General Chat

Hello all

Sylvia, we all try to do our bit to support the NHS.

During these days of Covid 19, the whole world has been thrown into confusion, fear and uncertainty. Leaders, medics and scientists are all struggling to find answers to try to manage the devastating effects that the Coronavirus is having upon us all.

"When the earth quakes and its people live in turmoil, I am the one who keeps its foundations firm."
Psalm 75 v 3. (NLT).

Stay safe everyone.

Just an addition to kandj's comment about clapping for the NHS ..........

Canadians get out to clap and play musical instruments (and bang on metal objects) every night at 7:00 pm,. OH found a man playing a bagpipe in our neighbourhood a couple of weeks ago. The church bells all ring.

There is also a growing habit of people getting out at noon on Sunday to sing Oh Canada, or joining an on-line a cappella "chorus" of the national anthem.

Good morning :-)


The Holy Trinity is a basic fact of the Christian faith David but it's a difficult concept.

There's a concordance here somewhere too but I have to admit to doing all my research on the internet nowadays. The trouble is though, you have to pick a site which is trustworthy - too many oddballs out there unfortunately I tend to look at the Church of England things but have found a lot of good material on RC sites too.

Must press on.....

.It’s great how tidy things are after decluttering. It may take some time and hard work but it’s worth it. It helps us to feel less stressed and more organised for what is important in life. Likewise, decluttering our spiritual lives has some awesome benefits as well!

When we get rid of our spiritual ‘junk’ we can see the purpose God has planned for us with greater clarity. It helps us to manage our time so that we can concentrate more on Him. When we have cleaned out the bad habits, unforgiveness, impatience, anxiety, and worry, etc., we are more available to His grace and strengthened by His peace.

Lord, help us to keep our eyes focused on you as we gradually clear our hearts and minds of unnecessary things and gain your peace. Amen.


Cx :-)

Hello all

Thursday again and I hope to be at my gate to join neighbours clapping for the NHS and key workers who all need our prayerful support right now.

Heavenly Father

We pray for all NHS workers, guide and support them as they work tirelessly to end this pandemic.
We pray for those who are searching for a cure, give them help and insight and understanding at this time.
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen

Years ago I had the Crudens Bible concordance.

I confess I've always thought the Trinity a man made way of explaining, rather than fact.

Wish my faith was as strong as yours Cynthia <3

Tabitha cannot debate on theology but it would interest me
to look in at any discussions that come up.

I love a really good in depth discussion on theology - There was a parish priest I use to deul with many years ago. We had some really good "discussions" never heated just aired our opinions. He was my sister in laws parish priest, I wasn't Roman & never have been. He was very convincing sometimes. He went off to retreat & I never saw him again.

About 15 years later he reappeared as a cookery teacher at the local senior school. He would never discuss theology again. Last I heard he was very happily married.

I miss those good discussions & food for thought. It was a bit like the Darwin court case some times. Must get up in the attic and see if I still have my set of concordances. Haven't seen then in over 30 years, actually since i have been with my husband, he is not into religion of any description.

any discussions let me know.

Take care all - Keep safe - dont go running off to those beaches and beauty spots too soon. .

Good morning :-)

Thanks for that Tabitha x

You are touching on the subject of the Holy Trinity David - three in one - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Not three Gods but one. A topic that has evoked much discussion over many years. Never an easy thing to explain.


Right off we go.....De-cluttering our spiritual lives....

This morning we’ll pull out the drawer labelled ‘things we do’'.

Rummaging around in there, we may find some things we need to let go of, something we feel just isn’t right. If we are doing something which is taking us away from Jesus, we need to let it go.

This can be all sorts of things – the type of books we read, the films we watch, the activities we attend. We may have some bad habits which need to go or even some of the biblical 7 deadly sins – lust, gluttony, greed, laziness, anger, envy, pride.

Maybe we are just too busy to find room for God in our lives. We need to sort these things out and hand them over to Jesus for His forgiveness.

Lord, help us to find the strength and courage to let go of the things which are holding us back from knowing you more. Amen.


Cx :-)

Thank you Tabitha. Mary's occupation as a prostitute is said to be an invention of the Vatican, God knows why.
Peter and other male Disciples fled the scene of the Crucifixion, yet Mary Magdalene
remained and later assisted Mary the Mother to bathe the dead Jesus. It is important to acknowledge he was dead, otherwise how could he rise from the dead. I've
often wondered who raised him as so many say Jesus and GOD are one and the
same. It took some believing 2000 years ago, more so in present time.

The film

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Magdalene_(2018_film)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5360996/

Judea, 33 AD. Mary is a faithful young girl from the village of Magdala (close to Galilea Lake) unsure to follow the traditions and destiny reserved to the women, living only as wife and mother, in her wish to be free. After to reject a marriage proposal of Ephraim, a family friend, her brother Daniel and her father Elisha make her an exorcism in the belief that she is possessed by a demon. Trying to find a solution Elisha asks help Jesus, a healer who is earning fame between the Jews of the zone with his speeches about a kingdom of peace and love free of hate, tyranny, oppression and prosecution, to heal Mary and that finally she obeys and submits to their will. Astonished by the charisma, personality and words of Jesus, Mary decides to follow him despite the strong opposition of her family. She meets a few men who too walk with Jesus as Peter, Andrew, James, John and Judas, who have their personal interests and ideas about Jesus' words and his revolution. At the same time that Mary feels more passionate about Jesus and his vision of the world and people, Peter starts to feel a progressive resentment to her, in the belief that Mary's presence in the group weakens Jesus and his message, who each time pays more attention to her. Arriving at Jerusalem, Jesus and his apostles try to transmit the message against Roman Empire and Jews' authorities, but the events soon will turn dramatically against Jesus, as well as the confrontation between Mary and Peter about Jesus' not only will change they both, too will change the whole world.

I copied over a brief plot - Not seen it or heard of it myself.

The de-cuttering spiritually sounds good - just how to start, thats the question.

Hello all

Today is International Nurses Day and the 200th year today since Florence Nightingale was born. We owe our thanks more than ever today. Let's honour them all in our thoughts and prayers today.

The de-cluttering sessions sound interesting Cynthia. Thank you.

Good morning :-)


No, not that film David, a more modern one. It was released in 2018 and the name was Mary Magdalene - no idea what it was like.


I can imagine that most of us have, during the lockdown, been tidying things up around the house – de-cluttering is the word! I have found some weird and wonderful things lately.

Something caught my eye yesterday – how about de-cluttering our spiritual lives? I was happy to give it a go and I hope you will be too. First, an explanation…….

Just as our cupboards and ‘junk’ drawers get stuffed with things we think we will need at some stage, but rarely do, clutter in our homes can take over our lives. The same process can happen in our spiritual lives. Spiritual clutter is anything that comes between us and our relationship with Jesus - when we get caught up in our own wants and needs.

Where to start? (Don’t rush the unpacking; take your time. If you get overwhelmed, stop. Start again another day).

Firstly, we begin with prayer.

Dear Lord, as we begin to look at making more space for you in our lives, help us to be willing to let go of the things which may hold us back. Help us to know the difference between what should be kept and what should go and, in this process, may we draw nearer to you. Amen.

Tomorrow we will open a few drawers :-D


Cx :-)

There was allegedly a Gospel of Mary Magdalen, excluded from the NT.
In France the Priest at Rennes le Chateau (sp) found some concealed
information which allegedly made him a wealthy man through monies from
the Vatican (paying for silence ?) Or his sudden wealth may have come from selling
indulgences ?.

Hello all

I do count my blessings every single day. In life I see many who appear to be better off than I am and others who appear to be worse off, I'm blessed daily.

Bless the Lord and forget not all his benefits.
Psalm 103 v 2.

David ..............

the name Magdalene is extremely common in Catholic countries around the world, including the French areas of Canada, Louisiana in the US, the Philippines, etc, and of course in Ireland where it is infamous for being associated with the Magdalene Launderies and convents.

They were supposed to rehabilitate "bad girls", and have gone down in infamy in very recent years for the ill-treatment of girls, women and children.

The film Cynthia was Jesus of Nazareth

The actress playing Mary was in The Graduate opposite Hoffman.

In France the name Magdalene is everywhere.

Good morning :-)


I think there was a film released about Mary Magdalene in the last couple of years.


For today, a story - something different the rest of the week!

An old man lived in the village. He was one of the most unfortunate people in the world. The whole village was tired of him; he was always gloomy, he constantly complained and was always in a bad mood.

The longer he lived, the worse he became and the more poisonous were his words. People avoided him because his misery became contagious. It was even unnatural and insulting to be happy next to him. He created the feeling of unhappiness in others.

But one day, when he turned eighty years old, an incredible thing happened. There were rumours that the Old Man was happy – he wasn’t complaining about anything and he was smiling!
The whole village gathered together and asked the Old Man what had happened. He replied… “Nothing special. For eighty years I’ve been chasing happiness, and it was useless. And then I decided to live happiness and just enjoy life. That’s why I’m happy now.”

Don’t chase happiness. Enjoy your life. Count your blessings.


Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your blessings, see what God hath done;
Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.


Cx :-)

A much under estimated character in the scriptures is Mary Magdalene

She was present at the Crucifixion, she helped wash the body of Jesus before

his being wrapped and placed in the tomb, she was the one who found his tomb empty

She was the first to see him risen, mistaking him for the gardener

Why seek ye the living among the dead ? But she is hardly mentioned otherwise.

Evening all :-D One of my brothers was 73 on Friday, I've mislaid his telephone number :( but I did send him a birthday card.

In a few weeks I will be 75 :-0