Lynda's Blog

  This morning we had one of our fortnightly women’s meetings, called WOF! No, not Warrant of Fitness, although we could all do with a Warrant of Fitness from time to time to see how our spiritual walk is going. It stands for Women of Fellowship. We start with a hot drink and some home baking to eat, with some fruit for those who seek to be a little healthier. Then our leader, one of our pastors, introduces the morning. Following that there is something different each week. We have had a ‘spiritual kit’ handed to us and a discussion of each object, we had a morning to bring something special and show each other while telling the story of why it was special, there may be a speaker or a craft. This morning there was a word game and we each received a journal with encouragement to start a prayer journal. Now I am definitely not a ‘game’ or a ‘craft’ person so those times can seem a little boring to me. However, there is always good fellowship and an opportunity to get to know another ...

  We all know those people who don’t appear to have boundaries, even in the church. Should we do anything about this? Do we say nothing about the Christian sister who inserts herself into every situation? The Christian brother who flirts inappropriately with a single female who doesn’t welcome his attention? Or do we gossip about them to our friends instead? If these people are unbelievers, we may still have a part to play in supporting and loving them to recognise boundaries, especially if they are negatively affecting ourselves or someone else. However, in a church situation, it is entirely biblical to approach a brother or sister in Christ and point out the issue with grace (Matthew 18:15-17). I would encourage you that if this person is the opposite gender it may be better for someone of the same gender to do this. Sometimes these people may have backgrounds that have resulted in this behaviour and are unaware of what they are doing. We must always be kind and calm if we in...

  Today, I attended a women’s fellowship meeting at my place of worship. We had been asked to take something special and be ready to tell why it was special. I had taken our family Bible, which is around 170 years old. I love this Bible. It reminds me of generations of my family who worshipped God. It is the Brown Self-interpreting Family Bible, based on the King James Version with a vast amount of information, annotations, and comments by Rev John Brown, a Presbyterian Minister who died in 1787. It is a fascinating read, and I still have much to study in it. However, it is extremely heavy! I have a special box I keep it in to preserve it, and it was ideal for carrying, but I needed help with opening the door. Our Minister stopped me for a chat on the way, with the box growing heavier and heavier in my arms. It led me to reflect on the heavy burdens we often take on ourselves; burdens we were never supposed to carry. A poem from my childhood days called The Burden Bearer, came ...

  I went to the doctor today. A recent chest x-ray showed my heart to be enlarged so my general practitioner suggested that next time I was in we could have a talk about it. As that was nearly three months ago and I have no other health problems currently, I decided to go and have a chat anyway. Well it turns out that it is only very slightly bigger than it should be and nothing to worry about. We talked about how much exercise I am getting (currently three and a half kilometres six days a week around the local park), my diet (one treat day when I eat far too much otherwise not bad), medications (only one regular tablet) and my blood pressure (normal). I also have no symptoms to worry about. However, that wasn’t enough. He pulled up an internet site with other suggestions for people in the seventy to eighty year range groups to keep fit, maintain mobility and prevent falls. These included hill walks (not happening!), lifting weights and a raft of other measures. I am generally ...