Christian Parenting project
So to get out of acting 2, I changed my theology from Seeking God Through Film to Christian Parenting. It is by far the crappiest class offered evarrrr. We were assigned a group project yesterday to write a children's story on the six stages of faith development. I got paired up with Bernadette Valdez... which means, she basically did the whole project. I just found the pictures. Anyway, this is our "children's story". It is kind of morbid. It is teh awesome. *cough*
Little Fiona was a very nosy child. She had a very curious mind and wanted to know everything. Everyday, she bugged her dad with questions, asking "Why is the sky blue? Why am I short? Why can’t I fly? Why is the world round?"
Her dad couldn’t answer all these questions so to get Fiona to stop talking, he would tell her to go ask her mom. Fiona, aware that her mom was a religion teacher, would ask her mom questions about her religion, asking "Where does God live? Why is the devil red? Is he red because he’s always mad? Does God have a beard? Can I touch God’s beard?" Her mom found Fiona’s questions to be very interesting and amusing. She always wondered where Fiona got such bizarre thoughts.
While Fiona’s mom was very entertained with Fiona’s curious mind, it often got her in trouble. During her first communion, Fiona got bored during mass. She had been playing with the bows on her puffy, white dress but was no longer entertained so she decided that mass was the perfect opportunity to ask the priest all her questions.
During the homily, she jumped out of the pew, walked down the aisle and up to the altar, and asked, "Is God a giant, or is he itty bitty like the seven dwarfs?" The priest, amused by such a comment, smiled and answered her question. Fiona was very excited to have her question answered, but others were quite annoyed that she had ruined the ceremony.
As Fiona grew older, she became quieter and less talkative. Rather than asking bunches of questions, she listened, finding stories to be the most fascinating things on the Earth. Every night, her mom would read her a story out of the children’s Bible she had received for Christmas. Fiona loved hearing the stories and looking at the pictures. Her favorite story was the story of Jonah and the whale. She never quite understood how Jonah ever lived inside a whale, but she often tried to find a way to imitate Jonah.
One night, Fiona’s mom was too busy to read Fiona her nightly Bible story. Fiona got so upset that she tried to run away from home, but she didn’t know where to go. She didn’t want to walk too far, but she did want to go somewhere far enough from her home so she decided that she was going to live inside a whale, just like Jonah.
She went outside to the lake by her house and searched for a whale. "Whale! Whale! Come out whale! I need you!" Fiona cried, but no whale came. Saddened not to find a whale, she sat on a bench and cried. Her parents, haven seen Fiona from their kitchen window, went to the lake and brought Fiona back home where her mom promised to always read Fiona a Bible story before bed.
As Fiona became a teenager, her mom realized that Fiona was becoming bored with the regular "old people" mass so she took her to Lifeteen mass one day. During her first Lifeteen mass, Fiona didn’t know anybody so she sat in the pew next to a guy. The guy turned to her, stuck out his hand, and said, "Hi! My name is Josh! What’s your name?" Fiona replied, "I’m Fiona! I don’t really know many people here so I’m a little nervous." "Me neither," said Josh, "but I guess we each know one person now."
Fiona was so excited. She and Josh became best friends and did all Lifeteen activities together. Fiona no longer dreaded mass, but looked forward to it because for her, it was an opportunity to hang out with Josh and all her other friends at Lifeteen.
As Fiona got older, she became more involved with her Lifeteen group, assuming the role as youth minister assistant. She and the youth minister, Lily, worked together to plan all the activities and eventually formed a close friendship.
Fiona turned 18 and went off to Texas Tech for college. It was a big change for her. She no longer had the close, faith community she had when she was attending Lifeteen and assisting Lily with the youth group. Her roommates weren’t religious, and when she asked them if they would go to mass with her, they simply laughed in her face. So Fiona started to focus on her personal relationship with God, attending mass every Sunday and actually focusing on the homily and readings.
With no friends at mass, mass was no longer a place to socialize and chat with others, but a place to focus on her relationship with God. Fiona finally realized that her faith wasn’t simply about living in large whales or playing fun games after Lifeteen mass, but about her personal connection with God. Fiona felt secure and sure about her faith for many years until one day.
After a long day of work, Fiona got a phone call from her mom. With a shaky voice, her mom said, "I’m so sorry sweetie, but Lily just passed away this morning. She had cancer and simply couldn’t hold on any longer." Fiona dropped the phone and cried, "Why? Why, oh God? Lily was the sweetest, most hard working person I know. How could you let her die?" Fiona didn’t understand how God could allow such a thing to happen so she questioned her faith and stopped attending mass. Her faith was no longer sure, but fragile and messy.
One day, however, Fiona got a phone call from the church where Lily had been youth minister. They had asked her to take over Lily’s old job as youth minister. Fiona was very unsure about the job but accepted it. During her first day of work as youth minister, she ran into Kevin, who was assistant youth minister at the church. They started dating and after three years, got married.
Fiona finally understood why God had let Lily die. Through Lily’s death, she was able to meet Kevin, marry him, and start a family of her own. Without Lily’s death, she may have never met Kevin. Through her relationship with Kevin, she finally realized that Lily’s death was part of God’s plan and returned to the strong, personal faith she had had prior to Lily’s death.
Years passed, and Fiona lived a peaceful life, until one day. As Fiona was watching the evening news, she saw that Josh, her Lifeteen friend, had been convicted and sentenced to the death penalty for murdering a woman and her five children. "How can this be?" Fiona asked herself.
She was absolutely horrified and didn’t know what to do so she turned to God and realized that while Josh had committed a horrible crime, he, like everybody else, didn’t deserve the death penalty. She decided to protest against the death penalty on the day of Josh’s execution.
The day of Josh’s execution arrived, and Fiona was ready to protest. She went to the place where Josh was scheduled to be executed and protested. After hours of protesting, a group of people approached her. Fiona didn’t know what they were going to do, but she kept protesting. The suspicious group of people stepped in front of her and said, "What are you doing? That monster Josh deserves to die! He made a mother watch her kids’ individual deaths and then made her suffer her own painful death. Why are you sticking up for him? If you have any emotion in you, you will leave." Fiona refused.
She knew that Josh’s actions were wrong, but that didn’t change her belief that the death penalty was wrong. She continued to protest. The group of people, angry and impatient, repeated, "You will leave!" But Fiona refused so they grabbed her, threw her on the ground, and beat her with her own posters, leaving her on the ground to die. Luckily, a bypasser saw her and called 911. Fiona was rushed to the hospital where she died of internal bleeding.
Fiona’s family held a funeral for her and buried her, with a tombstone that said, "Is God a giant, or is he itty bitty like the seven dwarfs?" God had always been a huge part of Fiona’s life, whether she intended it or not, and after her death, she finally got all her answers about God answered, not from her dad, not from her mom, but from God. There were no more questions and no more pain, simply peace in paradise with God.
Little Fiona was a very nosy child. She had a very curious mind and wanted to know everything. Everyday, she bugged her dad with questions, asking "Why is the sky blue? Why am I short? Why can’t I fly? Why is the world round?"
Her dad couldn’t answer all these questions so to get Fiona to stop talking, he would tell her to go ask her mom. Fiona, aware that her mom was a religion teacher, would ask her mom questions about her religion, asking "Where does God live? Why is the devil red? Is he red because he’s always mad? Does God have a beard? Can I touch God’s beard?" Her mom found Fiona’s questions to be very interesting and amusing. She always wondered where Fiona got such bizarre thoughts.
While Fiona’s mom was very entertained with Fiona’s curious mind, it often got her in trouble. During her first communion, Fiona got bored during mass. She had been playing with the bows on her puffy, white dress but was no longer entertained so she decided that mass was the perfect opportunity to ask the priest all her questions.
During the homily, she jumped out of the pew, walked down the aisle and up to the altar, and asked, "Is God a giant, or is he itty bitty like the seven dwarfs?" The priest, amused by such a comment, smiled and answered her question. Fiona was very excited to have her question answered, but others were quite annoyed that she had ruined the ceremony.
As Fiona grew older, she became quieter and less talkative. Rather than asking bunches of questions, she listened, finding stories to be the most fascinating things on the Earth. Every night, her mom would read her a story out of the children’s Bible she had received for Christmas. Fiona loved hearing the stories and looking at the pictures. Her favorite story was the story of Jonah and the whale. She never quite understood how Jonah ever lived inside a whale, but she often tried to find a way to imitate Jonah.
One night, Fiona’s mom was too busy to read Fiona her nightly Bible story. Fiona got so upset that she tried to run away from home, but she didn’t know where to go. She didn’t want to walk too far, but she did want to go somewhere far enough from her home so she decided that she was going to live inside a whale, just like Jonah.
She went outside to the lake by her house and searched for a whale. "Whale! Whale! Come out whale! I need you!" Fiona cried, but no whale came. Saddened not to find a whale, she sat on a bench and cried. Her parents, haven seen Fiona from their kitchen window, went to the lake and brought Fiona back home where her mom promised to always read Fiona a Bible story before bed.
As Fiona became a teenager, her mom realized that Fiona was becoming bored with the regular "old people" mass so she took her to Lifeteen mass one day. During her first Lifeteen mass, Fiona didn’t know anybody so she sat in the pew next to a guy. The guy turned to her, stuck out his hand, and said, "Hi! My name is Josh! What’s your name?" Fiona replied, "I’m Fiona! I don’t really know many people here so I’m a little nervous." "Me neither," said Josh, "but I guess we each know one person now."
Fiona was so excited. She and Josh became best friends and did all Lifeteen activities together. Fiona no longer dreaded mass, but looked forward to it because for her, it was an opportunity to hang out with Josh and all her other friends at Lifeteen.
As Fiona got older, she became more involved with her Lifeteen group, assuming the role as youth minister assistant. She and the youth minister, Lily, worked together to plan all the activities and eventually formed a close friendship.
Fiona turned 18 and went off to Texas Tech for college. It was a big change for her. She no longer had the close, faith community she had when she was attending Lifeteen and assisting Lily with the youth group. Her roommates weren’t religious, and when she asked them if they would go to mass with her, they simply laughed in her face. So Fiona started to focus on her personal relationship with God, attending mass every Sunday and actually focusing on the homily and readings.
With no friends at mass, mass was no longer a place to socialize and chat with others, but a place to focus on her relationship with God. Fiona finally realized that her faith wasn’t simply about living in large whales or playing fun games after Lifeteen mass, but about her personal connection with God. Fiona felt secure and sure about her faith for many years until one day.
After a long day of work, Fiona got a phone call from her mom. With a shaky voice, her mom said, "I’m so sorry sweetie, but Lily just passed away this morning. She had cancer and simply couldn’t hold on any longer." Fiona dropped the phone and cried, "Why? Why, oh God? Lily was the sweetest, most hard working person I know. How could you let her die?" Fiona didn’t understand how God could allow such a thing to happen so she questioned her faith and stopped attending mass. Her faith was no longer sure, but fragile and messy.
One day, however, Fiona got a phone call from the church where Lily had been youth minister. They had asked her to take over Lily’s old job as youth minister. Fiona was very unsure about the job but accepted it. During her first day of work as youth minister, she ran into Kevin, who was assistant youth minister at the church. They started dating and after three years, got married.
Fiona finally understood why God had let Lily die. Through Lily’s death, she was able to meet Kevin, marry him, and start a family of her own. Without Lily’s death, she may have never met Kevin. Through her relationship with Kevin, she finally realized that Lily’s death was part of God’s plan and returned to the strong, personal faith she had had prior to Lily’s death.
Years passed, and Fiona lived a peaceful life, until one day. As Fiona was watching the evening news, she saw that Josh, her Lifeteen friend, had been convicted and sentenced to the death penalty for murdering a woman and her five children. "How can this be?" Fiona asked herself.
She was absolutely horrified and didn’t know what to do so she turned to God and realized that while Josh had committed a horrible crime, he, like everybody else, didn’t deserve the death penalty. She decided to protest against the death penalty on the day of Josh’s execution.
The day of Josh’s execution arrived, and Fiona was ready to protest. She went to the place where Josh was scheduled to be executed and protested. After hours of protesting, a group of people approached her. Fiona didn’t know what they were going to do, but she kept protesting. The suspicious group of people stepped in front of her and said, "What are you doing? That monster Josh deserves to die! He made a mother watch her kids’ individual deaths and then made her suffer her own painful death. Why are you sticking up for him? If you have any emotion in you, you will leave." Fiona refused.
She knew that Josh’s actions were wrong, but that didn’t change her belief that the death penalty was wrong. She continued to protest. The group of people, angry and impatient, repeated, "You will leave!" But Fiona refused so they grabbed her, threw her on the ground, and beat her with her own posters, leaving her on the ground to die. Luckily, a bypasser saw her and called 911. Fiona was rushed to the hospital where she died of internal bleeding.
Fiona’s family held a funeral for her and buried her, with a tombstone that said, "Is God a giant, or is he itty bitty like the seven dwarfs?" God had always been a huge part of Fiona’s life, whether she intended it or not, and after her death, she finally got all her answers about God answered, not from her dad, not from her mom, but from God. There were no more questions and no more pain, simply peace in paradise with God.