998 and in my opinion, one of Sandra Bullocks best. Whenever i watch it, i think to myself what great clothes she wears in that movie. You couldn't wear them now, but boy, they were so cool then. Another thing i did this weekend was listen to Dixie Chicks. Yep, i will admit that i have a secret fondness for the Dixie Chicks. Don't laugh...they are still the only country band that this girl will endorse wholeheartedly.

What brought on this nostalgia was a movie that a couple of my roommates and i went to great strengths to find last Friday. Never have i knocked on complete strangers' doors to ask for a particular movie...and most of the time i was left looking like a complete dork while the others ran from embarrassment. After the sixth door or so, we found the movie Waitress. It was alright, but the main point of the movie was that this woman was trying to leave her abusive husband and his name was...Earl. The entire movie i was waiting for "and Earl had to die, na na na na naa naa naa..." Much to my dismay, it never did make an appearance. Oh well, we just listened to it the minute the movie ended at top volume and all was well with the world. i hope that i haven't lost all your respect in the world. :)

Classes started and the marathon of the 18 credits has begun. i think it will be okay...as long as i have spark notes. i feel like i am cheating. Even though i am using spark notes for my, ahem, Classics in Western Political Philosophy (stated in your most dignified voice, of course), it is still in the running for my favorite class. The class itself sounds sort of uppity and to be perfectly honest, there is no way to shorten the title. Real annoying. So when i am talking to my roommate about my homework, it usually comes out, "...and i have 164 pages of (insert voice here) Classics and Western Political Philosophy to read by Monday, respectably." Anyways, on to something a tad bit more interesting.

Oh, this is exciting. My sister and her family are all here for the next week and a half, which has already been lovely. Sisters are really great, ya know? i was once told that i speak a lot about my family. i pondered that. It's true, i do. That is only because my family will always be there and so i trust them more than anyone else in the world. i think i had written previously that i am not the type of person that needs a lot of friends; i just need a few really close friends. Well, for me, that is much of my family...and then friends that i consider family because i know they will be there for the rest of my life. Lifelong friends that you can count on is one of the most precious blessings in life. i am blessed.

Within the past few months i have really resonated with the Doxology. When i was growing up, we always sang that song in church before giving the offering. The words are so powerful and it is just short and sweet.

praise God from whom all blessings flow.

praise Him, all creatures here below.

praise Him above, ye heavenly host.

praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Sorry this ended up so long, but i thought we needed to end on that note. :) Have a lovely Tuesday...or whatever day you read this.

Camp.

Not really sure how these two things correlated, but today at church, i was looking at the stained glass widows. It had been a gray, dreary morning (the best) and the effect it had on the windows was phenomenal. Along with the music we were singing and it was pure bliss. The strange part, i had the biggest desire to be at camp and i have been thinking about how wonderful it will be all day long. Oh, summer, go on and hurry up your arrival, please.

Mornings and School.

i just love early mornings. When i am the only one up and i can smell the coffee brewing, it just makes me so happy and content. My roommates get up shortly after i do for their 8:00 class, but i just need a few minutes by myself. This morning was exceptionally great. i was ready to head out to the high school class i have been observing, and had some time to just sit, read, and drink my coffee while watching the snow coming down outside. It is so much cozier when it is still dark out and the lamps are on; it makes you feel so content to sit in a warm living room while watching the snow come down. That is also why i love nighttime as well; that feeling of being home where it is oh so warm and cozy is the best feeling in the world for me.

With only three days left in my junior world studies class, i have decided that i have really enjoyed it. At first, i was scared that they would seem like they were my age and that i would not be adequate enough to be teaching in a high school classroom setting, but it has been surprising. They actually seem really young. i mean, really young and i have never had a hard time answering their questions. i have been shocked at how much detail i can remember certain events, so that has been a big relief for me.

Highlight of today: The students have been taking semester tests and they were not in my classroom at all today. The teacher and i were just correcting tests and he had been looking for a video to show to his senior class next semester. Well, he came across a video that was made by a student that used to cheat and the purpose of the video was to tell kids not to cheat, but he actually told how he used to do it, so i am not sure if it is actually the most effective video, but it was so funny. My cooperating teacher and i actually watched it twice and completely cracked up both times. It was phenomenal. Maybe it was funnier in the context of my classroom makeup, regardless, it was stinkin’ funny.

Have a Listen.