Monday, February 25, 2013
Great quote
"If all church members lived truly consecrated lives--holy, humble, separate from the world, loyal to Christ in business, in pleasure, and in all things--it would be impossible to estimate what the influence of the Church would be, by godly example alone. It is awful to think that professing Christians, by the inconsistencies of their personal lives, lead souls away from the Savior. We are all responsible for our example to others. Our lives should be New Testament pages that all can read!" - J.R. Miller
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Beauty Beyond Imagination
When people think of heaven, they often think of clouds. Perhaps it's because that's often what we see when we look skyward, or perhaps it's because of all of those horrible man-made depictions of heaven as a place where we sit on clouds and play harps and fly around with weird angel-babies (Note: nowhere in the bible are angels depicted as flying babies. They are more like men, and the general reaction of us mere mortals is that of sheer terror, not "oh look! there goes baby cupid!")
I've been thinking a lot about heaven lately. What does it look like? Obviously, we don't really know; however, I feel like I can say this with absolute confidence: heaven is more beautiful than anything we can ever imagine. And let's face it: we have imagined some pretty beautiful stuff. Check it out:
Heaven is more beautiful than the fantasy game world of the video game "Trine 2":
Heaven is more beautiful than the glowing forests of Pandora from the movie Avatar:
Heaven is more beautiful than the silver-trunked, golden-leafed forest of Lothlorien from the Lord of the Rings:
Heaven is even more beautiful than the most beautiful things we can find in this life, such as the night sky:
How do I know that for sure? Well, think about it. There's no way, when we finally reach the far shore of the Jordan, the Celestial City (as John Bunyan called it...which, incidentally, looks a lot like Minis Tirith in this painting), the Promised Land, the gates of Paradise...there's no way we're going to get there and say "Well that's disappointing. The Thomas Kinkaid painting hanging above our fireplace was prettier than this." God gave mankind the unique ability to create and appreciate beauty. But God Himself is ultimately the author of beauty, and I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see what beauty adorns His heavenly home. Fortunately for us, John attempts to give us a tiny preview of what's to come:
Revelation 4:2-3 says, "Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance..." and Revelation 4:6 says, "and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind." Sounds pretty sweet to me!
I've been thinking a lot about heaven lately. What does it look like? Obviously, we don't really know; however, I feel like I can say this with absolute confidence: heaven is more beautiful than anything we can ever imagine. And let's face it: we have imagined some pretty beautiful stuff. Check it out:
Heaven is more beautiful than the fantasy game world of the video game "Trine 2":
Heaven is more beautiful than the glowing forests of Pandora from the movie Avatar:
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| We humans sure love bioluminescence don't we? Source: http://martianchronicles.wordpress.com/2009/12/21/avatar-review/ |
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| Source: http://truepaint.blogspot.com/ |
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| Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/daves-f-stop/8079071366/ |
And it contains more amazingly beautiful creatures and things than this Blue-tailed Emerald Hummingbird:
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| Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/prosper973/3219437415/ |
How do I know that for sure? Well, think about it. There's no way, when we finally reach the far shore of the Jordan, the Celestial City (as John Bunyan called it...which, incidentally, looks a lot like Minis Tirith in this painting), the Promised Land, the gates of Paradise...there's no way we're going to get there and say "Well that's disappointing. The Thomas Kinkaid painting hanging above our fireplace was prettier than this." God gave mankind the unique ability to create and appreciate beauty. But God Himself is ultimately the author of beauty, and I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see what beauty adorns His heavenly home. Fortunately for us, John attempts to give us a tiny preview of what's to come:
Revelation 4:2-3 says, "Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance..." and Revelation 4:6 says, "and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind." Sounds pretty sweet to me!
Saturday, February 9, 2013
On Grad School
So, in case you didn't know, I'm going to grad school! I started taking online classes from George Washington University last Spring and am only on my fifth class (of twelve), so I guess you could say I'm taking it slow. It occurred to me the other day that I haven't really provided many details about what I'm doing...so, without further ado, here are the answers to your most burning questions (lol):
What is the name of your degree?
I will be (hopefully) earning a Masters in Educational Technology Leadership when all is said and done.
What do you plan to do with your degree?
That's a good question. It's easier for me to tell you what I don't plan to do, and that's this: I don't plan to launch into any kind of full-time career. There are many possibilities for things I could do, such as design school websites, assist teachers with technology use, help draft plans for technology integration, teach online classes, etc. One thing I think would be fun would be to teach one online course per year as an adjunct instructor at Doane. It doesn't pay much, but I would be able to do something I enjoy without a significant year-round time commitment. The best part is, I could do it from home.
What class are you taking now?
The class I am taking now is called Computers in Education & Human Development. So far, it's my favorite class of the five that I've taken. It's all about defining the field of educational technology, examining different learning theories and exploring a modern vision for technology use in the classroom. Our next major assignment is a book report, and I get to read a book about the educational potential of video games. Perhaps all that Call of Duty Black Ops experience I gained this winter will come in handy. ;) Last week I had to write a philosophy of educational technology. It was fun to organize my thoughts about how technological tools can benefit both students and teachers.
Here is a diagram I created to visually depict the field of educational technology:
It shows how educational technologists first conduct a Needs Analysis, identify goals, and then design, develop, and implement appropriate technological processes and media in order to facilitate the accomplishment of those goals, all the while evaluating the effectiveness of the product. I decided that I really like creating diagrams! :) Anyway, maybe I'll post my philosophy of educational technology when I get my grade back. If I get a bad grade, I probably won't post it though, haha! Let me know if there's anything else you want to know about what I'm doing.
What is the name of your degree?
I will be (hopefully) earning a Masters in Educational Technology Leadership when all is said and done.
What do you plan to do with your degree?
That's a good question. It's easier for me to tell you what I don't plan to do, and that's this: I don't plan to launch into any kind of full-time career. There are many possibilities for things I could do, such as design school websites, assist teachers with technology use, help draft plans for technology integration, teach online classes, etc. One thing I think would be fun would be to teach one online course per year as an adjunct instructor at Doane. It doesn't pay much, but I would be able to do something I enjoy without a significant year-round time commitment. The best part is, I could do it from home.
What class are you taking now?
The class I am taking now is called Computers in Education & Human Development. So far, it's my favorite class of the five that I've taken. It's all about defining the field of educational technology, examining different learning theories and exploring a modern vision for technology use in the classroom. Our next major assignment is a book report, and I get to read a book about the educational potential of video games. Perhaps all that Call of Duty Black Ops experience I gained this winter will come in handy. ;) Last week I had to write a philosophy of educational technology. It was fun to organize my thoughts about how technological tools can benefit both students and teachers.
Here is a diagram I created to visually depict the field of educational technology:
It shows how educational technologists first conduct a Needs Analysis, identify goals, and then design, develop, and implement appropriate technological processes and media in order to facilitate the accomplishment of those goals, all the while evaluating the effectiveness of the product. I decided that I really like creating diagrams! :) Anyway, maybe I'll post my philosophy of educational technology when I get my grade back. If I get a bad grade, I probably won't post it though, haha! Let me know if there's anything else you want to know about what I'm doing.
Saturday, February 2, 2013
In the Bleak Midwinter...
In the bleak midwinter, I try to stay upbeat. And let me tell you, it's always a challenge. See, I'm one of those people that's given to dark moods and gloomy thoughts anyway (though I still believe that God commands me to be joyful). So when you take away the sunlight and the warmth and replace it with chill, grey, unfriendly skies... I have to struggle not to just. shut. down. All I want to do is be alone with my sad thoughts and all life/God wants me to do is be with other people. Bah humbug! ;) (just kidding)
So, I eat a lot of chocolate, listen to a lot of music, drink a lot of coffee, and take a lot of Vitamin D. You know, everything inmoderation excess. Fortunately, I've also been reading a lot of Scripture.
The other day, I made banana bread for the first time. It had a lot of nuts in it.
So, I eat a lot of chocolate, listen to a lot of music, drink a lot of coffee, and take a lot of Vitamin D. You know, everything in
The other day, I made banana bread for the first time. It had a lot of nuts in it.
Today, I made a lot of tacos from this recipe. I know it seems weird to use a recipe for tacos, but I would have never thought to put the lettuce in first, or to make the tasty dressing.
It's not that I'm saying I don't find this beautiful:
...because I do; it's just that I need sunlight to thrive!
Anyway, if you feel even remotely the same way, read the ever-encouraging Psalm 103. It's delightful!
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