I cannot lie, especially in a paper my Bible teacher will be reading! I have struggled to accomplish this assignment. For weeks, I continually have forgot to read my Bible or do a long just me and God prayer. Not weeks at a time per say, there were many nights however, I would finish my homework, crawl into bed at 12, after my roommate and I had turned off the lights, and remember I had not done my Bible reading that day. This of course was a good time to have a me and God talk, but I would have trouble staying on task. After all, it was late, I was tired, and I had a lot on my mind! None of these are excuses which is why in my reflection I have decided to share the ways I used to get myself in the habit of reading, and prayer, as well as what …show more content…
I fell in some ways it has brought me closer to God, and it has certainly taught me a lot about time management! I found that writing my prayers in a journal has been my favorite part of the experience. Writing my prayers causes me to focus on God and what I am telling Him so that I do not become distracted by my thoughts. I enjoyed reading my bible, and finding new verses to write down and memorize, and I enjoyed experiencing Gods word not only in English, but in Spanish as well. On the day before election I spoke with my mom, and we decided that on election day we would fast and pray together. This wasn’t difficult as I have gone a long time without food before, but I felt that God was testing me that day! On election day, my hall went to chick-file, there was a meeting that provided donuts, and Nutella was offered in chucks! These are all food that I love! And when it comes to chick- file and donuts, well, I haven’t had those since I moved here! It didn’t matter though, I didn’t eat, I prayed, and as I watched the election polls from 7 pm to 2;15 am, I sang praises and found a vast amount of peace in God. The next day, while I was “rejoicing” in the outcome of our next president, I saw that one of my friend, the mother of an LGBT son was incredibly upset, and terrified of what would come from trumps election. This broke my heart as her son is one of my good friends and while I think he lives in sin, I love him and care deeply about how he is treated. It tore me up for days not only for that reason but because she stated that those of us who said God would pull us though to good were wrong. I finally got up the courage to email her and fighting back tears I tried to comfort her on her worries. I couldn’t sleep that night because I was so worried that she would not want to be around me since I disagreed with Chris’s lifestyle, and though it to be wrong. But the next day she replied to my email
“Of Our Spiritual Strivings” from W.E.B. DuBois’s narrative of immersion The Souls of Black Folk, A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid, and Citizen by Claudia Rankine are all pieces of literature expressing the societal struggles of the African-American and Afro-Caribbean communities due to their ethnic identity. In “Of Our Spiritual Strivings,” DuBois explores the idea of the “twoness” African-Americans struggle with as being a part of the society. In A Small Place, Kincaid reflects upon the theme of being a burden in a world built by you but does not allow you to be a part of it. In Citizen, Rankine discusses the idea of being both within and outside of a society which rejects you but admires your culture. The internal and external fracases explored
I am currently an English 160 student who is hoping to move on to the next course, which is English 161. I understand the requirements for English 161. It require students to explore a topic in some depth and conduct independent research related to that topic. Conducting research allows students to learn what it is like to participate in academic culture, posing questions about important issues and developing an argument in response to what others have said. It expected students to learn the most valuable skill in college, which is critical thinking. Students have to be able to read challenging readings. Although I still have problems with English, I think I’m qualified to move on.
The Souls of Black Folk are a collection of essays composed by W.E.B Du Bois’ highlighting the problems that the African-American race faced in American society. Du Bois describes the feeling of being “shut out from the[ir] world by a vast veil” (4). The veil is a metaphor that Du Bois presents representing a symbolic wall that separates the “whites” and “blacks”. To Du Bois, the veil emphasises the racial boundaries that the African-Americans faced, as well as their invisibility within society in U.S history. Throughout the text, Du Bois makes it evident that the most important issues are education, economic opportunities, as well as the emotional journey being shared. Du Bois states, “He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both
First, I have a daily centering prayer practice, where I sit for 15 to 20 minutes in the morning in silence with the intention of opening to the presence of God and his action within. I find that this practice gives me an opportunity to center my attention on becoming receptive to God and has created in me an appreciation for prayer in which I say nothing and rely on Grace to be the catalyst for my experience and transformation, not my doing or saying the right thing. I also like to follow the liturgical season and participate in the experience of the journey of Jesus. Even though giving up something like TV for lent may not be on par with the suffering and temptation of Jesus, it does give each of us an opportunity to short circuit our devices of comfort and distraction and feel the pull of temptation. So, for each season I try to interact with its appropriate aim. Lectio Divina, is another way that I am exploring the scriptures and allowing for God to communicate with me in a new way. Reading a verse or passage, then letting go of trying to interact with the reading, but instead allowing it to wash over me and reveal a word, phrase, or experience and then repeating it a few times really allows the Bible to communicate with me new truths each time I read. Finally, I try to be a good neighbor. I am afraid that I have a long way to go in regard to being a good friend or a good
Throughout the semester i only learned few new things but i did improve and solidify my skill of writing. Before my first year of college my skills have always undermined by other high school english teachers and with that came disappointing grades. I am writing this paper as a reflection of the semester and the progress i have made as a writer. I now understand many things that my high school teachers have done a poor job demonstrating and i am grateful that i decided to take my own route in my education instead of their syllabus. I entered the semester with anxiety that i would perform as i did before but i clearly outdid my own expectations by receiving top grades on my essays.
...tribute this to the readings and the context of the work. Up to this point I have learned that we all have trials and sometimes can weather some pretty bad waves. But one thing I have learned is that I am not alone. For one I have my bible,that I can always go to for comfort. This is the difference between staying with your faith and giving up because of natures way of letting us know that we are just human and things can happen. One of the most gratifying moments has been that co-workers whom I would never know their religious affiliation will talk to me about personal matters and not feel awkward at all. The old saying that one wears heart ache on their sleeve, perhaps when we believe we also wear our heart on our sleeve
...hing in my power to get things back to the way they were before but it was just not happening. One morning when I was doing my devotional, I read in my devotional book that without God anything we try will fail. It was as if God said, “Here have a big piece of humble pie.” In college, humility will be a big part for me in that I will have to remember to ask for God to make me humble everyday. This, I believe, will further deepen my relationship with the Lord.
Testimonies of how you stayed faithful even when times were tough. Moments you will be able to look back and be thankful to God for them. Those moments will increase your faith and you will be able to trust God because of what happened in the past. Your testimonies are great to edify yourself but even better to edify other people. Using your experience, you will be able to encourage people in their relationship with God. If we look at Daniel in the Bible, we know that he was a good man who feared God, yet God allowed him to be sentenced to death in a lion’s den. Daniel was saved by God so it’s hard to call it a suffering, but still we see that God used this situation to show his might to the king Darius and his nation –“I issues a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.” Dave Earley says it so well, “God’s ultimate plan behind all of His activities on this planet is to present humanity with a clear testimony of who He truly is and what He
In freshman seminar, I learned so much that could help me out with any class in college, with maybe the exception of science. I acquired the knowledge of how to write a self-evaluation, a biography, and a resume. Critiquing myself in a self-evaluation is better than trying to watch myself in the mirror and fix my mistakes on the spot. Taking the time to write out notes and learn as I go helps me remember what areas I need to improve in. Even though I gained an excessive amount of knowledge from freshman seminar, I still struggle with writing papers due to uninspired high school classes and the inability to reach into expanded detail. An important subject that was greatly appreciated in freshman seminar was eating habits for dancers. Eating
While you decide about how you will pray, choose at least three faith scriptures to write down to guide the prayer. As soon as you have time to think about the faith scriptures you will use in prayer, pray in the morning and in the evening using the selected faith scripture as a model. Lastly, state reasons for the need to learn how to use faith scriptures to pray in daily situations. Then, once a person comes to God, one must learn to use faith by incorporating it into prayer daily, for 30 minutes. After this teaching students will be able to pray in the morning and in the evening using the selected faith scripture as a model.
Spiritual formation is a process that morphs as we grow and change. There is no one singular correct path this type of journey takes because each journey is as individual as the person who is experiencing it. Most obvious, the journey will be different from those who identify as religious and those who do not and will diversify with in each category. For example, the spiritual journey a Buddhist takes will be different from that of a believer in Judaism or Christianity. In fact, the journey will continue to diversify between Christians, male and female, age groups, even by demographic location. Consequently, the spiritual formation process is as diverse as it is intricate and we may never be able to discover all the journey options. Although individuals may not actively recognize they are experiencing spiritual formation it is a process that affects all. Because it is in human nature to question, learn, grow, and act, everyone to a certain extent is exposed to a unique spiritual formation journey.
The Spiritual Exercises: not only speak to the Jesuits but also to the religious of other congregations; not only to the religious but also to the laity; not only to Catholics but also to the Protestants. In other words, the Spiritual Exercises speak to all who believe in God and base their spirituality on the gospel message. First I will define what a spirituality of vocation is. Second I will explain what the Spiritual Exercises mean. Third I will try to show how the Spiritual Exercises are a representation of a universal call to the Christian gospel. Then I will conclude by stating my stand.
Spiritual formation is one subject that I like to discuss in that it really helps one reflect on their own spiritual journey and where they are in that journey. The devil wants to steal, kill, and destroy any step forward towards God. He is not after anything tangible that we possess, rather, he is only after our faith in God and belief in Jesus. Knowing this is part of our spiritual journey as fighting against the enemy requires spiritual warfare in which the only one that can help is Jesus. A transformation in our character to be like Jesus is essential to our spiritual growth. This cannot be done without being intentional with our time, finances, and disciplines.
When I first entered high school, I never had any indication that all my expectations would be shortly dissipated. When I thought of high school it had been the whole 90’s point of view where there were the cool kids and the cliques and the bullying and the jocks and so on. To my surprise however, people were more than their supposed position in the system, they were human, they were all free and all- like me, experiencing a brand new start to their lives.
Much like Benjamin Franklin believed, I feel that a person should take advantage of the time the person has in life with activities a person wants to do or needs to do. A person should not spend much time on activities the person does not want to do. Life is way too short to concern oneself with work or other activities one wants nothing to do with all the time. When possible, I try to forget about my responsibility and just let go of the ‘things’ that do not matter to me. I think a person should try to occupy oneself with something productive, worthwhile, or necessary at all times. Even though a person’s life is left up to a person to live, I cannot imagine thinking that I owe my time to society through working a job that I simply despise. I am a compassionate person, but I do not owe anyone anything regarding my time.