Young Life Game: Mayo Eating Contest

Aug 302011

Two jars of mayonnaise, 4 spoons, & 4 kids (2 per team).

When the music starts, they race to see which team can finish their jar of mayo first.

Here’s the catch. One team’s jar of mayo is actually a mayo jar filled with vanilla pudding. We usually make that our girl team. We tell them ahead of time. We ask them to eat as fast as they can, but to periodically pretend to be grossed out. The competitive spirit of the fellas usually means they’ll try to down their jar of real mayo thinking that the girls are eating theirs.

We’ve also done this with 4 individual jars where we did guys vs. girls and had 2 jars of vanilla pudding.

Caution: make sure you’re really careful when you clean out the jar of mayo you’re filling with pudding. If you get the wrapper wet, it’ll show. I spooned all of the mayo out, carefully put in some hot water, capped and it and shook it up. A couple times of doing that and all the mayo was out.

Name That Tune Sing Along Game

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Aug 242011

Here’s a game that can be played a couple different ways. Put headphones on a kid and have them sing songs only they can hear while their teammate attempts to guess the song.

In the past, we played it where they had a certain amount of time to guess as many songs as possible.

The last time we did it, we timed teams to see how long it took each time to correctly guess 10 songs.

Here are some things we learned:

Pick songs nearly every kid will know.
Edit the songs so to take the intro music out. We edited our 10 songs starting in the middle of verses, that way if a kid really knew it they’d get it before it got to the obviousness of the chorus.
Stress how important it is to keep singing or even humming. It gets really dull to just have someone stand up there.
Speaking of just standing there, make sure you have a kid who will go all out or this can really flop.

With the 10 song timed versions of the game, we edited each song to exactly a minute. That way if they didn’t get it within a minute it would automatically go to the next song. In case you’re wondering how long this game could last, cause it seems like it might get long, our winning time was 3 minutes & some seconds. Our losing time was almost 5 minutes. When we do it again, we’ll make sure to do a few less songs.

Here’s one of our best performances.

The Definitive "Christian" Response to Bin Laden's Demise

Simply Put, Someone's Gotta Say It 2 Responses »

May 022011

I think it’s a really fine line that we walk when we start saying there is a “Christian” way to respond to news like that we received last night.

On one hand, it is a lost soul (I think. Still need to read Love Wins to find out for sure.) and I can’t bring myself to rejoicing that no matter who it is. On the other hand, I feel justified in rejoicing the justice of it, not to mention the success & safety of those Navy Seals.

My problem as I’ve seen people come out on both sides of this “response” issue is who is to say how others should celebrate or if they should celebrate at all.

Funny thing is, I’m usually a pretty black & white kinda guy. There’s the wrong way and there’s the right way, and my was is always the right way, but I think it’s sort of a personal deal about how we respond in situations like this. It’s like the family of a convicted murderer who’s been sentenced to death. Who am I to tell someone like that how they “should” respond. The same is true of 9/11. It wasn’t just an even that impacted those who lost loved ones. It was an event that impacted the entire nation, the entire world.

Clearly Proverbs 24:17-18 (Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; Lest the LORD see it, and it displease Him.) and the Biblical idea that vengeance is not ours, but the Lord’s would lead me to be subdued in my own personal response. I am happy to be sure, but I’m not gloating or exuberant about it. However I don’t think I can put my own convictions, feelings, and emotional responses on other people, because people are different & they are in different situations.

For instance, I just watched the response at the Naval Academy via HotAir.

They were downright giddy, and I believe they have a right to be, even the Christian midshipmen. Their shipmates accomplished an extremely difficult mission that they have been working on for nearly 10 years.

I’m not sure we can just say “That was or was not the proper Christian response…”

Just like we all have different spiritual gifts that make the body of Christ the body of Christ, I think those Christians who have the inclination toward peace to the point of pacifism need to lead us & encourage us to lead peaceful lives & think peacefully. But likewise I think those Christians who have the intense desire to protect the innocent & fight evil need to do so wholeheartedly to the point of celebrating the victories God has given them.

Update: Just came across this blog post & youtube video from Tim at Life In Student Ministry. Good stuff.

Flyer Fodder - Fun Things To Do In The Grocery Store

Earning The Right Comments Off

Apr 292011

If you do Young Life flyers, here’s a little something to include.

While in a Grocery Store

Every time you turn the corner with your shopping cart, yell “Make Way!!!”
While scratching frantically, ask the manager if he or she has anything for body lice.
Bring your own buy one get one free tags and put them on random items.
Get tubes of Preparation H (or other embarrassing items) and as you go past other shoppers just secretly drop it in their cart. Stand near the checkout and watch what they all do.
Challenge other shoppers to cart races.
Set up your own little sample table, but just give out plain animal crackers. Be very enthusiastic about them. “You’ve gotta try these!”
When you see a worker pulling items to the front of the shelf, walk by and push some back. Just keep walking.
If you can find a freezer with room in it (or make your own room) get inside and look out at the shoppers through the glass doors.
Bring a fake mouse attached to fishing line (50 feet is good) and drag it around behind your cart.
Insist that the bagger only put one item in each bag.
When you stop to look at something, turn your cart sideways so nobody can get by.
Make up your own language and ask people questions in it. Make the questions sound important.
Wear headphones and sing out loud.

Young Life Club Game – Goldfish Walk

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Apr 272011

What’s better than making kids think they’re killing little helpless fisheys?

What you’ll need.

a few yards of plastic
a fishbowl full of goldfish (lots of them)
several cans of mandarin oranges – the more the better
a blindfold
some good walking music
a couple towels
video & still camera

Send 3 kids out of the room. You’ll need at least 2 leaders to lead this game. Lay the plastic on the floor up front. Hold the goldfish bowl so the kids will see it when the come back in one at a time. Make sure the oranges are hidden but nearby.

As each student comes in have the main leader hold the goldfish bowl and welcome them back. When the kid gets to the front, the main leader needs to hand the bowl to the other leader who’s on his/her knees on the plastic. The main leader will explain to the kid that he’ll have to walk across the plastic without stepping on any and subsequently Continue reading »

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Chris Storms