Treasure chest

 And now O father mindful of your love......we here present, we here spread forth to you...in your own service make us glad and free. TIS 519

The sacred space is a wonderful place for reflection and visions and this morning as the sun rose deep yellow on the horizon then deep pink, spreading across the sky, it  was no exception as  it heralded the new morning and it felt like being in the presence of God.You know how it is, you too have seen it before  and  it was like God was opening the lid on a treasure chest. letting out the treasure, the treasure of a new day full of colour,dressed for living, untouched,fresh,waiting to be embraced and loved and used for God and I prayed, 'Lord God, may we use this new day in service to you and one another.'

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

                                            Mindful of your love

Stilling prayer

 Let us enlist our lives in continuous celebration of God's goodness and greatness. Psalm 145( Psalms Now. L.E.Brandt)

The sacred space is again bathed in morning light with the comming of spring. Its soft, its peacefull, its quiet except for the joy of the twittering song of little birds that are also enjoying the change of season, such happy little things like balls of feathers on tiny stick.. As for the spring  flowers and blossoms, well they are just packed with love from God, full of colour and incense. If we stop long enough, I mean really stop long enough, we can feel the power of God holding it all together around us. He is present. He is there. He is all in all. I often use this quote from Colin Arquhart as a stilling prayer at the day hospice: The light of God surrounds me. The love of God enfolds me. The power of God protects me. Where I am-God is.

Jehovah - shalom. The Lord is peace. Anne, servant of the Lord.

                                            Where I am God is.

Brilliant creator

 ........all creatures show  your glory,heaven and earth draw near your throne singing, holy,holy,holy (TIS 99)

God's love for us is so great that he showers us with countless blessings. He lavishes his love on us and its all around to see. Just sit awhile and look, unwrap each bit of his beauty before you and enjoy with thanks and praise, marveling at the brilliant creator. The other day I picked the first of the blue for-get-me-not flowers from the garden and placed it in the lapel of my vest and all day long I saw and reflected on the love of God for me and a God who will forget- me- not.

May the God of all creation bless you and keep you this day and always.  Anne,servant of the Lord.

                                                For-get-me-not

Kingdom building

At the works of your hands I sing for joy. Psalm 92:4

I was reflecting on my day ahead  and how I thought about the tasks before me. Some of my thoughts were a' glass half full,' or is it 'half empty!'  Our attitude and how we see our purpose in life has a lot to do with how we go about our daily life, about how we see things, how we do things, especiall how we see our attitude with God and our journey as followers of Jesus. I read ths profound saying:  Two stone cutters were asked what they were doing. The first said, ' I am cutting this dammed stone into blocks.' The second replied,' I am on a team building a cathedral.'  How do you approach your daily life?

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

                                                         St Saviours Cathedral

The gift of nothing

Come, let us with our Lord arise..........this is the day the Lord has made, that all may see his love displayed. TIS 375 paraphrased.

 I love the words, 'just lose yourself in me and find my love,' for that is what happens when we take ourselves off to our sacred space to just 'be' with God because, for me, that is where God's given treasures are seen, in the stillness and quiet amongst the garden of emerging spring where there are pockets of quiet and fragrant beauty and the breeze is 'singing' gently through the trees.' O, to give the first hour of the morning to God, it belongs to him, just breathe it in and enjoy the gift of nothing.

May your sacred space fill you with God's love.   Anne, servant of the Lord.

                                       A sacred space.

Dwell in the house of the Lord.

 One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek; that I may dewll in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord. Psalm 27:4

Sometimes the best things in life are those nearest to us. The crispness of the morning frost letting us know we are alive; the frozen dew drops on the tips of a leaf, hanging,suspended, paused, frozen in the moment; the weak sunlight pushing through the fog creating those moments of  haunting beauty; the Daphne at the front door that really knows how to charm with its deep, sweet perfume that takes you back in time to grandma's garden; a day ahead prayed in and over, full of challenges and promises, adventure and delights, hand in hand with your best friend, Jesus. Robert Louis Stevenson said: 'The best things are the nearest, the breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at hand and the path of God before you.'

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

                                      The Daphne takes me back in time

In the presence of the Lord

 Be  still for the presence of the Lord  is moving in this place. (Hymn)

This is the feel I have when I go and sit in my sacred space - the presence of the Lord. Its a sence of the Spirit there which affirmes even more that the first hour of the morning when I am present  that it  belongs to God and I ponder at times if I dont go to my sacred space would God be waiting there in expectation?  Pre dawn is such a blessed time, deep in the fading darkness comes sights and sounds of light and life and I can 'be' and just 'be.' letting go of any of my plans for the day as the light gently paints the morning sky and the stars slip away. May you have a sense of God's deep presence in your sacred  space.

Jahovah Shalom - the Lord is peace.     Anne, servant of the Lord.

                                                    A blessed time.

No fan fare

 My mouth is filled with your praise. Psalm 71:8

The morning is filled with stillness, there is not a single leaf moving on a tree, there is not a puff of  wind or a slight breeze, nothing, just stillness and silence while God works on bringing about the gift of this new day which is evolving out of the dark night. Stillness is so poweful. Many things are born in stillness. Many things happen in stillness. Stillness is a mystery, for example I placed 3 stems of lillies in a vase of water, they were just buds on a long stem and then later that day I was taken by surprise  at the full blooms they had turned into. Glorious purfumed filled blooms of colour. There was no fan fare, no choir playing the allelulia chorus, no drum roll, no shouting, just stillness, a stillness filled with God creating. Sister Kennedy says: A flame burning, a snow drop falling, buds opening - the dynamic of stillness.

May the stillness of our creating God fill your life every single day.    Anne, servant of the Lord.

                                           And in stillness a new day dawned.

Breathe in the morning

Every day I will bless you and praise your name: Psalm 145:2

How lovely it is to watch the night give way to morning light - a new day. In the stillness and light I want to open the door and let it fill my home. Slowly across the frost white landscape is a creeping light that engulfs the remaining dark. The evening star is tucked away, the moon has gone to another place and the sun is  showing  its rising glory. Creations shadows take form  and the birds begin to ruffle their feathers and sing and my heart  sings for God has blessed us with a new day - another new day. Every day is a gift regardless of our situation,embrace it and hold it for this is life.

Rahindranath Tagore said: Do not say it is morning and dismiss it with a name of yesterday, see it for the first time as a new born child that has no name.

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

And creation begins to take form.

Your place O God

 I love thy place O God, wherin thy honour dwells.. Hymn A&M)

J Hughes wrote: The wonders that surround us  can be hidden until we use  the gifts God has given us to be able to see them. How true. How very true Sometimes we can walk right past something and not see it for what it is. I like to think of it in this way:

I saw the florescent red and  green of the king parrot. I saw the mottle brown of the garden sparrow. I saw the brilliant red of the  cyclamen flowering through the debrie of the winter garden. I saw  the bulging rain drop on the end of the leaf. I saw it. I saw the presence of God.

Where have you seen the presence of God today?

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

                                                The presence of God