#sharegoodness

It's interesting the potential behind new forms of media. Back in the 4th/5th century AD, St. Augustine of Hippo wrote his "Confessions," an autobiography (the first one ever actually) with the intent of bringing other's closer to Christ by sharing his journey to faith.

                                 



I don't think Augustine could have ever predicted the influence his book would have. Not only did he increase faith in Jesus Christ, he created a whole new literary genre and his personal applications of faith changed life-styles for many Christians of his day.

I feel like the reverse is often true of media today, where people create, post, tweet, like, etc. about their lives with the hope of being spotted or seen and attaining fame and remembrance rather than doing something of depth and substance with the intent of improving another's life. I know this isn't always the case, however, I do think it's a phenomenon particular to our day and age (correct me if I'm wrong). The newest medias do seem to promote this kind of usage, but the media that promotes the good in the world with the intent of increasing goodness is the most influential in my life and hopefully the media that sticks the best for us all.

Like this video about God's existence:

I was introduced to this video about a year ago, and every time I watch it I get goosebumps, so good!!

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has an uplifting campaign, #sharegoodness, that promotes sharing the good in the world.  Who knows the influence this single campaign may have over the course of history, whether it is world history, literary history, media history, or a single personal history. Either way, I am grateful for the opportunity it presents me to share my personal application of faith in Jesus Christ. #sharegoodness

Childhood Revisited

When I was eleven or so my next-door neighbor friend,  Kaylee Reeves, taught me how to do what we called a monster voice. The voice was so fun to ventriloquize I ran to my dad to showcase my new talent. Turns out, he could do it too! It caught on in our family and we  began regularly speaking like monsters to one another. Imagine my surprise/displeasure years later when Christian Bale as Batman imitated the same voice.

Since then, my monster voice has often been compared to that of Batman which wouldn't be such a big deal if 1) the voice hadn't originally been one of my childhood and 2) I liked the Batman movies. However, since I am  not a huge fan of the violent, ultra-dark hero the comparison is less than favorable. Why does any of this matter? Well, today my childhood came full-circle when I ran into Kaylee's younger sister on campus! I grew up in the military, so running into faces from my childhood isn't an expected occurrence, we military kids get spread around (although, being Mormon does make our world a little bit smaller). I, of course, stopped to chat and she, of course, didn't remember me. However, I couldn't help but think as we walked away from each other, "the Reeves family will never know the impact they have had in my life by introducing me to that voice." Melo-dramatic? Perhaps, but it fits my big-screen comparison. But really, my siblings and I have bonded as we've spoken to one another in our monster voices, many a floundering date has tanked once I've introduced the demon within, perhaps surprising perhaps not, and, I have made many a friend (or a few anyway) and solidified other friendships while employing the voice my current next-door neighbor friend (see how I brought this post full-circle there? ;)) endearingly refers to as Legion. So what does this sentimental reminiscing have to do with a media class? Well, as disapproving as I am of the Batman comparison, I admit it is partly in thanks to the wide distribution of Christian Bale's growling voice that my personal rumble has received it's current popular (?) acclaim. Thus, as much as it pains me...thanks Batman.

Amalgamate Media

Amalgamate [uh-mal-guh-meyt] v. 1. to mix or merge so as to make a combination; blend; unite; combine...3. to combine, unite, merge, or coalesce...

I learned that word yesterday on dictionary.com. I love the intermingling of medias. This week I got onto Facebook and had a notification for a page I follow related to my mission. That in and of itself I find really great, I can keep up with what is going on in my mission simply by keeping tabs on a social media page. But, it gets better. Posted to that page I found not just one, but TWO video clips featuring missionaries in Belgium, and they weren't church produced video clips either! One of the clips features two elders (one of which I served with!) on an ex-pat website for those living in the northern part of Belgium known as Flanders. The video clip is super cool and there are English subtitles for those who don't speak Flemish, but oh, it is so good to hear the familiar and soft dialect of Vlams! The second video clip of sisters has a cool back-story you can read on ldsliving.com. Apparently, the sisters were walking through the city center in Belgium and decided to stop for a cup of hot chocolate. Little did they know that they were about to be filmed for a national news program called "Iedereen Beroemd" (Everybody's Famous)! Just think, of everyone who went for a cup of hot chocolate or coffee that day and were asked to be interviewed, the interview kept and broadcasted across the nation was of LDS sister missionaries! In Dutch an oft-spoken phrase is "toeval bestaat niet" or "coincidences don't exist,"and I think this is an example of just that. The church is true! But, really, how cool is that?! And how cool is it that across the world we can view these clips complete with English translations just a few days/weeks after they are published?! Whether it is a national website, lifestyle news outlet, social media page, or blog post, I am a huge fan of the media's capacity to connect me to the people, lands, cultures, and religion I love most. But even more than that, what cool that the gospel message is proliferated across the realms of global media! Fred, George, and their Gryfinndorian friends capture the sort of big HOORAH I am feeling right now

This Girl Can

I have recently been introduced to the "This Girl Can" campaign, and by recently I mean today. It's an exercise campaign originating is England to encourage women of all ages, shapes, and sizes to work-out. Apparently fear of judgement is what discourages most women from exercising, so this campaign's purpose is "to inspire women to wiggle, jiggle, move and prove that judgement is a barrier that can be overcome." I completely identify with the whole "fear of judgement" bit in regards to exercise. In high school I ran cross country and track and although I wasn't an all-star, I was pretty good. My running abilities have gradually lessened over the years and now going out for a run is difficult not just because I am out-of-shape and slow, but because I remember what it feels and looks like to be a good runner. What I am capable of now is a far cry from that. So, instead of going for a run to recover my former form and speed, I find myself caught in a perpetuation of inactivity that only serves to deepen my self-assessed judgement. I find this campaign well-timed, or at least my introduction to it, considering it is mid-January and I already have noticed some of my New Year's resolutions fading from good intentions to poor executions, one of which is to overcome my self-inflicted judgement and become more consistent in my work-out/running routine. The YouTube video that introduced me to this whole campaign is pretty motivating, so I invite you to watch it and then get moving! In the meantime, I am actually going for a run...#thisgirlcan!o 
wiggle, jiggle, move and prove that judgement 
is a barrier that can be overcome.