Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)
Invite Christ Into Your Hobby
This morning, as I was reading through Bill Farrel’s The 10 Best Decisions a Man Can Make, I came across a passage that talked about inviting Christ into your hobbies. The beginning of Chapter 8 asked a question:
“What do you like to do to relax or have fun?”
The book followed up by asking you to:
“Brainstorm ways to invite Jesus to be part of this activity in your life.”
Bill gave a few personal examples of him inviting Christ into his hobbies: 1)as he is out in the garage tinkering around on his car, he prays and just generally communicates with God just as he would a friend; 2)as he is out exercising, Bill listens to worship music and sermons. Both examples show how easy it is to invite Christ into our down time activities.
Now my own personal ways of winding down do not include physical exercise nor picking up the odd tool and “tinkering”. I know that I need to be more active but I prefer reading a good book or enjoying a video game. I honestly cannot remember a time where I have ever invited God to take up the second controller (figuratively). I don’t think I have ever asked God for the amazing dexterity to accomplish a specific Mario jump either. No, I just mindlessly play and let the digital world envelope me as I would a movie. What does this mean?
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. – Colossians 3:17 (NIV)
As a Christian, everything I do is to be done to the glory of God. I need to be keeping God at the forefront of my mind. Even as I play a video game, I need to not be mindlessly consuming but actively engaging the media. This means filtering the game through what I know is truth in scripture; this also means asking God for the endurance to take on that last boss fight. Video games can easily be all about the glory of the player, I want that glory to instead be directed at my Creator.
The Great Secret
I dislike it when I have to keep quiet about something that is exciting. So here it goes, my wife and I are buying our first home!
Now, this isn’t just any old home. No, this is the home that has sheltered my wife’s family for decades. The house has no doubt seen many storms of both the physical and emotional; the house has no doubt been a place of great joy and deep sorrow. As we anxiously await the finalization of appraisal, survey, and other loose ends, my wife and I can only dream about our future in our very own home. To say that we are excited is to try and contain an enormous amount of energy in something that was never meant to store it. We are ready to put our own mark on the house and make it our home.
Web Design – Tiny Details Matter
I was at the gas station the other day and I noticed something peculiar about the base of the gas pump. Do you see it in the picture below?
The base of the pump is raised. I’m not sure what the significance of this is but I am sure that there is a reason for this elevated decision– sorry, couldn’t help it–. Details such as this, as I am learning with web design, are the small seemingly insignificant design decisions that make all the difference. Our eyes notice everything, even the smallest pixel that is out of place.
Web Design Project: MACBC
My adventure with self-hosted WordPress began when I bought a WordPress template off of ThemeForest. From there, I learned about how to create a separate WordPress installation specifically for the church on my server. After wading through that small technicality with my friend Scotto, I was finally ready to design a new web site for my church. Over the coming months, I would learn about:
- Logos, transparency, and shadowing
- Basic design layout choices (specifically learning about the template I had bought and how it varied from my WordPress blog)
- Having photos taken of the church and editing them for maximum impact
- How to configure sermon audio
- And many other technical hurdles
I do want to note that the reason I chose to go with WordPress, for my church, was that I wanted a platform that anyone could use. I wanted to empower my church to be on the cutting edge and yet not be burdened by only having one person manage the web site. I am hoping that if and when they should decide to go with what I have created, that they find it easy to use and master.
Below is a snapshot of site as it stands today. I still need to meet with the church once again to discuss some technical issues associated with going the self-hosted route (email, etc.). But otherwise the site is ready to go.
JohnnyBGamer 