I'm a Believer

This summer, I am enrolled in a philosophy class.  I find it very interesting, but it's causing me to look at myself and my beliefs really in depth.  I'm learning more about who I am, and why I am the way I am.  This week we had to have a discussion about if God truly exists, then why does he let evil happen.  I know that this can be a very touchy subject, and it is a very plausible question, but I did my best to bring forward my beliefs on the subject.  Let me know what you think :)

            I think one of the most important questions raised by atheists or any other non-believers of God is the existence of evil.  At points in time, it seems that there is more evil in the world than good.  You watch the news, and maybe 10% is about the good stuff going on in the world.  If God really exists, why does he allow all this evil to exist?  Why does he let bad things happen to good people?  If God really existed and loved us, then wouldn’t he make this world perfect for us?  Why can’t he just make everyone good?

            These are all plausible questions to the existence of God; however I believe that they can be answered.  I don’t think that he puts evil on the earth because he doesn’t love us.  I think he does it because he does love us.  Some may say that doesn’t make sense.  If he loved us, he would want to make us happy, and you can’t be happy with all of this evil in the world.  However, I do believe that he wants to make us happy, but he isn’t as concerned about temporal happiness as he is with our eternal happiness.  Don’t’ get me wrong, I do think he wants us to be happy during our lives, but I also believe that He puts these trials (evil) in front of us so that we can grow and become better; moving us towards eternal happiness.  I believe that everything happens for a reason.  God wouldn’t give us more than we could handle.  I think that by giving us hardship, he is giving us an opportunity to come to Him, and rely on Him for help and guidance, which is what he wants.  He wants to help us, because he wants us to succeed.  Without hardship, how many people would forget about Him, even if they were believers to begin with?                

Others may question why he lets natural disasters happen and devastate innumerable amounts of people.  Again, I believe that it serves to make us stronger.  It also brings people together, and helps them love each other more.  It also brings people to action.  When certain events like those happen, people rise to the occasion, and become better people because of it.  Although such events are devastating, I believe that there is always a higher purpose; one that we may not understand at this time. 

            Again, people might say, “well, if he wants us to be happy, why doesn’t he just make us all good?  Then we will all be happy, all of the time”.  I think that this idea under minds his whole plan for us here on the Earth.  I believe that we were put here to learn and to grow.  Life is like a big test.  Some questions (or trials) are going to be harder than others.  It’s all a matter of agency or what the book refers to as our “freedom”.  In order to completely abolish all evil from the earth, he would have to take away our agency.  Without that, our life is pointless.  Without our agency, there is no growth, no improvement in our lives.  That, to me, would show that he doesn’t love us.  It is my belief that God is not only merciful, but also just.  Those who do wrong will face their due consequences and those who do good will be rewarded in time.  Furthermore, how would we know the joys of happiness, if we lived without pain?  We wouldn’t know joy, if we didn’t also know sorrow.  One cannot exist without the other.

For all you science guys that need help picking up chicks!

Welp, See ya later?

One of my friends posted this on Facebook, and I couldn't help but laugh.

Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude. ~E.P. Powell

'TIS THE SEASON....for what? For eating turkey until you go red in the face and can't move?  Yes, it's Thanksgiving Eve! In not much more than a month, Christmas will also be upon us. What are you looking forward to tomorrow? What is it that you think of during this time of year? Food, family, PRESENTS??? But what is this time of year really about? For me, it should be about love, family, and service. Just look at the name...Thanksgiving....we should really be giving thanks for all the wonderful things in our lives. My choral director challenged each of us to take a minute and just write down a few of the things that we are thankful for. I think this is wonderful advice for everyone.  Too often, we focus on the things that are going wrong in our lives rather than thinking of all the great things we have. Lately, I have been extremely guilty of this very thing. I've been too caught up in things that aren't going so well, that I have failed to realize all the amazing things right in front of me.  Although it's annoying, every time the sun comes through my window and wakes me up in the morning is a miracle. It's the little things like this we don't even notice until we don't have them anymore.  I'm not saying that the sun is going to stop rising anytime soon, but there are plenty of things like this to be thankful for.  So right now, I'm going to take my directors advice and list some of the things that I am thankful for.  I'm so so so thankful for my family and friends.  They are beyond amazing.  I'm thankful that I have a place to live and food to eat. And I'm thankful for music, and the difference that it makes in my life each and every day.  These are just a few things, but I challenge all of you to do the same.  When you think of all your blessings, there isn't time to think about your troubles.  Also, this should be a time for service.  There are some many people out in the world that aren't as fortunate as you.  Help them out this Holiday Season.  Show the world what this time of year is really about.

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.  ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Personally, I don't think "he" exists...or does he?

He's tall, dark, and handsome, with a smokin' hot body, a great personality, and a tasteful sense of humor.  Who is this mystery man? Does he even exist? Maybe in the mind of every women in the world, but otherwise...no, I don't think so.  All to may times, we sit and wait for the perfect person to come into our lives, and what for...to be disappointed.  Our expectations are so high, that no one can even come close.  We may let perfectly wonderful people just slip away because they may not be what "we think" we want.

Furthermore, we as women can't be Mrs. Right either.  It is physically impossible to be perfect. And really...who gets to determine what's "perfect" anyway? If you are really concerned about being Mrs. Right, you are probably an awesome person and any guy would be lucky to have you.  Their loss if they think otherwise.

I know that oftentimes I find myself being overly critical not only of others, but also of myself.  I'm not saying that we shouldn't have standards, but don't make these standards impossible to meet.  Don't settle, but don't judge.  As I sit here writing this, I am pondering my title, and possibly changing my outlook.  Maybe Mr. Right does exist.  Maybe he just isn't what we thought he'd be.  I once watched this movie.  I think it was called "The List" or something, but regardless of the title, it was about this girl who formed a list of all of the traits that she wanted in a guy.  Eventually she found this guy, but she discovered that he wasn't actually what she wanted.  In the end, she ended up with a guy that in the beginning drove her completely bonkers.  Overall it was a pretty cute movie, and it had a good message.  We need to be open to try new things...things that we may not necessarily think are what we want. I just changed the title by adding...or does he? at the end.  I do believe that there is a Mr. Right out there for every woman.  Someone that she can't stand sometimes.  Someone that drives her bonkers.  Someone that she can't live without.

The Thoughts That Keep You Thinking

Ever notice how some things in this world just don't make sense?  What are those random thoughts that keep you up at night?  Well here is a few for me...why do we park on driveways and drive on parkways?  And my friends personal favorite...what the heck is cheesecake...a cake or a pie.  The world may never know!!  Don't even get me started on the English language.  I'm in a diction class right now learning how to speak and sing in different languages (including English).  It's RIDICULOUS!! I understand "i" before "e" except after "c", but that's not even scratching the surface.  Here's another...at night why do we say after dark, when in reality it is after light? Why do people ask you to "put your two cents in", but people ask "a penny for your thoughts"? What happened to the second penny?  Well that ought to be just about enough to hurt you brain.  I would like to make this a consistent type of post, so watch out for more confounding facts and questions!

The wonderful world of Sam

I have recently been struct with a fascination of blogs, and so here I am, to write my very own.  Who knows how long it will last?  Who knows who will even look at it....but really...who cares? I have learned first hand that you need somewhere to unleash you thoughts and your feelings, or eventually they will all spill out, and it ain't pretty.  What better place than the internet?  I would venture to say that most people that even have a chance of looking at this will be really close friends of mine and so they probably already know the information I am about to dispel, but nevertheless, I would like to start with a brief introduction of myself.  As the title says, my name is Sam, Samantha if you will.  Some people call me Smana or Mana for short.  And yet others "hey you with the face!"  I will respond to just about anything.  Anyway, I am currently a college sophomore studying Music Education with a focus on voice.  It's a lot of work, but it's my passion.  Well, at least I hope it is or I'm wasting an incredible amount of time and money.  My day consists of notes, rhythms, modulations, secondary dominants, harmonizations, and just about every other musical term you can spout off.  Truthfully, I can't even believe that I'm using my time to write this post, when in reality I should be working on all my school work that will undoubtedly take me the rest of eternity to finish.  Well there is a small snip-it of who I am, and hopefully there will be more to follow. Who knows what is to come in the future of this blog.  My readers (assuming I have any) sure don't.  I don't even have a clue.  I guess it's just a journey that we will all have to take together.