tincture our lives

Among us and before us Lord you stand. TIS 259
The winter is coming upon us quickly. The temperature has dropped and the morning walks have to step up a notch  and many of our morning greetings are about how cold it is! That's if you live where I live! BUT, Oh the beauty of the Lord. The sun as it rose was a ball of silver.Not red, not 'fiery' but silver, shrouded in fog and I could see the distant horizon through a pocket of fog showing a grey and florescent pink cloud bank of sun touched beauty and I thought on the prayer of the day we heard in worship yesterday and the line that read - 'Tincture our lives with your beauty and fill our potential beauty with your abundant life through Jesus of Nazareth.'  As you go out today see the beauty of the Lord in all things and be O so blessed knowing you are part of that beauty.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord

shouts of joy

To behold the beauty of the Lord. Psalm 27:4
Its is so lovely, the autumn and there is a peace about it at times, especially when the fog is in and the air is still. There is a feel about it that's a mystery. A mystery of the beauty of God. The day breaking through the morning mist, naked autumn trees, beautiful in their nakedness, resting and waiting. It takes my breath away in the moment before the 'wow' comes and the 'thank you Lord' arrives.
I like the opening lines of Mary Oliver's poem 'Messenger.' (Paraphrased)
My work is loving the world...... let me keep my mind on what matter......, which is my work and learning to stand still and be astonished. The phoebe, the delphinium, the sheep in the pasture and the pasture. A mouth with which to give shouts of joy, to the moth, the wren, telling them over and over  how it is we live forever.
May there be many 'wow' moments in your days followed by 'thank you Lord'
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord.

So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary beholding your power and glory, because your steadfast love is better than life and  my lips will praise you. Psalm 63:2-3
It is so true that many of the things we see about us actually preach to us. Today the blessings of an early morning fine drizzle of rain cutting through the first rays of sunlight like 'fairy dust,' and holding itself  in tiny rain drops that slide off a leaf and land on the dry earth. The rocky outcrops on the face of the mountains shines like a mirror and the pink and grey galah's sit on a slippery fence post grooming their freshly washed bodies and it seems the earth is crying out in joy and everywhere the glory of the Lord can be seen and I want to race out and tell everyone of the blessings of a faithful God.

Mother Teresa said: (a person) filled with joy preaches without preaching.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord.

Enjoy God always

'.....can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?' John 3:12b
When I glimpsed the autumn tree in passing I found myself going back to look again as something had touched my soul, something put me momentarily on sacred ground. Although a rather insignificant tree the passage of the autumn tones is what touched me. There were green leaves,changing leaves, leaves in full colour and those already seasoned and fallen to the ground. They all spoke to me about life's journey. They spoke to me of the faith journey, of trusting God.They spoke of new life, maturity and dying. They spoke to me of God's glory and they took my breath away and gave me a glimpse of God, a window to God, a flash in a moment in a day that stayed with me as sacred moments do. Enjoy the beauty of the autumn, its so God given.

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

The saints

....that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may  be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passes all understanding. Ephesians 3:17-19
I have a Christian friend who says to me in all seriousness, 'when I die, the final hymn at my funeral is to be 'When the Saints come marching in.'  She knows what it means to be a saint. Not someone perfect or worldly but someone who has had their sins forgiven and  they have been embraced and welcomed into the arms of Jesus. Today we hear of people being 'made' saints through good works and long life commitments but in reality, according to the bible we are all saints.How does that make you feel? For me, its not something that puts me on a pedestal in my mind, heaven forbid, but instead its something that puts me on my knees in humility before God.I read somewhere about  'Saints in circulation.' That's you and me and everyone who carries the forgiven love of Jesus into our communities, into our day, into our lives with that deep peace of knowing.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ,
Anne, servant of the Lord.

peace to you

He said. 'Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord for the Lord is about to pass by.' Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind, and after the wind the earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake, and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire and after the fire the sound of sheer silence - then there came a voice to him. 1 Kings 19:11-12
Its so still and quiet in the early morning, like an ocean before the tide comes roaring in and as I step out for a morning walk in this quiet, this silence with a 'good morning Lord' I know what it is  to experience his presence. I know what  it is to experience that ' sound of sheer silence' and then comes the still small voice as a tiny bird sings the sweetest song in the pre dawn darkness.
Sometimes ministry and life in general can be like splitting mountains and breaking rocks and a great whirl of wind and it can be about things that are not of God but God never passes us by and when we experience that sound of sheer silence we hear his voice. That beautiful whispering way he has of reaching us.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord.

layers of dust

Blessed are those who trust in the Lord. Jer 17:7
When I was in Israel I recall one of the tasks to do at the end of a days walking was to wash the dust off my feet. I wore good walking sandals and when I removed them I could see the marks of the straps on my feet  highlighted by a layer of dust. In many  places the dust is fine and as I put my foot down others beside me would gather the 'puff of dust' from my feet and likewise I from them.I thought of the disciples who had walked this country with Jesus and how they two must have had feet covered in dust at the end of a days walk and Jesus often referred to 'the dust' in his conversations.  Recently I heard a beautiful ancient blessing which said: 'May you always be covered in the dust of your Rabbi.'
My prayer for us all is that God's presence will be with us  -  always and praise the Lord - we cant wash that off!
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord

Road to Jericho

All we need is love

I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also most love one another. John 13:34
We look at the world and its great need for love. We look at one another and our great need for love. Words of caring and love can go such a long way to changing lives and giving people hope. I have a person in the community  who lives alone and is socially isolated and each nigh she calls me and we have a chat about her day and it enables her to have someone to say good night to. Small acts of love can change a persons life.  I heard this story recently: A six year old boy was sad because his friends at school teased him about all his red freckles on his face and he shared with his grandmother his sadness Grandmother put her hand under his chin and turned his face to look at her and as they looked into each others eyes she said to the boy ' I think you have the most beautiful freckles, and I love them.' The boy stared at his grandmothers face with affection and placed his small hand on her cheek and after a pause said.' And I love your wrinkles too.' It doesn't take much to change a persons life.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord.

Faith that lives in others

I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that first lived in your mother Eunice, and now I am sure lives in you. 2 Timothy 1:5
There is an add on the television that sends a message out about our life style and how children copy us. It shows a child in his toy car going to MacDonald and ordering fast food and a child lying on the couch with a soft drink and chips. Children will copy the behavior of the adults and I cant help but think how that applies to all ways of life. Its up to us to set the examples the children will follow. Two of my grandchildren came to visit, one 5 the other 7 and they were sitting in my lounge room looking through some of my treasures from Jerusalem. The 5 year old had the Hebrew prayer book and the traditional  reading stylus and said he was reading about God 'in a different voice.' The 7 year old commented that when she grew up she was going to be a children s minister like her Sunday School teacher at church. Its hard to explain the feeling this gives to see the grandchildren living a life that is God centered and how remnants of our lives brush of onto others and so the light of Christ continues to shine.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord

sign him with the mark of the cross to show he is one of Christs own

Have you seen God today

One day Jesus was praying.......when he had finished one of his disciples said to him. ' Lord, teach us to pray.' Luke 11:1
One of the greatest most powerful, most humbling experiences we can have with God  is those occasions when we find ourselves and him alone together and he says 'here is a gift for you.' Those moments can come in a flash: When I see a tree of brilliant autumn colour - and there is just me and God. or when I see the fog weaving its way through valley and trees - and there is just me and God. And recently after the rain the tiny brown spotted frogs on my pathway - and there is just me and God. Gifts from God as he stands there with me handing them out one by one. Gifts that linger and stay with you in memory.  I love these gifts. Its like having something special in your pocket, you put your hand  it in and pull it out again being blessed every time by God's presence.  When we are gifted with an awareness of God's presence in prayer we savor every moment of it, we let God hold us and carry us, as a sea holds and carries the boat.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ

Anne, servant of the Lord.

Treasure the moments

Our Father in Heaven Hallowed be thy name. (The prayer that Jesus taught us)
In all my years of Christian faith, and that is all my life, I am still so in awe of our God and the communications we have through prayer. So many forms of prayer, so many openings to the prayer conversations together and so much trust in him 'who keeps us from falling'  No one knows me or you like he does. I was so touched by the fresh feel of the morning with the soft tinges of pink on the horizon, a valley of soft mist, that it sets of a spontaneous conversation with God, I love it when that happens.  I have some favourite introductions to some prayers and  some have been with me all my life. Do you have some favourite words with God as well? I like the powerful words from our confirmation service: 'Defend O Lord, this thy child with thy heavenly grace; that she/he may continue thine forever......' and I have. And this one( O how rich the collects are)  A great opening to prayer, a collect that puts us on our knees every time we say it: Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known and from whom no secrets are hidden (Collect of Purity) Prayers for all occasions, special prayers that travel with us through life, holding us up, carrying us.  Treasure the moments.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord.

even a tree stump is a place of prayer.

strong roots

As you are being rooted and grounded in love. Ephesians 3:17
When we look at an old gum tree standing strong and firm in the earth, well grounded and held up by strong roots and when we see ships tightly tethered and anchored at the wharf because the forecast is predicting storms, and when we see homes being built we see they are laid on a strong foundation but what of us? What gives us our anchor, our foundation, our deep roots that allows us to survive the battering of storms in our lives?  Sooner or later stressful situations will enter all our lives, some such a storm that they will strike like an earthquake. Its a 'wobbly world' and at times an  unsafe society but we know where our refuge is, our port, our strength to stay strong. Its in our Lord and Saviour, the risen Lord Jesus Christ. You know, in the bible there are 365 'fear nots' or the equivalent. - one for every day of the year - God given.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord

Divine presence

I love thy place O God wherein thy honour dwells. (Hymn)
It is so easy in this very busy world to 'go and do'  in our name and not in the name of Jesus. At times we may well know that what we do we do in Christian love and service but sometimes that sense of 'God awareness' just might be hidden below the surface of our busy lives. At times there is also a sense of having to reconnect, to remember that in every life we meet and touch that God is present. Those among us who exercise service ministry with  the lost, the isolated, the disadvantaged and those on all areas of the edges of society know deeply that God is as present in them as in us and that is where our passion comes from. That recognition  and respect that we are all God's children.
Joyce Rupp has these words to say about God awareness: 'I hope that I constantly remember that God dwells within others as well as myself and that should pave a way of how I see and treat others.'
And she offers this prayer. 'Dear God. I love the deep feeling of  connectedness and humility I feel when I place my hand over my heart and say - God dwells in here - thank you God.' Try that now, place your hand over your heart and feel God's presence, it will stay with you as a morning blessing.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord.

Purpose

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord. (APBA)
Easter has been. We have again lived the journey through Holy Week. We have carried the cross for Christ,washed feet, prayed in the garden,feasted at the Passover,  wept at the cross and been raises up again with the loud hallelujah's of Easter morning as we sing praises to the risen Christ. After that journey are you ready to go into the world refreshed, affirmed and with hope to love and serve the Lord?  Go gently, don't rush away from the Easter experience, let it sit awhile with you.Mary Oliver says:  Around me the  trees stir in their leaves and call out 'stay awhile.' The light flows from their branches. And they call again.'Its simple' they say,' and you too have come into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled with light, and to shine.'
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord

Walking with God

Enoch walked with God;then he was no more, because God took him. Genesis 5:24
I read this quote by Rabindranath Tagor.  'For many years at great cost, I traveled through many countries, saw the high mountains and the oceans. The only things I didn't see were the sparkling dew drops in the grass just outside my door.' Any walk we take implies that step by step we are making progress and that also applies to our walk with God. We need a certain moral fitness and harmony with God to progress in our walk with him. Each day when I walk, morning and evening I could see the flow of the valley to the foot of the mountains and the mountain tops and it can be a blessing but oh how much more a blessing when the walk starts to bring real gems of delight to my spirit. Its when I take in the 'smaller' things that I know I am walking with God. Things like the little shadow that runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset.
Monitor your walk with God and watch your progress into a deeper awareness of him by your side.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord.

Holy week

'Fight the good fight with all your might, Christ is thy strength, and Christ thy right' (TIS 594)
In the Christian life there is a somber feel about this particular week as we journey  with Christ towards the cross and I think particularly of Good Friday. I wonder about the world that surrounded Jesus at that time. A harsh condemning world that saw no way of ridding itself of Jesus other than to destroy him. His only hope of the love of God being kept alive was through a few faithful disciples. What an amazing job they did at the expense of their own lives.  I can recall a time in my life where Holy Week and especially the most holy day of this week, Good Friday were sacred. There was no shops open, there was no hype in preparations to go away for the long weekend, there was no football matches or horse racing. There was a quiet in the community.  In many ways we are few, the followers of Christ, and we need to keep up a vigilance for Him. We need to be more and more out in the world, visible, our voices being heard and our actions being seen.
As a society the significant  Christian festivals were granted as   holidays because they were holy-days. They were granted so society could have a day from work to go to church.
Blessings for your journey this Holy Week.
Anne, servant of the Lord

Inside the church of the Holy Sepulcher the sight of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus in Jerusalem.

Growing love

(Paul writes) May the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow  more and more and become as great as our love for him. Thessalonians 3:12
What a blessing it is to know how God works in our lives. Sometimes we may think its an age, a maturity thing that causes us to grow in love for other people,but not so. Paul says, ' may the Lord make your love  one another and all people grow

. Our love for others comes from the fact that Jesus first loved us and at any age that can motivate us by the power of his Spirit to love others. In our day to day life we touch so many people, often on the edge of society and somehow there is a greater understanding within our selves, a greater understanding of who we are when we know that what we do comes from the Lord.
I think of my love of the elderly and those who are isolated and alone, those with disabilities and my love of all who society passes by, the persons unseen and unlovable.
Who has the Lord made you love?
In the musical Les Miserables there is line. 'To love another person is to touch the face of God.'
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord.

Glorious things of God are spoken

The Lord has done great things for us and we are glad. Psalm 126:3
Think on these things and be blessed:
 The hand of God as he creates each new day from the autumn morning sunrise to the glorious sunset, - skies of breathtaking  colour and beauty. (did you see the glorious sunset last night?) Those soft rays of the first light coming over the horizon touching the mountains and shifting their dark brooding colours into shades of grey and  soft blue and as the morning light travels across the valley all creation stirs into life, orchestrated by the warbling of the magpies. Magnificent! Our God is a mighty God. He reigns.  Lucardo says:
You have been sprinkled with forgiveness. You have been spattered with grace
You have been dusted with kindness, you have been immersed in it
You are submerged in mercy. you are the minnow in the ocean of God's mercy - let it change you.
Blessings for this moment, this day, this week, this life.

Morning has broken

Anne, servant of the Lord.

Talk to God

At Gethsemane, Jesus went off alone and knelt down and prayed. 'Father if you will, take this cup of suffering away from me. Not my will, however, but your will be done.' Luke 22. 41-42
One of our images of the Easter events is the picture of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. He is kneeling alone in deep earnest prayer and he must have been experiencing such inner anxiety in his suffering and confusion. One minute he is asking God to take away his suffering and the next he is submitting to God's will. Its really hard to find peace when something is on our minds. Its really hard to find peace when we have to submit to something we know is right but would rather not have to go through with it. When something is on our mind we have a habit of tossing it about on our beds at night and sleep seems far off. William Barclay tells this story: A pianist said of Chopin's nocturne in C sharp minor: ' All is trouble, until the person in the piece talks with God. Then peace comes.'  The same thing is true of Jesus. He went into the Garden of Gethsemane  in the dark; he came out in the light -because he talked with God. He went into Gethsemane in agony; he came out with peace in his soul - because he talked to God. The same thing is true for us if we talk to God.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord

Garden of Gethsemane

This is God

I will sing forever of your love, O Lord. Psalm 89
What is God? Who is God? So many times people try to answer this question. Its a question that is wrestled with, tossed about, and attempts are made to discern it but you know, for me its a simple as Martin Fisher quotes: 'If you don't know what's meant by God, watch a forsythia branch or a lettuce leaf sprout' and I love the quote (anon) I said to the almond tree: 'Speak to me of God' and the almond tree blossomed. That's God. There is God
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord