refreshment to the soul

Sir, give me this water that I may never be thirsty. John 4:15
I like this saying. 'I wasn't thinking of music but it began to rain!' How true is that. When we have been waiting and waiting for it to rain and it finally comes, its like music to the ears.It brings refreshment to the soul, it lifts our spirits. No wonder Jesus used the imagery of water, -  living water, when he invited people to come and be refreshed in body, mind and soul - and grow. I have also heard it said that gentle falling rain is like a ministry. Helen T Allison says this:
One little unshed raindrop
may think itself too small
yet somewhere a thirsty flower
awaits its fall.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord.

Home garden

Pause with God

Withdraw to deserted places and pray. 5:16
I cant seem to walk past the pond without stopping awhile to look at its mysteries and hear its sounds, I just stand and look and momentarily not a sound passes from me to the bulrushes, the frogs, the birds and the ducks except a thought of thanks to God for a new day, for his beauty in creation and for a pause of stillness and reflection. I come away feeling a refreshment of my soul and a slight skip in my step and though I have felt the great benefit of a pause with God I reflect on how he deserves some sacred space in our day.  While its such a privilege to spend time with God, he to wants to spend time with us.

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

One does what one can

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God's sight. Luke 12:6
Its amazing how everything has its role in God's world, even the humble sparrow. Seen to be a pest by many a garden lover and totally banned in Western Australia this little creature of no real beauty still has a place among .  It always brings a smile to my face when I see it, especially since it was the only bird I saw in the 'Tomb Garden' in Jerusalem. It says something to us that everything is of worth to God even the most plain of us all. Every thing has a place. I love this story, no, its a parable.(author unknown.) It was a chilly overcast day when a horseman spied a little sparrow lying on its back in the middle of the road. Reigning in his mount he looked down and inquired of the creature.'Why are you lying upside down like that?' I heard the heavens are going to fall in today,' replied the bird. The horseman laughed. ' I suppose your spindly legs can hold up the heavens?'  'One does what one can' said the little sparrow.' Isn't that so true. Each of us no matter how small or how ordinary we think we are we all have a place in God's world and for God, we do what we can.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord.

Tomb Garden Jerusalem

See it to believe it?

All of us are here in the presence of God Acts 10:33
There is that old saying, 'You have to see it to believe it.' but with a faith in the everlasting presence of the Lord with us, we don't go along with that saying. Many a time I have felt the presence of God with me and especially when out walking, or when in  a 'sticky situation' when I don't know to turn to the left or the right and yes, every night when I say my prayers and turn the light out I know I sleep in the company of God's protection.  Thomas Kimber said: After a long trying march over perilous Antarctic mountains and glaciers, a South Pole explorer said to his leader. 'I had a curious feeling on the march that there was someone else with us.'
No, we don't have to see to believe it. Just know that the presence of God is with us always.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord.

Wonders never cease.

Loving God, we thank you for this world of wonder and delight. (Thanksgiving 5 APBA)
Many a time we all come to a place where we look about at all the wonders within our sight -  be it walking on the beach and discovering shells of all variety and beauty, sitting trying to count the many grains of sand, wondering at the life the  sea creatures might have. Or if it is sitting in our garden admiring its beauty, watching the butterflies and birds and marveling at their creation and creator. Or maybe its leaning on a fence and pondering the view across the paddock to the distant hills as the sun sets marveling at that beautiful phenomenon and reflecting on the day passing  What ever it is -
(As Gariepy says ) as we look about us we will find that wonders never cease as long as we never cease to wonder. and William Wordsworth invites us to 'let nature be your teacher, she has a world of ready wealth and our hearts and minds to bless.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord.

it gives off joy and memory.

Glorious things of you are spoken. (Christian hymn) 
Many things give us joy in life if we can just see God in all. Today held a special blessing as I looked onto it and saw the many new blooms of the roses in their second flush for the season each arrayed in its own glorious colour and wearing a perfume that gives off joy and memory. But the blessing that even topped that was just beyond the leaves of the heavenly perfumed roses. It presented first as the tiniest splash of blue - two tone blue-deep and light - and as I looked a little head became visible and a trill rose from deep within its tiny mouth. No words, just a sweet trill - glorious, lovely,special - and there it was in full view, a  blue wren gathering the blessings of his day from among the rose leaves . I thought, no matter what may be on our heart when we get up, nothing could dispel the blessings of God given for us at its start. Even if it was a fleeting blessing, it will remain  regardless of the days events.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord.

Create in me a new and contrite heart (Ash Wednesday Collect0
On Ash Wednesday the symbolism as you walked into the church was a purple cloth draped on the floor below the sanctuary. Two large branches forming the shape of a cross, burnt to their core by the recent bush fires in our area, lay on the  cloth. It was powerful.  I always marvel at the country side after a bush fire, devastated, destruction, black, yet   within weeks, even days if there has been a drop of rain, new shoots will begin to grow from what seems to have been something  very dead - bush fires turn trees into ashes but rain on them brings new growth. (This so reminds me of Christ the living water.) Is 61:3 talks of beauty from ashes.....'To give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning'  I looked at those burnt tree branches  and something deep within my being, something deep within my soul said something about God, something about us being in the power of God, something about our own new growth, something about a God who holds us close and has the power to restore.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord

Best preacher that ever was.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.  (TIS 768)
It doesn't matter how many years of morning walks I have and it doesn't matter the mood I might be in  when I take them I still cant hold back the  daily greeting to the Lord.  While everything outside seems to remain the same yet every day it brings new joy and a deeper vision and understanding of creation, of life, of God. I can look down the valley to the mountains as if I have never seen that view before and it will greet me anew with its beauty. I can hear the ducks and frogs in the pond as if it were for  the first time and God's glory manifests itself in the changing colours of the sky as the sun rise takes center stage.
Mary Oliver says it like this: Hello, sun in my face. Hello, you who makes the morning and spreads it over the fields - best preacher that ever was.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord.

Hello, you who made the morning.

sink the roots deep

But those who drink of the living water I will give them will never be thirsty. John 4:14
I came across a lovely symbolic display in the front garden of a home I walk past and it immediately brought to mind a  biblical reflection of living water and various other texts relating to 'holding onto Jesus and living in him.' and it reminded me of some words I read by Sara Orne Jewett which said:
'A good healthy tree growing out of a bare rock, out of some crack that holds its roots and it keeps its green top in the worst heat, the driest summer - and you lay your ear to the ground and you hear a little stream running.' How true it is that if we have the living waters Jesus offers us flowing through us then as Julian or Norwich says: 'All will be well. All manner of things will be well.'
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of he Lord

only by the grace of a little stream below.

all together

Isaiah 65:25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together.
 How wonderful it would be if this were the case today - the lamb and the wolf together - living in harmony and peace. So much of the worlds dilemma is because people have no vision they can not envision living in harmony and peace with each other but how that could change if people are at peace deep within their bodies and their communion with God was rich. Its then we can see the worth and value in all and the beauty and grace of God and his creation. I caught a glimpse of what this  could look like when I was visiting the optometrist a few days ago. The two lovely young men on the welcome desk were obviously of the alternate life style, the optometrist who saw me was from the middle east and traditionally dressed, the lass who fitted my glasses was from India and the other lass who took my next booking was from Italy. As I was on my way to work via this appointment I was clerically dressed and the optometrist was so interested in what I did on a daily basis. I walked away from that place with a skip in my step as I said to God. 'Now that is how your world should be -  everyone living in harmony and how can I help it be so?
Grace to you and peace
Anne,servant of the Lord

peace

we are the Lord's

This morning and often read this passage of scripture from Paul to the Thessalonians.

' Paul  thought he brought something of significance to people in his role in the rough and tumble of life.'  (Bishop Brain) I believe in our ministries and daily life as Christians we too bring something of great significance to others and for that you are thought of often.

Paul says: We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers,constantly remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labour of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know brothers and sisters beloved by God that he has chosen you because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only,but also  in power and in the Holy Spirit......Thessalonians 1:2-4a

What wonderful words of encouragements. What wonderful words of support, what wonderful words of affirmation and how humbling they are. In all we do and in all we are, we are the Lords, and we are in the prayers of those who know and encourage us.
Grace to you and peace
Anne, servant of the Lord

little packets of gold

A sower sows the word. Mark 4:14
I see a farmer planting seed in the paddock and I think about that seed, that little packet of gold, so tiny yet it  has the potential to bring such value not only to the farmer but to  many others as well. It is  indeed a real treasure and  right now, right at this moment you have 'a little packet of gold' a real treasure, hidden within you and its  called the word of God and it can be so powerful once sown and planted into the lives of other so much so it can change their life. No, not change it, but save it.
I wonder what you are going to do today with the treasure you are holding, that precious word of God? Step out into the world and sow it.
With God's love and blessings of the Lord
Anne, servant

little packets of gold sown in faith and trust produced life sustaining results

little dolls of gold

'Lord I lift your name on high. Lord I want to sing your praises.'(Christian song)
I caught up with such glorious delights in the early morning walk, - A very busy purpose filled willy wagtail investigating every corner of an old wooden fence in pursuit of his breakfast and then a cluster of bright yellow rump finches which Mary Oliver would describe as 'little dolls of gold.' And camouflaged in the greenest of grass flourishing like no other around it ,n a water course, was a family of fluorescent green grass parrots and I looked (As Mary Oliver says:)  ' not just standing around looking but standing around as though with your arms open.'
I could not help but think about the glorious delights that are all around us and so often we do not see unless we stop and look and I mean truly  look.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord.

The blue wrens home

rescued with love

Jesus said: A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you. John 13:34
There are so many ways we can go about our day and our daily work. Its how we do it, how we see people, how we see our life that makes the difference. One of the ministries I am involved in is' nursing people  back into life' Through life's difficulties, trauma and misfortune some people find themselves in a very deep, dark hole and they need someone to come along side and offer a hand to climb out of it -   not to just climb out but to know where to plant their feet once out, to be strong with what life holds for them. Just adding that extra layer called 'love' can make a world of difference.
I read this quote from Joan Chittister: If I cook dinner, that's ordinary. If I put a flower on the table when I serve it, that's divine.
May we serve Christ and all who cross our path with that added dimension of love,
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord

For I am his and he is mine

For I am his, and he is mine. Here in the power of God I stand. (Christian Song)
I can stand on the top of the hill and look across the valley to the mountains at sunset and be in absolute awe of the beauty and oneness of God's creation and something in me, this little dot on top of the hill, says you belong and I feel it, I feel I belong and am part of all before and around me. In all of this creation there is you and you belong and you are important and without you, what you see before you is incomplete.I read this lovely poem by Michael Quoist:
A symphony needs each note, a book needs each word. A house needs each brick, the ocean needs each drop of water, the harvest needs each grain of wheat.
The whole of humanity needs you, as and where you are - you are unique - no one can take your place.
Just pause a moment and read that again and be blessed.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne,servant of the Lord.

Go little boats

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us. Hebrews 12:1
This would have to be one of the biblical verses that are familiar in the heart of us all and we no doubt have used it in so many contexts but it struck me another way when I was looking at some yachts  just sitting  on the water, sails down, not looking at all adventurous or capable of going anywhere. What a different story though when the sails go up and the boat is maned and the wind carries it out on a journey. Somehow, the Hebrews verse came to mind and I thought of this little prayer I had read somewhere: May the wind of the Holy Spirit fill your sails and take you to a new, inspired place.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord

Meditate on this

Jesus said: I am the light of the world. Who ever follows me will never walk in darkness but will  have the light of life (John 8:12)
So many times I feel so humbly blessed because  of living a life that is Christ centered. Fall in a hole, and He picks you up, Exciting times and He fills you with joy. Something missing in your day and He fills it. Needing to talk to someone and He is there. Something  I read stuck in my mind this morning as I watched the day rising from the night, as the light covered the darkness, and it was this, and I think no more need be said, just meditate on this:
'Follow the light you have
and pray for more. (George MacLeod)
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord

Light in the darkness

nudging and guiding

Guide me O my great redeemer, pilgrim through this barren land.I am weak but thou art mighty
hold me with thy powerful hand. (TIS 569)
I was  sitting on my front porch watching the farmer in the near by paddocks moving the cattle. He was behind them slowly nudging them in the direction he was wanting them to go, avoiding rocky outcrops and the fragile  banks of the creek and various other hazards and spots of danger. Suddenly I had  a deeper sense of the movement of Christ in our lives, how he gently nudges and  guides us and he does it 'from behind.' I read these lovely  Celtic words of wisdom:  My dearest Lord, be thou a bright flame before me, be thou a gentle guiding star above me, be thou a smooth path beneath me, be thou a kindly shepherd behind me, today and ever more. (St Columba)
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord.

Now I see

Matthew 13:16   But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear.
I look at the pond now and reflect on what it was. A stagnating pool of muddy water that came and went and a cluster of wood ducks calling it home and I look at it now, three years later and see, with the human touch how it has changed. Bulrushes and bird loving grasses cluster at its shores, its always full and flushes clean its waters when refreshing rain falls. It is home for a variety of birds,wood ducks and water fowls proudly strutting the grass surrounds showing of their babies and an occasional turtle will venture out and sun bake and frogs are the chorus beneath it all  . It reminds me so much of our lives and our ministries and where we have come from over the years and how with nurturing by God's love we are where we are today and those we befriend in the name of Christ, are where they are today.Epicurus said: Remember what you have now was once among the things you only hoped for.  I  read this lovely prayer: May God bless your heart that you may be a well spring of life for others and may God bless your hands and feet that you may attend to his business during your times on earth - your life matters deeply to him.

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

Empowered by God

'Your peaceful presence, giving strength, is everywhere.' (Benedictine Nuns Hymn)
There is an African proverb which reads like this: if you think you are too small to make a difference, - try sleeping with a mosquito.
We are empowers  by God to make a difference in the world we live in. In our own space of living and working.  There are so  many people we come in contact with and so many people we 'rub off on' that provide a wonderful space to show God's love. I remember an elderly lady in the nursing home  once asked me can you 'smell God' after she went into the chapel to pray because she could sense something different in that 'God space.' . Can others sense something difference  when they come across our space, our presence?   We are empowered by God to do the work of God.
Meister Eckhart said: What is the good if Mary gave birth to the Son of God 2000 years ago if I do not Give birth to the Son of God today - God is always needing to be born.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord

God speakes

Spirit of the living God fall afresh on me.  (Sacred song)
I love that oneness, that connection, that God moment when I am out walking and something catches my eye (or is it my Spirit?) and I stop in awe and wonder. Sometimes these 'God moments' spring up expectantly and other times I can see them coming such as watching a sunset or sunrise creeping into the sky, subtle at first with a hint of colour and then grows into a spectacular arena of colour that  speaks to me of God's love; an almost overwhelming love that makes my knees weak and my soul rise up in song!
Joan  Chittester says: Station stops in your day, stops to reflect, stops to see the sacred, stops to enjoy the presence of the moment - station stops - sacred moments - refueling places of God's love that refresh us  and connect us with the one who walks with us always - Jesus Christ.

Sacred pause - spirit filling- God's love

New Year

Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old, I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the   wilderness and rivers in the desert. Is. 43: 18-19
A New Year,-  new beginnings, new opportunities - as we walk right into it, ready to embrace all it offers and throws at us. May your prayers move heaven and earth and may you remember  that everywhere you place your feet, God's kingdom comes to earth. Go humbly and boldly forward with your  hand firmly gripped in Gods.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord.

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.