slip away a moment

' He went up to the mountain to pray.' Mark6:46

There is always a sense of 'coming aside' and relief or a 'breathing space' when we are in a situation that is 'full on' or intense, or we have had a day of 'giving out' and we step aside for a moment, out of the situation and into a place where there is just self and quiet.

Sometimes that can be taking our self off for a walk at the end of the day.

Sometimes it can be stepping out of the world and into the cathedral.

As I drive home from a day of ministry I often pull the car off the road and onto the dirt track and just sit. There before me, though I live in a city is the wide expanse of vineyards and mountains all emanating peace, stillness and respite.

I like this prayer:

Dear Lord, the noise and hurry of the day have broken their hold, and I have slipped away. For this moment in time I am free to melt into you. (Pat Robson)

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne

Look and see......... and live.

'My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.' Psalm 42:2

The glory of the Lord is truly shining all around, almost in every place I look.

Yesterday in church a new lady amongst us was just 'aglow' with every aspect of her worship, engaging, enjoying and so touched. That was so encouraging to see and these past few nights, have you seen the moon? Magnificent, bright,and full. A presence of God.

It is so powerful that we can meet God in all things.

I recall on an out back holiday standing on a sandstone cliff face in the desert and looking God in the face with all I beheld before me.

I like this blessing of welcome: (Iona Community)

May you meet God, in every place,

in every person

and in the depths of your own heart.

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ

Anne

Shine for Jesus

'Jesus bids us shine with a pure clear light, like a little candle burning in the night........you in your small corner and I in mine. ' (Sunday school song)

As I typed those words, into my mind came everyone of you in your places of love and witness. All striving in Christian love and purpose to make a difference in the lives of others in the name of Jesus.

Sometimes we don't realise that the things we do for others, even though we perceive them at times to be small, make a huge difference.

A kind word.

A useful contact.

A helpful act of kindness.

A prayer.

Remember the parable of the little sparrow?

The horseman riding by on a chilly overcast day stopped at the sight of a sparrow lying on its back in the middle of the road, legs up in the air. He said to the sparrow. 'Why are you lying upside down like that?' He replied, " I heard the heavens are going to fall today.' The horseman laughed. 'And I suppose your spindly legs can hold up the heavens?'

One does what one can.' said the little sparrow.

'Jesus bids us shine with a pure clear light, like a little candle burning in the night......'

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne

solid faith

' The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer.' Psalm 18:2

I recall walking along the track I walked each day, through an early misty morning, shapes and sizes outlined, a bit 'spooky' yet the sense of presence was very real.

I knew I was on the right path even though I couldn't see it too clearly, I knew because I could feel the solid stone surface under my feet. I knew because even though visibility was just a few feet, God was there, walking this misty morning to, I knew it because I was heading to the east where the light of the day was filtering through striving to reach its morning glory.

I read this profound statement from an unknown person in China:

Faith is putting one's foot down in the mist, and finding a rock.

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne

Power for the day

' You Lord God are strength for my task.' Celtic prayer

Just a look at the dawn breaking into a new day, tucking stars away and spreading a soft, quiet light caused me to just throw open my heart and invite Jesus in.

What a start to a day to meet Jesus full on before your feet even hit the ground and before your whole being is touched by the world.

I think of the opening lines of this Celtic prayer: 'Come my light, my Lord, my way. Come my lantern night and day.........' and am flooded with the love and protection of Jesus.

Sometimes our days and weeks are tough, this one for me saw the death of a baby, the death of a student from school, and a 91 year old diagnosed with cancer, all know, all I have shared some of life with and to top it off I had to refuse a couple marriage because one partner didn't want 'God' invited. Yet in all the 'doings' of daily life, there is God and I thank him for morning thoughts and morning protection for every day, what ever it brings.

Can we say that at the end of a day? We can and will if we finish the prayer.' Come my king enter my heart. Come Holy Presence. Never depart.'

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ

Anne

Morning prayers

'All is silent, in the still and soundless air, I fervently bow to my Almighty God.' (Bing Xin China)

Two things were in my mind when I came to meet this morning.

The words of that lovely hymn 'Glorious things of thee are spoken,' were my first spoken for the day I had two images going with them. An image of the beauty of Gods creation and the thought of a young disabled man who offered his own prayer of thanks and appreciation for the church group I run for people with disabilities....a beautiful prayer, a deeply touching prayer.

I thought these words from the Iona Community:

The turn of the leaf in the morning sun

and the catch in our throat

drives us to our knees

and into prayer.

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne

God is everywhere

' Where can I flee from your presence? If I go to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.' Psalm 139: 7-8.

I sat looking at the distant mountains with a vast spread of land in the foreground of valleys and paddocks and sheep and as I was taking it in and pondering on the things of God I thought, there is no place where God isn't.

Everywhere we see, everyone we see ,

all we touch and do,

every bright day

every difficult day

there is God.

Yesterday I visited an isolated, wheelchair bound lady who lives in a cluster of community homes with others like her. I went in to visit to see how we might manage to get her to the book club we run at church and it was looking more and more difficult until it seemed that God present, spoke. 'Bring a book club here, there are others' and before I knew it we had a small group of unknown, isolated, lonely people keen, eager and waiting for us to start.

Lucado says:

Our asking where is God is like a fish asking "Where is water "or a bird asking "Where is air."

God is everywhere.

We cant find a place where God isn't.

Lord God, whose blessed Son rose in triumph and set us free grant us the fullness of life he promised to us, that through the Holy Spirit our hearts may posses him whom our eyes cannot see, the same Jesus Christ our Lord. (Daily office Sunday Morning APBA)

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne

O the love of Jesus

' Do the work of telling the Good News.' 2 Timothy 4:5

I was chatting to an elderly lady after we had shared home communion together yesterday and she was showing me the teddy bears she knits to put in the Christmas boxes for the children overseas, dozens of them all knitted with love and prayers and sent in the name of Christ. She said, 'I have been told that the children who receive these bears, some 14 years old, run around with them hanging out of the back pocket of their shorts.'

What an inspiration. 91 years old and serving our Lord in this way......to the very end. No feet up attitude of having done my bit......but serving Christ to the very end with the gifts he has given her.

Lucado says:

'For every hero in the spotlight, there are dozens in the shadows. They don't get press, they don't draw crowds, they don't even write books.......behind a rock slide is a pebble.

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne

A fresh revelation

' In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. He was in the beginning with God and all things were made through him. 'John 1:1

Sometimes there is a delayed revelation, or a fresh revelation, of what we are reading despite the fact we read it frequently. These words from St John struck me afresh as I looked at what was before me.........across to the mountains with pockets of mist hovering in the valleys and over creation through to the sleeping vineyards and the horses grazing, frost covered coats on their backs, vapour rising from snorting nostrils.

It was quiet and still and there was a sense of presence as the dawn broke and the sun and moon were both in the sky at the same time...........wow!

'He was in the world and the world was made through him.'

Grace and Peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne

I'm listening Lord. I see you.

' Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord.' Isaiah 2:3

Several things have caught my eye these past few days.

The bright blue of the stately Dutch Iris .

The raindrops, clusters of them, on the Camellia bush, which by the way is flowering prolifically with soft pink blooms.

The two magpies on the power line, warbling, singing to each other about the coming day.

And the sunset last night that burst, literally burst from the grey clouds, in a blaze of gold, showering fine dust rays of gold across the mountains , tree tops and valleys.

I read this from Mary Oliver's poems:

It doesn't have to be the blue iris, it can be weeds in a vacant lot, or a few small stones, just pay attention, then patch a few words together and don't try to make them elaborate, it isn't a contest, but a doorway, into thanks, and a silence in which another doorway may speak.

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne

HIS friends

' Kneels at the feet of his friends, silently washing their feet.........Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love, show us how to serve the neighbours we have in you..........' (Christian song)

We model Christ as Christians and when I got up today with the line of this song running through my head I reflected on the past week to see, if in fact I had knelt at the feet of HIS friends and washed their feet.

Then I thought of the lady at a funeral who wept uncontrollably on my shoulder.

I thought of the child at school, calling loudly, 'God's teacher, can we have our God's class soon?'

I thought of the elderly lady at the supermarket who couldn't carry her shopping to her car.

I thought of the journey with a dying lady.

I thought of you all and your days work and I thought how God's love is shared, I thought of all the feet of HIS friends that will be washed.

The 'I's' are not about the 'me' but about the Christ within me.

Servant ministry is about serving and isnt it wonderful to be a server of the Lord.

Go forth with God's blessings.......and serve. Wash all the feet you can, in the name of Christ.

Anne

The richness of God

'The blessings of the Lord makes a person rich........Proverbs 10:22

You know, its that time of the year again. The Daphne is just out and there is no way I can walk past it and not stop to have a smell of those beautiful richly perfumed blossoms. Its like meeting with God every time I take in the aroma and everything else falls into oblivion.

What a sacred moment. Its one we want to visit again and again, just to be in his presence.

What makes you rich in life? Where do you meet God and have that sense of space where there is just you and him?

Seek it out and pause often.

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne

Jesus in the fun times

' The master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine.....' John 2:9

We are in the middle of confrontation with soccer every time we turn on the radio or TV or talk to someone who is a fan so its topical.

A small boy said to his mother as she was putting him to bed.' Mum, can Jesus play soccer with me?' Quick thinking mum said, ' Jesus could play soccer with you.'

How often do we imagine Jesus with us in the good, the ordinary and fun times?

Sometimes the things of life that concern us or trouble us are the only times we tend to ask Jesus to be with us BUT we know from biblical stories that Jesus had lots of fun, he must have, because he went to dinners and parties and banquets.

I think we have to remember to enjoy Jesus in our lives. He died, but he also lives.Look out for him in the fun times today.

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne

Brother, let me be your servant.

A Roman officer said to Jesus: 'my servant is sick in bed at home unable to move and is suffering' Matthew 8:6

When I read this passage many names of people went through my mind.

I thought of the chaplain to a hospital with 100's to care for, often called at night.

I thought of the deacon at the drop in centre for the very disadvantaged in the community.

For a friend who cares for many in the community in the disability sector,through her love and care.

An older friend who despite her own difficulty visits and 'sups' with some elderly isolated.

The carer who cares for those less fortunate.

Yesterday at the group at church for those with disability a young man , with a disability himself,came for the first time. What a blessing he was, what a breath of fresh air as he chattered and served the one in the wheel chair and those with no speech, and all of us!.......He gave us all 'life.'

There is an anonymous saying:

The measure of greatness

is not the number of servants you have but the number of people you serve.

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne

Go forth with Christs blessings

' I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord.' John 1:23

One lone Currawong heralded in the dawn of this new morning, breaking the silence with his call and and I thought of John the Baptist heralding in Christ, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way of the Lord.'

I wondered in my quiet time this morning in unseen unison with each other, how many of us are readying ourselves to 'prepare the way of the Lord' as we think and prayed about our day ahead.

You know, we wear the name Christian not because of what we are or who we are or where we are but because of whose we are. (Rick Ezell)

So, go forth in boldness and faith.

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne

God is present.

'Be still for the presence of the Lord, the Holy one is here.' Christian song.

Scattered, thick grey clouds dotted the evening sky and each one was surrounded and backed by a blaze of red. It was like someone had drawn with a red florescent texter around the clouds and then started to softly colour the grey areas.

I thought of God.

I thought of those coming into his presence with a grey cloud hanging over them and how his light can brighten them and become part of them.

I thought of a disabled, wheel chair bound lady I have organised a team to visit who until now has had no friends for years and has been house bound most of her days. She said her life is like a nothing but we now bring for her hope, friendship and love, in the name of Christ.

Whenn I looked at that sunset I couldn't help but reflect on how the love and presence of God can be so transforming.

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne

Emmaus walks

' Shine your love on us each dawn and gladden our days.' Liturgy of the Hours.

I sleep with an open window and an open curtain as I love to experience the night and the quiet and watch as God tucks away the stars and brings on the light, often in a kaleidoscope of colour, and I can feel my heart catching his fire for another day.

Each day has its pockets of 'Emmaus walks.' Those precious moments when God comes alongside and blesses us with his presence. Its like a brief moment in heaven, walking hand in hand with God.

It may be in the face of an elderly person
it may be as the sun tips the mountain top
As the sunsets
As you stoop and smell a flower
As the dew glistens in the cobweb strung along the fence.

The door of our cathedral through the autumn trees, almost stripped of their colour set my heart on fire as I reflected on the words Jesus: 'Knock and the door will be opened, seek and you will find.' (Luke 11:9)

Look tonight into your heart and see the Emmaus walks of today.

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne

Hope

' From the rising of the sun to its going down: let the name of the Lord be praised. 'Psalm 113

Often we come home at the end of a day and shake the dust from our feet as we reflect and mull over its events and see where God has been and where his name has been praised and where hope has been given.

Lucado says about hope: 'Its not what you expect, its what you would never dream. Its like the two Emmaus-bound pilgrims reaching out to take a piece of bread only to see the hands from which it is offered are pierced.'

Our daily lives offer hope to many, and fire us up in greater hope, like someone adding kindling to an already burning fire.

A visit to a lonely house bound person gives hope

A hospital visit, gives hope

Welcoming the stranger or

faithfully turning up to our daily ministries, all give hope to many.

'From the rising of the sun to its going down: let the name of the Lord be praised.'

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne

Sharing God

' Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds amongst mortals. ' Psalm 66:5

When I read this psalm I am touched in many ways. To mind came the words of the familiar song we sang in Sunday School: 'wide wide as the ocean, high as the heavens above, deep deep as the deepest sea is my saviours love.'

and don't you just want to share that love of God.

I took a funeral of a disabled man. '(No, we don't really have a faith, said the family,something there perhaps but we don't think about it much..) and as always I concluded the funeral with the words of the Aaronic blessing: 'may the Lord bless you and keep you.....' before we even began moving out of the chapel a family member , came to me in tears, so touched, saying she really felt God was there in those words. He felt so real and I know, I just know, my brother will now be with God.

Come and see what God has done; He is awesome in his deeds amongst mortals.

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne

Blessings

' Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure,pressed down, and shaken together, running over, will be put in your lap, for the measure you give will be the measure you get back .' Luke 6:38 NRSV.

I tried to find a definition of a blessing and I couldn't, but Luke gives it plain and clear in his Gospel. What drew me to blessings this morning was that they were on my heart when I got up today. I was thinking they are like boomerangs.........you give one out, and it comes back to you and the blessing then becomes yours, as well as theirs.

Last night I was at the Aboriginal church, sharing the love of the Lord and I came away thinking its me that has been blessed .

Friday I 'did' a funeral for a rough and ready lot yet I was so blessed to be with them at this time as their acceptance of me was beyond my expectation.

God can give us a cold and frosty morning, shrouded in mist, yet the beauty of it all takes our breath away and becomes a 'blessing prayer' of thank you Lord.

Blessings are something we don't forget, they are powerful, collected and saved in the soul.

May the blessings fall like rain on your day.

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne