NOTE: As I write this week’s idea of the week, I’m sitting in the
hospital while they do the preparation for chemotherapy for lymphoma.
It’s been an eventful past couple of weeks since I was diagnosed and I
missed last week’s idea of the week.
This week’s lesson is
centered around bubble gum. When I think of bubble gum there are a
couple of things that come to mind. First, when you unwrap it and first
place it in your mouth, it’s kind of hard and not very flexible. But
when you chew on it a while it becomes not only flexible, but you can
then fill it with air and expand it to make huge bubbles. Chewing the
bubble gum for me is a lot like meditation on God’s Word. I’ve had a lot
of time to do that in the hospital as they run all the tests to decide
the chemo regiment and make sure I will be able to tolerate it. Like
bubble gum, you have to chew on God’s Word a while to get the full
flavor and experience it more fully. At first it may seem kind of HARD
to understand but you just need to chew on it awhile. God’s Word, unlike
Bubble Gum, never loses it flavor. And once we’ve meditated or chewed
on it a while, we become more flexible and useful to God. He can stretch
us and fill us and use us.
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Bubble Gum Games
Bubble Gum Blowing Contest –
You can play this game as individuals, or with representatives from
multiple teams. Give each youth 2 pieces of gum. On your signal, they
must unwrap the bubble gum, chew it, and blow a large bubble. The
largest bubble wins. Give the youth 60 seconds to blow their best
bubble. The easiest way to time the game is to play some upbeat
energetic music and then stop the music after 60 seconds as a timer.
(NOTES: You might want to have a ruler for measurement. Also, if you add
a little peanut butter to bubble gum you can blow even bigger bubbles.
Peanut butter also works wonders for getting bubble gum out of hair.)
Bubble Gum Blow-Out –
Tape a piece of paper to the wall at an easily reached height for your
youth. You’ll need one for each team. On “go”, each player has to race
to a table on the other side of the room to get a piece of bubble gum.
They must then. They then unwrap it and start chewing it to get it
flexible enough to blow a bubble. A once they blow the bubble they must
stick it to the paper on the wall for their team, using only their
mouth. No hands are allowed. The first team to have every member stick a
bubble to the paper wins. (Note: Some brands of bubble gum are easier
to stick to the paper than others)
Bubble Gum Match-up –
You will want to buy several different flavors or colors of bubble gum.
Give everyone about 5-10 pieces of different bubble gum flavors or
different colored individually wrapped bubblegum balls. (Be sure to tell
them not to eat it yet.) Tell them they have about 1 to 2 minutes to
get all the same color of Bubble Gum. To do so they need to trade with
other youth. The first person to trade and get all of one color wins.
Bubble Gum Swing -
Youth pair up for this game, and it can be played with the entire group
or a representative from each team. For each pair, tie a piece of
bubble gum to a string so that when the end of the string is placed in a
person’s mouth, the bubble gum is about 6 inches from the floor. One
youth in each pair holds the string in his or her mouth and swings the
bubble gum to their partner. The partner must catch the piece of bubble
gum into their mouth while standing up straight and at no time can
either person use hands. They must then chew the bubble gum as quickly
as possible and blow a bubble. The first pair to do so wins, but you
might want to continue the game until several more are successful.
Bubble Gum Art -
Give each youth one or more pieces of bubble gum to chew, a toothpick
and an index card. Allow them a few minutes to chew the bubble gum,
place it on the index card and then create a sculpture of something on
the index card using only the toothpick as a tool – no hands. You can
either give them a specific object to sculpt or you can let them come up
with their own sculpture. If you allow them free reign with their
creations, give each person an opportunity to show off their creation.
You can also give other youth an opportunity to guess what the
scultpture is. The person with the best and most creative design, as
determined by the peer group is the winner. You can have several
categories of winners, like “Most ingenious,” “Most Creative,” etc.
Bubble Blow Up –
Give a representative from each team a Blow Pop sucker. The first one
to unwrap it, and bite into it, to the gum, and blow a bubble wins.
Bubble Gum Treasure Hunt -
Young Life Twist: Bury a piece of bubble gum in plate of flour. Without
using their hands, youth have to find the gum and blow a bubble. First
to do so wins.
Bubble Race -
First person in a pair to blow and pop ten bubbles in a row wins. Face
your opponent (this is important, it means you can cheat by making your
rival laugh and they won’t be able to blow a bubble) and on the count of
three start blowing. Bubbles have to make a pop or they don’t count and
you can’t make your bubble pop by sucking it backwards. It has to pop
while it’s being blown outwards. The first one to ten wins.
TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL
Discussion:
- What is your favorite kind of bubble gum? Why?
- Why do you choose to chew bubble gum? The flavor, to blow bubbles, or simple to have something to chew on or pass the time?
- What does it mean to chew on something?
- What is the benefit of chewing something for a long time?
MAKE IT SPIRITUAL
* In what way is meditation in God’s Word similar to chewing gum?
In
many of these games, we rushed to chew the gum quickly so that we could
simply blow a bubble. We didn’t take it slowly or take time to enjoy it
and fully experience the flavor, but we simply chewed it just enough to
get something done. Unfortunately this is the same way many of us treat
our Bible reading. We read just enough to get the job done, but we
don’t really meditate on it or or take time to really enjoy it. In the
Bible, we are often commanded to meditate on scripture. We are also told
to taste and see that God is good.
* When given a piece of gum, do you quickly chew it and swallow it, or do you chew it for a while and enjoy it?What is your favorite food? Have you ever chewed your favorite food
very slowly so that you can taste every nuance of the flavor and truly
enjoy it? This is a lot like meditation.
MAKE IT PRACTICAL
Meditate
means to take your time to think long and hard about something, to
focus on something or someone in order to get the most out of it.
What are some ways we can meditate on scripture?
Here three of my favorites:
Look up key words in the verse in an English Dictionary. How does the
full meaning of the words expand your understanding of the scripture?
Read a verse emphasizing a different word each time. For example, John 3:16
FOR God so loved the World….
For GOD so loved the world….
For God SO loved the world…
For God so LOVED the world….
ETC… How does each emphasis bring more depth to the meaning of the verse?
3. Read it in various translations.
MAKE IT PERSONAL
- Make sure you have a personal bible reading plan or devotional book you use to mediate on scriptures.
- Set aside some time each day to meditate on Scripture.
- Keep a journal of your insights as you meditate on God’s Word each day.
SCRIPTURES
1
Corinthians 3:1-3 – “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to
spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave
you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive
it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly.
For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly,
and are you not walking like mere men?”
John 16:12 – “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.”
Hebrews
5:12 – “In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need
someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over
again. You need milk, not solid food!”
1 Peter 2:2 – “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,”
Joshua
1:8 – “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you
shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do
according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way
prosperous, and then you will have good success.”
Psalm 1:1-6 –
“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor
stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his
delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and
night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its
fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does,
he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind
drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor
sinners in the congregation of the righteous;”
Psalm 119:9-11 –
“How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your
word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your
commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not
sin against you.”
