Pentecost Sunday

Today is Pentecost Sunday, when Christian celebrate God's gift of the Holy Spirit to his Church [Acts Chapter 2] He has many names - the old fashioned and outdated term Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Jesus, the Comforter, the Paraclete [a Greek word meaning comforter, not to be confused with colourful tropical birds] For some, today will be marked with lively enthusiastic worship, and that is great - but lately I have been reflecting on the ways in which the Spirit of Jesus guides and empowers us in a gentle way, comforting us when we are distressed, encouraging when we feel weary, guiding us when we do not know which way to turn. This hymn, set to the beautiful, traditional Scottish Skye Boat Song sums this up 

PS , if you are the praying type, please thank God that Bob is so much better than he was a week ago - and ask for God's strength for him as he preaches at Church this morning. Thank you.

Quiet Waters

 Norfolk is the driest county in England- but still has a lot of water - with seven main rivers[ Ant, Bure, Chet, Thurne, Waveney and Wensum] plus the lovely Norfolk Broads, and a very long coastline, from Kings Lynn and the Wash, all the way round to Yarmouth. 

This week I visited the Taverham Mill Nature Reserve, managed by Anglian Water, and went for a walk with a friend, beside the still waters. We enjoyed the sunshine, and talked of God's goodness and faithfulness [even when life has difficult moments]

On Friday morning, as I drove to the Hospital for my Volunteer Visiting Session, I switched on the Radio. The programme was 'Soul Music' which features each week a different piece of music which has special memories for people. It is usually classical, or pop - but this week it was a hymn tune. They were playing The Lord's My Shepherd, to the Scottish tune "Crimond". This is my favourite setting of Psalm 23. I was singing along in the car "He leadeth me, the quiet waters by" and reflecting on the quiet waters at Taverham. I was grateful to God for the peaceful moments. But then I was grateful too for the availability of fresh clean water - so many people across the globe walk miles to collect their water, and so often it is filthy, and carries disease. 

Here in Norfolk. because it is so flat, there are problems with water pressure - so we have lots of water towers across the county. Old redbrick Victorian ones, and at the end of the 20th century more modern concrete ones. Often they stand out on the landscape and can be seen for miles. Many of them are now listed, converted into 'dwellings'. Just down the road from the hospital, Dereham's old tower stands right alongside the 1960's "mushroom" at the highest point in the town.

As I drove into town on Friday I was aware of a huge crane beside the tower. I pulled into a side road, and got out to take a photo.

I have no idea what the three men in pink hi-viz vests were doing. I couldn't have worked so high up there. I am grateful that our water supplies are being maintained. And truly grateful for the living water that Jesus gives us, reviving our souls [John chapter 4:10 and 7:37] Psalm 23 - He leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.

Thank you to Christians in the Chet Valley, South Norfolk for this hymn 

They Once Were Lost, But Now They're Found

I freely admit to putting up lots of decorations at Christmas. And that means that regular everyday things get moved to unfamiliar places.  Extra foodstuffs mean the fridge and freezer get cluttered too. It is not surprising that somethings get misplaced during the festive season. 

It started with my gloves. I was going out to church and looked in my coat pockets and bags for these. I found just one. I hoped I hadn't lost the other, I am fond of them, they are smart. I put the solitary glove on top of a basket of Christmas cards. On Tuesday I was in the bedroom, and picked up the glove, resting on top of my library books ...hang on, I thought, I saw this in a basket on the coffee table earlier. Yes, for a whole week the two gloves had been languishing in plain sight, in separate rooms. They are happily reunited, and in the 'hat, scarf, glove basket' where they belong.

Then the eight 'everyday' mugs went missing. I have a dozen John Lewis Christmas Mugs, which I have been collecting since 2008 - enough for all the family to have one. At the start of Advent I put the everyday mugs away, and got out my JL ones. Last week I packed away the Xmas ones - 

then realised I could not find the others anywhere. I looked in the loft, in the sideboard, in the kitchen cupboards, even out in the old garage. It was three days before I found them - in the basket with the summer BBQ stuff! What on earth was I thinking to put them in there? The final lost items were the weirdest of the lot. 

Prior to going to Manchester I prepared a tray of Pigs In Blankets.

These were to accompany the Roast Chicken. Except it was a disrupted morning, I'd halved the chipolatas and wrapped them in bacon, and put them on the tray, all ready for the freezer. The doorbell went. A delivery guy, something to be signed for...as he left, Bob came home, and then we had lunch. Around 2pm, I said "where did I put those pigs in blankets?" A serious hunt ensued - but there was no sign of them anywhere. Then I found them - in the bottom of the garage freezer. I'd been so sure the doorbell rang before I put them away. Off to Manchester, Christmas, return ... and a decision not to roast the chicken. "We can serve the PIBs with the Christmas Pie instead". I said. And then I forgot. Jean mentioned putting her leftover PIBs in a cassoulet. Neither of us could remember where ours were, or whether we had in fact eaten them. At last I tracked them down - in the very shallow top drawer of the freezer - relocated when I was putting other foods away.

Finally there were the nuts I purchased as Christmas gifts at the showground. I'd hidden them and forgot where. They were delivered somewhat belatedly! The gloves are found, the mugs and  PIBs are found, and the nuts are rediscovered. I suspect I may be losing my marbles though..

The Silent Stars Go By

Often I will make a special tree decoration to mark the year - the year of lockdown, the year of the Raised Bed, etc. This has been The Year Of The Kitchen. I had a whole stack of IKEA instruction booklets - every item comes with its own A4 manual, about 8 pages long with pictures of how to assemble the flatpack furniture. I had a crazy idea about some sort of paper sculpture decoration.

Using my die cut machine, I produced lots of 3" circles, and carefully folded and glued a 'honeycomb' ball. But although it was suitably round, the honeycomb turned out very uneven and I was unhappy with it. I found a pattern for folding a 5 pointed star. This proved much better.

I found an excellent online TUTORIAL , offering both words, diagrams and a video - so you could choose which instructions suited you best. You begin with some very clever folding of a square of paper, and then make one cut, which gives you a perfect pentagon. This is then folded into a pretty star. 

Whilst watching University Challenge, I folded my stars. I've given them a thin coat of PVA solution to protect and stiffen them, and help them stay folded. I have chosen the best one to hang on the tree. On some you can read the different languages, on this one you can see screwdrivers and hammers!

I may add this line to my 'reworked carol lyrics' collection

"Westward leading, still proceeding
Folding the Kitchen Star"

The Animals Went In...

 ...Two By Two

Below are my first two squares for our latest collaboration. In my stash I found a cushion panel for a Noah’s Ark, about 15" square, with a border strip along the bottom. The animals went in Two-By-Two, so this seemed very appropriate for the first patches.

I cut off the strip and took two squares from it  [a] the ark & 2 giraffes [b] - the rainbow and 2 lions - and embellished them with herringbone, running stitch, chain and French knots. The ark was home for the animals for 40 days, A is for Kirsten [Letter From Home] and that left B for me [Tracing Rainbows]

O Joy that seekest me thru' pain, 
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow thru' the rain
And feel the promise is not vain
That morn shall tearless be.
Noah's story is about God’s faithfulness and provision, even when there are storms outside – and the rainbow promise that while the earth remains, the seasons will roll round each year, and He will always be with us.
Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love

The large square remains. It would make a lovely cushion or picture for a child's nursery. Is there anyone out there who would like it?
I have no use for it, and would love to pass it on to somebody who could find it a home. It is quite attractive as it is, but would benefit from some stitching and embellishment. Please leave a comment below. Update - it is going to a special little boy in Dorset.

It's "The Silly Season" At Cornerstones

The term silly season originated in the UK and is used to describe a period, typically in the summer, when the media has a hard time finding significant news stories. This leads them to publish more light-hearted, frivolous or unusual stories, sometimes referred to as "fluff" pieces. Well it has certainly been silly round here the last few days...

Thursday - parcel from Manchester, a garment which needs altering [details to follow] "That's not an auspicious label for a dressing gown" said Bob

Friday - still finding minuscule sequins everywhere. This was the day when there were lots of flying ants too. During breakfast we spotted an ant trotting across the floor with its head stuck in a sequin like a blue halo [sorry the picture is not in focus properly- and moving too fast and I was shaking with laughter]

Saturday  - I read BBC news item about Glasto, and a music teacher called James B Partridge, who does nostalgia gigs where he gets the crowd to singalong to what he calls Assembly Bangers. Shine Jesus Shine, Lord of the Dance, This Little light of Mine etc. I watched the video clip with subtitles so as not to disturb Bob. I shall never sing Cauliflowers Fluffy in the same way again. 

The subtitles changed the broad beans sleeping in their blankety bed  to sleeping in the black goodie bag" Oh I do hope you can access it! [BBC video here]

 

Shalom

It has been a funny old week hasn't it? Much looking back to WW2. and celebrating Victory in Europe and the peace that was won then - and yet many people seemed to ignore the fact that there is not peace in Europe right now...There seemed to be a lot of news reports mentioning Bletchley Park, and so I found myself thinking about my Mum. Rosie is so proud that her great grandmother was a codebreaker. She thoughtfully bought me a BP puzzle book recently. [thank you Ro]
Then of course there was the announcement of the new Pope. Leo XIV. I did point out to my beloved that he is 69, called Robert, skilled with languages, brought up as a Catholic, trained in theology, with a heart for preaching and pastoral care, and a passion to support the poor and marginalised in our communities. But he reminded me that he could not be Pope because he has a wife.
Joking aside, I do pray that this new man in Rome acts with wisdom, justice and grace. He certainly wants to promote peace and unity, and says he wants to put Jesus first. This has upset the MAGA crowd, who think that as he is American, he should put the USA first. I think Leo is unlikely to agree with them!

One hymn has been in my head all week, we sang it at Mum's funeral, because she loved it - and lived it. The words seem very appropriate in our world right now. Have a happy, peaceful Sunday

Advent 4 - Stars

It was inevitable really,  my first Advent post was about circles, and then I had to find different shapes for the next 3 Sundays, and after squares came triangles...but the most common Christmas shape has to be a star, doesn't it?

The Bible is full of references to stars - the one we'll hear most this week is from Matthew's gospel

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem and asked King Herod “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” [Herd had no idea!] And they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.  When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him, giving gifts of gold , frankincense and myrrh

But from the very beginning, stars have been important, and Jewish tradition has referred to the Messiah as the Star of Jacob.King David chose a star for his royal seal, and the Star of David has long been the symbol of the Jewish people.
In the old Testament we read about God's creation of the stars [in Job 38 and Amos 5]
Where were you when I created the earth? …While the morning stars sang in chorus and all the angels shouted for joy? 
The Lord made the stars, the Pleiades and Orion. He turns darkness into daylight and day into night.

The Psalmist is overawed by the beauty of the night sky, and marvels that the One who created the galaxies created and cares for mere mortals

When I look at the sky, which you have made, at the moon and the stars, which you set in their places—what are human beings, … that you care for them? And yet you crowned them with glory and honour. O Lord, our Lord, your greatness is seen in all the world!  

In the book of Revelation, Jesus is called the Bright Morning Star

And,here's a challenge, we too are called to be like stars. Paul's letter to the Philippians says...

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may be innocent and pure as God's perfect children, who live in a world of corrupt and sinful people. You must sparkle among them like stars lighting up the sky, as you offer them the message of life 

How many references to 'Star' can you find in the Christmas carols you've heard recently? Here is John Rutter's lovely "Star Carol" 

Lost And Found

If pace was my Word of the Year, I think I have totally failed. The pace of life has been rather too fast - except for poor Bob, for whom many activities have  been conducted at a much slower pace than in previous years. But Pilates is helping the back/ankle issues, and in the New Year he will be starting regular sessions at the Leisure Centre. And having a Blue Badge means he can at least park nearer his destination and reduce the amount of walking he has to do, we are very grateful for that. But we seem to have had a very full calendar in recent days. 

We actually scheduled last Monday as  Date Day - time to be together with no commitments to outside activities. I am taking time over the next couple of days to wrap Christmas Gifts.

Most of these have been bought over the last two or three months, and put on the top shelf in my wardrobe, But not everything - there was a stack of things on the spare bed at one point, and when I discovered Rosie and Jess were coming up to Norfolk for the weekend, I promptly hid their gifts. I didn't want surprises spoilt.

On Wednesday I got myself into a real panic because I could not find some gifts, and had completely forgotten where I had put them! Bob helped me locate 90% of  them [all in bizarre places]

Then there was the Christmas cake, which I originally planned to ice before Julian came.But he's not really fond of Christmas Cake, so I decided to wait. Could I find the cake on Wednesday? I hunted high and low, declaring confidently "It is in a round tin" Bob looked on the top of cupboards, and took the lids off the various round tins, only to find smaller round tins nesting inside. All empty! Eventually I found the square tin, neatly labelled "Christmas Cake" with the cake inside it [in my defence, the cake itself is round!] I have found the pack of fondant ready roll icing,but not the marzipan. The cake remains uniced as yet. [is uniced a word? it looks so similar to unicef, but pronounced so differently]

I returned the unsold craft goods to the loft, and went on to my 31:13 website to manage the inventory. And discovered to my horror that the mice were mistakenly listed as out of stock.No wonder none has sold for a few weeks! I've reduced some of the Christmas items.

We now have a clearer idea of which family members will be around, and when, over the festive season. So I shall make some serious menu plans and tidy the freezer and food cupboards next week.

I recently had a Waitrose voucher, and decided to stock up on tins from their Essentials Range. I am always intrigued by the items they consider to be 'essential'! These are currently on trays, slid under the spare bed. 

On Saturday morning, as I prepared for Christmas Lunch #1, I could not find the cranberry sauce [which I serve with roast chicken as well as with turkey] I knew I had bought a jar. We managed to find three in the end- one in the kitchen, one in the Futility Room anc one under the bed. 

"I once was lost, but now I'm found" is the soundtrack to life at Cornerstones this week

What A Night!

The weekend went incredibly well. So goid to meet up with so many friends. Here's a crowd of flower folding females!

The food was excellent, bedrooms comfortable, staff cheerful and helpful. 

On the first evening we had the usual "housekeeping" information.

• Wear your keycard-lanyard whenever you leave your room
• No fire drills planned, so if you hear the alarm, go to the assembly point in the car park
• There are two other groups, we each have designated meeting/dining areas
• Clear your room by 9am Sunday

All good. I slept really badly Friday night,don't know why. Saturday night went to sleep easily. Woken around 4am by loud noise. I thought it was my alarm clock. Fumbled for light switch. Thumped alarm. Noise continued. Spotted red overhead alarm was flashing. Opened my door to find two friends in the corridor "What's happening?" "Fire alarm, come on!"

I'd put out my Sunday clothes and packed most of my stuff before going to bed. So there I was trotting down the corridor in pj's, best blue suede heels, and my biker jacker. I'd remembered to take the card out of the power slot and tuck it in my lanyard. But I didn't put in my two little partial dentures, or remember my watch, phone or glasses! 

My friend had let her door slam behind her. So was stuck in the corridor without a keycard to get back in. Just in her nightie, no shoes or coat. Someone lent her a cardi. We all trotted outside to the meeting point, following the line of women ahead of us. Sarah kindly took my arm in case I stumbled on the steps [with no glasses it was all a bit blurred in the dark] 

Top marks to Lori from our planning team who had a list of Thrive delegates on her clipboard, and a pen to tick us off. We were all present, if not correctly attired! We stood around for ages. The other conference delegates were in their groups. 

Then somebody said we could go back in, false alarm! But nobody was quite sure who had said it,. The women by the door said the alarm was still going off, and they could smell smoke. Back to our muster station... 

Shame I had no phone, I'd have rung Bob for a chat [at 4.20am? He'd not have enjoyed that!] Shall we sing "My favourite things" to make us feel better? Or a rousing hymn [like "Send the Fire"] Tried not to think about needing the loo.

Finally we were sent back inside at 4.50. It was definitely a fault. No fire or smoke anywhere. I got into my room, visited the loo, put my little kettle on, made a cuppa, and did a sudoku. This will go down in Thrive history as "The Conference With The False Alarm" 

Sun-Day

Here's a popular hymn about the sunshine from the 1970s

And here is one from the 1870s

Whatever the weather, may you bask in the sunshine of God's love today

 

Are You Sitting Comfortably?

 ...then I'll Begin

Older readers may recognise those words as the beginning of the day's story on the Radio Programme "Listen With Mother". It ran from 1950 - 1982 [ending when Liz was just a few months old] I think this was the first Radio programme which I considered 'mine'. Mum and Dad listened to other stuff - Woman's Hour, The Chapel in the Valley, Desert Island Discs and The Archers etc - but LWM was for children.

Even after my great aunt gave us her elderly B&W TV  - a tiny screen inside a heavy wooden box - we were still more of a radio family.

As I grew older, I discovered other programmes I liked, and by Grammar School I had other favourites- I'm sorry I'll Read That Again, Hancock's Half Hour and various quiz shows. But there was just the one family radio, so any programme had to be ok with everybody. Unlike my friends, I didn't have a transistor radio hidden under the bedclothes, for late night listening to Radio Caroline.

Many programmes came and went - and I love the fact that BBC I-player enables me now to catch up with all those dramas, and classic serials from years ago. Paul Temple, Dick Barton, and more recently Cadfael, Raffles, After Henry. 

I listened to the Archers from childhood right up until covid. At Uni, my landlady and I sat in the kitchen after washing up. My children were always in bed by 7 when they were in primary school, so I could listen in peace with a cuppa. I was an Archers Addict. But i went Cold Turkey in covid, and haven't listened since!

But one programme which began just a few weeks after my wedding in summer 1979  is still around. It has recently moved from its original Sunday/Monday slots to Friday/Saturday. I try and catch it at some point in the week [I previously used to listen on my way home from Sunday Morning preaching engagements]

And 45 years on, I still think the Food Programme is excellent. In the beginning it was presented by Derek Cooper, who had a lovely voice for radio - Now Sheila Dillon and Dan Saladino are the main presenters. I have learned about the development of farming methods, food preparation. changes in the nation's eating habits, the cost of food [to our pocket, and to our planet] artisanal producers and high tech solutions, older food traditions and the newest trends. It is different every week and always interesting. 

There are well over 900 programmes available to catch up with on iplayer.

Last Friday's episode was part of Just One Thing Day - and looked at the many aspects of diet which had been highlighted by Dr Michael Mosley. Presenters had picked out their favourite highlights of his JOT show. It was excellent. 

I am definitely a Radio Girl. I can sew or knit whilst listening, and I'm not distracted by the pictures! But just recently my Radio Pleasure has been greatly enhanced. My tablet gave up the ghost [I'm losing track of Household Items which are packing up and irreparable this year] and the replacement came with an unexpected bonus - bluetooth earbuds. 

Now I can listen clearly whilst using the sewing machine, or sit in the lounge doing embroidery, listening to my radio programme, without disturbing Bob who is watching TV.

It's mostly OK - unless I am listening to the Daily Service,[15 minutes of reflection, 9.45am  Radio 4Extra] as I sometimes forget and start singing along to the hymns!

I am sure Guiglielmo Marconi  never realised in 1896 just how his invention would transform our lives.

Do you listen to the radio - national or local?

And do you have a favourite programme?

To Be A Pilgrim...*

This is the story...Nearly 1000 years ago, a wealthy woman called Richeldis De Faverches lived up in North Norfolk in a village called Walsingham, A devout woman, she prayed daily, and in a dream, the Virgin Mary came to her, and instructed her to build a replica of her home in Nazareth - the Holy House. So she called upon builders to construct a wooden dwelling, with the plans giver to her by Mary - the place where Gabriel announced to her that she would bear God's son, and the home where Jesus grew up. There were problems with the building, but after a night in prayer, Richeldis found the construction miraculously completed. 

Walsingham became a shrine "England's Nazareth" and thousands of pilgrims made the journey to worship there. There were stopping places along the route "slipper chapels" where pilgrims could find rest and refreshment.Then in 1538, Henry VIII ordered it to be burned to the ground, and all the gold and jewels to be taken back to London. The shrine fell into disuse. In 1896, the slipper chapel at the edge of Walsingham was purchased for Catholic worship. 

In the grounds of the abbey is a space where the 'house' stood. Now there is the main shrine in the village centre [CofE - greatly extended in the late 1960s] the Slipper Chapel [RC] a new RC church right in the centre of the village [built in 2006] and two orthodox chapels. [One in Little Walsingham, the other in nearby Great Walsingham] And thousands of Christians from many traditions make their pilgrimages here, every year.

In 1965 when we moved to Norfolk, people said it was an important place to visit - even for Nonconformists like my family. It was dark and gloomy in the old chapel - my little brother had never seen so many candles, and thought it was Jesus birthday, and wanted to blow them out for Him! My parents were bothered by the gift shops selling statues of Mary and I felt it all seemed full of superstition. But we prayed that God would bring light, love and hope to all those who came in search of Him.

Fast forward nearly 60 years. "What shall we do tomorrow?" said Bob. And I said I wanted to go to Walsingham ["to make a pilgrimage" sounds rather OTT] It was an interesting experience. There are a lot of new, bright, light places for prayer and worship. Obviously still lots of Marian theology - signs of previous visitors: Roman Catholics, High Anglicans and Orthodox believers, much in evidence. 

I did like the sign on the Pilgrim House, reminding late night revellers to be silent!On a damp Monday in late April the village was quiet, and peaceful. I took loads of pictures. As well as visiting the churches, we went in the TeaRooms, and Charity Shop. 

In the Shrine Shop I treated myself to a lovely Black Dog Tile, the "Somerset Blessing" to put up at Cornerstones near the one Liz gave me.. 
I will put more pictures in a future post. I am still processing my thoughts and feelings about the whole idea of what it means to be a pilgrim in 2024

*this is the refrain from John Bunyan's great hymn, which comes in Part 2 of his book The Pilgrim's Progress

Happiness, Health, Hope

My best friend Christine gave me a new Painted Bear calendar for Christmas. She knows how much I enjoy them [thanks, C!] Here is the final page of the 2023 one, about to be replaced. It is very appropriate as we enter the new year. Wherever you are, my friends, may 2024 hold happiness, health and above all, hope. In these troubled times, I do believe that faith is an anchor which secures us, when things seem to be spinning out of control. The assurance that God knows what is ahead, and nothing can separate us from His love. The old hymn, written in 1823, speaks of "Strength for today, and bright hope for tomorrow". May that be your experience too. 

Wandering Angles

We once had a friend who was responsible for preparing hymn words for the church data projector. Now and then a spelling mistake crept in. The amateur electricians smiled at "Onward  Christian solders" and as a maths teacher, I liked it when we sang "the angles keep their watch of wandering love"

This year we've added an angel to our Nativity Tableau. Unlike the other figures, created on frames made of old microphone stands and gazebo struts, this figure is based on the ancient laundry bin [replaced when we redecorated the bedroom]

Here's Bob in the workshop, attaching the gold polystyrene head to some shoulders [a length of packaging] on the upturned bin. There are three "vine hooks" - two on the shoulders, and a third halfway down the back. This last helps to adjust the position, so the angel is "bending on hovering wing" over the Holy Family. Bob says it "determines the Angel's Angle of Dangle" 

The wings are fixed separately behind, and constructed from a large sheet of card, covered in gold foil and draped in white and gold net from my Fabric Stash. 

Almost complete. I just need to pin the Wise Man's robe, it keeps blowing back to reveal the brick on his base - and I've mislaid the gift he had last year [a gold box] 

My young neighbour likes the angel, and speculated on who would be added next year. Would it be possible to have a camel standing outside? she asked. No! I told her. 

... But having seen Catriona's photo of the wondrous creature made by her husband's Men's Shed group, maybe it could be done after all... 

Old Tune, New Words

I am fond of an old Welsh hymn which begins "Here is love, vast as the ocean" - it has a  Welsh tune. 

Last week we sung this hymn in church with different, modern words. I found them very challenging.

Show me how to stand for justice:
how to work for what is right,
how to challenge false assumptions,
how to walk within the light.
May I learn to share more freely
in a world so full of greed,
showing your immense compassion
by the life I choose to lead.

Teach my heart to treasure mercy,
whether given or received –
for my need has not diminished
since the day I first believed:
let me seek no satisfaction
boasting of what I have done,
but rejoice that I am pardoned
and accepted in your Son.

Gladly I embrace a lifestyle
modelled on your living word,
in humility submitting
to the truth which I have heard.
Make me conscious of your presence
every day, in all I do:
by your Spirit’s gracious prompting
may I learn to walk with you.

 

 

New King, Newborn King

This year's Christmas stamps are the first to feature the silhouette of our new King, Charles III. I really like the design, and will buy lots, to last me all year. The words come from various popular carols

• 2nd - O Holy Night
• 2nd large - O Little Town of Bethlehem
• 1st - Silent Night
• 1st large - Away in a Manger
• £2.20 - We Three Kings

It came upon the midnight clear

That glorious song of old

From angels bending near the earth

To touch their harps of gold

"Peace on the earth, goodwill to all

From heaven's all gracious King" 

The world in solemn stillness lay

To hear the angels sing. 

... 

Still through the cloven skies they come

With peaceful wings unfurled 

And still their heavenly music floats

O'er all the weary world

Yet man, at war with man, hears not

The love song which they bring

... 

Oh hush the noise, ye men of strife

And hear the Angels sing! 

The Beauty Of Thy Peace

 All that stitching of Rosie's Mildred costume, and the "Strive" badge reminded me of a favourite hymn. It's been an 'earworm' for meall week. Posting this especially for one of my blogfriends who is away on a much needed weekend break [you know who you are!]

Drop thy 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 thy peace

Rejoice!

It has been a very busy week for both of us. Bob is preaching at chapel today - and we are studying the Jewish Festival of Pesach [Passover] I'm really looking forward to that. He has chosen some cracking good hymns too, including this one [a Getty & Townend collaboration]. A reminder that as Christians we are one people, whether we are going through good times or dark days, and together we can come to worship God and to rejoice in his goodness.

Come People of the Risen King,
who delight to bring him praise;
come all and tune your hearts to sing
to the Morning Star of grace.
From the shifting shadows of the earth
we will lift our eyes to him,
where steady arms of mercy reach
to gather children in.
Rejoice, rejoice! Let every tongue rejoice!
One heart, one voice; O Church of Christ, rejoice!

Come, those whose joy is morning sun,
and those weeping through the night;
come, those who tell of battles won,
and those struggling in the fight.
For his perfect love will never change,
and his mercies never cease,
but follow us through all our days
with the certain hope of peace.

Come, young and old from every land –
men and women of the faith;
come, those with full or empty hands –
find the riches of his grace.
Over all the world, his people sing –
shore to shore we hear them call
the Truth that cries through every age:
“Our God is all in all”!

Thought For The Month

I love this month's calendar picture. It reminds me of the hymn which inspired the title of my blog.

O Love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

O Light that foll’west all my way,
I yield my flick’ring torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.