Annotation/Reflective Post

“I just found twenty bucks, this is a miracle!” How many times have you heard a similar statement? A miracle deserves to comparison to luck. A miracle is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as, a marvelous event not ascribable to human power or the operation of any natural force and therefore attributed to supernatural, or  an act (e.g. of healing) demonstrating control over nature and serving as evidence that the agent is either divine or divinely favored. As Christians, we have faith in God of this act. It says in Acts 4:16,” Saying, What shall we do to these men? For that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it.” This verse clarifies that as believers we shall not deny the “marvelous works or things” of our God. Miracles are not seen ever day but when they take place they change the person or another person. As Rueben said, “People fear miracles because they fear being changed-though ignoring them will change you also. When comparing miracles to another word, we could easily compare it to healing. When I look at this story, I easily can reflect on my miracle or healing in my life.

            “I believe I was preserved, through those twelve airless minutes in order to be witness, and as a witness, let me say that a miracle is no cute thing but more like the swing of a sword”, says Rueben in “Peace Like a River” by Leif Enger. This quote shows great emotion to how you really feel when you’re seeking hope for a person or yourself. I was born with a heart murmur which means I had a hole in my heart when I was born. The first year of my life, I was in and out of the hospital receiving treatment and trying to find a cure. By the end of the year, I was released to live as normal but not able to be as active as most kids and come every six months for a check-up until I would turn ten. When I turned ten, my heart would no longer be able to function with the hole. Therefore I would have to get surgery to cure the problem. My parents and I had followed what the doctors had said. The morning of surgery, I went in scared to death about surgery and my doctor asked the nurse if he could get an updated EKG on my heart. The first step was to go and get an EKG done before surgery prep. I remembered the nurse telling, “Chelsea, I need to go get the doctor, we have a problem.” The doctor rushed into the room looking at all the scans of my heart. He was so shocked. He couldn’t believe what had happen. My Heart was completely closed and looked like a completely new heart. That day changed my life forever! My miracle didn’t take twelve minutes but took ten years. I believe miracles build your faith and challenge to grow closer to God, the miracle worker. I know in my life this miracle has challenged not only me but my family, friends, and others.  

http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/119052?rskey=B6WeC2&result=1&isAdvanced=false#eid

Bible- NIV

Reflection Post- The Road and "Fix You" by Coldplay

In class, we have been reading “The Road” and when reading this novel I remember the song “Fix you” by Coldplay. I can help to reflect this story to this song. Both the story and song have brought understanding as I reflect and correlate one to the other. 

The first stanza:

When you try your best, but you don't succeed

When you get what you want, but not what you need

When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep

Stuck in reverse

To me this describes the lifestyle that Papa and the little boy are facing. “Stuck in Reverse” is comparative by how the Papa doesn’t feel as if they are getting closer in the coast. 

The second stanza:

And the tears come streaming down your face

When you lose something you can't replace

When you love someone, but it goes to waste

Could it be worse?

This stanza describes the feelings of the boy. He feels that the end will be death and the papa feel like everything he has lost he can’t replace so he flashbacks to those times when life was easy. The boy wants to care for others but there to use anymore. Then he realizes it could be worse and gains little hope. 

The third stanza:

Lights will guide you home

And ignite your bones

And I will try to fix you

The “Lights will guide you home” has so much meaning to this story and how they are just searching for the coast and how the light each day is able to guide them. They hope for the strength to ignite their bones. Together they help each other keep going. 

The fourth stanza:

And high up above or down below

When you're too in love to let it go

But if you never try you'll never know

Just what you're worth

As the road seems longer they have had their highs and lows but the love each other to stop now. They have to keep trying when they come across things because it could be worth so much for them. The questions are how much is this worth to them? What happens if they reach the coast? Maybe they don't know, but the hope is what keeps them going, "if they never try they'll never know.”

Chorus:

Lights will guide you home

And ignite your bones

And I will try to fix you

This Chorus reminds me how they each have a fire inside of them to run from civilization to accomplish the goal of getting to the coast to survive. The coast is their home. This fire is what ignites them to keep pressing towards that goal. 

Tears stream down on your face

I promise you I will learn from my mistakes

Tears stream down on your face

And I...

In “The Road”, there is a times where the boy cries and the Papa tells him to be quiet. The next line makes me think of what the father is going to think when he looks back at how he has treated his boy. The boy is more compassionate and wants to treat everyone else fairly, but the papa just wants to protect his kid. 

As I reflect on this story, this song gives even more meaning now than when I remembered it while reading. I haven’t finished the novel yet but I hope that there will be light at the end of “The Road.”

Creative Post- Poem

My Best Friend...

When I look at him, I see someone I want to be

He protects me like a shepherd watches his sheep

I wonder what he sees in me.

When I fall fast asleep, I can’t wait for the moment that I hear that beep

That means another day I can spend with him

We hate to leave each other’s sight

We have days where we fight like knights

Then days we enjoy being the best of pals.

He loves to watch a good sports game.

I love when we talk about not seeking the fame.

He lives life day-by-day, with no stress

Sometimes, it hard for me to even remember my address

He plays the piano, as I sing along with to his tunes

Our melodies sound like a rage of typhoons

We love to share our sound to others in the car

Radio blasted so everyone can hear that is near or far

Our love is like the oil is to a lamp

We need each other to survive.

Since the day we met went have been attached like a bee is to its hive

He hates to see me leave for camp

His thoughts and opinions are so valuable in my life

His wisdom leaves us strife.

I come to him for help when I am in trouble

He always knows how to make me bubble.

Fishing is our favorite thing to do

We go every Saturday morning without feud

Our cooler is filled with ice and some mountain dew.

A great catch is the fish that don’t look chewed.

Everything we do we take pride in doing

You would never find us booing

We challenge each other to do what right

We want to be what God wants us to be, a light

There is nothing like loving your best friend

This will be something we will cherish to the end

Our bond is nothing you have seen before

It’s never something we look at as a chore.

 When your best friend is your Father

He is someone that will stick to you closer than a brother