General Chat

Good morning :-)


Hi Emma, its lovely to know that you are still looking in.......sending love to you <3


The Collect (special prayer) for today:

Almighty and everlasting God,
increase in us your gift of faith
that, forsaking what lies behind
and reaching out to that which is before,
we may run the way of your commandments
and win the crown of everlasting joy;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

This morning at my church, we have the Annual Enrolment service for our Boys’ Brigade. Lots of youngsters and their parents will be in church. Our monthly parade services are always lively events with much coming and going. :-D

The Gospel tells the story of the invitation to the wedding feast – ‘For many are called, but few are chosen’.


At 12.30pm there is a little boy to be baptised - this extra service is due to the high demand for baptisms at the moment. One very long morning for our churchwardens. Fortunately, we have excellent facilities for making drinks etc - they will need them! :-D

Ooooh........I mean a kitchen, not a bar! :-D


Love to all. Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

Today is the day to 'batten down the hatches'- stay safe. ??

Last week we looked at some fascinating facts about the book which is central to our lives – the bible.

Continuing on a similar theme, it’s amazing just how many languages it has been translated into and how many versions there are.

In the Church of England, there are 7 versions which are allowed to be used for public worship, and it's all to do with faithfulness in translating the Hebrew or Green and the use of familiar language.

There are also some very weird and wacky versions too…..and we’ll take a look at some of these during the week.

We'll start with the Ebonics Bible. Ebonics is, and I quote, "an American dialect spoken by inner-city blacks."

[1] In da beginnin' Big Daddy created da heaven an' da earth.

[2] And da earth wuz widdout form, an' void; an' darkness wuz upon da face o' da deep. And da Spirit o' Big Daddy groved upon da face o' da waters.

[3] And Big Daddy enunciated, Let dere be light y'all: an' dere wuz light.

[4] And Big Daddy seen da light, dat it wuz fine ass: an' Big Daddy divided da light from da darkness.


Certainly an interesting way of look at the book of Genesis........ :-D


Cx :-)

Hello all

Hope everyone has a good week ahead. There is so much sadness around now. Wear a smile, and pass it on. Sending out ((hugs)) to those who need one today. xx

Good morning :-)

Continuing to look at some rather strange translations of the bible - I hope you are ready for this! :-D


The Klingon Bible

"Star Trek fans often like to display their linguistic prowess by speaking, writing, and reading Klingon. So it only seems natu-ral that a Klingon translation of the Bible would come into being.

If you’ve ever wondered how to say “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God” to a Klingon (or just a Trekkie in a particularly convincing cos-tume), then be puzzled no longer: it’s quite simple. Make sure to get your glottal stops in order, and hack away:

'Daq the tagh ghaHta' the mu', je the mu' ghaHta' tlhej joH'a', je the mu' ghaHta' joH'a'.”

:-D


Sending love to all those who are sad today.. Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

The more I research the unusual translations of the bible, the more I understand why we have authorised versions......??

For today: The Word on the Street

"Rob Lacey, an actor and performance poet, published The Word on the Street in 2003 as a modern-day version of the Bible, shrunk down to a more manageable 500 pages. Lacey himself was wary of calling his work a version of the Bible, but it did retell the story in more conversational language. Take, for example, his retelling of Genesis, which reads more like a Kerouacian beat poetry performance than a religious text:

“First off, nothing. No light, no time, no substance, no matter. Second off, God starts it all up and WHAP! Stuff everywhere! The cosmos in chaos: no shape, no form, no function—just darkness ... total. And floating above it all, God’s Holy Spirit, ready to play. Day one: Then God’s voice booms out, ‘Lights!’ and, from nowhere, light floods the skies and ‘night’ is swept off the scene.”


Cx :-)

Help! :-D :-D

Today is Agios Loukas Day (Saint Luke's Day) patron saint of the village and name of the church in the centre of the old village.

Last evening - the bells started ringing about 18.30 and went on and on. The stalls are all up in the centre of the village so it's all blocked to traffic and cars were everywhere.

06.30 this morning - the bells clanging again. Wish someone would make bells out here that had a musical note instead of a clang.

Soon cars will be everywhere again. I should point out that locals will not walk if they can drive to it and they do not park, they abandon their cars as near as possible to the event. That means double parking, blocking off roads and parking on the paths. :-(

Never mind, it'll all be over this evening and the children love the sweet treats sold on the stalls.

I shall stay at home out of all the crowds and get on with what I have to do here - washing, ironing and general housework. Have to make flapjacks - son and daughter arrive on Friday for their father's 70th on Monday. More people than he knows will be arriving today ;-) shhhh. :-D

Kandj thinking of you what a dreadful time you are having <3

Oh dear Pat, I think you had better ask Santa to bring you some extra strong ear plugs :-D

An interesting theme again this week Cynthia. Some long while ago I saw a television programme about a religious leader somewhere in the West Indies, I think, and he was translating parts of the Bible into the local patois. I don't see anything wrong with this if the aim is to help people understand the message better. After all, think how many translations our version has been through just to get it into English.

On the other hand I do think Klingon is a step too far!

It seems funny now but I remember the time when my children were young and it was suggested that our church, particularly the junior church, might use the Good News Bible some of the time. What a hoo-hah that caused among some of the older members of the congregation. I wonder what they would have thought of some of these translations?

Good afternoon :-)

Yes, I am very late today - I got caught up with something this morning and it took my mind off things..... :-)


Oh dear Pat, you and your bells.........you always make me smile :-D Hope you don't have a bad head today......x

The Good News bible was very popular at one time Vera - I still have a copy - but new versions keep coming out all of the time - I can't keep up. It wasn't until I did the research for this theme that I realised just how many translations there are.......its an exhausting list.


And another translation of the bible for you today......The Manga Bible...

“The creation of the earth. The rise and fall of God's chosen people. The mysterious stranger who brought about a new world order and the ultimate showdown between the forces of good and evil This is the greatest story ever told . . . as you've never seen it before. Containing both Old and New Testaments, this is the first ever English manga of the most important book of all time.

It's a Japanese comic book style, sharp-edged graphics, snappy dialogue, dramatic action — and, in this case, an encounter with Jesus at his most enigmatic: dynamic, powerful, hard-hitting. There's no ‘gentle Jesus, meek and mild’ in these pages: on the contrary, Jesus enters each scene like a whirlwind, ripping his way into humanity's story”.


No, I had never heard of it before either :-D

Flu injections this afternoon - such excitement!


Cx :-)

Good morning..... :-)

Coming to the end of our week of looking at different translations of the bible, we take a look at................

King James Bible for Use on Game Boy

Wisdom Tree, Inc. is a company that produces Christian-themed video games; their web-site is at http://www.wisdomtreegames.com. This item contains the King James Version with a word search engine and games.


I see I have missed a day.......oops.......sorry about that but sometimes it takes so long to get on here that I get carried away :-(

Hoping all are well. Cx :-)

Hello all

Sympathy to you Pat.... I wonder if anyone has thought of muffling the clanging??
Getting exciting for you now that your husband's special birthday is getting nearer now.

Vera, I can remember the Good News Bible not being welcomed by many in church.
I have one and also the King James and a couple of others too. All old now, like I am.

Thank you for your daily postings Cynthia. What would we Christians do without faith?

Good morning :-)


I think storm Brian has landed on my doorstep :-0 It certainly sounds very windy outside...........shivers.



The Collect (special prayer) set for today:


O God, forasmuch as without you
we are not able to please you;
mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit
may in all things direct and rule our hearts;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.


The gospel reading for today tells of the Chief Priests and Pharisees asking Jesus if it is lawful to pay taxes………

This afternoon, at 12.30pm and then 2.00pm, there are seven babies to be baptized. We pray for these little ones as they begin their journey of faith and for their parents and Godparents, that they will remain true to the vows they are to take.

Baptisms are booked in until about April/May next year..........


Love to all. Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


We had a thought-provoking sermon from our visiting vicar yesterday. She reminded us that we are the church and that some people will only ever know about Jesus because of us.

She invited us to think of 5 family/friends who were not Christians and to pray for them regularly, in the hope that they will want to find out more about Jesus and the Christian faith.

We all have friends and acquaintances who don't know Jesus. We live beside them, work beside them, and even go to church with them. Often we just don't know how to bring the subject up. It may feel awkward or too personal. But it doesn't have to be that way. The following thoughts may help…..

Be yourself. Don't try to use churchy words or spiritual expressions. Talk to your friend conversationally. Tell him or her what your life was like before you became a Christian and how Jesus has made a difference in your life.

Be willing to answer questions but don't be afraid to say you don't know the answer. Search for answers in God’s Word to questions you don't know and get back to your friend.

This was quite a challenge for the congregation I have to say. It will be interesting to know how many will rise to the occasion!

Love to you all. Cx :-)

Hello all

What an interesting sermon that was. Definitely food for thought there Cynthia.

Happy Monday and I hope everyone has a happy/blessed week ahead. xx

Good morning :-)


Yes it was good kandj - one of those sermons that kept you listening and all done without notes!


Emoji, Klingon or Manga bibles? Hmmmmm maybe it's time to dust off our bibles and look for a new version. ??

Actually, that's just what I have done - I have downloaded a different version to my kindle and I can view it on my laptop too. So what have I gone for? Ahhh ... that would be telling! I looked at the tried and trusted Bible Society webpage where you are advised to 'First of all, consider how you'll be reading the bible'. You are then gently guided through the different versions.

https://www.biblesociety.org.uk/explore-the-bible/which-is-the-best-bible-translation/

O God, by your Spirit tell us what we need to hear, and show us what we ought to do, to obey Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.



Love to all Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

Having got bibles on the brain, so to speak, it is interesting to note that, throughout history, there have been many printers’ errors appearing in bibles published through the world.

One of the most famous is "Vinegar Bible", from 1717. The chapter heading for Luke 20 reads "The Parable of the Vinegar" instead of "The Parable of the Vineyard." These bibles are rare and highly valuable.

Anybody have one on their shelves? :-D


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


Another unusual version of the bible. Punctuation matters!

THE BLASPHEMOUS COMMA
In several editions of the King James Bible, Luke 23:32 is changed entirely by the absence of a comma. The Blasphemous Comma – “And there were also two other malefactors, led with him to be put to death.” There should be a comma after “other.” Without the comma, the text indicates that Jesus was a malefactor.


Father I pray that You would open the eyes of my heart as I read, study and medi-tate on Your Word – so that I may see You more clearly and love you more dearly in Jesus name I pray,

Amen


Life is busy here. OH has a cough and a sniffle and that makes things a wee bit harder - but we carry on! :-D

Cx :-)

Difficult roads often lead
To beautiful destinations.x

Hope your OH and all who are unwell at this time feel better soon.x

Hello all

I hope your husband will begin to feel a little better soon Cynthia.
Many thanks to Vera and Emma for your kind words and thoughtfulness to all.

Flu jab given here on Tuesday by our Practice Nurse and hubby now has a chesty cough that he didn't have on Tuesday. Not a good combination whilst his serious spinal condition has flared up again. Hoping and praying for better days ahead..

I spotted a mouse near me in our garage yesterday!!!......... anyone want a lodger??

Good morning :-)

Whilst OH's cough seems to be improving, I am sneezing for England......hey ho.

The bible is a book which, as we have seen, comes in many forms, many variations and many languages. You can also colour it in!

Adult colouring books are extremely popular at the moment, and the bible is not excluded……as one write up states…..

Adult Colouring Books are not only helpful for reducing stress but they are also a wonderful meditative tool for your prayer life.

Colouring in scripture or a kind saying not only feeds your creative spirit but can help to put a balm on your soul.’

'Balm for your soul'..........and relax. Just what I could do with :-)


Cx :-)

Balm for the soul - what a lovely phrase and brings to mind two verses of "Dear Lord and Father of Mankind".

Drop your still dews of quietness,
till all our strivings cease;
take from our souls the strain and stress,
and let our ordered lives confess
the beauty of your peace,
the beauty of your peace.

Breathe through the heats of our desire
your coolness and your balm;
let sense be dumb, let flesh retire,
speak through the earthquake, wind and fire,
O still small voice of calm,
O still small voice of calm!

Cynthia and Kandj, I do hope that you and your hubbys soon feel better and that you lose all your strain and stress and find balm <3