Collect $200

I don't know how it happened, but every time my family played Monopoly growing up, I seemed to win. I'm almost positive my (at times) overly high self confidence can be attributed to all those wins. When you think about it, Monopoly is an interesting game. Its all about gaining control and power over all the other players in the game. When I think about it in that light, I'm not sure why any family would ever play that game, but we did. Its funny how much of that game has little to do with actual money-handling or budgeting skills. As a kid a knew very little about those things, yet I could win the game. Why? Because the way the die landed. So much of that game is left up to luck, chance, and free parking. Sure knowing a lot about money can help you, but if you keep rolling doubles, or land on that very unfortunate space, you wind up in jail and all that knowledge doesn't do you a lick of good. If you don't land or crucial pieces of real estate or the community chest, the game can be very unpleasant. You find yourself longing for the "go" space; desiring to just to make it around the board one more time so you can pass go and at least make some money.

The other night I couldn't sleep. Even after an endless number of sheep herds passed before my eyes, I couldn't drift off into dream land. In my restlessness I came across some old all-but-forgotten friends. I came across my old Facebook notes, which were the start and inspiration to this blog. The beginning of my online writing you could say. You can read them here: http://www.facebook.com/sir.levi.mawhirter?sk=notes (25 random things does not count...)

If you don't have Facebook, you're out of luck, but you can always use somebody else's if you're really interested in reading them.

Its always interesting to read the old things you write, whether they be blogs, Facebook notes, journals, or what have you, because they provide us with a little snap-shot of what was going on in our lives. It can be fun to see how we have changed or grown since last we wrote.

No matter where we are on the board, whether we are dominating or really hurting, it can be beneficial to go back to the start. For one it provides some relief from the onslaught that life throws at us some times. But it also comes with a bonus, a reward. It is good to look back and say "I can't believe I used to be so concerned about that!" or better yet we can see the areas where God came through for us; the times God answered our prayers. Sometimes these little things are enough to keep you in the game. So I encourage you to pass go and collect your $200. You just might be encouraged with what you find.