Agents of SHIELD

Agents of SHIELD is a new show on ABC that chronicles the adventures of Agent Phil Coulson and his team as they investigate very strange occurrences and battle with superhuman bad guys of all sorts. The team works for the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division (or SHIELD for short), which is a government division within the Marvel Cinematic Universe that deals with superheroes and supervillains. As the premise suggests, it’s a pretty exciting show.

Many of you may know Agent Coulson from several Marvel films. He has appeared in Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, and The Avengers. He started off as a new character created just for the films, but he has turned out to be pretty important in the series. And if you’ve seen The Avengers (spoiler alert if you haven’t, just skip to the next paragraph), you know that Coulson is killed during the film. A big part of the show revolves around the mystery of how Coulson is alive, his journey to understand what happened to him, and the psychological implications of coming back from the dead. It’s a really interesting story, and they’re telling it in small pieces that are satisfying but still keep you guessing.

The other main characters in the show are new to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. SHIELD is a pretty big operation, and we’ve only met a few agents personally, so the show gives us an opportunity to look at what it’s like for the people working within SHIELD. Each character has his or her own quirks, and they interact with each other in complicated, interesting ways that are sometimes simply hilarious.

You’ve got Agent May, the pilot who came out of retirement just to work with Coulson. Then there’s Ward, the young agent who does everything by the book. Fitz and Simmons are science experts, but they both end up spending a good deal of time outside the lab. And finally, there’s Skye, who isn’t officially a SHIELD agent but works with the team as a tech consultant. Each character has their own backstory that we learn little by little, and each of them has gone through a great deal of growth since the show began. It’s very cool to see the characters’ stories unfold as the series progresses.

What I think is really cool about Agents of SHIELD is that it takes place within the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe. If you’re a fan of the recent Marvel movies, then you’ll feel right at home with this show. There are plenty of references to the films, and some major characters even make cameos on the show. Events that happen within the films have an effect on the show, and I’m hoping that the show will eventually make an impact on the films, too.

I’ll finish by saying this: I almost gave up on Agents of SHIELD after watching the pilot. It was cheesy and awkward, and I didn’t really feel like it fit well with the rest of the MCU. Fortunately, I gave it a second chance and watched the next episode, and I was hooked. The show had a bit of a rocky start, but it’s really found itself. They’ve been working on an overarching storyline for this season that is just starting to emerge, and I can honestly say it’s very cool. I would suggest giving this show at least two episodes to grow on you. I think if you give it a chance, you’ll be hooked. I know I am.

Agents of SHIELD airs Tuesdays nights at 7:00 central on ABC. New episodes start back this Tuesday, February 4.

January in Review

Hello, friends! I hope all is well. Can you believe it’s already been 2014 for a month? It’s gone by so quickly. I’m still trying to break the habit of putting 2013 when I write the date. But even though it’s gone by quickly, January has been exciting. Here’s what I’ve been up to.

On January 1, I put my New Year’s Resolutions into effect, and I’m proud to say I’ve kept up with each of them. I thought now would be a good time to look back on each of them and see how they’re going.

I’ve been writing every day, and that’s been really good for me. I’ve found that taking a few minutes every day to express myself has been very energizing and inspiring. I’ve yet to experience writer’s block, although I’m sure it will come eventually. But I’m very pleased with what I’ve written thus far, and I look forward to writing more.

On top of my more creative writing, I’ve also been keeping a Bible journal every day. This has been amazing. My pastor suggested it to me a long time ago, and I wish I had heeded his advice sooner. After reading a passage of scripture, I take the time to think it through and write a response to it. This has helped me process my readings more and apply God’s word to my life in a way that simply reading through each day can’t do. I’m also creating a resource (37 pages already!) that I can use when I’m writing sermons to go back and look at my thoughts on passages in the past and apply them to my writings in the future. My expanded verse of the day has been a success, I think. It has helped me keep each day’s verse in the front of my mind, and I hope you guys enjoy my brief thoughts on a scripture daily. If not, let me know how I can improve!

1SE has kind of been a different story. I really like the idea of capturing a moment every day, but some days, I struggle to find something worth recording. And often when I do something that is worth recording, I’m too caught up in what I’m doing to remember to film! I’m still working through what I want my 1SE to be and how it fits in my life, but it at least gives me an excuse to share cute videos of Aiden anyhow.

Those of you who have been keeping up with my blog know that I have stayed faithful to the schedule I set out at the beginning of the year. I’ve posted a blog post every Tuesday and a Stuff Devon Likes article every Saturday this month, and I think this schedule is really working well. It pushes me to write and reflect often while not putting too much strain on my schedule. I had a mini-adventure this week when I woke up on Tuesday and realized I hadn’t pre-written something to publish. But I wrote up a post that I think is relatable and sticks to the level of quality I’m trying to uphold on my site. So blogging is going well, and I hope you enjoy reading them.

All in all, I’d say my New Year’s Resolutions are going strong. In non-resolution news, we launched the new Merge website, which I helped to create, this month. The launch was a huge success. I also spent a week sick in bed, which wasn’t fun. I’m sure many of you saw me complaining about it on Twitter. I got to babysit Aiden for a couple of days, and we had a great time. I’m really glad I got that quality time with him while I was home.

Now I’m back at school getting into the swing of things. I’m really happy with my class schedule this semester, and I’m excited to start working at Camp Beaverfork again soon. This semester is all about tying up loose ends before graduation: writing my thesis, taking the Psychology Major Field Test, and making sure I have fulfilled every last requirement so I can get that fancy diploma in May. So far, so good. Thank you guys for joining me on this journey. I hope you’ve enjoyed this little update, and I look forward to sharing more of my life with you in the coming months. To finish off my January update, here’s my 1 Second Everyday video for January 2014. Enjoy!

When You're Tired

We all know the feeling. It’s the end of January, the holidays are over, and you’re trying to get back into the swing of things. If you’re in school, you’re probably already drowning in homework. And if you’re not in school, well, you’re probably drowning in something else. Sometimes, life gets tiring. That’s just the way it is. It happens to all of us, probably more often than we’d like to admit. Honestly, that’s where I’m at right now, and that’s why I decided to write this blog post. Here are a few tips I’ve found to help me when I’m feeling tired, physically and otherwise.

1. Breathe

I don’t know about you, but when I’m fatigued, it stresses me out. I try to rush to get everything on my to-do list done so that I can sleep, and I end up tiring myself out even more. Plus, my work is always sub-par when I’m tired and rushing myself. I get to the point where all I want to do is get the bare minimum out the way so that I can collapse. But when I get this way, I find that finishing that to-do list seems to get harder and harder. It’s a vicious cycle that I struggle to get out of.

But I’ve found a pretty simple solution to this: Just breathe. Take a second. Put everything away. Close your eyes and try to clear your mind. Take a few deep breathes. And then get back to whatever you’re doing. I’ve found that taking just a few seconds to breathe in the midst of all my stress and fatigue can do wonders. It gives me focus and energy to get through whatever it is I’m working on. Plus, it relieves some of the stress so that I can focus on the task at hand rather than on the pile of other things waiting for me when I finish this one.

2. Streamline

I think the number one cause of fatigue in my life is trying to spread myself too thin. I have a lot of things that I would like to do, like learning guitar and writing a book, but I can’t do everything at once. If I try, I get tired, and then I have trouble accomplishing anything at all. When you’re feeling tired, it may be a sign that it’s time to cut out some of the things in your life that are taking your energy but might not be worthwhile.

This will involve prioritizing. There are lots of good things out there for you to do and achieve. But you have to decide what’s most important in your life and build your goals around those core things. Maybe you enjoy playing tennis, but it’s keeping you from spending time with your family. There are only so many hours in the day, and trying to do both is exhausting, so it’s time to put the racquet up for a while until your schedule clears up a bit. There’s nothing wrong with trimming some things out of your life if you’re overwhelmed. In fact, you’ll find that in the long run, you’ll enjoy the things you do choose to do a lot more if you’re not spreading yourself too thin.

3. Pray

This one kind of goes along with breathing. When I give myself a really short break to just clear my head and breathe, I often say a short prayer. And it does wonders.

The truth is that we can’t do it all on our own. We’re not supposed to. It’s not the way we’re made. God made us with an innate need for communication with and reliance on Him. He wants us to come to Him when we’re feeling tired and stressed. He wants us to lay it all before Him and say, “I can’t do this on my own. I’m giving it to You. Do with it what You will because I can’t handle it.” When you’re honest with the Lord about how you’re feeling and you call on Him for help, He will come through for you, and you will feel so much better. In Matthew 11:28, Jesus tells us, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” We can find rest in our Savior if we just reach out to Him.

4. Rest

And that brings me to my last point: rest. This one is so important, and it’s one we often neglect, which is what leads to fatigue in the first place. When we have a lot on our plates, we often forget to take care of ourselves, and this has awful effects. And for me, at least, this gets worse when I’m tired. When things are good and I’m feeling fine, I’m usually pretty good about taking care of myself. But when I’m tired and stressed, making time for rest goes out the window. This is probably the worst thing I can do when I’m tired.

But how does one find rest in the midst of fatigue and stress? I think this is different for everyone. We all have an outlet that helps us relax and re-energize when we’re feeling tired. For some, it may be exercise. Other people people may rest by watching TV. For me, I’ve found the best ways of resting are spending time with my family and expressing myself through writing. I cannot put into words how energizing and relaxing these two activities are for me. Find your own way of resting, and make time for it on days you’re feeling tired.

These are just a few tips I have for when you’re tired. These aren’t full-proof or necessarily right for everyone. But this is what I’ve learned from my experience, and I do my best to incorporate these principles into my life when I feel like I’m letting myself get fatigued. I believe God desires for us to live healthy lives and to serve Him with clear minds. I hope these tips have been helpful, and if you have any others to add to the list, I’d love to hear them. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you guys on Friday for a special life update!

The Lord of the Rings

I somehow managed to make it to the age of 21 without watching The Lord of the Rings movies. I’m not proud of it, but that’s the truth. I can remember clearly the looks of shock and utter disappointment on people’s faces when I told them I hadn’t seen these films. But no more! I finally sat down over Christmas break and watched all three of them over a three-day period, and I must say I was impressed.

The Lord of the Rings is a fantasy film series based on novels by J. R. R. Tolkein. It tells the story of Frodo Baggins, a hobbit, and his experience with the One Ring, a powerful weapon that corrupts men and is being sought by the evil Sauron. Frodo is charged with the task of destroying the Ring before it falls into the wrong hands, but to do so, he and his friends must travel to the dangerous, far-away land of Mordor and resist the Ring’s corrupting power. Intriguing, right?

I consider myself a movie collector. For me, purchasing a movie isn’t just about getting it home so I can shove it in my Blu-ray player and watch it. It’s about the whole experience. The packaging, included materials, menus, and bonus features. It’s all important to me. And I can say with complete honesty that The Lord of the Rings set is one of the most gorgeous box sets I’ve ever seen.

The packaging is beautiful and sturdy, and it looks great on a shelf. Peter Jackson hired a documentary filmmaker to document the entire movie-making process, and those documentaries along with other featurettes were combined into The Appendices, Parts 1–6. Each of the three movies comes with two bonus discs containing two parts of The Appendices. Each movie also comes with a booklet with other information about the film. All of it comes together to form a wonderful, immersive experience that is sure to satisfy any LOTR fan.

But packaging and bonus features aside, the films themselves are incredible. I was skeptical at first. I thought, “How are they going to spread the story of a hobbit trying to destory a ring over three movies?” But by the end of The Fellowship of the Ring (the first film), I was hooked. You fall in love with the characters instantly, and the movies delve into their personalities and quirks in such a way that anyone can find at least one character to relate to. The story is so grand and spread out over the entire land of Middle Earth, but it’s cohesive and captivating at the same time.

The films are also deep. They deal with tough issues like environmental destruction and the corrupting nature of power in ways that are real and touching. LOTR entertains, but it doesn’t only do that. It’s a series that will make you think, and that’s a very good thing.

I really appreciated the fact that Peter Jackson put forth the time and effort to created extended versions of all three films. A casual viewer may only be willing to commit two hours to a movie, but some stories require more than two hours to tell completely, and Jackson recognized that hardcore fans would be happy to watch three-and-a-half hour versions of the films if they’re done right. And they are. These movies didn’t seem to drag on. In fact, I found myself wanting more.

And of course, we’re getting more. Peter Jackson returned to Middle Earth to create The Hobbit trilogy, a prequel to The Lord of the Rings, with the final installment set to release in December. I’ve seen the first one, and it’s on the same level as the original films. I’m very excited to watch the second Hobbit movie soon so that I can see the final one (most likely titled There and Back Again) when it premieres.

The Lord of the Rings is a great film series, and now is a good time to get into it. I would suggest watching the original trilogy and the first two Hobbit films before the final Hobbit film drops in December. And of course, it’s always a good idea to read the books, too. I recently purchased The Lord of the Rings book, so maybe I’ll do a write-up on it when I finish reading. That could take me a while, though, considering the fact that the book is nearly 1200 pages long. Thanks for reading my review of The Lord of the Rings films, guys, and I’ll see you Tuesday!

Accidental Education

Tomorrow, I will begin my final semester of my undergraduate career. It’s been a difficult, but rewarding, journey. As I was preparing for the final stretch in my quest for the coveted Bachelor’s degree, I decided to reflect back on the past three-and-a-half years of my life, and I realized something: I’ve actually learned a lot.

This may not come as a surprise to you. You’re probably thinking, “Of course you learned something! That’s what you went to college for.” But that’s honestly not the case. I didn’t enroll in college to learn. That wasn’t my goal at all. In fact, I hoped that I wouldn’t have to learn anything while I was there. When I started college, I thought I was there to get a degree. But what I got was so much better.

During my time at college, I have received—completely by accident—an education. I have a solid base of knowledge in a wide array of subjects that I never would have learned about had I not taken basic classes in them, which means I am capable of having an educated conversation with someone on many topics I never dreamed of. And I have received specialized training in two subjects (Religious Studies and Psychology) so that I can interact with professionals in those areas and hopefully someday contribute to them. I’ve learned an in-depth set of skills, vocabulary, and etiquette in these two area, and that’s something I never imagined I’d achieve.

I used to think college was just a set of hoops that you had to jump through, and once you jumped through enough of them, you got a degree. I’m not saying I was completely wrong about that. I’ve done a lot of hoop-jumping over the past few years. But those hoops aren’t just disconnected, mindless requirements with no end result. They’re a guide to what every good school should offer its students: a comprehensive education.

College isn’t all about just memorizing facts. It’s not all about learning what to think. A great deal of my education has been about learning how to think, and I can honestly say that my thought process and approach to problems is much different now than it was four years ago. Part of that probably has to do with maturity, but I’m sure that a lot of it can also be attributed to my education. College taught me how to look at things creatively, to ask the right questions, and to take a different approach when necessary. That’s something I never pictured myself learning when I started college.

I’m not pretending that I know it all. Undergraduate school has just been a step in what I hope will be a lifelong process of learning. But if college taught me anything, it’s that every situation is an opportunity to learn, and I’m going to end up learning new things whether I want to or not. I can honestly say now that I love learning. I love seeking out ways to gain knowledge and insight from people and situations in my life, sometimes even from the most unexpected sources. I’m very grateful for what I’ve learned so far, for what I’m going to learn this semester, and for the way that my time at Hendrix has prepared me for all the learning I have in store. It’s been a wild ride, but I couldn’t be happier with the result or more excited for what’s to come. Thank you to everyone who has supported me on my journey thus far and to everyone who is keeping up with me as I continue down this path. You guys are the best, and I couldn’t have done it without you. God bless, thank you for reading, and I’ll talk to you again soon!