February 2011

It's been another busy month so here's a snap shot.

At church I signed up last year to do the intercessionary prayers. This is the section of the service that is almost meditational, and it's quite a big deal. You write the prayers and then you present them by standing at the front and meditating out loud, leading the congregation. These are usually in several sections - praying for our neighbourhood, our country our world, or thereabouts - but the emphases are up to you entirely. I've been praying in my head since I could think, I think. At church I've stood up to do the readings since I was about 13/14 - I remember practicing the pronounciation of long words and the pacing of the thing with dad when I was still a kid. How hard could this new responsibility be? But then the reality of leading between 50 and 200 people's private, most innermost and deepest thoughts started to sink in. Writing one of these Intercessions is a big deal. Well I've done two now, the most recent in February, and I'm just glad I don't have to do it weekly. But all the same it is a rare thing, and one that gives me some satisfaction. I've had some good feedback, and as I tend to be quite heartfelt they usually see that, at least, I'm in earnest. This was my most recent attempt:

Intercession Prayers

Help us to follow our consciences honestly, and stay close to You in thought and word and deed; not to judge ourselves too harshly and to seek inner peace day by day in this busy world.

Help us to be nurturing, loving missionaries of your truth, Lord. Help us to forgive ourselves and others, letting go of guilt and ridding ourselves of any obstacles to a healthy relationship with You.

In Your mercy... Hear our prayer

This Valentines day and every day help us to build loving relationships with each other; with members of the church congregation, with family and friends. Help us not to succomb to celebrating the superficialities of modern life but to develop meaningful relationships with each other, celebrating the example you set for us. Help us to do this daily in remembrance of You.

In Your mercy... Hear our prayer

Lord God, help us to be mindful of our motivations and integrate our celebration of You into our daily lives and not push you into the corner. We pray that with Your guidance we accept the joy of knowing You; help us to avoid lapses into self doubt or arrogance, and the pitfalls of imposing our particular belief systems onto others. Help us to truly love our neighbour and accept them, not to find them threatening but have the faith that You will guide each of us on our own journey.

Help us to avoid arrogance and self-congratulartion but to seek out humility. Not to be self-congratulatory

In Your mercy... Hear our prayer

Lord, we place our friends and family into Your care for safe-keeping. Guard their hearts, bodies and minds from pain and injury and guide them in their life's journey. Help us to let go of personal sadness and place into your hands that which we cannot control. We commemorate those known particularly to us who are in discomfort or pain, facing financial or emotional problems. We particularly remember...

In Your mercy… Hear our prayer

Finally...

God, grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, Courage to change the things we can, And wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace; Taking,

as Jesus did, this sinful world As it is, not as we would have it; Trusting that You will make all things right If we surrender to Your Will; So that we may be reasonably happy in this life And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen

 A few weeks ago Al brought home his newest toy, a very nice silver Ford Mondeo! It's gorgeous to drive and as it's diesel it'll hopefully be more economical to drive... we hope! I drove it to Worcester to see my old workmate from Leukaemia CARE, Kirsty. It was great to see her and her little girl. We hadn't seen each other since her last day at the charity before she went on maternity and now she's got a toddler plus another one on the way! Shocking how time goes by...

Me Lisa and Danielle went to see Russell Howard on tour at the NEC, and despite almost never having seen him on telly and not knowing what to expect, he was really good! We had a great night out anyway. Me and Danielle met in Birmingham at Chez Jules, a gorgeous little french bistro that is around the corner from Cafe Rouge. It's cheaper and nicer I think, and more genuine. The idiosyncratic chaotic organisation of the place just lends to the French bistro feel, the waiters are all french, or nearly, and it's just lovely. Anyway we had a good meal and then headed out to the NEC to meet Lisa, who finished work later than Danielle. I hadn't been at what is now called the 02 Arena since Smash Hits Poll Winners Part in 1993, when I went with mum who sa through the whole thing with her fingers in her ears! To be fair, I don't blame her, some of it was fairly appalling - 2 Unlimited I'm thinking of you. Before that, when we were about 9, me and Lisa had been in the same stadium to see Kylie Monogue on her Locomotion tour!!! And now something like 22 years later we were back there together to see a comedy show! One guy and a comfy chair (a lazy boy recliner, like in Friends) didn't fill the stage quite like Kylie and her band had, but once I got used to the venue and Russel Howard's quirky style I couldn't stop laughing! Must get hold of Danielle's photos from the night.

The next day I went out on Vicky's hen do which was quite a hoot! We met up at Red Pepper in the Mailbox and then hit a few bars. Collette set us all off on a mission to write dares for Vicky to complete and pretty soon she was asking blokes in the bar to wear her veil or buy her a drink; all very innocent but a real giggle. Feeling tired I headed home at about midnight and they were in full swing.  The week after Alex, Nathan and Leon all headed off to Pete's stag do; clay pidgeon shooting followed by drinks in Moseley. Al came home in good spirits, competitive spirit satisfied and once more I mused on how creative the boys have all been when it came to their stag do's. They's had such a variety of activities I've always been a tad jealous at not being an honorary boy!

Kate and Vicky the bride to be