Gaming on a Sunday Afternoon

04/10/2026

March’s virtue was Humility - what we describe as “seeing yourself truthfully”, referring to your strengths, your flaws, and everything in between.

Think about it - In January we create the resolutions, February we put them into action, and March is the reality check - maybe our resolutions are slipping, or our habits are inconsistent.

We become more aware of our limitations, hence humility.

Like all of our virtues, humility is a balance between two extremes. On one side we have Arrogance - the excessive sense of superiority within ourselves causing us to overestimate our strengths and underestimate our weaknesses. On the other side we have Self Degradation - the negative thoughts we have about ourselves.

The Apostle Peter is a man from the Bible who exhibits humility and its extremes. He starts out as a fisherman. In Luke chapter 5, after Jesus preaches from Peter’s boat and asks him to cast his net one more time. Peter says “Master, we’ve been working all night and haven’t caught anything, but because you say so, I will lay down the nets.” As a result, he caught more fish than his nets could carry. At the sight of this, Peter falls to his knees and says “Go away from me Lord, I am a sinful man”. Jesus replied “Do not be afraid, from now on you will be a fisher of men.”

How does Peter represent humility here?
-Blind obedience - Peter was probably pretty confident that there was no fish in the water, but out of trust and respect to his master, he laid down the nets anyway.
-His posturing and his honesty - Peter acknowledges his faults when he says he is a sinful man. It was like an instant reality check of who Jesus was in comparison to him.

But Peter was also arrogant. During the final passover meal, Jesus tells his Apostles that they will all fall away from him. Peter responds by saying even if all the others would fall away from Jesus, he never would. Jesus responds by telling Peter, “You will deny me three times before the rooster crows. And Peter insists, “Even if I have to die for you, I will never disown you.”

How does Peter represent arrogance here?
-He is overconfident in himself.
-He considers himself superior to the other disciples.
-He underestimates the power of fear and temptation.

We return from arrogance to humility when we see ourselves truthfully again.

While in the courtyard, after Jesus’ arrest, Peter is identified as being associated with Him. Peter denies his association 3 separate times and as he hears the rooster crow, the cold harsh truth soaks back into him.
-Maybe I’m not as brave as I thought
-It turns out I do fall away
-It turns out I do disown you

Let’s talk about self degradation - this is thinking negatively about yourself and belittling yourself

Now the Gospels say that Peter weeps, but they don’t go into great detail on him degrading himself. But imagine you meet the messiah, the savior of the world, the one you said you’d never fall away from, the one you’d die for, and when push comes to shove, you’re like “nope never met the guy”. I can only imagine the amount of disappointment and self loathing I would feel after such a moment.

At the end of John’s gospel, after the resurrection, Peter returns to the life of a fisherman after Jesus’ death. This suggests that Peter no longer felt worthy of doing Jesus’ work - to be a “fisher of men”. On the shore Jesus calls for them to cast their net on the other side, and much like their story began, they caught many fish. Peter jumps in the water and swims to him, and the other men follow in the boat. On the shore Jesus asks Peter 3 times if he loves him. And each time Peter replied that he did. Jesus replied back, “Then feed my sheep.”

This is a powerful moment because Jesus is restoring Peter’s purpose here. By bearing responsibility Peter pulls himself out of self degradation and back into humility.

Responsibility reminds us that we are a part of something greater than ourselves, and that we still have the ability to contribute.

So remember:
Arrogance says, “I won’t fail.”
Self degradation says, “I’m a failure.”
Humility says, “I failed, but I still have work to do.”

03/02/2026

In the spirit of February and the holiday, our virtue of the month was Love. We define love as the committed pursuit of another’s good through care, honesty and action. There’s also 3 qualities that make something love:

1. It must be voluntary, or given of your own free will
2. It must be oriented toward the good, not just what someone is looking for in the moment, but what will ultimately make them flourish
3. There must be a cost, it’s not a passive thing and requires a form of action or sacrifice.

This month we received much love in this form from the church, our friends, and family, and we can’t thank you enough!

Love, like each of our virtues, falls between two extremes - on one side we’ll have selfishness, and on the other we’ll have enablement. Starting with selfishness, what does it mean to be selfish?

-Only thinking of your own interests
-Focus on self comforts and desires
-Not caring about others

It reminds me of the parable of the good samaritan - where Jesus tells the story about a Jewish man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. The man is accosted by bandits who rob him of everything that he has and beat him half to death. As the man lay there dying, a priest comes along the same path, and when he sees the man in the road, he passes him by on the other side. The same with a Levite who comes down the same path - he sees the man in the road and passes him by on the other side. And then came the samaritan down the same path. He sees the man in the road and comes to his aid. He bandages his wounds, puts him on his donkey, takes him to an inn and bears all the expenses until he is well.

There is a stark contrast between how the priest & levite reacted and how the samaritan reacted, which begs the question - how do we go from selfishness back to love?

In a word - empathy. We enter the other person’s reality. We consider what’s at stake for them.

It was the same dying man for all three passers by, but for the Priest and the Levite, they thought about how it would affect themselves first:

-This will make me unclean
-This will make me delayed
-This will make me inconvenienced

The samaritan, on the other hand, considered the stakes of the dying man. And while it was not clear the total costs he would bear, the dying man’s fate was sealed if his situation did not change. Does the samaritan’s actions pass our love test? You tell me:

-Was it voluntary?
-Were his actions oriented toward the good?
-Did it cost him anything?

I’d say yes on all counts.

Let’s take a look at the other side of the coin - Enablement. Sometimes that’s a good thing, we think of empowerment. But in this case we’re using it to describe something else:

-Promoting bad behavior
-Shielding from consequences of actions
-Avoiding conflict

I don’t know about anyone else, but my mind immediately goes to parenting. Because there’s a thin line between love and enablement, and it’s a tight rope that parents walk every day.

In so many ways, enablement looks like kindness
And in so many ways, love looks like tension

So how do we know when it’s enablement?

-When compassion detaches from truth
-When we prioritize peace over growth, quiet over conflict
-When we absorb consequences meant for another

How do we get back to love?

-Restore truth to the compassion
-Let the owner face the consequences
-Tolerate the short term pain for long term good

So why is love stuff so important anyway?

Coincidentally, I was recommended a book called Tuesdays with Morrie, which is a story about a retired professor named Morrie Schwartz who suffers from ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) and wants to share his experience with the world. The story is told by a former student (Mitch) who recorded their conversations (at Morrie’s request) in his last few months. In the latter half of the story, Morrie said something that hit me hard:

“The most important thing in life is to learn how to love, and how to let it come in. Love is how you stay alive, even after you’re gone.”

And I get what he was trying to say - Selfishness leaves behind relief, and enablement leaves behind dependency. But love leaves behind love.

And beyond your physical presence, beyond your usefulness, beyond your productivity, your reputation, your successes, beyond all that, your love stays - with the people you give it to and the people you accept it from. And that kind of lasting impact makes love incredibly important.

02/06/2026

Gaming on a Sunday Afternoon is back for year 3! For 2026, we started our 12 virtue series where we discuss a virtue each month. We all have some idea of what the word virtue means, but we like to describe it as maintaining a balance between two extremes - like holding an egg. If you hold it in your hand too loosely, you drop the egg. But if you hold it too tightly, you squish the egg. The virtue is being able to hold the egg without dropping or squishing it.

Our first virtue of the year is Reflection - a self examination of our thoughts and actions to live more intentionally. January was the perfect time for this. 2025 is behind us. We reflect on all the things we accomplished, the things we didn’t, and we make resolutions for the year to come.

Like all of our virtues, Reflection is the balance between two extremes. On one side, you have what we’ll call Thoughtlessness, and on the other side we have Rumination.

Let’s start with Thoughtlessness - what does that word make us think of?

–Not looking before you leap
–Not thinking before you act
–Carelessness

These are all valid examples. Thoughtlessness and reflection remind us of the Prodigal Son story. The prodigal son thoughtlessly squandered all of his inheritance. Which begs the question:
How do we pull ourselves out of thoughtlessness and back into reflection?

I like to refer to the humble semicolon [ ; ] also known as a pause.
Pausing allows us to think, to pray, to take account of our situation. When the prodigal son was living a lavish lifestyle on dad’s dime, he didn’t need to pause. Things were great! It’s when he was hit with the harsh reality of poverty - he had no choice but to pause.
When we pause, we invite reflection.

Let’s explore the other side of the spectrum - Rumination. What does it mean to ruminate?

–Loops of repetitive, negative thoughts
–Replaying mistakes without finding solutions
–Leads to resentment or depression

If you were thinking along these lines, you’d be correct! I remember a time from high school, where a kid known for “borrowing” money decided it was my turn to be asked. I had the spare change and lent it to him. Time passes, but the kid didn’t pay me back, and it really started to bother me. I found myself thinking about it, A LOT, and routinely asked if they had the money to pay me back. “Tomorrow,” was the usual answer I got. So that brings up another question:

How do we go from rumination back to reflection?

When we can find something to be learned, we can find value in the experience. When we do this, we turn toward reflection. In my case, the lesson was to never lend out money I expect to get back. And all things considered it wasn’t very expensive to learn.

01/25/2026

Hey GOSA gamers,

In anticipation for the bad weather ahead, we won’t have in person church service tomorrow. As such, we’ll be postponing our January gaming session until next Sunday.

Join us on February 1st for food, fun, and fellowship as we begin our 12 Virtue Series for 2026!

12/31/2025

December marked our 12th and final session of the year, and not even a power outage could stop us! Our theme for reflection was Leadership which we defined as the process of influencing others toward a common vision, involving skills like communication, motivation, and decision-making to foster alignment, commitment, and achievement, often without formal authority.

Really, leadership has a lot in common with discipleship, which is a common form of leadership you would see in a church setting. So we focused on 3 qualities that could be applied to both.

The Common Vision - This is a picture of the future a leader tries to create. It doesn’t have to flesh out every step, but it does identify something that others already sense - a problem to solve, a goal, a destination. It gives a direction to head toward and a credible pathway for getting there. Rather than forced compliance, the vision resonates with followers. The vision motivates. The vision unites.

No Formal Authority - Effective leaders (and disciples) often have no formal authority. Rather they lead by example. Leaders build up a reputation of integrity, consistency, and credibility. In other words, they do what they say they’re going to do, they do it reliably over time, and they have others that willingly vouch for them.

Leaders look to build leaders - It starts with an invitation, “Follow me”. Or “Come help me shape this.” and a voluntary acceptance. Then there's an opportunity to observe - how to live, how to perform, to see what that integrity, consistency, and credibility looks like in action. Next comes putting what you observe into practice, allowing for an understanding of why it exists. Then there’s integrating practice into daily life. Creating real stakes and consequences. Then there’s a time for feedback where the would-be leader is evaluated, corrections are given, and refinement is undergone. And finally when the leader is formed, the true test is sending him or her out to form others.

Each one of those steps are necessary:
–Without the invitation and voluntary acceptance, there is no commitment
–Without the observation, there’s no direction
–Without putting into practice, there’s no understanding of why
–Without applying it to daily life, practice remains theoretical
–Without refinement, mistakes get repeated
–And without forming others, leadership bottlenecks

Leadership, at its best, is not about authority or control. It’s about forming people who no longer need you to stand over them, because they’ve learned how to walk faithfully themselves.

When leadership looks like this, disciples are made, leaders are multiplied, and the work outlives the one who started it.

Thank you to all those that join our sessions, tune in to our posts, and support our fellowship. Looking forward to 2026!

12/06/2025

As November drew to a close, our gaming group focused on gratitude for our monthly theme. We defined gratitude as a deep appreciation for the good things in life, and we took a moment to reflect on some of them. And whether it was a loving spouse, a safe and steady job, a healthy newborn child, or meaningful fellowship that was mentioned, we knew we were grateful for those good things.

But how does gratitude work? How do we become grateful?

To break it down, it starts with noticing something. It starts with paying attention to the world around us. We like to think that we do this already, but our focus is actually pretty narrow. And meanwhile everything is going on around us, just outside our purview.

Maybe some can relate with being task oriented - focusing on solving the problem, or getting the work done. But it’s when we stop, use our 5 senses to take in the world around us, and notice
the kind gesture, the tasty meal, the peaceful moment. That is how we prime ourselves for gratitude.

After noticing, comes acknowledging that this good thing is not guaranteed. When you realize that the kind words didn’t have to be said; that a certain moment could have gone very differently; that not everyone gets what we have. Being able to see the contrast between what could have been and what is - that’s where gratitude sparks.

And then after realizing this good thing isn’t guaranteed, we attribute it to some external source - another person, a group, a particular circumstance. And that is where we direct our gratitude. Sometimes we don’t know why or how the good thing happened, and all we can do is thank God that it did!

Ok, so we get how it works. Why should we be grateful?

There’s so many great reasons, but I’ll throw a few out there:

It’s physically good for you
–It reduces anger, anxiety, and depression
–It makes you sleep better, gives you energy and makes you resilient

It strengthens relationships
–Marriages improve
–Friendships deepen
–Families become warmer
–Workplaces become more humane
–Communities become kinder

It keeps us grounded in truth
–We don’t control every outcome
–We didn’t create every opportunity
–We aren’t responsible for every blessing
–And we aren’t owed the good things we enjoy

Much of our life is the result of the grace of others and the grace of God. Live a life of gratitude!

11/09/2025

In our last session of Gaming on a Sunday Afternoon, our theme was humility - the quality of having a modest view of one's value or importance.

Humility is an essential part of gaming. Nobody wants to play with a gloaty winner or a sore loser. Humility allows us to win or lose with grace. It also allows us to focus on the bigger picture - not the winning and losing, but the fellowship and camaraderie. Lastly, humility motivates us to check in with our fellow players - to make sure we understand the rules, help each other develop strategy, and make sure we’re all having a good time.

Outside of gaming though, if there’s one thing we’ve learned from Painesville First Church of Christ over the years, it’s that we as Christians are called to do these three things:

Worship
Grow
And Serve

And we bring these to light now, because they all relate back to humility.

What does it mean to worship?

-It’s acknowledging that God is great and we honor him through prayer, praise, and obedience.
-There’s physical posturing - The act of kneeling, bowing our heads in reverence, or raising our hands. Without humility this is just performance.
-Then there’s posturing of the heart - A humble heart loves, trusts, and submits to God.

How do we grow?

-Growing is an inward expression of humility, in which the first step is admitting that we don’t know everything.
-It’s about recognizing that there’s a piece of us that’s missing or that needs improvement before we can achieve the next level.
-In 2nd Chronicles, when God came to King Solomon in a dream to grant him whatever he wanted, Solomon chose wisdom to lead his people. In an act of humility, he understood that greatness starts by correcting from within - not by wealth, long life, or death to your enemies.

What does it mean to serve?

-To serve is an outward expression of humility, where we put someone else’s needs before our own.
-When we serve others, it reminds us that life is not about status, or power, or control. It’s about love.
-It pulls us out of self-focus and recenters our hearts around our intended purpose - to love others.

So why is it important to be humble?

Well, do you like working with someone who’s selfish, inconsiderate, and thinks they’re top banana? Or do you want to work with someone who believes in a greater cause, is open minded, and looks out for others? Sometimes the answer is clearer than other times.

In the end, humility keeps us centered. It reminds us that life isn’t about being the best player in the room, it’s about honoring God, growing in character, and lifting others up along the way. When we choose humility, we make space for God to work through us in every game, every moment, and every relationship.

Worship - humility toward God
Growth - humility toward self
Service - humility toward others

10/08/2025

We rounded off September with the theme of encouragement. And what timing! We want to say a huge thank you to Perkins Restaurant and Bakery in Painesville Ohio. Not only were all the cookies, brownies, muffins, and coffee a huge hit, but it was also very encouraging to have their support. Check them out here: https://www.perkinsrestaurants.com/locations/us/oh/painesville/700-mentor-avenue/

Dolores Green from Painesville First Church of Christ has also donated some tabletop classics to augment our gaming sessions!

We define encouragement as the action of giving someone support, confidence, or hope.

Often the gestures are small - a kind word, a helping hand, a gentle nudge.

In the gaming world, we might call these buffs or enchantments - slight boosts to your stats to help you play better.

Simple gestures, but deliberate actions, that have the power to alter a person’s trajectory.

I posed a question to our group, “Is there anyone that could think of a time when they felt down, and they received encouragement that had a positive effect?”

Mr. and Mrs. Harley shared about the encouragement they received from others with the passing of their daughter, Cheryl.

Anyone that knows Cheryl knows she has an encouraging heart. And it’s her mission to be kind. And I use present tense purposely, because we all know where she is. Probably telling St. Peter that his halo looks nice and bright.

Proverbs 12:25 – “Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.”

I get anxious when I sing. But sometimes when the right song hits, I throw caution to the wind and sing it loudly with all the creaks and cracks in my voice included. Well one Sunday one of those right songs comes on (Battle Belongs) and I’m rocking out to it in the balcony. And afterward Cheryl came over and told me I was awesome. I asked her what she meant. And she said “I heard you over here singing your heart out, and it was awesome!”

It made me blush and I thanked her. And in that moment, I was awesome. And it made my Sunday. And I make sure to sing that song loudly whenever I hear it.

But now we have to pick up Cheryl’s torch, and let our words and actions encourage others just as she encouraged us.

09/11/2025

Conflict Resolution - It’s one of the most important skills to have in life. Whether it’s work, school, church, or home, there’s going to be conflict. Yet many of us were never taught how to do this as a kid. There wasn’t a class in school about it and parents weren’t always the best examples in this regard - likely because nobody taught them either.

In a video by a California pastor Rick Warren, he talks about how to resolve conflict and restore a broken relationship in 7 steps.

1. Make the first move - This goes back to our last month’s theme of taking the initiative. The idea here is that you don’t realize how much unresolved conflict messes up your life:

It blocks fellowship with God, it blocks your prayers, and hinders your happiness

1 John 4:20 - Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen

You can’t have a good relationship with God, if you don’t fix your relationships on Earth first.

2. Pray for guidance - Imagine God watching us in a given moment. Is our next action going to make Him give thumbs up and nod or shake His head in disgust.

3. Begin with what’s your fault - Be humble. Start with your part of the conflict, whether small or large.

Matthew 7 3-5 - Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

4. Listen for their hurt and perspective - understand their viewpoint and not just the words

James 1:19 - My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry

5. Speak the truth tactfully - In order to be effective, truth needs to come with love and kindness. Otherwise it falls on deaf ears.

Have you ever had a time where a parent screamed at you for doing something wrong? Do you remember the life lesson they were trying to impart? Or do you just remember the fear in your heart and the anger in theirs.
Have you ever seen political pundits debate each other? There’s no love in their delivery, and likely little progress to be made.

Whether a message is received is the responsibility of the sender AND the receiver.

6. Fix the problem not the blame - To resolve conflict, your focus needs to be on addressing the problem and not attacking the other person. Otherwise, it’s a lot of wasted energy that could’ve been used to address the problem

Colossians 3:8 - But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.

7. Focus on reconciliation not resolution - Aim to reestablish the relationship and not focus on resolving every disagreement. Sometimes you’re going to disagree on things. That doesn’t mean you have to be disagreeable people to each other

Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1udN6OShf4&t=3s

Thanks for the games, Cheryl! Until we meet again my friend!

08/06/2025

Initiative - Seeing what needs to be done and then doing it without being told

“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great” - Zig Ziglar

What are some characteristics of people taking the initiative?
1. Not waiting for permission or ideal conditions
2. Seeing a need and acting on it
3. Pushing through fear, resistance, or limitations
4. Staying committed to the long game
5. Impacting others - even if they didn’t start out meaning to

These remind me of the story of David and Goliath

In a war going on between the Israelites and the Philistines, a champion named Goliath comes out of the Philistine camp and challenges the Israelites to send out their best warrior to come and fight him.

Goliath wasn’t someone to be trifled with. Imagine a 9 ft tall 400 lb dude - he wasn’t going anywhere, and nobody wanted to mess with him.

In walks David. Kind of a “lil guy” as one might describe. He was the youngest of 8 brothers. Not a bad lookin’ kid, but he was a bit on the scrawny side. He wasn’t even there for a fight. He was sent to deliver food for his brothers that went to war..

But as small as he was, he takes one look at Goliath and says something to the effect of “Who is this guy to besmirch our God? Isn’t someone going to do something about this?”

But no one would. They were all too chicken. So he decided to face Goliath himself.

He didn’t take any sword, shield, spear or armor. He only brought to battle the things he had faith in - his staff, his sling, a few stones, and his God.

Goliath came in for an attack, but David didn’t hesitate and met him at the battle line. With a single shot from his sling, David took down Goliath and ended the war.

How does David stack up against those characteristics from earlier?

1. Not waiting for permission or ideal conditions - David didn’t wait for an even matchup. He wasn’t deterred by Goliath’s size.

2. Seeing a need and acting on it - for 40 days Goliath was disrespecting David’s God and his people, and no one was doing anything about it. So he decided to.

3. Pushing through fear, resistance, or limitations - David’s brothers did not give him the benefit of the doubt. They called him wicked, and thought he abandoned his sheep to come watch the bloodshed of battle. King Saul said he was too young. Goliath called him little, cursed him, and threatened him.

4. Staying committed to the long game - David was not deterred. He stood up for himself against his brothers. He convinced Saul to let him fight, And he went toe to toe with Goliath.

5. Impacting others - even if they didn’t start out meaning to - When David won, the Philistine army turned and ran. And the men of Israel surged after them.

~David definitely took the initiative here.~

For the Israelites that cowered in fear, they were focused on themselves. So when they compared themselves to Goliath, Goliath seemed really big.

On the other hand, David’s focus was on God. So when he compared Goliath to God, Goliath came out seeming pretty small.

So what’s the takeaway from this?

Like David, we need to take account for what is most important in our lives. For should there ever come a time when what is most important is at stake, you may be surprised at how small those normally huge obstacles start to seem. TAKE THE INITIATIVE. You may be the only one willing to make the difference in that moment. Or more importantly, you may be the only one that can.

07/19/2025

New Magic: The Gathering players - Looking to take your games to the next level? Check out Strategies 102 where Bob covers additional important elements of the game, including choosing colors and how to play with multiple colors.

MTG Strategy 102: Color Balancing Who this guide is for: People who understand the basics of the game and basics of deck building, such as the following: deck types, mana curves, tempo and disruption. This is for people who want to learn how to choose colors and how to play with multiple colo...