With my first colossi downed, I have now moved onto my second, Giant Bull. Let us just say that my initial battle did not go well. Upon reflection–and reading a walkthrough online–I discovered that I have a bow! Next time I play, this poor lumbering giant will surely have met its match!
Basic.Fellowship – Francis Chan
As part of his Basic.series of films, Francis Chan tackles the topic of fellowship in his Basic.Fellowship short. After watching the quick fifteen minute video, I was left with the following question:
- Beyond potlucks, going to out to eat in large groups, and having large get-togethers that leave homes in shambles, what does fellowship look like for the modern Christian?
To answer my question, I immediately thought of where Acts 2 talks about what fellowship looked like for Biblical Christians:
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. – Acts 2: 42-47 (NIV)
Notice that they simply got together and took care of one another as one body of believers. Those that needed help were helped; those that gave did so with sincerity. So again, what does fellowship look like for us?
Fellowship looks like:
- Calling a brother in Christ during the week, randomly, and seeing how they are doing
- Meeting up for lunch, sharing life together
- Playing a game of softball with some of the guys from church
- Serving at the local rescue mission
- Passing on clothes that are no longer needed (like kids clothing)
- Making the most of every opportunity to grow closer together in Christ (our glue)
When Life Gets Hard: James 1
Friday I had a tough day at work. Thankfully, I just so happened to read the first chapter in the Book of James that morning. God showed me this:
2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. – James 1:2-4 (NASB)
Date Night Idea: Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
About a week ago, my wife surprised me with a date night filled with Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. We had a blast figuring out puzzles and blowing away spiders and other creepy crawly things. Our fun came to an end, however, when a summer thunderstorm rolled through. With the power flickering and almost killing the game, we decided to call it a night. So we watched the lightening outside instead!
If you have never heard of this game, picture a co-op puzzle-filled adventure through tombs and other exotic locals. The competitive/cooperative nature of Guardian of Light makes it a great choice for a fun date night. $15 is the price of admission via PSN.
Papo & Yo
From Minority Media’s site:
Papo & Yo is the story of a young boy, Quico, and his best friend, Monster. Monster is a huge beast with razor-sharp teeth, but that doesn’t scare Quico away from playing with him. That said, Monster does have a very dangerous problem: an addiction to poisonous frogs. The minute he sees one hop by, he’ll scarf it down and fly into a violent, frog-induced rage where no one, including Quico, is safe. And yet, Quico loves his Monster and wants to save him.
Last night I downloaded the demo for Papo & Yo on the PS3. I had read a fair amount about how the game was based on the developer’s abusive childhood, at the hands of an alcoholic father, and I wanted to see how that translated into the game.
While the game featured an interesting aesthetic and puzzles that made me grin, I was bothered by the shoddy controls and poor level design. Not to give anything away but the demo ends on a tense note. I literally found myself wanting to buy the game despite my thoughts on its overall design. After going online and reading some reviews, which sadly turned me away from the game, I decided not to take the abusive journey with Quico.
For some reason, perhaps it was the sparseness of the level design, Papo & Yo reminded me of Ico. Ico was a game that I didn’t necessarily love but appreciated. This reminder then got me thinking about how I had never played Team Ico’s other game, Shadow of the Colossus. So, on a spur of the moment purchase, I bought Shadow of the Colossus off of PSN. Hours later, I was playing the game.
Shadow of the Colossus has a NeverEnding Story feel to it. I love it! Will write more soon.
JohnnyBGamer 