Whoa! Busy morning, today!!! As soon as I arrived at church I was swept up in a buzz of activity as baby Olivia was to be dedicated during the Service and a number of visitors would be joining us. Thus 3 extra children (with their Mum) joined our group so it was good to have 2 helpers in the persons of John and Mike.
The teaching was from Matthew 5:35-48, a continuation of the Sermon on the Mount. We first reviewed some of the parts we have looked at over the past few weeks and then zeroed in on verses 43-47 “Love your Enemies”. After a brief discussion we recreated the scene using our giant felt board. Next a snack (thankfully I had brought plenty of ginger cookies and a LARGE apple!) the a round of Kim’s Game and finally we trooped into the craft room and assembled a giant card to present to Olivia, welcoming her to our church family. We needed to rush a bit as we finished up, since I could hear the Doxology being sung and the children were anxious to give the card to Olivia and her parents before the Service was over. All quite chaotic, but in a good way!
Fortunately it was bright and sunny for the walk home and there is always plenty of time to process and reflect on the morning during a 50 minute hike! And so the afternoon is winding down. Yes, it is 4pm but the sun is still shining brightly, the days are REALLY get longer!! On our afternoon walk I spotted what I think is a section of lilac branch which must have broken off in last evening’s strong winds. Wil and I dragged it home and I divided it into 4 smaller sections, gave the ends a good whacking with a hammer and, YES, it is “wick”! (Yorkshire dialect for “alive”).
I love the idea of bashing the seemingly dead branches- I bet the kids enjoyed that a lot!!