The Parable of the Sower

Something I'd been working on for the Sunday School presentation in July (start of summer holidays)

Reader: Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.

All sing:
1. Sowing seeds (Tune: Old MacDonald had a farm)
Old MacDonald sowed some seeds, E-I-E-I-O
He sowed the seeds upon his land, E-I-E-I-O
He sowed them here, he sowed them there
Seeds here, seeds there, seeds went everywhere
Old MacDonald sowed some seeds, E-I-E-I-O

Reader: As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate them up. (children wave bird-on-a stick props that they have made)

All sing:
2. Hungry birds (Tune: Are you sleeping Brother John)
We are looking, we are looking at the seeds, at the seeds
They are on the pathway, they are on the pathway,
Eat them up, Eat them up.
We are eating, we are eating all the seeds, all the seeds
All the seeds are gone now, all the seeds are gone now
Fly away, fly away.

Reader: Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. They sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. (Two children hold up "sun" prop and walk around.)

All sing:
3. It was the sunshine (Tune: You are my sunshine)
It was the sunshine, the mighty sunshine
The sun was shining, it was so bright
The plants were drooping, the plants were dying
It was the sun that dried them up.

Reader: Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. (children wave "weeds-on-a-stick" and "skinny corn and wheat" props )

All sing:
4. Weeds and Thorns (Tune: The grand old Duke of York)
We’re horrid weeds and thorns, We grow so thick and tall
That other plants don’t get a chance, We’ll push them to the wall.
Chorus:
And when we are up we are up, up, up
And when we are down we are down, down, down
And when we are only halfway up, We are neither up nor down.

Reader: Still other seed fell on good soil. They came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times. Then Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." (children wave "fat corn and wheat" props to suit actions.)

All sing:
5. Growing song (Tune: If you’re happy and you know it)
If you’re happy and you’re growing, clap your hands
If you’re happy and you’re growing, clap your hands
If you’re happy and you’re growing, where the farmer has been sowing
If you’re happy and you’re growing, clap your hands

If you’re happy and you’re growing, stamp your feet …….

If you’re happy and you’re growing, say Amen …….

If you’re happy and you’re growing, do all three……


Did you like that?

No holiday pics :(

Well, me dears, I had expected to be able to load up some photos from our holiday last week during Cavebaby's half term holiday. We had been using Capt Caveman's phonecam as it's a lot smaller and easier to carry compared to the mini-DVD camcorder that I have been using (i know, i know, i be too lazy to carry it round with me, my bad).

Anyhow, to cut a long story short, we went to Alton Towers Theme Park and Water Park, but i can't show any pics, cos when we were at the Theme Park, we all got soaked tra la la on more than a few rides.

When we got home Capt Caveman found that his phone had got soaked as well. Actually it was OK for a couple of days, mostly still working except for a few glitches. Then today it stopped working completely and he had to go and buy another phone for temporary use while the other one was sent for repairs. Also all the stuff on his phone can't be recovered, including the photos. :( Oh well, at least he'll get the original phone back after a week.... i hope.

This made me think..... just as well I didn't bring the camcorder. If that had been soaked and rosak (damaged), I would have been RATHER CROSS.

So next time, my advice is, if you go to Alton Towers, either don't bring anything that will spoil when wet, or don't go on the rides where you will get wet. And there are more than a few of those rides!

In the meantime, i be cheating tra la la to show you some pics of Alton Towers from the inter-web. (as ever, digitally altered to protect the innocent...)

Take care, and don't get wet tra la la

Aunty Rima, Northpoler, marathoner and singing superstar extraordinaire

Aunty Rima is famous!



Aunty Rima describes her experience here

Gesar Foundation link here

goat vs monkey

some aunties and uncles have been casting aspersions on the monkeys and kambings of Goatville. True to his nature, Professor Bembek von Kambing has drawn inspiration from the this concept to hybridize the following creature:

The Mongoat

have a bembek day, all!

i've never seen so many chinese people in paris

After a few months of being terribly busy and spending really long hours at work including eating into evening and weekends, I'm now finally on holiday for a week with the little monkey and the big monkey.

Also I've had the chance to watch a bit of daytime teevee. The French Open is on! Nadal has been knocked out by Soderling! Gasp, shock, horror! or issit Go Federer! After that exciting match, I watched a bit of Sharapova vs Li Na while preparing the dinner. Li Na threw away the third set IMHO, after winning the second set 6-0. But Sharapova is a true fighter, even when she is not playing that well, she still really really really wants to win. Only 22 yrs old already a multi millionaire -i feel like quickly signing the little monkey up to the tennis club!

The camera panned over the spectators and it seemed like every single person there was chinese. Fortunately didn't chop my thumb off, what with Sharapova's acute shrieking and the Ah Beng-ness of Li Na's poor husband :)

Hoper-fully will be about a little more this week than I have been later-ly, and will update with photos of where we get to when they are ready. if you are out in the summer sunshine, don't forget to wear a hat/ shades/ shirt and your sunblock, and always bring a sweater cos the evenings turn quite cold once the sun has gone down (sunset isn't until 10pm - tee hee! where's me bar-b-q?)

In the meantime, hello from Goatville to all your very own Ah Bengs, Ah Lians and Ah Mois in the bloggyspiar!

Ice-cream Sundae

Chocolate, strawberry, mint choc chip

It's so cold, it freezes my lip!

Vanilla, coffee, cookies and cream,

It's so delicious, it feels like a dream!

Raspberry ripple with a toffee stick,

So many flavours, yummy and thick!

Banana, pecan, chocolate flake too,

Made with milk from the cows that go moo!

Sorbet's no different, lemon and lime,

Mandarin, pineapple, it's not a crime!

Can have it with fruit, can have it twice,

Soft and fruity, naughty but nice!

written by Cavebaby

oh my poor kambings!

A large number of goats in Taiwan may have died of exhaustion because of noise from a wind farm. Noise from the turbine blades noise may have caused the goats' demise through lack of sleep.

Before the wind farm was built about four years ago, the farmer had about 700 goats. Shortly after the electricity-generating turbines were installed, the animals started to die. He now has just 250 goats left.

"The goats looked skinny and they weren't eating. One night I went out to the farmhouse and the goats were all standing up; they weren't sleeping. I didn't know why. If I had known, I would've done something to stop the dying, like given them iPods to listen to to drown out the sound of the wind turbines, or fed them some Nestum."

No, it's not a joke. Oh, all right, I made up the part about the iPods and Nestum....

Full story from the BBC