#curtis chang

[beacomer]

Work vs Toil

There’s a point in the linked “Good Faith” podcast where Andy Crouch contrasts the godly balance of “work and rest” with our common human experience of “toil and leisure”. This came up as an explanation for why we strive to achieve our work without toil and escape from our toil with leisure which is not the same as rest. This is so prevalent, particularly in our American culture, that entertainment itself is big business.

I love this comparison, it reminds me of a discussion post series I did where I proposed that the virtues and vices of a topic are unclear simply because we are framing it with the wrong “coordinate system“. Just imagine how confusing timezones, weather, etc would be if latitude and longitude were rotated by 30 degrees in both directions. To get to the North Pole we’d no longer be able to simply go north. While we probably can’t imagine a coordinate system like this becoming popular, we live in a reality where more abstract concepts, such as the meaning of life, are being redefined by many things including technology and, specifically, AI. It would be helpful if we all used the same framework to determine what is the ultimate goal of our lives.

Andy went on to contrast rest and leisure; however, what about work and toil?

God explains to Adam that the work he was given to do would become toil after he and Eve disobeyed. This is the first mention of “toil” in the Bible. Clearly, God was describing a negative consequence to Adam’s actions. Wouldn’t this mean that most if not all of us have a warped understanding of what “work” was designed to be? Even for those in the world that seem to enjoy their vocation (perhaps athletes or creatives), even that is tainted by sin both internally and in the world we live in. Can we really imagine a world where a 12-16 hour work day followed by nightly rest 6 days a week and a day of rest didn’t sound like a drudgery, … like toil? Oddly enough, do we assume that anyone who comes close to this must be an unbalanced workaholic?

I’m not making a pitch for longer work days and weeks, but rather suggesting that the common desire to work less is actually a God given desire to toil less in disguise. I think we have some people find less “toil” in their work, even in jobs that don’t seem “fun”. These are those that wake up early, “work” all day, and really don’t need to spend hours every evening entertaining themselves before going to sleep and doing it again the next day. These people are pretty fulfilled in their work and who weekly “rest” from their work by engaging in their relationships.

Is it possible to approach our work in a way that is closer to the way God did? Daily, He was able to find pleasure in the work done that day. He did not toil because He had to to gain the means to have leisure. With no bills or responsibilities, God actually chose to work for 6 days creating the world. 🤯

[sodapopper]

Ponyboy is like “Darry ALWAYS yells at me but NEVER yells at Soda! I don’t understand!! Why??!”

…because you yell back, my guy. Whereas Soda just cries.

[horsegirlsodapop]

arg! the outsiders fandom should all collectively talk more about poverty! ah! talk about cps. talk about food stamps talk about government cheese talk about stealing and not in the fun way talk about fear of going hungry talk about the reason the gang is a gang and not just a friend group. um. talk about dallas living in buck merril's like spare room talk about soda giving up his paycheck to darry so they can stay together talk about MORTGAGE talk about the vietnam war and poverty and enlistment and the draft! ah! talk about the class divide! talk about debt! talk about how darry could never "go soc" because no matter his skill in football or the way he wore his hair he could never rise above his socioeconomic class enough to be considered one of them! talk about paul holden punching him in the face! talk about county lock up! talk about police brutality! talk about pony craving escape!

[jonasiegenthaler]

average jack moment

[flamealchemist]

Various official artwork for FMA: Mobile

[annaleigh]

that no smoking sign can’t stop him because he can’t read!!

[yournormalidiot]

Two-bit loved Johnny and ponyboy so much its hurts. Like he loved those 2 kids, he was definitely the fun older brother who would bring them to do stupid and wild things but only let them watched sense he didn't want them getting hurt or involved. Two-bit loved them both so much.

[secretlifeoflyss]

currently thinking about the way death’s at my door is staged: TW for brief implied su*c*de attempt/s*lf-h*rm

Pony starts the song while sitting at the top of the church with the knife he just used to cut his hair still in his hands. Pony’s tired and he’s been holed up in that church with nothing but his swirling thoughts to keep him company while Johnny is out getting them more supplies. He starts singing about how death follows him, how he’s a danger to those around him, looking back at himself in the reflection of the switchblade.

Unbeknownst to him, Johnny’s returned with water and has been silently listening. And at that line, finally makes his presence known.

“That’s crazy talk Ponyboy” he says. And Ponyboy comes down to meet him on the next floor down. Pony argues about how he’s cursed and Johnny should “move on” and is “better off without [him]”.

Johnny has heard this before. He’s heard himself say those things before and hearing them coming from Ponyboy is scary. Especially when he sees the way the knife in Pony’s hand trembles, the way his eyes refuse to look at Johnny’s, solely focused on the white knuckle grip he has on the blade.

Johnny has mentioned wanting to disappear to his best friend before and was always met with warmth and love from Ponyboy, assurance that he still wants Johnny around. So that’s what he provides for Ponyboy in this moment. He comes closer, making Ponyboy hear him when he says “the reason i’m living is you,” which finally gets Ponyboy’s attention away from the knife.

And in the way someone would approach a dog with something between its teeth that it shouldn’t have, he holds out his hand. He lets Pony make the choice to give the knife back to him. It’s a reach that conveys Johnny’s worry for what Pony might have done with that blade if he hadn’t come earlier. It’s his relief when Pony gives it back and they close their hands around it in their promise to never leave the other alone.

And they smile because they know that while the world seems scary and dark, they’ll always be there for each other. Urging each other to go on even when things look bleak. And it’s with that comfort that they finally let themselves go to sleep for the night.

[made-my-peace-with-all-the-bad]

Thinking about Soda’s letter. Thinking about how it’s sung mostly by Soda until the last line is Darrel. Thinking about how this a voicing of writing. Thinking about how Pony is reading the letter and it’s all in Soda’s messy handwriting. Then it isn’t. The last line isn’t. It’s in a fancier scrawl that Pony recognizes. He recognizes it because it’s the handwriting he saw on his elementary and middle school math homework that showed him how to solve things. It’s the handwriting that signs his permission slips. It’s the handwriting on their family calendar in the kitchen. It’s not Soda’s lovingly messy writing. It’s Darrel’s fancy handwriting that he worked to perfect. It’s the handwriting of his oldest brother that has Pony hesitating and having to stop tears from falling. It’s one sentence. One sentence begging him to come home that’s so clearly written by his oldest brother. It’s Darrel’s plea for Pony to come back to them.

[memesmadefullmetal]

In honour of International Women’s Day, vote for your fave down below! 💜

To commemorate International Women’s Day, we’re asking you to vote for your favourite! 💜

FMA has so many badass women — we really struggled to narrow it down to just 10! 💪🏻

You have ONE WEEK to vote! 🗳️

Don’t forget to send us propaganda for your fave or let us know who else deserves some recognition in the comments and tags!

- Mod Mustang & Mod Hawkeye 🔥🦅

[tending-the-hearth]

just violently shot up with the realization that ponyboy was probably so terrified to have to jump on the train to escape after bob's death, quite possibly the same train that had killed his parents, and that's why johnny stayed awake when ponyboy fell asleep, because he wanted to make sure that ponyboy was okay, that his trauma wouldn't be further triggered

[izaacs-notdeadyet]

I think about this image often

"The gang hates me and only lets me stick around cause of Darry and soda!"

BOY YOU'RE THE GANGS LITTLE BROTHER DONT PLAY WITH ME

[sodasletterrs]

my outsiders hyperfixiation has arisen back from my 6th grade years. i decided to redo my designs for them soooo here :3…

[frxstbyt]

ponyboy: it's just a cat.

dallas, holding a tiny kitten: first of all, this is my child. second of all, fuck you—

[imperatorrrrr]

First Win of 2025

New Jersey Devils v. Seattle Kraken || 6 January 2025

[horsegirlsodapop]

some stevepop sketches