Your Favorite Illustrations!

[Rory]

I would like to just hear everyones favorite illustrations! It can be about anything!!!

[Qapla]

I won't say this is my favorite ... not sure what my favorite is, but I will give you an illustration:

Have you ever wondered how someone with the Heavenly Calling knows they have that calling?

Well, picture that you have just applied for a job. The owner of the company says that he has other employment applications to consider and he will make his decision during the night. He says that the person he selects will get a phone call the next day between 9AM and 5PM.

You go home, set your alarm and get a good nights sleep. You get up early and get all set. You sit by the phone all day starting at 8 O'clock. You even carry the handset with you when you get some food to eat and when you take care of any necessary business. 6 O'clock comes and your phone has not rung all day long.

Now, since you were never without the phone, would you begin to wonder "Did I get the call and just not realize it?"

The point being, if you have to wonder if you've been called, chances are, you have not.

[surfergirl]

Nice one John I will keep it. I had some korean ladies call on me recently discussing heaven. I will log that Illustration in.

I have 3 they are more experiences but I use them to illustrate.

One District Assembly some years ago. A Sister gave the experience she come to wonder who God was. After sitting stuck in Sydney traffic on her way home. She saw a beautiful Sunset flashing accross the sky. Many beautiful colors and she Wondered who could make such a magnificient thing. Of she found out & was baptized the same day As she gave the experience.

another. Was related. A brother to be. Was sitting out the back of the waves, waiting for his next ride. & he say the Dolphins up close, riding the surf, He thought well aren't they lucky, they can go anywhere they want to. The dolphins don't need a wetsuit or a steamer to go surfing. they `can come & go wherever they please. So on that note he said we wanted to know who was behind that great Idea? He too is a brother.

Another friend He and his wife serve in Cambodia as missionaries. My brother in law. He & some friends when I was growing up In the truth. there was a few who like to surf. & My brother in law said to his friend now the missionary. How would you like to surf forever. So to speak..He was hooked on that Idea. this friend is In a Dvd that was made some years back. United In truth.Something like that I have to find it. but he relates That experience.

So I love it when the Magazine articles talk about creation or the enviroment... I use these experiences in away to illustrate the positive side to God's kingdom.

[Cherene]

Hi Gabe

Yes I enjoyed that illustration about surfing.........'perfect serf every day' refering to serving Jehovah.

The brother gave that experience on the DVD ' To the ends of the earth' which expands on missionarry service. Excellent DVD...... ><

[suezieag]

My favorite illustration was told to me by a sister before I was was baptised during one of my studies. My mom died way back in 1995 from epilepsy, and my uncle the year I was studying from cancer, 2009. When you're an atheist, there's no hope and the pain of loss wears down with time but doesn't go away. So we were in that part of the first book, and this sister said, "It's like we're on a train, and we're all up front with everyone else we know, and some we don't know, and everyone we love that isn't there are in the back part of the train where the bedrooms are, and they're sleeping now, and will wake up when the train comes to a stop." I'll tell you what, I haven't felt the hit of loss since she said that. If I cry now, which is rare, it's because I'm daydreaming about the resurrection!

[Cherie]

Is this the illustration, Suezane? I like to include it in sympathy cards for the friends....

Journey

Try to imagine that all of us in Jehovah’s organization are sticking to it and doing what we are supposed to be doing, and giving our best to Jehovah however much that may be. It’s like we are all riding along in a train together into the new system. As we ride along, the journey becomes very tiring for some and so every so often some of them nod off to sleep. When this happens, the others on the train pick them up and carry them back to the sleeper cars and leave them there to rest until we reach our destination. So it is with the ones we have lost in death. They are right there in Jehovah’s memory, so when we reach the station all we will do is walk back to the sleeper cars and tell them, “Here we are! You can get up now!”

[Joey]

Is this the illustration, Suezane? I like to include it in sympathy cards for the friends....

Journey

Try to imagine that all of us in Jehovah’s organization are sticking to it and doing what we are supposed to be doing, and giving our best to Jehovah however much that may be. It’s like we are all riding along in a train together into the new system. As we ride along, the journey becomes very tiring for some and so every so often some of them nod off to sleep. When this happens, the others on the train pick them up and carry them back to the sleeper cars and leave them there to rest until we reach our destination. So it is with the ones we have lost in death. They are right there in Jehovah’s memory, so when we reach the station all we will do is walk back to the sleeper cars and tell them, “Here we are! You can get up now!”

That is such a wonderful illustration,thank you for posting it.It gives me a place to mentally put all of our loved ones who've passed away . They are traveling with us,just in the sleeper cars, how comforting that is to think about.

[surfergirl]

Hi Gabe

Yes I enjoyed that illustration about surfing.........'perfect serf every day' refering to serving Jehovah.

The brother gave that experience on the DVD ' To the ends of the earth' which expands on missionarry service. Excellent DVD...... ><

Go Cherene. Yes that's the DVD. Thanks. Yes that Bro. Is a good friend..& My brother inlaw is good buddies.

Sometimes I get to see him & his wife.

[Crystal Angle]

Is this the illustration, Suezane? I like to include it in sympathy cards for the friends....

Journey

Try to imagine that all of us in Jehovah’s organization are sticking to it and doing what we are supposed to be doing, and giving our best to Jehovah however much that may be. It’s like we are all riding along in a train together into the new system. As we ride along, the journey becomes very tiring for some and so every so often some of them nod off to sleep. When this happens, the others on the train pick them up and carry them back to the sleeper cars and leave them there to rest until we reach our destination. So it is with the ones we have lost in death. They are right there in Jehovah’s memory, so when we reach the station all we will do is walk back to the sleeper cars and tell them, “Here we are! You can get up now!”

That is such a wonderful illustration,thank you for posting it.It gives me a place to mentally put all of our loved ones who've passed away . They are traveling with us,just in the sleeper cars, how comforting that is to think about.

Thank you for sharing that. I can say that is very comforting and I will have to share this with some of my friends that I know could use these words

[Qapla]

There was a man trying to golf one morning and he landed the ball just off the fairway right on an ant hill. He knew he was supposed to play the ball where it landed so he posed himself and took careful effort to hit the ball cleanly so it would still make the green.

He swung hard and missed the ball. In doing so he took a huge divot out of the ant bed just to the left of the ball.

He swung again and tried to correct for the under-swing. He over corrected and took another divot out of the ant bed ... this time just to the right of the ball.

While all this was taking place, two ants that had been thrown from the anthill when the ball first landed watched in horror. One ant turned to the other and said, "You know, I think if we want to live we should get on the ball"

[Mamba]

Oh, this is so beautiful. And mentioning that the ones that have nodded off are just in the back of us in the sleeper cars, reminds me of how the memory of them are still and always in our hearts.

[Cherie]

Oh you are so welcome....I wish I could give credit to the brother or sister who originally wrote it....

[Cherene]

Hi Rory

There are so many good ones. The seriousness of stumbling another was brought out in the following illustration :

Imagine you have 2 children, one is 8 years and the other just 18 months or so.......... The younger one is about to take his very first step when your older child gets a brick an places it in front of his brother.........as a parent how would you feel toward your older child despite your love for him.......... So Jehovah feels toward us if we stumble our brothers/sisters.

[Qapla]

Good illustration about stumbling.

A brother here used to give an illustration from the other side of stumbling ...

He said supposed you were walking outside and someone, perhaps your brother, came up and put something in your way and you trip over it and fall - you stumbled - Would you just lay there and say "I'm Stumbled!" ... When someone comes along to help you up would you say, "Leave me alone, I'm Stumbled!" Would you just lay there when it rains or an alligator comes along to eat you ... because your stumbled?

Of course not! Likewise, if you stumble spiritually, accept the help, get up and move on.

I have always remembered his illustration.

[Cherene]

I remember another one that I enjoyed ............... A large Petrol Truck's tanker is filled to the brim with petrol to deliver petrol to all the petrol stations...... And off it goes........... Only to realise half way its own engine is empty and has no petrol and gets stuck, it is now no use to its self or those relying on it.......... So it is with a Christian who is not balanced and focuses on dispensing spiritual food but neglects their own spiritual health.

[Destiny1956]

Love all the illustrations brothers and sisters.

[Qapla]

There was a ruler who was looking for a new carriage driver. He had his people search the land and they brought the three most qualified drivers before him. He had them brought to a high cliff with a sharp drop-off. He then proceed to ask them how close to the edge they could get with a carriage drawn by two of the best horses in the kingdom.

The first one said, "I can come within 10' of the edge while driving the carriage at high speed."

The second one boasted, "I can come within 5' of the edge with the horses at a full gallop and the carriage fully loaded!"

The third one exclaimed, "Are you kidding? I am not going anywhere near the edge of that cliff - especially with horses, a carriage and you in the carriage!!"

Guess who got the job ...

The idea being, we do not want to see how "close" we can come to the world - we want to avoid it as far as we can.

[trottigy]

There was a ruler who was looking for a new carriage driver. He had his people search the land and they brought the three most qualified drivers before him. He had them brought to a high cliff with a sharp drop-off. He then proceed to ask them how close to the edge they could get with a carriage drawn by two of the best horses in the kingdom. The first one said' date=' "I can come within 10' of the edge while driving the carriage at high speed." The second one boasted, "I can come within 5' of the edge with the horses at a full gallop and the carriage fully loaded!" The third one exclaimed, "Are you kidding? I am not going anywhere near the edge of that cliff - especially with horses, a carriage and you in the carriage!!" Guess who got the job ... The idea being, we do not want to see how "close" we can come to the world - we want to avoid it as far as we can.[/quote']

[Crystal Angle]

There was a ruler who was looking for a new carriage driver. He had his people search the land and they brought the three most qualified drivers before him. He had them brought to a high cliff with a sharp drop-off. He then proceed to ask them how close to the edge they could get with a carriage drawn by two of the best horses in the kingdom.

The first one said, "I can come within 10' of the edge while driving the carriage at high speed."

The second one boasted, "I can come within 5' of the edge with the horses at a full gallop and the carriage fully loaded!"

The third one exclaimed, "Are you kidding? I am not going anywhere near the edge of that cliff - especially with horses, a carriage and you in the carriage!!"

Guess who got the job ...

The idea being, we do not want to see how "close" we can come to the world - we want to avoid it as far as we can.

I really love this one.

[Qapla]

The recent Watchtower Study Articles about Humility reminded me of another illustration:

The was a ship traveling at night when they saw the oncoming lights of another ship - on a collision course. The pilot had the deck crew flash the oncoming ship that they needed to yield to port. The other ship did not respond. He told the Executive Officer and the XO got on the radio and announced to the other ship, "We are a heavy cruiser and I recommend you yield to port. ... Still no response. He woke the Captain.

The Captain came to the bridge and took the radio mike and announced to the other ship, "This is a the Captain of a US Battle Ship, on of the most powerful ships in the ocean, I recommend you yield to port before it is too late ...

There came a tentative reply, "Uh... This is Jake, in the lighthouse that you are heading straight for ... I recommend you yield to Starboard"

[DarinS]

from Pio School in 89 - just one I liked

CO draws 3 curvy lines

then he shows that this is actually a curvy road

he adds some cars

he asked where are you and why

-all kinds of answers---

left side - its fast lane

right side side - in US we drive on rt side - seems safer

then he draws a few vertical lines and says oh by the way

IT's AN ELEVATED ROAD

that represents the way we serve Jehovah

POINT

we shouldn't be in the Left lane - racing ahead of Jehovah - because a little mis-step and we fall out

likewise we shouldn't be going slower than everyone else - in rightmost lane - we too could fall off

we should center ourselves in Jehovah's org and have LOTS of protection on either side for whenever we need to turn a little one way or another

[Qapla]

One I remember from long ago:

The brother held up a WHITE piece of poster-board. It had a small BLACK dot/smudge/spot on it. He asked what people saw.

People answered that they saw a black dot/spot. Some even tried to say where it was ... center, slightly off-center and such. Some said the "dot" was a spot since it wasn't really round. There were many comments about the various properties of this "black spot". He finally asked why, when the black spot was so small compared to the size of the poster-board, why no one saw all the WHITE!

He was illustrating that we should not be so picky when we look at our brothers. Never should we only see their faults and miss all their good qualities.

[Bec C]

I remember a C/O when I was little came to the stage with 2 jars, 2 ping pong balls and a pile of jelly beans.

I think the jelly beans caught my attention as I never forgot it

He put all the jelly beans in the jar and then tries to get the 2 ping pong balls in, they wouldn't go in. Then in the other jar he put the ping pong balls in first then poured the jelly beans in after, they all went in.

The moral was, the ping pong balls were the theocratic things in our lives and the jelly beans were everything else, when we put the truth first everything else just fits, but if we do it the other way around, it never works.

I love this and have never forgotten it. I must keep practising it though lol. Texting this has reminded me yet again

[Qapla]

There is also the illustration using two glasses of water, one dirty and one clean ... each partially full. It doesn't matter which one you pour into the other, the dirty water never turns clean, but the clean water ALWAYS turns dirty.

The moral ... we cannot "mix" with the world and expect that our clean moral standing will make them clean, but their dirty moral standing will certainly soil us.

[niceguy1956]

I saw this one the other day - the brother posting it didn't claim credit for it, so I have no idea who deserves it

I thought it was an excellent illustration though! The brother posted:

I didn't write this

Digging Up Old Bones (Cats)

I had a neighbor--an easy-going type of guy--who dearly loved

cats. One day, one of his cats darted across the street in front of me

and wham! I hit it and killed it instantly. I felt bad, and thought--

should I just hide it or tell him? Well, I picked up the cat and

carried it to the neighbor's front door, rang the bell; he opened it,

and there I stood with his favorite cat lying dead in my hands. I

was at a loss for words and finally just said, "I'm sorry that I hit

your cat--he just came out of nowhere and ..." He looked at me,

looked at the cat, and said, "I knew it had to happen one of these

times, and what's done is done." I offered to bury the animal, I

even offered to find him another cat. He said, "No, this cat could

never be replaced." I told him that I was sick to my stomach, and

he told me to just go my way and not to think about it--what was

done is behind us now. Just get on with your life and I will do the

same.

I left, and after getting home, I watched as my neighbor took the

cat, carried it out into the backyard, tenderly laid it on the grass,

dug a little grave and carefully buried it...all except the tail! He

returned to the house and that was that.

Days went by, weeks went by, a month went by, and when I would

look over into his yard, there was that cat's tail on top of the

ground, just as when he buried it. Finally, I went over and knocked

on his door and asked, "I see you buried your cat in the backyard.

Is everything going ok for you since his death?" "Yes, everything

is fine. Life goes on, you know." I then continued with, "May I ask

you a very personal question?" "Sure, I don't mind." "Well, I

noticed that you buried everything except the cat's tail. Is that a

small reminder for you of your dear cat?" "Yes, it is. Here, let me

show you why I did that." He and I walked out to where the cat

was buried. He then looked me square in the eyes and said, "The

next time you come over here and complain about some problem

you have with me or the way that I live my life, I am going to

reach down and grab that cat's tail and pull him up out of the

ground and hold it up and say back to you, "Do you remember

when you killed my cat?"

Doesn't this present a most disgusting picture in your mind? Well,

this is what it is like every time we "dig up the past" and then

wave it in the face of our brother or sister, husband, wife, child, or

whoever. What is done is done, it is buried; leave it in the ground,

all of it! Don't dig up the past; it hurts everyone, including the

person digging it up, because it kindles old wounds.