Refreshed

This morning I wanted to get stuck into preparation for preaching Sunday. I spent a chunk of the morning studying the Lord's Supper, but knew in my heart it was not the right lesson to be presenting. So, changed direction and began looking at true discipleship. Sunday morning I will be preaching about the importance of a Changed Heart. Got the ground work started and will try to get it done tomorrow morning. Also got my bones for the evening gospel thought through - will take some insight from the Egyptians dedication to the afterlife and challenge us to ask if we are as dedicated to our afterlife? Anyway, after some struggles of going in the wrong direction my heart is now settled and I'm excited about Sunday. Managed to squeeze in some time to go for coffee with my dad. We talked and as ever watched time fly.



Had a good time at Central in the afternoon with the P6-7 girls. I am confident I was able to bless their day and help them through a few frustrations they had been having in school. Left there knowing the girls had a good time playing soccer, but more importantly that they were in a better frame of mind than they had been earlier.



Got to have supper with Fenella, Beth, Holly and Hannah and was able to talk to Amy who had called from Ireland. Amy is doing fine and is enjoying the trip. The house is not the same without her and we all miss her presence.



Left for class at 6pm and picked up some of the guys. We had an amazing class and there was so much laughter tonight that the atmosphere was happy and lifted all night. The lesson went over well and I am continuing to challenge the boys with pretty direct teaching. Tonight we talked about the difference between believing in and accepting Christ to committing your life to Him and deciding to Follow Him. Again the response was good an I told them there ware people praying for their souls and that this year will be their year! As ever the girls came at 8pm and everyone enjoys hanging out together. The St Combs Ice Cream van arrived at 8.30, but I missed him - Devastated!!

God bless!

Two in one

It's good to now get a chance to sit and think back over the past two days. They have been and gone so fast! Tuesday was a tough day - When I got up I was pretty stressed out at everything I needed to get done. After a while I had to take time out and find some quiet time for God. It never ceases to amaze me how often I charge through the day doing good things, but forget to invite God along! Tuesday morning was one of those times. After getting things straight and realising how weak I was, I asked for strength to get through the day, for patience and tolerance to handle the P1's at Central during lunch time and for the right things to say in Clerkhill school that afternoon. Although, for the rest of the day I was feeling weak, everything I was involved in went so well! Lunchtime at Central with the P1's was great thanks to some help from Holly and Carleene. The two assemblies at Clerkhill went amazingly well too. The talk was about mother's and how they show some of the qualities of God in how they care for us. The children in both groups were involved and I know they were blessed.

Upon reflection of Tuesday the "Footprints in the sand" comes to mind. By the way, If you have not yet heard it - Leona Lewis has just released "Footprints in the Sand" as her new single!

Amy left for Ireland on Tuesday morning and it was good timing when I went down to see her of on the bus with her school friends. I realised, again, how blessed I am to have the family I have. Amy is now an adult and her role on the trip to Ireland is very huge, but I have no doubts what so ever that she has the character and maturity to shine. We miss her not being at home!

Wednesday was another day and having the morning with my beautiful wife again makes me smile inside! We went to "Simpson's" tea room and enjoyed having no distractions and being able to look across a table and just see each other. We went and got mother's day cards and some gifts and it was just so fine.
In the afternoon I went to Dales Park school and had my first taste of the P4-7's after school club. It was great! We had a short get to know each other time and got into some "Nucem" for the activity. It is always good to see the kids leaving with happy faces and looking forward to next week. I go regularly for assembly to DP school and it's so good to have this chance to get to know the kids better.

In the evening we had the supper and classes with the kids at church. We had a good time for the most part, but one or two of the boys were playing up a bit. We had the "Bible Quick Draw" and this continues to be a big hit. I showed a clip from the movie "Millions" and talked a little about the importance of helping people in need. My class was great and we really lost track of time and before we knew it we could hear everyone outside and noticed it was after 8pm. Wednesday nights is the time we have most people helping out and it really is a good indicator that we have some who are interested and care about the kids who come. May and my mum made pizza and brought ice cream and jelly for desert. The kids loved it! As ever Nina was ready to step up and teach at the last minute when needed. Fenella does a magic job with her class and Dianne and Angela likewise with theirs.

Take care and God bless!

New School was great!

Today was kinda frantic. I knew I had two school's which was great, but I took it into my head to make mother's day cards with the kid's at class tonight. Although I knew it would be great I forgot how much prep goes into card making!!! Spent most of the morning getting the materials and talking to the shop keeper about a possible design for the card - by the way, Jeanie thanks again for the help! After getting the stuff I had to make one to see that it was simple enough to do and then had to get everything cut out and ready for the kids - it was crazy!

With all that in mind however, when it came time to make them at class things went pretty smoothly and the kid's have a really beautiful card to give mum on Sunday. At class we had 28 kids as well as the teens and the adult helpers, so there was a pretty full house. The class was good on the whole except for a moments lave of absence at the end. We only had 5 minutes to fill and I was standing with 30+ faces looking at me wondering what we would do and since there was not enough time for a proper game I had a "seemed good at the time" idea to have a shoe scramble! NOT very wise. The end result was Darcy loosing a front tooth after coming into contact with someones shoe. Thankfully, her tooth had been wobbly and after calling home later to check with her mum that she was OK I was able to relax, but will never again have a shoe scramble!

The first time at Dales Park School with smaller groups was great! I loved the kids who were P1-3's (age 5-7's) and we had so much fun doing ball games. There was a group of 12 and for the first time with them we quickly had a good thing going and after getting the "giggles" worked out we went on to enjoy a time of fun and activity. The kid's went back to class in such a good mood and all are looking forward to next week - and so am I!

After spending so much time with sticking and cutting out it was off to Crimond for football coaching. It was great to see all the kid's there again. With school being out last Monday everyone was glad to have football practice again. We had a fantastic session and everything went smoothly with only a couple of "bad language" problems. I was able to tell everyone that Jenny was coming over in the summer to which there was an almighty cheer! Jenny had got to spend some time last year with me at Crimond and really got to know the kid's there.

Got home at 4.30 and picked up Holly and Hannah form Grandma and Granda's house and then finished off the cutting and sticking in time for class. We had supper and it was out the door again at 6.00 to start pick ups.

WOW!

I have had the best day! It seems like I blitzed my "Things to do" list. Got a load of pretty important paperwork done - Disclosure stuff. It takes a lot of time and because of tightening laws for those working with children it is now a important to keep things in order. So, after getting that out of the way I got all the paperwork done to get the completion certificate for some work we did to the house. The work was completed a while ago, but it was one of those things I kept putting off doing.

I had coffee with my dad at 11.00 and the time just flew! We looked at the time and it was 12.30! It was so good to spend the time talking and sharing concerns and joys for the kingdom. Got home to an e-mail from Harding campaign's that needed a bunch of questions answered so I got started on that and will probably get it done before the weekend.

It was off to Central school next for girl's football. We had a good time and managed to get outdoors for the whole time without getting too cold - for some reason it was so mild and really quite pleasant for the time of year. The girl's are enjoying the time and there is a good spirit amongst the group.

Got to see Fenella for about 5 minutes before she left for Aberdeen with Amy for her singing lesson. Then it was off to class with the older boys! It was such a good class, hence the title for this blog being "WOW." We had a great time playing some football and ping pong, but the greatest time was during the lesson. I've been purposly making the lesson and discussion more challenging for the guys this term. I told them I had been praying that this year some will commit to Christ. The lesson was all about what it takes to commit. I spoke about going off a high board for the first time and challenged them to consciously mark where they are on the way up the ladder and up to the edge and possibly even ready to make the jump. I know the lesson hit home because the eyes were all focused and there was total silece. I am prayerful that the lessons I plan for Thursday nights continue to be as effective and convicting. The girl's came at 8.00 and hung out till after 9.00. Good times!!

Got home at 9.30 and about 5 minutes later Fenella and Amy got home from Aberdeen. It was not long after that everyone went to bed, exhausted.

A "Follower" of Jesus

Well the day couldn't have started any better. After a very busy weekend and having the girls out of school it was good to have Fenella all to myself. We went for tea at our favorite tea shop Simpson's. By now you must be getting familiar with Simpson's and if you ever come to visit the chances are we will be there at some point - we love it there. It was good to be together and have some time just to talk.

In the afternoon I had some prep work to get don for the bible class and because it was the start of a new topic I wanted to be clear we were going to hit the mark. I have decided to take a look at what really makes a "Follower" of Jesus. I know many people profess to be a Christian, but are they really following in His footprints? So, I am taking the next few weeks to challenge the teens with what it really means to be a Christian and by definition a "Disciple" of Christ.

Tonight the supper and classes went so smoothly and without incident - it was kinda wierd! Normally there are always kids to check and calls for quiet, but tonight was very different. During the supper there was pretty much peace and the kids were talking and enjoying the occation, but without "noise" and after when we settled down for songs it was the same. We really have stumbled on something good in our "Quick Draw Challenge." There is an element of excitement and anticipation during the assembled part of the night. All the kids want a chance to be up front and try to be the first to fing the book, chapter and verse. This week I took a brave step in telling the kids that unless they brought their own bible to class they can't take part in the Quick Draw. I want to encourage them to bring a bible to class. We had a number who came and told me they did not own a bible, so we may have to look into this if they don't have one next week and see if we can provide them with one. Anyway, class tonight was magic! we got off the ground thinking about the things people "Follow" in life and the suggestions were everything from fassion to football. I left them with the question: "At the end of the day what good do they bring you?" Of course, we look at Jesus and make some comparisons to challenge them to see that only Jesus is worth following.

Fenella and Amy went to a meeting about Amy's trip to Ireland for the music exchange. Can't believe she leaves next Tuesday. She is sooo looking forward to the trip and will be playing a pretty major role in the concerts they will be performing while over in Ireland. Amy also has her "School Ball" on Friday. She has so much to look forward to these coming days!

Well, that's it for today - God Bless!

Beautiful Day

These are some of the pictures we took on our day out too feed the swans. ducks and scurries. We had a bunch of fun. It was amazing how close the swans would come for some bread - they were even eating out of our hands. Although Holly found out the hard way to make sure you offer a longish piece of bread or else they might nip your finger. The sun was out and it was a beautiful day, but it was very cold!

After we ran out of bread we went to the "Lido" where the girls climbed on a huge spiders web climbing frame. They both got up quite high before fear set in and the descent started.

Beth had a lazy day - her favorite kind of days! She stayed in and practiced her oboe pieces and watched some movies. Amy was working at Simpson's from 12 to 4 and is now looking forward to Saturday's pay-cheque. She has worked quite a bit over the mid-term break.

Fenella will be home in about 20 minutes! Got to see her for a wee bit at lunch time, she phoned and asked if I would bring something she had forgot - so it was an unexpected pleasure to see her for a wee while.

We will all chill out tonight - everybody is tired in some way or another. It will be a cozy night in with cusions and covers. The girl's will have an early night tonight ready for school again in the morning.

Great weekend.

I took a few days off from blogging. Kinda got a bit burned out of it. However, I'm back and raring to go again! This weekend was great. We had a full house with the fantastic Spier's family. Adrienne, Jack and Hannah came up on friday through Sunday and it was lovely to have them with us. Amy had arranged with Hailley Jones to come up too and she tagged a lift with the Spier's up from Dundee. Anyway, Holly and Hannah had a brilliant time whith Hannah, who they had become best friends with at camp Tayside last summer. Fenalla and Adrienne had also hit it off at camp have become bossom buddies. As for me it was excellent having Jack, a fellow male, to hang out with. On the whole it was time well spent playing some badminton, sharing some meals and relaxing with good company.

We had a fine surprise when we got a call from Chrissy and Robin Vick! It was sooo good to hear their voices. We talked for a while and got caught right up to date, but it was especially good to listen to their hearts and their plans for the future in serving the Master and in HIs Kingdom. They are a lovely couple and we are thankful for past times together and look forward to goos times ahead. We will see them in the summer and can't wait! They will be visiting Scotland and spending time looking at the possibility of ministering somewhere in this beautiful, but increasingly godless country. We are confident that where ever they decide to serve they will bring rich blessing with them.

Fenella managed to get Friday and Monday off work which has been great since the girls have been off school since Friday, mid term break. We have all been able to enjoy some time together as family and with friends as well. It is especially good for me, because I don't have school's and we cancelled the Monday night class to give the helpers the benefit of some time with family. Today, Fenella is back work, which is a downer! Although it means I get to take Holly, Hannah and Beth out for the day. We have it all planned out - lunch at the museum cafe then playtime at the park beside the beach and then over to the river to feed the swans some bread. The only dilema I have to work on is what to make for the supper! Has to be something that will make Fenella smile when she gets in from a long day at work.

Well, that's it for now! God bless.

The Doors Keep Opening!

It has been a beautiful day today - the sun has been shining and the sky has been blue. That totally reflects the day I've had. It has been a crazy day running between three schools today. This morning I took two assemblies at Dales Park School, one for the younger and one for the older. We had such a good time! The lesson went over well and I had plenty comments and good answers to know the kids got the point. After the lesson I taught the groups the "Mexican" and "Super-hero" version of the "Lord's Army" song. There was such a buzz as the kids left the hall after assembly, I know they were encouraged and blessed!

I had a great talk with the head mistress who invited me to stay for coffee with the staff while the kids were at play-time (recess). The end result is new opportunities to serve in the school!! I will be in on a Monday lunch time working with the P1-4's and again on Wednesday after school for the P5-7's. I am so excited!!! The school has about 200 children, so having the opportunity to be a more constant and involved influence has got to be good. Praise God!

I was at Central school over lunch time with the P1's. I had everything thought through and really thought things would be great, but like last week there was one or two who made it such a hard session. Most of the kids were involved and enjoying themselves, but one boy would not tow the line. In the end it was a good session and for the most part the kids were happy and involved, but I was really stretched thin and my patience was severely tested!

Got home for about 30 minutes and then it was off to Clerkhill School for the P6 and 7's assembly. It's amazing how obvious differences between schools are in certain areas. Clerkhill is the biggest school in Peterhead and it may be why things don't seem as intimate there as with the likes of Dales Park. I had a good time with the kids and got a good lesson accross, so in all it's good. Had a good chat with the head teacher for a 10 minutes before the kids came into the hall.

I was glad to get home to my own family and find out all about the day's happenings.

A Good Day

Had a good day today! Got through some jobs I had to get done around the house - Fitting a light in the lobby and re-sealling the bathroom as well as replacing a leaking shower trap. Glad to have got them done and out of the way.

Had a fine afternoon with the group at Crimond School. I love the energy and enthusiasm they ooze. Might be that I realise I'm getting old or something. I did enjoy the time with them today - Fraser was on my team and I loved the way he battled hard even though he knew he was on the weaker team - he will not be a "quitter" in life. Stevie Nash has got to be one of the most gentle and kindly young boys around. I'm really starting to appreciate their qualities and pray they can one day channel them for good.

Tonight at class we had a magic time! A big group, but was not too much effort. The biggest effort is getting the kids to the building! Once they are there we have the best time. I am trying hard to get the group to know when to be quiet and when it's OK to talk with their friends. They are getting better and tonight there was a marked improvement again over the previous week. They got tested over last weeks lesson and the papers look to be pretty good. Tonight it was especially great to have Carolina and Martina who are from Latvia. It is really encouraging to know we are attracting children who have recently moved to the country and they enjoy being involved with us. Tonight Leah and Kimberly really impressed me. They both simply smiled and were happy the whole night. I was watching as they were taking the test at how effortlessly they answered the questions - they obviously listen and soak up the bible lessons. We talked about Camp Tayside a bit tonight an put the sign up sheet on the notice board. The response was good and it is exciting to see who wants to go and at the same time scary watching the "Hard work" kids also show interest in going. Only time will tell who will get there.
Had a great bunch of help tonight - Nina, who is without doubt one of our most dependable and active helpers, continued as ever to share her gentle yet powerful light. Sharron got a bit of a workout as she got right in with the kid's as they played some soccer for a while and Angie was there, as ever, working in the background. Good to have Erin, Jessica, Megan and Kelsey, our teen helpers involved tonight as well!

Well busy day tomorrow. Three schools to visit and three assemblies - great stuff!

Looking forward to Tomorrow

Well, this morning was not the greatest. I got stuck into a job I've been putting of for months - clearing out the garage! Had to make a run to the skip there was so much rubbish. The garage was my workshop when doing work to the house so there was tools and sawdust everywhere. The good thing is we can now get the car into it!

Had a brilliant time at Central school over lunch time. Thankfully the group has not increased this time. Everybody had fun and did quite a bit of excersise in the process. Starting to get a good rapor with the group and there is an anticipation as the kids come into the gym hall that they will have a good time. Hoping the opportunity allows me to be good influence and a friendly face.

This afternoon it was off to Anna Ritchie school. Here I go again trying to sum up how great it is to be involved there. As ever there was never a moment where there was not the sound of laughter or a smile on someone's face. Rory, one of the older boy's scored the most amazing goal today - he hit the ball from his own goal area and scored! The ball just hit the perfect trajectory and dropped right into the net! However, his wonder goal was not enough to win the game. My taem, which consists mainly of the physically lesser abled, did enough to edge a 4-3 win. This is uncommon as we usually get beaten badly. There is no doubt though that win or loose everyone leaves the game in a good mood. I think having this sessions on Friday afternoon's sets the kid's up for a great weekend. After the game I have to go round the classes and tell them about the various goal scorers and how great they performed. I care for the school and pray that God is seen by the children as a result.

Fenella and I decided to have a night out tomorow with Amy and Beth, so we are going to see the second "National Treasure" movie with Nicholas Cage (my fav Actor). We will go for something to eat beforehand - Looking forward! Jack and Alexa are coming round to watch Holly & Hannah so they will have a fine time.

Have a great weekend nad God bless!

Well, Well, Billy Cheyne!

It was brilliant to get a surprise visit from Billy Cheyne and Epoc (David Cope) tonight. They arrived at the house, very convieniently, as we were having our supper. It is always good to have them at class, the boys especially have a good bond with Bill. He spent a while living near Peterhead and helped out at classes while they were here. There was a good crowd of guys there tonight and we had a brilliant class. I taught a lesson about rebeling against the world and pointed out the fact that Jesus was the greatest rebel ever. Challenged the boys not to simply go with teh flow and follow the crowd, but to stand up and stand against the pull of this world. Got a good response and the comments were right on. John Campbell was there tonight and is a really good influence on the guys - he's not a bad table tennis player too! We missed Angie tonight who hasn't had a great day and needed to stay home and rest. Tha girls arrived at 8.00 and we played some dodgeball and enjoyed the company for a while.

Getting back to Billy Cheyne - I thought it would be funny to tie his shoe laces together as I was leaving the house for class, but should have known better. At the end of the class I found my jacket in knots and thought, No Way!, but hey fairs fair. Untill I went outside and found my car missing! He had taken my keys and moved it round the corner out of sight. Message to self - don't play practacle jokes on Billy Cheyne again!!

I had a good time at Central this afternoon with the girl's football. There is a nice group of girl's coming and there really is quite a lot of opportunity to give some guidance and instruction on matters of importancce as well as football. I will see most of them again tomorrow lunch time at the school for ball games and I'm looking forward to it.

Had coffee with my dad for a wee while this afternoon and got a chance to talk and catch up. I'm kinda gald we are able to make this a pretty regular thing and I look forward to our sounding board sessions.

Well another day gone and another closer home - God bless.

Muddling through

Today has been eventful to say the least. I am made aware today that I am far from perfect. I won't go into detail, but it hads been good for me to do some soul searching in order to get my priorities right and begin to set the balance where it needs to be again.

It was good to have Fenella to myself for the morning and after missing out last week, we headed down to Simpson's Tea Room for some tea and coffee and of course one of their irresistible home baked cakes. We were both glad of the chance to be together.

Tonights class went really well. Out of the 30 pluss kids there was only two who were giving us some problems, so on the whole I'm sure most of the children were blessed. The kids were especially keen at the singing time with many having requested a favorite. The "Bible Quick Draw" is fast becoming a success and the kids are eager to to step up and try to find the book chapter and verse before their friends. Shaun Main has become the one to beat, which is not surprising since he was victorious at camp Tayside's memory verse challenge. The Classes went well and I taught a second lesson from Jonah and focused on God's mercy in giving warning to change before punishment comes. We had a good class and discussed whether we were diligent in doing what God wants.

The best surprise! When I got home from dropping off the kids from class I was greeted with a most beautiful sight - St Combs ice cream!!! Fenella whae dropping Amy at her piano lesson had came accross the ice cream van and treated us all to some ice cream, it was fantastic! A little insight for anyone who does not know me well - I love ice cream!

Jenny's Definitly coming this summer!!

Didn't even have to read the email - the title said it all, "I'm COMING!" Jenny will be with us for the summer and we are thrilled! I am excited to tell everyone tomorow night.

Got to spend some personal study time this morning and listened to one of my fav podcasts from John Ortberg. He was talking about the importance of many Generations within a church and the idea of kingdom as God's family. Realy enjoyed the time to think and be challenged.

This lunch time was at Central school with the P1's for ball games. Had a good bunch and a good time for the most part, but had one little boy who was intent on doing nothing I asked him, so he was escorted out so that the rest could enjoy some fun and excersise. Had some time to do some visiting and dropped in to see Margaret Bradford. It was realy refreshing and we talked about some church stuff and also had a laugh about various house decorating stories we had experienced.

Tonight I had a catch up call with Dr Jerry Bowling who will be leading the HU campaign to Peterhead in May. We shared some ideas and had a talk about where the focus of the campaign should be and what we need to be preparing for to provoke opportunity to get the comunity here in touch with God. Have to say I am anticipating a great campaign.

As a beside here I would love if anyone knew of a congregation who might be interested in helping my good brother in Christ Alex Swango join the work here in Peterhead. He has been over here a few times now and we would love to benefit from his obvious passion for the kingdom. He needs some financial help in order to make this happen, so if you know of anyone please let me know and I will get them hooked up.

Another new week

Got the day off to the best possible start - Assembly at Crimond School! Got my lesson sorted and set off knowing I had a message to tell. Met all the children at the door as they filled past into the gym hall. I had a good feeling as most of the children were smilling and looked to be in a good mood. I spoke about the importance of handling failure so that it can help rather than hinder. Looked at Thomas Edison and his failure rate when perfecting the light bulb and about his showing mercy to the young boy who stumbled and let one of his bulbs smash, but still had the faith to trust him with the next one. Focused on the older kids for a wee while and challenged their thinking about failure and learning from their mistakes. In all it was a really good assembly and I finished off with a prayer. There was a lovely moment at the end when the teacher commented that the song she had chosen before the assembly was perfectly in keeping with what I had talked about - God's providence or what!

Had a great visit with Angie as we went through to Aberdeen to re-stock the tuck shop. We were able to encourage each other and share how much God is working in the lives of the children and we were both aware of how blessed we are to have so much opportunity to share and care in the kingdom.

It was back to Crimond at 2.30 for football coaching. After last weeks struggles I started with a pretty strong hand making sure they knew that that was not going to be repeated this session. There were a lot of eyes to the ground and after a commitment to make things better we had a fantastic time. After the game nearly all the guys in their own way said how much they enjoy Monday afternoons and were making sure I was going to come back again. My heart goes out to them and I hope the messages I share at Assenblies are taking root and that God has a chance to bless their lives.

Tonight we had a magic class with the primary school kids. They were all excited to find out how well they had done on the test the week before and who was leading the MVP table. Only 5 of the 30 got full marks, but no one in the class had lower than 11 out of 15 which is great. Andrew Main, Lewis Emslie and Kimberly Lawson are heading up the older table, while Ellis Stephen is out in front on her own in the younger table. This week we talked about Jesus baptism and how pleased God was that His Son was focused on doing what He had sent him to do. It went well and after our time for prayer and refreshment we had some fun and games with Knights, Horses and Caveliers. There was a sweet moment tonight when Leah came and asked if she could ray for her granda who had a stroke and heart attack this past week. Leah has only been coming for a couple of weeks and it was so encouraging that she has seen the other children pray and is learning the beauty of praying for those she loves - precious!

Well time for some rest - Good night.

It's Snowing!

We woke up this morning to a most beautiful sight - SNOW! Everywhere was covered in a clean white blanket. This afternoon I had to go out and take some pictures for you all to see how lovely it is here (Ashley, I know you will proud of me!)

Holly and Hannah have had so much fun today. First thing they had their swimming lesson and because the pool is only a two minute walk, on went the "toppers" and we had our first walk in the snow this year. We went down to "Simpson's" for our lunch and got served by Amy. When we got home I went into the garden with Holly and Hannah for some fun in the snow! We made a Pyramid (because their school project has been about Egypt). We threw some snowballs and got really cold fingers, but it was soooo worth it.

Tonight we are staying in and will have a cozy night watching a movie. However, Beth has plans. Without doubt Beth has the best social life in the family, she has a great group of friends and they are always at someones house visiting and enjoying their friendship.

P.S. Happy Birthday Jenny, we miss you!

Richly Blessed

Friday night and all is well. Fenella's had another crazy day and I'm totally spent too. Tonight we will just relax and do nothing, but put our feet up!

Fenella left early this morning for a course in Aberdeen, which is only 30 miles away but the traffic makes the comute there and back 3 hours. So, she was glad to get home tonight. I had an assembly at Burnhaven school 1st thing at 9.30. When I got there the head mistress met me and we had a good talk for a wee while about the general mood of the school. My lesson went over well and taught the children about the importance of having a thankful heart and about remembering how good God is to all of us. After the kids went back to class the head told me about some problems they were experiencing at the school and how glad she was to see all the children getting involved in the lesson and expressing their ideas. It was good to know in some small way I was able to minister and help at the school today.

At lunch time I was at Central school with the P5-7's for ball games. What a magic time that was! Turned out that the list of kids signed up had jumped from 16 to 24 since last week! Mr Imlah, the assistant head, was very appologetic and said if I thought it was too much we can cut the numbers, but in the end it was fine and the session went without any issues. I just hope next week the list does not get any longer! Seriously though, I count it a joy to be there and to be sharing in the lives of those 24 kids - fantastic!

Next stop was Anna Ritchie School! As usual got to spend a little time with all the classes before begining the football session. The kid's are amazing. They always have so much smiles and affection. I go to minister in a small way, but know that I am the one recieving the richest blessing. We had Ryan join us today. His carer told me he was desperate to join in with us and man can he kick a ball! He can do this crazy thing with his thumb - it can bend backward 90 degrees! Well as ever the time just flew in they all returned back to class flushed and sweaty, but happy.

Time to call it a night!