JohnnyBGamer

The Surf Report – Junior High Boys, Dogs, and Star Wars

Welcome to the Surf Report for December 9, 2020.

.: God :

I’ve been teaching the junior high boys, at church, for over a month now. I find myself surprised. I think, walking into this, I had thought these kids would be on the same level (at least) of the adults I used to teach. Sadly, basic Bible reading and prayer (essentially a daily quiet time) are really hard for these kids. Be that these spiritual disciplines are perhaps not happening at home, I realize we have a lot of ground to cover. And yet, it is hard to teach the lesson at hand when you are fielding off-topic questions, off-the-wall thoughts, and just trying to create a general order in the room.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the challenge of teaching this class. I don’t regret stepping down from teaching my adult Sunday school class. I just thought it would be easier.

Right now we are focusing on:

Prayer – having one boy pray per week
Reading – having the boys read the Bible in class
Pushing the core theme of the lesson at hand

.: Life :

We got a dog! This is Gus.

Gus is a American Staffordshire Terrier (at least, that is what his official documents say). He is a good boy who enjoys having his belly rubbed.

.: Gaming :

Wyatt and I have been playing Star Wars Battlefront lately. Specifically the co-op hero battle matches that allow you to destroy one another. Oh yeah, we’ve also been playing Castle Crashers! I picked this one up on sale, and we’ve really been enjoying it.

That’s it for us. How about you? What have you been up to? Let me know in the comments below.

From Across the Net – “A Friend Who Sticks Closer than…a Hobbit? What the Inklings Teach Us About Friendship”

“In the age of social media, the notion of friendship has taken on new meanings. Many people have “friends” whom they have never met, nor do they know them on any personal level. While most of us would agree that such a relationship does not constitute a friendship in the true sense of the word, the term itself has broadened in application over time to now include nearly any individual one has met and not found deplorable. This expanded use is not necessarily a bad thing, provided one understands varying degrees of friendship.”

You can read more here

From Across the Net – “Official Iron Gwazi POV”

The Bath

I woke up this morning and rolled out of bed. Grabbed my towel before heading for the shower. Wait. No shower. The shower is going to be fixed later today. So I disrobe, start the bath water, and climb on in.

Part of me feels absolutely ridiculous. A 39 year old man doesn’t take a bath. Does he?

As I scrub the various things that need scrubbing, I think to myself, “The water sure is nice.” I can feel the relaxing feeling coming over me, the feeling that only comes from sitting in the tub.

***

Not wanting to be late, I pulled the plug, and I watched the water swirl down the drain.

Maybe a 39 year old man does take a bath every once in awhile.

Adoption Update – The Door Hasn’t Closed Yet

A friend asked me recently, “Have you heard anything on adoption front?”

I sighed, “No.”

Turns out our caseworker visited us a few weeks back. As she inspected our home, she confirmed ages, whether we want a boy or girl, etc. All things she should have already known. After a year and a half of waiting, we found this a tiny bit discouraging.

And yet, my friend also said something that gave me hope.

“You’re just going to keep plugging along until God tells you otherwise?”

I hadn’t really thought of this before, but yes, we will keep our house open until God tells us otherwise. He called us into this messy process, and He can call us out of it.

Patience is hard. Waiting is hard. But until God closes the adoption door, we’ll be standing right here, waiting.