Wishing Hobbit Two a Happy 9th Birthday today!!! This crazy gamer is growing up way to fast!!! I don’t like it!!!
This is always a crazy weekend here in our house as it involves back to school, my birthday, and our youngest birthday. My amazing wife navigates the weekend like a warrior in a minefield bending over backwards to make each day special and meaningful.
For years, I’ve wrestled with anxiety, a battle that often seemed endless and overwhelming. But in this fight, I’ve come to realize that one of the most potent weapons against the negative thoughts triggering my anxiety is my own mind.
I’m not talking about the “power of positive thinking,” some self-help mantra that can feel empty and cultish. No, I’m referring to a profound truth found in Proverbs 23:7, “As he thinketh in his heart, so he is.”
Our minds dictate our actions. Our thoughts form our reality. If we continually dwell on fear and worry, those feelings can consume us. But when we take control of our thoughts and align them with wisdom and understanding found in scripture, constantly diving deep in the word, continually repenting and growing in our relationship with Christ, we can reshape our perspective and our actions.
This insight has helped me take charge of my anxiety. It’s not a quick fix. You may find medication is needed for you, and that’s okay. Because the struggles don’t vanish overnight. However, it’s a real, grounded way to approach life.
We have the power to choose our thoughts, and in turn, those thoughts shape who we are. Understanding this has been a crucial step in my journey. But those thoughts have been shaped by diving into scripture.
I’ve been thinking a lot about forgiveness this morning. There are many people I need to forgive: Like church leaders that severely hurt my wife and her sister or those in my past that have wronged me. Maybe it’s forgiveness towards those who ignored me when I needed help. Perhaps I need to ask for forgiveness from someone. Who have I wronged?
Forgiveness is a tricky thing. Because when it’s all said and done, forgiveness is never for the one you are forgiving.
It’s for you… And that’s why it’s hard. Because forgiveness doesn’t always make sense.
“What if people hate it?” That’s a question many of us ask every day. What if our ideas, opinions, our views, and art get rejected by others? That’s life. Because in this crazy dance of life, every significant step we take, sooner or later, is rooted in two fundamental forces.
Fear: It takes many shapes – the dread of embarrassment, the sting of rejection, the ache of loneliness, the shadow of death. These fears linger in the back of our minds, haunting our choices, shaping our paths, and often holding us back from embracing the fullness of life.
Dreams: These are the lights that guide us, the aspirations that fuel us. We dream of recognition, independence, conquering our anxieties, and becoming something more than ourselves. We long for acceptance, to be seen as unique, to matter to someone, to be cared for and loved.
Between these fears and dreams, our lives unfold. They are the compass and map, the obstacles and the goals. It’s a delicate balance, a continuous struggle, and a journey we must navigate. Our dreams drive us, yet often held back by our fears. But in understanding both, we find our way, we make choices, we take actions, and we shape our destiny.
I’m going to try a new thing here on the blog every Friday. In the old days of Social Media I would have tweeted or posted these via Facebook. But I still have a desire to keep this place active and two: I want to provide weekly updates outside of my newsletter. So each Friday I’ll be putting these out… We’ll see how it goes.
Social media comes, and it goes. Heck remember XANGA, MySpace, and AOL Chat? Twitter and Facebook have been the dominate forces the last few years with Instagram and TikTok quickly growing. The problem is TikTok is probably going to be banned in the interest of national security, and Twitter is a complete disaster right now in my opinion. Personally, I miss the old days of twitter. The truth is I have to think about where my audience is at. So for author related things I’ll be on both Instagram and Threads. For friendships I’ll be on Facebook. If I do post on twitter it’s only going to be occasionally and for updates. I’ll decide at the end of August if it’s worth my time staying or leaving completely. Who really knows. But at the moment I don’t enjoy being there anymore.
The podcast is taking a break. I try to take a break every 20 to 25 episodes. And since I just posted episode 47 I’ve decided to take that break now. I have a lot going on in August and it’s a brutal month to try and post and edit. It will be back in September with episode 48 and we’ll run until sometime in December. I love the podcast and it keeps me active in the pop culture world. So it’s not going away. I may even explore the possibility of turning things over to a guest host once or twice just to get some different content. So if you think you might be interested in hosting, let me know.
The main reason I’m taking a break from the podcast is I’m about to shift into Kickstarter fulfillment mode on Aug 1st. I have a lot to get done and need to stay focused. The Kickstarter was definitely the hardest and most challenging marketing I have ever done. It was a learning experience. I’ll be dropping a blog post soon on the top five mistakes I feel I made.
Since I won’t be writing much in August other than on the collaboration project I’m doing with Steve Rzasa and Jason Joyner, I’ve decided to dust off some old stories and touch them up over the next month. I’ll be looking for beta readers, so if you are interested in reading a political thriller set in a VR world where gamers compete on behalf of politicians to see which party dominates certain campaign ad space- let me know.
Right now I’m reading Star Wars: Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn. I haven’t read this series since the early 2000’s. There is so much I had forgotten so I’m glad for the chance to reexplore this trilogy. I’ve also started a reread of the Wheel of Time on Audible. I’m currently about 25% through the Eye of the World. This will be my fourth time through the Wheel of Time and I learn something new each time.
Since Ashoka is kicking off soon I’m doing a binge watch of Star Wars Rebels! I’ve stoked about this one. Thrawn is hands down my favorite Star Wars character so with Heir, Rebels, and Ashoka I’m pretty much Star Wars geeked out for the month.
That’s all I have for this week! I’ll be back next week to provide some updates on writing plans etc. heading into the fall.
