Provoking Thoughts

Lately, I've found myself reading so many articles. So many. They have, for the most part, been very thought-provoking and theological, and I've felt challenged and inspired by them. These articles were written from different points of view, by people of all different backgrounds. I think that when approached with discernment, we can learn a lot from them about ourselves and the world we live in.

It's time to re-evaluate the "War on Christmas". There are much more serious threats to Christmas than our Atheist neighbors saying, "Happy Holidays!" Focusing on this has only served to widen the gap between Christians and those that we are supposed to be living alongside and loving. God has not called us to war, He has called us to be radical peacemakers.  Besides, did you know that the term, "Xmas" is actually an ancient Christian tradition? The X stands for the Greek word for Christ. I had no idea! This whole "War on Christmas" deal is not Christ-like at all. How are we supposed to keep Christ in Christmas when we are adopting mindsets that are opposite to His? We should be more worried about the fact that while Christmas is meant to be a time set aside for God, many of us are too busy worrying about Christmas cards, decorations and buying gifts to remember that. I know I struggle with this a lot. I want to keep God as the center of my life, yet I keep letting the twinkling lights and presents cloud my view of what is really important.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/marcusborg/2013/12/the-real-war-on-christmas/
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/formerlyfundie/keeping-the-x-in-xmas/

These articles made a really good point. There is no such thing as Christian movies or Christian music. There is music that is good for our minds and hearts, and music that isn't, but Christian media does not necessarily present solid theology. At the same time, there are music and films that aren't pegged as "Christian", yet they teach us a lot about God and ourselves. Benjamin Corey makes a good point when he says, "I want my child to know that a critical mind is something you never turn off, and that you can’t simply compartmentalize art as “Christian” or “not”. I want her to know that all truth is God’s truth, and all beauty is God’s beauty, and that you can find every bit as much truth and beauty from 8 Mile as you can from a Kendricks brothers flick. I want her searching for beauty everywhere she looks- I don’t want her thinking that good stuff exists “here” but you won’t find God “there”, wherever “there” is. I want her to know she can find God everywhere." Everything we do should be for the glory of God, whether we be a janitor, film producer, painter, carpenter, teacher or musician.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/formerlyfundie/christian-movies/
http://ctkblog.com/2013/12/05/why-switchfoot-wont-sing-christian-songs/

Adoption has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. So whenever I see an article about it, I jump on it right away. I feel that God could quite possibly be calling me to adopt locally, later on in life, so I like to stay well informed. This article is written by a man who has adopted, and he lists several bits of advice and caution. I agree that it seems like adoption is becoming a real fad. I'm glad that it is such a beneficial fad, unlike so many that are floating around these days, but I think it makes it easy for people to make light of the decision to adopt. This article really made me think about my motivation behind adopting. I would want to make very sure that I wasn't adopting a child just to support my own need for love or gratification. I would want to make sure I was in it for the long haul, putting the needs of the child above my own. Even when it wasn't convenient.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/formerlyfundie/love-isnt-enough/

With all these controversial ideas, sometimes I can feel pretty overwhelmed. It's hard to know what's real and true in a world that is trying to pull me in a thousand directions all at once. I definitely need to spend more time with God through all these questions, because I know that though this world is unstable and constantly shifting, He is solid and strong. I can trust that He knows the answers and has a much bigger perspective than me, even when I'm stumbling around down here.

Spoken Word Poetry

A while back, I wrote an article about Slam Poetry, because it's fantastic. I just love the way it allows you to express yourself in a meaningful way, without being confined to the usual poetry rules of rhyme and rhythm. It sounds so neat!

Spoken Word Poetry is Slam Poetry, but none competitive. Slam Poetry only applies to poetry performed in a Poetry Slam. I don't know if I realized that when I wrote the other post. Oh well, live and learn. :)

Since I wrote the other post on Spoken Word Poetry, I've discovered so many more amazing authors and poems! The world has opened up and chucked poem after poem after poem in my face, in rapid succession. I have had no choice but to notice and love at least a few; And what gems they are!

These are a few of the best, in my eyes. Let me know what you think! Also, if you know of any poems, spoken word or not, that you really enjoy, tell me. I'm always super excited for recommendations! :)

"I Love You More"

 

"If Only"

 

"I Will Wait for You"

by Janette...iks

"Sincerely Freedom"

by Nick Vitellaro

 

"A Man's Promise"

"To Calm the Storm"

"Stormy Seas" by James Coard

A heart
So big and broken
Reaching with feeble hands
To calm the storm.

With every service
Every sacrifice
Piece by piece
It gives itself away.

How much is too much?
How far is too far?
What will happen when the well runs dry?

Many see
But few understand.
Many touch
But only with the hand.

Oceans vast
May never be explored
Except by the one
Who calms the storm.

Motivational Monday #8

 

This is something I have needed to be reminded of a lot lately. God's love is stronger than any I could hope to understand. <3

 

Motivational Monday #7

This is such a great video. It's pretty much impossible not to smile! Also, I'm sure we could all benefit from the pearl of wisdom, "You've got to keep on keeping on. Get on a pig and hold on tight!" ;)

 

Have a splendid Monday!

 

Baby Monkey (Going Backwards on a Pig)

 

The Power of Music

I've always loved music. It's so amazing to me that a bunch of sounds in different arrangements can lift spirits, move one to tears, bring people together, and provide a safe haven in a world that seems so unsure. Music is a huge part of my world, and the world in general. It's woven throughout every culture, and I think there's a reason for that.

I've been researching the effects music has on us, and I've stumbled upon some very interesting facts. For instance, it seems as though music is tied quite strongly to our reward system. When we listen to music, dopamine (the feel-good chemical) is released and it makes us feel good, so we naturally want to continue. Therefore, it has been concluded that people who are more driven by rewards, and less by thrill and adventure, are likely to more frequently get "chills" when listening to music they enjoy.

Music also reaches out to strong memories we have. We all have songs that immediately take us back to another time; a vivid memory locked away in our minds. For instance, what do you think of when you hear the Theme from Gilligan's Island, Mission: Impossible, We Will Rock You, The Macarena, or It's a Small World? It's usually songs like these that so easily become stuck in our heads, like an itch that we can't stop scratching.

Music has been helping us out for longer than we may think. According to my good friend, Wikipedia:
+Apollo is the ancient Greek god of music and of medicine.
+Aesculapius was said to cure diseases of the mind by using song and music, and music therapy was used in Egyptian temples.
+Plato said that music affected the emotions and could influence the character of an individual.
+Aristotle taught that music affects the soul and described music as a force that purified the emotions.
+Aulus Cornelius Celsus advocated the sound of cymbals and running water for the treatment of mental disorders.
+Music therapy was practiced in biblical times, when David played the harp to rid King Saul of a bad spirit.
+As early as 400 B.C., Hippocrates played music for his mental patients.
+In the thirteenth century, Arab hospitals contained music-rooms for the benefit of the patients.
+In the United States, Native American medicine men often employed chants and dances as a method of healing patients.
+The Turco-Persian psychologist and music theorist al-Farabi (872–950), known as Alpharabius in Europe, dealt with music therapy in his treatise Meanings of the Intellect, in which he discussed the therapeutic effects of music on the soul.
+Robert Burton wrote in the 17th century in his classic work, The Anatomy of Melancholy, that music and dance were critical in treating mental illness, especially melancholia.
+Music therapy as we know it began in the aftermath of World Wars I and II, when, particularly in the United Kingdom, musicians would travel to hospitals and play music for soldiers suffering from war-related emotional and physical trauma.

How cool is it that God would understand us so completely, and love us so much that He would give us such a beautiful form of art that actually heals us, inside and out? :) The more I learn about the world and myself, the more I am amazed by the Designer. Too cool!!

Loneliness

 

"Friendship needs no words - it is solitude delivered from the anguish of loneliness."
~Dag Hammarskjold

 

This week, I have been learning what loneliness is.

 

I have developed a very good defense mechanism for myself, in the fact that I can block out negative feelings quite easily, and ignore them. Sometimes without even being conscious of them. I have lived in Nicaragua for three months now, and haven't felt the least bit lonely. Until now.

 

It's ironic that I only noticed the dull ache when I was having the first heart-to-heart I've had in a long while, with a new friend from our Spanish school. In that moment, I felt the least lonely and the most heard, but it forced me to remember reality, and that was painful. It was comforting to find someone who felt the same way, who could understand the mixed emotions of picking up and leaving everything you know. Someone who saw behind my mask, and didn't run away. I'm immensely grateful for that, perhaps more than he will ever know.

 

Amid the insecurity, there is something beautiful about this pain. Acknowledging it for what it is has been difficult, but also freeing. Admitting it to myself and to God today, I feel like I have stopped running. And there is beauty in the fact that I can now rest securely in God, and know that even when life feels terrifying, He is always there. He wraps His arms around me, and never lets go.

 

I will never be alone. <3



Photo: alwayslonliness.blogspot.com/2012_07_22_archive.html