"One of These Days"

In the fourth article for us to read as a class, Dr. Howard Culbertson of Southern Nazerene University found a new rallying cry for Christian colleges. He went from "Integrating Faith and Learning" to "Ministry Across the Curriculum." I found the phrase a little more catchy and interesting. "Such a slogan would reinforce the fact that we are faith proclaiming and strengthening schools," says Culbertson. He also said that it would remind us that educators at a Christian school are trying to do Jesus' work. Culbertson explains how the word "go" in Matthew 28: 19 has gotten lost in traslation. He believes it means, "As you go, make disciples." That is what our educators do; they intend to make us disciples.

Using the new slogan, it "avoids the deadening 'indoctrination' approach to Christian education." Schools will help students focus on real life issues, more faith developing. Culbertson is proposing that the goal of change is "through whom Christ lives and acts." This slogan lets everyone know that ministry is at the top of priorities while here at college. The Christian worldview is most important to come away with.

I did enjoy reading this article and I agree with the new slogan. It is really catchy which is something needed when coining a phrase. This slogan opens the mind to more than just integrating faith into the classes but also puts ministry into every aspect.

"Everything Impossible"

Finals....wow...finals are a stressful time in college. We have to prepare ourselves for whatever our teachers may throw our way. We have to study notes and know them backwards and forwards. Cramming so much the night before the test. It's intense. I think I had it easy this semester with only 3 exams and one paper, if you call that easy.

Making time to study is harder than you might think. Because it is the end of the semester, you want to hang out with the people who aren't going to be here next semester and those who live 8 hours away from you. You want to socialize the last few days like we always do in high school...but thats right, we aren't in high school anymore. We have graduated and are being who we want to be. We are gaining knowledge that I didn't know that I would ever need. Growing up. That's what we are doing.

I love being in this place in my life. I love the friends, the family, the love, and the laughter of every day. It is something to cherish and take the time to look at before one day when we wake up and we are in a different part of our lives, with children even, with jobs, with a husband or wife. When we have more responsibility than we know what to do with. The technology will change for sure, and hopefully our faith will grow. Hopefully we will be living with putting God first, and our opinion next. We are at this point in our life because that is what God wants for us. We have to listen to Him and make adjustments in our plan to fit His. He knows what to do for us to get the best out of life. We may not end up rich in societies standards, but if we follow Him we will end up rich in God's eyes.

"The Power of a Moment"

Movies! I love movies! The new thing that I have seen recently is 3-D movies like Journey to the Center of the Earth. There was an article online that discussed the change from the movies in the 50's til today. The motion projectors, screens, and the glasses worn during the movies have drastically improved. It said it reduces the jitters which reduces the headaches which is definitely a good thing.

Vince Pace says, "there's the added challenge of making the filming process as invisible as possible to the actors." "In other words," he says, "the technology has to work: cinematographers can't be fiddling around with the camera when the action has started." I completely understand that there would be a problem if someone had to fix the camera in a live action movie, where missing little pieces could really hurt the film and cost twice the amount to make the film. Pace goes on the explain how to work two cameras to make the 3-D film. He said once the movie was shot, it was basically two movies, one for each eye, then combined with some adjustments.

Pace says that electrical noise is a problem too which I would have never thought of. He said that the main source of light on characters was headlamps which apparently sets off a lot of noise. Pace says that there were about six 3-D movies that came out. Next year there are supposed to be around 17! These are expensive movies but the industry wants them. "It's in a state of growth that's quite remarkable," Pace says.

http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/21067/page1/

"All I Need"

Christmas is coming up and it is the time to get the gifts that everyone wants. Technology is in and most people want something that can out-do someone else's gift or at least top of the line. I looked for things that are 'top of the line' and I found things like t.v's, touch-screen computers, and of course blackberry phones. I am actually a fan of the Guitar Hero on Wii which I played at my coach's house for the first time this year. It was really fun and I like the music on it. I heard on the radio that they were actually coming out with a Guitar Hero with Christian songs on it which is really cool. My mom is getting my older brother the guitar for it for Christmas, if only he didn't live in Alaska.

There was an article on the web about how this game is leading children to pick up real instruments and learn how to play them. I thought this was great. At least a fifth of the kids who have played Guitar Hero or Rock Star have been inspired to play a real instrument.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,460945,00.html

"Everything is Beautiful"

I also love to take pictures with my CoolPix Camera. I hate being in front of a camera but I love taking pictures of everything. My boyfriend says I get a little camera happy sometimes.



I looked online to see that lastest in photography. I found this camera:




It's the D90 from Nikon. "Engineered for Artistry, Unleash Your Potential," is their slogan. It has 12.3 megapixel image quality. It has continuous shooting which can go as fast as 4.5 frames per second! It has a built-in image sensor cleaning which means it keeps the dust particles from the sensor's optical low pass filter. That is pretty awesome technology. I hate when I take a great picture and then find that it has wierd looking spots over it because dust or something. Then I found that there is a new option for this camera; GPS geo-tagging.


Technology helps us capture the beauty of this world created by our God. It is an amazing place.

http://nikonusa.com/Find-Your-Nikon/Product/Digital-SLR/25446/D90.html

"You Are My Strong Tower"

Thanksgiving - do people really give thanks on Thanksgiving? Do we know what Thanksgiving still means? A lot of people don't remember the "reason for the season," so to speak. I don't mean to sound so predictable, but we forget that we should be giving thanks everyday, not just a couple of days a year for holidays. I cant judge because sometimes I forget myself. We get caught up in the excitement, family driving us crazy, the smell of turkey or ham (yum), and Black Friday. I love shopping that day. We should remember that we are shopping for the joy of seeing that special face open their present on down the road and being so excited. I love those faces.
I have so much to be thankful for this year, even through all the stress of classes and so much work to do with final exams. I love my family, my boyfriend (who has my heart), my friends, being able to go to school, for being alive and breathing, and the list goes on and on. I love laughing as much as I do and being able to smile about all the little things in life. I catch myself remembering strange little details in laugh and not even know I was thinking about them to begin with. I have so much to love and to live for and I have God to thank for all that He does. He is our rock and our strong tower in our times of need and times of pure joy!
So be thankful, everyday, and love as much as you can to get the joy out of life. "Live, Laugh, Love," I love that phrase, no matter how much it is used.

"Never the Same"

Another article that I read by Robert Harris made perfect sense and I really enjoyed it. The article, Defining the Integration of Faith and Learning, talked about how whether you are religious or not, all the new information that you learn you integrate that into what you already know which is really your "faith." "Every time we learn, we engage in the process of integration, comparing new knowledge claims with already accepted knowledge, attempting to fit the two together into a consistent and coherent whole," says Harris.

2 very important aspects of successful integration are consistency (the new information doesn't clash with the old) and coherence (everything makes sense). I agree with both of these because if you don't understand the new information that is given to you, then how will you learn it to where you can use that? And if it is not consistent with what you already know, then is the new or the old information wrong?

Harris also talks about different types of integration and how all of these types are used to help us make sense of what we are learning and how to use that. I think the most interesting aspect was the last one, "connecting knowledge with one's basic presuppositions and values." This was were we sort out our knowledge and ask questions like "what does it all mean?"

The next section with the title of "Integrating Faith and Learning" was about connecting truth. Personally, I liked the first and last parts, "All truth is God's truth," and "Truth is the most important goal of learning." Everything that we learn is truth from God and that truth must be our main goal.

A quote at the end was a good one I thought. "To become a better integrator, learn all you can, be dedicated to the Word, and look for the unity of truth." This quote says a lot. It tells us to go out and learn but stick to God's Word which is the truth.

"Lose my Soul"

I love to cook! Especially desserts! I just made some Puppy Chow the other day and it was amazing. Its got chocolate, peanut butter, chex cereal and powered sugar. YUM! A great holiday treat.

Anyway, I saw recently a commercial with Lisa Kudrow where she had a Nintendo DS. The game, or not really a game, had a cooking coach and showed you step by step instructions on how to make about 240 dishes. From desserts to chinese food and back again. This would be awesome for me and it even gives you a shopping list to go by when you are heading to the grocery store.

I looked on the internet to see more about this and I found another game with cooking. Some games you are racing against the clock. Others show you specific recipes. I thought this was pretty awesome and sometimes makes me want to be a chef!

"Flying into Daybreak"

Today, I looked again for technology on the web on Today's BIG Thing! I have found some crazy new technology on this website.

Today was about a jet pack...a new world record jet pack flight. Eric Scott set the new world record. "He flew over 1,000 feet above the Royal Gorge in Colorado landing 1,500 feet away from where he lifted off." I didnt even know we had jet packs for real. The next thing this website said was, "It's finally happening people. The Rocketeer is coming true." I am really shocked by this. When did this even come about?

The video shows Eric Scott flying over the gorge and landing safely on the other side. What will they think of next????

http://technology.todaysbigthing.com/2008/11/25

"Crazy"

Exercise is a great thing. It keeps us healthy and in shape, or at least in a good shape. I love to play sports and I love to go walking around.

I was checking out the new technology on the web again and I found a web site that featured a treadmill that you use to walk outside. It was very interesting. Its featured line said, "Do you like walking, but hate having to touch the icky ground? This new exercise machine is for you!" The treadmill was called "Treadmobile." I think that if you are going to walk you should probably use the ground. This is one of those inventions that seem kind of pointless to me. Maybe it helps put a little more effort when you live on flat ground?

http://technology.todaysbigthing.com/2008/11/21

"All of my Days"

Have you ever heard that if you have too much education, you might lose your faith from all the secularized facts learned in school?? I dont think I have. I have always been told just to get the good education to get a good job and be well off in life. It was almost like faith and education were two seperate things. The article "The Integration of Faith and Learning" by Robert Harris shows all the ways of why faith in schools is important.
Harris states "Faith is built by understanding, by studying the world God has made."
The more we understand the world, the stronger our faith will become and the better our witnessing to others will be.
"The more solidly rational and educated is the support for the faith, the stronger the faith will be and the more powerful the witness will be to an increasingly educated, skeptical, seeking, needy world."
I agree with Harris. I can see how our knowledge of the world can influence others and how our influence on others is very important. I think this article helps to strengthen our relationship with God because it teaches us that we have to learn about our world. We can integrate our understanding of the world we live in with our relationship with God. God made the world that we live in.

"He's Got the Whole World In His Hands"

I looked up at the stars tonight and I found myself mesmerized by them. Do you ever forget to look up at them when you're walking around at night? I do sometimes. I forget to look at all that God has created. His work is awesome.

I looked online and found that back in September scientists got their closest look ever to what they believe is a super-massive black hole in the Milky Way galaxy.

"The astronomers linked together radio dishes in Hawaii, Arizona and California to create a virtual telescope more than 2,800 miles across that is capable of seeing details more than 1,000 times finer than the Hubble Space Telescope."

I am amazed by technology. I don't believe that I could ever imagine how to do any of the things that scientists today come up with.

This picture is Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*): the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. This can make you feel like you are in awe. Look at what God does. Look at what He has created. Isn't this amazing? I can't say it enough.

This website also said that the new resolution that they are capable of using is able to see a baseball on the surface of Mars, from Earth. That is incredible!




http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/blackhole-view-0903.html

"Grace Like Rain"

We recently had a project due in Math 101, which I was not a fan of at first The project was how do you relate God and math?? I was stumped in the beginning, but then I started to search the Internet and I found so many different things.

• God shows order around the universe and math is order and precision, unchanging and consistent.
• There are regular patters defined by math that we see in nature, like the butterfly, giraffe, a spider's web, and fish.
• The Fibonacci Sequence, which we can see in flower petal, pine cones, and many other things.
• The snowflake represents a fractol, which is any mathematical object showing self-similarity at all levels. To God these shapes are not complex like they are to use. That shows intelligence.
• An apple, when cut in half, is symmetrical.
• Math also plays a role in genetics.

All of these ideas can deepen our worship. Since God created nature and us, I now see the connection between God and math. And of course math has a ton to do with technology. I can see that math is everywhere and that God has to do with every part of my life. There is order in the world; order that was pre-determined by God for us. I see that better now more than ever.

Isn't He amazing??? We can appreciate God as the author of beauty and understand that He has given us the gift of being able to appreciate all that He does.

"Voice of Truth"

Because I go to a Christian College, I see how God shapes my life in every aspect. But there are some schools where you won't hear a single word about God. Here I am learning how to approach everything from the view of "what would Jesus do." I was recently asked to read an article by a president of a Christian college. http://www.uu.edu/dockery/092000-erlc.htm We see that Montreat is the private college with faculty and students "unrelated to the Christian heritage of the college." So true. I know I am not Presbyterian and I am not even sure how to spell it. I was raised a Baptist and the reason I have come to Montreat is on scholarship to play golf. It also says that private schools are very diverse which is also very true. Montreat ranges from (excuse the generic terms) jock, band geeks, nerds, dragons and dungeons card players, to outdoor education majors, and we can't forget our Bible majors. All very, very diverse, but hopefully one major thing in common; how they lead their lives with God.

We know we shouldn't judge others by what they do or what games they play during their time, but we do it anyway. Those who play wizard card games like to think as the jocks as "dumb" and only here to play and vise-versa, but I know people are here to get an education too. We all have that common goal and we will achieve it in our own time and way.

I love where this man says "I would suggest that loving God with our minds--thinking Christianly--points us to a unity of knowledge, a seamless whole because all true knowledge flows from the One Creator to His one creation" Knowledge is a huge part of our lives. To gain more knowledge is why I am in this computer class, to learn about technology while learning how to integrate faith into that as well. God is truth, and while gaining knowledge and truth, we learn how to think Christianly. This article also talks about how our motivation should be higher because of the different calling that we have. We have been called by God to do works in His name. Our drive should be higher than that of others. Is it though? Or are we going through the motions? Are we getting lazy? I think we will figure it out soon.