Random Topic!

So this semester I am taking anatomy and physiology class. For those of you who don't know what that is, it deals with how the body is structured an how everything works. At the beginning of the class I was really excited about it because I love learning about that kind of stuff. But little did I realize how much I would see God in that class. I had no idea that the body is as technical as it is. It's literally insane! And to think that some people think that we were created from a few particles in space or whatever is just way insaner...if that's a word. I was learning about protein synthesis. This is how it works...I think. It starts with DNA being inside the nucleus of a cell. Then that DNA gets split by an enzyme called helicase which forms it into mRNA. The mRNA then goes through the nuclear pores of the nucleus and attaches to a ribosome, which is a thingy you don't really need to know about. Then a separate thing called tRNA comes into play. They have codons. The mRNA have anticodons..I think. And its kinda like a magnet...opposite attracts. So they attach to eachother. Meanwhile! The tRNA also have things called amino acids on them, and when the codons and anticodons come together, the tRNA drops off the amino acid. And this process keeps going until there is one little protien. Hopefully I explained that all right. Anyways, just hearing all of this is amazing! God is really awesome and to create something like that is just mind boggleing. I don't really know of what else to say to this other than that God is soooo so great!

Sonny's Blues

To be honest, this story was kinda confusing. Throughout the story it talks about Sonny and how he is addicted to drugs and his love for music. Then at the end of the story, Sonny plays a show and his brother reminisces upon life. To me I see no connection between whats going on here. I don't really see a moral other than to not do drugs because they are bad for you and they can totally mess up your life. This story though has made me realize what some people go through in life. Some people really have it hard. In the story it talked about how Sonny and Isabel's mother had got into a fight and in the sentence after it said, "The silence of the next few days must have been louder than the sound of all the music ever played since time began." I liked how in the middle of the story the narrators words were gripping to me when he was comparing the silence of the next few days being "louder than in the beginning of time". It also talks about how Sonny just let loose when he got on stage and started playing. It was like he showed who his true self and who he really was in music. His brother never appreciated music like his brother, and maybe it was just me, but it seemed like the narrator finally started to come to understand music and his brother and why he loved music so much. So the comprehension of this story wasn't clear in its entirety but overall it was still pretty interesting.

Joel Painting

This is my one of a kind masterpiece. Possibly the best painting I have ever done in my life (so don't make fun). I know...doesn't it look so real? You're probably thinking what's going on here. So I guess I will tell you. I tried painting a visual as to what it would look like when Joel was prophesying it. This is what Joel says..."Blow a trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; surely it is near. A day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness as the dawn is spread over the mountains, so there is a great and mighty people; there has never been anything like it, nor will there be again after it to the years of many generation. A fire consumes before them and behind them a flame burns. The land is like the garden of Eden before them, but a desolate wilderness behind them, and nothing at all escapes them. Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; and like war horses, so they run. With a noise as of chariots they leap on the tops of the mountains, like the crackling of a flame of fire consuming the stubble, like a mighty people arranged for battle." So down in the bottom left where the red blob is, those are the flames behind them and as you can see the people are running like horses on the top of a mountain. You'll see a few black dots near the people...those are suppose to be locust like Joel talked about in Chapter 1. The sky is suppose to be thick darkness as the dawn is spread over the mountains. It was kind of hard to portray that, but I did my best. This assignment was really fun. And not only was it fun, but I learned. If we didn't paint what we thought about, I would probably forget some of the things I read in Joel. But now it's like this painting is stuck to my brain forever! So in the future, if someone mentions the name of Joel, my lovely painting, which will probably be on my fridge, comes to mind.
One thing to add. I went to my daddys office to scan it into the computer and it was laying on a desk next to a lady who had grandchildren. And my daddy walked in and asked the lady if her grandchild drew that for her! I was like..for real dad! That's my beautiful masterpiece.

Yet Another Post On The Shack

I am really enjoying this book by Paul Young. I love some of the things he puts in there. For example, God the Father was speaking to Mack (the main character). By the way, if you don't know what happened to Mack but you still want to read the book, just skip down a few lines cause I'm gonna tell what happens. Mack's daughter died at this shack place, and he received a letter in the mail from God telling him to go there. Well it turns out obviously he goes there, and this book is just about his/your relationship with God. Anyways, moving on. And God says, "Mack, I am what some would say 'holy, and wholly other than you.' The problem is that many folks try to grasp some sense of who I am by taking the best version of themselves, projecting that to the nth degree, factoring in all the goodness they can perceive, which often isn't much, and then calling that God. And while it may seem like a noble effort, the truth is that it falls pitifully short of who I really am. I'm not merely the best version of you that you can think of. I am far more than that, above and beyond all that you can ask or think." When I read that, I was like...wow! Because it's so true. Our minds can't even possibly come close to understanding God. So if you ever get a chance to read this book, you totally should, cause it's crazy cool! Especially if you want to get a closer relationship with God because this book basically is about how God just wants to spend time with you. And try to use Lectio devina on this and look up some bible verses on God's love. It's crazy to think about!

The Book of Joel

Today was a very interesting day. I realized that speaking out loud helps you a lot with understanding the text instead of just reading it. Which is only one of the ways you can experience literature. This class is making me realize that there are endless possibilities with what you can do with literature. And sometimes you can just get creative with it. Anyways, when I read in my head I would just breeze through it and if I didn't understand something, it's almost as if I had just skipped over it. I was just reading the words but not actually comprehending the words. Kinda weird I guess but none the less true. I actually sometimes have to read it two or three times to actually understand what I'm reading. Actually with poems I think I have to read it about a million times just to understand one line, but I guess that's the point of poetry...to make you think a lot about something. But reading out loud somehow made me think about everything and made me understand just about everything. I guess I can't just read it, I have to interact with it. Maybe not everything but more than I did while reading quietly to myself. So today I learned something! Thank you Mr. Corrigan.
Probably my most favorite lines from Joel is when it says, "Now return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving kindness and relenting of evil." I stopped for about 5 minutes on that verse just to really let it sink. And that upon being in nature and looking at what God has made equals awesome experience! And even though it was getting really hot and almost to the point of being miserable outside, it was still amazing.

When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd

To be honest, I didn't completely understand this whole poem. It was kinda confusing in most parts, I didn't know what the author was trying to say or anything. But I did catch a few phrases that got my attention. It said, "I saw battle-corpses, myriads of them, and the white skeletons of young men, I saw them, I saw the debris and debris of all the slain soldiers of the war, But I say they were not as was thought, they themselves were fully at rest, they suffer'd not, the living remain'd and suffer'd, the mother suffer'd, and the wife and the child and the musing comrade suffer'd, and the armies that remain'd suffer'd." I would agree with what he said about "they suffer'd not" only if every person he talked about went to heaven. But who knows. If some went to hell, I'm sure they'd be suffering a whole bunch. But in heaven they would of course be rejoicing! But anyways I would like to point about what he said about all of the family, or the living, was suffering. I don't really have much to say about this except that it's true. This poem kinda made me sad. And going to the cemetery was pretty intense too. And now that I'm thinking about it, just seeing all of those tombstones made me think about how short of a time we have here on earth. It made me value my life and I don't want to waste it. And I also thought about that WHEN I'm in heaven, I wouldn't want my family to be depressed that I'm gone. And I'm sure that when someone I know dies, they'll be thinking the same thing. So I'm not saying I'll be rejoicing when they die or anything, it just made me realize some things I guess.

The Shack

During our discussion time in the cafeteria, I brought the book 'The Shack' by Paul Young. One thing stuck out at me already while reading it. It was a tale centered on a princess, the only child left to her aging father. "The chief loved his daughter dearly and carefully picked out a husband for her, a young warrior chief of the Clatsop tribe, whom he knew she loved. The two tribes came together to celebrate the days of the wedding feast, but fefore it could begin, a terrible sickness began to spread among the men, killing many.

The medicine man among them spoke of how his own father, when aged and near death, had foretold of a terrible sickness that would kill their men, an illness that could be stopped only if a pure and innocent daughter of a chief would willingly give up her life for her people. In order to fulfill the prophecy, she must climb to the cliff above the Big River and jump off it.

A dozen young women were brought before the council. But they could not ask for such a precious sacrifice, especially for a legend they weren't sure was true.

But the disease continued to spread among the men and eventually the young warrior chief fell ill with the sickness. The princess who loved him knew in her heart that something had to be done, and after cooling his fever and kissing him softly on the forehead, she slipped away.

It took her all night and day to reach the place spokin of in the legend. After praying, she fulfilled the prophesy by jumping without hesitation to her death on the rocks below.

Back at the villages the next morning, those who had been sick arose well and strong. There was great joy and celebration until the young warrior realized that his beloved bride was missing."

She saved many people. While reading this, I put myself in the young warriors position. You should try it too. Think of someone you love very much! Anybody! Go through the story again and just think of that person. Now think of them loving you so so so much, and because of love, they willingly gave up their life to save YOU! Well that's what Jesus did! But so much more! Some of yall are probably like 'duh!', but for me, hearing it in this perspective helped me a little more in realizing God's love for me. So I will leave you with this...'For God loved the world (YOU!) in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

Class Discussion

For those of you who paid attention in class, I was asked what I thought about the discussion we were having. And I answered 'truthfully I have no idea what's going on right now'. I was really confused. I couldn't pick up what the other students we're picking up. But in spite of me having no idea what was going on, I did pick up a few things that I'd like to talk about. We were talking about darkness. Not literally darkness but more so on the spiritual side. So I'd like to share this verse with you. It is 1 John 1:5-6. It say's that God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in Him. If we walk in darkness, we are lying and are not practicing the truth. But if we walk in the light as He Himself, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. This next thing I mention might be a little off topic, but this is what was going through my mind. I picked up the meaning of darkness as being a struggle as well. We all go through struggles in life. In this devotional I read a while back, it was talking about Christians struggling. It talked about how we can be a witnessing tool while we go through a trial. It says, "Your lost friends, neighbors and loved ones see Christ in you more clearly when you go through a trial with a song in your heart. When they see that, they think, 'If my Christian friend can face that great trial and still have joy and peace, there must be something to this thing called Christianity. I wish I had what they have. So even in the middle of your trial, just remember to keep God first and to rejoice in Him!

A Work of Artifice

So I decided make a song for my blog assignment obviously. When I read it, it didn't sound like a very happy poem, so I decided to try and make it happy with my music :) Like I said, I TRIED! This is a poem by Marge Piercy in 1982. Also about the reading about themes. I really liked about what it said about how searching only for a theme or moral can make you avoid the literary experience. 'If we neatly summarize a story's message, we may miss out on a range of complex emotions that the story could inspire.' This poem is a good example of that. I never really thought about this so I just had to point it out. Also, if you can't understand what I'm saying, here is the poem to read along:

A Work of Artifice
The bonsai tree
in the attractive pot
could have grown eighty feet tall
on the side of a mountain
till split by lightning.
But a gardener
carefully pruned it.
It is nine inches high.
Every day as he
whittles back the branches
the gardener croons,
It is your nature
to be small and cozy,
domestic and weak;
how lucky, little tree,
to have a pot to grow in.
With living creatures
one must begin very early
to dwarf their growth:
the bound feet,
the crippled brain,
the hair in curlers,
the hands you
love to touch.

The Things They Carried

I liked this story. It was interesting because I like reading about wars and war stories that people had. Even though this story was fiction, I can totally see it as being a real situation. Nothing in this story would make you say, "Oh this couldn't happen". And the problems that they carried were very real and it related to me as well. Although I couldn't really seem to find the moral of this story, I found something I liked...it could be the moral, but I'm not sure. Throughout the story it talks about Lieutenant Jimmy Cross having a deep love for his girl whose name is Martha. She also has feelings for Jimmy, but Jimmy is unsure to whether or not she loves him as much as he loves her. At the same time Lieutenant Cross is in Vietnam in command of a squad of men and has a major responsibility. But he cannot stop thinking about this girl Martha. Whether it be occasionally during a battle, or consuming his mind while they marched or had rest. Soon, Lieutenant Cross had two casualties in his squad. And all he could blame was himself because his mind wasn't completely on their objective and what he needed to be doing as a lieutenant, like protecting his soldiers. His mind was on this girl. So at the end of the story he resolves his situation by burning all of the letters she had sent him and focusing all of his attention on leading his men. "Cross reminded himself that his obligation was not to be loved but to lead. He would dispense with love; it was not now a factor." I cannot say I agree or disagree with this idea because I see a need for both. First of all, I don't see how anyone can completely forget about something that consumed your mind that much...but anyways. In a situation like his, you really need to have your complete focus on what you are suppose to be doing, especially if it means life or death for not only your own, but for other people as well. That is hugely important. But I also see a need for reflecting on other things that give you peace. For example, a man named Kiowa was apart of Cross's squad. He was going through the same things as Cross. Although he was under Cross, he still had a great responsibility. But Kiowa slept with the New Testament under his head. Kiowa found peace with God by focusing on Him. If we focus on anything or anybody, it should be God because He is the One who will give us the strength and peace in whatever we're doing.

What We Talk About When We Talk About Love

The main thing that I got from this story is that everyone in this story has a different opinion on what love actually is. For example, Terri's ex-husband used to beat her up and while he was doing so he would be saying that he loved her (wow that must have been painful). I don't know why he would be doing this and none of the four that were at the table knew why he did this either. He obviously had some problems. Mel -Terri's current husband- did not call that love but Terri did for some reason. She said that he loved her in his own way (and what way would that be?). Mel of course had a different view of love. Throughout the story he said that he loved Terri. But on some occasions Mel did not act in love towards Terri. For example Mel said to Terri, "Just shut up for once in your life". No matter if he was kidding or not, that was not an act of kindness and shouldn't be said to anyone (this is what drinking alcoholic beverages could do to folks). In 1 Corinthians 13:4 it talks about what love is. That verse talks about love being kind.
He also talks about him praying that Marjorie gets stung to death by a swarm of bees (she was allergic to bees) because he had to support her and her boyfriend financially. But there is one thing I did like what he said one time. He said, "What do any of us really know about love? It seems to me we're just beginners at love." Do any of us really know love? I think love goes much deeper than a physical attraction to a certain somebody and how you have butterflies in your stomach. And I agree with what he says about us being beginners at love. I feel that God is the only One who loves perfectly. Love is patient, kind, does not envy, is not boastful or conceited, does not act improperly (beatings), is not selfish, not provoked, does not keep a record of wrongs, it finds no joy in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things (till the end). Believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love NEVER ends. The Bible also say's, "love covers a multitude of sins", in other words how much of the love of God will you allow to cover the offenses of another person that has wronged you.