Hello Faith Pals,
A beautiful reflection from Bill Pugh, a wonderful church sign, courtesy of Janet Soo, and a reflection that was used at Church Council, from Priya.
Now, Bill had sent me another reflection about Sunday School picnics. I was going to include that as well, but have decided to hold it over until next week.
BUT this gives me the chance to ask: “Do you remember Sunday School picnics?” If you want to, send in your thoughts-I am still waiting to find out some of your favourite things…maybe you don’t have any?
Some of mine: Bible stories, a cat on my lap (there is one there now!), rain on the roof at night, rainbows, puppy breath, babies, the laughter of children, stars on a clear night, carousels, animals (all kinds), first cup of tea in the morning. There…not too difficult…and slightly more than ‘a few’ (I had shortened my list-can’t include everything)
News: Next week is Alan’s next round of blood tests, chemotherapy and results. We pray that his psa is stabilizing. Hold Alan and Fredrica in your prayers. Fredrica’s hand is improving-but there is shooting pain when she does too much!
Rohini had a fall earlier in the week-she is ok, but she fell on her sore shoulder, so some of the initial healing has taken a slight step backwards.
John’s skin problems are starting to improve, which is good news.
Here is a prayer that was included in a Presbytery email. It comes from the Iona Community’s recently published book, Voices Out of Lockdown:
Blessed are they who wash their hands,
for they shall hold living water;
blessed are those who keep their distance,
for they shall draw closer to God;
blessed are they who self-quarantine,
for they shall help others;
blessed are those who do not hoard,
for they shall feed families;
blessed are those who sing songs to sheltering neighbours,
for they shall be members of the heavenly host;
blessed are parents who learn to teach at home,
for they shall learn from their children;
blessed are they who shop for older folks,
for they shall receive everlasting thanks;
blessed are the frontline health workers,
for they shall be called healers of humanity.
© 2020 Thom M Shuman
https://www.ionabooks.com/product/voices-out-of-lockdown/
Some Wise Words Today!!
A while back I read a story of a visiting pastor who attended a men’s breakfast in the middle of a rural farming area of the country.
The group had asked an older farmer, decked out in bib overalls, to say grace for the morning breakfast
“Lord, I hate buttermilk,”the farmer began. The visiting pastor opened one eye to glance at the farmer and wonder where this was going.
The farmer loudly proclaimed, “Lord, I hate lard.” Now the pastor was growing concerned.
Without missing a beat, the farmer continued, “And Lord, you know I don’t much care for raw white flour.”
The pastor once again opened an eye to glance around the room and saw that he wasn’t the only one to feel uncomfortable.
Then the farmer added, “But Lord, when you mix them all together and bake them, I do love warm fresh biscuits.
So Lord, when things come up that we don’t like, when life gets hard, when we don’t understand what you’re saying to us, help us to just relax and wait until you are done mixing. It will probably be even better than biscuits. Amen.
“Within that prayer there is great wisdom for all when it comes to complicated situations like we are experiencing in the world today.
Stay strong, my friends, because our Lord is mixing several things that we don’t really care for, but something even better is going to
come when God is done with it.”
Well, that should be enough to get you through the next few days!
Blessings and love
Barbara Allen
