A little story from when my children were a bit younger “What’s pancake day all about?” I ask my 7 and 8 year olds over breakfast. “Pancakes!” my 7 year old replies gleefully. O-Oh. I have work to do here! “What else?” I ask. No response. “It begins with L and rhymes with Bent.”“Lent!” *phew! … Read more
I’m doing the Easter day intergenerational service at our church this year and am focusing on the Emmaus Road story (Luke 24:13-35). I really like it this resurrection story for a few reasons: 1 It includes a mini recap of Jesus’ life and death (v19-24), giving context to the story which is helpful when reading … Read more
I love this book! It’s the Christmas and Easter stories told by the eloquent Madeleine L’Engle illustrated with frescoes from the Scrovegni Chapel by Giotto. You can see my review of the book here, but this post is about how I’ve used the pictures and story in this book to meditate on the Christmas story … Read more
I find it interesting to look at the Christmas story and see what messages from God to the people back then are also relevant for us. It’s a little risky, as it’s possible to take Bible verses out of context when applying them to ourselves, but there are definitely some messages in the Christmas story … Read more
I’m sure you’ve worked out by now that you can add a sticker a day to your Sticker Advent Calendar. You will see the different parts of the story appear as you do so. What you might not have decided yet is how you will use the Bible story mini book with it. Now, you are … Read more
Wrap up 24 Christmas-y books then unwrap and read one a day during Advent. All you need to do is collect* and wrap up 24 Christmas books and number them 1—24. Open one a day and share together. I found seven Christmas books for £5.80 in three of my local charity/ secondhand book shops, so … Read more
Now, I’d love to tell you how to be ready for Christmas in three perfect steps, but I am just not that clever. Truly, I think I’d need magic to make that happen. However, I have given this some thought and have created a list of three things that we can do to ensure we … Read more
I’ve talked a lot recently about how being outside is a great way to worship and connect with God see HERE and HERE. Since it’s now Summer, the bees are busy and we have fewer and fewer excuses not to spend time outside. So I thought I’d share some ideas for focused faith activities which … Read more
We’ve celebrated Passover in our home for a number of years now, and each year it’s different, as we adapt it around who will be there. We tend to have a big feast-like meal interspersed with parts of the service (seder). We include elements which we use each week in our Shabbat meal, for example … Read more
Did you know that the Christian festival of Pentecost is on the Biblical festival of Shavuot, otherwise known as the Festival of Weeks? This Biblical festival comes from the Old Testament, where God’s people were told: “‘When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the … Read more
Title: Whistlestop Tales: Around the Bible with 10 extraordinary children Author: Krish and Miriam Kandiah Illustrator: Andy Gray Published by: Hodder Faith Price: RRP £12.99 Good for: Families with children age 5-13, who enjoy humour and bible stories re-told from different perspectives Best bit: My personal favourite was The Tale of the Girl who Didn’t Feel Well – the … Read more
I love using the seasons in our faith at home. This is fairly easy in the run up to Christmas and Easter, and in the Autumn we celebrate the Biblical feasts. However, between Pentecost and October, there’s a dearth of significant markers. However, the natural ‘calendar’ is often useful, and in the summer our days … Read more