Food for Thought

Why I Teach

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Anonymous

An old man going a lone highway
Came at the evening cold and gray
To a chasm vast and deep and wide,
Through which was flowing a swollen tide.
The old man crossed in the twilight dim
That swollen stream held no fears for him
But he paused when safe on the other side
And built a bridge to span the tide.

“Old man,” said a fellow pilgrim near,
“You are wasting strength with building here.
Your journey will end with the ending day;
You never again must pass this way.
You have crossed the chasm deep and wide;
Why build you the bridge at the eventide?”

The builder lifted his old gray head,
“Good friend, in the path I have come,” he said,
“There follows after me today
A youth whose feet must pass this way.
This swollen stream which was naught to me
To that fair haired youth may a pitfall be.
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim.
Good friend, I am building the bridge for him.”


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Parents Ministry

Qualities of a Strong Family

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When people around the world describe the qualities that make their family strong, these are some of the things they talk about.*

Appreciation and Affection

  • We appreciate each other and let each other know this.
  • We enjoy helping each other.
  • We like keeping our promises to each other.
  • We like to show affection to each other.
  • We feel close to each other.
  • We like to be kind to each other.
  • We like to hug each other.
  • We enjoy being thoughtful of each other.
  • We wait for each other without complaining.
  • We give each other enough time to complete necessary tasks.
  • We are able to forgive each other.
  • We grow stronger because we love each other.
  • All things considered, we have appreciation and affection for each other.

Ability to Cope with Stress and Crisis

  • A crisis has helped us to grow closer together.
  • It is easy to find solutions to our problems when we talk about them.
  • It is always important to change the things we can.
  • We can work together to solve very difficult family problems.
  • A crisis helps make our relationships strong.
  • We try not to worry too much because things usually work out OK.
  • We are able to face daily issues confidently.
  • We like to support each other.
  • Our friends are there when we need them.
  • A crisis makes us stick closer together.
  • We always find something good comes from a crisis.
  • We find it easy to make changes in our plans to meet changing circumstances.
  • We have the courage to take risks that will improve things for our family.
  • We feel it is important to accept the things we cannot change.
  • We are adaptable.
  • We demonstrate resilience.
  • All things considered, we look at challenges as opportunities for growth.

Valuing Each Other and Demonstrating Commitment

  • Responsibilities are shared fairly.
  • Everyone gets a say in making decisions
  • Individuals are allowed to make their own choices.
  • We find it easy to trust each other.
  • We like to do things for each other that make us feel good about ourselves.
  • We have reasonable expectations of each other.
  • We allow each other to be ourselves.
  • We have a high regard for each other.
  • We respect the roles each of us plays in the family.
  • We find it easy to be honest with each other.
  • We accept that each of us has different ways of doing things.
  • We build each other’s self-esteem.
  • We are dependable
  • We are faithful to each other
  • All things considered, we value each other and are committed to our well-being as a family.

Enjoyable Time Together

  • We have a number of common interests.
  • We like to have fun together.
  • We feel comfortable with each other.
  • We like to give each other a chance to do new things
  • We enjoy hearing our grandparents’ stories about the past.
  • We enjoy simple, inexpensive family activities.
  • We like to have a place we call “home.”
  • We feel strongly connected to each other.
  • Hanging out together builds strong relationships.
  • We have lots of good times together.
  • We often laugh with each other.
  • Observing family rituals and customs is important to us.
  • We enjoy sharing our memories with each other.
  • We enjoy having unplanned, spontaneous activities together.
  • All things considered, we have adequate time for each other and we enjoy the time we share together.

Positive Communicaion

  • We like to share our feelings with each other.
  • It is easy to cue into each other’s feelings.
  • We like talking openly with each other.
  • We listen to each other.
  • We respect each other’s point of view.
  • Talking through issues is important to us.
  • We give each other a chance to explain ourselves.
  • We enjoy our family discussions.
  • We share jokes together.
  • Putdowns are rare.
  • Sarcasm is not generally used.
  • All things considered, our communication is effective.
  • We avoid laying blame.
  • We are able to compromise
  • We are playful in interactions.
  • We agree to disagree

Spiritual Well-being

  • We have a hopeful attitude toward life.
  • Our home feels like a sanctuary to all of us.
  • We have a strong sense of belonging.
  • We enjoy learning about our family history.
  • We feel strong connections with our ancestors.
  • There is a feeling of safety and security.
  • We feel connected with nature and the world around us.
  • We feel a strong connection with the land.
  • There is a sense of peace among us.
  • We believe love is a powerful force that keeps us together.
  • We benefit in many ways from our belief in a higher being.
  • It is easy to share our spiritual values and beliefs with each other.
  • Our personal religious beliefs are compatible with each other’s.
  • All things considered, we have strong spiritual connections that enhance our well-being.

Global Measures of the Family’s Strengths

  • We love one another.
  • Life in our family is satisfying to us.
  • We are happy as a family.
  • All things considered, we are a strong family.

 

* Based on Research with more than 24,000 family members in the United States and 34 other countries. This research has been conducted since 1974 by Nick Stinnett, John DeFrain and their many colleagues.

  • John DeFrain, Ph.D., Professor and Extension Family and Community Development Specialist, Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies, 135 Mabel Lee Hall, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588-0236. Phone: (402) 472-1659. E-mail: jdefrain1@unl.edu
  • Nick Stinnett, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Phone: (205) 348-7864. E-mail: nstinne2@ches.ua.edu

 


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Object Lessons, Teaching Illustrations

Managing Priorities

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A while back I was reading about an expert on the subject of time management. One day this expert was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive home a point, he used an illustration I’m sure those students will never forget:

As this man stood in front of the group of high-powered overachievers he said, “Okay, time for a quiz.” Then he pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouthed mason jar and set it on a table in front of him. Next he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, “Is this jar full?” Everyone in the class said, “Yes.” Then he said, “Really?”

He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks. Then he smiled and asked the group once more, “Is the jar full?” By this time the class was onto him. “Probably not,” one of them answered.

“Good!” he replied. And he reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in and it went into all the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, “Is this jar full?” “No!” the class shouted.

Once again he said, “Good!” Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked up at the class and asked, “What is the point of
this illustration?”

One eager beaver raised his hand and said, “The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard, you can always fit some more things into it!”

“No,” the speaker replied, “that’s not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is: If you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all.”

What are the big rocks in your life? A project that YOU want to accomplish? Time with your loved ones? Your faith, your education, your finances? A cause? Teaching or mentoring others? Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you’ll never get them in at all.

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Icebreakers

Splitting Youth into Groups: Make a Word

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Introduction
Use this activity to introduce a topic and divide the youth into small groups or teams at the same time.

Game Description
Youth will break into groups with the each youth forming one of the letters of a keyword.

Game Materials
None

Game Preparation
Think about a keyword somehow related to the topic of discussion for your youth Bible Study or discussion. There will be one group member for each letter in the keyword, so if you want groups of 5 youth then you will need to come up with a word that contains 5 letters.

Game Play
Here is a sample dialogue

    1. “Everyone please stand up. “
    2. “I am going to give you a special word for the day. The word is _______. On the count of three, everyone shout the word back to me! 1 2 3 Ok, now say it twice as loud. Great! Three times louder! What is the Word? Great!”
    3. “Next, when I give you the signal I want everyone to split into groups, with each youth using his or her body to form ONE letter of the word. As an example, everyone make a letter ‘A’ Great well done. If you don’t have enough youth to form all the letters, you might have to be a little more creative to spell the word with your bodies.”
    4. “Does everyone understand? Do you know what you need to do? Are you ready? Go! Spell out the word with your bodies. And, DON’T be the last group to form the word. “

Variations

You can choose to have a fun forfeit for the group that is last or you can also make them go first when you have the follow-up youth discussion or activity. You can also call out different words of different lengths so that the youth are forced to keep forming and reforming groups to spell out different words until you call out a last word to get the youth into the final groups of the desired number.

Take it to the Next Level
Once you have them in groups of the desired number of youth, you can play games, have discussions, etc. This is a great way to introduce a topic because you have implanted the keyword into the thoughts of the youth. It also creates some energy and makes the awkward task of breaking up the youth into groups so much easier.

Get Icebreakers ebookIcebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

This 170 page resource not only provides 52 of the world’s most popular group icebreaker activities and games, but also includes lesson ideas and discussion questions to smoothly transition into conversations about the issues common to most groups.

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Parents Ministry, Youth Ministry

Stress Test for Youth

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STRESS SCALE FOR YOUTH

PTS: STRESS EVENT
100: 1. Death of spouse, parent, boyfriend/girlfriend
065: 2. Divorce (of yourself or your parents)
065: 3. Puberty
065: 4. Pregnancy (or causing pregnancy)
060: 5. Marital separation or breakup with boyfriend/girlfriend
060: 6. Jail term or probation
060: 7. Death of other family member (other than spouse, parent or boyfriend/girlfriend)
055: 8. Broken engagement
050: 9. Engagement
045: 10. Serious personal injury or illness
045: 11. Marriage
045: 12. Entering college or beginning next level of school
045: 13. Change in independence or responsibility
045: 14. Any drug and/or alcoholic use
045: 15. Fired at work or expelled from school
045: 16. Change in alcohol or drug use
040: 17. Reconciliation with mate, family or boyfriend/girlfriend
040: 18. Trouble at school
040: 19. Serious health problem of a family member
035: 20. Working while attending school
035: 21. Working more than 40 hours per week
035: 22. Changing course of study
035: 23. Change in frequency of dating
035: 24. Sexual adjustment problems (confusion of sexual identity)
035: 25. Gain of new family member (new baby born or parent remarries)
035: 26. Change in work responsibilities
030: 27. Change in financial state
030: 28. Death of a close friend (not a family member)
030: 29. Change to a different kind of work
030: 30. Change in number or arguments with mate, family or friends
025: 31. Sleep less than 8 hours per night
025: 32. Trouble with in-laws or boyfriend’s or girlfriend’s family
025: 33. Outstanding personal achievement (awards, grades, etc.)
020: 34. Mate or parents start or stop working
020: 35. Begin or end school
020: 36. Change in living conditions (visitors in the home, change in roommates)
020: 37. Change in personal habits (start or stop a habit like smoking or dieting)
020: 38. Chronic allergies
020: 39. Trouble with the boss
015: 40. Change in work hours
015: 41. Change in residence
015: 42. Change to a new school (other than graduation)
015: 43. Presently in pre-menstrual period
015: 44. Change in religious activity
010: 45. Going in debt (you or your family)
010: 46. Change in frequency of family gatherings
010: 47. Vacation
010: 48. Presently in winter holiday season
005: 49. Minor violation of the law 5

TOTAL SCORE = ____________

If you have experienced total stress within the last twelve months of 250 or greater, even with normal stress tolerance, you may be overstressed. Persons with low stress tolerance may be overstressed at levels as low as 150.

Adapted from “How to Survive Unbearable Stress” by Steve Burns MD (USA: Pergamon Press.1989)


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Youth Ministry

Signs of Personal Stress in your Ministry

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You may be coping unsuccessfully with personal stress if you:

    1. Don’t take vacations or don’t enjoy them when you do take them.
    2. Don’t have a sense of humor.
    3. Don’t recognize when you are getting fatigued.
    4. Believe that being busy means being productive.
    5. View change as a threat instead of a challenge.
    6. Feel that you are not in control of events.
    7. Do not engage in any regular exercise.
    8. Excessively seek out diversions to take your mind off your work.
    9. Worry excessively about problems.
    10. Do not have interests outside your ministry.

 


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Humor

Politically Correct Youth Ministry

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  • A youth’s bedroom isn’t cluttered; it’s “passage-restrictive.”
  • Youth don’t get in trouble anymore. They merely hit “social speed bumps.”
  • Youth don’t have a bad hair day; they’re suffering from “rebellious follicle syndrome.”
  • No one’s tall anymore. They’re “vertically enhanced.”
  • Youth are not shy. They’re “conversationally selective.”
  • Youth don’t talk a lot. They’re just “abundantly verbal.”
  • Youth don’t gossip anymore. It’s “transmission of near-factual information.”
  • The food at the school cafeteria isn’t awful. It’s “digestively challenged.”
  • A youth’s homework isn’t missing; it’s just having an “out-of-notebook experience.”
  • Youth don’t sleeping in class; they’re “rationing consciousness.”
  • Youth don’t have smelly gym socks; they have “odor-retentive athletic footwear.”
  • Youth don’t pass notes in class. They are “participating in the discreet exchange of penned meditations.”
  • Youth aren’t sent to the principal’s office. They’re “going on a mandatory field trip to the administrative building.”

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Object Lessons

Wind Up Toy Christianity

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Description
Youth Bible study activity using wind-up toys. Works great as a discussion about free will or for discussing running in the Christian race. It could also be tied into Disney’s “Toy Story 3” in which Andy is all grown up now and ready to leave home for college. For the toys, the prospect of having no one who will Love them and spend time with them takes them down a path of despair and filled with dangers. Andy has to learn to put away childish things and the toys find purpose in bringing joy to another young person, filled with life, energy, love and childish delight. Sometime we also feel that God has set us aside and gone on to other things. But he hasn’t forgotten us. He will always be there for us. And like the toys, we may find our energy exhausted, and ourselves in less than pristine condition, but we find great joy in life when we are fulfilling the purpose for which we were created.

Resources Needed
Get a variety of kinds wind-up toys. These are often readily available at fast food chains as part of the kid’s meals. They can also be found in most toy stores. Some of the toys might be as cars, small figurines / action figures, cymbal clanking monkeys, or fanciful spinning tops etc. They come in a variety of forms and sizes. If you can get enough of the wind-up toys for everyone then it is a nice reminder of the lesson for the youth to take back home. Otherwise you can have one wind-up toy for every pair, trio, or small group of youth depending on the size of the youth group.

What to Do

  1. Stage a variety of toy relay races. Set a goal, let everyone wind up their toys, and let them go. You might want to have several heats to make the activity last longer. Race the wind-up toys a few at a time and then have winners of those races compete against each other until you have a final race between the top wind-up toys. To add a little variety, you can add some obstacles, traps like a strip of sticky tape, rubber balls, etc.
  2. Treat it like real race: On your mark, get set, go and a loud cap-gun. Gentleman start your engines, etc. Have prices for the winners as well as a victory celebration. You can also award additional prizes to various wind-up toys in addition to the winners:
    • Most helpless
    • Most lost
    • Most persistent
    • Strongest
    • Funniest finish
    • Best “crash and Burn”
    • Slowest
    • Fastest
    • Most direct route to the finish

Discussion

What are some of the things you observed in the races of the wind-up toys?
Possible answers will likely include some of the following points:

  • They need to be wound up
  • They sometimes change direction unexpectedly
  • Even when they run into walls, the keep going without any change of direction.
  • Eventually the wind down.
  • They perform different actions when wound up.
  • They were designed and created to do different things.
  • They only do what they were created to do
  • They can be easily broken.
  • They sometimes fall over for no apparent reason.
  • They don’t always stick to the intended path.
  • Not all finish the race.
  • Some veer off course.

In what ways are our lives similar / different from those of wind up toys?

Take it to the Next Level

In a way God creates us, sets us on a path, and then lets us go. In time we run down, but the question is what we will do in the time we are given? but unlike the wind-up toys, we can choose our path. and while each of us is created with a purpose, we can choose to deviate from the chosen path and to act contrary to the purpose for which we were created. But like the wind-up toys there are some people who live wind-up mechanical lives without meaning and purpose.

You can also explain the different types of toys found today. Wind up toys used to be very common. Most toys today use batteries. What is the purpose of the wind up mechanism or the battery? The main purpose is to store energy for later use. There are many methods toy makers use to transfer and store energy. A yo-yo or a top uses a piece of string wrapped around an axel. Some toys use small springs that are tightened. Many clocks and musical jewelry boxes work on this same principle. A rubber band wrapped around an axle can also store energy. You might want to disassemble several toys and show students the springs or rubber bands inside that are “squeezed,” “stretched,” or “twisted” to give the toy energy. Ask the students to predict what mechanism is used inside the toy to store and release energy.

Discussion

  • Where do you get your energy?
  • What things give you a push, give you a stretch, or twists your life around causing things to happen?
  • What gets you wound up? What energizes you?
  • What wears you down? What drains your energy?
  • If you had to describe your life as that of a toy, what would it be? Why?
  • What characteristics do the toy and you have in common? In what ways are you different?

Take it to the Next Level

As Christians, we attempt to live each day for the purpose that God created us, glorifying His name, attempting to do as He would do, and following His will and following His guidance. Like the toys there will be times when we run down, when we stray, and when we find ourselves banging against a wall or barrier. But God didn’t just create us and and let us go on our own. He doesn’t look upon us as some sort of wind-up toy that He might set on the ground and then watch as it aimlessly runs into obstacle’s, never heading in the direction in which He pointed it, or falling over…legs still churning in mid air now – going nowhere. Instead God is constantly watching over us, waiting to energize us, and picking us up and pointing us back to the correct path. 

Sometimes the obstacle’s we face are being used to nudge us back on to the right path…like a guardrail. And at times we stubbornly fight the change in our direction until our energy is exhausted. But God does care. He’s simply waiting for you to quit struggling and to call out to Him so that he can re-energize you and set you back on course in the right direction.

Variation
Play a game in which the youth take on the role of wind-up toys in a game of Simon says.

  1. Blindfold the youth (optional)
  2. Have the youth spin around and point in various directions.
  3. Then in the style of Simon Says have them follow the directions you give them to move forward a certain number of steps, turn right, hop, jump, etc

Discussion

  • How was this game similar to the way people live their lives?
  • What did you do when you encountered obstacles?
  • How do you know when you’ve hit a wall in life and need to change direction?
  • In what ways does God guide us?
  • In what ways does God empower us for the journey ahead?
  • What can we do when we run down and are exhausted?

Scripture references
Philippians 3:13-14, Psalm 138:8, Proverbs 16:4, Romans 11:36, Matthew 7:13-14, Proverbs 19:21, Philippians 4:13, Deuteronomy 28, Romans 8:12-13, Ephesians 5:18-21

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…

Get "Go for the Gold" Youth Bible Study Series
Go for the Gold
Need an evangelistic Youth Camp/ Bible Study Series with an Olympic Theme?

What is salvation all about? What does it mean to be saved? This sports themed Bible Study / Camp Curriculum uses the Olympic Flag to introduce the concepts of sin (black circle), forgiveness (red circle), purity (white background), spiritual growth (green circle), heaven (Yellow Circle) and (Baptism) blue circle.
-> Tell me about “Go for the Gold”

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Destined to Win
Need a Youth Camp/ Bible Study Series on “Running the Christian Race”?

The race as a metaphor for the Christian life is used in several places in the Bible. This series is a great follow up for new Christians or to re-emphasize the basics of our spiritual Journey in the Faith. This Bible Study / Camp Curriculum has a sports theme and is great for athletes as well as a tie in to the youth Olympic Games.
->Tell me about “Destined to Win”

Announcements

Creative Youth Ideas 2010 FIFA World Cup Football Predictions

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The end of the 2010 FIFA World Cup is just around the corner.

Who do you think will win in the final soccer match of the FIFA World Cup?
Will it be Spain or Netherlands that takes home the 2010 soccer World Cup title?

I heard the cephalopod (Paul the Octopus) correctly picked Spain to reach the World Cup final. Apparently the little sucker has been issued with death threats after the Germans were beaten 1-0 in the most recent soccer match. There have been calls from the Germans for him to be “thrown to the sharks” and to be the guest of honor at a paella dinner with himself being the main course. They even aired anti-octopus songs in Berlin. It’s getting so bad that Spain’s Prime Minister, Jose Luiz Rodriguez Zapatero, joked on a radio show: “I am concerned for the octopus … I am thinking of sending him a protective team.”

It’s quite amazing how Soccer / Football fans can get so worked up over a sport but that has been true since the Roman times. In fact the Bible has many references to sports. We still love our sports. And the 2010 FIFA World Cup is no different.

While I don’t know what I think about this “mystic” mollusk predicting the football matches, I do know that World Cup Football is on the minds of viewers all around the world as we approach the final football match.

Appropriately, one of my Creative Youth Ideas subscribers sent me a great little Youth Bible Study centered around football (or soccer) as us Americans call it.

–> Soccer Bible Study for Youth

I thought it was too good to keep it to myself and he has graciously granted permission for it to be placed on my Creative Youth Ideas website.

It’s a great opportunity to take advantage of the world cup football fever and use it as an opportunity to share Christ with your youth.

As Christians we don’t need an octopus to tell us the future. The Bible has already told us what the future holds and how we can be on the winning side in the great game of life.

So here is the Bible study using Football (soccer) as a theme. Click on the link below to download the student and the teacher’s guides. (Thanks to Trevor Lineham at Foxton Bible Camp in New Zealand for his gracious generosity)

–> Soccer Bible Study for Youth

Have a great weekend!

With YOUth On My Heart,

Ken

 

Creative Teaching Ideas

Fruit of the Spirit Towers

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Description
This is a great learning activity for youth to introduce the fruits of the Spirit and discuss the ongoing development of spiritual fruit in youth as they grow in Christ.

Materials

  • A collection of fruits: Apples, Bananas, Custard Apples, Coconuts, Dragonfruit, Durians, Grapefruits, Grapes, Lemons, Limes, Oranges, Papayas, Pears, Pineapples, Pomelos, Rambutans, Soursop, Starfruit, Strawberries.
  • You might also include toothpicks and a plastic knife so the youth can cut the fruits up and stick them together.
  • A plate on which to build the tower.
  • Optional: Plastic or rubber gloves

 

Preparation
Place the fruits and materials in a fruit basket or bowl where all the youth can see them. You should have one fruit basket for each group of youth.

Important Note: I prefer to do this activity with the youth designating a few tower builders who wear gloves so that at the end of the activity the youth can eat the fruits. You could also use the fruits for a fruit salad afterward. Just add the cream, nuts or other ingredients for your favorite fruit salad recipe and then you will have a tasty snack for the youth instead of wasting the fruit.

What to do

  1. Tell the youth or groups of youth to build towers from the fruit and other materials provided. You may choose to give all the groups of youth the same fruits and materials or give different groups different materials.
  2. Award prizes for the tallest, sturdiest, lightest, most creative, best architectural style, strangest, etc. For fun you may wish to video tape the construction of towers for a record of the event.

 

Application
While giving the following explanation, build your own tower from the fruits:
When we abide in Christ, God starts to produce the fruits of the spirit in our lives. (John 15) The fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) And these fruits are produced in ever increasing measure. While 2 Peter 5-8, doesn’t specifically mention the phrase “fruits of the Spirit”, you’ll see some of the same qualities mentioned in the list it gives there: Faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. It also says that if we have these in every increasing measure they will prevent us from being unfruitful. Actually, there is a logical pattern to the qualities mentioned there. We begin with a faith in Christ, which leads to a desire to do the good things that we know God’s wants us to do. But as we start to live that life, we realize there is so much more that we need to know to live a life that is pleasing to Him. And the more we learn about God and his plan for us, the more we discover even more areas of our lives that we need to change. And of course, change is never easy and it requires a lot of self-control. We will struggle and fail as we seek to make these changes in our lives. Only perseverance will carry us through. As we make these changes we will show more godliness in the way that we live our lives. But Godliness is ultimately expressed in the way we treat our brothers. Brotherly kindness will ultimately be expressed as love. In fact, we are told that others will truly know that we are Christians by our love – When the love of God is expressed through us to others. (John 13:35) The gifts build upon one another in ever increasing measure leading to a life defined by the greatest commandment: Love the Lord God with all your heart soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:36-40)

(I wonder how many of us were tempted to destroy our competition instead of building our own tower? Satan is like that too. We work hard to try to be like Jesus. We do nice things like hold our tempers (place a piece of fruit onto your tower) or tell the truth (stack another piece of fruit on top) or obey our parents / teachers (place another piece of fruit on top), and when Satan sees us trying to grow more like Christ guess what Satan tries to do? (Satan tries to knock us down. ) Yes, Satan tries to knock us down. And sometimes he succeeds. But we have to pick ourselves up and try again. Sometimes it is our own weaknesses that cause us to fail – poor choices. We may be far from perfect, but if we keep making progress, ever increasing in our gifts, our lives will be fruitful.

 


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