Our Trip To Morocco

Jemaa el-Fnaa, Marrakech’s main square, is a bustling hub of activity. It’s a place where locals and tourists gather to experience the vibrant atmosphere, food stalls, street performers, and more. The square is known for its lively transformation from day to night, with food vendors setting up stalls and musicians filling the air with music as the sun sets.

Shared by Kathryn

Remember

50 Years Late

I am Only a child and it’s hard to explain,
The feelings I have as I sit in the rain,
And I think of the men who went off to war,
Knowing they would not come home any more.

I cannot say thank you to the men left in France,
Who laid down their lives to give me a chance,
I cannot say thank you to the ones who returned,
For thank you is not what those brave men earned.

I owe them my life, as I live it today,
A life lived in freedom because of that day,
I owe them much more than I can ever repay,
I owe them the lives that they gave up that day,
They will live in my heart for as long as I live,
And my children will learn of that gift that they give.

Who are these men? 
Who are these men who march so proud
Who quietly weep, eyes closed, head bowed.
These are the men who once were boys
Who missed out on youth and all it’s joys.

Who are these men with sorrowful look
Who can still remember the lives that were took.
These are the men who saw young men die,
The price of peace is always high.

Who are these men with aged faces
Who silently count the empty spaces.
These are the men who gave their all
Who fought for their country, for freedom for all.

These are the men who in the midst of pain
Whispered comfort to those who would not see again.
These are the men whose hands held tomorrow,
Who brought back our future through blood, tears and sorrow.

Who are all these men who promise to keep
Alive in their hearts the ones God holds asleep?
These are the men to whom I promise again
Veterans, my friends, I WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Peace by Herbert Doney

When we find peace within our hearts
it’s a very precious thing!
Hold onto it and cherish it,
for it’s a very lovely thing!
It can’t be bought with money,
or given as a gift;
but it’s there to share with others,
it’s the calm we feel within

Walk With God by Herbert Doney

There are many ups and downs in life,
maybe for joy or sorrow.
There are many unknown paths to choose
in hope for a bright tomorrow.
So keep on waking in the light,
Someone’s there beside you;
and when the journey gets too rough
He’ll be there to guide you.

Christmas is in June

It is very easy to start believing in the 1970s sitcoms’ portrayal of Christians as people that are very meek and mild, never stir things up, want everything to stay the way that it is and never challenge anything. Personally, I prefer to think of Daniel praying three times a day, even when it was against the law, and that he put his own life in danger, and of James and John being the “Sons Of Thunder”, amongst many other examples in the Bible of people with great courage and full of righteous anger. So, read this article and if it makes you think – GOOD! I hope that it might also lead to a prayer or two.

So – let’s start by looking at Christmas. When I was young, well over 50 years ago, I was told that a pagan, mid-winter festival had been taken over by the Church to become a Christian festival. I don’t believe that this is true nowadays – there is a secular celebration called Christmas and a Christian one, held at the same time.

We, in the Church decorate a Christmas Tree, hold nativity plays representing angels as young girls with tinsel halos, sing about the three kings and also Mary travelling to Bethlehem on a donkey. In most churches, at their Christmas Fayre, they have a super-natural being actually visit (he is an elderly gent in a red suit with reindeers that he can make fly, whilst pulling his sledge and visits approximately 2,300,000,000 dwellings in one night)! None of these are historical fact but are all part of the secular celebration – don’t get the two confused.

Of course, as human beings, we will occasionally over eat and generally overdo it and in mid-winter we need something to brighten our days. As Christians we are no different to anyone else and we do not reject all secular celebrations.

Remember: Real Angels are awe inspiring and whilst it is fine for children to dress up as Angels, we should think about these messengers in factual terms that may well affect our lives today. Give it a few minutes thought.

Remember: The three kings were really an unknown number of priestly astrologers that visited Jesus, days, months or even years after his birth. Not traditional Christians visiting on the 25th December.

Remember: To explain to older children that Jesus is real but Father Christmas is not! Enjoy the secular activities in December but separate out the Christian and secular in your own mind.

Remember: Jesus’ birth when you have few other distractions

And what do you say?

When I was a youngster, lepers and leprosy always seemed to be really remote, as the disease was rampant a long while ago in a far-away country. As a child of the 60s, I could go to the doctor with any illness and simply get a pill that fixed my problems. So, it appeared to have little, if any relevance. Far more important was that my home team, Chesham United, played the Amateur FA Cup Final in April 1968 in front of a crowd of 52,000 at Wembley (it would only have been 51,999 if I hadn’t gone). I didn’t notice that a flu pandemic killed between one and four million people that year. No masks, no social distancing and no hand gel – we thought that we were indestructible!

So, a few decades later and I was so focused on getting my daughter married during the Covid epidemic, looking after my father in law, after his wife died and getting my next job. So I largely missed the pandemic, like the last one.

After my daughter was happily married, my father in law started to come to terms with his new situation and the job market started to move again, I realised that I just kept praying for things and, like the nine lepers, I hadn’t gone back to the Lord to say “Thank You”. Not only did she get married, the dentist even fixed my broken teeth the day before, so I wasn’t an embarrassment in the photos, my father in law was starting to take more of an interest in things and despite not working for ten months we had enough money to live on and plenty of DIY to keep me busy. 

So – I would like to share a prayer with you from Crosswalk.com that you might like to pray to give you a more thankful focus rather than – “Can you give me a new something or other?” (Job, world peace, warmer weather on a Sunday in Rubery)

Dear God,

Thank you for your amazing power and work in our lives, thank you for your goodness and for your blessings over us. Thank you that You are able to bring hope through even the toughest of times, strengthening us for your purposes. Thank you for your great love and care. Thank you for your mercy and grace. Thank you that you are always with us and will never leave us. Thank you for your incredible sacrifice so that we might have freedom and life. Forgive us for when we don’t thank you enough, for who you are, for all that you do, for all that you’ve given. Help us to set our eyes and our hearts on you afresh. Renew our spirits, fill us with your peace and joy. We love you and we need you, this day and every day. We give you praise and thanks, for You alone are worthy!

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Since the Covid lockdown, I have retired and become a grandfather three times over …. and one question that I regularly use, and am sure that you will have used yourself with children is “And what do you say?”, expecting the answer “Thank you” …… but you don’t always get it! Hence the title of this article (that is a “blog” for anyone under 30).

I thought that it would also be worth sharing another personal experience with you. A few years ago I got rushed into hospital with acute stomach pain, with the blue lights flashing I reached the QE far faster than ever before. They dosed me up with the relevant medication, sorted the pain with pills and potions, then sent me off for a scan, a couple of days later. I had guessed correctly that a life of eating far too much fat had caused gallstones to form, what I wasn’t expecting was that the doctor, doing the scan, was going to tell me that he had some bad news and some worse news. The bad news was that the gallstones were now chronic and the worse news was that it looked like I had kidney cancer. Again – remember that I was brought up in the 60s, and cancer, in those days, was a death sentence – pills solved everything else but cancer killed you. It still brings tears to my eyes to remember having to call my wife and tell her the results. I remember every step that I walked across that car park, on the mobile, as if it were yesterday. A few weeks later I underwent an operation that took several hours and the squeamish amongst you will not want to know that they inserted a balloon to blow up my side in order to get to my kidney and operate on it. Keyhole surgery it was not!

A few months ago I had to go to see my GP and, as I am not good with these sort of things, my wife insisted on going with me. The Doctor asked if I had ever had any serious illnesses and I said “No”. My wife then pointed out that I had suffered with Guillain-Barré syndrome, Cancer, Gallstones, Blocked bile duct… she forget the Kidney Stones. The point that I am making is that these were extremely worrying, at the time, until I learned to trust the Lord to sort things out – even then I wobbled a bit, every now and again. The night before I went in for my cancer operation, I slipped out and posted a letter to my wife to tell her how much I had loved my time with her. It was timed to arrive the day after the operation, in case I was not on this earth any more.

As you have probably guessed by now, the Lord saw me (well us) through this difficult time and I am fully recovered.

So, although it is always darkest before the dawn, the dawn will come.

I want to share Philippians 4:6 in the New Living Translation:

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done”

and Psalm 23:4 in the Tree of Life Version

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me: Your rod and Your staff comfort me”

Then Exodus 23:25 in the Easy To Read Version

“You must serve the LORD your God. If you do this, I will bless you with plenty of bread and water. I will take away all sickness from you.”

I suggest that you pray, then play “I can see clearly now” by Jimmy Cliff (available on YouTube), but listen to the lyrics. Not a traditional hymn but I love the words. Note the rainbow reference that confirms a long-standing promise, as we know. Also helpful to remember:

Philippians 4:6-7 (New International Version)

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Let me finish with some more words from the bible:

Be joyful always, pray at all times, be thankful in all circumstances. This is what God wants from you in your life in union with Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Submitted by a Church member

Use Common Sense and Listen!

There was a devout Christian that lived in a deep valley that was prone to flooding. One day the rain started to fall and the floodwater started to rise. His neighbours warned him to leave, but he told them that he knew that the Lord would save him. So he stayed where he was and waited.

Soon he was on the upper floor of his house as the bottom floor was completely submerged.

A man in a boat went past and, being every concerned about the man, offered to row him to dry land – but the man said that the Lord would save him and still refused to leave.

Not long after that, he was forced up on to the roof and a helicopter was sent to lift him to safety – but, yet again he told them to go away and said that the Lord would save him and he still refused to leave.

Soon he drowned and went to Heaven. “Lord” he said “Why didn’t you answer my prayers and save me”. The Lord said “I answered your prayers – I sent a neighbour, a fire engine, a boat and a helicopter…”

So – don’t always assume that your preferred solution is the one that the Lord wants for you. Listen !

Jelly Bean Poem – Think and Enjoy

The following, very simple poem, is designed to get children, and adults with a sweet tooth, to stop and think about Jesus. We are not saying that it justifies eating sweets, but the best form of learning things is to repeat until the packet has been completely emptied …… then open another packet and do it again.

So – firstly get a large packet of Jelly Beans (we bought 2 Kg which was a bit over the top for 10 children). Separate them out into the various colours listed below and then read the poem and think about the words as you eat each colour jelly bean.