General Chat

I was so sorry to hear of the death of your s-i-l and the illness of your daughter. Stay strong - you have a lot to cope with at the moment.

My thoughts are with you

Vera

I was so sorry to hear news of your sil, yet happy for her and pleased that you shared, Sylvia. My prayers for your OH and others as they gather for the funeral, and my prayers for you as you minister to your daughter at her time of need.

I opened my Bible this morning to look for a suitable reading and the first passage I glanced at was this one, where Jesus explains eternal paradise to the Jewish leaders of his day:

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death into life." (John Chapter 5 verse 24)

We will all be judged one day soon by Jesus - no one will escape that certainty. Are any of us ready yet to be judged?

Good morning everyone.


Sylvia, I am so very sorry to hear about the death of your sister-in-law. I know that you were close to her in many ways and this will come as such a loss to the whole family.

I am sending ((hugs)) and, because there is little I can say to ease the pain right now, I will just post some words which, your sister-in-law as a cleric, will have used many times before. Thinking of you......


For all who mourn......


Support us, O Lord,
all the day long of this troublous life,
until the shadows lengthen and the evening comes,
the busy world is hushed,
the fever of life is over
and our work is done.
Then, Lord, in your mercy grant us a safe lodging,
a holy rest, and peace at the last;
through Christ our Lord.

Amen.


Grant us, Lord,
the wisdom and the grace
to use aright the time
that is left to us on earth.
Lead us to repent of our sins,
the evil we have done
and the good we have not done;
and strengthen us to follow the steps of your Son,
in the way that leads to the fullness of eternal life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.


Cx

My sis-i-l died about an hour ago, very peacefully but suddenly.

They are hoping to hold the Memorial on either Friday or Saturday, but will know more tomorrow (Wednesday)

OH will get on a plane as soon as we know the timing ................. I might be going to my daughter instead


RIP Daf
xxx

thank you all for your thoughts and prayers


just an update ..............


we are in the last few days of s-i-l's life, I think

She is in no pain (well medicated), but she has not eaten for about 10 days, and is now asleep most of the time.

OH desperately wants to go to her Memorial, which will be held as soon after she dies as possible ................... but it looks as though I might not get there.


my daughter is now sick, and in hospital, so I may have to go over there.



take care everyone



s
xx

Loving the above words Cynthia,..... and sharing a hug with everyone today.

Here's a little hug for you
To make you smile, when you feel blue
To make you happy if you're sad
To let you know...... life ain't so bad!

Now I've given a hug to you,
Somehow, I feel much better too!
Hugs are better when you share,
So pass one on, and show you care!

Thinking especially of Sylvia and many others who are struggling today.

Good morning. :-)

How I so agree with you kandj.......church life is never boring! It rather sounds as though the 'honeymoon period' for your Rector has now ended. I do hope that she doesn't become too perturbed by it as it a very common occurrence. She will never be able to please everyone bless her but it is often better for everyone, if changes come gradually.

We have similar problems at the moment after the death of our incumbent. Whilst I feel that the diocese appointed a priest-in-charge too quickly, I also feel sorry for the man. He has only been ordained about 9 years and now has charge of two churches, a chapel and involved in three schools. To take on our church which is the liveliest of them all under such sad circumstances must give him a headache.

There are lots of undercurrents whilst people take on new responsibilities and they are now understanding just how much our late incumbent did, and how hard he worked.


Maybe today is a 'hug' day........ :-)



There are hugs that say I like you . . .
And I hold your friendship dear.

There are hugs that say "Good Going,"
You deserve a great big cheer!

There are hugs that say "Goodbye,"
Good luck in all that lies ahead.

There are hugs that say "I love you"
When no other words are said.

There are hugs that soothe and say to us . . .
"You're free from cares and harms."

The kind of hug we feel
When God holds us within His arms.

~ Anonymous




Cx :-)

We have Baptism services every two weeks and usually after the Sunday morning service unless the family ask for this to be included along with Holy Communion which is a rare but very special event.

Tomorrow there will be a Confirmation Group led by our new Rector, which is very exciting as it is several years since our church has held such an important meeting.

Some grumbles yesterday about the introduction on new up-beat hymns chosen by the Rector. Hey ho, church life is never boring! One minute everybody happy to have a new Rector and just 3 months later criticisms and discontent. Of course our church has to change but this isn't going to be easy when we are mostly elderly and traditionalist by nature. I think we need to be still and listen for a while.

When God speaks to us, His words bring great peace, and we know that if we follow Him, then we are placing our future in His hands.

As John Greenleaf Whittier so aptly wrote:-

Breathe through the heats of our desire, thy coolness and thy balm,
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire,
Speak through the earthquake, wind and fire,
O still small voice of calm, O still small voice of calm.

Ages since we have had a baptism in our church. Must have been last summer, and had no idea who the parents were and didn't recognise the guests either. But a lot of traditional valley people have moved away and tend to come back for christenings and make a family day of it.

My children were baptised in North Wales and we lived in Cambridge when they were born.

I was very pleased to hear that kandj and Cynthia are blessed in their churches by baptisms. At the very least, the parents and godparents are reminded of their responsibilities to the infant and everyone enters into a church and can hopefully see how ordinary and welcoming we all are.

Our service yesterday was led by a steward. She did remarkably well, I thought. Luke Chapter 2 and around verse 36 was the text and I hate to admit this - but I was totally unfamiliar with the passage. It was about a very godly 84 year old in the Temple in Jerusalem, Anna :-D :-D

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 :-)

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 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 :-)

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.

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

Amen.

Emma :-)

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 :-)

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" :-) :-)

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

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 :-) :-)

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 :-)