Sparkling like gems.

 Glorious things of you are spoken. TIS 446

What a delight. Following the rain as the sun shone on the flowering bush in the garden it was alight with hundreds of what looked like fairy lights, drops of rain hanging from each flower tip, bursting with the water of life,  sunlit, sparkling like gems and it was a loveliness that spoke of God. As I meditated on the delight before me a thought came from the back of my mind of something I had read which said: 'O thou whose eternal presence is hid behind the veil of nature.'  And it was, and is. God is always in his creation it just needs us to be still and focused enough on him to see it.

Blessings in abundance on the gift of a new day.

Anne, servant of the Lord.

                                                What a delight!

Feed your soul

 Sing to the Lord a new song, play skilfully, and shout for joy. Psalm 33: 3

What a glorious spring morning and I am out to find a space in the gardening where God can work with me. Where he can refresh my thoughts and build on relationship, where true joy may be found, where the winged birds of the air will fill it with song and nestle busily in the Grevilia   for their daily feast of nectar. Its all a feast that feeds the soul and can be found right at my doorstep. Where, I wonder do you feed your soul?

Jehovah - shalom. The Lord is peace.

Anne, servant of the Lord.

                                                God's gifts.

Scatter the fragrance.

 Send out fragrance like incense and put forth blossoms like a lily. Scatter the fragrance and sing a hymn of praise; bless the Lord for all his works. Ecclesiastes 39:14 

I paused. I  looked. I touched. I smelt. I marvelled. There is something deeply spiritual about just wandering in the garden, humming quietly that familiar hymn that just always comes to mind when we look at the awe of God - 'How Great Thou Art.' In my wandering I look at every flower in detail and I look to its creator. Such intricate work, such beautiful design, such glorious colours, such  joy and every flower filled with its own special fragrance that infuses my mind with memories.

Fanny Robinson wrote: Thus musing in a garden nook, each flower is as a written book, and rich the stores of Holy thought, that by these blossoms fair are brought.

Peace to those who are near and peace to those who are far off.

Anne, servant of the Lord.

                                 

                                            Oh, what a gift what a wonderful gift.

Heavenly hosts.

 Who is the King of Glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of Glory. Psalm 24:10

I recall as a child being shattered when someone told me there was no such thing as angels. 'But there has to be' was my response. 'God talks about them, they are his helpers.' This person couldn't be convinced and I went away saying to myself, ' Anyway, I know there is, I have seen them.'   Our earthly journey is accompanied by 'members of the Heavenly hosts,' those who come alongside to console, empower and encourage us.  We don't always recognise  it when we are being 'unwittingly entertained by angels.' and its often in hindsight that it becomes  obvious. I suspect at in todays world of pandemic, floods and bushfires with so much happening that the 'heavenly hosts' are very busy, even just in our neighbourhoods during lock down. Perhaps you have been visited by one? Perhaps you are one?  I thank God for his angels and this morning especially I pray that they are present among  many in Afghanistan.

May the Lord of Peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways.

Anne, servant of the Lord.

Earthly angels.
      

Capture a delight

 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him. Romans 15:13

What was the delight you captured on your hours walk today and brought home as a memory? I find I am seeing and savouring more detail. I see beauty like the deep purple clump of violets  gone wild in the grass near the walkway that I had only briefly seen in passing before but never pondered on the how or the why of their presence there. I captured the  bright, ever so bright red of the front of the King Parrots  chest, so brilliant red, and it matched the brilliance of his green back when he turned about. That memory was imprinted in me for the rest of my walk home. Ah such beauty from a wonderful creator. My gifts to bring home from my walk.

I read this quote: Watch windflowers dance in the breeze for a moment of pure joy.

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ

Anne, servant of the Lord.

                                                  The joy of the dancing windflowers.

The Lord-Shalom

 - -- so Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it The Lord - Shalom

Gideon discovered that he could find peace in the Lord. We know that fear paralyses us and it petrifies us and if we hold onto fear it will disrupt our life, in fact it could
change the course of our life. But we also know that God can dispel our fears because is he not the God of peace?

Have you built an altar, perhaps called a quiet place, a prayer space or a garden seat that you call The Lord - Shalom?    God's peace is there for us all if we take the time to be with him. In the garden, around my quiet space, I can look into the eye of a beautiful flower, dwell on the layer of its skirts and there is God, our creator, gently blowing in the wind, with peace.

In the middle of a pandemic search out that place where you find God and be with him in peace.

Jehovah-Shalom. The Lord is peace.

Anne, servant of the Lord.

Lockdown. - a curse or a blessing?

 Come away with me by yourself to a quiet place and rest awhile. Mark 6:31

   What are you doing during this period of being locked down? Besides doing a great catch up in and around the house. I have been spending time in the garden with roses to prune and flowers to smell. But I have had a great 'pull' in this period to go on a daily personal retreat. In the quiet and stillness making time to draw even nearer to God and looking deeper into his eyes in nature - and his voice in the  bird songs, now clear and joyful in a silent world. The one hour allowed outside for exercise I breathe in the clear, pollution free air full of the perfume of spring  to appreciate the outdoor beauty and picturing what God had in mind when he created the crested wood pigeon or the daffodil or the forget-me-not and why he put the trill in the tiny birds.   What are you doing during the lockdown?

A hymn by Getty called Holy Spirit backs my retreat: Holy Spirit, living Breath of God, breathe new life into my willing soul. Let the presence of the risen Lord come renew my heart and make me whole. Cause Your word to come alive in me; give me faith for what I cannot see, give me passion for your Purity; Holy Spirit breathe new life in me.

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

                                        Have you ever watched a bee gathering pollen?

Sets the spirit ablaze with love.

 The sun when it appears, proclaims as it rises, what a marvellous instrument it is, the work of the most high. Sirach 43:2

This is a lovely reflection I read  sometime ago: 'As a new day shines over your place today remember God is reminding you of his glory - be in wonder of him. He is mighty and the perfecter of beauty.'

So much of our world is struggling in stress with climate change reactions and a deadly pandemic BUT God never fails us. These are times that we need to draw even closer to him, to pause and see there is good and hope in the beauty around us and in his faithfulness that never fails. No matter what our life might be like at the moment God will always make the sun to rise every day. Blessed are those who rise early enough each day to witness the sun rise on the creation of a new day. It sets the spirit ablaze with love for the creator.

May the Lord of Peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways.

Anne, servant of the Lord

                                                Morning glory.

Chubby balls of grey feathers.

 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within in me. Psalm 51:10

Has spring already arrived I found myself thinking as I stepped out the door into a balmy sort of morning and as I stood on the edge of the garden, with just me and God  I heard the call of a baby bird anxious for its breakfast being watched by its mother, one eye on the baby and one eye on the food gathering.  I marvelled at the increasing swell of the buds on the Japonica bush, some already bursting with delight  and the air is filled with the perfume of the wattle blossoms. From the bird bath came sounds of the joy of little finches bathing, splashing water all over while under the bird feeder were the sparrows, chubby balls of grey feathers always so happy, gathering crumbs and they, a pest to some, always bring me delight for they remind me of God's promise that he cares for us all, even the sparrows.

A few still moments at the front door with God sets the pace of the day. 

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne, servant of the Lord

                                                        Golden  Cootamundra wattle,

Memories are made of this.

 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above coming from the Father of lights. James 1:17

It was Fanny Robinson who said: Flowers are the gems that children love, yet we all delight to see and they bring a thousand memories of bygone days to me.

How very true that is. I couldn't resist while out walking yesterday, stopping to smell a Jonquil, attracted by its vivid white  flower foremost, because   also I  knew that if  I stooped to smell it I would visit that comforting, safe, warm place of peace as a child sitting in the paddock surrounded by the clumps of Jonquils filling the air with God's perfume.  Its the same memory as walking under a trellis of Wisteria or passing by the Daphne bush at the back door. They transport us to places of comfort  and joy in our memories. Spring is full of memories from the gardens that embrace our life. Enjoy them all and what they offer.

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

                                         
                                    memories

All things bright and beautiful

 Each little flower that opens each little bird that sings, he made their glowing colours he made their tiny wings. (Cecil F Alexander)

I love to walk in the garden. I love to admire the gardens when I go out walking. Each and every flower is an inspiration of God's thoughts and creativity and every perfume is his aroma.

From tiny forget-me-nots to long nodding trumpets of the bright yellow daffodils. The Lord God made them all.  I don't think you could look at a flower and not give God a smile.

I mean - look at the pansies' faces, they look so happy and childlike.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Anne, servant of the Lord

                                            Bright and beautiful.

Faith HOPE and love

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

Hope of the cold winter passing is the emergence of the green growth of the spring bulbs as they push their way through hard soil towards the sunlight and warmth and hope is the sweet perfume of the Daphne flowering at the front door, heralding Spring.

Hope is the bow in the sky full of colour and joy following the rain reminding us of God's covenant with his people. All these signs and more assure us that we can put our hope and trust in God. They fulfil our hope that God is  faithfully and loyally with us so why should we ever doubt when we don't see signs of hope for they too will come.

Grace and peace  from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne, Servant of the Lord.

                                                Daphne - the hope of Spring.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ

 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all.(2Corinthians 13:13)

Charles Dickens said: 

How can we tell what coming people are aboard the ships that may be sailing to us now from the unknown seas.

What a different changing world we are living in, Everything 'Coved pandemic' consumes our lives and actions. Every day is different, unpredictable, uncertain, difficult and lived in caution and in many places, fear. One thing I am so grateful for is my faith, and I pray in yours,  is the strong presence of God in my daily life. In the valleys and the mountains God is there  stabilising my world with this lovely familiar blessing we call the grace.

Peace to those who are far off and peace to those who are near.

Anne, servant of the Lord.

                                                        Peace.

 

Pray to the Lord of peace.

 Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. (The Lord's prayer)

For time immortal prayers have gone to God from all corners of the earth. Prayers of the faithful and in hope and trust we lay them before him. We know prayer makes a difference, we know prayer changes things but sometimes we can be in a place of doubt. I read this lovely fable which you may know:    'Tell me the weight of a snowflake.' a coal mouse asked the white dove. 'Nothing more than nothing.' came the answer.  'In that case I must tell you a marvellous story,' the coal mouse said. 'I sat on a branch of a fir tree, close to its trunk, when it began to snow. Since I had nothing else to do, I counted the snow flakes settling on the twigs and needles of my branch. The number was exactly 3,741,952. When the next snow flake dropped on the branch - nothing more than nothing, as you say - the branch broke off. The dove, an authority on the matter since Noah's time, thought about the story awhile and finally said to herself: 'Perhaps there is only one persons voice lacking for peace to come about in the world.'  

May the Lord of Peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways.

Anne, servant of the Lord.

                                                                 fir tree - peace.

Joy and deight

 Behold what manner of love the Father  hath bestowed upon us. 1 John 3:1

I think it is fairly obvious that if 'the Father' had not bestowed his love on us and called us children of God  then the wonders of the world would be somewhat obscured. With his love, so much around us is given to us - freely.  I reflected on this as the day broke and along with it the chatter of 5 or 6 King Parrots filled the air with excitement as they landed and began feasting on the beautiful flowering native bush outside my window. The sight reminded me of the title of Macrina Wiederkehr's book, 'A tree full of Angels.'  How blessed are we to know the manner of the Fathers love even in the ordinary things of life.

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne, servant of the  Lord.

                                                            Ready for breakfast!

The glory of the rainbow is a splendid gift.

 I have set my bow in the cloud and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Genesis 9:13

When the rain stops the rainbow shows it is finished and  if you look for the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow you will never find it because the gift is not at the end of the rainbow but the rainbow itself. Its a  gift of  atmospheric beauty, the colours of the bow, and of God's promise to us to never flood the earth again. That's the treasure to be found in a  rainbow and the joy when seeing one.

I love this passage of scripture from Sirach 43:11 Look at the rainbow and praise him who made it: it is exceedingly beautiful in its brightness - it encircles the sky with its glorious arc - the hands of the most high have stretched it out.

                                            A splendid gift

He is here

 God is with you. 1 Samuel 10: 7

I suspect , in a corona virus ridden world, and in our own personal world, there well may be a few cries going up, 'Where is God?'

It is so easy to lose hold of the fact that God is with us in all things and at other times there is a great unquestionable  sense of his awareness. Think of your day, the ups and downs, the blessings and curses and pray today to hold onto what Samuel knew, - 'that God is with me.'

George Macdonald said: Few delights can equal the mere presence of one whom we trust utterly.

Jehovah - Shalom. The Lord is peace

Anne, servant of the Lord

                          Prophet  Samuels tomb and national park Israel.

Dark is not darkness at all

 And your right hand shall hold me fast. If I say surly the darkness shall cover me and the light around me become night even the darkness is not dark to you; The night is as bright as the day for the darkness is as light to you. psalm 139: 10-12

 These are some thoughts I shared with an elderly lady who was full of anxiety and darkness was overtaking her.  I said: How often have you been scared of the dark? I can recall as a child running down a dark corridor to my bedroom where there was a light on. I can recall waking up in the night terrified of the dark and hiding under the bedclothes frantically pleading with God to be under the bedclothes with me. I was scared stiff!!  Then as I grew older and God filled my life more and more I felt such fears leaving me. Even when I was doing a mine rescue at Coober Pedy and I would be  down a very, very deep mine shaft to rescue a fallen miner, sure I was scared of the dark but not terrified, because I had learnt to reach out for God's hand in times of need.

When fear and uncertainty creeps into the 'dark of life' stretch out your hand to God and feel his light filtering through to your fingertips, filtering through the darkness.

 Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ

Anne, servant of the Lord.

                                     Hold out your hand and feel his light filtering through.

Touching lives with love

 There is no one like you to help.  2 Chronicles 14:11

One way we are known as Christians is by our actions and how we live out our lives and that  brings to mind the saying that actions speak greater than words.  I read of this conversation after a person, a passer by,  helped an older man pick up his  spilt bag of groceries from the pavement.  He said: 'You must have been a cub scout ' and laughingly came the reply, 'No, just a Christian.' 

Well we could pray daily: Heavenly Father, help me this day to use what you have given me to touch  another life  with your love.

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Anne, servant of the Lord

Christian love.

A curious feeling

(Jesus said)  I will never leave you nor forsake you. Hebrews 13:5

Faith is a fascinating thing. Its not a sense, or a sight, or a reason, but simply taking God at his word. Its an absolute belief and trust that God is with us at all times. I read this little yet profound story which said: After a long and trying march over Antarctic mountains and glaciers a South Pole  explorer said to his leader. 'I had a curious feeling on the march that there was another person with us.'

God never leaves us nor forsakes us.

May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in all ways.

Anne, servant of the Lord.

                                     Even in the wilderness he is with us - (the road to Jericho)