General Chat

Always interesting posts Cynthia and they do make
me think.

Sending my thoughts and prayers to those in need x

Good morning :-)


So how do we find the confidence to witness….to talk about Jesus to others? There seem to be three common denominators in this :

1. Prayer, prayer and more prayer for those you hope to get the opportunity to speak to.

2. Live a Godly life. We all know our own faults so we need to work hard at improving our lives and attitudes to others. They will, hopefully, see a change in us – a change that comes through Jesus.

3. Take opportunities when the time is right. Don’t force conversations but wait for an opportunity to crop up where you can mention God rather than having a full blown conversation. Softly, softly……..

Lord, we ask you to be with us as we examine our own lives and our attitude towards others. May we get rid of the things which separate us from you and improve our understanding of the faith. Then, we pray, may we have the confidence to find opportunities to speak to others of your great love for them. Amen.

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


Maybe we don’t witness because we don’t want to be laughed at or made fun of.

Possibly we are just a bit too sensitive about this. It’s surprising how often people will respect us for our beliefs. They may not understand why we avoid dirty jokes or getting drunk or why we like church.

Maybe we will hear the words ‘religious nut’ or ‘fanatic’, but people often find genuine faith pretty interesting – confusing, but interesting and they will respect you for your strong convictions.

The more we try to live and act like Jesus, we brighten up a dark world and others are often attracted to that light.


Lord, help us to shine like stars in the darkness as we tell others of your love for them. Amen.

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


Needing to be better witnesses for Christ.

Maybe we are shy about talking about Jesus because we don’t want to upset anyone. We’ve all met those ‘in-your-face’ Christians who can be very smug and annoying. This approach to witnessing can put people off and so we keep quiet so as not to upset anyone.

Mind you, sometimes people get upset about faith issues because the truth hurts, and we have to be honest about that. Some of what Jesus taught is very unsettling to those who are set in their ways and don’t want to move on.

Lord, give us the strength to learn more about you so that we can tell others of your love with confidence and kindness. Amen.


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

Walking Day is very much a northern England thing - but it is a dying tradition. This is mainly due to police reluctance to provide support and guidance with the traffic etc. We have permission to walk but we provide our own marshals. Warrington Walks are still going strong I think and are renowned for their immense numbers.

These walks are really walks of witness of our faith whilst the Beating the Bounds stems from acknowledging the parish boundaries of each church. This gave an indication to the parishioners of their responsibilities to their parish church re upkeep and rights of burial etc. Rogation Sunday was often the day used to beat the bounds and people and crops were blessed at the same time. Quite a busy time!

For those who are friends with me on FB I will post a short video of Sunday's walk. There are lots on our church FB page. Please pm if you would like the link to my page. :-D

The visit to the Consultant went well - he was a very nice young chap - is that a sign of my increasing years? :-D He said OH was doing very well...…...he needs to see the effort that goes into keeping him going!!!

For today:

Thinking about Walking Day and witnessing for Jesus – it’s well known that talking about our faith is not always the easiest thing to do. So how do we improve on our witnessing?

Sometimes we think we aren’t smart enough. I found this interesting comment….’ Maybe you've heard this saying: "It's not what you know that counts. It's who you know." Knowing Jesus is what matters. You are smart enough to tell others about Jesus because you have a friendship with him. And the closer you get to him, and the better you know him, the more you'll have to say about him.’ That is so very true.

Lord, help us to come closer to you so that we may know you more and be able to share that knowledge with others. Amen.


Cx :-)

Maybe Sylvia, but I think you might be referring to the old custom of Beating the Bounds which was a way of reaffirming parish boundaries before good maps were available. It’s still carried on as a tradition in some areas.

Googling suggests that Walking Day is a sort of giant church parade and is most common in the North West of England, particularly around Warrington.

I hope your OH had a good meeting with his new consultant today Cynthia.

Thinking of all who need a little extra support tonight.

Is Walking Day what we used to call the Whit Sunday Walk, where the procession visited all 4 corners of the parish boundary?

Never heard of Walking Day Cynthia, lovely way
to show your faith and the support given.

Hope your OH has a good meeting with his new
Consultant.

Good morning :-)


Thank you Sylvia - I have similar problems to you, but mostly with just getting on the site itself. Once on, I can usually move around with little problem. GR just isn't what it used to be :-(


Yesterday was our Annual Walking Day - a day of witness. The sun shone, the bands played and the people came out in their hundreds…...it was amazing. The procession of four or five churches and members seemed never ending.

We are so fortunate that we live in a country where we can witness to our faith without fear of death. We may get ridiculed and scoffed at, but at least we can stand up and be counted! :-D

For today :
.
But just what is Walking Day all about? Cute children? New clothes? Band music?

Definitely a bit more than all of those things put together. When we walk, we are witnessing to show that we follow Jesus Christ and that we get the help and encouragement we need from whichever church we support.

Lord, help us to be better witnesses to you by the lives we live, by the words we say and by the thoughts we think. May our family and friends be so encouraged at the effect you have on our lives, that they turn to seek you for themselves. Amen.


Off to Walton Hospital with OH today - his original Consultant has retired and he now has a new one. Hope he's good!

Cx :-)

Just to say I only occasionally look in or post on this thread, but happened to do today.

I have no problem accessing this thread, my problem is getting on to GR itself, My Threads or General Chat!

I use Bookmarks to get on to the Boards Summary screen for GR, and that is a real problem, with the second problem being My Threads .......... I do persevere though.

Once I'm in, then I have little problem opening any thread, but the Error can appear again when posting a message.

I've just tried getting on to the very long What kind of things do you remember from childhood, which has over 59,500 posts ..... just out of interest because I never have looked on there. I got on with no problem.

This thread has only 5,314 posts ......... so I honestly don't think that it is the size of the thread that is causing your problem. It's GR and how to get onto the site ......... possibly the problem is if you are using Bookmarks or My Favourites to open this thread?

Another possibility might be the fact that the OP has not changed that may not be attracting any new posters, although again, other long-time threads don't seem to change their OPs.

Though you must always remember that the number of people on these Boards is dropping quite rapidly. Many of you know my opinion of what might happen / what might be INTENDED to happen to GR.

I don't know whether any of this helps ............. but thank you Cyn for keeping it going xxxx

Good morning :-)

Thank you for the messages re kandj - it seems she has had difficulty getting through to me - the dreaded error message.

No church for me today as it is Walking Day and there is only one service which is too early for my OH to get to. I will be going down later to take photos for our FB page.

For today :

The Collect (special prayer) for today…

Lord, you have taught us that all our doings without love are nothing worth:
send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of love;
the true bond of peace and of all virtues,
without which whoever lives is counted dead before you.
Grant this for your only Son 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.

The Gospel reading tells the story of that well known saying….’Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.’


Cx :-)

Cynthia , Kandj is ok, although still finding life without her Hubby very difficult .Her Daughter will be with her on Sunday.

Cynthia thank you for a lovely week again
with the words of the hymn.

A beautiful poem from HSR to end the week x

Kandj was on the rugby thread on 3rd June Cynthia :-)

Good morning :-)

Has anyone heard from kandj since she last posted? My last message to her has not been opened which is very unusual. Its been almost a week now and I am just hoping that she is okay - maybe visiting her daughter and family.

For today :

It’s amazing and incredible,
But it’s as true as it can be,
God loves and understands us all
And that means you and me–
His grace is all sufficient
For both the young and old,
For the lonely and the timid,
For the brash and for the bold–
His love knows no exceptions,
So never feel excluded,
No matter what your past has been,
Trust God to understand,
And no matter what your problem is
Just place it in His Hand–
For in all of our unloveliness
This great God loves us still,
He loved us since the world began,
And what’s more, He always will!
- Helen Steiner Rice

Love and prayers Cx :-)

Good Morning :-)


The final verse of the hymn we have been looking at leads us
to remembering how Samuel eventually heard, listened and obeyed.
O give me Samuel’s mind,
A sweet unmurm’ring faith,
Obedient and resigned
To Thee in life and death,
That I may read with childlike eyes
Truths that are hidden from the wise.



Insistent God,
by night and day you summon your slumbering people,
So stir us with your voice
and enlighten our lives with your grace
that we give ourselves fully
to Christ's call to mission and ministry. Amen.


There are several versions of the hymn on YouTube, this link gives the tune and the words - you will have to sing it yourselves. :-D


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjDRTvO8G0s

Love to all Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

Almost at the end of the old hymn.......are our hearts in our faith?

O give me Samuel’s heart,
A lowly heart, that waits
Where in Thy house Thou art,
Or watches at Thy gates;
By day and night, a heart that still
Moves at the breathing of Thy will.


Lord, you call,
but we do not always recognize your voice.
Sometimes we don’t listen carefully.
Sometimes we’re caught off guard.

Lord, you call,
but we haven’t always taught others to hear you.
Sometimes we stand in the way,
allowing our voice to ring out over yours.

Lord, you call,
but we don’t always believe our ears.
Sometimes we believe we know better.
Sometimes we think you can’t possibly be calling us,
or her, or him.
Forgive us, Lord, our unpracticed listening,
our closed ears.
Help us to hear.
Amen.


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


The next verse of the old hymn advises us not only to be alert and to listen for God speaking to us, but also to act on what we hear.

O give me Samuel’s ear,
The open ear, O Lord,
Alive and quick to hear
Each whisper of Thy Word,
Like him to answer at Thy call,
And to obey Thee first of all.

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

You speak in unexpected places,
and with unexpected voices, God.
And we aren’t always sure how to listen.
We aren’t always sure who to listen to.
We aren’t always sure if we’re really hearing you.
Be blunt with us, please. Be clear.
Give us the challenge
of loving you,
of loving the other,
of loving ourselves.
And help us to live it out!
Because you are God who loves us all,
even when we don’t know where to turn.
In Jesus’ name we ask it. Amen.


Love to all Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


'The old man, meek and mild,
The priest of Israel, slept;
His watch the temple child,
The little Levite, kept;
And what from Eli’s sense was sealed
The Lord to Hannah’s son revealed.'

And so, whilst Eli was peacefully sleeping, the Lord was calling Samuel’s name. Three times Samuel thought Eli was calling him; then, at the old man’s word, he went back and prayed this wonderful prayer that God would speak to him, a prayer which is implicit with faith. “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening”.

That was a long time ago but thankfully, God still speaks to His people! He does this by the Holy Spirit and through the Word of God. The important thing is are we listening for His voice?

Lord, we pray that you will make us more like little Samuel, alert and willing to listen to you. Amen.


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


Thanks for all the input....still thinking about it but am a bit hassled at the moment so hope to make a decision soon :-)

For today.

Yesterday, in church, we had a visit from our Archdeacon. She based her sermon on the story of Samuel hearing God's voice and it made me think of an old hymn I was taught as a child.

The mini nutshell version is that we heard the background of how Samuel, son of Hannah and Elkanah, came to be in the temple. Hannah was desperate for a child and made a promise that, if she was so blessed, she would give the child to God. Her prayer was answered and she gave birth to Samuel and, when he was weaned, she took him to the temple to be with Eli the old priest.

The first verse of the hymn I remembered reads …
Hushed was the evening hymn,
The temple courts were dark;
The lamp was burning dim
Before the sacred ark;
When suddenly a voice divine
Rang through the silence of the shrine.

So what about this ‘sacred ark’? Before my mind went wild thinking of Indiana Jones, I decided to check it out. From Wiki (very abbreviated) ‘The Ark of the Covenant, is a gold-covered wooden chest with lid cover described in the Book of Exodus as containing the two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments, Aaron's rod and a pot of manna. It was created according to a pattern given to Moses by God.’

So there was this young boy, possibly a teenager by now, left in charge of something infinitely precious, woken from sleep by someone calling his name…….

We'll look at the 2nd verse tomorrow.

Lord, we never know when you are going to speak to us. Help us to find space in our lives to listen for your voice. Amen.

Cx :-)