Thoughts by Hannah Michelle

Summer This quarter has seemed to drag on forever, probably because I decided to take too many classes, but it is finally over!  I am SO excited to have a break from textbooks for awhile.  I'm only taking one last gen-ed online this summer, and I am ready for that much-needed break.   I'm so ready for this summer. I have so many things to look forward to, I can't even contain how excited I am.  For the rest of May, youth ministry is kicking off with a bonfire (this Thursday, 6:30-8:30 pm at the lakes, grades 6-12 welcome!) and I'm so excited to be back with those students.  It's also supposed to be super hot out and I'm looking forward to spending time outside trying to get a bit more sun.  Also, our interns at the church start, and I am SO EXCITED for this!   In June, I will be registering for my junior year at Midland.  It's a bit hard to believe I'm getting this old, but I'm so excited to be registering for ministry classes. :-) Our youth mi

Hey y’all. Today, I just wanted to share some things with you.   I have been working back through the Bible, trying to read enough each day that I will finish the whole Bible before I go back to school in the fall, so within the past few days, I have (re)read almost all of the Pauline epistles.   Reading them one after another have shown their consistency and repetition of an important word: faith .   There is one point I wanted to discuss that came up in 1 Corinthians 6:12 and 10:23-24.   In the Methodist faith, we talk a lot about free will.   God gave us the gift free choice, as we believe, and not as a robotic or a predetermined fate-following people.   (This belief is different throughout some of the different denominations, but this point is fitting all Christians).     These verses say, “I am allowed to do anything.” Many believers I know use this same kind of mentality: “Well, God is going to save me anyway, so it really doesn’t matter what I do.”   As

Finally.  It's finally at that point in the year that the sun is out more days than not.  It's finally warm enough that I can bike to work and lounge in the hammock some afternoons.  (Taking mostly online classes in the spring does have its perks.)  The past about 6 weeks have completely flown by, but overall, they have been incredible.   About 6 weeks ago, I woke up in Cleveland and for the first time in my life, was actually excited to get on a plane to go back to Nebraska.  The excitement that I felt that morning was just like a sneak peak into how exciting these past 6 weeks have been.  I met the youth group students that night, and have luckily been able to be their youth pastor since then.  It's only been 6 weeks, but the youth have grown - not just in numbers (which is surprising in the spring!)  - but they have also began to dive deeper into their faith and ask tougher and tougher questions.  As they've been grappling with what it means to live as a Christia