General Chat

Good morning :-)


Yesterday marked the 18th anniversary of the death of Princess Diana – how time has flown. One of the hymns which was sung at her funeral was Make Me a Channel of your Peace……and each time we sing it in church, I think of her.

Make me a channel of your peace:
Where there is hatred let me bring your love,
Where there is injury, your pardon, Lord,
And where there's doubt, true faith in you:

Chorus : O Master grant that I may never seek
So much to be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved, as to love with all my soul!

Make me a channel of your peace:
Where there's despair in life let me bring hope,
Where there is darkness, only light
And where there's sadness, ever joy:
(repeat chorus)

Make me a channel of your peace:
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
In giving ourselves that we receive,
And in dying that we're born to eternal life.
(repeat chorus)

Make me a channel of your peace:
Where there is hatred let me bring your love,
Where there is injury, your pardon, Lord,
And where there's doubt, true faith in you.


Remembering all those who are preparing to return to school this week.


Cx :-)

Hello All

Cynthia it is so hard to believe 18 years have passed since that tragic death occurred.

Unbelievable too that today is the 1st September. Am I the only one who thinks this year is going very quickly?

As youngsters in the playground we would always say "Pinch and a punch, for the first of the month" and then "No returns" which meant we couldn't be pinched or punched back. This was also thought to bring good luck for the month ahead. A PINCH of salt was thrown over the shoulder to weaken any witches around and a PUNCH was meant for a witch weakened by the salt...... according to folk law.

Also saying "White Rabbits" first thing in the morning on 1st of month with an R in the name is meant to bring good fortune for the rest of the month.

The first day of a new month means that no matter where you have been;
TODAY, you get to start again, which is not that bad at all, so seize it/enjoy it!

Hello September...... praying everyone will have a happy month ahead. xx

Good morning :-)


The older I get, the faster time seems to go. Yes, we are now in September and, as my daughter reminds me, it's not far off Christmas. :-0


For today :

This week, our schools and colleges are opening their doors to the students once again. We think of those going to new schools and those who are entering their last year of education.

Dear God,

This is such an exciting time.
Full of hope, full of dreams, full of life.
A great chance to learn, to take risks and explore,
To gain new skills and grow up on the inside.
A safe place to meet friends
Join in and have fun,
Such times of excitement and joy lie ahead.

My prayer for them is that you would hold these youngsters in your love.
May they know right from wrong.
I ask for your strong hand to lead the way,
Yet still give them the freedom to fly.
It is such a great age to embrace life,
Keep them shining in the light,
All the time!
Follow and cover, lead and protect
Set them free and hold them, close everyday.
You are a heavenly Father to them.
I know you will hear all I pray.

Amen.



Cx :-)

Remembering in prayer all who are finding
it difficult to come to terms with the loss of
a loved one. x

Hello All

It has been dark and rainy for most of today which will have been good for the gardens as everywhere was so dry before.

Last night hubby woke in the early hours with painful leg cramp and when I had finally managed to get him settled and he was sleeping again, I developed cramp in my leg too.... talk about share and share alike..... we both could well have done without that.

We have both felt weary today and will be off to bed soon.

Always end your day with a positive thought. No matter how things are today.
Tomorrow is another chance to make things better. (Author unknown).

Remembering those people who will be working all through tonight. xx

Good morning :-)



Ouch! Leg cramp......is awful. We had a spell of that with my OH too and the doc put him on quinine tablets and I 'lace' his cold drinks with tonic water - which contains quinine. No gin though... :-D

For today:

Father,
help me to be like a refreshing cup of cold water on a hot summer's day to the friends You've given me.

May I contribute encouragement, comfort, wisdom, accountability, and loyalty to our friendship. Help me to reserve judgment and faithfully pray for my friends as we walk together heart to heart and hand in hand. Amen.


Love to all Cx :-)

By the way, love your picture Emma - I take it this is your new great grandson? xx

Yes that's Ollie Cynthia x

I have been drinking a glass of flavoured tonic water
for years, I've never suffered cramps in my feet or legs
since.

Hello All

A beautiful photograph of your Gt Grandchild Emma. Have you had a cuddle yet?

Cynthia, hubby is on medication that reacts with quinine so that's not an option for him but I will buy the tonic water, I had forgotten about this simple remedy. Thanks both.

K, our granddaughter begins school today (year 10!!!). I text this morning as they live far away and she replied "I am SO excited".... ah, bless her. Hardly seems any time at all since she started in secondary school.

Thinking of all the teaching staff and school caretakers ,kitchen and cleaners now. xxx

.

It's been a hectic few days so I haven't been on the site and am only just catching up.

Your avatar is lovely Emma.

On Saturday we had our annual family get-together. There are always a few rellies who are on holiday or have other commitments that day so can't make it but we still numbered around 40 people. My son-in-law had been off-colour for a couple of days and on the way to the party developed chest pains so my daughter drove him straight to the hospital. The various tests proved negative and he was discharged in the early evening and well enough to join us for a couple of hours. So something else to be thankful for.

The party did make me realise once again how blessed I am to have such a great family, geographically scattered but close in spirit. We all get on so well, the 5 younger ones (under 10s) played happily without any arguing all day, the 4 teenagers actually talked to each other without the aid of a phone and it was a very happy day.

So my thoughts now are with those who are not so fortunate and who may be feeling alone or lonely

Good morning :-)


So good to hear of happy family times in this troubled world of ours Vera. I agree that Emma's avatar is simply beautiful but I'm always sorry that we can't enlarge them on here.

Hope you remembered that tonic water kandj and that it helped your OH.

I am still working with the church Facebook page and things are going well. This week I have been sharing the prayers I used on here last week. Next week we will be looking at the new baptism service we are due to have shortly. All good fun!


For today:

Circle me, Lord.
Keep protection near
And danger afar.

Circle me, Lord
Keep hope within.
Keep doubt without.

Circle me, Lord.
Keep light near
And darkness afar.

Circle me, Lord.
Keep peace within.
Keep evil out.

David Adam.


Keeping folk in my prayers. Cx :-)

While half of the world lives Autumn
the other half lives Spring.

Have you noticed how balanced our life always is?

Remembering all our friends at this time x

Hello All

Confession time Cynthia....... i forgot the tonic water when I called at the village shop.
I did buy extra bananas and encouraging hubby to drink more water and will buy the tonic water when shopping next.... (Senior moment!!).

Another beautiful Avatar Emma. I have no idea how to do that, so my blank picture will have to remain for a long time.

Vera, I am also always counting my blessings having a warm and loving family. We don't live near to one another but are close in the family supportive sense. I hope that your SIL will soon be feeling much better than he was at the weekend.

How heartbreaking to see on TV the devastating plight of the migrants and refugees who are fleeing their war torn homeland. Unbelievably tragic for all concerned.

Heavenly Father
Watch over all refugees and migrants, guide them to a place of safety and
help us always to show goodness and mercy to strangers and all in need.
In Jesus name, Amen.

Good morning :-)

Memo to kandj................remember that tonic water! :-D



The news is filled with the horror of the current refugee situation.......dreadful sights


A Prayer for the Victims of the Syrian conflict

We pray for those damaged by the fighting in Syria.
To the wounded and injured:
Come Lord Jesus.
To the terrified who are living in shock:
Come Lord Jesus
To the hungry and homeless, refugee and exile:
Come Lord Jesus
To those bringing humanitarian aid:
Give protection Lord Jesus
To those administering medical assistance:
Give protection Lord Jesus.
To those offering counsel and care:
Give protection Lord Jesus.
For all making the sacrifice of love:
Give the strength of your Spirit
and the joy of your comfort.
In the hope of Christ we pray.
Amen.


Cx :-)

A quip on the radio earlier when a commentator said: "Who should feed the hungry in Hungary"?

I don’t think he was just being flippant about this evolving human tragedy.

Hello All

Amen to your morning prayers Cynthia. My neighbour kindly brought us a bottle of tonic water so along with everything else I hope this painful cramp won't return.

Dermot, I doubt that any radio commentator speaking about all the desperate people fleeing war and poverty in Syriah would want to talk in a flippant manner.

It is heartbreaking to see lines of men, women and children.The young, elderly, vulnerable, weary all walking away from horror and hoping for a better life ahead.

But the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and
self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7) God bless them all and keep each one safe. xxx

Good morning :-)

Hmmm....."Who should feed the hungry in Hungary?" - maybe a slip of the tongue? An attempt to lighten the mood? Who knows...........reporters can make some classic blunders in their reporting.


The Collect for today:
Almighty God,
whose only Son has opened for us a new and living way into your presence:
give us pure hearts and steadfast wills
to worship you in spirit and in truth;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.


I've noticed there are some good readings in church today. Faith without good works is dead an encouragement to care for the needy.


Love to all Cx :-)

There is so much sorrow and grief in the world at the moment that it is good to be able to report some happy news.

Yesterday we went to the wedding of a really delightful young couple. It was another happy family occasion filled with love and laughter. This was on my side of the family. Early this morning our niece on my husband's side gave birth to a baby girl so two reasons to celebrate this weekend.

While keeping in my thoughts the desperate plight of some of our fellow human beings, I am also thinking of the newly born and those just starting out on a new phase of their life. May they be blessed with a life of peace and joy.

Hello All
It is always a pleasure to hear of good, happy and genuine news in our sad world so very many thanks Vera your family is indeed truly blessed.

Be crazy, be stupid, be silly, be weird,
Be whatever you like because
life is too short to be anything but happy.

I chose to be happy today and I hope that you all are happy too. xxx

Good morning :-)


What lovely news Vera.....your family is having a wonderful time at the moment. So pleased for you all.

As you have mentioned the new baby, I will say that, next week, we are introducing a new baptism service at church. It is for a trial period of three months and is aimed at making young families feel welcome. The language is very simple and there is not a lot of 'upping and downing'. Naturally, there are some 'mutterings' from the older folk but, as I have said, we can only try and, if it doesn't work well, we can go back to what we are used to. It will be interesting to see how it works.......watch this space! :-D


For today:

Father, dear Father,

I am so grateful for everything that you have given me.
Thank you so much for the loved ones in my life,
For the many ways in which I am cared for and supported.
Thank you for the many ways I can serve and give to others.
Thank you for the rich tapestry of colours in creation,
For the beauty which is all around me,
For the skies and the ever changing cloud formations,
For the breathtaking sunsets and early morning mists.
My heart is so grateful and brimming with thanks.
I could write a thousand books about your great goodness,
And still have many stories to tell.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I thank you with everything I am.
All my being cries thank you Lord!

Amen.


Continuing to pray for those in need. Cx :-)