General Chat

Joy, those thoughts are simply wonderful as kandj says, and are very fitting and comforting. Thank you. <3 <3


For today.........


The better you know God, the better you feel,
For to learn more about Him and discover He's real
can wholly, completely and miraculously change,
reshape, remake and then rearrange
your mixed-up, miserable and unhappy life
adrift on the sea of sin-sickened strife.

But when you once know this man of goodwill,
He will calm your life and say "peace be still".
So open your heart's door and let Christ come in
and He'll give you new life and free you from sin.
And there is no joy that can ever compare,
With the joy of knowing you're in God's care.



Hope everyone has a good day.......Cx :-)

Sorry I have been off line for a few days. Will have a good read through this thread tonight as I have really missed the thoughts of Cynthia and all of you. :-)

Daily life is never neat or painless, but with a faith we have meaning, mystery and special encounters that shape our relationships, ideas and hopes for each day.
On my kitchen notice board I have these words:

Life is a gift, that is why it is called The Present!

With events that surround us, we know that life is fragile and precious.
Thank you Cynthia for continuing to post each morning Your words are a great encouragement and a wonderful start to each new day.

Welcome back John, you have been missed.

Have just noticed your Vicar has died, Cynthia. What terrible news! Thanks for all you have written about him, and am sure many of us feel we knew the gentleman well.

It will be devastating for his family, for you and the congregation. Thoughts and prayers are with you all.

Edit. Many thanks, kandj :-)

Hi to all....I just wanted to share this well known verse. I expect you have all read it before but I do like it so. :-)

I said a prayer for you today
And know God must have heard
I felt the answer in my heart
Although he spoke not a word.

I didn't ask for wealth or fame
(I knew you wouldn't mind)
I asked for priceless treasures rare
Of a more lasting kind.

I prayed that He'd be near to you
At the start of each new day
To grant you health and blessings fair
And friends to share your way.

I asked for happiness for you
In all things great and small
But that you'd know His loving care
I prayed for most of all.

Lovely Susan with :-) thank you.

Thank you; you're welcome.

Susan it is a long time since I have read those words, so thank you for the reminder.

Joy, it's nice to share and support one another on this Christian thread, thanks a lot.

Good morning everyone....... :-) It has taken me almost 15 minutes to get on here today...... :-( I think my computer and internet were having a lie-in :-)


Thank you for those wonderful words Joy and Susan and, I agree with kandj, it's good to be able to share and support on this thread. <3


A prayer for today - one which has been used over centuries...




Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow;
the same everlasting Father who cares for you today
will take care of you tomorrow and every day.
Either He will shield you from suffering,
or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it.
Be at peace, then.
Put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations, and say continually:
"The Lord is my strength and my shield.
My heart has trusted in Him and I am helped.
He is not only with me but in me, and I in Him."

- St. Francis de Sales



Hope everyone has a good day Cx :-)

Certainly the death of a young(ish) and apparently healthy man at age of 58 stuns us all. My dear brother collapsed at same age on his way out to his social club. And we have recently been shocked by sudden death of Sandie on these boards.

The words of Joy were very apt. Remind me of when my son was no more than a baby and in a ward in Guy's Hospital where the children had little expectation of being alive in a few month's time. He eventually made a full recovery, which I am sure was the answer to prayer. But I don't think many in that Guy's ward would have recovered.

Yet it was a place of hope. And I remember a handwritten sign on the notice board. "God lends us children, they do not belong to us, they belong to Him. And even a few moments with them is precious and we should thank God.

I look back now over quite a long life and never feel sad about the friends and family who have gone - just happy I knew them. And continually look forward to family and friends in the future. Just as my mother in law (96) looks forward to increasing her 7 great grandchildren and 4 great great grandchildren and meeting the latest one (born last week) :-) :-)

just reading back

Scary Dermot but oh so true :-(

Good morning everyone :-)


Our 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 How 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


There are two hectic days ahead of me - I had better get going....love to all Cx

:-)

Lovely thought for the day, Cynthia. Was watching Sarah Millican last night on WDYTYA in wilds of Canada and was amazed (as she was) how remote and quiet it was. I was working in a beautiful cwm (little valley) yesterday surrounded by 17 of these huge wind turbines. So not so easy to get that peace in Wales these days.

I am in a frivolous mood this morning. Four great religious truths:

Muslims do not recognise Jews as God's chosen people.
Jews do not recognise Jesus as their Messiah.
Protestants do not recognise the Pope as leader of the Christian world.
Methodists do not recognise each other in the Tesco wines and spirits aisle. :-)

Dear All

Hello

Hope you like this small prayer for our youngsters at school.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"BLESS THIS DAY OF LEARNING"


Bless this day of learning:

this day of maths,

this day of learning science,

this day of learning games,

this day of learning crafts..........



But please also bless,

this day of learning honesty,

this day of taking responsibility,

this day of showing kindness,

this day of learning forgiveness.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Take gentle care
Best wishes
Elizabeth, EOS
xx

Good morning and thank you Elizabeth, what lovely thoughts. :-)


Today is the day of our Vicar's funeral. Last night, we had a rehearsal for what is going to be a very special service for a very special man. Your prayers would be appreciated. :-)


A prayer for today...

A Prayer for Humility

Take me and break me and make me, dear God,
Just what you want me to be–
Give me the strength to accept what You send
And eyes with the vision to see
All the small arrogant ways that I have
And the vain little things that I do.
Make me aware that I’m often concerned
More with myself than with You.
Uncover before me my weakness and greed
And help me to search deep inside
So I may discover how easy it is
To be selfishly lost in my pride–
And then in Thy goodness and mercy
Look down on this weak, erring one
And tell me that I am forgiven
For all I’ve so willfully done,
And teach me to humbly start following
The path that the dear Saviour trod
So I’ll find at the end of life’s journey
“A Home in the city of God.”


~Helen Steiner Rice



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

Cynthia. Will be thinking of you and praying with you today.

It will be a numbing blow to the community and the church fellowship and I am sure it will be a very emotional and moving day for a lot of people.

May the grace of Christ our Saviour,
And the Father's boundless love,
With the Holy Spirit's favour,
Rest upon us from above.

Thus may we abide in union
With each other and the Lord,
And possess, in sweet communion,
Joys which earth cannot afford.

(John Newton)

Cynthia my thoughts and prayers are with his wife
family and friends and yourself today.
I for one will miss your stories about him and his humour,
may he rest in peace.

Emma x

Thank you Elizabeth for such lovely words for the school children.

John, loving the John Newton words. What a truly gifted scholar he was.

Emma, I agree through the tales that Cynthia has shared about her vicar that we all feel we knew a little of the character of such a special man.

Cynthia, on such a difficult day I hope that you can feel blessed to have known your Vicar and have him and his family as special friends. I hope his funeral, although a sombre occasion will also be a celebration of his life and all that this man has achieved and the memories that he has left with each one who is present today.

My thoughts and prayers are with you and especially with his wife and daughter too. May he Rest in Peace and May Perpetual Light Shine Upon Him. Amen

Thank you so much for your prayers everyone.... <3


It has been a very tiring day indeed but the service went well from what I could tell.....I ended up in the meeting room (which is attached), serving tea to visiting clergy.

The cortege entered the church to the sound of bugles and a guard of honour from the Boys Brigade who saluted as the coffin was carried past. There were hundreds, literally hundreds of people there. The church was packed and every available space was filled. The meeting room then filled up and, when we simply couldn't take any more, people stood outside. Lots and lots and lots of them.

His daughter was one of the coffin bearers which was very poignant and she also read her own tearful tribute to 'her hero'. A close friend of his led the service and gave the address, stressing what a devoted, hardworking and committed priest he had been.

It was a Holy Communion service led by the Archdeacon and you could hear his voice breaking slightly as he had known our vicar well. We had prepared 3 altars to cope with the numbers. One of the clergy went outside and gave Communion to those who wanted it.....a lovely gesture.


Everyone thought the service went extremely well.........but what would the Vicar have thought of it...........? We all knew the answer to that......"It was average" he would have grinned. :-D



Cx :-)

Cynthia. I expect Vicar would have been amazed. We tend to use the word "Acceptable" in Methodism. And he sounds as if he was a very acceptable priest and the service was very acceptable.

I just knew you would be busy behind the scenes. It is lovely to see churches packed like that. Probably well over 1,000 in attendance if your church is a typically large Anglican church. And what a wonderful gesture for that priest to go outside to share communion. Wonderful.

In fact, I had a little tear as I read through your post. A good man has gone home, and we all wonder why he has been called so soon. I would love to hear about the readings, and the hymns at some point.

But not now. A good rest is deserved this evening methinks :-) :-)