General Chat

Good morning :-)

The Collect (special prayer) for today :

Almighty God,
whose Son Jesus Christ fasted forty days in the wilderness,
and was tempted as we are, yet without sin:
give us grace to discipline ourselves in obedience to your Spirit;
and, as you know our weakness,
so may we know your power to save;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.


The gospel reading takes us through the temptations Jesus faced whilst he was in the desert.

Love ......Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

Some more thoughts for the beginning of Lent...


MAKE time during your day to spend fifteen minutes praying during Lent: give thanks to God for all your blessings, pray for a specific personal need prompted by the day's experience.

FAST from buying new things like clothes, music, magazines, or jewellery and make a donation to a good cause.

GIVE food saved by fasting to a food bank.

Lord may Lent be a time of inward searching that makes me more able to look with compassion at the needs of the world. Amen.



Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

Some more ideas on the theme of Prayer/Fasting/Giving

READ the entire Gospel of Mark in one sitting. As the shortest Gospel, it is the most concise story of Jesus’ life.

FAST from having constant background noise in the car and at home. The silence may be jarring at first, but you may find that you are able to concentrate better and will be more observant of your surroundings.

GIVE a meal to an elderly neigbour.

Jesus, you prayed and fasted. As your disciple, teach me about spiritual discipline in my relationship with you. Amen


Love to all..... :-)

Good morning :-)



For the first few days of Lent, I will post an idea on the Prayer/Fasting/Giving theme which may help us…….

PRAYER…….buy or download a book of daily reflections and keep it by your bed. This can be looked at either in the morning or at night or even during the hours you find sleep difficult. There are several available online.

FAST…… from watching television one night each week so that you can spend time on a Lenten practice, such as praying, reading the Bible, serving others.

GIVE…….. personal possessions, such as clothes, books, shoes, to people in need.


I hope this is helpful.

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


I could cope with being in Madeira today I think :-D

We were expecting a workman to come and replace our sink unit in the kitchen yesterday. When he hadn't arrived, I phoned to see what had happened. Despite his excuses, I think he had forgotten. We was off work due to a bad back though :-(

And so we enter Lent.

Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent for Western Christian churches. It's a day of penitence to clean the soul before the Lent fast.

Roman Catholic, Anglican, and some other churches hold special services at which worshippers are marked with ashes as a symbol of death and sorrow for sin.

Ash Wednesday services
The service draws on the ancient Biblical traditions of covering one's head with ashes, wearing sackcloth, and fasting.

The mark of ashes
In Ash Wednesday services churchgoers are marked on the forehead with a cross of ashes as a sign of penitence and mortality.
The use of ashes, made by burning palm crosses from the previous Palm Sunday, is very symbolic.

The minister or priest marks each worshipper on the forehead, and says “Remember you are dust and unto dust you shall return” or a similar phrase based on God's sentence on Adam in Genesis 3:19.

God our Father, you create us from the dust of the earth.
Grant that these ashes may be for us a sign of our penitence, and a symbol of our mortality. Amen.


Cx :-)

Thank you Cynthia and Kandj for your birthday wishes.

I am in Madeira at the moment. We have had an excellent meal with probably a little too much wine. OH is lying beside me snoring loudly which is driving me nuts.

I am very conscious of how lucky I am to have a husband around to drive me mad and how fortunate I am to be able to afford some of he good things in life. Thoughts tonight are with those who have nobody to share their life and for those who are having to struggle to pay for even the necessities of life.

Hello all

I hope that Vera had a good time on her birthday.

Shrove Tuesday...... Pancake Day and I'm with you Cynthia and will have
pancakes with sugar and lemon...... or maybe orange. Decisions, decisions.

Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. How quickly this has come around.

On this Shrove Tuesday Lord, help us to enjoy and give thanks for all that you give
to us each and every day. As Lent begins tomorrow, prepare our hearts and minds
to reflect on the 40 days and nights of temptations forJesus and what that means
for us. Amen.

Good morning :)

Sugar and lemon or fruit and ice cream? Yes, its Pancake Day…..Shrove Tuesday.

Shrove Tuesday is the day before Lent starts on Ash Wednesday. The name Shrove comes from the old middle English word 'Shriven' meaning to go to confession to say sorry for the wrong things you've done. Lent always starts on a Wednesday, so people went to confessions on the day before. This became known as Shriven Tuesday and then Shrove Tuesday.

The other name for this day, Pancake Day, comes from the old English custom of using up all the fattening ingredients in the house before Lent, so that people were ready to fast during Lent. The fattening ingredients that most people had in their houses in those days were eggs and milk. A very simple recipe to use up these ingredients was to combine them with some flour and make pancakes!


Sugar and lemon for me every time.


On this Shrove Tuesday, Lord help us to enjoy and give thanks to you for the bounty you provide for us and remind us to share your gifts with others. And as Lent begins tomorrow, prepare our hearts and minds to reflect upon the temptation of Jesus for 40 days and nights and what that means for us. Amen


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


This week we begin the church season of Lent………


The Meaning of Lent

Lent is the 40 day period in the Church calendar that begins on Ash Wednesday and finishes on Maundy Thursday. Because Easter is a movable feast, the dates vary from year to year.

Lent is really about denying yourself of something that you enjoy in order to be reminded that it's God that you depend on in life that it's your heavenly Father that you most need in life - not Facebook or a favourite food. This is the real meaning of Lent. In this way Lent mirrors the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the wilderness.

He voluntarily removed himself from the pleasures of life and company of people so that he could draw close to God, hear from Him, and prepare Himself for what was to come - an intense period of public ministry culminating in a gruesome death and extraordinary resurrection.

Lord, help us to face our Lenten journey with strength.



Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


I see that Vera has had a birthday this week. Happy birthday to our good friend and I hope you had a wonderful day. <3

The Collect (special prayer) for today :

Almighty Father,
whose Son was revealed in majesty
before he suffered death upon the cross:
give us grace to perceive his glory,
that we may be strengthened to suffer with him
and be changed into his likeness, from glory to glory;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.


The Gospel today tells of the Transfiguration of Jesus
‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with him I am well pleased, listen to him.”


Love to all Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


Definitely a God-incidence kandj. I have come on here this morning ready to post exactly that same hymn. :-D


I won't post it again, but its a fitting hymn to end our week of thinking about friendships.


Love to you all. Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


Definitely a God-incidence kandj. I have come on here this morning ready to post exactly that same hymn. :-D


I won't post it again, but its a fitting hymn to end our week of thinking about friendships.


Love to you all. Cx :-)

Another week of interesting posts. Thank you Cynthia. Friends are so important. While we are thankful for our friends, we should also remember those who do not have that network of support and try to offer our friendship to them.

A special thought for those in need of a friend today and a very gentle hug for kandj as she grieves for the loss of her family member <3

Hello all

Hope no one has been blown away with storm Doris yesterday?

What a friend we have in Jesus
All our sins and griefs to bear
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer.
O, what peace we often forfeit
O, what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations
Is there trouble anywhere
We should never be discouraged
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful
Who will all our sorrows share
Jesus knows our every weakness
Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden
Burdened with a load of care
Precious Saviour, still our refuge
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do our friends despise, forsake thee
Take it to the Lord in prayer
In His arms He'll take and shield thee
Thou will find a solace there.

We have returned from the funeral service of a family member and this
hymn was sung there today. Is it a coincidence or a God Incidence, that Cynthia
has posted about Jesus and His friendship for us all on here today?

Sending gentle hugs to everyone in need right now. xxx

Good morning :-)

Whew! What a day! I hope everyone has remained safe during storm Doris. We have had some damage to church apparently :-(


Friends are an important and wonderful part of life.

We’ve looked at different kinds of friends and friendships this week, but by far, the most important friend that you can have is Jesus.

However, we need to be careful about being too chummy in calling Jesus our friend. In the bible, no human ever refers to God or Jesus as their friend. Jesus calls the disciples his friends, but he is still their Lord and Teacher.

At the last supper, the apostle John laid his head on Jesus’ breast but years later, when he saw Jesus in His glory, he collapsed at His feet. As we consider whether or not we are friends of Jesus, we need to maintain John’s reverence.

Would Jesus call me his friend?

Friends of Jesus love one another, obey His commandments, understand His truths, and are chosen to bear fruit that remains.


Love to all.......especially those looking in. Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


What a morning! Do take care if you have to go out today......sounds as though it is going to be horrible.

Have you ever heard of ‘Job’s Comforters’? The dictionary states ‘A person who aggravates distress under the guise of giving comfort’.

In the Old Testament poor Job (Jobe) was having his life whittled away bit by bit — he has lost his crops, his livestock and his family. He is truly unhappy. Job's friends live a distance from him, but they come together and decide to visit Job in order to help him mourn. For the first seven days, they merely sit with him, quietly. They do not say a word. They support him, let him have his sadness and be there with him in his time of trial.

But finally, they speak. They say it is his fault he has lost so much, because he has sinned. He deserved what he got. And then, after telling him off, they begin to give him advice. And they do not stop giving him advice. For pages and pages, they give him advice. Even when Job tells his friends that they are "miserable comforters," they still will not stop giving him advice.

Eventually, God finally speaks from a whirlwind. He asks Job's friends, "Who are you to talk?" And then he tells them to be quiet.

The most impressive bit of the story is the seven days his friends sat with him and gave him comfort. We have probably all been guilty of wanting to fix things for a friend — giving advice instead of comfort. But really, the most valuable gift a friend can provide is quiet and steady support.


What sort of comforter are you?


Love, Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

We all need friends at times of crisis. Over to the New Testament to-day and a look at a family who were friends of Jesus.

Mary and Martha lived with their brother Lazarus at Bethany, a village not far from Jerusalem. They are mentioned in several episodes in the Gospels.

On one occasion, when Jesus and His disciples were their guests Mary sat at Jesus' feet and listened to Him while her sister Martha busied herself with preparing food and waiting on the guests, and when Martha complained, Jesus said that Mary had chosen the better part. Martha was active and anxious to serve others. Mary was quiet and contemplative.

When Lazarus died, Jesus returned to Bethany. Martha, upon being told that He was approaching, went out to meet Him, while Mary sat still in the house until He sent for her. When Jesus saw Mary weeping, He was deeply moved and He also wept.

It was to Martha that Jesus said: "I am the Resurrection and the Life."
That was followed by the scene at the tomb, when Lazarus came forth at the mere word of Jesus. He was bound hand and foot with grave clothes. Jesus said, “Loose him and let him go”—that is, unwrap the grave clothes and let him go free.

There must have been a great celebration at their home that night.


Love to all Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

I googled the organisation that excerpt came from - its one of the wild and woolly ones and generally regarded as a cult. Let's stay with the tried and tested eh?

For today :

Ruth’s late husband was Naomi’s son. While they were connected by a marriage relationship, they were also dear friends. Naomi’s husband had also died and they were returning to Israel, staying together and supporting each other because of their friendship.

Near Bethlehem, Ruth went to work in the grain fields; there she met, and ultimately married, the benevolent Boaz — an older gentleman who was a “kinsman” by marriage. They were blessed with a son, Obed, who eventually became the grandfather of King David, from whom Jesus is descended.

A wonderful friendship indeed.


Cx :-)

If Jesus of Nazareth were to return to earth today, would He recognise the religion that is using His name? Would He be shocked to find that people claiming to be His followers have been waging war against each other almost continually for the last 1,900 years - Catholic fighting Catholic, and Protestant fighting Protestant?

His professed followers believe doctrines totally contrary to what He taught, observing different days of worship, different customs and, most importantly, having a totally different concept of God and of His purpose than Jesus and the original Apostles did?

Jesus might wonder: “Why are they putting My name on all this “stuff”?

(A small excerpt copied from a 'Tomorrow's World' pamphlet, published in 2011.)

Good morning :-)


A manic morning in church yesterday as our youth organisations and their families piled in. The tiny Rainbows led the service and they were so cute. When it came to Communion, the vicar invited them to come and sit in front of the altar so that they could see what was going on. The vicar is a former Head Teacher and certainly knows how to encourage little ones.


For today:

Last week we took a look at the word Love in all its meanings. This week…………friendship and some friendships found in the bible.

True Friendship - Recognition
How can we find true friendship in this often phony, temporary world? Friendship involves recognition or familiarity with another's personality. Friends often share likes and dislikes, interests, pursuits, and passion.

First Samuel 20 focuses on the friendship of David and Jonathan. These two men truly cared for each other and had great trust and confidence in one another. David was running for his life from Jonathan's father, Saul. Jonathan recognized that David was innocent. Because of the true friendship they shared, David survived Saul's assassination attempts and went on to become one of Israel's greatest kings.


Thank God for our friends.

Cx :-)