Tag Archives: perspective

Inspiration

The Poor Family

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One day the father of a wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country to show him how poor people live.

They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of a very poor family.

After returning home, the father asked his son, “How was the trip?”

“It was great, Dad.”

“Did you see how poor people live?” the father asked.

“Oh yes”, said the son.

“So, What did you learn from the trip?” asked the father.

The son answered:

“I learned that we have one dog and they had four.”

“We have a pool that reaches to the middle of the garden and they have a creek that has no end.”

“We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.”

“Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.”

“We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that stretch as far as the eye can see.”

“We buy our food, but they grow theirs.”

“We have paid servants to serve us, but they happily serve each other.”

“We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them.”

The boy’s father was speechless.

Then his son added:
“Thanks, Dad for showing me how poor we are.”

Creative Teaching Ideas, Game Ideas, Object Lessons

Bubbly Christians

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Everyone loves soap bubbles – Preschoolers, Children, Youth and Adults. They gleam and sparkle in all the colors of the rainbow. They float along and drift in delightful and unexpected ways. They come in all sizes and shapes, and can be caught or set free, alone or connected. But one thing is true of all bubbles. There will come a time when each bursts and is forever lost. Bubbles do not last forever. They remind us to focus on this things that last forever.

Bubbly Christians

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What You Need

1. Soap Bubbles

You can buy ready-made soap bubble solutions with wands inside, but it is so much cheaper to make your own by simply mixing together the following ingredients in a container:

  • 1/4 cup glycerin – You can find it at drugstores
  • 1/2 cup dish soap – Various dish washing detergents will have different characteristics so experiment a little to get the best solution.
  • 2 cups warm water – Distilled water is recommended by some.

2. Bubble Wands

For bubble wands you can use pipe cleaners, plastic lids with a hole cut in the center, a can or round plastic container with the bottom cut out, fly swatters, a slotted spoon, a wire whisk, cookie cutters, strainers, cheese graters, or a clothes hanger wrapped tightly with cotton string.

Games using Soap Bubbles

  • Biggest Bubble – Using a bubble wand, see which team can blow the biggest bubble without popping it.
  • Biggest Bubble using only your hands – Put your fingers together so they form an opening, dip your hands in a bowl of bubble solution to get a bubble film, and if you blow gently, you can make bubbles up to two feet in diameter.
  • Bubble Archery – Place a bullseye target at the end of the room. Youth must blow a bubble from behind the line and then use their breath to blow it into the target to get points.
  • Bubble Baseball – Divide the youth into teams and have them stand in line one behind the other. Set up a turn around point at some distance from the starting line. One at a time the someone from each team will blow a bubble and catch it on their wand. They must then run to the turn around point and back to their team with out losing or popping their bubble. When they return to the start then the next person in line goes. If a bubble pops or they lose their bubble from their wand they must run back to the start and begin again. The team with all their players to finish first wins.
  • Bubble Blast – With just one breath, see who can blow the most bubbles. If you get a good deep breath, you’ll be amazed just how many bubbles you can blow!
  • Bubble Catch – Blow a limited number of bubbles then youth run after them and try to catch them on their wand. If they pop the bubble or don’t manage to catch one they are out.
  • Bubble Count – One youth blows bubbles while you call out a number. The first person to pop that many bubbles wins.
  • Bubble Dodgeball – Youth each get a bubble wand and bubbles and staying in a designated area they try to blow bubbles at each other. If a bubble pops on you, you are out. Players must be stationary in one spot and can only pivot on one foot, but can duck and twist to avoid the bubbles. They can even blow them away.
  • Bubble Float – Who can float one bubble in the air the longest before it pops. Youth can keep their bubble floating in the air the longest by blowing gently underneath it. Variation, give the team 30 seconds to blow the bubbles. After the 30 seconds is finished, time them until the last bubble pops.
  • Bubble Freeze – Youth blow bubbles on a paper plate and then, before the bubbles pop, put them in the freezer. Biggest frozen bubble wins.
  • Bubble Pop – Form pairs or teams. One person (or more) blows the bubbles while another person pops them. The pair / team who pops the most bubbles in 1 minute wins. Make it more difficult by not allowing them to use their hands. Change it up by requiring the bubbles to be popped with different body parts – nose, ear, elbows, foot, etc.
  • Bubble Race – Divide the youth into teams. Teams line up in single file lines. Mark off a finish line at least ten feet away. The person at the front of the line must blow a bubble and he or she must then guide that bubble across the finish line. He or she then runs back to the team and sends the next person to do the same thing. If anyone’s bubble pops or floats away, they must go back and start all over. This continues until every member of one team gets a bubble over the line and makes it back to her team.
  • Bubble Race – Youth must blow their bubble along the race track and across the finish line!
  • Bubble Stack – One person blows a bubble while another catches it on the bubble wand. Another team member blows another bubble, which also must be caught and placed on top of the first bubble. The team with the highest stack at the end of sixty seconds wins.
  • Highest Bubble – Who can blow a bubble the highest into the air?
  • Mega Bubble – This game from Minute to Win iIt requires the youth to first blow a bubble from behind a starting line, then use their own hot air to move it across the play area and through a waiting hoop that is hung from the ceiling. The smaller the hoop, the more difficult the challenge. You can also increase the distance to the hoop to increase the challenge. Rules: You cannot touch the bubbles. If a bubble bursts while traveling through the hoop it does not count – it must actually go through the hoop and be seen on the other side. You may not touch the hoop itself. If a player must return to the beginning and start again, he or she must be standing behind the foul line to blow the next set of bubbles.
  • Nested Bubbles – Blow bubbles inside of bubbles. Using straws, who can get the most bubbles inside of a bubble without it popping.

TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Use the games as a discussion starter about the things in life that are temporary vs. eternal.

MAKE IT SPIRITUAL

  • What do all bubbles have in common? – Eventually they all burst!
  • What are some things that last forever?
  • What are some things that we strive for in life that are only temporary?
  • Why is it so much easier to focus on the temporary things?

Some bubble last longer than others, but in the end the bubble bursts. The same is often true of life’s attractions.

  • What are some things in life that may at first seem long lasting but in reality are only temporary?

Explain that each bubble is filled with air. While you cannot see the air you know its there because it gives the bubble its shape. In life sometimes we must believe in what we cannot see and this is called faith.

  • How is faith related to the desire to live for things that are eternal rather than temporary?

Bubbles grab our attention. So do the things of the world. In fact the bubble is like a small little world.

  • What are some of the things in life that grab our attention?

MAKE IT PRACTICAL

  • What are the characteristics of a person that is living for eternal things?
  • What things do they live for? Focus on? Strive for?
  • How can a reminder that so many things are temporary change the way a person thinks and lives life?
  • How can having an eternal perspective on things affect a person’s focus? Dreams? Aspirations? Actions? Priorities?

MAKE IT PERSONAL

  • What are some of the priorities in your life right now?
  • Are these things more beneficial for the here and now or for the eternal?
  • Are you focused on things that will last?
  • What would change if you had a more eternal perspective on life?

SCRIPTURE VERSES

  • James 4:13-14 – “Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”
  • Matthew 6:19-21 – “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
  • Luke 12:15-21 – “Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”‘ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
  • Colossians 3:1 – “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”
  • 1 John 2:15-17 – “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”
  • Mark 8:34-36 – “Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”
  • Matthew 6:31-33 – “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

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Object Lessons

Marble Madness

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Marbles have been around since ancient times. Whether made from glass, stone, or even clay, they have been used in games and as tokens. While not specifically mentioned in the Bible, our modern games of marbles most likely came from the ancient Romans. The oldest known marbles date back to about 3000 B.C. They can be found in many cultures around the world. Many of the games involve taking risks in order to win. In this idea of the week, we use glass marbles not only for games, but also as an object lesson on how we can see differently as Christians and to learn to take risks for God.

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What You Need

* Lots of marbles

A Few Games Using Marbles

  • Barefoot Marble Race – The youth must remove their socks and shoes. Divide them into teams and place two marbles on the starting line in front of each team. On your signal, the first player must pick up a a marble with the toes of each foot and walk to a finish line. They the player can pick up the marbles and race back to the next player in line you repeats the process. First team to finish wins.
  • Chopsticks and Marbles – Using a pair of chopsticks and a couple shallow bowls or saucers, each youth is given one minute to move marbles from bowl to the other using only the chopsticks. Only one hand can be used to hold the chopsticks. The youth to transfer the most marbles wins.
  • Drop the Marble – Line two teams up facing each other. Each youth is given 5 marbles. One youth stands with his or her heels together and toes spread apart in a V shape while the other player stands about 5 feet away and tries to toss a marble so it stays between the feet of the other player. If he fails he loses the marble. If he is successful, the play with his feet in a V shape drops one of his marbles from waist height and tries to hit the marble between his feet. If he hits it, he takes the marble, but if not he loses the marble. They swap for the next round. Continue for a set period of time and then each team adds up their marbles. Team with the most marbles wins.
  • Marble and Straws Relay – Divide the youth into teams and give every person on a team a plastic straw and a paper cup. Place a marble in the first team member’s cup. The youth must create a vacuum in the straw to pick up the marble and place it into the next persons cup. First team to get the marble into the last person’s cup wins. If the marble is dropped on the floor, the team must start completely over at the beginning.
  • Marble Roll – Draw a circle using chalk (about 1 metre in diameter) at one end of the room and a line several meters away for everyone to stand behind. Indoors you can some masking tape. Give each team an equal number of marbles. Each team can play in turn, or if they all play at the same time you will need different coloured marbles for each team. Within a given time teams compete to see who can gets the most marbles in the circle. One person one each team is allowed to return any marbles that miss or get knocked out of the circle back to his or her team.
  • Marble Search – Put some marbles and lots of ice into a roasting pan, tub or wading pool. Divide the youth into teams and have one person from each team must fish out a marble with their toes before the next person on the team can go. The first team to all fish out a marble wins. If it is cold outside, instead of ice, use warm oatmeal, warm pudding or even warm spaghetti noodles. Provide plenty towels for cleanup. Add a few golf balls just for fun. Variation: Team to fish out the most marbles with their toes in a given time limit wins. Variation: Assign each team a given colour of marbles and only those marbles of their given colour count.
  • Marbles and Spoons – Divide into teams, have each team to line up single file, and have a cup with one or more marbles for each team. Give each player a spoon. The first player on each team picks up a marble with the spoon, spins around in place 3 times, then passes the marble to the next person on the team. Marbles can only be touched with the spoon. If a marble is dropped the team must start over again from the beginning. First team to get all the marbles down the line wins.
  • No Know’s – Give everyone a set number of marbles and ask the group to mingle and talk to each other. Choose one or more icebreaker questions that they must ask each other. Whenever a youth says “no” or “know” that youth must give one of his marbles to the person he is talk to. The person who collects the most marbles during a given time period wins.
  • Odds or Evens? – Every youth starts out with the same number of marbles. They pair off with someone then one player hides at least one marble in his hand. The other youth must guess if the number of marbles is odd or even. If he guesses correctly he can add the marbles to his collection. The role of the hider and guesser is then switched. After each youth in a pair guesses, those without any marbles remaining must sit down and the remaining youth pair up with someone new. Continue until one player has all the marbles or a set time limit is reached and then the person with the most marbles wins.
  • Trade off – Using marbles of various colours, give each youth a marble of each colour. Ask the youth to mingle around the room ask each other to makes trades of one colour for another in order to get all their marbles to a single color. They can trade only one marble with each person in the room. First to finish wins.

TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

DEBRIEF

  • What were some of the strategies used in these games?
  • In some of the games, you lost or gained marbles. How did you feel when you lost all your marbles? When you gained marbles?
  • Were your decisions in these games based upon logic or by how you were feeling?
  • How could you have gotten better results?
  • Do you prefer to take risks or play it safe?
  • Would your strategy change if you were using 1 dollar tokens? 5$? 10$
  • What risks are you willing to take in regards to your future? your career? Your family? in relationships? in other areas of life?
  • How do you balance the risks with the opportunities in life?
  • Choose an area of your spiritual life where, to see any results, you are going to have to take a risk? What can you do to moderate the risks? What will the payoff be if you do this? How important is this result for you? Is it worth the risk? If so, are you willing to take the risks in order to see the potential results?

MAKE IT SPIRITUAL

  • Do you prefer to play it safe or take risks in your spiritual walk?
  • Name some Bible characters that were risk takers? Why do you consider them risk takers?
  • Do you think Peter was a risk taker or played it safe? Explain. (See Peter Walking on Water – Matthew 14:22-33; Mark 6:47-52, John 6:16-21)
  • Did the disciples take a risk in following Christ? (See Matthew 4)

Sometimes what might at first look risky, when see through God’s perspective is really no risk at all. We have everything to gain. Give a clear marble to each student and ask them to look through it. The image of whatever they are looking at will be upside down. Our faith can cause us to turn the things of the world upside-down and the world can turn our faith upside-down too.

  • What are some ways that Christ turns our world upside down?
  • What are some events that cause people’s faith to be turned upside down?
  • Describe a time when your faith was turned upside down?
  • Many of Christ’s teachings were opposite of what people expected. What were some things that Christ taught that turned the world upside down for the early believers?
  • How is looking through the marble similar to looking at things through spiritual eyes?
  • What things affect the way we view life? Has your view on anything changed since you became a Christian? What things have changed?
  • How does seeing things through God’s perspective change things so that what seemed like risks, no longer seem to be risky?

MAKE IT PRACTICAL

  • What risks are worth the reward of knowing Jesus as Lord and living for him?
  • “Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.” – C. T. Studd
  • Missionary William Carey said, “Expect great things of God, and attempt great things for God.”
  • Jim Eliot said “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”
  • Is Christianity a risk? Why or why not?
  • How does seeing things through Christ’s eyes change the risks?

MAKE IT PERSONAL

  • Has God called you to do something out of the ordinary?
  • To what has God called you?
  • Choose an area of your spiritual life where, to see any results, you are going to have to take a risk? What will the payoff be if you do this? How important is this result for you? Is it worth the risk? If so, are you willing to take the risks in order to see the potential results in your relationship with God and others?

CLOSING

  • Challenge the young people to carry a marble in their pockets or purses to remind them of one area of their spiritual lives where they need to learn to trust God and take risks to see Him work through them.

KEY SCRIPTURE VERSE

Romans 12:2 – “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

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Teaching Illustrations

God’s Embroidery – What’s your Perspective?

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Many times our lives seem like a mess and it’s often our mothers who come to our rescue. We don’t always see the wisdom in the things they tell us to do and sometimes we think that we’re smarter than they are. But we often forget that many times, they see life through the lens of their rich life experiences. Often, it is only later, when we look back, that we appreciate their wisdom and guidance. What is true of mothers, is even more true of God.

God’s Embroidery – An illustration

When I was a little boy, my mother used to embroider a great deal. I would sit at her knee and look up from the floor and ask what she was doing. She informed me that she was embroidering. I told her that it looked like a mess from where I was. As from the underside I watched her work within the boundaries of the little round hoop that she held in her hand, I complained to her that it sure looked messy from where I sat. She would smile at me, look down and gently say, “My son, you go about your playing for a while, and when I am finished with my embroidering, I will put you on my knee and let you see it from my side.”

I would wonder why she was using some dark threads along with the bright ones and why they seemed so jumbled from my view. A few minutes would pass and then I would hear Mother’s voice say, “Son, come and sit on my knee.”

This I did only to be surprised and thrilled to see a beautiful flower or a sunset. I could not believe it, because from underneath it looked so messy.

Then Mother would say to me, “My son, from underneath it did look messy and jumbled, but you did not realize that there was a pre-drawn plan on the top. It was a design. I was only following it. Now look at it from my side and you will see what I was doing.”

Many times through the years I have looked up to my Heavenly Father and said, “Father, what are You doing?” He has answered, “I am embroidering your life.” I say, “But it looks like a mess to me. It seems so jumbled. The threads seem so dark. Why can’t they all be bright?”

The Father seems to tell me, “‘My child, you go about your business of doing My business, and one day I will bring you to Heaven and put you on My knee and you will see the plan from My side.”

Author Unknown

A Learning Activity

  1. Ask the youth to imagine a big clock on the ceiling, the kind with hands on it.
  2. Ask the youth to then imagine the second hand moving around the clock in a clockwise direction.
  3. Ask everyone to reach out their hand and finger and point at the clock, and move their hands in a circle in the same direction the clock hand would be moving. (Demonstrate this for the group to see)
  4. Ask the youth to slowly lower their hand and finger to chest level, all the time still pointing at the celing and rotating their hand in the same direction.
  5. Now ask them to look at their finger and to tell you if their finger is rotating clockwise or counterclockwise?
  6. The answer: counterclockwise!

TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

 
Make it Spiritual

  • What changed during the activity? – The youth’s finger has NOT changed it’s direction during the activity, but the perspective has changed.
  • Have there been experiences in your life that seemed messy, chaotic, without any apparent plan? Explain.
  • What are some of the lessons your mom has taught you? Did some of them seem to make no sense at the time?
  • Are there some things in the Bible that you once found difficult to undertand?
  • What are some ways that a mom or parents have a different perspective from a child or youth?
  • What lessons from your Mom or from the Bible now make sense because you have a different perspective?
  • What are some ways in which God has a different perspective from us?
  • What do you think some of the famous Bible personalities might say about this lesson? Jonah swallowed by a fish? Joseph sold into slavery? Israelites marching around Jericho and blowing trumpets? The disciples at Christ’s crucifixtion? Paul on the Road to Damascus? Moses in front of the red sea?

Make it Spiritual

  • What are some of the lessons for life we can learn from this story and the activity?

Make it Personal

  • Maybe there are some things in life that you don’t understand now. Maybe there are some things that look messy and without a plan. What is an area of your life where you need to trust in God’s perspective on things?
  • Take a moment this week to thank God for having a plan for your life, and working things out for your good.
  • Take a moment this week to thank your mother for also having a plan to raise you well and to help you to have the best things in life, for having faith in you and putting all those things in place so that one day you might be amazed and delighted at God’s plan for you.

Scriptures

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” – Proverbs 3:5-6

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” – Romans 8:28

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” – Romans 12:2

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; …” – Ecclesiastes 3:1-22

“Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” – Psalm 139:16

“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” – Proverbs 16:9

“But, as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him'” – 1 Corinthians 2:9

 


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Devotional

Need a change of perspective?

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A change of planes in LA, a stopover in Japan, and the tourist arrived in Singapore, like thousands before him. The flight was smooth, but the next part of the journey was a bit of a shock. “Marina Sands” the tourist requested. The taxi driver, accelerated into traffic, driving on a different side of the road behind a steering wheel positioned on a different side of the car. It seemed that drivers enjoyed honking horns incessantly and careening around corners. To the big visitor, jammed into a small back seat, the ride seemed chaotic and dangerous. A couple of times he felt he was going to die in a head-on collision.

To his relief, the wild ride brought him safely to the Marina Sands. Easing out of the cab on wobbly legs, he paid the driver and headed inside Singapore’s world famous resort. He endured a long elevator ride before reaching the top and the observation deck high above the city. Dazzled by the expansive view from the deck, he paused to take in the view. He looked straight down to the city streets from which he had just come. To his amazement he saw order and design where, only a few minutes before, he had feared for his life. Dozens of yellow and blue taxis moved together, stopping at red lights and going at green ones. What once seemed very threatening now seemed very small and insignificant. He could hear no horns at all. It all looked so safe.

To travel to any destination is an adventure. We choose a final destination and appropriate modes of travel in order to reach it. Our goal may be east, but at times we may need to travel north, south, or even west to get there. Yet in the end we arrive someplace East of the starting point. There will always be changes, stopovers, and transitions. Immersed in the traffic jam of life you have one view. But looking down from above you have another. What seemed chaos a few moments before suddenly makes sense.

The same is also true of life. As Christians we are also on a journey. As the church we are on a mission. At times the journey may not make sense. But when we see things from God’s perspective everything will fall into place.

The story of Job illustrates this point. Job lost his possessions, most of his family, and his health. Job’s wife confronted him and said, “Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!” Job strongly rebuked his wife, and affirmed his faith in God. Job was later blessed with twice as much as he had before. Our perspective is very much a reflection of how near we are to God. Job lost everything, but rather than complaining, cursing or losing his temper, Job bowed down and humbly worshiped God. To the apostle Paul, John Mark was a liability, a man who could not be counted on, and thus a man who should not be taken along on a missionary journey. To Barnabas, whose gift was encouragement, Mark was an opportunity and a challenge. Whatever happens in life, look at things from God’s perspective and everything else will fall into place.

Isaiah 55:9
“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Philippians 4:6-8 (NIV)
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.”

Whether you are a youth or an adult, the various areas of your life are greatly affected by your perspective:

  1. How you see yourself?
  2. How you see your circumstances?
  3. How you see God?
  4. How you see the church?
  5. How do you see the future?
  6. How you see others?

 

How might your views change if you were to try seeing these areas from God’s perspective?

~Ken


MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.

Learn More…

Humor

Christ of the Andes

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Years ago, a large statue of Christ was erected high in the Andes on the border between Argentina and Chile. Called “Christ of the Andes,” the statue symbolizes a pledge between the two countries that as long as the statue stands, there will be peace between Chile and Argentina. Shortly after the statue was erected, the Chileans began to protest that they had been slighted — the statue had its back turned to Chile. Just when tempers were at their highest in Chile, a Chilean newspaperman saved the day. In an editorial that not only satisfied the people but made them laugh, he simply said, “The people of Argentina need more watching over than the Chileans. ”

Source: Bits & Pieces, June 25, 1992

Sometimes the solution to conflict is learning to see something from a different perspective.

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