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
:)

Like the new name.

Happy birthday MHD. Hope you're at home to celebrate.

Happy birthday, mhd. Here's a present for you:

lost - that's a good name. Now I have to ty to remember it's you! [baby brain]

Well, I thought I should keep the "lost" to help! It's not the most positive of nns really, but I like it; I identify with it now.

Still, I sympathise with the effects of baby brain. In fact, you've inspired me: future nns could be, erm, lostabilitytothink and maybe lostallcapacityforgrownupconversation... that is, if they haven't been taken already...

Like the new name wellies!

Thanks, enjoying my birthday so much just because I've come home. Coping OK with the home IVs so far.

glad you've had a good birthday. mhd :)

Happy New Year, everyone! Any NY resolutions...?

Mine is to stop giving so much air time to dubious points of view. Last year :) I allowed myself to get more and more doubtful by listening to atheists until I could hear their voices wherever I went, whatever I thought, every day. And then I suddenly thought, this is madness! Actually, ha, no, I didn't think it - I read: "Everything is possible for me, but not everything is beneficial." And then, not long afterwards, a few verses which just jumped out of the page as though they'd been written especially for me. Never had that before, maybe never will again, anyway great experience!

I'm not saying that it's bad to talk to atheists, of course, just that I wasn't really doing it in a healthy way, spiritually speaking.

My other resolution is to go to bed when I say I'm going to and not spend another 40 minutes on mn afterwards...

Happy New Year everyone!

Lost - new year resolutions...:

1. to get to church more often. (I only made it once in the whole of December )
2. to end the year weighing less than I do now (hopefully shouldn't be too hard!)
3. to not leave piles of washing waiting for sorting in the living room.
4. to learn to be more of a glass is half full person. A friend posted on FB the other day "a pessimist sees the difficulties in every opportunity whilst an optimist sees the opportunities in every difficulty."
5. and just in case I need reminding... pelvic floor exercises!!!

MHD - glad you got home for your birthday and hope the IVs are still going ok.

Nickel - how's that gorgeous baby girl of yours getting on?

All fine here - 20wk scan on Friday so a bit excited and apprehensive. I think we're going to ask not to find out whether we've got a boy or a girl on the way. (We're both convinced it's another boy though!)
Getting very tired so must remember to take my vitamins every day and hope that will help!

Hope everyone else is doing ok and has a good start to 2012 :)

Oh also meant to say that Lost, your thoughts on being influenced by others are interesting and how wonderful to have some words jump out meant just for you!
I do think though that it is perfectly acceptable to question & doubt and in fact that often makes our faith stronger in the long run. With the help if the Holy Spirit though I believe we will find it hard to deny or doubt God for long.

Hello everyone and happy new year!

No resolutions here as such but I would like to loose some weight so that my clothes will fit and to be honest I'm just looking forward to being back in the UK for some of the year as I haven't been back for two whole years!

lost I think that "Everything is possible for me, but not everything is beneficial" is a very good quote and I shall try to remember it

Happy new year everyone! Some great thoughts about new year resolutions.

Mine are

1/ To write a book - this is the year, definitely
2/ Get more on top of my disease, now I have a great consultant maybe we can get more control
3/ To stop going on the puter so much when the dc are home from school and play with them more!!
4/ Start praying more again...
5/ lose a stone.

Hopefully these are all achievable :)

How's it going nickel?

Hi and happy new year!

Personally, I think it is best to face up to doubts and pray about them. I've tried mentally sweeping stuff under the carpet but it just resurfaces at a later time. Better to try and deal with it IMO. Lovely to hear about verses jumping out at you.

Ladies, I'd love your help with something - I have been given some amazon vouchers and want some help in spending them. I've a small collection of worship type cds and I've played them so much that I feel I could do with some new ones. My musical tastes are pretty wide ranging but include folk and more sort of upbeat rocky stuff too. I quite like a few songs I have that are more bluesy or gospel in style but haven't any idea what cds may be good. Any recommendations?

Phil Wickham is brilliant - try 'Cannons'

If you like folk/rock you might like Third Day - they're an American band which are kind of country/rocky - something a bit different, I love them. Worship/songs about life.

Ditto Casting Crowns.

If you like upbeat rocky stuff you'll probably like Pete James stuff too, then the usual Matt Redman/Tim Hughes/Ben Cantelon - all good but overplayed sometimes.

You could try the New Wine studio albums - they are good but a tad samey ;)

Trying to think of more bluesy/gospel type - try Israel Houghton, he's more gospelly I think. Not sure about bluesy...will think more.

oh, yes, SES - definitely remember to take the vitamins.
I got the Sainsbury's home-brand called Mum and Bump - they've got exactly the same as the pregnacare ones. (of course, I kept not taking them.... )

I've got to learn to have a bit more patience - not just with DD (who is lovely when she's not crying. Unfortunately she cries a lot: mainly when I'm trying to sleep. I've learned first hand Cluster Feeding. Why can't she do it from 8-11 instead of from 12-3am?? ), but with other people who annoy me.

lost - i try to ignore people whose opinions are unhealthy. :)

agree with all MHD's recommendations (except Israel Houghton, don't know him!)

Happy New Year to you all.

nickel - yes, probably a better ruse than searching them out!

Ooh, mhd, a book? Fiction or non? Is it all planned or just a vague idea that there may be a book in you somewhere?

Worship CDs - I have been playing a Casting Crowns CD over and over recently - it's a Christmassy one and is great, so they should be a good bet. We have a Soul Survivor compilation as well, which we enjoy - the dcs included.

That's about all we've got, though. I'm going to get me a couple more, too, jaffa!

Jaffa - I actually really like Delirious. May be because I most often listen to CDs in the car (I do a lot of mileage with work) and I need something a bit more rocky than contemplative when driving.
Or another option is a few years back I got a various CD of worship music. Can't remember what it was now but something like "The Best Worship CD in the World Ever".

Funny story I've been meaning to share with you.... DH goes to church twice a year - Christmas and Easter. I usually enjoy the 3 of us going so that we are all there as a family. This year however on Christmas Day I was busy cooking turkey and goose for the family and so DH and DS only went. Now in the 7yrs I have known DH, he has never gone up for communion and likes to be a bit anonymous at the back of church. Apparently on Christmas Day though, DS (at 2.7yo!) said "Daddy, come on!" and forced him to go up for communion!!

Brilliant! Children are great, aren't they? Apparently, DS (aged 4) was improvising worship songs for the benefit of his bemused co-passenger in the car yesterday, driving out for a walk with friends. Something about Jesus being his Saviour.

SES - aww brilliant, and lost, love it!! :)

I love Delirious too. They are kind of timeless I think.

lost - yes it is a planned book. It has been buzzing round for a long time now. A non fiction Christian book on healing, the way the church treats chronically sick and disabled people, the sense of being 'useful' or 'useless' and lots of stuff round that. I'm trying to tie it down, but need to get writing I think for it to come together. Have done lots of reading around it. I just have this feeling that now is the right time - never quite had that before.

On that subject I think it was Mary that recommended a book ages ago about disability theology - if so could you give me a linky for it as it sounds ideal reading for me? Thanks!

That sounds great - I'll buy it when it's done! :) I've done so much sitting around trying to be patient recently, and feeling useless, and gradually remembering that God uses our weakness and it can be more usable than a sense we can do it in our own strength.

On the subject of which, I always feel inadequate when evangelism is talked about - any kind of faith-sharing really, as I just never have those conversations; it never comes up naturally. Well, the other day, I just prayed, "Perhaps I'm not ready for that yet and you want me to learn and think some more first." And then yesterday, had an unexpected conversation with a friend about sin and death and punishment. I was far from coherent, but quite amused that God might now think I was ready, now I'd acknowledged my willingness to wait!

That's great lost. It's so often when we admit our weakness and just give ourselves to God within it, that these sort of things happen more. God does stuff within the weakness. I've certainly found that within my life, many times. And being far from coherent - that's a good thing too. Being articulate was never a part of the great Bible heroes' resumees - think of Moses, Paul etc - all known as people who stumbled over words and didn't always get it right. It's those sort of people God delights to partner with and work with for his glory. Such exciting stuff!

aww, sweet little children!
I hope Eleanor will be a force to be reckoned with when she is verbal.
Unlike our Junior Chorister who doesn't like to mix choir and school (to the extent that he refused to join his school choir because he was embarrassed, even though he loves being the centre of attention in our choir! ), I hope she'll be able to recruit a few of her schoolmates into our choir!

can't recommend any worship CD musics, though, not really into all that. DH has recently bought the new John Rutter one, which is mainly him conducting all the old favourite christmas music. I prefer to hear it all live, iyswim.

Have you posted any pics yet nickel on fb Want to see your beautiful dd! :)

Just looked at your page. She is utterly, utterly gorgeous

Nickel, I just sent you a friend request on fb. Someone told me you name ages ago when I complained no-one was my friend but I never got round to doing it