My brother the… graduate?

 

 

My brother received his high school diploma last night. We were so proud of him! :) I can’t believe he’s done; it makes me feel so old. This made me think about graduating from college and how soon that may be. Although I’m a double major in English and psychology, I’m also thinking about having a minor in history and/or religious studies, which means that school may take longer than I expect (possibly a semester longer). This turns into a litany of questions. Should I chose one minor, even though some of those classes are cross listed? Should I just have a double major? Could I possibly try more summer classes, or will this be too expensive? Is it rational to get a double major with a double minor? I don’t know anyone who has done this, but I want to do this for some reason. Maybe it’s because I have so many interests and I will regret not pursuing all of them after I graduate. Is it more important for me to graduate “on time” or to get everything I want out of college? There are way to many options… I’ll let you know if I ever make a decision!

Finding Humor in Words

 

Today, my friend and I played my favorite game-SCRABBLE!! We had so much fun, even though it took a long time (we are both slow Scrabble players). And yes, I tried to make up words as I usually do! But that makes it fun and keeps us laughing.

 After we finished playing, the laughter we shared made me think about all the humor in my life. Humor is a key component of joy, which relieves my stress, helps me open up to people, and, most of all, makes me happier. I am so thankful for the humor God has given me today. I have been going through an emotional battle of regret and depression. I needed Him to lift me up from those worries. And today, He answered my prayers through humor to relieve those burdens, to remember that any distortions in my thoughts are in fact *humorous.*

 Scripture on God’s humor: Matthew 17:17; Luke 13:6-9; Psalms 59:8.

The Elvis Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich

 As I looked for new recipes, I thought, why not try the King’s favorites? It turns out, Elvis Presley’s favorite food was actually the peanut butter and banana sandwich, also known as “The King” during the Great Depression. Who knew? Of course, I’ve made this sandwich before, but here’s the King’s recipe:

 

 Recipe

2 tbsp. peanut butter (preferably smooth)
2 slices sandwich bread
1 small ripe banana, mashed with a fork (about 1/4 cup)
2 tbsp. butter

1. Spread peanut butter evenly on 1 slice of bread, then spread mashed banana on other slice, leaving a 1/4-inch border around edge. Close sandwich, gently pressing bread slices together.

2. Heat butter in an 8- to 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides, then fry sandwich, turning over once, until golden brown, about 2 minutes total.

3. Eat immediately with a knife and fork

After eating “The King,” I realized that Elvis has good taste. You should try some of his other favorites.

 

Works Cited

Brenda Arlene Butler. Are You Hungry Tonight? Elvis’ Favorite Recipes. New York: Bluewood, 1992.

Happy Mother’s Day

I am so thankful for a wonderful mother who has taught me faith, shown me hope, and given me love.

Happy Mother’s Day! 

“And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13

Religious Orientation and Depression

The phrase “psychology of religion” means to use scientific methods that can improve our understanding of religion. Religious orientation can be labeled as Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, and many other religious affiliations. Religious individuals believe in a divine power and can be separated into two religious orientations: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic religious motivations are characterized by internalized beliefs that are adhered to regardless of the external consequences. Extrinsic religious motivations are characterized by a desire to gain status, security, self justification or sociability. Conducting a research study helps determine whether intrinsic and extrinsic religious orientation has a relationship with depression in individuals.

In a previous research study, Genia, Vicky, and Shaw hypothesized that depressive symptoms were negatively related to intrinsic religious orientation and positively related to extrinsic religious orientation. The results supported this hypothesis and the final conclusion between depression and extrinsic scores showed a correlation when the sociodemographic variables are controlled. Extrinsic orientation puts the center on oneself and prevents spiritual growth. Intrinsic orientation, however, seeks future growth, faith, humility, and perfection. According to the data in this periodical, religiosity (without regard to particular denominations) in adolescents is related to less problem behavior and prayer is an effective coping strategy to decrease anxiety and depression. Referring to Carl Jung, adolescents with high levels of church attendance and spiritual meaning in life, that is, intrinsic orientation, demonstrate lower levels of depression.

To see if a correlation exists between religion and depression, a random sample of twenty-five students (aged 18 to 24) was taken from North Dakota State University, which consisted of 12 females and 17 males with religious preferences of Evangelical Free, Presbyterian, Assembly of God, Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, and Jewish. Since this study focuses on intrinsic and extrinsic religious orientation, only religious individuals who believe in a divine power participated in this experiment. The participants were asked to fill out a voluntary consent form, followed by their personal data, which included sex, age, religious denomination, church attendance, household income, and marital status to find possible confounding variables. After the participants completed these forms, they took the Religious Orientation Scale Survey (ROS) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) to find out if there really is a relationship between religious orientation and depressive symptoms in individuals.

The hypothesis of the NDSU study is based on Genia, Vicky, and Shaw’s research. I predicted that people who were extrinsically motivated would have higher symptoms of depression than those with an intrinsic orientation. This hypothesis was accepted after viewing my results on the following graph. As depressive scores increased, extrinsic scores increased and intrinsic scores decreased. This means that people who have intrinsic religious views have fewer depressive symptoms. So, if people seek future growth and have more personal attachments to their religion, they are less likely to have depression. The results from both studies show that an intrinsic view of religion is related to lower depressive symptoms.

 

If the studies in both of the results are true, then we should be aware of our religious motivations and how they can affect our own depressive symptoms. Gaining awareness of this correlation will empower people, making them conscious of the connections between their symptoms and motivations. The sample of NDSU students that participated in this study is representative of all college students between 18 to 24 because they were randomly chosen for a scientifically designed study. The relationship between depression and religion is also useful for people other than college students, whether it’s a doctor trying to detect or treat depressive symptoms, parents deciding how to teach their children about religion, or individuals seeking knowledge about their psychological symptoms.
Works Cited

Genia, Vicky, & Shaw, Dale. (1991). Religion, Intrinsic-Extrinsic Orientation, and Depression. Sociological Aspects, 32 (3), 274-283.
Spillet, M. A., Park, H.-S., Murgatroyd, W., Raynock, D. C. (1989). Relationship between intrinsic-extrinsic religious orientation and depressive symptoms in Korean Americans. Taylor & Francis, 11, 315-324.
Navara, Geoffrey S., & James, Susan. (2005). Acculturative stress of missionaries: Does religious orientation affect religious coping and adjustment? International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 29 (1), 39-58.

Easy Cinnamon Rolls

Here is an easy recipe for cinnamon rolls… yum. I recently made them for my Bible study group. It only has 6 ingredients and one of them is store-bought crescent rolls.

 

 

INGREDIENTS:
1 – 8 ounce tube crescent rolls
1/4 cup butter, melted, divided
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk

 
PREPARATION:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter 8 or 9-inch round cake pan. Open crescent rolls can. Pinch seams together to make large rectangle. Brush 1/2 of melted butter over dough. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll tightly from long end of rectangle. With serrated knife, cut into 8 rolls. Place in prepared pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until tops are lightly browned. Stir together remaining butter, powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons milk to make icing. Spoon icing over rolls just out of oven. Serve cinnamon rolls warm.

I highly recommend these rolls if you are serving a large group. They’re easy to make and unbelievably yummy!

Who are we really following?

At the NDANG chaplain worship service, one of the chaplain assistant’s served his last day. He graduated from North Central University to be a youth pastor in Wilmar, MN. We will miss him, as he used his musical talent to worship God and told so many amazing stories.

 Today, he shared a baseball story, where he comes up to the bat and lets out a swing. Strike one! He starts feeling nervous. So, he makes a couple practice swings for the second pitch. Strike two! Now he plans on bunting the final strike, making it easy to sprint to first base. However, he decides to swing it at the last second, and CRACK–he hits the ball and runs like the wind to first base. Pausing on first, he looks up to see his coach saying, “HOMERUN!” As he slides back to home, the crowd rises and applauds.

 On this day, his girlfriend said, “If he hit’s a homerun today, I know I’m supposed to marry him.” When they got engaged, she told him about the baseball story and feeling like he was “the one” for her. When he asked her to marry him, he also asked her to “follow” him. This made sense. When we marry someone, we also agree to follow them. The same applies if we give our hearts to Jesus–we agree to follow Him. It is important to marry in Christ, something I have been thinking a lot about lately. When people enter a good marriage, they just seem to “know” they are the one.

 This relates to my previous relationship and “knowing” whether he was the one. The person I was with was unsure about his faith. I did not know what to do and I kept blaming myself. But then I realized that this is up to God and that I cannot take His place. God’s plan seemed to be different from my own. I shouldn’t be in a relationship just because I feel loved. I need someone who follows Christ and loves me as Christ does. My plan would be to stay with him, but I felt God tugging me away from that plan.

 Our plan to “bunt” everything thrown at us and taking the easy way out is not God’s plan. He wants us to feel confident, without turning back. No matter how much I try to plan, I just need to give my life to God. He wants to play a part in every decision we make. This includes all decisions–relationships, jobs, everyday choices, and so on. If we don’t allow Him to play this role, who are we really following? Ourselves? Our girlfriend/boyfriend? Other idols? God wants us to chose Him to defeat the idols that are continually thrown at us.