General Chat

Good morning :-)

Two babies were baptised yesterday, but I have to say that I am going off the new service our priest in charge is using. It was all over and done with in 35 mins and I didn't feel as though I had been to worship at all. Many of our usual congregation are either staying away or going to the Holy Communion service at 9am. Time for a re-think.

My back is still extremely painful so a doctor's appointment may be in order.



During Lent we will be looking at various aspects of the season, either by prayer, meditation, poetry or video. For today....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFBe0Pd-LgI

As Jesus resisted temptation by the devil in the wilderness, help us reflect on his faithfulness to God, his rejection of worldly values and hold these thoughts in our hearts throughout Lent and beyond. Amen


Cx :-)

Happy Valentine's Day everyone.

Cynthia I hope your back pain has calmed down a little for you today.

Eating chocs together now on this special day,(I didn't give up chocolate for Lent)

The book that I have chosen to read during the 40 days of Lent is thought provoking.
It is Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life and has 40 chapters and suggests reading one chapter every day throughout Lent. This is a real challenge for me.

Chapter 5. Seeing Life From God's View.
How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the
morning fog -- it is here for a little while, and then it is gone.
(James 4 v 14. New Living Translation Bible).

Thinking of those who are in need of prayerful support today. xxx

Good morning :-)


I had a lovely couple of hours out yesterday - the passenger seat in my friend's car has a heater - so it was blissful for my sore back. :-D

Thank you for all the good wishes - I will let you know when normal service is resumed.

Today is St. Valentine's Day..........a day which has become associated with romance, roses and chocolates. However, the truth behind St. Valentine is a different story......here is a very brief version....

St. Valentine was a priest from Rome in the third century AD.

Emperor Claudius II had banned marriage because he thought married men were bad soldiers. Valentine felt this was unfair, so he broke the rules and arranged marriages in secret.

When Claudius found out, Valentine was thrown in jail and sentenced to death.

There, he fell in love with the jailer's daughter and when he was taken to be killed on 14 February he sent her a love letter signed "from your Valentine".

And not a chocolate in sight.........


Cx :-)

Hello all

I hope you managed to meet up with your friend Cynthia and that your back was less painful for you today.

Vera, I am upholding you and your family in prayer.

Day 4. Chapter 4. Made To Last Forever.
God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity
in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's
work from beginning to end. (Ecclesiastes 3 v 11). New Living Translation

Thinking of all who await hospital test results. xxx

Just sending you a very gentle hug to ease your pain Cynthia
<3 I hope your poorly back recovers very quickly.

Remembering all who are in any sort of physical or mental pain today

Good morning :-)


My back is still playing up - I will probably be suffering for a few more days if it goes true to form... :-(

Another perspective on fasting during Lent............

Fast from fear; Feast on Faith
Fast from despair; Feed on hope.
Fast from depressing news; Feed on prayer.
Fast from discontent; Feast on gratitude.
Fast from anger and worry; Feed on patience.
Fast from negative thinking; Feast on positive thinking.
Fast from bitterness; Feed on love and forgiveness.
Fast from words that wound; Feast on words that heal.
Fast from gravity; Feast on joy and humour.

(adapted from A Lenten Prayer by William Arthur Ward)

Hoping to out with a friend for an hour or so later......just got to make sure that my OH is settled.


Love to all Cx :-)

Hello all

So sorry that you still have back pain Cynthia, oh dear, keep taking the tablets!

Continuing with Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life for this years Lent season.

Chapter 3 WHAT DRIVES YOUR LIFE?
I also observed that people work hard and become good at what they do only
out of mutual envy. This too is pointless , just chasing the wind. (Ecclesiastes 4.4).

Heavenly Father,
Help me to see this holy season of Lent as a time for spiritual renewal.
Help me to look within myself and embrace each new day that comes from you. Amen.

Remembering the lonely and homeless who will sleep in the street tonight. xxx

Good morning :-)

My back is still soooo painful but I press on..... :-D


For today:


Lord,
I know how much you love me.
It’s hard for me to feel it sometimes,
but I know your love is always with me.
Help me to use your love as a way
to persevere in my Lenten intentions.
I am weak, but I know with your help,
I can use these small sacrifices in my life to draw closer to you. Amen.


Cx :-)

Hello all

Oh dear Cynthia, you have our sympathy. Hubby has suffered ongoing daily back pain for very many years. It is debilitating and can be very miserable...... poor you.

Hi Vera, Lent is a good time to focus on the positives in all our lives. Hope that life is getting a little easier for your son and daughter right now.

I have managed to read 2 chapters on day 2 of Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life.
This book has 40 thought provoking chapters and I feel is ideal for this Lent season.
In 2003, I attended a Lent course in church based on this challenging book. It is a long time ago and to be honest I don't remember very much now, although I did make notes at the time, which I kept inside the pages and used as a bookmark.

Chapter 1. It All Starts With God.
For in him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth ,visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities, all things have been
created for him and through him. (Colossians 16 v 1 New International Version).

Chapter 2. You Are Not An Accident.
I am the Lord who created you; from the time you were born, I have helped you.
Do not be afraid; you are my chosen servant, my chosen people, who I love.
(Isaiah 44 v 2 Good News Translation).

Lots of food for thought and a real personal challenge for me during Lent.

Remembering all who are in need of prayerful support today. xxx

Oh dear, poor you Cynthia. Rest as much as you can and take care of yourself - easier said than done I know for someone who is always busy and caring for others. I hope you feel better very soon <3

I was rather grumpy with my poor husband yesterday for the most trivial of reasons, so for Lent I am trying to give up my irritable side and count my blessings instead of my problems.

Good morning :-)


Anyone got a cure for a bad back.......arrrrrgggghhhhhhh I do occasionally suffer with a disc problem and I am certainly suffering now :-( I have a feeling its all to do with lifting and pulling my husband out of his chair and I'm not as young as I used to be.

Trying to get comfortable is not easy - thank God for painkillers. Actually, I am typing this at an angle and almost laying on my left side in the chair....goodness knows what I look like :-D

Anyway, enough of my woes......here we are in Lent....

And so Lent begins............

Lord,

Let everything I do this day and in this season of Lent

come from you, be inspired by you.

I long to be closer to you.

Help me to remember that nothing is important in my life

unless it glorifies you in some way.

It's so easy to get caught up in the day to day of my life and keep saying,

"Tomorrow, I will spend more time in prayer,"

but now my longing meets your love and I want to do it now.

Help me to rely on you for help.


Lord, as we enter Lent help us to draw near to you in praise, stripping away all that distracts us from worship. Amen


Hobbling away now...... Cx :-)

Hello all

A dry and sunny day here for Ash Wednesday, a good start to the beginning of Lent.

The act of placing an ash cross on the forehead of Christians is known as a mark of humility and repentance. Taking part in this special service marks the beginning of Lent.

This is a time to think about the 40 days and nights that Jesus spent in the wilderness and was tempted by the Devil. Jesus used this time to pray and prepare for His Ministry.The start of Lent is an opportunity to focus becoming a better person

Many people will give up or take on different things during the season of Lent.

I have chosen to begin a 40 day personal spiritual journey by reading a challenging book called The Purpose Driven Life, written by Rick Warren ...... wish me luck!

Thinking about those who are feeling depressed or lonely today. xxx

Good morning :-)


I had a meeting yesterday morning and ran a little bit late. When I got home, I threw flour, eggs and milk into a bowl, whipped it briefly and hurled them into a frying pan. Didn't measure anything.........the pancakes were great! :-D


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 on the forehead with a cross of ashes as a symbol of death and sorrow for sin.

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

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. The worshippers leave with the mark still on their forehead so that they carry the sign of the cross out into the world.

The ashes are made by burning palm crosses from the previous Palm Sunday.

The sign of the cross on the forehead reminds each churchgoer that:

• Death comes to everyone

• They should be sad for their sins

• They must change themselves for the better

• God made the first human being by breathing life into dust, and without God, human beings are nothing more than dust and ashes

• The cross is a reminder of the mark of the cross made at baptism

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 :-)

Hello all

Especially for Cynthia, (for Shrove Tuesday/Pancake Day).

"Mix a pancake
Stir a pancake
Pop it in a pan.

Fry a pancake
Toss a pancake
Catch it if you can"... I hope you managed to catch all your tossed pancakes!

Remembering all who are missing loved ones today. xxx

Good morning :-)


It’s Shrove Tuesday and I absolutely love pancakes!
Let’s take a look at the religious significance behind today….

Firstly, it's a day of penitence, to clean the soul, and a day of celebration as the last chance to feast before Lent begins. Today is also called Pancake Day and pancakes themselves have deeply religious roots.

Shrove Tuesday gets its name from the ritual of shriving that Christians used to undergo in the past. In shriving, a person confesses their sins and receives absolution for them.

Lent is a time of abstinence, of giving things up. So Shrove Tuesday is the last chance to indulge yourself, and to use up the foods that aren't allowed in Lent.

Giving up foods: but not wasting them
During Lent there are many foods that some Christians - historically and today - would not eat: foods such as meat and fish, fats, eggs, and milky foods.

So that no food was wasted, families would have a feast on the shriving Tuesday, and eat up all the foods that wouldn't last the forty days of Lent without going off.

The need to eat up the fats gave rise to the French name Mardi Gras ('fat Tuesday'). Pancakes became associated with Shrove Tuesday as they were a dish that could use up all the eggs, fats and milk in the house with just the addition of flour.

Lord, I know that when I turn to you there is no need for words.
You can see into my heart.
You know my desires and you know my needs.
I place myself into your hands.



Cx :-)

Hello all

How nice for your husband to make it to church with you Cynthia and have hugs too.

Your church family will be busy marking the 150th anniversary...... how wonderful.

Lent is very early. Over past years I have given up various things and then decided instead of giving up anything that I would try to do something extra during Lent.
I often used to visit the elderly who no longer were able to come along to church, or I would help out at the Tuesday afternoon children's church group and other activities.
As the years have passed, sadly we have become the elderly who no longer attend church and so my thoughts for this Lent is to make the time to read one of the many Christian books that have gathered dust for far too long.

As my husband's sole Carer, I am not sure how I will find the extra time, but I will definitely give it my best shot!

"Start by doing what is necessary, then do what is possible,
and suddenly you are doing the impossible". (St. Francis of Assisi).

Remembering all people suffering physical and emotional pain today. xxx

Good morning :-)

OH made it to church again, and is still much hugged and kissed..........hmmmm ;-)

Our church celebrates its 150th anniversary this year and, although some things are planned, we still need to keep our thinking caps on.

Lent is almost upon us and so a question for each one of us.....

WHAT SHOULD I GIVE UP FOR LENT?

Lent is the perfect time to form new life-giving habits and abandon old self-destructive habits. But most of us just give up chocolate. Then, when Easter arrives, we realize we really haven’t grown spiritually since the beginning of Lent.

Lent is not just about giving things up, like chocolate. Lent is about doing something—something bold to become a better person.

What is God inviting me to change this Lent? How do I know what God might be stirring in me? I begin by listening to the movements in my heart. Where am I feeling uncomfortable with the choices I am making? With the things I have done? With the habitual ways I respond?

The Lord will be speaking to me in those small nagging moments of discomfort in my heart.

Lord, God, my Creator,
Be close to me now.
My soul yearns for your presence.


Cx :-)

Hello all

No idea why we seem to have personal names for the storms around now???

Aww, thanks for the hug Vera, and I pass it back as your family are going through a challenging time.My Mum used to say "It is always darkest before the day dawns".
I pray that your son and daughter will find a way through their troubles before long.

I have spoken to David today. He told me that he was trying to be brave and I said he had no need, when he has been brave for so many years caring for Sheila. They have no children only a niece, staff nurse who has helped them both for years.

"Never let the dark times in your life, tempt you to lose hope.
Remember that it is always darkest before the dawn". (Thomas Fuller.)

Thinking of all in need of prayerful support right now. xxx

Good morning :-)


I see that yet another storm is due.....'Imogen'. At this rate, we will be through to 'Zara' or 'Zac' before we reach Easter! :-D


Praying that there is soon light at the end of the tunnel for your son Vera <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 reading for today, tells of when Jesus went up the mountain to pray with Peter, John and James and where Moses and Elijah are seen speaking to him. A voice from heaven is heard…”This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him”. It concludes with Jesus healing a young boy of an unclean spirit.



Cx :-)

C and K - thank you again for all your regular posts. You never let us down and it is appreciated.

My children both have very difficult lives at the moment and my son is going through a particularly grim time, so I was really pleased that he and his partner had the opportunity to fly to Edinburgh today to go to the Scotland-England rugby match at Murrayfield. Even in the darkest times something always comes up to add a gleam of light.

My thoughts tonight are for all who are struggling with problems in their lives. May they be helped to find the solution that is right for them.

EDIT. Kandj, my apologies for not sending condolences on the loss of your friend Sheila. She is out of pain and at peace now. Thinking of her husband and family as they come to terms with their loss and sending you a cyber hug
<3