freshman year at LU

Death Isn't FAIR

2010-05-11T02:01:00.006-04:00

Dylan here.

Usually my schedule is full of friday night plans but tonight I decided to head over to the fair at Liberty University. It was put on by the Jubilee Center of Lynchburg to raise awareness of the center and what it does. I myself have a strong connection to the center. My brother who is 6 years old goes there on a regular basis. It provides services such as educational, athletic, vocational, and summer camp programs.

There was a hugely unusual and tragic event that took place tonight, but I'm not going to tell you about that until later in the blog because if I told you now then you wouldn't read what else I have to say. As for the fair itself, there were lots of attractions and games. I participated in these:

- Ferris Wheel
- Bumper Cars
- Magic Show
- The Scrambler
- Ring Toss
- and many more of those rigged carnival games that you can never win!

There were also a bunch of local businesses selling their products at booths around the fair. A portion of their profits went to the Jubilee Center.

NOW FOR THE REAL NEWS

Unfortunately this carnival was not all fun and games. A young child fell from the ferris wheel and died. I talked to some people there and found out his name is Ben Ritter. This poor kid was on the ferris wheel when the car he was in fell off of the structure and he plunged about 100 feet to his death. No one knows what exactly went wrong but I suspect that the company that they rented the Ferris wheel from would be held responsible for this situation.

I did a bit of research and learned that there is going to be a memorial service at TRBC (Thomas Road Baptist Church) September 7th at 6 p.m. It is open to the public and I would encourage all to attend in support of the grieving family. Directions to TRBC can be found here.

It's The Weekend!!

2009-08-29T19:05:00.003-04:00

this weekend has been sooooo busy.. let me tell you about it.

Friday night I went out for dinner with my friend Matt and these two girls to 'Cici's Pizza' which is amazing!! it is a buffet pizza place but they have such cool pizza's (like mac and cheese pizza!! loved it!! haha).. then we went to the dollar movie theatre and then came back to campus and went to this dam and just chilled and prank called people. Yesterday was the 24 hours of prayer on campus, so each dorm has a designated hour to go pray in a certain place and there are a bunch of different stations to pray for different things (stuff like home pastor, family and friends, missions, our nation, etc.) so our time slot was at 4AM till 5AM!! haha so after the movie we all just stayed up in the dorm until 4.. then after our prayer (which was amazing!! it was too cool to see a whole campus covered in prayer for 24 hours) we went to IHOP at 5:30 to have breakfast. Then me, matt, my other friend james, and these two girls (Heidi and Jeanette) went out and just hung out because we were wide awake.. then we got really tired and came back and I slept from 8AM till 1:30.. so I still got 5 and a half hours. Then today we (me and james) met up with the girls again for lunch... now in like an hour is the 'block party' for the whole school, and I think it is basically gonna be a carnvial type thing on the football field. After that I am going to late-skate where I can teach these yankees how it's done. So yeah then tomorrow Adam is taking me to Brentwood church and I am going to check that out. Oh and I put my guitar in the shop to get the action lowered, so I am really stoked to get that back.

pandora.com

2009-08-21T22:32:00.003-04:00

So one things these American's have been able to show me since I got here is pandora.com. If you have never heard of this site then you need to check it out. It is internet radio and you can listen to anything you want. Search by artist or song, and it will make a playlist for you of songs by that artist, or by artists similar to them. Its a good way to hear some new music that is like the stuff you already listen to.

Busy Day @ LU

2009-08-20T08:19:00.003-04:00

So after two days of doing basically nothing, today is jam packed. We have convocation at 9AM-10AM, then "Keeping It Safe For Men" from 11-12. This afternoon I have my freshman seminar from 1-3:30 (which I already had some homework for). And to finish off a busy day on a good note, we meet our sister dorm and have a cookout on the football field. I'm praying for energy at convo this morning because I only got 5 and a half hours of sleep last night.

Last night we had our first hall meeting, and it was really awesome to hear our RA's testimonies, and I really got to see how much Liberty does to assure that we have accountability and one-on-one discipleship in our dorms.

Still lovin' it here!

Moved In!

2009-08-19T09:04:00.003-04:00

Last night at 6PM I was officially a student at Liberty University. I was the first of the three guys living in my room to arrive, and therefore got the sweetest bed, dresser, etc. Both of my roommates seem like cool guys, and we actually are all pretty similar. So I am pretty stoked about that. As for my first sleep here.. not so great. The mattresses are alright, but I woke up like 10 times in the night. Plus I woke up for good at 8:30! VOLUNTARILY! Never before in my life. So today will be a day full of getting stuff figured out (mail, classes, and all that fun stuff). Hopefully I will keep up with the blogging while I am here, maybe skip a few assignments ;)

kidding mom & dad!

Trip To Liberty - Day 6 to 8

2009-08-15T17:58:00.008-04:00

I could sum up the last 3 days with 3 'B's. Baseball, Beach, and Bodysurfing. Actually that could basically sum up our entire trip thus far. It's been raining quite a bit, but we have spent a good 3 hours a day at Virginia Beach since we got here, and the waves have been awesome.

On the plate for tomorrow: Leaving for Lynchburg (if you don't know, that's where Liberty is)

Book Review - "Christian Beliefs"

2009-08-14T15:27:00.008-04:00

Wayne A. Grudem - Christian Beliefs

"Christian Beliefs" is a book by renown theologian Wayne Grudem. It is described as his systematic theology contracted into a compact book. As the subtitle states, it is twenty basics every Christian should know. I couldn't agree more.

The Good - Grudem covers subjects on which Christians must be completely clear. His biblically based doctrine regarding disputed topics such as predestination, is continually backed by verses from God's word. It is a very easy read and clears up any confusions that many Christians may have regarding their personal beliefs.

The Bad - You may actually learn something. But that is really a good thing now isn't it.

BOTTOM LINE - A Must Read For Any Believer

Trip to Liberty - Day 3 to 5

2009-08-12T19:50:00.008-04:00

Rain, rain go away come back never....

so it is raining as you can probably tell. We arrived in Virginia Beach today and it started raining just after we got set up (at least we got set up first, thank you Lord).

These last couple days were filled with more baseball. After Washington on Sunday, we went to Camden Yards on Monday night to see an Orioles game. I have been to 4 different baseball parks in America and Camden Yards was by far the best. As soon as we entered the gates their was a swagger about the park. I was in awe of everything around me. I stood at the famous brick wall in right field and even watched a few innings from the railing above the bullpens. It is a really historic stadium and it was a great experience being able to catch a game there. When I get married and have children I will definitely take them to Camden Yards. The next night we caught a game in Bowie. The AA Bowie Baysox were playing the New Hampshire Fisher Cats... which might not mean anything to you, but the N.H Fisher Cats are the Blue Jays AA affiliate, which made the game all that much more interesting to me. I had fun being the bad guy and rooting for N.H. I even was chirping another loud mouth across the bleachers. The Fisher Cats were up to bat and he yelled at the batter (who had a very long last name) "Hey number 8! how do you say your last name?"... People laughed but I thought it was dumb.. so I yelled back "It's not number 8's fault you can't read!"... all in good fun. And to top off the night, my dad bought me a Bowie Baysox fitted.

I am eager to get to Liberty University. I am having lots of fun on this trip, but I am really excited to get there.

On the plate for tomorrow: Chillin' on the beach all day and bodysurfing... then AAA Norfolk Tides game at night.

Trip to Liberty - Day 1 and 2

2009-08-10T00:07:00.007-04:00

Saturday morning, I left for Liberty University. My parents and I are going to do a small road trip first. The first day we drove 8 hours (pulling our tent-trailer) down to Millersville, Maryland, which is just outside of Washington, D.C. Praise God for no trouble at the border. We had to go inside to get my F-1 student visa approved and it was a little nerve wracking. The border guard didn't come off as the most friendly man in the world, but God got us through with no major problems. We are staying Millersville at a KOA for 4 nights. Apparently we stayed at this same KOA on our big U.S road trip two summers ago... but I don't remember it at all. We got in at about 8:30 last night and set up camp. Oh and I bought The Bourne Ultimatum for 6.99!! I couldn't pass up the great deal. Watched it in bed last night and it was awesome! Today we went into Washington, D.C to see a Washington Nationals game. I fit right in with my Nationals hat! Nationals Park is a beautiful ballpark with some great views. We could even see the Washington Monument from our seats. Unfortunately it was 100 degrees and humid so we ended up leaving early (I spent a lot of the game in the team store because it was air conditioned). After we got back to the KOA we went for a swim and I had a shower (shocking, I know!). Then we listened to a DVD message from James MacDonald called "God at Work". He went through the whole book of Esther. It was in place of the Sunday morning service that we missed today. Luckily for me.. this place has wifi. I have been able to keep up on all the sports news and EVEN BLOG!! (On a side note I am very mad that BJ Penn beat KenFlo at UFC 101 on Saturday night)

On the plate for tomorrow: Orioles game at Camden Yards!! (hopefully it will be a little cooler)

I Am Blessed With Awesome Friends

2009-08-07T00:27:00.005-04:00

So aside from the boatload of goodbyes I have had to say in this last week it has been an awesome week! I have got to hang out with all of my closest friends, and it has been tons of fun. Here is what I did.

LAST TUES - Had Karl, Lindsay, Marv, and Ashley over for a fairwell BBQ

FRI - hung out with one of my best buds in the whole world (Brock)

TUES - Spent some quality 'driveway time' with Brit, Sam, and Kristen.. oh and took sweet pics

WED - Went for lunch with Cindy (AND GOT MY G1)

TODAY - Had dinner with Mullett and then went to Steven's (my best bud since grade 6)

I know that these people will be in my life for a long time and I wouldn't have it any other way. They are all amazing people in there own individual way and I enjoy spending time with each and every one of them. Thank goodness they put up with me.

Love you all! See you in November!

I WON!

2009-08-04T11:25:00.005-04:00

So this morning I woke up at about 11:00 and did what I always do. I sat at my computer desk and checked my email, facebook, etc. I had totally forgotten about the Hillsong CD giveaway that had been announced this morning. I had just finished watching a video on Seahawks.com (because I am to excited to wait for the season to start), and decided to check my facebook. I had a new friend request. "Rich Kirkpatrick"... I had no idea who that was, but by his picture he looked like he went to church.. I know that sounds weird but he has a soul patch, which I usually associate with youth pastors or worship leaders. Sure enough after checking my blog and remembering about the contest I realized that he was one of the blogs that was giving away the new Hillsong CD "Faith+Hope+Love". I immediately went to his blog and sure enough there is a big picture of MY blog header as his latest post (See image above). Needless to say I accepted his friend request and I am waiting to hear back from him on how to claim my prize :)

GOTTA LOVE FREE STUFF!!

New Hillsong CD Giveaway

2009-08-03T11:35:00.006-04:00

Hillsong's latest CD "Faith+Hope+Love" is being released today. Do you want a free copy?... Visit http://joshuaseller.blogspot.com/ to learn more.

One Week Left!

2009-07-31T23:37:00.003-04:00

So it seems like not that long ago that high school had just began, but here I am 7 days away from leaving to go down to Virginia for University. Its kinda nuts to think that I am in University... I don't feel that old! But yeah I am so stoked!! Liberty University is an amazing school and I am really excited to see what God is going to do in my life these next 4 years. Even though I am excited to leave, I am gonna miss a lot of stuff at home too. For example, Today was my last shift at PharmaPlus and I realized that I am actually gonna miss it (maybe not so much the job, but for sure the people). I am mostly going to miss my church. I have grown so much since me and my parents started attending Harvest, and I can't wait till Christmas so I can go again. Till then I will have to get by listening to Pastor Robbie's sermons online.

Anyways, I will have another post the night before I leave, with more.

-D

Album Review - "I Made That"

2009-07-30T19:57:00.007-04:00

BRANDON BROWN - I MADE THAT

"I Made That" is Brandon Brown's debut album. Even though he is a friend of mine I will try not to biased.

The Good - This album has a very unique sound. Paired up with Eric Rogerson on electric guitar, Brandon is able to create a mix of R&B, Hip Hop, and Rock. I listen to all but a few tracks on a regular basis on my Ipod. The hooks are catchy and you will be singing along in no time.

The Bad - (This will be short) Not a big fan of the instrumental interlude but that's just me.

The Ugly - Man I don't know whats up with that interlude... that dance beat is whack! lol

Must Hear Tracks

1) More Than A Crush

2) Mrs. Me (Ft. D-Pryde)

3) Intro (It Starts Here)

4) Prom Night

5) Movin' In Circles

BOTTOM LINE - Buy this one... It's well worth the money!

Buy It On Itunes >> http://tinyurl.com/nw5gsd

Mark Driscoll Rant

2009-07-30T15:19:00.014-04:00

This is a video of Mark Driscoll ranting about Tolerance... funny!

MARK DRISCOLL: TOLERANCE RANT

First Blog Post

2009-07-30T12:22:00.000-04:00

Well everyone else has a blog.. so why not me? This blog will be just about my life in freshman year at Liberty University, as well as book, and music reviews... stay a while and enjoy!