Feathered blessings

 For he is our peace. Ephesians 2:14

Isn't it a great space to be in with yourself when you feel you could just sit and watch the birds in the bird bath all day long as they splash, paddle and sing spring songs. I see them as little feathered blessings and such pondering gives me a great feeling of rest, peace and quiet, a feeling that says 'just stay where you are and let the world roll by'  But its more than that, its a feeling of the presence and Jesus and that's why its hard to pull away from it. Into my mind comes a picture of the disciples sitting on a hillside with Jesus filled with love.

Jehovah - Shalom. The Lord is peace.

Anne, servant of the Lord.

                                                    Such delight!

Skies of blue, clouds of white

 

For in him all things were created. Col 1:16

Whether it’s a thick fog full of mystery, a storm of lightening and clashing thunder, a brilliant sunrise, an even more brilliant sunset, crashing waves on the sea shore, birds of every type filling our skies or flowers, a kaleidoscope of colour in the garden, it is all made by the hand of God our creator and I say, 'When you see the beauty around you, let each little detail remind you to lift your head in praise.' O God, our God, how wonderfully you have made it all for our joy and delight.

I love that song which goes:  I see the skies of blue, clouds of white, the bright blessed day, the dark sacred night and I say to myself, what a beautiful world. (Louis Armstrong)

Each day. Every day lift your head and thank God for all you see.

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ

Anne, servant of the Lord.

                                   Yes, he made you too!

 

Lost in wonder love and praise

For this is how God loved the world. John 3:16

Jesus would say: 'Loose yourself in me and find my love.' Oh how I love to do that. It can be as simple as looking into the face of a beautiful flower, or a passing moment when you turn the  corner in the garden and its filled with the perfume of the sweet peas or roses, or it can be looking into the eyes of the rosella who slowly turns its head away from the bush of berries it is feeding on to give you a look of knowing. And its so easy to feel that love  sitting with a group of elderly people in the nursing home service singing 'The great love of God O how lavishly Given.' Loose yourself in me and find my love, says Jesus.

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne, servant of the Lord

                                                Its all God's love

The morning stars sang

God of unchanging power, when the heaven and earth were made, the morning stars sang together and the host of heaven shouted for joy: open our eyes to the wonders of your creation. (APBA portion of the prayer of the week)

 Every night, last thing before I hop into bed, I go outside and say good night to God as I look up to the night sky. The bright moon - the multiple millions, no billions of stars, winking at the earth, all taking their places in the universe and order of things and I am in wonder and awe of our God. Somehow it leaves me with a great sense of love and peace. 

Camille Pissarro said: Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where others see nothing.

Peace.

Anne, servant of the Lord. 

                                                            God is in his house.

The banquet house

 He brought me to the banqueting house and his intention towards me was love. Song of Solomon 2:4

Simple joys can be found every day  if we are open to them. We can look with our eyes and not see or we can look with our soul and see so much. For a week or more now I have been watching the roses budding. The swelling of the bud with a hint of colour showing through its tip is a daily watch of expectation. Expectation of what is hidden, of what is to come and the wonder of all through  its phases of its life until it reaches its full potential -  perfect formation in its layers of petals, or layers of skirts as Mary Oliver would say, and the perfume well, as we say, is heavenly and yes, there are thorns but they also have a message. I think I will call the garden the 6th gospel, full of messages and stories that link us to God. (The 5th gospel is claimed in biblical Israel when you follow in the footsteps  of Jesus)

Enjoy all you see with the eyes of your soul. Pause in wonder and see through it to God.

Jehovah - shalom. The Lord is peace.

Anne, servant of the Lord.

                                                            God's love

Sing your spirt into joy.

 My peace I leave with you. My peace I give you. John 14:27

The endurance of us all in lockdown is perhaps running a bit thin. We have mixed feelings. Perhaps we are keen to resume some form of more natural living or perhaps we might want to just stay in our own home bubble, either way our spirit is probably waning. Around my garden and on my permitted walk I find my spirit is lifted considerably as I see, with more awareness, the beauty of spring, the birds of the air and sense the perfume of flowers. Have they all been more obvious because we are living in a quieter, stiller life and how do we retain that when life resumes again in all its business? Thoughts for reflection and prayer.

Joyce Rupp writes: The loveliness of a single flower in radiant bloom can sing my drooping spirit into joy.

May the Lord of Peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways.

Anne, servant of the Lord.

                                                A thing of beauty.

Where green shoots grow

 'I am the resurrection and the life.' says the Lord. John 11:25

Something stirs in my spirit when I look at a dead tree stump that is rich with new growth. The stirring is of God, the image is of God, the thoughts are of God.

Joyce Rupp said: A green shoot grows out of an old stump, announcing to the world that power lies in death. 

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Anne, servant of the Lord.

                                                Faith in resurrection.

God's hour

 Strength and beauty are in his sanctuary: Psalm 96:6

There is such an urgency and an excitement about the dawn of a new day. Its like a 'calling' that can't be resisted. 'Come, 'it says, 'come quickly before I pass and we haven't met.'  The air is still and the morning light is infused with colour in anticipation of the rising sun. The dew is still on the grass and little notes of morning welcome, the only sound to hear, comes from within the trees as a little bird sing its praises of a new day. I picture it standing tall on its spindly legs, head held high and its tiny beak wide open sending forth note after note of praises to God.  I like to think it is singing morning praises to God, just as I do when I am 'called' to see the dawn. I reflect on the words of  William Wordsworth who said: Blessed was it that dawn to be alive.

Jehovah -shalom. The Lord is peace.

Anne, servant of the Lord

And the little bird sings.

God in full view.

 You are before me, Lord, you are behind, and over me you have spread out your hand; such knowledge is too wonderful for me, to high to grasp, to great to understand. TIS 87

I read a quote which said: 'Life should be a constant vision of God's presence.' (Maclaren) and I found myself nodding in agreement as I watched the bulging life giving drops of water run off the end of the eucalyptus leaves not only marvelling at their jewel like colour as the sun shone through them but also reflecting on the 'living water' that Jesus offers us and the sustenance it gives his creation. Then I can turn around to see the swelling buds on the rose bushes and think of the potential of beauty amidst the thorns, of pain and of glory, and then the spring bulbs that have risen from the dark earth into the light and in the corner of the garden other flowers have heads bent in prayerful posture. There is very little space that I turn to that is not filled with God's presence. It's like something that is always with you, and it is,- always with you, for God is never far away. Learning to live in the vision of God's presence comes when we learn how to live in the moment day by day, when God is near and worries are far off.

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne, servant of the Lord.

                                                Heads bowed in prayer.