General Chat

Hello all

How lovely to see so many postings during the past month.

LOVE makes our friends a little dearer.
JOY makes our hearts a little lighter.
FAITH makes our paths a little clearer.
HOPE makes our life a little brighter.
PEACE brings us all a little nearer.

Happy, healthy and prosperous New Year to all in 2016. xxx

Good morning :-)

It was lovely to see friends popping in on here and I wish you all, a very Happy, Blessed and Peaceful New Year. God bless you. <3


God, thank you for a new year.
May everyone in our family be willing to begin anew with a clean slate. We know that you are always ready to forgive us. Help us to be willing to forgive ourselves and to forgive one another.

As we begin a new year, remind us of our truest values and our deepest desires. Help us to live in the goodness that comes from doing what you want us to do. Help us to put aside anxiety about the future and the past, so that we might live in peace with you now, one day at a time. Amen.




Cx :-)

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year, peace and good health, too. x :-)

Hello all

It really is lovely to have folk pop in and share kind words and warm thoughts.
Many thanks to Cynthia for ongoing daily commitment to this Christian thread.
Hello also to John if you are looking in, I do hope you may be pleased by the posts.

We also will be tucked up in bed well before midnight. Gone are the days of neighbours coming around to share our meal. Gone are the days of going out with family and friends to a restaurant for New Year's Eve. No doubt we will be woken by fireworks that herald in the hour of midnight, which has happened many times.

The words of the familiar poem written by Minnie Louise Haskins
are fitting and appropriate to share with everyone tonight...............

I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year;
"Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown"
And he replied; "Go out into the darkness, and put your hand
into the hand of God. That shall be to you, better than light,
and safer than a known way"

Wishing all friends on GR, a healthy and happy New Year. xxx

I hope your daughter had a very enjoyable birthday Cynthia.

We will be having a quiet New Year's Eve and might well be in bed before midnight.

When I was very young I remember the great excitement when I was allowed to stay up and all the neighbours went out in to the street. At midnight the boats on the Thames at Greenwich, a couple of miles away, would be sounding their foghorns and it seemed a real community event. Perhaps I am wearing rose-coloured spectacles but it seemed a kinder time.

My resolution is pretty much the same each year i.e. to try to become a better person generally. I need to be more patient and kind, to hold my tongue and listen more and just be there when needed. I think I have improved over the years but I sure have a long way to go yet.

My thanks to all the regular posters and a happy, healthy and peaceful New Year to you all (that includes you John if you happen to still look in) <3

Like you Cynthia I will also be in bed :-)

Tomorrow we will have a house full with all
the family visiting to celebrate the New Year.

So for tomorrow I want to wish you all a
Happy New Year.

Good morning :-)


New Year's Eve it is. As per usual, I hope to be spending the joyous occasion.......fast asleep in bed! :-D

It's at this time of year when folk start wondering what the New Year will bring and start making resolutions.

Here are some thoughts ....

1. Resolve to stay faithful to Jesus Christ. He is the one Truth, Way and Life. There's no reason to look elsewhere.
2. Resolve to not let anything – a career, a significant other, social media, a house – become an object of worship.
3. Resolve to watch your language and not speak any destructive talk, especially involving the name of God.
4. Resolve to prevent burnout by putting aside work one day a week. Trust God to provide for your needs that day and just enjoy the time He's given you.
5. Resolve to talk to your family on a regular basis, and show them love and respect.
6. Resolve to be angry less. Channel any feelings of rage, which Jesus said are as severe as murder, into worshipping God and serving others.
7. Resolve to honour your commitment to your spouse. Whether in thought or in deed, stay pure and loyal in the union God made.
8. Resolve to not take anything that's not yours, including stuff you can hold and put in your pocket, and plenty that you can't, like music downloads and streaming movies.
9. Resolve to speak about others only with truth and love, not gossip.
10. Resolve to count your blessings.


See you next year......and thank you for the support on here. Cx :-)

Hello all

Happy Birthday wishes to your daughter Cynthia. I hope you all have a good day.

How quickly this year has gone by. We have felt blessed to keep hubby out of hospital for this Christmas. Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.

I am tempted to begin to take some of the Christmas decorations down but hubby likes the tree lights, so I will leave them for a little while longer.

In this limbo-time between Christmas and the New Year, I feel this verse in
Scripture is worthy of sharing.
"Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of peace".

Remembering all Ministers, Priests, Pastors, working and retired, who have served in bringing God's wisdom and compassion into our Communities. xxx

Good morning :-)

We are at that strange state of having Christmas behind us and the New Year ahead of us.....these words may help us to settle....


Take time to think...
It is the source of power.
Take time to play...
It is the secret of perpetual youth.
Take time to laugh...
It is the music of the soul.
Take time to pray...
It is the greatest power on Earth.


It is my daughter's birthday today so it is all systems go! <3


Remembering friends in prayer. Cx :-)

Hello all

Amen to your prayer Cynthia. It is hard to think that this is the month of December when it is so mild and the bulbs I planted out in Autumn are showing through already. Even Mother Nature seems to be very confused just now.

Our Festive Season is...........
A time of blessings and happiness.
A time of caroling and songs.
A time of giving thanks.
A time for giving presents.
A time of good cheer and friendship.
A time time of love for all.
A time for helping others.
But most of all it is a time to stop
and thank God for all that we have.

I feel so sorry for all the people whose homes are filled with river water. They must have had a dreadful Christmas and are now facing more upset in the New Year.

Heavenly Father
Hear our prayer for all who are affected by the floods
and for all who are working to bring relief in all the chaos.
Amen.

Good morning :-)

‘A lot has happened in the last week. Some have spent time travelling, maybe to the places that we grew up in to visit family and old friends. Gifts and greetings have been exchanged, carols have been sung to remind us of the birth of the Christ child. Now many are going back to work and a sense of 'normality' is beginning to be felt again in our lives.

Father God,
sometimes we forget that the Christmas story did not end in the stable but continued as Jesus grew into a man, almost unnoticed by the world apart from his appearance at the temple, his spiritual home on earth.

As we close the pages of one year and begin the next chapter of our lives may we grow in faith, in wisdom and closer to you each and every day, to your praise and glory. Amen


Love to all Cx :-)

Hello all

The Feast of the Holy Innocent, when the church remembers the small boys in the neighbourhood of Bethlehem put to death on Herod's orders.

We think of unborn and new born babies today and give thanks for the skills of the NHS doctors and nurses who care for Mums-to-be and their babies each day. xxx

Good morning :-)


Lots of special days in the Christian calendar at the moment. Hard on the heels of Christmas came St. Stephen's Day, followed by St. John's Day.

Today is Holy Innocents Day - the day we recall the biblical recount of infanticide by Herod the Great, the Roman-appointed King of the Jews. According to the Gospel of Matthew, Herod ordered the execution of all young male children in the vicinity of Bethlehem, so as to avoid the loss of his throne to a newborn King of the Jews whose birth had been announced to him by the Magi. (We will look at the Magi on 6th January). The number of infants killed is not stated. The Holy Innocents, although Jewish, have been claimed as martyrs for Christianity.


Righteous God,
your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ dwelt among us
and shared our grief and our pain.

We pray for the children of our world,
that they may grow up knowing love and security.
We pray for all children who suffer physical or mental abuse.

We pray for all communities in our world
who live with the memories of massacre and gross cruelty.

We pray for all who are corrupted by power
and who regard human life as cheap.
We pray for parents who have suffered the death of a child.

We pray for parents and guardians,
that they may be given grace to care for the children
entrusted to them.

As we celebrate the coming of the Christ-child,
we rejoice in the fellowship of the Holy Innocents
and commit the children of this community,
our nation and our world to you,
our righteous God.


Cx :-)

Hello all

Sharing an inspirational quote with all today.

Happiness keeps you sweet. Trials keep you strong.
Sorrows keep you human. Failures keep you humble, and
God keep you going.

Thinking of all those people who have been flooded out of their homes. xxx

Good morning.. :-)

Lovely to see some friends dropping by on here :-)

Today is the feast of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist

St. John the Apostle, the son of Zebedee and Salome, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. John's older brother was St. James the Great, another one of Jesus' Twelve Apostles. Jesus referred to the brothers as "Boanerges," meaning "sons of thunder."

John is believed to be the longest living apostle and the only one not to die a martyr's death.

John and Peter were the only two apostles sent by Jesus to make preparations for the final Passover meal, the Last Supper. During the meal, St. John sat next to Jesus, leaning on him rather than lying along the couches.

John was the only one of the Twelve Apostles who did not forsake the Saviour in the hour of His Passion. He stood faithfully at the cross when the Saviour made him the guardian of His Mother.

John is known as the author of the Gospel of John and four other books in the New Testament - the three Epistles of John and the Book of Revelation. In the Gospel of John, the phrase "the disciple whom Jesus loved," or "the Beloved Disciple" is used five times, but is not used in any other New Testament accounts of Jesus.

The Collect for today :

MERCIFUL Lord, we beseech thee to cast thy bright beams of light upon thy Church, that it being enlightened by the doctrine of thy blessed Apostle and Evangelist Saint John may so walk in the light of thy truth, that it may at length attain to the light of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen



Remembering those who have asked for prayer Cx :-)

I am so pleased that you were able to spend a good amount of time with your family Cynthia and that you enjoyed time with your family Kandj. We spent a very happy day with daughter, sil, and their two teenagers, plus six of sil's family. Good food and good company - what could be better?

Being blessed with a close loving family myself, my heart goes out to those whose family life is not so happy and to those who have no family. Special thoughts for them at this Christmastide.

Hello all

A very happy family day spent here yesterday. Noisy and hectic with extended family calling for Christmas Eve buffet lunch and with four hyper excited/overtired little ones (2-6yrs old) we were all worn out but blessed to see everyone and share lots of hugs.

Our daughter, son in law and two grandchildren are now in Heathrow waiting for a flight to New York, all soooo excited, they will return back home to Durham 31 Dec.

St Stephen's Day is traditionally known also as Boxing Day and the origin is not entirely clear. It is thought to have been dated back to the Middle Ages.
Some say the Boxing Day name comes from the idea of getting rid of all the boxes from Christmas Day presents. Others feel the Boxing Day name started when servants who worked Christmas Day were presented with a box of good things to take home and share with their families, the day following Christmas Day.
Another idea is that churches opened the boxes where parishioners gave donations for the poor of the parish at Christmas Day services. All ideas are very interesting.

I have lots of clearing up to do today and then a relaxing day is planned for us two.

Happy St Stephen's/Boxing Day to you all, whatever you have planned for today. xx

Good morning :-)


I do hope that everyone had a peaceful and Happy Christmas. We went to our son's and were able to spend about 4 hours with them, which was wonderful. I didn't expect to be able to be there for so long. A lovely meal and good company. <3

Our Midnight Service was up in numbers and our local RC church, which is only small, had congregations of over 500. I have been reading of a friend's former church on FB and their Christmas congregations numbered over 2,500. When you think of the large amount of churches, of all denominations in this country, it is very uplifting. And people think the faith is dying out. Ha. :-D

Today is St. Stephen's Day.................


Stephen was one of the first deacons of the Christian Church. He was the first Christian martyr.

An excellent and well trusted orator, his preaching style was so effective that many Jews became worried about his success. They accused him of blasphemy and he was made to stand trial.

At the supreme Jewish law court, the Sanhedrin, Stephen recounted the many mercies that God had given the children of Israel, and the ungrateful way in which they had repaid Him. He accused them of murdering Jesus, whose coming, he said, had been foretold by Moses. This angered the crowd and he was dragged out onto the streets. He was then stoned to death according to the law at that time, an event witnessed by St Paul. It is believed he died around the year 34CE.

St. Stephen is mentioned in the carol 'Good King Wenceslas'.


Have a relaxing day everyone.....Love, Cx :-)

Hello all HAPPY CHRISTMAS WISHES.

Jesus' birth is a sign of new hope.
May the wonder of his presence and
The thought of him being with us
Light up our hearts and minds.
Bringing us all a joyous blessing
This Christmas, and always. Amen.

May this Christmas Day bring peace and happiness to everyone. xxx

Merry Christmas to you Cynthia and kandj <3

To all who visit this thread God Bless x