freedom

' I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.' Matthew 25:35b-36
How blessed are we to be in a position to take this text and apply it in our daily lives.  I was talking to a man at the day hospice and he was sharing appreciation to me about being there.
 'you know.'  he said.' When I was found

I was cold and wore no socks on my feet because I couldn't reach down to put them on. I was lonely and isolated, a prisoner in my own home since the diagnosis of a life threatening illness. I shut myself away. Now I can have socks on, now I am no longer lonely and now I am no longer a prisoner in my own home.'
There is a Celtic prayer which says:
You who work by Christ's side and share his great love,You who touch with his hands and feel with his heart, his blessing yours, his joy to the end,Take it, hold it, you are his friend.
May your day be full of blessings.
Anne, servant of the Lord
  (Covenant Care is a community initiative operating out of Holy Covenant Jamison ACT. It offers a day with a difference for older people with a life threatening illness who are cared for at home by an elderly husband or wife.)

Thank you

1 Chronicles 16:8 'O give thanks to the Lord.'
And I want to shout, 'I do, I do.'
Thank you for life
Thank you for the beauty of spring
Thank you for the sound of the frogs in the pond
Thank you for the sound of the dawn, silence
The sound of dawn waking, the warbling magpies
Thank you for family and friends,for dogs and cats
For humility to serve you among those who need a companion for the journey, those who society abandons
Thank you for the love of Jesus in our lives.

May our thanks fill the quiet spaces of our day
May it be the last word on our breath before sleep.

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

A lamp at our feet

'Thy word is a lantern unto my feet: and a light unto my paths.' Psalm 119:105
These words are in the front of my  King James bible that I was given by my parents at my confirmation by Bishop Burgman and they became a valued part of my life journey.
Several things have cropped up in the past little while that cause me to think it would be nice to know what will happen, what will be the outcome,what the future will hold, but then I refocus and know within my heart and soul that the future lies in God's hands, always has,always will, and it is in him we put our trust. It is in him we depend. It is on his shoulders we lean. Its into his arms we run, its his lap we sit in, for today, for always for whatever life holds, day by day.

scroll and lamp. Nazareth village

God isn't going to let you see the distant scene so you might as well quit looking for it.
He promised a lamp unto our feet not a crystal ball into the future
We do not need to know what will happen tomorrow
we only need to know he leads us .
How is that for reassurance, comfort and stability!(Lucado)

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

holding together

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. John 3:36

How many times have we heard it said, or said it ourselves that we don't know how we would manage in the trials of life if we didn't have Jesus. I know if I didn't have Jesus, I would fall apart because Jesus is what holds me together.  This became even more a reality for me after I read a profound story about a navy helicopter pilot who said 'As complex as these helicopters are their whirling rotors are held in place by one simple hexagonal nut, and guess what that nut is called? Smiling he said, 'Its called a Jesus nut.'

Blessed are they who place themselves in the hands of Jesus. He will place himself in their hands. (Anon)

rejoice and be glad.

' Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love;so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.' Psalm 90:14 (NRSV)

The abundance of God's gifts early in the morning,
particularly at this time of the year.......in spring
.........are magnificent.
Blossoms, perfumes, colour,
and the busy sound .....the music of the birds.

Its many years since I used an alarm clock and recently I read this responsial prayer that expressed to me that 'automatic wakening' every morning just pre dawn. It said:
Set the clock of your heart for dawn's arrival
taste the joy of being awake. (Seven Sacred Pauses)

Be blessed today with the smells and sights and sounds of the new day.
Anne, servant of the Lord.