General Chat

Many thanks for that Sylvia - highs and lows as we end 2013. Terrible news about sil - may we just pray she and your whole family know the presence of God at this time.

What I loved yesterday was switching on the telly and seeing those fireworks in New Zealand, Australia and Hong Kong. Then Moscow. Then London finally at the CORRECT time (Cardiff Mean Time).

They had taste bubbles and flakes (banana flakes, raspberry bubbles) floating down in London so the celebrations were sight, sound and taste. Bit like a noisy communion, I thought.

And then we sleep and wake up to celebrations in Canada.

The sun never sets on Christian worship. As the sun goes down on one congregation, the sun rises on another :-)

Hi everyone

I noticed that the church across the street from our house, a Baptist one, which has 3 different churches sharing the space, with successive services on a normal Sunday .................. only had 1 church meeting on Sunday. The Filipeno church met as usual. The Canadian and the Chinese congregations had apparently decided not to meet.



it's not even 9 pm here ................... we're the last of the lot to celebrate New Year, I think! :-)


we went from the high to the low this morning

9 am ............... hear the news that a very close friend has been made an Officer of the Order of Canada :-D :-D (OH did have a hand in this, but you don't hear whether it has been successful or not until "the" day :-) )


10:45 am ......... phone call to say that OH's sister has been taken into hospital, prognosis maybe a week ......... 3 days and 2 weeks are the extremes. :-( :-(

It seems she hung on for Christmas, and her children and grandchildren all being there. She did manage to make it to Christmas Eve service in that church I mentioned earlier.


OH wanted to spend New Year here, with me, so we have him on a plane up there on Thursday morning, returning next Monday. I'm staying here.

I will go up for the Memorial.



I sure hope that 2014 is a better year.



I wish you all a very Happy New Year, and the hope that we have peace, prosperity, and happiness



s
xx

Wishing all my friends on here a very happy, healthy and peaceful New Year. Sending all my love. God bless you all...... <3 <3

What a lovely post this morning, Cynthia. Yes, I have loved this thread. It has really lifted me when I have been down, and thank all of you - those who come on and contribute, those of different religions to mine like Judaism and Islam. It has always been a word in season.

I remember hearing a sermon by Martyn Lloyd Jones delivered at Westminster Chapel to the usual 1,500 congregation on New Years Day after we had extricated ourselves from the Suez crisis (now known as East of Eden. 1956 or 57, I suppose.

His text was Ecclesiastes (The Preacher). Chapter 1, verse 9:

"The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done; and there is no new thing under the sun."

His theme was that politics was about change, and Christianity was unchanging certainty. We want to really believe each year that our lives will change for the better by putting our trust in Cameron, Miliband, Clegg and Forage - or Carwyn Jones and Leanne Wood in Wales. The world wants constant change - for what reason? Meanwhile, we quietly plod along trying to do our best to secure souls for a more permanent, certain and blissful future in the loving arms of Jesus. :-)

New Year's Eve! And so we come to the end of another year - a year which seems to have flown by. We have all had our joys and our sorrows; our ups and our downs; our laughter and our tears.

We have gathered a few new friends on this little thread, some of whom share their thoughts with us, whilst others prefer simply to stop by and read.

We have shared news, exchanged views and had the odd slight altercation, but there has been a true spirit of friendliness.

I hope that over the last year, there have been words and prayers which have been not only helpful, but thought provoking too. I pray that people have been welcomed, comforted, enlightened and encouraged as they continue or even begin, their spiritual journey.

I thought I would use a very traditional prayer for today :


God Knows


And 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.”
So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night.
And He led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East.

So heart be still:
What need our little life
Our human life to know,
If God hath comprehension?
In all the dizzy strife
Of things both high and low,
God hideth His intention.

God knows. His will
Is best. The stretch of years
Which wind ahead, so dim
To our imperfect vision,
Are clear to God. Our fears
Are premature; In Him,
All time hath full provision.

Then rest: until
God moves to lift the veil
From our impatient eyes,
When, as the sweeter features
Of Life’s stern face we hail,
Fair beyond all surmise
God’s thought around His creatures
Our mind shall fill.

- Minnie Louise Haskins.


A peaceful New Year's Eve to you all.....Cx :-)

Good morning everyone :-)

John, I know what you mean about services being cancelled. It's probably due to the fact that many folk are either away or too tired to do very much on New Year's Day. A lot of C. of E. midweek services are cancelled at this time of year because the clergy are having a break after all the work of Christmas services.

We duly amalgamated our two services yesterday, and I was pleasantly surprised at how many folk actually turned up. :-) It was also interesting to see how many people kept popping their heads round the doors because they hadn't realised the time had changed! The looks of surprise on their faces was quite funny :-)

A favourite writer for today's prayer :



Thank You, God, For Everything

Thank you, God, for everything,
The big things and the small.
For "every good gift comes from God"...
The giver of them all.
And all too often we accept, without any thanks or praise,
The gifts God sends as blessings, each day in many ways.
And so at this Thanksgiving Time, we offer up a prayer...
To thank you, God, for giving us a lot more than our share.

First, thank you for the little things
That often come our way,
The things we take for granted
But don't mention when we pray,
The unexpected courtesy, the thoughtful, kindly deed,
A hand reached out to help us in the time of sudden need.
Oh, make us more aware, dear God, of little daily graces
That come to us with "sweet surprise"
From never-dreamed-of places.

Then, thank you for the "Miracles"
We are much too blind to see,
And give us new awareness of our many gifts from Thee,
And help us to remember that the Key of Life and Living
Is to make each prayer a Prayer of Thanks
And every day Thanksgiving

- Helen Steiner Rice



I hope everyone has a happy and peaceful day. Cx. :-)

Bliadhna mhath ur 2014 a blwyddyn newydd dda eto. Celtic greetings - and I see they beat Inverness Cally 1-0. :-D

We had a carol service today. Don't ask. But it was what is called "own arrangement" and we just happen to all like carols. And we had 5 candles too, cos we had no service Christmas Day.

What surprised me was that midweek was cancelled. It was cancelled last Wednesday and I suppose that was expected. But why do we need to cancel a midweek prayer meeting because it is New Years Day? Am I missing something? Are there days of the year when we should not have prayer meetings?

Churches will never meet the spiritual needs in their areas if they do not pray a lot. Think I will try and subtly move prayer forward a bit in my church so it goes from being in the relegation zone into at least the top half of the table.

I would like to add a blessing for all.......

As the New Year begins, let us pray,
that it will be a year with new peace,
new happiness, and abundance of new friends,
God bless you through out the New Year.

Bliadhna mhath ur 2014..........Happy New Year 2014

Emma :-)

Good morning everyone - it's lovely to see Emma back with us again. You've been missed Emma and I hope you are feeling much better. <3



Only one service at church today because of the holiday season, so it's an hour earlier for us.........zzzzzzzz Many clergy tend to take this Sunday as part of their holiday entitlement as they have been so busy over the Christmas period. Thank heaven's for the retired clergy......... :-)

I am reading the epistle today and it's one of those where, if you don't get the expression right, it sounds a bit gobbley-gook - if you know what I mean. I'd better make sure I take my specs with me .... :-S


The Collect for today :

God in Trinity,
eternal unity of perfect love:
gather the nations to be one family,
and draw us into your holy life
through the birth of Emmanuel,
our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.

Have a good and peaceful day everyone.... Cx :-)

Thank you John and a happy and healthy New Year to you and your family. :-)

Emma :-)

Just had a good read through and many thanks Cynthia for those daily morning posts to fill us with lovely thoughts. I feel sure it was not quite as lonely a vigil as you thought.

Did very little over Christmas. Weather had been pretty atrocious down in Valleys apart from Christmas Day itself when the sun lit up the Beacons in the distance and the local hills too. You felt this really was God's country. Travelled up the Wye valley past Ross on Wye one day and it was lake after lake when we should have seen fields. I cannot imagine what it was like to be flooded out - have no power over the festive season - or no company - or no proper food.

Now 2014 beckons. As a young boy, never thought I would see the year 2000. I would be 54, and that seemed so incredibly old. The idea I would still be around in 2014 was just beyond, yet here I am and still have almost everything working (sort of). So a lot to be happy about, but nothing compares to being in the arms of the Lord and feeling really safe whatever slings and arrows of outrageous fortune wing my way.

So may I wish you all a very happy and blessed New Year. Pob bendith a blwyddyn newydd dda iawn pawb.
:-D :-D

Good morning......it's a lonely little thread this week, but I understand that many are busy or away. :-)

There may be some of our friends who are affected by the stormy weather which has swept across the country over the last few days. It must be dreadful to be flooded and without electricity for so long, and our hearts go out to those who are suffering from the aftermath of the storms. Hopefully, the power will soon be restored, but dealing with the flood water damage is going to be so heartbreaking for folk.


Some words to think about :


The Work of Christmas

When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and the princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flocks,
The work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among brothers,
To make music in the heart.


- Howard Thurman



Cx :-)

Good morning everyone on this very blustery morning.......I do hope you are all well.


Just a few words for today:

Christmas is a time for Giving

Christmas is a season,
For gifts of every kind;
All the glittering, pretty things
That Christmas shoppers find;
Baubles, beads, and bangles
Of silver and gold.

Anything and everything
That can be bought or sold,
Is given at this season
To place beneath the tree;
For Christmas is a special time
For giving lavishly.

But there's one rare and priceless gift
That can't be sold or bought,
It's something poor or rich can give
For it's a loving thought.

And loving thoughts are something
For which no one can pay,
And only loving hearts can give
This priceless gift away.

~ Helen Steiner Rice ~


Enjoy your day - wherever you are....Cx :-)

Ooooh! Meant to say that I hope you are feeling a lot better kandj and that you enjoy your pampering.

Thank you also, to all the others who popped in over the last couple of days and to BananaNana for the links.....



:-) :-) :-) <3 <3 <3

Good morning everyone and I hope you all had a good day yesterday. :-)


After church in the morning, where the children showed off their toys to the congregation, we went over to our son's for Christmas lunch. I do so enjoy someone else doing the cooking :-D

There were 17 of us gathered around the table(s), aged from 4 to 77, so a very mixed crowd indeed. I am happy when with my family, despite the fact that we had to leave in the afternoon because of my husband's Parkinson's. He gets embarrassed when his mobility decreases during the day.

The evening was peaceful and quiet........ :-)


Today is Boxing Day and also St. Stephen's Day.....I thought I would look something out about this saint who can be overlooked by the festivities of Christmas Day.


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

Stephen is believed to have been a Greek Jew who converted to Christianity. When the number of disciples increased, there was much confusion over the distribution of alms and the serving of the poor. Stephen's trustworthy character marked him out, and he was chosen as one of the seven deacons who would perform this task.

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.

He is believed to have been initially buried in a grave to the north of Jerusalem, but this body was exhumed and moved to a new grave outside the Damascus Gate. This is where the stoning is believed to have taken place.

Stephen is the patron saint of deacons, headaches, horses, coffin makers, and masons. He is often represented carrying a pile of rocks or with rocks on his head.

St Stephen's Day is 26th December and it is name checked in the Christmas carol Good King Wenceslas.


Collect of the Day: St. Stephen, Deacon and Martyr

We give you thanks, O Lord of glory, for the example of the first martyr Stephen, who looked up to heaven and prayed for his persecutors to your Son Jesus Christ, who stands at your right hand; where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.


Cx :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sChB8_NRpNM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcE5IlUL_fo

We are off soon to be pampered and have VIP treatment by our family and won't be around until the weekend.

I hope everyone has had a happy Christmas day today and wish you very many blessings for the New Year.

Merry christmas ,Cynthiia
Dermont
and not forgetting Just John
Have a lovely day :-) :-) :-)

Amen!

Good morning and a very Happy Christmas to all friends who pop in here :-)


I thought that a prayer from a favourite writer would be apt for today.


A Christmas Prayer

Bless us, Lord, this Christmas
With quietness of mind;
Teach us to be patient
And always to be kind;
Give us reassurance
When everything goes wrong,
So our faith remains unfaltering,
Our hope and courage strong-
And show us that in quietness
We can feel your presence near,
Filling us with joy and peace
All seasons of the year.

- Helen Steiner Rice.


Wherever you are and whatever you are doing today, I pray that you will all be blessed with joy and peace this Christmas Day.


My love to you all......Cx

<3