3.1 Discussion: Building Your House

1. Check the rubric to see how you will be graded.
2. Read Matthew 7:24-29.
3. Watch the The Wise Man Built His House Upon The Rock video.
4. Read the Frank Reich’s Raw, Heartfelt Letter to Colts’ Fans article.
5. By the end of day five, respond to all of these prompts:
   1. How can you relate the parable of the two houses to your own personal and work life?
   2. Relate the parable to writing a paper by answering one of these two questions:
      1. How could you compare what happens in the parable to some of these steps from the writing process: prewriting, planning, researching, grouping, ordering, drafting, revising, editing, or presenting a research paper?
      2. As the writer of an essay, explain how you can relate in some way to the “builder” on the rock or the sand?
   3. Skim back over Matthew 5-7. Why do you think it is important that Jesus holds people who follow him to a higher standard than other people? Give an example of how holding yourself to a higher standard can help you succeed at work.
10. By the end of the workshop, respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts in both of these ways:
    1. Quote a sentence or two from your classmate’s initial post, and explain why you agree or disagree with something they wrote.
    3. One thing Jesus’ meant by telling us to build our house on a rock is that we need to build our lives on doing what is good.
       1. Use this list from Proverbs to choose a Bible verse that talks about what happens when we do what is good.
       2. Quote the verse you choose.
       3. Include correct APA in-text citation for the verse.
       4. Explain what you think this verse is saying about what happens when we do good.

       Resources

    4. 1.https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matth…
    6. https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?qs_versi…
    7. https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/2019/01/16/c…

    Discussions for comments:

1.How I relate the parable of the two houses to my personal and work life is me finding the healthy balance between my work and my personal life. If I am the sand, I am unable to separate my work life from my personal life and I become overwhelmed and drowned in the water. If I am the rock, I have found a way to separate my personal life and work life and am able to find the joy in my personal and work life without feeling like I am drowning in the water.

As the writer of an essay, I can explain how to relate on the rock or the sand to the “builder”, that the rock is the meaning of a healthy and successful chosen life, and the sand is the meaning of an unhealthy and unsuccessful life.

I think it is important that Jesus holds people who follow him to a higher standard than other people because simply they are followers of Jesus and represent him, they are the light of Jesus himself and should act as so. An example of how holding yourself to a higher standard can help you succeed at work is helping others on their off days because we are all human and have those days. Picking up when someone else is slacking is helpful and doesn’t go unrecognized, even though we may have the selfish mentality of “that’s not my job and I don’t get paid to do that.”

2. The parable of the house on the sand was my work life for two years, and I would wake up dreading interaction with my former manager. I felt like I was on the sand and had so much stress and anxiety. Thankfully, I transferred to a new position this year, and I love what I do now. Once my son moved out in 2020, I sold my house and decluttered my life. I wanted to be able to take some time to figure out my next step and not have as many responsibilities.

I hope to tell a story with my research paper and touch people’s hearts about caring for their health. Everyone should have access to healthcare, regardless of their social or financial status. I am working on researching the importance of universal healthcare and how it could positively affect our economy.

I believe if you follow Jesus and Christianity, you have to be more accountable and practice what you preach. I realize that no one is perfect, but I struggle with people who say they are religious and then see them being hateful to others. While going through those tough years, I tried very hard to be open-minded and reflect on my actions. I knew I could only change myself and how I responded to leadership. It was a good lesson, and I am thankful I could work through it.