Fear

Fear. It's defined as such (according to Dictionary.com):

a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.

Ohio Comic Con 2013 Recap

So over the weekend, I went to Ohio Comic Con in Columbus, Ohio.  I have to say...that was one of the best experiences that I have had in a while!  Being my third year, I was excited to see what the convention held for me this year!

School starts again...

So, if you haven't heard already, I'm back at school at Cedarville University. I'm actually really excited about it.  Classes don't start until Wednesday, but I'm pretty sure it's going to be a great time.  I've moved in with my roommate who is awesome, and we finally unpacked last night (I've been here since Saturday) and everything is starting to seem a bit more real.

It's such a pretty campus!

The new President, Dr. White (you can follow him on twitter: @DrThomasWhite), started off the school year with chapel yesterday with a Q&A Chapel, and he mentioned that he wants this year to be a year of stability.  He wants us to be able to trust him as well.  I respect that. I really do.  Coming into the school year with no one knowing who he is, and having a lot of people not like him because he's not our previous President, Dr. Brown.  Yeah, I imagine it's going to be hard to get used to it, but I for one am welcoming this new change.  Having something different isn't always a bad thing.

Also, I realized this past weekend that I have a lot of friends.  Yeah, I kinda realized a little before, but on Saturday after my parents left, I spent time with about three different friend groups. Being an extrovert, this is fine.  I am energized by being around people.  It just goes to show that I also am going to have to be discerning about who I hang with more, especially in the aspect of time management.  Once school starts, it's going to be difficult to hang with all these people all the time.  I don't like making choices. Like, I live between the two bathroom doors and have trouble deciding which one to use regularly.

I probably make Rebecca Black look extremely tame.

Finally, I've been slowly trying to urge myself to start getting into exercising again.  The gym is a stone's throw from campus, and most of the time last year, I only used the gym to get from the dorm to the student center, as it's a straight line from one to the other.  Wanting to find myself accountable in that aspect.  Well, in many aspects this year.

Yep.

So this year is already off to an interesting start, and school hasn't even started yet.  I can't wait to see what God has in store for me.

Running Sucks

Okay so back on Tuesday, I decided I wanted to get back into a non-round shape. (I blame that clown at Bremenfest)  So I decided to go on a walk.  We have a trail alongside the Miami-Erie Canal, and it goes all the way through our town:

Doesn't it just scream "I LOVE NATURE?"

It's a long trail.  There's a break that takes you to a road, and I kept going. Kept going for a while. I ended up in the next town, and decided to turn around and walk back. I was dead by the time I got back home and I just was walking.

Next day. Wednesday.  It's a bit of a brisk morning (hahah 9am and it's still considered morning) and I went on a shorter walk. Just to the first road and then back. But this time I walked part-way and ran (excuse me, jogged) the rest of the way.  I'm not a runner. Farthest thing from it. I even suck at the video game version of it.

However, on Thursday, I woke up at 7:30am (what?!?!) and did the same walk/run again.  I felt a bit more energized, and am starting to feel a bit more positive!

Anyway, it's a slow and tedious process. On top of that, I suck at staying motivated. Hopefully this is going to change. I want one of my goals to be to get in shape...or to stay consistent in my workout routine...which I really haven't in the past.  We shall see.

On another note, I move in to Cedarville this weekend! So excited!

Okay. I'm done.

Are We Being Hypnotized in Worship?

So I was in church this past Sunday, and I was hit with a thought.  We were singing this song by Hillsong, "Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)"

The song in itself is a decent song.  Good beat, decent lyrics.  It got to the point though where we were repeating the same lyrics over and over again.

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior

Okay. Yes, the song's lyrics are decent. I'm not disputing that.  The thing is that we were repeating this over and over and over and over.  In the middle of my singing, I had to stop.  I honestly felt like I was being pulled into a trance.  I started feeling emotional and in a state of openness?  It was hard to explain.  It felt like I was being put in some sort of low level hypnotism.

Looking up hypnotism online, I find this phrase:

A person under hypnosis experiences heightened suggestibility and focus accompanied by a sense of tranquility

What does this mean?  Heightened suggestibility and focus?  Means that you are more open to different ideas.  I could make you feel really good about doing something even if you wouldn't do that normally.  A sense of tranquility just means you feel a bit more calm about things when listening to it.

Okay, I mean, I enjoy listening to this kind of music. Don't get me wrong.  But seriously, tell me this doesn't sound like it could be the back track to a Hillsong track:

I don't know about you, but I don't feel like we need to hypnotize people in order to get them to follow Jesus.  Over the summer, our Kinetic college group has been doing studies on different cults, the most recent being Scientology.  We learned that in order to help them "gain social skills," they were to stare at another person for hours on end...basically hypnotizing them to believe what they want you to believe.  Shouldn't the Word of God stand by itself?

Again, don't get me wrong.  I like listening to Hillsong and other worship songs like that.  But why must we repeat the same lyrics over and over to get the point across?  For me personally, if I start doing the same thing repetitively, I tune it out and it just turns into "vain repetitions."  It means nothing.

It really was bugging me on Sunday, and I feel like it is something that needs to be talked about...or explained so I can understand it a bit better.

New Beginnings!

The countdown begins...my summer is slowly coming to an end, and I could not be more excited!  With school coming up and so many different things going on in my life, I am looking forward to the future.

I thought I'd give somewhat of a summary of what I did over the summer: