Picking the Right Game for You! (Thoughts On Calling in the Language of Games)

     Hey friends, if you'll recall in February, I was given the incredible opportunity to be able to speak up at Princeton Theological Seminary about what the church can learn from games (with my area of expertise obviously being in video games. I met a lot of pretty incredible people, young adults and leaders from churches mostly around that area, and while that experience was something that I thought I would only be able to have once in my life, I'm so excited that I've been invited back up to speak in September on the same topic! This week I thought I'd work on putting my thoughts in order a bit, and hopefully I can share something that's not just repeating the same stuff that I said last time.

    As I stated a few weeks ago, my position in life is starting to take a more solid form, and I'm becoming a bit more confident in the things that I'm able to say, though I clearly have much more to learn, and that's like a video game as well! You simply can't play the game without a tutorial or a guide to tell you what the controls are, or in the context of a board game or a card game, you need the rulebook or someone that can tell you how to play. A big highlight of my message last time was that there's a place for everyone in the church, even if you feel like it isn't for you, there is somewhere that you can fit, the same with society as a whole. This time around, I think I'll talk about one topic that I think sounds pretty similar, and yet could also be viewed as changing it in a pretty profound way. There is a place for everyone to be involved, but not everyone can be involved in every spot.

    There are so many things to be done in a community, not everyone is going to find their spot easily, goodness knows that I haven't! When you find something to do that doesn't necessarily fit into your wheelhouse, there's nothing wrong with realizing in yourself that it's not what you're cut out for. When I had just been out of college for a fairly short time, I got a job working at a warehouse for a party supply store in the area. It was a nice place, and I liked all of my co-workers, but the physical labor involved just wasn't really for me, and every day I would come home just completely exhausted and disgusting. On top of all that, I was not good at this job, I'll admit it! I am not the strongest guy around, and I'm sure that I wasn't leading to nearly as much success for this company as some of my friends were. I only worked in this job for about a month, but at the end of that month, I was not quite as heartbroken leaving the position as I thought I would be. I just assumed that I would be fine doing any kind of job at that point in my life, no matter what it was, but looking back, that's a little silly to think about.

    We are all built of completely different stuff, of different dreams and goals that we wish to achieve. You need proof? Look no farther than all of the incredible athletes competing in Paris at the Olympics right now. Games don't get any more hardcore than that! These people have trained their entire lives to compete in these different events against other people who have trained their entire lives as well. It's not like I could just go up and decide that I would do the Discus Throw when I've never done it before, and then expect to win the gold medal for it! We're not all going to be Olympians, friends. That's not a bad thing, it's just a thing. The world is made up of people of all interests and strengths, and only by all working together, do we get the incredible world that we all live in.

    We have the capacity to do just about anything that we want, but it takes courage and time to figure out exactly what that thing is. To get to the language of gaming once again, there are so many types of games out there that it's unlikely that there's nothing that will catch your attention in particular. To take it one step further though, it's okay if you don't like every kind of game out there. I am not a big fan of most Turn-Based RPGs or Open-World games, but I could play a 3D Platformer forever and never get tired of it. It's hard to find that thing that makes you want to keep doing it, for sure. I'm still on the hunt myself, but what I'm doing right now in this season of my life is really making me happy, and I'm definitely on the right track. My question for you today, friends, is, "What's the game that you most enjoy?" There are so many tasks for you to do and different paths to walk down, there's bound to be something for you, but remember, it's always okay to like what you like. Ultimately you are the one in charge of your fate and what you want to "play" here. It won't serve anyone if you don't listen to your own thoughts about how you feel about a certain concept. You can't always have a say in what you're doing, that's a fact, but as long as you are taking some time to discover something that you enjoy, like finding a side mode in a game that you're not crazy about, you'll always find something that you'll enjoy though, as long as you take the time to find something that you love doing.

    I'll go ahead and wrap this post up here, before I start rambling too much. You're doing great, friends, I have no doubt. If things are hard for you right now, just know that I'm rooting for you and praying for a new, better day to come soon for you. Sometimes it will come to you in the least expected ways, and from the most unlikely places! It's not easy to find the place where you fit best, or the game that you like the most, but once you find it, you'll find that it's so incredibly worth it.

    Thanks for reading this, friends! What is your favorite game? Is it a video game, A board game, or something else? I would love to hear from you as I prepare for my talk next month. Thank you so much for all of the support and kind words that I've received over the years, and I hope that you're all doing well. Until next time, this is Jonathan, a Self-Proclaimed Dreamer, and I hope you'll have a great week! Talk to you soon, and don't forget to always look for the bright spots where you fit best.