General Chat

Good morning.......

Two Irish blessings for today.......



"May the friendships you make,
Be those which endure,
And all of your grey clouds
Be small ones for sure.
And trusting in Him
To Whom we all pray,
May a song fill your heart,
Every step of the way."




"He who loses money, loses much;
He who loses a friend, loses more;
He who loses faith, loses all."



Cx :-)

Two lovely Irish blessings to start the day, Cynthia. Many thanks. :-) :-)

John, your FIL friends singing from the bottom of their hearts would have been awesome indeed and left a special priceless memory for your family that day.

Cynthia, how blessed you are to have young families to share your worship, perhaps your vicar's natural sense of humour is encouraging them to join your church family?

I love the simplicity of Irish blessings........ may I add a favourite of mine please?

May neighbours respect you
Trouble neglect you
The angels protect you, and
Heaven accept you.

Enjoy today everyone.(it won't ever come again!).

That is so true kanj....... none of us will see today again. We can only live a day at a time. Thank you for that blessing :-)

One day at a time sweet Jesus that's all I'm asking from you
Give me the strength to do everyday what I have to do
Yesterday's gone sweet Jesus and tomorrow may never be mine
So for my sake teach me to take one day at a time.

Hello Joy, thank you for that. Good to see you back with us......




Hope those who read this thread, find these thoughts helpful today.



Everything happens for a Reason

Our Father knows what’s best for us,
So why should we complain–
We always want the sunshine,
But He knows there must be rain–

We love the sound of laughter
And the merriment of cheer,
But our hearts would lose their tenderness
If we never shed a tear…

Our Father tests us often
With suffering and with sorrow,
He tests us, not to punish us,
But to help us meet Tomorrow…

For growing trees are strengthened
When they withstand the storm,
And the sharp cut of the chisel
Gives the marble grace and form…

God never hurts us needlessly,
And He never wastes our pain,
For every loss He sends to us
Is followed by rich gain…

And when we count the blessings
That God has so freely sent,
We will find no cause for murmuring
And not time to lament.

For Our Father loves His children,
And to Him all things are plain,
So He never sends us pleasures
When the soul’s deep need is pain…

So whenever we are troubled,
And when everything goes wrong,
It is just God working in us
To make Our Spirit Strong.


- Helen Steiner Rice.



Cx :-)

Profound and thought provoking as always...... thank you Cynthia.

Thankyou, Cynthia. I believe everything happens for a reason.

Sometimes we can immediately see why God has helped us or punished us (sound like Dot in Eastenders :-)).

Sometimes we see the reasons much later in life.

Sometimes we remain puzzled to the grave.

But it is all part of a plan, all part of a purpose. Many think they could do better if they were the architects of this world. There would be peace and no suffering if they were the planners.

I am delighted that people take such an altruistic interest in the world about them and their neighbours and do so much good and lead people in the right direction. I trust in God's plan though (and only God's plan) for my eternal happiness. :-) :-)

I always love the analogy that life is like an embroidery. From the back, as we work on it, it looks a mess but, when we turn it over, we see the whole picture.

Not sure if you're into embroidery though John.... ;-)



A blessing for today...


Grant, O God, thy protection,
and in protection, strength,
and in strength, understanding,
and in understanding, knowledge,
and in knowledge, the knowledge of justice,
and in the knowledge of justice, the love of it,
and in that love, the love of all existences,
and in the love of all existences, the love of God,
God and all goodness.


Take care everyone. Cx :-)

Thank you Cynthia :-)

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


A thought for today...........



If wishes worked like magic,
And plans worked that way too,
And if everything you wished for,
Whether good or bad for you,
Immediately were granted
With no effort on your part,
You’d experience no fulfillment
Of your spirit or your heart.

For things achieved too easily
Lose their charm and meaning, too,
For it is in life’s difficulties
And the trial-times we go through ,
That make us strong in spirit
And endow us with the will
To surmount the insurmountable
And to climb the highest hill.

So wish not for the easy way
To win your heart’s desire,
For the joy’s in overcoming
And withstanding flood and fire,
For to triumph over trouble
And grow stronger with defeat
Is to win the kind of victory
That will make your life complete.


- Helen Steiner Rice




Cx :-)

Cynthia.... be careful what you wish for, it just might come true but not always as we would desire (from my own humble experience) Enjoy today and many thanks.

Thank you, Cynthia; good to be back.


http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Phrases-and-Sayings/Question36195.html
Before the arrival of Christianity, people in Britain believed that the hare and the cat were disguises taken by witches. As they bound about the place you might easily mistake a hare for a rabbit, so be careful not to kill bunny shaped things! In some places around Lancashire black rabbits were thought to be ancestral spirits trying to get home. White rabbits in Somerset were witches.

The incantation "White Rabbits, White Rabbits, White Rabbits" as the first utterance on the first of a month is supposed to neutralise the evil spells of the witch and bring luck and fortune during the next four weeks. In some places it is held to be necessary to incant "Black Hares, Black Hares, Black Hares" as the final utterance before sleep on the night before to ensure that the rabbit one will work the following morning. The most important morning in the calendar was New Years Day, which was until fairly recently the first of April. So the rabbit incantation was more important then than on any other day. However, you had to keep the good luck batteries charged by doing it at the start of every new month.

? :-S :-)

:-S Indeed Joy :-)


I can remember reading Old Moore's Almanac many years ago and being fascinated with the story of Old Mother Shipton.

However, as a Christian, I have learned not to be superstitious and that it is discouraged in the faith. I can quite happily walk under ladders and don't think about Friday 13th.

I don't bother with horoscopes/ fortune tellers or 'good luck' symbols. I am content to leave my life in the hands of someone greater than me :-D


It's funny this has cropped because, this afternoon I have been working on Wedding Traditions ready for a marriage fair we are having later in the year.

So many of the traditions stem from superstitions - fear of evil spirits and bad luck!

I still will not walk under a ladder .................. not so much because of the superstition, but because a relative had a can of paint tipped over them from above :-D

By accident, of course.



The other place I would not walk ............. and some of you may remember these ................. the pavement level doors into the cellars of pubs.

The delivery trucks used to open those doors, and then roll the barrels of beer down into the cellar.


Well, one set of those doors in my home town was once not fastened properly, and opened when someone stepped on it.

I must have been around 7 or 8 when it happened, but it made an indelible image in my mind!



My mother used to insist on saying

White horse, white horse
good luck to me

if we were on a coach trip, and saw a pure white horse in a field.


It was supposed to bring good luck!

Remember those pavement cellar doors Sylvia? You bet I do........we still have them! In fact, only the other day, I was walking along, stepped on one, and fleetingly wondered if it was securely fastened :-D



How about some humour for today?


Prayers from children............ :-D



"Dear God, I went to this wedding and they were kissing right there in church. Is that OK?"


"Dear God, thank You for the baby brother but what I prayed for was a puppy."


"Dear God, it must be super hard to love all the people in the world, especially my brother. I don't know how You do it."


"Dear God, I love Christmas and Easter. Could you please put another Holiday in the middle, there's nothing good in there now."


"Dear God, are you actually invisible or is that just a trick?"


"Dear God, I want to be just like my daddy when I grow up but without so much hair all over."


"Dear God, is it true my father won't get in Heaven if he uses his golf words in the house?"


"Dear God, my Grandpa says you were around when he was a little boy. How far back do you go?


"Dear God, do you draw the lines around the countries? If you don't, who does?"


"Dear God, did you mean for giraffes to look like that or was it an accident?"


"Dear God, in Bible times, did they really talk that fancy?"


"Dear God, if you watch in Church on Sunday I will show you my new shoes."


"Dear God, is Pastor Dan a friend of yours, or do you just know him through the business?"


"Dear God, I heard the moon was made of cheese. Tonight half of it is missing. Did you get hungry?"


"Dear God, I didn't think orange went with purple until I saw the sunset you made on Tuesday night. That was really cool."


"Dear God, please take care of my daddy, mommy, sister, brother, my doggy and me. Oh, please take care of yourself, God. If anything happens to you, we're gonna be in a big mess."



Enjoy your day everyone......... :-)

Really funny, Cynthia :-D

Had plenty of chuckles at those.

Superstition is a great thing. Have you noticed how many Christians live at No 13. Not because they are superstitious or anything - house just tends to cost a bit less money than 12 and 14. On many modern estates the numbering is 9, 10, 11, 12, 12a, 14, 15 :-) :-) :-)

Didn't realise all that about house numbering John.......interesting.




Where There is Love

Where there is love the heart is light,
Where there is love the day is bright,
Where there is love there is a song
To help when things are going wrong…
Where there is love there is a smile
To make all things seem more worthwhile,
Where there is love there’s a quiet peace,
A tranquil place where turmoils cease…
Love changes darkness into light
And makes the heart take “wingless flight”…

- Helen Steiner Rice


Enjoy your day. Cx :-)

Good morning all...................................


A short prayer for those of us who are coming and going today.....




Comings and goings

In our coming and going,
guide us,
in our living and our being,
protect us,
in our seeing and our hearing,
enrich us,
in our thinking and our speaking,
inspire us,
in our arriving and our departing,
preserve us.




Cx :-)

Cynthia :-D..so good you said it twice :-)

Emma :-)