{"id":25399,"date":"2020-05-27T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-27T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/?p=25399"},"modified":"2020-05-23T22:37:26","modified_gmt":"2020-05-24T02:37:26","slug":"playing-the-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/playing-the-game\/","title":{"rendered":"Playing the Game"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>How is your video gaming going during this stay-at-home\ntime?&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve become pretty proficient on my phone. In fact, my win\npercentage for Free Cell is over 65% and Castle is over 70%. Not that I\u2019m\nbragging. I should be working on my next book instead of playing games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But I\u2019ve learned a lot while spending time on my phone. If\nyou think about it, video games relate a lot to life, especially in our\nupside-down, isolated world today:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li><strong>You can only play one card at a time.<\/strong> Sometimes we try to jump to the ending before we\u2019re ready. \u201cSince we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.\u2019 Galatians 5:25 <\/li><li><strong>The Ace isn\u2019t always the most important card.<\/strong> Sometimes we make ourselves out to be more than we really are. \u201cBetter to be a nobody and yet have a servant than pretend to be somebody and have no food.\u201d Proverbs 12: 9<\/li><li><strong>Sometimes there\u2019s only one card to play.<\/strong> No matter how many choices we see, all the others lead the wrong way. \u201cI am the only one who has escaped to tell you!\u201d Job 1:15, 16, &amp; 15<\/li><li><strong>Maybe backing up a step can help. <\/strong>There\u2019s no shame in correcting a wrong. \u201cDo not let the oppressed retreat in disgrace;&nbsp;may the poor and needy praise your name.\u201d Psalm 74:21<\/li><li><strong>The obvious choice isn\u2019t always the best. <\/strong>We may need to test the waters before we commit. \u201cBut small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.\u201d Matthew 7:13<\/li><li><strong>When all seems lost, there may be a way out.<\/strong> Even Jonah can attest to that. \u201cAnd the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.\u201d Jonah 2:10<\/li><li><strong>Sometimes there are no moves available.<\/strong> That\u2019s when we need to stay home and be still. &#8220;Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.\u201d Psalm 46:10<\/li><li><strong>Things just might work out without your help.<\/strong> \u201cAnd we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.\u201d Romans 8:28 (Note this verse says \u201cGod works\u201d not \u201cwe work.\u201d)<\/li><li><strong>Not all games are winnable.<\/strong> Happily ever after only happens in fairy tales. \u201cTherefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?\u201d Matthew 6:25<\/li><li><strong>Cards can move when they\u2019re freed.<\/strong> Just like we\u2019ll be moving when our states and cities reopen. &#8220;For in him we live and move and have our being.\u201d Acts 17:28<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ll move on from this pandemic and all\nthat it brought with it. It may take longer to return to \u201cnormal\u201d than we\u2019d\nlike, and we just might see a \u201cnew normal.\u201d I did that when I became a widow,\nand it wasn\u2019t all bad. Not what I would have chosen, but it was chosen for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just be patient and take it one card \u2013 er \u2013\none day at a time!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How is your video gaming going during this stay-at-home time?&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I\u2019ve become pretty proficient on my phone. In fact, my win percentage for Free Cell is over 65% and Castle is over 70%. Not that<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1551,587],"tags":[4263,4261,4262,4260,4259,4264],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Playing the Game - Inspire A Fire<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/playing-the-game\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Playing the Game - Inspire A Fire\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"How is your video gaming going during this stay-at-home time?&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I\u2019ve become pretty proficient on my phone. 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