Six of the Lords were gathered in their meeting room. A blazing fire illuminated the room, allowing them to see each others' faces. Suddenly, Jimmy rushed in.
"Grimwarden sold Whitehall!" he blurted out. The Seven all leapt to their feet.
"Wha-wha-what?" Tommy asked. "He sold Whitehall?"
"Yes yes yes!" Jimmy responded, speaking quickly. "He wasn't sure about it, but then he got an offer that he couldn't turn down! I told him he shouldn't, but he didn't listen to me! He just went ahead and did it! And then they built a hotel there!"
"A… hotel?" Kat asked? "He turned it into a place for tourists? How could he betray us, and sell Whitehall to the enemies?"
"I-I-I-I don't know," Jimmy responded rapidly. "I told him not to and said he would be crushed for sure, but…"
"He was crushed?" Jett asked in anger.
"Totally!" Jimmy replied.
"We must go and avenge our noble Guardmaster, even if he did fall into the temptation of greed." Autumn said. "But who was it that defeated him?"
"Gold-Goldarrow," Jimmy stammered.
"Goldarrow?" the others asked in unison.
"Yes, I thought you knew…" he said as the others rushed out of the room.
"But-" he shouted to them as Johnny's back disappeared around the corner.
He sighed and jogged to the room where Goldarrow and Grimwarden were, happily playing Monopoly.
Wednesday, 27 February 2013
Friday, 15 February 2013
1 Corinthians 13
Everyone's posting Valentine's Day posts and statuses and stuff, so I'll follow along, even though Valentine's Day was actually yesterday for us down under here in NZ.
I don't really have anything to write, though, so I'll just post 1 Corinthians 13.
13 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues,they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
-NIV84 (taken from here)
I don't really have anything to write, though, so I'll just post 1 Corinthians 13.
13 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues,they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
-NIV84 (taken from here)
Thursday, 31 January 2013
The Lost Ones
This tag was originally made by HyperLinkzer, who tagged Andy, who tagged DrummerGuy, who tagged Taisia, who tagged WoA, who tagged me. And this one is going to be really… interesting.
RULES:
1. Put a music playlist on shuffle.
2. The first song is the answer to the first question, the second to the second question and so forth.
3. You must write that song name down no matter how silly it sounds.
If someone says, "Is this okay?" What do you say?
The Lost Ones.
What would best describe your personality?
The Lost Ones.
How do you feel today?
The Lost Ones.
What is your life's purpose?
The Lost Ones.
What is your life's motto?
The Lost Ones.
What do your friends think of you?
The Lost Ones.
What do your parents think of you?
The Lost Ones.
What do you think about very often?
The Lost Ones.
What is 2 + 2?
The Lost Ones.
What is your life story?
The Lost Ones.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
The Lost Ones.
What will they play at your funeral?
The Lost Ones.
What is your hobby/interest?
The Lost Ones.
What is the worst thing that could happen?
The Lost Ones.
How will you die?
The Lost Ones.
What will you put as the title of this blog post?
The Lost Ones.
Yes, I am pleased (or upset…) to announce that is the sum total of my songs on my iPad :P
Oh, and you really should get The Lost Ones... http://www.christopherhopper.com/2009/12/single-the-lost-ones/
Oh (forgot this at first :P)... I tag... Jake.
RULES:
1. Put a music playlist on shuffle.
2. The first song is the answer to the first question, the second to the second question and so forth.
3. You must write that song name down no matter how silly it sounds.
If someone says, "Is this okay?" What do you say?
The Lost Ones.
What would best describe your personality?
The Lost Ones.
How do you feel today?
The Lost Ones.
What is your life's purpose?
The Lost Ones.
What is your life's motto?
The Lost Ones.
What do your friends think of you?
The Lost Ones.
What do your parents think of you?
The Lost Ones.
What do you think about very often?
The Lost Ones.
What is 2 + 2?
The Lost Ones.
What is your life story?
The Lost Ones.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
The Lost Ones.
What will they play at your funeral?
The Lost Ones.
What is your hobby/interest?
The Lost Ones.
What is the worst thing that could happen?
The Lost Ones.
How will you die?
The Lost Ones.
What will you put as the title of this blog post?
The Lost Ones.
Yes, I am pleased (or upset…) to announce that is the sum total of my songs on my iPad :P
Oh, and you really should get The Lost Ones... http://www.christopherhopper.com/2009/12/single-the-lost-ones/
Oh (forgot this at first :P)... I tag... Jake.
Wednesday, 30 January 2013
Resurrections?
I said that the results of the survey (link) and my thoughts on the topic of resurrections would be posted relatively soon. Now, 40 days later…
I only had 4 responses to the survey, but they did express some good points.
The general consensus was that resurrections done through God (or his representative in the fictional world) were okay, but that other resurrections were not.
I would definitely agree with that. All matters of life and death should come from God's hands, whether through a gift of power to an individual or a direct act of God. No dark magic/sorcery.
Resurrections can give a sense of awe at God's power. If used too many times, however, this can be lessened because of the 'commonness' of them.
One person expressed an interesting idea, that I hadn't thought about before. In her words:
In general, I have problems with resurrections that are created by authors. I just don't think that it's for humans, in our fallen state, to judge when a person should be resurrected or not. Really, it's only right for God to do that. These are, of course, just my thoughts, and I could be very mistaken. - Sine Nomine
I would have to disagree with that, at least in a created universe.
In your own world, you are in control. You can do pretty much anything you want.
(Some exceptions would be changing God's principles, such as punishing evil, and always doing what is right. See here for a post by Bryan Davis about that.)
You are in control.
As long as you stay within God's principles, you can have resurrections. Don't have God resurrecting someone as a reward for their sin, for example. But you have to judge whether or not a resurrection is appropriate for the situation in your story.
As Sine Nomine said above, this is only my thoughts, and I could be wrong. If you disagree, feel free to leave a comment and we can discuss it :)
I only had 4 responses to the survey, but they did express some good points.
The general consensus was that resurrections done through God (or his representative in the fictional world) were okay, but that other resurrections were not.
I would definitely agree with that. All matters of life and death should come from God's hands, whether through a gift of power to an individual or a direct act of God. No dark magic/sorcery.
Resurrections can give a sense of awe at God's power. If used too many times, however, this can be lessened because of the 'commonness' of them.
One person expressed an interesting idea, that I hadn't thought about before. In her words:
In general, I have problems with resurrections that are created by authors. I just don't think that it's for humans, in our fallen state, to judge when a person should be resurrected or not. Really, it's only right for God to do that. These are, of course, just my thoughts, and I could be very mistaken. - Sine Nomine
I would have to disagree with that, at least in a created universe.
In your own world, you are in control. You can do pretty much anything you want.
(Some exceptions would be changing God's principles, such as punishing evil, and always doing what is right. See here for a post by Bryan Davis about that.)
You are in control.
As long as you stay within God's principles, you can have resurrections. Don't have God resurrecting someone as a reward for their sin, for example. But you have to judge whether or not a resurrection is appropriate for the situation in your story.
As Sine Nomine said above, this is only my thoughts, and I could be wrong. If you disagree, feel free to leave a comment and we can discuss it :)
Tuesday, 25 December 2012
Christmas Day
Today (or tomorrow for many of you) is the day that we remember Christmas. The birth of Jesus. God becoming incarnate, in the body of a tiny baby.
That is the real reason. Not Santa. Or reindeer. Or even the Christmas tree–although that does symbolize real truths.
But the real reason, and the real gift, is Jesus, coming from heaven in all his glory, to be born as a tiny baby in a dirty stable, in a small town, in a small country in the Middle East.
God omnipotent becoming weak Man.
God omniscient becoming blind* Man.
God immortal becoming mortal Man.
The Creator of the universe becoming one of the Created.
Divinity into humanity.
That is the true gift. The true reason for Christmas.
And, if we delve further into the matter, why would God become Man? Not just to heal a few people and to speak a few good truths.
Jesus came to die. To die a hard, cruel death, whipped by Roman legionaries, and then placed on a cross. So that we could have eternal life. He sacrificed his all for his creations.
That is the true reason for Christmas.
Merry Christmas.
*by blind, I am referring to the fact that God can see everything, while Man is limited to his five senses.
That is the real reason. Not Santa. Or reindeer. Or even the Christmas tree–although that does symbolize real truths.
But the real reason, and the real gift, is Jesus, coming from heaven in all his glory, to be born as a tiny baby in a dirty stable, in a small town, in a small country in the Middle East.
God omnipotent becoming weak Man.
God omniscient becoming blind* Man.
God immortal becoming mortal Man.
The Creator of the universe becoming one of the Created.
Divinity into humanity.
That is the true gift. The true reason for Christmas.
And, if we delve further into the matter, why would God become Man? Not just to heal a few people and to speak a few good truths.
Jesus came to die. To die a hard, cruel death, whipped by Roman legionaries, and then placed on a cross. So that we could have eternal life. He sacrificed his all for his creations.
That is the true reason for Christmas.
Merry Christmas.
*by blind, I am referring to the fact that God can see everything, while Man is limited to his five senses.
Monday, 24 December 2012
Word War: New Year's Eve
I will be hosting my first Word War on December 31, New Year's Eve. A Word War is a competition where writers write on their project for a certain amount of time, and the competitor with the highest increase in word count wins.
Time: One hour.
When: Anytime on the 31st of December, in your time zone.
1) You must write only for one hour.
2) The War will take place for one hour in your time zone, on the 31st of December.
3) To enter the Word War, post your starting word count in the comments section. Then, on the 1st of January, post it on a second post I will create saying that finishing entries can now be submitted. I am doing it this way to avoid people seeing others' wordcounts before they compete themselves (through differing time zones).
I may compete in this; but if I do and I win, I will not take a place; it will go to the next highest and so on, unless there are not enough entries to fill out the 3 places.
This is the first Word War that I am hosting, so please bear with me if I haven't explained it very well, and feel free to ask questions!
-Jag
Time: One hour.
When: Anytime on the 31st of December, in your time zone.
1) You must write only for one hour.
2) The War will take place for one hour in your time zone, on the 31st of December.
3) To enter the Word War, post your starting word count in the comments section. Then, on the 1st of January, post it on a second post I will create saying that finishing entries can now be submitted. I am doing it this way to avoid people seeing others' wordcounts before they compete themselves (through differing time zones).
I may compete in this; but if I do and I win, I will not take a place; it will go to the next highest and so on, unless there are not enough entries to fill out the 3 places.
This is the first Word War that I am hosting, so please bear with me if I haven't explained it very well, and feel free to ask questions!
-Jag
Wednesday, 19 December 2012
Resurrections? A survey.
I'm planning to write a post about resurrections (relatively) soon, but first I just want to do a quick survey for all my blog readers, and for anyone else who happens to stumble upon this blog. And anyone else who hasn't followed my blog, and anyone else who... well, anyone else.
Have you read fantasy books with resurrections in them? (y, n):
Did you like that, or not? (y, n):
Do you have resurrections in your own book? (y, n, not writing a book):
If so, what would be your ratio of deaths-to-resurrections?: (#):
Generally, do you think having resurrections is a good thing? (y, n):
Any other comments you have on resurrections in YA fantasy would be appreciated. Leave your answer in a comment.
-Jag
Have you read fantasy books with resurrections in them? (y, n):
Did you like that, or not? (y, n):
Do you have resurrections in your own book? (y, n, not writing a book):
If so, what would be your ratio of deaths-to-resurrections?: (#):
Generally, do you think having resurrections is a good thing? (y, n):
Any other comments you have on resurrections in YA fantasy would be appreciated. Leave your answer in a comment.
-Jag
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