What's up y'all, it's Curious Mike here, man today I just wanted to holler at y'all, I actually wanted to get something off my chest and have a moment of honesty with everybody man, like for me like Curious Mike was always supposed to be a channel that like encouraged open dialogue and encouraged people to talk about things that they may not feel comfortable talking about in another space, you know I wanted to open that lane for people of opposing opinions and opposing sides could speak on something and I could open up and also just create a judgment free zone, I know that's pretty impossible in 2025 for people not to judge but that was kind of the goal, I wanted it to be a real talk and a real channel and just authentic and so that's a little bit about what this video is about, I'm probably going to be rambling a little bit just because I got a couple things I want to get off my chest, but hopefully I'm able to do it in an articular way I mean I've been making these vlogs, you know what I mean, I've been doing these vlogs the last couple weeks and it's been super fun, it's been a hobby for me, but it's just a hobby, it's not real life, it's not what this channel is about it's showing you guys a glimpse into my life, it's showing you guys a glimpse into my life, some experiences that I have, but it's not always telling of the actual truth and the truth is like I've been feeling far from God lately this has spanned for the past two, three years where I just haven't felt like my relationship with God is where it needs to be at, it hasn't been the sole priority in my life and for the last multiple years I've been feeling like I've been going through cycles, good weeks with God, bad weeks with God, good months with God, bad months with God and it's a continual cycle of, you know, doing well and then not doing well and I know that's everybody and I know that's a lot of Christians walk with God because we have this constant pull of the flesh to gratify the flesh and that can come in all sorts of forms, you know, everybody has different vices, everybody has different things that they struggle with um, that can go from people that struggle with alcohol, people that struggle with drugs, you know, my brother for example struggled with gambling um, my vice has always come in the form of women and when I'm far from God and like I'm not in my word, I'm not praying, I'm not prioritizing Him, like that seems to be the place that the devil gets me is in the space of women um, and I know that's a lot of people in my shoes, you know, I know it's um, a lot of, a lot of people in my lifestyle or whatever that's something that, uh, comes up a lot but I've never viewed that as okay, I don't think objectifying women, I don't think being with women all the time and, and sleeping around and doing stuff like that is cool and I haven't necessarily been doing that but nevertheless, like women has always been my vice, right, um I got two younger brothers that are married, I got two older sisters that are married I'm the only one that's not married and I feel like God kind of gives you what you're prepared to handle and so far in my life, like a good woman like, I don't think I'm ready to handle that because I'm all over the place sometimes I'm, I'm good and sometimes I'm, I'm not, you know what I mean and I feel like this, this cycle of being good with God and bad with God has, um, poured over into me not being able to really lock in and be living the Christian walk in that area of my life um, my brother Jonte, he never seemed to struggle with that, that vice, you know I never struggled with the gambling addiction I never, I never struggled with that vice God gave me a lot of money because maybe he figured I could handle it and not, you know, lose myself in that area and maybe Jonte, he wasn't blessed with tons of money because he, he struggled with that area of the idolization of money, you know I have not been blessed with a wife because maybe I am not prepared to handle that because of my struggles so I wanted to get that off my chest first of all then I wanted to talk about a little bit about, you know the past couple, couple basketball seasons I just haven't haven't been locked in on my, on my faith with God and that walk with God and so um, this, this, the beginning of this off season I went out to Costa Rica by myself, I brought Nicodemus out there but we were, you know, completely separated the entire trip for the most part, you know, I gave him my phone for four or five days and I was completely off my phone, right and it was a time for me to like reflect on my life, connect, reconnect with God and just have that time away from your devices because these things right here can be the devil, you know what I mean, like he can get to us through these devices right here, so sometimes reconnecting is important, I even came to the conclusion during that time in Costa Rica that I need to be, um, taking a day like they did back in the day for the Sabbath, I need to take a day where I'm removing myself from my devices and reconnect with God, reconnect in my relationships and really you know, prioritize those things but sometimes we get sucked so, so deep into our, our phones, pause and uh, yeah that can be damaging for us, so out there in Costa Rica I put all that away, I focused on my relationship with God and I read this book right, it was by Tony Evans and it was um, the power of the names of the Holy Spirit, that was the name of the book and it talked about how important the Holy Spirit is in our lives if we want to walk out the Christian walk and move how we're supposed to move and that we can't do it on our own, like our flesh is too weak to live a life pleasing of God if we are not filled with his spirit, you know, we can't just wake up and go about our day and think that we're just gonna bear fruit, you know, it's impossible, um, I realize that the way that you become filled with the Holy Spirit is in the way you live a life pleasing to the Holy Spirit, which then activates more power of the Holy Spirit but the main thing is to be filled with the Holy Spirit, you have to abide, you have to abide in Scripture, you have to abide with God, you have to set apart time in your day to walk with Him and that's what I've struggled with, sometimes I wake up and I go straight to the gym and work out and I miss that time to, um, like tune my instrument before the concert is the way I like to put it, you don't tune your instrument at the end of the day after the day is over, you know, you gotta, you gotta tune your instrument, which is your, you know, your Holy Spirit, you gotta tune it before the day and then you can go about your day and you'll probably have enough strength to make the right decisions and, and do all that man, I'm like, I'm like nervous talking about this, but, um, so, that's what I learned out there in, uh, Costa Rica was that I need to abide with God, with the Holy Spirit, that comes in the form of spending time in Scripture, spending time, um, in prayer, spending time and meditation with God and that is what I've struggled with and that is what I want to create the habit of doing, right?

So, really I wanted to get on here and be honest with y'all, like, I struggle just like everybody else and I think it's important that we keep it real in life in general because everybody struggles and you don't know what part of your story is going to inspire somebody that they'll be able to relate to, like, bro, these vlogs are cool that I'm doing but, like, these watches, they don't mean a thing, the jewelry that I be wearing sometimes, it doesn't mean a thing, you cannot take that with you to heaven, you know, like, we need to be concerned about, um, uh, storing up treasure in heaven, like, who cares about these earthly things if you can't take them with you, like, they're dope, they're a cool hobby, shooting those vlogs, showing y'all what I'm doing, the trips I'm going on, that's cool, but at the end of the day, man, that's, that's so temporary, it doesn't bring fulfillment.

I've bought so many watches and they make me happy for two days, you know what I mean? But then so many people might watch the video and be like, yo, if I could just live his lifestyle, if I could just do what he's doing, if I could just, you know, have a million dollars, if I could whatever, life would be perfect, like, that's not the case.

A lot of people who have the most in life are the most unhappy, like, that's a known statistical fact. The suicide rate is, it gets crazier and crazier the higher up, um, the pyramid you go and I think part of that is just because you keep chasing, like, something that you think will fulfill you, only to find out that it won't.

And if you don't have a relationship with God and you haven't experienced that intimacy with God and experiencing how you're, how peaceful your life is, how fulfilled you are, how, um, free you are when you're prioritizing him, you'll never, you'll never really understand what I'm talking about, but if you have, you know that, like, all these earthly things, these earthly accolades, like, they don't amount to anything at the end of the day.

And so, like, as I keep doing these vlogs and keep showing you all my life, I really wanted to get that off my chest that, like, I have not been, like, the man that I want to be for the, for really forever, you know. I've never had that consistency where I'm just, you know, locked in on my walk with God and just progressing my spiritual walk and everything else has been secondary.

Like, I've always, like everybody, chased and idolized earthly things, but at the end of the day, they don't satisfy and they don't, um, they don't get you into heaven. You know what I mean? Like, we could be worried our whole lives about getting rich and then we could die tomorrow.

We could be worried our whole lives about being successful and then die tomorrow. So, what does it amount to? You know, nothing. Like, who knows when Jesus is coming back? You know, who knows when all of this is, is going to be a wrap? We don't know. There's so many, so many crazy signs, so many, um, you know, things going on in 2025, so many natural disasters, so much crazy stuff, like, that we really don't know when the time is going to come where all of this that we're, we're striving towards and we're caring about is going to come to an end.

So, really, this video is just to relate to y'all and, like, be honest with y'all about where I'm at. Um, you know, I know it's hard, like, living my lifestyle and being around the things I'm around. There's very few people who are able to be around the things I'm around on a daily basis and then be sold out for God just because there's so much temptation, man.

There's so much access, so much availability, and there's a lot of alone time. Um, and it's just tough, but everybody has their, their issues. But I've noticed that if you can spend that time with God that day, he will give you enough strength for that day to walk in a life that he wants.

He won't give you enough strength for the next day. It's like the manna in the Bible. He gave them enough manna for that day. After that day's manna was up, they couldn't collect more for the following days. You know, they had to go back out the next day and get some new manna.

Um, so that's a, that's a takeaway. And another takeaway is like, even God needed rest. He worked for six days and rested on that seventh day. We need to do the same. Like, we can't be going about our lives every single day, just hustling, trying to climb, climb, climb, and, uh, stay connected to God and stay prioritizing God.

No, you need a day where you are just try to put your phone down as much as you can try to reconnect with yourself, reconnect with God, spend some time reading, spend some time, um, worshiping. And, uh, I think it'll take us a lot further than this hustle mentality that we have here in the Western culture.

So, man, that's a little bit about what I've been thinking about. Um, was there anything else in my notes? Um, oh yeah, I got this verse tatted on me, right? It says, I am the vine. You are the branches. Remain in me and I, in you, and you will bear much fruit.

But apart from me, you can do nothing. Apart from God, we can do nothing. Like we can, we can accomplish a couple worldly things and we might make a little money, but we can't walk in our purpose. We can't fulfill what God wants for us. We can do nothing without God.

We need to prioritize him ideally at the beginning of the day, you know, and that is what I am going to try to do moving forward. Now y'all get to hear a little bit about where I'm at. Y'all get to encourage me. Hopefully this encourages somebody else. Um, I'm going to be doing little videos like this on this channel as well.

I'm going to continue to do the vlogs. Um, I'm going to continue to do interviews with people, but I'm also just going to get on here and chop it up and talk a little bit about what I've been going through or, um, yeah, stuff like that. So I know I was rambling a little bit.

Hopefully somebody got some encouragement from this video And Curious Mike out, y'all. Bye.