Fascination.

I am in two Cold War-ish classes right now and I am learning so much. It's almost to the point where we are in over-load. Anyways, I was assigned to read a book by anne applebaum, titled Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe 1944-1956. It is SO good. If you need a good read, you should check that out. She also has others written on the Gulag prison system. It is crazy how everyone knows quite a bit about the Holocaust when the Gulag is hardly acknowledged by many. There is so much to learn.

Today marked the first meeting of the History Club I am starting. There were a total of ten people, so less than I was hoping for, but we figured out some ideas that needed to be discussed. Sometimes, I get really excited about school - with the social aspects and I simply love to learn. However, it is fairly easy to get bogged down. Right now I am feeling quite overwhelmed with it all. I keep telling myself, one day at a time...

What have you been learning about that has fascinated you?

Also, any suggestions for me for spring break?

Sometime Soon.

Hello all,

Well, i am finally back at school and attempting to get into the swing of things. i spent Christmas in montana and january in europe! both were great. europe was fabulous and too much to fill you in on everything. my favorite place was oxford. i think i could study forever there.

i have a few things i am working on this semester. first off, school keeps me busy, but i am also attempting to start a history club, here at bethel. i have been talking to a couple of profs as we have been working to get this started up and running. i am actually quite excited about it. i'm working on a few more things in my life, i'll let you know more sometime soon.

when i got back to school this semester, i finally started 'mere christianity'. back in 8th grade, i attempted to read it, but after struggling through a few chapters, i gave it up. ever since then i have been scared to read anything written by c.s. lewis. reading through it now, i wonder why i couldn't get through it. so far, it has been really good. i know that it is a staple in any christian household, but i am really enjoying it. while in oxford, i also bought miracles, which i may read this summer.

i have decided to go back to camp. while i questioned if i should, i realized that i needed and wanted to go back. i was much relieved when i finally decided. it will be so good.

i am compiling a list of books that i need to read. if you have any suggestions, feel free to pass them along. i would very much appreciate them. :)

have a wonderful weekend,

Gretchen

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!