Prompt for 11/11

 Williams: “Is Thinking Good for Its Own Sake?”

Re-phrase Williams' definition of intrinsic goodness in your own words. Then, based on this definition, create a list of at least 20 things that are intrinsically good. These must be different from the ones that Williams listed. Finally, write about a time in which you experienced something that was intrinsically good. *CHALLENGE* Choose one of the items from your list to intentionally enjoy within the next week. You are not required to write about this experience, but feel free to if you so desire.

If something is intrinsically good, it’s good in and of itself. 

20 things that are intrinsically good:

God

love

education

rest

friendship

family

prayer

art

worship

poetry

life

music

reading

exercise

smiling

crying

rain

creation

work

happiness

This week, I have experienced the intrinsic value of rest. Life has been getting really mundane lately... Monday and Wednesday, I work. Tuesday, I mentor at the New Life Ranch. Thursday, I have Passion. All of these things are good, but it’s really easy for me to just go about my week just checking things off my to-do list. It’s hard to remember Colossians 3:23, which says “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” It’s also VERY easy to fall into the typical trap of not being able to maintain grades and homework, a social life, and a healthy sleep schedule. The fallout for me is my sleep. Sunday afternoon, I took a nap. I felt completely fine and healthy before it, but I woke up feeling terrible. My throat, head, ears, and stomach were simultaneously revolting. Monday, I went to work as usual. Tuesday, though, I went to the nurse. She explained a lot about my sickness to me, and told me it was imperative for me to get more than enough rest. I didn’t go to New Life, and I called into work today. I have spent every day this week after class laying in bed doing basically nothing. I’ve kept up with homework, but for the most part, I’ve enjoyed days of resting in the Lord. Rest has so much intrinsic value that I often take for granted. Although I would prefer being healthy, it took being sick for me to remember that God wants me to rest. Psalm 127:2 says “It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.” I am His beloved, and this week He has given me sleep. Not necessarily to make me well, but just because rest and sleep is very good in and of itself.


Thought Questions
1. Have you ever gotten a "blessing in disguise" (ie being sick) that allowed you to experience something intrinsically good?
2. Can something intrinsically good also benefit people? 

Prompt for 11/4

Question: How does Freire help you rethink your definition of education?

Freire’s banking concept is really weird to me because I can’t say I’ve ever really felt victimized by the education system, I guess because it has served me so well. A section of the reading that particularly stood out to me was:

• the teacher teaches and the students are taught;
• the teacher knows everything and the students know nothing;
• the teacher thinks and the students are thought about;
• the teacher talks and the students listen -- meekly;
• the teacher disciplines and the students are disciplined;
• the teacher chooses and enforces his choice, and the students comply;
• the teacher acts and the students have the illusion of acting through the action of the teacher;
• the teacher chooses the program content, and the students (who were not consulted) adapt to it;
• the teacher confuses the authority of knowledge with his or her own professional authority, which she and he sets in opposition to the freedom of the students;
• the teacher is the Subject of the learning process, while the pupils are mere objects.

Again, I’ve never felt purposefully oppressed by the education system or my teachers, but this at least gave me something to chew on. Some of these points I don’t agree with. I think I can safely agree with the first point, that teachers teach and students are taught; however, I’ve had very few classes in which I felt like my teacher thought they knew everything and we knew nothing (although I can recall some teachers who were that arrogant). Another point I don’t necessarily agree with is the teacher always talking and the students meekly listening. While this has been true sometimes, I definitely had some classes throughout my primary education in which class discussions were encouraged. The rest of Freire’s descriptions basically fit into the category of education I have known my whole life. In that case, it made me think about how active teachers are and how passive students can be in this system. There are some exceptions of course, a handful of teachers who like to challenge the system and keep students engaged. The majority, though, seem to follow this pattern pretty well. I don’t like thinking that I have been merely an object in which teachers have deposited information into my whole life, but Freire’s ideas surely do make me question if I have been. With the system remaining as-is, I think the best thing we can do as students is to keep an open mind, and try to take everything with a grain of salt, to a degree. I don’t necessarily mean questioning everything we are told, but actually caring enough to examine the facts given to us. This will, to some extent, help keep us clean while participating in a system that no longer seems quite so spotless.


Thought Questions
1. Have you ever felt victimized by the education system?
2. Have you ever challenged the current education system?

Prompt for 10/28

Experimental College is extremely different from John Brown. The classes are student-led, and they aren’t for credit. It seems more of a community enrichment program than anything, which is their goal I think. It’s basically members of the Haverford community sharing their knowledge, interests, and skills with each other. Students are teachers, teachers are students, etcetera. I’m not really sure how I would do in this program... I’ve spent my entire life in usual classroom settings. I don’t really understand how ExCo classes are taught, besides that anyone can teach them. I respect my peers enough to learn from them, but I don’t think I would like having someone my age explicitly called “teacher,” while I’m still a “student.” To me, we’re all learning constantly, and I don’t feel like a lot of people my age are so far ahead of me that they are qualified to impart their wisdom onto me. I think the ExCo system would definitely fail at JBU. It’s a good concept, but no one would pay tuition for it. It has more of a club/interest group feeling than anything.


Thought Questions
1. Do students have authority over other students?
2. How could some aspects of ExCo benefit JBU?

Comfort Zone

Last time I had you go outside and be with yourself for a little while. Well, this time is going to require some action as well. This time I want you to go outside again (maybe you’re already outside...if that is the case..that’s great!); however, instead of spending time with yourself, I want you to spend time with others. Go to the quad and sit with a group of people you don’t know, or go to the park and talk to someone you don’t know. Maybe they’re playing volleyball––ask to join in. Maybe they’re playing basketball––ask to join in. Maybe there are kids playing with their imaginations––play with them, laugh with them. Take some time to be with other people. Allow your story to interact with theirs. Do this for as long as you want. I know it is uncomfortable, but life isn’t comfortable––good ole’ Donald says the same thing over and over again in the book. GO! and be with others. Listen to them, talk to them, see them, let them see you. It’s awkward, yes, but it is the story of humanity. I’m a very naturally shy person, honestly, but what is the worst that can happen to you? Someone says, “No, you can’t play with us.” That’s fine. Just say ok and go along your way. Someone looks at you and laughs at you––does that really define who you are? 

After doing that––I want you to write about it. What were your fears as you interacted with others? What were you thinking about? How did you listen? Write about being with other people––especially being with other people without an agenda. Just write at what your heart is telling you. Be honest, be raw. Be you and just write.

There’s a great quote that I’ve really been striving to live by the past couple years, but especially since I moved to Siloam: “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” The church I go to back home is very big on worshipping in whatever way feels comfortable to you. When I first started going to church in my sophomore year, I always saw so many people with their hands held high, really, intensely going after God. I had worship envy. Eventually though, the more I grew in my relationship with God, the more ready I became to lift my hands in surrender to Him. I knew that to wholly surrender myself during worship, I would have to really step outside my comfort zone and get alone with God amidst a crowd of people, loud music, and bright lights. These days, it feels more strange for me to not be lifting my hands during worship, which just goes to show me that things in life that initially feel awkward to us can become normal if we let them.

Okay, to the prompt... I work at the Boys and Girls Club for my workstudy job. The other day, I worked in the gym/yard for the first time. Since I started, I have become accustomed to helping kids with homework, doing arts and crafts, building with Legos, and playing bumper pool. It’s been a while since I’ve played monkey in the middle or H-O-R-S-E with dozens of hyper kids. Working in the other areas, I play with mostly the same kids every day. Riley, Robby, Breanna in the computer room...Gracie, Anatalia, Jasmine in the art room...Lisa, Layla, Lilly in the games room... Staff members aren’t supposed to play favorites, but honestly, we naturally do. Many of my “favorites,” my usual kids, simply don’t hang out in the gym. Being in there put me around several kids I wasn’t familiar with. It was a little overwhelming to say the least. This may sound silly, but I was watching a group of little boys play football, and eagerly wanted to jump in. These boys, though, are at that awkward preteen age where they feel like they have to act like a punk to be cool. Growing up, I was the biggest tomboy ever. Skateboarding and football were some of my favorite things.  Still, I watched from the sidelines in envy. I kept envisioning these sad scenarios where the boys would laugh at me for being a girl and trying to play football with them. It was kind of like I turned into my ten-year-old self, but without the self-confidence I once had about “being one of the boys.” Then I remembered that quote about life starting outside my comfort zone, and I got up and intercepted one of their passes. We ended up playing a made-up version of monkey in the middle, football style, and I can honestly say it is the most fun I’ve had in a while. To their surprise, they kept complimenting my football skills, and more boys ended up joining our game. We played until it was eventually time to close the gym down, and some of them even stayed to help clean up. It was really nice to be able to retreat back to my childhood for a while, remember what a sporty kid I used to be, and make some new friends all the while. All because I stepped outside my comfort zone.

Thought Questions

1. What does the quote “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone” mean, and how does it apply to your life experiences?

2. When is the last time you stepped outside your comfort zone to further God’s kingdom or your relationship with Him?

Dreams

Before you write your response, I want you to do something. I want you to go outside. I’m not going to say for how long, because this isn’t something to check-off your list. I want you to go outside and just be for a little while. Be. Listen. Be. For this activity, I don’t want you to be with anyone. Be by yourself for a little while. Really allow yourself to BE with yourself (this may sound odd..but seriously, I want you to do this). And as you sit with yourself, I want you to ask yourself this question: 

What is my dream? What is that one thing that makes me feel most alive––the most alive that I have ever been? 

And I want you to be real honest with yourself. Don’t listen to the voices in your head..don’t listen to the pressure you feel from either yourself, your parents, your friends, or any other source. I want you to listen to your heart. To truly listen to your heart. And then after you have spent time with yourself...I want you to go back inside and write. Write about it. Write about your dreams, your fears. Write about whatever tugs at your heartstrings. Just write.

Inside this little girl lies a lot of dreams. The child sex trafficking and exploitation industry tugs at my heartstrings more than probably anything else ever could. This industry makes around $32 Billion annually. Many brothels have MENUS containing children’s pictures, a identification number (because the children no longer have a name when they are trafficked), and a list of what they will do and how much they will cost. It is disgusting. Purity is so incredibly valuable, and I can’t and don’t want to even begin to imagine having mine stolen from me, at any age. The fact that people make money every minute of every day by giving away what doesn’t belong to them makes me sick to my stomach. Two children are sold every minute. From the time my first class starts tomorrow to the time my last one ends, 840 children will be sold. These facts are the ones that break my heart. While statistics and numbers are dim and depressing, I know there is hope. God has given me a burden for these children, and my dream is to make a difference. Traveling also makes me feel alive. I have felt my purpose leaning increasingly toward missions lately, specifically in areas with high rates of sex trafficking, orphans, and people who won’t hear the Gospel otherwise. I have a dream to travel the world sharing the love of Jesus, and eventually ending up wherever He plants me. Another dream I have is to use my art for outreach. Whether making graphics for a nonprofit or painting murals in slums, I want my art to speak volumes to people. I feel most alive when I feel like I’m making a difference. That is honestly the best dream God has given me. 

Thought Questions

1. How can we decipher God’s voice when determining our dreams?

2. What is the first step to take toward a pretty big dream?

Performing for an audience of One

Who are some of the audiences for whom we feel the pressure to perform?  Given these pressures, how can students perform for an audience of one?

We feel pressure to perform for so many different people. Our parents, our families, friends, professors, church leaders, peers, ourselves...so many people seem to expect so much from us. By now, we’ve all figured out it’s impossible to please everyone. Parents expect good grades and chores done. Families expect time set aside for them and birthday party attendance. Friends expect bonding time and weekend trips. Professors expect A material and fully present students. Church leaders expect examples worth following and thoughtfully planned small group discussions. Peers expect normality and fashion sense. ALL of these audiences seem to expect full devotion to what they want for you and from you. We expect ourselves to meet all of these expectations, while somehow getting a healthy amount of food, sleep, and time with God. Living with the pressure of pleasing everyone weighs down on every aspect of our lives. Performing for an audience of One truly lessens the pressure to perform. Sure, sometimes we forget that God has promised us rest in Him, and we get caught up in trying to be the best for everyone else. But He allows us to find peace in His strengths. When we stop worrying about doing things as a result of our own strength, it becomes much easier to rely on God alone. Knowing He makes all things work together for the good of us who love Him is enough to free us from stress, if even just a little. 

Thought Questions

1. What are some daily routines you could change to redirect your focus from performing for the rest of the world to pleasing an audience of One?

2. Is it sinful to worry about pleasing others before God?

Letter to Successful Person

      Dearest best friend,

               You probably don’t even know the impact you’ve had on me. I know I don’t tell you this enough, but I really, sincerely admire you.

               In high school, we weren’t really close at all, but you were always that girl everyone knew. Super involved, school spirited, gorgeous, smart, a great Christian, and a shining personality. You’ve always seemed to have a lot going for you, even before I really knew you.

               This summer, we got the chance to actually get to know each other by being leaders of a small group together, and I am so thankful for that time. Even though I’m in Siloam Springs now, while you’re still in Fort Smith, we’ve somehow managed to get even closer since I’ve been at school. I always think of Philippians 1:3, “I thank my God every time I remember you,” because I legitimately do. I thank God for our friendship every day. 

               You don’t even consider yourself to be extremely successful..not in a low self-esteem type way, just in a broken before God, imperfect kind of way...which just makes you that much more successful. You’re one of those people who is great at nearly everything you do, but every rare time you do fail, you get back up. 

               I know you don’t feel like you’re making much of a difference in the small group anymore because our kids are so hard-headed, but just remember they’re only sophomores. If I think about my immaturity and the stupid choices I was making at their age, I understand where they’re coming from. Just remember Galatians 6:9, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” I know you won’t give up on them. You’re doing a great job, even without me there to help. 

              I just want to say thank you so much for being a great friend. You are “successful” because you seek God’s will above your own. You carry a lot on your shoulders and still manage to be an amazing person and friend. I know I can always come to you with anything, and vice versa. Thanks for basically being in a long-distance relationship with me...our nightly phone calls are my favorite. You’re the only friend from home that I feel like I actually still have a healthy growing friendship with. I love you!

                                                          Emily :)

Thought Questions
1. Explain if "successfulness" in the world's eyes the same as in God's eyes.
2. Does successfulness come from our own efforts?  Explain.