Music

Tuesday's class we payed close attention to the effect that music has on people. Music is far beyond just lyrics on a page, it's a story. Music is one of the most important things to me. Everyday I always have some song on to get me throught my studies or to help me de-stress. When I'm going through a tough time and I feel as if no one can understand what I'm going through, I instead just put on a song that can help me relate to that situation. It is my release and without it I would still be trying to work through it alot longer. Music is the hope and inspiration for so many people that just from listening to a few songs it can motivate a person to set out what they want to do. It provides a commonality for other people to relate to with each other and it's even a good conversation starter. You can tell alot by a person just by seeing the kind of music they listen to. Also you can tell alot by a persons' mood from just hearing what they have on at that particular time. Music provides entertainment, hope and even worship. From the beginning of time music has been a constant. David started out on his harp and from there he danced and worshiped God in his kingdom. Music is consisted of all kinds of genres and levels. It really is the common denominator in this world. Without music this world would be a boring place; Emotions and feelings would never be expressed in the way that it should. Music is timeless and will be here forever.

My Painting...

The painting I made in class illustrates a passage of scripture in Joel that represents the promise of God's restoring power in the land of Judah. Joel 2:24-27 represents my painting. "The threshing floors will be filled with grain; tha vats will overflow with new wine and oil. I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten the great locust and the young locust, the other locust and the locust swarm -- my great army that I sent among you. You will have plenty to eat until you are full, and I will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed. Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the Lord your God, and that there is no other; never again will my people be shamed."

In my painting I drew the dry barren ground that represents despair and depression for Israel. Nothing has flourished from the ground and just above it is the locust that swarm around it. Yet, there is a beautiful colorful sunset that starts to enrapture everything around it. This sunset represents the hope, love and promise God has given to His people that they will suffer no more. My picture represents just how powerful God's love and promise is on the land of Judah. While Judah seems dry and hopeless at the time, it is then that God's promise of prosperity begans to create a magnificent work of art on the land that He has specifically chosen for His people.

Reflection

Tuesday’s class really made me think of the way I read the bible. Sometimes when I just want to get a quick verse in, I just open it up randomly and see what the Lord has to say for the day. However, on Tuesday we were asked to read it out loud in front of the lake. When I read it in front of the lake I had felt as if the bible had come alive. I felt the presence of God just enrapture my heart and engage with me with the emotion and promise he had for Joel. It was beautiful. One verse stuck out to me, “Rend your hearts and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love.” Reading that verse over the water really made me feel the depth of Christ’s love. You see this verse wasn’t just used for Joel’s time, but instead the Lord knew that at this time and place there were college students who needed to feel reassurance from the verse just as much as Joel needed it. Scripture in the Bible is still relevant in today’s world. The word of God is our foundation. Scripture can affect a person in all kinds of ways. For instance, the story of Esther and her courage wasn’t put in just for little girls’ enjoyment that there were princesses in the bible. No, this was put in to tell others that Esther was placed for “such a time as this.” Just like Esther we are to follow the calling that Christ has on our life, even if it is challenging at times. Reading the bible in front of the lake really broadened my horizons in the way God had presented scripture to His people. It’s up to us on how we choose to use it.

I Will Praise You In This Storm

The story of Job is the book that no one ever wants to read. It’s a change from everything else we read in the Bible. Instead of a “nice ending” with God defeating the devil, we instead read about everything that has been stripped away from Job and the suffering he encounters from it. You can’t help but ask the question; “Where is God, why would he let him encounter all of this suffering? That’s a question I know every individual has asked at least once in the course of their lifetime. Where is God when we’re dealing with this pain? If He is our caretaker and protector, why isn’t he protecting us from this? Unfortunately this question has run through my head on more than one occasion. It was last semester that I really questioned Him because of all of the stuff I had gone through. Within two weeks I was literally broken. My friends were turning against me, people were gossiping about me, I had a “follower” who tore me down every chance he got and the worse was hearing that my first and only ”almost” love was getting married. Not once did he ever mention that he was even talking to another girl. All this in a two week span really took a toll on me. There were times like Job that I just sat in my room and didn’t usher a word. Instead I dwelled on everything that was going wrong in my life. I was broken. I had never felt so weak, hurt and worn down in my life. I was angry with God for letting all of this happen. I wanted Him to just take the pain away and let me go back to living my regular life. However, like Job He knew just how powerful He was and the promise He had to protect and bless His children even when we didn’t realize it. It was in the desert that I put myself in my father’s arms and let Him take control of everything. It was in my season of brokenness that I drew closer to my Savior’s love more than ever before. It took that heartbreaking experience for me to see just how powerful my God is. I learned that even when we feel that we have no one else; it is God who will still have his arms out for us saying “Come my child, find solace and comfort in my unconditional love.” Job is the one book of the bible that is the most depressing, but people don’t ever talking about the epilogue of Job’s story. God made Job prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before. God did the same for me. I learned from that experience and from it I’m a stronger and better person. God had blessed me in so many different ways from my heartbreak that I know now that with whatever we’re facing in life, we need to continue to praise God in the storm, for He sees the beauty and blessings on the other side.

When Lyrics Last in the Dorryard Bloom'd

Reading this poem gave me new insight on just how loved Abraham Lincoln was. In today's society you would never see a man write a poem so complex and intricate for the president of the United States. Abraham Lincoln was one of the greatest presidents our country has ever had. This poem shows that. Walt Whitman's poem deeply describes the sorrow the American people (including himself) had come to face at Lincoln's death. "And he sang the carol of death, and a verse for him I love." "Him I Love" is used throughout this entire poem and it continually reminds the reader how important of a man Abraham Lincoln was to the American people. Out of all of the presidents of the United States, Lincoln was the president who took a situation and confronted it head on. He wasn't afraid to offend others when he decided that slavery needed to be stopped. Instead he wanted to give every person freedom. While the slaves were finally able to get the freedom the deserve, it was Lincoln who couldn't live to see them live out their lives of freedom. Because of his decision to stand firm, his life was taken tragically. I can not imagine how I would of taken it. TO be a girl who witnessed death from the Civil War and once I thought death was finally over with. Our own president is shot dead. That must of taken a toll on the whole country and that is shown throughout Whitman's poem. Abraham Lincoln was a man of character. Not only did he affect the people of the Civil War era, but He is still making an impact on this country today.

I remember...

For our class field trip were visiting a cemetary. Were going to remember those who have lost their lives and wonder what the story of their life was all about. This comes almost a week after the eighth anniversary of September 11. That day is really a day I will never be able to get out of mind. The fear, worry, sorrow, anger and heartbreak were the words running through my head on that awful day.
I remember exactly where I was and the class I had. I remember being called to the office for me to go home early. I remember thinking that my walk to the office was the longest walk of my life. I remember looking up at the faces of the principle and my father knowing that something wasn't good. I remember the dread and fear in my heart because I knew the only way I would of been pulled out of class was if something bad happened. I remember walking the quiet parking lot with my father while questioning myself If I wanted to know just yet, did I want to face the reality of what I was about to hear? I remember looking into the eyes of my father and seeing something I've never seen in his eyes before, I can not even explain what it was. I remember looking up at the clear blue sky and thinking that this was one of the nicest days Maryland had so far for the year, it was a perfect day. I remember asking my dad the question that will impact my life forever. I remember asking him what was wrong, what had happened. And I remember his answer that I will never forget. "America is under attack."

Love and Death

The reading we were required to read in chapter three talked about theme. What is theme? Throughout the next couple of pages it talked about the different kinds of theme and how it could be used in certain ways. The theme of our literature class so far is love and death. Everything we have read is about love and death.
The folk song, “Frankie and Johnny” were about lovers who ended up killing the other over jealousy. “What We Talk about When We Talk about Love” was about the complexities of love and how it can even result to death. “Happy Endings” talks about that even if everyone were to take a different path, love and death will still be an absolute in our lifetime. “What They Carried” is what love can do at a time of war, how desirable and destructible it can be sometimes even leading to death.
I know that it isn’t coincidence that the theme of all of these stories is love and death. I know that there’s an answer from reading all of these stories. The answer is this... Everyone in their lifetime is going to experience love, whether it’s returned or not. Somewhere on this crazy journey that we call life, we are going to know what it feels like to love. Some are going to do crazy things for it, others will give up more than they should for it, others will never of known a better feeling and many will be left broken hearted. However, at one point in everyone’s life, Love is going to be the most amazing thing. Even though it will hurt at times, it’s still “better to of loved than to never of loved at all.” That’s the theme I picked up on from reading all of these stories, the importance of love. For love is the foundation on which we build our lives around.

The Things They Carried

When it comes to talking about war, people barely ever want to talk about it. We say a few words and quickly move on to the next subject. People tend to forget about what a soldier is dealing with everyday. The media depicts them as killers who have ruined the lives of many civilians. For example, every news channel shows the horrors of war, never the good that’s happening from the strength of our soldiers. “The Things They Carried” really made me take a closer look at what a soldier “carries” with them on the battlefield. It’s not just the equipment or guns they carry, but rather what’s running through their mind when it comes to issues such as love or death. We don’t understand the façade they need to carry in order for the men not to see just how fearful they are for their life. They grasp on to letters of their loves with a hope that maybe they will be remembered on the battlefield. That the country their fighting for didn’t forget them in the process.
My heart breaks for the soldiers who are defending our country as I write this. I really will never be able to fully comprehend the emotion and pain each soldier will face as they are fighting for our country. I don’t know what it’s like to watch my best friend be blown up by a suicide bomber. Or to question if this will be my last day. Reading this story has given me a new understanding on what my grandfather faced as a soldier during WWII. While fighting at the battle of Iwo Jima, he saw things that he wouldn’t repeat even to his dying day. This war inflicted scars and memories that was part of him for the rest of his life. He refused to eat Japanese food or purchase a Japanese made vehicle. He hated the Japanese. People thought it was wrong of him to harbor such hate, but what they didn’t understand was the horror he saw with his own eyes. Such as a grenade blowing up his best friend or the malice Japan had as they dropped bombs on ships that held his fellow soldiers at Pearl Harbor. Unless we are a soldier who has fought in a war, we will never be able to fully understand what a soldier carries with him every day in battle.

What we talked about when we talk about love...

When I think of love, my mind always drifts back to that Beatles' song "All You Need Is Love." Love is advertised everywhere. Almost every single song on the radio talks about love, the tv shows always tend to have some small storyline about the two main stars falling in love while trying to solve a crime. Or lets not forget commercials that introduce a product by showing people falling in love over it. Why is this? People want to be loved. The problem in today's society though is that the defintion of love has been tarnished and trampled on. The famous three worded phrase is not even appreciated because of how easily depicted it is. For example, I see couples that are one week into a relationship and already their saying "I love you." Raymond Carver's story "What we talked about when we talk about love" is about two couples who gather around a table and talk about what love is. The diferent answers that come up are somewhat rather crazy. One women belived that her abusive ex boyfriend was madly in love with her because of his proclamation, yet he would stalk her and threaten her life. Her husband questions himself on how he could be head over heels for his first wife and then turn around and hate her now. The question brought up in this story is what is love? I have never been in love but I came close to it and I can say that its something that makes you feel as if your on cloud nine but at the same time it can turn around and leave a bigger scar on your heart because of the love that was shared. Love makes you feel vulnerable to the other person and leaves you trusting them with your whole heart. But what I learned is this. There is no such thing as love at first sight. It is LUST at first sight. Love takes time. Its doesn't just involve a physical attraction, it involves an emotional connection as well. But this doesn't happen instantly. Saying I love you to a person is saying "honey, we've experienced the hardships, the goodtimes, seen each other at our worst and best and from this I can say that I love you with my whole heart, soul and mind." That to me is what love is. Its experiencing and growing from the good and bad things that leaves you to appreciate and cherish the love that was created from going through that. Its the 75 year old man who after surviving a car accident wasn't happy that he survived but rather upset that he couldn't see his wife through his bandages. I can't imagine the capactiy of love that couple had for each other after all those years together. But what I do know is the love they had is authentic and beautiful because of the journey that took them to that place.

What Literature has done for me.

Since I was a little girl I enraptured myself in all kinds of stories that would leave me thinking about it for hours after I was done. Literature has had such a tremendous impact on my life. The first stories that I ever really remember reading was the story of Esther and the Little Mermaid. I didn't even rely on my mom to read it to me, instead I just picked up the book and looked at the pictures imagining what the story was about. I put all kinds of scenarios in my head from all the different colors and pictures, because that was the best way for me to grasp on to the content of the book and fully understand it. From as far back as I could remember, I always remember having some kind of book in my hand. This is still the case for me today. For every extra minute I try to get, I put all thoughts aside and wisk myself away to a whole different world in the books that I read. These books are usually christian historical romance or mystery novels. I love the feeling of being able to take myself into a whole different time zone and to be able to feel the culture. To be able picture the style of the clothes or imagine what the landscape looked like 100 years ago. There is nothing like it. No history book will have the capacity to let you grasp what the feelings and emotion people had when they were used as mercantile brides or the fear of the woman who was all alone during the San Fransisco gold rush. Historical fiction books like that are able to give a little insight of what women just like me went through back then. One of the most influential books I have read so far is Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. This story is parallel to the story of Hosea in the bible. Its about a man who is told by God to marry a prostitute named Angel. Throughout the story she kept leaving him and yet he kept chasing after her, letting her know that his love is unconditional. This is a reflection of the story of the love Hosea had for his wife in the bible. This book really pulled at my heart strings because it reminds me of Christ's unconditional love for his children and how even when we keep hurting him over and over He still pursues us to be back in his arms. Literature has a way of pulling at my heart strings and making me see things in at a whole different approach.