Why Books Are Dangerous

Paper cuts.  Those things can hurt like crazy, and they always come when you least expect it.  

Nah, I’m just kidding.  Seriously, though, books can be dangerous.  Not just books, either, but also TV, music, games, and even ourselves.  How can all those things be dangerous?

They’re dangerous when they get in the way.  I don’t mean when you literally trip over them (although I’ve done my fair share of tripping over my own feet), I mean when you figuratively trip over them in your life and in your walk with God.  

Exodus chapter 20 says this: 

(1)And God spoke all these words, saying: 

(3)“You shall have no other Gods before Me,

(4)“You shall not make for yourself a carved image –any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;

(5) you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.  For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 

(6)but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”      

 

The fourth verse up there says that we should not make any carved image of anything to worship.  We call those carved images idols, right?  Here’s the first definition of ‘idol’.  “An image or other material object representing a deity to which religious worship is addressed.” –Dictionary.com  

“Now wait a second,” you might be saying.  “Are you trying to say that a normal object like a book can become an idol?  We don’t worship them.”  It’s true you shouldn’t worship anyone or anything but God, but it’s happened to me before, and it can happen to anyone.  The fourth definition of ‘worship’ is this: “the object of adoring reverence or regard.” –Dictionary.com 

To boil it down, an object you love; an object that's important. Many times, I've said things like "I love reading," or "I love gaming," or "I love I Love Lucy,"

Saying those things casually is not usually a big deal. People do it all the time, even though ‘like’ is usually the correct word to use.

But you know, there have been times in my life when it has been a big deal; times when I could game for hours with rapt attention, but I couldn’t take the time in my prayers to praise God for being who He is. Times when I could read a novel (which may not have even been the best thing for me to be reading at the time), but couldn’t be bothered to read my Bible.

I don’t remember exactly how old I was when I went to Sunday School and the lesson was about our everyday idols. I just remember being shocked that an idol wasn’t just something made of wood or gold and feeling guilty because I had more than a few things in my life that I invested more time with and gave more attention to than my Savior. From then on, I strived to change my habits, and it’s still a struggle sometimes.

None of this is meant to scare you away from gaming or judge you for how much time you spend reading fiction. Trust me, if anyone can understand the hobbies of reading and gaming, it’s me. This post is just the ramblings of an average Christian teenage geek, who sometimes needs to remember what things are really important in life, and just wanted to share.

The important things in life, like hanging out with great friends.

If you feel in a sharing mood, comment, and tell me if you’ve ever struggled with an “everyday idol”.  I’d love to hear from you.

 

 

 

Mid-October Progress Report

Oh, hi there, midpoint of October.  I didn’t expect to see you so soon.  I suppose it’s a good thing you’ve come, though.  You’ve just convicted me to remember that I should be doing better on a few of my goals this month.  Let’s take a look at how I’m doing so far. 

Do at least ten minutes of yoga every night

I’ve been doing pretty well with this resolution.  I’ve done a short routine whether I felt like it or not every night except for one.   Some nights I’ve even been doing half an hour routines with my mom, and that’s been a great way to get motivated.  I still need to keep this up for the rest of the month, but I’m predicting a pretty good grade for myself as far as this goal goes.  

Finish reading all of these books

  Well, I finished a book last night, so that’s good.  I still have a lot more to go, however.  I’m hoping that I can make more time to read in the coming weeks as I get more comfortable with my new schedule which now includes regular work hours.  

WRITE!

 Well… erm…  

Okay, so I’ve been doing really poorly on this resolution so far.  I wrote a little this morning, so at least I have something.  If at all possible, I’d really like to pay more attention and actually get quite a bit more writing done before this month is over.  Shame on me for putting this off, but killing dragons in Skyrim has just sounded so much more interesting lately than picking up a pen.

Why, hello there!

 

Start saving for college

 I now have official hours that I work in the office for my family business, and at the end of the day, I feel like I’ve really accomplished something; which is an incredibly great feeling, I gotta tell you.  I haven’t gotten my first paycheck quite yet, but it’s coming this Friday, so I have a feeling this goal will have at least a few dollars to its cause.  More importantly, I’m really enjoying my work, and I can’t wait to support myself a little more.

So what goals did you guys set for yourselves this month?  How are you doing with them? 

The One Where I Talk About An Overused Fantasy Race

Elf: 

1.      1.  One of a class of preternatural beings, especially from mountainous regions, with magical powers, given to capricious and often mischievous interference in human affairs and usually imagined to be a diminutive being in human form. (Dictionary.com)

  

Ah, elves.  Since Lord of the Rings, you can’t say “fantasy” without thinking “elves” also.  What is it about those pointed ears that make elves so popular?  In Old Norse, Scandinavian and Germanic mythology, elves were mischievous little creatures that gave you hiccups, nightmares, and even skin rashes.  Scandinavian folklore said to protect yourself from elves by carving this rune into your home.

Or if that failed, and you got a rash anyway, you could appease the elves with a treat, most commonly butter.     

I’m not making this up, either; it’s all from Wikipedia, which is always a fountain of truth.  More or less.

 

A High elf, as portrayed in Skyrim.

After Tolkien made elves to be a tall, graceful, beautiful, wise, magical bunch of people, the amount of elves used in fantasy exploded.  Sometimes they were a specific kind of elf, or a sub-race.  Such as High elves, Snow elves, Dark elves, Wood elves, Moon elves, Blood elves, Star elves, Valley elves, Shadow elves, Aquatic elves, Night elves, Winged elves and Alabaster elves.  Trust me, that’s just scratching the surface. 

Like it or not, elves have been a staple of the fantasy genre for decades, and their popularity in games and literature is only growing.  I’d love to hear from you guys on why you think that is.  What makes elves so special that so many franchises make use of them?

Also, here’s a plug for my friend Krista, whose sci-fi book The Portal Hunter does not contain elves, but is definitely worth a read.  Take a look at her blog, also! http://theportalhunter.blogspot.com/

October Resolutions

I can’t believe September is already gone.  It seems like just yesterday that August was passing us by.  I’m excited for the cooler temperatures, turtle neck shirts, hot tea and colorful leaves, but man, is this year going by fast.  Before October is all gone, there are all sorts of things I need to do, so to keep myself accountable, I’ll post it here for you guys to read.  Maybe it’ll even inspire you to make your own resolutions. 

 

Do at least ten minutes of yoga every night

 I love how yoga makes me feel, and I know it’s good for me to stretch and build my muscles.  I’m proud of myself when I make the time for it, but some nights I really don’t feel like it.  Whether it’s because it’s late or because I really just want to read a book instead, yoga is often the thing that gets pushed aside in my evenings.  I’m hoping that by making myself accountable on my blog, I’ll get back in the habit.  

Finish reading all of these books

Oh my land, do I have a lot of books that I need to read.  Not just in general, but books that I have sitting in my room that I just need to make a bit more time for.  Six of them are part of a manga called Library Wars, and I can usually read a volume of manga in an hour or two.  I also have to read Soul of the Fire by Terry Goodkind, which is the fifth book in the Legend of the Seeker series.  These books have slowly declined in quality to me, but I’m hoping this one can bring me back to liking the series.  Finally, I also have a pre-reading copy of a book from Lynn Austin that I need to read and review.  After that, I have a whole to-read list to choose from.  Yikes.

WRITE!

I’ve been told that I’m a good writer, and I would love to get a book out someday*.  However, not writing and letting myself get rusty like I have is not a good idea.  I have a story that I’m working on with my cousin, and a short story that I have in mind that needs to be written.  It’s just hard sometimes to make myself sit down and write.  Writer’s block can be a hard disease to cure, and it’s discouraging when I work hard on something only to absolutely hate it later.   All of that aside, what I need to do is write… anything, even if it’s only to keep in practice. 

*Read: When I stop procrastinating.

Start saving for college

This is one I definitely need to do.  I’m getting my first paycheck from my job with my family’s business this month, and I know it will be tempting to spend most of it on early shopping for Christmas presents for my family, any one of the four games on my wish list right now, or who knows what else.  *Sigh*  I’ll keep a bit for spending, of course, but the majority needs to go into my college fund so I can start my online classes with GCU as soon as possible.  A Bachelor’s doesn’t earn itself, unfortunately.    

This post inspired by Kelli at shelearnsasshegoes.com.  Go read her awesome blog!