Happy new year! It’s a brand new year that God has given us, and I am more than excited to experience and get through another chapter of my life. 2018 for me was not a bad year, instead, one where I saw a lot of work accomplished. They were mostly personal, but that’s why I enjoy this column because I can write a little about myself so my readers can know me better.

To start off, I didn’t get to play as many games as I wanted to. My backlog got bigger and I missed out on the initial hype train that a lot of the games of the year rode. For example, I still don’t own Spider Man, but I have Horizon Zero Dawn and God of War yet haven’t played them. Red Dead Redemption 2 got me hooked and I believe I’m 30 hours into that but the fact is that I don’t have the time I used to when I was younger to play. I don’t go to bed late as I wake up at 6am to be at work by 8am, and having your own home and being married has a lot of responsibilities even though my wife is the most amazing in the world!

I also did not write as much as I would have liked on this blog, though I did get to organize myself a little at the end of the year. I am part of several groups on Discord (which you can check out here), and am getting more involved in them so I can be part of these communities. I was going to start my own, but I knew I wouldn’t have the commitment to keep up with it so I decided to just be a part of others that already have healthy ones. Why re-create the wheel?

Another idea that I will be trying this year is podcasting, but not my own podcast just yet. It might happen, but I’m not 100% sure. I want to start recording some of my articles but via audio and add some commentary. Those can become podcasts, or just as a guest on a few here and there. I will keep you all updated on how that goes and repost anything that gets published elsewhere.

On the personal side of my life, our home has been fixed up as we had several things like a leak, some broken outlets, backyard fence needed fixing from rotten wood, and other minor issues that needed attention. We bought plane tickets to travel to Rome, Italy next year so I’m super pumped for that! We’ve never been to Europe, and I’ve studied about the Romans in school and on my own so it’s a dream come true to go. The tickets were real cheap by the way, I recommend downloading an app called Hopper and it helps you find the best airline tickets in advance. My job as a teacher has been stable and I continue to grow and learn in that position, and our side business is flourishing as well.

Spiritually it’s been a season of changes, for the good. Every year I feel more confident in my relationship with God, as I spent time with Him in prayer, reading Christian books and the bible to learn more and just be a servant as best I can. My wife and I have been going to a women’s half-way house to minister to the ladies there. What happens is, my wife gives a lesson on a topic from the Bible that they can apply, then we pray for them and we see God move. Prophetic words were given, words of knowledge, and the presence of God just shows up and touches those ladies in a tangible way. It’s beautiful and they are seeking after God and want to change their past habits. Let’s just say, they each have an intense story to share that break your heart as to how cold and cruel the world can be, and what happens when we don’t make the right decisions.

My goals for this blog and anything gaming related are below:

• Publish at least one post a week on this blog, or every two weeks the latest. I want to be more diligent and to open this platform to other bloggers as well.
• Get some audio files together of my articles and publish them on podcasts, or on my own. Either way, I want them out there!
• Finish my book that is long overdue! I have most of it complete but I need to polish it, add more content and get a back/front cover. It will be done on Amazon Kindle and paperback so you will be able to order it. I compiled some of my best articles, edited them, added extra content and made it neat. Can’t wait to complete this.
• I hope to continue to write for Beneath The Tangles as I have over the years. It’s a wonderful ministry that I hope you check out, and if you would like to be a Patreon you can as well.

Let me know your goals for 2019 below. What ideas would you have for my blog, or what could I fix/improve? I’m not shy from criticism, as long as it’s respectful. God bless and hope you are trusting God for a better year than the last one, and you have your eyes set on His will and plans.

Proverbs 16:9
The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.