by Just the right words or the wrong words can prove your point or land you in jail! Good writing, like a good conversation, is thoughtfully prepared. Each word and sentence is clear and packed with meaning.
A good book is a treasure. Some books are essential to our lives. Even if we have the internet, there will always be a need for hard copy that is easy to read and packed with mental tools we can quickly picture in our minds. In case we are without electricity or batteries, we better have emergency information available.
Do you have two of exactly the same books at home? What are they? The dictionary? Bible? Car Manual? Scout Handbook? Map Book? Recipe book? Telephone Book? Journal? First Aid Manual?
Here is a stunt that proves this point:
Preparation: Find two of the same books. Hide one in the room next to where you will perform, and put the other in a pile of books near where your audience will sit.
Pick up the duplicate book from the pile and hand it to a friend.
Say: ” Read a few words from this book silently and remember them. I will step out of the room so I don’t see or her anything.”
Do: Go into the next room and open your copy.
Say: “Name any page at all. Open the book to that page. Remember as much of the top line as possible.”
You do the same . If that page doesn’t work for some reason, just try another.
Say: “Close your book, please.”
Do: Put your book away and return to the room. Look deeply into your friend’s eyes and repeat as much as you can of the line you memorized. Everyone will think you are a mind reader!
Chatter: These days, few people have two of the same book. Our grandparents may have had shelves of books but not us! Children’s books are easier to find. If you don’t have two, ask a neighbor or go to the library. Good preparation makes a convincing stunt.
What are two of anything you have at home? Pens? Hoses? Bandaids? Belts? Hairbrush or toothbrushes? Kleenex? Dishes? Two bottles of aspirin or medicines? Two bags of sugar or jam? Two boxes of crackers? Two candy bars?
Could you do a stunt using one of these items we just listed? Of course! As long as you have two of the same items and there is writing on both of them. Be creative!
Here is a joke about a judge who was properly prepared to convict a criminal of his crime.
A writer was convicted of a terrible murder. After ten years in solitary confinement, he was brought before a judge to see if he felt remorse.
“Do you feel sorry for what you did? asked the judge.
“Well, I…” replied the writer. After a moment, the writer was marched back to prison.
After twenty more yers, the writer was a new man. He argued that he had given up his criminal ways for good and applied for parole.
“I can’t let you go free,” said the judge.
“Why not?” asked the writer.
“Well,” said the judge, “…you never finished your sentence.”
This is called a “play” on words. It is a pun. The word, “sentence,” has two different meanings. The judge out-witted the murderer by stopping him from completing his argument then he argued that the man did not finish out his time in jail by using a clever phrase: (“You did not finish your sentence”)
Scripture Application
Going back to stories in the book of Mark, Mark 10:23 reads:
“Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier to enter the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Jesus used a phrase with precisely the right words to describe how hard something is to do. A camel cannot go through the eye of a needle. A rich man, who loves anything here on earth more than God, cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. We are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, minds and souls.
Boundaries: There are many ways we can deceive people into believing we can read their minds. No one can read our minds. We cannot read theirs, either. If you make people think you have super powers, you will have to prove it some day. It will only show how foolish you were. Best to tell the truth. Share your secrets with God and only a few trusted people who have proven to be loyal friends.
