General Chat

Sylvia my thoughts and prayers are with you at this time.

My brother passed away on 24th December although he was failing
it was a shock to us all...that day was his 64 th Wedding Anniversary,
my sister in law knows nothing of his death due to Alzheimer's.
His funeral was last Friday, a much loved and missed dear brother,
we shared the same birthday.

Emma

Oh Emma......so very sorry to hear of the death of our brother and on such a special day for him too. Sending love and prayers to you and your family........ <3

A lot of sadness on thread over this Christmas period. Very sorry Emma. And thoughts with you, Sylvia. Every time I look at your lovely avatar, I think of your sil. So pleased she is still mentally active and able to appreciate the love all around.

I should imagine if anyone has "fought the good fight" it is that dear lady :-)

Emma ..........

I am so sorry to hear the news of your brother's death. That must have been very hard for you xxxx

Oh Emma how very sad to lose your brother and on the date of his 64th wedding anniversary on 24th December. What a sad Christmas your family will have had.
Doubly upsetting knowing your sister in law has Alzheimer and not aware her husband of very many years is here no longer. Big hugs to you right now. xx

Sylvia, hoping that your sister in law is as comfortable as she can be right now, she is sure to have a special place in God's heavenly kingdom after years of Ministry serving our Lord. xx

Got a long journey today to pick up a new car. I promise I will not covet it, but am as excited as a 4 year old when I got my first shiny pedal car. Not driven more than a few miles since last August when my old car ceased, so a bit anxious about a new car (57 plate so not brand new) on unknown roads.

I do hope Emma and Sylvia and others know that we are praying for you at this time. Death is part of life, but is so difficult for most of us to deal with. I think the "valley of death" (which is always quoted in funeral services) refers to this world - which taunts so many into death rather than life. But the words of the psalmist are still so familar and beautiful:

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." (Psalm 23 verse 4)

Good morning everyone.... :-

We had our first baptism preparation class of the year last night. I got to church a bit earlier than usual and exchanged some friendly banter with the captain of the bell ringing team who had nipped in to borrow something and our church treasurer who is part of the baptism team.

The treasurer is a young mum with twin boys who were hurtling around the room playing some sort of game, whilst she was balanced on a chair sorting out the timer for the heating. The rest of the team soon arrived and more friendly banter and New Year greetings were exchanged.

Three young couples and assorted Godparents were welcomed with friendly smiles and a hot drink on a very wet and windy evening.

I was a little anxious as I had prepared a new powerpoint presentation which explains the various aspects of the Christian faith and what baptism is all about. Our new priest-in-charge came along too, which was a little daunting but, thankfully, he was happy with how the evening went. :-)


A cheery thought for today:


Cheerful thoughts like sunbeams
Lighten up the "darkest fears,"
For when the heart is happy,
There's just no time for tears.

And when the face is smiling,
It's impossible to frown,
And when you are "high-spirited,"
You cannot feel "low-down."

For the nature of our attitude
Toward circumstantial things,
Determines our acceptance
Of the problems that life brings.

And since fear and dread and worry
Cannot help in any way,
It's much healthier and happier
To be cheerful every day.

And if you'll only try it
You will find, without a doubt,
A cheerful attitude's something
No one should be without.

For when the heart is cheerful,
It cannot be filled with fear,
And without fear the way ahead
Seems more distinct and clear.

~ Helen Steiner Rice ~



Love to you all.......Cx :-)

Hello everyone,

Thank all for your kind thoughts and prayers.

Sylvia my thoughts are with you and yours at this time and
God's blessing on your sister in law.

Emma xx

The HSR words beautiful as ever, thank you Cynthia.

John, I wish you happy and safe motoring in your new car and I like the idea that you are excited. Cars don't come cheaply and so it's nice for you to feel happy right now.

Ongoing thoughts and prayers for our friends who are sad or suffering today.

Good morning all. I have visions of John admiring his new car - much like a small boy at Christmas........ :-) :-)


OH has some more treatment on his poorly eye today, but at least it is now being done locally. Mind you, I found the parking to be easier in Liverpool than at the local hospital - it was almost worth the journey :-)


A thought for today:



God is the Friend of Silence

We need to find God,
He cannot be found in noise and restlessness.

God is the friend of silence.

See now nature . . .
trees, flowers, grass
grow in silence.

See the stars, the Moon and Sun . . .
how they move in silence.
The more we receive in silent prayer,
the more we can give in our active life.

We need silence to be able to touch souls.

The essential thing Is not what we say,
but what God says . . .
To us and through us.

All our words will be useless
unless they come from within.
Words which do not give the Light of Christ . . .
increase the darkness.


-Mother Teresa



Love to you all.......Cx :-)

Thanks kandj. Spot on, Cynthia. My first car was 3 feet long, blue and red with silver pedals. I was excited yesterday - but not as much as that Christmas when I was four (more than 40 years ago :-D :-D)

My old car that I had to scrap 3 months ago was a left hand drive 2 seat tiny Smart car. And my passenger would be stuck out in the middle of the road in the right hand seat with no real protection from traffic coming other way. OH and son were ok, as they knew I was a pretty slow and safe driver. But if a lady in chapel asked me for a lift home who did not know what car I drove, I could often see fear in their eyes and their hands tight together like my avatar :-D So I have bought this big luxurious motor so that I can give ladies a lift home from chapel - that is my excuse, anyway ;-)

I love your thought this morning, Cynthia. Particularly noticed "what God says to us and through us". Yes, that is what is important.

Promise I am not in a sad mood today, but spotted these words of hymn by Briggs "Now is eternal life":

"Man long in bondage lay,
Brooding o'er life's brief span;
Was it, O God, for nought,
For nought, thou madest man?
Thou art our hope, our vital breath,
Shall hope undying end in death?"

Then he answers that question. In the confident way that every Christian can :-) :-)

The Gospel never calls us to moroseness. It never views human beings with pessimism. Just the opposite. It comes to awaken a peaceful joy.

kandj. I think one of the best examples of that joy is when Jesus said on the Cross - "My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Those words sound so depressing and I have known many Christians who cannot understand why Jesus uttered those words in his torment.

He was trying to quote Psalm 22, of course. That psalm concludes with:
"A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this"

Is there anything that gives us more peaceful joy than those words of Jesus - whether he actually said them or just implied them by quoting the first verse of Psalm 22? We are the people that "shall be born" :-) :-)

Good morning everyone.... :-)

Following on from the thoughts of both kandj and John :


Prayer of Thanksgiving

God of all blessings,
source of all life,
giver of all grace:

We thank you for the gift of life:
for the breath that sustains life,
for the food of this earth that nurtures life,
for the love of family and friends
without which there would be no life.

We thank you for the mystery of creation:
for the beauty that the eye can see,
for the joy that the ear may hear,
for the unknown
that we cannot behold filling the universe with wonder,
for the expanse of space
that draws us beyond the definitions of our selves.

We thank you for setting us in communities:
for families who nurture our becoming,
for friends who love us by choice,
for companions at work, who share our burdens and daily tasks,
for strangers who welcome us into their midst,
for people from other lands who call us to grow in understanding,
for children who lighten our moments with delight,
for the unborn, who offer us hope for the future.

We thank you for this day:
for life and one more day to love,
for opportunity and one more day to work for justice and peace,
for neighbours and one more person to love
and by whom be loved,
for your grace and one more experience of your presence,

for your promise:
to be with us,
to be our God,
and to give salvation.

For these, and all blessings,
we give you thanks, eternal, loving God,
through Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.


Cx :-)

Amen.

Emma :-)

Lovely prayer, Cynthia. Amen indeed :-D

And thankyou for taking so much time to bring us these daily thoughts and prayers. I am sure all of us who watch this thread are immensely grateful. :-D :-D

John I agree with you, as I also am very grateful for all the interesting daily postings from Cynthia. Some days they really "speak" to me personally ...., uncanny but true.

So my thanks as always to Cynthia too.

Especially remembering Sylvia and her sister in law right now in thought and prayer.

Good morning everyone......I am happy that my daily postings are helping and encouraging someone, somewhere most days. :-)


Today, we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist - the event which marked the beginning of his ministry.

Baptism is a subject close to my heart and, as I speak to the young parents who bring their children for Holy Baptism, I hope I am able to help them understand the significance of this great event in their child's life.


The Collect for today :

Eternal Father, who at the baptism of Jesus revealed him to be your Son, anointing him with the Holy Spirit: grant to us, who are born again by water and the Spirit, that we may be faithful to our calling as your adopted children; 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.


Today, we have three young couples who are bring their child for Baptism :-)


Cx :-)

We also have Baptisms in church today. It would be a real blessing if the young families became regular members of our church family. We live in hope and prayer
(as always).

Good morning all.... :-)

I echo your sentiments kandj - it would be wonderful if the young families became part of the church. Sadly, I think we have to be realistic and know that this happens in only a small number of cases but, on the bright side, it is lovely to welcome those who DO decide to become part of the church.

The little boys who were baptised yesterday, wore teeny weeny suits and did not seem at all impressed :-)

At one stage, we had a church full of people and only two out of three babies! I was hopping about wondering where they had got to but then, thankfully, they made an appearance - much to the relief of their guests I think! :-)


Looking on the bright side........ :


Count Your Garden

Count your garden
By the flowers ...
Never by the leaves that fall.

Count your days
By golden hours ...
Don't remember clouds at all.

Count your nights by stars ...
Not shadows.

Count your years with smiles ...
Not tears.

Count your blessings ...
Not your troubles.

Count your age by friends ...
Not years.

~ Author Unknown ~


Hope you all have a lovely day....Cx :-)