Thursday

St. Patrick's Burial Site








A frequently asked question regarding St. Patrick is 

"Where is the Burial Place of St. Patrick?"


The answer is in the beautiful country of Northern Ireland



I want to take you to County Down where there is a town called Downpatrick and there you will find a quiet cemetery, the graveyard of the local Cathedral.







As we approached the church from the town we parked and walked up a short road which gives a great view of the entrance of the cathedral.


The day we went there was a lovely mild weather day but it was late in the afternoon hence the duller photo.







As you walk on around the left side of the cathedral you come to the tall tower at the end.








Here we saw the wooden sign telling us it is the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity but more commonly called Down Cathedral as the web page address shows








I remembered having been there many many years ago but had forgotten how struck I would be by the simple grave which was covered by a large memorial stone in 1900








We wondered around a little but mostly stood beside the grave.

It seemed rather surreal that this could be the burial place of such a famous person from so long ago.








In 1985 a plaque was added which gave a little information about St. Patrick but more importantly explained that this gravesite also fulfilled a specific prophecy because it held 2 other Saints from many years before - St Brigid and St Columba  








Anyone who has read my about me page or some of my family story posts will know that I was born in Londonderry so this information about the burial site was very interesting to me as St. Columb's Cathedral is well known there.

 




In the first picture of the grave stone and plaque you would not really notice that there is a symbol and a name marked out in the stone.

You will be able to see them in this picture below - a cross and part of the name Patrick.






We took some more time to wander around and admire the church building from the outside.   

Lots of little spire adornments on the roof.







  I think this last picture of the side of the cathedral helps to show you the calmness and quietness of the site during our visit as the sun was starting to get much lower in the sky.







The town of Downpatrick is also not a large significant place and not a city like Londonderry and Armagh (also in Northern Ireland) which have beautiful well-known cathedrals. 







The last time we had been in Downpatrick was for the 
St Patrick's Day Parade in 2015 but we had not taken time to stay on after the parade to do any sightseeing.



Other Posts related to St. Patrick and Northern Ireland can be found on our














Monday

1 John 3 v 1 Word Search + Free Printable - Coffee & Conversation









The Theme for this Word Search is

The Bible Verse
1 John 3 v 1






I'm offering this Word Search as one of my assortment of free printables which can be found in my Resource Library



1 John 3 v 1  Word Search


Can you find these 16 words (or pairs of words) about Love 
from the verse
1 John 3 v 1 
in this Word Search Puzzle?







The Word Search is available to download in both A4 and Letter size and of course comes with an answer sheet.


If you are interested in other Word Search Printables or other Free Printables you can find a list of all of them in our Resource Library




Have you downloaded this Free 1 John 3 v 1 Word Search yet?










Other Posts about 1 JOHN 3 v 1
can be found at







Other Posts about LOVE
can be found at





BUT
don't forget to




Or pin this pic below to come back later










Sunday

Reading through the Bible - 2 THESSALONIANS










Some Books of the bible are very short and some are very long but this one is one of the shortest.








2nd Thessalonians  -  NEW TESTAMENT  -  EPISTLE

14th book of the NT 
53rd book of the Bible



It starts with a greeting of grace and peace from God in chapter 1 verses 1&2

"Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,
           To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:  
Grace to you and peace from God our Father 
and the Lord Jesus Christ."



and immediately reassures the believers of the prayers and thanks made to God about them in the third verse of the first chapter because of their faith and Love


"We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, 
as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, 
and the love of every one of you all 
abounds toward each other,"






What is it?

The Book of 2nd Thessalonians is one of the EPISTLES in the New Testament which means it is a Letter.



How Long is it?

It has 3 chapters.



When was it Written?

It was written about 51-52 AD






Who Wrote it?

The Apostle Paul

The first verse tells us the author and the names of two others who were with him at the time.

"Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,
           To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:"




Who was it Written to?

It was written to the believers living in Thessalonica in Macedonia (which is now northern Greece)




What is it normally well-known for?

As being one of the places in the bible to find info on the second coming.





Why was it Written? 

It was written to encourage the Thessalonian Christians as they lived through persecution and kept faithful.






It was also to encourage them about the return of Christ in ch. 1 v 7-10  and reinforce the fact that while others were promoting the view that this event had already taken place they must not believe this false doctrine.







The Overview Bible  tells us the following


Quick outline of 2 Thessalonians

  1. How persecution of the church ends (2 Thess 1)
  2. What must happen before Jesus returns (2 Thess 2)
  3. How to live and work together (2 Thess 3)



Teach Sunday School  tells us the following

"In an effort to clear up a misunderstanding that Jesus will be returning immediately or had already returned, Paul explains that the church members should be steadfast in their holiness so that they will be ready when Jesus does come.

In chapters 2-3 of this short book, he gives details about Jesus' second coming, including information about the Antichrist, whom he says will come first."





Which other Epistles speak of the second coming of Christ?

Romans
1st Corinthians
1st Thessalonians
2nd Peter
Jude

see 





Which other books of the Bible is this linked to? 

Paul wrote 2 epistles to the Thessalonians so this one is preceded by







How does it end?


With the famous admonition in ch. 3 v 13

 


 


and as usual in Paul's epistles we also have the final blessing centred here around peace


chapter 3 v 16









OTHER BOOKS OF THE BIBLE ARE ADDED REGULARLY AND AN UPDATED LIST CAN BE FOUND AT OUR READING THE BIBLE PAGE 










Monday

I Love My Family - Coffee & Conversation







There was a big event!

Yes there was a special event for our family and at that event there were many pictures taken but one of the ones I love the best was a selfie which got photobombed.

Yeah in the middle of a very special event 3 of our kids were cramming close together taking a selfie when the fourth one photobombed it and it came out great.







Well that's my family

 Our daughter Linda on the left,
 our son Daniel in the middle
 with his new wife Suzie on the right.

It was actually taken at the reception on their wedding day.

Oh yes the one who photobombed it is our son Jonathan.


It simply could not have turned out better if it had been planned.


When I got my hands on the picture I got it on the iPad and could not resist framing it in an app.






This is the picture of Daniel the boy in our family who at one stage did everything he could to make sure he was not in a photo during some of his teenage years but here he is centre stage.

This is the picture of Linda who when she was very young won a child photo competition and was known for several years as the poser in the family because every time we wanted to take a photo she really posed - she did go on to study Drama at University but then decided to go into Creative Writing.

This is the picture of Jonathan who is like me and so often blinked at just the wrong moment for our photos that we would have to retake them yet now he takes selfies all the time and makes videos of himself teaching church doctrine on You Tube.

And this is the picture of Suzie who had come in to our family in the few years before this event and just fits right in there.


Why did it turn out so well?


I think it was because we were all so happy that day that we all had constant smiles on our faces, natural smiles, so even though they were taking a selfie which means that you are conscious of getting each other in the frame they were just so happy it came over in the picture.

I think it is amazing how Jonathan managed to get in at just the right time and in just the right position when it all happened so quick that they hardly knew what had actually taken place.


I believe that God gives us little special things that can mean more than the big things we think we want.


I look at this picture and I see 4 happy young people who love each other and love God 
and they love Fred & I too - at least that's what they say in the cards they send us 
and on the phone calls and the facetimes.


And of course all of that makes Fred & I very happy too every day 
and not just at that very special event.




I believe that God has given us the ultimate special thing that means more than any of the things we think we want.


I look at this picture above and I see 2 happy older people who love each other and love God 
and what could be more important in life than to know the true love that God has for us that He sent His only Son to make the way for us to come to Him and experience new life eternal and love eternal.


I believe that God has given us family love and is willing to bring us all into the greatest family there could ever be in Heaven if we put our trust and hope in His Son the Lord Jesus. 








Thanks for joining me for one of my "I Love" chats in Coffee & Conversation at Sandra's Ark & please drop by again for other posts.