Purpose
The word gospel means God’s Story or Good News. How much good news
do you want in your life? Would you be willing to get up and travel
long distances to get it as the wise men did of old? Would you be
willing to actively take some actions that could assure you of an
increased amount of good news you could add to your journey through
life? If so, read on.
We attend church classes, listen to inspirational talks, read the
scriptures and other books so that we might learn more and more of
what the gospel has to offer. We want to know what we can add to our
lives and ways of doing things that can bring joy & fulfillment to
ourselves and others and what we need to subtract or unload in order
to avoid disappointment and failure in our earthly mission.
The problem is we forget almost all of what we hear or read before
the day is through and often don’t process what we have learned so
it can fully take effect in our lives. What if there was a fun way
to capture the most important parts of what we hear and read and to
keep processing those parts until they are fully ours? What if we
could translate those important parts into positive actions we want
to take and habits we want to make as well as purposely discard
current actions and habits that interfere with our well-being and
progress?
Preparing Your How Much Good News Do You Want? Game
Board
Have your game
board out as you listen to a talk, attend a church class, read the
scriptures or other inspirational books.
Be alert for
actions or habits you are inspired to add to your life. Write these
in the 13 black spaces at the top of the playing board. Just as
valuable, if you become alert to an action or habit you currently
have that you want to discard, write it in one of the 13 red spaces
in the lower half of the playing board. Your spouse, other family
members, or friends could do the same with their own playing boards.
It is powerful to share and work on life changes with other people
you care about and want to support. When you have completed filling
out all 13 positive actions you want to add and 13 actions you want
to discard, you are ready to play the game.
Directions for Playing the Game
Each player has
his or her own game board. One deck of regular playing cards is
needed if two players, two decks if four players, etc. Shuffle the
cards and deal 13 face-up to each player. Player goes through the
cards received, separates the black and the red cards, and places
them in two horizontal rows (one for the black cards and one for the
red cards) from lowest to highest. An ace is counted as a one, jacks
as 11, queens as 12, and kings as 13. Player removes any black
duplicate. For example, a player might have a 3 of spades and a 3 of
clubs. One of the cards is turned back in to the dealer. Do the same
with the red cards.
The object of the
game is to obtain any black number cards missing and to remove any
red cards.
Before actually
starting the game, have players talk about their current game board
situations. They name the black numbers they have and how thinking
about those things they wrote in the spaces on their game board can
increase their happiness and fulfillment of Heavenly Father’s
purpose for them. They then talk about the red numbers and how those
actions and habits would be displeasing to Heavenly Father and would
divert them from fulfilling their earthly mission.
Each player is
given a pair of dice. Each player then announces a target black
number he or she wishes to achieve or a red number he or she wishes
to eliminate. On a roll, dice can be added or subtracted to reach
the desired target number. Snake eyes (two ones) results in a 13.
For example, one player might be trying to achieve a black 4.
Another player may have announced his or her target as a red 10. No
turns. All players roll their dice as quickly as they can. When a
player achieves target number, he or she calls it out. All dice
rolling is temporarily stopped while that player is given the
desired black card or is able to remove the unwanted red one. The
value of adding the black card or removing the red card in the
player’s actual life should be briefly mentioned. Players then
announce their new target numbers and play resumes. This continues
until one player has achieved all 13 black numbers and has no red
ones remaining.
Each player can use his or her
game board as a personal program of building good news in the real
game of life. |
