This is a blog by a soldier who shared his spiritual life, talking about his feelings when he was alone with God. Just like "the soldier in combat sneaking a look at his wife's picture", though the blogger lacked the religious experiences, he was never absent from being with God. And knowing that God is in him as well as in others, he joyfully realized that he was not alone at all.
This blog is rather moving. I think his thoughts is a consolation for a soldier whose"heart often feels as barren as most of this land", and I wish his joy with God would accompany him throughout his time in the army.
Here is the link of his post:
http://shawn_richardson.typepad.com/my_weblog/2005/09/time_alone.html
Hope you enjoy it.
just like the previous blog, i find this post interesting in several ways.
ReplyDeletefirstly, the title obviously points out that this blogger is a soldier, and once again, one pictures guns and blood and battle. though he does say in separate posts like "hard to put into words," that he often thinks about his fallen comrades and has flashbacks to the horrors of war, for the most part, i feel that this blog is more laid back. i didn't see anything too political, and i didn't read anything that was written in an overly stated sarcastic tone. i read about more personal thoughts than opinions.
secondly, also noted from the title, we learn that the blogger, besides being a respected solider, is an everyday man, married and working for a living. this in a sense makes what he has to say more credible and almost more knowledgeable and worthwhile.
lastly, we can see that this man is a christian, and instead of laying things out in a way that is political or biased, we see things through a perspective lined by faith. though i myself am not very religious, i feel satisfied in knowing that the blogger has found something he feels grounded in and that helps him through his struggles. in other words, it's refreshing to see someone focusing on what is positive, explaining what is of importance and value to him rather then dwelling on the negative and unfortunate.
he makes me think about trying to find more roots in my faith and be comfortable enough to rely on it.
These blogs have surprised me a lot. Call me narrow minded but when I think of war- I think black, gray, and darkness. But both of the blogs so far have been the opposite. The last one was mainly a pink background and this one is a light blue with a green heading. There are no pictures that pertain to war instead there is just a wedding photo.
ReplyDeleteUnlike the last one, the title is straight forward and makes sense. It's title is " a Soldier's blog" I find it interesting that only the word soldier is capitalized. This might mean that the writer stresses how much being a soldier is to him. There is a phrase underneath the title is "a Christian, a husband, a son, a brother, a Soldier" Again the words Christian and Soldier are capitalized unlike the other titles he has. Just by reading the headings I would guess that being a Christian and Soldier are very important to him.
I am glad that this soldier has a strong faith and that this helps him through the hard times when serving his country.
I feel the same way too and completely agree with Katherine and Jackie that these two blogs have surprised me in quite some ways. The first being that none of them contain pictures of gore or the blood ridden and destructive images associated with war and secondly they deal with two aspects which almost seem to contradict the setting of a war - compassion and faith.
ReplyDeleteThe images shown to us of war almost always include jet black smoke, fire, dead bodies, soldiers running, gun shots and firing making us believe that the life of a soldier has nothing but the power of the gun and the ammunition held in his hand, faith and compassion seemingly lost not because they are not human but the nature of their job makes these two qualities a deterrent to survival but yet these two blogs have proved as a turning stone to this thought process.
Compared to the previous blog, this one strikes me as being a lot more focused on life in the military. The author of "A Storm in Afghanistan" seemed to rarely discuss events from his deployment. I've only read recent or popular entries and glanced through the first several pages of either blog, so it could just be a matter of how long either person actively maintained his blog after returning home.
ReplyDeleteEven if that's the case, the difference in content upon first looking at this blog gave it a very different feel. It's somewhat more in line with what I previously described as my preconceived idea of a blog written by a soldier. Most of the photos show men in uniform out in the desert. Similarly, the posts are mostly stories from the author's time in Iraq.
What I find so interesting about that contrast between the two blogs is how it highlights a major similarity between them. Both of the authors write on a very personal level. Between the two of them, there's quite a bit of writing about the authors' feelings and their family members. If they only talked about life at home and stayed away from discussing war completely, it would be hard to tell that these men were even soldiers.
In a way, the key difference is where they were at the time of writing. The author of "A Storm in Afghanistan" showed that soldiers experience many of the same challenges and triumphs as those of us who have never been in the military. The author of "A Soldier's Blog" showed that they face the unusual conditions of war and life in a foreign land with many of the same emotions that you or I would feel.
I too feel that this blog is more focused on the author’s life in the military as compared to the author of our previous blog. However another major difference that I have noticed throughout this blog is the author’s firm foundation in God. Perhaps most interesting is the effect that his belief has on one of the commenter’s of his blog. As seen in the comment shown below, Shawn’s post had such a huge effect on this man’s life that after many years of straying from the church, he is taking small steps closer in his relationship to God.
ReplyDelete"It has been a really long time since I went to church regularly. My father raised me in a Christian home, but when I got older I strayed as sometimes happens. He has been after me lately to get back in church. Reading your blog today for some reason made me realize that I miss that close communion with God. He has been good to me in life although I haven't deserved it. Be careful over there, and we await anxiously for the day when you guys are home for good. Keep up the writing. It is a bright spot in my day."
-Posted by: Sherry | September 23, 2005 at 08:38 AM
It makes me happy to know that there are soldiers out there in the middle of battlefields who have such a firm grounding in their spiritual beliefs. In my opinion, no matter who or what you believe in, having that belief is essential in that it can give you just that small amount of motivation you need to carry out the task at hand.
Personally I find this blog kind of dark; not only because of the tone he is using, but also because of the way he decided to write it. The soldier is thinking in the past and about the events in his life that he felt like he didn’t cherish enough, and it gets me thinking about my own life. As he describes his connection with God, it is as if he is lonely and God is the only one who is there to listen. Also, on the left side of the page under recent posts, the titles lend a sense of sadness and gives me the impression that he feels like he is somewhat lost and alone. It was a really well written blog that sort of reflects the soldiers feelings.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting difference between this blog and the previous one is not just the content, but the length of time each blog continues for. Both are in the military, though both talk about different things. Both have also made it back home safely. But interestingly, where the author of "A Storm in Afghanistan" continued to write about his life and hardships, the author of "a Soldier's blog" did not. He chose to end the blog once he returned home.
ReplyDeleteAnd it's good, I think, to stop sharing your life with the internet at some point.
Frankly, what grabbed my attention first was the title "A soldier's blog" as well as the footnote below it. With no doubt, you can't figure out another title which can describe a blog in a more direct way. However, what's really interesting is that among his descriptions of his role, he put "soldier" at last and instead, the leading one is "a Christian". I'm not sure if he just made it randomly. But at least one point I can learn from this is that he's one who has such a solid foundation in God.
ReplyDeleteRelevantly, I see his post titled by "Time alone" which apparently confirms my guess. In fact, I'm glad to see a soldier who's really involed in a war can possess a spirit like this. It's really hard I mean. From a lot of films you may realize how can those flashbacks about gun battles, blood, bodies, etc affect the spiritual life of a soldier. Therefore, it's pretty inspiring to see these guys in a good mental condition. In this way, God really helps us.
Besides, there's one more thing I gave a look at. I clicked "ABOUT" below his portrait photo and saw his biography. You won't have an idea what an experienced soldier he is until you see what he says about himself. This guy started his military career in 1993, oh my, for almost 20 years till present. Seems like he can perfectly handle his emotional life right? Anyway, I know they are all alpha male. The author of the previous blog who will love his wife forever and this guy, who may get real prayers from God.
When I first read the blog post, I felt a little annoyed with the blogger. It seemed like he was just going on and on about how God helped him get through the war. From quoting a Bible verse, to speaking of his spiritual growth, I originally thought the blog was directed specifically towards Christian readers.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the blog a second time, I came to realize that anyone could read this blog and find value in it. I think the blogger wants to encourage his readers to find something to believe in, so it can help them through difficult times. In that aspect, I think he succeeded. The only problem is there are many non-religious people that would immediately dismiss the blog due to its strong spiritual focus. If people can get past that, I believe the blog has many great things to say about hope in general.
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ReplyDeleteFirst, I want to discuss a bit more about the presentation and visual effects of this blog. Green is one of those particular colors that possess a strong cooling and stable impact. It resemblances harmony, balance and growth. In a way, these factors might be what the author was searching for in his life, his faith, his role as a soldier, and even through this blog.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the way he capitalized the words "Christian" and "Soldiers" under the blog title makes it becomes obvious to acknowledge how important God is in his life, and how significantly he took his role as a member of the armed force. God might also be considered as the strongest motive that leads to his passion in serving the military and taking pride in that job.
Moving to the content, both “a Soldier’s blog” and “A Storm in Afghanistan” have been written in a very personal style. However, “a Soldier’s blog” posts focus more on his life as a soldier and his many experiences directly from the battle field. There are a lot more images from war being used. Nevertheless, he always constructed his entries as stories with his thoughts being shared in a personal way rather than turning them into political grounds where debates can easily take place.
Last but not least, at the end of various entries of his, there are numerous quotes and sayings regarding faith and belief, as well as context from the Bible, being used (e.g.: “I realize that patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone.”-- Edith Cavell).
Perhaps it is just me, but I find these very inspiring and my guess would be that he wants to instill in his readers’ minds the same kind of belief and religious spirit he has. Also, by closing his writing with this particular style, the author can leave the audience with a thought to ponder upon, that makes we wonder, at the end of the day, what really is important to our lives. It is such a bless that during many ups and downs in his life, he still can find such a strong ground to stand upon and keep moving forward without ever losing his faith.
I honestly want to make a more compelling comment, but I have a mid-term tomorrow so if what I said is rather sloppy and all over the place, please ignore it
When I started reading this blog I was not expecting it to be about faith I was expecting him to reflect on his life as a soldier or something like that. As I read on this blog hit very close home because I was raised with a strong faith and everything that he talked about in the blog were things i had heard over and over all my life. I think it is great that this soldier has not become a minister and is still giving back to his community and country.
ReplyDeleteI read the entry titled Time Rolling Along and discovered the dispute in the comments that Ben described in class. While the exact comment that started the dispute is not able to be seen the argument begins as whether this is a political blog or not. That is quickly put to rest as the brother of the blogger clearly states the blog is a journal not a piece of political writing. However the other commenters on the blog still attack the man for various reasons. The others put various words into the instigator's mouth (or keyboard?) and label him several different terms that he never uses himself. They also give the man slack for commenting on the blog as if it was a sacred space. This is interesting because a Blog's whole purpose is to be a public space for all people to share opinions and beliefs. So even though this man is participating in the freedom of the internet he is being cast out for believing something different than the others on the blog.
ReplyDeleteAt first glance with this blog the reader would not think that it was about the Christian point of view of a soldier. Because of the title you are led to believe that it is just a blog about the life of a soldier during the way. As you read you realize that he is talking about how God has been there with him through the war. I agree with Katherine when she says that people who just read this blog once are going to view it as only the Christian point of view, and may be turned off because that. But if you read it again, you find there is more. He is talking about his way of getting through the war. Non-believers will have other ways of getting through the war, such as a specific picture or a specific item that they carry with them throughout the duration of their tour. He also shows that he learns something else. He learns that he does not love enough. I feel that with those who skimmed this, reading only about the Christian aspects of the blog would have missed that. He in a way is giving the statement of not taking things forgranted for you may not know what is going to happen to you in the future. One final comment. Just by looking at this blog and some of the pictures that are posted on it, you would believe that it is just a smiple blog about the life of a soldier. But as you get further engaged in reading the blog you find that there is much deeper though involved in writing the blog, and that it gives a different insight on the war than many people will have.
ReplyDeleteI also noticed the placement and order of the words under the title. He puts being a Christian first, then husband, son, brother, soldier. I feel that he did put them in that order on purpose. Although being a soldier has so much commitment to it, he always goes back to where he came from. It reminded me of what my coach used to tell us all the time, "God comes first, then family, then school, and sports finally." The fact that this seemed so reared toward Christianity made me nervous at first, especially after being bombarded by Jesus freaks on the oval telling me i was headed for hell because i didn't take a pamphlet... but the context of this blog is meant to peak spirituality, not just Christianity. After all, unless you are atheist, God is universal, just with different names. So i felt this was a nice, open blog that any religion could appreciate.
ReplyDeleteat first glance with the blog i found it really warm, mainly because the profile picture of wedding.after i reading through some of the articles, i really feel the peace in the author's heart. He definitely experienced all of it in a different way. I also really found the war different from what I thought before. I really like those pics, and those ones really make the war seem to be much less scary.
ReplyDeleteI found it very interesting that a man who surrendered his life to protect his country, would put his Christianity before everything else in his life. I suppose when you see and do things that are demanded of you in a time of war, you need help from a superior being, like a crutch, and this man used his faith. I also like how he didn't speak about his religion specifically too much but more about faith in general and how it has played a big part in his life. At first glance this seems to be just another blog about a soldiers time at war and post-war at home, but it was quite the contrary, having a very compelling blog that makes you wonder how difficult it really is to be in his type of position.
ReplyDeleteWhen I see this blog at first, it brings to mind a family element, and not so much the aspect of war and fighting. It is as if the blog is centered around the soldier and his family, and the fact that him being a soldier on duty is secondary. But as you scroll down and look through the pictures, you get to see the part of his life that is being in the military. You see that it is not all combat, but that he enjoys being with the men which he travels with, and that even though they are away from home they try to make the best of it. This blog really strikes me as something that reveals the aspects of a soldier's life that you would not regulary get to see
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate my classmates’ comment, they observed something that will be otherwise unnoticeable to me, like the capitalization of “soldier”. And I agree that there is some positive things about war in these two blogs.
ReplyDeleteWhat strucks me most about this blog is sharing a soldier’s spiritual life. The soldier made it even clearer by stating “Once I feel that I have 'debriefed' myself, the blog will close and this Soldier's life will be shared only with those close to me”. That really reminds me of missionary. Born and brought up in a non-religious country ( actually, I found “there’s no religion” in John Lennon’s Imagine really fits the revolutionary China ), I have always encountered Christians trying to convince you that “you will be loved and saved through love in god” , etc. Personally, I’m neither religious nor anti-religious, rather. I’m very interested in religious theology ,especially that of Christian, I just can’t be persuaded by the zeal of missionaries. But by reading more posts, I feel his sincerity and faithful belief. He keeps talking about how god helps him going through loneliness and the barreness of mind. What I appreciate most is that by relating his military life and spiritual life, he makes the Christian belief understandable to a non-christian. That is----he’s not alone because god is in him and in others, he’s united with god through love.
My first impression of this blog is that it is welcoming. The cool (as opposed to warm) color scheme makes me feel relaxed. The title, subtitle, and the wedding picture also help draw me in. I find it interesting that in the subtitle, he lists being a Christian first. That shows how important his faith is to him. I also find it interesting that he capitalizes "Soldier." It makes me think that he's giving himself an honorary title or raising his status.
ReplyDeleteI am not really a religious person, so I can't really relate to the content of the blog about being "in the house of the Lord." And, to be blunt, as I began to read this post I thought "this guy is really full of himself." I think that because I couldn't relate to what he was saying about his spirituality, I was immediately bored and only read through it all because it was required for class. However, I respect his views and find it comforting that through his experiences, he has found away to feel like he isn't alone. The last line of the blog ("I am simply and joyfully not alone") really hit home with me. And it's not because it is the last line, but because I think it's wise that he can feel happy about not being alone. I think that is something we should all strive to do.
This blog, as well as the last, doesn't have the typical war theme of violence, dark, and depression. Instead he talks a lot about his faith in god and how it gets him through each day. But even though he's in war, he seems to enjoy and make the most of his time there with his fellow soldiers.
ReplyDeleteThe tone of it is very passionate and surprisingly positive. Another similarity between this blog and the previous one is it's very personal and you really get an idea of how he perceives everything he's going through.