General Chat

Good morning..... :-)


Loved the stories of the older folk......there is such a wealth of wisdom to be learned from those who have experienced a long life. As I have grown older myself, I find myself wishing I had listened to older relatives when I was young but, I suppose, that is youth........I was too busy being young. :-)


The Collect for today :

Almighty God, you show to those who are in error the light of your truth, that they may return to the way of righteousness:
grant to all those who are admitted into the fellowship of Christ’s religion, that they may reject those things that are contrary to their profession,
and follow all such things as are agreeable to the same;
through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.


Cx :-)

I notice a posting for Emma's birthday today so Many Happy Returns of the Day to Emma from all who share this Christian thread. We send blessings galore today xx

Emma is sure to have happy birthday gifts, but surely not 10,000,000??

Ten thousand thousand precious gifts
My daily thanks employ:
Nor is the least a cheerful heart,
That tastes those gifts with joy. S.Addison

God who has given so much to us, gives one more thing - a grateful heart.

What a start to the week. Such lovely posts and sun streaming through window yet again.

And a happy birthday for a friend full of sunshine in the north of Scotland. Emma, you bring sunshine even on a very cloudy day. So young at heart and full of fun.

:-D :-D

For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child,
Friends on earth, and friends above,
Pleasures pure and undefiled:

Gracious God, to thee we raise
This our sacrifice of praise

<3 <3 Thank you, am truly grateful for my family and friends
who have thought of me today and showered me with flowers
and gifts, and kind words from my friends on GR.

Emma :-)

Good morning.....and I do hope that Emma had a lovely birthday..... :-)



A very Happy St. Patrick's Day to all of our friends......

I have been exploring the prayer attributed to St. Patrick and find that the most famous part is only part of the whole. I thought it would be fitting to see the complete prayer in context:


Saint Patrick's "Breastplate" Prayer - "...and having on the breastplate of righteousness;” -Ephesians 6:14


I bind unto myself today
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.

I bind this day to me for ever.
By power of faith, Christ's incarnation;
His baptism in the Jordan river;
His death on Cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spicèd tomb;
His riding up the heavenly way;
His coming at the day of doom;*
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself the power
Of the great love of the cherubim;
The sweet 'well done' in judgment hour,
The service of the seraphim,
Confessors' faith, Apostles' word,
The Patriarchs' prayers, the Prophets' scrolls,
All good deeds done unto the Lord,
And purity of virgin souls.

I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the starlit heaven,
The glorious sun's life-giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind's tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea,
Around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward,
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.

Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours,
Against their fierce hostility,
I bind to me these holy powers.

Against all Satan's spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart's idolatry,
Against the wizard's evil craft,
Against the death wound and the burning,
The choking wave and the poisoned shaft,
Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity;
By invocation of the same.
The Three in One, and One in Three,
Of Whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.



Soul stirring words indeed. Cx :-)

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh

I knew last two bits of "Breastplate Prayer", Cynthia - but had never seen whole thing before. Wonderful and deep-meaning words that make us all think deeply, aren't they.

St Patrick seems to have come from a Christian family who served in Roman Britain. His grandfather lived in a place called Banna Venta Berniae, which scholars think may have been Glannaventa in Cumbria (Ravenglass today).

He was taken by Irish pirates at age of 16 and forced to work as a shepherd in County Antrim in a place called Slemish for several years. He escaped slavery and returned to Britain where he studied theology and met a Bishop from Rome who persuaded him to return to Ireland as a missionary.

And the rest of the story, as they say, is history.

A dedicated Christian in a dark and heathen place who brought light and succour to generations of Irish Christian converts. :-) :-) And is still well remembered on this date that commemmorates his death.

Happy St Patrick's Day to all the Paddy's on this thread. May the luck of the Irish stay with you always.

Good morning..... :-)


I hope our Irish friends enjoyed their special day yesterday......... :-)



A short prayer for today :


Loving, living Lord,
in Jesus you come into this world in love,
light shining in our darkness.
So we dare to hope,
for in your love and light, hope, too, is born,
hope which is real,
for this world and all its people, for me.
So help me to live this day in hope,
your gift in Jesus, in whose name I pray. Amen.

- James Booth



Love to everyone..... Cx :-)

I must come to confess this morning that I did imbibe yesterday of a small glass of the devil's buttermilk to toast our Irish friends. And I did really enjoy it pulled from the draught in a local hostelry.

There, I have said it. Now back to coffee and Pepsi max :-) :-)

That quiet prayer of reflection this morning is very moving, Cynthia. I am sitting here quietly and in contemplative mood.

Is there a nice quiet hymn coming to me. No, it is a loud and noisy one:

Lord, the light of your love is shining
In the midst of the darkness, shining
Jesus, Light of the world, shine upon us
Set us free by the truth you now bring us
Shine on me, shine on me

Shine, Jesus, shine
Fill this land with the Father's glory
Blaze, Spirit, blaze
Set our hearts on fire
Flow, river, flow
Flood the nations with grace and mercy
Send forth your word
Lord, and let there be light

Lovely meaningful prayer today Cynthia thank you.

Nothing wrong in an alcoholic drink John if you enjoyed it then so much the better.

Shine Jesus Shine hasn't been sung in my church for quite some time and when it is we clap hands and tap toes and almost dance in the aisle to its catchy tune.

The hymn that is in my head today is very different, but worthy of sharing I think:-

NOW THANK WE ALL OUR GOD

Now thank we all our God
With hearts and hands and voices
Who wondrous things has done
in whom this world rejoices
Who from our mothers' arms
Has blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love
And still is ours today

O may this bounteous God
Through all our life be near us
With ever joyful heart
and blessed peace to cheer us
And keep us in his grace
And guide us when perplexed
And free us from all ills
In this world and the next.

All praise and thanks to God
The Father, now be given
The Son and Him who reigns
With them in highest heaven
The one eternal God
Whom earth and heaven adore
For thus it was, is now
And shall be evermore.

Now why do we awake and have a certain hymn tune and words filling our mind? These words are special to me, just for today, wonder what another day brings.

That is German hymn written about 1630, kandj.

Two things:
1. How very fortunate we are to have this freedom to go to church (or watch services on TV) and worship as we want. We do sing loads of lovely hymns (ancient and very modern) and they do buzz round in our mind.
2. What a wealth of hymnology was alive in Germany 400-500 years ago. Thank God that great Christians who have also studied German have been able to translate these hymns for us. :-) :-)

Kandj, that hymn is very important to me as it was one of the hymns I chose for my wedding (51years ago this month). OH left choice to me and I tried to pick words that seemed relevant. Now it is going to be going round and round in my head for the next week!

Ha ha, Vera. I am still singing it right now. No particular reason why it should stay with me all day long, but I do like it and your choice of wedding hymn was so lovely.

Thanks John, yet again you are a mine of information and I have learned something new once more.

Vera. How on earth do you remember a hymn from your wedding in 1963?

I can only remember a single verse from mine in 1979.

"Faint not nor fear, his arm is near:
He changes not, and thou art dear;
Only believe, and thou shalt see
That Christ is all in all to thee"

35 years without fainting. Perhaps a bit of fear occasionally :-) ;-)

Dear All

Hello

This is for a friend in need, for their family and friends and is sent with much love.



The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul:
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.


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.


Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemes;
thou annointest my head with oil;
my cup runneth over.


Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and
I will dwell in the house of The Lord forever.

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

Thank you, sincere wishes
Take gentle care
Elizabeth
xx

Really nice, Elizabeth. Those words are so very suitable and I hope they will lift your friend and their family and friends in turn. :-)

Good morning everyone and how lovely to see such a busy thread...... :-)


The words of both of those hymns are wonderful indeed and I agree with John in how fortunate we are in being able to worship freely. I often comment to OH on how many churches, of all denominations we pass, in order to get to the one of our choice. I think it is still true that more people go to church on Sunday than go to football matches - they just get more coverage :-)


I spent a very busy day driving around yesterday. My son has a knee injury and so I was on the school run and hospital duty but, that's what mums are for isn't it? ;-)


Elizabeth, I am sure your friend will be uplifted by those timeless words - words that are always used to bring comfort and hope.


For today:

I Come to Meet You

I come to meet You, God,
And as I linger here
I seem to feel You very near;
A rustling leaf, a rolling slope
Speak to my heart of endless hope.

The sun just rising in the sky,
The waking birdlings as they fly,
The grass all wet with morning dew
Are telling me I just met You.

And, gently, thus the day is born
As night gives way to breaking morn;
And once again I've met you, God,
And worshipped on Your holy sod.

For who could see the dawn break through
Without a glimpse of heaven and You?
For who but God could make the day
And softly put the night away?

~ Helen Steiner Rice


Cx :-)

Elizabeth, just spending a quiet moment in prayer, thinking especially of your friend and the family and friends who are in need of extra prayerful support right now.

There are many who are always in need of prayerful support (not least myself)

God of the broken, God of the wanderer
Christ who is without shelter, support those in deep need among us.
Surround them and help us hear their cries for help.
We are people who long for the broken to be mended
We long for justice in the face of much corruption
We want to practice hospitality but have legitimate fears
Surround us in our trying times and help us to reach beyond ourselves.
We confess that we are bogged down by so much need in the world
May we have the courage to stand for what is right even when it offends,
May we have the imaginations to help create a better world
And the strength of your Spirit to carry on.
Let us be as you are in this world.
Amen.

WOW, we have reached page 100....... what a blessing that truly is!!

hello, everyone


I just thought I would pop my head around the door as I haven't been on here for so long.


I always think of this as the peaceful thread :-)



take care everyone



s
xx

Good morning all...... :-)


What lovely words kandj and to think we have reached 100 pages....!! I hadn't noticed so good spotting :-)


Hello Sylvia, nice to see you again and I know you are going through some difficult times at the moment. How lovely to think of this as a peaceful place.......everyone needs such a place at some time....especially when beset by problems. :-)


This may be a good time to think of the Peace of the Lord......that time in the service where we turn to the person next to us and wish them....."The peace of the Lord be with you". Such a special moment.


Here is the beautiful version of The Lord Bless you and Keep You....by John Rutter. Based on the words from Numbers 6 24:26 Conducted by the composer himself......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCpxgEHqjFA


The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make His face to shine upon you
To shine upon you and be gracious
And be gracious unto you

The Lord bless you and keep you
The Lord lift up the light of His countenance upon you,
The Lord lift up the light of His countenance upon you
And give you peace, and give you peace;
And give you peace, and give you peace



A peaceful day to you all.......Cx :-)