Quiet pools of stillness

 Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Psalm 62:1

There is a Chinese proverb that reminds us that we can not see ourselves in running water. We need those quiet pools of stillness for reflection.  This morning as I opened the blinds in the early morning light I pauses and my gaze fell on the scene before me - the green of the grass was glistening with a frost like a  million sparkling diamonds as the sun rays ran across the ground and up the pure white trunks of the eucalypt trees. The air was still - I was still - and I stayed there for quite a moment admiring the handy work, the beauty of God's created new day, the peace and pondered the things of the day before me. Pause,  just a small moment of pause, can centre us and set the entire day on a different course.  The moment was so special that I know it will come into my mind many times during the day, that stillness, that quiet. 

Jehovah - shalom. The Lord is Peace.  Anne, servant of the Lord.

A frosty morning  stillness

Pockets of perfume

 How great is our God, sing with me how great is our God and all will see how great is our God. (Christian song)

The change in the air is obvious that spring is around the corner and even the sacred space has had a change with the perfume of the spring flowers, especially the abundance of violets, filling the air and as I look at these little pockets of perfume and colour, fragile in amongst the larger plants yet smiling boldly my thoughts go to God, our God who is so mighty and so powerful who can create the  massive mountains of the Himalayas, throw stars into the night sky and with the same hands form such delicate, small beauties as the violet. Wow!

Joyce Rupp says: Even the frailest beauty can enthral.

Let the peace of God dwell in your heart.      Anne, servant of the Lord.

,                                                 Little beauties.

They shone in a different light

 Bless us from all places where you dwell. Psalm 134

I was looking at the group of people out for a walk from the nursing home, people I have to come to know well, and as they approached I suddenly saw them in a different light. I saw them as God's children and therefore siblings. The image was, as Joyce Rupp would say, ' an explosion of God's love.'  Thich Nhat Hanh believes that 'we have to look deeply at things in order to see and then the beauty comes home to our souls, moving us to wordless knowing.'

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

Anne, servant of the Lord

                                    We are all God's children and therefore siblings.

a tree or a patch of green grass

 I'm asking God to give you a gift from the wealth of his glory. I pray that he will give you inner strength and power through his Spirit. Eph 3:16 (ESV)

Thich Nhat Hanh said: 'Here is the foot of a tree; here is an empty, quiet place, here is the cool green of the grass my child, why don't you sit down.'   And you know, when we do that especially after an exhausting day, what relief, what calm. To sit in a sacred space, alone with God, just feeling the peace with the fragrance of the world calming the mind. Such a  place is peace, is rest,  is strength,   is renewing, is calm, is God.  It's such a lovely space that you get a sense of never wanting to leave it, so go, sit at the foot of a tree (or on its branches) or find an empty space, or a patch of fresh green grass and just sit, sit with God.

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

                                                    Resting on the branch of the tree -peace.

From little things, big things grow.

 Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders ? Psalm  33:8

From small seeds something big or beautiful will grow. I can hold an acorn in the palm of my hand and admire the shininess of its shell and the neatly fitting cap on one end and think to myself, that hasn't been made in a hurry with no thought, that is neatly and perfectly crafted and its packed with a power we can't see, a power to create a massive oak tree. How does God do that?  How then does he create a small brown nut like  seed that turns into the beautiful flower clusters of the Daphne with their stunning memorable perfume, smell it and you feel like you are in heaven among the incense of the angels. How does God do it?  How does he change a small seed into something big or something  beautiful?  I believe somethings have to remain a mystery and just marvel at what a magnificent God we have, and I add, go and look in the mirror and you will see what he has done with something that started so tiny, yet is packed with potential.

The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Anne, servant of the Lord

                                                        Acorns full of a great Oak tree.

Same same but different.

 Is anything too wonderful for the Lord. Genesis. 18:14

Not only were the two wattle birds delighting in the nectar of the Grevilia bush  but they were also delighting in the drops of water falling all over them from the water sodden  leaves of the nights rain. I looked at them, almost identical but no, there is a slight shift of colouring in one of them. Then my eye caught the beauty of the deep blue violets amidst a cluster of healthy leaves, almost identical but no, a slight difference in their size and in some their shape and in colour to the bunch next to them. I looked from the birds to the flowers in wonder at our God, who creates the same yet makes them different.  And so it is with us, with you and me, As Max Lucado says: When God made you, the angels stood in awe and delight and declared, ' We have never seen one like that before.' And they never will again!

Peace to you beyond all understanding.   Anne, servant of the Lord.

                                                    Spot the difference.