Here’s a way cool 3 minute video clip that will arrest your attention and catch you by surprise.
You have to watch it all the way through to reap the reward.
“The Truth (Vertigo)”
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
Deceptive labels
A reader sent in the below. It’s full of useful ideas on removing labels and not stereotyping ourselves or others.
I heard the neatest thing today out of a workshop on dealing with troubled kids.
In preparing his presentation for the children the speaker took a can of dog food and a can of fruit and exchanged the labels.
During the workshop, he showed the cans to the kids and had them pick one. They all picked the can of fruit. He opened it and they discovered dog food.
He used the surprise to point out that you can’t judge people by the labels society puts on them. You have to look inside to find out what's really in there and who they are.
He has another illustration where the kids have someone who really loves them write something about them on a label and then he puts the label on a can. Then he has them write what they think about themselves on several other labels, including what they think others think about them. He puts these self-written labels one by one over the top of the first label. Then they talk together about what was written, and strip the labels away one at a time until they get down to the label written by the person who loves them.
Sounds like material for some good Sunday school lessons!
Amen.
I can picture the faces of disgust on the children when they opened a can of presumed fruit, and found dog food!
I heard the neatest thing today out of a workshop on dealing with troubled kids.
In preparing his presentation for the children the speaker took a can of dog food and a can of fruit and exchanged the labels.
During the workshop, he showed the cans to the kids and had them pick one. They all picked the can of fruit. He opened it and they discovered dog food.
He used the surprise to point out that you can’t judge people by the labels society puts on them. You have to look inside to find out what's really in there and who they are.
He has another illustration where the kids have someone who really loves them write something about them on a label and then he puts the label on a can. Then he has them write what they think about themselves on several other labels, including what they think others think about them. He puts these self-written labels one by one over the top of the first label. Then they talk together about what was written, and strip the labels away one at a time until they get down to the label written by the person who loves them.
Sounds like material for some good Sunday school lessons!
Amen.
I can picture the faces of disgust on the children when they opened a can of presumed fruit, and found dog food!
But I reversed the experience in my mind and thought about times when we thought we were being served a can of dog food, but opened the lid—got to know someone better—and found a can of fruit!
This is the case with everyone on the globe. Many people are avoided because of how they look and act and where they come from, but inside that package covered with unattractive labels is a wholesome can of fruit!
There is a “can of fruit” in all of us no matter what the outward appearance.
May we all look for the fruit and not fear finding dog food!
This is the case with everyone on the globe. Many people are avoided because of how they look and act and where they come from, but inside that package covered with unattractive labels is a wholesome can of fruit!
There is a “can of fruit” in all of us no matter what the outward appearance.
May we all look for the fruit and not fear finding dog food!
Thursday, March 27, 2008
A prickly affair
On the last day of my family’s trip to Southern California last week, we visited the Joshua Tree National Park.
Joshua Tree Park is dry desert, but littered with fascinating features and sights that capture the imagination and awes the curiosity of visitors.
First stop for us was the Ranger station, where a kind and knowledgeable ranger headed us in the right direction for the best sights.
He warned us of Cholla cactus which he said, “Hurts like hell,” if you get pricked by its needles. We had no idea what one looked like, but decided to avoid them the best we could.
When we ventured upon a Cholla cactus garden, we exclaimed, “Aw, the Cholla cactus! Let’s go look!!”
We walked the trail through the prickly plants and saw with our own eyes what the ranger had warned us of. The points of the needles are so fine, that evidently you don’t realize they’ve poked you until it’s too late, and by then, the sensation of pain is going full bore. So we were told…
As we gingerly and VERY carefully walked through the garden, avoiding contact like Superman avoiding Kryptonite, I thought about how much easier it would be to remain pricker-free by staying out of the garden in the first place! I figured we could negotiate the Cholla for a few minutes without incident, but how often do people try to navigate prickly mental territory that would be easier to avoid altogether?
Indulging in a forbidden sin, for example, like telling a lie, committing adultery, stealing, moral assassination, talking behind other people’s back…basically anything that leads to a guilty conscience, or should lead to a guilty conscience, is a mental Cholla garden to stay away from.
It’s much easier to live a clean, moral, pure life than to slip into error, get stung by the vengeance of sin, and nurse one’s wounds until recovered.
When we slip, Christ always provides a way out, but as the old proverb states, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
We made it through the garden unharmed, but were all relieved after walking through the exit gate to not be constantly concerned about whether we’d accidentally brush up against a Cholla bush and get stung!
Cholla have a certain beauty to them from a distance, and close-up, but it’s a dangerous kind of beauty, which if it draws you up too close, grabs you in a very unpleasant way.
Ouch! I think I'll keep my distance...
Joshua Tree Park is dry desert, but littered with fascinating features and sights that capture the imagination and awes the curiosity of visitors.
First stop for us was the Ranger station, where a kind and knowledgeable ranger headed us in the right direction for the best sights.
He warned us of Cholla cactus which he said, “Hurts like hell,” if you get pricked by its needles. We had no idea what one looked like, but decided to avoid them the best we could.
When we ventured upon a Cholla cactus garden, we exclaimed, “Aw, the Cholla cactus! Let’s go look!!”
We walked the trail through the prickly plants and saw with our own eyes what the ranger had warned us of. The points of the needles are so fine, that evidently you don’t realize they’ve poked you until it’s too late, and by then, the sensation of pain is going full bore. So we were told…
As we gingerly and VERY carefully walked through the garden, avoiding contact like Superman avoiding Kryptonite, I thought about how much easier it would be to remain pricker-free by staying out of the garden in the first place! I figured we could negotiate the Cholla for a few minutes without incident, but how often do people try to navigate prickly mental territory that would be easier to avoid altogether?
Indulging in a forbidden sin, for example, like telling a lie, committing adultery, stealing, moral assassination, talking behind other people’s back…basically anything that leads to a guilty conscience, or should lead to a guilty conscience, is a mental Cholla garden to stay away from.
It’s much easier to live a clean, moral, pure life than to slip into error, get stung by the vengeance of sin, and nurse one’s wounds until recovered.
When we slip, Christ always provides a way out, but as the old proverb states, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
We made it through the garden unharmed, but were all relieved after walking through the exit gate to not be constantly concerned about whether we’d accidentally brush up against a Cholla bush and get stung!
Cholla have a certain beauty to them from a distance, and close-up, but it’s a dangerous kind of beauty, which if it draws you up too close, grabs you in a very unpleasant way.
Ouch! I think I'll keep my distance...
