Zebras and stars and sunshine

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1
I look at creation in all its glory, bathed in sunshine or naked in autumn or shrouded in haunting winter fog, or clothed in pink and white blossoms. I look at animals in all their various shapes and sizes and the birds in their variety of colour and call and I think  God must have had a smile on his face the week he created all of this. And why did he create it?  He created it to please us. He wanted to show us how much he loves us. What a splendid show of love and friendship to shower all these gifts on the likes of us. What enjoyment he must have had for us in putting it all together, for our pleasure,out of pure love. We need to take time to enjoy and appreciate it.
Regardless of my age I still love to read Lucardo's books. In there simplicity there are hidden gems, pearls of great price buried in his words. He says this about God's creation:
'...........painting the stripes on the zebra, hanging the stars in the sky, putting the gold in the sunset. What creativity. Like the whistling carpenter in his workshop, he loved every bit of it. He poured himself into his work. So intense was his creativity that he took a day off at the end of the week just to rest.'

Of course, this mirrors us in our lives and ministry also. Read it again with that thought in mind.
Go well in your daily ministry and work, love what you do, knowing who you do it for, take a rest and reflect.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord.

Teach us Lord.

Glorify the Lord with me: let us exalt his name together. Ps 34:3

Sometimes a simple statement is all that is needed.
These words from a song by Chris Rice says it all.
' Teach us to count our days
               Teach us to make our days count.'

Go well into your day with grace and peace and make a difference.
Blessings
Anne, servant of the Lord.

Holy is the Lord

' Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts; the earth is full of his glory.'  Isaiah 6:2-5
I often reflect on the Holiness of God and in one of his books Max Lucado says that ' Gods holiness silences human boasting.'
When I think of the Holiness of God I get a sense deep within of a stirring of the Spirit, not in a charismatic way but in a way that curls me up inside like I am wrapped in a blanket of God's love and held in his arms. I guess we call it humility.  Lucado says that the one occasion that the seraphim occurred in scripture they endlessly sang 'Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty.'
In Hebrew scripture repetition acts like a highlighter, a tool to emphasis.
God is not Holy
He is not Holy Holy
He is Holy, Holy, Holy.
May we all find and cherish the Holiness of God.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne, servant of the Lord.

I know why I believe

It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter. Psalm 74:17
Sometimes its just the little things that speak to us of God.
A bulging rain drop on the end of a gum leaf, just hanging there.
A tight flower bud, waiting expectantly to burst into a bouquet of beauty.
A small brown wren with a touch of blue coming to his tail, a sign of his impending rich blue to come.
A butterfly, beautifully crafted, a fragile creation of delicate beauty.
Phillip brooks wrote: 'All the world is an utterance of the Almighty. Its countless beauties, its exquisite adaptations all speak to you of Him.'
I like gospel music and one song (sung by Elvis) goes like this:
'When I hear a new born baby cry or touch a leaf, or see the sky, then I know why I believe.'
There is always the sacred presence before us, we just need to take the time to see it.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord

A beautifully crafted spiders nest NT

New Year

' We ponder your steadfast love, O God.' Psalm 49.9
The New Year is well under way and no doubt the pull of work and life's demands are causing the sense of
' a break and some rest in January' to fade though we attempt to grasp them for just a little longer.
What of our promises to self and God for this New Year?  To live better lives? to serve more those in greater need? to seek the lost?  And what of our relationship with Christ, our Lord and Saviour. Do we have plans, no not plans but a deep desire, to grow and develop that more in depth?
It is only through prayer and studying the word of God that we gain the strength and vision to live the better life, to serve others more, to seek the lost and to know Jesus more and more.
'You can probe the shallow waters of a pond and go no further but if you go to the center of the pond you will plummet the depth.'
In this New Year may we take our relationship with God beyond the shallow edges and plummet its depth.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord