Barbara’s Monday Email 06-07-2020

Hello Faith Pals,

Hello, I hope you are all warm and dry, inside (well, of course you are if you are reading this!) out of the chill.

Some updates:

Alan and Fredrica Kingsbury: Alan is having blood tests today, before his chemotherapy on Wednesday.  Fredrica is seeing her surgeon tomorrow

Rohini: her shoulder is getting better, and Jaya is doing a little better week by week, which is good news.

Erica Fox: Not sure if things have progressed since Friday, when Erica informed me that James was still awaiting surgery, when they will put in plates and rods to give his spine more stability.

John Wallace: we will keep his sister Joy in our prayers

Margaret Knott: doing well, fine again, she said.

-Her niece Ros, in Brisbane is unwell. She had an aggressive stage 4 brain tumour 18 months ago. Please pray for her and her family.

David (my husband): doing quite well.  The physio got him out of bed, and he was able to walk, with assistance, to the bathroom-but that was it!  He is very tired, still in quite a lot of pain.  He is off to dialysis there this afternoon, so I hope he can rest while he is having that done. Thank you for your prayers, thoughts, emails and phone calls-we do feel upheld in prayer, and I do feel strengthened by God.

This came in from Geoff Serpell, regarding a late member of the congregation, Lorna  Bravington:

‘The Bravington family informed me this morning of the passing of Lorna on 30 June aged 98.

She had been ailing for about five years and I had prepared the eulogy at the family’s request some time ago.

The grandchildren wish to do the eulogies at the funeral at 2 pm on next Friday at Tobin’s 604 Esplanade Mt Martha. This will be viewable via Tobin web site I am informed.’

Our prayers and thoughts are with the family.

And, of course, our prayers are with the Pink family this week, as they prepare for Tom’s funeral tomorrow.

More books.  From Jenny Longmuir:

‘It was interesting to see people’s favourite books. I have so many favourites. It is lovely to have time to reread some of them. One is ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ by Khaled Hosseini which is focused on the lives of women in Afghanistan under the Taliban. I just reread ‘A Town Like Alice’ by Neville Shute and ‘The Year of Wonders’ which is based on the town of Eyam in Derbyshire . As plague spread in 1665  it quarantined itself and although 2/3 of the population died, other villages were saved. We went to Eyam in 2009 and spoke to the lady who lives in the cottage where the plague began. She believes the cottage is haunted. The plague was  caused by fleas in a bolt of cloth sent from London. I am nor reading ‘None but the Brave’ by Joy Chambers, a great read.
I was a Teacher Librarian for 6 years and love reading Children’s books. I read almost every Enid Blyton book when I was a child.’

From Geoff and Janice Serpell:

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt

The Citadel by A.J. Cronin

Poetry books by Pam Ayres

The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson

The Harp in the South by Ruth Park

Forty-four Scotland Street by Alex McCall Smith

A Passionate Life by Ita Buttrose

The Long Hot Summer by Mary Moody

The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough

All I needed to know I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum

 

Favourite Books of Geoff Serpell

The [Frances Gay] Friendship Annual books

The Cruel Sea by N. Monserrat

Biggles Books [series] by Capt. W.E. Johns

Complete Short Stories [1,11, and 111] by S. Maugham

Audrey Hepburn Treasures by Erwin & Diamond

All Creatures Great & Small [series] by James Herriot

John Curtain’s War by John Edwards

Life of Pi by Yanni Martel

Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt

Tears of the Moon by Di Morrisey

The No1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alex McCall Smith

Pastoral Care & Counselling by Howard Clinebell

Breaking the Rules [series] by Eddie Askew

Victory at Villers-Bretonneux by Peter Fitzsimons

Tuesday with Morrie by Mitch Albom

Some interesting reads. Geoff suggested favourite songs next.

I have one entry for favourite Scripture verses, which I will hold on to until we have more entries coming in.

Two quotes:

‘Don’t be pushed by your problems.

Be led by your dreams.’

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

‘Music in the soul can be heard by the whole universe.’

-Lao Tzu

I found this statement on-line, and HAD to end with it! 

 

I Resign

I am hereby officially tendering my resignation as an adult.

I have decided I would like to accept the responsibilities
of an 8-year-old again.

I want to go to McDonald’s and think that it’s a four star restaurant.

I want to sail sticks across a fresh mud puddle and
make ripples with rocks.

I want to think M&Ms are better than money because
you can eat them.

I want to lie under a big oak tree and run a lemonade
stand with my friends on a hot summer day.

I want to return to a time when life was simple.

When all you knew were colors, multiplication tables,
and nursery rhymes,

but that didn’t bother you, because you didn’t know what
you didn’t know and you didn’t care.

All you knew was to be happy because you were blissfully unaware of all the things that should

make you worried or upset.

I want to think the world is fair.

That everyone is honest and good.

I want to believe that anything is possible.

I want to be oblivious to the complexities of life and
be overly excited by the little things again.

I want to live simple again.

I don’t want my day to consist of computer crashes, mountains of paperwork, depressing news,

how to survive more days in the month than there is
money in the bank, doctor bills, gossip,

illness, and loss of loved ones.

I want to believe in the power of smiles, hugs, a kind
word, truth, justice, peace, dreams,

the imagination, mankind, and making angels
in the snow.

So…here’s my checkbook and my car keys, my credit
cards and all my responsibility.

I am officially resigning from adulthood.

And if you want to discuss this further, you’ll have to
catch me first, ’cause,

“Tag! You’re it.”

-Anon

Much to think about in that!  I know we can’t hug at the moment-but keep the smiles coming!

 

‘It is the Lord who goes before you.  He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you.  Do not fear or be dismayed.'(Deuteronomy 31:8)

Blessings and love to you all.  You are so dear to me, even if I can’t put images to most of your names!  Won’t it be fun when I do a ‘match up’ when we finally meet again face to face!

Barbara Allen

 

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