#discussionresponsepost

Our discussion went really well. The group that I was placed in seemed to be the same for the last few weeks which was actually really neat, because we were able to learn more about each other as well as our ways on thinking. Professor Linville said something in class that was along the lines of “Listening does not necessarily mean that we are agreeing." I completely agree with this statement, because there is such a difference between listening to someone and agreeing. Listening to, and agreeing with, are two different communication processes. And in between the two lies a third one – understanding. Not always will people agree with everything others have to say, however validating and having an understanding heart can go a long way. This conversation was centered able what Christian's roles are in this world. Often times it is easy to want to just agree with people to be nice or to avoid conflicts, however it is important not to just do this because it can make you agree with things you do not actually agree with. We as human beings must be careful with what we chose to agree with, because our agreement can affect our lives. Overall, this discussion was wonderful!

Tina said this in class: Talk about your own experiences. Talk about something true. Talk about something you know. Vulnerability. Authenticity. That is what is going to change someone’s life.  I love that this class has shown me that it is OKAY to be vulnerable, authentic, and true to myself.  One of my goals in life is to always be real to everyone that I encounter.  That means that I show my true self and my true heart.  That means that I show my true emotions, to show that I am not always “happy” but that I struggle and I cry (a lot, but it’s good for me!).  I have real stories to tell, and I have a real heart to share.  In my future profession, as a therapist, I want to be real and genuine, and I want to CARE for my future clients!  I think that the only way that I can help someone to become healthier in their lives is by being a sincere, honest, and genuine therapist who deeply cares for and wants to help her clients.  And I just want to thank you Tina for showing your true heart in this class and allowing me to be free to do the same! Thank you for teaching me to really explore more of who I am and of course introducing me to art!

Thank you Tina for a wonderful semester!! I’m looking forward to taking another class with you in the fall :)

We ended up on the questions who and why. If art is good or bad, it depends on who and their why. Two people may both like an art piece but have different reasoning or two people may have different opinions on the art piece, but have the same reasoning. 

In our discussion we covered material from the past two weeks. I really liked talking about the Lynn Aldrich interview. I love how her art speaks for her about her faith. She doesn’t need to say a word, but you can tell she has a deep relationship with the Lord by looking at her artwork. We also discussed the Manifesto project videos and they were just plain weird. We discussed the Artist video at length. We came to the conclusion that everyone always needs to be careful about what they say and what they do. Because someone is always listening or watching. We have seen this in the last few years in politics. A candidate will be running for a position then the media exposed something they did when they were in high school and their entire career is ruined. Since I want to be in ministry, I have to be careful how I live my life and what I post on social media. But honestly I feel like I have been watched in the church for a long time. This has not always been fun. Not because I wanted to or did anything “bad” but everyone knew about my personal life. For example, my boyfriend and I are both really big volunteers in the church and his mom is the Children’s ministry director. When we started dating everyone was concerned about what would happen if we broke up. I had a lot of people share their two cents. This was quite annoying because I just wanted to live my life and I told everyone that we would not break up. We both felt like God was giving us the okay. We have been dating for three years and are doing just fine. Going in ministry means that I will be watched by adults and students so I need to be aware of my actions so I do not mislead someone about God or about who I am. 

Tina said something like this in class: “Listening does not mean agreeing or conforming.”  This was based on our conversation about what Christians’ roles are in this world.  I notice that I am someone who is easily influenced.  I am a listener and I am an “agree-er.”  So, as a Christ follower, I know that I have to be extremely careful about what I am watching, listening to, reading, and even talking to or engaging with.  I have been reading the book of Luke during my devotional times.  Luke 6:45 says this: “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”  This has caused me to really reflect on what I am putting into my heart, and therefore, what is flowing out of my heart.  As a twenty year old Christian, I want to be “relevant” in this world so that I can be within the loop and be able to talk to people about the relevant stuff going on in this world, but I also want to ensure that the things of this world are not making room in my heart.  This is only possible when I literally put Christ before me and the world behind me.  This world is my temporary home, and I am on a mission here, and that means that I have to be some-what in the know of all that is relevant, like Paul in his ministry speaking to Romans, Jews, and Gentiles.  However, Heaven is my forever home, and I am on a mission for God.  So, while I can listen to, watch, read, talk, or engage with things and people in this world, I must always put God first.  I must always listen to what He has to say first.  I must always watch as to what He is doing, read His truth, pray to Him, and worship Him first before this world.

As always, I thoroughly enjoyed this weeks class discussion. I really enjoyed the breakout room I was in, because we had some very great discussion. I always love discussing the questions with the breakout groups because I enjoy hearing others opinions and discussing the different ways people think. Overall, we all pretty much agreed, but one of the classmates brought up some great points that I had not thought of. Aside from the breakout rooms, but within our class discussion, I pretty much agreed with everything that was said in the discussion. We talked about truths and lies that we tell ourselves. We also discussed the fruits of the spirit and what brings glory and honor to God compared the things that do not. Overall, I really enjoyed the discussion within this class for this weeks discussion.

Unfortunately was not in class this week due to being out of state with the university womens soccer team