Just chilling today. I've pretty much got my D&D bag set up the way I want it. I'll take pics of some of the stuff later but right now the cutest doggie in the world is catnapping on my lap and I refuse to wake her.
Ive been trying to apply for a job working at the same daycare as E. I love children and especially love working with babies and toddlers. The application is on a PDF and for some reason my computer will not let me download anything! I can't even save pictures off of google! Sooo annoying! So now I'm using the iPad to see if I can't fill it out on here and email it straight to them.
I have one job, working at children's birthday parties and the like but it's the kind of job you just do because you love it...not because it pays well. Because it doesn't. So I need another job.
I went to open interviews at McDonalds...never heard back! I find it very hard to believe that I'm not qualified for McDonalds...but I also applied at other fast food establishments as well. I don't want to work fast food, but if it pays well I'll take it at this point.
The struggle is real but I'm getting there. Get a job, fix my truck, hit the road...sort of.
All things Ginger, Geek, and Jesus Freak
Monday, June 29, 2015
Sunday, June 28, 2015
More prep work!
I've done a bit more prep work this week. But first...a little gripe.
this new player (A) that joined us has been playing for about 2 years. Now he has nothing on S who has been playing for 5 or 6 years but he fancies himself an expert. Now I know you don't have to be the most experienced to be a DM and S has really been helpful as I learn 5th
edition. But A...well...
I knew I was feeling like he had a little more power than he should have. And since I'm unfamiliar with all the rules, there's no good way for me to call him on it. So yesterday S and I went to Books A Million, pulled the handbook and studied like finals were coming up. We did discover a few discrepancies but nothing that shouted AHA! He beith a false cleric! But as I understand it, if you're going to be a cleric you take on a somewhat supportive role. You stay back a bit, heal the others, offer some magical assistance. You don't cast handle animal on 3 wolves and use them as a tank leaving no fighting opportunities for anyone else...especially when there's a character that could really use healing. That little act kind of went all over me. I don't know much about handle animal so I couldn't decide if it made sense for him to adopt them, name them, and send them out into the next battle. One of the wolves died...and he healed it/brought it back to life and I just sat there like...'I don't think that's right...but I honestly have no clue!'
I'm still saving up to buy a Players Handbook and. DM guide but until then I have to treat BAM like a library reference.
I can tell this guy is a power gamer, no doubt but power gaming as a strategy and bs-Ing the noob DM to your own gain are two different things...
One other minor annoyance, this guy lent me a DM screen and then kept watching me roll to make sure I wasn't cheating. That sort of bugged me. But I digress. I bought my own DM screen. One thing I love about G2K games is they give you a little store credit for hosting games. This really helps when trying to offset the cost of game supplies.
this new player (A) that joined us has been playing for about 2 years. Now he has nothing on S who has been playing for 5 or 6 years but he fancies himself an expert. Now I know you don't have to be the most experienced to be a DM and S has really been helpful as I learn 5th
edition. But A...well...
I knew I was feeling like he had a little more power than he should have. And since I'm unfamiliar with all the rules, there's no good way for me to call him on it. So yesterday S and I went to Books A Million, pulled the handbook and studied like finals were coming up. We did discover a few discrepancies but nothing that shouted AHA! He beith a false cleric! But as I understand it, if you're going to be a cleric you take on a somewhat supportive role. You stay back a bit, heal the others, offer some magical assistance. You don't cast handle animal on 3 wolves and use them as a tank leaving no fighting opportunities for anyone else...especially when there's a character that could really use healing. That little act kind of went all over me. I don't know much about handle animal so I couldn't decide if it made sense for him to adopt them, name them, and send them out into the next battle. One of the wolves died...and he healed it/brought it back to life and I just sat there like...'I don't think that's right...but I honestly have no clue!'
I'm still saving up to buy a Players Handbook and. DM guide but until then I have to treat BAM like a library reference.
I can tell this guy is a power gamer, no doubt but power gaming as a strategy and bs-Ing the noob DM to your own gain are two different things...
One other minor annoyance, this guy lent me a DM screen and then kept watching me roll to make sure I wasn't cheating. That sort of bugged me. But I digress. I bought my own DM screen. One thing I love about G2K games is they give you a little store credit for hosting games. This really helps when trying to offset the cost of game supplies.
Drifting
I find it hard to pray sometimes. A lot of times actually. I trust God, I do. But often I find my prayers to be less humble and more whiny...there's only so many ways to say 'my life stinks' without coming across as ungrateful. Perhaps I am a bit ungrateful. I've had a lot of opportunity and time and again I've blown it. I've had great experiences and pretty cool adventures. But it's difficult to be grateful in the moments when you feel like nothing is going your way. O haven't been to church in a while and it's even harder when I don't get that encouragement from other Christians around me.
The fact is that I need to pray more and I struggle with prayer. I can spout my opinions all day but bringing my troubles to God is...well at least it feels whiny. I believe in spiritual warfare and I believe Satan uses it against Christians. I know that he doesn't want me to pray. He wants me to feel cut off from God. I desperately need to keep this in mind when I avoid praying.
Anyway, it's just something that's been bugging me.
On another note I want to do better about watching my language. Most of the time when I'm around my friends I tend to relax my internal filter and I use some words unnecessarily. Maybe I'll make a swear jar...or something to that effect...
The fact is that I need to pray more and I struggle with prayer. I can spout my opinions all day but bringing my troubles to God is...well at least it feels whiny. I believe in spiritual warfare and I believe Satan uses it against Christians. I know that he doesn't want me to pray. He wants me to feel cut off from God. I desperately need to keep this in mind when I avoid praying.
Anyway, it's just something that's been bugging me.
On another note I want to do better about watching my language. Most of the time when I'm around my friends I tend to relax my internal filter and I use some words unnecessarily. Maybe I'll make a swear jar...or something to that effect...
Friday, June 26, 2015
Week 2: I know nothing
S and I haven't seen each other in nearly two years...so we met around noon at the mall to hang out. We ate lunch, walked around and then talked while I finished the map. S has been through this campaign before but she's good enough at role play to keep her knowledge away from her character.
So it started off okay...
The PCs decide that instead of hiding their cart in order to chase a goblin's trail, they come up with a convoluted scheme that requires them to carry half their supplies. I try to steer them towards the easier solution but to no avail. Z's character Aidenn is now lugging 60lbs. worth of crowbars. So they find the trail, I use a trap to bring in the new player A.
A is definitely the closest I've gotten to meeting an expert on D&D. So I do feel like an idiot at times. He reassured me that he was the same way starting out but I can't help but feeling that he's silently judging me...I did have the problem of him watching my dice rolls like a hawk. Even though he lent me his DM screen it didn't stop him from monitoring my rolls. It was really just a bit annoying.
Oh and then S nearly died...in the first room, of the first cave, in the whole campaign. Here's what happened.
I applaud both S and Z for their desire to truly play out their personalities. Inspiration to both, no doubt! But...ahhh...
Me: The chimney is thirty feet high and narrow, you can feel the draft coming from the top.
Z: F*** it. I'm throwing a rock up the chimney...like a big rock.
Me: Roll a strength check. >.<
So basically both he and S throw some rocks up the chimney alerting the bugbear in the room above. The bugbear sends his minion goblins around the RIGHT way and E and A have to deal with them. The bugbear peers down the chimney and calls out who goes there and guess who answers? You got it. In true character S is proclaiming her dwarven heritage all the way up her ancestral tree. Good on her! But that's not enough.
By now I'm kind of freaking out. S is going to die if she...
S: Can we shoot an arrow up the chimney with a rope attached?
Z: Omg yeah!
Me: Omg are you...? Sigh...roll a D20...
Z: SUCCESS!
At this point I'm plotting my revenge in order to save S from fighting the boss by herself. She climbs the rope. Bugbear be waitin at the top of that chimney. She gets ready to jump back down but the bugbear grapples her and the wolf attacks, she takes 8 damage. So she's down to 2hp. Z doesn't catch her, I roll. 2 damage. She's dying...but not dead. A is able to heal her but I think she's enjoying her character almost as much as E is. Z is also loving the role play part as proven by his antics in the chimney.
But I really need to educate myself on the rules. Cause I'm really feeling the OP on A's character but I can't prove that he shouldn't be able to already heal at will whenever. And what the hell is a cantrip in D&D? So much more studying so little time.
So it started off okay...
The PCs decide that instead of hiding their cart in order to chase a goblin's trail, they come up with a convoluted scheme that requires them to carry half their supplies. I try to steer them towards the easier solution but to no avail. Z's character Aidenn is now lugging 60lbs. worth of crowbars. So they find the trail, I use a trap to bring in the new player A.
A is definitely the closest I've gotten to meeting an expert on D&D. So I do feel like an idiot at times. He reassured me that he was the same way starting out but I can't help but feeling that he's silently judging me...I did have the problem of him watching my dice rolls like a hawk. Even though he lent me his DM screen it didn't stop him from monitoring my rolls. It was really just a bit annoying.
Oh and then S nearly died...in the first room, of the first cave, in the whole campaign. Here's what happened.
I applaud both S and Z for their desire to truly play out their personalities. Inspiration to both, no doubt! But...ahhh...
Me: The chimney is thirty feet high and narrow, you can feel the draft coming from the top.
Z: F*** it. I'm throwing a rock up the chimney...like a big rock.
Me: Roll a strength check. >.<
So basically both he and S throw some rocks up the chimney alerting the bugbear in the room above. The bugbear sends his minion goblins around the RIGHT way and E and A have to deal with them. The bugbear peers down the chimney and calls out who goes there and guess who answers? You got it. In true character S is proclaiming her dwarven heritage all the way up her ancestral tree. Good on her! But that's not enough.
By now I'm kind of freaking out. S is going to die if she...
S: Can we shoot an arrow up the chimney with a rope attached?
Z: Omg yeah!
Me: Omg are you...? Sigh...roll a D20...
Z: SUCCESS!
At this point I'm plotting my revenge in order to save S from fighting the boss by herself. She climbs the rope. Bugbear be waitin at the top of that chimney. She gets ready to jump back down but the bugbear grapples her and the wolf attacks, she takes 8 damage. So she's down to 2hp. Z doesn't catch her, I roll. 2 damage. She's dying...but not dead. A is able to heal her but I think she's enjoying her character almost as much as E is. Z is also loving the role play part as proven by his antics in the chimney.
But I really need to educate myself on the rules. Cause I'm really feeling the OP on A's character but I can't prove that he shouldn't be able to already heal at will whenever. And what the hell is a cantrip in D&D? So much more studying so little time.
Prep Work...more like homework
So eager. So excited. The new DM doesn't have a clue.
I went to the library (still my favorite place on earth) with my campaign binder in tow, fully prepared to do some hard core game prep. Armed with my gridlined poster and a pencil and sharpie, I was ready to go!
Almost 2 hours later I am renewing my computer time again so I can finish all my tokens that I've so painstakingly put together! After another hour I finish, pro t to card stock and finally return to the table that I've effectively hidden under poster, purse, papers, and more. I sit down and decide I can punch out tokens later. This map needs to be drawn. Another hour passes and it occurs to me: I am not a cartographer...not at all. So tokens it is!
Even after spending several hours at the library I still didn't finish my map. I ended up finishing it at the mall before the meet up. The map drawing felt more like homework but only because, I believe, I was over thinking how accurate it needed to be. So note to self: Don't focus so hard on the minute details. A general idea is fine.
I went to the library (still my favorite place on earth) with my campaign binder in tow, fully prepared to do some hard core game prep. Armed with my gridlined poster and a pencil and sharpie, I was ready to go!
Almost 2 hours later I am renewing my computer time again so I can finish all my tokens that I've so painstakingly put together! After another hour I finish, pro t to card stock and finally return to the table that I've effectively hidden under poster, purse, papers, and more. I sit down and decide I can punch out tokens later. This map needs to be drawn. Another hour passes and it occurs to me: I am not a cartographer...not at all. So tokens it is!
Even after spending several hours at the library I still didn't finish my map. I ended up finishing it at the mall before the meet up. The map drawing felt more like homework but only because, I believe, I was over thinking how accurate it needed to be. So note to self: Don't focus so hard on the minute details. A general idea is fine.
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Meet The Players
E-I met E in high school and her confidence simply baffled me. More than anything I wanted that level of confidence she had. We really became friends in college though as I embraced my geek life.
S- I've known S since middle school but we never really clicked with us both being loners, yet again we both really came out of our shells in college and she became one of the bed friends I've ever had the privilege of knowing.
I- I met I in...yeah I is just not a good initial for a first person blog...so:
Z-That's better. I met Z in college and he was actually the first person to welcome me. Like the loner I'd always been I was sitting alone and for the first time in my life someone sat next to me at school. I don't think he'll ever know what that meant for me...but anyways this guy is the reason I decided to just be my own self for once. And the ginger geek was born...lol.
N- N joined us last minute. She's a friend of E's and I may have met her somewhere but I can't put my finger on it. She's really cool, loves fairies (a subject that I was deeply invested in while in high school) and just seems like and awesome chick.
A- A DM's a group at the game store as well and decided to join my group as a player. He REALLY knows the game and sometimes I feel him judging me. He's not...I don't think but I suffer from what I like to call: Trauma Induced Social Paranoia. So yeah paranoid about what people think of me. I'm hoping he will just help me understand some of the rules I'm unfamiliar with.
O-Stands for that other guy. I've met him in passing where I work but I don't really know him. He's a friend of A's and was pretty quiet as he came in later and didn't get to play much right away. I also cannot remember his name...but he played a gnome...yeah...
So that's the crew and of course me, the DM...the one with all the power...and all the work...which brings me to my next post.
S- I've known S since middle school but we never really clicked with us both being loners, yet again we both really came out of our shells in college and she became one of the bed friends I've ever had the privilege of knowing.
I- I met I in...yeah I is just not a good initial for a first person blog...so:
Z-That's better. I met Z in college and he was actually the first person to welcome me. Like the loner I'd always been I was sitting alone and for the first time in my life someone sat next to me at school. I don't think he'll ever know what that meant for me...but anyways this guy is the reason I decided to just be my own self for once. And the ginger geek was born...lol.
N- N joined us last minute. She's a friend of E's and I may have met her somewhere but I can't put my finger on it. She's really cool, loves fairies (a subject that I was deeply invested in while in high school) and just seems like and awesome chick.
A- A DM's a group at the game store as well and decided to join my group as a player. He REALLY knows the game and sometimes I feel him judging me. He's not...I don't think but I suffer from what I like to call: Trauma Induced Social Paranoia. So yeah paranoid about what people think of me. I'm hoping he will just help me understand some of the rules I'm unfamiliar with.
O-Stands for that other guy. I've met him in passing where I work but I don't really know him. He's a friend of A's and was pretty quiet as he came in later and didn't get to play much right away. I also cannot remember his name...but he played a gnome...yeah...
So that's the crew and of course me, the DM...the one with all the power...and all the work...which brings me to my next post.
Sunday, June 21, 2015
RL Gaming vs. Online Gaming
So I tried it. I used Minecraft as a mapping tool and kept up with players stats but to be honest, and maybe this is just my experience, it's really difficult to teach new players how to play D&D through Xbox live. Especially 3.5e. So it fizzled out. The thing is, they loved it. But I think for them it was just another Minecraft mini game, albeit a complicated one.
After this failed experiment, two things happened. I discovered that my FLGS had opened a new branch with a dedicated gaming room. And I was able to get car insurance so that I could drive there! Whoop!
Now feeling determined, I gathered together some friends that I hadn't seen in forever and began my reign...ahem I mean experience as a DM. I finally took a good look and decided to go through 5th edition with my group. The first meeting was last week and we did some character creation while I tried desperate to understand everything about 5th edition and even some things that I'd never discovered all the way back on 3.5. When I was a player, I only needed to know the rules for my character. So now, I've realized just how little I know if the rules. And I'd walked into my battle with little more than leather armor and a wooden sword...
But even so, using the wizards basic rules and a borrowed players handbook, we got some characters up and running and played through the adventure hook for Lost Mines Of Phandelver. I think it went well for being only my second time dming. My first was...really just not worth mentioning at this time.
So yeah, I had fun and I look forward to this group becoming a really awesome weekly DnD group.
After this failed experiment, two things happened. I discovered that my FLGS had opened a new branch with a dedicated gaming room. And I was able to get car insurance so that I could drive there! Whoop!
Now feeling determined, I gathered together some friends that I hadn't seen in forever and began my reign...ahem I mean experience as a DM. I finally took a good look and decided to go through 5th edition with my group. The first meeting was last week and we did some character creation while I tried desperate to understand everything about 5th edition and even some things that I'd never discovered all the way back on 3.5. When I was a player, I only needed to know the rules for my character. So now, I've realized just how little I know if the rules. And I'd walked into my battle with little more than leather armor and a wooden sword...
But even so, using the wizards basic rules and a borrowed players handbook, we got some characters up and running and played through the adventure hook for Lost Mines Of Phandelver. I think it went well for being only my second time dming. My first was...really just not worth mentioning at this time.
So yeah, I had fun and I look forward to this group becoming a really awesome weekly DnD group.
Sunday, June 7, 2015
DMing Rules! Unless...you don't know all the rules.
So I just started DMing my very first campaign. I was totally excited. Since it's being played online I made a huge Minecraft dungeon to serve as a map. Got my players and then, after several false starts, we began The Shattered Gates Of Slaughtergarde. Dun, Dun, DUN!
Since this is my first time DMing, I've had a rocky start. Sometimes I'm not clear on the rules of every minute detail. Recently I've learned, after three battles in one dungeon and one VERY difficult boss battle. That I'd forgotten to add the strength modifiers to melee attacks for the PC's...oops. I didn't realize until one of the PC's brought it to my attention. Luckily I was able to at least go back into the boss battle that was originally incomplete and, by adding the modifiers, turned out that dude was dead...
So you know...live and learn...or kill your PC's and learn. Whichever really hits the point home I guess.
In honor of my first major screwup as a DM, I am leaving you with this pic...which I totally want on a T-shirt.
Just right off the bat: Chick Tracts do not depict normal Christian values...
If you've never heard of Chick tracts...I don't encourage you to seek them out.
Essentially these tiny little books are meant to be a ministry tool that you can hand off to someone, leave on a restaurant table or whatever for someone to read and maybe recieve Christ as a result.
But they missed the mark...boy did they! The first one of these I read as a child was called: This Was Your Life!
The story basically read that a man who died was carried to the big court in the sky where they replayed his entire life and basically said that even though he was a good person, being good isn't enough. You have to believe in Jesus and believe that he died to save you from your sins.
And so the man who didn't accept Jesus was sent to...hell!
Of course they can't just leave it there so they are sure to include another guy who DOES accept Jesus and gets to go to heaven when death comes knocking.
Now all of this is true (as per my beliefs). In order to get to heaven and to be a Christian you have to accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. But that's where Chick Tracts end the normal ministry.
First of all I can never decide exactly what audience the Chick Tract creators meant to go for. I would hope adults but most of their comics involve shildren and teens, The downright creepy artwork and horrific plotlines suggest that this is all a scare tactic. 'Let's scare the devil out of people!'
Take for instance this tract: Dark Dungeons
This is one tract that just made me go WHAT? a whole lot.
In this tract, Debbie gets sucked into a D&D game with some other teenagers DMed by Ms. Frost. Now I'm no expert on all things geekery but if a middle aged woman is inviting a group of teenagers over to her house...shouldn't that throw up some red flags for a lot of parents? On top of that Ms. Frost could have found a million other middle aged adults to play D&D with but she went for the kids...seems like she had other plans. And she did.
Wait, what? Can't she just...make a new character? No? Why not? Because Ms. Frost is not a real DM! Duhn duhn duhn! She is actually a diabolical cult leader for an evil group of hooded figures!
That's right. D&D turned Debbie into a Wiccan...or a Satanist? They don't seem too concerned on the specifications....
And then of course, Debbie can now use REAL magic and turns her Father's brain into jelly in order to spend two weeks pay on D&D books...
The book also shows Marcie's suicide as a result of being kicked out of the group and features a good old come to Jesus book burning!
Are Roman Catholics Christians?
This particular tract ruined my friendship with a girl in 6th grade who's entire family was Catholic. To this day I wish someone hadn't just left this somewhere for me, a child, to find somewhere. I also wish I'd spoken with an adult about the proper way to evangelize before telling another child that her family might be condemned...oops.
Here are just a few other pictures that truly made me question the motives behind the chick tracts.
Fairy Tales
Finding out about Santa will turn your child into a murderous lunatic.
You can read this one for yourself in it's enirety here
You can then see the judge call the little boy a monster and 'throw the book at him'. Obviously the parents couldn't afford a good attorney to get him out on insanity. That's probably where he needed to be...
The Walking Dead:
Happy Halloween! Now about your soul...
This one is recommended by The Chick Company to put into kids bags on Halloween. Now I'm all for opportunistic evangelism but I seriously don't think any parent, even Christian ones, will appreciate you dropping the fire and brimstone into their little coboy's pumkin bucket.
This one you can read for yourself. It's recommended specifically for younger children. If I ever found this in a 5-7 year old's candy bag I'd be back at the givers house for a serious conversation in children's evangelism.
The Devil's Night
There are SO many ways to witness to children without depicting images that will give them nightmares of the worst kind. I can only assume Jack Chick believes that all unreached children are allowed to watch horror movies and already have numbed minds...
As of today, The Chick Company has come out with many tracts that are a lot less freaky but they still offer and distribute the disturbing ones just as frequently as any others. I encourage all Christians to leave the chick tracts alone and drop one of these in the bag instead.
I've been using the pocket testament for years now. The booklets are most often The Gospel Of John. The only thing that changes is the picture on the cover. It's simply a hook that makes someone want to take a closer look. For children they have 'God's Words To You'. It presents a clear message of salvation using illustrations and Bible passges from the Old and New Testaments.
Jack Chick scared the devil out of me and also made me fear for the souls of those around me. One trat in particular condemned the believer for not witnessing to his friends. This, paired with a skit called 'Letter From Hell' that I saw at the very same conference where I accepted Jesus spurred my very own 12 year old crusade for the souls of my fellow sixth graders. Needless to say I only got a lot of bad reception from the 'heathen' kids around me and to this day some of them still recall my words to them that they were going to go to hell. And to this day I never can shake that feeling that I may have singlehandedly pushed some very good kids away from ever considering Church and Christianity.
Essentially these tiny little books are meant to be a ministry tool that you can hand off to someone, leave on a restaurant table or whatever for someone to read and maybe recieve Christ as a result.
But they missed the mark...boy did they! The first one of these I read as a child was called: This Was Your Life!
And so the man who didn't accept Jesus was sent to...hell!
Of course they can't just leave it there so they are sure to include another guy who DOES accept Jesus and gets to go to heaven when death comes knocking.
Now all of this is true (as per my beliefs). In order to get to heaven and to be a Christian you have to accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. But that's where Chick Tracts end the normal ministry.
First of all I can never decide exactly what audience the Chick Tract creators meant to go for. I would hope adults but most of their comics involve shildren and teens, The downright creepy artwork and horrific plotlines suggest that this is all a scare tactic. 'Let's scare the devil out of people!'
Take for instance this tract: Dark Dungeons
This is one tract that just made me go WHAT? a whole lot.
In this tract, Debbie gets sucked into a D&D game with some other teenagers DMed by Ms. Frost. Now I'm no expert on all things geekery but if a middle aged woman is inviting a group of teenagers over to her house...shouldn't that throw up some red flags for a lot of parents? On top of that Ms. Frost could have found a million other middle aged adults to play D&D with but she went for the kids...seems like she had other plans. And she did.
Wait, what? Can't she just...make a new character? No? Why not? Because Ms. Frost is not a real DM! Duhn duhn duhn! She is actually a diabolical cult leader for an evil group of hooded figures!
That's right. D&D turned Debbie into a Wiccan...or a Satanist? They don't seem too concerned on the specifications....
And then of course, Debbie can now use REAL magic and turns her Father's brain into jelly in order to spend two weeks pay on D&D books...
The book also shows Marcie's suicide as a result of being kicked out of the group and features a good old come to Jesus book burning!
Are Roman Catholics Christians?
This particular tract ruined my friendship with a girl in 6th grade who's entire family was Catholic. To this day I wish someone hadn't just left this somewhere for me, a child, to find somewhere. I also wish I'd spoken with an adult about the proper way to evangelize before telling another child that her family might be condemned...oops.
Here are just a few other pictures that truly made me question the motives behind the chick tracts.
Fairy Tales
Finding out about Santa will turn your child into a murderous lunatic.
You can read this one for yourself in it's enirety here
You can then see the judge call the little boy a monster and 'throw the book at him'. Obviously the parents couldn't afford a good attorney to get him out on insanity. That's probably where he needed to be...
The Walking Dead:
Happy Halloween! Now about your soul...
This one is recommended by The Chick Company to put into kids bags on Halloween. Now I'm all for opportunistic evangelism but I seriously don't think any parent, even Christian ones, will appreciate you dropping the fire and brimstone into their little coboy's pumkin bucket.
This one you can read for yourself. It's recommended specifically for younger children. If I ever found this in a 5-7 year old's candy bag I'd be back at the givers house for a serious conversation in children's evangelism.
The Devil's Night
There are SO many ways to witness to children without depicting images that will give them nightmares of the worst kind. I can only assume Jack Chick believes that all unreached children are allowed to watch horror movies and already have numbed minds...
As of today, The Chick Company has come out with many tracts that are a lot less freaky but they still offer and distribute the disturbing ones just as frequently as any others. I encourage all Christians to leave the chick tracts alone and drop one of these in the bag instead.
I've been using the pocket testament for years now. The booklets are most often The Gospel Of John. The only thing that changes is the picture on the cover. It's simply a hook that makes someone want to take a closer look. For children they have 'God's Words To You'. It presents a clear message of salvation using illustrations and Bible passges from the Old and New Testaments.
Jack Chick scared the devil out of me and also made me fear for the souls of those around me. One trat in particular condemned the believer for not witnessing to his friends. This, paired with a skit called 'Letter From Hell' that I saw at the very same conference where I accepted Jesus spurred my very own 12 year old crusade for the souls of my fellow sixth graders. Needless to say I only got a lot of bad reception from the 'heathen' kids around me and to this day some of them still recall my words to them that they were going to go to hell. And to this day I never can shake that feeling that I may have singlehandedly pushed some very good kids away from ever considering Church and Christianity.
Saturday, June 6, 2015
Ginger, Geek, and Jesus Freak
I created this blog so that I could, for lack of a better term, geek out about some of the awesome geeky things that I love.
Ginger:
Yes I am a real Ginger. Yes, I have a soul (It belongs to Jesus. See: Jesus Freak). I burn after 5 minutes in the sun. I have more freckles than I could possibly count. And I also come with a million other issues such as ADD, Anxiety, and your average lack of social skills. Beyond that I actually do have a personality. One that makes me a very awesome person to hang out with and talk to.
Geek:
I grew up surrounded by people that loved to hate me (with the exception of a few). As a result, it took me a long time to come to terms with who I was and what I could be. But after an entire childhood of eating lunch in Libraries and shielding spitballs with comic books I eventually came to terms with the fact that I am a geek. And I love it! I love reading, writing, star wars, star trek, comic books, and even comic based movies. I am a cosplayer, and really enjoy D&D among other table top games.
So I started playing video games again when I got an Xbox360 just two years ago, at the same time the Xbox One came out so 360's were cheaper.
Since then I've lived in FPS, RPG, and Sandbox games.Some of my favorite games include: Army Of TwoCall Of DutyFableGallagaJust DanceMinecraftSkyrimSuper MarioTerrariaYour Shape: Fitness EvolvedZelda
Jesus Freak:
If you don't want to know, then don't ask. Because I can rattle off so many ways that Jesus has changed my life. For those who are interested, I grew up Baptist but have recently started attending a Nazarene church that I love dearly. I don't feel very strongly about the difference in denominations so I feel it's just a matter of comfort and specific biblical opinions (baptism, communion, etc) that leads one to choose this or that denomination. But I won't go any further into that. Now if you DO want to know. I will always be happy to meet you and share my thoughts.
Just so you know:
I will not:
Judge you for your opinions or even your actions.
Mock you for your feelings.
Be a sore loser or rage at the expense of another person (I have been known to rage because of the game itself)
Stick around for vulgarity.
Probably understand the diry jokes anyway.
I will always:
Take responsibility if I've hurt you and apologize.
Stand up for others who I believe are being treated unfairly.
Stay FAR away from your drama. (or at least remain unbiased)
Most likely give you the benefit of the doubt.
I have taken a stance by choosing to believe that everything everyone says about anyone is hearsay. (Unless it is someone I have come to seriously trust.) I will not simply quit being friends with someone (on or off line) unless I have a personal and proven reason to do so.
Ginger:
Yes I am a real Ginger. Yes, I have a soul (It belongs to Jesus. See: Jesus Freak). I burn after 5 minutes in the sun. I have more freckles than I could possibly count. And I also come with a million other issues such as ADD, Anxiety, and your average lack of social skills. Beyond that I actually do have a personality. One that makes me a very awesome person to hang out with and talk to.
Geek:
I grew up surrounded by people that loved to hate me (with the exception of a few). As a result, it took me a long time to come to terms with who I was and what I could be. But after an entire childhood of eating lunch in Libraries and shielding spitballs with comic books I eventually came to terms with the fact that I am a geek. And I love it! I love reading, writing, star wars, star trek, comic books, and even comic based movies. I am a cosplayer, and really enjoy D&D among other table top games.
So I started playing video games again when I got an Xbox360 just two years ago, at the same time the Xbox One came out so 360's were cheaper.
Since then I've lived in FPS, RPG, and Sandbox games.Some of my favorite games include: Army Of TwoCall Of DutyFableGallagaJust DanceMinecraftSkyrimSuper MarioTerrariaYour Shape: Fitness EvolvedZelda
Jesus Freak:
If you don't want to know, then don't ask. Because I can rattle off so many ways that Jesus has changed my life. For those who are interested, I grew up Baptist but have recently started attending a Nazarene church that I love dearly. I don't feel very strongly about the difference in denominations so I feel it's just a matter of comfort and specific biblical opinions (baptism, communion, etc) that leads one to choose this or that denomination. But I won't go any further into that. Now if you DO want to know. I will always be happy to meet you and share my thoughts.
Just so you know:
I will not:
Judge you for your opinions or even your actions.
Mock you for your feelings.
Be a sore loser or rage at the expense of another person (I have been known to rage because of the game itself)
Stick around for vulgarity.
Probably understand the diry jokes anyway.
I will always:
Take responsibility if I've hurt you and apologize.
Stand up for others who I believe are being treated unfairly.
Stay FAR away from your drama. (or at least remain unbiased)
Most likely give you the benefit of the doubt.
I have taken a stance by choosing to believe that everything everyone says about anyone is hearsay. (Unless it is someone I have come to seriously trust.) I will not simply quit being friends with someone (on or off line) unless I have a personal and proven reason to do so.
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