Riveted to the spot with God

' Be still for the presence of the Lord, the Holy one is here.' (Christian song)

That's how it is with those special moments that emanate the presence of God. The moments that take your breath away, put you on your knees (if you can!)

They are there for the taking, for the offering if we just stop a moment and see.

As I stood at the waters edge at Bateman's Bay I had one of these moments and I didn't want to draw myself away from it. I was riveted to the spot with God.

The silver moon like sun was endeavouring to push its way through the thick morning light and the silence was so 'quiet' you could hear the seagulls stamping their footprints on the wet sand and God was present in all I saw and heard, in the quiet and in my heart that sang , ' Be still for the presence of the Lord, the Holy one is here.'

See the moments with God ,seize them, and let your heart sing.

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne

Breathtaking God

'See the streams of living waters, springing from eternal love.' (Hymn 446 TIS John Newton)

I stepped out early for a walk. It was fresh and the morning mist was rising from the dew laden grass, the autumn trees were so colourful that they took my breath away and I was left with a song on my heart, a song of morning praise that set the pace for the day:

'Glorious things of you are spoken.'

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne

vinyard pruning

' Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers, such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned.' John 15:6

As I stood looking at the vineyard in the morning fog I couldn't help but think of the pruning that is about to take place, but more so about the branches that will be pruned. I had an image of a pile of cut and abandoned branches

outside the vineyard.

That said something to me, in fact, it bothered me.

As I walked on I couldn't shake the image of the pile of branches destined for the fire.It reminded me of many I walk amongst each day.Those outside God's love.

Those outside his kingdom .

And it made me more determined in my daily task of bringing Christ to others.

I wonder what 'bothers' you when you read John's story of the vineyard?

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne

God is everywhere

' You shall rejoice in every good thing which the Lord your God has given you.' Deut 26:11

I can watch for ages the variety of birds that flock to the garden for their morning hand out.

Sulphur crested cockatoos, rosellas, mountain lowries, top knot wood pigeons, black birds ,willy wag tails, sparrows. Their antics are worth watching, their pecking order is fascinating and you cant watch them without thinking God has a sense of humour especially when you say hello to the cockie and he answers you!

Every one of these creatures has the mark of God's hand on it. Sometimes we only see God in the grandeur of majestic mountain ranges and brilliant breath taking sunrises but he is there, right there, even in the little sparrow and the busy willy wag tail and the yellow sulphur crest of the cockie to say nothing of the very tidy topknot of the wood pigeon that looks like its constantly groomed with brill cream.

I cant look and see without a conversation with God. I cant look and see without rejoicing. Its so reassuring to know that God is so close.

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne

shining lights

'No one after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar or puts it under a bed.' Luke 8:16

Tomorrow is the day we remember the apostles Phillip and James,both were martyrs, killed for what they believed. They stood their ground for Christ even in the face of death.

I was talking to some fellow Christians about how we let Christ be known in the work place and am really astounded that in a country such as ours we are not allowed to talk about our Christian faith in our places of work. To do so causes you to lose your job. I was even more astounded to hear their submission to this. There are more ways to share our faith than just words.

Its tricky and challenging to work out ways to overcome this but it can be done.

Several students and their teacher walked past me at school yesterday and at the top of his voice one student calls to me for all the world to hear, 'Hello God's person.' What could I do but smile and just as loudly say hello.

This verse has stayed with me all my life since childhood. 'Let your light shine before all people.'(Matt 5:16)

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne

Have you seen God today.

' One day Jesus was praying.....when he had finished one of his disciples said to him.'Lord, teach us to pray.' Luke 11:1

One of the greatest most powerful, most humbling experiences we can have with God is those occasions when we find ourselves and him alone together and he says, 'Here, a gift for you.'

These moments can come in a flash :

When I sight a tree of brilliant autumn colour......and there is just me and God.

or when I the see the fog weaving its way through valley and vineyards .....and there is just me and God.

Gifts from God as he stands right there with you, handing them out one by one .

Gifts that stay with you in memory to bless throughout the day .

I love these gifts. Its like having something special in your pocket, you put your hand in and pull it out again be blessed by God's presence.

'When we are gifted with an awareness of 'God's' presence in prayer we savor the gift.

we let God hold us and carry us, as the sea holds and carries a vessel. (anon)

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne

Prayer calling

'And all the peoples behold his Glory.' Psalm 97:6

There are so many things that draw us to prayer.

It might be a candle.

It might be the call of a bird.

A glorious frosty morning.

A cobweb draped across the wire on the fence.

In Melbourne recently, at the Ignatius Spirituality Centre ,I discovered many things that drew me to prayer but amongst them was a glorious flower, one I had never set eyes on before. It covered a Hakia bush, it drew my breath away, it drew me to prayer.

Richard Cabot says:

When beauty overwhelms us,

we are close to worship.

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne

The Lord is with us always

'You are with me;Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.' Psalm 23:4

We know this, we know that God is with us always yet we so often doubt that solid Christian fact.

Yesterday I was driving home from beautiful Tumut and I was taken by everything about me.

The glorious autumn colours of the poplars and claret ash trees.The deep green of grass from recent rain.

The town from a high advantage point bathed in early morning mist and sunlight.

The valleys and rolling hills

Water filled dams on the farms

And I pause to watch a farmer, way off to the left of a large herd of sheep, commanding his kelpie to bunch them up and bring them down from high on the hillside, to the pens.......just magic!

I had a strong sense that God was so present, the overseer of all that I saw....overseeing with love and protection and creativity. It was a comforting, peaceful sense of the presence of God and I drove the highway with an unseen passenger and a huge sense of 'wow!'

May you know, always, that God is present, he is there when we clearly know it, and when we feel he isn't. He is with us.

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne

Give thanks always

'I make all things new.' Rev 6:4

The first thing that strikes me is the absolute quiet of the dawning of a new dayand I hear the words of God.......'be still and know that I am God.'

Then there is the morning choir and at the moment its a duet between two warbling magpies just calling in the dawn with a smile on their faces. (can magpies smile?) and morning has broken.

Then the words out of the early morning darkness......' I am the light of the world.'

With these thoughts on board I move into the new day and I have a true sense of who I am.....of purpose.... and are charged for what the day may offer.

Galatians 2:4 says:

'Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work YOU have been given, and then sink yourself into that. '(NCV)

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne

a thousand colours is your face.

'There's a hush of expectation, and a quiet in the air and the breath of God is moving in the fervent breath of prayer...' TIS 276

Sometimes there is no greater peace and assurance of the love of the risen Christ than in a glorious sunrise or a glorious sunset as God's paintbrush streaks the sky. There is something there that speaks to us of God, of his love, of his continuation with us in our day or his presence with us in the dark night.

As I think of the sunrise,tipping the mountain top with a ray of yellow light I recall the opening lines of a hymn we sang in church 'There's a light upon the mountains, and the day is at the spring where our eyes shall see the beauty and the glory of the king.'

All through life we experience our own personal sunrises and sunsets, darkness and light and like the dawn which always comes, so to does the love of God and we know that deep from within our very being we 'praise and serve a risen saviour.'

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne

Easter

' He is risen........Alleluia!'

How magnificent to worship a living God.

I have spent several days this week in the Ignatian Spirituality Centre in Kew, Melbourne, where I have been attending a conference. All about me within the centre is the Ignatian spirituality expressed in art and many crucifixes in various shapes and forms decorate the walls. Every time I looked at one of the crucifixes I found myself reflecting on the suffering of Christ on Good Friday

.........and it wasn't until I saw, standing all alone, a large plain wooden cross.......empty of the Christ ..............that I had a great sense of freedom and liberation.

I thought of the promises Jesus made:

'I will never leave you.'

'I will rise.'

'This promise is for you and for your children.'

God has done what he promised.

You can almost see Jesus standing outside the tomb fist punching the air and voice shouting an almighty 'YES!"

Its so true isn't it that the resurrection of Christ is the AMEN to all his promises.

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ

Anne

Good Friday

'It was nine o'clock in the morning when they crucified him.' Mark 15: 25

O the love of Jesus,

O the love of Jesus,

O the love of Jesus.............it washes white as snow.

Grace and peace on this Good Friday

Anne

Where there is love, there's a quiet peace.

'So faith, hope,love abide, these three:but the greatest of these is love.' 1 Corinthians 13:13

What a week ahead of us for reflection.....Holy week. I find my thoughts are many at this time. I think of Palm Sunday and the entry into Jerusalem. The feast of the passover......Good Friday, Easter day and I wonder how Jesus was feeling. We know that there is to be a good outcome from this journey, that even though he will die, he will also rise again and be with us. But how lonely, how abandoned to be doing this alone with no one alongside who understands.

My thoughts this Holy week are on those amongst us who have a particularly hard journey through life, and I am thinking of those with disabilities and how we can lead them into a place of 'life.' It was such a blessing yesterday to invite a person with disability into the sanctuary to help with the distribution of the palm crosses. It was a feeling I couldn't explain. All I can say is God was very real, very alive and very present in that sanctuary this Palm Sunday and I was so richly blessed. God poured his love upon us and we walk away at the end of the service.....changed.

A life had been acknowledged and included.

A resurrection had occurred.

Think of your journey this Holy week and who it is you might lead through to resurrection this Easter.

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne

The cross of love

All glory praise and honour, to you redeemer king. Tis 333

Every time I open the front page of my prayer book, there it sits, an old faded, greying palm cross. I gaze at it and reflect and remember. I remember a journey.

My journey.

Christs journey.

I remember making palm crosses as a child. A wonderful activity of gathering palm branches and sitting around tables in the parish hall with a group of ladies from church. There was lots of chatter and laughter and it was the day before Palm Sunday. I remember it as one of the many treasured steps of my faith journey.

As I look at this palm cross I think of the crosses of life.

The crosses I have had to bare

The cross that enabled me to bare them

The cross that saved me

The cross of love.

Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim, till all the world proclaims his sacred name.

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ

Anne

Church.........anywhere, everywhere

' We love thy place Oh God, wherein thy honour dwells.' Hymns A&M242

Isn't it wonderful when we come to a place in ourselves where we can see that 'church' is not just the four walls of a building. I like to think of 'church 'as a place where God dwells and where God is talked about, and where the peace of God resides and the example of Christian life is lived and love abounds and 'God talk 'happens.

I am a lover of church buildings and culture as places to worship, grow and be nourished as the family of God...but for those who do not yet know of that family or feel they don't belong in it, then the means of having 'church' with them, where we can bring the love of Christ into their lives, are unmeasurable......just think about it starting with your own home and family and those whose path you cross today:

At the family dinner table when grace is said and others prayed for.

At the bedside of the sick or dying.

On our front porch when we welcome the stranger or chat with the neighbour.

In the garden......with God.......now that's a cathedral!!

In the op shop.

Caring for the unloved and unwanted...........Anywhere that brings God into being.

An Indian born Theologian, Ravi Zacharias said this:

Of all the disciples who floundered and stumbled, Peter was at the forefront. Yet it was to him that Jesus issued the pastoral call: ' Feed my sheep.'

Are we not all disciples with that same pastoral call?

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne

Daily blessings

' Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord. Isa 24:15

The large skeletal like tree was silhouetted against a horizon of deep, deep red rising from the east that carried itself across the sky in various layers of colour until it blended into a very pale pink and blue............a glorious morning painted by the sunrise and it was almost shouting......'the heat of the day is coming.' But for now, still, cool, quiet........peace.

Its so lovely to enjoy the sacredness of the morning before the day heats up and I am taking from that experience three key words into my day........still, quiet, peace.......................Oh, and I might add one more........................... stay cool!!

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne

a bible with Jesus on the front

' Love one another as I have loved you.' John 13:34

The words on the desk calendar took my notice as if it was written in bold print: 'Love one another as I have loved you,' it said. Then followed the words: 'it may seem impossible to do, but if you will try to trust and believe great are the joys you will receive.' and you know.......that is so true.

I live in a neighbourhood when there is a very large and dysfunctional family that terrorises the neighbourhood yet I have always 'looked out for them.' Yesterday one of the 9 children rang my doorbell and quietly and politely and right out of character asked me if I had a bible he could have . Once I recovered my momentary surprise I said I would get him one and produced a Good News New Testament. He looked at it for a moment and said 'thank you' in a very quiet voice and then looking at me said,' this is lovely but can I have one that has Jesus on the front so I can see him.'

What is it that melts us inside when we know we are bringing the love of Christ into a life, a life that's broken, abused and rejected.......I think its the fact that through sharing Christ we bring hope. I think its because we are doing what Jesus asked us to do.....Love one another.

Yes, I did produce what he was looking for..........a lovely picture book of bible stories with more pictures than words, anf Jesus on the front!

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne

my cathedral/your cathedral

' In your presence there is fullness of joy.' Psalm 16:11

I was reading a verse by Steiner Rice, 'My garden beautifies my yard and adds fragrance to the air, but its also my cathedral and my quiet place of prayer.'

The morning gifts take my breath away. Soft, soft morning mist, gently rising, hovering over the dew laden grass, glistening in the early morning sun, pink clouds over head, sun kissed and a choir of birds at the feeding tray........my cathedral.

Its so easy to turn a special place into a cathedral. Its those places where we 'hover' with God and he 'hovers' with us be it in our garden, gazing out a window at a blue wren on the grass, overlooking the vineyards to the magnificent mountains or walking a beach at the start or end of a day. Special places, God filled.

Turn a special place for you, into a space, for you and God.......your cathedral.

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne

colours of the masters palette

'For each perfect gift divine, to our race so freely given,graces all of your design, flowers of earth and buds of heaven.' TIS 137

Have you ever looked 'deeply' at God's creation. I mean really paused and look hard, in wonder, at the shape, the design and most of all the colour. We can miss so much in the business of life. I had plenty of time to reflect and 'look deeply' at the garden from my recovery room and confronting me every day was this glorious, soft pink bottle brush bush. For ages I would just look at its beauty and ponder on the things of God.

Imagine the colours he must have on his painting palette .......how big must the options of colour be.......imagine it....... dobs of blue, red, green,purple,yellow, black,pink and many many more, to dip his brush in and just simply create and colour.

What is colour? To me its an image of joy

Its a rich blessing from God to brighten our day and to give us pleasure.

It never ceases to amaze me that our mighty God, in all his majesty and power and dominion can think of such small things, as our pleasure and enjoyment.

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ

Anne

My fourpenny Jesus

' Even the darkness is not dark to you........' Psalm 139:12

I once read a story of a small child who found a statue of Jesus in a bric-a-brac store, his arms were outstretched as he had come off his cross. The store owner sold it to her for fourpence and it was with her the rest of her life, in the good times, the lonely times and in the darkness of the London Blitz, constantly reminding her that Jesus was with her always.

I had a similar experience. I found a small Holy Family icon in St Vinnies amongst the castaway bric-a-brac of peoples unwanted goods and I brought it for a dollar, you know, its the 'hinged' version ,and being a visual person I tend to carry it with me and so I took it to hospital for my recent surgery and placed it on my bedside table. The first morning after surgery and in a haze of drugs and excruciating pain, in that space of day between night and morning, I could see the outline of the icon but couldn't see the images on it yet I knew they were there.

I was hit with an overwhelming peace and comfort as I thought of Jesus, not visible to us, yet always there. Always present even though we cant see him.......always beside us.

You know, I reflect on the purpose of Icons.......how their images draw us closer in reflection on God and I value this little one that had been abandoned, simply for that reason. It will always be a visual reminder that Jesus, in giving his life for me, for you,will never abandon us, he is always with us.

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne