General Chat

Thy love shall chant itself its own beatitudes, after
it's own life working. A child-kiss, set on thy sighing
lips, shall make thee glad; a poor man, served, by thee,
shall make thee rich; a rich man, helped by thee, shall
make thee strong; thou shalt be served thyself by every
sense of service which thou renderest.

(Elizabeth Barrett Browning)

Hello all

Sounds like a very good day for you both yesterday Cynthia.Hope the test goes well.

MEEKNESS AND MAJESTY........... I just LOVE this, worthy of sharing I think.

Meekness and majesty manhood and deity
In perfect harmony the Man who is God
Lord of eternity dwell in humanity
Kneels in humility and washes our feet.

Oh what a mystery, meekness and majesty
Bow down and worship, for this is your God.
This is your God.

The village primary schoolchildren are having a (belated) picnic to celebrate
HM Queen's 90th birthday. Ongoing rain has delayed this happy event.

Praying the sun will shine and all tiny tots will have a happy day today. xxx

Good morning :-)


Had a lovely time with friends yesterday afternoon an my OH was on top form....until later... but he enjoyed the visit too.

Today we have someone from the Memory team coming so that should be interesting..



Our Beatitude for today "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

The dictionary defines the work meek as ‘Gentle, enduring injury with patience and without resentment, mild, not violent’.

Being meek is very different from being weak. To be meek is to be gentle and humble. We have to choose to be meek, and that takes great strength of character.

Meekness includes being teachable rather than headstrong, being prepared to follow rather than lead, to do things in God’s way rather than our own, to be obedient rather than self willed.


Father, we struggle with the idea of meekness. We so easily confuse it with weakness. But when we see you living as one of us in Jesus, we see clearly that meekness is nothing like weakness. Jesus was meek, he was humble, yet so strong. Help us to understand greatness and strength as you see it, and to admit that you know best. Amen.


Love Cx :-)

Hello all

Looking at the Beatitudes is sure to be interesting Cynthia. Thank you.

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
(Matthew 5:4)

Remembering all who will face a funeral tomorrow for a loved one. xxx

Good morning :-)


Looking forward to visitors later........better find that duster :-D


A look at today’s Beatitude……"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted".

First and foremost it is a statement about those who mourn because of personal sin or failure - they will be comforted by admitting those faults and asking for forgiveness.

Into this then comes those who mourn because of loss of a loved, they will be comforted by the good news of the gospel and those around them.

Lord, we often use the words "Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us". Help us to make these words real in our lives so that we may be able to reach out to comfort others. Amen.


Cx :-)

Hello all

A special day for your husband yesterday...... he would have loved that.

Blessed are the pure in heart
For they shall see our God
The secret of the Lord is theirs
Their soul is Christ's abode.

The Lord who left the sky
Our life and peace to bring;
And dwelt in lowliness with men
Their pattern and their King.

Still to the lowly soul
He doth Himself impart;
And for His cradle and His throne
Chooseth the pure in heart.

This old traditional hymn sprung into my mind immediately.

Remembering all who are in need of prayerful support tonight. xxx

Good morning :-)


A lovely service yesterday all ages......from 3 months to those in their eighties..... :-)


Our son and family popped across to see his dad and we spent a very happy couple of hours with much laughter. <3


A couple of weeks ago, the Sermon on the Mount cropped up and I said we could take a look at the Beatitudes soon……so here we go!

To be poor in spirit means an attitude of humbleness and recognizing our dependency upon God. When we are poor in spirit, we have room for God’s spirit to enter our lives.

God, help me realize how poor
I am. Poor at loving, poor at discerning,
poor in wisdom, poor at choosing
obedience, poor in generosity,
poor in seeking You. And so you
come to me. To me. Emmanuel.
With your abundance of all I need.
Thank you. Thank you.


Love, Cx :-)

Hello all

A beautiful sunny day here today. A real blessing indeed on this special Father Day.

"My father didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it."

Wise words indeed written by C.B.Kelland, and I had the very best Dad in the
whole wide world who did just that. I feel blessed and think of him not just especially today, but every single day.

Remembering all who feel sad and have no happy memories of their Fathers today.
xxx

Good morning everyone :-)

Happy Father's Day to any dads who may be looking in :-D

The Collect (special prayer) for today:

O God, the protector of all who trust in you,
without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy:
increase and multiply upon us your mercy;
that with you as our ruler and guide
we may so pass through things temporal
that we lose not our hold on things eternal;
grant this, heavenly Father,
for our Lord Jesus Christ's sake,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen


In the gospel reading, we hear the story of Jesus casting demons out of a possessed man and into a herd of swine - the pigs then drowned.

Love to all Cx :-)

Hello all and Amen to your prayer Cynthia.

How very true that is Emma.

Today I am counting my blessings and not my troubles.

Passing a smile on to all who need one today. xxx

" The Journey of a thousand miles begins
with a single step."

Lao Tzu

Good morning :-)

Its looking a bit grey here today, but the weekend lies ahead........


Heavenly Father,
Whether I am at work or at play,
sitting quietly alone or hanging out with others,
running errands or doing chores,
no matter what path I journey on with You this weekend,
May I walk in uninterrupted fellowship with You. Amen.


Love to all Cx :-)

Hello all

Today brings sadness and heartache following the horrendous death of Jo Cox.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to her husband, children, her parents and all
family, friends and work colleagues of this young woman. Taken much too soon.

To those who mourn.......... PEACE

To the despairing................HOPE

To the brokenhearted.........CONSOLATION

Praying for all who are in a dark place today. xxx

Good morning :-)

Such dreadful news from yesterday.........a young MP, wife and mother of two, killed whilst simply doing her job. So very sad.

Lord, we pray for those who have been devastated by this dreadful event.

For Jo’s family, whose lives have been forever changed by grief and loss. Bring them consolation and comfort. Surround them with our prayers for strength and give them the courage to face the days ahead.

For Jo’s friends, colleagues and constituents that they may take up challenge to continue the good work in which she was engaged.

For us, help us to respond with generosity in prayer. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.


Cx :-)

Hello all

Just very shocked hearing the news of the lady MP shot in West Yorkshire.
Words fail me. Condolences to her husband, family and friends. RIP Jo Cox.

In the blink of an eye, everything can change.
So forgive often and love with all your heart.
You never know when you may not have that chance again.

Remembering in prayer, all who are coping with the loss of a loved one. xxx

Good morning :-)


I love that old hymn......what a friend we have in Jesus indeed <3


My bruises are fading to a rather ghastly yellowy blue colour....most unbecoming. My foot/ankle is still very painful to touch but at least I can walk on it. My elbow is much better but my wrist hurts now. The good thing is.......I'm fine :-D


For today:

A touch of glory

Lord, touch our lives with your glory
that we may reach out to others.
Fill our hearts with your love
that all may see the love of Christ.
Inspire us to dare new things for you
that we may encourage those without hope,
Open our lives to your Spirit
that we may reflect your praise.



Love to all Cx :-)

What A Friend We Have In Jesus has been going round and round in my head ever since you posted it Kandj. I do like the hymn but it's become a bit of an "ear-worm"!

Indeed where would we be without our friends.

xx

Hello all

Friends..... where would we all be without friends to help us through dark times?

WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS

What a friend we have in Jesus
All our sins and grief to bear.
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer.
O what peace we often forfeit
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer.

Here is a different version of the "friends for a reason, season lifetime" theme.

Life is like a book:
Some persons are in there for a page, some are there for a chapter,
but true ones are there throughout the whole story.

Strangers are friends waiting to happen, smile and find a new friend today. xxx

Good morning :-)



As a break from thinking and praying about God Spiritual gifts to us, here is a poem I think each one of us can relate to……and especially within the family of the church.
It's funny that Vera should mention friends...................


Friendship is a priceless gift
that cannot be bought or sold,
But its value is far greater
than a mountain made of gold.
For gold is cold and lifeless,
it can neither see nor hear
And in the time of trouble
it is powerless to cheer.
It has no ears to listen
nor heart to understand,
It cannot bring you comfort
or reach out a helping hand.
So when you ask God for a gift
Be thankful if He sends
Not diamonds, pearls, or riches
But the love of real true friends.
– Helen Steiner Rice



Love to all Cx :-)