On learning stuff in college

So this semester I'm taking a special class called War and Peace in the Western Tradition. A couple days ago, we were discussing the ancient Hebrew people. From the discussion and my reading, I came to something that I think is pretty interesting...

When we read the Old Testament, the Israelites seem like losers again and again and again. They have a really hard time following and being obedient to God and this gets them into a lot of trouble. Their distrust and doubt causes them to wander in the desert for 40 years, their plea for a king leads to all the depressing years of the book of Judges, they divide and get almost entirely crushed, etc etc etc. We walk away from the passages marveling at how "God's chosen people" just screwed everything up over and over.

From my history book however, I came across an idea that cuts them a little, actually a lot of slack. In one passage the text describes how as the chosen ones of God, the Israelites were not permitted to live as the rest of the world lives. It said that God wanted them to be an example to all the other nations, by living in the way He prescribed. Later in the text, it was discussed how much of our Western Culture has been influenced by the ancient Hebrews. Way back when, Mesopotamians and later Greeks and Romans were the world's powerful peoples. But somehow, the ideals of our Western Tradition mostly trace back to the Israelites and not the other groups. God gave the Hebrews a very strong sense of self and sense of value that the other cultures did not see in individuals, that sounds familiar. Come to think of it, in our society, last time I checked, it is far more common to worship one all-powerful God, than it is to believe in Zeus and Apollo and the gang.

When I really began to think about it...I decided that it's true. We live our lives a lot more like those wandering Israelites than like any of those other ancient people. Those rules laid out in Leviticus, we follow a lot of them: We don't marry our cows, or mothers. We consider it a good idea to get our overflowing sores checked out. We don't where clothes that have mildew on them. We appoint judges over us rather than follow Hammurabi's code. I could go on and on. I ramble on like this only to get to the point that maybe those Israelites back then didn't make as much of a mess of things as we think sometimes. Maybe. because so much of their lifestyle (hello, the first five books of the Old Testament) has been preserved and is still read and some of it practiced today...maybe they actually did their job.

It looks like God's chosen people really did set an example for the other nations with their lives. Maybe when we read the Bible and roll our eyes as people get swallowed up by the earth, maybe we can give these guys a little more credit.

On breathtaking

Frustration.
Annoyance.
Maybe a little bit of anger and bitterness.
Really? Everyone else is just here to get their MRS degree?
Really?
This is the obsession.
Seems like every waking moment.
It's not actually.
But it seems like it.
That's not why I came to college.
Fed up with so many GIRLS!
And then...
We're all together
And voices are lifted high in worship
Just a piano
And so many voices
Girls singing beautifully
Living in community
And I'm reminded
YOU'RE so much bigger
Than any complaint
Or frustration
And I'm amazed
Once again
At how you bring me back
Refocus
And it's all good.

On a Wednesday

So we sit
What are we doing today?
Adventure is out there!
But do we dare?
Of course.
First things first,
A fort.
Strong and impenetrable
We're ready for any foe
Or any friend
Who wants to be a pirate
An outlaw
Or a ninja with us
So we sit
After all the scheming,
The planning of daring deeds
Inside the fort
Playing a board game
Maybe a little bored ourselves
But together
And it's a best day.

On channeling channeling channeling

It's been awhile since I've written
The words usually sound a lot better in my head
But maybe I'll write these thoughts down
And give them to you on your birthday
I want to sound artsy
I'll be emotional and misunderstood
But also chill and laid back depending on my audience
I want to be read easily but also mysterious
A pocket full of contradictions
Now didn't that sound cool?
I'll write about how it's easier to find a silver lining
When you look at the sun that's shining
About choirs singing and church bells ringing
Because these are the kinds of rhymes we like to make
I'll make an allusion to "The Little Match Girl" or some magic beans
So you'll know that I'm well read
Fall in love with me through my pen
But keep your distance
How's that for drama?
I write to say nothing and everything about the inklings of my heart
I want to reveal exactly where the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked can be found
Make known that I am in possession of great and powerful, but oh so secret knowledge
Now this is just getting silly
If I reference events from my history book, the wonder of nature, and anecdotes from my everyday life
You'll love what I write and want to share it with your friends
Then everyone will know exactly how complex and how simple I am
I'll let the AP English class readers decide my mood for me
That takes some of the pressure off
Heart to head
Head to pen
Pen to page
How we pretended the lids of Koolaid Jammers were our retainers
Or named all the stuffed animals then threw them down the stairs
How you called me whenever there was a bright and lovely moon
And I would run outside and sit on top of the car to see
How you stayed at my house way too late because we sat at the dining room table baring our souls
How we traveled abroad in our pirate ship, landing safely on land
Only to have to jump over patches of lava and hide from bearded men
How we clumsily tried to waltz on the roof at night hoping the people driving by thought we were crazy
A flash of poetic memories and what do you think of me now?
I want you to put down my writing
And walk away happily mystified
Like when a summer butterfly whizzes past your cheek
And all you see
Is a beautiful streak of color

On quote me

Regardless of whether you use one or two, I feel that using stones to kill birds is both
1) inhumane and 2) ineffective (you would have to have incredible aim)

Just sayin'

On stuff makes me mad and then it makes me think

As we grow older, do we become more moral, or just better at justifying ourselves?

On Yes.

Sitting on the hard bleachers
The children are so sweet as they sing
Songs about spring time
Happy child songs
Walking in quietly
Is the teenage girl
Late
In her sweatpants
She finds her mother
The mother looks up
Genuinely gladdened by the appearance of her daughter
Reaches across the seat
Embrace
She points out
The younger sibling
The teenager
Waving and smiling
A family
Sharing and enjoying
And my eyes begin to well
One of the more beautiful things
I've witnessed in awhile