Wonder and mystery

For the beauty of the earth, for the beauty of the skies, for the love from which our birth over and around us lies. Lord of all, to the we raise, this our hymn of grateful praise.(Christian hymn)

The gardens are full of wonder and mystery. There is colour and shape among the great variety of flowers, there is perfume, there are bees, there are butterflies, there are thousands of raindrops, tiny baubles bursting with life giving water and the bird bath is full much  to the delight of the Rosellas, the Finches and the very busy Willy Wagtail. Birdsongs echo from the tree top and in their pauses there is silence and I am filled with wonder at the mystery. It all reminds me of Louis Armstrong's song: What a Wonderful World. 'When  we are filled with wonder it is as if we have encountered the world in all its beauty and mystery for the very first time.' (Sharon Blackie.)

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.  Anne, servant of the Lord.

Created by God .

A green sprig

The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. Psalm 23

It can't be said that our countryside is dry at the moment and its hard to imagine a summer drought as we have had so much rain. When I reflect on this I think of our spirit and how it can have, at times, seasons of life giving water and seasons of dry, maybe just a little, maybe more and perhaps the dry for some is harder to deal with. I read this quote: To every person who has longed to see a green sprig on a barren branch he (Jesus) says, ' Follow me, I want you to see what I can do.'  

Stay strong in the Lord in all circumstances and may the peace of God fill your life every single day.

Anne, servant of the Lord.

                                                 God's blessing.

Glorious things of you are spoken.

 May the Lord rejoice in his glorious works. Psalm 104

We always get so much joy and delight from God's glorious works especially when we have our 'spiritual eyes on' and we rejoice. But how often do we think of God as rejoicing at his glorious works be they the creation of ourselves or the wonderful world we live in. Recently home from a wonderful retreat in Alice Springs gave me a greater opportunity to stop and gaze in wonder at God's glorious works and share my delight with him and thank him for what he has created from the most delicate, perfect wild flowers and every shape and design of the gum nuts, to the magnificent desert landscape. Indeed, may the Lord rejoice in his glorious works. May he shout it from the mountain tops to the ocean and may we praise him for it  knowing he created all for our delight.

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.    Anne, servant of the Lord.

                                                Made by God.

As a river flows so may your peace flow.

 Jesus said: I give you peace, the kind of peace that only I can give. John 14:27

It can be so hard to look at the daily news with so much trauma, distress, hardship, death and destruction in our beautiful world. Man against man and nature against climate change. Where do you find peace, that peace that Jesus offers? I get a great sense of  it when I sit reflecting, in the sacred place, just me, God and quiet, the birds and the beauty of the spring garden - God's glory abounding in all my senses and I find my cup is full for the day. Remember that song which goes, 'Peace is flowing like a river, flowing out through you and me.'  If we have that deep peace of Christ we can bring so much peace through him not just to ourselves but also to others.

May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways.    Anne, servant of the Lord