exam week

I am one of the first people to say that I enjoy exam week. Unlike the rest of the semester, things are made pretty simple. You have exams - 4, 5, or 6 of them - and they are slotted at certain times over an almost 2-week period. Outside of exams there is nothing to worry about. Of course, a lot of your time goes into preparing for the exams by making study sheets, studying, group study sessions, etc. However, to do proper studying you need proper breaks, so it is also a time to catch up on dorm life, friends you haven't spoken with in a while, and some squash (in my case at least).

Slowly and surely my dorm is becoming very quiet. Most of my guys have gone home already and the last few will be gone by tomorrow (including myself). It is exciting to have a little break, see family, enjoy some food, catch up on some reading. It is good to have a break, before I realize it, next semester will be here and that will be my last one, so it will be good to be well rested by the time January rolls around.

I am looking forward to January as there are some exciting events that are to happen, and there is always just a great atmosphere at the start of second semester. Until then.

PS: Midnight breakfast was splendid. several hundred people eating as much breakfast as they want. It was great. Our president Dr. Cooper(as well as other staff and faculty) looked styling in his Pajamas and slippers as he was serving us breakfast, good times all around.

Full Swing Ahead!

We have almost reached the end of the first week of exams. What a relief! Some people are done, some haven’t started, and others are just floating through. The end of next week also means the start of Christmas vacation and the end of the first semester, boy am I excited.

Last week Sunday, the pro life group held an event that allowed over 100 students, and members of local churches to participate in a silent protest against abortion. With the snow blowing in our faces and the temperature in the negatives, we stood holding signs that told the people who passed by our message. Some people agreed with us and honked their horns, some people, well we can’t really say what they did to us, and others simply just saw everyone sharing the same message to choose life not abortion.

Time is ticking and my exam is getting closer, perhaps it’s time to stop procrastinating and begin studying.

'Tis the Season

It is difficult balancing emotions at this time of year. Christmas is just around the corner and the thought of fellowship, food, and family gives you that warm, fuzzy feeling. Suddenly, it becomes hard to concentrate on the umpteen papers and exams that will soon reach their due dates. We thought we grew out of our snow pants and rubber boots; well, maybe we have- but we will find a way to squeeze our way back into them.

Maybe it is all in God's plan to schedule exams amidst this exciting time of year. That soft snow falling outside creates just enough happiness for us to get through one more page of writing. God brings us the added joy during a time that proves to be a bit stressful and a bit more busy.

Let's celebrate the life that came to earth to redeem the world!

City and Hope

This week has been splendid. Busy, but splendid. On the weekend I decided to take a bit of a break from writing papers and it was quite relaxing. On Saturday I explored Hamilton a bit. Most of the places I had been before, but it was really refreshing to go to the Farmer's Market and have a sweet view of the city from the Dundas Peak. It is really important to take a break from school on a regular basis.

This week will be busy. It is weird that the busiest week of school (this week) is also the first week of advent. I actually find it really encouraging that we can be hopeful about Christ's coming and Christmas. Another thing to look forward to this week is the Messiah concert at McNab St. Presbyterian Church. A bunch of my friends are in the choir or alumni choir, and I am just pumped to go.

Next week exams. It is probably my favourite time of the semester. Perhaps I will write about that some other time...

Undefined

Last night, students gathered in the cafeteria to show how they worship God. It was a rather moving event I must say. Some people sang songs that they wrote, some led worship time and others showed their worship through their art work. As each person took their turn sharing their talents, three students let God work through them to create a painting. At the end of the night, they were able to share their paintings with those who attended. In between acts, short thought-provoking videos were shown. Students shared their writing talents and their reflections about their walk with God. One of the more unique ideas that was shared, was a slide shown put together of all Redeemer students pictures of God’s creation. Boy we have some talented photographers here! This night was very spiritual and God was definitely present.

Whether its listening to your heart for PED 118, studying for the surface anatomy test, or putting the last thoughts into the papers for the classes, the time semester is quickly ending, I am thankful that there are times the student body can come together to share their experiences and their love for God with each other.

Papers, Mario Kart & serving God

This week here at Redeemer has been a busy week for all. Many are trying to get papers done, studying for quizzes, and doing big projects. I finished my History and my English paper this week, thanks to the Writing Centre for editing my papers. The Writing Centre here is a real blessing. It is a place where students can go to get help on assignments and to learn how to properly write papers in the proper format (formats like MLA, Chicago Style, etc.) and to get papers edited.

In my dorm this week we have had two significant events. This past Tuesday, November 25, we celebrated Dorm Christmas. We had decided as a dorm to celebrate Christmas a full month early because we won't be here on the actual Christmas day. We did a secret santa gift exchange, each guy spending 10-15 dollars on their person, just something fun and it was a bonding time. We had a sweet dinner and then when 10:30 came around we had the other significant event. Mario Kart Tournament. It can't get any better. We had an awesome time playing an organized tournament with our dorm with the winner signing the T-shirt that my RA's RA had in first year. This tournament a 1st year student took the win. It was sweet!

On Wednesday I had the opportunity to organize dorm devotions. I did devotions on the topic of 'Serving'. I have found lately that I would love to be more involved in the community at Redeemer and in Ancaster and Hamilton. According to God, we have no excuse not to follow the call of serving. So right now, I am praying and waiting for God to show me where I am to serve. I know that I can make a difference in this community with God on my side!

Snow is good for dorm life

So, it was turning out to be a pretty good day. Wednesday's are always pretty good, busy, but good. Chapel was really good, as we tried to take a look at how technology can sometimes take away from us being actually focused on God. It can take away from us being able to hear God speak amidst all the noise, alerts, and constant communication.

In the evening there were varsity volleyball games, the atmosphere was amazing! Unfortunately we dropped the game in the fifth set to Mohawk. Having three of the guys in my dorm on the volleyball team, you can't expect post-volleyball game to be the best time. Well it was.

First we had devotions and we expanded further on the idea of noise in our lives, we decided to have a noise free hour every night in our dorm, a time where we can still do whatever, but we would try to eliminate technology use. It has been encouraging so far. After devotions and clean-up we opened our back door and people threw snowballs inside. We felt the challenge and responded. We ended up playing red rover and having a snow ball fight for the next hour and a bit, we came back inside warmed up and headed to bed. It was a pretty good post-volleyball night.

The Music and Christmas in Us

As the year continues to press on and we get closer to wrapping up the first semester, I am once again amazed at how fast the time is moving. So much has been happening this past little while! We just had another successful year of Battle of the Bands this past Friday and Saturday, where bands from local high schools, students from this school, and outside bands come to play and compete against each other. With a massive turn out of students and fellow fans, as well as loud music and tons of excitement, these two nights were an awesome place to be at.

Also:

• The Christmas lights are going up on the dorms which bring a lot of joy for many students as we anticipate the celebration of Christ’s birth.
  
• The planning for mission trips to Mexico, Hamilton, and Mississippi that occur during reading break are starting to take shape.
  
• Other events like Deedz and the Toronto Mission trip continue to serve the communities that we live in.

Chapel

This week is technology awareness week here at Redeemer. The goal of this week is to show people the role that technology is playing in our lives and the time that it takes out of our day. Technology is useful for many things but often times I find myself wasting time with it when I'm on Facebook, MSN, checking my email, watching movies, etc. There are many times when I think about my day and realize how much I could have gotten done if I was being more constructive with my time.

Today in Chapel (a weekly occurrence on Wednesday from 11am-12pm) Syd Hielema spoke about 'Making Space for God'. He gave examples of his life and how technology has taken up a lot of his time, and is stealing a lot of time from God. He told us that we have to make room for God's word in our daily lives so that God can dwell richly within us. Often times that space is occupied by other things than God, for example: Technology.

I have made the commitment to give up Facebook for the week and to limit my MSN/email time. I usually spend way to much time on Facebook, but this week at Redeemer I was presented with a challenge which will bring me closer to God (and will also let me have some time to actually do my homework!).

Varsity Athlete Up for Auction!

Last Friday was Hobbies for Hilltop! Hobbies for Hilltop is an auction that we hold in the front foyer once a year. I am a member of SASC, the committee that organizes the event. SASC is an acronym for Spiritual Activities and Services Committee on Student Senate. As a rule, nobody knows what the letters SASC stand for, and if they do, they inevitably forget. Anyways, quite an entertaining auction this was- varsity men selling dates, crafters auctioning off dozens of paper roses, and culinary geniuses offering their experience in the kitchen to name a few. The list of creative auction items was 42 acts long. In the end, the school body raised almost $5,000 dollars. This money will be put to great use at the University of Mkar (otherwise known as Hilltop University) in Africa- our sister university. It is always moving for me to go to things like this because it makes me realize, along with many other students, that despite the fact that we consider ourselves poor college students, we know that God has blessed us with way more than enough, and we need to share His rich blessings with our brothers and sisters around the world.

Food Drive

Walking up and down the streets of Meadowlands, going house to house, collecting canned food, in the pouring rain. Depends on the way you look at it, but from most people’s perspectives, this may not seem to be the way they want to spend their Friday evening. But as a couple of my roommates happen to be a part of SASC – Spiritual Activities and Services Committee, this is how I spent my Friday evening on November 7.



SASC organized this opportunity for students of Redeemer to go out to the many houses in Meadowlands, directly behind Redeemer campus, and pick up canned goods for a food drive. All of the canned food was brought to our dorm, which was then shipped off to Mission Services, an organization here in Hamilton. It was amazing to see the community become so involved in one common goal, and be so generous in their offerings to this organization. Many people were prepared for us to come, and had bags of canned goods ready when we arrived, this was an incredible experience to be a part of.

Life and CITB

It's the final stretch for the fall term, this means a couple of things. 1. There is a switch from mid-terms and presentations to papers. 2. Snow is coming soon, in fact it was snowing just yesterday. 3. During exam week there will be midnight breakfast! - about half the student population comes out to have breakfast just before midnight, our profs serve us breakfast and it is probably one of my favourite events of the year.

Yesterday was this year's third Church in the Box (CITB). I have been involved with CITB since I was in my first year. Being in my fourth year right now means there have been lots of services in that time. CITB is a monthly worship service that happens at Redeemer, about 800 people come out from the Redeemer community and the surrounding area to spend an evening in worship. This year we are dealing with the theme "Life Transformed" - to expand on that: looking at how God transforms our lives today. Yesterday Matt Pamplin shared with us about how God transforms our character - how we can be heroes. He looked at how David (as in King David) was used by God, even though he had to wait 20 years before he could be King.

Other things that have happened in the last weeks, we got an honourable mention for dorm clean-up. Maybe next semester we will win. This coming week promises to be good busy. This Wednesday there is the big volleyball game against Mohawk College. Our gym promises to be a crazy place. I am an Resident Advisor (RA) this year and three of my boys are on the volleyball team, which makes me extra excited. Besides that I get to live in a dorm with 7 other guys - it's a pretty good experience.