From our Sunday School Days (Lift up our hearts)

I can't believe it's just over 10 years since I started posting on here, and yes Philip, if we go to a steam fair I always wonder if I am looking at the one in the picture. Lot of water has gone under the bridge since I first started.

I started looking at the site in October 2012 and joined in March 2013. It was the hardest year of my life and you peeps helped me cope.

Was it this one, Philip?

Brill!

Hi all, As we approach a Christian festival, I want to tell you & share something with you all. I hope it will make you smile, as it is also an admission of my forgetfulness at best or total failure at worse. A financial accountant is required to take note of details. As always, I'm not ever going to preach to you. Many of us, certainly of my age group, may be familiar with the walls of the great city of Jericho tumbling down. Even if we haven't read the scripture account, the song by Paul Robeson might be ringing in our ears, as we try to emulate his low base notes from his hit song of the fifties. What's come across to me is the prostitute in the account. Rahab. She had housed the spies in secret, at great risk to herself, God ordered that she & her family should be spared. She was spared, along with her family. A reminder once again to me that God does not forget what any of us do for Him or when we help folk out. No matter what she had been up to in her career. Ok, last bit! She is one of the ancestors of Christ! For me, that takes the biscuit! I had either never realised that or it simply wasn't in my thought processes. Ok, enough now. God bless & love to you all.

"A financial accountant is required to take note of details." I took down all the details, as you requested. Unfortunately, the desk where I was sat sitting, the window was on the right hand side. As you may recall, the window should always be to the left of an accountant's desk, that is, the debit side. I hope this doesn't matter - I have digested what you have written, together with my notes. He won't mind that you hadn't realised the relationship, as He has a long record of all your continued good deeds. Do hope your health is in decent order.

Hi, Actually, I've a problem with my hearing, but I'm doing my best to cope. Not easy playing instruments. I have to lip-read our guitar player. I have a dewax appointment coming up, so hoping that's the problem. Hope you're keeping well.

Hi all, This thread was started by another forum member, I'm so pleased about that, but because we merged the Wellbeing topic with Sunday School memories, my post regards my loss of a close friend puts me as the first poster. I love being able to give encouragement when I can, often putting my own experiences into words, based on my faith experience. That's not an easy task, because I'm mindful of our forum rules, that I heartily agree with, not just because I'm signed up to them. Our forum folk, you, you all have your views on faith, what faith or what you believe of don't believe. That's so important for me to take on board, because our close forum community, is almost a fixed audience. That applies to anything that any of us post. The last think I ever want to do is cause offence, which I hope is in the minds of us all as we post. Some eat meat whilst some don't. Whatever I post, I will only do so where I heartily agree with the true sentiment, usually from my own experiences. Today, I'm going to post a simple, almost one line verse of encouragement to us all. The sort of quote that might be at the bottom of a day to day calender. Please follow suit if you like, with any wellbeing quotes that you like. Thank you.

This is from Psalm 91. Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

At a very early age, the Bible worried me. I worried about the people who choose the wrong religion or never heard of Christianity or followed the rules wrong, or died before Jesus was born. I worried about good people who just didn't believe would go to Hell, and that bad people could get into Heaven if they repented and believed. It felt unfair and I thought that if there was one thing that God should be, it was fair. To me there are gems of godness (spelling deliberate) in all sorts of unlikely places and deviltry in places where they shouldn't be. Christianity as it is practiced by people like you Philip and your beloved Pam are one of those gems but you break the rules - those bacon butties for a start There are many gems in the Bible, especially the New Testament but there is also base metal. The godness is knowing which is which.

Hi all, Hi Helen, One of the reasons that I'm mindful of showing respect, because I'm my own worst enemy. No joke. I was never made to go to Sunday School. I was encouraged but never forced. Just as well, because I often hated it. When I was nine, a real nasty individual I was, I would have done anything to see them blown up. It was a poor old me, syndrome. What God! The God that consigned me to four years continuous hospital confinement over a period of fourteen years, with feet the wrong way round, a corrupt pelvic bone structure, as well as not having my natural mother & father. What's changed me is seeing reality. I'm still alive. Those issues that wrecked my childhood are not an issue now. Also, seeing the suffering of so many now. I don't just mean old folk like me. I lost a dear friend a few years ago, a lady called Ann. She lived most of her adult life in a special care home in Meriden, called Penderals. Except when she was in bed, her entire life had been spent in a wheelchair. She had cerebral palsy. What right had I got to complain about my lot! I'm aware of folk on our forum who cope daily with issues that I've never had to. The list is endless. Sometimes, it's the invisible ailments that hurt so bad. Dyslexia is often forgotten, but it wrecks lives. We, I honestly believe are a loving forum community. We care. That's number one priority. Yes, I get things wrong. We say something that causes upset. That I will always try to avoid. We have moral fibre in our forum community, that was certainly absent when someone rammed one of our member's parked motor car & drove off. Oh how we need encouragement in our care for each other. That I believe is unique to our forum. That's why I so value our forum. Friendship.

I am a simple soul and easily confused and so I have tried to make things simple. I work on the belief that everyone is born with 3% of good and 3% of evil in their soul, those are the seeds planted in our genetic make up. What we do with that will depend on which seed flourishes or dies. If we are aware of that we nourish one seed or the other. That belief simplifies life for me.

I am not a religious person but I'm a great believer in being kind and respectful to our fellow humans. On a daily basis I try to smile and maybe say hello to people I meet out and about. Sometimes they're surprised but almost always smile back. It costs nothing and lifts my day too.

If only the rest of the world felt like you all do at this moment, on this forum, what a perfect world it would be. I feel so lucky to find myself here this evening and be able to share your thoughts of people's well being. So I am taking this moment and grab the chance to thank you all sincerely for all your time and efforts in making me feel welcome via your posts. My brain maybe a lot older than many of yours but you have made an impression on me and I hope I can be around for a while longer yet. Love and good health to you all and keep those posts rolling in. xxxx

I know what you mean, Dreamtime, it's nice to have a helpful circle of Forum Friends and glad to know a fellow Coundon person. Maybe we even bought bread from your mum's shop!