Helping hands!

Last Wednesday me and a couple of others from class skipped the double credit chapels and went to help at the mental disability facility. I really enjoyed the time at the facility. I really enjoyed making arts and crafts with the people there. It was very exciting and I would love to go there again! We made cards for Thanksgiving and it was a blast! The people there are so friendly and loving. I met this really nice lady that showed me pictures of her grand children and her children, and she had to be one of the sweetest people that I have ever met. I can honestly say that most of the people at the disability place have a very sweet spirit. They are really nice to others and they love God, which really amazed me because we look at them like something is wrong with them, but in all even "regular" people can be pretty intense. I just now understand that God only see's the heart. He does not care what we look like or how He created us because He made us the way we are for a reason, and that reason is to glorify Him. I'm glad that I can finally grasp what God really cares about, and that is our hearts. Our entire lives we try to satisfy other people and try to look a particular way to fit in. Why should that matter? How is that going to help us get into Heaven? Well, it's not! Mentally disabled people do not really have much to worry or even stress about and this is a huge blessing! I would love to spend my life just worrying and doing God's business instead of worrying what I am going to wear tomorrow or what store has the best black Friday sales. We need to get out priorities in order, and fast!

"A Temple of the Holy Ghost"

     When I began to read this story I was a little confused. I didn't know how to interpret anything because the author was throwing names around, after i read over the beginning more and more I began to get a better understanding of what the characters were actually saying and doing. the story began with the author narrating about two girls that called each other Temple One and temple Two. From there I knew instantly that this was going to be a religious text. Although they called each other "temple" they began to laugh and they laughed so hard that they began to turn red and they looked uglier than they looked normally, so I sought to believe that they were not taking any of this seriously. Then the story said that they were wearing "brown convent" uniforms, which probably meant that they attended a private Christian school, which is probably where they heard about the "temple". After I realized that they did know a little bit about God i assumed that they were smart young girls that could afford to go to a private Christian school, but I was totally wrong. The book says that they were fourteen years old, and they were not very "bright" and then it proceeded to say that the reasoning behind them being sent to a convent is because they weren't very smart at all. Then when I read on i saw that they had a younger sister that was smarter than them and instantly I noticed that they could be mentally disabled. i mean they laugh a lot even when a person says something serious and their little sister is smarter than they are. The author also explains that they are not very bright multiple times. i began to notice that the baby sister was very critical and not very understanding of her two older disabled sisters, or anyone for that matter especially the "Church of God" people. She was very mean and harsh and rarely had something nice to say. in the end she noticed how crude she really was and I believe that she wanted all of those negative emotions to wear off when she was in the presence of God.

"Piss Christ"

This is the "piss Christ" a work of art that profeesor Corrigan shouwed in

 class by Andres Serrano.

             When I first saw this in class I was fine with the fact that Jesus was just on the cross, but when professor Corrigan told us what the name of the piece of art was I was really upset. "Piss Christ? Really? Why would someone create a work of crap like this," was my initial reaction. At the beginning of the discussion I was fine with the work of art because It kind of just looked like Jesus on a cross with like fire surrounding Him or maybe the presence of God shining on Him.  When I found out what the name of this was I immediately got extremely offensive. I thought that the author was an atheist and did not like Christianity at all. I believed that the person who drew this has a hard time in believing who Jesus actually is. Then the class began to discuss it, and I gained a better understanding of what this picture actually meant, and it made me realize how God truly feels.
            As humans we tend to want to do things our way, and if we don't get to do it "our way" then we throw a fit like a little 5 year old. And I'm not going to even lie because honestly I have to catch myself sometimes. As I grew up I was the baby girl, and I usually got the things that I wanted, maybe not right when I wanted it, but I usually got it eventually. When it come to God we act the same exact way. When He tells us to do something we should be ecstatic that God Almighty is even talking to us and giving us direction, but all some people think about are themselves and hat they want out of life. When doing so it is sort of like we are "pissing" on Christ. It's like we're saying forget what you say because I want to do it my way. When I gained this revelation I almost wanted to cry because I thought about God's feelings for a brief moment, and how He felt when we disobeyed Him. I mean aren't we supposed to be His children? Because some of us don't eve act like it. In all, don't "piss" on Christ! I know we aren't perfect and God knows that it is impossible for us to be, so just obey Him because I bet that would make Him happy :)

maybe next time..

My entire life I have been around mentally challenged people. For starters my two brothers are challenged, but they are very well off because God has truly blessed them! Just being around them for a long period of time made me think that they were normal because to me and a few others they are normal. They know how to hold a conversation, dial a number, and any other ordinary thing, but in our home I cant see them as anything other than normal. I remember the first time that I met some other mentally challenged people. My brother was in a bowling league for the Special Olympics, and I went to support him. I had no idea that there were people who act that way. I thought that my brothers conditions was how everyone else conditions were as well, but i was totally wrong! I met some people there that just scared me. Not to sound mean or anything but I was only about 14 years old and I had no idea how to act around them. Some of them were really loud, others were really quiet, and some of them just had loud dramatic episodes. I talked to a few of them because they had came up to me and asked me my name, and then one of them hit on me. Mentally handicapped or not my dad took the father role and made me sit down with him. I really love my brothers and yes at times they get on my nerves because they cannot do certain things and I have to do it, but I know in my heart that they truly appreciate all I do for them and I can really tell by the way they love me. I would have loved to have gone to AFI, but I guess there's a next time. This trip probably would have taught me a lot. By all of the stories that I heard I can tell that it really touched and moved people in many different ways. I just know by the things that I've heard about the trip i really want to go whether it's on my own time because I really want to care about something other than myself because that gets so boring. Caring about others is a lot more special than just going through your daily motions.

The Boys Next Door

When I was skimming over the Boys Next Door a couple days before class, I didn't realize that they were mentally handicap. The idea of not knowing that they were handicapped was hilarious to me because I liked their personality, and a lot of people today act the same way. There are some really cool people that are mentally handicapped. My brothers have a disease and they learn a little bit slower than other people. My younger brother is hilarious, and he knows how to manipulate people into getting what they want. My older brother is super smart and once he hears something he can basically retaliate it back to someone else. Especially about the bible. My older brother knows the ins and outs of the bible. I believe that as long as a person is not laughing at the mentally handicapped people and they are laughing with them  then I think that it is fine.

I posted this picture because it reminds me of my brother's. Although I may be upset at times they were always there to cheer me up and I love them and appreciate them for that. This proves that some mentally handicapped people can change other people's lives in ways they cannot imagine. I know that if I ever had a disability I am not sure that I h would have such a positive attitude the way they do. I love them so much!

Tuesday..

     Going outside to just relax is such a wonderful thing, I know for a fact that it relieves so much stress. It's like once you are outside, you start to think about things you normally wouldn't think about. I know that when I am stressed about something (which I was today) I will start to worry about how it will affect me, and how I feel about the situation, and what I am going to do. It's always about me, me ,me and I hate that. Something went wrong with my banking account and I think that my bank just stole 308. dollars from me, and I just got so angry. I couldn't even focus on writing this or even focus on anything else for that matter. It's like the whole world is falling apart when we turn a little issue into a huge situation.
     When I'm outside I see the bigger picture of life. There is much more out there than just me, I, and me in this world and I see that now that I have had time to think about how many people are struggling in this world to even eat. I am truly blessed to be coming to this school and to have a job, but we just take so much for granted! Americans are spoiled whether you want to believe it or not because something bad has to happen to us to feel the way that half the people in this world is feeling right now. When I was outside thinking about this I became so upset with myself because I noticed how wrapped up I can become in my own life. I mean yes 300 dollars is quite a bit to be missing at the moment, but that will eventually fade away when I go to a far more better place. I want to be able to look gaze my eyes upon Heavenly matters instead of earthly matters. I'm not saying that I want to be perfect, but we have to start doing better.
     I could not believe how calm I was after going outside. I didn't even settle the matter with the bank yet, and I will worry about it later. I still cant get over the fact that nature has caused me to think about all of these things and it helped me to notice things about myself that i do not like at all. there is just something about nature. It is so calming, so nurturing and comforting.  Thank you God.

Lake Bonny

      I went to Lake Bonny Park for this field trip, and I stayed there for at least 45 minutes. On saturday morning my best friend and I went to Lake Bonny park and We were just looking at all the bugs, insects, trees, and flowers. I noticed that nature can be really fun! Not only did we have a blast but we realized that it really takes an amazing being to create all of this. In order to do really understand nature one has to go out and experience it for themselves. I used to hate going outside! I was either too hot or too cold, or maybe even a bug was about to bite me. It's not until you realize that we are blessed to even be allowed to walk outside and be able to do the thing that we want to do. I mean yes we still have obligations that we need to do, but some people cant even step outside of their house without worrying about if they will be safe or not. I understand that we take a lot of things for granted, and I especially do. The clean air that we have, the fresh water, the food resources are all a part of nature. At the park we saw some pigs and although they were smelly and nasty, they are still a part of God's creation. I know that I am not the biggest pig fan, but the conditions that they were living in also helped me to realize how blessed we are to live in such great conditions. Our mortgage bill might be sky high, but at least God has blessed us with something that we can call home. As we passed the pigs, we ran into a field of the most interesting looking butterflies. All of them looked different from the other one. We even saw a butterfly that resembled a zebra! Which was super amazing! As I sat in silence I just thought about how blessed I was to be in the situation that I am in. No matter what kind of stress I have I know that I can always go outside to clear my head, and that is what I love most about nature.

Creation.

 

As I rise in the morning, so does the sun in the sky

Nature so unique and wonderful, but who can sit down to care?

Busy lives, no time to waste, can you just sit down and look at His masterpiece

Everything that I once used to adore is now a figment of my imagination

I want to just want to explore!

When will I ever get the time to see the beauty around me?

Perhaps I should start to notice things that are actually around me

Why cant we take the time to view the marvelous works of our Creator

Are we so consumed and wrapped up in our lives that we cant see all the beauty?

This world is so unique, so amazing, how can one not wonder who made this?

The birds, moon, stars, and sky are just a few things we come across everyday

Where did all of this come from?

The beauty of the Grand Canyon is extremely breathtaking

This marvelous sight is worth far more than rubies

Just a moment by the lake gives one hope

Who made all of these marvelous things?

Only someone who cared about our well-being

Nature is a part of our lives and how we live

Without it we would not be able to survive

Only one can create such a beautiful earth to live on

And He is the One who woke you up to see the sun.