Famous Last Words: Week 3

This week, I have been doing a lot of writing in class and outside of class for my job. There have been so many events in need of press releases at the nonprofit I work for, Serve Denton, so I have had much opportunity to practice my professional writing. This class allows my mind to rest more as I write and go with the flow. 

I just finished the week 3 project assignment where I was able to delve deeper into the different types of styles I could use for my final project. Letting my mind brainstorm got me excited to start on the final project because as I read through more stories from the Bible Women Unit of the UN-Textbook, I got a better idea of how I could combine a few of the stories, whether that be because of abstract reasons or because of direct similarities. For example, the main theme that runs through the twenty stories in the unit is grace, which is a wonderful and easy topic to write about. When you are passionate about a subject, writing seems to just flow off the fingers, at least when you type. Grace is something I deeply value. There are plenty of times I decide not to grant it, or I deeply dislike the idea because I feel I have been wronged, but by reading through so many stories that show the beauty of the act, I get a constant reminder to grant grace even when I do not desire to. 

I am taking a class called Languages Across Cultures, which has given me a new perspective on different cultures. This seems to overlap with this class because so many of the stories are deeply rooted in its country’s culture. For example, many of the units we will read through, their origins come from Europe or the Middle East.

(Rebecca at the Well, by Murillo)

The Damsels and Devout Women of the Bible: Styles Brainstorm

The Damsels and Devout Women of the Bible

Topic: This topic will allow me to explore women of all ages who played a pivotal role in the Word of God. From unmarried women like Mary in the story, Mary and Anna, to older married women like Sarah in the story Sarah, they both share a similar story of uncertainty and distrust of the Lord. One of the unifying characteristics of the twenty stories from the Bible Women Unit of the UN-Textbook is the combination of mistakes and grace. These two actions will serve as my theme for the project.

Bibliography:

1. Sarah. (Moses). Bible Women Unit. Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook. Story source: King James Bible (1611): Genesis 18.

2. Mary and Anna. (Luke). Bible Women Unit. Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook. Story source King James Bible (1611): Luke 2.

Possible Styles:

God as Storyteller: Having a supernatural being who created the characters in the stories could tie in the separation of age, time period, etc. This style would allow me to add in dialogue with the reader outside of the historical stories that are being told simultaneously. I would be able to make the whole project humorous or more serious. There is a saying that God has a sense of humor when he allows or prevents different circumstances or events in our lives. By taking this inspiration, I could mold the story into a drama where the reader wants to predict what the women decide.

One Woman as Storyteller: This would be similar to the God as Storyteller style, but instead of a third party telling the women’s stories, I would have one woman tell all the other women’s stories. All the women would be friends so the interconnectedness would give it a twist. If I chose Eve for example to tell her “friend’s” stories then it would be more like the historical version of “Gossip Girl” – a teenage drama T.V. series.

Journey to Meet Jesus: Due to Jesus being the center of the Bible and the reason the Bible exists, I think having all the women living in the same time period going to meet Jesus for the first time could give the stories a cool perspective. One option would be to have the women visit Jesus when he was born and have the story of Jesus’ mother Mary incorporated. Another option would be to have all the women help take Jesus down from the cross. 

Animals and Women: I could incorporate animals into each of the women’s stories, having them all play monumental roles or teach lessons. This would be more of a zany idea, but maybe one to explore deeper into for the opportunity to go an unconventional route.

(Abraham, Sarah and the Angel, by Jan Provoost)

Essay: Overview of the Unit

I really enjoyed reading through the Biblical units, especially The Book of Adam and Eve. Before this class, I was pretty familiar with this story because of my background in church, but the addition of the Jewish legends and Christian apocrypha made the stories more imaginative.

By reading the overview section and seeing the words in parentheses next to the stories, I was able to understand the origin of each book. I had one suggestion though. I knew what the word “Apocrypha” meant, but if I wasn’t raised in church, I might not know the difference between it and the actual Bible. Other than that area, I was sufficiently informed on my choices of reading and got a good idea of what the list of stories would be about from the appropriate wording of the titles.

I read the Bible Women unit last week so there was some overlap with TheCreation and The Fall stories, but the rest were given enough of a twist to where I couldn’t predict the ending. One of my favorite stories to read was The Beasts of the Creation because the theme was grace and mercy, two of the most powerful forms of goodwill. I also had a fun time getting to recreate this story for the storytelling post assignment. Animals are always a joy to read about, especially when they entail the first creatures on the Earth.

For my final project, I was thinking about exploring creation stories for my topic, so this unit fit seamlessly into my overall goals for this class.

I was not expecting to be able to read the Bible for this class because I never put the stories under the classification of mythology or folklore, but from an unreligious standpoint, I can see this point of view. Due to this, the class has so far exceeded my expectations and surprised me. So far, I haven’t seen too many connections with other reading units except the mention of supernatural beings or angels.

(The Fall, by Michelangelo)

Storytelling Week 3: The Wild Animals

The Beasts of the Creation 

As Adam and Eve left the garden with their heads hung low, their misery dripped down their faces.  They no longer walked with courage, but made their shame and remorse known. The animals even knew their faults. Their disobedience left a stench in the fresh air. 

The couple dropped to their knees, praying and pleading with God to bless their new life outside the garden. Coming from napping under the green palms and taking walks with the hyenas, they feared their lives for the animals had grown to hate them. The creature’s love belonged to their Creator, and now that Adam and Eve betrayed Him, they became fierce. God no longer protected the humans from these majestic animals for his list of favorites had twisted.

  Instead of pity, God unleashed these beasts of the garden to freely roam and eat as they pleased.

Adam and Eve were making their way to their cave when they heard steps approaching them from behind. Not thinking anything of it, they continued down the path to their new rocky abode. Only a few more steps further and growls were released from these animals. The lion was leading the pack with the elephants and cheetahs following close behind. Adam swiftly turned over his left shoulder to see such a sight!

“Run,” he yelled. Both the man and woman sprinted literally as if cheetahs were chasing them. With sweat dripping down Eve’s brow, she started heavily breathing and having trouble catching her breath. Not long after this she unknowingly approached a single ivy branch growing out of the pebbles on the ground. She tripped, falling straight down, but before her face hit the ground, the pebbles opened to a mystical dark hole.

Adam ran until he hit the cave, but as he turned back, Eve was no longer in his sight. He now had the two options. He could run back, face the fired up animals and look for his love or stand praying for her life.

He started toward the smoky cluster when he stepped down into an abyss. “AHHHHYEEEOOOOOO,” Adam screamed as fell 1,000 feet down to a land of colorful, fluffy feathers. On his way down he blacked out having no idea where he ended up. His fear took over his thoughts until his eyes finally opened to the face of his beautiful wife, Eve, smiling and shadowing his body with hers. She leaned in and hugged his sweaty body so tightly to show her happiness and relief.

God had tested Adam’s sacrificial love for Eve, in which he passed with flying colors, leaving them both in a safe home amongst the feathers.

Author’s Note: “The Beasts of the Creation” from the Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook (2014) comes from Genesis, the first book of the Bible. More specifically, the story is about Adam and Eve, the first human beings God created in the Garden of Eden. The original story is about Adam and Eve leaving their old home in the garden to live in a cave. They were kicked out because of their sin against God. He told them to enjoy His creation to its fullest, but to avoid The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. After being enticed by Satan who was in the form of a snake, Eve ate the fruit produced from the forbidden tree. While in the garden, the couple became friends with the animals, but once they left, the animals changed their attitudes toward the humans and became feisty. Adam and Eve prayed for God’s grace to protect them from the animal’s anger, in which His grace prevailed. I wanted to change the story around to shock the reader. In my version of the story, God did not protect them from the animals and gave the creatures free reign. This gave me creative freedom. The underlying purpose of the story continued to be grace, which is what I am using for the theme of my final Storybook.

 

Bibliography: The Forgotten Books of Eden, edited by Rutherford H. Platt, Jr. (1926): The First Book of Adam and Eve 7-8-9.

(Garden of Eden, by Jacob Savery)

Reading Diary B: Adam and Eve

Adam and Eve

Leaving the Garden: The Sea of Wafer, with its clear and pure characteristics, reminds me of Purgatory because it cleanses the souls of people before they enter heaven or hell. In the story, the souls of the dead entered their mortal bodies to cleanse themselves in the water of the sea. Similar to the cross Jesus died on for the sins of the world, the sea uses people’s repentance to purify their souls.

While at first God didn’t want Adam and Eve to smell even a hint of the beautiful sea’s fragrance, he decided to send The Word down to Earth to comfort the repentant hearts of the first human beings.

Entering the Cave ofTreasures: With any sin, there is a consequence, but there is also grace. This story shows both of those things when looking at it holistically. Adam and Eve had to leave the beautiful garden and live in the vastness of rocks and sand, but God reminded them that he would come save them in five days and a half (5,000 and 500 years). This is a redemptive story that mirrors the real Christian gospel.

They Die A FirstTime:

“Then Adam and Eve entered the cave, and stood praying, in their own tongue, unknown to us.”

This first line of the story reminds me of two things. First, when the Holy Spirit arrived on Pentecost, allowing Jesus’ disciples to speak in languages they did not know, but other people understood them. Secondly, I am taking a Languages Across Cultures class where we learn the origins of languages. From a scientific perspective, the first language tuned into about 6,500 to 7,000 languages because people groups started separating to live elsewhere. After so many years, people start pronouncing words differently until the original language is no longer mutually intelligible. I am curious what tongue they are speaking in this text.

(Adam and Eve, by Masaccio - detail)

You Tube Tech Tip

Allegory of the Long Spoons

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mGVOekKMRs 

Reading Diary A: Adam and Eve

Adam and Eve

The Ideal Man:The story was centered on Adam as the epitome of pure beauty, strength and wisdom. 

“The dimensions of his body were gigantic, reaching from heaven to earth, or, what amounts to the same, from east to west.”

This quote immediately caught me off guard because I was expecting the story to be more traditional instead of imaginative, but the outlandish features of Adam made the story intriguing. The section comparing the soul and God seemed very accurate because of the mystic surrounding both of them. While you cannot see either of them, both can see you and know the depth of your being. It is quite a paradox.

As the author talks about some of the great characters of the Bible, he mentions their faults, which lead to many of their deaths. Sometimes perfection isn’t as great as it seems. This section reminded me of the movie Seven, which is about seven people who die due to their obsession with one of the seven deadly sins. 

The Fall of Satan:There seems to be a theme in this section of the stories where Adam takes the place of God’s perfection. Adam is almost his representative in full bodily form – similar to Jesus. Specifically, Adam is similar to God because of the actual story of Satan’s fall from heaven. Satan desires to be the all-knowing God and disqualifies himself from being in the heavenly realm after repeatedly disobeying. In this story though, Satan desires Adam’s flawlessness.

          When God scolded Satan for his resistance to paying homage to Adam, God burned him good. If I was told I had less wisdom than a creature created from the dust, I would feel mightily insignificant.

(Fall of Satan, by William Blake)

Lilith: I thought it interesting that the act the animals saw setting Adam and God apart was sleep. The fact that Adam had to/ could sleep meant his mortal body couldn’t resist the state of tiredness.

Brainstorming Topics

Topic: Cosmological Creation Stories
Comments: Reading about different creation stories of where the world came from and how human life came to be initially excited me because of the impact the stories can have on people.
Possible Stories: The Creation Stories website from the University of Georgia gave a long list of possible stories to choose from. One was called "The Golden Chain," which dealt with orishas, which are any of the several minor gods. I had never heard of this word before, which excites me to explore more stories like this one. 
Sample Story Comments: I looked through the Sacred Texts Archive and found "The Seven Tablets of the History of Creation." I read the first tablet, which talked about the family structure of the gods who created the earth. 
Bibliography Information:

Sample Story: Tablet One

Book Title: The Seven Tablets of the History of Creation

Book Author: Leonard William King

Year: 1902

Topic: Mermaid Adventures
Comments: When I think of mythology and folklore, my first thought goes to mermaids. This could be because of modern movies like "The Little Mermaid" created by Disney or because of their whimsical naure. Exploring this topic will hopefully open my eyes to the diverse selection of mermaid stories and adventures.
Possible Stories: With mermaids, your imagination can go wild. What I found through reading some of the stories on The Mermaid Wife website was that their creativity exploded through my screen. The mermaids and mermen took the form of seals at the beginning of one of the stories. This website would be a great source to find more intriguing mermaid stories. 
Sample Story Comments: I read the story, "Water Demons," on the website, Water Spirit Legends 1. While it was short, it really grasped the mystic of mermaid legends by touching on the power of the underwater creatures. 
Bibliography Information:

Sample Story: Water Demons

Book Title: Notes on the Folk-Lore of the North-East of Scotland 

Book Author: Walter Gregor

Year: 1881

Topic: Biblical Women 

Comments: Through reading about the women of the Bible in my younger years and today, there are always new stories to read or new perspectives to come from when reading about these women's real life stories. Many unlikely women are discussed in the Bible that allows the reader to see grace, forgiveness and consequences. 

Possible Stories: I would want to use the Bible to compare and contrast some of the women's stories. 

Sample Story Comments: The UN-textbook alone has about 20 stories, each focused on a different woman of the Bible. I really enjoyed reading the story of Hagar and Sarah because Hagar isn’t seen as one of the most popular women in the Bible because of her son, Ishmael.

Bibliography Information:

Sample Story: Sarah

Book Title: Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook; King James Bible

Book Author: Moses

Year: 1611

(Abraham and Sarah at Mamre. Author: Sibeaster)

Topic: Pig Nursery Rhymes
Comments: This topic will let my imagination run wild. There are so many different veins I can take from traditional to wacky and unexpected. This would truly be a fun topic to use. 
Possible Stories: I read through "The Real Mother Goose" where I found a plethora of nursery rhymes. I wanted to narrow it down to a type of animal so as I searched, I found a few about pigs. Surprisingly two of them had to do with pigs and wigs. "The Aesop For Children" had a story about pigs too. 
Sample Story Comments: I read the nursery rhyme, "The Flying Pig," which isn't very specific with its words so I could easily make the "the man in brown" just about anyone to make the story super interesting. Other examples include, "The Barber" and "A Pig." 
Bibliography Information:

Sample Story: The Flying Pig

Book Title: The Real Mother Goose

Book Author: Illustrated by Blanche Fisher Wright

Year: 1916

Famous Last Words: Week 2

This week I really enjoyed reading through the Bible Women unit because I got to read about historical women all in one context. Growing up I heard about these stories, but there's a different perspective when you read them one after another. I noticed a pattern as I read through the first half of the unit. Many of the women who could not become pregnant, released their maidservants to sleep with their husbands in order to bare a child. After the act was finished and the women became pregnant, the wives' demeanors completely flipped. Not only would this be difficult for the wife to handle, but also the poor maidservants had no outlet to escape. The situation would truly be a challenge. 

When reading through some of my classmate’s introductions, I noticed some great writing. Danni (The Tiny Danster) had a beautiful storytelling post about “The Babes in the Wood.” The original nursery rhyme had a dark conclusion, but her version was twisted enough to make a more positive ending. Her knowledge base concerning mythology and folklore was impressive. There were many words I had to find in the online dictionary to help me understand the characters better. Danni did a great job!

After the first week of school, I am starting to establish my own routine with work, online classes and wedding planning. I just recently bought myself an extensive calendar, which has appeased my task-oriented personality. This week I am working on finding a florist for my bouquet and creating my own flower arrangement for my hair and the trees.

It seems like everyone and their dog went to see “American Sniper” this past weekend, and I have heard nothing but great reviews from my friends and family. I want to go see that movie this weekend so I can see what the hype is all about. After, I want to ask my best friend’s fiancé who was in the U.S. Army in Iraq about the similarities and differences.

 (Flower Crown. Photo by Brooke Jeary)

(Flower Ball. Photo by Brooke Jeary) 

Essay: Women's Roles

Bible Women

Eve: In this first story, the woman is created after the man, which might make some people uncomfortable because of the order. I heard a sermon a few months ago from The Village Church by Matt Chandler where he spoke about God’s beautiful design in creating the roles of women and men. He touched on this area of Genesis and the potential misunderstanding. God created Adam first and realized it was not good without a helper. The word helper can be viewed as a negative word in this context, but throughout the Bible, God refers to himself as Helper. For example, in Psalm 10:14,

“But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.”

The afflicted cannot continue on without help, therefore, they are in need of assistance, which is where God comes in. If we had everything perfectly in order and together by our own will, our need for a supernatural God would be wiped out. Adam could not take care of the garden by himself, which is why God blessed him with a helper. After reading the story with this view, both genders seem appreciated, cared for and purposeful.

Sarah: Sarah has an interesting story because of her fickle attitude. At first she wants Abram to sleep with her maidservant, but then changes her thinking after it happens and Hagar, her maidservant, becomes pregnant. Hagar had to listen to Sarah because she was her authority. Today, when I think about slavery, my mind goes to American slavery just over 100 years ago, but in reality, slavery has been around for centuries. Slavery is a form of oppression and force that makes me wonder how it became so normal. Through studying some about it, I realize some people placed themselves into slavery in order to repay a debt, but other times people were born or sold into the position. If I had to guess the origin, I would assume it could be attributed to nation’s conquering one another and taking their soldiers as prisoners. I now want to investigate more about this point.

(Abraham and Hagar, by Guercino (1657))

Hagar: Going from Sarah’s story to now looking at Hagar’s misfortune, we see much unjust treatment. Even though she was unfairly treated, she received hope from the Lord through her journey, which is the better gift in the end. Sometimes afflictions give us eternal glories instead of earthly comforts.

Storytelling Week 2: Betty

In the beginning, after the plants and animals had been created out of nothing, God decided to produce a woman to care for the beauty within the Garden of Eden. He had made one woman before, but we all know how that turned out. He destroyed that story and started all over. God was not going to make a young, foolish woman again, but instead, a wise old grandmother named Betty. 

Betty had grey, luscious hair that flowed to the ground and never tangled. Her eyes, surrounded by her winkled skin, were as blue as the Atlantic Ocean. Betty enjoyed hiking up the ice-capped mountains as well as swimming in the lagoons buried within the valleys. Her breath was taken away each day by the beauty that surrounded her. Her wisdom somehow exceeded her old age. 

As she was headed to her garden one morning, she walked by the tree of knowledge of good and evil. She admired its large fruits, but she remembered back to the legendary guidebook from the good Lord above. This was a storybook of the first beginning that didn't work as well as planned. Betty was well read. There was only one book in the whole garden though so she had the time to read the guidebook 52 times during her off time. She was not going to let her sharp mind trick her own knowledge of the tree. 

She just skipped along and gave the tree no more attention, but as she passed, her curly hair got stuck on one of the roots and yanked her whole body to the ground. She gasped so loudly the antelopes and deer rushed to her side. As she inspected the knot, she began to get confused how her hair could get that tangled up in such a short amount of time. 

She told the antelope to gather some of the strongest animals in the garden to help her escape the wretched tree. After a few hours passed of pure struggles. Betty’s wisdom rushed to her brain and they prayed for help. Whala! God gave her the most brilliant idea. After gathering over the rhinoceroses, she gave them the instructions to uproot the tree. The two little fellows did as they were asked and used their horns to take the tree from the ground in only seconds. Betty thanked the polite, kind animals and continued on to the garden, with the tree attached to her hair. She used the opportunity to strengthen her neck muscles. Sin never entered the world, and the woman became extremely strong.  

(Garden of Eden, by Lucas Cranach)

Author’s Note: This tale was based on the first story of the Bible about Adam and Eve, which was written by Moses. The original story, Eve , was taken from the Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook (2014). God made Adam and Eve as the first human beings to live freely in the Garden of Eden. They only had one rule, which was to not eat of The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, but after some time, Eve was tempted by the serpent and decided to eat of its fruit. After both Adam and Eve ate the fruit, they understood their depravity and nakedness. They were then driven out of the garden.

I created the story as if God realized his first creations were too young and stupid, so He needed to create older wiser people instead if He expected them to follow His directions. Now that He made Betty, a lovely grandma, there is no longer a need for other humans to destroy the beauty of the garden. I wrote the story with a twist in third person. I spoke to the audience to better connect with my reader.

The image is of God (in human form) talking to Adam and Eve amongst all the peaceful animals. There are other people in the image, but those should be discarded for the sake of my new version of the story of Eve. 

This story is part of the Bible Women unit. Story source: King James Bible (1611): Genesis 2 and Genesis 3 [LIBRIVOX AUDIO].

Reading Diary B: Bible Women

Bible Women

The Witch of Endor: I read 1 and 2 Samuel this past semester, which is where this story comes from, but I had forgotten about this section. It is interesting to me what people do in times of desperation. Saul outlawed witchcraft in the country, yet called upon the Witch of Endor out of desperation. He had been a disobedient king, who killed and became a selfish ruler to Israel, so God became silent to His calls. That doesn’t mean God didn’t hear them, but he was punishing Saul with silence. The fact that Saul went to a witch shows how hard the absence of the Lord’s voice was in his life. If he truly did not care, he would not have gone to such great lengths to reach Samuel for clarity.

Bathsheba: David has always been regarded as a saint in my mind because of his faithfulness and boldness concerning his God, but this story shows the depravity of man. Comparing this story to the Witch of Endor one above presents some parallels. In the name of lust, David sinned and continued to do so to cover up his mess just as Saul sinned out of desperation.

“And Uriah departed out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king. But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.”

This section of the story grabs my heart because Uriah was a faithful soldier. His men did not have the luxury to sleep in the comfort of their homes so when he was sent home, he laid at the door of the king’s house instead. This act is beautiful. One I do not know if I would have had the discipline to accomplish, but one I certainly admire.

(Bathseba by Gerome)

Esther: I just finished watching the TV show Reign, which has taught me much about the medieval times and the power of the king. Through watching the main character Queen Mary and her ladies, their virtue was sought after by all the young and old suitors. This reminds me of Esther’s story because King Ahasuerus had virgins line up to be chosen from to replace his wife Vashti.

Reading Diary A: Bible Women

Bible Women

Eve: This is one of my favorite Bible stories because it represents the beginning of mankind.

"And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it."

This is the first sentence of the story, which is written so poetically. God gave Adam the job to "dress" the garden. He named the animals and essentially became their caretaker just as we take care of our pets. However, he had millions under his care where we usually have about three or four.

Later on in the story, after Adam and Eve sinned by eating of the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God gave each gender a punishment. I had never noticed this certain consequence until a few months ago, but it explains so much. God told Eve, "Thy desire shall be to thy husband." This means God's initial desire was for both genders to experience equality, but because sin entered the world, women started to naturally feel a desire to please men. This is a huge part of why feminism is present in our world today - to fix this problem. There are also epidurals to help with the pains of childbirth, which is another punishment the woman received because of her disobedience. 

Altogether, this story brings forth much grace. After they sinned - after they did the one thing God asked them not to do - God gave them clothing to cover their shame of being naked. They had every other freedom possible, yet they deliberately disobeyed because of their curious flesh. 

 (Garden of Eden, by Lucas Cranach)

Hagar: This is such a sad story because Sarai was frustrated with her own circumstances so she told her husband to sleep with her handmaid. After she conceived a child, Sarai became an evil woman toward her. Making sure Hagar felt alone, unloved and ashamed. God loves the brokenhearted and heals those in need. He did just this when Hagar was about to leave her baby under a bush because she didn't want to see him die. He showed her to a drinking well to symbolize hope as well as to literally give her a drink. 

Leah: It is so interesting to me that the story of Leah and Rachel is so similar to Sarai and Hagar. Having their handmaids sleep with their husbands to give them children seems to be a trend.