Thursday, December 14, 2006

I'm Fosco Gamgee-Took from Bywater

Some of you may know my love for roleplaying games. I've loved them since I picked up my first Dungeons & Dragons boxed set when I was either 10 or 11. I loved the 20-sided dice and the character building. I loved imagining hunting down dragons and slaying them for their treasure. I loved all the rules and pictures . I don't think those things will ever leave me.

When I was a teenager, my love for Christ was tested against my love for those things. God was trying to get my attention and develop me for ministry. He wanted me to learn the Bible and think about giving and sacrifice. He wanted me to know there could never be anything as important as Him.

But, I was spending lots of cash on Dungeons & Dragons, Conan The Barbarian, and the Star Frontiers roleplaying games. Lots of cash and time. I suppose kids today have the same issues, except with video games. At least mine were books that taught me something [grin].

So, one night the Holy Spirit convicted my heart and told me to leave church and go home and get my games. I brought them all back to the altar and ripped them up. It was an incredibly emotional and rewarding sacrifice. From that day forward and throughout my high school years, I grew rapidly in my understanding of the Scriptures and my devotion to Christ.

My interest and love for those kinds of games didn't change, but my love for God increased. Eventually the Lord allowed me to purchase a roleplaying game again, for entertainment and casual reading.

Today, I love playing The Star Wars Roleplaying Game with my students and we are about to begin a new journey through Middle-earth using The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game. Not only do we have great fun, it is also a nice way to bond and talk about our own "character" qualities. I'll post about some of those things another time!

Which finally brings me to the title of my post.

I went over to the house of one of my students to create a character for our upcoming adventure. While he was deciding to play a Sindar Elf Warrior and choosing his special abilities, his sister was on the Internet looking up hobbit names here. It's a cool little site where you can type your name in and it uses a simple algorithm to find a hobbit name for you. Mine happens to be Fosco Gamgee-Took. My elven name is Lenwë Telrúnya.

Try typing in your name and see what you get! I've already tried several of your names and got some pretty funny stuff. Whatever you get, come back here and post it. A million points to the person who finds the most unusual name (unusual is a relative term here).

Also, tell me about an emotional experience you've had with God - that was life changing.

12 comments:

Jason said...

Mine, backwards:
Olo Frumblefoot of Scary

There's been plenty of emotional times, but now I'm looking for the practical points of life and ministry that I can learn from.

Anonymous said...

my hobbit name is Esmareldat Sandybanks and the elven name is Andune Nenharma............weird!......i'll have to think about that second part, anyway, glad to see you back in action on your blog!..ruthrap

JimmyBob said...

Jason, but what were those emotional times? I don't mean insignificant things, but things that really changed the course of events in your life.

You know, I think the birth of my daughter would be another one for me. It was an emotional experience, but also a spiritual one. We had an overwhelming sense of the role we were playing in the creation of life. When I saw her little black eyeballs for the first time, I melted. What a responsibility God was giving me. What a responsibility we took on when we decided to have a baby.

It changed our life.

JimmyBob said...

Have you thought of anything Esmareldat, I mean ruthrap?

By the way, sorry you had some trouble leaving a comment. Hopefully whatever was wrong will be fixed.

Anonymous said...

this cool.
Mine for Sandra was Ruby Chubb-Baggins (we are related to Bilbo!!!). For Sandy it was Iris. Carmen (hubby) was Popo Chubb-Baggins.
My elfin name was Sandra:Morenwen Oronar. Sandy was Elda'rwen.
Carmen's was Huor.

Second part I really don't know. I guess when I knew that I had cancer and got a phone call from someone (I was kinda playing show me God) and I prayed if I hear from Joleyn~then I knew I would be ok. Why her-I don't know. Well she called soon after saying she had lost Becky's graduation party invitation (the party had already taken place) and was sorry they could not attend. Just knowing that the Lord cared enough to do something like that. Let me preface this by saying at the time no one knew that I was being tested for anything.
He is in control!
Sandy or Iris, Ruby Morenwen.
I think I will share Morenwen with Becky and Matt as a possible name for their soon to be born daughter. hehehe

ruthrap said...

sometimes when i comment on someone who is a beta blogger..my password won't be accepted..sometimes it will...I will give your question some serious thought, JimmyBob...have patience...it could be a while before I can give an answer!

Jason said...

I'm not sure exactly. Maybe "spiritual" is a better word than "emotional," at least in the way I'm interpreting the question.

I'm with ruthrap...I'll have to let you know.

Anonymous said...

Hobbit Name: Goldie Burrows
Elven Name: Orelinde Saralonde

My event was almost a year ago. I no longer cared about anything. I wasn't suicidal, but I didn't care to live the life I was living anymore. It was such a routine. I knew God had something planned for my future, but the present had no meaning anymore. I went straight home from school one day, skipped track practice!, and stayed in my car once I arrived at my house. It was raining, and I began to wonder why I felt like I did. I didn't want to go to work, school, track practice, church, worship team practice, or home. I didn't want to read, run, or sing, and I was tired of laughing. I wanted to sleep through it all. I came to realize I spent so much time with everything else, that there wasn't enough time for just me and God. I was caught up in the world more than I was caught up in Him. I was reading my bible daily, and that sort of thing, but I all of a sudden needed more. It was my wake-up call. It was around this time I came up with, "Without love, life is a routine." I've stuck by it ever since.

Anonymous said...

My name is "Drogo Bumbleroot of Fair Downs".
Can you guess who I am?
I'll give you a hint, and only "1" hint.
Miss you BUDDY!

JimmyBob said...

David Carbone! What in the world are you doing here man? What a surprise.

Am I right?

DCMetalJr said...

Hobbit Names: As DC I am "Fredegar Bumbleroot of Haysend" and as David I am "Drogo Bumbleroot of Haysend".

Elf Names: As DC I am "Elladan Sîrfalas" and as David I am "Elrohir Sîrfalas".

A very emotional and changing time for me was when my father died. He was in another state and we were trying to reach him unsuccessfully. There came a moment that I knew that he had died, even before getting word from my family. At that moment the song "Breathe" was on the radio. I heard "And I, I'm desparate for you. And I, I'm lost without you." (I can't even type it without crying)

While listening to the words I was thinking about being desparate for my dad and being lost without him. I realized what I was thinking and even though I was in so much pain I felt corrected. I knew that from the beginning to the end I am only lost without Jesus. I knew I would hurt for quite some time, but I also knew that with Jesus I wasn't going to be lost. I could make it through any trial.

JimmyBob said...

Amen everyone! We serve an awesome God who can always be trusted and counted on. Even though life is difficult, we sense His presence in our lives and are motivated to continue on.

He is in a birth, a phone call, a routine (to spur us forward), a worship song. His Spirit is ever calling to us and drawing us closer still.

Later on, when I have the chance, I'm going to post something new, but this will still be here to come back to. If you think of anything else you would like to share, please don't hesitate to post it.

These are the kinds of stories that we can share with others about how we know that God is. These stories are roots in our faith.

I believe that everyone prays to God in these kinds of moments. Maybe not every moment, but in powerful ones when as humans we look outside ourselves, searching for meaning and explanation.

We have recognized Christ as the one who calls to us. Others have taken lonely roads and dismissed the "voice" of God. But, when you share your story, they can identify with the moments and the voice will come back to them.

Keep sharing!