General Chat

Good morning, and how appropriate those words were kandj - thank you.


John, you had me singing those words this morning - haven't sung them for ages come to think of it. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.....what a lovely way to start the day. Thank you.

Talking of praise - the following is quite apt :


The most magnificent cathedrals,
That I've been blest to see,
Have filled me with great wonderment,
And deep humility.
These magnificent cathedrals,
Stand tall on hallowed ground,
Structures of great magnitude,
Indestructible and sound.

Built majestically and grand,
By the Master Architect,
Who had a holy place in mind,
When He put His plans into effect.
These magnificent cathedrals,
Have solid rocks for walls,
No stained glass windows or no panes,
But wide open over all.

The colors and the hues displayed,
Not mixed by ordinary man,
So vivid and intense are they,
They're surely from the Master's hand.

God's fresh air, most welcome there,
His favorite kind of incense,
Mixed with the scent of growing things,
All part of the magnificence.
These magnificent cathedrals,
Have spires that touch the sky,
Pure white at their very tops,
Because they rise so high.

Music for the Father's hymns,
From the finest instruments.
Breezes blowing through the trees,
Bird songs, sweet accompaniments,
These magnificent cathedrals,
Greet birds and beasts and men, alike,
To worship in sweet harmony,
At their Creator's pure delight.

These cathedrals are God's mountains,
Whose great magnificence
Reminds naive mankind,
Of men's insignificance.
I can't see a mountain from afar,
Nor climb up to its peak,
Without feeling I have come upon
A sacred place, unique.

I can't inhale fresh mountain air,
That is crisp and clean and clear,
Without thinking it's the perfume,
Of heaven's atmosphere.
I can't appreciate the mountains,
With their tints and tones and shades,
Without praising God and thanking Him
For each cathedral made.

~ Virginia Ellis ~



Enjoy your day......... Cx :-)

God will help
He plants dreams inside,
But you decide.

Thanks so much kandj

Have started following a programme on Channel 584 DAYSTAR called "The Jewish Jesus" which is shown at 4.30am every Friday morning. It is wonderful. Rabbi Schneider is explaining the Song of Solomon in terms of Jesus. So often we find glimpses of Jesus in teh Old Testament, but it is for many like "looking though a glass darkly" - like my mum once driving through the Mersey Tunnel on a sunny day and saying how very dark it was. Then she took her sunglasses off ;-)

This week Rabbi Schneider was explaining Song of Solomon Chapter 6 and first 3 verses which conclude:
"I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine; he feedeth among the lilies."

The church of Christ, he suggests, is the Shulamite bride. And he also suggests we are the lilies in the garden that the Lord is nurturing.

Shalom. Amen. :-)

Another version which I think is interesting and worth sharing.

It's up to you-
What you do
Dreams come true
but it's up to you.

God will help
He plants dreams inside,
But you decide.

Work as if
It's up to you
That's the clue.

You get what you earn
You get what you learn
It's up to you.

Enjoy the journey
Success isn't just money
It's up to you.

(Harlan Simantel).

Thankyou for those lovely thoughts this morning, Cynthia. I will offer these words of Thomas Ken (1637-1711):

Forgive me, Lord, for thy dear Son,
The ill that I this day have done,
That with the world, myself, and thee,
I, ere I sleep, at peace may be.

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow:
Praise him, all creatures here below:
Praise him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost

Good morning everyone.... :-)


Just a reminder that each and everyone of us can make a difference :



IT'S UP TO YOU

One song can spark a moment,
One flower can wake the dream.
One tree can start a forest,
One bird can herald spring.

One smile begins a friendship,
One handclasp lifts a soul.
One star can guide a ship at sea,
One word can frame the goal.

One vote can change a nation,
One sunbeam lights a room,
One candle wipes out darkness
One laugh will conquer gloom.

One step must start each journey,
One word must start each prayer.
One hope will raise our spirits,
One touch can show you care.

One voice can speak with wisdom,
One heart can know what’s true,
One life can make the difference,
You see, IT’S UP TO YOU!

I just love the Virginia Ellis words Cynthia. Thank you.

Good morning :-)


A few words for today:


God's Gift

One day when God felt generous,
He looked down at me and smiled,
"Since I feel so magnanimous,
I'd like to give you something, child."

He asked me what I wanted,
I said, "Oh, really nothing more,
You've done so much already."
He said, "That's what God is for."

"You have been pretty good," He said,
I know there's not much that you seek,
I will pick a little something,
Just to make your life complete."

With great anticipation,
I looked forward to my gift;
I wondered what God had in mind,
That would give me such a lift.

This gift," God said, "You realize,
Bears some responsibility;
So, if you accept my present,
You must be willing to agree..."

"To offer unconditionally,
A section or a part,
Of more than half of you,
The larger portion of your heart."

"Okay, God," I answered,
"Since in You, I always trust,
I'll meet your obligation,
In the manner that I must."

To myself, I thought, wow, what a gift,
For so much of me, God's asked,
Now what could be so valuable,
That my share was more than half?

With both hands I sought my gift,
I still did not have a clue,
Then God put your hand in mine,
And said His gift to me was YOU!

~ Virginia Ellis ~


I hope you all have a happy and peaceful day.... :-)

New every morning is the love
Our wakening and uprising prove;
Through sleep and darkness safely brought,
Restored to life, and power, and thought.

Old friends, old scenes, will lovelier be,
As more of heaven in each we see;
Some softening gleam of love and prayer
Shall dawn on every cross and care.

(John Keble 1792-1866) :-)

That is a simple and understandable way of thinking of the Bible, Cynthia. We believe that was God's plan from the beginning. And you just could not make it up.

Chapter 11 of Hebrews is another interesting precis.

As is Chapter 1 of Matthew (the one we all hate reading with all the names). But each of those people - King Solomon, and Asa and Joram and Amon - were individuals who made Joseph who he was. And Joseph passed on that long tradition to his son.

No, Jesus was not biologically the son of Joseph and was the begotten Son of God, not created like we were, like his brothers and sisters were. He was of the mystical priestly line of Melchisadec. But Joseph was his earthly father in every way possible, and no one could possibly have had a better father.

I like to think that Joseph was one of those Paul would have mentioned in his long list of saints in Chapter 11. Paul concludes:

"And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect"

That passage of scripture is so powerful. The idea that these saints who died before Jesus and never saw his resurrection or the exceptional power of the Holy Spirit at the following Feast of Pentecost in Jerusalem, are incomplete till we have died.

Our salvation, our sanctification, our perfection one day, will make Joseph and Moses and King David and the harlot Rahab perfect. They actually await you.

Good morning :-)

There are so many different ways of praying and each way is a personal way.

There are many different translations/versions of the bible and each has it's own personal appeal.

There are many different ways of explaining the faith and each has it's own personal attraction.

So many 'differences' but all, hopefully, leading to the same truths.

I found the following. It is unusual but interesting and, possibly, the shortest explanation of the faith that I have ever seen!! :-)


The Bible In Fifty Words.

God made
Adam bit
Noah arked
Abraham split
Joseph ruled
Jacob fooled
Bush talked
Moses balked
Pharaoh plagued
People walked
Sea divided
Tablets guided
Promise landed
Saul freaked
David peeked
Prophets warned
Jesus born
God walked
Love talked
Anger crucified
Hope died
Love rose
Spirit flamed
Word spread
God remained.

- Unknown



Have a happy day. Cx :-)

There seems an increasing interest in remembering those who fell in WW1 and WW2 in particular. It was an important part of my childhood. Yet I thought these heroes would be remembered the same as our own families. Hardly anyone visits graves now of those who died before 1950, yet these men (and some women) are remembered more and more , it seems.

Both my grandfathers lost a brother in action. My grandfathers went to their graves in 1946 and 1953 and, now their widows and children have all joined them, few if any flowers are put on their graves now. We all do our best to keep their memories alive through family history. But with my two great uncles who fell in WW1 it is different. They were part of history, they lie in beautifully maintained foreign burial grounds with their comrades. We now have the wills they wrote, their details when they enlisted, where they fought, how and where they died.

We can cry for 18 year olds who hardly had any life, yet lived what they had to the full. And how lovely to see our children and our grandchildren wanting to understand, wanting to cry with us, wanting to visit the battlegrounds and war cemeteries, wanting to give money to fund the Haig poppy charity which does so much good.

Laurence Binyon wrote:

"Age shall not weary them"

and concludes:

"They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam"

Counting blessings every day.

We are really very fortunate Cynthia,
thank you for Helen S Rice words. <3

Good morning........ :-)



Some words for today and, bearing in mind the tragedy in the Philippines, the horrific loss of life and the great need for food and water, I think these words are quite apt.



Count your gains - not your losses

As we travel down life’s busy road
Complaining of our heavy load,
We often think God’s been unfair
And gave us much more than our share
Of little daily irritations
And disappointing tribulations.
We’re discontented with our lot
And all the “bad breaks” that we got;
We count our losses ... not our gain,
And remember only tears and pain.
The good things we forget completely
When God looked down and blessed us sweetly.

Our troubles fill our every thought,
We dwell upon the goals we sought;
And wrapped up in our own despair,
We have no time to see or share
Another’s load that far outweighs
Our little problems and dismays.

And so we walk with heads held low,
And little do we guess or know
That someone near us on life’s street
Is burdened deeply with defeat.

And if we’d but forget our care
And stop in sympathy to share,
The burden that our brother carried,
Our minds and hearts would be less harried;
And we would feel our load was small,
In fact, we carried no load at all.

~ Helen Steiner Rice ~


Cx :-)

Such moving words Cynthia..... thank you.

Thank you Cynthia <3

beautiful verses Cynthia - thank you <3

Good morning. My experience was just the same and it would have been the same in many places all over the world. I always find it moving to see how many people come to stand in the cold to pay their respects so silently and with respect. The crowd where I was, seemed to get bigger and bigger as time went on and the traffic was kept well away.


A few thoughts for Armistice Day:


When you go home tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow we gave our today.

++++++++

I believe in the sun,
even when it does not shine.
I believe in love,
even when I cannot feel it.
I believe in God,
even when he is silent.

Prayer scratched on the wall of a prison cell in Cologne during the Second World War

++++++++

Went the day well?
We died and never knew.
But, well or ill,
Freedom, we died for you.

++++++++

In Flanders Fields
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army
In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.


Cx

sounds very much like our ceremony - the band played as it progressed from the church through the village to the cenotaph - wreaths were laid by many local organisations, the army, navy and air force, scouts, girl guides, boys brigade, nurses from local hospitals A service by our vicar at the cenotaph and two minutes silence at 11:00 am, then procession back to the church for a service of remembrance and then representatives from the various organisations laid poppy wreaths on all the military graves in the churchyard

I attended the village Remembrance Sunday service in a packed-out church (rare occasion) and went along to the lychgate memorial reading out names of the men and women who had died in WW1/WW2 and the laying of poppy wreaths from many local organizations.

The occasion was sombre and reflective and I felt privileged to be there. The brass band (ex colliery band) played in church and processed through the village streets which made me think back to my younger childhood days. The weather was dry but quite chilly. There were many village folk, young and young at heart which made this an extra special Sunday..