General Chat

Hello all

Vera, sending Happy Diamond Wedding Anniversary wishes to you and your OH. I hope you've both enjoyed your special day today and I hope you have many more happy times together.

Great is Thy Faithfulness is a favourite of mine.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide,
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow
Blessings all mine, with 10,000 beside.

Great is Thy faithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed your hand has provided
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.

Good morning :-)

Yes, Vera, you are truly blessed indeed and it is lovely to hear about your blessings.

kandj, I don't know where time has gone this Lent. I've been really busy this week and can't believe it is almost Palm Sunday.

LENT DAY 37:

MEDITATE: 1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you”.

PRAY: Lord, sometimes I admit I feel far from you and disconnected from your heart. In this season, remind me of what is true. Speak louder than the lies. I want to celebrate that you are risen, powerful, and in control of all things.

REFLECT: Ask a friend to pray for you and with you in this season.

Cx :-)

Thank you for the Lenten posts Cynthia.

Kandj, it’s kind of you to ask about our anniversary. The actual day is tomorrow. We drove to a hotel on the coast this morning for a short break and will get home early Friday evening. We are blessed in so many ways. We are still together, we have reasonable physical and mental health and enough income to allow us to enjoy together what time we have left. We have a close, loving family and kind and generous friends. It makes me think of the line “Blessings all mine with ten thousand besides” from Great is Thy Faithfulness.

Hello all

Cynthia, thank you for your daily Lentern posts.
It's hard to think that the 40 days will soon be over.

Vera, can you remind us when you and your hubby celebrate your very special Diamond anniversary.
I really do hope that we haven't missed it.

Sending gentle hugs to all who are anxious today.

Good morning :-)

LENT DAY 36:

MEDITATE: Luke 22-24

PRAY: Father, help me see the Easter story through fresh eyes. Reveal yourself to me in new ways. Show me how I can be a bold, courageous, faithful disciple who loves and serves you well. In Jesus’ name I ask, Amen.

REFLECT: Take time to read the Easter story with an eye for the marginalized and obscure.


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)



LENT DAY 35:

MEDITATE: 1 Corinthians 11:24 “ 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me”.

PRAY: Jesus, thank you for going on a rescue mission to save me. Thank you for bringing me back to life so sin and death are not the end of my story. In this season, I’m reminded of my need for you-- thank you, Jesus.

REFLECT: How can you carve out time and space for remembrance, repentance, and resurrection in this season?


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

LENT DAY 34:

MEDITATE: Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!
Lo, your king comes to you;
triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

PRAY: Lord, thank you for the deeper meaning of Easter day. Thank you that bunnies and colourful eggs are not all that this Easter is about-- thank you that it’s all about so much more. Help us to shift our eyes from what the world says to celebrate, to what you have done for us.

REFLECT: How have you made Easter about worldly things? How can you turn your focus back to Christ?

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

Ooops so sorry - looks like I missed yesterday. To be honest, I am still meeting myself coming backwards at the moment. Must do better! :-D

Here is yesterday's post!

LENT DAY 32:

MEDITATE: John 13 – this is a fairly long chapter and tells of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet.

PRAY: Lord, I want to follow you. I want to do what you did, love as you loved. Help me to see opportunities to love the people around me well, to serve others, and to be gracious unto them.

REFLECT: How do others around you know that you are a follower of Christ?


Cx :-)

Hello all

Day 32 in Lent.

A prayer for political leaders.

Heavenly Father

Draw our nation's leaders close to you, and help them to follow you when making difficult decisions.
Amen.

Good morning :-)


LENT DAY 31:

MEDITATE: John 20:11-18 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’ When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God. Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

PRAY: Jesus, your resurrection power is mightier than we could ever imagine. I am so thankful that resurrection changes everything about the world around me-- you are with us now and forevermore.

REFLECT: How does the resurrection change your outlook on your circumstances?

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

Yes, indeed Vera and kandji, Emma did pop on here quite frequently. I wondered what had happened to her. So very sorry to hear this news bless her. Love to her family - may she rest in peace and rise in glory. <3


LENT DAY 30:

MEDITATE: Matthew 28 6 “ He is not here. He has risen from the dead as he said he would. Come and see the place where his body was”.

PRAY: Jesus, I believe you are the one true Saviour. I believe you conquered death to bring us into eternal life with you. In the times when I am tempted to doubt that you truly died and rose again, remind me of your truth.

REFLECT: What confirms for you that Christ is the Risen Lord?

Cx :-)

Thank you Vera, I've only just read the very sad news about Emma who used to add to this thread.

I send sincere thoughts and prayers to Emma's husband, to her family and friends.
RIP Emma and rise again in glory.

In case you missed seeing the thread headed “Sad News” I thought I would post on here that Emma sadly died today. I think she was quite a regular contributor to this thread a while ago. Thinking of her family

RIP Emma <3

Good morning :-)

LENT DAY 29:
MEDITATE: Acts 4:33 “ With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all”.

PRAY: Jesus, I don’t want to forget about Easter once the calendar changes. Help me to keep the cross in mind daily -- it changes everything and I never want to forget the life-changing and beautiful impact of salvation in my life and in our world.

REFLECT: Brainstorm ways you can keep celebrating the spirit of Easter after Resurrection Sunday.


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

LENT DAY 28:

MEDITATE: Micah 7:8 “Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy;
when I fall, I shall rise;
when I sit in darkness,
the LORD will be a light to me.”

PRAY: Lord, in the dark seasons of my life, shine your light. When I am doubting, remind me of who you are. When I am weary, bring me peace. When I am restless, may I find my rest in you. You are the victory-- hallelujah!

REFLECT: How have you seen Christ meet you in your dark days?



Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

LENT DAY 27:

MEDITATE: Romans 10:6-7 “But the righteousness that comes from faith says, ‘Do not say in your heart, “Who will ascend into heaven?”’ (that is, to bring Christ down) ‘or “Who will descend into the abyss?”’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).

PRAY: Jesus, help me to not fear death, for I know that you have gone ahead and made a way for me into eternal life. I choose today to accept again your great gift of life eternal in heaven with you, and pray that you would give me confidence for every step of my journey until then.

REFLECT: What does the death and resurrection of Jesus mean for your own eternity?

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

Today is Mothering Sunday - the day when we especially remember those who have cared for us and, of course, our Mother Church.

For hundreds of years, the church has been known as a place where we are cared for, protected and fed with God's word. We grieve when we hear of wrongdoing in the name of the church, but we give thanks for those places which fulfil their purpose and mean so much to people. Mother Church can also be the church at which you were baptised.
??
The Collect (special prayer) for today.
God of compassion,
whose Son Jesus Christ, the child of Mary,
shared the life of a home in Nazareth,
and on the cross drew the whole human family to himself:
strengthen us in our daily living
that in joy and in sorrow
we may know the power of your presence
to bind together and to heal;
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

Today’s Gospel tells of Mary, Mother of Jesus, standing at the foot of the cross.

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

LENT DAY 25:

MEDITATE: Psalm 110:1. “The LORD says to my lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.’ Daniel 7:13 "As I watched in the night visions, I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One and was presented before him.”

PRAY: Jesus, we pray that you would open our hearts and minds to understand more of the cultural and historical contexts of your life, your death, and your resurrection. Help us to gain greater understanding as we look at what it all meant for the world then and now.

REFLECT: Consider the ways Jesus was challenging the leaders of the time. Consider the political and social consequences of his claims and consider how his death and resurrection changed the world forever.

Cx :-)

Hello all

I hope all our Irish GR friends have had a happy St Patrick's Day.

"May the lilt of Irish laughter,
Lighten your every road."
Irish blessing.

Good morning :-)

LENT DAY 24:

MEDITATE: Mark 15:3 “Then the chief priests accused him of many things”.

PRAY: Jesus, you were scorned, beaten, mocked, and crucified for our sake. We cannot thank you enough for enduring such cruelty for the sake of our salvation. You are God’s one and only Son, the greatest sacrifice, our Saviour and Redeemer. We praise you and thank you with all we are.

REFLECT: Think about what it means for you that Jesus is the Son of God.

Cx :-)