General Chat

I’m sitting on the fence a bit with that question Cynthia. At first I thought that perhaps we could have a Faith thread that would include all faiths and we might all learn something but I am concerned that it might get argumentative. Maybe a new thread but on similar lines to this one?

I must admit I like the thread as it is. At my advanced age I still am not completely sure what exactly I believe (though I know I do believe) and the thread has presented me with some new ideas and made me think a bit.

Having said that I feel very guilty that all the burden of keeping it going and finding new themes etc falls on Cynthia who does a wonderful job.

So no real decision from me but, like Emma, I will continue to look in each day whichever way it goes.

Good morning - it didn't take me too long today :-D


Thank you both for your comments re the thought of a new thread. I am quite happy to keep this one going but just wondered if a new opening post would be helpful - if you know what I mean. It was the comment from 'Mark' which made me realise that some folk only see that post without catching on to the current comments. Let me ponder and pray for a few days :-D

By the way Vera, I don't call 35 an 'advanced age' :-D


For today:

The Collect (special prayer) set for today :

O God,
the strength of all those who put their trust in you,
mercifully accept our prayers
and, because through the weakness of our mortal nature
we can do no good thing without you,
grant us the help of your grace,
that in the keeping of your commandments
we may please you both in will and deed;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The gospel reading for today tells of the Pharisees accusing Jesus of breaking the Sabbath law by allowing his disciples to pick grain and eat it and then for healing the man with the withered hand.


Love to all. Cx :-)

Good morning everyone. In these modern times with medications for most things that ail us hospitals for surgery for injury, (if you live in the right country) Yet we still fall susceptible to "the years of a man are threescore and ten with ten more if you're strong . Exceptional people live to be 90 or beyond. I mention this because long ago it is reported that Adam and his descendants
lived for hundreds of years.

Having read this and other threads here's what I think.

Some people are getting fed up of being timed out, this is a thread that regularly times out. A new, small thread might mean it's accessible to more people.

You could make it an annual thread then it would always be up to date and keep the amount of pages limited.

I'd call it something like Our Christian Thread 2019 - open to all.

On the first entry I'd make an acknowledgement to John for starting the original thread. :-D

Just my thoughts, over to you Cynthia and I will continue to read whatever you choose.

:-D <3

Hello all

Just read back and I think perhaps a new titled thread may be shorter and quicker to access, but still give credit to John who began this Christian thread initially.

Very many grateful thanks to Cynthia for her commitment to posting daily scripture which is always interesting and often very thought provoking.

I'm still finding life really difficult and hard having to adjust to being on my own. I do count my blessings each day and try to come to terms with how my life has changed

I am the Lord your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you,
Fear not, for I will help you. (Isaiah 41: 13).

Good morning :-)


Thanks for all the input....still thinking about it but am a bit hassled at the moment so hope to make a decision soon :-)

For today.

Yesterday, in church, we had a visit from our Archdeacon. She based her sermon on the story of Samuel hearing God's voice and it made me think of an old hymn I was taught as a child.

The mini nutshell version is that we heard the background of how Samuel, son of Hannah and Elkanah, came to be in the temple. Hannah was desperate for a child and made a promise that, if she was so blessed, she would give the child to God. Her prayer was answered and she gave birth to Samuel and, when he was weaned, she took him to the temple to be with Eli the old priest.

The first verse of the hymn I remembered reads …
Hushed was the evening hymn,
The temple courts were dark;
The lamp was burning dim
Before the sacred ark;
When suddenly a voice divine
Rang through the silence of the shrine.

So what about this ‘sacred ark’? Before my mind went wild thinking of Indiana Jones, I decided to check it out. From Wiki (very abbreviated) ‘The Ark of the Covenant, is a gold-covered wooden chest with lid cover described in the Book of Exodus as containing the two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments, Aaron's rod and a pot of manna. It was created according to a pattern given to Moses by God.’

So there was this young boy, possibly a teenager by now, left in charge of something infinitely precious, woken from sleep by someone calling his name…….

We'll look at the 2nd verse tomorrow.

Lord, we never know when you are going to speak to us. Help us to find space in our lives to listen for your voice. Amen.

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


'The old man, meek and mild,
The priest of Israel, slept;
His watch the temple child,
The little Levite, kept;
And what from Eli’s sense was sealed
The Lord to Hannah’s son revealed.'

And so, whilst Eli was peacefully sleeping, the Lord was calling Samuel’s name. Three times Samuel thought Eli was calling him; then, at the old man’s word, he went back and prayed this wonderful prayer that God would speak to him, a prayer which is implicit with faith. “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening”.

That was a long time ago but thankfully, God still speaks to His people! He does this by the Holy Spirit and through the Word of God. The important thing is are we listening for His voice?

Lord, we pray that you will make us more like little Samuel, alert and willing to listen to you. Amen.


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


The next verse of the old hymn advises us not only to be alert and to listen for God speaking to us, but also to act on what we hear.

O give me Samuel’s ear,
The open ear, O Lord,
Alive and quick to hear
Each whisper of Thy Word,
Like him to answer at Thy call,
And to obey Thee first of all.

----------------------------------------

You speak in unexpected places,
and with unexpected voices, God.
And we aren’t always sure how to listen.
We aren’t always sure who to listen to.
We aren’t always sure if we’re really hearing you.
Be blunt with us, please. Be clear.
Give us the challenge
of loving you,
of loving the other,
of loving ourselves.
And help us to live it out!
Because you are God who loves us all,
even when we don’t know where to turn.
In Jesus’ name we ask it. Amen.


Love to all Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

Almost at the end of the old hymn.......are our hearts in our faith?

O give me Samuel’s heart,
A lowly heart, that waits
Where in Thy house Thou art,
Or watches at Thy gates;
By day and night, a heart that still
Moves at the breathing of Thy will.


Lord, you call,
but we do not always recognize your voice.
Sometimes we don’t listen carefully.
Sometimes we’re caught off guard.

Lord, you call,
but we haven’t always taught others to hear you.
Sometimes we stand in the way,
allowing our voice to ring out over yours.

Lord, you call,
but we don’t always believe our ears.
Sometimes we believe we know better.
Sometimes we think you can’t possibly be calling us,
or her, or him.
Forgive us, Lord, our unpracticed listening,
our closed ears.
Help us to hear.
Amen.


Cx :-)

Good Morning :-)


The final verse of the hymn we have been looking at leads us
to remembering how Samuel eventually heard, listened and obeyed.
O give me Samuel’s mind,
A sweet unmurm’ring faith,
Obedient and resigned
To Thee in life and death,
That I may read with childlike eyes
Truths that are hidden from the wise.



Insistent God,
by night and day you summon your slumbering people,
So stir us with your voice
and enlighten our lives with your grace
that we give ourselves fully
to Christ's call to mission and ministry. Amen.


There are several versions of the hymn on YouTube, this link gives the tune and the words - you will have to sing it yourselves. :-D


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjDRTvO8G0s

Love to all Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

Has anyone heard from kandj since she last posted? My last message to her has not been opened which is very unusual. Its been almost a week now and I am just hoping that she is okay - maybe visiting her daughter and family.

For today :

It’s amazing and incredible,
But it’s as true as it can be,
God loves and understands us all
And that means you and me–
His grace is all sufficient
For both the young and old,
For the lonely and the timid,
For the brash and for the bold–
His love knows no exceptions,
So never feel excluded,
No matter what your past has been,
Trust God to understand,
And no matter what your problem is
Just place it in His Hand–
For in all of our unloveliness
This great God loves us still,
He loved us since the world began,
And what’s more, He always will!
- Helen Steiner Rice

Love and prayers Cx :-)

Kandj was on the rugby thread on 3rd June Cynthia :-)

Cynthia thank you for a lovely week again
with the words of the hymn.

A beautiful poem from HSR to end the week x

Cynthia , Kandj is ok, although still finding life without her Hubby very difficult .Her Daughter will be with her on Sunday.

Good morning :-)

Thank you for the messages re kandj - it seems she has had difficulty getting through to me - the dreaded error message.

No church for me today as it is Walking Day and there is only one service which is too early for my OH to get to. I will be going down later to take photos for our FB page.

For today :

The Collect (special prayer) for today…

Lord, you have taught us that all our doings without love are nothing worth:
send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of love;
the true bond of peace and of all virtues,
without which whoever lives is counted dead before you.
Grant this for your only Son Jesus Christ’s sake,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Gospel reading tells the story of that well known saying….’Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.’


Cx :-)

Just to say I only occasionally look in or post on this thread, but happened to do today.

I have no problem accessing this thread, my problem is getting on to GR itself, My Threads or General Chat!

I use Bookmarks to get on to the Boards Summary screen for GR, and that is a real problem, with the second problem being My Threads .......... I do persevere though.

Once I'm in, then I have little problem opening any thread, but the Error can appear again when posting a message.

I've just tried getting on to the very long What kind of things do you remember from childhood, which has over 59,500 posts ..... just out of interest because I never have looked on there. I got on with no problem.

This thread has only 5,314 posts ......... so I honestly don't think that it is the size of the thread that is causing your problem. It's GR and how to get onto the site ......... possibly the problem is if you are using Bookmarks or My Favourites to open this thread?

Another possibility might be the fact that the OP has not changed that may not be attracting any new posters, although again, other long-time threads don't seem to change their OPs.

Though you must always remember that the number of people on these Boards is dropping quite rapidly. Many of you know my opinion of what might happen / what might be INTENDED to happen to GR.

I don't know whether any of this helps ............. but thank you Cyn for keeping it going xxxx

Good morning :-)


Thank you Sylvia - I have similar problems to you, but mostly with just getting on the site itself. Once on, I can usually move around with little problem. GR just isn't what it used to be :-(


Yesterday was our Annual Walking Day - a day of witness. The sun shone, the bands played and the people came out in their hundreds…...it was amazing. The procession of four or five churches and members seemed never ending.

We are so fortunate that we live in a country where we can witness to our faith without fear of death. We may get ridiculed and scoffed at, but at least we can stand up and be counted! :-D

For today :
.
But just what is Walking Day all about? Cute children? New clothes? Band music?

Definitely a bit more than all of those things put together. When we walk, we are witnessing to show that we follow Jesus Christ and that we get the help and encouragement we need from whichever church we support.

Lord, help us to be better witnesses to you by the lives we live, by the words we say and by the thoughts we think. May our family and friends be so encouraged at the effect you have on our lives, that they turn to seek you for themselves. Amen.


Off to Walton Hospital with OH today - his original Consultant has retired and he now has a new one. Hope he's good!

Cx :-)

Never heard of Walking Day Cynthia, lovely way
to show your faith and the support given.

Hope your OH has a good meeting with his new
Consultant.

Is Walking Day what we used to call the Whit Sunday Walk, where the procession visited all 4 corners of the parish boundary?

Maybe Sylvia, but I think you might be referring to the old custom of Beating the Bounds which was a way of reaffirming parish boundaries before good maps were available. It’s still carried on as a tradition in some areas.

Googling suggests that Walking Day is a sort of giant church parade and is most common in the North West of England, particularly around Warrington.

I hope your OH had a good meeting with his new consultant today Cynthia.

Thinking of all who need a little extra support tonight.