General Chat

Yes Cynthia, the brain is a wonderful computer to store years and years of info for us.

Today is the Feast Day of Our Lady of Sorrow, there is a Catholic church and primary school locally with this name and they are sure to be celebrating this special date.

The picture of Mary, the Mother of Jesus bowed down with sorrow by the cross on Calvary is a reminder that pain is the opposite to the feeling of love on earth.

I am thinking now of all the weary refugee Mothers with frighten children to care for.

Holy Mother,
Hear the prayers of all Mothers, especially those wearied by life circumstances who are overcome by the burdens that they are suffering for their children
Holy Mother, come to their assistance, make haste to help them, bring them comfort and give them peace. In your son Jesus' name. Amen.

Good morning... :-)

The faces on some of the refugee mothers are haunting and I doubt any of us can really imagine what they must be feeling as they trudge along. So sad.


In the midst of the sadness which is always on the news, maybe a smile about mothers may brighten us up and remind us of how fortunate we are :-)

Dear Lord,

I pray the caffeine drip does not run dry.

I pray my children will be able to entertain themselves

I pray my computer will work. My internet will be faster than

usual. And my cell phone does not ring.

I pray Facebook does not suck all of my time.

I pray dinner makes itself and gives me credit.

(Please let the laundry fold on its own and the dishes put them-

selves away while we are at it!)

I pray all of my work will be completed before prime time.

I pray I get to bed before the next day begins.

Despite my aching hands, overheated laptop and messy house I

thank you for it all!

-Amen



Praying for mothers everywhere.......Cx :-)

Hello All

Your posting had me smiling Cynthia, so thank you for that.

The years go far too quickly when children are growing up and as parents we have wished for the patience of a Saint to cope with noise and clutter and arguing
Then before we can turn around our children are off to Uni and the home becomes too big and too empty and too quiet. Nothing lasts forever but we feel blessed to have been given the gift of our children here.

A Mothers Prayer

Give me patience when little hands tug at me
with ceaseless small demands.
Give me gentle words and smiling eyes
and keep my lips from hasty sharp replies.
Let me not in weariness, confusion or noise
Obscure my vision from life's fleeting joys.
That when in years to come our home is still,
Beautiful memories it's rooms may fill.

Prayers now for all who find parenting hard work. xxx

Good morning :-)


One of the things I help out with at church is liaising between church and school. Yesterday I popped into school to see the new intake of tinies. One little lad eyed me up and down and said "Don't I know you from my church?" :-D


Each week in church, there is always a confession within the service. It's a time when we recall the things which we really ought not to have done and when we have done things that we shouldn't. The point of having a confession is to rid ourselves of the negative things in our life and begin anew - with God's help.


Merciful God,
we have sinned in what we have thought and said,
in the wrong we have done
and in the good we have not done.
We have sinned in ignorance :we have sinned in weakness:
we have sinned through our own deliberate fault.
We are truly sorry. We repent and turn to you.
Forgive us, for our Saviour Christ's sake,
and renew our lives to the glory of your name.
Amen.


Cx :-)

Hello All

How lovely Cynthia that little boy recognized you from his church.......... ahhh, sweet.

Our village parish church doesn't have confession, but this is offered regulary in the Catholic church.
However, I used to visit a local "high" Anglican church and the Priest included weekly confession before Friday evening service of Holy Communion.

I can remember the saying that confession is good for the Soul.

Psalm 119 v 26 states:-
I have declared my ways. Open confession is good for the soul.
Nothing brings more ease and more life to a man than a frank acknowledgement of the evil that has caused the sorrow and the lethargy. Such a declaration proves that the man knows his own condition, and it is no longer blinded by pride. Our confessions are not meant to make God know our sins, but to make us know them.

Good morning :-)

We don't have 'confessions' as such (although all Anglican clergy are available should the need arise), but there is a confession within the Holy Communion services and, quite often, a gentle one in other services too.

In the new baptism service which we used last Sunday, the confession came with the simple words...."God, we are sorry.....we want to do things differently".

Seeing a news item this week about robots..........

For today:

The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof ...
He gave it to man as a gift of His love
So all men might live as He hoped they would,
Sharing together all things that were good.

But man only destroyed the good earth of God.
He polluted the air and ravished the sod,
He cut down the forests with ruthless disdain.
And the earth's natural beauty he perverted for gain.

And now in an age filled with violent dissent,
Man finds he's imprisoned in his own discontent.
He has taken the earth that God placed in his care
And built his own hell without being aware

That the future we face was fashioned by man,
Who in ignorance resisted God's beautiful plan;
And what God created to be paradise
Became by man's lust and perversion and vice.

A cauldron of chaos in a fog of pollution
To which man can find no cure or solution.
How far man will go to complete his destruction
Is beyond a computer's robot deduction.

~ Helen Steiner Rice



Love and prayers to all Cx :-D

A dry quite sunny day today which is a joy after so many dark cold rainy days.
A good reason to Give Thanks in all things.

Give thanks for the sunshine
Give thanks for the rain
Don't mumble or grumble
Give thanks, don't complain.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

Give thanks for the daytime
Give thanks for the night
Don't mumble or grumble
Give thanks, don't complain.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

Remembering all in need of prayerful support today. xxx

Good morning :-)

Many churches will be saying 'thank you' in the form of a Harvest Festival service tomorrow or very soon. Ours is tomorrow and I know that the school children have been donating tins of food which will be passed on to the local Foodbank and more will be received tomorrow. There won't be as much of the usual fresh fruit and vegetables which we used to see as children, but it is a case of catering for today's needs.

For today:

We confess to the Lord of the harvest
that we are people who are
eager to improve our lives,
but slow to improve our world;
eager to enjoy the comforts of the world's resources,
but slow to stop the suffering of the world's poorest;
eager to do well,
but slow to do good.
We pray to God to forgive us,
To change us,
And to show us a better way.
O Lord of the rich and poor,
Have mercy on us we pray.
Amen.


Cx :-)

Oh goodness Cynthia, is it really that time of year again?

I used to love the traditional Harvest Festival hymns and felt quite cheated if they were left out of the service. This is one of my favourites and goes way back to school days

We plough the fields and scatter
The good seed on the land
But it is fed and watered
By God's almighty hand
He sends the snow in Winter
The warmth to swell the grain
The breezes and the sunshine
And soft refreshing grain.

All good gifts around us, are sent from Heaven above
So thank the Lord, O thank the Lord
For all His love.

Remembering all in need of prayer tonight.

Good morning :-)


Yes, Harvest time once again. I hope we will be singing some traditional harvest hymns too.......it's the only way the youngsters will learn them as they aren't taught in school.

The Collect for Harvest Sunday

Eternal God,
you crown the year with your goodness
and you give us the fruits of the earth in their season:
grant that we may use them to your glory,
for the relief of those in need and for our own well-being;
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.


Thinking of all those who need food and shelter today.

Cx :-)

Hello All

I can remember how busy the village used to be in digging up fresh produce for the Harvest Festival service in church very many years ago now.

The village baker would always bring a huge flat bread shaped as a sheaf of wheat and this was given pride of place on the altar. After the traditional Harvest Festival service good were auctioned bagged and taken to the elderly folk in our village. They were always so grateful and it was a good way to knock on doors and bring church and villagers together in this way.

The Harvest Supper was always another very important church event, held in the church hall (sadly sold off many years ago and never replaced??!!). The village drama group would present a little entertainment and a good time was had by one and all. I seemed all so simple back then. Hard work as I recall, but very rewarding and I have lovely memories now to look back upon.

For our cereals and our grain, we thank you Lord
For our cereals and our grain, we thank you Lord
For our cereals and our grain
For the sun and for the rain
For our cereals and our grain, we thank you Lord.

Thinking now of families who have a need to use the food banks. xxx

Good morning :-)


Harvest has certainly changed over the years and your words brought back happy memories kandj........thank you. <3

Our modern day harvest went well yesterday - lots of people in church - lots of tinned food everywhere. The school are holding their harvest service in church this morning, after which, during the week, the food will be taken by a local food bank for distribution to the needy.

OH didn't make it yesterday but it's possibly just as well because it was such a busy service. Today we are off to Walton Hospital for an appointment with the Registrar. There really isn't much they can do, apart from tweaking his meds I think.


For today:

Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation,
for having made us all different.
What I don’t know about you I need to learn
from others because they reflect your image
and likeness in a different way.
I ask you to lead me to seek to understand the many people of good will who are different from me.

Lord our God, may we grow as people
who think of others and see their needs
never “passing by on the other side”,
but being willing to make sacrifices
and be generous for the good of others.
Amen.


Praying for all sick children at this time.......... Cx :-)

Life always offers you a second chance.
It's called Tomorrow.

Remembering all in pain who pray for a better tomorrow. x

Emma, very simple but meaningful words....... thank you.

Cynthia, Harvest Festival services are indeed very different, but we all are sure to keep close the happy memories of a much simpler church way of life many years ago.
I do hope that all went well at the hospital for your husband today.
My husband has ongoing hospital outpatient appointments with various Consultants and so I can appreciate how anxious and worrying these visits can be.

Today it is the International Day of Peace, although there are little signs of this now.

In the quite stillness of your heart, pray for peace in the world and dignity for us all.

FACE EAST and pray for the beginning of peace around our world.

FACE SOUTH and pray for the warming of hearts among enemies.

FACE WEST and pray for the steeling of violence and hostilities.

FACE NORTH and pray for the discovering of our way to love and peace.

Remembering all refugees who are wanting food and shelter and love and peace. xx

Good morning :-)

Lovely words from both Emma and kandj......thank you. <3

The hospital appointment was over quite quickly - they are just keeping the medication as it is - it seems as though my OH is as good as he is ever likely to be...which is what I suspected. He has been given antibiotics for his leg, which he has been advised to keep raised. He has had his 'awkward head' on re this though and I am about to administer a severe reprimand..... :-D :-D :-D


For today :


When you are tired and discouraged from fruitless effort,
God knows how hard you have tried.

When you've cried so long your heart is in anguish,
God has counted your tears.

If you feel that your life is on hold and time has passed you by,
God is waiting for you.

When nothing makes sense and you are confused or frustrated,
God has the answer.

If suddenly your outlook is brighter and you find traces of hope,
God has whispered to you.

When things are going well and you have much to be thankful for,
God has blessed you.

When something joyful happens and you are filled with awe,
God has smiled on you.

Remember that wherever you are or whatever you are feeling,
God knows.



Praying for all those with hospital appointments today.....Cx :-)

Hello All

Cynthia..... I know the feeling and patience is high on my daily prayer list as each day is challenging but always rewarding imho.

I believe that God has a plan for us all. I pray for direction to follow it, patience to wait on it and knowledge to know and recognize daily miracles around.

Remembering all who face worries and difficulties this day. xx

Good morning :-)


It's such a pleasant morning that we are hoping to go for a little stroll later. We'll see how things go.....


For today:

God our Father,
if I could trace back through the last two thousand years, marking out routes from Jesus himself and then through people whose faith has touched others and so reached me, I would be astounded by the individuals I would encounter.

I give thanks, Father, for all those people over two thousand years who have inspired others and played their part in passing on to generation after generation the living heritage of their faith.

Especially I give thanks for those who lived their faith through difficulties and hardship and persecution.

I pray, Father, that I may grow in your faith and love through good times and bad.

Amen.


Remembering all who are facing difficult times at the moment. Cx :-)

Cynthia, I hope your husband was well enough for you both to enjoy a little stroll today.

My husband has commented on Cosmos flowers (pink and white) that are making our borders look pretty and cheering the two of us up. He was very impressed when I told him that I had bought both coloured Cosmos from seed and planted them earlier this year and then put them out in the front and back garden borders
A little time and effort from me has brought so much pleasure and joy, for just the small cost of the seed packets . A real bargain, recognizing God's creation around to enjoy for so many days. Thank you Lord.

Our small world is made brighter and more beautiful because of our Lord's help.

Thinking of people who can see no beauty in their lives today. xxx

Good morning :-)

We had a lovely stroll yesterday morning and my husband coped well. The route we took led us past some Himalayan Balsam which, apparently, is considered a nuisance, but I love popping the seed pouches. Second childhood I think :-D


Now, did anyone know this about angels? :-D :-D


It's hard to become an angel. First, you have to die. Then you go to heaven and go through flight training. And then they make you agree to wear those angel clothes.

The only two angels I know of are Hark and Harold.

Angels work for God. They watch over little kids when God has to go do something else.

Certain angels are in charge of helping heal your sick pets. And if the pets don't get better, they help the child get over it.

Angels have lots to do and they keep really busy. Like when you lose a tooth, an angel comes in through the window and leaves money under the pillow. Then when it gets cold outside, they go south for the winter.

Angels live in cloud houses. These are made by God and His son, who is a really good carpenter.

What I don't understand about angels is why, if someone is in love, they shoot arrows at them.

When an angel gets angry, he takes a deep breath. Then he counts to ten. When he lets his breath out, there's a tornado somewhere.

All angels are girls because the boys didn't want to wear dresses.


Thinking of those who need some lightness in their lives just now. Cx :-)

So pleased to hear that your husband was able to
enjoy his stroll with you yesterday Cynthia x

Rembering all in need x