One of my all time favourite movies is Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961). It's a long movie, and admittedly, the plot moves quite slowly, as most movies from that time seem to do. However, my love for Breakfast at Tiffany's exceeds how long the movie is. My love for this movie stems from one main thing- the character Holly Golightly.
Holly Golightly is a New York socialite. She's constantly striving to make more money, and goes to any lengths to get it- whether by marrying a rich man, delivering messages to a man in jail, even dating a rich man... it seems that she's always trying to make money. At first, the thought is that she is only wanting to get money to go out and spend it again.
Holly seems to be completely carefree. She calls everyone "dahling" and will chat off everyone's ear if they let her. She befriends the man that lives beneath her in her building, simply for the reason that he reminds her of her brother Fred. And because this man, whose name is actually Paul, reminds her of Fred, she calls him "Fred, dahling".
My favourite part of Breakfast at Tiffany's is simply Cat. Holly Golightly owns a cat and simply calls him "cat".
"He's all right! Aren't you, cat? Poor cat! Poor slob! Poor slob without a name! The way I see it I haven't got the right to give him one. We don't belong to each other. We just took up one day by the river. I don't want to own anything until I find a place where me and things go together. I'm not sure where that is but I know what it is like."
"I'm like cat here, a no-name slob. We belong to nobody, and nobody belongs to us. We don't even belong to each other."
At the end of the movie, when Holly is leaving to go to Brazil to marry Jose, she throws cat out of her taxi in the midst of an argument with Paul, into the rain of course, leaving him to run into an alley. The taxi keeps going, and Paul gets out after realizing he can't do anything to convince Holly to stay, even though he loves her. Holly continues on in the taxi, mouth trembling, before realizing she was wrong. she gets out of the taxi, going back to look for cat and running back into paul, who was also looking for cat. they find cat, hiding in a box, and kiss in the rain before holly decides to stay and the movie ends. the scene where holly is looking for cat in the alley is easily the saddest one of the movie, I have been known to get very involved in this scene :') and it shows a new depth to holly.
however, the finding cat scene isn't the only part that shows more depth to holly. over the course of Breakfast at Tiffany's, we find out that holly was a child bride and ran away, that her parents died when she was young, that her brother Fred is in the military (and later in the movie is killed in action), and that the money she is saving is to bring him home and start a new life together. Holly lives her life masked, on the surface looking like a flighty, unreliable, shallow girl, when in truth she is trying her best to become a rock for her brother.
sometimes, I identify with Holly. I act like everything's okay, I laugh, I smile, I attempt to look like I'm having fun, even though i'm not really. I think everyone has elements of Holly's personality, and that's why she's such a relateable character. There are always things that show that people aren't okay, and all it can take is someone like Paul to persist and break through that mask.
"Anyone who ever gave you confidence... you owe them a lot." -Holly Golightly
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
"The Scientific Approach to Politics"
-science is an
important part of earth today
-is supposedly
objective, factual, based on evidence, is dispassionately established
-think of those who
deny accepted scientific truths: flat earthers, creationist
believers, holocaust deniers, and deniers of climate change.
This is an excerpt
of the notes I took in my Intro to Politics class today. My Intro to
Politics professor lumps Christians in with the people that deny the
Holocaust happened, people that think the earth is flat, and people
that deny global warming... and this is not the first joke he's made
at the expense of Christians.
I find this highly
offensive. For one thing, even Charles Darwin admitted his theory of
evolution may have been wrong (hence the THEORY of evolution,
scientists). While there may be Christians that believe in the Bible
blindly (it's called faith...), the evidence that aligns with the
Bible is insurmountable. My professor brought up how the world is
created, and excuse me for “being naive” and “following
blindly”, but the fact people actually believe that our earth was
created by an explosion (that wasn't engineered by a Creator, i'm not
ruling that out) absolutely astounds me. How can you walk outside and
see things like trees, rocks, water, and mountains and think that it
came to be through a “bang”? The creativity in even just a
snowflake seems obvious to me that there HAS to be a Creator.
This is even
without bringing up humans. I've heard theories about how we came to
be out of a sort of “primordial soup”. Excuse me professor? There
have been studies done, and science has found it is impossible to
create life out of “primordial soup”. You can't create life out
of nothing. It's not possible. Even just look at the eye. When you're
being knit together in your mother's womb, the eye forming is one of
the biggest miracles. The number of cells that need to match up to
their one correct partner in order to create sight is huge. The
number of neuronal synapses in a person's brain is more than the
number of stars in the universe. I don't understand how someone can
believe that this was created by a bang.
In my opinion, and
i'm not a scholar by any case, it takes way more faith to be an
atheist than it does to be a Christian. You have to ignore
significant evidence for a Creator. I don't believe he's right, and i'm going to do my best to show him... not even just through speaking up, but through my actions: being respectful and loving at the same time.
Thank you,
professor.
Challenge accepted.
Thursday, September 11, 2014
thoughts | john 9:1-7 | eyeballs or eyelids?
"As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. 2 “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”
3 “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. 4 We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. 5 But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. 7 He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!" (john 9:1-7)
When I read this passage, I always think about how the blind man felt. He had lived his life not being able to see a thing, and all the sudden one day he could again. How would that feel? He didn't even see the man that had healed his eyesight until a few days later.
If I was the blind man, so many emotions would have been rushing through my head that day.
First, desperation- begging for food, desperate to eat.
then comes shame. the disciples automatically rush to blame someone, anyone for the man's blindness. they first go to the man himself, then to his parents. the blind man becomes a lesson for the disciples in who to lay the blame on in the situation. Jesus is quick to change the disciples' point of view- instead of laying the blame on the man or his parents, Jesus tells the disciples that the man is blind so that the power of God can be seen in him.
What does this mean? Does this mean that the reason I felt so sick for so long was so that the power of God can be seen through me? Is this why people with cancer die, so that the power of God can be seen? what if they're not Christian? how does this even work?
I have to say, i'm really not sure. I don't know why bad things happen. but what I do know, and maybe this sounds extremely naïve, is that I trust God enough for this to be true. I trust that God knows why things happen the way they do. As Marilyn Monroe said, "... and sometimes, good things fall apart so that better things come together." now, Marilyn wasn't a Christian, and that wasn't a religious quote, but she makes a lot of sense. Why do bad things happen to good people and good situations? so better things, better situations can happen. I don't have all the answers, but I do trust God.
after Jesus tells the disciples why the man is blind, he heals him. He makes mud with his spit and some dirt, and spreads the mud over the blind man's eyes. 3 observations about this:
1) Jesus must have had a lot of spit to make that much mud. seriously. think about it.
2) it was a good thing that man was blind. if he was deaf, and Jesus spit in the mud and started putting it in and on his ears, he probably would have freaked out, like who is this man and why is he putting his spit all over my ears?!
3) i wonder if the man's eyes were open. like was Jesus' spit-mud all over his open eye balls? how nasty is that?
whatever the case, the blind man was then sent (if you go back up to the scripture at the top of the post you'll realize my pun ;) ) to the pool of siloam to wash his face. if he had mud on his eyeballs, this probably would have been the best part of his day. seriously. some man's spit on your eyeballs... getting to wash it out would be sweet. but washing off the mud and realizing you can see? WAY better.
I want to have faith in Jesus that bad things happen to me to reveal God's power. God, you are good. all the time.
-c
3 “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. 4 We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. 5 But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. 7 He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!" (john 9:1-7)
When I read this passage, I always think about how the blind man felt. He had lived his life not being able to see a thing, and all the sudden one day he could again. How would that feel? He didn't even see the man that had healed his eyesight until a few days later.
If I was the blind man, so many emotions would have been rushing through my head that day.
First, desperation- begging for food, desperate to eat.
then comes shame. the disciples automatically rush to blame someone, anyone for the man's blindness. they first go to the man himself, then to his parents. the blind man becomes a lesson for the disciples in who to lay the blame on in the situation. Jesus is quick to change the disciples' point of view- instead of laying the blame on the man or his parents, Jesus tells the disciples that the man is blind so that the power of God can be seen in him.
What does this mean? Does this mean that the reason I felt so sick for so long was so that the power of God can be seen through me? Is this why people with cancer die, so that the power of God can be seen? what if they're not Christian? how does this even work?
I have to say, i'm really not sure. I don't know why bad things happen. but what I do know, and maybe this sounds extremely naïve, is that I trust God enough for this to be true. I trust that God knows why things happen the way they do. As Marilyn Monroe said, "... and sometimes, good things fall apart so that better things come together." now, Marilyn wasn't a Christian, and that wasn't a religious quote, but she makes a lot of sense. Why do bad things happen to good people and good situations? so better things, better situations can happen. I don't have all the answers, but I do trust God.
after Jesus tells the disciples why the man is blind, he heals him. He makes mud with his spit and some dirt, and spreads the mud over the blind man's eyes. 3 observations about this:
1) Jesus must have had a lot of spit to make that much mud. seriously. think about it.
2) it was a good thing that man was blind. if he was deaf, and Jesus spit in the mud and started putting it in and on his ears, he probably would have freaked out, like who is this man and why is he putting his spit all over my ears?!
3) i wonder if the man's eyes were open. like was Jesus' spit-mud all over his open eye balls? how nasty is that?
whatever the case, the blind man was then sent (if you go back up to the scripture at the top of the post you'll realize my pun ;) ) to the pool of siloam to wash his face. if he had mud on his eyeballs, this probably would have been the best part of his day. seriously. some man's spit on your eyeballs... getting to wash it out would be sweet. but washing off the mud and realizing you can see? WAY better.
I want to have faith in Jesus that bad things happen to me to reveal God's power. God, you are good. all the time.
-c
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
#unilife #studentproblems | Where does God fit into my schooling?
my life recently has been centered on one thing- school. I graduated last June and took one year off, during which I did a DTS with YWAM that took me first to Australia and then to Cambodia. What a crazy year it was, full of falling in love with God every day!
now, i'm a student at a local university (and by local I mean in the same city... my university of choice is at the OTHER END OF THE FREAKING CITY so it takes me awhile to get there), going to school fulltime to pursue a bachelor of arts, majoring in international development studies. now, i'm only now starting my first full week of classes, but so far I think i'm going to like the IDS program. it's a bit crazy thinking about how my next four years are essentially locked in, however not even coming close to saying they are completely locked in... the "consequences" of life with Christ :) it's a little bit terrifying to think about, but so exciting at the same time! what kind of adventures will I have here?
Where does God fit into all this? I don't go to a Christian university, so I won't be in Bible classes, or have a student body full of fellow believers to walk alongside... I believe God will fit exactly where He's supposed to- right with me. He'll be with me all the time, walking beside me and in front of me; whatever I need. He's going to equip me to live for Him, all the time, so I can always be a light to everyone I meet. God is so good!
Romans 8:37- "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Christ's love."
-C
now, i'm a student at a local university (and by local I mean in the same city... my university of choice is at the OTHER END OF THE FREAKING CITY so it takes me awhile to get there), going to school fulltime to pursue a bachelor of arts, majoring in international development studies. now, i'm only now starting my first full week of classes, but so far I think i'm going to like the IDS program. it's a bit crazy thinking about how my next four years are essentially locked in, however not even coming close to saying they are completely locked in... the "consequences" of life with Christ :) it's a little bit terrifying to think about, but so exciting at the same time! what kind of adventures will I have here?
Where does God fit into all this? I don't go to a Christian university, so I won't be in Bible classes, or have a student body full of fellow believers to walk alongside... I believe God will fit exactly where He's supposed to- right with me. He'll be with me all the time, walking beside me and in front of me; whatever I need. He's going to equip me to live for Him, all the time, so I can always be a light to everyone I meet. God is so good!
Romans 8:37- "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Christ's love."
-C
Friday, September 5, 2014
That first post | new beginnings
The first post on a blog is always the hardest. I'm sure I have many blogs that I've started, only having one post each :'D oh well, hopefully this time will be different.
My goal for this blog is to encourage, to chronicle my life walking as a conqueror with Christ. It's a crazy life following God, but a good one.
On my discipleship training school this year, the thing I struggled with the most was walking as a conqueror, or a "victor" as my incredible 1-on-1 put it. I was sitting in a puddle of feeling sorry for myself and of not being excited as I should to follow God. Over outreach in Southeast Asia, i learned how to step into that. How to step into conquering life through God's love every single day. I took that into a summer at camp, and through that fell in love with God and camp ministry all over again.
And now, I'm at university, taking a degree program that is going to enable me to go to the nations. It's a crazy life, but a good one.
My goal for this blog is to encourage, to chronicle my life walking as a conqueror with Christ. It's a crazy life following God, but a good one.
On my discipleship training school this year, the thing I struggled with the most was walking as a conqueror, or a "victor" as my incredible 1-on-1 put it. I was sitting in a puddle of feeling sorry for myself and of not being excited as I should to follow God. Over outreach in Southeast Asia, i learned how to step into that. How to step into conquering life through God's love every single day. I took that into a summer at camp, and through that fell in love with God and camp ministry all over again.
And now, I'm at university, taking a degree program that is going to enable me to go to the nations. It's a crazy life, but a good one.
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