JohnnyBGamer

From Across the Net: “Wrestling with Big Decisions”

Focus on the Famly’s John Ortberg wrote a great piece titled “Wrestling with Big Decisions“. I found the following perspective helpful:

Indeed, for years after my “What should I do with my life?” conversations with God, I did not realize that what I had been actually looking for wasn’t so much “God’s will for my life.” What I was really looking for was a way to be relieved of the anxiety that comes with taking responsibility for making a difficult decision.

God is a door opener, not a celestial enabler.

Let us share your joy

I am not exactly sure how to write this. But I’m living at that point where friends and family don’t want to tell my wife and I that they are pregnant. Somehow afraid that our feelings will be hurt after years of dealing with infertility.

More than any birth announcement, I am hurt more by silence. Robbed of that shared joy that comes from living in community with others.

I want to encourage those around my family to share their news. Allow us to come alongside them. Please don’t be silent. Let us share in your excitement.

When times are good, be happy;
but when times are bad, consider this:
God has made the one
as well as the other. – Ecclesiastes 7:14a (NIV)

Please leave my wife alone

I admire and respect my wife. For eight years Tabitha taught as a third grade teacher in her hometown. I was with her through the highs, lows, and in-betweens of teaching. Learning that our education system prioritizes/champions testing and scores. That challenges come not only from in the classroom but from outside of it. Taking the form of parents and district representatives. Through it all, her love for educating her students never died. As long as she could close her door and teach, she was happy.

Somewhere along the learning journey we had Wyatt. Tabitha found herself torn between being a mom while working as a teacher. For years, Tab’s mom gave us peace of mind by watching/raising Wyatt. But we lived in that tension of her wanting to stay home. We didn’t think that we could live without dual incomes and the insurance her job provided.

After much time and prayer, we made the decision to keep her home. A decision that has not always been easy but has been good.

Something weird happened when Tabitha became a stay-at-home mom. A cloud of lies settled in that said, “she must not have anything better to do” OR “she needs to be doing something”. My wife became the dumping ground of low paying jobs and babysitting requests.

I am here today, as her husband, to tell you, whoever you are, that my wife’s freedom comes at a cost. She doesn’t have to watch your kids; she doesn’t have to take that babysitting job for the church. If she does watch your kids, she has made that decision to help you out. Not because she has to but because she wants to. As a husband, I love being able to give my wife that freedom. That ability to be a mom, a wife, whoever else she wants to be.

Whether we have just one child or many, that does not change her role. Whether we choose to homeschool or send Wyatt to public school, that does not change her mission. She is still a mom; she is still my wife. I am proud of her. Please leave her alone.

GALAK-Z

GALAK-Z is an 80’s spaceship anime stitched onto the vest of a first responder. Much of the game is spent traveling, waiting for a call to action. Once an enemy sighted, all out chaos ensues due to poor controls. The game fails to stick the arcade-gaming/skill-demanding gameplay. This results in a fun-looking game that feels more like work.

GALAK-Z is not the paramedic, firefighter, or police officer you want coming to your aid.

2/5 – Downtime and floaty controls create a soul-sucking galaxy.

Title: GALAK-Z
Developer: 17-Bit
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4
Reviews on: PlayStation 4
MSRP: $19.99

War, Projects, and Escape

Saturday

A gang of birds nested underneath my patio, uninvited. They pooped on anything they could poop on. Tabitha and I declared war this weekend. Sealing up any space that provided refuge to these tiny feathered terrors.

Job complete, we claimed victory. But we soon found that our invaders have no plans to leave. They have roosted themselves on the support beams. Beady-eyed hatred in their perched gaze. The rain of fecal matter has returned with gusto.

I know that we’ll win in the end. The big guns are about to come out… whatever “big guns” are.

Spent the rest of Saturday working on a smaller project that morphed into a larger project. One could say that I made things brighter in our front bathroom; one could also say that I installed a light.

Sunday AM

Taught Ecclesiastes 8 in small group. Camped out on verses 12-13:

12 Although a wicked person who commits a hundred crimes may live a long time, I know that it will go better with those who fear God, who are reverent before him. 13 Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow.

The keywords of “fear God” and “reverence” led us to Psalm 128:1

Blessed are all who fear the Lord,
who walk in obedience to him.

We then applied fear with obedience and looked at 1 Kings 11:1-13. At this point in the story, Solomon has intermarried to the tune of seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. He has gone against what God has told him. Showing neither fear, reverence, nor obedience to Him. We talked about how God is a God of justice. How Solomon’s disobedience carried consequences. This discussion paralleled the last half of Ecclesiastes 8, where Solomon comments on justice. We noted that justice does not always occur in our time frame, but God will exact justice in His time.

Sunday PM

Fired up the Honda and cruised to The Caldwell Zoo.

Enjoyed the cool breeze, walking around the zoo, and just chilling out.

Great weekend.