Make up Blog 11/11

“The Spirit of God Hovered Over the Waters; Creation, the loval Church, and the Mentally and Physically Challenged, A Call to Church, and the Mentally and Physically Challenged, A Call to Spirit-led Ministry"

by  Steven Fettke

“The Spirit of God Hovered Over the Waters; Creation, the loval Church, and the Mentally and Physically Challenged, A Call to Church, and the Mentally and Physically Challenged, A Call to Spirit-led Ministry” by Steven Fettke explores what It means to be created imago dei. He points the Pentecostal/ Charismatic Church to the responsibility of ministry to all people. This subject matter is personal to the author Steven Fettke as he has a son, Phillip, who is afflicted on the severe side of the Autism Spectrum. Him and his wife have needed and received all kinds of assistance from various groups, government agencies, and support from a local church. But Sadly Pentecostal churches have hardly helped him. It was the government agencies and mainline, non-Pentecostal churches that helped them in a much more “spiritual” and practical way than any Pentecostal church. The Pentecostal Church is known to him in relation to his son as only wanting to cast demons out of him or ignore him. Fettke son does not need demons casted out of him but rather to be treated as a human who “embodies” a unique mark, the image of God. His son his both “minister” and the one in need of ministry. Which as he said “Doesn’t that describe us all?” But rather than give up on the Pentecostal church and its ignorance he offered knowledge and reasoning that provided the necessity of ministry to the disabled.  Fettke stated “I think it is possible to begin to view folks we have usually considered disabled and weak as those who both can do ministry and to whom ministry can be directed. In other words they are just people just like the “acceptable” people in our local churches.”

Special Post # 2

A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings: A Tale for Children

By Gabriel Garcia Marquez

A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings: A Tale for Children by Gabriel Garcia Marquez was published in 1955.  This story falls under the genre of magic realism and is a short that is included in the book Leaf Storm. This story is not necessarily a tale for children but a tale for mature readers who can still use their imagination.

The story begins by a husband and wife (Pelayo and Elisenda) finding a very old man with enormous wings in their courtyard one stormy afternoon. They watch the old man with wings as he struggles to get up from the mud. They eventually attempt to communicate with the old man but are unsuccessful because he peaks a different language. Their neighbor then comes and identifies him as an angel that was coming to take their sick child. Not knowing what to do with the, old man with wings, so they lock him up in the chicken coop. Early the next morning the local priest, Father Gonzaga comes to the home to test the old man and determine whether or not he is truly an angel.  By the end of that day the rest of the community has received word of the “angel” and they all come to see the old man with wings for themselves. It now becomes the new attraction and Elisenda (the wife) takes advantage of the situation and starts charging five cents for admission to see the old man with wings. Father Gonzaga determines that the man cannot be an angel because he does not understand Latin and has so many mortal characteristics. The family soon becomes rich and builds a mansion with all the money they collected from the crowds that came to see the “captured angel”. After awhile the crowd looses interest after hearing word of a new “attraction”. A girl who had disobeyed her parents had been transformed into a tarantula. Years go by and the angel still continues to be trapped in the chicken coop and is treated very poorly by Pelayo and Elisenda. His health begins to eventually decline almost to the verge where Pelayo and Elisenda think he is going to die. Then one day he begins to grow a few new feathers. He is found roaming around the house and is shooed away by Elisenda as she finds him nothing but an annoying. He eventually begins to attempt to fly. After much effort, he is able to fly away. Elisenda gives a sigh of relief as she watches him fly away into the horizon.

 When I first read this story it was probably was the most unclear story that I have read all semester. I think the full meaning of this text isn’t quite clear on the first read because the author didn’t intend to make it a clear interpreted story. The title has in it “a tale for children” but in reality this is not really a tale for children. It is to complex. Although it does have a lot of fairy tail like features in it, a child would loose their interest in it. I chose this text to be interpreted because I think it is a complex story and could be interpreted in many different ways. I almost feel like each time I reread it I think of another interpretation. Also after the discussion in class I realized this story can be interpreted in many different ways.

I still do not have one clear interpretation of the story but I think I have identified some central themes, motifs, and symbolism. SparkNotes.com pointed out a Motif of prosperity. Which was one of my first interpretations of the story. “Pelayo and Elisenda’s newfound prosperity is the physical manifestation of the magic and wonder the old man brings to their lives” (SparkNotes). The story begins with describing how the couple was poor and had swarms of crabs invading their home. And they also had a young son who was very ill. But then the old mans presence brought hundreds of pilgrims who didn’t mind paying a small fee to see this old man with wings. The proceeds then bring Pelayo and Elisenda great wealth. They build a mansion and have more money than they know how to spend. But this remarkable turn in fortune happens gradually and Pelayo and Elisenda don’t really see how remarkable it is. Elisenda even refers to her new home as a “hell full of angels”.   A symbol that SparkNotes pointed out as well, is the Spider Woman and how she “represents the fickleness with which many self interested people approach their own faith.” As soon as the villagers heard of the “angel” they flocked to Pelayo’s house, motivated partly by faith but also to see him perform miracles. The old man’s reputation diminishes when he proves capable of performing only minor “consolation miracles”. So instead the spectators then flock to the spider woman, who tells a heart-wrenching story with a clear, easy-to-digest lesson in morality that contrasts sharply with the obscurity of the old man’s existence and purpose. Although no less strange than the winged old man, the spider woman is easier to understand and even pity. The old man, barely conscious in his filthy chicken coop, can’t match her appeal, even though some suspect that he came form the heavens. Garcia Marquez strongly suggests that the pilgrims’ result o-oriented faith isn’t really faith at all.

I think the reader can take these interpretations and relate them to the world around them or to their own lives. Like how we might have something great in our life and we may not even recognize it or acknowledge it instead we might look at is as a nuisance but not until its gone will it possibly be appreciated. I think there is a variety of ways this text can be interpreted and not one single way is necessarily the correct one.

Again I do not think I still have grasped the full interpretation of the story or necessarily the correct one. As still it seems each time I take time to reread it more possibilities of interpretation come up. I think it is ok to have something complex and not quite get the interpretation the first time. I think naturally I should always understand it right away. But I have come to learn it is ok to not. It is also fine to take time to understand it and it is ok to have different interpretations of things. 

Citation:

SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2007. Web. 1 Dec. 2010.

A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings

So after reading the entire story I still didn’t quite get the point of the story or grasp it. I felt there were a lot of random things that I couldn’t figure out how they connected. Like the old women telling them to beat the old man with wings to death. Or why they were killing so many crabs and had so many dead crabs in their front yard. I didn’t understand what was the point of the girl turning into a spider. And I couldn’t figure out what time frame this was suppose to be in. It would use words like pilgrims which makes me think of an earlier date but then use modern words bought a pare of pumps, and talked about airplanes… I also didn’t understand if the “angel” did or did not have a connection to the child as when it got there the child’s fever went away and they both got chicken pox at the same time…

But then after thinking about it a little bit I started to see a possible point to the story… Which may be…

How a poor couple, with an almost dying child, lives are suddenly turned around and its due to the “angel”. By the end of the story they are rich, healthy, and I guess happy. But they don’t even really recognize that their life has been changed due to this angel’s presence. It describes Elisenda as finding the “angel” a nuisance. (Maybe it was the “angels” choice to stay. He saw a poor family in need and decided to help them out…)

I guess it can be like how some people today may not even recognize the blessings in their life. Just because it’s not all glamorous looking. Or people may not notice the true impact that another person may have just because they are not some one well known, rich, or “has it all together” themselves,… It could be an old man that doesn’t have much…

The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

This story is about Omelas a city of happiness  a utopian.. The inhabitants are smart and cultured. Everything about Omelas is pleasing and joyous, except for the secret kept in the city. The good fortune and happiness of Omelas requires that a single unfortunate child be kept in darkness and miser. All the citizens must be told of this child when they are usually between the age of eight and twelve, when they are capable of understanding. Some go and see the child. The child is kept in filth, darkness, and is malnourished.  After the citizens are exposed to the truth, most people are initially shocked and disgusted, but they are ultimately able to come to terms with the fact. The come to terms that the suffering of the unfortunate child is worth it as it is necessary for the citizens to continue to live their lives in the manner by which they do. The story then goes on to tell how a few of the citizens, young and old, silently walk away from the city, and no one knows where they go. It just describes it as a place less imaginable to us than the city of happiness. And only those that walk away seem to know where they are going.

The central theme is that they are using a scapegoat…

As I was reading about the conditions that the child was kept in and the inhumane treatment, I was thinking how could someone know of this and be ok with it. Then I started to think about what I do or have I become callused to in this world… Like I may read or learn about a poor condition or injustice happening to others…, at first I am shocked and upset by it. It may effect me for awhile, but then life continues as I know it and I move on…. Just as the people do in the story… Of course I don’t want to be this person and of course I would never want to think that I would allow such injustice but how many times have I seen/ known of darkness and suffering in the world around me and I continue with my daily life as I know it….

Letter to The Phillippians

The first time reading through the Letter to the Philippians I did not find much figurative language. I probably only underlined no more than four or five examples. So then I decided to look up the literal definition of figurative language. Which is: “any language that is used in ways that deviate from standard significance, order, or meaning” (pg 1511).

I then read it through again trying to read it a little slower and purposely look for figurative language. The first one I came across was “I have you in my heart” on page one. Another one being on page three at the bottom “ beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh, although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh.”

One’s perception of the letter’s meaning drastically changes with understanding of the figurative use of certain images or phrases. It is important for one to understand this. After reading through the second time I found at least 6 more instances where Paul uses figurative language. To understand the writing it is important to understand that Paul is many times speaking figuratively not literally. The literal interpretation would not make sense.

I think it was hard for me at first to recognize some of the figurative language spoken in here because much of it is figurative language I have become accustomed to. Such as “ I have you in my heart”, “God our Father”, “work out your salvation”, “for our citezenship is in heaven”… I guess at first I was not thinking of some of this as “figurative language… I also realized I actually liked reading this through without the numbers/ verses. I have never read it through like that before… 

The Man Who Came to Dinner

I went to Southeastern's production of The Man Who Came to Dinner on Sunday afternoon. This play was much longer than expected. It did loose my attention quite a bit... 

So, what can I say about the man who came to dinner besides… wow. Words cannot describe the randomness of this play. Short handed there was a man who got hurt, a doctor, 4 penguins, disappearing children and an axe murder. Like I said wow... 

The Man Who Came to Dinner is a comedy. It had three different acts. The play setting is in a small town a few weeks before Christmas sometime during the 1930s. A New York City famous radio wit was invited to dine at the house of a rich factory owner with him and his family. But before he enters the house he slips on a patch of ice and injures his hip. He is then attended by a Doctor and nurse in the factory owners home. Mr. Whiteside seemed to be the type of person to get into everyone’s business. He was very demanding and eventually pushed the limits of Mr. Stanley. Mr. Whiteside always wanted to get his way. When Mr. Whiteside was in a room his presence was known. My favorite character was Beverly Carlton I liked the liveliness about him. I did sometimes get lost as to what was going on throughout the play and had to have my friend explain/fill me in…

This was my first time going to Polk Theater. I thought the theater was very nice and I liked it. I also thought the set looked really good. I have been to a play before at the Kennedy Center in DC. I will have to say though that plays are not of high interest for me to go and watch.  I would much rather watch a musical or listen to an orchestra. But I don’t mind going to a play every now and then, just to have a new experience. 

The Boys Next Door Part 2

I did enjoy reading the play write of The Boys Next Door.  The Boys Next Door is a two act comedy-drama about four men who live together in a small apartment; and jack is their caring social worker who is on the edge of a career burn-out.

For this blog I am going to give a description for each of the main characters…

I’ll first start with Jack: He has been supervising five group apartments of the mentally handicapped. The idea of these apartments is to introduce the selected mentally handicapped housemates to mainstream society. Jack can a lot of times laugh at their escapades but it is wearing him out. The main conflict stems from Jack’s realization that he needs to move on in his life. In one scene addressing the audience Jack says: “you see, the problem is that they never change. I change, my life changes my crises change. But they stay the same.” Jack also seems to be having difficult finding his own life’s purpose…  Even when Jack manages to find another job as a traveling agent, the audience is left to decide whether or not this will provide fulfillment for him…

Arnold: He is the first character that the audience is introduced to. He exhibits several OCD traits. He tries to function in mainstream society, but sadly many people take advantage of him. This occurs in the first scene when he returns from the grocery store. Whenever he is dissatisfied with his life, he declares that he will be moving to Russia. In the second Act he actually attempts to catch a train to Russia.

Norman: I would consider him the romantic of the group. He works at the doughnut shop, and has gained a lot of weight because of all the free doughnuts. He worries about being fat because he has a love-interest, a mentally handicapped woman named Sheila. He does not want Sheila to think he is fat. Sheila and Norman meet twice during the play. Each time he becomes bolder until he finally asks her on a “date”. But he has a conflict with her because she wants his keys, which he refuses to give up. He claims he needs the keys to unlock things. 

Barry: Barry spends a lot of his time boasting about being a Golf Pro (even though he does not even own a set of golf clubs). He puts up an add and attempts to give golf lessons but that slowly dies out as his pupils realize he is out of touch with reality and they all abandon his class. Throughout the play he boast about how wonderful his dad is. In Act II his Dad stops by for the first time ever, and the audience witnesses the brutal verbal and physical abuse that obviously worsens Barry’s already fragile condition.

Lucien: He has the severest case of mental disability among the four men. He is the most child-like of the group. He has a limited verbal capacity. He was summoned before the Health and Human Services Subcommittee because the board might suspend Lucien’s Social Security Benefits. He stands and gives a powerful monologue, which speaks for Lucien and others with mental impairments.

I thought this was one of the most powerful moments of the play write.

Lucien: I stand before you, a middle-aged man in an uncomfortable suit, a man whose capacity for rational thought is somewhere between a five-year-old and an oyster. (Pause.) I am retarded. I am damaged. I am sick inside from so many hours and days and months and years of confusion, utter and profound confusion….But I will not go away. And I will not wither because the cage is too small. I am Lucien Percival Smith. And without me, without my shattered crippled brain, you will never again be frightened by what you might have become. Or indeed, by what your future might make you..”(pg 52).

The Boys Next Door

The Boys Next Door is about four intellectually disabled men who live together in an apartment and Jack is their caring social worker who is on the verge of a career burn-out. This play describes scenes to illustrate the daily lives of Jack and his four mentally challenged housemates. Sometimes the characters speak directly to the audience but most of the time the scenes are presented in ordinary dialogue.

As I was reading I couldn’t help but laugh at certain parts. Some of the personalities/ characters have funny moments. For example pg. 8-9 when Arnold goes off about Lucien having a bunny and they just keep going back and forth getting nowhere with the topic. And then they want to hide the groceries from Jack in the tub…lol… And the same when they are at the dance and Arnold is going around telling everybody his made up story (pg. 30)… It also has scenes to portray how society takes advantage of the intellectual disable as well. Like when Arnold went to the store and ended up buying seventeen boxes of Wheeties because the store clerk told him to. This is very sad but not far from reality. You would hope that everyone would find kindness in their heart and want to help others that need it, but unfortunately this is not true. It is sad to think that people actually take advantage of others but it happens daily…

Also as I am reading I have a vivid picture of what the characters would look like and their mannerisms. This may only be because I have seen the movie before and I can vaguely remember it… Although I think by having some sort of the memory of the movie it helps me understand the play write a little more. So as I read I picture/imagine what is happening. 

Nature Poem

Beauty in A Cloudy day

The sky was white and grey

as the clouds hid the sun from a sunny day.

Drops fell from the trees,

remnants of rainfall is left behind,

It seemed the sun wasn’t going to show its face all day.

Could beauty still be found on such a gloomy rainy day?

Then a Bright Orange colored butterfly fly’s across my path.

My eyes follow it to its destination.

Beauty it beholds. Landing on a blooming white flower.

His journey then begins again,

Making his way past trees full of color.

Landing on more remarkable flowers.

Bringing my eyes to the attention,

of natures beauty to be found.

Natures beauty on this cloudy day.

Beauty I thought would have to found another day.

Even when I think natures beauty is hidden by rain and clouds.

It is revealed.

Across my path He comes again,

Bright orange colored with a black trim

I then begin to hear the song the birds are singing.

Beauty in Nature It seems He is revealing

Beauty has been found on a cloudy, rainy day

By: Erica Welch

Lake Bonny Park Field Trip

I went to Lake Bonny Park for this field trip, and I stayed there for at least 45 minutes.

I didn’t realize there was a park so close to out school. I have never been to Lake Bonny park before this field trip. I personally love being outdoors. I much rather be out side or sit out side and do my homework or read than do it inside somewhere. Natures  has never seized to put me in awe. I am always amazed by the little things. Like I love sunsets and think they are beautiful. So when I see a pretty one I try and take a picture ( although the picture does not capture the full true beauty of it) and then send it to friends that may or may not appreciate it J.

While sitting outside I also took the opportunity to go ahead and read the poems by Mary Oliver. I liked the last two poems a lot, Praying and The Uses of Sorrow. The poem Praying expressed how praying to God does not have to be this elaborate fancy worded thing. It can be simple and sincere. It isn’t about who can have the best prayer. “this isn’t a contest but the doorway into thanks…” and then is says “and a silence in which another voice may speak.” This is talking about then just listening to God…

The poem The Uses of Sorrow was not one we were required to read and discuss. But it was really short so I decided to read it and I actually really liked what it had to say. It is only four lines long.

 “someone I loved once gave me

a box full of darkness.

It took me years to understand

That this, too, was a gift.”

I think just these four lines say so much. When I read it I thought of the book A Grief Observed that we read previously in class. Of how C.S. Lewis had someone he loved passed away he then had darkness in his life but after time he then realized that the darkness he went through turned out to be a “gift”, it helped him understand his faith and understand what it was to grieve for someone. I think about how everyone has to go through some kind of darkness to then appreciate/understand the light. But it could take someone years to truly understand this. 

State of The Planet By Robert Hass...

The first time I read this poem I did not understand it very well at all. This poem is a great of example of why it is important to reread some things and also look up things that may not be understood. I used the links that Professor Corrigan gave us, to look up what some of the things meant. These were very helpful. But even after rereading it, reading it slowly through, and reading about some of the terms I was not familiar with I still did not understand the whole poem. And even though this poem may be complicated for some reason I still seem to like it. I definitely liked reading it while I was outside. I much rather sit outside and read something then sit indoors.

In the poem State of the Planet Hass starts out his poem with what is at hand… “Rain lashing the windshield” and a schoolgirl who “Negotiates a crosswalk in the wind, her hair flying.” Then from that image he pans out; “One of the six billion of her hungry and curious kind. Inside the backpack, dog-eared, full of illustrations, A book with a title like Getting to Know Your Planet.” Hass has masterfully set the scene for a discussion of the Earth; which he then continues with in the rest of the poem…

I also did a little bit of research and read

to learn more about Robert Hass.

Robert Hass, an American poet, born in San Francisco in 1941 was well known for his West Coast subject and attitude.  His mother was an alcoholic, which was a major topic in his 1996 collection, Sun Under Wood. It was his older brother who encouraged him to dedicate himself to his writings. He received his MA and Ph.D in English from Stanford University. 

Lectio Divina

I have heard of the lectio divina reading before. But I had only heard of doing it in reference to scripture. So doing this with a piece of literature was a different experience for me. But it does strike me how you can read something one time and read it again and get a new meaning out of the text.

Francis X. McAloon talks about his experience in Reeading for Transformation through the Poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins. He first encountered Gerard Manley Hopkins, a English Jesuit poet, in his English Literature class. In his first encounter with this author he struggled to comprehend Hopkins writings. Francis then encounters the same author later in his life when he is doing his doctoral studies. He then to began practicing Lectio Divina, focusing upon a sonnet or stanza from Hopkins’ corpus.  Francis developed a new appreciation for poetry and his practice of lectio with his poetry. It became a spiritual practice for him.   

I am still sometimes amazed how I can read something one time and then read it again and it mean something completely different or I get a whole new meaning out of it. Like sometimes when I read scripture I may read a verse or passage one time and then read it again later and it have a meaning to me that I didn’t comprehend before.

Although I don’t think I would personally practice lectio divino very often I do think it can be useful to do sometimes. I think it is hard for me to just sit down and read for transformation rather than read just to get the reading done with. I feel that sometimes my life does not allow time to do so. But I am beginning to realize the importance of taking time to read for more than just accomplishing a to do list.

“When a poem touches us deeply, in whatever way and for whatever reason, our existential horizon of understanding expands in some way” (Fracis X. McAloon). 

A "Sonny's Blues" scene

For class on Thursday we were asked to re-read a select scene fro James Baldwin “Sonny’s Blues”. I chose the scene on page 393.

            “...He hopes that there will never come a time when the old folks wont be sitting around the living room, talking about where they’ve come from, and what they’ve seen, and what’s happened to them and their kinfolk.

            But something deep and watchful in the child knows that this is bound to end, is already ending. In a moment someone will get up and turn on the light. Then the old folks will remember the children and they wont talk any more that day. And when light fills the room, the child is filled with darkness. He knows that every time this happens he’s moved just a little closer to that darkness outside. The darkness outside is what the old folks have been talking about. Its what they’ve come from. Its what they endure. The child knows that they won’t talk any more because if he knows too much about what’s happened to them, he’ll know too much too soon, about what’s going to happen to him….”

A child has a sense of innocence to him. They have not yet been exposed to the darkness of the world. But at some point the reality of the world will hit them/ they will experience it. The darkness is unavoidable, each person will uniquely experience/ learn of it at some point at some time in their life.  As each day goes by that child gets older and is closer to enduring what his parents have endured. But you don’t tell a child that he will experience pain and suffering at some point in his life. You don’t tell the child of the darkness that the world is filled with and the evil that people  are capable of.  But Parents try to shield their children from the darkness for as long as possible. Trying not to expose to much too soon about what’s going to happen to him…..

Sonny's Blues

Sonny’s Blues is a story about two brothers. The story is told from the view point of the older brother. Sonny  was seven years younger than his older brother. Their mother dies when Sonny was still in high school. Sonny seemed to have a very free spirit about him. The story starts off by him finding out that his brother has been busted for using heroin. At this time  Sonny and his brother have not talking for quite some time because of past arguments. The story then goes back in time, to him describing/ remembering past conversations/ events with his mother and Sonny.  It then describes when and how Sonny and him began to drift apart. Sonny loved to play the piano. But his brother did not truly think it was a credible way to make a living. Later on when the older brother goes through a tragic time in is life, as he lost his daughter, he decides to write Sonny. He loved his younger brother despite their differences. The story then begins to tell about the reunification of the brothers and how they begin to mend their relationship.

Sonny’s Blues  uses different instances of rhythm. Rhyme is a powerful means of achieving balance , contrast, or echo. Even though Rhymes  can effect the whole work it still  may function in very subtle ways. Different type of rhymes consist of the following: Full, perfect, masculine, feminine, assonance, consonance, slant, off, alliteration, internal, and end rhymes. “Sound and rhythm can have importance even when they have no apparent meaning” (379).

Examples of each are as follows:

Full or perfect rhymes- consists of the similarity of sounds in accented vowels and any consonants that follow-  Date, Fate

Masculine rhyme- the stress is on the final syllable of the words- clown, renown

 Feminine hyme- is one in which the final two syllables rhyme, the first rhyming syllable is stressed, and the final syllable is unstressed -

 Assonance rhyme- consists of a similarity in vowel sounds, but the consonants that follow differ-  diate, lake

 Consonance rhyme- strikes a similarity in the sounds of the final stressed consonant preceding  vowel differs- date, rite

 Slant or off rhymes- words that echo sounds in these ways

Alliteration rhymes- refers to the repetition of intial sounds in words-  date, dud

Internal rhymes- in the middle of a line

end rhymes- in the end of a line

Character based short story

Finding Love

By Erica Welch

The sun was shinning bright and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. It was a beautiful day out, not to hot and not to cold. I was waiting for a long time friend to meet me for our normal morning coffee at Starbucks. We had been friends for a little over ten years. We went to the same middle school and high school. We played varsity sports together through high school. She graduated a year ahead of me and we lost touch for a few years. We ended up going to the same college. First year we still didn’t get to hang out a lot because of our drastically different schedules. But we were the type of friends that months could go by with out us talking and when we talked again it was like we had just talked yesterday. We just picked up where we left off. During Shaza’s last semester of college we decided to get an apartment together. We lived together the next two years. She graduated from college the previous year and now had a full time job. Her job transferred her to the Southside of town. Because of the transfer she moved into an apartment on the other side to be closer and I stayed on the North side since it was close to my college and job. We were both sad to not share a place anymore. To ensure that we would still keep in contact even with our busy schedules we vowed to meet for coffee once a week. I was still finishing school and waitressing at night. Amidst both our busy schedules we managed to meet once a week. This was great because it gave us time to catch up with one another.

I was sitting outside at the Starbucks table sipping on my Caramel Macchiato. I saw Shaza walking from a distance. I waved to get her attention. She was running late as usual. She always seemed to be running late. Shaza had a very strong personality. Her presence was known in a room. Very loud and outgoing, she was not afraid to express what was on her mind to anyone. She was also very expressive with her emotions.

“Hi, good morning. How are you doing?” I said.

“Great, running late as usual.” She said with a laugh. “I’m going to order me a coffee.”

She put her stuff down and went to get in line. I sat there, looked around and observed the people around me. There was an elderly couple sitting together sipping on their hot coffee they would glance at each other and just smile. She would occasionally reach over and caress his hand. They are still in love I said to myself you could tell just by their expressions. Over to my left looked to be a middle-aged woman who had out her computer and was working diligently.

Shaza came back and sat down “Oh I’m never going to get married.” I knew her to be dramatic. But I asked, “What makes you say that?” “I’m going on 25 and I don’t even have a serious boyfriend” she replies.

“Your still young, you have plenty of time for marriage” I replied.

“Yes but I want a husband now! Ohh…I just want to find love. Do you think love just happens or do you have to find love?”

Before I could even give an answer or express a thought. She continued with “I want someone to be able to do the handy work around the house, you know do all that stuff a guy is suppose to do and I want to be a mom! So do you think you have to go out and find love and make it happen or does it just happen?”

I paused for a minute waiting to see if she was going to continue with questions. She was a very talkative person and known to just continue talking before anyone could answer a question. She didn’t say anything more. I thought about it. I realized I haven’t given much thought to “finding love” or even consider trying to pursue marriage. I was still in school, and would soon be moving to another location for graduate school. I was very career focused and did not leave much time for socializing and definitely didn’t leave any open possibilities for a relationship. I always thought a relationship would get me sidetracked from pursing my education. Finding Love definitely wasn’t my subject of expertise.

“Well…” I began to answer then I looked around at the different characteristics of couples around us. I glanced over at the elderly couple her were obviously still crazy in love with each other. Then there was the middle-aged couple that didn’t look happy. He was sitting there reading his paper and she was on her computer. They had seemed to be arguing about something when they walked in and since they sat down they hadn’t said a word to each other. Then there was the woman who seemed to be in her younger thirties. She was thin with long blond hair and pretty bright blue eyes. She didn’t have a wedding ring on. She sat there typing away on her computer with her brief case opened besides her. She had two cell phones sitting out on the table that hadn’t stopped going off since she sat down. Then there was the young couple, in their mid twenties, sitting behind us who couldn’t seem to get close enough to each other. They hadn’t taken their eyes off each other since they got there.

“I think when the time is right Love will happen.” I replied.

“Well I’m ready, so I’m ready to find love” Shaza replied with a smile. “I’m just ready to start my family. I know I’m picky, but why can’t my perfect guy just come across my path? Maybe I’m to picky…”

Shaza was a beautiful young woman. She had dark brown hair, dark brown eyes and a tan complexion. One thing she did know is what she wanted in a husband. But she wasn’t a very patient person.

“Don’t worry about ‘finding love’ it will happen when the time is right. You could always just focus on your career for now“ I replied.

“No I don’t want to be 30 and still unmarried and all I would have is my career” as she looks over at the woman with the two phones, computer, and briefcase out full of papers.

In that moment I wondered if that was going to be me in 8 years.

I Look at that old couple they are so in love. I know that’s how I want to be when I’m old, I though to myself.

“Do you think that young couple behind us has hope are they going to end up like that old couple or like that middle aged couple who still hadn’t spoken to each other.” I asked Shaza.

“Ohh they look so in love to. Of course they are going to stay that way forever.”

Sometimes I felt she always had such an unrealistic perspective on things. But she had such an optimistic perspective.

“Oh my gosh look at the time. I better be on my way.”

“Yes, me to!” I replied looking at the time.

“It was great talking. We will have to continue next time.” Shaza gathered her things. “I will see you next week. Same time and place?”

“Of course” I said with a smile.

“Great! You have a great day.” She said as she is walking off to her car.

“Bye”

On my way out, I couldn’t help but wonder was I going to be like that single woman engrossed in her career and single at 35. Or was love going to come find me and sweep me away. I always figured when the time was right love would just find me and it would happen, I didn’t need to take time to slow down and pursue love.

I went back to school, work, and my busy schedule. Another week went quickly by. It was already Monday again and I pulled up to Starbucks to meet Shaza for our weekly coffee. I was expecting to go find a table and wait for Shaza to arrive as normal. But as I got closer I saw her waving. She already had a seat. I was surprised she was normally late.

“Hey! Good morning. How are you?” She asked eagerly. ‘”Oh I already got you a coffee. A caramel macchiato.”

“Perfect, my favorite. Thank you” I replied.

“Oh I know” she said with a smile.

“So how was your week?” I asked.

“Oh it was great! I met somebody!”

“Wow really! So tell me about him…”

She began to tell me all about him and how they met. We then both realized the time and said our goodbyes and said until next week. Each week she would proceed in telling me all about her new relationship and how it was developing. It wasn’t to long after that they proceeded to a serious relationship. Then by the fifth week she said she thought they were getting serious. And she would tell me about how so in love they were. No more than four months had went by and she was talking about him possibly being “the one”. I was excited for her but also personally thought it was to soon to know something like that. By six months she was engaged. I knew she was happy and he made her happy. I had graduated and was now preparing for graduate school. In seeing one of my closest friends “find love” I couldn’t help but think about my personal love life.

I couldn’t help but think about that conversation we had at Starbucks six months prior. Does love just happen or does it have to be an effort? Did love just come across her path or because she wanted to find it did she subconsciously make the effort and pursue to find love?

"The Blessed House"

The Blessed House had two main characters in it, Sanjeev and Twinkle. They are a fairly newly wed  couple and just moved into a new house.  As they begin to unpack their household items twinkle begins to find Christian paraphernalia. It kind of becomes a game for Twinkle. She goes on a search to see what else she can find. Sanjeev is not to happy about the artifacts that she has found. He thinks they are tacky and wants to get rid of them all. He is frustrated by the fact that Twinkle wants to keep them and display them in their new house. He also stresses that they are not Christian that they are Hindu.

Sanjeev and Twinkle seemed to have very different personalities. Twinkle seemed to be more laid back and free spirited. She did not really care what other people thought of her. Sanjeev seemed to be more serious and care greatly what his coworkers and what others perception of them was. This was very apparent when they hosted the housewarming party.

It was obvious Sanjeev cared about what his co-workers and community though of him. That was one of the mane reasons that he did not want to leave the Christian stuff in the house because he thought it was tacky and questioned what people would think of them being Hindus and having Christian paraphernalia around their house and in their front yard.  Twinkle seemed to care less as she took the guest on a artifact hunt in her attic. And she proudly displayed the so called “tacky” items.  In the end Sanjeev and Twinkle came to a compromise.

I did find it interesting that Twinkle found so much Christian paraphernalia. It made me ask myself  “why did the previous owners leave so much stuff behind? And why was it in such random places? Was there a purpose behind it? Did they expect the new owners to find it?

Painting the book of Joel

When I first heard we were going to paint I was a little worried. But then when professor Corrigan said we do not have to be good at painting I was kind of excited to do something different in class…..I am not artistic at all. So when I was thinking of something to paint I figured I better go more the abstract route.

I decided to pick colors to represent what was happening in the book of Joel. I reread through Joel and was trying to narrow down what I wanted my painting to represent.

As I began to paint I realized my paints were not normal paints. They were oils and the paper brushes I bought were for Acrylic. So the paint was not spreading to easily the paint was more like a clay. I then resorted to finger painting, using my finger to spread the colors since the brushes were not working.  But I actually kind of liked that my paints weren’t normal paints. I feel it gave my picture some added texture to it.

The top corner of my painting starts off with a bright yellow and a little of green mixed in there. This was suppose to represent a prosperous time for Israel then it moves into the darker colors and the black which represents the thick darkness; the drought, war, famine, starvation, fire that devoured the pastures, tress, and fields,  people in anguish,… then it moves back to the yellow/ bright colors which represent the deliverance. 

The two lines from Joel that I decided to focus on were.

“But the Lord is a refuge for His people

And a stronghold to the sons of Israel”

If you were to look closely at the picture you would see that there is a yellow undertone that you can see even through the dark colors. So the yellow covers the whole page. Just because there is black paint on a part of the page it does not mean that the yellow color is not there… It is suppose to represent how Gods is always there with his people even through the dark times. Even though it may have been a time of war, famine, or judgment… He never left them.   

The Book of Joel

Poetry is used alot through out the bible. and imagery is used to help capture the image of God. I think it is important to view some scripture as literature as you might miss something if you don't.
I actually never read the book of Joel before. In class on Tuesday we were asked to reread parts of the book aloud outside. This at first i thought was going to be very strange. But I did like sitting outside and reading. I felt it was a lil more power being able to read it peacefully and take time to pause. Although i do not like reading aloud i still enjoyed the peacefulness of reading outside by the lake.

Instead of writing a min of 300 words i think pictures can say 1000 words so i decided to take sections of the book of Joel and post pictures that may represent it...

THE DEVASTATION OF LOCUSTS

Joel talks about how locust destroy the nation devouring everything in their path, leaving nothing behind.

I think the description of locust swarming in can be compared to a time of war. ..

Starvation and Drought

Deliverance Promised

   "For the pastures of the wilderness have turned green
For the tree has borne its fruit
The fig tree and the vine have yielded in full."

 

Darkness, Questions, Poetry and Spiritual Hope

I liked the quote in Darkness, Questions, Poetry and Spiritual Hope that said "One can never understand what hope is really about unless one wrestles with despair. The same is ture with faith. There has to be some serious doubt, otherwise faith becomes merely a dogmatic formula, an orthodoxy, a way of evading the complexity of life rather than engaging honestly with life." I think reading the book A Grief Observed really brings this statement to life. I think reading this statement before i read and discussed "A Grief Observed" would not of had as much effect or meaning. But after reading about C.S. Lewis' struggles, it really brings a deeper understanding. "Darkness complicates our comfortable Sunday school answers..." It causes us to ask questions that we may not be able to answer. Darkness causes us to question things we might of been so sure of before.
I also like the point of he made about the question of "Where is God?" is much different from "Where is God in the Darkness?". Its would be easy to answer the question "where is God?" when things in our life are going great. But hard to answer when we are going through "darkness" in our lives...
I also have learned as Professor Corrigan has pointed out that important questions create silence. Important questions need thought and meditation. you can not quickly come up with an answer for these questions. We need to pause, listen to the question, repeat the question, and live the question as a process. Its ok not to have an immediate answer to questions.
Jesus promises us "I will never leave you. The presence of God with us in the dark makes it possible for us to sit with the question of darkness without being destroyed by madness."
"Unless we face the darkness, we have nothing to offer those who are hurting and we have no resources for ourselves when we get our own turn at pain"

A Grief Observed

 In class we talked about how a house of cards is fragile, carefully constructed, and protected. Now after doing that demonstration rereading through certain parts of the book it gives me a little more of a vivid picture of what the situation was really like...

On  page 37 C.S. Lewis wrote "The case is too plain. If my house has collapsed at one blow, that is because it was a house of cards. The faith which 'took these things into account' was not faith but imagination. The taking them into account was not real sympathy. If i had really cared ,as i though i did, about the sorrows of the world, i should not have been so overwhelmed when my own sorrow came...." Then later on pg 38 he says "that if my house was a house of cards, the sooner it was  knocked down the better"... I believe that to be true if it were to be similar in something in my life.... If something in my life was not as i thought it to be, the sooner it is realized the better.  

On page 52 C.S Lewis talks about how God knew that his temple was a house of cards. And His only way of making me realize the fact was to knock it down. 

God already knows, he did not "knock it down" because He needed to know but God wanted to show him. And sometimes it takes something extreme for us to realize God is trying to get our attention. 

I have learned we may not always realize why things are happening at first. And we may not understand why God does certain things. And sometimes we may not see any possible good coming out of a situation… But I know I have to just continue to trust him and know that He has my best interest at hand. 

A visit to Lakeview, Roselawn and Tiger Flowers Cemetery

I went to the Lakeview, Roselawn and Tiger Flowers cemetery complex for this fieldtrip, and I stayed there for at least 40 minutes.

A visit to Roselawn

So I made two attempts to visit this cemetery. One was a success and one not so much. So I will begin with my first attempt. My roommate was going to go with me Sunday late afternoon but i ended up having to work so we decided to go Monday after she got off work. So on monday by the time we were able to leave it was getting close to sunset, which i was ok with. I thought, oh nice i will be able to watch the sunset, it will be nice... but on our way we get a little lost so by the time we got there it was already dark. But we decided to go in any way so that way i could complete my assignment.  So we drive in and leave our cars parked towards the back. Then we begin to walk around and try to read different tombstones and observe the grave sites (but it was kind of difficult as it was so dark). As we are walking around we notice a huge toe truck that drives in. So a little worried we walk back to our cars and now the toe truck is parked behind us because he can not get by. The big truck driver gets out and begins talking to us and gives us a weird story as to why he is there... So we decide that it probably isn't the best idea to stay in the dark cemetery with a random big truck driver. So we peace out and i decide i will have to complete the assignment in the morning.

So I wake up early the next morning and go to the cemetery and this is how my second visit goes....
It was a beautiful sunny morning. I could feel the light breeze blowing as I walked around. As I reread about the man caring for his dead mothers grave cite on page 21 in A Grief Observed it brings a vivid picture to my head. I could picture this man walking over to a grave cite of his beloved one and caring for it. I could imagine him caring for the grounds upon which she was buried and as he was doing this he would just talk to her. This was his way of “visiting” her and preserving a symbol of her. This might have been his way of dealing with the grief of his loss.

I walked through the cemetery reading different tombstones observing the names and dates. I noticed some lived very long lives almost reaching 100 and some only a few months. Each tombstone/ grave sight was unique in itself; being of all different shapes, sizes, and colors and different writing on each. Some had flowers some did not. Some were so old you could barely read the writing… I let my mind wonder as I observed the different grave cites. I couldn’t help but think of all different types of questions, like wondering what kind of life they lived. For those that lived to be almost 100yr did they feel that they lived life to their fullest or were things still incomplete… why were some lives cut so short?…. As I saw the tombstones of some that died that didn’t even reach the age 20 or some that were only yet a child. I would wonder what happened, did the death/loss hit their family abruptly and unexpected or was it anticipated such as them having an illness (similar to C.S. Lewis’s experience, in Grief Observed). I  also wondered are these grave cites still visited? Are they still remembered or forgotten? What are they remembered for? How long passed until someone stopped coming and replacing flowers?

Fortunately I have not lost anyone extremely close to me. But I could not imagine the feeling and grief I would go through if I were to. I think its hard to truly understand what it was like for C.S. Lewis and the man caring for his mothers grave cite until you have gone through similar things.

Grief Observed

I started reading the first chapter (of A Grief Observed) and for some reason I was kind of lost . I was not making any connection with the literature at all. It felt like I was just reading the words on the page so I could then flip the page and eventually get to the end of the chapter. Instead of continuing in this manner I decided to go back and read the introduction…After reading the introduction I had more an understanding of what this book would be about. It set me up to get into to the book and I feel I will be more connected with what the literature is trying to convey. I now have a little bit of background of the characters… It kind of painted a picture for me… and now I can begin the book, and begin at ch.1 again… (I probably would of known to read the introduction if I was an avid reader. But unfortunately I have not been such, so at least now I know that introductions to books can be helpful.)

I think everyone deals with grief in their own type of way. No matter how similar a situation no one else besides that person can fully understand the emotions and what they are going through.
Extreme Grief is not something that I have had to personally go through. Some minor things along the road but nothing major. As I have all my immediate family still living. Except my grandfather who passed away when I was a young child.
Its hard to say how I would react to a situation that has not come yet. I know I would greatly grieve for those that i love dearly. But I think I may deal with grief differently if I loose a loved one that I know is a Christian vs. a loved one that is not a Christian.

A quote from the introduction stuck out to me “… for the greater the love the greater the grief and the stronger the faith the more savagely will satan storm its fortress.”. I think this is so true.

Theme: A Work of Artifice

A Work of Artifice
By: Marge Piercy
After generally reading the poem I think we could agree that the poem is about the oppression of women. But if you go back and read and consider how meaning is embodied by the text…. then a deeper level of insight and appreciation can be revealed. Piercy describes the “natural self” as being restrained and held back from the full potential possible. And she describes how culture praises the artificial construct...
I do think our culture has come a long way since this poem was written. But Piercy was expressing a culture conflict of her time. She described a bonsai tree that had the potential to grow eighty feet tall but instead it was put into an attractive pot and was taken care of and it was expected to produce certain things and never given the chance to reach its full potential. But was told this is your “purpose/ nature”; this is your full potential. This compared to the oppression of women how they were expected to be housewives and raise children and nothing more. They were just expected to look pretty, having a family and taking care of the children was more important than, pursing an education and possibly reaching her full potential.
The author carefully uses selected words to enrich the readers sense of the theme.
I think it is sometimes easy to read through something and not fully embrace a deeper level of insight of the authors message/theme. Careful thinking upon the meanings of words can enrich the readers sense of what constitutes theme.
Considering both the literal meaning of a word and what the word implies emotionally can enrich the reading of the literature. Also consider what it signifies and what they suggest….

The approach to texts matters as much as the texts themselves.
I agree with the book (page 182) that when we read exclusively for a particular kind of instuction, we’re not really reading literature.

What is Love?

Does everyone have a different opinion of love?

Can love make you crazy?

Is love an absolute?

Love seems to be the theme of a lot of stories.  I feel like Love is the most used/ talked about theme in Literature, movies, drama’s, TV shows, and music.  I believe we talked about in class how love and death are the main tensions in literature. I feel like most movies produced today has some kind of story line in at that involves Love. I think the same thing for music. I would say a majority of songs on my playlist involve Love or the tensions that go along with love. But without love our lives would be empty. And we would be lost without love.

I  did not understand the ending of “What we talk about when we talk about Love” . But I do think Terri had a distorted picture of what love is. As her previous husband was described as beating her and putting fear into her life and others. This is not love.  I think some people get manipulated into thinking that is what love is; that they are abusive because they “love” so much they cant control their anger. Or that “love” drove them to do whatever they did…Some also might fall for this because that is the type of “love” they are exposed to… such as an abusive parent. Their parent is supposed to be the one that “loves” them and that is how they show it….  Love wants the best for the other person and cares for them.( I Corinthians 13 describes what true love is the best...)

Now there is the question can love make you crazy? Has “love” ever driven you or someone you know to do something that you normally would not do (whether it be “good” or “bad”)?

Literary Profile

My earliest memories of literature are Bible stories and short stories from children books. Others included bedtime stories that my dad would make up. The only series of books that I read on my own (not required for school) were the C.S. Lewis Chronicles of Narnia books and a few other fiction books. It was always hard for me to get really interested in a book. But when I found a book I liked I couldn’t put it down. My literature memories just included what was required for school. I most recently read books that have to do with Social Work corresponding with my social work courses. I do find many of those very interesting but it just seems that I never have the time to sit down and read them, or finish them. I do not read very often when it comes to just casual reading. I honestly get distracted easily when reading or fall asleep reading. I know though that literature matters and is important.  I am a very slow reader and it takes me along to time to finish books. If i had more free time i would enjoy sitting outside and reading a book. I have a very creative imagination and I do like books that give vivid descriptions because then I can paint the picture or imagine what it is in my head.

I honestly could not say what the most significant literary text is that i have read. 

Literature can be something to be actively engaged. As professor Coorigan stated, literature is a thing you do as a part of life". Life experiences inform a person's understanding of what they read, and what a person reads informs their life experiences." In a sense our everyday lives are surrounded by literature. I can not think of a way literature does not matter.