JOY

The Fruit of the Spirit series; the second of which is JOY

For this assembly I took along to school a lot of antique prisms, long triangular ones.

I told the story of a film I once saw called Polyanna, an orphan who was being cared for by a very unfeeling old aunt.

One day Polyanna went to visit the house of a bedridden lady, who lived in a dark room, feeling very miserable all day in bed. Polyanna didn’t know how to cheer her up, and the poorly woman certainly didn’t want to hear about the ‘Glad game’ which Polyanna’s father had taught her as a child. (This game had been her father’s way of cheering her up when she was much younger. He would say that whatever there was to be sad about, one could always think of something to be happy about.)

Polyanna came to visit the lady again one day, and she opened her curtains, and hung a long chain of prisms along the top ledge of her window and when the sun shone upon them, the room was lit up by thousands of rainbow colours. This was the beginning of the lady’s recovery.

Polyanna helped lots of other people to be filled with joy by playing the ‘Glad game’.

As I spoke the words, ‘she opened the curtains’, I too lifted my prisms to the light! The children’s oohs and aah’s were super, they were delighted.

Could I advise you though to take along a spotlight though, just in case the school hall does not have a sunny window, or even sun that day.

I tried mine out first before the assembly and the caretaker came to my rescue with a powerful spotlight.

I used powerpoint slides to ask What is joy?

Answer; Joy is when you ‘giggle inside!’

I also talked about Jesus giving joy to people, by healing them, bringing his love into their lives, giving them something to hope for.

H e also spoke with a sense of humour, telling everyone that people who judge others should try taking the large plank out of their own eyes before trying to take a speck of sawdust out of someone else’s.

He made people laugh by telling them that it was easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter heaven.

Finally I asked the children if they were joy-givers.

Did they make others happy or sad?

We sang this song to end the assembly.

If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands (clap clap)

If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands

If you're happy and you know it, and you really want to show it

If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands.

If you're happy and you know it, stamp your feet (stamp stamp)

If you're happy and you know it, stamp your feet

If you're happy and you know it, and you really want to show it

If you're happy and you know it, stamp your feet.

If you're happy and you know it, shout "Hoo-ray!" (hoo-ray!)

If you're happy and you know it, shout "Hoo-ray!"

If you're happy and you know it, and you really want to show it

If you're happy and you know it, shout "Hoo-ray!"

If you're happy and you know it, do all three (clap-clap, stamp-stamp, hoo-ray!)

If you're happy and you know it, do all three

If you're happy and you know it, and you really want to show it etc.,