I often have these grandiose plans of sitting down and writing out a wall of text detailing all my thoughts, hopes, and plans for the CGA and Tribe of Judah, then promptly get called back to helping clean my home to get ready for a new baby in early November. Even now, I'm shirking my responsibilities for a few minutes to start this thread.
Rather than post one long "braindump," I've decided to post stream-of-consciousness blurbs as the opportunities arise (or I simply make them).
My most recent post to the Prayer Request/Praise Report forum will help catch you all up to speed on what's happening in my life these days, so I'll quote it here:
The CGA and ToJ communities are often on my mind and I wish I could spend more time with you all. I feel awful that I've failed to post the last 2 Sundays in the Verse of the Day Forum and I've asked Abba San if he could try to find a fill-in until January. (Side note: If you're interested in posting VotD threads on Sundays, please contact Abba San.)
I keep thinking about how I want to share about my struggles with chronic pain (of which the knee pain referenced in the post quoted above is only the latest episode), doubts that I'm still of significant help to this community, fears that the CGA and ToJ communities will become "closed circles" where Christians escape interaction with people who believe differently unless we actively and purposely seek opportunities to live out the Gospel by demonstrating Christ's love to those outside our ranks as well as to each other. And then I usually have to start getting ready for bed or get back to work.
Speaking of which, it's time for me to get ready for bed, so I need to close out this first post here.
I know our lives are busy (believe me, I sympathize), so I'm not expecting most people to read these threads. I confess my purposes are mostly--though not entirely--selfish, in that I want to make every reasonable effort to communicate my desires for the communities I lead (albeit infrequently and often poorly) but also wrestle with guilt for not being around nearly as much as I once was.
I still passionately believe there's a place and purpose for this community and it grieves me to think that I may be its biggest roadblock. My time to type tonight is short, so I'll close out by encouraging each and every one of you to seriously examine your own hearts, ask yourselves what, if anything, you want to see the CGA (and, for Tribe of Judah members, ToJ) accomplish in the next year, and start praying fervently for opportunities to share your faith and the love Christ showed you in redemption to others.
There's a lot of people out there that hate Christian gamers and many more who hate Christians. The Bible makes it clear that's the norm and not the exception. But we aren't charged with choosing who we share the Gospel with or held responsible for how those who hear the message we preach through word or deed react. We're called to share the Truth--that man's relationship with God is broken by sin and only Jesus Christ can make it right--whenever and wherever (real or virtual) we go.
So, yes, some of this thread will be me in full-on Eeyore mode and I pray you'll be patient with me. I won't be double- and triple-checking my posts like I usually do before posting, so expect more grammatical and spelling errors. But there's a lot on my mind I want to share with you all and, like me, it's sometimes messy.
Rather than post one long "braindump," I've decided to post stream-of-consciousness blurbs as the opportunities arise (or I simply make them).
My most recent post to the Prayer Request/Praise Report forum will help catch you all up to speed on what's happening in my life these days, so I'll quote it here:
So aside from the usual aches and pains, my left knee started hurting--a lot--whenever I bend my leg. I've been spending more time stationary at work lately because leadership has asked that we post log comments in every ticket every 7 days--which probably wouldn't be such a monumental task had my ticket queue numbers spiked after one of our team members not been laid off earlier this year when we were already short-staffed.
It's especially important I'm in good health not only for work, but also because my wife and I are scrambling to get the house clean and ready to take home a new baby within the next month (God willing). We have to clear out my office, which essentially turned into a storage room after I moved my laptop to the dining room table, and move new furniture in. Our house is decent, but we have too much stuff for the amount of storage space in our home.
So please pray for my physical health, mental health, and spiritual health during this very, very busy season. I know it'll all be worth it in the end, but the in-between phase is grueling at times.
And rest assured that I think of you all often and wish I could spend more time participating in and leading both the CGA and Tribe of Judah. I miss everyone very much and I'm fervently hoping that life will settle down in December or maybe even sooner and afford me the chance to get back into the swing of things online.
The CGA and ToJ communities are often on my mind and I wish I could spend more time with you all. I feel awful that I've failed to post the last 2 Sundays in the Verse of the Day Forum and I've asked Abba San if he could try to find a fill-in until January. (Side note: If you're interested in posting VotD threads on Sundays, please contact Abba San.)
I keep thinking about how I want to share about my struggles with chronic pain (of which the knee pain referenced in the post quoted above is only the latest episode), doubts that I'm still of significant help to this community, fears that the CGA and ToJ communities will become "closed circles" where Christians escape interaction with people who believe differently unless we actively and purposely seek opportunities to live out the Gospel by demonstrating Christ's love to those outside our ranks as well as to each other. And then I usually have to start getting ready for bed or get back to work.
Speaking of which, it's time for me to get ready for bed, so I need to close out this first post here.
I know our lives are busy (believe me, I sympathize), so I'm not expecting most people to read these threads. I confess my purposes are mostly--though not entirely--selfish, in that I want to make every reasonable effort to communicate my desires for the communities I lead (albeit infrequently and often poorly) but also wrestle with guilt for not being around nearly as much as I once was.
I still passionately believe there's a place and purpose for this community and it grieves me to think that I may be its biggest roadblock. My time to type tonight is short, so I'll close out by encouraging each and every one of you to seriously examine your own hearts, ask yourselves what, if anything, you want to see the CGA (and, for Tribe of Judah members, ToJ) accomplish in the next year, and start praying fervently for opportunities to share your faith and the love Christ showed you in redemption to others.
There's a lot of people out there that hate Christian gamers and many more who hate Christians. The Bible makes it clear that's the norm and not the exception. But we aren't charged with choosing who we share the Gospel with or held responsible for how those who hear the message we preach through word or deed react. We're called to share the Truth--that man's relationship with God is broken by sin and only Jesus Christ can make it right--whenever and wherever (real or virtual) we go.
So, yes, some of this thread will be me in full-on Eeyore mode and I pray you'll be patient with me. I won't be double- and triple-checking my posts like I usually do before posting, so expect more grammatical and spelling errors. But there's a lot on my mind I want to share with you all and, like me, it's sometimes messy.
