And my heart sang

'O Lord in the morning you hear my voice:in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.' Psalm 5:3

Its a wonderful thing when your thoughts go straight to the Lord when you get up of a morning.
I was waking down the street heading for the walking track and as I stepped out I heard myself say, 'Good Morning Lord' and at that very moment a Magpie gave the most beautiful solo of an opening rich warble. He was then joined by  the melodious singing of the Blackbird and, not to be outdone, I heard the distant laughing of the Kookaburra. To cap the Lord's reply, two beautiful Rosella's skimmed the top of my head, flying in perfect formation.

And my heart sang
and my soul soared.

What a wonderful reassurance of the presence of God. And I knew, I knew deep within that he would hear my morning petitions and that I would go into the day with the expectation that whatever was to be,was his will. And when doubt or worry crossed my path I only had to reflect back on the encounter of the morning to receive the blessing again and again of his presence.

Today, start with God and he will stay with you.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne,servant of the Lord.

And he walks with me and he talks with me

'Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying: this is the way,walk in it.' Isaiah 30:21

Sometimes I have a discussion with myself when I am out walking. Will I go this walkway to the open walking track,will I go that way via some streets and lanes or will I just take the direct path that will get me to where I am going, the aim of the walk to be with God, to walk with him in the freshness of the early morning even before the sun has kissed the capeweed into flower so the rest of the day I will walk in the light of this first God encounter.
So often when I deliberate about the path to take I think of this passage from Isaiah because I often answer myself with ,'walk this way.'

On occassions I have been preparing for a funeral and the family have requested the passage from John's gospel chapter 14 1-6 but add, please leave out verse 6 where Jesus says,  'I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.' I decline that request, of course.

The inner voice that our ears hear is the voice of God, directing,guiding, leading along the right path, the right way, to him.
Live  the walk of life regardless of its valleys and mountains. Remain close to the one who walks with you.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne,servant of the Lord.

Ever present God

'God is our strength and ever present help in trouble.' Ps 46:1
I read this line of psalm 46 and always want to to leave the last three words off. I know he is our ever present help when we are in trouble but he is also  'ever'present'

A Religious Education teacher  told a young boy in distress that no matter where you go, God is always there with you. There is no place he is not. If you are an astronaut and fly to outer space in a space ship, God is with you. If you are an ocean explorer, in a submarine on the ocean floor God is with you, if you are a mountain climber, hanging off a sheer drop in the Snowdonia Mountains in Wales, God is with you,and if you are a small boy in distress, God is with you. Every move you make, every breath you take, God is with you.

I shared this same profound thought with a heroin addict at the hospital as she was struggling through the dark valley, the mist and hallucinations to 'come clean.' She was doing well. The dark valleys were still dark but the light at the end of the valley was shinning brighter and getting closer
Its quite profound when we stop, I mean really stop and reflect and actually think of the closeness of God and realise that no matter where, no matter what situation or event, God is there, ever present,
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne, servant of the Lord

If you want to ......

Mathew 8:2-3 (A leper said to Jesus) 'If you want to , you can make me clean.' Jesus reached out and touched him. 'I do want to' he answered. 'Be clean' At once the man was healed.

Lonely, often in tears,separated from family who live interstate, now immobile. This is a lovely Christian lady who I pastorally care for in the nursing home. Yesterday I greeted her in her room with the first blooms of the Daphne, a cup of tea for each of us and a few bars of her favourite chocolate. Her whole facial expression changed from feeling miserable and crying to joy and smiling. Over our cuppa I shared Psalm 121 and the love of God who will not let us go, who travels life journey with us , who is with us now and for ever more.
The tears of misery turned to tears of comfort and peace.
I reflect on the God given ministries we all  have and how we use them and I know I would not have it any other way.I also reflect on the words of Elie Wiesel: 'Our lives no longer belong to us alone, they belong to all who need us desperately.'
Proclaiming the Lords work by love and action is so life giving that from our hearts we want to glorify God until our last breath.
"Je veux crier l Evangile toute ma vie' I would shout the gospel all my life!

May God's blessings be yours,
and well may it befall you.

Anne, servant of the Lord.

To love and serve the Lord

Jesus said, 'Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,but those who drink of the water that I give them will never be thirsty.' John 4:13
I was looking at the pond of clear crystal water embedded in the paddock and surrounded by long stems of dry grass all gently swaying in the wind, and so it was for as far as my eye could see. But on the edge of the pond were turfs of green grass obviously close enough to the water to be fed with the life giving water.  As I looked I thought this is a modern day parable.Central to life is the living water that refreshes us so we can move out into the barren dry land where others are searching for that living water, or need to be refreshed, taking with us 'drops' of the great pond  we know so well to quench the thirst of those who are not close to the pond of crystal clear water.
Who might you be taking 'drops' of the life giving water to today as you go out into the world 'to love and serve the Lord?'
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne,servant of the Lord

fight and hope

' May you, with all God's people, have the power to understand the breadth and length and height and depth of Christ's love.' Eph 3:19

When I read this text of rich words said by St Paul I thought of all of you who are desperately fighting bush fires and  working to  bring hope to the hopeless and comfort to the brokenhearted, support to the tired and exhausted, water to the thirsty and while it breaks our hearts to see such devastation of property, homes, lives and our animals, to experience this darkness in our days we know that God is with us.

 I love the closing prayer of the Iona Community Daily Office:
In work and worship     GOD IS WITH US
Gathered and scattered GOD IS WITH US
Now and always           GOD IS WITH US.

And I use these words to say:
In the heat and ash     GOD IS WITH US
In the loss and heartache  GOD IS WITH US
In the fight and hope  GOD IS WITH US
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord.

God's love

'All things bright and beautiful.....the Lord God made them all.' TIS 135

Did you see God smile for you today?

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne,servant of the Lord