Encouraging Quotes

Do you ever find short little quotes - nuggets, if you will - that just hit the spot? I've been running into a lot of them lately and thought I'd share a couple of them here.

If you look at the world, you'll be distressed.
If you look within, you'll be depressed.
But if you look at Christ, you'll be at rest.
- Corrie ten Boom

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the LORD's renown, for an everlasting sign, which will not be destroyed."
- God (in Isaiah 55 vv.10-13)

An Ode to The Settlers of Catan

As my first foray into blogs, I'd like to extol the virtues of what could possibly be the greatest board game of all time (in my opinion of course, that's why I'm blogging). That game is The Settlers of Catan. Let me persuade you to agree with me for the following reasons:

1. It's about strategy yet the throw of the dice can ruin even the best plan.
2. Unlike Risk, the board itself is different every time you play.
   
3. Life lessons abound.
   
1. Huh?! Yes, this is true.
2. First of all, I've learned to deal with not getting what I want!
3. Diplomacy can work wonders. Yes, politics, I know...
4. You learn to stand up for yourself.
4. You can learn a lot about a person by playing a couple games with them.
5. Psychological warfare, baby!
   
1. E.g. reverse psychology, misleading, data discovery, etc.
2. But I never stoop so low as to resort to these...
   
3. If you bought that, can I interest you in some swampland in Florida?
   
6. Resource management. Enough said.
   
7. Deductive reasoning.
   

I have been playing with my housemates, Steve and Liz, regularly for a few months now. We get an extra player here and there when we can. Yes, we're fanatics - we even made a Catan medallion that the winner possesses until the next game when it is up for grabs again! More impressive than that, I'm glad we're all still friends!!

Fun Fact: do you know where the term 'board game' comes from? Back in the good old medieval days people called their dinner tables something clever: boards (hence 'room and board'). Well, that's because their tables actually were boards (no, seriously!). After a meal, cleanup consisted of flipping the board around, dumping the remaining food on the dirt floor for the animals to finish off and thereby revealing the fresh underside. Sometimes they carved games into the board and, voila, there you go.