I got really angry the other day. Jim and I had walked around the campus putting up signs about the church we are starting, and we put a sticker on the door of discussion. On the top it said "Religion Kills: Jesus is the Savior, Not Christianity." Then underneath that, it gives the differences in definitions for "religion" and "relationship." I thought it was a pretty great sticker.
Apparently, I was wrong.
I walked by the door of discussion the other day, and someone had ripped it off. SOMEONE HAD RIPPED IT OFF.
This is one thing I cannot stand about the Door of Discussion. I read stuff that goes up there all the time that does nothing but rip and tear and cause problems. I read stuff that attacks administrators, students, the newspaper. I read stuff that is not the beginnings of a discussion, but is simply a way of putting an opinion up on a wall to start controversy.
But do I rip those things off? No. Do I go and remove these things that are not helpful at all to our community? No. I leave them up there, because it is not MY place to remove someone else's opinion... someone else's ideas.
Of course, though, my stuff gets ripped down. My sticker... my church's sticker... that focused on emphasizing the LOVE of Christ not the RELIGION of Christ... my sticker that did nothing but point out that religion is not the savior...
I guess the Christians who walk this campus really are just followers of religion. And the idea of that religion being a hindrance is too much to even think about.
1.15.2008
1.09.2008
Ignorance
We live in a world where Catholic priests are widely categorized as child molesters, any individual who resembles someone affiliated with a religion based in the Middle East are immediately assumed to be directly involved with Osama Bin Laden, and Christians are seen as judgmental, hypocritical, homophobic and a bunch of other long vocabulary words.
While the benefits of our society seem to greatly outnumber the disadvantages, one downfall seems to be a popular trend in stereotyping religious groups. The main reason that these stereotypes appear? Ignorance.
Frankly, I am sick of it all.
When are Americans going to give a damn about someone other than themselves? New laws and amendments continue to cut religion out of daily life more and more. Yes, I agree that enforcing one religion on an entire country is wrong. What I do not agree with is what appears to be the slow removal of religion in general from a country that was founded in the name of God. For being a country that believes in the separation of church and state, we sure do talk about religion a lot.
Do you know why religion is such a touchy subject? Because people are so enraptured with their own amazingly fabulous beliefs that they aren’t willing to slow down and try and understand someone else’s story or viewpoint. Then, they automatically assume that an explanation of that religion is an attack on their own beliefs or a slap in the face with a religious doctrine.
I feel like we are, in a way, being trained to be ignorant. Having teachers in public schools who are instructed to be opinion-less on the topic of religion is subconsciously teaching adolescents that they, too, should just leave religion alone and focus on more important things. The fact that government employees are not allowed to have an opinion or belief, and that they aren’t allowed to express or share it with their students, is like saying they can’t agree or disagree with the color blue. Everyone has an opinion about the color, sees it his own way and believes it to be in existence for a certain reason. Religion is the same way. What is the big deal?
The best way to keep people from being ignorant is to force feed them and the seemingly easy way to handle that is education. Educating people, however, is the hardest part of it all. We live in a world where the church is so incredibly separated from state it would make Thomas Jefferson seriously reconsider his letter to the Danbury Baptists and the topic of our Christian president’s complete incompetence is run in a headline on a weekly basis. Even if an attempt was made to make World Religion classes mandatory in junior high or high schools, classes that don’t teach correctness of religion, merely information of religion, Bush would get shot down faster than a target at a shooting range.
Doesn’t anyone want to be educated anymore? Isn’t the best defense an even better offense? So, you hate Christians. Do your research. Find out whether or not your hatred is valid. If it is, great! Now, you have a really good reason, and information to back your argument. What is so wrong with that?
We have even gotten to the point where most religious people are ignorant about their own religions as well. Ask any person on the street and they will tell you they are Christians, but most of them couldn’t quote a Bible verse other than John 3:16. To be honest, even I have a hard time with scripture. It is difficult to read. And living in a country where reading is the poor man’s television, and life is always go, go, go, I just don’t always have the time to memorize scripture. It is boring, and not entertaining, which I am sure is what most of the world thinks as well.
A friend of mine, Jordan Vena, believes Americans have turned into relativists. The idea that everyone is right depending on where they come from in life, and what their opinion is, has been spreading across the country extremely quickly. The new way of living life doesn’t include learning about other things. It is simply a time to focus on yourself, and what makes you happy.
“It’s a load of bull,” he said. “That means that if you are a murderer or a rapist, you are right too. Screw what society says, because you think you are right.”
While that example might be slightly extreme, I am simply trying to convey a point. Putting up with everything, instead of doing something about it (like reading it up, or asking questions) is a detriment to yourself.
Having an open mind is a staple of our culture. Children are taught to be politically correct, and to accept all races, religions, sexual orientations and economic backgrounds free of judgment.
See that little phrase there? ‘Free of judgment.’ It means that not only are kids not judging others in a negative way based on circumstances that can’t be changed, they aren’t judging things in a positive way either and are simply wandering around blindly, cursing anything that upsets them.
While the benefits of our society seem to greatly outnumber the disadvantages, one downfall seems to be a popular trend in stereotyping religious groups. The main reason that these stereotypes appear? Ignorance.
Frankly, I am sick of it all.
When are Americans going to give a damn about someone other than themselves? New laws and amendments continue to cut religion out of daily life more and more. Yes, I agree that enforcing one religion on an entire country is wrong. What I do not agree with is what appears to be the slow removal of religion in general from a country that was founded in the name of God. For being a country that believes in the separation of church and state, we sure do talk about religion a lot.
Do you know why religion is such a touchy subject? Because people are so enraptured with their own amazingly fabulous beliefs that they aren’t willing to slow down and try and understand someone else’s story or viewpoint. Then, they automatically assume that an explanation of that religion is an attack on their own beliefs or a slap in the face with a religious doctrine.
I feel like we are, in a way, being trained to be ignorant. Having teachers in public schools who are instructed to be opinion-less on the topic of religion is subconsciously teaching adolescents that they, too, should just leave religion alone and focus on more important things. The fact that government employees are not allowed to have an opinion or belief, and that they aren’t allowed to express or share it with their students, is like saying they can’t agree or disagree with the color blue. Everyone has an opinion about the color, sees it his own way and believes it to be in existence for a certain reason. Religion is the same way. What is the big deal?
The best way to keep people from being ignorant is to force feed them and the seemingly easy way to handle that is education. Educating people, however, is the hardest part of it all. We live in a world where the church is so incredibly separated from state it would make Thomas Jefferson seriously reconsider his letter to the Danbury Baptists and the topic of our Christian president’s complete incompetence is run in a headline on a weekly basis. Even if an attempt was made to make World Religion classes mandatory in junior high or high schools, classes that don’t teach correctness of religion, merely information of religion, Bush would get shot down faster than a target at a shooting range.
Doesn’t anyone want to be educated anymore? Isn’t the best defense an even better offense? So, you hate Christians. Do your research. Find out whether or not your hatred is valid. If it is, great! Now, you have a really good reason, and information to back your argument. What is so wrong with that?
We have even gotten to the point where most religious people are ignorant about their own religions as well. Ask any person on the street and they will tell you they are Christians, but most of them couldn’t quote a Bible verse other than John 3:16. To be honest, even I have a hard time with scripture. It is difficult to read. And living in a country where reading is the poor man’s television, and life is always go, go, go, I just don’t always have the time to memorize scripture. It is boring, and not entertaining, which I am sure is what most of the world thinks as well.
A friend of mine, Jordan Vena, believes Americans have turned into relativists. The idea that everyone is right depending on where they come from in life, and what their opinion is, has been spreading across the country extremely quickly. The new way of living life doesn’t include learning about other things. It is simply a time to focus on yourself, and what makes you happy.
“It’s a load of bull,” he said. “That means that if you are a murderer or a rapist, you are right too. Screw what society says, because you think you are right.”
While that example might be slightly extreme, I am simply trying to convey a point. Putting up with everything, instead of doing something about it (like reading it up, or asking questions) is a detriment to yourself.
Having an open mind is a staple of our culture. Children are taught to be politically correct, and to accept all races, religions, sexual orientations and economic backgrounds free of judgment.
See that little phrase there? ‘Free of judgment.’ It means that not only are kids not judging others in a negative way based on circumstances that can’t be changed, they aren’t judging things in a positive way either and are simply wandering around blindly, cursing anything that upsets them.
1.07.2008
It's Quite Amazing, Really.
It’s quite amazing, really, when you see God bless your choices. Or at least not smite you for taking the path you have chosen to walk hahaha.
Before Christmas, I was looking towards my future – towards whatever it is that God has planned for me during this next year – and I nearly died… twice! I was so freaked out about graduation and grad school, living situations and getting a job.
But I think, I just might have calmed down a little bit.
I got a call from Todd a few weeks ago asking me to rejoin the youth staff at the church I used to work with. I used to work on the high school staff with some of the most amazing kids I have ever met in my life, and a large reason they asked me to take a break was because of my involvement with ReGeneration (they believed it to be a conflict of interest – which makes no sense since we are all working for the same team). But now I get to go back. I get to spend time with my girls. I get to work in another ministry. And I couldn’t be happier.
AND…I got a job the other day. I feel more complete when I have a job. I feel like I am accomplishing something. I am the new Saluda – a fancy word for host – at the Macaroni Grill in Arcadia. And even though my job isn’t super important to world… even though standing in the front and welcoming people isn’t the most amazing thing I could be doing with my life… it is still exciting, somehow.
God put some fancy footwork out there for me. He got me that job in two days. I went in, applied, took a test, had an interview and went back for another interview the next day and got the job. I don’t care whether or not they were desperate for anyone to fill the position, or whether they didn’t even really need anyone but felt sorry for me, I got the job right after I got back to APU.
I started feeling really guilty about not working for the Clause last Thursday. I found out a guy I know is the new advisor, now that Karen has thankfully left, and I am really bummed about not being a writing coach. I cried really hard that night. I felt emotionally unstable and extremely upset. So I began praying that God would guide and protect Karen as she works in Lithuania, and that He would bless Tim as he takes on the mountainous job of Clause advisor with no prior experience. I prayed for a young woman I was never able to truly get along with last semester, and I prayed for the new EiC and that she would soar above and beyond anything the school has ever seen.
Suddenly, I felt at peace and I drifted off to sleep.
The next day I got a job and felt really good about it. I am not exactly sure how the two are intertwined, and when I think about the fact that I am not going to be working with my younger writers this semester I get a little emotional because I just love them so damn much. But then I am reminded of God’s grace, and His ability to work in my life no matter how badly I screw it up. I am reminded of the people in my life that I am blessed with – my people. My loves. And then I remind myself that God placed me back in the youth group, and helped me get a job when I needed one.
What an amazing savior.
Before Christmas, I was looking towards my future – towards whatever it is that God has planned for me during this next year – and I nearly died… twice! I was so freaked out about graduation and grad school, living situations and getting a job.
But I think, I just might have calmed down a little bit.
I got a call from Todd a few weeks ago asking me to rejoin the youth staff at the church I used to work with. I used to work on the high school staff with some of the most amazing kids I have ever met in my life, and a large reason they asked me to take a break was because of my involvement with ReGeneration (they believed it to be a conflict of interest – which makes no sense since we are all working for the same team). But now I get to go back. I get to spend time with my girls. I get to work in another ministry. And I couldn’t be happier.
AND…I got a job the other day. I feel more complete when I have a job. I feel like I am accomplishing something. I am the new Saluda – a fancy word for host – at the Macaroni Grill in Arcadia. And even though my job isn’t super important to world… even though standing in the front and welcoming people isn’t the most amazing thing I could be doing with my life… it is still exciting, somehow.
God put some fancy footwork out there for me. He got me that job in two days. I went in, applied, took a test, had an interview and went back for another interview the next day and got the job. I don’t care whether or not they were desperate for anyone to fill the position, or whether they didn’t even really need anyone but felt sorry for me, I got the job right after I got back to APU.
I started feeling really guilty about not working for the Clause last Thursday. I found out a guy I know is the new advisor, now that Karen has thankfully left, and I am really bummed about not being a writing coach. I cried really hard that night. I felt emotionally unstable and extremely upset. So I began praying that God would guide and protect Karen as she works in Lithuania, and that He would bless Tim as he takes on the mountainous job of Clause advisor with no prior experience. I prayed for a young woman I was never able to truly get along with last semester, and I prayed for the new EiC and that she would soar above and beyond anything the school has ever seen.
Suddenly, I felt at peace and I drifted off to sleep.
The next day I got a job and felt really good about it. I am not exactly sure how the two are intertwined, and when I think about the fact that I am not going to be working with my younger writers this semester I get a little emotional because I just love them so damn much. But then I am reminded of God’s grace, and His ability to work in my life no matter how badly I screw it up. I am reminded of the people in my life that I am blessed with – my people. My loves. And then I remind myself that God placed me back in the youth group, and helped me get a job when I needed one.
What an amazing savior.
1.01.2008
2008
So it’s a new year. 2008 has officially arrived. This is going to be a big year for me. I will be taking out my first official loan in January, turning 21 in February, and I will be finishing up my final semester of college and graduating in May. After graduation I will have to pay my first bills from college and will be renting my first real apartment.
And, the really big news is that, hopefully, I will be moving across the country in August and starting graduate school in September.
I have been toying with the idea of grad school for a while. I searched online for countless hours trying to figure out which program would fit me best. The three universities I selected were APU and UCLA in SoCal, and Northeastern, which is located in Boston. UCLA was my first choice. It is an 11-month intensive program and my dad told me I could live in his condo in Century City while I attended school so I wouldn’t have to worry about rent. I would have my master’s degree at 22 years old. But, unfortunately, I was too late. Deadlines had passed by the time I even thought about applying. Then I thought about APU. They have a great Student Affairs program, and if I worked an on-campus full-time job, it would be paid for. But I realized staying in the APU bubble would feel a little too claustrophobic. I needed something with a little distance.
Then I found Northeastern. As I read about the program, I realized how incredibly it would fit what I was looking for. When I saw that the deadline was January 15th, I was bummed. I still have yet to take my GRE, so I decided to take a year off and apply to go to grad school next year. But Northeastern was just sitting on my mind. So I browsed the website again.
Needless to say I was shocked and excited to find that the deadline to apply for the program I want to be a part of, College Student Development and Counseling, is a month later than all of the other programs and that is ONLY if I want an assistantship, which I don’t have to do. So, technically, I don’t have to send anything in until August 1st at the very latest.
I can’t even begin to express how excited I am. I called my Uncle Jim, who lives in Hamilton, MA, and talked to him for a while about what would happen if I moved out there. My uncle is my dad’s twin brother, and I have always been extremely close with his family. He has a HUGE house and there is a kind of loft apartment that is over his garage that my two cousins have always used as a game room. Both of them are in college now and Jim told me I could LIVE THERE if I moved out for school… FOR FREE. Hamilton is only a 30-minute drive from Boston, and it is a perfect place to live until I find friends and a job and an apartment closer to Northeastern.
I freak out all of the time. I recently realized that I have anxiety. I get nervous. The thought of graduating – the idea of starting over with a life separate from everything I have grown accustomed to over the past 4 years – is terrifying. Well, WAS terrifying… until this. Now, all I can feel is a rush.
It might not work out. I might end up living in an apartment in Pasadena and just being a waitress for a while. But it is a cool thought. When I moved to New York for the summer, I came back with the decision made that living in that big city is probably not for me. But the idea that I could start over in a place I have known for so long, the idea that I could start over but still have family and somewhere safe to call home, is extremely satisfying and a great way to start out the new year.
And, the really big news is that, hopefully, I will be moving across the country in August and starting graduate school in September.
I have been toying with the idea of grad school for a while. I searched online for countless hours trying to figure out which program would fit me best. The three universities I selected were APU and UCLA in SoCal, and Northeastern, which is located in Boston. UCLA was my first choice. It is an 11-month intensive program and my dad told me I could live in his condo in Century City while I attended school so I wouldn’t have to worry about rent. I would have my master’s degree at 22 years old. But, unfortunately, I was too late. Deadlines had passed by the time I even thought about applying. Then I thought about APU. They have a great Student Affairs program, and if I worked an on-campus full-time job, it would be paid for. But I realized staying in the APU bubble would feel a little too claustrophobic. I needed something with a little distance.
Then I found Northeastern. As I read about the program, I realized how incredibly it would fit what I was looking for. When I saw that the deadline was January 15th, I was bummed. I still have yet to take my GRE, so I decided to take a year off and apply to go to grad school next year. But Northeastern was just sitting on my mind. So I browsed the website again.
Needless to say I was shocked and excited to find that the deadline to apply for the program I want to be a part of, College Student Development and Counseling, is a month later than all of the other programs and that is ONLY if I want an assistantship, which I don’t have to do. So, technically, I don’t have to send anything in until August 1st at the very latest.
I can’t even begin to express how excited I am. I called my Uncle Jim, who lives in Hamilton, MA, and talked to him for a while about what would happen if I moved out there. My uncle is my dad’s twin brother, and I have always been extremely close with his family. He has a HUGE house and there is a kind of loft apartment that is over his garage that my two cousins have always used as a game room. Both of them are in college now and Jim told me I could LIVE THERE if I moved out for school… FOR FREE. Hamilton is only a 30-minute drive from Boston, and it is a perfect place to live until I find friends and a job and an apartment closer to Northeastern.
I freak out all of the time. I recently realized that I have anxiety. I get nervous. The thought of graduating – the idea of starting over with a life separate from everything I have grown accustomed to over the past 4 years – is terrifying. Well, WAS terrifying… until this. Now, all I can feel is a rush.
It might not work out. I might end up living in an apartment in Pasadena and just being a waitress for a while. But it is a cool thought. When I moved to New York for the summer, I came back with the decision made that living in that big city is probably not for me. But the idea that I could start over in a place I have known for so long, the idea that I could start over but still have family and somewhere safe to call home, is extremely satisfying and a great way to start out the new year.
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