God's gifts

Opening their treasure chest,they offer him gifts of gold,frankincense and myrrh. Mathew 2:11
I am always struck by the wonder and graciousness of God in the distribution of his gifts for us. Glorious rain recently,not just a little in some places, but a lot. Beautiful flowers with splashes of colour and deep perfumes. The  colour would have been enough but no, he has added the perfume, an extra gift.  The beauty of the coloured birds would have been a delight in themselves, but again he added an extra gift of song, sweet, melodious song. A pair of swans on the lake waters would have been enough but again he added the extra gift of three fluffy baby swans beside their parents and even the gift from the eucalyptus in flower, a brilliant flower from a plain red nut. As we give gifts at Christmas to show our love of one another, so God gives us these gifts and so much more to show his love for us. I think we all know the saying: every day is a gift from God. That's why we call it the present.

Gods gift of a beautiful flower from a  plain nut.

Pick me up and dust me off

Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do,do it all for the glory of God.. 1 Cor.10:31
Every little thought,every big consideration,every feeling transformed into action,every act deliberately carried out,everything that I do, may they all be to the Glory of God. And God forgive me when I fail. Pick me up and dust me off and give me the courage to start again. And then I thought of the flowers in the garden and shaking my head I said to myself naught is impossible to him who trusts always.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne,servant of the Lord.

                                Naught is impossible to those who trust God.

The blackbird sang

Praise with elation, praise every morning. TIS 156
Eleanor Farjeon writes in her lovely hymn, Morning has Broken,'blackbird has spoken like the first bird.' Isn't it true, that sometimes we look but don't  see what we are looking  at and sometimes  we listen but don't hear what we are listening too. In the first moments of dawn  I sometimes hear  the melody  of the blackbird, high on a power line singing, and singing, and singing......is it just the blackbird singing or is it 'a God thing?' Perhaps his perpetual singing is praise for the new day and praise for his creator......or is it just a blackbird singing? I recall being at a small rural church when an elderly lady said to me,' I was baptized in this church.' In those few words I saw and heard a lady of deep faith, of loyalty and faithfulness to her God, one of the great crowd of witnesses, running the race.  How blessed are we when we listen and hear, look and see 'the God thing' in everyday life.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord.

A tiny rural church

Singing in the rain

His praise will always be on my lips. Ps 34:1
What wonderful rain and our minds are on the drought stricken areas that  they too can sing praises to God for rain, at last, at long last. So be it Lord. Rain dose something for all God's creatures. Its life giving, refreshing water. I read this quote from G.A.Leichliter:
I heard a joyous strain - a lark on a leafless bough sat singing in the rain and Jehovah  Shammah - the Lord was there.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord.

A top knot pigion enjoying  the rain

Such a wonderful God.

Remember the wonderful works he has done, his miracles, and his judgments.1 Chr:12
An acorn, weighing less than an ounce falls to the ground  and  can produce an oak tree weighing  more than two tons. Bury one minuet kernel   of corn and watch it grow from a green stem popping through the soil to a plant around six feet tall that produces cobs of hundreds of kernel. And that tiny pea shaped seed that grows and flowers into beautiful scented sweet peas.Ah, we have such a wonderful God of miracles.Miracles all around and yesterdays bulletin at church held a few powerful lines of a miracle. It said, caterpillar-cocoon-butterfly-can one not believe in miracles?  Look and see and enjoy all of the miracles around you in this new day.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord.

Believe what you believe

Just believe.  Mark 5:36
Living in the outback many years ago I often wonder at a lone tree that had fallen in the desert where no one was for hundreds of kilometers, would it make a sound as it fell?
J.H. Jowett said: 'Does the wildflower bloom less carefully and are the tints less perfect because it rises beside the fallen tree in the thick woods where mankind never enters?
Its all like belief isn't it? While we cant 'see' faith  we know its there. While we cant 'see' Jesus, he is there. This simple statement from Marks Gospel says,(paraphrased)  'Just believe.'
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord

Did the tree make a noise when it fell and no one was there to hear it?

Restoration

Beauty from brokenness,hope for despair. (TIS 690)
For several days I have looked back on the reflection from Friday November 2 'Spring back into life.' and the imagery I used of the dormant, seemingly dead rose bush in winter that springs into life with love and care, water and tenderness, and blossoms in spring.  I called a modern day parable.  It strikes me how something can come out of what seems  to be dead and I pondered the idea of life, death, and new growth and I wonder, do the people we share our lives with see this new growth, this change in our  lives as we grow from what we were to what we are now, fruits of our journey with Christ. 
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne,servant of the Lord.

New life 

What can I say

How good is it to give thanks to you, O Lord. Psalm 92:1

Sometimes we forget to say 'thank you' to God. Sometimes our prayers are all about our needs and our wants and the thank you can become lost from our thinking. When I start my day I try to remember to say. Thank you for the roof over my head. Thank you for the new day. Thank you for food. Thank you for the beauty that surrounds me with spring flowering gardens and the peace and quiet. Thank you for being there with me when I need you most. I think that often we can forget how life is so good for us especially when I reflect on the homeless woman on the streets, the young man racked with mental confusion, and those who have no trust in Jesus to guide their lives. Lourdes Ruiz wrote: What can I say as I live each day. What can I say to you, my God? All I can think is thank you. 
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord

For the beauty of your creation, we thank you O God.

Spring back to life.

He is God not of the dead but of the living. Mark 12:27
I was admiring the new beauty of the buds and blooms of the rose bush and thought how can it be that something so dead and lifeless a few weeks ago can spring back to life and blossom with such beauty. And I thought of God and our lives. People of God who have sprung  into life through the love of God and the power of living water. I look again at the rose bush flourishing with love and water from its gardener  and think this is a parable and I want to tell the story over and over again of how God's love can come into our lives and raise us from death to  life.

Covered in God's love

Eyes open.

.......then their eyes were open and they recognised him. Luke 24:31
The disciples walking on the road to Emmaus were startled to find that their companion was the risen Lord Jesus and the disciples on the Sea of Galilee were startled to see the figure walking towards them was the risen Jesus. Sometimes we to are startled to find the Lord is with us. He presents himself  and shows himself and reveals himself in the beauty and in the pain of our daily life. Sometimes the realisation is sudden and sometimes, like with the disciples it can be a slow awakening. Frederick Buechner said: Lord, catch me off guard today. Surprise me with some moment of beauty or pain so at least for the moment I may be startled into seeing that you are here in all your splendor, always and everywhere, barely hidden, beneath, beyond, within this life I breathe.
Grace and peace from the  Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord.

The beauty in a dry arid place.

Will I go this way

Whether you turn to the right or 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 set out for a walk. Will I go this way to the open  walking track, or will I go 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 is 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 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.'  Sometimes at a funeral people use  the chapter from John's gospel(14)  and ask if they can leave out verse 6 'I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the father except through me.'  My response of course is 'no.' The inner voice that we hear is the voice of God, directing, guiding and leading, along the right path, the right way, to him.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord

Which way will I walk

who we are

I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord. John 1:23
There is always a bird that heralds in the morning. Its call is like a prayer, breaking the silence, welcoming the day. Its a joyous call that straight away I sense it is of God and I thought of John the Baptist heralding in Christ, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'prepare the way of the Lord.' I wondered in my quiet time this morning, in unseen unison with each other , how many of us are readying ourselves to 'prepare the way of the Lord' as we think and pray for the day ahead. You know we wear the name Christian not because of what we are or who we are or where we are but because of whose we are (Rick Ezell.) Go forth in confidence and faith.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord

Preparing for the day

Live Christ

The world wants something that has God in it. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is. 1 Corinthians (the message)
I was going out with family for a meal and we were stopped in our tracks by one of the poorest ladies I had ever seen on the streets of Canberra. While warm with ample clothing on she had no shoes or socks on her worn feet. She looked tired and very much in need of a shower. She apologized for all the fur on her coat saying it was from the cats she sleeps with. In talking to her all she wanted at that moment was a meal, nothing more, just a meal. After providing her with this request and a 'God bless you.' we moved on. It took sometime to get past the image and wondering of this  lady as I counted my blessings.
Lucado says: The greatest thing that any of us can do is not to live for Christ but to live Christ.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord

Live Christ

 

The sweetest song

There is a place of quiet rest, near to the heart of God (Hymn)
If I had to choose a favourite hymn I don't think I could single out one above another but some do sit in your heart and bless you. Some seem to draw us into the lap of God. This particular hymn does that. There is a place of quiet rest, near to the heart of God. A place where sin cannot molest, near to the heart of God. O Jesus, blessed redeemer, sent from the heart of God, draw us who wait before you, near to the heart of God.   Sometimes words and thoughts and   places draw us so close to God that we don't want the moment to go. We want to remain in that space. Its like you are one with God and cant get any closer to his heart.
Where are such special times for you where you find that deep closeness.
This morning I have to say it was in the sweetest song of a tiny bird singing at day break.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord.

Singing at daybreak

story tellers

I love to tell the story, t'will be my theme in glory to tell the old old story, or Jesus and his love.
(Arabella Ketherine Hankey (1834-1911)
The air is fresh,the morning is quiet and the new day dawned. Each new day opens itself up to so many possibilities. Every day is a fresh new start. Every day is a fresh new opportunity. Every day is a fresh new witness. Just think of the people who will cross your path today. Those you plan to meet with, those whose meeting will be unexpected. Multiply that  by 7 days, by 4 weeks by twelve months, by 365 days, by a life time of telling the story and you thought you were one small person in a big world.
There is an African  proverb which says: If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito!
Go into the world proclaiming Christ by your very being there and tell the old, old story.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord

traveling with us

I lift up my eyes to the hills, from where will my help come? my help comes comes from the Lord. Psalm 121:1
This is one of the .'grounding ' verses in the psalms that stay with you in life. Every time I look at the hills or mountains, every time I need God close, every time I feel a bit anxious or even just on the way to work, it comes straight to mind. It doesn't matter  if you are on a journey to Israel, or travelling down  the highway or heading for an operating theater, God's comfort and protection is with  you. His help is only a whisper away....'from where will my help come? It comes from the Lord'
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord

Our protector God, ever present.

Ah, the glory

The glory of the Lord shall be revealed. Isaiah 40:5
I stopped on my walk to smell the flowers before I had even passed my garden.
  The striking deep red, and pinks and spotted white azaleas  bursting from bulging buds.
 The blackbird running around the garden path, busy in pursuit of dry grass and debris to build a nest. The tiny delicate blue forget-me-nots
and the dainty freesia packing a powerful hit of perfume that floats on the breeze.
 Ah, the glory of the Lord is revealing itself all over the place.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ,
Anne, servant of the Lord

The dainty freesias.

A-bend to God

Breathe on me breath of God, and all my life refine, until this earthly part of me glows with your fire divine (TIS 407)
I often think of the prayer warriors in the community. I know of several  that live around my place and others that I call on to pray for me and the very vulnerable people I care for in the community. I know they, and their prayers are what underpins my daily ministry and gives new life to many. I read that 'neither my preaching,nor my praying brought  others to God.  It was the good woman 60 miles away whose prayers brought the breath-touch of God upon struggling souls in our community.'  Being a prayer warrior is a life changing ministry. Don't underestimate its worth and its power. God has chosen you to be a blessing to many.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord

A prayer warriors tool

life of blessings

From the fullness of his grace, we have all received one blessing after another. John 1:16
A blessing that cant 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 blessing. 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 into the bright face of a golden yellow daffodil and know that God's is every present, ever with you and be blessed.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord

A blessing in life

  

To the mountain

Many people shall come and say. 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob: that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths. Isaiah 2:3
For me one of the most meaningful words in our Christian lives is 'retreat'. I have been fortunate enough to have had two retreats in a matter of weeks and  both were at beautiful Galong.
To go on retreat is not just about retreating from our busy lives but it is also about regathering strength, especially spiritual strength and to regather rest and deepen our relationship with God.  To stop and take  a step back and be still and hear what God wants us to advance with. And in all of that  the beauty of retreating is - --- suddenly  there are flowers to smell and birds to see and the stillness of God's voice to hear.  If you haven't  retreated from your day to day life for awhile then step aside with God and be renewed, refreshed.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord

And I heard the little bird sing