Coming Up . . .

Hey,

Just to let you know that I have officially passed both my Numeracy and Literacy professional skills tests, which are tests you need to pass to become a teacher. Now that I have passed them, I only need to find somewhere to live and I will be ready to start my course in September. This also means that I can catch up on my blog, over the summer as well as going on holiday and enjoying myself.

So here are what is to come on my blog:

Education:

• Passing the Professional Skills Tests (QTS)
• The Troubled Child
• Teaching, Supporting and Managing the Neurodiverse Classroom
• Disney's Educational programme
• the 3 R's ; Reading, Writing and Radio
• Out of Our Minds
• The Meaning of Art for Children

Media:

• Beauty and the Beast (2017)
• Descendants 2

Life:

• Camping
• Family Fun Day

Any comments or questions please use the contact box

Amy x

Doubting Thomas

Hey,

Sorry late post again but have been busy revising. So this past week at church Andy came in to talk about his time in India. This meant that after some songs he got us to fill in a sheet of questions about India before him talking about his time there. However, the last question was about teaching as we are looking at Jesus as a teacher. The question was . . .

In your opinion, What are the five most important traits a teacher can have?

I put Understanding, patients, passion, to teach and authority.

He then went on to talk about the topic of the service which was doubting Thomas. In the Sound of Music their head sister said, "I always tried to keep faith in my doubts". In this case the doubt was Maria who was overcome by the beauty of the world around her she was always late and never where she needed to be.

Many people have come out and freely said that they have doubts, here are some examples: Martin Luther King, CS Lewis, Mother Teresa and even Pope Francis who said

"who among us – everybody, everybody – who among us has not experienced insecurity, loss and even doubt on their journey of faith? Everyone! We've all experienced this, even me. This is part of our journey of faith, it is part of our lives. This should not surprise us because we are human beings marked by imperfections. We are all week, we all have limits: do not worry we all have them."

Now let's look at teachers in general before looking at Jesus as our teacher and saviour. Teachers have to create relationships with pupils so that they can understand them, gain their trust, to be able to calm them down. Teachers need to be able to changed their approach in teaching with different children as we are all very different and unique people. A teacher has to create an environment in which the pupils have the confidence to make mistakes so that they can learn and feel free to show what they have already learnt therefore the teacher will have a greater understanding of the pupils ability. The teacher needs to be calm and patient as they will have to repeat what they've already taught as pupils can make mistakes and they may misbehave. Now looking at Jesus we have to remember that he had been with his disciples who were his pupils for 3 years teaching them about God.

Andy also spoke about senses when looking at what Jesus taught us. I'm sure that everyone knows that in ‘Genesis 3’ Adam and Eve were told not to eat the apple from the forbidden tree but still Eve disobeyed God and took an apple from that tree, she just couldn't help but touch and taste the fruit from that tree. Now if we look at our lives, when you go into a restaurant and the waiter tells you that the plate is hot, you still touched the plate and find out that it is indeed hot. You needed to touch it to confirm that what you've been told was true.

Now we look at John 20:1 - 31 as this shows through our senses that the disciples begin to recognise their teacher who had risen.

John 20:3 – 8

"So, Peter and the other disciples started for the tomb. Both are running, but the other disciple outrun Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter came along beside him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus' head. The cloth is still lying in its place, separate from the linen. Finally, the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed."

 Peter and John completely believed although they didn't understand what had happened, but they did believe.

John 20:11 – 18

“Now Mary is outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, ‘Woman, why are you crying?' 'They have taken my Lord away,' she said, 'and I don't know where they have put him. 'At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realise that it was Jesus. He asked her, 'Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?' Thinking he was the gardener, she said, 'Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you had put him, and I will get him. 'Jesus said to her, 'Mary.' She turned towards him and cried out in Aramaic, 'Rabbi! (Which means teacher). Jesus said, 'do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go inside to my brothers and tell them, 'I am ascended to my Father and your father to my God and your God.' Mary went to disciples with the news: 'I have seen the Lord!' And she told them that he had said these things to her.”

Mary needed to hear his voice in order to believe.

John 20:19 – 23

"On the evening of the first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'peace be with you!' After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again, Jesus said, 'peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.' And with that he breathed on them and said, 'receives the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone's sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.'"

The other disciples needed to see the Lord, their teacher, in order to believe.

John 20:24 – 29

"Now Thomas, one of the twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, 'we have seen the Lord!' But he said to them, 'Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.' A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'peace be with you!' Then he said to Thomas, 'put your hand here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.' Thomas said to him, 'My Lord my God!' Then Jesus told him. 'Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed of those who have not seen and yet have believed.'"

Thomas needed to see and touch him to believe, which Jesus knew as his teacher. Jesus then continued to teach by saying to Thomas stop doubting. Through these verses you can see how much joy Thomas has once he understands that Jesus is in front of him. In the Bible, it states that by 'believing in me you will have love everlasting' therefore by believing in him will have joy. Throughout the Bible Thomas questions Jesus in a way so he can understand, Jesus said to Thomas 'I am the way to the father.'

The servers ended by saying 'peace be with you' and prayer. The prayer was thanking Jesus for being a great leader and teaching us as well as asking him to transform our doubt in to faith. We then ended by repeating Thomas's words 'My Lord, my God!'

Songs

There is not much to say about these songs except that to me they are traditional as I have heard them since I was a child and I love them.

Lord Reign in Me

In Christ Alone

O Praise his Name

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it,

Please use the contact box for any questions or comments

Amy x

Prayer

Hey,

Sorry late post again, but anyway . . .

On the 9^th of July which was a Sunday, therefore I went to church with my family excluding my sister as she didn’t want to come.

This service started with Gill giving a talk about ‘Hebrews 12’. . .

Hebrews 12:1-2

“Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy that was set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”


You need to run the race set out for you until the end no matter how many obstacles are in the way and by fixing yourself to a goal you will get there. Christianity is a long race but remember that we need to encourage each other.

What is the REAL prize?

It is seeing those around us become effected by God’s grace and spirit.

After a break for songs, which I will discuss later on in this post, Phil started his talk, the main talk, by reading from Hebrews 12 . . .

Hebrews 12 3-11

“Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, ‘My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.’ Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined - and everyone undergoes discipline - then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”

We need to be patient and focus on Jesus and try not to get distracted by the things that surround us in Life.

Phil then continued by sharing a prayer, that he later spoke about verse by verse. This was basically talking about what we should pray for in our time with God. So here is the prayer verse by verse;

Priest (P): O Lord, shew thy mercy upon us

Answer (A): and grant us thy salvation

P: O Lord, Save the Queen
A: and mercifully hear us when we call upon thee

At Christmas time, the Queen spelt out her faith in her speech when she spoke about how this time is a time to remember that Jesus died for us. At the time of the Gerwell fire, the Queen went to sleep with those affected by it.

P: Endure thy Ministers with righteousness
A: and make thy chosen people joyful

There are many questions in government about the persecutions of Christians around the world, which is good that many are thinking about it and maybe a way in which it could be stopped. We should be thankful for free speech and the freedom to vote as there are hundreds that don’t have that.

P: O Lord, save thy people

A: and bless thine inheritance

People don’t see all that Christians have done through: charities, working with hospitals, working in schools and so much more.

P: Give peace in our time, O Lord
A: because there is none other the fighteth for us, but only thou, O Lord

We should be thankful that never has there been 70 years of peace as we have seen in this time.

P: O God, make clean our hearts within us
A: and take not thy Holy Spirit from us.

2 Timothy 4:3-4

“For the time will come doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather round them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”

We don’t want to carry things when running a race, and it is the same with our faith. Get rid of stuff that way down your faith so that you can endure what God asks of you.

Prayer

At the end of this service, we prayed for: the places that are not in peace; those who are ill, and in suffering, and that they have a healing hand as well as a sense of peace; and thank those working for us, and give them guidance. We ended the service by saying the Lord’s prayer that was then followed by the song ‘Amazing Grace’, a great way to end the service.

Songs

It is well with my Soul

I haven’t heard this song in a while and I feel that it was a great way to begin the service.

O Praise his Name

I also haven’t heard this is in a while, which is a shame as it is an amazing, inspirational song. I feel that this song is all about casting your sin to him so he can forgive, as well as putting your trust in him so that he can show you the way along your path.

My Guardian

For me this is a traditional song as I have heard it since I was little, and therefore is emotional to me not only through the message of God, but also how I have grown up listening to it. I feel that the message of this song is about Jesus leading us, but also looking after us and defending us as he guides us on our journey.

Here is Love (Grace take my sin)

I haven’t heard this song since I was little and therefore didn’t remember it until half way through. I found it nice, to be reminded of the song as well as my childhood. I feel the message of this song is all about how great God’s love is for us and how God takes our sin by his son, Jesus, dying on the cross so that we could live free of the consequence of sin.

No Longer Slaves

This is one of my favourite songs which I originally heard at my church in Plymouth, PCC (Plymouth Christian Centre). I found this song even more inspirational as at the time I was and still am getting ready to face my last attempt on passing my professional skills tests. However, there is good news as I passed Maths this Tuesday so now just English to focus on.

Prayers for this English test on Saturday would be appreciated

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it,

Any comments or questions don’t be afraid to use the contact box

Amy x

Kenilworth Carnival

Hey, 

So, a few weeks ago I went to the ‘Kenilworth Carnival’ on my own as mum, dad and Nicola were off seeing a university, but it was still a great day and I met some of the children from work experience as well as some friends. I also got to talk to new people which was nice.

The parade carried on the tradition of starting with the marching band and then followed by the princess float. This happens every year and I think it is nice as it creates the feeling of tradition and community due to the fact that loads of people come out to watch the parade before continuing on to the fair, in Abbey Fields. The Floats that followed on from the marching band were: Day of the Dead; Let’s go fly a kite – from Mary Poppins; Princess and Superheroes; Under the Sea – from the little Mermaid – By st John’s Primary School - Nursey and child centre; Peace by the 4^th Kenilworth Scout group; Tropical by Ambassadors of Groove; Where’s Wally by st Augustine’s, and Butterflies by the 12^th Kenilworth Brownies (this is the brownies that a friend from work experience and my sister work at).

 

The walking Knights from the 10^th Kenilworth Guides followed on from the butterfly float, as well as someone with a push chair that was dressed to look like a rocket, before the next lot of floats came. This was nice as it gave a break from throwing coins into fishing nets. The float that started the next lot were Titanic by Viva! Theatre Arts, and here are the ones that followed: A Giant yellow dog by dog trust; Mary Poppins by Town and Country Furniture; some dancing by the Chinewide Morris dancers; eighties, and finally ending with people dressed up (example: Minnie and Batman) and the van to collect any coins you had left for last donations.

I then went down to the fair in Abbey Fields like most people; I first looked at the rides although I didn’t go on any, even though I had a voucher to get some money off, which I ended up giving to someone heading that way when I was on my way home. Here are what were available to go on Trampoline, Super-hero fly, Carousel, Dodgers, Dominator, Waltzer which is like tea cups, Vehicle Carousel, Alagator, Balloon ride, The King which goes upside down, and finally the Twister which I actually went on years ago with my sister, which just shows the amazing tradition the carnival has become and the success it has had as it is a great day to spend time together with friends and even a place to make new friends in our community.

I also explored the stools and thought I would share what they were so you have an idea of what will be there next year if you want to attend which I highly recommend. So, here they are: Guides tombler for toys; Kings Tables that sold a variety of books; stools for food; TWAM which had information about it as well as a raffle, bits and bobs; Cats Protection which sold books, gifts and pick a parcel; Warwickshire wildlife trust which shared information and sweets; <ELST – Lip reading which had information and games; Sweethearts that had, homemade donuts, glitter tattoos and face paint; Kenilworth outdoor pool who had information and sweets; Macmillan – Cancer support which had books and stuff (things you would find in their shops); Scouts food and drinks; Talisman theatre that had information and taking your photo as Cinderella, and a teddy tombler.

There was also another tombler which was food and drinks, where I won a packet of pawn cocktail crisps, a bottle of flavoured lucozade and a packet of smarties, which was the Save the children stool. The final stool that I haven’t spoken about yet is the Heart of England Revival Church who actually came as spoke to me as they noticed that I was taking notes so I could write this post which led to me talking about my blog, and talking about getting the word of God out there, as well as talking about our churches as I go to a Church of England Church which is what their church is. There was plenty to do at this stool as they were: a place to write prayers down that they would then pray for, game, face paint and getting a colour streak in your hair, as well as people being around to talk to if you wanted it.

Thanks for reading,

Any comments or questions please use the contact box

Amy x

Flourish

Hey,

Late again, On the first Sunday of July we had Café plus which is the service where we arrive earlier and have breakfast together, and that is what this post will be about.

John 21:2-8

“Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. ‘I’m going out to fish,’ Simon Peter told them, and they said, ‘We’ll go with you.’ So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realise that it was Jesus. He called out to them, ‘Friends, haven’t you any fish?’ ‘No,’ they answered. He said, ‘Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.’ When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘it is the Lord!’ As soon as Simon Peter heard him say this he wrapped his outer garment round him and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore.”

Flourish

This is a charity about bringing those with low self-esteem, focusing on girls, to the grace a God and see that they are made in God’s image.

Isaiah 61:3

“To bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendour.”

The person from flourish who spoke, shared a poem ‘Come and find me’ by Meg Cannon which she adapted to show how the children that this charity deals with feel.

Feedback from one of the children this charity helped said, “I feel stronger now.”

If you want to know more, click on the link: Flourish

Hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading,

Any comments or questions please use the contact box.

Amy x

Wholehearted Worship

Hey,

Sorry for this post being late but I have been busy. Anyway, On the 19^th June, I went to Streams with my mum and the talk this service was about Wholehearted Worship. Streams is a service held on Monday’s (once every month except holidays) for women only.

What do we need to do to become free worshipers?

1 Chronicles 16:23-36

“Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvellous deeds among all peoples. For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendour and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his dwelling-place. Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to his name; bring an offering and come before him. Worship the Lord in the splendour of his holiness. Tremble before him, all the earth! The world is firmly stabled; it cannot be moved. Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, ‘The Lord reigns!’ Let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them! Let the trees of the forest sing, let them sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures for ever. Cry out, ‘Save us, God our Saviour; gather us and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, and glory in your praise.’ Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.”

When you sing to the lord you must fully give yourself to him. Give the lord what is due and worship in his splendour. We also need to remember that worship isn’t something to do but a way of living.

Claire, the speaker, spoke about worship as a way of living by looking at 3 different parts which are intentional, expectant and journey.

Intentional

Expectant

John 21:2-8

“Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. ‘I’m going out to fish,’ Simon Peter told them, and they said, ‘We’ll go with you.’ So, they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realise that it was Jesus. He called out to them, ‘Friends, haven’t you any fish?’ ‘No,’ they answered. He said, ‘Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.’ When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘it is the Lord!’ As soon as Simon Peter heard him say this he wrapped his outer garment round him and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore.”

Peter had so much enthusiasm to see the Lord that he jumped into the water to meet him without a second thought, for he had acceptance of Jesus and a joy to see him. I am not sure I would have had the bravery to jump into cold water and go to Jesus. You can use this as an example of what we should do, and I don’t mean go jumping in cold water, but to jump into his arms and have acceptance of him as he is our father who will always hold us up and comfort us, as you would expect from a father. This passage supports what Claire said, which was “Worship isn’t about how you feel but about who God is.” This reminded me of a Casting Crown song which I am sure I have spoken about before, but it is such an amazing and inspirational song. ‘Who I Am’.

Revelations 3:14-16

“These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot, I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are luke-warm – neither hot nor cold – I am about spit you out of my mouth.”

God gives us passions which leads us to spread his word in different industries and places. He takes our love and hope that we gladly give him for he is our father and he loves us for who we are. He calls us to give what we can even if all you have are tears, bring those tears and they will be your worship.

                                                                                                                            

Matthew 26:30

“When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.”

Worship doesn’t have to be song or prayer but just giving yourself and what you can to God.

Journey

Leading on from the last statement ‘Worship doesn’t have to be singing or prayer’ we look at . . . What is worship really? It is to have a greater intimacy with God which could be just taking time out of our busy lives to just sit and be in his presence. Just sit in peace and give what you can to God, whether that be yourself fully or just tears.

We are all in different places when worshiping God. I know I have not completely given myself to God as there are so many worries in my life that I feel I can’t just leave to God, but I need to remember that he has a plan for me and my worries are just getting in the way of my relationship with God and the feeling of having a greater intimacy with him.

Where are you in worship?

You could be a puddle; you just feel like a complete mess and all you can give to God is tears. If that is you remember God is with you always and has a plan for you, but also remember that giving God your tears is enough because all you can give is what you have. It’s ok, even if you feel it isn’t enough, it is!

You could be on a light swim; like me who has given part of their-self to God but there is so much baggage, such as worries, which are just getting in the way of your relationship with him. It could be that you a struggling with some horrible events, such as: losing someone you care about; losing a Job; suffering from an illness or anything really, and right now you are questioning why God let this happen? Push through and remember that with God you have the strength to continue and that it is ok to lean on others for strength. Also, don’t forget God is with you and has a plan for you.

You could be on a deep swim; where you are risking everything, and giving yourself fully to God. You have put all your trust in him and for that I am proud because it isn’t easy. I just want to say keep going and remember God has a plan for you and will give you the strength to continue, but if you fall it doesn’t matter because God will be there to catch you and comfort you, and then give you the strength to get back up and continue.

Songs

 Come Thou fount of every blessing

1 Samuel 17:48-49

“As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly towards the battle line to meet him. Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead and he fell face down on the ground.”

How deep is the father’s Love for us

This is a Stuart Townend song which is all about our father’s love for us which therefore makes this song inspirational.

Better is one day

You’re Beautiful

No matter what you have done or look like you are beautiful as you were made in God’s image. You are God’s child and therefore he loves you which makes you beautiful.

Then we sung traditional songs, well traditional for me as I have heard these songs since I started going to church as a young child, and they are some of my favourites. . .

Open the eyes of my heart Lord

What a beautiful name

And finally,

My hope is built on nothing less

Absolutely love this song and find it so amazingly inspirational.

For prayer, we got into groups of 3 (for me 2 as it was just me and mum) and we each had piece of paper with a letter on it, and in groups we prayed for each other with characteristics of God beginning with the letter the said person had. So, in groups of 3, 2 people would pray for the other person with characteristics starting with the letter they had for a minute and then move on to the next person, and then again so everyone had been prayed for.

I had ‘L’ so the characteristics mum prayed for me were:

Loving, Leading me on my path, help in Leading, Law, Laughter in Life, Knowing he is Lord, he is the Living God and that God is the Light.

Mum had ‘E’ so the characteristics I prayed for were:

He will be with you forever and Ever, he is the Emmanuel, his love is Everlasting, he is Eternal, to be Entertained and to have the Energy to continue and fight against worries.

Again, sorry for the late post, but I hope you enjoyed it,

thanks for reading,

Please use the contact box for comments and questions

Amy x