tincture our lives

Among us and before us Lord you stand. TIS 259
The winter is coming upon us quickly. The temperature has dropped and the morning walks have to step up a notch  and many of our morning greetings are about how cold it is! That's if you live where I live! BUT, Oh the beauty of the Lord. The sun as it rose was a ball of silver.Not red, not 'fiery' but silver, shrouded in fog and I could see the distant horizon through a pocket of fog showing a grey and florescent pink cloud bank of sun touched beauty and I thought on the prayer of the day we heard in worship yesterday and the line that read - 'Tincture our lives with your beauty and fill our potential beauty with your abundant life through Jesus of Nazareth.'  As you go out today see the beauty of the Lord in all things and be O so blessed knowing you are part of that beauty.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord

shouts of joy

To behold the beauty of the Lord. Psalm 27:4
Its is so lovely, the autumn and there is a peace about it at times, especially when the fog is in and the air is still. There is a feel about it that's a mystery. A mystery of the beauty of God. The day breaking through the morning mist, naked autumn trees, beautiful in their nakedness, resting and waiting. It takes my breath away in the moment before the 'wow' comes and the 'thank you Lord' arrives.
I like the opening lines of Mary Oliver's poem 'Messenger.' (Paraphrased)
My work is loving the world...... let me keep my mind on what matter......, which is my work and learning to stand still and be astonished. The phoebe, the delphinium, the sheep in the pasture and the pasture. A mouth with which to give shouts of joy, to the moth, the wren, telling them over and over  how it is we live forever.
May there be many 'wow' moments in your days followed by 'thank you Lord'
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord.

So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary beholding your power and glory, because your steadfast love is better than life and  my lips will praise you. Psalm 63:2-3
It is so true that many of the things we see about us actually preach to us. Today the blessings of an early morning fine drizzle of rain cutting through the first rays of sunlight like 'fairy dust,' and holding itself  in tiny rain drops that slide off a leaf and land on the dry earth. The rocky outcrops on the face of the mountains shines like a mirror and the pink and grey galah's sit on a slippery fence post grooming their freshly washed bodies and it seems the earth is crying out in joy and everywhere the glory of the Lord can be seen and I want to race out and tell everyone of the blessings of a faithful God.

Mother Teresa said: (a person) filled with joy preaches without preaching.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord.

Enjoy God always

'.....can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?' John 3:12b
When I glimpsed the autumn tree in passing I found myself going back to look again as something had touched my soul, something put me momentarily on sacred ground. Although a rather insignificant tree the passage of the autumn tones is what touched me. There were green leaves,changing leaves, leaves in full colour and those already seasoned and fallen to the ground. They all spoke to me about life's journey. They spoke to me of the faith journey, of trusting God.They spoke of new life, maturity and dying. They spoke to me of God's glory and they took my breath away and gave me a glimpse of God, a window to God, a flash in a moment in a day that stayed with me as sacred moments do. Enjoy the beauty of the autumn, its so God given.

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

The saints

....that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may  be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passes all understanding. Ephesians 3:17-19
I have a Christian friend who says to me in all seriousness, 'when I die, the final hymn at my funeral is to be 'When the Saints come marching in.'  She knows what it means to be a saint. Not someone perfect or worldly but someone who has had their sins forgiven and  they have been embraced and welcomed into the arms of Jesus. Today we hear of people being 'made' saints through good works and long life commitments but in reality, according to the bible we are all saints.How does that make you feel? For me, its not something that puts me on a pedestal in my mind, heaven forbid, but instead its something that puts me on my knees in humility before God.I read somewhere about  'Saints in circulation.' That's you and me and everyone who carries the forgiven love of Jesus into our communities, into our day, into our lives with that deep peace of knowing.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ,
Anne, servant of the Lord.

peace to you

He said. 'Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord for the Lord is about to pass by.' Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind, and after the wind the earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake, and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire and after the fire the sound of sheer silence - then there came a voice to him. 1 Kings 19:11-12
Its so still and quiet in the early morning, like an ocean before the tide comes roaring in and as I step out for a morning walk in this quiet, this silence with a 'good morning Lord' I know what it is  to experience his presence. I know what  it is to experience that ' sound of sheer silence' and then comes the still small voice as a tiny bird sings the sweetest song in the pre dawn darkness.
Sometimes ministry and life in general can be like splitting mountains and breaking rocks and a great whirl of wind and it can be about things that are not of God but God never passes us by and when we experience that sound of sheer silence we hear his voice. That beautiful whispering way he has of reaching us.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord.

layers of dust

Blessed are those who trust in the Lord. Jer 17:7
When I was in Israel I recall one of the tasks to do at the end of a days walking was to wash the dust off my feet. I wore good walking sandals and when I removed them I could see the marks of the straps on my feet  highlighted by a layer of dust. In many  places the dust is fine and as I put my foot down others beside me would gather the 'puff of dust' from my feet and likewise I from them.I thought of the disciples who had walked this country with Jesus and how they two must have had feet covered in dust at the end of a days walk and Jesus often referred to 'the dust' in his conversations.  Recently I heard a beautiful ancient blessing which said: 'May you always be covered in the dust of your Rabbi.'
My prayer for us all is that God's presence will be with us  -  always and praise the Lord - we cant wash that off!
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord

Road to Jericho

All we need is love

I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also most love one another. John 13:34
We look at the world and its great need for love. We look at one another and our great need for love. Words of caring and love can go such a long way to changing lives and giving people hope. I have a person in the community  who lives alone and is socially isolated and each nigh she calls me and we have a chat about her day and it enables her to have someone to say good night to. Small acts of love can change a persons life.  I heard this story recently: A six year old boy was sad because his friends at school teased him about all his red freckles on his face and he shared with his grandmother his sadness Grandmother put her hand under his chin and turned his face to look at her and as they looked into each others eyes she said to the boy ' I think you have the most beautiful freckles, and I love them.' The boy stared at his grandmothers face with affection and placed his small hand on her cheek and after a pause said.' And I love your wrinkles too.' It doesn't take much to change a persons life.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord.