Art as Bueatuful Motion - Van Der Leeuw

The way that I have always related to and understood the world in a way that felt most natural for me through movement.  It is not a new idea that humans have a desire to understand the natural world.  Just as the scientist, poet, philosopher, bee keeper, and bird watcher enjoy learning about the natural world, so does the wire-walker, gymnast, rock-climber, and tennis player.  They gain understanding of the world through their body.  A wire-walker is communing directly with the laws of nature as they step out onto the line. And through their efforts to perfect their craft, one gains a broader, intuitive capability to understand the nature of reality itself.  Van der Leeuw talks about the body as being the oldest instrument of all.  To seek to fully understand the body by falling into a mental state that is completely void of time and memory opens up a world that for some reason feels very natural.  Just as the eagle doesn't hesitate as it swoops down to grab a fish, practicing body movement is an attempt to reach that same sate of mind which just reacts in the most natural way to the situation.  So, just as we attempt to make sense of the world with our minds through words, poems, logic and reason, we also make sense of it through movement, which is very creative in its own way.

Beauty in Nature - Assigned Reading of Kant

Kant writes bout how beauty in nature we recognize as art.  And beautiful art is a manifestation of nature.  I feel like when we create something, we are doing it because we are having a desire to express an understanding about something, something that feels real to us.  It is an expression of our understanding of the world.  This is why I think art is a manifestation of nature.  There are these little aesthetic experiences when nature decides to open itself up to us and show us a sliver of beauty.  And our recognition of these moments is what causes us to want to create art and relate these feelings because we all have them.  When I say nature I am not strictly talking about being in "nature".  Nature could mean a beautiful interaction you had with another person, or a certain happiness or connected feeling you experience at thanksgiving or some family gathering.  Athough I think this actually going our into nature can have an especially powerful effect because if there is anything that is a manifestation of reality it is in the natural flow and interconnectedness of the natural world which we are a part of.   I think it is powerful for people who have grown up in the more modern world which cuts us off from certain aspects of relating to the earth. 

 

 

Outside Reading #5- Luke Taylor

In the beginning of this chapter the brothers talk with Jacob (their father) about what to do. Jacob is opposed to them going back to Egypt with their youngest brother, Benjamin, but finally makes up his mind and tells them to go. The second the arrive to Egypt Joseph immediately spots out Benjamin. I'm sure he is still feeling a lot of pain from what his brothers had originally done to him and seeing Benjamin probably made things so surreal for him. He tells his servants to prepare a meal for the brothers because he plans on eating with them for lunch.

As soon as the brothers arrived to Joseph's house they told the steward about the silver and how it was misplaced in their bag. How they did not have any intention of taking it and that they didn't deserved to be punished for it. Without hesitation the steward put their worries to rest and tells them to not be afraid. He then gives them good treatment in which they could relax, get cleaned up, and prepare them for their meal. As soon as Joseph entered into the room they presented gifts of forgiveness for the incident with the silver to him and bowed down. Joseph didn't pay any attention the gifts though, all he did was ask them more about their father (his father), Jacob.

After hearing that Jacob was still alive and doing well, Joseph then looked to Benjamin. Just to be sure, he asked the brothers if this was their youngest brother. When it was confirmed he told Benjamin that he has been blessed by God. After just speaking to him Joseph was overcome by his emotions and quickly left the area and wept in his private room. Finally we see what has been held inside of Joseph's heart for so long. I think when he looks at Benjamin he sees a lot of himself back when he brothers first sold him. A young guy, blessed by God, very timid. I think he sees himself for a second and immediately feels the pain of what he want through at Benjamin's age. I think at that moment Joseph was slowly becoming free from the pain he had held in his heart for so long from his brother's betrayal and started to hand it over to God.

After Joseph was able to compose himself he came back out to start the lunch with his brothers. Interestingly enough, Benjamin's servings of lunch were five times as much as anyone else's. Clearly Joseph is up to something by doing this so we'll just have to wait and see what exactly it is all about.

The biggest thing I take away from this chapter is focusing on how Joseph confronts his fears, his biggest sorrows. He is confronting his brothers and all of the pain that he took with him when they sold him away to Egypt. Clearly it isn't easy for Joseph, he had to go away to a private place in house to let all the tears out. I think it was a lot more than just that though. He was in that prison for so many years, his entire time at Egypt he was probably wondering what this moment would look like confronting his brothers and now he finally has the chance and I think it really takes him for a spin. Here's how he is able to face this fear though, because he gives it to God. He gives him the burden of that pain and because of that he is able to hold strong in the midst of his brothers. I admire him for facing those fears. So often in life we just run away from our fears, our deepest wounds that hurt us the most. We find the easiest way out and take it, but all were doing is putting those fears off until they find us later in life. I encourage myself and anyone else to really tackle those fears but importantly to give it to God. 1 Peter 5:7 says "Cast your anxieties on [me] because [I] care for you." so why not take that gift for what it is worth and give those fears to God? He truly is greater than anything we could ever face so always remember that and I challenge you to really look deep inside and ask yourself if you have confronted those fears? Have you trusted the Lord in that and given them to him? Really challenge yourself in that just like Joseph did. Seek the Lord in that, be real with yourself.

Outside Reading #4- Luke Taylor

In this chapter Jacob, Joseph's father, tells all of his sons (Joseph's brothers) to visit Egypt and try to bring back some food for the family. He sends all of his sons except for one... his youngest, Benjamin. When they arrived to Egypt they did not recognize Joseph. He is currently the Governor of Egypt... most likely the last thing they would have expected. They bowed down to him. What is so interesting about this is that this is exactly what Joseph's dreams were about in the very beginning of this story. He shares with his brothers that the interpretation of his dream was that they bowed down to him but they called him crazy and despised him for it.

Joseph clearly recognizes them but plays it off as though he does not. In fact, he treats them harshly. He exclaims that they are spies and in the midst of that he learns that they have a younger brother, Benjamin, and wants to see it for himself. What he does is holds one of the brothers in custody and tells the others that they must bring back the younger brother if he wishes to have a chance of setting their brother free. It all sounds so crazy but then again I can only imagine what Joseph is going through. It has been soooo many years since he has last seen his brothers. The ones that betrayed him and truly made him feel like he didn't matter. He probably still felt so much unresolved pain and was so surprised when he saw them. I think he held his brothers captive because he wanted more time with the Lord. I think he knew in his heart that he was ready to forgive his brothers but never expected the day to come and now that he faced it so unexpectedly he had to quickly figure out what exactly to do.

In the midst of all of this craziness the brothers start to feel the curse of their brother coming back to haunt them. They start to think all of this bad mojo is going on because of what they did to Joseph and that it is only right that they are finally being punished for it. When they returned to Canaan they realized that their was silver in their bags and were immediately frightened. They knew that this silver would truly make them look like the thieves they've been called out to be. Before they left Joseph has his servants sneak it into their bags. Why? we are yet to find out. Joseph is clearly putting some plan into motion but that is all still a mystery at this point. Closing this chapter up, Jacob tells his sons the sorrow he felt when Joseph was lost and the immense pain he felt for him. He tells his brothers they cannot take Benjamin because he doesn't want to go through that again. The oldest brother, Reuben, tells his father that if worse comes to worse he will give his life for his brother. Jacob puts his trust into Reuben and agrees.

The biggest thing I walk away with in this chapter is how important, yet so hard forgiveness can be. In Joseph's case, it is probably the hardest challenge he has faced since being sold into Egypt.. which is saying a lot. He has to look into the eyes of his brothers, the ones that turned their back on him and left him for dead, and find forgiveness? That is insane. After all he has gone through he faces yet another challenge. Joseph is not lead by a man's heart though, he is lead by the Lord and because of that he accepts this challenge. This is so encouraging to me. I know I have been wronged before, and will probably be wronged in the future. I know that you probably have to. What I encourage us to do is to look passed that and just surrender it to the Lord, exactly what Joseph did. Turn the other cheek and seek Christ's love just as Joseph did. That is a challenge I think we should all consider and push ourselves to.

Outside Reading #3- Luke Taylor

Chapter 41
Two full years had passed since Joseph had told the two men about their dreams... TWO MORE FULL YEARS of Joseph still being stuck in prison. Pharaoh had two dreams in which he knew he was worried about and wanted some type of interpretation of. He turned to his magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh turned to those things before he even considered God. I think we all do that a lot in our life. We know we might need something but before we turn to the only one that can really help us through it, God, we decide to try to take matters into our own hands and try to figure it out on our own. I encourage any of you to take a second and really think about that, is the Lord your rock?

Finally the cup bearer, after two very long years, remembers what Joseph had done for him and told the Pharaoh that he could interpret his dreams. Pharaoh seeks Joseph and asks him if he will be capable of interpreting the dreams that he is having. Joseph initially responds saying he cannot, he then follows up that response telling the Pharaoh that he may not be able to, but his God can. BOOM. How sweet is that? Once again, Joseph remains faithful in the Lord and gives him glory for ALL that he does/is going to do. I love that so much because it is such a great reminder that I am really nothing without the Lord, that everything that I do is all through him. Philippians 4:13 says "I can do all things through him who strengthens me." and that is such truth, that's why Joseph is able to interpret dreams. Remember to give the glory back to the one that gives you these things!

Joseph tells Pharaoh about his two dreams. They essentially mean that Egypt will have 7 good years of harvest followed with 7 terrible years. If the Pharaoh is not smart/sparing with the good 7 years then things will quickly fall apart and people will turn on him in the bad 7 years. Joseph explains how critical it is for the Pharaoh to take advantage of the first seven years of abundance and how important it will be to save the good harvest of that seven years. Now here is the coolest part. Pharaoh knows that God lives inside Joseph and because of that he desires to trust in that. He appoints Joseph to be in charge of his palace and that all people should be under him in power. Joseph was just a prisoner that the Pharaoh thought less than a toothpick of. Because Joseph put his trust in the Lord big things happened and the Lord rewarded him. WHAT. Seriously, if that isn't encouragement to want to stay faithful in the Lord and continue to run with him them I'm not really sure what is. Seek the Lord and your life will feel so much more whole- it is THAT simple. I love it.

Joseph was 30 years old when he was appointed this position. 13 years ago he was sold by his brothers and a good 10 of that or so he just spent in prison. Despite all of what he had gone through and how hard it was, he never turned his back on the Lord. The 7 years of good harvest passed and Joseph did exactly what the Lord told him in storing it all instead of letting any of it go to waste. The 7 bad years of harvest started and people started to get antsy and beg the Pharaoh for food, he pointed them in Joseph's direction. Just as planned, Joseph sold grain/crops to the people of Egypt. The famine got so bad; however, that people from all over the world started to make trips to Egypt for some food. That is where this chapter ends.

The biggest thing I think we should take away from this is how awesome it really is to get to see how Joseph handles all of the brutal situations in his life and somehow manages to find a way to give it to the Lord and remain in him. I may start to sound like a broken record but we have all been there when times have been hard. Our initial thought is we just want to give up but I encourage you to think of Joseph in that time. Really think about ALL the tough things he went through and remember his heart in those times... he gave it to the Lord. God loves us so much and always has our best interest in mind, even when it may not seem like it at times. If you pursue him then you are living a life worth living. Think about that and really ask yourself if you do find that time with the Lord every day, if you do all things going into it with the mindset that he is WITH you. Are you really living your life for the Lord or just saying you do. Think hard about that.

Outside Reading #2- Luke Taylor

In the start of chapter 40 Joseph has two new people join him in prison, a cup bearer and a chief baker. The bible says that they had been there for "quite some time" until things started to 'pick up'. Both men had a dream on the same night. Joseph tells the men that is he able to interpret the dreams but not because he is talented in himself but because the God that lives inside of him is capable. Joseph gives glory to the Lord. In all that we do good in, is it not a gift from God that we can do these things? It is. We are literally nothing without him and because Joseph gives him glory in ALL that he does, the Lord is there for him and gives him these things. In Psalms 37:4 it says "Delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires or your heart." I encourage myself and any of you to remember that and hold onto it. If we just live our lives for a God that loves us SO much then he WILL gives us what we desire most in life. What a gift.

Continuing on, the cup bearer tells Joseph about his dream first. Joseph interprets his dream and ultimately tells him that it means that in three days he will be given a second chance and will do good with Pharaoh. The only thing Joseph asks of the cup bearer is tat he remembers him and tells Pharaoh about him and that he is an innocent man.

Now being as that the chief baker saw such favor in the cup bearer when Joseph interpreted his dream, he wasted no time and told Joseph his dream. Unlike the first one, there was a different interpretation. Joseph ultimately told the chief baker that in three days he will also be taken out of prison, but only to be killed.

Just as Joseph had interpreted everything occurred. Three days came and Pharaoh released both men. One, the cup bearer, was given his job back to him and the other, the chief baker, was killed. So Joseph must be sitting real pretty right now, he must be thinking the cup bearer will surely mention the Pharaoh to him and give him the chance that he deserves of freedom but this is not the case. The cup bearer forgot about Joseph. Put yourself in Joseph's shoes again really quick. He's been up and down and up and down and finally he sees a chance of possibly getting back up, getting out of that horrid prison. When all of the sudden the only reason he doesn't get to is because a man forgot about him. I'm sure Joseph is starting to really question the Lord in all of this and start to wonder why he is going through all of it. It has to be so hard but he still remains in the Lord and is faithful. Even though he doesn't deserve to be sitting at the bottom; if anything he deserves to be at the very top, he still trusts in the Lord and believes he is going through all of this for a reason. Whenever we are up against a wall and starting to question if the Lord is really even there for us I think we should try to remember the faith that Joseph had. A faith that was unconditional and true, That is something worth striving for in our lives.

That's all for chapter 40, I encourage any of you to continue to reach out to family, community, friends, myself, etc. if you have any questions about any of this or just want to talk to someone about this! 

Outside Reading #1- Luke Taylor

I have been reading through Genesis and deicide to write an analysis with that:

In Chapter 39 we are reminded that Joseph is sold to one of Pharaoh's officials, Potiphar, but what really stands out to me is the next line afterwards. "The Lord was WITH Joseph so that he prospered and lived in the house of the Egyptian master." Put yourself in Joseph's shoes for just a second, do you really think you would still have faith in the Lord after all you've gone through? If I'm honest with myself, after being kicked while I'm down that much I think I would really be struggling with that yet Joseph remained faithful in the Lord and as we see it rewards him in a sense. That alone encourages me so much. We go through some really tough times in life but we can always remain in God, we can always be sure that no matter how down and out we may go, he is ALWAYS with us.

Because God lived inside Joseph he seemed "different" than everyone around him. "His master saw that the Lord gave him success" and because of that he put him in charge of all his possessions. Just a second ago Joseph was just some slave that Potiphar could potentially care less about. But Joseph was so much different than just that. THE LORD LIVED INSIDE OF HIM and because of that Potiphar knew there was something about him that he wanted. We can dot his in our everyday lives. We can live our lives with Christ inside of us and people are going to notice that difference in the way we live- exactly how Potiphar saw that in Joseph. Really take a moment and think about that. Our influence amounts to so much when we live our lives for Christ. It will not always be easy but it is the most plentiful thing that will ever fill us up. I just encourage any of you (including myself) to continue to strive for that lifestyle because it can be a gateway to so many on a new life full of true, everlasting life.

Continuing on in this story, Joesph's life takes a turn for the worst. His life is literally like a roller coaster with SO many ups and downs. As he remained a good "servant" to Potiphar and continued to build his way up he gets knocked down for something he didn't even do. Potiphar's wife becomes very fond of Joseph and several times she tried to get him to sleep with her- every time Joseph turns her down and remains faithful to Potiphar as a servant, but more importantly to the Lord. One day when no one is around Joseph is completely set up. He still manages to turn her down again and gets away but in the process he leaves his cloak in her bedroom. She goes along with a story that Joseph raped her and left his cloak as evidence. Potiphar didn't even have to think about it, he immediately throws Joseph into prison. That has got to be so incredibly hard for Joseph. He gets knocked down by his brothers, picks himself back up and starts living a decent life again and then just like that, he gets knocked down to the bottom again. That is so similar to how our lives can be though, we are always going to feel on top of the world at one moment and then before we know it we can easily be thrown to the bottom and all we can do is sit there and wonder to ourselves what could have gone wrong. We get to that point where we just want to give up and throw in the towel. Hold on to that thought though because the story is far from over.

Joseph is in prison. He has every reason to give up, every reason to be angry with the Lord, every reason to weep away at his life. He is in prison for something he didn't even do, he remained honorable yet is being forced to pay the time. Even then, with all of that crap going on in his life, he remained faithful in the Lord and guess what? "THE LORD WAS WITH HIM." The Lord showed Joseph favor while he was in Prison so the guard in the prison saw something in Joseph and he knew he could trust him with whatever. He knew that he didn't have to pay close attention to him while in prison. "The Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in WHATEVER he did." Uh, how great is our God? Seriously think about that one for a second. Despite ALL the knock downs that Joseph faced, despite the betrayals of the ones he loved, despite the hardship and false accusations, the man remains loyal and faithful to the Lord. I absolutely love that and look up to that so much. While on break we most definitely will be dealing with some tough things. Maybe it comes from old friend involved with drinking/smoking, maybe it's an old ex and things are tough in that situation because you know they could pull you away from the Lord, maybe it's your own family and times are tough when you're around them. Maybe it's some other stuff. Whatever it is, however hard it is, I just really encourage any of you to know that the Lord is WITH YOU. Just like he was with Joseph, he is with you. His gift to us is that we can call on him whenever we need/want to call on him. He was there for Joseph, he has been there for me, and I promise he will be there for you. Continue to pursue him and spend time with him over break, continue to remain faithful in him and be that light that so many saw inside of Joseph.