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.

Sorry to here about the chest infection MadHair. Can’t remember if you’ve had covid yet or not.

Still here lurking, but posting a bit less. Hope everyone had a good Easter.

Hi everyone, I went to church online again today. It’s very handy with teenagers who need to lie in and revise for GCSEs too!

Hello @Worryworry887 your story is very similar to my own except I got my dc christened because my parents wanted it and it seemed like good "insurance". I only found faith when I started taking ds1 to church for his FHC. Happy to be a Catholic now but like you still struggle with some aspects of the church. Despite this I think it's the best way for me to approach God. I respect other faiths and denominations too.

Hello @Madhairday I pray your dh gets better soon. Pastors are too exposed to all and so more at risk. I pray you don't get it too and your chest infection gets better soon. How is the writing going?

I've started "surprised by hope" free audiobook on Spotify. I listened to mere Christianity in the same way. His misogyny undermines some of his writing but he so clearly is from a different time. What is more surprising is that he has so much to say that is still relevant 80 years or whatever it is in the future.

Hello to Rafals and everyone else. I really enjoyed Easter Sunday mass at a church I don't often go to. Lots of incense and singing everything. Makes a change and very fitting for the occasion. We had a great priest too.

Looking forward to my ds2 first Holy communion coming up in June. Such a lovely experience for them.

Hello @ZenNudist - thanks so much for asking. I managed to not catch covid off DH thankfully but am still getting over this infection slowly. DH had a really nasty time with covid and isn't better two weeks on. He's usually so healthy.

I'm glad you enjoyed your Easter mass. It sounds amazing. I was sad to miss all the Easter stuff this year.

My writing is going well thank you. I'm just finishing my next book which won't be published until next spring but has to be completed by the end of May to go through the whole publishing process with the publishers. Getting there but a little stressed about it. Apart from that I'm submitting a fiction book I've written to various agents and publishers but with no joy as yet. I've just won a poetry competition which I'm thrilled about - it's a fairly prestigious one so good for my CV!

How lovely that your ds2 is going for his first communion. A really special occasion to look forward to.

How are you, @Dutchoma ?

Hello to @RafaIstheKingofClay and @NightLightComfort too. It's great to see you here. How are you doing? Is there anything you would like prayer for today?

Retreating here. A few exhausting religious discussions on mumsnet today. I don't know why I get involved. So much misunderstanding and intolerance. Still it's good to raise your voice to the storm, someone might hear, right?

MHD congrats on the poetry award (& on avoiding covid this time 🙏). Good to hear you are having a productive period. Is the fiction book a religious subject?

Has anyone read Sue Monk Kidd (book of longings)? My friend recommended it to me and I see she writes on some religious subjects but maybe in a way wouldn't appeal to Christians? I may rather stick to Rumer Godden and Graham Greene for religion / fiction mixed.

I forgot to mention. My MIL has just completed cancer treatment and is hopefully recovering. Thanks to all who prayed for her.

Lovely to hear how people are doing!

I was asked to share something of the Kingdom of God breaking through in my family situation in church this morning by our curate - I thanked various folk there for their prayers over the years and I should also thank people here - thank you!

On Mother's Day I had my first hug from DD16 in at least 4 years, I don't know how but breaking through her OCD and our previously (and still, to an extent) difficult relationship.

@JanglyBeads that must have been an incredibly emotional moment for you.

@ZenNudist I haven't read that book, no. I think I've read another of hers - did she write the secret Life of bees? It rings a bell. My fiction isn't outwardly Christian but has a few underlying themes, nothing outward though - just some forgiveness, that kind of thing.
I think Christian fiction is hard to find in terms of really good stuff - and I know plenty of authors. Have you read Sensible Shoes by Sharon Garlough Brown? I love that one, and there's a whole series. It's got some depth to it and is compelling at the same time - basically about a group of very different women learning some spiritual disciplines.

Oh and I know what you mean about the exhausting threads. I dipped my toes into one of them and retreated. I've spent so many years on those threads and nothing ever changes really...but I like to think that somewhere along the way our words might help someone think about things in a new way.

I came out of Mumsnet for a bit as I wasn’t coping with the new talk format. On the subject of books: Has anybody read Sarah Meyrick’s books? There is Knowing Anna, The Restless Wave and Joy and Felicity. She was John Pritchard’s PA at the time we went to Israel with him 7 years ago now and I really like her books.

I am very happy to be back to extending services again and being allowed to robe.
My cat is doing very well, getting more and more sociable, just a pity I cannot share this joy with my daughter and her boyfriend whose cat it was.
I’m so pleased to hear bout the hug you had from your daughter Janglybeads

I haven't read those books Oma but will have a look for them.

I'm so glad you can be back to normal with your choir and also that the cat is doing well ❤️ I'm so sorry but I think I missed what happened with your daughter. Sending you love.

Best to say your piece and leave. Make your point but don’t get drawn into arguments you can’t win. Your point might not come into play for years but you never know if you challenge misunderstandings you can change someone’s view over time if it sticks in their head.
I agree there is such a lot of ridiculous things said about Christians. It seems we are fair game for all sorts of rubbish. I don’t think it ever does atheists any favours though - tends to portray them in a mean light.

Hi all - I dip in and out intermittently on here but I wonder if I could ask a prayer of protection over DS please? He is 13, type 1 diabetic and due to play the lead role in a musical production next week.
It would be so amazing if he could do it without getting ill.

Recently, it seems as if every time he has wanted to do something he’s got ill which impacts on blood levels and stops him doing things. I would love for him to be able to do this.

thank you

Praying for protection for your DS, @Libre2 🙏

Welcome Libre2. Praying for your son and for you too.

Praying for your son @Libre2

Thank you all.

Hello. Can anyone help me please?

Two people who have both been pivotal in my life are end stage 4 cancer. I have visited one (Mother) and had written contact with another (ex Partner: we knew each other 35 years).

Both behaved very very badly to me.
I have not responded to their final machinations but told them I forgive them and wished them peace.

BUT I am struggling with aspects of my Faith now. Neither leaves this life repentant (quite the opposite in fact).

Will they ever 'understand' what they did after they pass ?? Will God sort it out ?? Have I let myself down / moved away from God by not "standing up for myself' when I had the chance ??

I don't know if anyone has any general thought / guidance on repentance / forgiveness (of myself too?)
But if so I'd be glad of them please.

@52andblue It’s so hard to manage grief when things are straightforward but a complete nightmare when things are not straightforward in a relationship. I’m so sorry you’re having to deal with this.

Please do not think you have let yourself down. Far from it - you have done the bravest thing that anyone could and offered them your forgiveness. You are only responsible for your emotions and reactions- whether they are repentant or not is not down to you (albeit it is probably very difficult for you see). You have done what is right and that is amazing.

As for whether God will sort it out I can only refer you to Genesis 18:25 “Will not the judge of all the earth do right?”

Be kind to yourself at the moment - it’s a hard time.

Yes, very much what Libre has said. And yes, God will sort it out. He will sort it out in a way that we cannot even imagine.
The trouble with forgiveness is that it does not mean that you say: “It does not matter, I forgive you anyway”. The unbearable hurt is there and it is only right that we should feel and expeience that hurt. The people that have wronged you have ‘trespassed against you’. You need to acknowledge that. And THEN you need to come to an understanding that you have been forgiven by God for the wrong that you have done and for that reason alone can you too forgive those that have wronged you.

If you have the energy, reflect on the love of God for you, His kindness, the peace that only He can give.
And yes, forgive yourself and be at peace.

Thank you @Libre2 for responding.
It is the most difficult thing.
Why does God allow people who do great harm to live long lives & die happily yet those who try hard to live well & acknowledge & repair their mistakes continue to suffer ?
I was kind to one, told the other I forgive them, meant it at the time, but its hard to feel it, consistently.

@Dutchoma rhank you for your comments. Yes, without going into details, both (sadly) have very much 'trespassed against me' (& others I imagine). You say as God has forgiven me, so I can forgive them. I think that a. I'm not really sure God does love me and b. I'm not sure I could hope to emulate that level of forgiveness. At least, I have a long way to go, not least with myself.

@52andblue I know that God loved you, that he knew you before you were born, that your paths were within his knowledge and his grace, and that he cares about you now.

His Spirit will minister to you and He is pleased that you are seeking Him and His ways, even through the mire that life in this fallen world can be. Do you have a church you can turn to?

Bless you today and always.

*that God loveS you