My essay, Becoming a Christian, was the first essay of this nine weeks. I was suppose to write about a personal memoir and use three different types of brushstrokes. In the Nature Essay, I was suppose to agree or disagree with Emerson and Thoreau idea's of Transcendentalism. In the Becoming a Christian, it was the first essay i had written for Mrs. Turner's class. I wrote about my experience of letting Jesus into my heart. In the essay I had to use three different brushstrokes. Using the brushstrokes helped me a lot because it taught me how to make my writing more interesting and enjoyable to read. The Nature Essay, was the last essay I wrote for Mrs. Turner this nine weeks. I was suppose to use a nature experience and compare it to Transcendentalism. As I wrote this essay, the whole writing process became easier for me. In this writing experience I have learned how to use breath stokes, how to write a thesis statement, and how to write a well rounded essay.
I used a lot of being verbs in my Becoming a Christian essay. In the first sentence of the second paragraph, I revised my being verbs. I had to go back through my essay and eliminated as many being verbs as possible. I also had to go back and look for comma errors. In the Nature Essay, I didn't capitalized a lot of my "i's" so I had to go back through my essay and recapitalize them. I was told to talk more about Emerson and Thoreau in the introduction and conclusion. So in the intordcution I revised my first sentence and talked about the main idea of Transcendentalism. I talked about more ideas of Trancendentalism in the conclusion to connect the whole essay together.
I love to read Hannah's writing. She uses amazing brush strokes and she gives so much detail. The reader feels they are right there with them. Morgan used a lot of discriptions, in her Elevate essay. I struggle with being discripted and Morgan appealed to my senses so well. In Kacie's Nature Essay she grapped the readers attention from the start. Her introduction was really strong along with her whole essay.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Nature Essay
Transcendentalism is the idea that everything in the world, including human beings, is a reflection of the Divine Soul. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Dave Thoreau believed and lived out Transcendentalism. They also believed that people could use their intuition to behold God's spirit revealed in nature or in their own souls. Four major examples of transcendentalism are nonconformity, self-reliance, free thought, confidence, and importance of nature.
In Henry David Thoreau's autobiographical story, Life in the Woods, he states that some of his most pleasantest hours were during the long rainstorms in the spring or fall, that confined him to the his house for the afternoon. When walking on the beach the only thing surrounding me is the waves crashing, my feet crunching in the sand, and the wind in my hair. "Soothed by their ceaseless roar and pelting; when an early twilight ushered in a long evening in which many thoughts had time to take root and unfold themselves" (Thoreau, 238). It's something about the waves crashing into the shore that soothes me; it takes away my worries and fears. In these times I can think my best because i let myself go and the technology of this world isn't distracting me anymore. Each time I take a walk on the beach I feel a different way. "Nature is a setting that fits equally well a comic or a mourning piece" (Emerson, 220). Sometimes the sun is bright and the birds are playing and i just can't help but laugh. And other times the sun is hidden beneath the dark clouds and the rain starts to fall to the ground and i get a rather lonely feeling. When walking on the beach I am self-reliant. I feel as if all the problems are washed away and I become confident. I might start skipping down the beach or spinning in circles, not caring what people walking by think.
The beach has so many examples of transcendentalism for me, but you can find them anywhere. Emerson and Thoreau wanted to show the world that people could use their intuition to behold God's spirit; revealed in nature or in their own souls. You can find examples looking out at your backyard or driving to school. We let the bigger, non-important things in life distract us from the small, important things.
In Henry David Thoreau's autobiographical story, Life in the Woods, he states that some of his most pleasantest hours were during the long rainstorms in the spring or fall, that confined him to the his house for the afternoon. When walking on the beach the only thing surrounding me is the waves crashing, my feet crunching in the sand, and the wind in my hair. "Soothed by their ceaseless roar and pelting; when an early twilight ushered in a long evening in which many thoughts had time to take root and unfold themselves" (Thoreau, 238). It's something about the waves crashing into the shore that soothes me; it takes away my worries and fears. In these times I can think my best because i let myself go and the technology of this world isn't distracting me anymore. Each time I take a walk on the beach I feel a different way. "Nature is a setting that fits equally well a comic or a mourning piece" (Emerson, 220). Sometimes the sun is bright and the birds are playing and i just can't help but laugh. And other times the sun is hidden beneath the dark clouds and the rain starts to fall to the ground and i get a rather lonely feeling. When walking on the beach I am self-reliant. I feel as if all the problems are washed away and I become confident. I might start skipping down the beach or spinning in circles, not caring what people walking by think.
The beach has so many examples of transcendentalism for me, but you can find them anywhere. Emerson and Thoreau wanted to show the world that people could use their intuition to behold God's spirit; revealed in nature or in their own souls. You can find examples looking out at your backyard or driving to school. We let the bigger, non-important things in life distract us from the small, important things.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Becoming a Christian
There are moments in life where you have to make life changing decisions. These decisions affect your life majorly and make you who you are. I thought I had already made a life changing decision, but on August 13, 2007 God rocked my world and made something clear.
Most people, especially in the south, claim to be a Christian. But does this mean they are? No becoming a Christian is something that goes on between you and God; you don't come into this world as a Christian. In the fourth grade I thought I had made the transition of allowing God to come in my heart. Over the years I struggled with knowing if I had accepted Christ or not. Every time I heard someone speak on becoming a Christian or if they knew or not, I would get a weird feeling. It was something that has gradually been bothering me more and more. On August 13, 2007 the day started out like a normal Sunday. I got up around 7:30 and started getting nervous. I noticed that my stomach felt like it was in a knot and I was nervous, but I didn’t have a clue why. When I got to Newspring the knotting and nervousness of my stomach got stronger and during the songs I felt like I couldn’t concentrate. Perry came out and said he was only going to preach on three verses. The verses were Mathew 7:21-23 and it says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away form you evildoers!” Perry plainly asked us if we had nailed it down. Do we know for sure if we asked God to come in our lives? This hit me hard. I finally realized that I had no clue what I was doing when I was in the fourth grade. I think I saw everyone around me getting saved and baptized and I didn’t want to be different, so I “accepted” Christ not having a clue what I was doing. Over the years though I did read my bible and I have felt that I have helped people with there walk with Christ. I was following the Christian ways but I did not have the one on one connection with God. Sitting on the third row of the auditorium I felt like I needed to stand up and ask God to come in my heart but I was too proud. I was scared of what my piers would think who already viewed me as a Christian. Would they shun me or stop coming to me for advice. I was also nervous about what the church would think since I was a volunteer and you had to be a Christian to volunteer. I ended up not doing it, and before I left I remembered Perry saying, “If you were suppose to stand up and you didn’t I hope God keeps you restless until you do.”
This stuck in my head all day. I couldn’t erase it from my thoughts. I went through the day wrestling with this and then it was time to go back to church to volunteer. Before the service began I ran into one of my good friends and he informed me that he had to come back and stand up. JBrew was the final straw, it seemed to just make since when he told me this. I finally had enough courage to stand up and not worry about what people would think because I was nailing it down and that was much more important. I called my mother and explained to her the steps that lead up to this moment and she told me that she would come sit with me. The time came for the 6:00 service, and I was shaking with excitement. This time during worship I became more focused than ever. One of the songs that the band sang was “Amazing Grace” and the words of the song hit me hard. God’s amazing grace saved me, I once was lost but now I was found. I couldn’t stop smiling. Heart pounding, I was so pumped and excited about what was about to happen. This time when Perry asked people to stand up and ask Jesus into there heart I jumped to my feet. Shaking mildly, I lost all control of my emotions and cried like a baby. I finally new! I was going to spend eternity in heaven and I had finally actually become a Christian. Jesus died on the cross for me and I was ready to share that with everyone. It was like all my fears of what people would think were erased.
I will never forget the feelings I had on this day. It is definitely the best day of my life and the biggest life changing experience I will go through.
Most people, especially in the south, claim to be a Christian. But does this mean they are? No becoming a Christian is something that goes on between you and God; you don't come into this world as a Christian. In the fourth grade I thought I had made the transition of allowing God to come in my heart. Over the years I struggled with knowing if I had accepted Christ or not. Every time I heard someone speak on becoming a Christian or if they knew or not, I would get a weird feeling. It was something that has gradually been bothering me more and more. On August 13, 2007 the day started out like a normal Sunday. I got up around 7:30 and started getting nervous. I noticed that my stomach felt like it was in a knot and I was nervous, but I didn’t have a clue why. When I got to Newspring the knotting and nervousness of my stomach got stronger and during the songs I felt like I couldn’t concentrate. Perry came out and said he was only going to preach on three verses. The verses were Mathew 7:21-23 and it says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away form you evildoers!” Perry plainly asked us if we had nailed it down. Do we know for sure if we asked God to come in our lives? This hit me hard. I finally realized that I had no clue what I was doing when I was in the fourth grade. I think I saw everyone around me getting saved and baptized and I didn’t want to be different, so I “accepted” Christ not having a clue what I was doing. Over the years though I did read my bible and I have felt that I have helped people with there walk with Christ. I was following the Christian ways but I did not have the one on one connection with God. Sitting on the third row of the auditorium I felt like I needed to stand up and ask God to come in my heart but I was too proud. I was scared of what my piers would think who already viewed me as a Christian. Would they shun me or stop coming to me for advice. I was also nervous about what the church would think since I was a volunteer and you had to be a Christian to volunteer. I ended up not doing it, and before I left I remembered Perry saying, “If you were suppose to stand up and you didn’t I hope God keeps you restless until you do.”
This stuck in my head all day. I couldn’t erase it from my thoughts. I went through the day wrestling with this and then it was time to go back to church to volunteer. Before the service began I ran into one of my good friends and he informed me that he had to come back and stand up. JBrew was the final straw, it seemed to just make since when he told me this. I finally had enough courage to stand up and not worry about what people would think because I was nailing it down and that was much more important. I called my mother and explained to her the steps that lead up to this moment and she told me that she would come sit with me. The time came for the 6:00 service, and I was shaking with excitement. This time during worship I became more focused than ever. One of the songs that the band sang was “Amazing Grace” and the words of the song hit me hard. God’s amazing grace saved me, I once was lost but now I was found. I couldn’t stop smiling. Heart pounding, I was so pumped and excited about what was about to happen. This time when Perry asked people to stand up and ask Jesus into there heart I jumped to my feet. Shaking mildly, I lost all control of my emotions and cried like a baby. I finally new! I was going to spend eternity in heaven and I had finally actually become a Christian. Jesus died on the cross for me and I was ready to share that with everyone. It was like all my fears of what people would think were erased.
I will never forget the feelings I had on this day. It is definitely the best day of my life and the biggest life changing experience I will go through.
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