Mine Craft

So what do you think about MineCraft?  Do you know any children who play it?

A few years ago my husband started playing this computer game.  Seems harmless enough, really.  You go around mining substances and then building your own world.  Along the way there are of course some bad guys that threaten your kingdom.

Actually, it reminded me a lot of games I have enjoyed for years, "SimCity" and "The Sims".  Playing these games was my relaxation time.  My out when stress got the better of me.  And really MineCraft is somewhat the same type of game.  I can find nothing in this game that is
"bad", yet it concerns me.

Kids are addicted to it.  My kids are addicted to it, other kids I know are addicted to it, and I think my husband would be addicted to it as well if he could only find the time.  If I really started playing it myself I would probably also be addicted to it.  When my oldest wasn't playing Minecraft he was watching videos of other people playing Minecraft.  I'm not really sure what the big draw is here, sure it is fun, but the graphics remind me of uber-pixelated early video games.  How does it keep their attention for so long?

I started to seriously limit Minecraft time in my house.  I noticed that when I would tell my oldest boy it was time to be done and do something else, a switch went off in his head.  He couldn't take it.  His anger level at not being able to play the game did not match what I was simply asking him to do.  He literally was acting like an addict denied his vice.

We have since eliminated it from our house.  He acts like himself again.  But my problem is that when he gets together with his friends, playing this game is all they want to do.  I get the feeling that other parents don't feel the way I do about this game, they act like I'm overreacting, like I'm a stick in the mud and should just let kids do what interests them.  After all, it is "only a game".

I think you can get addicted to anything.  

As Christians, we need to guard our hearts.  Anything can become an idol, and it seems like it happens quicker than we can realize it.  I know we live in an increasingly digital world, but I'd like the boys to be able to say "I've had enough" and put the games down and do something else for awhile.  I get tired of always having to micro manage them and say "you've been playing that for too long, why don't you get out your Lego's or something?"  Basically, they need some self-discipline. 

Do not misunderstand, I am not saying MineCraft is bad, because like I said I haven't found anything yet within it that I objected to.  It is the reaction I'm seeing that's the problem.  I need to not only set limits for my children, but more importantly teach them how to sense that a boundary is needed, and set it themselves.   

My Purpose

My name is Valerie.  I am a Christ-loving mother of three wonderful boys that I am quite proud of.  I left a medical billing job that I loved to become a full time mom.  The age-old battle of stay-at-homes vs. working moms and whose job is harder, I care not to get involved in. 

Working outside the home never bothered me, my children were secure in knowing I loved them.  However in my case, about a year ago God got ahold of me.  He called my name and I stopped.  I listened.  He had a plan for my life (as he does for each of us).  I am still figuring out exactly what this means, but a big part of what he was telling me had to do with how I was raising my sons, and the lifestyle we were living.  Though I loved my job, he showed me that the door in that office was closing for me, that he was going to open another one instead.  The amazing thing about the God I serve is that he knows me.  He knows what I'm capable of, and also how easily I screw up best laid plans.  I am the type of person that loves to have a plan.  And a back up plan.  And a back up to the back up plan.  God took a person like me, who has everything planned out, and is teaching me to live according to His Will, and he never lets me know too much in advance.

In the Bible there are times when the children of Israel are instructed to construct monuments of remembrance so they do not forget what God has done for them.  This blog will serve to be MY monument of remembrance as well as a chronicle of his promises.  I am embarking on a quest-  I am attempting to raise Three Wise Men.  Men of great moral fortitude,  men with integrity and a heart for their maker (who aren't afraid to hug their mom once in a while).  I know that it will be difficult and may not always work out as I plan, so I want to remember the good times and bad, and the things God is ever teaching my along the way.