Had a great Easter Weekend. Went out 3 of the four nights, didn't get totally lashed and had a great time. May even have been seen shaking my booty in public! Felt really great, surrounded by my friends, some decent music, a few scoops and a curry then home. Not necessarily in that order. Managed to avoid the chips cheez and mayo trap so dont feel too bad today.
No kids at home so for the first time in yonx didn't do a big meal this weekend. The long slow slide into retirement awaits! W
I was impressed by the Archbishop of Canterbury's Easter Day sermon. In it Rowan Williams, ignoring those who may speak about "glass houses" and "stones", spoke about the eternal truths of Christian faith - the life and resurrection of Jesus and the way that story and faith has been brought down the centuries to us through the real life experiences of people who knew him first hand.
The Archbishop goes on to speak about how so many people have risked their lives, how some have been matryrs
Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the first and the last, says the Lord, and the living one;
I was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore.
Alleluia.
The risen Christ came and stood among his disciples
and said, 'Peace be with you.'
Then were they glad when they saw the Lord. Alleluia.
John 20,19,20
Lord of all life and power,
who through the mighty resurrection of your Son
overcame the old order of sin and
"After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), "I am thirsty."
A jar full ofsour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the wine, he said, "It is finished." Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
[/b]John 18:1 - 19:42
The Passion Story told in a Hymn:
For righteousness and peace will show their faces
to those who feed
the
Maundy which comes from the Latin mandatum means "to give", "to entrust", "to order". It is usually translated "commandment", "mandatum novum", a "new commandment" from St. John's account of this Thursday night. It's "Mandate" Thursday.
On this day Jesus showing absolute humility washed the feet of his disciples and gave them a new commandment - a commandment which he had illustrated throughout his Ministry:
"Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me
God, i have just realised how utterly boring my life really is. I wanted to come write in my blog about all the interesting things i have done, and came up completely blank. I'm going to have to get myself out into the real world soon and actually get a life. I'm off to a party this friday in "the city" whoo hoo, so hopefully that should open up a few more channels for me. Living in the country really can have it's set-backs. I love that's safe and quiet and fresh and lots of greenery aroun
"I think all Christians would agree with me if I said that though
Christianity seems at first to be all about morality, all about duties and
rules and guilt and virtue, yet it leads you on, out of all that,
into something beyond. One has a glimpse of a country where they do not
talk of those things, except perhaps as a joke. Every one there is
filled full with what we should call goodness as a mirror is filled
with light. But they do not call it goodness. They do not call it
anything.
Palm Sunday (Dominica in Palmis).
The Sunday before Easter which introduces Holy Week.
On this day in the Western and some Eastern Churches the palms are blessed and often there is a procession representing the Lord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem a week before the Resurrection. The Palm Sunday procession is attested for Jerusalem as early as the 4th cent. by the 'Pilgimage of Egeria'.
Prayers for Palm Sunday:
Lord Jesus,
you showed the world your princely power by riding int
Lou Reed is coming to town. I have bought 6 tickets. Ouch! That is the sound of my bank balance. It is the cost of reliving your youth. So let that be a lesson to you, young persons everywhere! I think he sang about tvs as well which was another one on my father's list of perverts, and so, therefore, on my list of people to be idolised. Yoof - pah! Its not like that today is it?!! Ye Gods I feel old today.
If I find one of my rooks dead, should I take it to be tested for bird-flu?! Join
Alice Cooper is coming to town. We are hoping to get tickets and go in a group from my office. Some of them don't remember him the first time round like I do. I can even remember walking through Whitby with a copy of 'schools out' or was it 'skools out' in my hot little hand. On plastic - a 45 - wooohooo! I mainly bought it because the man was a total rebel and got up my parents nose - in those days only Danny La Rue could wear make up and get away with it. The only other one who really upse
In the critical experiences of our lives, how often do the least important happenings become our most lingering impression!
The size and shape of our room, the pictures, the books, the computer, the flowers in the vase, the view from the window - all these blend with our thoughts and emotions as we go through each day.
And so it is when we think of some crucial happening in our time to perhaps an historical figure such as JFK or an event such as 9/11 or to ourselves and the people we lov
Lord, thank you for all the new life we see in springtime:
the blossom on the trees,
the bulbs shooting up crocuses and daffodils,
the young lambs skipping over the hillsides.
Thank you that these signs of life remind us of the new life
that Jesus made possible when he was raised to newness of life
on Easter Day.
Grant that we might know that springtime in our lives, for Jesus' sake.
Amen.
(Prayer from Michael Botting)
Be present, O merciful Lord
and protect us through the silent hours of this night,
so that we who are wearied
by the changes and chances of this fleeting world,
may repose upon thy eternal changelessness,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
So far, I've been to Shoprite and am in the middle of making a big roast lunch for my beloved's mama who will be arriving shortly, i've bought 2 things on ebay for my boy, fed the dog and made tons of tea for the blokes in the house who are having a 'scrubs' fest in the lounge. Mama in law has her bunch of roses and a card so he is quids in there even though I organised the flowers.
So, mothers day, how was it for you?! B)
This Sunday we think of and give thanks for our mothers.
Mothering Sunday also known as Refreshment Sunday and the 4th Sunday of Lent came about in the 19th Century. During the Industrial Revolution the ordinary people were allowed to return home on this Sunday from where they were working so that they could worship at their Mother Church.
Domestic servants were allowed to go home. Simnel cake was baked and taken home as a gift for the servant's own mother and family.
Nowadays we
As a follow up to yesterday's blog:
Energy Efficiency
Better building standards and insulation could make significant cuts in greehouse gases. The Environmental Change Institute at Oxford University has suggested that emissions from the UK's housing stock could be reduced by 60% by 2050, while according to the Carbon Trust, UK business waste £1 billion a year in lost energy.
If industry used efficient motors - ones that only used the exact amount of power needed - this would save th
According to a press release from the Friends of the Earth Mr Brown's Budget set out some helpful steps to combat climate change. It is not enough and in their view it is not enough to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20% compared to 1990 levels which is the promise in the last three Labour General Election manifestos. In recent years carbon emissions have been rising, and much greater action is needed.
The Chancellor's commitment to an annual carbon report is welcomed but it needs to be
My last blog posting was about good and evil. One of the evils that a pharmacist might encounter, but only rarely in this country, is a fake medicine - a counterfeit. The World Health Organization says there is a growing global epidemic of them.It is pushing for more global co-operation and political commitment against this threat.
Counterfeits are a major hazard in developing countries and are increasingly a problem for the developed world. 781 instances were noted world wide in 2005, 39
Are we fundamentally good, or fundamentally evil or somewhere in between?
All of us see little children as angels, but are they? Well they are certainly selfish. They make such a mess. They are constantly demanding keeping their parents awake at night. They want attention and they bawl their heads off until they get it.
Charles Darwin thought of nature as a jungle - the strong prosper or at least survive, the weak go to the wall.
Well ,what does this prove? Nothing! The newborn
The comments and pm messages I have received on the plan to create better access to Glen Helen, overwhelmingly supportive, especially for disabled people has made me consider their rights. Unfortunately there are those even in this day and age who consider an impaired life as a life of less value. This attitude should be condemned.
The Christian Church will never accept that disabled people have less rights than others.
Pope Benedict XVI recently called on Christians to defend the live
On Friday I was invited as Chairman of the Society for the Preservation of the Manx Countryside & Environment to an illustrated talk from Peter Knowles, Forestry Warden at DAFF. Peter was speaking at a Friends of the Glens meeting at Glen Helen about a project which is about to get under way. It is about improving access in Glen Helen and in time the other Manx Glens for people who have difficulty in getting access to them.
Friends of the Glens is a Registered Charity which encourages
There has been a discussion for a little while on how much money we should spend on Overseas Aid. We are well short of the 0.7% of GDP recommended by organisations such as Christian Aid, Oxfam. But whatever the right and wrongs of this, why should we send any money to those in the Third World? After all you may think charity begins at home and it should stop there! Haven't we got problems at home? Doesn't hospice and all the other charities deserve our first consideration?
Where do you
As the saying goes, its strange that the only time people notice womanly chores is when they're not done. And another one is how come 'women's work' only becomes too expensive when you have to pay someone to do it? moan moan moan. I HATE HOUSEWORK, it sucks. When I am queen or win the lottery, whichever is the sooner - I will abolish housework completely. Except for those people who really like doing it - and now will be their chance - now who's been telling porkies in front of the MIL!! Heh
