Monday Musician: “What Child Is This?”

Today’s Selection:

MercyMe – What Child is This?

A couple of years I posted a version of this song performed by Josh Groban, and in the spirit of the coming Christmas season, I am posting a version performed by the contemporary Christian band MercyMe.

There is something that I have always found hauntingly beautiful about this song.  I remember as a child listening to a Christmas cassette tape for hours-long car rides to my relatives’ homes for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and there was always something about this song that had a deep, unidentified resonance.

Enjoy, and take care this holiday season!

SfC

New Circumstances

The readers who know me personally are already aware of this, but I recently graduated from a state university with a Bachelor’s degree in English.  For those of you thinking, “What are you going to do with that?” I say, “That’s what I’m wondering.”

However, suffice it to say that for now, God has been faithful to me and I have found myself pursuing a Master’s degree at a (different) state university, living in an apartment on my own for the first time and in possession of a well-paying job with the university’s office of publications as well as working at a local fast food restaurant for a couple days a week.

The main thing that provokes my posting for today is that today seems to be an unusual day in that I have been in a bit of a cooking mood; I made my first completely homemade pizza this afternoon for lunch, and the first batch of cookies from a cookie mix is in the oven right now.  The smell of cooking food is certainly a satisfying one.

SfC

Life, Currently

My, it has been awhile since I’ve updated “The Faithful Mind.”  Well, here’s a brief recap of what’s been going on for me:

This past summer, I took 4 Spanish classes out of a college closer to my hometown, giving me 12 credit hours in a foreign language and putting me a full year ahead of schedule for my graduation.  So, as of now, I will be graduating in May, which is exciting.   For my post-graduation plans, I believe that I will be taking the GRE within the year and apply for graduate school for Higher English Education.  That’s the plan, but I’m also trying to be flexible and keep an open mind as to what would be the best option for me to pursue; frankly, I’m still very uncertain, but that’s the course I have set for now.

My work on Kenushi Ryu is progressing nicely.  I’m in my third Creative Writing class, and have a rather large body of stories that I have written to help me explore the background of the Kenushi Ryu story.  In fact, since I suggested it way back in April, I’ve created a blog that I will use as a database for my notes, files, and ideas for Kenushi Ryu.  It’s currently a private blog, unavailable to public readership due to concerns I have about people stealing my ideas; I will probably be looking for a way to give access to it to a select few people that I know and trust.  Anyway, I’m hoping to use it as a place where I can organize my notes, bounce ideas off of others, and such.

I am also happy to report that I have grown significantly in my faith since the spring.  This has been due to several challenges in my life, but the net result has been that I really have felt God working in my life and using me to help others.  I’ve recently written a generic paper called “Letter to A Christian,” encouraging fellow believers in their faith.  I will probably post it on this website at some point in the near-future, and hopefully it will be a source of comfort to those of you who are Christians.

I spent an hour or so this morning creating a page on “The Faithful Mind” where I’ve cataloged nearly every piece of music that I’ve ever posted on this blog; feel free to check it out!  I hope to begin my “Monday Musician” sequence again, and I may also start doing a “quote of the week.”  Again, these are all just ideas that I’m throwing around.  I also happen to remember that I have a reading log posted on “The Faithful Mind”, which nees to be updated so as to encourage myself to do more leisure reading.

Also, don’t forget to check out my other public blog, The Faith Journey of a Christian Man. There isn’t much there right now, but I’m hoping to correct that in the coming weeks and months.  We’ll see how things go with my school schedule and everything.

Thanks .

SfC

A New Blog!

As mentioned in my previous blog, I have been planning on creating a blog where I will talk almost exclusively on matters of faith, Christianity, and that sort of topics.  Well, I have created it:  The Faith Journey of a Christian Man.  Head on over some time!  I’ll post a link to it on my blogroll.

Hope you enjoy!

SfC

A Respite, and Possible New Blogs

Well, I had my Medieval Philosophy test yesterday.  Though I don’t have the grade back yet, I’m strongly confident that I got an A on it.  After that test, I have a week or so where I have a chance to catch my breath and get ready for the end of the semester.  Today is also the day that we workshop one of my stories in my Creative Writing class and one of my classmates said that she really enjoyed it and had a lot of comments, so I’m looking forward to that.

I found a link to an advice page for bloggers the other day that suggested that, when you are running a blog, you should keep to a central idea or theme within the context of the blog.  The problem with having a variety of themes and ideas all within a blog is that people will be more likely not to read your blog because the focus isn’t something they are interested in.  Now, when I first realized that WordPress allowed its subscribers to create multiple blogs, I thought that sounded ridiculous; why would anyone create a second blog when they have one already?  Why couldn’t they just have multiple discussions on multiple ideas within the context of a single blog?  Now, while I do still think that having multiple blogs is a little goofy, I also acknowledge that it would help me in the organization of my thoughts if I had separate blogs.

I have been thinking and hoping for some time that I would like to start a blog that I create where I can talk specifically and exclusively of my religious thoughts, probably calling it something like “The Faith Journey of a Christian Man,” because though I do talk of religion and my faith definitely has a presence in the posts I make on The Faithful Mind, I have at times wanted to make a post on an explicitly religious topic that would feel out-of-place on this blog.  In addition to this, one of the main reasons why I started this blog was to show how intellectual honesty and religious conviction can exist harmoniously, and I still believe that completely.  I think the solution is simply that I will continue to discuss a somewhat larger variety of topics on this blog and my religious convictions will still have an active role, but I do want to start a blog at some point where I can explore those convictions more deeply, including the questions and conflicts that I face in the spiritual realm.

In addition, as I have stated since the day I started this blog, I have been writing a book series entitled Kenushi Ryu.  Perhaps it would be better to create a blog who’s deliberate purpose is to provide updates and bounce ideas in direct relation toKenushi Ryu.  In addition, I’ve been working with a wiki in one of my classes this semester and realized how practical it would be to create a wiki where I put the notes and ideas that I conceive for my book.  So, that is another possibility for another blog that I’m considering: a place where I talk exclusively about Kenushi Ryu, and perhaps even build it like a wiki.

Anyway, these are some of my thoughts about my blog.  If I do create another blog, then I will post a link on this one.  If you have any thoughts/ideas/suggestions/snide comments, please share .

SfC

P.S.  Another note.  I am considering restarting my Monday Musician sequence.  I will need to find a source of more classical music, though I do think that if I do, I will also throw in some modern instrumental music in the regular running of the Monday Musician:  soundtracks from movies, instrumental pieces in general that catch my attention, etc.

Light at the End of the Tunnel (?)

After a rather rough week – both in my studies and in my personal life, there appears to be hope in sight.  I have a medieval philosophy test tomorrow morning, after which I have no major assignments for the rest of the week (hurrah!).  Thursday of next week, I have a paper due, and the Wednesday of the next week is the last day of class; I will have a project and two papers due on that day and a major paper due the next day.  After that, all I have left are finals…and then after that, I believe that I have a couple of weeks off before summer school starts.

One of these assignments will be a paper for the aforementioned Medieval Philosophy class; just today, I elected to do my paper (10 pages long) on St. Anselm’s Ontological argument for the existence of God.  As part of this, my professor gave me some references to books where the authors discuss the ontological argument and argue for it or against it.  Hopefully, I will find plenty of time in the next couple of manic weeks to really think on and distill all of these thoughts.

Well, back to studying.

SfC

Thoughts Abound While Life Proceeds

I suppose that the first thing I should give is an update on how life is going.  Classwork for this semester is wrapping up pretty well; the majority of my classes for the semester are going well, and I’m learning in them as well.  My classes mostly consist of literature – Early American Literature, Renaissance Literature, and Studies in Writing, a literary theory class.  In addition to these classes, I have a Creative Writing class and a Medieval Philosophy class, which may be the most interesting of classes that I have.  We’ve spent the semester studying Augustine, John Scotus Eriugena, Peter Abelard, and other philosophers from the Middle Ages, which I had no prior exposure with.  I suppose that’s why I find that class the most interesting.  My Creative Writing class is also pretty interesting in that I have used it as an opportunity to write stories set in the world of Kenushi Ryu and learn more about it.

For once, I have a little comfort in that I have plans for the future.  I’m going to take Spanish classes over the summer to satisfy my foreign language requirements for my major.  For this Fall semester, I’m taking an internship in publishing through the Missouri Review and also going to apply for a job at the college’s library.  Also, I’ve met most of my requirements for my English major and now I just need credits to graduate (for the most part), so I’m looking at taking some kind of minor.  So, that is how my schooling is going.

Oh yes, and as a final note, for my Studies in Writing class, I am going to use my blog here (as well as other electronic material) to create a project about myself.  Honestly, I’m not sure what that will look like, I’m getting some ideas and stuff.  Anyway, that’s how things are going for me.  To be honest, what I’ve really been wanting to do lately is to write some posts where I just discuss things (like I did with my posts on Free Will, Music in the West, etc.).  I don’t know when, but I’m hoping that I will find some time to do something along those lines.

SfC

Schoolwork & Kenushi Ryu

Well, for those who have been curious, I’ll make a brief post about how my life is going and Kenushi Ryu.

The last couple of weeks have been crazy due to midterms at school.  Unfortunately, I seem to have taken on too many literature classes this semester (or just the wrong ones), as I have found myself overwhelmed with reading and have spent the entire semester trying to keep up.

However, there have been some fruits of my work.  I took a Creative Writing class last semester and used it as an opportunity to write backstory and detail to the world of Kenushi Ryu, specifically to one of the characters named Aric.  As a result, I now have three short stories that come together to tell the heart of his story.

I’m going for something similar in my Creative Writing class this semester.  I have been writing about the character in my books named Tanis, and also simply exploring what Kenushi Ryu looks like from his perspective.  Of course, there’s still so much to do, but I am making good progress.

Well, I have class in twenty minutes, so I’ll call this post good for now.  Later .

SfC

(More) Officially Shutting Down

Okay, so this has been coming.  Obviously, just by my activity alone, it has been obvious that thefaithfulmind has been closed down for some time.

Part of the reason is that a lot of what I do is more personal stuff, like the book I’m writing.  For the last couple months or so, I have been questioning the wisdom of posting progress of my novel on the internet.  I think it also subtracted from the quality of what I was able to do because it became (in my mind) more of a public obligation than a private desire.  When I started posting my progress online, that was the intention; I had hoped that, by making myself publically accountable, I would be able to force myself to work on it.  Now, of course, I see that that doesn’t work with writing; it has to be something I want to do.

Anyway, I also post less often on my blog because a lot of what I do write now I put in a journal that I write, so that has become the place where I put all of my thoughts.  Although I’m certain that there will be a place for thefaithfulmind in the future, there is no purpose for it now.

So, I’m going to be officially ceasing activity for a little while.

Have a great day!

thefaithfulmind

(Revived) Monday Musician: Mansell, Lux Aeterna

Today’s Pick:

Clint Mansell, Lux Aeterna

Well, it has been quite awhile since I last posted.  My summer has gone quite well so far; my last day of summer school is Wednesday, and then my Financial Planning class will be over.

Anyhow, the song that you are (presumably) listening to is a song that I was exposed to several years ago.  I have often sought what the song was called, but I only recently learned that Lux Aeterna was that song that was so popular.  Once again, it isn’t exactly classical, but it is still instrumental.  Enjoy!

thefaithfulmind

P.S.  I hope to be posting more frequently in the coming days and weeks.

A Long-Overdue Update

Whew, it HAS been awhile since I wrote anything in my blog.  I even forgot to do my Monday Musician yesterday!  How irresponsible of me.

Anyway, I guess I should start from where I was last.  The spring semester is officially over, and I am home.  I did well on my finals and got a good GPA for the semester.

The last couple of weeks have been extremely relaxing to me.  However, as of yesterday, I am taking a personal finances summer class out of a local college.  I need it anyway for my general education requirements, and based on the first class period, I am expecting it to be an intriguing and involving class.

I have also resumed progress on my novel.  I’ll try to keep my blog updated on it throughout the summer.

That’s all for now.

thefaithfulmind

Monday Musician: Malinowski, Fantasy in F

Today’s Pick:

Stephen Malinowski – Fantasy in F

Suffice it to say, this is a very interesting piece of music with a more modern flavor to it.  It is written by the designer of the Music Animation Machine, which I have mentioned several times on my blog, I believe.  Anyway, I’m out of school for the summer and trying to get all of my stuff from college settled in to my home.  I’ll try to keep you all updated.  Later!

thefaithfulmind

Monday Musician: Rossini (Gottschalk), William Tell Overture (Gallop)

Today’s Pick:

G. Rossini, Gallop from the William Tell Overture.

Arranged by Louis Moreau Gottschalk.

A couple of months ago we looked at Louis Moreau Gottschalk in my US Music History class, and afterward I googled him on youtube and found this piano duet arranged by Gottschalk.  Of course, it didn’t surprise me that Gottschalk would do something like this; he was one of the first to hold musician performances for middle-class audiences in Europe, and he was the first to perform music other than what he personally had written.

What did surprise me was the technical skill required for this.  Maybe it’s just that I’m easily impressed, but I was blown away by this.  Enjoy!

My 2009 Resolutions: Update

1. Limit Myself to 3 Sodas a Day – I don’t think I’ve drank more than three sodas in a single week for awhile.  To be honest, other things have been on my mind, but I believe that I am doing well with these things.
2. Walk every day – Yep.  I’m doing well at this, though I have gained weight lately.  Too many oreoes.  I’ll have to fix that.
3. Forgive Those Who Wrong Me – I’m doing alright, though there’s always room for improvement here.
4. Finish Reading the Bible – Done!  I’ve officially read the Bible cover-to-cover.  Not that that’s going to get me into heaven or anything like that, but now that I have a view of the Bible’s bigger picture, I can start doing some in-depth study to get some of the specifics (not to say that that’s the only Bible-reading I’ll do from now on; I’ll still devotional readings and that sort of thing).
5. Memorize the Book of James – Now that I have finished reading through the Bible, memorizing the book of James will be one of my summer projects.  I can’t say I’ve done too much to memorize it lately, and since I have finals coming up in a couple of weeks, I think it would be safer to just save this for the summer.
6. Pray First Thing When I Wake Up and Late Thing Before I Go To Bed – This needs improvement.  There will be several days when I will do this successfully, but then it will fall to the wayside for a couple of days and I have to start again.
7. Limit Myself to One Hour of Playing (Computer) Games a Day - Actually, I’ve been doing well at this goal lately.  Since I’ve been focusing more on writing my book, my classwork, etc., I’ve been doing well limiting how much time I spend wasting time in this fashion.
8. Read More – I have been doing plenty of reading lately, both for classes and for leisure.
9. Be curious – Perhaps there are some things that I should be exploring the answers to that I have taken for granted for some time…I’ll need to think about this more.
10. Finish a rough copy of The League of Kenushi Ryu – Slowly but surely, I am working on it.
11. Journal consistently – Yes, I’ve been doing better here as well.

The journaling is especially on my mind because I visited a man last week who had just lost his father.  The man had gone to the hospital for a brain aneurysm, but he was fine and was going home the next day.  He specifically said that his father had kept a journal and that he was looking forward to going home and reading it.  When he said that, I thought of my own journal and how cool it would be for my family to have that opportunity to read my journals when I leave the Earth.  Anyway, that’s how I’ve done on my 2009 resolutions lately.

Have a great day!

thefaithfulmind

The Next Three Weeks: The End of The Semester

Okay, so today begins the second-to-last week of classwork, after which there will be a week of finals.  Here’s what my next three weeks look like.

_____________________________

Monday, April 27 (today)

-Writing About Literature – discuss Research Paper ideas

Tuesday, April 28

-Music Theory – Assignment

-Human Language – Assignment

Wednesday, April 29

(nothing)

Thursday, April 30

-Music Theory – Assignment

Friday, May 1

(nothing)

_____________________________

Monday, May 4

-Music History – Paper

-English – Peer Review Research Essay

Tuesday, May 5

(nothing)

Wednesday, May 6

-Music History – Hour-Exam

-English – Peer Review Research Essay

Thursday, May 7

-Music Theory – Project

Friday, May 8

(Reading Day – no classes)

_____________________________

Monday, May 11

-Human Language Final Exam

Tuesday, May 12

-Writing About Literature Research Paper Due

Wednesday, May 13

-Music Theory Final Exam

-French Horn Jury

Thursday, May 14

-History Final Exam

-History Paper

Friday, May 15

-Music History Final Exam

-Music History Short Response Essay

After that, I will probably spend the rest of Friday afternoon cleaning out my room, packing, and going home.

I also don’t yet know when my French Horn performance will be.  I will update my schedule here when I find out.  Suffice it to say, I have a whole lot to do.  I have started making a list of things I want to do over the summer and next fall, while the school year is still fresh on my mind and not bogged down by concerns over finals.

I have also done some more work on my book lately.  I have been drawing sketches of the capitol city on the island of Kenushi Ryu, and a friend will help come up with some concept art.  However, some of that will probably be suspended until after finals.

Since I’m already here, I’m going to go back through the new year’s resolutions that I made for 2009, and give an update on my progress in reaching them.

thefaithfulmind

Monday Musician: Beethoven, Fur Elise

Today’s Pick:

Ludwig Van Beethoven, Fur Elise

Probably one of Beethoven’s most well-known pieces of music.  I remember when I was in elementary school, my family bought a musical keyboard that had songs that you could have the keyboard play for you (which was amazing to me at the time), and I would just listen to this song for hours on end.  Anyhow, I hope that you enjoy it!

thefaithfulmind

A Letter to Susan Boyle

What, haven’t you heard yet?  I suppose that I don’t have room to talk, since I just heard today, but apparently, there’s some hidden talent in Britain!

In case you haven’t heard, a 47-year-old woman named Susan Boyle tried out for Britain’s Got Talent a week and a half ago, and the world hasn’t been the same since.  This ordinary-looking woman from Scotland has set off a firestorm of acclaim in a relatively short time.  Since I’m certain that I can’t really describe what happened, here’s a youtube video displaying her musical performance.

Dear Susan:

Thank you.

Thank you first of all for reminding me that beauty is only skin-deep.  I am ashamed to say that my initial reaction to you was not that dissimilar from that of your audience that witnessed your first performance.  You should also know that my reaction was very similar to that of your audience when you began to sing: as your judge Amanda Holden said, it truly was a privilege to hear your performance.  You not only shamed the audience that was against you; you have shamed our entire culture for thinking that success in life is determined by appearance.

Thank you second of all for giving me and the rest of of our society something to cheer for, to hope for.  I have even briefly googled news articles, and I found one that made the audacious claim that your performance alone might tip the scale of the global economy, might even save it (see here for the article).  I would show you more of how your single performance has changed the world, but I can’t even see it all.  I have taken several moral lessons away from hearing your performance, and I know that I’m not the only one.  Your sudden fame has gone beyond just that of another new idol; you have given people hope, and that is more valuable than the most precious gold that could be found.  Not only did you give people hope, but you brought out the best in them, and that is a power that few people possess.

Finally, thank you for reminding me that even the most unachievable dreams are achievable, and that when we let go of our dreams, we die.  You stood there on that stage, and your pursuit of your dreams brought you alive in a profound way, and I honestly believe that that made you beautiful in a deeper way than any form of makeover could ever hope to achieve.

Just some thoughts for you: now that you are famous the world over, don’t let it go to your head.  Part of the reason your performance was so stunning was because of the great hope and determination wrapped in humility with which you approached it.  You went before those judges as simply a human being; in your future performances, let that quality continue to grow, and I have no doubt that you will continue to be successful.

I do have one request: don’t just be a celebrity.  As Daniel J. Boorstin once said, “time makes heroes but dissolves celebrities.”  I’m asking you to be a hero that people can aspire to be not because of your success, but because of your honorable character and kindness.  Hold to your kindness and character as your most valuable possession, even more valuable than your voice, and you will join the ranks of Mother Teresa and the many other people who made a difference in the lives of your peers.

Oh, and don’t listen to your critics.  There are some people who will try to find the worst about everything, even the most extraordinary and gifted of people.  Just be yourself, and you will shame them and their criticism of you in the same way that you shamed me and my preconceptions of you.

Thank you for dreaming a dream.

thefaithfulmind

Weekly Schedule: April 20-24

Monday

-Writing About Literature – Reading (A Long Day’s Journey Into Night by Eugene O’neill)

Tuesday

-Writing About Literature – Reading

Wednesday

(nothing)

Thursday

-Music Theory – Assignment

-Human Language – Conversation Assignment

Friday

-Writing About Literature – Research Paper Tentative Proposal/Works Cited due
My research paper will be on Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison.  I don’t know precisely what the topic of discussion in the paper will be, but I will be spending a great deal of time in the next couple of days hiting the research databases and digging up some material for me to use.

Lots to do.  I’ll try to make a more substantial post later on.  Until then, have a great day!

thefaithfulmind

Weekly Schedule, April 13-18: The Quiet Before the Storm

Monday

-Writing About Literature – Reading

Tuesday

-Music Theory – Assignment

-Human Language – Test

-Writing About Literature – Reading & Response

Wednesday

(Nothing)

Thursday

-Music Theory – Assignment

Friday

-Writing About Literature – Reading

This week is nice and quiet, actually, which is nice.  At the end of this week,  I’m going to a retreat with the campus ministry I am associated with, so there will be little time to study or anything of that nature next weekend, and I am feeling the pressure of the semester’s finals approaching.  For example, after next weekend, I have a music theory exam on Tuesday and the tentative proposal for a research paper in my English class will be due at the end of the week, so I’m trying to plan ahead and have some of that taken care of before then.  After that week, there will be only two weeks of class left, which promises to be fun and exciting.  Anyhow, that’s how things are going for me at the time.

thefaithfulmind

Weekly Schdeule, April 6-10: The Onsalught

Monday

-Music History – Movie Response Paper Due

-Writing About Literature – Reading

Tuesday

-Music Theory – Assignment

-Band Concert

-Writing About Literature – Reading & Response

Wednesday

-Music History – Quiz

Thursday

-Music Theory – Assignment

-Human Language – Exam (Delayed to 4/14)

-History – Paper Due

Friday

-Writing About Literature – Reading

For my history class, I just finished the book Carnival of Fury by William Ivy Hair, which is a historical novel about Robert Charles and the race riot of 1900 in New Orleans.  I must say, it was a fascinating, though somewhat shocking; I guess it is easy to forget how far we as a civilization have come in terms of civil rights and understanding have come in the last hundred years.  It is easy to look at all of the problems of modern civilization with disdain, but it is also valuable to remember that life in the United States has improved by leaps and bounds in the last century, especially for minorities.  Therefore, it should be our goal that people living in a hundred years are able to say the same thing about the 21st century.

I have also very nearly finished reading Tony Campolo’s Letters to a Young Evangelist.  Overall, I have it found it a very good assessment of the modern-day Evangelist movement, and it has been insightful to read his opinions and understandings of today’s complex issues.  He, too, is very vocal about his frustration about the apparent alliegiance of the vast majority of modern-day evangelists with the Republican party, which has led to a great deal of political agendas within the Evangelist movement.  He also points out that Fundamentalism (in the modern understanding) has begun to try to adopt the title of Evangelism to sound less politically and socially acceptable, and Campolo’s solution is for non-Fundamentalist Evangelicals to refer to themselves as “Red-letter Christians.”  Honestly, I find it far more simple to just say, “I’m a Christian,” and if someone asks for some kind of added specificity, I’ll reply, “I’m an independent Christian.”  Anyhow, that is not the only thing Campolo addresses: he also discusses the roots of modern-day Evangelism, the Praise & Worship movement, the importance of witnessing, the roots of “Rapture” theology, and many other issues.  If he ever reads this, I must offer a storng congratulations to Mr. Campolo; his book has been enlightening about many things, and he has encouraged me to think for myself on a wide range of issues.  Of course, I haven’t totally finished it, but that is where I am now.

In addition, I have very nearly finished reading the Bible from cover to cover.  After this, I will probably go back through the New Testament books again; in one of the Bible studies that I participate in, the teacher spent several weeks before Spring Break teaching us how to study the Bible for ourselves so that we can come to our own Bible-based conclusions on all issues that the Bible touches on, including Church doctrines.

Thursday, I finished reading Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, which was a novel about Blacks living in America in the mid-20th century.  However, it doesn’t just address the white-black distinctions and prejudices of the time; it also touches on class differences within each race, the necessity for knowing one’s ancestory, and many different topics.  While it was definitely not a book I would normally read on my own, I did enjoy it and the insights that it provided into another range of thoughts.

Anyhow, I am now going to spend some time writing the paper for my music history class.  It is on the American musician Charles Ives, who is considered the first modern American musician.  WE watched a documentary on him before Spring Break, and so the paper is to be a sort of review of the documentary and on Ives in general.

Have a great day and God bless!

thefaithfulmind