remove your sandals

Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. Exodus 3:5
There is a quote by Elizabeth Barrett Browning which says:' Earth's crammed with heaven and every common bush afire with God; but only who sees takes off  his  shoes. The rest sit around and pluck blackberries!.'How often I see a brilliant, colour filled, 'stop in your tracks' sun rise and know that God is powerfully present. I look at the laughing kookaburra and know that God lives in all creatures. I smell the air filled perfume of the first  flush of roses on a cool evening and know that God is walking in the garden. It seems there is no space where God is not and we are one. God fills our every day spaces and when we see it,when we feel the oneness,  we know we are on holy ground. We know we are in the presence of God.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne,servant of the Lord.

Take off your shoes for you are on Holy Ground.

stay awake

Lord, lord, open to us. Matthew 25:11
It is so interesting to note that when we slow down we see more. When we are more aware we see more. The tiny little things that otherwise we miss. Its a bit like an awakening. An awakening to the things of creation which are of course, the things of God. When on retreat I noticed something that in the rush of daily life I would have missed. It was an intricate, most perfectly constructed mud nest of a tiny God made creature, perfectly crafted on the side of a brick wall. Who lives there I wondered. I don't know, but God does....and its owner. It was a delight, a blessing, to see what could have otherwise been missed.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord.

The home of one of God's creatures.

Foot print of the Holy

Glorify the Lord with me;let us exalt his name together. Psalm 34:3
I came home from my walk with  four dandelion heads in my hand, you know, the 'fluffy tops.' I couldn't help but  bend down and pick them as my mind flooded with childhood memories of sitting in the paddock with friends...half hidden  in lush  spring grass, making daisy chains and blowing the heads of the dandelions. I introduced my youngest grandson into picking dandelions and blowing the heads off as he called 'whats the time Mr Wolf' and we delighted in watching the tiny parachutes of seeds float through the air. I thought, God is so good. In all the events of life he still draws us back to times of joy, love, peace and harmony and its an awakening, a revival of his presence in all the moments of life. To quote Richard Foster: 'God wants us to be present where we are. He invites us to see and to hear what is around us and through it all, to discern the foot print of the Holy.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord.

What a God

May the Lord bless you and keep you. (Aaronic blessing
I always say that some things have to remain a mystery and one of those mysteries is the magnitude of a God who can know us and love us all individually and separately. Not just us here and now but those gone before us and those yet to come. What a God.  His love is such that he wants to constantly shower us with his blessings. You only have to look at your own life, and life and creation  about you.  We know ourselves when we love and care for someone we want to express that by giving a gift, sometimes just the gift of ourselves.God displays his love and power around us and among us, he is a lavish giver. Look at your life, look about you,there is no end to his love. In every season of the year God colours his world with love.  Springtime  to me is  one massive bouquet from God, given in love.
 Blessing upon blessing as the love of God shines on you.
Anne, servant of the Lord

A bouquet of God's love 

its simple yet hard

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with with all your soul and with all your mind and  love your neighbour as yourself. Matthew 22:37-39
I had thoughts from Sundays sermon going through my mind and found myself reflecting on it often and deeply. A young priest was preaching on this passage of scripture and in among a wonderful sermon were these words.' Love your neighbour as yourself....its that simple and its that hard.' Among the many connections we have with people, this is what we are called to do by Jesus.  I can be constantly reminded of the command from Jesus,  on how it is to love my neighbour as self when I work among the 4 houses I declutter every week. When I visit  the  isolated and house bound, too fearful to leave their front gate. When I gather with the group of people with disability or when I am at the day respite we run at church.   Again came profound words from the sermon.  'Its messy, its hard, yet wonderful and beautiful.' When we can see that then we truly  know that we love the Lord our God and our neighbour as ourself.
Go in peace to Love and serve the Lord.
Anne, servant of the Lord.

Covenant Care Day Respite.

How is your world?

Show me the faithful love of the Lord. 1 Samuel 20:14
It fascinates me how we  often see things differently. Some people see a rose bush as a bush of thorns with flowers and others see it as a bush of flowers, with thorns. Some people hear wind chimes as an irritating noise; others hear them as beautiful music.I can think of a frail aged person lying in a nursing home bed or a child with a disabled body, both struggling with daily life, and see them as the dwelling place of God, as it is with you or me.
I was given 3 most beautiful red roses yesterday, filled with a deep perfume that took over the space in my office. They were delicately crafted by the master, perfumed for pleasure and enjoyment and sharing with others. I have a small cast iron bell that hangs in the garden outside my window and it only takes a gentle breeze for it to give off the most delicate, perfectly tuned ring. As I watch the morning come or the day depart this little bell just adds to my reflective thoughts.  Some of my dearest 'flock' are the elderly, some of my greatest joy comes from the disabled.
How we see the world is how we respond to it.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord.

God calling  in the tiny bell

resurrections and epiphanies

For the joy of the Lord is your strength.. Neh 8:10
I just love the resurrection of the garden in spring. The transformation of a drab space into moments of wonder as week by week the plants come to life in colour, bloom and perfume. I stood in wonder yesterday at the  Dutch Iris in the garden. They were a yellow like I hadn't seen before, so bright and I couldn't help but think what a happy colour yellow is.It makes you smile.I love to wander about the garden being amazed by each new burst of blessing. Its like coming out of darkness into light. Like being asleep and waking up. Its like individual moments of resurrections and epiphanies that bring joy to our hearts, and a closeness to God. (Stanislow says) Joy comes in little whispers, in unexpected glimpses of mystery.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord

Joy in abundance even for the bee.

Can you count the stars?

He took him outside and said, 'Look up at the sky and count the stars - if indeed you can count them.' Genesis 15:5
 God never does anything small. Have you noticed that? ( L.B.Cowman says) When he made the oceans he made them so deep that we cant fathom them. When he made the mountains he made them so large that no one can measure or weigh them. When he makes flowers and scatters them he makes multi millions of them.' When God does something for us it is something that is love filled, it leaves us in awe and wonder and  amazement. As you read that I can almost see your heads nodding in agreement because your thoughts have gone to what he has done, out of grace, in your life, your ministry...... and its in abundance.
Grace and peace ( in abundance) from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord.

wide, wide as the ocean, deep deep as the sea is Jesus love for me.

Rooted and grounded in love

How deep the Fathers love for us, how vast beyond all measure. (Christian song)
I sat in the dry  river bed around Alice Springs and  looked at this most amazing eucalyptus tree standing firmly rooted in the river bed  that was just a dry and arid dust bowl yet the tree was flourishing, there was no sign of withering. Its roots were well above the ground yet they must have also been very deep down into the sandy bed where it had a  supply of water and gained its strength to hold on, obviously so rooted in place that it stood tall, strong and grounded. As I looked at it I thought of how we are anchored to God. We can either have shallow roots that struggle to find water, the living water, or we can send our roots deep down, well into his love where we find strength, security and life. When our roots are well established in Christ we also wont wither as we are rooted, strengthened and established in his love.
John of the Cross said. Well and good if all things change, O Lord God, provided I am rooted in you.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord.

Rooted and grounded. 

The smiling face of God

All things bright and beautiful ......the Lord God made them all. TIS 135.
Spring is the time when God surrounds us with his smile. Glorious colours of the flowers in bloom, deep green grass and breath taking sunrises and sunset. This is the season when all creation 'shouts' before us the smiling face of God. His presence is a present. A gift. A treasured gift. As much as its a case of taste and see for the Lord is God, it is also  about look and see, feel and see, touch and see, for the Lord is good.  Did you see God smile for you today?

God's smile.

Blessed assurance

In all things......I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Matt 28:20
Is it about getting older and growing deeper in our faith or is it about us realising God's deep love for us or what is it that we get this great sense, this revelation , that all the words of God are indeed true, are confirmed in our hearts more and more as life goes on. We always knew the truth, but did we always know the great assurance of it. Today as I listen to the birds rejoicing in the gift of the new day, fresh from an overnight storm I feel that assurance, that deep love of God, that gift of his grace, that saved me. I hope and pray that it dwells richly in your heart, that blessed assurance.
For the mercy I could never deserve. The debt I could never repay. The love I could never  earn. I thank God every day.(anon)  What a gift.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne,servant of the Lord.

center of the labyrinth. Campfire of the heart NT

Something that gives you goosebumps

See if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down an overflowing blessing. Mal 3:10
Blessings are so special.
The small child who puts his hand in yours. Seeing the complete bright  rainbow after a storm. The smile of an elderly person. Seeing the joy of achievement by one with a disability. Looking at a glorious view. Seeing the tiniest of blue wrens in the garden. Coming across a beautiful little flower on a plain bush. Having a retreat in the desert. I ask myself what is a blessing? And I answer. Something that gives you goosebumps. Something that makes you feel warm and happy inside, something that comes from God.
May God's blessings be about you today in the expected and in the unexpected.
Anne, servant of the Lord.

A blessing

Joy, is the flag  flown high from the castle of my heart when the King is in residence there. (New harvest 19)
If we see, actually see aright then we know that this vast and beautiful land is packed with joy. Deep joy.It overflows with joy if we stop to take it in even from the smallest, tiniest wild flower to the stars that throb in uncountable numbers across the sky. I often think of the word 'joy' and try and define it and  I think its that  deep and wonderful feeling we have before it bursts into a blessing. It can be found hidden deep down in the heart of all things, even in the massive rocks of a mountain range, or the peeling bark of an ancient eucalyptus tree, to say nothing of the sunrise as the day dawns. Joy, delight, blessings. That's how I think it goes.
Grace and peace from our Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord

joy, delight, blessings. A desert sunrise.

God's paint palate

Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. Hebrews 13:8
   The minute I step outside to go for a walk I am met by the rich smell of spring. The blossom on the prunus tree and the sweet lingering perfume of the Daphne and it all sits in the silence of the rich red sunrise coming across the  morning sky.   It reminds me  each day of God's faithfulness to us. He never fails to produce a beautiful spring or a glorious autumn or the changing shapes of winter and the sharp, shimmering images of summer. Day by day he delivers. What an array of colours he must have on his paint palate. You can almost hear him mulling over it. 'Ah, what colour will I make that. How far will I spread the sunrise today and will I progress the blossom on the wattle to an even sharper, brighter more brilliant yellow. Will I take them along another branch.' Each day  sets my thoughts on   God and my day ahead. I like these thoughts by Mary Fleeson:
My journey is always just a beginning. A fresh new day on an old, old path. That's the blessing . That's where the hope blossoms.   No matter how much I wondered yesterday I can start again tomorrow and when all my tomorrows are used up I'll still have traveled. And you know what people say, Its the journey that counts not the arriving.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne,servant of the Lord.
      

The colours on God's paint palate.

spend a moment in wonder

As sorrowful,yet always rejoicing;as poor,yet making many rich;as having nothing, and yet possessing all things. 2 Corinthians 6:10
The glorious spring. God in all his glory. The wattle so bright yellow and in such variety. Have you noticed that? Like all things God makes, nothing is the same. Then there is the Japonica so deep red or sometimes white and as for the daffodils, well there is a garden at my place that has bunches of beautiful daffodils. There are some with apricot trumpets,some with yellow, some with white, some with a pale pink.What rich and beautiful gifts from God. They are real draw cards to see him, far surpassing material things. Made by God in order that we may see God and love him even more. What heavenly gifts can you see where you are right now? God has put them there just for you. Spend a moment in wonder with him reflecting: 'as having nothing yet possessing all things.'
Anne, servant of the Lord.

you cant look at a bright faced daffodil and not smile.

treasure chest

And now O Father mindful of your love....we here present, we here spread forth to thee...in thine own service make us glad and free. (Paraphrased )hymn W Bright
I had this image this morning as the sun rose deep deep yellow on the horizon then soft pink spreading across the sky and then, a brilliant light, so bright that it was dazzling to look at as it heralded in the new morning.
It was like God was opening the lid on the treasure chest and letting out the treasure. The treasure of a new full day. Full of colour. Dressed for life. Untouched. Fresh. Waiting to be embraced and loved and used for him.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
Anne, servant of the Lord.

Gentle water fall

'....and in all we do...' (A collect for grace BCP)
How can we not be filled with hope, affirmation and assurance when we experience the moving of the Holy Spirit? Sometimes the Spirit is so real, so near, so 'in us' that its a place of oneness. A  place we don't want to leave. Its like this: An elderly lady in the nursing home told me how she was feeling following the church service she had just been too. She said she felt so 'alive' and 'full of God's blessings.' God is so real,' she said. 'so within me. A deep, deep presence that showers me with constant blessings. Its like  standing under a gentle waterfall and having the water flowing over me.'
What sacred ground. It's the very real experiences of others in the faith that enable us to 'run the race with perseverance' gathering as many as we can along the way. Picking up those who have fallen or lost their way so they too can come to know the living God. And being spurred on by those who have seen the light.  In the Prayer-given Life it says: today I have been brought in safety to this new day, a true, free gift and so we pray. '...direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose;through Jesus Christ our Lord.'
Anne, servant of the Lord.

Blessed assurance.

Remember me

I the Lord of sea and sky. I have heard my people cry.  Who will bear my light for them? whom shall I send? (Here I am Lord  TIS 658 (paraphrased)
I had been out in the community,( visible in clerical dress) doing some physical work with people with hoarding issues and decided on the way home that I needed a coffee. I stopped by a coffee shop that I had never visited before and the lady behind the counter said to me. ' You are a God send if ever there was one.' At first I didn't know what she meant and then she went on to say. 'Remember me, I use to be at the coffee shop in the shopping center down the road a bit.' I did remember. She went on to say. ' I asked God to send someone to me today. My mother died yesterday and I needed someone to pray for the presence of God in peace.'   'Indeed I will pray. I am going back to church at the moment and will light a candle for you and your mother, in the chapel but lets pray now.' I could sense the other three people in the shop get up from their seats and I thought they were going to leave. Instead they came closer as I said a short prayer of comfort.
Roy Lessin wrote: Jesus will come to you in the most unexpected times. In the most unexpected ways and through the most unexpected people.
Be blessed in these special meetings with God
Anne, servant of the Lord

Here I am Lord

Love from God

Morning has broken like the new morning (TIS 156)
I opened the blinds in my office and the new morning came flooding in to the song of a cheeky pee-wee on the picket fence and right on my lips were the words of this lovely hymn. What a blessing. Longfellow has a saying. 'Into all our lives, in many simple, familiar, homely ways, God infuses this element of joy from the surprises of life,which unexpectantly brighten our days and fill our eyes with light.' I think that is so profound and fills one with joy just to read it. Think of your days  and the blessings that come expectantly. Treasured gifts from God, that's what I call a blessing. They are mine. They are rich. They are special. They are personal, life giving,faith affirming and exciting They are like love from God directly to our heart. Sometimes this love comes to us  from a glorious sunset. Sometimes it comes from a beautiful single flower. Sometimes it comes from serving others.
When you settle down tonight  don't count sheep if you take awhile to sleep, count your blessings from this day  and be blessed. I can guarantee you will be asleep before you finish counting as they will be so numerous
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord

.

Heavenly places

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Ephesians 1:3
 I commented at a gathering, as I held a bunch of Jonquils, that one smell of them and I was back as a 10 year old sitting in a paddock with friends, surrounded by bunches of jonquils. And again, one smell of the Daphne and I am in the garden of my grandparents. So many smells and perfumes that transfer me into a lovely time lock of memories. I always feel there is something spiritual in those experiences. They are so spontaneous, without thought, so quick and so comforting.Happy memories or should I call them blessings in heavenly places.
Where are the heavenly places on earth for you? Where is it that the spontaneous spiritual blessings come to you?

May your day be filled with heavenly places.
Anne,servant of the Lord.