General Chat

No matter how steep the mountain
The Lord is going to climb it with you.

HSR

I also hope things will be better for you next week Cynthia. <3

Hello all

Here's hoping next week will be a better one in your home Cynthia.

Remembering our Scottish friends for Burns Night and especially thinking of Emma.
I hope she can find time to celebrate along with all the house moving plans.

Good morning :-)

It's been a difficult week what with one thing and another and I am having to adjust to a slightly different scenario - getting there slowly! :-D

So much bad news in the world David....there is also some good news though - a funny old world at times!

From Everyday Faith

READING
“And they brought the boy to Jesus. When the spirit saw him, immediately it threw the boy into convulsions, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the father, ‘How long has this been happening to him?’ And he said, ‘From childhood. It has often cast him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but if you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us.’ ”
Mark 9.20–22

Sometimes we think that things will never change – the bad things will stay bad and the good things stay good.

Take Denise. Denise works in an office where the atmosphere had always been backbitey, petty, acidic. Tough in a big organization, worse in a small office. Denise wondered if it could ever change. She prayed. And then, because she often got in before anyone else, she decided to play worship music and sing and pray.
To pray is to kindle hope. It had seemed impossible but, slowly, the atmosphere in the office changed, relationships improved, things got better.

In today’s reading, when the boy’s father says to Jesus, “If you are able to do anything ...” Jesus replies, “If you are able! – All things can be done for the one who believes.” The boy’s father responds, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

We are told that we only need to have faith as big as a mustard seed, which is pretty tiny. Our hope lies not in how big our faith is but how big God is.


Cx :-)

Hello and good morning to you all :-) <3 I'm hoping you are well.

Saw on TV there vast swarms of locusts in Africa eating what food is available.

These can eat their own weight in food every day.

Further east near Istanbul an earthquake has killed 30 and buried hundreds.

The after shocks can be felt in Syria, Lebanon and Lybia. Maybe a sign of

the times ? Respiratory diseases killing many in China. Volcano in Philippines :-0

No need to apologise Cynthia. I hope your OH is having some better days. Thinking of you and all those who care for people with long term problems <3

Good afternoon and apologies for late arrival! :-)


From Everyday Faith

How far ahead do we see when we think about the future? Some will see years, others just a year or two.

In today’s reading, the prayer that the people of Bethlehem pray for Ruth and Boaz is a prayer that the impact of their lives would continue for generations. The prayer is answered. Ruth and Boaz become the great-grandparents of the great King David. And so in turn the direct ancestors of Jesus. God answered their prayer but no one who prayed that prayer would have lived to see David crowned.

This encourages us to pray across the generations – for the great grandchildren we will never see – for the eradication of disease – for the coming of God’s Kingdom.


“Then all the people who were at the gate, along with the elders, said to Boaz, ‘We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel … through the children that the Lord will give you by this young woman, may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.’ ”
Ruth 4.11–12

Cx :-)

Hello all

I hope everyone is as well as can be, I'm thinking especially of Cynthia and her husband today.

Love to you and OH, Cyn xxx


As regards the church being long-winded ..... the Anglican church OH goes to is in the process of finding a new vicar.

they're into the second year of "discussions" :-|

Good morning :-)

From Everyday Faith


When we are under pressure and anxious, where do we turn?

There are those who, when the going gets tough, turn to prayer. There are those, like Jehoshaphat in the bible, who are so fearful that they don’t think to cry out to God.

We all face challenges of one type or another and we all encounter people in crisis – we can’t predict when a crisis will happen so we can’t necessarily prepare, but there is always hope.

Life is full of dilemmas and disasters but we need to remember to cry out to God, the one who sees all and knows all – the one who gives us hope.

Lord, as we face the challenges and crisis in our everyday lives, help us to remember that you are always there. Amen.


Cx :-)

Thoughts to you and OH Cynthia and hope this
is a good day, God Bless <3

Good morning :-)

Thanks David - much appreciated.

From Everyday Faith

“The Lord God planted a garden in Eden … and there he put the man whom he had formed … The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.”
Genesis 2.8, 15


Yesterday we looked at hope, but what about hopelessness? This can come in many forms – grief, betrayal, the despair that things will never improve. Maybe the sense of the things we do each day – work, housework etc., don’t matter to God and, if they don’t matter, am I wasting my time?

We should remember that work is a big part of what God created us to do. His work of creation in Genesis produces order, provides food, generates joy, creates beauty, gives people the opportunity to work with his creation for his glory and the benefit of others. Similarly, our daily work is intended to imitate God’s in contributing to making our bit of the world more like the way God would like it to be. For God’s glory.

So, doing the washing, prevents disease, gives us and our families clean clothes to wear. Vacuuming and dusting keep our homes clean and healthy; repair work keeps our homes safe and comfortable. All these things are not hopeless but are utterly in line with God’s purposes. Our work matters to God – even feeding the dog!


Cx :-)

Good morning :-D <3

Cynthia I'm ever so sorry, truly. Makes my problem nothing in comparison.

Sincere best wishes.

Good morning :-)

Thank you for you lovely comments.....most of you know that my OH has Parkinson's and now vascular dementia - things aren't going to improve sadly, we simply take each day as it comes and live in faith. We have good days and we have not so good days - such is life. :-D <3

From Everyday Faith

Hope in the Bible isn’t wishful thinking. It tells us that that there is the certainty that we have a new heaven and a new earth to look forward to. The certainty of such a glorious future put the present into perspective.

Jesus’ first miracle at the wedding in Cana, where he turns water into wine shows both a generous gift of 900 bottles of wine and a foretaste of the great wedding banquet of Christ and his bride, the Church (a loving relationship between Christ and His people)

The wine Jesus made was better than what had been served before, leading to the fact that if we live with Him, eternity will be better than anything we have ever experienced before. The hope alive in us is a pointer to the people in our everyday lives.

Lord, we live in hope, we pray in hope – help us to share this hope with others. Amen.

READING
"The mother of Jesus said to him, 'They have no wine.' … Jesus said to the servants, 'Fill the jars with water' … When the steward tasted the water that had become wine … he called the bridegroom and said to him, 'Everyone serves the good wine first … But you have kept the good wine until now.'"
John 2.3, 7, 9–10


Cx :-)

Hello all

I agree fully with Vera and Emma that your husband's needs must come first and I hope that he feels better soon.

Thank you Cynthia for all your daily postings, do look after things at home before coming on here.

Cynthia, I echo Emma’s thanks and, as she says, your priority is to look after your husband. You do so much for others but you mustn’t forget to take care of yourself too. I hope your OH starts to improve soon. Keeping you both in my thoughts and sending a gentle (((((hug)))))

Cynthia thank you again for the prayers and readings.

I hope your OH improves, your priority is looking after
him.

My thoughts and prayers to you both <3

Good morning :-)

Belated good morning to you too David.

Another Sunday - they come round rather quickly don't they? My OH is rather poorly at the moment, so if I go missing ………...that's where I will be.



The Collect (special prayer) for today:

Almighty God,
in Christ you make all things new:
transform the poverty of our nature by the riches of your grace,
and in the renewal of our lives
make known your heavenly glory;
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.

The gospel reading is taken from where John the Baptist gives his testimony about not being the messiah and we have the famous statement ‘I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness’.


Cx :-)

Hello, good morning to you all :-D <3 <3

Good morning :-)



From Everyday Faith

Travelling on public transport can have its advantages and not just if it is concessionary! Being able to travel to new or familiar places is interesting and there are always opportunities to chat to other people.

We can turn these journeys into an adventure – taking God with us. We can exchange a greeting or a smile with others and there is always an openness to talk.
Sometimes we can forget that God is active in the everyday lives of other people and we never know where a conversation may take us.

This can happen on any transport or places where others are living and working. We need to nudge ourselves to take the journey with the Holy Spirit as our guide.

Lord, help us to remember to travel with you through on our journey through our everyday lives. Amen.

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.”
John 16.13


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

Thanks everyone - what a lovely thing to remember Vera <3

Glad the posts are going down okay - the C. of E. can be a bit long-winded at times and I have abbreviated them somewhat. :-D


There is a story of a police officer who was part of a church. She had had a really hard week as part of a team investigating a particularly awful crime. She was pleased to have fellow Christians with which to share how this experience of sin – very real sin – had not only affected the victims of this crime, but her as well. Taking a stand against the wrongs in the world is tough going – even if we are not faced with situations as difficult as this.

When we live faithfully, our trust is that God is in control. Jesus defeated sin when he died on the cross and he sent the Holy Spirit to be our help in difficult times. Following Christ in everyday life involves taking a stand towards making a better world – as God would have it be. Christian writer John Pritchard suggests this will involve “constantly turning our lives towards God as a sunflower constantly turns its face to the sun”.

What has God been showing you recently about how he is working through you? Why not share this with a friend or group. Why not ask them what they think as well.

Father, help me to be brave enough to take a stand against the evil in this world – even in some small way. Amen.


READING
“The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour… to provide for those who mourn in Zion – to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning.”
Isaiah 61.1–3



Cx :-)