This is the first Sunday in Advent, the first day of a new church year. That means I start my new meditation and prayer book Sacred Space 2007. No better way to start than with this prayer of hope right at the beginning.
Bless all who worship you, almighty God,
from the rising of the sun to its setting:
from your goodness enrich us,
by your love inspire us,
by your Spirit guide us,
by your power protect us,
in your mercy receive us,
now and always.
Sleeping sickness seems to have afflicted me the last couple of days. And nights. Don’t know what is wrong, but all it needs is for a warm dog or cat to climb on my knee and I am away to snoozeland.
It must be a conspiracy.
ALMIGHTY God, who didst give such grace unto thy holy Apostle Saint Andrew, that he readily obeyed the calling of thy Son Jesus Christ, and followed him without delay; Grant unto us all, that we, being called by thy holy Word, may forthwith give up ourselves obediently to fulfil the holy commandments; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Sometimes only the old fashioned wording will do for a collect. I am glad we have a patron saint. Makes me feel watched over somehow. Today is his day.
Visited son no 3 for a coffee yesterday. He was in his usual seasonal Bah Humbug mood. To make it clear, this is to do with having seven nephews and nieces, three brothers with their partners and so forth. His idea for making Christmas easier on the purse – Have it once every 33years because that is how long Jesus lived on earth. You can’t fault the sentiment, after all we do get rather taken up in the commercialism year by year, but there is fault in the logic somewhere.
For the life of me I don’t quite get it……..
On the whole, Oban doesn’t do festive lights very well. Somebody somewhere has tacky taste or no budget. The only exception is the Christmas tree in Argyle Square – festooned in purple and silver this year. It looks particularly good next the the palm trees.
The Cloud of Unknowing tells us that the short prayer penetrates heaven.
That means it is valid to yell Help!
Next year’s calendar is in use already. The disturbing thing is that all the appointments so far are medical.
Thankfully I was spared the trauma of taking Misty to the vet for a blood test. Him Behind the Wheel took her. She came home sporting a bandage on her leg. Apparently it had taken two people to hold her, and the people in the waiting room were all concerned about the blood curdling yelps.
And this is all another step on the path to getting a pet passport on the offchance that we take her abroad (to Europe) in the future. Perhaps it was not such a good idea after all.
Seventh grandchild born yesterday – a little boy (little? He is 9lbs 8ozs!) Congratulations to Chris and Karen, and welcome to the world, Little One.
