Stop EGO [edging God out]

1. Storyboard (First off, a storyboard is when you lay out the events in order as they occurred. Right now I am storyboarding the Old Testament because I did the New. You could also do Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, or anything really. Just showing the events as they occured. Its cool because sometimes it takes a while to figure out what to draw/paint/photograph/whatever for the events and it makes you ponder it for awhile. )

2. Study the proof (Its just a study of the proof behind the bible. Ive heard pastor Bud is very knowledgeable on this topic. But I have started by reading "Case for the Creator" )

3. Photograph Gods creation (You can also just observe Gods creation. It basically just means to take notice to everything around us. Maybe for a whole day, take pictures of everything, from something as large as the sky to something as small as a mustard seed.)

4. Highlight a book (This is something Ive been doing on and off for about a year. Tony Caffey talked about it in the last Deeper study. Its just where you choose a book and use different highlighter colors to show ongoing themes throughout the book. I.E. Yellow for love, pink for joy, blue for interesting verses, green for things you dont understand, etc)

5. Layout a book (This idea was also from the Deeper study. It is where you choose a book and break it down in a journal verse by verse or chapter by chapter. Just writing down what you feel or think after reading the verse. Also, its cool to read the verse and write the immediate thought, then to go back and add addititional thoughts later)

6. Create an experience (Take the book of Revelation, for example. You could write a short story about what it would be like to be left behind. Or you could take pictures/draw/paint things that represent things from the book of Revelation. I layed out clothes in different places and took pictures; it symbolized that people had been lifted up and all their belongings left behind with the unbelievers. I got the idea from the series, Left Behind. You could also go to a forest or in your backyard or in your room and act out something from the bible. It sounds weird, but it could be pretty awesome. Maybe a group or friends could develop a short play - to gain a better grasp of what the book/chapter/verse is saying and to give themselves an experience to always think of when that verse/book/chapter comes up again. Things are always easier to remember when you've experienced it. --This is also something Julia sort of had us try out in Girls study --)

7. Observe people (This is something to do when you feel like your judging too much or when you want to gain a stronger love for people. A situation that I always find myself reverting back to is when something is driving and does something stupid, like cuts us off. I have to make a story about why theyre in such a rush but the story has to be giving the person a good reason. Also, just observing people and keeping in mind that they have a life, they have a soul, they have a mind, a heart, and struggles. )

8. Lights out (Turn off all electronics. No clocks, no tv, no computer, no lights, no microwave, nothing. No sense of time, no mirrors for vanity sake. The concept is really intriguing to me because Ive never lived without all of the things were given so easily)

9. End Times (Signs of the Times A study of the signs of the end times. First you would study what the bible says will happen, earthquakes, nation will rise against nation, people will be greedy for money.. etc. Then you pray attention to news stories. It will not be long before you see how the prophesy is being fulfilled before our eyes)

10. Go blind (I think it would be cool to blindfold yourself for a day. Then at the end of the day, having someone read to you the verses in the bible where Jesus healed the blind. After youve heard it, remove the blindfold - having kept it on for a good amount of time- and -Im thinking- it will be really awesome because then we can at least can a little better grasp of what a huge thing that would be for someone. )

11. Panorama (Take a shoebox and pick a scene from the bible, then display it. I think -if you were to make a couple of them - it would be an awesome way to turn your room into a prayer hideout. You could make a line of them around your room, possibly on a table or even on the floor, and have little display boxes of biblical events, so when you pray, they can be fresh in your mind.)