"What Every Parent Needs to Know about Video Games" - Richard Abanes

Richard Abanes attempts to familiarize parents and so called “antigamers” with the video games that are so captivating their children on an unsettling scale. This is definitely not a book against video games. Richard Abanes himself seems highly dazzled by this fantasy world. On the one hand, he has played many of these games and knows what he's talking about, and also is an intelligent man with seemingly good judgment. However, there are segments of this book that bother me personally. Chiefly this one particular paragraph on page 49, which I would desire to quote:

“A major problem seems to be that most of the politicians and antigaming pundits have never actually played a video game for any significant period of time – let alone experienced the thrill of mastering the increasingly difficult levels of a game or joining an online multiplayer match with other from all over the world. This ignorance of electronic entertainment in general, not to mention specific details, helps no one. In fact, it actually harms fruitful dialogue and confuses the issue.”

Now, assuming video games are highly addictive, which I hold are, what if we replaced a few of Abanes' words with others?:

“A major problem seems to be that most of the politicians and anti-narcotic experts have never actually taken drugs for any abusive purpose – let alone experienced the thrill of a dopamine high. This ignorance of narcotics in general, not to mention specific kinds and effects, helps no one. In fact, it actually harms fruitful dialogue and confuses the issue.”

No one could ever make a statement like this and be held in respect. Or a similar statement concerning alcohol. One needs only have a single friend addicted, to know the extreme danger they pose. I am not opposed to alcohol or drugs – as long as they aren't abused. The thing is, nobody says, “he/she is abusing video games.” I don't agree that people need to experience the thrill of any addictive thing in order to know the evils of it. I know what its like to have your whole world revolve around video games. And seriously, its fun.
When I think of the times in my life I've thought of nothing else except the next roller coaster I want to build or how many more Egyptian farms I need before I can build a temple, or how many levels I need to train my pokemon up to defeat the next gym leader, its a happy place in my memory. The excitement and gladness of when I finished my school and could finally turn on the computer was exhilarating. However, thinking of how that was seriously the only thing I wanted to do, is saddening. I didn't want to hang out with people or go outside or read or make anything, all I wanted to do was play my game. I didn't care if someone in my family was really upset and there was something I could do about it. I didn't care that I needed to eat or go to the bathroom; I didn't care that people starve to death every day or how many babies get aborted, or how history and science have played out and brought this country to where it is today. I didn't care that every single person in the world is broken or how vital prayer is. Most desolate of all, I didn't care about God, my beloved Father in heaven. All I cared about was my virtual apartment building and how it needed another elevator. Honestly, though, they never made me complete, which I'm extremely thankful of. All those games got old after a while and God made sure of that, that they would never satisfy me completely – so I'd seek Him out.
I don't think video games are saturated with sin or the essence of evil, but I do know the power they have to suck people's time, thoughts, and energies away from anything that matters.
I want to know, are they actually worth it?

cause this is life

"life that I never knew existed,
so simplistic
that many missed it
cause this is life"

but sometimes I wonder how much life is out there waiting for me, but I ignore it. A veil comes in the way and I think I'm living, when maybe I'm just going halvezies. Maybe others look on and see how much more life I'd have if not for this veil I've accepted. But veils are nice, so its not a veil. Its something else.

"do you think these are the best years of my life? Cause they rock, but I just kind of hope that I'll still have better ones."
"No... I think you're pretty determined to enjoy life"

well that's true.

"And I'm counting the steps to the door of your heart"

maybe a little random, but that's a big part of my life right now.
Is it part of the life - damper? Maybe.
Maybe my life would be fuller...
Brighter...
And the joy more clearer
if that part was gone.

HAHAHA! what a joke!

My World Called Fantasy

hello. My name is Faithful. My name is Bold. My name is "Great Spiritual Potential". These are my name. My given name. My taken name, however, is Zeke. Zeke is cool. Zeke is a winner. Zeke is accepted. People call me Faithful, but that's just because they don't understand my world.
When I was young, I would watch my brother play his games. There was nothing better than that. Nothing at all. I would get so involved with racing down the forest road or fighting baddies that I would forget everything around me. I'd dodge that tree, podrace past Anakin, slash that monster, do a triple jump off the wall and right in the middle of blasting enemy turtle to smithereens I'd rudely get interrupted by people's laughter. My world of valour and strength and winning would fade away and I'd realize I was dancing around, which is the joke, apparently.
Faithful is the joke, apparently.
Nevermind that, Zeke is in the middle of a quest. run, slash, side jump, slash, block, back flip, dodge, run, escape, laughter.....ehhh dont these people get it? There are more important things than Faithful's excited dance! How can you laugh when that WarLord almost chopped my head off!?
Now Im getting yelled at. My older brother is frusterated. He's going to make me leave. Maybe I'll leave for a little bit and then come back when he's defeated this boss. yeah, that's what I'll....DODGE! PUNCH!
"FAITHFUL!!!" oh, right, Im going I'm going.
there, Im hidden behind the doorway, now I can defeat the boss in peace.
"FAITHFUL!" whaaat!??! Dont you get it!? This is level 100! This is Ultimate! How can you not see the gravity of this situation!?
3,
4,
5 years later things are still the same. Except totally not the same, because mom changed the rules from half an hour of computer a day to an hour. If I push it and turn the sound down I can play for up to 3 hours sometimes! Plus, there are about a billion new games since then. Like Supreme Commander. Its like M.A.X but not turn based. MUCH better. I just built an aircraft plant. Its building 8 scout planes and then Im going to tell it to build 5 bomber planes. I'm sending my vehicles into the enemy base as soon as the scout planes are built. I think its up in the top right corner, but I can't send any vehicles there because Im surrounded by water. Oh shoot! Here come's the yellow enemy! Send out the tanks! send out the tanks! Ahh! enemy airplanes! good thing I build all these artillery! Suddenly my world gets turned off and I have to go eat. pssh, eat. In Supreme commander you dont have to eat. You have to harvest mettle and build mettle extractors, but food is out of the picture. Food is out of the picture in many games. Most actually. Except Zelda, Pokemon, Harvest Moon, The Sims, Mario, games like that. Zeke can just quickly drink some moo moo milk and get on with finding Rupies and buying the Goron Sword. hoooboy, Goron Sword, Its about a billion times better than the Master Sword, cause its just so big!!
"Faithful! eat!"
oh yeah. eat. bleagh, this tastes bad.
"Faithful, mom made this food for you! be Thankful!"
oops, did I say that out loud? ohwell. I wonder what Cherry Berries taste like! Pikachu has had about 3 of them. I have to remember to find one for Ditto. Oh! I have an egg in the Pokemart! I'll go get it out right now!
"Faithful, where are you going? We're doing devotions!"
quick, make an excuse, um.... I have to go to the bathroom.
"We're not done!"
great, bad one. Now Dad thinks Im stupid. Probly the whole family does. I probly am... Not when it comes to my world though! How are they interested in this mundane life when there's a whole other world to explore!? If only mom let us play Teen games. Total Annihilation should not be rated teen! Its totally unfair! All there is is some explosions of robots in space! She lets us play Red Alert where blood spurts out of people when they die, so why wont she let us play Total Annihilation?? That's what I call stupid.
*next morning*
gah, I have to get up already? I stayed up too late playing Mario & Luigi SuperStar Saga. Hopefully mom doesn't find out or she'll take it away. I'll get up and go to school and pretend I'm not tired, then I can play however much I want to later.
I wonder if I'll get made fun of on the bus if I play Pokemon Ruby?
How I hate school. I say hi to the bus driver and everyone snickers. I ask what someone would do if a big fat slug suddenly asked them why there's a fly in their soup (that happened in one of my books heehee!) but I get laughed at. I think its a perfectly legitimate question.
The teacher talks about factories and it reminds me of the one Gordon Korman book. haha! that's a good one! The factory in that book makes a thousand different things that are completely useless on their own, but completely necessary for the thing they're made for. Like zipper teeth.
*various scoffing and snickering noises*
well, I thought it was interesting. These people think Im weird. I am I guess. I dont fit in anywhere. This is stupid, I want to go home. I like home. And the Library. That's weird to most people. Faithful is weird, though, so its okay to act weird.
That's why I like Zeke, cause when Im Zeke, I'm defeating baddies and gaining levels and the online gamers want me on their team. Or they want to challenge me. Zeke comes on the scene and everyone's intimidated! Gamers like Zeke, cause Zeke is a good gamer. People dont like Faithful, though. He's rude and likes the library. The Library has fast internet.
I guess the Library is my favorite place besides home. I think I'll tell my family that. They'll like to hear it. Moreover, I'd like to tell them.
~at home~
home is my favorite place and the library is my second favorite place.
"..The library? okaaaaay that's a little weird."
eh, maybe home isn't my favorite place after all. At least I can avoid people here. I'm going to get a glass of milk and go to my room. I don't like to avoid them all the time. But they dont understand anything about Mario or Pokemon or Homeworld or anything. Wow, are they missing out! Mario can jump up the equivalent of 80 stories! I just wall hop all the way up there. Then there's the Klomp at the top, gotta remember to avoid him.
"Faithful, what are you doing?"
ummmm.......not much.
"Are you on the computer?"
how long can I avoid this question and keep playing?
"FAITHFUL!"
ummmm......no. wow! I made it all the way up! Zeke just conquered 80 stories people!
"Are you on the Nintendo?"
wow! I gotta tell my brother this! he'll love it! Zeke rules!!
"FAITHFUL!"
NO IM ON THE WII OKAY!?
"well have you done your homework?"
woah! dodge that flame! land on the platform! dodge the next flame!
"FAITHFUL!??!"
daah, NO! I"M NOT! punch em! pound em!
"GET OFF OF THERE AND DO YOUR SCHOOL!"
gaaah, Im almost done this level! I'll say okay, then they'll get less mad for a bit.
ok.
"YOU'RE GETTING LOW GRADES BECAUSE YOU SPEND ALL YOUR TIME ON THAT STUPID GAME!"
that is so not true, why would I spend all my time on Mario when Pokemon Platinum is sitting around in my room just waiting for me?
on the other hand, if I do homework I can go on the Internet and gain a few levels in Maple Story.
"FAITHFUL!"
yeah yeah yeah! Im going! Just gimme a minute!
"NOW!!!"
oh great, here comes the yell fest. They are just so annoying! How would they feel if I constantly pestered them during the hardest level of Mario? gah, they wouldn't understand anyway. They can't see the charm of it all. I dont even fit in with my own family. Im going to go be Zeke and beat some baddies so my online gamer friends will want me on their team.

Gentle and Quiet spirit?

I THINK I FINALLY KNOW WHAT THE HECK A GENTLE AND QUIET SPIRIT IS!!!!

K, so, first of all, Christian girls are marked by two things (well actually we're marked by more than two things, but two of them are...) :

their spirit is gentle,
and their spirit is quiet.

A gentle and quiet spirit is marked by three things:

Service,
Care,
and Encouragement.

If a girl is walking around serving people, caring for people, and encouraging people, she has a gentle and quiet spirit, no doubt in my mind.
And if a girl is walking around with a gentle and quiet spirit, she has a relationship with God, no doubt in my mind.

But none of this is possible without humbleness.
Humbleness is Key. (no doubt in my mind)

my insides.

Today my insides look like an empty park bench.
Its spring, which is happy, and the bench faces a river that's thawing, but still a bit icy.
There are Willow Trees with new leaves growing.
There's some wind, but the bench can't feel it.
The bench wants to walk on the water. But she knows she'll break through the ice. So she sits and waits for next winter.
She doesn't mind, the sun is shining on her and the leaves are starting to grow. This all makes her want to cry though, cause she can't feel the wind. She wants it to not only blow around her and between the planks of wood which make her up, but to permeate the very core of everything she is. But she just can't feel it.
the river is her tears, but she doesn't know why.
its not salty.
just cold, but she doesn't know why.
Maybe if she could stop looking at the river and feel the wind, she wouldn't mind not being able to figure out everything.
or figure out anything.
She is a park bench right?
or is she a department store bench?
or is she a bench for homeless people to sleep on in the daytime?
Why won't the wind just tell her?
She feels like, ashamed cause she's not a bench for homeless people.
But actually, she really just wants it to be
right
to just be a park bench in the sun by the river with the willow leaves growing.

1 John 3: 17-18

If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God's love? It disappears. And you made it disappear.

My dear children, let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love.

A story about a teacher

Once upon a time there was a teacher.
He was an incredible teacher. Very much good. He received a request one day to go and teach at the village of people. He went.
The people at the village of people had never learned anything their whole entire life. Nevertheless, they were very smart. Very quick, just not learned. They needed to get out in the world, and they asked this very good teacher to teach them all they need to know. So he did. He taught them history and mathematics and english and science. Even grammar and geography. And he taught them well.
But there were a few in the class who started to get distracted. In fact, there were a lot. They listened randomly and at their own whims, but mostly just daydreamed about nothing all day. Day after day. The teacher new this was happening, and he tried to make them listen. They were silly not to listen, because he wasn't even boring.
week after week, month after month, and their daydreaming just got worse. Basically, by the end of the school year, they had learned next to nothing except that they were very good at not listening. This didn't really bother them; they didn't care.
And then came exam time.
They received their study papers, and lists of books to study with, and were send home for a week to study. But they didn't, because it was boring, and because distraction was so very attractive.
exam day came, and they all flunked. None measured up to the standard. It was easy stuff like king henry the eighth, and multiplication, but they knew nothing because they had not listened.
Afterwards when they all received an F, they were angry.
They lined up outside his office and one by one each resident of the village complained and blamed, and each left crying.
Then a certain man of the village, gifted with leadership skills, made a speech:
"should we stand for this?? we are unable to take this test and pass. It is unfair for the teacher to expect us to take this! He can't do it! We refuse to feel guilty! He is causing us to be too hard on ourselves and each other. We want freedom! We all know this test is much too hard for us. It is impossible and unrealistic to even think we can achieve this! Freedom!"
and the Teacher heard every word.
And just before they decided to get rid of Him, He departed from that country.
To this day they think they ran Him out.
To this day they blame Him for their own stupidness.

And they cannot enter the world, because they don't measure up.