Oh, now that's a beauty

 To you my eyes are turned, O Lord, my Lord. Psalm 141:8

Oh, now that's a beauty, a wonderful gift from God that caught my eye as I rounded the corner of the garden path. This beautiful rose, a kaleidoscope of colours. It is so lovely that it took my breath away and I recall these words I had read just a few days ago:  'At every moment of every day God is saying to me through his creation, I love you' -  and I respond with,  and  I love you too. E.A.Guest writes 'Oh, the things than I call living aren't gold and  fame at all! Its fellowship and sunshine and its roses against the wall.'

Dear Lord, help us to be aware of your presence and love in our lives.  Anne, servant of the Lord.

                                                              O the love of God.

Things to be seen and heard.

 I am always aware of the Lords presence; he is near and nothing can shake me. Psalm 16:8

There are things of God's creation to be seen and things of God's creation to be heard all around me as I pause in my sacred space and there, Oh so beautiful, is the Eastern Spinebill, that glorious little honey eater with his orange rusty coloured chest having a wonderful breakfast of nectar  in the ever flowering  Grevillia bush. Oh what a delight, food for the soul. A rich blessing, and I recall  the words of Noel Davis when he said:' The tiny bird singing in the old Banksia tree, the family of Wrens spilling joy through the garden. Lord meet me there.'

There are things of God's creation to be seen and things of God's creation to be heard if we pause and listen and look and yes indeed, the Lord will meet us there.

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

                                                            Lord meet us here.

A real beauty!

 Come before him singing with joy. Ps100:1

I didn't see it yesterday, or the day before, but today it is there, visible from my sacred space, just displaying itself and standing head and shoulders above the others - a glorious, beautiful white Camelia with a fringe of pink  tipped skirts absolutely perfectly formed. A real beauty and I could just imagine its label.  Made by God.

Every day holds new experiences, sometimes something as simple as noticing the drifting clouds in the sky or a  flower on the Camelia bush.

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

                                                White with pink skirts.

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.