The shape of a leaf.

 Come let us ring out our joy to the Lord; hail the rock of our salvation. Psalm 95:1

The leaves are turning, autumn is here, and there is a different bird song  in the air as the Crow adds his voice to the bird choir and there below my feet in the sacred space  two  tiny ants struggle with a crumb, a feast they have found to take home to their friends, and I shift my feet slightly so as to not disturb their path. Such sightings leave me in awe of an incredible God who creates such small but highly intelligent creatures, and then my eyes are drawn to the lovely pink of the Japanese wind flowers their long, slender stems swaying quietly in the breeze, another gift for today - a memory that goes with me.

I read a lovely quote (anon) which said. 'Enjoy something good and beautiful today, even if its just the shape of a leaf.'

May the peace of God fill your life every single day.    Anne, servant of the Lord.  

                                                                      The shape of a leaf.

                                                

                                               

Its yours!

 The great love of God Oh how lavishly given - the pearl of great price and the treasure of heaven. (TIS 164)

The words of this lovely hymn came to my mind when my eyes were drawn to pearl like drops of precious water hanging on the leaves of a tree in the garden as the rain softly fell in the early morning. Life giving, life sustaining, drops of rain. I love it when my eyes settle on an image about me and there flows a bible verse or words of a song such as this  -  all because I looked at a pearl shaped rain drop on a bush  that reminded me of the great love that God has for us all.  'It is yours it is ours O how lavishly given, the pearl of great price and the treasure of heaven.' 

Show us Lord your love. Open our eyes. Show us your love.             Anne, servant of the Lord.

                                                    pearl like drops of water.

Surprise us Lord, surprise us!

May my prayer be like incense before you. Psalm 141:2

Early morning dew was still on the pure white flowers of the gardenia bush, its beautiful rich perfume rising from the pot at my feet and settling into my sacred space. I took a deep breath and inhaled the perfume it was offering and held it in for as long as I could. I wanted to catch it, hold it, and keep it forever.   It was the perfume of God and my prayer of thanks lingered long. Macrina Wiederkehr  would say: ' Surprise us with small joys and pieces of beauty to savor through the day.'  And to God I say: ' let me take it in, let me live with it for the moment, let it become an imprint on my heart and mind and soul. May it fill my day.

Mane Nobiscum Domine - remain with us Lord.    Anne, servant of the Lord.

Be present Lord.

 Great are the works of the Lord, to be pondered by all who delight in them. Psalm 111

The hue of day break in its soft pink and pastel blue light falls softly across the folding dark of night and my sacred space comes into being and I 'feel' that thin space between dark and light, stillness and peaceful quiet where there is only self and God, where you and God are all in all, and my heart stirs   with love for the Lord because I have,  in the moment, recognised who the creator of such beauty and quiet is. I wonder what it is that stirs your heart as you recognise the presence of the Lord in the moment?

As you bless me with light at the suns rising, shine on me now with love.  Anne, servant of the Lord.

                                                the colour of day break.

                                            

Touched by the sun.

 My eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. (Julia Ward Howe 1819-1910)

From my sacred space I could see the sun falling on a closed flower and as if in slow motion it slowly opened its petal skirts to its fullness. Touched by the sun it flourished and immediately my  prayerful thoughts were: ' Ah, yes, Son of God, light of the world, fall on us so we too can open to our full potential.'

As you bless me with light at the suns rising, shine on me now with love.   Anne, servant of the Lord.

                                                Light of the world fall on us.

A morning love song

 Morning has broken, like a new morning. Blackbird has spoken like the first bird. Praise for the singing, praise for the morning. Praise them for springing fresh from the world (Hymn)

A  few words from Macrina Wiederkehr crossed my mind as I woke up today. -'soft light of a new day - light born from earth's turning - a new light streams out of the darkness' and I could not help but think of the faithfulness of God, how day after day, night after night, day rolls into night and night into day. And there, again I hear it, the faithfulness of the birds singing their morning song of love.  I love the way God just brings on a new day with singing and that 'pull' of the spirit within me moves me to the sacred space, to be in his presence, to enjoy this wonderful gift of a new day  and  the silence wrapped in the bird songs.

Lord, you bless us with light at the sun's rising, shine on us now with love.   Anne, servant of the Lord.

                                           And the night turns to day.

Its raining, raining, raining.

 But since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory. Luke  9:28

Its raining, raining, raining and the crickets are singing and from thick dark clouds above  the  lightening flashes and the thunder rolls until it reaches its peak and then crack, it reveals itself above my head . Heavy rain falls  from the gutter edge onto the thirsty garden and the birds are silent, tucked up tight in the trees - heads hidden in feathers.  I love a wet day. I love a thunderstorm as it awakens me to God's glory in such a different way and I wonder, what are the things that awaken you to God's glory?

May the God of life bless you and keep you today and always.         Anne, servant of the Lord.

                                                The lightening flashes.

To our full potential

 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, singing. Revelations 5:11

I read these lines: At the end of my life I hope I have used up every single bit of the talents God gave me.  Now that would be a life well lived! I was reflecting on this as I was looking at the fuchsia bush flowering in all its glory in parts and declining in other parts, and the dead flowers and I thought wow, you, having been  created by God, have used all your talents bringing glory and joy from your first bud to your last declining bloom, growing to your full potential and flourishing. 

The prayers fell from my lips into the sacred space. 'Dear Lord, may we flourish and bloom as your creations. Give us our full potential to bring joy and your glory to others.'

Jehovah-shalom. The Lord is peace.  Anne. Servant of the Lord

                                                    Full potential.

And look, just look over there.

 May you be blessed by the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. Ps115:15

Oh how lovely it is to look about and see the presence of God. The trees with their large branches that he made for the birds to come and dwell in. The shapes, and the colours of all that is growing around about us and at my feet in the sacred space are pots of bright red Petunias, pink and purple Fuchsias and mixed colours of Impatiens and I ponder how can it be said there is no God?   And look, just look over there, sitting on the tip of a leaf  is a raindrop just hanging there after the early morning rain shower. What we see about us brings great joy and blessings but the true blessing is recognising the maker.

May the peace of God fill your life every single day.    Anne, servant of the Lord.

                                                Trees for the birds to rest in.

The echoes are calling.

 O God, you are my God; at dawn I seek you; for you my soul is thirsty - I have come before you in the sanctuary to behold your strength and glory. Psalm 63:2-3

One of my favourite poets is Henry Kendal and his beautiful poem. ' Bellbirds.'  ' By channels of coolness the echoes are calling, and down the dim gorges I hear the creek falling..........and softer than slumber and sweeter than singing, the notes of the bellbirds are running and ringing.' O the words of this poem have me sitting in the bush, just near a creek  and hearing the Bellbirds, such peace. To me I see Henry Kendal writing this poem from his sacred space and there the blessings of this poem flowed. And I reflect on  what happens when we spend time in our sacred space. Do words and sights of blessings flow? Is what you see and hear gifts from God? Do you glance or really see the beauty about you as God's glory? Did you hear the first call of the birds this morning and sense a blessing? Did you have a sense of peace and come away feeling ready to embrace the day?  Sacred space. Sacred moments. Sacred presence.

May the God of life bless you and keep you today and always.     Anne, servant of the Lord.

                                            By channels of coolness.