05 Monday Aug 2019
Posted in Poetry/Lyrics, Uncategorized
a quiet surrounds
for once peace resounds
mind has calmed
a break from the noise
outside green abounds
I gaze out the window
at the growth I’ve found
reflected back in me
I let go, all unwound
once my fist loosens
I hit solid ground
rooted once again
I have no bounds
as I step up
22 Wednesday May 2019
Posted in books, Uncategorized
Tags
book, book review, Christian, Christian living, goals, God, growth, hope, life, love, Love Life Again, mental health, progress, Tracie Miles
Tracie Miles writes an accessible starting point for adjusting perspectives and making life improvements in Love Life Again: Finding Joy When Life Is Hard. Each chapter covers a topic that includes an application the reader can make after reading. It makes a great discussion book to cover with a partner who wants to reach similar goals, and it may pay off to read only one or two chapters a week to give ample opportunity for applying the concepts. The content mostly stays at a surface level, making it a guide beneficial to anyone. However, for those with mental health issues I would suggest it as a starting point or supplement to licensed therapy. As someone who needs more I still find encouragement and direction from this work because each small step makes a different. It serves as a reminder for some of the everyday tasks I can maintain to keep up my mental hygiene as well as my Christian walk and relationship with God.
19 Tuesday Feb 2019
Posted in books, Uncategorized
Tags
book review, books, Christian living, connection, faith, grace, hope, If You Only Knew, Jamie Ivey, openness, transformation, trust, vulnerability
Jamie Ivey vulnerably shares her faith story in If You Only Knew: My Unlikely, Unavoidable Story of Becoming Free. Though raised as a Christian, Ivey’s life took some unexpected turns. She doesn’t sugarcoat her choices and their consequences as she sees where they have taken her, and it shows her courage and faith to face the inevitable judgment again. Overall, the reflection reminds us that we’re not alone in our struggles or doubt. Christians don’t always live up to their expectations of themselves or each other, but that doesn’t mean God doesn’t continue to lift them up again with grace. Ivey’s vulnerability encourages me to trust someone, even if in writing, with my own story. Sharing how God transforms us opens an honest connection where we can all learn how to walk in better faith, and Ivey does that as she invites readers to do the same.
18 Monday Feb 2019
Posted in Monday Motivation, Uncategorized
Tags
Christian living, culture, fulfillment, goals, growth, hope, Isn't It Romantic, love, Monday, motivation, movies, romantic comedy, Valentine's Day
The new romantic comedy Isn’t It Romantic might parody the genre, but it also hints at a truth behind a detail to which Rebel Wilson’s character Natalie initially scoffs. Though arguably unrealistic, romantic comedies remind us of the magic surrounding us. Sure, we may see more of the dull, hard work the movies don’t show, but we do possess a hope to find what we seek. Those desires for romance and fulfillment come naturally, and we have the power to step forward and progress those goals (with some reflection and work of course). Ultimately, we see that life offers more than what we notice everyday.
Natalie wakes up in a romantic comedy where her surroundings seem too good to pass as real. She comments how New York no longer stinks and how it looks as thought it had a beauty filter over it. Flowers surround her as she walks the streets, and people look her in the eye because they notice her. These details can happen outside a romantic comedy. Maybe actual flower arrangements don’t adorn every doorway and table, but beauty exists around us; a stranger or even a loved one can reflect God’s face as they take the time to notice and listen to us. Sometimes a potential love or job we want might stand right in front of us, simply waiting for us to recognize it and step toward it. Looking through a positive lens of hope rather than one of disappointment allows that.
We all desire romance, and that doesn’t mean we live with our head in the clouds. Our hearts naturally long for intimacy, and we see proof of that beauty throughout the bible. Song of Songs expresses the more physical side, and numerous New Testament passages demonstrate the benefits of marriage union and community. Like Natalie eventually discovers in Isn’t It Romantic, we can accept these desires rather than scoff at them. Perhaps the acknowledgement leads to fulfilling them. We possess a hope that brings a romantic comedy like magic to our ordinary lives.
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, especially with its Valentine’s Day timing. It proved my philosophy that love does surround us in all its cheesy and intense ways, whether culturally accepted as realistic or not.
For further reading, I recommend this Christianity Today article that describes a hope often overlooked in romantic comedies.
08 Friday Feb 2019
Posted in books, Uncategorized
Tags
bookish, books, childhood, family, Great American Read, Great American Reader, growth, Harry Potter, hope, identity, questions, shame
Harry Potter lives with his aunt, uncle and cousin after witnessing his parents’ deaths as an infant. The Dursleys provide the worst home environment imagination. Mostly ignored, Harry sleeps in the cupboard under the stairs with spiders, the other unwanted species in the house. He learns early that his adoptive family does not welcome questions. Early on, the book notes, “Don’t ask questions – that was the first rule for a quiet life with the Dursleys.” Harry first realizes this when he asks Aunt Petunia about the scar on his forehead and only finds out the truth later from a stranger. Though they may bring up uncomfortable conversations, questions play a crucial role in developing relationships as well as forming an identity and values.
Harry’s aunt and uncle deny him a lot more than his physical needs. They neglect him as a person, and provide him not only no familial bonds but no sense of himself either. Wondering what happened to his parents leaves a gap in Harry’s heart. The brush offs regarding his questions do not give him a route to learn about his own history, let alone forge his own identity. They also do not ask him questions, making it easy to gloss over the fact that they do not give Harry what he needs as a child. When they don’t ask if he got enough food after losing half his meal, they don’t have to acknowledge he may go hungry.
These scenarios play out in everyday life too. Rather than ask for more details, we assume someone can manage just fine. Not knowing someone could use help makes it easier to tell ourselves we don’t need to offer any. Guessing the answer to someone’s question or brushing it off as unimportant invites shame or distances trust because that person hears they struggle with a task simple to everyone else. Instead of pushing off the discomfort, let’s welcome the potential to grow from questions. Sorting through the answers can launch numerous positive aspects like a stronger sense of self, a deeper bond between the people discussing and a higher level of understanding.
05 Tuesday Feb 2019
Posted in Poetry/Lyrics, Uncategorized
So good raising me
all bad was beyond
you had no effect
on the young mold
Now I wonder
where the base is
did it exist
or was it sold
the leaking cracks
must be my fault
for not speaking
left alone in the cold
Today this distance
lacks a bridge
no apologies owed
is what I’m told
Nothing new here
I see light
where you see sand
standing with you, I fold
So I take a step
no matter how small
I grow hope in truth
my real base takes hold
04 Monday Feb 2019
Posted in books, The Great American Reader, Uncategorized
Tags
Dumbledore, fear, foes, Great American Read, Great American Reader, Harry Potter, hope, J.K. Rowling, language, magic, mental illness, victory, Voldemort, wisdom
Those familiar with the Harry Potter series know who I mean when I write, “You-Know-Who,” referencing the infamous villain. The wizarding world refers to him as that because his name evokes such deep fear. Yet Dumblebore wisely points out, “It all gets so confusing if we keep saying ‘You-Know-Who.’ I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort’s name,” in response to Professor McGonagall using the reference rather than the name. Dumbledore hits the truth about defeating foes: the first step involves naming it. Otherwise, as he notes, the process to overcome gets confusing.
Usually the first step in treating a medical ailment involves diagnosing the problem. Once a name gets determined, the doctor and patient can formulate and begin the proper healing process. The same steps occur with a mental illness or struggle or addiction. Especially with these harder to see issues, we tend to tell ourselves they don’t have the strength that physical ones possess. Sometimes the stigma prevents us from acknowledging the problem because we don’t want to seem weak. Yet without naming the issue, we can’t take the steps to improve it.
Dumbledore tells the highly intelligent and well respected Professor McGonagall, “My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by his name?” We can ask ourselves the same question. Though denying or downplaying our or others’ problems may seem helpful, it prevents a crucial recovery step. The sensible response is to acknowledge and validate problems. This language plays into the ultimate battle of good and evil in this series. Spoiler: The adjustment in how they refer to Voldemort leads to a greater strength ultimately to defeat him. Let’s name our foes and fears so we can face them rather than hide in denial.
10 Thursday Jan 2019
Posted in books, The Great American Reader, Uncategorized
Tags
books, company, despair, Great American Read, hope, light, pit, presence, strength, support, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Great American Reader
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Edmond Dantes eventually discovers he has a neighbor in a nearby cell. The dungeon has left him darkness and pulled his hope into despair. Yet not long before fulfilling his idea to starve himself, he hears a tapping sound that renews his hope. That day he eats again. Then he also starts chipping at his own wall, slowly making a passage to connect to his neighbor’s. Knowing he doesn’t suffer alone gives him hope and strength to move forward.
Once the prisoners succeed with their adjoining tunnel, they meet. Instantly, their hopes improve. Faria even literally steps into the sliver of light shining through the small window in Dantes’ cell as Dantes casts his first glance upon his new friend. As they learn they can trust each other, they begin to make plans. Faria shares his plethora of history and language knowledge. Eventually, they renew their efforts to escape their prison.
People often compare the darkness of mental illness as a pit, and people often feel stuck in what seems like a prison not unlike the one where Dantes and Faria find themselves. Yet when they join each other, their hope renews. They don’t bring the misunderstanding, accusations or judgment their guards have cast on them unhelpfully but bring company. The simple presence gives the possibility of trust. Outside the pages, we often forget to begin with this step when someone we love falls into the pit. Joining the friend shows they don’t suffer alone and serves as a starting point for giving them a safe place to share their struggles as Dantes and Faria share their backgrounds with each other as a way to form understanding. Then, sharing knowledge and support, we can work together to find a way back into the light.
08 Tuesday Jan 2019
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
500 Days of Summer, boy meets girl, communication, dreams, hope, love, love at first sight, love story, movies, relationship, romantic comedy
In (500) Days of Summer, a movie in my all time top 10, a story of boy meets girl begins on January 8. Hopeless romantic greeting card writer Tom sees the new assistant Summer and falls into a moody love at first sight. However, as the narrator informs us in the film’s introduction, this boy meets girl story is not a love story. The romantic comedy shows us a couple effects of falling into a Summer Daze.
Today we see January 8 on the calendar. Maybe we don’t have a boy meets girl experience today. We can still consider the knowledge we have and use that to navigate our direction and choices, whether we understand the information the first time or after we fall. The best potential comes after the Summer Daze fades.
07 Monday Jan 2019
Posted in books, Uncategorized
Tags
belonging, book review, books, Exit West, hope, identity, immigration, magical realism, Mohsin Hamid
Mohsin Hamid’s Exit West captures a love story and the trials of immigration. With a touch of magical realism, people can passage into a new country by stepping through the threshold of certain doors. This takes out the long, brutal reality of finding a way to get into a desired place, but that also opens up the potential to explore the effects of these moves. Nadia and Saeed’s love story demonstrates the hope, decisions and distance from loved ones involved in such endeavors.
This relatively short novel has depth in its magical pages. It reads easily, but I wish I took it at a slower pace so I could contemplate longer what the characters experienced. I appreciate how it gives perspective on how identity and belonging shifts as Nadia and Saeed each feel they connect with different groups as they settle into new aspects of their lives.
Further reading:
For a realistic dive into a family’s decision to immigrate, I recommend Border Child by Michel Stone. It explores a Mexican couple’s gut-wrenching search to locate their daughter.
