Peace that only God can give

My peace I give to you. John 14:27
There is a peace in us, 'God's peace' that allows us to jump hurdles and ward off anxiety and sing a song even in hard times. Its a peace that carries us. A peace that sings in our soul.  A peace that says 'all is well or all will be well.'  It reminds me of the little bird that sat on a fragile twig that hung out over a great waterfall and despite the fragility of the twig, the chasm below and the roar of the waterfall he sat there and he sang and he sang. As we approach Pentecost we remember the words of Jesus: Peace  I leave with you;my peace I give to you. John 14:27

wings to soar

They will soar on wings like eagles. Isaiah 40:31
 I was watching a man flying overhead in a single seat machine being held up by a rainbow shaped canopy like an umbrella and as I stopped to watch a moment I thought, what a grand view he must have of the entire region he was flying over. He could see far to his left, far to his right, far ahead and certainly far below and I thought of the eagle that Isaiah refers to and how it soars with a vision that captures all about it.A vision that is clear and big. Sometimes, if we want to see things in proportion, if we want to see them more clearly,  we need to soar above them and we can do that through our growing and strengthening relationship with our Savior Jesus. He will 'give us wings' to soar above anything  so we have a clearer view of it, so it comes into perspective.
Grace an peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord.

Filled to overflowing

O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing My Great Redeemers Praise (Hymn)
Even after years of early rising I am  still 'filled to overflowing' with the blessings of the mornings . The awaking of the morning with the night blind in the sky  going up and the daylight creeping in under it. The blessing of stillness and quiet: of fog and mist hovering in the valley: of a pastel sky wearing fringes of pink and blue: of a fading moon and a rising sun, and the peace and the quiet almost puts me on my knees as  I am riveted onto one spot in the presence God. ( Mary Oliver said: I look:  morning to night I am never done with looking. Looking I mean. Not just standing around, but standing around as though with your arms wide open.
May you feel the overwhelming blessings of God wherever it is that you stand with arms open wide.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord.

Hills, lights and chickens.

' Hide me in the shadow of your wings.' Psalm 17:8b
Its interesting how some things in life have an impact that  remains with you forever. I am so glad I grew up in an age where it was the norm for children to go to Sunday School and it was expected that you would learn to quote scripture verses that became embedded in your memory and journeyed with you through life. So many times over the years those embedded scripture verses have been  my salvation, my peace,my encouragement, my strength. Verses like ' I lift up my eyes unto the hills from where comes my strength.' (Ps 121)  'Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path (Ps 119:105)'  and another favorite 'hide me in the shadow of your wings.' Every verse came to me with a picture attached to it in my mind and this one in particular always reminded me of God's love and his protection like a mother hen who shelters her chicks under her wings.  As a child when  I fed my hens and chickens in the home yard I would see this lovely image of little chickens running to hide under their mothers wings and somehow I felt  safe, I felt warm and fuzzy inside. And  throughout  life when I see a hen or chicken this verse comes into my mind.  What are the verses that have embedded themselves into your mind and life?
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord

God calling

Fill my whole life, O Lord my God. TIS 596
As a child I grew more and more fascinated in people who worked and devoted their life for God. I loved to see pictures in mission magazines of missionaries working for God and when they visited our parish I was in awe of them. As I grew up this fascination  grew with me and people like Mother Teresa became my hero who I admired, respected and saw as one who gave her life totally in service to Christ. (Of course my father was a priest and was well up in my books also) What an inspiration these people were and so many more keep coming into my life. I read in a little book called 'God Calling' a simple phrase that said. 'God's calling......FOR ME.' We can always draw inspiration from people around us  who live extraordinary lives of love and service, who spark the best in us. When we hear of Christians exemplifying God's best in their love for others,their service and their character.......learn their song.......and sing it, calling out to God,Lord, let me leave a legacy of love.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord.

strong upholding hands

Hold thou me up and I shall be safe Psalm 119:117
I woke up this morning amidst  God's love in what the local radio would call a 10-10 sunrise brought into beauty even more by the clear crisp frosty air. It was glorious in colour and peace but I think the thing that actually called me into the day was the tiny prayer bell that hangs outside my window. Its soft metallic tinkling in the gentle breeze draws me to thoughts of God. I recall reading a very old pocket book called 'morning bells' and in it I read: 'the path is not easy, there are rough stones and we can stumble. How do we walk safely over such a rough path?' My response to that reflection was: Its not my grip of Christs hand but Christ's grip on me. That's what stops us stumbling and keeps us on the path. I hear the tinkle of the metallic bell and immediately I say, 'may today be in your strength Lord even though at times the path may be rough. Hold me up.
(unknown)  Yes, I will uphold you with my own right hand. You are called and chosen in my sight to stand.
Grace and peace and strength from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord.

hidden things revealed

Look at what is before your eyes. 2 Corinthians 10:7
Outside a window that looks onto my garden are two tall trees that are shedding their leaves for winter.  There is not much room in that space but they conceal the wall behind them. Now, as they shed their leaves I can see the pattern of the brick work in the wall and hanging there in the sight of my eye is a wall decoration of a family of blue wrens and something inside me says, Ah, yes!. I quote Mary Oliver who also sees beyond the obvious. She says: 'The woods are acres of sticks - when the leaves fall the striptease is over, things stand mute and revealed. Everywhere skies extend, vistas deepen, walls become windows, doors open.'  It reminds me of our  relationship with God. It is so wonderful to be able to see  beyond the word, that word 'God'  and see what he has to reveal to us. As I look beyond the falling leaves to the family of blue wrens I see beyond what is in front of me.
Take the journey, look beyond the obvious and be blessed.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord.

I saw them as through the veil

He leads me by still waters. Psalm 23
The tree outside my window is again momentarily full of delightful flashing, moving colours of the Red Rump Finches, the Willy Wagtails, and the bright Rosellas all playfully chatting among the yellow glory of the autumn leaves and I recall having seen the Red Robin there when the snow is on the mountains. Such brief moments, moments that cause me to take a breath and hold it, moments  that  I call pauses with God.  These pauses are all around us. God moments that take away our breath and leave us with a sense of knowing, of having connected, of having experienced something deep. Mary Oliver puts it this way after she had seen a flock of Snow Geese flying overhead: I held my breath, as we do sometimes to stop time when something wonderful has touched us. She goes on later in her poem to say: Maybe I will see them again one day, somewhere, maybe I wont. It doesn't matter. What matters is that, when I saw them, I saw them as through the veil, secretly, joyfully, clearly.
Grace and peace be with you.
Anne, servant of the Lord.

An Echidna passing by my door step.