Presence and presents

 My soul thirst for God, for the living God. Where can I go and meet with God? Psalm42:2

Spring is the time when God surrounds us with his smile. Glorious colours of the blossoms and the flowers being swept by butterflies and bees. Deep green grass and breathtaking sunsets and sunrises. Creation 'shouts' before our eyes, it 'shouts' the smiling face of God in all its glory. His presence is such a present. What a treasured gift.

Its not so much a case of taste and see that the Lord is good, its more about look and see, feel and see, smell and see, for the Lord is good.

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

                                          Beautiful, cream perfume filled blossoms.

A daily appointment

 

 The hand of the Lord fell on me there. Ezek 8:3

In the  Jewish tradition the home itself is called the ' Mikdash meyat' a little sanctuary where God can dwell. I feel that, I sense that and it extends into my garden where the 'special'  sacred space is among the shimmering colours of the flower display, where the birds sing and perfume fills the air and its here  I invite the Lord to meet with me. Its like a regular daily appointment and it has that same feeling  that I had as a child when I can home from school and would sit with my mother and tell her all about my day, the ups and downs,the laughter, the joy, and it made me feel warm inside.

 Sacred spaces,quiet spaces, pauses and reflection, places of peace, love and healing - this is the makdash meyat, the sanctuary where God can dwell.

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

                                            

                                           Pause and reflect for God dwells here.

May the love of God.

 Praise our God, the great creator,world evolving through his might, darkness shattered by explosion, filled this orld with light and life. Tis 165

It was there again this morning, this great love of God. The red and pink brushes  hanging from the bottle brush tree, the magnificent roses around my sacred space, the garden fresh and washed with last nights shower of rain, the business of the watle bird with its rasping call and there was enough dew on the grass to see a set of footprints and know some one was walking before me.

May the love of God and the peace that it brings be the blessing of this new day for you.

Anne, servant of the Lord.

                                                Bottle brushes hanging from the tree

Fresh from its bud

 O Lord my God, when I in awsome wonder consider all the works thy hand has made. Hymn 155 TIS

I alway feel that the very first hour of the morning belongs to God. Its fresh, its new, its quiet and  a miraculous work of God  is happenening as a new day dawns. As I wander in the garden around my sacred space my hand almost automatically goes out to embrace the perfectly formed rose fresh from its bud and the colour of deep,  yellow and the air is filled with the perfume of God.  I read this quote which said. 'Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.' (anon)

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

                                                        O, Lord my God

The wonders in life - just pause.

 His name is wondeful,counsellor, mighty God. Isaiah 9:6

Just there near my sacred space I could see the vines  and flowers of the Sweet Peas and they drew me to wander to them and take in a  long, deep breath of their sweet perfume in an attempt to capture all I could of the fragrance in the hope of holding the memory until next spring. I walked away with a real blessing and it was like a little celebration. Life is good if we want to make it so. I read this quote. ''Each day can be  a day of celebration if we just pause and enjoy lifes wonders, large and small.'

Do you savour such memories to keep, to hold, to reflect on or more so, draw you to God?

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

   

Wonderful councellor, mighty God.

Wandering in the morning

 Creator God who shaped the earth and the heavens, your glory shines in all you have made. (Christian song)

There is so much of God's creation to soak in when time is spent among it, just sitting or wandering in and about the garden, beauty before me, and out of the corner of my eye I catch yet another beauty to indulge in. We are so enriched and blessed by creation. As I wander in the early morning I stopped to pick a cluster of Freesias to bring home, feeling like I had been given a  pearl of great price. I put the flowers in a vase and the fragrane of God filled  the house.  Michael Leunig writes:You have no place in spring except upon your knees.

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

.                                                  The fragrance of God

Receive God's glory

 Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were  created.  Matthew 17

Have you seen the Glory of the Lord? When where you last stopped in your tracks at something so beautiful that it held your breath? Did you recognise it was God's glory?   I can see it this morning - I can see the Glory of the Lord that surrounds me in my sacred space - the colours are brilliant red, pink, pink and white together, and purple, displayed on the large azalia bushes, and at their feet are masses of  blue for-get-me-not flowers just to remind me of God's love.

I read these words: 'Let us seek and find the small joys that are the hundreds and thousands  scattered colourfully on the lives of our day.'  There in lies the Glory of the Lord.

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

                                                  The Glory of the Lord
.

life of blessings

 From the fullness of his grace, we have all received one blessings after another. John 1:16

A blessing that can't be surpassed is our knowledge and love of God in our lives. Life comes to life in that knowledge as we walk daily with him. From the toughest of days. just to know he is there with us, is a blesings, watching a tight bud on a rose bush opening into a fragrance of beauty, colour and delight, a mystery, a wonder, a miracle ,a blessing. If there is something tough on your plate today, something you are anxious about, something you need God's blessing for then smell a rose, or look in wonder at the dense blossom on the prunus tree, or in the bright face of a golden yellow daffodil and know that God is ever present with you and be blessed.

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

Now there is a blesing!

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.