[ Unashamed: The Monthly Newsletter ]
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
[ Welcome to the first installation! ]
This is the first installation of Unashamed's monthly newsletter. From now on, the crew and I will be using this to keep the rest of the guild updated on all sorts of important goings-on, such as crew promotions, new prayer requests, and major announcements for the month, concerning events, reminders, and anything else we deem important (we'll still use announcement threads for situation to situation announcements), of course. The basic information that will be included in every issue are the standard announcements we feel it's necessary for guild members to know, a new verse of the month at the top of every issue (this month, we're featuring Hebrews 11:1), a list of that month's birthdays (easier than making a new thread every month) and prayer requests and praise reports that have come since the last issue. Since this is the first issue, it is likely the most important, especially because the crew and I have alot planned for the coming months. So, with that said, read further to see what'll be happening in the guild.
[ Spring cleaning ]
Alot of changes are going to be made in the guild regarding the members list, thread and subforum organization, and as a result, the rules. So lets go in order, shall we?
The Members List Our guild is second on the list for Christian guilds in the GGN registry, mostly due to our large number of members. In the coming months, the crew and I will be going through and cleaning out all of the members who have not made a post. So, if you're new the guild and haven't made a post, we suggest you do so now. If you know someone who's joined but hasn't posted, give them a quick and gentle reminder that they're a member of a guild. However, we'll be sending notes along with the booting: anyone who wishes to rejoin the guild may do so. It's just that we have over 730 members, and there's really no way to know who's just joined, who joined a year ago and never posted, or what. Anyway, as a result of this members list pruning, our position as the second largest Christian guild on Gaia is likely to fall. Just a heads-up.
Thread and Subforum Organization Things in the guild have held up pretty nicely the way we have things now, but the crew and I have a vision of a much cleaner and better-organized system. So, this is what's going to happen. All subforums will be temporarily locked so that we can get things straightened out, which includes the renaming of some subforums, the combination of some, and the altogether deletion or creation of others. Once it's finished, we're hoping our subforums will look something like the following:
Crew Subforum
This is where all the secret, conspiratory action goes on.
Newsletter Archive
If you missed a newsletter (if you were gone for a month or longer) and want to see what things have been going on in the guild that you might've missed, just check out this subforum; all the old newsletters will be here so you can see what's been going on in your absence.
Archive and Resources
This is going to have everything that's in the resources thread in the main forum, and links to old threads on certain hot topics (which will also likely be locked and moved into this subforum). That way, if someone wants to see what has been said, or reference something they or someone else has said on the topic, they will be able to do so. It sounds alot more daunting than it is; we'll have a nice directory to help you find the threads you want.
Prayer Requests
This subforum won't change at all; it'll be the same rules, same organization, just lower down on the list.
Praise
Since some people may feel bad or weird posting praise in a subforum where most people are asking for help (in the prayer request subforum), we're going to have a subforum devoted to all things praise-y. God do something awesome in your life and you wanna share it with the guild? This is where you'll be able to do it.
Artwork
This subforum is going to contain not only drawn artwork that people have done (with a Christian theme of course), but will also comprise written works, musically composed works, anything that "art."
Media Discussion
Instead of having a TV/Movies Discussion subforum, and one for books, and one for Christianity in the media, we're combining them into one subforum. All talk about music, movies, TV, books, and art will go in here (discussions about art go here, not actual art itself; that's for the other subforum).
Bible Discussion
Unlike our attempt at a Bible study subforum, this will be for topics that specifically have to do with certain passages or verses and interpretations. It'll be part Bible study, part Bible discussion.
Something Cunning for Future Use
This is the extra subforum that gets left over from all the rennovations. Since we can't delete subforums (and I wouldn't want to anyway, since they're 2500g apiece), this will be locked and thusly named until we figure out something to do with it.
[ A reminder of the rules! ]
Since there will be new subforums for various topics (new and old), there are going to be some changes to the rules, especially inside each of the subforums. And since we're speaking of rules, I just thought I'd repost them in here to remind everyone, since I doubt anyone has looked at them since they first joined (if at all). I suggest everyone read through them, as there are some changes that affect everyone. Rules posted with a exclaim are rules that I'd really like to make clear, as they are either new, have been ignored recently, or I just feel they should be emphasized.
GENERAL RULES
ONE All posts and guild activity must comply with the Gaia's ToS.
TWO Anyone is allowed to join the guild (Christian or non-Christian).
-------------> Anyone wishing to join the guild should click on "Join Guild," stating a reason why they would like to join. One or two sentences should suffice; please say more than just "I'm a Christian" and definitely don't leave it blank (I've gotten that a few times too). Also, for the sake of satisfying my own (Fushigi na Butterfly's) curiosity, please include how you found out about the guild.
exclaim THREE Please read all separate sets of rules for the subforums and abide by them as well.
FOUR Leave moderation to the Guild Captain, Vice-Captain, and Moderators, please.
exclaim FIVE If a topic's first post (introduction post) does not post a question or otherwise call for discussion and/or debate, then there should be no arguing within the thread, whether about the topic or another. If something comes up that you would like to further discuss, take it to the appropriate thread or create a new one for the idea.
exclaim SIX Be sure to post all topics/threads in their appropriate place (all general discussion topics out in the main forum, and anything else in its designated subforum). If you're not sure where something goes, PM the Captain or a crew member to find out.
RULES ABOUT CONTENT
exclaim ONE While content is not censored on this guild, we ask that all discussions stay PG-13 in rating (this is also requested in the Gaia ToS).
-------------> This includes swearing. While some people may not have a problem with it, please keep language to the kind you would use if in the presence of someone very high up in authority, or a teacher, or a very young child. Included in this list of words to avoid are all manner of four-letter words (and hopefully you know which ones I'm talking about). Milder versions will be tolerated, and chat-speak abbreviations are okay.
TWO There will be no denominational wars. Here are a few examples of what should not be posted:
---------------> Are "Insert Denomination Here" Christian?
---------------> Which Denomination is Better?
---------------> "Insert Denomination Here" is Strange/Unbiblical/Stupid etc.
THREE There will also be no flaming of other religions. While we accept that Christianity is the truth as shown by Jesus Christ, we will not force that belief on others and we will not discriminate other members to that effect.
Should the rules be broken by a member in any way, these steps will be taken:
>>A PM will be sent out to the member, making them aware of their violation of the rules, and that member will be asked to be more careful about following guild rules in the future.
>>If the same rule is broken again, they will be warned that one more violation of the same rule will result in being temporarily banned from the guild.
>>After the third time of breaking the same rule, the member will be banned from the guild for two weeks. If after that time the member wishes to rejoin the guild, they may do so by requesting to join (or I will re-invite them (if I remember- a gentle reminder via PM would be okay)).
>>In the event that the same rule isn't violated three times, but it is multiple rules being ignored or broken in a short period of time, the same steps stated above will be followed.
exclaim Any issues with or questions about the rules should be directed to the Captain (Fushigi na Butterfly). exclaim
We'll be cracking down on the rules alot more (not that there's a huge need to, but mostly the crew and I let things slide ... we won't be anymore, especially on those highlighted parts). Read the rules, learn them, commit them to memory, write them down, whatever you have to do. We want things to run smoothly in here, and the best way to ensure that is to make sure everyone is following the same set of rules.
And that's that for all the plans for spring cleaning. We'll be sure to keep everyone updated if anything else comes up. Remember that subforums are going to be temporarily locked while we shift things around, so for now, everything can be posted in the main forum.
[ In other news ]
In other news, we have a new crew member (in case you all couldn't tell). Ixor-san is now one of the crew, helping us to conspire and come up with crazy ideas for the guild. We're still looking for people to add to our crew (though maybe once we cut down on the members I'll see we actually don't need more crew), so be on your best behavior and you might get a promotion.
The Guild Charity has been up and running for a few weeks now. We haven't gotten too much business through it, but I think that's just because people are too lazy to read through the rules and realize how helpful it could be to them (come on, we're giving away and enchanted golden trunk!). We're still looking for anyone interested in helping to moderate the thread, so come on over and check it out if you're interested. Even if you don't want to officially help, you can stick around and bump the thread up, and even participate in the random number contests, where you could win gold or the enchanted golden trunk. We'd be glad to have you hang around with us.
Also, as you can see, this newsletter has no name. So! We'll be holding a contest! Suggest names for the newsletter and we'll vote on them. The winner gets to see their suggestion every month at the top of the newsletter and as the title of the announcement that holds it, and possibly some gold. Depends on my mood. domokun
There really isn't much else to say in the way of other news. Mostly, we wanted to get it out there that we're doing alot of major spring cleaning, and that we have a new crew member. Now that that's out of the way, we can move on to prayer requests and June's birthdays!
[ Prayer requests ]
These are all requests that have come in in May. If you'd like to make comments and offer support, feel free to PM the people who have made prayer requests (normally, you'll be able to comment in their request threads in the subforums, but since those will be locked ...).
Amanda Kawaii-chan
I really need prayer badly. I've been feeling crazy and everytime I try to pray to God I keep getting my brain attacked. My worst attack was yesturday night. I am Christian Baptist and I know I always will be even my brain gets attacked saying that I belong to evil one. I know I will belong to God forever no matter what I say, think or do. Even when said this awful thing about giving my self away to the evil one, I knew that deep down inside that God was there reminding me that even if I did that I could never be lost again and that I never want to turn evil.
Please pray for me to get over my mental illness so I can have better relationship God Almighty.
Thank you.
Fushigi na Butterfly
So, my dad's recently married, and things are not going so well. There's alot of tension, and they're going to counseling, but I'm afraid that alot of the issues stem from my stepmom's personality and that she isn't going to change. Since my dad doesn't believe in divorce, if she doesn't change, or if they can't figure out how to live together, he'll be miserable for the rest of his life. They just need some serious help from God. Please keep them in your prayers.
Fushigi na Butterfly
Today we just found out that my stepmom is going to have a boy (we've known she was pregnant). I just wanna request that you guys keep my developing baby brother in your prayers, and that the rest of her pregnancy and the delivery go over without a hitch (he's due in October). 3nodding
The Original Albino
Hi guys! I just accepted Christ as my savior today and I'm kind of nervous, but hopeful and much happier than I was even last week... please pray that I can begin my walk in the Lord with hope and light... and please pray that I can get myself a Bible really soon! All the ones I used to own are in New York where I grew up, and I'm in Massachusetts, so please pray that I can get them soon.
So basically, please pray for my spiritual growth and that I can get a Bible soon. Thanks!
Love in Christ,
Brittany
SydelleRein
Would anyone reading this please send up a prayer for Sam? He passed away, God have mercy on his soul. sad He was really young too.
God bless you Sam.
Thanks everyone.
freelance lover
I just need a prayer for some peace of mind and some forgiveness. I did something horribly stupid and there's a good chance karma's gonna come back and get me in the end. I just need a little prayer so that I handle this well and I don't go crazy.
Thanks smile
freelance lover
Hey guys, just another quick prayer request. I move in for my Project Transformation internship on Saturday and I'll be doing that until August 9th. If you're not farmiliar with the program, it's sponsored by the United Methodist church and Americorps. It's pretty much and outreach program for underserviced children in innercity areas, in this case Dallas. It's a day camp and it's a place for them to come during the day where as they might be left at home otherwise, and activities range from Bible studies, help with homework, arts and crafts, etc. It's a great program, and if you're interested in any mission work, check out the website (I think it's projecttransformation.org but just google is, and it should come up).
But anyway, I move in for the summer this Saturday, and I'm not really sure what to expect from the whole expereince but I'm super excited. I think God is going to do amazing things for me and everyone else involved and I just pray that this summer is just as amazing as I've hoped it will be!
Jfreakett
i would like to make a request for my Paw Paw to be alright, because he doesn't have very good eating habits, like sometimes he would go for long periodes of time without eating and just eat very little like a cracker or something. Plus that's not good for his health, for one he's diabetic, takes insuline,(for those of you unfamiliar with diabetis taking insuline shots is the worst that you can go, baisicly i don't know the specifics, if a diabetic eats too much or too little they'll get shacky or faint. they also have to watch thier blood sugar, same with eating too high faint too low faint) and two he has high blood pressure. His eating habits have never been very good but ever since Granny died they've worsend just yesterday he fainted from not eating enough.plus he say's that he's messed up in the head and he's starting to seeing our associate Pastor for help with his mentality. I know that getting over something like this takes time but what i'm witnessing scares me a little.
[ June's Birthdays ]
This month, Unashamed wishes a happy and blessed birthday to:
Captain_Theoretical
thejesusfreak
Shien no Ryuu
Hawthorn-Thorne Angel-
Imotoku
stardustie1
sweetly~broken~by~Him
Hope it's a great one, guys!
