Idol Love

We all want someone to think we’re sensational. We desire to be recognized, to be valued, to be respected. To be loved. Yet this natural yearning too often turns into an idol of one of God’s most precious gifts: love itself. If you, like so many of us, spend your time and energy trying to earn someone’s approval—at work, home, and church—all the while fearing that, at any moment, the facade will drop and everyone will see your hidden mess . . . then love may have become an idol in your life. In this poignant and hope-filled book, Jennifer Dukes Lee shares her own lifelong journey of learning to rely on the unconditional love of God. She gently invites us to make peace with our imperfections and to stop working overtime for a love that is already ours. Love Idol will help us dismantle what’s separating us from true connection with God and rediscover the astonishing joy of a life full of freedom in Christ.

As their trial period comes to an end, Akari and Onda have started officially dating. Just when they thought that nothing would change, their first Christmas as boyfriend and girlfriend is on the horizon! Will they naturally grow closer?!

Akari and Onda wear yukata to a dream event where both of their favorite idols appear together. Akari's heart races from seeing their dazzling figures, but her heart also skips a beat from seeing a new side of Onda!

Akari Tachibana, and her coworker, Onda-san, are more than just friends...they're both hardcore idol fans! But when Onda-san confesses to Akari out of the blue, she's floored. Of course it would be great to date someone with whom she shares so many interests, but can she navigate this new dimension to their relationship?

When an idol and fan stand face to face and the idol's mask comes off, is it simply the fan staring into a mirror, admiring their own reflection? Idol Limerence explores the mass phenomena of the Korean idol, in particular, BTS and how it intersects with the psychological experience of limerence, as originated by Dorothy Tennov. Further phenomena will be introduced with an exploration of persona as a link to a fantasy realm accessed by both idol and fan. Culminating in the exploration of the revolutionary capacity of BTS and their fan base, ARMY, who were created in their image. Echo's narrative spans from her first love as a child to falling in love with BTS as an adult, an experience she feels is largely out of her control. Idol Limerence is a love story wrapped in social theory that spans this universe and the next. Insperence is the space where the revolution can begin to take hold; insperence is where we can all become revolutionaries. In many ways, we already are.Idol Limerence: The Art of Loving BTS as Phenomena by Wallea Eaglehawk is a scholarly and literary work on the phenomenon that is BTS, the most popular and influential music group of our generation. Idol Limerence is a cognitive and emotional state of loving adoration and attachment to an Idol or celebrity. Echo, a young millennial woman, finds herself falling deeply in love with a group of blouse-wearing Korean men who sing, dance and dish out uncommon potent eye contact like it's a period drama. This book joins Echo on her journey from first love as a child to falling in love with K-pop group BTS as an adult. Echo learns just how and why she can't control her feelings towards BTS, not that she really wants to; and this is not an isolated experience, she is not alone but part of BTS' fan base, ARMY. The theory of Idol Limerence is developed from the psychological idea of limerence and linked to sociological concepts of identity, persona, parasocial relationships, love and celebrity. The theory development is interwoven with the love narrative of Echo which shows how Idol Limerence can be a 'safe-love' alternative for millennials overwhelmed by loving and dating in a world on the brink of collapse. If the question is 'Why can't I stop thinking about what my life with BTS would look like?' Idol Limerence is the answer and becoming a revolutionary to save the world is the result.

"If you don't know me, that's okay. There were many days I didn't know who I was either..." My name is Chiharu Morita. Of course, that is the name on this blog, so that is who I am. The Chiharu you know is only a shadow. Yes, I was in a group called Butterfly Tops. Now I am a composer, the person responsible for some of the pop songs you hear on the radio. Those aren't the reasons you know me, though. You know me because of YUMI. The woman who comes into your living room every night on dramas, music shows, and radio request lines. The most famous woman in the country. Yumi, as you may know, is my childhood friend. We graduated high school and went to audition for a new girl group they were creating. The rest is history. For you, anyway. For me, I still breathe this every day. Because I love Yumi. I have since I was a young girl too stupid to know the words for what I felt. This is my confession. This is the story of not only me, but Yumi too. Of how we left our town and became household names. Of how I fell in love with her and did everything in my power to protect her from the evil in this world. I did not always succeed. I will not rest until you know the truth. All the lies the agencies and labels tried to make us spew will be known. Maybe this will mean the end of what career I have left. But if I don't tell this story, I won't know who I am anymore. I want to be more than "the girl who loved Yumi," and yet it's the only identity I can ever remember having. For better or worse, let us begin. Set in contemporary Japan, "LOVE, YUMI" is the epic journey one woman embarks on to complete the impossible: to save her best friend and the woman she loves from a brutal, all-consuming pop culture world. Contains every situation that entails.

Idol Church, Idle Church is a book that will draw you closer to Christ. It examines what idolatrous religions are trying to accomplish with their faith and practices and then looks at Christianity and how it is different from other religions. It shows how easy it is for followers of Jesus to slip from a dynamic relationship with Christ into the same philosophy as idolatrous religion. The book is realistic about how difficult it is to resist the slide into idolatry or idolatrous thinking but does suggest ways to remain strong in Christ and move churches into dynamic relationship and away from status quo thinking and practice.