Megan MacDonald- (Personal Post) Rain

There is just something about a summer's rain that I love.  I can look back at my childhood and there were countless memories of me playing in the rain.  But some of my favorite memories are of my dad and I sitting out sitting out on the porch at night watching a rain storm.  It simply does not get any better than that.  The sound of thunder, the vision of lighting, the mist of the pouring rain.  I find these elements of nature so beautiful (except for when I am hiking).  When I was younger my dad would make up stories as to why the thunder and lighting was happening.  I would laugh to myself at meteorologists as they had a scientific explanation of what was coming, when I really knew that God was about to throw a party. 

I hold these memories near and I look forward to growing up and making memories like these. 

Megan MacDonald Outside Reading- Freefall to fly

"Freefall to Fly: A Breath Taking Journey Toward a Life of Meaning" is about a woman with three children and one of them is autistic.  Her life is at a comfortable spot down in Atlanta Georgia until her and her husnad feel as if it is time to move to New York and work with a friend in starting a church.  Her hard and long journey begins with not being able to figure out the city, or how their lives are suppose to work in the big apple. 
 School has been tough this semester so I have not been able to finish reading this book.  However, I am so looking forward to it! This book is written by a christian mom, who it the wife to a well known pastor and she has written a book about her struggles.  I love this concept.  So many women, especially christian women, have a hard time sharing what they are actually struggling with.  However this women, through breaking down in front of her kids, to  underestimating who God was is open about her entire walk and step with Christ and especially the bad.  For a christian woman, with a husband who has to maintain a reputation, to be so open and honest with her life is truly an inspiration and I look forward to reading the end. 

Plotz Readings # 5 Ishmael

I read Ishmael for the first time this semester. They way Ismael revels his teaching to the narrator I find very similar to topics discussed in this class. Rather than going point to point, Ismael uses myth and stories to revel truths about the realities of life. Personally, I thought Quinn’s book was very compelling and a good eye opener to the post-modern human condition. Furthermore, I thought his using a medium within a medium (or story within a story) to get to a point was very witty.  Overall it was a very good book and I hope it maintains its well renown status. 

Plotz Readings # 4 A Holy Occupation Requires Childlikenes

Oswald Chambers has a book called Prayer A Holy Occupation the book is a set of reflection devotionals on prayer and what it means to pray. The first section Chamber speaks of is praying like a child. One of the devotionals go as followed:

“What a person wants is somewhere to rest his mind and heart, and the only place to rest is in God, and the only way to come to God is by prayer. Much of our prayer has noting in it; it is not the talk of a child to his Father when he has come up against things or is hurt.”

This small devotion looks at people’s motives in prayer. I couldn’t agree more with Oswald as he describes not what, but how some one should pray. Sometimes our prayers become repetitive and not heart filled. While we often try to find mediums to communicate with God, sometimes we need a reminder that a medium is not always needed. God is our Father and does not need or desire to have something between us to rather, he desires to walk with us and lead us, his children. We can communicate with Him directly anytime and feel his fulfilling love. Let us never forget the blessing of prayer!

Plotz Readings # 3 Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4

An important notion we have discussed in our class is a films ability to serve as a medium between the profane and the sacred. This middle ground is something that is seen in several other writing and holy scriptures. 

“Even if, among troubled persons,

you are one who performs 

the most troubling acts—

By the boat of knowledge,

you shall indeed

cross over all affliction.” (BG 4.36)

Here I see Krishna telling Ajruna justification for where he questions the mortality of the battle his is about to partake in. No matter what “wrong” he might do, it is all for a better reason. Krishna takes Ajruna beyond his cosmos and speaks in a way that leads to Ajurna to a Holy understanding of things. He need not fear or trouble himself with what is to come rather play create his own role in the making of the story at hand.

Plotz Readings # 2 Matthew 6:27-34

In my dissuasions I mentioned this section of the Gospel and I want to extend it into a blog. There verses listed in the title is the section where Jesus talks about anxiety and worry. I mentioned the verses when speaking of Joel and Clementine’s decisions in Eternal Sunshine. In the movie, Joel is one who is in constant worry of his future and Clementine too seems to be anxious in regards to everything that had happened to her. Yet the two ultimately decide to abandon their worries and life the life they know is right today. “For tomorrow will hold enough worries of its own…” Personally, this section of the bible is one that I have made a very active part of my life style. While I may fret over the things at times I do make a point to keep focused on my task at hand rather than try and speculate how it might fail in the future. Forgetting to worry, as one might put it, is an action that does have to be  of one owns choosing, which is what is seen in Eternal Sunshine. Fighting anxiety, is something I feel is very existential in and of itself, and it is an idea I have always enjoyed seeing in the film.

Plotz Readings # 1 Jesse Prinz's “When is Film Art?”

In this article Prinz tackles the question of when film is art. His article goes into major detail and ultimately, he claims a film needs to afford an aesthetic stance to be considered art. After reading his article I did find that I agreed with what Prinz was getting at, however I think he left an important part of the film making process when classifying if a movie is art. Any movie directors intention to showing drawing some sort of aesthetic stance form his viewers is a notion Prinz leaves out almost entirely. With this notion aside, Prinz captures the meaning beyond the use of cameras and technology and looks at how the films capture audiences aesthetically. Its also important to add that he claims by no means for his definition to be necessary and sufficient, thus my critique on director (artist) intention could be one he could include into his idea.