The Chess Master: Living Life on a Chessboard & Letting God Make All the Moves

By Pauline W. Mansfield

The Chess Master started as a challenge to the authors son to write a book about his passion - the game of chess. The challenge then became her challenge - to deliver a message about our need to surrender to what God knows is best for us.

This book gives a unique comparison of the game of chess to real life. Each piece on the chessboard mirrors our lives as relates to our Mothers, Fathers, our homes, the church, ourselves as workers and our Protector. By sharing personal stories the author takes us on a journey across the board of life.

This authors personal mission is to touch and change the lives of readers by helping them to see ways in which to improve their lives through prayer,
commitment to God, and surrender to His will.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 24, 2009
• ISBN: 9781462808441

Pauline W. Mansfield

Pauline Mansfield is a native of Chapel Hill, Maryland and graduated from Roosevelt University in Chicago with an undergraduate degree in Psychology and from Shorter University in Rome, GA where she received her graduate degree in Business Leadership. Pauline serves on the Advisory Boards for REAL PARENTS, INC. and the COMMUNITY ADIVISORY BOARD – GRADY NIA PROJECT, both non-profit organizations devoted to positively changing the lives of women – one life at a time.

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Copyright © 2009 by Pauline W. Mansfield.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

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64508

Contents

Introduction

Understanding the Game

The Art of Surrender

Life On The Board . . .

We Are All Pawns

One Laborer’s Miracle

One Laborer’s Testimony

A Labor of Love

Castle—Home Is Where the Heart Is

Remembering Momma’s Miracle

An Unbelievable Union

In Memory of A Very Special Sister

Knight—Our Protector

Bishop—The Church in Our Lives

Don’t Even Dare to Duel With God

The Queen

Long Live The Queen

The King

Rallying Beyond the Impossible

"An Unexpected Gift from God

CHECKMATE

Acknowledgements

Dedicated, first, to my son Michael, who inspired this book, and then to all of my family, my ancestors, and those who are so much a part of who I am. They are my rock and foundation. I owe a special thanks to my cousin Dorothy whose editing gift helped me put the final shape and structure on this book. Finally, I thank all of those Control Freak chess players who make the game of chess and the game of life so much more interesting.

Listen to my story; listen to my song in the air If you want to know the beauty of me and mine. Speak to the old ones, on the other side of the bridge Speaking softly over the babbling chatter below Telling you of other rivers, and of crossings, and of time.

Excerpt from The Bridge and the Brook

Michael J. Farris

Written in memory of our ancestors who planted in

us a sense of who we are and whose we are.

Introduction

I was introduced to the game of chess by my son Michael. This game so changed his life that I became very interested in the game myself—not as a player, but as a researcher of the game’s origin. In so doing, I found that the game of chess mirrors life and how we live it. This led me to a theory that life mimics the moves on a chessboard, and something led me to look at this from a spiritual perspective. I dedicate this book to all the control freaks out there in the world who think that life can be orchestrated day by day and minute by minute. It really can’t be. It may seem like we’ve got it all under control—then BOOM! Something happens and our plans go right down the drain. We are merely pieces on the chessboard of life. God is really making all the moves!

My son just loves the game of chess so much! It brings him joy. As I’ve watched him play chess, talk about it, and teach the game to four and five-year-olds, I have also watched him change. He has become more spiritually centered, more open, and more connected to something so much bigger than himself. Watching him change and grow has been an inspiration to me. That was the primary reason I initially wanted to write this book. Even as I have worked on this book, I have watched God move Michael around on his life’s chessboard—through disappointments, hardships—searching, always searching, to find out who he really is, not who the world around him expected him to be.

In this life, we all must learn how to move through it with our arms and hearts wide open so that we are always in position to receive what God really has for us. It may not always feel like we are moving in the direction that we should be going, but it is not our job to make every move. It is our job to allow God to move us without resistance—I believe that determines how things will play out in our lives. We make choices to accept or not accept which way we will move throughout our lives. But those choices must be made in surrender to the Master because he knows, ultimately, what is best for us. So we must learn to listen—really listen. It is so easy to miss the message sometimes.

I know so little about chess maneuvers in the board game. However, I have spent a lot of time living with and loving a few who really know how to play this game. As I have watched them move through life—sometimes recklessly, sometimes fearlessly, sometimes blindly—I noticed that some mistakes happened again and again because they only heard their own voices and missed the real message. I, too, have been reckless, fearless, and blind at times and have made many choices in this life without the