update on my life

Hi all! I have not been a faithful blogger. But I wanted to update you on some things in case you didn't already know. 


I got into seminary at Southeastern in the town of Wake Forest! That means the first year I will be doing it online and living here in Greenville, because I signed a lease before I ever thought of going to seminary. And I don't feel like backing out on good friends when that would mean they'd be responsible for paying my portion.


Everything else is pretty much the same. Off and on I have trouble with my back... please pray for that. Pray that I would be diligent about my rehab and that the core issues with my back would be resolved and corrected. I need this... I need my life back. 


I just got Alex Denning to make a blogger profile but Safari crashed and he lost it. He'll do it later. 


When it comes to being single, I'm back and forth, but I'm leaning towards content, right now. I'm more than willing to be patient if it means waiting for the right girl. Amazing all the bullcrap people feed you about "being a virgin is harmful to your psychological well-being." If I had ever had sex, especially with any of the crazies I dated, I promise you I'd be one MESSED UP kid. I had enough issues that I needed to pray through for years, even without that problem. Adding that bond to a kid who grew up clingy, and that would have made me go off the deep end. 


Anyhow. Thank you for reading! Thank you for following me on Twitter as well. I'm elated that so many of you think I'm funny. I think I am too sometimes. I just get these thoughts and I go with it. I could never be a comedian... but life is just funny sometimes, don't you agree? And I have funny friends that allowed my sense of humor to develop and take form. Thanks guys. 


Thanks for being my friends. I realize I can be critical and sarcastic sometimes. I've been confronted on it. Sometimes I'm the only one who thinks a statement is funny. I shall be more wise with my tongue next time. 


My hope is that I can be more real with everyone and live to please God, not myself. Being a suburb kid is a deadly thing. I don't want to live insulated from reality forever. In terms of my faith, let's just say that I'm very much snuggled up in my routine and that I don't really want anything major to change right now. Pray my heart is broken for my neighbors here in America that rot slowly in the dark away from the life God gives. I feel like my mission field is here. 


But anyway. Love Christ. That's all I ask. Love you guys. -G

Could video games be ministry?

I've heard that some have tried to use their xbox subscription to the glory of God by evangelizing online during a video game match. A lot of people think that's absurd. However, because I like to look at both sides of an issue, I'm not going to immediately condemn it. But I do have some thoughts that I think give some insight into this subject.

I was thinking today about how my little brother and I play online and how it never really brings us together. Let me explain.

He misses me a lot. I'm often away from home for long periods of time, so I can see why. He also plays video games a lot, so that's a great opportunity to hang out with him, right?

Well, I'm beginning to think differently. The very nature of the games we play, such as COD 4 Modern Warfare, are such that several things happen in the game that actually keep us "apart" the whole time we're playing together. Literally, the very nature of the game separates us even though we're trying to spend some time together.

Here's what I mean.

Problem One. I die a lot in Call of Duty. Fact. That means that even if I can find my bro in the game, and I try to fight alongside him, I don't last long. Then I get spawned again, this time across the map, so I have to spend the majority of my time in cyberspace actually "away" from my brother, trying to get to him, when the whole point is to be "with" him playing this game.

Problem Two. We're not in the same room, we're in opposite sides of the house, playing in the same match. Problem is, even though we have headsets to talk to each other, that's the only real thing about my brother that I'm getting to encounter in this game. And you know boys. We don't talk much... we just shoot things.

So maybe if it were Nintendo Wii, or if we were playing splitscreen, then I'd actually get to sit in the same room as him and do something fun that makes us laugh together. I've been hoping for another way to connect to my brother besides this... because really, the way it feels when we're done playing, is very, very unfulfilled. I don't feel like I've seen my brother at all, or enjoyed any time with him. It's really robbed me of getting to joke around and laugh with him. You know, doing stuff that makes memories, that we all love doing. Cause who doesn't love hanging out? It's just meaningless. You just play and then you're done, and what do you get to keep? What about your videogame endures beyond you turning off the console? Are you finding your self-worth in what achievements you've earned on XBOX Live? Talk about sad!

So the next time he asks me if I can play Call of Duty, I have to wonder... what are some other things we could do that would actually make us feel like we spent time together? Makes me sound like a goody-goody nerd who writes self-help books, but I don't care. I'm not.

So I have to question anyone who says they're trying to talk about Jesus while people are busy blowing each others' heads off. Not very many videogame players are thinking about how unfulfilled they are while they are playing, but instead after they play. Your online presence has little affect on anyone. It's a waste of time... because it's not real.