Christian prayer and chat thread Open to all

[Dutchoma]

The old thread was nearly full, so here is a new one. Oldies and newbies, chat or prayer, all welcome.

Praying especially for MHD and JanFeb’s daughter.
Also praying for all who are preparing Holy Week/Easter services.

That meant to say God's forgiveness is free and huge, but I quite like the typo that God's forgiveness is hugs, because it is!

Hello MHD
I like that typo too and also want to reassure Zebra of my prayers.

In Matthew, Jesus tells his disciples that "with God, all things are possible" and I hope that it will be possible for you to feel His forgiveness and for you to forgive yourself too. God is our loving Father and he would want to forgive and help you move on and find happiness, and yes, part of that may well be with another child at some point in the future.

MHD , that sounds like a really tough time you've been having. I'm sorry for the loss of your friend and will also hold your dad in my prayers. I hope the medical team are able to treat and stabalise his condition.

I went to weekday mass this morning with a couple of friends which was good. The church no longer has hazard tape on the carpet to show the one way system or to block off alternate pews and it's amazing how much difference this makes! I still feel safe there though as people are naturally distancing and wearing of face coverings is still in place. You can see the mark on the carpet though where the tape had been stuck for over a year - particularly the large one-way arrows. A friend commented that it was like the scar left behind by the pandemic and, although that's quite sad, it's also quite poetic.

Saying prayers for all your intentions and holding you all in my hearts. I'm going through a rough time at the moment and would be very grateful if you would say a little prayer for me. I don't think I've ever asked anyone to pray for me at all and it would be so appreciated at this time.

Hello halfhope. We may do ‘little’ prayers, but we have a great God who loves us more than we can ever know. Be blessed today.

Praying for you halfhope. I’m sorry you are having a difficult time.

Thank you so much Donhill and dutchoma. I was formerly Lisette on here. I much appreciate your prayers.

Prayed for you this morning @SudokuZebra You are often in my thoughts and prayers.

Glad to see you back on the prayer thread Zebra. The questions:

1º I am sure that God is like the elephant to the blind men: they all got hold of a bit of the elephant and based their conclusions on what they could feel. Inevitably their conclusions were flawed as they could not see the whole of the elephant. As far as I am concerned Christianity is how I can approach God, I know not enough about the other faiths to have enough knowledge and would leave each to their own without judgement.

The existence of the church after 2000 years+ is enough to convince me that there was something more to Jesus than to other relgious leaders of the time. Or any time.

2º The sects you mention do, as far as I am concerned, not belong to mainstream Christianity and I am quite happy to leave them to their own devices.

3º A handstitched bookmark is a wonderful idea as a small gift for the nun that has helped you so much. Even if it gets absorbed in the life of the order and she does not get personal use of it, it will still be a lovely gift.

I don’t think any of your questions are in any way offensive and anyone of us would be pleased to accompany you on a path of faith.

I have sent you a private message. This is a public board and I don’t want to say too much about things.

Nice to hear from you. How are you doing?

I saw that thread Zebra and felt for you about the very unkind comments that were posted.
However, there was also a lot of advice about giving yourself a break and accept that the abortion happened and move forward, so I am glad you have come away from that thread now. I hope you can do something nice for yourself tomorrow and that the weather is nice.

Hi Zebra

I didn't see your other thread but sounds like a good plan to step away! And good advice about letting go of the bad stuff and moving on

Hello everyone
Not been around. Had some holidays caught mild covid(!).

MHD I saw and then didn't respond. I'm sorry about your dad on top of losing your friend. How is he doing? My dad had some strokes 2 Christmases ago so I know how worrying it can be. I do pray he is doing better.

Zebra I missed your thread. Mumsnet is a really hard place to stick your neck out at the best of times. Some people think it's anti feminist to question ease of access to abortion. Dont even bring religion into the abortion debate because people will think you've been brainwashed. Anyway getting jumped on and called a troll is not what you need right now. How are you feeling otherwise? I will try and answer your questions in a minute.

@Halfhope I am sorry to add this late but I have said a little prayer for you and hope your troubles are easing now?

Hello also to @SesTheBrave. It's nice church is returning to normal but feel it would be best not to crowd people if you've got the room to spread out. I've avoided church for 2 weeks of holiday then 2 weeks with covid. I feel sad to have been away so long.

zen thank you. I am doing much better - the prayers have helped!

Zebra in answer to your first question I know for certain there is only one truth but which faith (or no faith) will turn out to be "right" is all to play for. I personally believe in Abrahamic God and Jesus Christ and have found a lot to support my belief but I feel I have more in common with people of other faiths than I do with those of no faith. Even people who believe in intuition and signs from the universe, my interpretation is, that is God. I feel strongly that there is an eternal existence beyond this one. I look at the universe and our world and see a creator and I am grateful. I am positive that God exists and He cares about each one of us. I find it baffling and mind blowing but also real.

Christians believe in the old testament as the Holy book that Christ and the apostles lived by. There are all sorts of different ways of reading it: as a true story that actually happened or as allegory. I read a lot of the OT as metaphorical but sent from God. Jesus is foretold in the OT and I love that resonance but also question it.

When it comes to understanding other religions I became fascinated by Wikipedia explanations because I never did any comparative religion at school. I'm particularly interested in Jesus (Isa) and Mary (Maryam) appearing in Islam. Also you can read about parallels between Christian and Hindu beliefs. I was also intrigued by JW, Mormons and Quakers. It seems to me that Quakers have mindful experience of God but it's not Christian. There's so much to understand about religion. But I mainly focus on my own for now. I listen to a bible in a year app and its been really helpful to put so much in context.

Hello everyone I’m new to mumsnet and just found this chat.
I look forward to chatting/sharing on faith/ praying for one another, etc.

I’m going through a challenging time health-wise but I’m trusting Him and feeling my peace grow each day. God is still the same, nothing is beyond Him.