Day 521: The Cedarville Bubble

Joseph recounts his recent activities both within and outside of the Cedarville Bubble. His spiritual journey continues while he enjoys life through campus events. 

The past two weeks have had some ups and downs but overall it has been a lot of fun. It started out with a super fun writing session with my band. We are currently working on a Christmas EP which is coming along really nicely. Writing the music has been a lot of fun and a good way to continue to bond with my friends.

At the beginning of that week I started attending Sunday night Equip groups at Shawnee Hills Baptist Church. We are working through a book called spiritual leadership and it’s already been really good for my soul. During the meeting, we split up into small groups and discussed the chapter we read for the week. This is my favorite part of Equip because there are people in totally different stages of life in my group which has been a really cool experience. It has helped me to get a better grasp of what life is like outside of college by giving me an opportunity to interact with people outside of the Cedarville bubble. 

School has been a little rough for the past two weeks. It’s been really busy work-wise, with a few projects and then my normal homework load being due, and an electronics exam on this last Tuesday. Let’s just say that exam was rough, and I have definitely been tested on applying Phillipians 4:6 in my life at this point. Other than the exam my studies have been going really well.

On a much more positive note, ALT One was an absolute blast! I went to Cedarville’s Got Talent and got to see some amazing people do some amazing things, and then I went to the foam dance party and that was super fun. I definitely ruined my favorite pair of Vans, which was my fault for wearing them, but it was totally worth it. After all the activities we ended up hanging out with a bunch of friends in the Maddox lounge and played some games.

Overall, the past two weeks have had some trials but have still been really solid. I’m excited to see what God has in store for me these next two weeks!

Day 535: Interview Stress

Interview season starts for many students when they become juniors and Joseph is no exception. Joseph speaks about the stresses that come with interviews for potential jobs. He also mentions some additional academic challenges that have been thrown his way before fall break. 

The last two weeks started with a bang during homecoming weekend. While I didn’t actually participate in many of the activities I was able to get up and watch the parade which was super fun. I knew a decent number of people who were in it and it was fun to just hang out with friends. Later that evening we had a friend plan a movie night where we watched two interesting indie films that were super low budget called Coherence and Primer. I was honestly thoroughly impressed with them.

The Monday after that weekend I had an interview for an internship with Garmin. I was pretty nervous going into it, but I just continued to focus on Philippians 4:6. By the grace of God that interview went really well and I got a call back for a technical interview the next Monday. That interview was a lot more stressful and intense. Since it was a technical interview it was a lot more focused on my knowledge of the topics, and involved a supervised coding exercise. That was my first ever technical interview so I really don’t know how to feel about it. I think I did at least okay but there were definitely ways I could have done better.

Other than that my two weeks were pretty focused on academics. I had a New Testament and Linear Systems exam that I had to study for, on top of some pretty intense homework to get through. Luckily both of my exams went super well! I got high A’s on them. My homework also went really well but they just added some extra stress to preparing for my exams. As I am approaching fall break my academics are still remaining pretty intense. I’m getting two take-home exams this weekend and I have a huge annotated outline due for New Testament the Wednesday after we get back that I am making time to work on already. 

While academically these past two weeks have been tough, God has been faithful through all of it, and I have still been able to have a ton of fun with friends. I’m definitely excited going into these next two weeks, especially with fall break being right around the corner.

Day 549: Discerning God’s Will

Joseph gives us an update on his fall break, his internship endeavors, and his emotional state over the past few weeks. He tries to keep a Philippians 4:6 mindset as he makes life-altering decisions.

It feels like this last month has just been a slow build to finally getting to fall break, and it was definitely worth the wait. The week before fall break was extremely busy. It was full of midterms, homework, and staying up too late before my 8am but it was all made better by getting some solid rest at home. 

The few days before fall break I had two take-home midterms to finish, as well as some basic assignments for my classes and starting my annotated outline for New Testament. Luckily I was able to get it all done, and do pretty well on at least most of it, but by the end I was absolutely exhausted. 

Once I was finished with it all I drove home for break. It was super nice to get to see my family again, and I got to see my older brother for the first time since winter break last year so that was really appreciated. I definitely really needed a few days away from school to catch up on sleep and be able to calm down from all of the stress. 

Over that time, I got an offer for an internship with the Air Force. After giving it some serious consideration I ended up declining it because it genuinely wasn’t something I wanted to do and I have a few other opportunities that seem to be coming along well, but it was definitely a difficult decision to make and I’m really having to trust God through this. He’s just continuing to remind me of Philipians 4:6. 

After break, I came back rejuvenated and ready to start hitting academics again. It’s been a busy few days already with some assignments being due pretty much right after break but it’s been going well! To round out this week I’m going on a pick-a-date with my hall this Saturday, and I’m really excited! Overall, it’s been a really great two weeks and I can’t wait for what else God has in store for me this semester!

Day 563: An Answer to Prayer

Following our last discussion, Joseph shares with us the result of his patience while pursuing an internship. Academics continue to be difficult, but Joseph continues to enjoy life at CU through friendship. 

So much has happened recently that it feels like it has been a lot longer than two weeks. I got an offer for my Garmin internship! I am super excited about this opportunity. It will be an embedded software development internship which is exactly what I was looking for. I’m really excited for a new experience in life. It’ll be fun getting a little taste of what life is like outside of Cedarville, and I’m honestly excited to get to be the light of Christ in a secular place. It’s been really awesome just to see how God has been working through my internship opportunities and how he has been faithful through all of it.

Academics these past two weeks have been a little intense. At the beginning of this week I had two algorithms projects due on the same day. We had about two weeks to work on both of them, and luckily me and my partner got started on them relatively early but it still took a decent bit of time and was a little stressful getting them done. Then I had to give my advocacy speech on Monday, and an exam in Linear systems on Tuesday. My speech went fine. Definitely worse than the last one, but it’s not going to kill my grade. I think the exam went really well. I was able to do a decent amount of studying and felt really good about all of my answers.

I did get some bad news regarding Brockstars stuff recently. We were trying to plan a fun charity Christmas concert. We were going to play the songs off of our upcoming EP and raise money for a local charity, but sadly OPs is too busy to help us with the equipment so we aren’t going to be able to make it happen, which I was pretty bummed about. The goal is to do something similar early next semester and I hope that’s able to work out.

On a lighter note two of my friends had birthdays in the past few weeks so we went out and got ice cream for both of them (two separate occasions) and that was a lot of fun. It’s always nice getting to take a break from studying to go hang out with friends and just get ice cream.

I’m definitely really looking forward to Thanksgiving break coming up, but still enjoying my classes and my time here this semester.

Day 575: True Life at Cedarville

The past two weeks have been quite fulfilling for Joseph: intense academics, concerts, a quadruple date, worship night, Christmas tree lighting, and even witnessing a friend get baptized! Listen to Joseph as he details these two incredible weeks and how they’ve impacted him. 

Even though it’s been a few days less than normal for this entry it feels like so much has happened! This last week has been insanely busy with homework and friends, but it’s honestly been so much fun and I’ve been constantly reminded of God’s faithfulness. 

Academics for this week before break have been really intense. I had two exams, and an unusually large number of homework assignments and labs that needed to get done. I was pretty much constantly either in class or working on homework/studying for exams. God was extremely faithful in giving me the energy to get through that and I feel really good about all of the work I did. 

On the non-academic side these last two weekends have been so much fun. The weekend of the 11th I went to see the Inversions concert (and helped run curtains Saturday night too) and that was so much fun. I love those concerts. The Inversions are all so talented and it’s awesome to see the fruit of all the work they put in. 

On top of that, this past weekend was also insanely busy. Friday I went on a quadruple date to a bowling alley, which was an absolute blast. It was super fun getting to hang out with so many good friends despite the fact that I’m horrible at bowling. After that, we had a presentation night with another group of friends which is always a good time. 

Then Saturday, The Brockstars hosted a worship night which was really awesome. It was cool to get to gather with a bunch of close friends and spend an hour worshiping the Lord. This was immediately followed up by the tree lighting, and then to round out my Saturday I went to see the new Black Panther movie with my girlfriend, and I was really impressed! It was the best Marvel movie I’ve seen in a while.

Finally, Sunday was a really special day. One of my close friends was baptized Sunday morning, so we had a ton of people coming to visit our church to see it happen and it was such a joyful time. We got to celebrate his public profession of faith and enjoy some fellowship with people who I don’t usually see then.

Overall, these past two weeks have been fantastic. Despite the intensity of my academics, I have still been able to really enjoy some time with my friends, and see how God continues to be faithful in my life. I can’t wait to go home and see my family for break, but I’m honestly already excited about coming back afterwards and seeing everyone again!

Day 592: The Animal Sound Book

Joseph recounts his Christmas festivities and talks about the many gifts (material and relational) he received before finals. 

It’s been a crazy few weeks. As finals approach, my weeks keep getting busier and busier but it’s still so much fun. 

Thanksgiving break was a really good time. It was nice to get a little break so I could sleep in and spend some time with my family. Overall I had a blast, but by the end was definitely ready to be back at school. 

After getting back the first week wasn’t too rough academically. I had a few assignments here and there and one big project I had to work on but it all went well. This week on the other hand has been much more intense academically. I had a final project due on Tuesday that was a lot of work, as well as three pretty difficult homework assignments due later this week. 

Friday night I got dinner and went to see a movie with my girlfriend. It was a solid time! We went around and looked at Christmas lights in neighborhoods as well. Then Saturday night, a friend hosted a bunch of us at her great aunt’s house for a Christmas party! Then Sunday, I spent the whole day working on homework due Monday. Overall, it was a really good weekend but crazy busy. I was reminded of God’s faithfulness this week, and the blessings he’s given me in friends and energy despite all of the craziness going on. 

Day 628: A God-given Break

Winter break can bring much needed rest, but also some new worries. Joseph shares with us the details of his break, how God was faithful throughout it, and the scope of the new semester.

It’s crazy to think that break is over and I’m already back at school, but I’m super excited and have already been having a blast so far!

My break was really awesome. It started with my girlfriend coming home with me to Kentucky to spend some time with me and my family. It was really cool getting to have her there and it was definitely a good way to round off the semester. After she left I really spent the rest of the break hanging out with my family and trying to work as much as possible. 

There were a few issues with that though. The Dominos I work at had a big management shift during the past semester. The new manager was really nice, but much worse about getting me the hours I needed. It ended up being a big stressor for a few days of my break. I had to really poke around and work hard to barely scrape up enough hours for me to feel okay about how much money I would make, but then God really provided in surprising ways. I was able to make more money than I usually would over winter break, and therefore, spent more time with my family. 

As much as I loved being home, by the end of the three weeks I was so ready to be back on campus. I really missed everyone here and I was ready to get back into the swing of school. When I got back, I spent every passing second I could with friends. I’ve been reconnecting with all of the people I didn’t get to see while I was gone, and spending time with my girlfriend and the guys in my band!

So far my classes have been really good. I only have two major specific classes but they’re classes that I have been looking forward to since freshman year and they have been super interesting so far! It seems like this semester won’t be too intense but I guess I’ll find out for sure soon. 

I’m super excited to see what God has in store for me these next few weeks!

Day 639: The Rodeo

Joseph gives us an update on academics, fun campus events, and the craziness of an outing with his girlfriend: the rodeo.

These past two weeks have been pretty average but in a really good way! It’s been nice getting back into the swing of being at school, and enjoying classes and friendships!

This last week really just consisted of hanging out with friends and doing homework. Throughout the week I had a few small homework assignments for my classes mostly consisting of humanities work, and some Advanced Digital Logic Design problems. Overall I’ve actually been enjoying my class work a lot and I’m excited to keep learning!

This week, academics looks pretty similar except I already have an exam on Friday for ADLD. It’s primarily a review exam over the stuff we learned in DLD with a little bit of new content we just went over. Other than that, it’s a pretty easy week with not a ton of work. 

This last weekend was super fun though! On Friday, I went to the ALT night and got to hang out with friends at the silent disco! I’m a huge fan of silent discos, they’re always a blast. Then on Saturday, I went to the rodeo with my girlfriend which was such a fun experience. It was exactly what I expected a rodeo to be. On Sunday, we had a big snowstorm and I made the mistake of still trying to drive out to church. I made it almost all the way there, and then about 2 minutes from church there was a road blockage and I had to turn around and come all the way back. Luckily I was safe the whole time and didn’t have any close calls. 

Overall it’s been a really fun few weeks and I’ve really enjoyed getting back into a normal schedule at school!

Day 653: Puss in Boots

An eventful two weeks found Joseph taking big exams, engaging in thoughtful theology conversations, watching Puss in Boots, and applying for RA for next year. 

These past two weeks have flown by. I feel like I have been super busy, while also not doing a whole lot at the same time. My academics have been slowly ramping up, and I’ve been trying to spend as much time with friends as possible!

For academics, I had two tests in these last two weeks and another one coming up on Friday. I feel really good about the two I have already taken. I was able to prepare well for them and I feel that they were fair assessments of my knowledge. Other than exams, I had one of the most difficult VHDL (Very high speed integrated circuit program Hardware Description Language) homework assignments for my ADLD class, but was able to get it done really quickly without much stress! 

I’ve really been enjoying my theology class so far. Dr. Smith makes class super fun. We tend to spend the majority of our time just having a Q+A with Dr. Smith about theological concepts and questions we have regarding our faith. It’s so cool being able to just pick his brain about difficult topics in a safe space. The reading we do for that class is fascinating too. I actually tend to look forward to getting to work through it.

Socially, I’ve had some pretty busy weekends! Two weekends ago I went to see Puss and Boots with some friends, and I was caught way off guard with how good it was. Honestly, it’s in the top five animated movies of all time for me. The animation is stunning and it has some of the best character development ever in a movie. 

Last weekend, I went to a really good taco place with my girlfriend on Friday called Rusty Tacos, and then we watched the original Spider-Man movie with Tobey Maguire. Then on Saturday, I had group interviews for RA. They were honestly a lot of fun, and I’m excited to continue to pursue the next steps for becoming an RA next year. I also helped out with an engineering lab for the prospective students. I really enjoyed getting to talk to some families about our engineering program and what I enjoyed about being an engineer at Cedarville. Then, I rounded out the weekend with a game night with some friends. We played a bunch of Mario Kart, Mario Party, and other general party games. 

God has been constantly reminding me of his faithfulness already throughout this semester and I’m really excited to keep learning about Him, and growing in my faith as I continue through my spring semester. 

Day 667: God’s Moving

Given the recent spiritual events on campus, Joseph discusses their impact on him and others while preparing for his mission trip over spring break. 

This past week has been one of the craziest weeks at Cedarville. It has been so cool to see how God has been working on campus, and the way the staff and students have responded to the situation. God has been teaching me a lot through my experiences these past few weeks and I’m excited to see how he continues working in my life.

Chapel on Monday was an unforgettable experience. After the service finished, students remained in the building praying and worshiping for hours on end. I ended up skipping most of my classes for the day to remain in the chapel and continue worshiping God. That evening there was a prayer night where we continued to do the same thing. It was really cool to see the way God was moving in our campus, and while it was not the way I expected to spend Monday, it was really amazing to experience. 

Following this Dr. White encouraged the campus to go out and spread the word to other campuses, so me and some friends decided to go to OSU Wednesday night and do some campus evangelism. This was my first time doing evangelism in this context and it was so cool to see how God was faithful in this time. I have been having some training these past few months for my London mission trip about how to share the gospel with college students specifically, so it was really cool to get to put some of that into practice. I was able to share the gospel with three people who were all really receptive to what I was saying. 

On another note, this last weekend I got to go to a planetarium with my girlfriend. We drove all the way to Butler University because it was the only somewhat nearby planetarium we could find that was doing a show that we could attend. It was super fun getting to do a little car trip and a nice break from the daily life of homework and exams. 

Overall, these past two weeks have not been what I expected but God has really been showing me a lot of really good things, and I’m excited to continue to pursue him and become closer with him.

Day 688: London Mission Trip

Joseph shares the details about his spring break mission trip to London. He speaks of the brokenness in the world and his newfound understanding of the importance of evangelism. 

So much has happened in these past three weeks so it’s hard to really pinpoint some specific things when thinking back on all that had gone on. The most notable aspects were E-Sphere, midterms, and spring break.

E-Sphere happened a few weekends ago and was an absolute blast. I really enjoyed going last year, and this year was pretty similar except I was able to go with my girlfriend so obviously that made it even more enjoyable. It was really fun to hang out with friends and dance to stupid songs. I’m honestly always a huge fan of cool dances like that and will always be down to attend. 

After this we had one of the most intense midterm weeks of my life. I only had 2 exams but they were really intense exams and I had a lot of big homework assignments I had to do while also studying to get ready for the exams. On top of all of this I was leaving for my mission trip to London Friday at 10 AM, so I had to have everything finished by Thursday night. Thankfully I was able to work hard and stayed up way too late on several nights in a row, but I was able to get it all done. 

Then, on Friday we flew out to London. The first day there we did a lot of sightseeing. The goal was to keep us awake and moving so we could get on top of jetlag. By the end of that day I had been awake for 35 hours and walked about 13 miles, so I was definitely ready for bed. The next day we had a bit more training and preparation for the campus evangelism we would be doing. Then the next few days were full of being on campus and speaking to students. It was so cool to be able to interact with people from all over the world and to get to share the gospel with them. Everyday I left the campus with a very somber, heavy heart. It was definitely really eye opening being surrounded by so much brokenness and really gave me a heart of compassion for those who are lost. On our last day in London, we had a free day to explore the city and do whatever we wanted, so me and a few friends went to The British Library and got to see one of the oldest papyrus manuscripts of the gospel of John. It was super cool and kind of shocking to actually be able to witness something like that in person.

Overall, this was one of the best spring breaks I could have asked for. I learned so much about different cultures and really grew in my relationship and dependence on God. I’m definitely really excited to be back at school and start working hard again though!

Day 702: A Difficult Assignment

An insane CMOS lab and lacking quiet times with God have slowed Joseph down a bit, but he has plans to start again. He also gives thoughts on the recent tragedy that occurred at school.

I feel very exhausted coming out of these last two weeks. I have really been learning more and more about how to truly rely on God for everything and the importance of making time for him throughout my days.

Following spring break I usually feel like classes slow down a bit before ramping up before finals, but this semester it has felt like all my classes have been full throttle since day one of being back. It has made it hard to recover from the exhaustion of my mission trip, and even midterms before that. This last week I had a CMOS lab due that we started before break. Since I was on a mission trip I was unable to work on it at all over break, and spent most of that first week getting caught up on other work I wasn’t able to get done during break. After finally feeling caught up I was able to start working on the lab Saturday evening when it was due the upcoming Tuesday. I spent about 15 hours on it and still didn’t have it done. Eventually I realized the way I was approaching it wasn’t going to be feasible, so I had to scrap all 15 hours of work and start from scratch. Luckily my professor pushed the due date back to Thursday so I was still able to turn it in on time, but it was extremely exhausting.

Most of my classes have felt similar to that following spring break so it has been really hard to find times for rest. Whether that would be actual sleep, spending time with friends, or genuine time in the Word. There have been occasional days where my personal time with God has been missed because of a lack of sleep the night before or the overwhelming amount of school work, and those days were the hardest to work through. It has been a good reminder of how important my time with God is to my daily schedule and how that should always have priority.

On a good note, me and my girlfriend went to the Cincinnati Art Museum on Saturday. It was a really good break to get off campus and go have a little adventure. The art museum was really interesting with a lot of pieces from Ohio’s history. Afterwards, we came back to campus and watched Megamind which is always a good time. Having little moments of hanging out with friends is always really helpful in helping me feel rejuvenated after some long days.

Overall, it has been a hard past two weeks but I feel like God has been teaching me a lot in that, so I’m really appreciative of what it has done for me. I’m trying to be even more intentional about making my time with God the highest priority in my life, and to continue to be receptive to what He is trying to teach me.