Graham, Gloria and Gossip! Religion Chat thread (part 4)

[nickelbabe]

I know we've not officially finished the last one, but I wanted to get the link in before we ran out of room!

Everyone welcome - the aim of this thread is to generally chat about church life, or just gossip in general!
You don't have to be a regular church-goer, nor do you have to know what we're going on about!
It's not about debate, it's just about chatting
:)

lost - I have a really cool book called "Bad Girls of the Bible" - something to start with?

Francine Rivers - I know that name

nickel I can't believe you're singing in the choir again already! That's dedication .

I think we need to be keeping MHD in our prayers at the moment.

If I'm feeling brave I'm going to sing O Come O Come Emanuel tomorrow night at church (we have a midweek evening service). If I'm not feeling brave I just won't do it - that's the great thing about living somewhere where no one plans anything .

Must go to bed as it's midnight and I have the Mums and Toddlers Christmas party to run tomorrow...

I wasn't going to, but I decided that I just couldn't cope with sitting in the congregation.
Originally, i was going to do congregation in the morning and join in for the anthem during communion, then I thought "i can't sing without my robes on!" , so I just joined in (but stayed sitting during most of the service - and took snacks with me )

In the evening, I was going to nap al afternoon and then do the service, but that didn't happen, so I jsut went along as normal.
One of the reasons it's better to be in the Choir, is that the Quire (ie whee we sit) is closer to the vestry, so if i needed to sneak out for any reason, it would be less obvious than having to go out of my pew, across the front of the congregation and then cross the altar to get to the vestry.

mhd is in my prayers, deffo.

oh, you reminded me, I must practise Once in Royal solo verse - I've agreed that I will be up for singing it in the village on Christmas Day, but I haven't done it yet this year, so must practise it!!

MHD - praying you get to escape for Christmas

I'm not sure if your emoticon is shocked or singing, nickel.

jaffa - just remembered to reply to your comment about the Amish. I did a short talk on them for a German exam a few years ago and found them intriguing. I like the idea of a simple lifestyle and being part of a small community (yeah, yeah, nothing like my actual life!), although I know I'd hate it after a while in reality - I guess you have to be born into it, when it comes down to it.

Anyway, I read Plain Truth, by Jodi Picoult a little while after my talk, which is a very good book and also quite interesting from point of view of the insights into Amish living. Just mentioning it in case you're interested.

Hello

I officially heart my dh. He bought me a dongle and a christmas tree this morning. He is the best

Feel less lonely somehow being online!!

Looking like I'll get to be home for christmas

Hi everyone again,
mhd I am glad you will be home for Christmas and hope you are also going to be feeling a bit better.
nickel I hope you are enjoying that gorgeous baby girl
tam we did a random 4 part harmony of O Come, O Come the other Sunday night, tested my sightsinging!
I have not been well this week and am struggling, but praying and hoping to get through Christmas.

Glad you're feeling better mhd

I am enjoying the baby girl, more so when I've had some sleep to cope with it!

hope you feel better soon, mousie - is it a cold or flu or something more serious?

A bit more complicated - psychiatric issues. But God is able, right? I am really hating myself at the moment but he is not far off. I really just need some hope I think. This should probably be on the prayer thread really. You're amazing to be so busy and involved as a brand new mum - I've read the order of service for Sunday and we've done 'From the Squalor' 5 Sundays in a row now. Somebody's got to write some new modern Christmas songs! I'm not offering, I still struggle with reading bass clef.

And hello and love to all others. lostafrica was it you that returned in haste from North Africa somewhere? I was lurking then - if it was. I think you must be an amazing family to give so much of yourselves.

Didn't get to hear the whole of the Carol concert, but DD was singing in Ely Cathedral last night, in the children's choir. It was supposed to finish at 9:30 - didn't finish till 10:10, so I got to hear a fair bit of it (including most of the bits she was singing in), it was lovely :). Had to text the babysitter though - was only popping out to fetch her and come back! We didn't get back till 10:30!

(top price tickets for it were £26! )

mousie - sorry to hear that. :(
I'll pray for you, as I'm sure we all will.

Not being so involved I feel lost if i'm not there on a sunday! don't know why....

Have you found the new Songs of Fellowship? book 5?
was published in June, I think.
I just sent a copy to Baroque and had a sneaky peak before I sent it - it's got loads of new stuff in it, and even some new arrangements for old stuff.

well done to your DD Mary

oh, MN will now have to wait, DD is crying... either DH is torturing her with a nappy change or she wants some more foooooooooooooood

hello, mousie - yes, that was me! I always felt a bit of a fraud, though - I only discovered that I was thought to be a missionary after dh had accepted the job and we were at a kind of "sending party"!! And I was a bit of a Jonah, really, a very reluctant missionary. My mission field didn't extend much beyond my dcs...

Anyway, it's lovely being in the UK and having everyone else celebrating Christmas, too. It was just another ordinary day, there - which is nice in a way, but not familiar like my childhood Christmases in the UK. I particularly like having radio again now!

lost at you being an accidental missionary. I actually am one but I am a little reluctant to use the title because people often have a stereotype in mind the minute you say it and I don't really feel like I fit that! We did have a visitor who came to see some of the projects we do and commented that I 'didn't look like she thought I would'

Christmas is a bit weird here because the Baptist church (who we work with) celebrate it on the 25th but most people here celebrate in January (according to the Orthodox calender).

Hoping everyone has a lovely Christmas Eve. I have a birthday girl here so we remain a bit distracted from Christmas til it all arrives iyswim. Also not sure if I mentioned if it's the first without my mum. Hope you escape for a lovely day tomorrow mhd and everyone feels organised!

Morning all. Happy Birthday to mousie's dd :)

I am so happy to be going home later. I know I have to be back on Boxing day but I get to spend christmas eve with my dcs and dh and do all the lovely christmas eve stuff then christmas day. I am truly happy. I know I will have to rest completely but dh is so great and won't let me do anything else, and he will cook a scrummy christmas dinner, just a shame I can't have some nice tipples, will have to save till my birthday party, bday is NYE but having a party in January as it's a 'big' bday

So love to all this Christmas eve

Hello all, where is everyone then?

Nickel, hope you had a lovely first christmas with new dd :) How is it all going?

lostafrica, hope you're feeling better and getting enough rest, and that your new home is lovely.

Blue, did you have a good christmas in your new home?

Have been thinking of you all.

Very bored here now. Had an awful day yesterday with bad reaction to some drugs then to anti sickness and my veins playing up and v painful arm, had to take the long line out and have another venflon in now today another longline. felt v dizzy and odd, was horrible.

However it's a new day and feel more like myself. If it wasn't for the awful food I'd be ok!

Hope you are all OK and had a great christmas :)

I've been around, just not very often (don't want to appear obsessed.... )

I'm just uploading pictures of DD onto the computer, and onto photobucket. There will also be a couple on FB when they're all up.

DH is making dinner. It smells lovely, but has set the smoke alarm off....

Sorry you're still going through the mill, but it sounds like you're mending. :)

Time for a new nn, now that Africa is not a significant part of my life, and in time for the new year...

Ta-da! It's in honour of DD3 who has a bit of a shoe fetish at the moment!