What has Bill been up to?

Let me start by saying that I'm a very busy man. In fact, I'm so busy that even as I write this there are at least 300 other things I could be doing...but I will continue despite the odds working against me.

As many of you know, I am a father. My son, Judah, was born on May 18th. Despite the fact that he is still an infant and really doesn't do too much more than eat, sleep, cry, and poop...I'm loving every minute of it! The wife and I have a family youtube page, and we've posted a couple of videos of Judah if you're interested. Click here to check it out.

Becoming a father has been a big adjustment on a couple of levels. In addition to the fact that there is a tiny human who needs his parents to take care of him constantly, my wife is now a stay at home mom. Before Judah was born, her and I worked together every day doing media for the camp where we work. Now, I am the only media person here...and it's summer time. That means that I don't get to see her as much because there is much more to do at my job.

My job is awesome. I am very blessed to have it. I get to use the gifts that God gave me to serve Him! I'm also learning a lot. In fact, everyday I learn that I knew less than I thought I did the day before. I graduated college with a degree in "video production" and when I started here I thought that would be the main thing I'd be doing. But I was wrong. In fact, video is probably one of my lowest priorities here. My job includes many other responsibilities. I am now very capable in photography, graphic design, print media, marketing, web maintenance, and web design. I even have live television experience now! Basically I am getting to the point where I can do almost anything media. I haven't arrived yet, but I'm definitely a lot closer than I was a year ago.



Work keeps me busy during the day, and my video hobby keeps me busy at night. On the nights where I don't meet with my small group (usually we meet two-three times per week), I have been editing wedding videos. I have not even advertised once, and I have already done 4 weddings and I will be doing a 5th wedding next week. Who knows, maybe this will become a full-time business someday.

And last but not least, my relationship with God, my understanding of God, and my desire to glorify Him have grown immensely. The same thing that I said above regarding life in general also applies to knowing God- the more I learn about God the more I discover that I don't know as much as I thought I did. That is the best part of knowing the Creator- He is infinitely glorious, and once you know about His glory, you know that it is the only thing that is worth pursuing in this life, and that it is the only thing that makes eternity so worth looking forward to.

Thanks for reading. I'll have more time at the end of the summer to post videos and things. In fact, I already have a few edited on my computer and the list of great ideas is growing longer and longer! Peace out!

-Billgrip

P.S. I mentioned that I'm improving in the area of photography...here's a video I threw together of some pictures I took of fireworks the other night. I hope you enjoy! =]

The story behind the PWN The NOOBS Music Video

One week ago I released what is probably my personal favorite of all the videos I've ever made. It has also been very successful in terms of views for a Billgrip video- getting around 4,000 in its first week. Most people who have watched the video have liked it, and I think that those who didn't like it just didn't understand it. I don't consider myself to be a rapper, nor do I consider myself to be good at online video games anymore...although there definitely was a day when I used to PWN those NOOBs regularly :).

Go back to the Spring of 2008. This project started as an inside joke that basically involved me and my friends making fun of "hardcore gamers" who care way too much about PWNING NOOBS. I wrote the lyrics and everyone thought it was hilarious, but we didn't know anyone who could make the music. Then came fall of 2008- I became good friends with Logan Lukow. He was actually pursuing a degree in recording, plus he had been in a band for a few years, and he was really good at video games. Basically the perfect man for the job. So we started working on it, but with school and my upcoming wedding, the project moved slowly. However, by early spring of 2009 we had recorded everyone's parts and we were ready to film.

This video was originally supposed to be the next video after Lag in Real Life. We had two Canon HV20's to use for the project, but both broke in the same week! Before we could get the cameras fixed, Lindsay and I moved away from Hastings to work at a summer camp, and the project had to be put on hold until later.

Summer came and went, and fall came and went. But during that time Logan kept on working on the song. Every time I listened to it, the song seemed to get more awesome. All that time the video was still in the back of my mind, and I kept getting more and more ideas on how to make the video awesome. We were supposed to film it around Christmas time 2009, but a freak blizzard came and made filming impossible. However, that gave us even more time to make it better. Finally this spring everything came together and we were able to film it. The only thing that didn't work out as I had hoped was that my friends Micah and Truman couldn't be there, but that's okay because everyone did a great job and the final video turned out great! We have finally accomplished a 2 year project. It was definitely a good feeling to get this video done.

I learned a lot by doing this whole project and every other video I do now seems a whole lot easier. There will probably be a day when another Billgrip video comes along that out-does this one, but that might be a while. I plan on writing a blog post soon all about the process of making this video, so look forward to that!

-Billgrip

Why I Make Youtube Videos

Why do I make youtube videos? This post is pretty long, so I divided it up a bit to make the reading easier. I hope this post gives a clear definition of who I am and how youtube videos fit in with who I am.

Why so clean?

Our media today is very saturated with immorality. Don't believe me? Turn on the TV for 5 minutes, look at the top videos on youtube for the day. I guarantee there are many things that dishonor God in those two things alone. Entertainment has the potential to be clean, family friendly, and still enjoyable for everyone. Don't believe me? Check out Balloonshop. Those guys never put anything bad in their videos, and look at how much you laugh. I get comments all the time from people who say "Wow! People who are funny without swearing! I didn't think that was possible!" In a sense, channels like mine and balloonshop are the edgiest channels on youtube. Everyone tries to push the line now-a-days. We are different because we intentionally go where no one else goes- G rated clean comedy. Very few channels like this exist on youtube today, but I vow to be one of them. But is that all there is to it? No.

More than entertainment.

I want people to know that I am a Christian. Many claim to be Christian because it's the easy thing to do in America. But my Christianity is so much more than that. It defines who I am. It has utterly changed my life. It gives me purpose. The Bible tells Christians to do all things through Christ. All things. That means everything from doing good to others, to the things we do every single day, to our hobbies. I know that following Jesus won't make me popular. But that's okay. In this world of no absolutes, I have found Truth. And I know that Truth is worth holding onto despite what I may lose because of it.

On youtube, I must also take a hit because of my faith. Many of the top people on youtube do not care much about God or what will happen to them when they die (we will all die at some point, don't forget this!). They want fame, they want money. How do many of them attract viewers? With edginess. This edginess often comes in the form of swearing, sexual innuendos, sexually explicit thumbnails. Whatever they can do to get viewers is all that matters because the 15 minutes of fame that they have found through youtube gives them a meaning and a purpose.

My moral guidelines on youtube.

So all that being said, if my purpose on youtube isn't to get rich or famous, then what is it? How can I combine my Christian life with my youtube page. These are my personal guidelines for making youtube videos.

1) Do not dishonor God in my videos. This is the umbrella rule, it is the overriding principle that I live by on youtube. It effects all my other rules.

2) Never swear in videos. I realize that adding a swear word in at just the right time can be a huge help in comedy. And in the eyes of most, my videos would become more interesting if we threw in some swear words. But I refuse to do that because I do not want to dishonor my God.

3) No sexual content. I must admit that there were a few times in the past where a hint of an innuendo slipped in here and there if you are watching closely and thinking along those lines, and over time as I have grown in my faith, this has become unacceptable. That is why I removed the milkshake music video. That entire song was an innuendo.

Those are the three most important guidelines that I follow, and as long I focus on guideline number 1, the rest fall into place. God has given each of us abilities and I thank Him for that. If my ability is to make videos, then I know that he takes enjoyment in what I am doing if I do it in a way that honors him. To God I give the glory.

What I believe:

Earlier I mentioned that I am willing to take a hit for the fact that I believe in Jesus. Perhaps some of you are interested in what I believe, and I would love to share that with you! I believe that humans are sinful by nature, this is seen true in small children. No one has to teach them how to lie, they just do it. Not everyone is a murderer or a rapist, but most people hate someone, or have had lustful thoughts, and Jesus says that those are sins that share equal consequences in the eyes of God. You see God is perfect and just, and therefore there are consequences for not meeting up to his standard of perfection. God is the eternal judge, the ultimate authority. If you told a lie to a child, the child may cry. If you told that same lie to your best friend, you may not be friends anymore. If you told that same lie to a judge, you could be thrown into prison. So as the authority goes up, so does the consequences. God is eternal, He was there in the beginning, and He will be there in the end. Therefore, consequences from God are eternal.

Think of it as a court-room, and God is the judge. If you were in court with a huge speeding fine, one that was far too overwhelming for you to even begin to pay, and if you stood before the judge and said, "Judge, I cannot pay this fine. I'm very sorry for speeding, please let me go." and would the judge say, "Well okay, if you are sorry I guess I won't make you pay the fine"? What kind of a judge would that be!? No, the judge would require payment for the law that you broke or you would be thrown in prison until you could pay the fine.

Fortunately for us, God is also merciful, and He knew that we humans could not reach his righteous requirements. So that is why he sent Jesus, who was both man and God, so that Jesus could live a perfect life and die in our place. Thinking back to the courtroom, the judge demands payment. Now imagine that someone came in and said "Here is the amount that this person owes." And he paid your fine for you! You would be very thankful to that person, and I highly doubt you would speed again. Jesus is that man, he paid the fine for us. All we must do is trust in him as the only solution to the sin that you will be required face God for someday. Jesus promises that if you put your full trust in him, he will change your life, and this problem of not measuring up to God's standards will diminish.

I'm not just sharing this message with you because I am obligated to as a Christian, I am sharing it with you because I deeply care about you, and I want to see you in heaven someday. It's easy to get distracted by all the things we think are important here on earth. But think of the day you will die. You must face your own mortality! That day will come, and it could be today. Then school, your parents, youtube, money, and whatever else you care about will not matter anymore. All that will matter is if you know Jesus Christ.

I can tell you firsthand that this is TRUTH. Jesus has changed my life. Will you let him change yours?

Thank you for reading that, please comment if you have any questions, or e-mail me. Peace out! God bless!

-Billgrip

What I've Learned from one year of Marriage

So you're thinking about getting married?

On average, one out of every two marriages in America fail. No one seems to take the vow "till death do we part" seriously...maybe it should be changed to "till difficult times do we part." That would be more accurate. Not that everyone who divorces is without excuse- some are victims of abuse and affairs, but rarely do people try to fix a broken marriage anymore. This isn't how it is supposed to be. The idea of marriage is to find someone to be with for the rest of your life- someone to share a life with, someone who completes you, someone you want to raise children with and grow old with.

As of today I have been married for 438 days. I am confident I have found the right person, just as confident as I was when I asked her to marry me. And I am also confident that I love her more today than I did that day, even though I loved her a lot then! If I told in detail about what I've learned through one year of marriage, I could probably write an entire book. But for this, I will hit a few things that really stand out to me. Let's get real.

1) Get in touch with reality. Many of us formulate our opinions about love, marriage, and happiness by what media tells us. According to movies, lose your virginity as soon as you think you are in love because sex will make your life perfect. Movies don't show the long-term and incredibly fulfilling value of saving yourself for your wedding night, for the ONE person you will spend the rest of your life with. The "fairy-tale" ending that so many movies show usually suggest marriage is some sort of never-ending bliss where you can eat your favorite ice-cream every day while riding on a unicorn. Although I am VERY HAPPY, I will be the first to admit that there are bumps in the road, which brings me to my next point.

2) You are going to face conflict. Perhaps your relationship has been peachy keen to this point. But don't forget, it's easy to always be at your best when you are only together for a few hours on a date. In marriage, you will see each other at your worst. If you are trying to mask anything about yourself while you are dating, it will come out in marriage...and if it doesn't then you aren't really giving yourself to your spouse 100%. I love being married, but there are those days where I'm not too thrilled about the way things are going. There are many sources of conflict within a marriage, number 1 being selfishness.

3) Let go of your pride. If you haven't learned to admit when you are wrong, then you better be a quick learner. Why did you agree to marry each other in the first place? Because you love each other, duh. But what does it mean to really love each other? It means being selfless, it means putting your spouse above yourself in all things. When conflict comes up, it's very easy to forget why you love each other and act very selfishly. In most situations, you are likely both at fault in one way or another. Step back, take a deep breath, and think about how you are wrong rather than how your spouse is wrong. Selfishness is huge, but there are still other reasons conflict will arise.

4) You are two very different people. As if the differences between men and women aren't enough already, you have to remember that you both grew up very differently and think differently about almost everything. For instance, Lindsay thinks the way I make oatmeal is ridiculous and we actually got in a fight about it once. C'mon, it's just oatmeal! Who cares if I make it "glue-like" as she calls it. Another example: to me, biting fingernails is a detestable habit. But Lindsay bites her nails all the time without thinking about it, so I try to help her stop, but I have to get over the fact that she still may bite them regardless of my efforts.

5) Responsibility, what's that? I must admit that I have had a hard time letting go of the "bachelor" that I once was. I definitely enjoyed pwning noobs and wasting my money on eating out or ordering pizza because I was too lazy to cook my own meals. Life was pretty fun then, but now I must lay much of that aside, not that life can't still be fun, it is just that my responsibilities are different. I highly recommend getting a budget and a financial plan before you are married and learn to be responsible with your money, because that is probably the first thing you'll have to get figured out once you do get married or you'll find yourself in all sorts of unnecessary debt. I also had to give up a lot of my bro time, part of that is because I moved away, but even if we all lived in the same area, there would still be nights where I need to stay home with my wife. I could go more into this responsibility issue, but there are many more aspects to it.

Looking back at all that I just wrote, I realize I gave you a lot of the perceived "negative" truths about marriage. Trust me, I could write a blog 10 times this long about the things I love about marriage, and maybe I'll do that sometime. But my best advice to you who are considering marriage at this point is that you come into it with a realistic point of view- that you may be best prepared when times get tough. Honestly, getting married is second only to my salvation as the best thing that has ever happened to me. God brought me together with a woman who is perfect for me, and I am convinced that God created us for each other. And despite our joy with each other, our goal is ultimately to honor God in our marriage and in our individual lives. If you keep that foundation in your own life and in your marriage, Jesus says that it is like building your house on a rock that won't be washed away when the storms come. Above all else, build your life and your marriage on the Rock!

-Billgrip

Attack of the Evil Bed Bugs!!!!

"Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite!"

You may have heard that cliche phrase many times before and never thought anything of it. You may even think that "bed bugs" are just an old-wives tale or some legend. Recently Lindsay and I discovered that bed bugs are real, and they SUCK.

Cimex Lectularius (A.K.A. bed bugs) are parasitic and nocturnal, meaning they suck your blood and they only come out at night. Bascially a vampire in bug form. They live in temperate climates and are known to get particularly bad in people's houses during winter time, when it is cold outside and warm inside. Generally, Bed Bugs will live in mattresses due to the warmth, and due to the fact that their host (you) sleeps there. Once you have them, they don't go away, they only get worse because they like making babies. Generally an adult bed bug will get no bigger than one tenth of an inch, making them difficult to spot. If left unchecked, eventually you will have an entire colony of bed bugs living happily inside your mattress just waiting for you to lay your head down so they can come out and gorge on it. That's where Lindsay and I were at.

It took us a while to face the fact that we had bed bugs. We would wake up in the morning kind of itchy and have red spots that were bites. It was obvious, but something about bed bugs and their putridity makes you not want to admit to yourself that you have a problem. But eventually, we could see the little buggers crawling on the bed when we took the sheets off. It was sick! The last 5 nights before we got a new bed Lindsay spent the night on the couch in the living room, and I slept on the floor next to the couch.

Getting rid of bed bugs is not easy. But it has to be done, and believe me, it's well worth it. Here's the steps to getting rid of bed bugs (in my experience).

1) Throw your bed away.
2) Bug bomb...it won't necessarily kill them, but definitely doesn't hurt. We used five bug bombs!
2a) After bug-bombing, you'll have to let your house air out and wash all your dishes.
3) Wash all your clothes. Everything. The water and soap from the wash and the heat of the dryer WILL kill them.
4) Deep clean the carpet in the infested room
5) Clean anything else you feel like cleaning, it won't hurt.
6) Bring in your new bed, and sleep well!

It took an entire day to get that list done, but it was well worth it. An interesting strategy post bed bug annihilation is to put the legs of your bed in glass jars, apparently they can't climb up glass. We didn't do that, but its just an idea.

Here's to hoping we never get bed bugs again, and if you have bed bugs, may God have mercy on your soul.

-Bill,
http://www.twitter.com/billgrip
http://www.youtube.com/billgrip

Parenthood reminds me of a Roller Coaster...so far

I don't know about you, but I'm afraid of heights. Something about being off the ground high enough that I could fall to my death just doesn't appeal to me. Maybe I'm crazy. However, despite all that, I have ridden a few roller coasters in my life, I can probably count them on one hand...nonetheless, I have ridden roller coasters. With a baby boy on the way, I realized that there are a lot of similarities between what is about to happen in my life and what happens when I ride a roller coaster.

When I walk up to ride a roller coaster, I have to tell myself "I will be okay, I won't fall to my death, I won't puke all over the guy in front of me, and I might enjoy this." By the time I'm next in line, I'm even a little excited. But then the roller coaster pulls up, the gates open, and the ride operator says, "Next!" All of the sudden all of the feelings of uncertainty that I pushed out of my mind start to come back. Uh-oh. I sit down, I pull the safety-bar over my head...click. Now I'm locked in. There's no going back. Now uncertainty really rains down. "I'm not ready for this roller coaster...I'm going to die," I think to myself. It doesn't matter though. I'm already locked in, there's no turning back. In seconds the roller coaster will be moving, I will be high above the ground screaming my diaphragm off and having no idea what's next.

Click. I'm locked into parenthood. When Lindsay and I were engaged, we made the choice that when we got married we wouldn't do anything to prevent having children. In fact, I got myself really excited to have a kid, but underneath the surface lurked a fear greater than my fear of heights. Being a parent makes all other responsibilities I've had so far in my life so far seem like a kiddie coaster. This is the Mamba that I'm locked into, this is a big scary ride full of sharp turns and death drops. As with the roller coaster, now that I'm locked in I wonder "Am I really ready for this?" The fact is that most, if not all new parents are not. Now I don't mean to sound like a scared little boy, but at the same time I cannot ignore the journey and responsibilities that I am about to embark upon as a father.

But here's the best part about roller coasters. They are a lot of fun. There will be times when I'm scared to death, there will be times when things feel completely out of control, but there will also be times of inexpressible excitement and happiness only comparable to the sensation of free-falling. At the end of the ride, I know I will have a smile on my face and I won't regret going on this roller coaster for a second.