Learning Relfection~ Week 15

A. I felt most engaged when writing my Profession of Faith. I also felt engaged when reading the discussion forum about everyone's thought to be same beliefs. It is interesting to see what others think, since it's difficult in class to hear everyone's opinions.

B. I usually feel most distant during class. Some people seem to know a lot of information about topics that I don't know a lot about.

C. N/A

D. I appreciated Alexa's post about her virtue of Forgiveness. It seems as she is really working at this and that there is a personal reason to her as to why she wants to improve this matter.

E. I wasn't confused this week about any of the readings.

F. Honestly, I was somewhat surprised this week during class when there weren't any huge arguments about religion. I think it's just because people don't feel comfortable discussing the topic because it may seem as some people won't listen.

Profession of Faith

As a Christ follower, I believe there is a loving God whom also punishes, but He has a plan for each of our lives and each decision we make He will use to get us where He wants us. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins. I believe that His father in Heaven is also my father in Heaven who watches over me every day. My God is my comforter, protector, strength, life planner, my hope, my joy, my everything. He has given me my family, my friends, my life, in which all of these things make up who I am and who I will become.
I have doubted God and what He has planned for me and I have questioned why things have happened. But during this I felt no better about the situation. When I am weakest is when I feel the strongest because I seek Him for guidance of what is right. He uses those close to me to tell me what I need to hear. When I am weak, I learn the most and appreciate more the smaller things in life.
I do not understand some things and some things I just do not know. Like how can an all-loving God detest a man loving a man or a women loving a women? Or why does a sin as great as the rape or murder of someone mean the same to Him as us feeling jealous of what someone has? Things like this, I question, but it doesn't change the faith I put into God. If I knew everything and the reason of everything what else would there be to look forward to and learn from life?
The people God has blessed me with in my life are the ones who mold me. The spiritual conversations over dinner, runs, or coffee are the conversations that can be life altering or changing. The relationships built around God are life lasting friendships. These people are the ones that will always be there for you, always offer the best advice, always pray for you, and always be there to support you in your walk with Christ. God speak through these people on Earth to guide and support  us as He would. Sometimes when I've not been in prayer with God or not been living the way I should, a close friend will say something (with or without knowing my thoughts) that will remind me that God has a will for each of us and anything we go through, God has it planned. If He brings us to it, He'll bring us through it.
You hear people say, "Oh yeah, I'm a Christian. I go to church every Sunday." My old youth leader used to tell us, "If going to church makes you a Christian, does going to the garage make you a car?" It's what is in your heart that makes you a Christ follower, what you believe, how you continue to build your relationship with God, how you worship Him in your daily life, and how or what you choose to live for.

"Common Sense"

One problem I notice often is the amount of people that are given financial aid from the government. I know, you're thinking, "Gosh. What a terrible person." But No. You are probably just like me. You either go to school and work or you work a full time job, maybe more than one. Does it frustrate you to see people in the grocery lines in front of you with food stamps and government aid, yet they have Gucci and Prada bags? Or if you're overhearing a conversation at school from people around you receiving financial aid but they also have the Louis Vuitton (I had to look up how to spell it) bags or are going on nice vacations? How is this possible?
I understand life is always going to be unfair, and of course that doesn't make me happy, but that's life. I also get that this won't be eliminated and people are going to lie, or do whatever they need to to get what they want, but really? This is about the majority of America.
One solution that would eliminate a lot of the aid being given would be to require drug tests for anyone receiving aid. Yes, that means financial aid for school, food stamps, anything that is an aid to the individual. Too many people are being supported by those of us who work and earn things on our own. Many of the people, and I've seen it myself, are generally high, or under the influence of some sort of chemical/substance. How is this okay, when people who work can NOT be under the influence on the job?!
I get that many individuals really do need this certain aid, but so do others who aren't receiving any and are working multiple jobs, plus going to school.
Sometimes I think if I had four children, didn't work, was dishonest, and spent my life seeing stars, that maybe things would come easier...

Response to Madison Posts

Sam mentioned the idea of dissolving the 2 party system. I would agree with him. I think that this would be beneficial for our government and people in the long run. If we could bring every one's ideas and beliefs together in some way, there would be more peace within our nation. There would be less money spent on campaigning, people would possibly get along better because they would be working on coming to an agreement instead of arguing over whose party is the "right" one. This proposal would be difficult to set in stone but I think once we had it, it would greatly benefit us and bring us back to "One Nation".

Kevin's idea of switching from retribution to rehabilitation for inmates sounds great! As a career I want to work with people in bettering themselves and how they feel. I think that the main way someone can change their behavior and reactions is to seek guidance with that process. Most people won't, or are afraid to admit that they need help. People may think that once someone is being "locked up" that it is too late. I disagree. This is the perfect time for someone to be able to receive the help/couseling./therapy they need. Just because someone is put away for however many years, that will not teach them the way they should be in public. If anything, when they are released back into society, they will be overwhelmed, causing them to act out immediately. As he mentioned, this idea would also make available many more jobs in each state, which is another topic many people are concerned about. I hope to earn my PhD in Couseling Psychology and I would definitely condsider being a counselor for the inmates. Great idea!

Virtues Update~Week 13

This past week I focused on Peacefulness, and being content with life's happenings. Through the help of a friend and through prayer, I do feel at peace with life's needed decisions. With feeling more at peace, it allows for less feelings of anxiousness which allows me to focus and see things more clear and not so foggy.

This week I plan to focus on Courage. We all are sometimes faced with things in life that we never thought would happen or we just didn't want it to. I will go through this week and I will be brave about anything I am faced with. I will try something new. I was recently accepted into a school that is 5 1/2 hours from where I have grown up. I am not afraid of the distance, but I am worried in general.However, with this courage I will be able to go visit this weekend with an open mind and embrace the new adventure and opportunity.

Madison's No. 10

To be completely honest, it took me a while to understand what this assignment was about, therefore, I appologize for it being late. I still am not 100% sure what I read or think, but I'm giving it a shot...

As I was reading Madison's The Federalist No. 10, I found myself looking up the meaning of "faction". As I understood it, it is a clique within a large group. When I hear 'clique' I think of how people use the term referring to social groups, such as in high schools. Everyone had their own 'clique(s)' that they belonged to. Madison debated whether or not it would be better to remove the causes of faction or to control its effects. I must say I agree with his decision of just controlling its effects. I think it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to remove the causes of faction. As soon as you removed one, another would appear. Just like if you eliminated a 'clique' from a student body, another one would take the role the former one had. That same pattern would continue to go on.

Madison then goes on to state that controlling faction's effects would be possible in a republic but not a pure deomcracy. According to him, common people make decisions based on self interest. Well, doesn't everyone? Isn't it typically what majority wants, majority gets? In a republic, the citizens would vote for the representatives, who then make the basic votes/decisions, based on the people. However, in a pure democracy, every citizen gets to vote for the laws. Unlike what Madison wanted I like the idea f every citizen having the right to vote for what they wanted. Each person has their own opinion according to how they've lived. They should be allowed to make a stand for what they think.

As Madison would want a large republic, I can see how it has its benefits. The numbers of representatives, voters, and candidates would be higher. This allows for more opinions, more ideas, tougher decisions to make, and more thorough ways as to how to meet these goals. With more people working together, there will be more conflict because everyone has a different opinion. With the size of America, this is best. We need as many different thoughts out there as possible, this way most people will be reached or heard in some way. The candidates in a alrge republic would need to work harder to win the people's votes. This effort will also show the voters how working hard can pay off. It is the duty of these candidates to please the majority of the people.

For the most part, I agree with Madison's decisons/arguments he made in the Federalist papers. However, I think the people should be allowed more than what he is willing to give them...

Learning Reflections~ Week 12

a.) This week I honestly had a difficult time engaging in the class. Our class discussions seemed to be on topics that I was not fully educated in, so therefore I didn't feel as I had much input.
b.) Through Enlightenment, I feel as I am learning to be "at peace" with life. Everything is very natural, care-free, you know, it just happens. We keep living. It's kind of cool to have a class that forces you to be aware of these kind of things in life. Never before have I been asked to write about bettering myself.
c.) During debate this week, I definitley learned how everyone has a different opinion, on everything! Not everyone is going to agree, but it's important to still hear the person out and accept them for their beliefs.
d.) During a debate last week, one student politely quieted another student as he was interrupting someone as they were speaking. It was kind but it got the point across of how they weren't being respectful to the speaker.
e.) Most things/people in the class are somewhat puzzling. I just brush it off, accept it, and move on.
f.) To be honest, the reading this week was difficult to follow. Mainly because it may not interest me as much as others. However, I did re-read some of them and was still unable to come up with a valid argument or statement for my blog or committee posting. I plan on continuing with these same readings/writings this week, in hopes to better understand! :-/