Read Me
Welcome
If this is your first visit to my online journal (blog), welcome! If you have been here before and this is your first time reading this entry or you are reading it again, welcome back! The purpose of this entry is to introduce you to what this site is and hopefully add some clarity to it's true purpose.
Behind the Curtain
I can be viewed as a thinker. And in many ways, I am actually an over thinker...hehehe (Side note, you'll see me say hehehe, HAHAHA, or LOL quite a bit in this journal...I literally make those sounds or expressions in real life. So I make it a part of my writer's voice here as well.) I naturally have a curious mind. I attempt to analyze most things to better understand my world. I'm quite often trying to figure things out. Beginning in 2024, I wanted to document the seemingly randomness of what I think about and how I think about most things. So, I was thinking... is a look behind the curtain of a curious mind. My mind. The thoughts and feelings written on these pages are mine, and mine alone.
Depending on how much you read through my journal, you may come across contradictory concepts or statements. That's okay. This can be considered a living site. Each time I write, I'm expressing my thoughts and feelings in the moment. I could write about the same topic multiple times and have new insight each time. Something I think or feel today may in fact be so different than how I thought or felt in the past that what I say today can be the complete opposite of what I said yesterday. I am human. I am growing. I am a work in progress...making progress.
A Work in Progress
I sometimes refer to my life in terms of software releases. In that case, there have been about 7 or 8 different versions of the software known as Greg...hehehe Each version of myself has been built on top of a previous version. From time to time, I'll start from scratch. But not really. Even when I do a reset on my source code, I'm still building new versions of myself on top of the concepts that formed who I am up to that point.
But I suppose the point I'm trying to make is, I'm not finished yet. God has been working in and through my life, my entire life. That will never stop. I am evolving into the person God wants me to be. Who I am today is not who I will be tomorrow. So I encourage you to read my journal from that point of view. I would encourage you to not challenge what I say when I say it. Rather, be just as curious as I am and ask questions for clarification. That's what I'm doing as I write. I'm being curious, not judgemental.
Making Progress
Sometimes it feels as thought I'm living a one step forward, two steps back momentum. I deal with setbacks just like anyone else. One day, I may seem super positive in something I've written. The next day, I could be incredibly hard on myself and go down a darker path. As I'll state many times, that's okay!
The thing I'm focusing on, and I hope you do as well, is the fact that I am making progress in this life. Although I'll sometimes refer to past pain or trauma, be rest assured that I am not stuck in my past. I keep moving forward. It could be that I'm taking that one step forward and two steps back some days. But on other days, I'm sprinting ahead hundreds of steps.
Who Am I?
I am Greg Marine, and I like warm hugs! (A silly reference to my favorite Disney character, Olaf from the Frozen franchise.)
A concept I've adopted, and often share with other people through encouragement, is that I am not what I have or what I do. I have sadness, depression, anxiety, physical ailments, and I'm sometimes very weak. But those are all things I have. I am not those things. I am a software engineer by trade, I write, I paint, I take photographs, and I sing. Again, I am not those things. They are all simply things that I do.
Who I am can be defined through my relationship with God. Simply put, I am a child of God. Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. On December 24, 1998, I asked the Holy Spirit to enter into my life. I do not always represent this well, but that is who and what I am.
God and His name are Holy, set above and apart from all other things. I ask that He helps me have a Kingdom focus so that His good and perfect Will are done in and through me here on earth as it is being done in Heaven. God provides my daily provisions of food and drink to sustain me physically through the day. As well as prayer and His Word to sustain me both spiritually and mentally through the day. I ask His forgiveness for my sins as I forgive others, letting go of both the wrong and resentment. He not only leads me away from temptation, but He delivers me from evil. For His is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory, forever (Matthew 6:9-13).
God calls me to love Him with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. He also calls me to love you and everyone as I love myself (Mark 12:29-31). This is what defines who Greg is. Everything else? Well, those are just the details...LOL
Thank You
Since you are reading this, you are showing interest in knowing and understanding me. For that, I sincerely thank you. I hope we can learn so many wonderful things along our journeys. And I truly appreciate you joining me on mine. Each chapter of the book that makes up the story of my life has been a page turner so far. And each season has played its role in bringing me to this point here today.
Again, welcome and thank you!