By Campus Missionary Mary Rowley When I was a freshman in high school, I joined the cross country team. I knew nothing about running, weightlifting, or staying healthy. Luckily, I met some wonderful upperclassmen who took me under their wing. They called me their “pet freshman” and taught me good form, how to judge when…

By Campus Missionary Mary Rowley Once while in college, I went to my roommate’s door and asked her if she wanted to go drop something off at the chapel. Rather, that’s what I wanted to say, but what came out of my mouth was, “Hey, want to go do the thing?” Luckily, my roommate spoke…

By Campus Missionary Mary Rowley When I was in high school, my grandma became very sick. I didn’t know what to do, so I tried to shove my emotions into a corner and ignore them. As you can probably guess, this didn’t work. I started crying out of the blue one day in class, and…

By Campus Missionary Mary Rowley I think we can all agree, John the Baptist was a pretty stand-up guy. Some people might have considered him a stand-up comedian, with his camel’s hair clothes, leather belt, and diet of locusts and wild honey, but we know better. He wasn’t being funny; he was doing God’s work,…

By Campus Missionary Mary Rowley I think we can all agree that it’s easier to stay awake at night if you’re with other people. When 11 o’clock hits, my eyelids start to droop, which is a demonstration of the fact that I’m no longer a college student. But if I’m with my friends, I can…

By Campus Missionary Mary Rowley Often when I pray, I thank God for the gifts he’s given to me, personally. If I thank him for other people, it’s typically very simple: “Thank you for giving me family and friends who love me.” Rarely do I thank him for something specific he has given to someone…

By Campus Missionary Mary Rowley The Israelites of the Old Testament knew what it was like to be in the presence of God. They remembered the story of Mt. Sinai, where God caused the mountain and his people to tremble. They remembered the story of the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of…

By Campus Missionary Mary Rowley, based on Matthew 25:31-46 As a kid, one of my favorite camp songs was called “I Just Wanna Be a Sheep.” I think the title of that song pretty much sums up Matthew 25:31-46. This passage, ominously titled “The Final Judgment,” describes what will happen on the Last Day. Jesus will…

By Campus Missionary Mary Rowley, based on 1st Corinthians 15:20-28 Have you ever wanted something? Silly question, I know – we want things all the time. For example, as I write this on Tuesday, I’m wishing for someone to appear and clean my apartment. I’m hungry for ice cream. I want the rain to stop. I…

By Campus Missionary Mary Rowley, based on Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 There’s a very good reason that sheep need a shepherd. They can’t survive on their own; they need to be led, or they’ll panic. There’s also a very good reason that we are compared to sheep. We can’t survive on our own, either. If we don’t…