Field Report #042

We're still rolling.

I'm close to wrapping up Day 25 of a really solid stretch with Psalms and Entertainment.

I keep working on a post summarizing the breakthrough that helped me get here, but I don't want to finish it until I hit something more obviously out-of-the-ordinary for me, like 60 days. 22 was my previous best, so we are still in the ballpark of what has been done before. Once I've really had time to flesh this out and let it go through a few more ups and downs, I will make that post.

Physical fitness has suffered as I push to finish my workspace and Psalms this summer. We will still try for a 10K under 43:30 before August 12th, but it will be off of (at best) 20 days of training at this point. 

Psalm 143 is still the hidden blade, still the key. I'm running to the Psalms all the time, and that actually means running at the problem with God at my side, instead of escaping stress altogether. 

The Psalter is the very best medicine for the soul.

Where the soul is healed, the mind is at peace.

Where the soul is healed and the mind at peace, the body takes up good action.

My Top 7 Favorite Board Games

A good board game with good people can be a blast. For this Top-7 list, I'm counting down from 7 to 1 and only including games that are played on a board. Some of the games involve building your own board to some extent, while others have a more established playing field. I've excluded games that are really more card and dice games, such as Skull and and the Catan dice game.

Enjoy!

7. Monopoly

Monopoly really works on a fundamental level. It's fun to buy properties, take risks, save up money, and rake in the big bucks through houses and hotels. A game with a good mix of luck and strategy, Monopoly has such good staying power because it's an engaging and entertaining board game.

6. Heroscape

Heroscape would have taken the top spot on my list for a long time, and it still remains one of my favorite games. It's incredible cool to have total freedom in literally building a physical battlefield, and then fighting on it with beautifully painted and well-thought-out characters. This discontinued game didn't have the staying power financially, but retains a significant following among geeks everywhere.

5. Pandemic

One of the new era of 21st century games, Pandemic set the standard for cooperative gaming, just as Catan (coming soon) set the standard for "Euro games". Pandemic is extremely engaging and challenging (at least for me), with a fun premise executed beautifully. It's satisfying to try to find the most efficient moves, and see swathes of cubes wiped off the board, just as it's terrifying to see a double outbreak shatter your best-laid plans.

4. Chess

The oldest, the purest, and the most challenging. There's a reason that millions of people still play, learn, and study chess worldwide. This is one of those rare games where the element of chance is all but removed, and two minds must strain against one another on an equal playing field. I would probably rank it higher if I was any good at it.

3. Parks

Here's one you may not have heard of, but absolutely should try out. This game brings together fun and engaging gameplay with an absolutely beautiful artistic design, from the box itself down to each individual card. Parks spares no expense in creating a truly marvelous gameplay experience as players hike along the trail, visiting national parks, taking pictures, collecting items, and collecting resources along the way.

2. Risk

The original game of world domination. Risk is very well-known at this point, but had its beginning decades ago as a unique and unusual board game experience. The game, with some evolution, is still alive and well today, because who doesn't want to take over the world? The sense of possibility in the opening stages, the heartbreaking losses and epic victories, so many aspects of the Risk experience shine. This is a truly engrossing and classic game that evokes memories of last stands in Madagascar and pivotal battles for Venezuela. It has weaknesses in game mechanics compared to some modern games, but is still offers a fun time, every time. I always want to play Risk - the only problem is finding people who love the game as much as I do!

1. The Settlers of Catan

This one has become a modern classic. Despite the avalanche of strategic Euro games surging forward in its wake, Catan leads the way. The base game is just so fundamentally well-designed, with the resource system, changeable board, and combination of luck with layers of strategy. The expansions are excellent, with the two that I've used (Seafarers and Cities and Knights) really enriching the game and adding new strategic dimensions to keep things fresh and fun. With these two expansions, a nice big board, a compelling scenario such as discovery of new land, and 3 or 4 experienced players, no board game I've tried yet can compete. I never say no to a game of Settlers of Catan.

Field Report #041

 

Good morning!

I once made a brief devotional order called "Pocketknife". Here it is:

+ I am baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:37b, 39)

For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate…. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. (Romans 7:15, 18)

Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. (Psalm 51:9-12)

I am baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. (Psalm 32:5)

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:4) 

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3)

+ I am baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The idea was to repeat this set of passages and words throughout the day, and thereby keep my heart and mind steadfast on the Word of God and his commands.

It was a good and well-founded idea in theory, but ineffective in practice. I had almost no interest in pulling out this paper and reading through the various passage snippets after just a day or two of trying.

But now I've found something that actually works for me: taking a single Psalm that I need to hear and pray, and using it as my "hidden blade" against the devil throughout the day. I won't get too deep into it yet because I am so early in using this method, but I hope to write about it more fully after it has really run the gauntlet of a few weeks' use. But with 6 days down and counting, it has been stunningly effective.

My Hidden Blade is Psalm 143.