Seeking the Truth

The more I investigate into current issues the more I realize that it all depends on your interpretation of the events/laws/bills at hand.  Words from my boss from the past summers come to mind: "Perception becomes reality."  Everyone has their own perception of things.  They also have their own preconceived notions of what to expect which effects their perception.

For example, when lots of people are going crazy about a book and I read it, I almost never love the book as much as everyone else.  This is because I go into the book with such high expectations that oftentimes I feel let down when I'm done reading the book.  In Psychology class I recently learned that if you smile you're more likely to be happy, so we now know that Botox injections can help with depression because it's hard to be sad when your face is stuck in a smile.  You're also more likely to find a joke funnier if you're smiling when you first see it.  I've learned through Ted talks that if I stand with a confident pose I'm more likely to act confident even if I'm not actually confident.  I'm also more likely to be less outgoing if I sit in a smaller, weaker pose.  (You can find this Ted talk here and here is a nice Crashcourse to Psycholgy.)

Lately I've been investigating a controversial issue in my home state.  The more I examine, the more I am amazed by how many different ways this issue can be interpreted.  There are hundreds of blog posts being circulated over the internet.  A lot of these posts are interpretations of the matter.  The most amazing thing to me is that one opinion doesn't represent an uneducated side while the other does.  Both sides here are educated.  There are lawyers and professors and clergy looking at the same exact issue and going to completely opposite sides of the spectrum.

For the first day, this baffled me.  I couldn't understand how there was such a difference in the interpretations for one bill.  That is when my former boss's word's came to me, "Perception becomes reality."  He used it to remind his camp staff that what you think you are seeing is your reality.  He mostly used it to remind us how are actions would be perceived by others, since there are plenty of observers at a summer camp.   This quote from my boss coupled with the previous note about Psychology helps me to understand why there are so many different interpretations for what is actually happening in my state.  Everyone is coming in with their own thoughts, their own biases, their own preconceived notions, and interpreting the controversy.

After I had come to this realization, I had another question.  How am I supposed to form my own opinion about this?  I have read the actual bill.  I didn't understand it.  I could look up someone's interpretation, but that takes me right back to the original problem.  And then I realized something.  I might not be able to know 100% right now.  But what I can keep doing is living the way God tells me to live in His Word.

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free."

John 8: 31-32

God knows the truth and the right way.  It's Him I should depend on for this issue and Him alone.  Not other's interpretation.  Not my own preconceived notions.  Not others opinions.  God.

For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.

Luke 8:17

Someday the truth will be shown, and I'm going to keep doing my best to love God in the meantime.

Living in Reckless Abandonment for Jesucristo,

Jo

Living or Existing

Due to an inability to put my current mess of thoughts into coherent sentences and paragraphs, I am going to share a writing assignment that I wrote during my senior year of high school.  It was written in response to a prompt that asked about the difference between existing and living.

Some people go through life doing the bare minimum.  They simply drift through and manage to exist.  They breathe, but they do not care.  They simply breathe because their body does it automatically.

There are other people who live lives that are a stark contrast compared to those who simply exist.  They want to live.  They strive to do their best.  People who live want to be remembered by others even after they are gone.  People who live push themselves to surpass the standards and expectations that are impressed upon them.

The difference between living and existing is like the difference between light and dark.  The is no in between.  Where there is darkness, there is not light.  In the same way, I cannot live in some areas of my life but not others: doing my best for God at church, but not at school.  Everything I do should be for God, and it should be my very best.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your hear, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.  It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Colossians 3:23-24

Living in Reckless Abandonment for Jesucristo,

Jo

Tourism in Indiana

For my spring break this semester, I asked my roommate to come home with me.  She decided to just come with me for the first part of the week, as she has a project due soon after break that she wants to work on during this time.  Since she is with me and is from Malaysia and this is her first time visiting the United States, I figured that she would want to do some form of tourist activity.  However, there isn't a whole lot to do in my area.  When I mentioned that we could just spend time at my grandparents house, who have a farm, she seemed to get really excited about a farm.  As such, we made plans to visit my grandparents farm and walk around there.  We also planned to visit a local dairy farm during the time when they normally feed their calves.  

On Saturday we visited the first farm which was my grandparents' farm.  We fed the chickens, went up in the hay loft and looked at the rectangular bales of straw .  My roommate was enthralled as we meandered about the farm and into the pasture where the cattle were.  We walked past the cattle with the three calves, and headed into the woods where we made a large loop and saw where my grandfather keeps his round hay bales.     We also had the opportunity to show her the various tree stands that hung in the trees for the many hunters that patrol the woods each year.  My cousin was also with us and remarked that it was good that I was in my bright orange shirt.  I'm doubtful that there were any hunters in the woods in the middle of the day, and if there were I'm sure that they didn't stick around when three loud girls came trampling through.  

On Sunday we made last minute plans to visit another farm before we went to the dairy farm.  We went to a farm where they had chickens, a duck, 2 pigs, a few goats, 3 horses, and 2 calves.  While there, the owner offered to let her ride a horse.  That was the plan until someone else arrived and he decided that she should try to drive the tractor.  My roommate drove his tractor with his instructions.  She drove it through the pasture and the horses followed behind, anxious for a chance to enjoy the open field.  When the owner of the farm and my roommate arrived back at the barn, he informed us that the horses would be hard to catch now that they were in the pasture.  He told us that we could come back later in the day if she wanted to ride. 

From there we went back to my house to watch "The Princess Bride," one of my family's favorite movies.  

After the movie, it was time to head to the dairy farm.  They were milking and my roommate enjoyed watching the process of cleaning the udders and attaching the milkers to the udders.  My friend from the dairy farm proceeded to fill a couple of bottles for my roommate and me to feed to the 2 calves that needed to be bottle fed.  My friend filled a couple of buckets to feed to the other 2 calves in the same pen that could drink out of the buckets.  The calves quickly drank the bottles and we were informed that each calf got 1 bucket or 2 bottles.  My roommate and I headed out to give the calves their last bottle and my friend from the farm occupied the other 2 calves in the pen who had already eaten but would get in our way if they were not kept occupied.  Basically, my friend let them suck on her fingers.  Once the calves were done with their bottles, we decided to stay and help my friend finish feeding the rest of the calves that could all drink from buckets.  After feeding the 20 calves, it was time to head back to the previous farm to ride one of their horses.

We thanked the dairy farmers and proceeded to the second farm where a fresh load of laundry was blowing in the wind as it dried on their clothesline.  Seeing that, I wondered when my own mother would start using her clothesline again, as it is now warm enough that the clothes don't just freeze on the line.  The owner quickly brushed and saddled his horse.  My roommate struggled a little bit to get into the saddle, but from there she sat in the saddle as the owner led the horse around the yard while I talked to the owner's wife.  I got my own chance to ride the horse and accepted, as I'll take any chance I can to get into a saddle.  We then thanked the owners of the farm and headed on our way.

When I first started this process of finding farms that my roommate and I could visit, I assumed that she would be able to learn a lot about Midwestern culture and farms in general.  However, I have discovered, that I have also learned a lot.  Not necessarily about Midwestern culture, but about my community.  As I drove around our town, my roommate was amazed at the variety of houses we have.  Almost all of them have a unique design.  Not only that, but all of the farmers have been great.  They've let us come in and walk around on their property and ask lots of questions about how things work.  I've always known that I'm blessed.  It's something that I've been told while I grew up.  But visiting these farms has made me realize how blessed I really am.  I live in a community with people who care about each other and love each other.  My grandmother took my roommate and I to Happy Burger, a local restaurant.  While there, the owner came and visited with us.  The certainly doesn't happen in every community.  Sometimes it can be frustrating to live in a community where it feels like you know everyone.  Over this spring break, I've realized that it's really a huge blessing to know my neighbors and my community as a whole.  And it's only Monday.  

For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

Romans 12 :4-5

Birds

There was a hawk eating a bird in a tree outside of my window last week.  It was pretty cool to look out and see a hawk in the tree outside my window.  I thought it was even cooler when I saw that it was eating a smaller bird (although I can see why some people would find this unpleasant).

Part of the reason why I was surprised to see such a big bird outside my window is because of my environment.  I would not normally think of large birds like that thriving in the city.  I know that plenty do, but typically when I think of animals I think of exploring in the woods and stumbling across them, not seeing them outside my window in an urban setting.  However, clearly this bird was living in the city that the world had built on top of its habitat.  That being said, the hawk still looked out of place.  It did not look like it belonged among the red-brick buildings.

I think we can learn a valuable lesson from this hawk.  We can thrive and exist in the world without becoming a part of the world.  The hawk, while being in the city, clearly had a wild and undomesticated feeling about it.  It did not belong.  Neither do we, and people should be able to tell that there is something different about us.

My church has been doing a series on Daniel that focused on living in exile.  Daniel became a leader and was very powerful, yet he remained separate during the entirety of his life.  So did Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego.   Their stories are amazing and should be an inspiration to us about how to live in but not of the world.

I have given them [the disciples] your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.  My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.  They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.  Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.  As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.  For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

John 17:14-19

(Yes I am aware that this analogy is definitely a stretch.) 

Living in Reckless Abandonment for Jesucristo,

Jo

Guest Blogger from Bethel College and Things you Learn at Purdue! :D

7 Things I Learned During My Weekend at Purdue

Firstly, I’d like to apologize. You probably came to this blog expecting the wonderful weekly writings of Joanna, but I’m sorry to tell you that I am not Joanna and I’m not much of a writer. This week is my spring break, so this past weekend I drove to Purdue and stayed with Joanna. Between entertaining me and studying for upcoming exams this week, she had little time to write a blog, so you’re stuck with me. I've decided to share with you some of my thoughts/experiences from this weekend, so here are 7 things I learned during my weekend at Purdue.

1.      John Purdue had some weird stipulations.

John Purdue’s donation to the university came with many strings attached. All buildings must be made of red brick. Part of the university always has to be under construction. No building can be taller than the bell tower. Certain buildings bend the rules a bit, but for the most part these stipulations are followed.

2.      Some bell towers are only meant for decoration.

Purdue has one of the tallest bell towers in the world. Supposedly, the bells don’t actually work though because the tower wasn't built correctly. (A school known for their engineering program doesn't have a working bell tower?)

3.      If underground tunnels are an option for travel, use them!

Purdue has underground tunnels that connect different buildings. It’s the coolest thing! I’m not sure why tunnels aren't more common on college campuses. They save people from bearing the freezing tundra and from dealing with traffic when crossing the street.

4.      If traveling in said underground tunnels, always take a friend.

Joanna and I decided to explore the tunnels Sunday afternoon. At first it surprised me how few people used them, but after walking through quite a few of them, I was very thankful I had somebody with me. The tunnels honestly reminded me of a scene from a horror movie. They were really cool, but I probably wouldn’t use them by myself.

5.      College food can actually be surprisingly good.

I attend a small college with very few dining options. I assumed all college food was subpar, but I was wrong. The food at Purdue is really good. There are make your own pizza and stir-fry stations, fresh baked cookies, fresh fruit and veggies, and so much more. Purdue also has a grocery store on campus that has a weird milkshake machine/freezer. I’ll attach a link to the milkshake company if you’d like to learn more.

http://www.freal.com/

6.      Just because somewhere is called a library doesn’t mean it actually contains books.

Purdue has an underground library, but it doesn’t have any books. It’s just a place people can go to study.

7.      Friends are friends forever.

Joanna and I have been friends for a long time. We have shared many common interests including swimming, band, academics, and most importantly our relationships with Jesus. As sisters in Christ we've been there for one another through everything from our greatest joys to our deepest pains. Although God has taken us down different paths now, it’s nice being able to get together and know that nothing has really changed. We can laugh at each other while also sharing the different ways God has been working in our lives. As we get older we may change and grow apart, but I know one day we’ll reunited once again in our forever home in heaven. Friendships are a blessing from God, and I can’t thank God enough for the friendship I have with Joanna. Thanks Joanna for the wonderful years we've shared together and the many more that I’m sure will come! J

God bless,

Emma