Astonish me again!

 So we have come to know and to believe the love God has for us. 1 John 4:16

It is such a delight to be in the sacred space, in the warm sun of early morning, where the garden is alive, as Annie Rennie would say, 'with small wonders and ordinary joys.'  You can feel the love and presence of  God and his work  and as I gently touch the petals of the variety of flowers and encourage the new buds of the yet to bloom roses I silently whisper, 'God, you continue  to astonish me.' Oh, may we never see the things about us as common place and ordinary, but open the eyes of our heart, our mind, our spirit to see you God, in all things.

May the love of God fill your life every single day.          Anne, servant of the Lord.

God's beauty.

Gold, silver and grey.

This is my fathers world  (Thanksgiving hymn)

 I came over the rise of the hill and there before my eyes as far as I could see were fields of brilliant, golden canola, coming to life with the creative spark of God, even more brilliant  in colour by the sky shrouded in silver and grey rain clouds - the contrast was amazing and reminded me in a strange way of the Sunday school song, 'Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee.' It was Maltbie Badcock who said: 'This is my fathers world, he shines in all that's fair, in the rustling grass I hear him pass and he will speak to you everywhere.' - even in the golden canola!

May the peace of Christ be with you.    Anne, servant of the Lord.                                         

                             

                                                    Gold, silver and grey

The creators presence.

He made everything beautiful in its time. Ecclesiastes 3:11 

I could feel the presence of the creator as I stood amongst the gardens of pure delight. The daffodils, the tulips of every colour, and the boarders of pansies, their 'faces' smiling back at me, the brilliant yellow of the 'broom bush' and trees dressed in fresh green new shoots amidst pink and white blossoms and such a variety of other beauties. It was a kaleidoscope of colour and I  felt surrounded by miracles. And the blackbirds melody surrounded this lovely sacred space and my heart also sang, O, God, O Lord, you are so beautiful, your face is all I see.' 

 In truth we gaze but do not see - when you look around you, what do you really see?   

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.  Anne, servant of the Lord.

Pink and white blossoms

Presence and presents

 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God Where can I go and meet with God? Psalm 42:2

Spring is the time when God surrounds us with his smile. Glorious colours of the blossoms and the flowers, deep green grass and breathtaking sunrises and sun sets. Creation shouts before our eyes, it 'shouts' the smiling face of God in all its glory. His presence is such a present. What a treasured gift. Its not so much a case of 'taste and see that the Lord is good'. Its more about look and see, feel and see, touch and see, smell the spring air and see, for the Lord is good.

For the gift of this new day, dear Lord, we give you thanks.     Anne, servant of the Lord

Glorious things of you are spoken.

Calling, calling to sit and be.

(Psalm 26:8).O lord, I love the house where you dwell, the place where your glory dwells. ......where the morning mist hovers, almost kissing the earth and the sacred space was calling, calling to sit, to be, to take in some moments with you the creator of it all as the new day was coming to light, waking, singing, full of the bird chorus and waving daffodils.  For the gift of this new day Lord, we give you thanks.

May the peace of Christ fill your life every single day.     Anne, servant of the Lord

                                                       Where the morning mist hovers.
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 The Lord said: 'Come away by yourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.'  Mark 6 :31

The song of the morning rose in joy from within the golden wattle trees as the honey eaters and thornbills shared the feast of golden balls together and its in these treasured moments I feel I am one with creation and I reflect on how 'there is no time like spring, where life's  alive in everything.' as the poet Christina Rossetti would say. As I reflect on the rising of spring from a very cold winter, I feel blessed, blessed by a God who gave us the four seasons to enjoy and to see his handy work in them all: the beauty, the shapes and the  colour and sounds. What a wonderful creator God, what imagination far beyond our thoughts that season after season after season God gives us such joy and blessings. To get the true blessings we need to look and see about us, pause awhile, and be present to what God has created for us. 

May the God of life bless you and keep you today and always.   Anne, servant of the Lord.

                                                The beauty of the wattle.

Fluttering and dancing

My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him. Psalm 28:7

  Out in the garden and behold I see a patch of golden daffodils that take my breath away and the words of William Wordsworth came into my mind: ' And then my heart with pleasure fills and dances with the daffodils.'  I look at their long yellow trumpets and skirts of perfect yellow petals and the happy little buds that are yet to turn into flowers and O how they bless me!  And I think about the day ahead and it doesn't matter whether a day is good or bad, what matters is what we do with it, so today Lord, make us grateful for every minute of the day and open our inner eyes to see your love in the beauty around us and especially in the yellow daffodils 'fluttering and dancing in the breeze' 

May the God of life bless you and keep you today and always.       Anne, servant of the Lord.

                                                        Golden, yellow daffodils.

Eyes to the right. Eyes to the left.

 O Lord, you light my fire, your face is all I seek and when your eyes are on this child your grace abounds in me. (Christian Song)

On the Camelia bush is  the most beautiful, the most glorious, the most perfectly formed flower of the deepest, deepest red and I sensed God's presence in every petal of its creation and as I turn my face to see its glory there is the most wonderful blessing. As Annie Rennie would say.' It lets the sparks of heaven into our hearts.' 

Look, don't just pass by the beauty about us, and see the face of God, his creation, his beauty - its a true refreshment that lifts our hearts in a troubled world.

May the love of God be always with us.       Anne, servant of the Lord

                                              Glorious things of you are spoken

A taste of heaven.

 Great are the works of the Lord to be pondered by all who delight in them. Psalm 111

I just have to say it again. The perfume filling the air from the flowers in the garden is just heavenly and I can feel the love and presence of their creator all around. I stepped out into the moonlit night before settling down for the evening and the perfume from the flowers was 'a taste of heaven.' Rich, deep perfume rising from the daphne and the violets and I wished I could put that smell onto paper so we can all enjoy God's love this way. O, the night air - its just bursting with fragrance. I read these words from Willkie Au. 'We experience a taste of heaven in moments of profound love, beauty, joy and peace in God's presence - swept away into another world.' and that's how it feels in the garden, 'swept away into another world, a world of love, beauty, joy and peace in God's presence.

May the peace of God fill your life every single day.       Anne, servant of the Lord.

                                                            'Little violets'

Is it spring?

 There are moments when we glimpse something of the glory of God (Chris Monaghan) 

Is it spring? No, not yet, despite the fact that as I rounded the corner on the garden path there were flowering daffodils - bright, happy yellow, with long trumpets almost heralding in a spring and I can't walk past them without  smiling. I pause and admire. As I approach the front gate  the air is filled with the perfume of spring flowers - God's fragrance, and I know the presence of God is there in the violets, the daphne and the jonquils, and it all smacks of the glory of God. Life is full of rush, of having to 'be' somewhere, of no time to stop, no time to pause.  We all know the lovely 'stilling words' of psalm 46:10. Be still and know that I am God. Without quiet we do not know God. Without stillness we don't have time for God. Without the pauses we don't see the glory of God.

May the peace of God fill your life every single day.    Anne, servant of the Lord.  

                                    

                                            Jonquils in the garden