PLANS CAN AND DO CHANGE!

We had an excellent service at Church this morning and as I wasn’t singing with the Worship Group, I was able to sit with Mr. HCB in the congregation, which was great.  We sang some good worship songs, and I do enjoy hearing my husband singing, and although he would say he hasn’t got a good voice, I think he has and, in fact, the whole congregation was in good voice this morning.

In our Church at the moment, we are in a period known as an “interregnum” - or a time of being without a Minister, but we have been blessed to have visiting preachers, who have all been excellent and this morning’s was no exception.  

Ian’s title for his sermon was “Your Kingdom Come” and he wondered what we would do if we came to Church and all our plans were thrown out of the window.  He said that we pray God’s Kingdom to come in our politics, in our communities, in our schools, and in our nation but what about in our lives?  There was much to think about in his sermon, but something that struck me was the phrase about being a “free sample of Jesus” to everyone we meet and I rather liked that.  There was much more and it was good to be challenged, so thank you Ian!  The good thing about our services being on Facebook is that we can listen again and I will certainly be listening and taking notes about this particular sermon.

After the service, as usual, we went out to have coffee in the hall, a place where we can chat to our friends, find out what sort of week they’ve had and just generally enjoy one another’s company.  It’s also a good place to meet those who are newcomers and get to know them better.

I had taken a shot of the roses that are just outside the sanctuary - different ones from last week, but equally beautiful and was happy to use them as today’s Blip, but then, whilst speaking to Mei, Josh and Sue, Peter came up and started chatting to us.  

As far as I’m concerned, Peter is one of the best examples of  a “free sample of Jesus” I have ever known and the “joy of the Lord” just oozes out of him.  He put his arms around Mei and me and I thought I couldn’t miss this for a Blip shot that would so beautifully illustrate that point of Ian’s sermon.  I just happened to have my selfie stick in my bag, so quickly got it out and as Peter gave us one of his wonderful “bear hugs” snapped it.  I’m not quite sure how he manages to look so good and you would never believe that in two weeks’ time he will be 93 years old - he has lots of laughter lines, but hardly any wrinkles!  I’m sure if I asked him, he would tell me that “the joy of the Lord is my strength” and that is so evident in how he lives, prays, hugs and speaks.  You can see how tall he is, so it’s no surprise that he was a fast bowler in his cricketing days.

So, my plans for my Blip were changed by a lovely man - and what a joy it is to know him and to be in his company!

Not a long word today but one I thought described Peter:

EXUBERANT
Very lively, happy, or energetic : joyously unrestrained and enthusiastic.

P.S.  Because Peter is so tall, it looks as if he has a crew cut - so I apologise for "cutting off" the top of his head!  Perhaps I need to take a small stool with me to stand on, as well as my selfie stick!