As is commonly known, one of the biggest killers of ideas is the excuse, “We’ve never done it that way before.”

However, profound ideas can come from the strangest places. Creative genius comes to people who are open to new ideas and different ways of doing things. For example, in 1964 the freighter Al Kuwait which was carrying 6,000 live sheep capsized and sank in Kuwait’s harbor. The sunken ship with its decomposing cargo began to present a serious threat to the country’s water supply through its desalination processing plant.

To overcome the problem the ship had to be raised and moved to a safe place without falling apart and dumping its poisonous contents into the nation’s water supply.

Karl Kroyer, a Danish engineer working in Kuwait, came up with a novel idea. He pumped 27 million ping-pong balls into the freighter’s hull which slowly raised it to the surface.

And where did he get this idea? From a Donald Duck comic book. Somebody sank Donald’s boat and he and his feathered friends raised it by filling it with ping-pong balls!

When it comes to creative living, a better place to get great ideas is in the words and examples of Jesus in the Bible. It pays to know it and hide its truths in our heart. One’s life is greatly enriched when it is lived in harmony with God’s Will and Word.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please give me a greater love for your Word, help me to hide it in my heart ‘that I might not sin against you,’ and be guided by its principles in everything I am and do. Gratefully in Jesus’ name.”

1. Psalm 119:105 (NIV).