Friday, December 31, 2021

A Good Day to Start a New Beginning

One good thing about New Years is that it marks a new beginning. But really, every new day could be a new beginning. We can start over basically any time we decide to. Repentance makes it possible to start a new beginning at any time. So, while New Years is a good time to have a new beginning, any other time would be just as good. We don't need to wait until New Years to start a new beginning. Every day is a new day.

Thursday, December 30, 2021

Just Be a Good Person

I think I worry too much. I just saw a Facebook post that says "Just be a good person. Love who you can, help where you can, give what you can," and I think I really needed to read that. God is good, and he wants us to be good. That's just about it. Through the power of the Atonement, missteps and wrongdoings can be forgiven, and through personal revelation, God can give me the guidance I need when I need it. Perhaps I don't need to stress about specifics and details as much as I do. All we ultimately need to do is be good and trust God to make sure it all works out. I'm confident that God we make sure that those who have done good in life will have a good afterlife, and I don't really need any more specific details than that. I just need to be a good person. If I can do that, I'm pretty sure everything will work out well enough.

Wednesday, December 29, 2021

Listening for the Voice of the Lord

Tonight, for family scripture study, we listened to a General Conference talk in which Elder Neil L. Andersen mentioned hearing the voice of the Lord through His servants. That got me thinking about how we can hear the voice of the Lord through other people and things as well. That's basically the function of parables and the analogies I've shared on my blog. If we look and listen carefully, we can find important truths and messages from God just about anywhere. We can hear the voice of the Lord through His servants, of course, but we can also hear it in the conversations we have with each other, perhaps in the shows and movies we watch, easily in nature, and with some creativity in just about any place else. All of reality echoes with the truths God wants to teach us. If we listen carefully, we can hear the voice of the Lord through just about anything.

Tuesday, December 28, 2021

Back as a Dungeon Master

After the last D&D campaign I ran ended, I took a brief break from being a Dungeon Master and had some fun in a pair of brief games, the most recent of which recently ended, which means that I am now the DM again.And you know what? It feels pretty good. It was nice to take a break from DMing, but breaks both can't and shouldn't last forever. Frankly, I feel like this break lasted a little too long, so I may be a bit rusty. But now I'm back in action, and it feels good. I'm looking forward to planning games and running encounters again. Sure, it'll take some work, but I feel plenty refreshed and more than ready to take up the mantle of Dungeon Master again.

This was a good break, and it's important to take breaks when we need to, but the purpose of breaks is to refresh us so that we can work well when we get back to work. I hope to DM this next campaign at least as well as the last one, and I hope to help each player at the table have fun every week.

Being a DM can be exhausting, and I'm glad I took a break, but now I'm glad that that break is over, because I feel ready to come back as Dungeon Master.

Monday, December 27, 2021

Communication Across Distance

One thing I love about technology, or the internet more specifically, is that it allows people to connect with each other, even over great distances. No matter where a person is on Earth, as long as they have an internet connection, they can connect with anyone else with an internet connection, even if they're on opposite sides of the planet.

What's even more impressive is that prayer can establish communication across even greater distances. I'm not sure where God is, physically, but no matter how far away we are from God, physically or spiritually, we can still connect with God through prayer. Granted, the greater the distance is, the harder it is to communicate with God, but it's never impossible. We can always reach out to our Heavenly Father through prayer.

I'm grateful that we can always communicate with God, across any amount of distance. It's comforting to know that we never have to be or feel alone and that we can always ask God for help and answers. God can feel distant at times, but it's great to know that we can always communicate with God, across any distance.

Sunday, December 26, 2021

The Gift of Love

I don't know if it was actually said in church today, but one of the messages I picked up from church today is that one of the best ways to celebrate the birth of Christ is to develop Christlike love. God loves us, and He wants us to love each other. In the spirit of Christmas, we should try to show love for those whom we love and extend that love to as many people as possible. As God loves us, we should try to share that love with others as well, especially since loving others is a good way to show love for God. The best way to worship Christ is to follow His example, and the example He set was all about showing Christlike love.

Saturday, December 25, 2021

A Challenging, Cooperative Game

My family and I are currently playing a challenging cooperative game. In this game, the players work together to try to accomplish objectives, despite the difficulty of the game and the whims of luck. This game is a lot like life, in that we're all trying to help each other, despite the difficulties of life. I like this kind of game, where communication and cooperation are the key to winning, as they are in life. I love that life is a cooperative game, and that, despite its difficulties, we can win if we work together.

Friday, December 24, 2021

Faith in Faith

I don't know whether it's redundant or ironic, but I have faith in the power of faith. Faith can be a powerful motivator, a source of inspiration and encouragement, a reflection of our aspirations, and even a cause of healing. Faith can be powerful, and I feel like I would like more of that power in my life. Of course, I'd rather not merely take things on faith. I'd like answers to my questions. But until I get them, I can still have faith, even if only in the power of having faith.

Thursday, December 23, 2021

Imperfect Gifts and Gatherings

I am comforted by the fact that things don't have to be perfect. Things that are "good enough" can indeed be good enough. Our presents and parties don't have to be perfect, and neither do we, at least, not yet. While we should continually strive for improvement, we don't need to be upset at ourselves for not being perfect or for not being able to make things perfect.

My gifts for my family may not be the fanciest, most exciting, or most presentable, but I'm sure they'll be appreciated, regardless. And though our gatherings won't be perfect, either, the point is to spend time together. It's okay if the gatherings aren't special; the family connection still will be.

This time of year, people tend to worry more than they really need to, but I think it's more important to spend quality time with family than it is to try to make sure things are perfect. Things will never be completely perfect, at least not in this life. It's far more important to express love for our families and pend time with them, however imperfectly.

Our holiday season won't be perfect, but as long as we spend it well, it'll be good enough.

Wednesday, December 22, 2021

Good to Believe

Facebook just reminded me that, five years ago, I shared the following image.

In case the image breaks later, it says, "I still believe in Santa Claus. He may not be the one that puts the presents under the tree, but his spirit works through us each time we give freely without expectation and each time we spread joy, love, and light."

I find this quote pretty inspiring, and it helps me to see the good that belief in Santa Claus can do. It's the spirit of Christmas, and as long as it inspires goodness, generosity, kindness, and compassion, then belief in Santa Claus is a good thing, even if it is technically a lie. As Moroni 7:13 says, "But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God."

I fully believe that the ideas behind Santa Claus were inspired by God and that it's a good thing to believe in him. It is good to be good, and anything that inspires people to be good is probably good, too.

Tuesday, December 21, 2021

An Honest Opinion

This afternoon, I had to update my resume and write a cover letter, bragging about my skills, abilities, and qualifications. I've always had trouble with situations like these. I don't like bragging about myself, partly because I don't want to be prideful, and partly because I have low self-esteem. Yet, bragging or not, there are some positive claims I can make about myself. I can, of course, share objective truths, including those that refer to my qualifications and experience. I can also share my honest opinion about myself and my abilities, evaluating myself the way I would evaluate anyone else.

It's difficult for me to sing my own praises, but I can try to be honest about what I've done, what I've learned, and what I can do. I don't like to brag, but I can share my honest opinions.

Monday, December 20, 2021

Why Hell Exists

I think I've figured out why Hell exists and why God seems to lie about it. According to most of Christendom (and probably many other religions, for that matter), there is a place called Hell, a place of eternal suffering, fire and brimstone, where the wicked are tortured for eternity. According to the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, it doesn't quite work like that. In our teachings, there are two or three places that could be considered analogous to "Hell," even though none of them really matches the traditional version of Hell.

One of those places is Spirit Prison, which is where wicked spirits go before their resurrection and final judgement. Yet, it's not quite the same as the traditional depiction of Hell. I don't know how much suffering happens in Spirit Prison, but I do know that it's temporary. Everyone who enters Spirit Prison will ultimately be let out, be resurrected, and face Final Judgement, where they'll be sent somewhere else.

One potential final destination, and the second possible "Hell"ish location, is the Telestial Kingdom, which is the final destination of murderers, rapists, and other unrepentantly horrible people. This is where most evil people will spend the rest of eternity. Yet, it's not really "hellish" at all. In fact, we've been told that the Telestial Kingdom is even nicer than the world we live in now.

The one place that comes closest to Hell in our theology, in my opinion, is Outer Darkness, a place of no light and no glory, where the unforgivable live out the rest of eternity as far from the presence of God as a creature can get. I don't know whether there's fire and brimstone in this place, but I know that it won't have a lot of people. Specifically, I know of only two people who will (or have been) sent there: Judas Iscariot and Cain, who murdered Abel. Other than a sparse handful of people who sinned against a perfect knowledge of their sin, Outer Darkness is reserved for Lucifer himself and the angels who followed him. It is the worst place a person can, theoretically, end up, but it's not the place where most bad people will go.

So, if no place in existence matches the traditional depiction of hell, why does the image of hell exist? Why are we warned about the risk of ending up in a place that doesn't actually exist?

My guess is that God is employing the Spaghetti Method. To test whether a spaghetti noodle is cooked enough, some people will fling a cooked noodle at the wall and see if it sticks. If it sticks, the spaghetti is done. Hence comes the idea of figuratively throwing every idea at a figurative wall to see what "sticks." Only, in God's case, He's not dealing with a single spaghetti noodle or a single wall. He's dealing with all mankind and every idea that can be invented. My guess is that God throws so many ideas at the wall, including the (empty) threat of (a nonexistent) hell, not because He hopes that some of them will stick, but because He knows that all of them will.

People are different, and different people are motivated by different things. Some people are tempted by the allure of heaven, so God promises them heaven. Some people are scared of the prospect of hell, so God threatens them with hell. Some people will only worship the God who is the greatest, so He claims to be omnipotent. Some people will only worship a God that they can bond with, so He lets us call Him "Father." By offering people many different ways and reasons to come to Him, God ensures that there's a path and motivation for everyone, including those who are only motivated by their desire to stay out of Hell. God offers different ideas to different people, so He can be whatever each person needs Him to be.

And who knows? Maybe most of it is mostly true. There are places of at least temporary suffering. There are places where the wicked are sent to face Eternal Damnation (even though that doesn't mean what most people think it means). There are places and conditions that can be described as Hell. Similarly, God, our creator and thus our "Father," is functionally, mostly omnipotent, and between the various degrees of the Three Kingdoms of Glory, there's probably a Heaven for just about everybody. Almost all religions have at least some truth to them, if we allow for some creative interpretations of actual truths. The traditional depiction of Hell may be an exaggeration, but it's close enough to various truths to not be a total fabrication, and even if it was completely made up, it was probably made up by people misinterpreting the Word of God. We can't blame God for people misinterpreting what He said, blowing it out of proportion, and adding fictitious details. We can't blame God for the untruths and exaggerations that some churches teach in His name. Even if Hell is a lie that people tell each other, that doesn't mean that God Himself ever lied about it.

There are many teachings, some of which contradict each other, or at least seem to, and many of them exist because that's what people need to hear. Some people need for comforting promise of heaven to give them something to reach for. Some people need the threat of hell to put some fire under their feet. God and others offer people various teachings in order to motivate them to do what they should. As long as people hunger for different carrots and avoid different sticks, there will be different teachings for different people. So, maybe that's why the idea of hell exists. True or not, the concept of hell can be motivating, and some people need the threat of hell or the promise of heaven or some specific idea of God in order to motivate them to go in the right direction.

Sunday, December 19, 2021

Responsible for the Influence

As we studied The Family: A Proclamation to the World, we learned that parents are responsible for how the raise their children, but I think that that principle extends farther than that. Everyone who has an influence on others have a responsibility for that influence. Parents, coaches, and teachers are responsible for the influence they have on their children. Political and religious leaders are responsible for the influence they have on their followers. Friends and siblings are responsible for the influence they have on each other. Anyone who has an influence on anyone is responsible for the influence they have. So, insofar as we influence others, we are responsible to be a good influence on them, so let's all try to have a good influence on others and to help encourage them to be better, happier people, rather than the reverse. We may not be responsible for other's actions, but are are responsible for the influence we have on them.

Saturday, December 18, 2021

Stoic Serenity

Most of us have heard of the Serenity Prayer: "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference." Stoic philosophy teaches a similar principle. Some things are in our control, and other things are not, and we must learn to accept the fact that some things are out of our control, and we should learn to let those things go. We aren't responsible for the things we can't control, so we should try to accept the fact that things are the way they are and instead focus our efforts into doing what we can.

It's not helpful to worry about things we can't control, so we should practice stoicism and serenity by learning to let those things go.

Friday, December 17, 2021

The Power of Devotion

In Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Princess Zelda tried to unlock the magical power she was born with by praying at various shrines throughout the kingdom, but what actually awakens her power is the need to use it to protect someone she cares about. Ultimately, I think what truly unlocked her power was devotion. It could have been awakened through her devotion to her kingdom or her goddess, but it was ultimately awakened by her devotion to her closest friend.

Similarly, we can also unlock great power through devotion. Our devotion to God, our families, our countries, or even to ideals, can motivate and empower us to do greater things than we could otherwise have done. It may be that faith leads to miracles partly because our devotion to God can inspire us to do miraculous things.

We not not be able to manifest magical powers like Zelda did, but if we care about someone or something enough, we still do great things, motivated through the power of devotion.

Hierarchy of Needs

I let today get away from me. It took me longer than I expected to do the handful of things I needed to get done today, and I basically forgot to blog in the meantime. Then, in the evening, things kept piling up, so I had neither the time nor the energy to blog. I still barely have the energy to type coherent thoughts. I should go to bed soon. People need rest, and I actually promised someone that I'd get a decent amount of sleep tonight. I'd better get on that.

A guy named Maslow came up with a hierarchy of needs, with physiological needs near the bottom and more spiritual needs at the top. He argued that we need to satisfy our lower needs before we can build on them and address our higher needs. If our physical needs aren't being met, then we cannot meet our spiritual needs. Now, I don't know if that's true or not, but I do know that, right now, I have a physical need to get some sleep.

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

Old Habits Die Hard

The say that odd habits die hard. I think that's true. In fact, I'm not sure that old habits normally just "die out." Many old habits don't die unless we deliberately kill them, and even then, doing so might be a challenge. Case in point, it is currently 11:34 as I'm writing this. Specifically, it's 11:34 PM, just before midnight, not just before noon. Naturally, I'm going to continue to try to blog earlier, but I already know that some days are going to be better than others, and on other days, my old habits are going to get the best of me. Hopefully, my good days will gradually grow to outnumber my bad days until I kick this bad habit for good. With enough persistence and diligence, I can outlast this old habit and finally kill it off.

Tuesday, December 14, 2021

As Much Help As Needed

In my Business class, we learned about several management styles, including a management style that's really multiple styles rolled into one. This style assesses the abilities and needs of the team and then employs a style ranging from Directing to Coaching to Supporting to Delegating, depending on how much guidance and support the team members need. The idea is to give the team members as much direction as they need while giving them as much freedom and responsibility as they can handle.

This, I believe, is a good way to managed leadership responsibilities and the management of team members. Different people need different amounts of help with various aspects of their lives and at different times. Personally, I like it when I feel like I'm being given the amount of help that I need. I like getting the support I need, and I like it when I and others are confident that I can be trusted to work well, even with less direction. Sometimes, I need more help with certain things, and sometimes I can do better with less. It's all about finding the right balance and adjusting that balance as needed.

I should learn to do the same with my work. I'm a writing tutor, and some of my students need more assistance and/or support than others. I should adjust my tutoring method to fit my students, just as I hope my leaders (including God) adjust their methods for me.

We all need different amounts of help in different areas at different times. The best leaders provide their people with whatever amount of help they need.

Monday, December 13, 2021

Self-Mastery

In Disney's Aladdin, the titular beggar becomes the owner/master of a powerful, wish-granting genie, only to realize that he wasn't sure what to wish for. When Aladdin asked the genie what he would wish for, the genie ultimately answered, "Freedom. ...To be my own master. Such a thing would be greater than all the magic and all the treasures in all the world."

I completely agree with the genie. Being one's own master, gaining that level of self-mastery, is not only inherently desirable, but also spiritually essential. We need to gain mastery over ourselves, or our own habits or outside influences will become our masters instead. I want to gain self-mastery, and to that end, I am working to overcome undesired habits (like waiting too long to blog each day) and regulating others' influence over me.

Granted, we can't do away with habits altogether, as we are creatures of habit, and it would be unwise to never allow anyone to influence us, as it is wise to at least consider their advice, but we can still decide which habits we develop and which we break and which advisors we heed and which we disregard. That way, we become our own masters by choosing which habits we maintain and what advice we follow. Our habits and outside forces may try to influence us, but the final decision is ours.

Our habits and other people will try to master us, but ultimately, we must learn to master ourselves.

Sunday, December 12, 2021

Anonymous Gifts

When we give gifts, we almost always label them. The box or tag almost always states both the giver and receiver of the gift. Yet, there are rare, special occasions when a gift can be given anonymously, and even rarer occasions when the recipient can be anonymous as well.

I think that occasions like those are special, because the giver knows not whom they're helping except that they're helping a child of God, and the receiver has no one but God to thank for the gift. 

Both giving and recieving anonymously are special opportunities to experience the love of God. Giving anonymously shows Godly love in that we show love for any/all of God's children. And recieving an anonymous gift helps remind us that all our blessings ultimately come from God, even if they come through others.

If you get a chance, I encourage you to give an anonymous gift this year, if you haven't already. It's good to know that you've shown love for someone, even and especially if neither you nor those you bless know who each other are.

Saturday, December 11, 2021

Only Two Hands

My brother and I went for a walk today, and on our way back, we picked up litter. We would have picked up more, as there was plenty of litter to pick up, but we each only had two hands to carry it.

So it goes with most of life. There is only so much each of us can do. As such, all we can really do is do what we can and leave the rest to others and to God. My brother and I picked up a few pieces of litter today, maybe some people will pick up a few more, and so on. If enough of us do what we can, we can get the work done, no matter how little we can each do on our own.

My brother and I each have only two hands, and there are limits to what we can do, but if enough people lend their hands to the work that needs to be done, having two hands each will be enough.

Friday, December 10, 2021

The Spirit of the Rule

It's late. I'm late. But I've had good reasons. I had work this morning that went into the afternoon, and then I had other plans that took up my afternoon and into the evening. Now, it's late into the evening, and I have yet to blog. But I am slightly comforted in the knowledge that I am currently blogging about as early as I could have. The letter of the rule to blog earlier has been violated, but the spirit of the rule has not. I'll count that as a win.

In moral cases (though perhaps not in legal cases), the spirit of a rule matters much more than the letter. Granted, it is far better to obey both the letter and the spirit of the rule, but writing a thoughtful blog post as early as possible at 10:50 pm is probably better than wasting a whole morning doing nothing, typing out a quick blog post at 11:50 am, and squeaking it out just before noon.

Of course, I will try to follow both the letter and the spirit of the rule, but if I had to choose between doing one or the other, I hope I would choose the spirit.

Thursday, December 9, 2021

Absolutely (Mostly) True

I think I need to stop getting hung up on precise wording. The Thirteenth Article of our Faith says, in part, that we "believe all things," which obviously isn't true. There are "things" (including principles, doctrines, and teachings, especially those of other faiths) that we don't believe. To say that "we believe all things" is so untrue that I wonder if there's context that the Thirteenth Article of Faith leaves out. Paul couldn't have meant that Christians do or should believe everything they hear or read.

Perhaps I should stop trying to take things so literally. I know that the church is supposed to be a source of absolute truth, but I find that many of the church's teachings are more generally true than absolutely true, like God being omnipotent, which is mostly true, but with a few specific exceptions. If I try to think of all of the church's teachings as being "mostly true" instead of "absolutely true," then any contradictions in the teachings of the church are merely rare exceptions to generally true statements instead of evidence that one statement or another must be false.

But the thing is, I shouldn't have to mentally add words like "most" and "usually" to statements coming from representatives of the church. They should have the diligence to include such qualifiers themselves. True, it may be necessary to oversimplify some Gospel topics so that we can understand them, but in such cases, the teachers should honestly admit that their teachings are necessarily oversimplified. If one presents an idea as being absolutely true, one should be careful to ensure that what they say is, in fact, absolutely true. Heck, even I try to only say true statements, even when I'm not claiming to be presenting the Word of God. I would hope that the Prophets and Apostles and everyone else who writes Scripture would choose their words at least a carefully as some guy with a blog.

But, given that they don't, I'll try to filter their words through a layer of qualifiers that will allow me to explain away any apparent contradictions in teachings, because the alternative is to doubt the teachers of "absolute truth" when I find out that what they're teaching is not actually absolutely true.

Wednesday, December 8, 2021

Baby Steps in the Right Direction

I remembered, on my ride back from D&D tonight, that I was supposed to blog before noon today. However, I would say that blogging at 7ish instead of near-midnight is something of a step in the right direction. And really, sometimes taking steps in the right direction is all we can ask of ourselves or others. Change takes time, and some changes take more time than others. I will change for the better, even if the change comes more slowly than I'd like. The good news is that, since we will be able to progress through the eternities, even small steps in the right direction can ultimately get us where we're going.

I've made a small improvement today. So long as this trend continues, I think I'll be okay.

Doing Assignments on Time

I have developed a bad habit of putting off blogging until late into the night. This is, as I've learned toward the beginning of this semester, not like me. When I get an assignment, I usually try to get it done as soon as possible, if only to get the task done with so I can relax and enjoy my weekend, the time when many assignments fall due. This also gives me a buffer. If something goes wrong or takes longer than I expect it to, I still have time to finish the assignment on time. At Boy Scout Camp, I heard a saying: "Early is on time, on time is late, and late is inexcusable." While I wouldn't go so far as to say that late blog posts are inexcusable, I agree that blogging earlier would be better than blogging later, if only because it would let me go to bed earlier and get more sleep.

When I started this blog, the idea was that I would blog (specifically about Conference talks, if I recall correctly) every morning. After 12pm, it's not "morning" anymore; it's literally "afternoon." I can't promise that I'll blog before noon every day from now on (and I won't promise to only blog about Conference talks), but I will promise to blog before noon tomorrow (if it is still "tomorrow" by the time I post this).

Tuesday, December 7, 2021

More Important Than Blogging

Some things are more important than blogging. Such things include showing compassion, giving service, fulfilling obligations, and getting sufficient sleep. So, I'm sorry that I didn't really blog tonight, but, if confronted with the same situation, I think I'd make the same decisions. I know that blogging is important for me, but what I did instead tonight was even more important.

Monday, December 6, 2021

Mammals Don't Lay Eggs

They say that mammals don't lay eggs, but that's not really true. There are some mammals that do, in fact, lay eggs, including echidnas and platypi. That said, most mammals don't lay eggs, and, as a general rule, "mammals don't lay eggs" is true enough that we can accept it at a general rule, even while acknowledging a few exceptions. Granted, I would personally prefer that we not over-generalize the abilities and inabilities of mammals, but I still must admit that it's true enough that, for most intents and purposes, we might as well say that mammals don't lay eggs, even if it's not strictly true. 

By the same token, they say that God is omnipotent, that there is nothing that God cannot do, but that's not completely true. Even going only by modern revelation, and discrediting all other sources as potential mistranslations  or misinterpretations, I can think of at least one thing God cannot do. He cannot create intelligence. D&C 93:29 says that "Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be." If intelligence cannot be created, then God cannot create it, and thus there is at least one thing that God cannot do, and thus, God is not truly omnipotent. That said, God is very powerful, so much so that, as a general rule, "God is omnipotent" is true enough that we can accept it as a general rule, even while acknowledging at least one exception. Granted, I would personally prefer if we stopped exaggerating the power of God by claiming complete omnipotence, but I still must admit that it's true enough that, for most intents and purposes, we might as well say that God is omnipotent, even if it's not completely true.

Saturday, December 4, 2021

Serving as a Team

This evening, I had an opportunity to help with a church Christmas dinner party. Thankfully, I wasn't the only volunteer. There was a whole team of us, and we were lucky there were, since there were many different jobs that needed doing, and we all had to work together and support each other to get our jobs done. Thankfully, I like people being part of a team. While I don't love the idea of people depending on me, I do like helping other people, including both teammates and those whom the team serves, and I sometimes like not having to do a whole project on my own. While there are sometimes benefits to working alone, working as a team is nice, too, and I'm glad I had the opportunity to do so tonight. I like serving others, and I'm glad I got an opportunity to serve on a team tonight.

Prayer Rocks

In a game I'm playing, the player character, Link, periodically prays at stone statues of the goddess Hylia for blessings from the goddess. Part of me thinks that I should do something similar. I could use a physical reminder to pray more often. Naturally, I want to avoid breaking the second of the Ten Commandments. I don't want to accidentally create, buy, or use anything that could be considered an idol. Yet, I have heard of people within our church using and advocating the use of "Prayer Rocks," which are rocks that get placed on pillows to remind someone to pray before going to bed. The rocks aren't any particular shape, and it doesn't matter whether or not you hold the rock while you prayer or not. You're not praying to the rock. You're praying to God. It's just that the rock reminds you to do so. I, perhaps, could use a rock like that.

Thursday, December 2, 2021

Not Perfect, But Good

I'm not a perfect person. Far from it. I have flaws, and I'm not consistent about striving to overcome them. But still, despite my flaws and imperfections, I believe myself to be a good person. At least, I try to be good. I try to help people rather than hurt them, and I try to be a support to others, rather than a burden. I hold myself to high standards, and while I don't always meet those standards, I almost always try. So, no, I'm not a perfect person, but I hope that I'm still good enough that I can honestly consider myself Good.

Wednesday, December 1, 2021

Rolling 1s

I play D&D with my friends once a week, and a big part of D&D is rolling dice. The dice have different numbers of sides, from the four-sided d4 to the twenty-sided d20, all with numbers ranging from 1 to whatever number of sides that die has. Typically, higher numbers are better. They represent better results on Ability Checks and Attack Rolls, and they mean greater damage and more healing. The higher numbers you roll, the better your luck was.

We rolled a lot of 1s tonight.

And yet, as the game went on, the number of 1s and other low rolls we got became fairly comical. We laughed at our characters' bad fortune, and we marveled the unlikelihood of such an impressive string of bad luck. And it helps that the bad luck ultimately didn't matter all that much. Our numbers were just barely high enough when it really mattered, and even if they weren't, it was only a game. In the long run, the bad luck we had tonight was more funny and impressively rare than it was unfortunate.

Thus it is, or can be, with life. We can learn to laugh at our own misfortune, at least after some time has passed. We can appreciate the novelty of especially bad luck. And we can choose not to get worked up about things that don't actually matter. Will getting a flat tire today or tomorrow really matter years later? Will almost anything that happens in mortality really matter millennia after we pass on? Granted, there will be a few things that matter, but only such things as are in our direct control. Our choices will matter. Our luck will not.

So, when we roll 1s and other low numbers on the dice of life, we should try not to let that upset us. Yes, the misfortune is, by definition, unfortunate, but it can also be funny, impressive, and ultimately unimportant. A few bad rolls, or even several in quick succession, cannot change our eternal  progress. As long as we keep trying to move forward, God will count that as progress, no matter what our actual results are.

Naturally, we would prefer to have better luck, but when we get back luck, we can laugh at it, marvel at it, shrug it off, and keep striving to move forward.