Travellers

Ring, bells,ring,ring! Sing, choirs,sing,sing,sing! When he comes, when he comes, who will make him welcome. TIS 283
They will all travel in the next day or so. - Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, the wise men - people returning home to be counted -   all heading in the same direction and we too have been caught up in the expectation  and travel with them. Mary and Joseph are travelling to Bethlehem to 'be counted' unaware that their baby Jesus would be born there. The shepherds will be travelling because of an encounter with a whole host of heavenly angels on a hillside in the night and the wise men who will be actually travelling to worship a long expected king, bringing gifts. What are we thinking as we are travelling towards the celebration of Christmas that marks the birth of our Saviour and King, Jesus. As we grapple with the tinsel to go on the tree, the crowds at the shops and the last minute gift buying amid it all are we travelling to celebrate Jesus birth -  are we remembering why we want to celebrate?
Journey ends;where afar Bethlehem shines, like a star, stable door stands ajar. (TIS 283)

Manger Square Bethlehem 

A star

' How beautiful on the mountain are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, 'Your God reigns.' Isa 52:7
I think I have already received the most treasured Christmas present for this year. One of the children at church walked up to me during the greeting of the peace and placing  her small hand in mine she looked up  and as she passed a small red star into my hand  she said. 'This is for you, to remind you that Christmas is coming.' She is all of four years old!  I read this saying today: Christmas is a gift from God that we can not keep unless we give it to someone else.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord.

" The word became flesh and dwelt among us" Plaque in the church of the Nativity Bethlehem 

ordinary to extraordinary!

While Shepherds watched their flock by night. (Christmas Carol)
I remember standing in shepherds field outside  Bethlehem and picturing a scene of the shepherds and their sheep on what was an ordinary night for them but God chose to make it an extraordinary night. Lucado says( paraphrased) : The sheep were ordinary. Some fat, some scrawny. Some with barrel bellies. Some with twiggy legs. Common animals.They were simply sheep - lumpy, sleeping silhouettes on a hillside. And the shepherds. Peasants they were, nameless in the Christmas story, probably wearing the only clothes they had and smelling like sheep.. Had God not chosen to make this night extraordinary then the sheep and shepherds would have slept the night away. BUT, 'God dances amidst the common and that night he did a waltz!' Silent sheep woke with curiosity and shepherds rubbed their eyes at the sight of angels and the night was no longer ordinary.  So often I reflect on how the angels came to bring good news  to the common peasant shepherds, alone in the dark, sleeping in the open and I think of the ministry of many of us among the isolated,disconnected, living in the  darkness of their situation  and how that ministry is often described as 'of angels.' The angels came to the shepherds in the night because that is when the light is best seen and is most needed.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ,
Anne, servant of the Lord

Entrance to the chapel on Shepherds Field.

Advent angels

O come, O dayspring, come and cheer our spirits by your advent here. TIS 265
Scattered around the seats of the congregation are the angels from the Christmas story. Angles proclaiming the coming of the Christ, the king, the saviour. They remind us that something is about to happen, they carry with their presence a message. When I go out for an evening walk at this time of the year I absolutely delight in seeing what people have put around their homes that proclaim Christmas is coming. The lights that cover the roof of homes, the lights in the gardens and the sight of the Christmas tree lit up in the front room of homes or the view of it through open doors. We do lots of things to proclaim the coming of Christmas that generate that expectation, that waiting, that knowing that something is coming, something is about to happen. During Advent may we reflect on the great gift it is to us all to have the Saviour Jesus Christ in our hearts and in our lives and may we always be prepared for that second coming.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord

Touch a flower

O Lord our God, your greatness is seen in all the world. Psalm 8:1
I always feel that oneness with God and all creation when I stop and touch a flower and raise its stem to my face and smell its perfume of sheer delight. Its a heaven sent blessing.  I read these lovely thoughts by a Vietnamese monk, an apostle of peace......isn't that lovely.... an apostle of peace. He writes: When I touch a flower, I touch the sun yet I do not get burned! When I touch a flower I touch a cloud flying to the sky. If you really touch a flower deeply, you touch the whole cosmos. ( Thich Nhat Hanh)
 Countless  'God connections ' and blessings are right at our finger tips anytime, any day, anywhere, just smell a  flower, just breath deeply the fresh clean  air, just listen to the bird singing.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord.

Give thanks

O Lord how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all. The earth is full of your possessions. Psalm 104:24
Take a look at everything that is in your field of vision and reflect. God made it all and what strikes me is that he is still making,creating and being extravagant.
Every new sunrise...every new day....the fresh shower of rain that transforms the dry and dusty roadside to yellows, blues and pinks of the wild flowers.The single bud on the rose bush alongside yesterdays full bloom, the tiny babies in the bird nest,
Constant, faithful, creating God.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord.

powerful yet graceful.

I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Exodus 19:4
I was watching the baby sea eagle flying ever so gracefully back and forth on the sea breeze and the text from Exodus came to mind and I found myself thinking of all the times God has carried each one of us through the ups and downs of life. Just like he carried the Israelite's through the exodus, so he carries us. Each and every one of us who are true believers are  to him a 'treasured possession.'
Michael Joncas wrote: And God will raise you up on eagles' wings, bear you on the breath of dawn, make you shine like the sun, and hold you in the palm of his hand.'

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

Go little tugs.

'May the strength of God pilot us.' ( St Patrick)
I was taking a break by the sea and was watching a small pilot boat pushing and guiding a larger vessel out of port giving it direction and setting it on its right course. Such strength from a small boat, - such a valuable and important task and I began to think of how day by day we go out under God's guidance and come back in and wonder about the value and worth of our daily doings especially if we are the only one doing a particular work. How do we maintain the strength to 'keep at it?' I read this verse by Charles Allen: 'Remember that you are needed. There is at least one important work to be done that will not get done unless you do it.'
May the strength of God pilot us.

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

Lord, keep us in awe.

When  someone asked Jesus which was the greatest commandment, Jesus answered. 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength' Matthew 22:37
A glorious morning with the fields alive with the wash of the overnight rain and the presence of God is within it and its something I never tire of, this early morning glory --- vivid green grass covered valleys, shimmering with dew. Mountains bathed in mist, soft and blue. A mother bird teaching her young to fly - I think God has just passed by - painting, creating - thank you Lord. Lee Warren said:
Lord, help me to never lose a sense of wonder over the way you spoke the world into existence. Keep me in awe, Father, as I consider how you have arranged for the sun to rise each morning and for the ice to melt each spring and for the plants to come back to life.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord.

A gospel story

In the beginning when God created the heavens. Gen. 1:1
I recall when I was in Jerusalem studying  a subject called 'Palestine of Jesus 'at St George's Cathedral,  how the lecturer referred  to the landscape, the places of the bible like the Sea of Galilee, the Old City, the Mount of Olives etc  as the 5th gospel.  I could really relate to that and it brought so much of the biblical stories of Jesus alive. As I was out walking earlier I walked across the grass of the hillside and sat awhile on the seat at the top and form there I could survey the valleys and plains and the glorious Brindabella mountains, a landscape of green, low morning mist, the full pond from recent rains and the beauty in the finer things such as the wild flowers and the the red rump finches and I decided to call it all the 6th gospel because in it all was God. Martin Luther wrote: God writes the gospel not in the bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord

All of nature is a gospel.

Beauty puts a face on God

Your steadfast love ,O lord extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.....you save humans and animals alike O Lord. (Paraphrased) Psalm 36: v 5-6
I love the wisdom of the mystics and others who have embedded their lives in God and from who we have benefited so much. I make a comment today about my beloved dog and companion Bella who has sat by my side for the twelve years I have been writing these reflections. She passed away last week, a gracious, brave lady but its not her I comment on but what I saw in her, a creature of God's creation. As the Indian children in the neighbourhood asked me one day when they saw the cross on her collar.'Is she a Christian dog, are you two Christians?'  She emanated God's love not only to me but to others who knew her, often being described by the vet as 'having something very special about her.'  Meister Eckhart (1260-1327)  wrote: Apprehend God in all things, for God is in all things. Every single creature is full of God and is a book about God. Every creature is a word of God.
How lovely. How true.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord

Bella  2003 - 2016 

A joy every day

The cold wind in the winter, the pleasant summer sun, the ripe fruits in the garden: God made them every one. (Cecil Frances Alexander)
Spring still evokes in me a joy every day. I said to a friend as I looked out on her garden, just 'how lovely are all the flowers this time of year.' Every flower I look upon has a 'joyful, colourful, face of beauty' What great love for us, from God.  I love to pick the beautiful roses in all their glory and place them on my table. That is such a prayerful action, an in the moment action and the sweet peas placed in the vase in the bedroom give off an everlasting reminder in the night of God's love.
From an unknown writer comes these words: The beauty of creation convinces me that the creator not only loves me,but he wants me to have the very best.
Take a moment now, before the rush of the day sets in, and go and smell the flowers.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord.

Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning.

Praise for the singing, praise for the morning, praise for them, springing fresh from the word. TIS 156
It is said that 'anything worth thinking about is worth singing about' and Mary Oliver adds 'which is why we have songs of praise, songs of love and songs of sorrow'. I can relate to this thinking so much as I often have a song in my heart and on my lips so much so that  though I go to bed at night and sleep there is something in me that still listens for the joy of the beautiful melodious sound of the blackbirds song in the early morning, the first of creation to sing to God on a new day.
May there be songs in your heart and on your lips that bring you joy and peace and comfort and assurance of God.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne,servant of the Lord

Just a Caterpillar?

I am like an olive tree growing in the house of God. Ps 52
The little four year old had hold of my hand tightly as we walked to the park to play. Suddenly he stopped and squatting down started examining a caterpillar with great curiosity. It was just an ordinary plain  black caterpillar with lots of legs going at its almost standstill pace  across the path but to the four year old it said far more because after a long period of examination he said: ' I know what that  caterpillar will be, I can see it now, it will be a beautiful, colourful butterfly and it will have wings and it will fly. There is a wisdom story from oral tradition that says: 'A genius is one who can recognize the butterfly in a Caterpillar, the  eagle in an egg, the saint in a selfish human being.' I like to think its the one connected with the creator and his creation.'
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord.

Massive Wedge tail eagle in the SA outback

Beautiful and abundant.

He gave us eyes to see them and lips that we might tell how Great is God Almighty who has made all things well.TIS 135
I was taken by the hedge of lavender that lines my front path. This year it has been exceptionally beautiful and abundant and has given delight to many who pass by. Its been a work place for the bees and countless varieties of butterflies and as always I am drawn to thoughts of God and his abundant variety of creation given for our pure delight. I read this Irish Blessing recently:
May flowers always line your path and sunshine light your day. May songbirds serenade you every step of the way. May a  rainbow run beside you in the sky that's always blue . And may happiness fill your heart each day your whole life through.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne,servant of the Lord.

Hug a tree!

But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God. Ps 52:8
  I have always loved trees. They speak to us, they show us their glory, their beauty,their gracefulness. They give shade from the hot sun, shelter for the birds to nest and a bounty of colour and new growth and they stand tall and steadfast,. There is so much we can 'read' in a tree if we see it as it is, a creation of our God.  I like what  Joyce Kilmer wrote:' I think I shall never see a poem as lovely as a tree. A tree whose mouth is prest against the earth's sweet flowing breast; a tree that looks at God all day and lifts her leafy arms to pray.' There is nothing more affirming of the presence of God if we see him in creation and creation as his. Perhaps today is the day to 'hug' a tree!
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord

Hundreds of little parachutes

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. TIS 768
 I am seeing the lawns around homes being mowed and tidied and manicured as spring settles in and they all look lovely but for me I love to see the Cape Weed in its thousands  with its bright yellow flowers and its centered black dot 'smiling' in the sunshine with memories of making daisy chains. I love the native Blue Bell flowering in the front garden and on the edges of the road and the 'pin cushion' look of the dandelion waiting for a breeze or a child to pass by and blow its hundreds of  little 'parachutes,' its fairy down, into the air and I say thank you God for everything that brings a resounding yes from deep in my soul.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ,
Anne, servant of the Lord.

Floral memories

Behold the beauty of the Lord. Psalm 27:4

The treasures of spring are truly something to behold and  I find a real lasting impression in spring that stays with me through my life. Yesterday I smelt the wisteria and everywhere I go that its out I have to smell its glorious deep fragrance because the minute I do I am transported back to my childhood where I am playing in the garden. Like wise with the bearded  Iris, there are so many beautiful colours but the perfume takes me back to my childhood among the ladies 'doing' the flowers for Sunday church and I whisper  just a few words of thanks to God ans I breath them in. As long as we stop to smell the flowers, we have memories, childhood memories. God memories.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning said. 'Earth's crammed with heaven and every common bush afire with God.'
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne'servant of the Lord

the very edge of your soul

 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden. Gen 2:8
I took a group of ladies from my ministry out to the Tulip Tops Gardens to experience the ambiance, the beauty, the quiet and the sheer delight of the spring gardens. The day was warm with a real sense of spring about it and we had our picnic among the blooms of colourful tulips and other glorious flowers and blossom trees. Everywhere was God's. His work of creation, colour and beauty.Then  came into  my mind were the words I love : ' I said to the almond tree: Speak to me of God' and the almond tree blossomed......
Audra Foveo said: If you have never been thrilled to the very edge of your soul by a flower in spring bloom, maybe your soul has never been in bloom.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord

seeing the expected and the unexpected

For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed. Luke 8:16

It's the time of the year when the garden is coming into its best as the spring flowers start bursting their full buds, those  unknown pockets of beautiful colour and perfection that are a mystery to us until they shed the skin of their bud. Then there is the promise of great expectations in the vegetable garden as we watch the vegies grow from seed to sustaining food. Among it all I see some mysterious plants that I know I didn't plant, they are long and scrawny but their bud cluster bursts into beautiful tiny cornflower blue flowers. A weed yes, no doubt from the seed fallen from the bird feeding tray but so dainty and emanating pleasure. I understand the meaning of Thomas Jefferson words when he says: 'There is not a sprig of grass that shoots uninteresting to me.' Seeing the expected and the unexpected' in everyday life and gaining such joy from it has to surely be a 'God thing.'
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord.

pack peaches or grow an orchard.

Psalm 16: You will show me the path of life, the fullness of joy in your presence.
 Sometimes the people I work among in daily ministry have no hope. They see no purpose in their lives and often struggle to just exist. I love this thought by John Gardner: When people are serving life is no longer meaningless. We can see more in our lives than what it seems.Its like this: some people spend their day sorting peaches or cutting out pockets for pants and they do this all their lives and never feel the exhilarating sense of creativity that comes from within such as 'growing  an orchard' or 'designing a suit.' The meaning and the blessings that accompany our life come not from achievement but from what we do for others out of how we live. Gardner goes on to say if we are lovers of beauty, then beauty will fill all our days and if we are committed to justice, then justice will drive us even past fatigue. My prayer is that we all see more in our lives than what it seems to be.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord

The bird dose not  just build a nest but makes it a home.

a special place called home.

Let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. Romans 14:19
It can be a busy, bustling world in the hours of work, and home is often the place for retreat. I find as I get older that this place of retreat is something I look forward too more and more. Its a place of peace and quiet and presence where the voices and rush  of the day leave me as I open the gate,
and the stars at night and the sunsets and sunrises are crystal clear and unaffected by city lights.Three years ago I decided to find myself a new home - one on the very edge of community where I can live in silence in the presence of God and every day as I go walking I look for him in this place and find him everywhere.When I open the back door the  morning delight is full of pleasure as the perfume of the sweet peas ( and I quote Mary Oliver) 'sends its perfume to me on a gentle breeze and I go to it for a deeper, fuller experience and its called heavenly and something inside me melts and awakens'. There is something about home, retreat, and silence combined with sweet perfume and the early morning warble of magpies and the twittering of blue wrens and I know what it is. Its the presence of God.
Where is your quiet place of retreat?  Where do you go to experience the fuller, greater love of God?
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord.

good balance

To you, O God, I lift my soul. I trust in you....relieve the distress of my heart. Psalm 25
Sometimes I disrepair at the pace of life.That instant response that comes with it like emails that require an immediate response or phones that are forever with us and are answered the minute it rings regardless of where we are or what we are doing. The pace of life seems to be getting increasingly faster and faster so how do we avoid the stress it can create, that puts our right mindedness out of balance? I like this story: Once upon a time, two thieves were undergoing a trial by ordeal. If they could walk a wire over a gorge, they would be considered innocent and would be spared. If however they failed to cross the gorge the belief was they had been executed by the gods for their guilt. The first thief was successful and reached the other side. The second thief was terrified and called out. 'How did you do that?' I don't know' came the voice from the other side. All I know is that when I felt myself tottering to one side I leaned to the other.'A trusting heart is what enables us to lean to the left when life tilts us to the right. Its called balance  (Joan Chittister  Songs of the Heart)and isn't that what we need in life, a good balance in all things. May we always have God in our sights so we get a good balance in life.

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

Love without end.

I love you O Lord, my strength Ps 18:1
Where  does your love lie? Can you count your many loves? I start but somehow they seem to have no end: The early morning rising to catch the quiet and the first bird calls
 The 'smells' of spring. The 'look' of spring. (Just go for a moment and look O so close into a beautiful flower, look hard into its creation.)
 The old dog looking for a walk. That's one of her loves!
The quiet spot to go  and be.
The tiny blue wren looking at me through the window as I sit at my desk, singing its little heart out.
The anticipation of what the day holds for me as I serve my greatest love, My Lord Jesus Christ.
These are loves that cause me to feel there is almost no space between me and God. Loves that give me pleasure in the everyday detail. Annie Dillard says: I love with a keen, clear love. A love that wells up as I stand rooted in the now. Moments when I feel centered and grounded.Moments thanking God for everything from good simple food to the gentle breeze,to a shooting star across a clear summer night sky.
Van Gogh adds:   I always think the best way to know God is to love many things.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord

A quiet spot to go and be.

listen and God speaks

A time to keep silence and a time to speak. Eccl 3:7
Listening, intently listening.
Sometimes I listen deeply, so deeply that the silence is loud. So deeply that out of the silence comes a still small voice or more profound, a beautiful, richly coloured bird lands within  inches of my sight, and God speaks.  I was sitting on my front porch just sitting in the quiet with God and the beautiful Crimson Rosella came with his partner, as they do each spring, and checked out their nesting place, They stood on the fence and just looked at me ad I at them, and God spoke.
Mother Teresa said: ' God is the friend of silence. See how nature, trees, flowers, grass all grow in silence'
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord

A lovely sort of wild place

The Lord satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. Psalm 107:8-9
I was deep in thought  in a lovely sort of wild place beside a pond thanking God for the many blessings of the morning in this quiet place. My intent was to just sit and listen to the silence but God came by, into the silence and showered me with many morning, everlasting blessings.ending with the O so beautiful song after song that came forth from the honey filled blooms of the Japonica bush of the lovely orange breasted Rufus Whistler, so busy in her own happiness and my heart melted as I thanked God for his creation filled with pockets of  holy places, such beauty and joy for our delight.
Sit, be still and wait for the Lord to come by and O the blessings.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord.

for the love of feathered friends

All creatures of our God and King, lift up your voice and with us sing. TIS 100

We all seem to have a special bird that is meaningful to us. Some love the kookaburra whose song brings out of us  a laugh that spills out from  deep within us. Others will spot the call of the Rufus whistler sporting his orange chest among the honey filled spring flowers, others will simply 'melt' within at the glorious song of the blackbird at the break of day and as for the sparrow, Mary Oliver says: 'Of course I love the sparrow, those dun coloured darlings.'These are all 'God moments.' Need I say for me its the blue wren and when I think of them singing I ask myself  is it prayer? What could it be if it isn't? so I just listen,with thoughts of God and am blessed.
Don't miss the unmissable God moments in your day. They are so precious.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord

take time in his presence

My Lord and my God. John 20:28
The chorus of frogs in the pond of which I know not one from the other, is unbelievable and how do they all manage to sing in such  harmony and in tune. What a delightful sound and rising above it, or is it in chorus with it, is the beautiful call of a tiny bird I am yet to identify. I think of all God's creation. All identified and known to him personally. You, me, the frogs, the tiny bird, he has put his mark and his name on it all and how special, how very special to know that he knows each and every one of all his creation by name.
I love this morning blessing: May you take time in his presence so you will remember how strong and mighty he is. And may your day be filled with sacred moments that remind you just how precious you are to him.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord.

Only God can do that

All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord Psalm 145:10
Spring just throws up so many thoughts in your mind, and its just around the corner. I look at the bare tree outside my office window and its literally bursting its buds to push out the new leaves and the prunus in the back yard is displaying gorgeous little pink blossoms like a hundred young girls in tulle dancing dress and just a step out the back door the air is filled with strong violet and Daphne fragrance. The first words that fall from my lips are 'O God how glorious, how wondrous are your works.'  Somehow, having seen a shrub or tree empty or bare of any visible life and then to see it slowly open up into its glory is indeed a miracle. Its beauty in brokenness and life from death. You cant make the bare tree blossom, I cant make the bare tree blossom only God can do that. Only God can bring in new life..

Flowering Japonica.

One little duck went out one day..

 The Lord bless you and keep you. Numbers  6:24

Quietly sitting by a pond that's totally undisturbed by any visible signs of life other than a few water grasses and a bent willow tree when out of that island growth comes a lovely duck, his feathers iridescent green as the rising sun catches him. He paddles silently, smoothly across the water leaving a perfect arrow shaped wake behind him and all to the call of the wrens busily searching for breakfast for the young ones. Amazing things are revealed in silence and my inside was filled with happiness yet there was only the pond, the ducks and me.
Mary Oliver says: Instructions for living life are:. Pay attention, be astonished, and tell about it . For truly the body needs a song.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord.

Ah, now I see.

Blessed assurance Jesus is mine, O what a foretaste of Glory divine. (Hymn)
The first morning of the retreat I was looking out of my window on the third floor and fixed my eyes on a clump of flowering violets under a beautiful bright yellow wattle tree. There is something about  little flowers that grow under a tree and I couldn't place why it is so special a 'something.' And then a thought comes, a God planted thought which says, 'I am your God, over and above you, I am your shelter, your protector, come and be under my everlasting protection.'  It was a God thought that made me glow inside. It is indeed in the stillness and quiet that God speaks.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord.

Look and see......and live!

My soul thirsts for God,for the living God Psalm 42:2
The glory of the Lord shines through so much of what we see around us. Its there in  almost every place I look especially as the signs of spring are coming.  I recall a time when a new lady came to church and she was just 'aglow' with every aspect of her worship,- engaging, enjoying and so touched. It was so encouraging to see and then I think of the  nights when the moon has been high in the sky, shining,magnificent, full, a true light in the darkness, a presence of God. It is so powerful that we can meet God in all things. I recall on one of my outback holidays, standing on a sandstone cliff face in the desert and looking God in the face with all I saw before me.
I like this blessing of welcome (Iona Community) May you meet God in every place, in every person and in the depths of your own heart.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord

Breakaways, Coober Pedy.

a flower grows inside me

Teach us to count our days so that we may gain a wise heart. Psalm 90:12
I was looking at the Fuchsia in the garden, dormant, almost dead looking but then I saw tiny buds of life as new leaves were forming and I marveled at the fact that within a short space of time these leaves would be flourishing and green but what was more profound was the thought that from the very center of this creation flowers were forming ready to burst forth into new life when their time has come, turning something ordinary into something special and its all happening in the silence of the garden. I love silence. Things happen and grow and develop in silence, within the heart, the mind and the spirit. Its probably the next best thing to early morning walks where the silence is everywhere and in it you can hear and learn so much that has the potential to bring you life, turn your day into something lovely and beautiful. I like what Marion  von Waldner writes: 'From the center of my soul, a flower grows inside me, a love that makes me whole, a budding love that sets me free.'

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

Lord, keep me awake

May the Lord bless his people with peace. Psalm 29:11
There is something magical about the daylight pushing the night out of the way with a blaze of colour and there is something magical about the birds waking up one by one and adding chorus to the colour and its all backed by the rhythmic  squeaks, pips,  and croaks of the frogs on the pond. And while I walked I thought of the words of my 4 year old grandson yesterday when I said we would pray and thank God for the food he has given us  and he looked at me with big open eyes and laughing,without hesitation said, No 'Nan, God didn't give us the food, Mummy and I got it from the shop!' Isn't it just wonderful that every day is a message and a blessing from God.
A Lawson says: Always keep an ear bent towards heaven.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord.

Lets go fishing

As he (Jesus)  walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother casting nets into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them. 'Follow me and I will make you fish for people.' Matthew 4:18-19
I was enjoying walking in the quiet with just the call of an occasional bird, looking at  the bear trees that were exhibiting a beauty in their nakedness and in thought with God about the matters of the day ahead. Its amazing when we reflect on our lives and see where we have come from to reach the place we are at now especially in light of Jesus words, 'Come follow me.' I thought of the quote (anon)
What I am is God's gift to me. What I become is my gift back to God.
In a quiet spot during the day give your life's journey a thought and thank God for your response when he said 'Come follow me.'
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord

Fishing boat on the Sea of Galilee.

gathering treasures

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. Matthew 13: 44
All our experiences come home with us in our minds at the end of the day. Some to be discarded, some to be treasured.  It reminds me of when we walk on the beach, along a dry creek bed or walking on the familiar morning walk and we bend down to pick up something that is to be admired and slipped into the pocket to take home and treasure. In my garden I have small shiny white stones and dark round smooth ones that were picked up on a walk. I have jars filled with lovely sea shells of all shapes and colours that serve as book ends on my book shelves.I have a collection of different couloured bird feathers that stand in a jar waiting for the next visit from the grandchildren. The stooping and picking up, the wonder and the noticing of everyday 'things' are real moments of oneness with God that we keep because they are 'moments with God.'.
S Larson writes: 'Moments (like these) that you keep wrapped in a tissue paper inside a jewelry box or set on a shelf in your room like upon an altar. Moments that center and ground us.'
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord

 Treasured 'God moments' when these shards of china and glass were found' hidden' on the site of my GGparents property where nothing else remains of their life there.

God's shadow

For the joy of ear and eye, for the heart and mind's delight, for the mystic harmony, linking sense to sound and sight. Christ our God to you we raise, this our sacrifice of praise. (TIS 137)
Crystal clear frosty morning with one long,  thin band of  deep pink cloud fringed the mountains and the reflection from it shone on the pockets of white snow in the valleys which changed them to a soft marshmallow pink, glistening in the sun like a million clear crystals and I recalled a quote by Gabriela Mistral:   'Beauty......is the shadow of God on the universe.'
How wonderful, O Lord are the works of your hands. What beauty to behold. You have created a divine song in our hearts from what our eye has seen.and your presence  fills the start of our day.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord.

                                               Behold the beauty of the shadow of God.

pockets of lights

Lord, the love of your light is shining........shine Jesus shine, fill this land with the Fathers Glory (TIS 675)
As I walk to  the rise of the hill and pause at the top I look back over the valley and across the suburb behind me and see clusters of street lights in the dark of the early morning and  it reminds me again and again of each one of us who carries the light of Christ into our community, often into areas of darkness, of isolation,loneliness  pain, and suffering. As I watch the light of day brighten  and the community  lights dim  I think of how the light of  mornings God encounters  fill us for this new day.

I can think of nothing more appropriate to say than.........let your light shine!
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord..

lift your face to the day star

Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Psalm 90:14
As I thing of the day that lies before us. I think of the challenges, the peoples paths we will cross; those who will be rejoicing, those who will be mourning, those seeking a shoulder to lean on, those who need encouragement, those who bless and please us, those who need a touch of God's love. Those who need a kind hand to pick them up and set them on the path again.
You know, nothing satisfies me more  early in the morning than to feel that call from God to come and spend some time with him. The quiet of the  morning seeps deep into my being and there it liaises with God taking in peace, hope, love, calm,joy, strength and understanding. Tools for the day, gifts to share and a sense of being sent forth with God's blessing.
Macrina Wiederkher wrote: Lift your face to the day star now, experience the coming of dawn, bathed in morning light, pray that the lantern of your life move gently through this day into all those places where light is needed.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ,
Anne, servant of the Lord

Those who need a helping hand

I see you Lord

And all the peoples behold his glory. Psalm 97:6
Sometimes we feel we are looking into the eye of God. I have a beautiful book called 'A Tree full of Angels' by Macrina Wiederkehr and in one section she talks of a 'meditation pause' quoting Guigo, and it says: Until your heart is touched....
I look in awe at the buds on the prunus tree just getting ready to bust and some have already popped out of their little cocoons of cover, blushing a spot of cheeky pink.
I look in awe at the deep red of the flowering gum blossom, dressed like little ballerinas in tu-tu's.
And I saw them.....a tree full of angels, and my heart was touched and my silent whisper said, ' I see you Lord.'
Look about but just don't look about, look and see the Lord
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord

shine your light

The gifts of God for the people of God. (APBA)
Early morning and the dark was  bathed in the soft moonlight from the moon high in the sky, so bright that it cast my shadow onto the footpath and a silver reflection on the dam in the paddock and all the objects  of the landscape, the cattle, the mountains, the trees, the fences,were illuminated so I could see what was there regardless of the dark. The breeze blew across my face, icy but refreshing and there was a mystery occurring because to the east the sun was rising in a brilliant display of pink, orange and gold and between the two was my breath taking prayer as the glory of the Lord shone all around. I didn't quite know which way to look to capture it all.
I reflected on the brightness of the moon which has no light of its own. The light it casts is from the suns reflection, like its bouncing off a mirror.
I reflect on our lives with Jesus, the Son, and wonder at his reflection that shines off us. He is our source of light.
May the light of Christ that reflects in your life, shine on all you meet.
Anne, servant of the Lord

a good measure pressed down

Give, and it will be given to you. A good  measure, pressed down and shaken together, running over, will be put in your lap, for the measure you give will be given back. Luke 6:38
I tried to find a definition of a blessing and it was hard to come up with something I felt met the
feeling but Luke gives it plain and clear in his Gospel. What drew me to blessings this morning was that they were in my heart when I got up. I was thinking they were like boomerangs.You give one  out and it comes back to you and the blessing then becomes yours, as well as theirs. Time and again I have gone into my day and assisted those less fortunate than myself, people who the world passes by, and they are so grateful and often say the time together is a real blessing but I go home feeling blessed by the privilege of having been with them. God can give us a cold wet morning, shrouded in mist, yet the beauty of it takes our breath away and becomes a blessing prayer of 'thank you Lord.'
Blessings are something we don't forget. They are powerful, collected and save in the soul.
May the blessings fall like the rain on you today.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord.

The blessing of a  surprised encounter

Prepared for anything

Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Mark 1:3

I was touched by the early morning,so still, so quiet with a magpie waking the dawn with a note perfect solo and I just sat and engaged.....God and me....a oneness. Its like the whole start of the day is on pause before it lunges into its business and strife.
 As I sat, over and over in my mind roll the words from Psalm 46:
Vocate et videte quomiam ego-somdeus. 'Be still and know that I am God.'
Do you know this is called the war psalm, said before soldiers engaged in battle?
I don't think there is a better way    of entering each new day than to be wrapped up in the love, protection and peace of God, prepared for anything.
Go well into this new day under the protective cover of your God.

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

full but hungry

O Lord you light my fire, your face is all I see. (Song of Praise)
 Fresh, cold, snow on the mountains and an icy wind, the intensity of the winter season.
A night sky  full of stars, the deep colour of the rising sun and the softness of the sun set.
 Beauty of creation.
Uniqueness of every bird.
A special friend.
An elderly face.
A needy person.

Ron Lessin said:
Lord keep me full but hungry, Content but needy. Complete but never satisfied.

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

Behold the beauty of the Lord

in everything there is God

The light of the sun shines down on everything, and everything is filled with the glory of the Lord. Sirach 42:16
I like the word everything, in this passage. Nothing is excluded.
The sulpha crested cockatoos wake from their overnight camp in the eucalyptus trees down by the creek and together in full flight screech their way across the green, long valley towards the mountains  in pursuit of their food for the day. Its a perfect picture as they become part of the breathtaking panoramic view before me, a kaleidoscope of colour backed by the birds chorus and a rising sun.....and everything is filled with the Lord's glory. I was in conversation with an elderly lady  as she told me some of her life's story, a life that is sustained and fed by a God she has loved and depended on, and the look on her face, so full of character, so weathered with age and the experiences of life emanated everything about her   It is a face that tells in every wrinkle and the furrowed brow, experiences of sadness, of joy,of love,of fear,of child, of wife, of mother, of grandmother,of wars,of droughts.  Of life all lived. Its a face that says I have been and I still am, and everything is filled with the glory of the Lord.
Where is God for you today? will he be in the creation? in the sandy beach, the shell you pick up,the mountain, the mist, the flower you stop to smell, the face of a friend, the elderly, the dying?...........can you feel it? Can you see it?
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ,
Anne, servant of the Lord.

Precious water

Come into his presence singing Jesus is Lord, Jesus is Lord (Scripture in Song)
I woke up to the sound of rain falling on the dry leaves on the garden bed outside my window and my thoughts immediately went to God and how faithful he is. Rain ....life giving water....for us and for the earth and I thought of the life giving streams of water that flow through our lives from the love of Jesus and how we have the  wonderful opportunity, the unique opportunity to flow those streams of life giving water onto others and I found myself humming. 'Come into his presence singing Alleluia, Jesus is Lord. I reflected in my quiet time of the love of Jesus, of his faithfulness and of the people he already knows that we will encounter today and I felt equipped and ready. I also reflected on the saying:Those who sing, pray twice.  Keep singing and we are constantly praying. Keep singing and we are in his presence always. Keep singing!

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

tissue thin spaces.

By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and the numberless stars by the breath of his mouth. He gathered waters of the sea as in a water skin. Psalm 33:6-7 (APBA)
What imagery!
I was telling the story of creation using the flannel graph. I laid the blue background for the sky and one by one added the yellow stars. I laid the blue of the sea, adding a wave or two and as I did this I had a real sense of creating. It was one of those 'thin places' experiences. A tissue thin space between earthly and heavenly things, and it was as powerful as when I read the story of creation. My thoughts went to the stars....by the breath of God's mouth....imagine God opening his mouth and a whole stream of stars coming forth and placing themselves in position where they landed.....some clustered like the milky way, some isolated on their own yet ever so bright and I think to myself 'what holds them up there?' My thoughts went to the sea. What contains it? This huge water skin laid down in the base of the ocean before the waters were gathered into it and I imagine the arms of God around a huge mass of water, squeezing it into the water skin, there to be contained.
What a mighty God. No wonder we keep coming back to him for there is nothing that he cant do. There is nothing he cant provide.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord

Deep peace of the Aaronic blessing

The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and give you peace. Numbers 6:24
I see this beautiful passage of scripture come true so many times in a day.
The sulfa crested cockatoos jostling for the food on the bird feeder.The sunrise, the unwrapping of a gift of a new day.A rainbow after rain.A friend willing to listen.
The stranger we encounter.
Blessings....... God's face shining on us.... bringing peace.
Treasure the blessings. They are the face of God.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord

rise and shine

O for a heart to praise my God. TIS 568
Some people say 'why do you get up early? Frost on the ground and in the air, a chill that cuts right through you?' and I reply 'well its like this.' The still,  waters on the pond that mirrors every reed and bull rush as if they are growing upside down are just about to be disturbed as the first of the wood ducks emerge from within them. The rising sun clips every blade of frosted grass across the paddock as if I was looking through  a kaleidoscope, lighting them in a million, million clusters of crystal colours, breathtaking! and the drops of dew on the cobwebs that hang from the fence wire show a crafted  brilliance no human  could make and beneath the windowsill of a house I pass the tiny blue wrens are seeking their breakfast from a trapped insect and bolder still is the magpie who sits on the lamppost cherishing the taste of the moth he has acquired for his breakfast and Oh there is so much more to cherish and give thanks for. And I know that if I were to get up a minute later than I do for my morning walk all this would no longer be, it would have passed into activity and business. And you know, there is in each and every thing a prayer, a prayer in the ordinary. And now they come to the tree in front of my window again, the blue wrens, the willy wag tail and the red rump finches. All of this, that is why I get up early.
Mary Oliver writes: Every day I see or I hear something that more or less kills me with delight.....grow wise with such teachings as these, the untrimmable light of the world, the ocean's shine, the prayers that are made out of grass.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord

I listen, I see

Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord. Isaiah 2:3
Several things have caught my eye these past few days.The bright blue of the stately Dutch Iris. The raindrops, clusters of them, on the beautiful Camellia bush, which, by the way is a mass of the most beautifully formed flowers, white, with a blush of pink. The two magpies on the power pole, warbling, singing to each other about the coming day. And the sunset last night that burst, literally burst, from the grey clouds, in a blaze of gold, showering fine dust rays of gold across the mountains, valley and tree tops.
I read this from a poem by Mary Oliver:
It doesn't  have to be the blue iris, it can be weeds in a vacant lot, or a few small stones, just pay attention, then patch a few words together and don't try to make them elaborate, it isn't a contest, but a doorway, into thanks, and a silence in which another doorway may speak.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord

Field of cobwebbs