St Peters

At St Peters today we did our Christmas assembly with the length of ribbon and the torn and restore paper.  We got the biggest reaction of all the assemblies we have done as I unfolded the now fully restored Christmas and the packet of paper fell out it was not what the children expected as that was unfolded to read Happy Birthday Jesus.  We sang the Christmas song Rejoice with Us at the end before Sarah finished with a prayer and then the Lord's prayer.

Low Furness School

Today was the last assembly of 2012 at Low Furness School.  Sarah wasn't with me so I was flying solo.   After singing Inright Outright I asked a few questions about the time of year.  When I asked what is special about Christmas the answer came back the birth of Jesus.  I took a length of ribbon and explained that Christmas should be a bit like this straight forward and simple but we make it fancy and complicated I curl the ribbon.  Then taking a sheet of paper with Christmas on it I start to rip letters of it and then talk about the S - snow, snowmen the MA for mum who does everything towards Christmas then the T which is for toys and tree and not forgetting tinsel we are only left with CHRIS which is the first name of Father Christmas in some places.  I take all the pieces and fold them into each other before doing a restore routine but drop a piece of paper on the floor which generated a big laugh from the headteacher (who must have thought it had gone wrong) but the paper was unfolded to show the words Happy Birthday Jesus. and a fully restore Christmas.  Taking the ribbon back I uncurl it saying this year make Christmas simple and straight forward again.  To finish we sang a Christmas song followed by a prayer.

Pennington School

Sarah and I went to Pennington School this morning for our last visit of 2012.  As it is nearly Christmas we did our Christmas themed assembly.  So after singing Inright Outright Sarah introduced the theme and I asked what makes Christmas, Christmas?  The first answer was - the birth of Jesus which was exactly the answer I wanted.  I then held up the length of ribbon and explained that it really is simple and straight forward but we make it more complex - I then curl the ribbon.  Moving into the torn and restore Christmas routine ending with a packet of folded paper falling to the floor.  Which when I open up the restored Christmas and the dropped paper is opened to say Happy Birthday Jesus.  I then take the curled ribbon and make it straight again saying we should make sure that we keep Christmas simple and straight forward.  We ended with a Christmas song and a prayer.

Croftlands Junior School

We had an interesting visit to Croftlands today - OFSTED had arrived so our assembly was watched by an inspector.  We started in the usual way with a good morning and the children replied back then we sang Great Big God before moving into our Christmas talk, it was the one we have been doing all week using a length of ribbon which is simple and straight.  Asking the children what Christmas was all about brought the answer - the birth of Jesus which was exactly the answer I was looking for but I said we complicate things and I make the ribbon curl.  Then displaying the word CHRISTMAS I begin to remove some of the letters and talk about the S - people thing that snow and snowmen is what Christmas is about, then the MA - and our mums are so busy getting stuff together for Christmas and washing curtains and buying sprouts which nobody eats, then the T - we get caught up in what colour tinsel we want, and how big the tree is and what size turkey to buy not to mention the toys and other treats we all want.  We are only left now with CHRIS which is what Santa, Father Christmas is called in other countries.  Our CHRISTMAS has been destroyed but we can put it together again and i do the torn and restore routine and a packet of paper falls to the floor which I point at and say oopps but this packet is not what the children think it is because it says Happy Birthday Jesus as I say this I show the restored Christmas page.  Returning to the curly ribbon I then restore that to a simple straight piece saying that Christmas is very straight forward and very simple.  We finished by singing Rejoice With Us before Sarah closed with a prayer.

Crosthwaite School

We had a lovely drive up over the tops to Crosthwaite School this afternoon.  We took along our Christmas assembly that we have been doing in schools this week.  So after singing Inright Outright I lifted out the length of ribbon and explained that at Christmas time when we should be thinking about the birth of Jesus we complicate Christmas and with that I make the ribbon go curly.  Next I used the torn and restore Christmas paper to explain how we over complicate things which makes a bit of a mess of Christmas then I tell the children that I am going to restore Christmas which I do.  But a packet of paper falls to the floor and inside it ...Happy Birthday Jesus... I then return to the curly ribbon and say that we need to go back to a simple straight forward Christmas and I make it straight again.  We finished with a Christmas song and then a prayer.

Croftlands Infants School

Sarah and I went to the assembly at Croftlands Infants this afternoon.  It is always a joy to see the children who warm to us every time we see them.  We started with Inright Outright then did our Christmas assembly which included a torn and restore paper trick with a twist as well as a straight to curly  and back to straight ribbon trick.  Basically we encouraged the children to remember that Christmas is about Jesus.  To finish we sang a Christmas song and said a prayer.

The full assembly routine can be read in our other blogs from this week.

Ulverston Infants - Church Walk

Christmas at Ulverston Infants.  This morning Sarah and I went into school to do a Christmas assembly.  After singing Inright Outright Sarah asked a few Christmas related questions, she went on to say that Christmas has become very complicated and fancy - I held up a length of ribbon which was straight and I then made in go curly.  I also did a rip and restore paper trick with a twist.  I used the word Christmas and first I removed the S and said a few things about snow and snowmen, then the MA which is mum and what they do running around organising Christmas etc next the T which could be for tree, turkey, toys and how we want the best.  We are now left with CHRIS which is one of the names for Santa, Father Christmas etc.  I had destroyed Christmas.  I told the children I would restore it and put it back as it should be and I did but then the twist as I unfolded the word Christmas a packet of paper fell out on the floor I made a note of it and pretended that it might have gone wrong - but the child that unfolded that one found the words Happy Birthday Jesus on it.  I returned to the ribbon and made it simple and straight once again.  Sarah concluded the assembly by reminding them that it is Jesus' Birthday celebration.  We finished by singing a Christmas song and a prayer.

Broughton School

We started our round of Christmas assemblies today at Broughton.  After singing Inright Outright I went on to ask the children what event will be happening soon - Christmas came the reply.  So I asked what is special about Christmas and the first answer I got back was the birth of Jesus.  A good start to the talk.  I had a length of ribbon with me which was simple and straight I told the children that Christmas should be like the piece of rippon simple nothing fancy - I then curled the ribbon to make in fancy and got a child to hold it for me.  I then took a length of paper that had Christmas printed on it and I started to rip the letters off.  For the S I said people think that snow and snowmen are part of Christmas, I then did the same for the MA some people called the mum ma and they do a lot to get Christmas sorted out buying lots of nice things for us, then the T well this could be for trees, or turkey and even toys and other treasures which left me with CHRIS which is the first name of Father Christmas or Santa to some people and our Christmas is ruined and needed to be resorted.  I then performed a tare and restore routine with the pieces and as I did so a packet of paper fell to the floor which I pointed out was perhaps maybe a mistake on my part until I opened it to show the words Happy Birthday Jesus.  Going back to the ribbon held by the child which was still looking fancy I then made it straight again and as I did I told the children to make sure that this year they remembered the real reason behind Christmas.  We then sang a Christmas song and Sarah close with a prayer.

Experience Christmas

Sarah and I have had a great day today.  We have been involved with Experience Christmas that was run and organised by Liz Ridgeway from ECC Barrow.  We had 150+ Key Stage 1 children from two different schools in Barrow.  The event was held in St Marks Church and focused on the fact that the Angel Spoke about the first Christmas, the Shepherds Heard about it, the Donkey Felt something and the Camel Saw something special.  The introduction was by way of a quick warm up song - Great Big God followed by a second Christmas song with sign language.  Then a drama introduced the idea and four people acted out the parts of the angel, sheep, donkey and camel.  The children then split into four groups and went to different stations around the church to experience Christmas by listening to a story then doing a simple craft.  After about 15 minutes the children moved on and so visited 4 locations each time getting a story and doing a little craft.  The craft was in fact a heart and the people in the story formed a kind of jigsaw puzzle on the front - but with a gap.  At the end of the morning we gathered round the front of the church which is were the crib scene was and we sang the new song again then we explained the gap because on the back of the heart it said 'Jesus God's gift of Love at Christmas for ......'  the front gap formed a cross.  And we explained that Jesus was the greatest gift ever as He was given to us by God because God loves us so much and Jesus died for us.

Once we had explained the heart to the children we said a prayer and they all left and went back to school.

St Peters

Today I went over to St Peters to take the assembly.  I thought it would be good to talk about those people we have as our hero's.  So to start we sang Giants of Faith then I asked the children about who they thought of as hero's and some children gave examples from TV and film to bible characters.  I then introduce one of my hero's from the bible explaining that a hero is someone who puts others before themselves.  Ruth is a good example of that, I read from the Loin's Children Bible and displayed the pictures on the screen.  At the end I explained a little more about Ruth and encouraged the children to be like her.  Following on from that we sang Shine then a prayer and ended with the Lord's Prayer.

Croftlands Juniors

 Our visit to Croftlands Juniors today to take the assembly.  To start with we sang So Many Ways to Praise the Lord and then Sarah introduced the idea and theme of the assembly.  She talked about what we do when we get cold hands and asked the children how they would warm them up.  Meanwhile I am sat at the front wearing Grace's hat, scarf, mitten como warming my hands with it.  Sarah went on to talk about the fingers inside a glove and how they keep themselves warm but in a mitten they keep each other warm.  Introducing the bible verse which was "Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:"   (Philippians 2:4-5) Sarah explained why she was talking about mittens and gloves and how we should be together when ever we do things so that the love of Jesus works with us.  We finished with Shine followed by a prayer.

Leven Valley School

This blog is being posted a day late.

Today we were at Leven Valley School for the assembly.  We started with So Many Ways to Praise the Lord and went on to do the Gloves and Mittens assembly that we have done in nearly all the schools now.  Sarah explained first of all about how we might keep our hands warm with help from the children who gave some good suggestions.  I then showed my hand in the glove and then my other hand in the mitten.  The point was made that we were not teaching about why it is best to wear mittens instead of gloves but with a mitten all our fingers can help to keep each other warm - on the other hand there was a glove which has all the fingers apart and they can do their own thing.  The main point is that we should be together and not think only of ourselves like the bible verse says  "Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:"   (Philippians 2:4-5).
we concluded the assembly with a prayer and by singing Shine followed by Chicken Dance.

Low Furness School

The theme for the assembly today was Heroes and Heroines.  When you consider the stories in the Bible there are lots of different heroes and heroines - David would be a first choice for most people.  Today though we told the story of Ruth from the children's Bible.  Ruth was someone who put others before herself and that is the true meaning of being a hero - someone who considers others first.  I read the story and Sarah did a summary at the end.  To start though we sang Giants of Faith because Ruth is mentioned in the song.  To finish we sang Shine as the children requested it.  Sarah finished with a prayer followed by the Lord's Prayer.

Broughton School

Today we were over at Broughton School for the assembly.  We took the idea with us that we have used at so many different schools already this year Mittens and Gloves.  Before we started we sang So Many Ways to Praise the Lord which was a new one for the children.  Then Sarah began the assembly talking at first about having cold hands.  I in my usual way messed about a bit until we got to the Gloves and Mittens part which forms the main message of the assembly.  Sarah introduced the Bible verse from Philippians ch  2:4-5 "Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:"  Using the Gloves and Mittens as examples of how it is better to be together than to be apart - like the fingers in a pair of mittens can help keep each other warm while the fingers in a glove are all individuals.  God wants us to look out for the interests of others and not our own.  We finished with singing Shine before I said a prayer.

Messy Church

Had a fun filled afternoon down at the Methodist Church in Ulverston with their Messy Church - get ready for Christmas.  It was very much an Advent theme today.  Children made Christmas related crafts and the worship part had a talk about Christmas.  Sarah had a USB pen and gave it to me to plug into the computer but when I did it said memory full, so I tried to play around a bit but the memory was full!!  Sarah pointed out that sometimes at Christmas time we fill our lives with things that are part of Christmas but not part of the Christmas story.  In other words our lives become full of stuff - we need to get rid of some of the stuff and make space for Jesus at Christmas - like the USB pen was full of rubbish I needed to get rid of.  We sang a couple of songs before we started - Be Happy and So Many Ways to Praise the Lord.

Our Lady's Dalton

This morning Sarah and I went into Our Lady's School in Dalton.  We did the assembly that we have done to so many other schools this week about Mittens and Gloves and how it is better to be together with people like the fingers in a mitten than to be apart from people like the fingers in a glove.  The verse we use to explain this better was -   "Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:"   (Philippians 2:4-5).  We had sung So Many Ways to start off the assembly and we finished with Shine then I said a prayer.

Crosthwaite School

This afternoon Sarah and I went over to see the children at Crosthwaite School.  We had a wonderful drive through the lanes to the school seeing the yellow, orange and golden colours on the trees.  We did the assembly that we have done to so many other schools this week about Mittens and Gloves and how it is better to be together with people like the fingers in a mitten than to be apart from people like the fingers in a glove.  The verse we use to explain this better was -   "Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:"   (Philippians 2:4-5).  We had sung So Many Ways to start off the assembly and we finished with Shine then I said a prayer.

St Peters

This morning Sarah and I went over to St Peters.  We started with So Many Ways to Praise the Lord before Sarah started to talk about cold hands and what we do to keep them warm.  I put my coat back on and messed about a bit putting my hands into my pockets.  She went on to talk about gloves and how they do keep us warm but all are fingers are separate unlike mittens where the fingers are together.  The point being when we are together we can help each other like the fingers do (in keeping warm) so if we share things out and work as a team then we share the warmth of God's love.  Sarah gave the children a verse to think about -  "Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:"   (Philippians 2:4-5) Following this we sang Shine then I said a prayer followed by the Lord's Prayer.

Croftlands Infants School

This afternoon Sarah and I went into Croftlands Infant school for an assembly.  We started by singing So Many Ways to Praise the Lord before Sarah started to ask the children some questions.  As she was asking the children what they did to keep warm I put my coat back on and rubbed my hands together, blew on them, put them in my pockets etc.  Eventually the children said to put on some gloves or mittens.  So I got out a right glove and put it on and a mitten for my left hand and as Sarah talked to the children about how with a glove all the fingers are apart and in a mitten they are together I demonstrated this.  The point of the assembly is simple - when we do things together it is better than when we do things apart because when we are together we help each other out.  To finish the assembly we sang Shine and I said a prayer.

Ulverston Infants - Church Walk

Had a lovely time with the children and staff at Church Walk infants this morning.  Again we did our assembly using the object talk with gloves and mittens to demonstrate Phillippians 2 v 4-5  "And look out for one another's interests, not just for your own. The attitude you should have is the one that Christ Jesus had:"  Putting on gloves keeps your fingers warm individually - keeping ourselves to ourselves, not helping each other.  Putting on mittens keeps the fingers together helping each other to keep warm.  We then said that whether they use gloves or mittens, next time they put them on to remember our little talk about how the warmth of Gods love is shown when we respect, love and help each other.  We sang "So Many ways to praise the Lord" and finished with "Shine".

Penny Bridge School

Our assembly today was taken from a idea in an object lesson book.  After singing So Many Ways to Praise the Lord, Sarah started to talk to the children about having cold hands.  Which is particularly relevant as the days are getting colder.  She asked what the children did with their hands to warm them up, there was the put them in your pocket idea, rub them together, warm them over a fire and of course put on mittens or gloves.  Looking at a pair of gloves modelled by me she said that all the fingers are separate and not together however with a pair of mittens all the fingers are together and therefore help to keep each other warm.  She liken this to us and how we should seek to be together so that we might help each other out.  Following the talk we sang Shine before I said a prayer and reminded them about the idea the next time they put on their gloves or mittens.

Low Furness School

It was our first assembly of the new half-term today at Low Furness school.  The theme we had been given was 'getting on and falling out' so after we had sung So Many Ways to Praise the Lord Sarah started to talk from a new book that we bought while we were away the other week.  It was an object talk book and today the object was gloves - here it is.  Sarah talked about cold hands and how if your hands are cold then normally the rest of your body is too.  Now we can put our hands into our pockets but then we can't do anything with them like pick stuff up.  I demonstrated this to the children - laughs all round.  Some people put on gloves - so I did and here each finger is kept warm - by the material around it.  However a pair of mittens where all the fingers are together well each finger helps the others to keep warm.  Much like if we all help each other out and not act on our own thinking only of ME, ME, ME all the time. I concluded by saying at this time of the year when we will be putting on gloves etc try to remember about the mittens and how we should help each other out.  We finished with Shine.

European Puppet Festival - Derby

Sarah and I have had a great time this weekend sharing with old friends like the team from One Way UK as well as seeing Bob Hartman again.  We have both come back full of new ideas and concepts and also some new props and things too.  We have seen some really great ministry ideas from puppet teams as well.  Sarah has been to different workshops to the ones I went to so we are able to share ideas around with each other.  We had a great journey down on Friday and a fab journey back tonight.  We have both felt lifted up in prayer too.

Leven Valley School

We made our first visit of the year to Leven Valley school on Thursday (yes I know this post is a little late) So as it was the first visit of the new school year and it was nearly half term there was no point in doing the assembly about working together that we have done in nearly every school in September so we went right into the Lord's Prayer assembly.  So Sarah read the usual version while I read the Street Bible version - Man.... then following this we did the crossword.  We ended the assembly by singing Wonderful Lord which included a prayer in the middle.

OCC Assembly at Croftlands Juniors

This morning I went along to Croftlands Junior school to take an assembly and introduce Operation Christmas Child to the children.  I didn't start with a song but talked a little about shoe boxes before I showed the video.  I reduced the sound down and spoke over the top of it as the film clip moved from black and white to colour and smiles appear on the little faces of the children.  I told the children that this year they can help to bring out smiles just like these by getting a shoe box packing with small gifts filling it with love and sending it to a child in another country via Operation Christmas Child - Samaritans Purse.  I then explained how to do it and about the leaflet and when we would be back to collect them.  Then we sang a song and at the children's request we sang the Chicken Dance.  I then said a prayer to close.

Broughton School

This morning we went over to Broughton for the assembly.  We did the Lord's Prayer assembly that we have done in a few schools now.  To start we didn't sing a song but went straight into talking about prayer.  Sarah explained about the Lord's Prayer and how the disciples of Jesus had asked how to pray.  She also explained that when she read a line from the traditional Lord's Prayer I was going to read it from the street bible - get it man - Following the Lord's Prayer Sarah introduced a crossword puzzle all about prayer, it had 10 clues and as she read the questions the children responded with answers.  Once it was all filled in she again explained the answers before we all said the Lord's Prayer together.  Then I led them in Wonderful Lord and during the instrumental part prayed for them.

1st Duddon Cub group

This evening I have been over to the 1st Duddon Cub group to - do what we do.  I started with a song Great Big God and then taught them Giants of Faith.  I then told the story of Joesph complete with costumes.  The children joined in and had a great time with it.  I think they particularly like the dressing up parts.  After the story we did a craft which was to stick and glue onto a cut of of Joseph's coat.  Following this we played a few relay games and even managed to teach them a new game as well.  I ended the evening with Wonderful Lord and a short prayer.

Our Lady's Dalton

This morning I went along to Our Lady's in Dalton for the assembly.  To start with we sang Great Big God then I started to talk about who or what wakes people up in the morning, one said a bird another a clock and when said an alarm clock - which was the answer I was looking for.  I started to talk about time and how when our parents say 5 minutes to bedtime it always seems only seconds and we are off to bed.  I then played the 1 minute game and when the children thought 1 minute had gone by they had to stand up.  A number of children stood up at 1 minute.  I looked at an apple and asked if any of them had an apple tree in the garden and if they did what came before the apple - it is of course the bud then the flower.  But i asked who or what tells the tree to grow the bud.  A number of answers came out but one little boy said God.  I then showed the apple cycle from seed to plant to tree to bud to flower to apple to seed etc  I asked 3 year 5/6 children out to read a verse each from the Bible they were Genesis 1:11, 8:22 Ecclesiastes 3:1-2.  The verses talk about creation and how God put the seed into the fruit and how there is a time for everything and as long as the earth continues there will always be summer and winter, day and night etc.  I finished with Creator God followed by a prayer.

OCC assembly at Croftlands Infants

This afternoon I took the assembly at Croftlands Infants School.  I took the video projector and the 2 metre screen so I could show the Operation Christmas Child video to them.  We started with singing Inright Outright then I showed the children the video with the song in the background and as the video played I talked about what they were seeing and about how they could help make a child smile this year.  There were times when the children laughed and times when they were quite,  At the end I explained how they could help and showed them the leaflet that they would take home this week.  When I had finished we sang Great Big God and I said a prayer.  Then the headteacher spoke up about the shoe boxes and asked the children to put up their hands if they thought they could fill a box and lots of hands went up.

Low Furness School

The theme for this morning was Our Family so to start the assembly we sang So Many Ways to Praise the Lord.  Then I showed the children some pictures of my family like my grandparents, mum and dad, my family and the extended family of cousins of Grace and Martha.  Then I used the idea from Ian Jones' book on using Dog in a Bag.  So out came Scruff and as usual he had something in his bag which was a photo of his family and so we talked about families and what they are like and how we know that people belong to your family.  Scruff said that they share fleas!  I then asked the children what family they belong to, a number of children responded with God's family or Jesus' family and someone said Low Furness family as well.  This was one of the answers I was looking for.  I then explained that we are part of a number of families like the people we live with and our extended family as well as also being part of the school family and also part of God's wider family and then I brought in the bible verse and explained it to the children.  I also asked the question 'Do we always get on with our family?' and a small number of hands went up so I said that there are times when we don't always get on but when we make up and sort out our differences we are very often stronger because of it and that should make us be happy - which was a clue to the next song which was Be Happy.  Following the song I said a short prayer focusing on our families, the school family and being part of God's family.

BX Lesson 5 Low Furness

This afternoon it was the last lesson of Bible Explorer at Low Furness School.  As I arrived the children were waiting for me, it was a beautiful day outside but some of the girls waited to see if I needed a hand setting up for the lesson others kept popping in and out...  The lesson started and we recapped the previous lessons as well as some important points from other lessons.  We then went through the hand signs from creation to the end of lesson 4.  I then explained again about the split of the country and went on to talk about the job and role of the prophets.  This led us nicely into the start of the hand signs for this week.  Then we had the Assyrian's scattering the Israelite nation followed by a slow motion battle between the king of Babylon and the king of Assyria.  On we went through the story of Daniel followed by yet another slow mo battle this time between the Persian king and the king of Babylon and on it to the story of Esther.  We ended with the quick stories of the Jews return first Zerubbabel who re-built the temple, then Ezra who built up the people finally Nehemiah who re-built the city walls.  The final hand signs are a time one of 400 years followed by silence Christ.  At the end of the lesson the school has a praise assembly and during the assembly 6 girls from the class these are the ones that kept popping in and out presented me with 3 thank you cards.

BX Lesson 5 Broughton

This afternoon it was the last lesson of Bible Explorer at Broughton.  I was telling the stories of Daniel and Esther but with all the rain we are having it perhaps should have been Noah!!  The children as always responded very well and were enthusiastic when in came to putting on costumes etc.  They also all joined in with the hand signs too.  I recalled the previous weeks and referred to some of the other stories as I delivered the last part of the Old Testament.  In today's world it is hard to imagine what exile would have been like or even being scattered about and other people coming to live in your towns and cities etc.  The best way I describe it is by asking or sometimes leading by the hand two people from opposite ends of the room and getting them to change place.  So we went through the Daniel story and the loins den and on into the Esther story before briefly talking about the return of the Jews to Jerusalem and then the 400 years of silence as the Old Testament closes and the new starts with Christ.

BX Lesson 5 Crosthwaite

Had a great afternoon with the children over at Crosthwaite School.  It was lesson 5 of Bible Explorer which has one of my favourite Bible stories in the story of Esther.  To start the lesson off I recalled the books we have covered so far in the previous weeks then went over the hand signs.  I also asked if the children knew how many hand signs they thought we still had to do.  So as the hand signs for week 4 came to an end with the North - South, Israel - Judah, 19 - 20, 0-8 I reminded the children what that meant.  I went back to my model Bible to show the children some of the other books like the books of the prophets and explained what a prophet was.  So at the start of this weeks hand signs we have 'Prophets Speak' and we move into the scattering of the nation of Israel and the exile of the nation of Judah.  This week we also cover the story of Daniel as well as the Esther story.  Then as we move through the return of the exiles and the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem and the temple and the walls we close the Old Testament with 400 years of silence as we await the coming of Christ.  There was the biggest awe from the class as I announced that the lessons had now finished.  The class had one final task to do and that was all the hand signs from start to finish.  I gave them all their certificates to mark them finishing Bible Explorer.

St Peters Ireleth

This morning I went over to St Peters Ireleth.  After singing Inright Outright to warm everyone up I started to talk a bit about time, like what wakes them up in a morning, and how short 5 minutes seems to be at bedtime.  I had an old clock with me and I moved the hands to different times during the day like the start of school and lunch time etc.  I told the children that I have an alarm clock that wakes me up in a morning and in fact two alarms go off.  We then played a little game, I asked the children to imagine 1 minute or 60 seconds and when they thought 1 minute had passed they should stand up.  Most of the children stood up at around 50 seconds with 4 children standing at 56 seconds which was great.  I then picked up an apple and asked if anyone had an apple tree in their garden - hands went up, so then I asked the children what appeared on the tree before the apple.  I did get a number of interesting tree related answers like seeds, twigs, leaves and branches the answer I was looking for was flowers or buds which someone gave me in the end.  Now I asked the question who or what tells the tree to produce the flower so that the fruit can grow?  I asked if they thought that a tree had an alarm clock inside it that told it to start making the fruit.  I told them the name given to it and showed a picture of the apple cycle from seed to plant to tree to bud to flower to apple and back to seed.  I asked 3 children to come out and read some verses from the bible two from Genesis about how God produced the fruit with the seed in it and that as long as the earth continues there will be cold and hot, summer and winter, day and night.  The other verse was from Ecclesiastes which tells us that there is a time for everything.  I then asked the children to think about this time of year as it is harvest time when we thank God for all the wonderful things we have in creation which led me nicely into Creator God.  Following this I said a prayer followed by the Lord's Prayer which I pointed out has the words Give us this day our daily bread.

Operation Christmas Child - Pennington Guides

This evening Sarah, myself and the children went round to see the girls of Pennington Guides.  We did a brief introduction as to who we are - Jester for Jesus Ministries and what we do - assemblies in 15 local schools and other things.  Then told them that this year we are proud to be involved in Operation Christmas Child - Samaritans Purse shoe box appeal.  To explain it a little better we showed them the video.  I turned the volume down a little so that the music was just in the background and I spoke over it, pointing out the conditions that some children live in but also repeating again and again how we/they can help put a smile on a child's face with a shoe box packed with gifts and filled with love.  At the end of the video Sarah explained about the leaflet as I showed a power point about how to go about filling a shoe box.  At the end some of the girls were asking if they could help with the Guides box but also do their own too and one of the leaders took a leaflet and a poster for her work.  So we pray that the guides will have been touched by what they have seen and take a shoe box pack it with gifts and fill it with love.

Ulverston Infants Church Walk

This morning we were at Ulverston Infants Church Walk.  As our theme we decided to do something about harvest.  After singing Inright Outright I asked the children who or what woke them up in a morning, one person said the sun and someone else said an alarm clock.  Alarm clock was the answer I was looking for, I showed the children my mobile phone and said it was also my alarm and that it was woke us up in the morning.  I asked the children about time and talked about how quick 5 minutes goes when it is 'bedtime' it only seems to be seconds!!  Then we did a little test and I asked the children to try to imagine how long a minute was and to stand up when they thought 1 minute had passed by.  To make it slightly harder I put some paper over the school clock.  One little girl was 2 seconds off the minute.  I then showed the children an apple and asked if anyone had an apple tree in their garden lots of hands went up.  I continued by asking if they knew what came before the apple and again a little girl said a flower but what tells the tree I asked?  Does it have a clock inside it?  No! But God created it that way but what is even more amazing is what is inside the apple and a little boy said seeds.  I cut open an apple to show the seeds then I invited 3 year 2 children out to read some verses from the bible Genesis 1:11; 8:22 and Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 which talk about God creating fruit with seeds inside and also there being a time for everything.  I then showed a picture of the apple seed/tree cycle.  To finish we sang Creator God and Sarah prayed a short prayer about harvest time.

Penny Bridge School

This afternoon we went down to Penny Bridge school.  After singing Shine we introduced the children to the Lord's Prayer.  Sarah read the more traditional version of it and after every line I read the Street Bible version.  Sarah then went on to talk about prayer with the children and we did a crossword puzzle were the children answered the clues.  It was all about prayer and what prayer can do.  We followed this with Wonderful Lord and during the instrumental break I said a short prayer.

OCC Assembly at Pennington

This morning we went to Pennington School and talked to the children about Operation Christmas Child. Sarah open up the assembly by asking the children if they like to get presents and about how they feel when they get gifts.  The children responded very well one little boy said at Christmas time his head exploded with excitement.  We then showed the 2012 video with a backing track and during the video I spoke about what the children were seeing and how they too can put a smile onto the face of a child by filling a shoe box with gifts and love.  Following this Sarah and I continued to talk about how the children can be involved and we asked if they knew how many boxes get sent out each year - it is over 1 million.  We said that this year the children could Shine out which was a hint to the song we were going to sing.  After the song I said a prayer.

OCC assembly at St Marys RC School

This morning Sarah and myself were joined by Lisa and Abbie Smith from ECC and we together talked to the children about Operation Christmas Child.  Lisa did most of the talk about how many boxes have been sent to children who live in developing countries and about how the school children can help this year.  We then showed the 2012 video with a backing track and during the video I spoke about what the children were seeing and how they too can put a smile onto the face of a child by filling a shoe box with gifts and love.  Following this Lisa continued to talk about how the children can Shine out which was a hint to the song we were going to sing.  After the song Eden Lisa's other daughter and a pupil at the school said a prayer.

BX Lesson 4 Low Furness

This afternoon I was at Low Furness School doing the fourth lesson of Bible Explorer.  The children were great and as they came in they asked about what stories they would learn today as well as ask about the bible.  It is good that they are so interested and want to ask questions.  I started the lesson with a recap of last week and the final set of hand signs the everyone did what was right in his own eyes expect Ruth and ????  I also went right back to Creation Fall Flood as I brought the children towards the focus of the lesson today.  It started with a mother who wanted a son and an old priest Eli, the story is of course Samuel.  This led towards the first king of Israel - Saul and flowed through to David and finally Solomon.  The lesson ended with the land being divided up into the North - Israel and the South - Judah with the 19 kings of Israel and none followed God and the 20 kings of Judah with 8 following God during a period of 400 Years.  Next week we will look at the exile of the people and their return.

BX Lesson 4 Broughton

I can't believe it lesson 4 already.  Today went over to the year 5/6 class at Broughton.  They were excited to see me again as always they were asking what the stories were going to be about.  It didn't take long for them to settle in to the recap of last lesson and to run through the hand signs from creation up to Ruth.  Last lesson they had been left on a cliff hanger not knowing who the other person was - it was Samuel of course.  One little girl guessed who it was by looking in my model bible at the next book after Ruth.  So the story went through from Samuel and Eli, on to Saul and then David and finally coming to Solomon the last king of the united kingdom.  I explained that the kingdom split in half well the north was the bigger half and then there was the awe at the end when I said that next week I'll finish the story off.  At the end the headteacher who had stayed in the lesson commented on the awe and on how much the children had enjoyed the lessons she sent them out to play and prepared to go through the work books with them.  A great time.

BX Lesson 4 Crosthwaite

This afternoon I battled the floods to get through to Crosthwaite school.  It was lesson 4 of Bible Explorer.  It is the part of the bible when the people the Israelites demanded to have a king like the other nations around them so they asked Samuel to ask God.  It seems strange that they didn't trust God and follow his ways yet they asked Samuel to ask God??  Anyway we have heard about Saul, David and Solomon today.  Then we heard how the land of Israel was divided up never to really be a full true nation again as the north pulled away from the south calling itself Israel and the south Judah.  Next week the children will hear what happened to the north and then what happened to the south.  Again as always the children happily took part in the dressing up and the actions as I retold the stories.

Low Furness

This morning I went along to Low Furness School to take the assembly.  The theme given to us was Our Earth - thinking on this I thought a harvest theme.  So after singing Creator God I showed the children a clock and moved the hands to various times during the day.  I also had my mobile phone alarm with me and so I asked the children what woke them up in a morning apart from parents.  They responded with - alarm clock.  I went on to say that time is a funny thing and in fact the song we had sung was 2 minutes long.  But how long is a minute so I asked them to time a minute and stand when they got close.  Lots of children stood up right on the minute.  This led to me asking how an apple tree works.  How does it grow?  What tells it when to flower and produce fruit?  I  drew out just how amazing it is that trees bear fruit that we can eat and inside them is the seeds to plant new trees.  Then I invited up three children to read passages from the bible Genesis 1:11; 8:22 and Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 which talk about God putting seeds into fruit and how everything has a time to sow and harvest.  Following on from this we sang Great Big God.

Lindal and Marton School OCC assembly

This morning we made a visit to Lindal and Marton School to introduce the Operation Christmas Child shoe box appeal.  It was our first ever visit to the school and also our first OCC assembly too.  To start us off we sang Great Big God then explained a little about OCC and showed the children a video.  The video had music to it and over the top of that I talked to the children about the conditions that some children live in.  The first minute or so of the video is in black and white but then bursts into colour as shoe boxes are given to the children and the look on their faces says it all.  Following the video I showed a little power point about what to do and told the children where to send the boxes or we could collect them from the school.  We ended with a short prayer.  The head then encouraged the children to get involved which was great.  So Praise God for the work that is going to be done in that school over the next few weeks.

Breakfast Time at MCC

This morning (early) I set off from Ulverston to have breakfast at the Network Centre in Millom.  I had been invited to go as Bertie the Clown to do after dinner (breakfast) magic and a short talk.  It was a chance for dads and grandads to get together and have fun as well as eat breakfast.  I arrived early so as to be able to eat my breakfast before everyone else and then I went table to table and entertained the gather crowd.  Then once eating was over I put on a little show which included a mix of magic for the children as well as a trick or two for the adults.  The adults were led down a route to a bible verse via two different tricks then the reveal came with the reading of the verse as well as an envelope prediction.  The verse was John 3:16.  I then just expanded on it a little and talked about God's love and encouraged people to think about it and if they needed they could talk to Fred about it.  Had a great time.

BX Lesson 3 Low Furness

Had yet another great time with the children at Low Furness.  It was lesson 3 of Bible Explorer.  It is the lesson that covers almost 550 years of bible history, over 3 books in under 1 hour!  Wow we moved fast.  It is the story of Joshua and the judges of Israel.  The lesson ends with an insight into the New Testament and the birth of Jesus via the story of Ruth.  Ruth is one of my favourite books in the Old Testament, mainly because what Ruth did was very Christ-like and also she features in the family tree of Jesus as well.  So next week we move into the stories of the first Kings of Israel - Saul, David and Solomon.

BX Lesson 3 Broughton

Had a great time at Broughton doing lesson 3 of Bible Explorer.  The children were delighted to see me again and couldn't wait for me to get started.  After running through a few parts of the story from last week and talking about the number of books that we have covered so far we recapped the hand signs and started.  Today it was the story of Joshua and the fall of Jericho, then the dividing up of the land as the Israelites conquered it before settling in and going into their 12 tribes.  We moved into the period of the judges which lasted 400 years.  We don't tell the whole of the judges story as it would take too long so we focus on just three, Deborah, Gideon and Samson.  Our final story is that of Ruth which is one of my favourite books in the Bible as it can teach us so much about Christian love - even though it is in the Old Testament.  There was the usual awe as I ended as the children wanted more.  As I left the children started to work in their work books.

BX Lesson 3 Crosthwaite

Following our assembly this afternoon I then did lesson 3 of Bible Explorer.  Today we found ourselves in the books of Joshua, Judges and Ruth covering about 550 years or so of history!  The children joined in with great enthusiasm as I told the stories and encouraged children to join me to play various parts.  They also joined in all the new hand signs as well as remembering all the ones from last week and the week before as well.  There was again the sound of awe followed by tell us now as I ended the this weeks story and hands signs with 'everyone did was right in his own eyes ...except Ruth and ......I'll tell you next week.  It is great to see the children so engaged with these great  Old Testament stories.  As Sarah had been with me for the assembly she came in a watched the lesson.  Despite the fact that I talk about it all the time and run throught the stories and hand signs before each lesson it is the first full lesson she has watched.  Afterwards I commented on how tired I was and she said I am not surprised as I never knew how full on it is. 

Crosthwaite

We went over to Crosthwaite this afternoon to take our first assembly of the new term.  As we have done in previous schools we did the story about working together.  Aesop told a story about parts of the body and how they decided that they would no longer give the stomach any food.  Now we all know that if we don't eat we become ill and that is what happened.  All the other body parts couldn't function as they were meant to do that is until the stomach told them that it was because they too needed the food they fed him in order for them to function.  Although this is not a bible story Paul did write a letter to the Christians in Corinth along similar lines and how we all need to work together.  As Sarah had read the story I then explained it to the children, I also used an example of a jig-saw to further illustrate the point.  As it was the first assembly back we sang Great big God to start with as they all know that one then to finish we sang Shine before Sarah closed in a prayer.

St Peters

Today I went along to St Peters to take the assembly.  I decided to do the assembly we had done at Low Furness last week.  The school hall at St Peters has a huge picture of the Lord's Prayer on the wall.  So after singing Creator God I stood by the picture as the children read each line of the prayer out loud.  I then gave them the Street Bible version of it having briefly explained what the Street Bible is.  Following this I showed the crossword and went down each clue as the children put up their hands to offer an answer.  Some of the answers were great answers and could very easily have fitted but they were not the ones I was needing for the crossword.  The children did give me most of the answers though.  A couple I needed to tell them.  Once filled in I used it to talk about pray in general.  I concluded the assembly with Wonderful Lord and prayed for the children during the instrumental part.

Heads & Clergy conference

This morning Sarah and I travelled up to Newton Rigg, Penrith.  We had been asked to start of the  Heads & Clergy conference.  We had about 15 mins to do the collective worship bit at the start.  So I briefly explained to the gathering who we were and what we do then gave an example of an assembly we did last week.  Low Furness School had asked us last Tuesday to do an assembly on the Lord's Prayer, so as part of the conference was about prayer space's in school we decided to repeat this talk.  So Sarah and I read the Lord's Prayer, Sarah read the more traditional version while I read the street version as taken from the Word on the Street Bible.  Following this Sarah showed a crossword and read the cues as I demonstrated what happen last week as we did the assembly.  You can read about it on our blog from last Tuesday.  The sun had blocked out the video screen and we simply said Lord if you could just let the sun disappear while we do this that would be great - then it did!!!  This cause a sharp intake of breath this morning from the audience.  So Sarah continued and then I showed the answers and pointed out some of the key words like hears, power, simple, communicate etc then revealed that last week we sang a song and the sun came back out again and the children were taken back by it all.  Back to today, following the crossword we sang Wonderful Lord and during the instrumental I prayed for all those at the conference.  Following that I thank them for listening and we said our good byes.  We had a great time this morning and we hope that everyone else did too.

BX Lesson 2 Low Furness School

This afternoon I was at Low Furness School doing lesson 2 of Bible Explorer.  Despite it has been over a week since I was there the children were able to answer all the questions I asked them about the first lesson and they remembered all the hand signs.  Today's story starts 400 years after the story last week.  I enjoy turning over from Genesis to Exodus and asking the children what they can see.  Most say nothing then I tell them that we have jumped forward 400 years.  Which leads me into the first hand sign.  The children listened to the story of Moses as I acted out parts of the story which ended when Moses died at 120 years old.  Next week they will learn about the man that took over Joshua.  Had a great time today and in fact this week.

BX lesson 2 Broughton

This afternoon I was over at Broughton with the children of year 5/6.  As it was lesson 2 we were talking about Moses.  The children responded well to the story and the new hand signs we have learnt today.  The children were surprised when I told them that last week when we did the stories of Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph they had only covered 1 book in the bible.  They thought that they had covered a lot more.  Then when I picked up my bible and turned the page from Genesis to Exodus I said that they had now jumped in time 400 years.  It was great to see the children so engaged in the stories and again there was a big awe when I said the story continues next week.  One child said we don't mind tell us more today.

Our Lady's Dalton

We made our first visit to Our Lady's this morning.  We did the working together assembly with the children.  Although it uses one of the fables of Aesop.  Paul did use a similar example in his letter to the Corinthians.  Sarah read the story and I did the talk at the end, and as in other schools I used the example of a jig-saw and how we all need to be a part and each one of us is important to make the whole picture.  Using the words of Jesus when he said Love one another as I have loved you I explained that we could change love to help, be kind, care for, respect to illustrate how we today can work together.  To start the assembly we had sung Great Big God and to end we sang Shine before I prayed with the children.

BX Lesson 2 Crosthwaite

This afternoon I have been over to the small school of Crosthwaite to do BX lesson 2.  Last week we had left the story with Joseph the PM of all Egypt as his whole family went down into Egypt that is all 70 of them.  At the start of this weeks lesson I turned in my bible to the last page of Genesis and asked the children to look very closely as I turned the page to Exodus - nobody spotted it.  Spotted what you might ask?  The 400 year jump in time from the end of Genesis to the start of Exodus.  I then read the verse about the new king in Egypt who didn't know Joseph as we started the lesson.  The children sat and waited as each part of the Moses story came out.  They joined in the hand signs first of all we did last weeks then went into the new signs.  Whenever I went to my prop box a mighty show of hands went up as the children were so keen to join in the story.  Then as the lesson drew to a close and Moses dies I asked if they knew what happen next - they said no - I'll tell you next week I said - which was met with an awe!  Had a great time today with the children and it is good to see them all wanting to join in.

Croftlands Juniors

It was our first visit to Croftlands Juniors this morning.  As we have done in all our schools so far this term we did the Aesop's Fable story about the parts of the body working together.  The children listened as they looked at the funny pictures of the body parts who refused to feed the poor stomach.  As we all know each part of our body needs to work together.  The body parts soon became unwell and out of sorts until the stomach spoke up and told them why.  Although it is not a bible story I told the children Paul a follower of Jesus after Jesus had died wrote to encourage people and used the parts of the body as an example.  I used the verse from John about 'Love one another as I have loved you' to illustrate how we should help, respect, be kind to, care for each other.  I also used the idea of a jig-saw puzzle in that every piece needs to be in place for us to have a whole picture.  We then sang Shine and finished with a prayer.

Croftlands Infants School

We had our first visit of the new term to Croftlands Infants today.  As it was the first one we sang on old favourite with the children Great Big God to start with.  We then went on to tell the children a story which was one of Aesop's Fables.  Although it is very similar to a message that Paul gave in one of his letters.  It is about the parts of the body refusing to feed the stomach and in time they are all finding life difficult as they couldn't do what they needed to do.  The story illustrates that we all need to work together.  Sarah then explained a little about the story and how it can be applied to the children in school.  We then sang Shine before I closed the assembly with a short prayer.

Low Furness School

It was our first visit to Low Furness today following the summer holidays.  We had been asked to do an assembly on The Lord's Prayer.  So we spent some time yesterday looking for assemblies based around The Lord's Prayer of which there are many.  Sarah found an assembly idea which explained each sentence of the prayer which looked good, she also found a crossword puzzle as well.  I had an idea that I would like to put the Lord's Prayer into everyday English for the children.  So I looked it up in the Street Bible and did find an everyday translation of it but parts of it would have still confused the children.  So I decided to use part of it and change some of the more difficult words to suit the children.  Our assembly started and the sun was bright as ever shinning on the projector screen, so much so the children couldn't see the words.  Sarah and I then did the Lord's Prayer between us, Sarah read the traditional words while I the new English/street version.  Following on from this we wanted to do the crossword but the children couldn't see it because of the sun, also when I produced it on my wide screen lap top it fitted on the screen, but the projector was not wide screen.  We could have stopped the assembly there sang a song said a prayer everyone out to play.  But while Sarah is selecting children to help with the crossword from each of the 4 house's I fixed the crossword and said to Sarah and the children what we could do with now is the sun to go in for a little while so we can do the crossword.  Just then the sun went in and it started to rain.  Now because we had messed about a bit with the picture we were running short on time but it was now going to be wet play so we had plenty of time.  We completed the crossword children who helped got house points, we recapped the words and ... the sun came back out again.  We finished with Wonderful Lord during which we said the Lord's Prayer.  At the end we said to the children how awesome it was that just at the right time the sun went in and that God had heard us and had the power to cover the sun for those few minutes.  The children then got sent out to play so winners all round Praise God for His Awesomeness.

Broughton School

To day we went over to Broughton school for our first visit of the new term.  We started with Great Big God before Sarah told a short story based on one of Aesop's Fables.  We linked the story to the lesson Paul told when he spoke about the parts of the body needing to work together in love and respect for one another.  I also brought in the verse from John about loving one another as Christ loves us.  To complete the assembly we sang Shine before I ended with a short prayer.

BX lesson 1 Broughton

This afternoon I have been over to Broughton CE School to do lesson 1 of Bible Explorer.  It was a mixed class of year 5 and 6.  To start with I am not sure the children quite knew what to expect but once I got into the story parts of Genesis like the Adam and Eve story, they began to willing join in.  By the end of the lesson every time I took out a new prop or costume the children sat up straight and waited to be ask if they wanted to be part of the story.  The children really took to the hand signs too and they all joined in.  Then at the end of the Genesis story there was the usual groan as I asked them if they knew what happened next and I say 'I'll tell you next week'.  The children helped to pack away the equipment at the end and also asked a few questions too.  A great afternoon.

Bx Lesson 1 at Crosthwaite School

Had a great time today over at Crosthwaite School doing lesson 1 of Bible Explorer.  I had the whole of the juniors which is about 25.  What was great though the teacher had never seen it before too and she photocopied the work sheets to do after I left.  The children joined in with all the actions and were very willing to come up front an dress up to play the various characters from the stories in Genesis.  There was an awe when I said that I would continue the story next week.  So a great start in this new school to Bible Explorer.

St Peters Ireleth

We made our first visit of the new term to St Peters today.  It was great to see all the children again as we always get such a warm welcome.  We started the assembly with an old favourite Great Big God then went on to tell a story.  The story we used was not a bible one but Paul did tell a similar story to the church at Corinth.  We used one of Aesop's Fables about parts of the body.  The parts of the body had decided that as the stomach didn't do anything they would no longer provide food for it.  Well as we all know our bodies have been designed so that all parts work together.  Well the body parts started to fail and couldn't do what they needed to do until the stomach pointed out the error of their ways.  Sarah then went on to say that we should all work together in school so that everything works well and she showed the verse from John 15 v12 about Loving one another as I (Jesus) loves us.  She explained that the love could be changed to help or care for, or be kind to, show respect and if we do that then as a school we will be like a giant jig-saw puzzle were all the pieces fit together perfectly.  Sarah then reminded them of the bible verse and then we sang Great Great Brill Brill before I ended with a prayer and Sarah led them in the Lord's Prayer.

BX Lesson 1 at Low Furness School

This afternoon I had been into Low Furness School to take a Bible Explorer lesson.  I wasn't sure how it would go because this is a school were the children know me so well and also Grace our 9 year old was in the lesson (she has heard lots about BX but never seen it and was very excited about it).  The lesson went well the children responded to all the stories and hand signs very well.  They are all looking forward to next week when we look at the story of Moses.

Ulverston Infants School

This morning we went along to Ulverston Infants to take the assembly.  We had a great time with the children.  We wanted to inspire the children at the start of a new school year so we told a story which has been adapted from one of Aesop's Fables about parts in a body working together.  The story has pictures with in and as I told the story Sarah showed the pictures.  The body parts were all refusing to fed the stomach and so the body became ill and was therefore unable to function properly.  Sarah then talked to the children about how in a school we should all work together to help each other and she used the verse from John 15 v 10 about loving one another as Christ has loved us.  We had started the assembly by singing Great Big God and finished with Inright Outright before I close in a prayer.

Penny Bridge School

It was the first assembly at Penny Bridge today.  We sang Great Big God to start off with.  Then we went on to tell a story about parts of the body, it was based on one of Aesop's Fables.  It involved certain parts of the body talking to the stomach and complaining that they were not going to feed him any more as he didn't do any work.  So the hands stopped feeding the mouth with food, the teeth didn't chew anything, the legs never went to fetch food etc.  In time the whole body became ill and then the stomach said it was because they had all stopped feeding him.  The moral is that we all need each other in order for us to work as a team.  I then talked about how in the bible it talks about the body and how each part is important and also Jesus taught his disciples to love one another as he loved us.  I explained that we could change the word love to help, look after, respect, care for etc.  Sarah then talked about how as a school we are like a big jig-saw puzzle and that we all have a part to play.  Following singing So Many Ways I ended with a prayer.

Pennington School

This morning for our first assembly of the year we sang Great Big Gog to get back into the swing of things.  We decided to talk about working together as a team.  We used an idea from one of Aesop's Fables about body parts working together and how one part can't say they won't do something as that affects the whole body.  Sarah read the little story and I showed some pictures.  It was a simple story about how the hands, feet, teeth etc didn't want to give the stomach any food because he didn't do anything.  But then in time the hands couldn't move the legs didn't work and the stomach said it is because you don't feed me anymore.  It demonstrated just how important it is for all parts to work together.  I then talked to the children about how we should love and respect one another and how we are all like pieces in a big jig-saw puzzle.  I used the verse Jesus used about 'Love one another as I have loved you'  Being a jig-saw piece means we need to help each other out as well like helping the missing piece of the school - reception class.  I asked the children what they could do when reception came into school and I got some great answers back from the children.  Sarah then finished off and we sang So many ways and concluded with a prayer.

Holiday Club Family Service

Today marked the end of the Holiday Club at Urswick with a family service.  It was a full house as the hall at Low Furness was packed with people and children.  We had a good mix of songs during the service with a taste of what holiday was all about from Captain Ketchup and Gary.  Postman Pete made several deliveries throughout the morning bringing certificates to the children.  Following the service we had a BBQ and then started the big pack up.

We have had a great week over at Urswick with the children.  Next year we shall build upon what we have started this week with the assemblies as well as other events that are planned.  Then in August we shall be doing holiday club all over again - Mission Rescue. 

Urswick Holiday Club Day 5

Had a wonderful time this morning at Low Furness School as we finished the week of holiday club.  The day ran as it has done all week with a mix of songs, Captain Ketchup, DVD story, memory verse, craft, games (inside today) as well as Gary and at the end parents came for a picnic inside as it was raining then we all went out side for a water fight in the rain.  Some of us put on our rain coats so as not to get wet!

It has been a great week with the children and the whole event will be wrapped up on Sunday morning with a service at 10:30 in the school.

Urswick Holiday Club Day 4

I can confirm that God is in control and that satan tries his level best to destroy whatever we do in Christ's Name.  Yesterday we had a very heavy rain storm in Ulverston and due to an oversight the top windows in the school were left open.  Following a phone call during the afternoon we went to the school to find, drip, drip, drip as water dripped from lights, laser lights and the video projector.  We mopped up the water as best we could and I removed the projector and brought it home and stored it over night in the airing cupboard.  This morning I set off early to check things over and to reset the video projector.  Following visual inspections I felt fine to flick the power on to the equipment and ...

We serve a God of miracles everything worked as it is meant to do PRAISE THE LORD.

So today was a great day not only for the children but also for the adults.  We heard the story of Jesus walking on the water to a boat with some of his followers in.  They were in trouble and despite the darkness of the hour Jesus could see it and went to them.  They didn't see him but Peter did and asked if he too could water walk.  Jesus invited him and he walked on the water only to get afraid and start to sink but Jesus was there to hold his hand and restore him.  That is a true lesson to us all Jesus sees our problems before we do and he is there to help us.

I can't believe that it is the last day tomorrow the week has gone so fast.

Urswick Holiday Club Day 3

Day 3 of the holiday club has ended on an inspiring note, as we have heard how Jesus inspired Peter, James and John.  Jesus took the three of them up a mountain and was himself transformed before their eyes.  The penny dropped with Peter as he declared that Jesus was in fact God's Son.  The children have been great today as they arrived in international hats and/or face paint.  Thursday is the fancy dress day when they are to come dressed as a sport - we should get some interesting ideas I think.

Urswick Holiday Club Day 2

Day 2 at holiday saw a few more children today attending.  We had the story of Blind Bart who Jesus healed.  The children heard the story from the video about how Bart wanted to see Jesus (yes I know he was blind) he could sense the large crowd and the people pushed against him.  As Jesus came near Bart shouted but the crowd told him to be quiet so he shouted all the more - Jesus heard him and called to him the crowd now shouted at Bart to get up and go to Jesus.  Jesus asked him what he wanted - to see Bart replied.  Jesus healed him.  The man had the faith to believe Jesus could heal him the man had the persistence to keep shouting after Jesus.  Jesus called the man, and met him where he was and healed him.  This was one way in which Jesus shaped his team.

Urswick Holiday Club Day 1

We have launched the Urswick Holiday club this morning with over 50 children attending.  The children have been fully entertained as they have sung songs, watched videos seen Captain Ketchup and Gary, took part in games outside and personalised a tee shirt in the craft room.  The story for the morning was Jesus calling his disciples, and the children have heard how Jesus will select anyone of us to be apart of his team.  Tomorrow the children will here the second part of the story when Jesus shows his power when he heals a blind man.

Closing Ceremony On Your Marks

This morning we finished off our On Your Marks Holiday Club with the Closing Ceremony and family service.  It was standing room only at the back as the hall was packed out.  There was a number of families in brought along by the children we have had contact with during the week.  We displayed photos of the children taking part in the various events across the week.  We sang some of the songs that have been popular during the week - but due to the amount of people and I have to say much to the disappointment of the children we didn't sing the Chicken Dance song.  It was a fitting end to what has been a great week.  We have loved having the children with us and as parents were leaving we had enquirers about next years holiday club.  Our prayer is that the children will sit back and reflect on the things they have heard and in time decide to join team JC.

Urswick Church Fun Day

This afternoon we have been over to Gleaston Green where Urswick Church held their fun day.  The day was good as people turned out to enjoy the free entertainment and food that was provided.  I managed to do two shows both of which were with very small children.  I was also able to tell a bit of a gospel message to the children and gathered adults so hopefully some seeds were sown as well.

Holiday Club Day 5 Sticking to the Team

Today marked the last day of our holiday club with just the children, we have the family service on Sunday which is the closing Ceremony.  We have had about 82 children again today.  The story today was about the sower and how the seed fell onto four soil types.  Now the seed was good seed and the sower was a good person it wasn't the fault of either that the seed fell onto bad soil.  We know that the sower is Jesus and that the seed is the word - there are people that simply don't accept the word like the seed on the path, get there are those who at first accept it but have no real root the seed on the rocky ground, yet there are those that hear it and follow it but get caught up in worldly things like the thorny ground and there are those who hear and accept it whole heartedly and they in turn produce fruit.  In a very simple way using the video we tried to put this message across to the children.  The morning was finished off with a picnic and then our usual water fight.  We have had a great week this week and I think the children have too.

Holiday Club Day 4 Challenging the Team

We had another good number at holiday club today around 90 children again.  Today they looked at the story of Jesus walking on the water and Peter stepping out of the boat to meet him.  The disciples were in a little trouble and Jesus could see this despite the fact that it was dark and that he was on the shore.  He went out walking on the water to meet with them - but they didn't recognise him.  The disciples were afraid yet Jesus was very close to them.  We encouraged the children to reach out to Jesus whenever they feel frightened and afraid or lonely.  Jesus is there.  Peter did believe Jesus was there and so boldly asked if he could step out to Jesus and he said come - but when Peter realised what he was doing and took his eyes of Jesus he started to sink.  And that is true for us today if we lose focus and take our eyes of Jesus we will sink.  The other disciples were all in the boat which was still being tossed about by the waves but when Jesus got into it everything when peaceful, showing us that when Jesus comes into a situation we find peace.  Last day tomorrow then the picnic and then the water fight.

Holiday Club Day 3 Inspiring the team

Today at holiday club we have heard about the time when Jesus was transformed in front of his closest followers.  Following this Peter realised perhaps for the first time who Jesus was.  We had a great time again this morning with 87 children slightly lower than yesterday but the North Lonsdale Show is on today and some went to that.  However in the 87 we did have some new children as well which is just great.  The competition for today was to come in an international hat.  We had some very good designs with a lot of hard work going into them.  Tomorrow is the fancy dress day when the children have been encouraged to come dressed as a sport - should be interesting.

Holiday Club Day 2 Shaping the Team

Had another great time at Holiday Club today.  We had 90 children this morning which is 6 up on yesterday - however we did have 8 new ones too!  Today the children heard the story of Bart, or Blind Bart, better know as Blind Bartimaeus.  He was a man born blind and reduced to begging what ever he could to eat.  Jesus came by and well Bart called out to him but the crowd shut him up so he shouted louder and this time Jesus heard and the crowd moved aside and Jesus stood next to him.  Now Bart could have asked him for money or something but Bart knew who Jesus was and yes Jesus knew who he was too.  Jesus would have know what Bart wanted before he even opened his mouth.  But Jesus asked what he wanted and Bart said - to see.  Go said Jesus your faith has healed you.  This is just one of the ways that we read about in the gospels of how Jesus shaped his team then as is still shaping us today.  Our prayer is for all the children we have had contact with so far this week that the seeds that have been sown will start to take root and start to sprout.

Holiday Club Day 1 Making the Team

Day 1 of Holiday Club has gone very well.  We had over 80 children today.  We sang songs with our live band, saw Gary as well as Captain Ketchup, we had a story about Jesus selecting his team of followers.  Children have also played games and done crafts and taken home worksheets to colour as well.  I feel that every one had a great time and we are all set for another fun filled action packed day tomorrow.  We Praise God for the children we have had contact with today and pray that the seeds that have been sown today will take root and start to bud - to God be the Glory.

Tottlebank Baptist Church Fun DAy

Had a lovely afternoon over at Tottlebank Baptist Church.  There wasn't a huge crowd of people but that didn't matter Bertie entertained the crowd in between the band playing tunes.  Did a few regular tricks and a few gospel ones too.  Then over a cup of coffee later I was able to witness to a few people as we sat and chatted.  I did manage to do a few more tricks to Phil and Hazel's grandchildren as the event came to a close.  It was good to be out and about in the sunshine, doing the Lord's work.

Ulverston Infants Church Walk Picnic

Yesterday afternoon I was in the playground of Church Walk entertaining the children during their end of term picnic.  I managed to do two shows during the afternoon and entertained the children with some secular as well as Christian routines.  I also managed between shows to do a little bit of walk about too.

Sacred Heart RC School Barrow

This blog is a little old now.  However yesterday we went through to Barrow to first of all work with year 3 singing some songs and telling a story which we later performed to the KS1 children in an assembly.  We had about an hour to 'entertain' so following the story I did some magic for the children as a bit of a treat.  I have to say they loved it.  When the children went out to play we then set up in the hall ready to take the assembly.  Now year 3 are not normally in the KS1 assembly so we made sure that everyone that wanted to take part was able to do so.  We started with Giants of Faith, then using my year 3 actors I told the story of the Good Samaritan, but a modern day version of it.  My story has a few more people in it, it has a police person, a nurse and a pop star.  The good Samaritan is played by a hoodie.  Sarah talked to the children about what it is to be a good Samaritan and about how we should always help people.  Then we sang Shine and finished with a prayer.  We did then manage to sneak in a quick Inright Outright as well.

Low Furness School

For the assembly this morning the title was again Move On so I took along the Waloo Waloo Egg… page 31 had a leavers assembly in it.  It was about a man that went for a walk.  He collected all his things like his boots and socks, rain coat, walking stick, hat etc and his flask of soup.  He set off up a rather large hill which had great views he sat down for his soup lunch but then the fog came and the man got rather lost.  At this point I asked the children what the man should do and got some interesting answers.  So the man tried to carry on then he found a sign post with signs like where you are going to, where you have come from, somewhere else and another place.  But the signs was on the ground and the man didn't know which way to turn.  I then pointed out that we can sometimes find that - we don't know where we are going, so whenever that happens we should look to see where we came from.  And as the year 6 leave to go off to new schools they may look back at the time in school as they look forward to a new experience.  As a special treat at the end we did the chicken dance.

Penny Bridge School

This afternoon Sarah and I went to Penny Bridge School to take our final assembly there for this current school year.  We sang Be Happy to start then I told my Move On story which I have told to nearly all the schools during the past month.  Sarah completed the talk by talking to the children about there Move On to other classes and to new schools.  She pointed out that like the Israelites in my story there will be times when the children feel unsure of something but they can be assured that God is with them no matter what.  Following this we sang Shine and said a prayer.

Broughton School

This morning we went over to Broughton to take the assembly.  The year 5 and 6 group were not in but the rest of the school was.  Following the singing of Be Happy I told the Move On story like we have to most of our schools this past month.  Sarah then went on to complete the assembly by talking about how we all move on in life and that over the summer children from the school will move on - some to secondary school and others will Move On up the school.  Following this we sang Shine and finished with a prayer.

Leven Valley School

Today's assembly at Leven Valley School was special because we had decided to do the Move On assembly we have done several times over the last few days and today at the school it was their move on day.  All the children had moved up a class.  To start we sang Great Big God then I started to tell the story.  It starts with Abraham and ends with Moses and between the two I cover about 600years of history in about 30 seconds.  God's promise to Abraham, Joseph and then Moses and how God wanted them to Move On out of Egypt where they had become slaves to a new promised land.  A land that God had promised to Abraham back in the day.  The people came across things that got in the way of them moving on but God found a way round them and they eventually arrived in the land.  Sarah used the story to talk about the children moving on to new classrooms and teachers and even new schools.  She encouraged them to seek for help whenever they feel a bit lost and to ask God for help too.  We finished with Shine and then a prayer.

Windermere Juniors

Today we went for our last visit of the year to Windermere Juniors.  It was the last for other reasons to as the head is moving on after the summer as well.  Following a slight technical problem we sang Great Big God then I went on to talk about Abraham and his family and how God had promised him many children and grandchildren etc.  Abraham could have Stayed Still but God wanted him to Move On and take hold of a special land.  So after they Stayed Still in Egypt for 400 years God through Moses told them to Move On.  And Move they did only to hit the Red Sea but God Moved the On by opening the sea.  They stopped again and couldn't Move On as they had no water - God provided that too as well as food both morning and evening.  Then after 40 years of Moving On God brought them to the promised land and so at last hundreds of years after Abraham his family had Moved In to a new land.  Sarah then picked up on the Move On point and talked about us when we move on like when we get to year 6.  But every year group moves on and at times things might be hard and we might not think we can move on but God will be there for us as he was with Abraham's family as they moved on.  As it was the last assembly we did the Chicken Dance to finish.

Lesson 5 BX at Pennington

Had a great final lesson with year 5 this afternoon at Pennington.  Today's set of stories are some of my favourite ones particularly the Esther one.  The children also find it quite funny as I walk round the room as Haman and get them to 'bow down'.  Then when the part comes were he has to lead Mordecai round the streets, the children laugh as I hold the person playing Mordecai by the hand, get on my knees and walk around the room.  Also when Esther asks for her life from the king and she points to Haman and he pleads with the queen but falls onto her (not that I fall on anyone).  They can almost see what happens next which is great.  So had a great time with the children, at the end I presented all of them with their certificate then was asked if I was going again next week.  Bible Explorer is such fun to do and I feel that children get so much out of it too.  I can't wait for September when I'll be doing it all again in 2 different schools.  Also I think it is time I looked into being trained for the New Testament.

St Peters

It was our last journey of the year over to St Peters today.  We decided to allow the year 6 class that would be leaving to pick the songs and they said Shine and asked what the Chicken Dance was.  So as a special treat we said we would sing it at the end.  So following our first song I started to tell our Move On story.  As at other schools the children listened as I very quickly went through a little bit of history from Abraham to Joseph and then into Moses.  I used pictures that I had added words to and use the words Move On a number of times during the story.  As we read in the Bible the Israelites out in the desert did get stopped from time to time and felt that they couldn't Move On particularly by the banks of the Red Sea, and when the found they had no water to drink our food to eat.  Yet each time God provided the answer, which enabled them to Move On into the land God had promised to Abraham.  Sarah then talked to the children about their moving on - some to a new school like the year 6 and others moving on up the school to new classrooms and even new teachers.  She encouraged them to ask and seek help whenever they felt they needed to and told them that when they came across a new situation that they really were unsure about they could ask God for help.  At the end the children found a space on the floor as we sang the Chicken Dance song followed by a prayer from me and the Lord's Prayer from Sarah.

Croftlands Infants

We went to Croftlands Infants today, it was the last time for this year. We started by singing Be Happy I then told a story with pictures about Moving On.  As it was a story that needed pictures we took the projector along with us so the children could see the pictures better.  I used Abraham, Joseph and Moses to explain that sometimes in life we Stay Still but at other times we need to Move On.  The Israelites had for example Stayed Still in Egypt for 400 years and were then slaves but God through Moses told them to Move On.  But as they did they found things in the way so they couldn't Move On like the Red Sea, or the lack of water and food.  They could have Stayed Still but God needed them to Move On and so found a way round the problems or through them in the case of the Red Sea.  Sarah then encouraged the children as they Move On to ask and seek answers as they Move On into new classes even new classrooms with new teachers and I also encouraged them to pray to God for help if ever they felt things were getting a bit too much. We finished with Shine before saying a prayer.

Croftlands Juniors

I went to Croftlands Juniors today.  It was the last time for this year so it would be the last chance to see year 6.  After singing Be Happy I then told a story with pictures about Moving On.  I used Abraham, Joseph and Moses to explain that sometimes in life we Stay Still but at other times we need to Move On.  The Israelites had for example Stayed Still in Egypt for 400 years and were then slaves but God through Moses told them to Move On.  But as they did they found things in the way so they couldn't Move On like the Red Sea, or the lack of water and food.  They could have Stayed Still but God needed them to Move On and so found a way round the problems or through them in the case of the Red Sea.  I then encouraged the children as they Move On to ask and seek answers as they Move On into new classes even new classrooms with new teachers and I also encouraged them to pray to God for help if ever they felt things were getting a bit too much.  I finished with Shine before saying a prayer.

Messy Church Picnic

This afternoon Sarah and I along with the family went over to Heversham at the invitation of Colin Honour to help celebrate their Church's Messy Church first birthday.  We had a great time.  It started with a wonderful welcome from the events host Linda, it felt as if we were old friends had come round for the afternoon.  We set up in the garden looking out across the bay and then people started to arrive at around 4pm.  At about half past I did a short magic show with a mix of secular type tricks for the children moving towards some gospel routines which I involved the adults with.  This was followed by tea then it did start to rain a bit so plastic sheets came out to cover the electric equipment then at around 5:20 we did a sketch with Gary which the children thought was funny.  We did the one about what is in the Bible and Sarah explains to Gary that he should read it and not stand on it as he was at the time.  I followed this up with a very quick gospel routine about our sins being taken away and finished with the 4 points.  All in all it was a good day and very enjoyable too.