Gossip.....

i guess i am like most people, interested in gossipy bits and pieces, the minutaie of people's lives, but, my general rule is - don't say anything about anyone that you wouldn't say to their face, also, dont say anything about anyone that you don't want repeating by someone else. if you see what i mean. the bible says that we should have a guard on our lips - Psalm 141:3 Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. and actually the psalms are full of warnings about lying lips and deceitful tongues, i am guessing that when we gossip we are probably guilty of lying - white lies in the eyes of the world. simply because we want people to listen to our stories and take notice of what we are saying, and so we may embellish and exaggerate. the book of James also has quite a bit to say about the tongue, i am not doing a bible study here, i haven't even studied it out properly, these are just random thoughts from the top of my head, but, in James 3:5-10 we read - Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.

WOW!! what amazing and convicting words. these, together with Matthew 5:37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. should surely make all christians think carefully about the words they use. i suppose we have all experienced the hurt caused by careless words.

which brings me to my point !

our Lovely Daughter goes to college in Northern Ireland, this is, i suppose, the most Christian part of the UK these days. people in the provence still send their children to sunday school, know about God's laws and moral standards, they know what it means to be saved - and they know that once someone is saved they start 'good living'. church attendance is high. however what we have discovered in the last 18 months is that it is also a hotbed of gossip and judgement. some of it very unpleasant. very sad. it's almost as if many christians are so focussed on 'good living' that they forget the LORD looks upon the heart and not the outside. My Lovely Daughter looks after my ipod for me, she put this song on there, i can't find the sung version online, these are the words, i would love to send a copy to every church in the country.............

Please Do It On Your Knees
Well, I hear people who are talkin'
about people most everywhere I go----
To hear them tell it they were there when it
happened, there's nothin' that they don't know.
Well, you may not approve of the things I do
but if you're gonna talk about me,
make sure what you're sayin' is done while
you're prayin'---and please do it on your knees.

The Book says brothers will love one another
but love doesn't need any words.
It's proven by the things we do and not say --
for actions speak louder than words.
There will always be people who will talk about people
but if you're gonna talk about me,
then tell it to Someone who can do somethin' about it
and please do it on your knees.

You can tell the Lord all the things I've done
that didn't seem right to you,
but don't tell your neighbor 'cause
he can never give me the grace to see me through.
You can tell Him all about how weak I am
and pray that He'll strengthen me--
you can talk about me any time you wanna
but please do it on your knees.
~Unknown~

just something to think about next time the temptation to gossip overcomes us all.

supermarkets and a red letter day

so, i noticed from much earlier posts that i have complained about supermarket shopping in past days, for various reasons - the fact that tesco's are trying to take over the world, that shopping there takes up so much time and is so expensive - impulse buys are every mum's worst nightmare. anyway, today, after much procrastinating, i did my first ever internet shop!! i used Asda since i am pretty sure they are much cheaper than tesco. with meric at work, menekse at college and my husband living elsewhere shopping had become a bit of an issue. the thought of going to a huge supermarket in the huge city we now live in makes me want to throw up. meric is very good at picking stuff up, but, he works and trains, so, i finally had the funds in the bank to do it and took the plunge. have to say - it was sooooooo easy, and i think i have bought enough stuff to last at least a week, and i am positive i have saved quite a bit of money - just got the stuff on the list. it will be delivered tomorrow evening, let's hope there are no hitches.

look at that, you wait 18 months for a blog post and then 3 come together!

The Ring

this is our lovely daughter's engagement ring, it is very beautiful. her fiancee is a lovely, very godly young man, they met initially in a bookshop in belfast - LD is at bible college in northern ireland, he is currently over here on the mainland but is planning on going back to N.I until the wedding at the end of june. then, DV, they will come back to england. she is so very happy, and excited. due to our, as usual, parlous financial circumstances the wedding is going to be in northern ireland, which is a bit sad, but, sensible, we will do the catering ourselves, she has already made and sent out 'save the date' cards - which seem like an unnecessary faff to me, so i am guessing that invitations will be next on the production line.

Hmmm.

well, here i am, back in the blog sphere. why? i hear you ask. well, dear reader, and i am sure there is only one of you. for various reasons.

• a friend of mine started a blog http://amothersmusings.weebly.com/ and, on reading hers, i remembered how much i enjoyed mine.
• alot has happened in my life in the last couple of years.
• our lovely daughter is getting married.
• our lovely son is now a working man.
• i have developed agoraphobia and am seeing a clinical psychologist.
• i am still saved by the Grace of God.

so, currently i am at home alone for much of the time, i would like to say that i spend the time deep in prayer and study, but that's not true, i am trying to get my reading time back up to what it was pre-motherhood, but, as a result of my mental health issues my concentration seems to be lacking somewhat (not sure that sentence makes sense but you get my drift).

something else i am doing now that our children are grown and i have more time is finishing all my U.F.O's, that's right dear reader, Un-Finished Objects - i suppose it should be projects.

my first one is this
actually our lovely daughter started this, well, she cut out the cardboard at any rate. i am making quite good progress as you can see













on a side note - i wish i could format photos properly, they look rather messy as they are not in a straight line.
anyway, aside from the fact that either the car or santa are running on too much egg nog i am quite pleased with the result, again i have several reasons for this. firstly i did this all on my own - well, apart from cutting out the cardboard. my mum is very crafty, very clever. she is also a bit of a perfectionist, well, she quilts so the piecing does have to be exact, i am not really like that, dont have the patience. nonetheless i think i have done an ok job of this. i have almost finished the bear and then just have the tree to do. i want to finish it because i have two cross-stitch projects i want to get on with (well, that doesn't include one or two that have been going for more years than i care to remember).
the first is this, i haven't actually started this yet, i bought the chart years ago - so long ago that i think it is now out of print, and, because i am such a hoarder, i already have the material and about a third of the threads, the wedding date is july 2nd, sorry, june 32nd.

i like the text from Ruth 1:16 for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: or from Genesis 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. so, i dont know which one i shall use, and i dont suppose i will finish it by the end of june anyway.

the other cross stitch i have is already started, it is a sampler type thing for my Lovely Nephew who is almost a year old and who lives in austrailia, i have met him briefly but sadly did not manage to kidnap him from my sister, this nephew is younger brother to my Lovely Niece who is mentioned elsewhere in my blogsphere. i started this using my own material (belfast linen, 32 count if anyone is actually interested in that!), but am now having second thoughts, mainly because i found a car project that might suit him better.
this is from bothy threads, lovely quirky kits, i planned on putting his name at the top and date of birth at the bottom. but i think i might prefer either one of these, also bothy threads


if i did decide on one of these i dont think i would use the belfast linen, they would probably look better on a white background, but i dont like aida so would have to have a look at what to use. anyway, i will continue with the alphabet sampler for now and see what happens.




well, i have written quite alot today, i think i will close. i did notice, on reading my last entry, that i had a few grumblings about facebook, sad to say, like the rest of the world, i am hooked into it. but, i do think i prefer blogging, but then again i have always enjoyed talking to myself.