freedom

' I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.' Matthew 25:35b-36
How blessed are we to be in a position to take this text and apply it in our daily lives.  I was talking to a man at the day hospice and he was sharing appreciation to me about being there.
 'you know.'  he said.' When I was found

I was cold and wore no socks on my feet because I couldn't reach down to put them on. I was lonely and isolated, a prisoner in my own home since the diagnosis of a life threatening illness. I shut myself away. Now I can have socks on, now I am no longer lonely and now I am no longer a prisoner in my own home.'
There is a Celtic prayer which says:
You who work by Christ's side and share his great love,You who touch with his hands and feel with his heart, his blessing yours, his joy to the end,Take it, hold it, you are his friend.
May your day be full of blessings.
Anne, servant of the Lord
  (Covenant Care is a community initiative operating out of Holy Covenant Jamison ACT. It offers a day with a difference for older people with a life threatening illness who are cared for at home by an elderly husband or wife.)

Thank you

1 Chronicles 16:8 'O give thanks to the Lord.'
And I want to shout, 'I do, I do.'
Thank you for life
Thank you for the beauty of spring
Thank you for the sound of the frogs in the pond
Thank you for the sound of the dawn, silence
The sound of dawn waking, the warbling magpies
Thank you for family and friends,for dogs and cats
For humility to serve you among those who need a companion for the journey, those who society abandons
Thank you for the love of Jesus in our lives.

May our thanks fill the quiet spaces of our day
May it be the last word on our breath before sleep.

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

A lamp at our feet

'Thy word is a lantern unto my feet: and a light unto my paths.' Psalm 119:105
These words are in the front of my  King James bible that I was given by my parents at my confirmation by Bishop Burgman and they became a valued part of my life journey.
Several things have cropped up in the past little while that cause me to think it would be nice to know what will happen, what will be the outcome,what the future will hold, but then I refocus and know within my heart and soul that the future lies in God's hands, always has,always will, and it is in him we put our trust. It is in him we depend. It is on his shoulders we lean. Its into his arms we run, its his lap we sit in, for today, for always for whatever life holds, day by day.

scroll and lamp. Nazareth village

God isn't going to let you see the distant scene so you might as well quit looking for it.
He promised a lamp unto our feet not a crystal ball into the future
We do not need to know what will happen tomorrow
we only need to know he leads us .
How is that for reassurance, comfort and stability!(Lucado)

May the peace of Christ be with you.
Anne, servant of the Lord.

holding together

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. John 3:36

How many times have we heard it said, or said it ourselves that we don't know how we would manage in the trials of life if we didn't have Jesus. I know if I didn't have Jesus, I would fall apart because Jesus is what holds me together.  This became even more a reality for me after I read a profound story about a navy helicopter pilot who said 'As complex as these helicopters are their whirling rotors are held in place by one simple hexagonal nut, and guess what that nut is called? Smiling he said, 'Its called a Jesus nut.'

Blessed are they who place themselves in the hands of Jesus. He will place himself in their hands. (Anon)

rejoice and be glad.

' Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love;so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.' Psalm 90:14 (NRSV)

The abundance of God's gifts early in the morning,
particularly at this time of the year.......in spring
.........are magnificent.
Blossoms, perfumes, colour,
and the busy sound .....the music of the birds.

Its many years since I used an alarm clock and recently I read this responsial prayer that expressed to me that 'automatic wakening' every morning just pre dawn. It said:
Set the clock of your heart for dawn's arrival
taste the joy of being awake. (Seven Sacred Pauses)

Be blessed today with the smells and sights and sounds of the new day.
Anne, servant of the Lord.

You hem me in - behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Psalm 139:5
I see the prunes tree  loading itself with masses of pink blossom, the wattle a flush of bright yellow, signs  that tells me spring is just around the corner. As I see these signs of spring

 its easy to theologically reflect. Many thoughts  about God come to mind, new life, faithfulness,  assurance, presence, love, joy.
When I pause to see the petals of the last seasons roses lying softly on the ground I think of God's gift to us in beauty and brokenness.
When I hold the hand of the frail elderly in their dying then I am on Holy ground.
Early in the morning when I look to the east to catch the rising sun and offer my prayers, and in the evening when I turn my face to the sunset to give praise for the day, it seems that all around me and where I am, there is God.
Today keep an eye out for his presence, not only in the surrounding of nature, and in others you encounter, but also in yourself.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord.

mirror image

' let your light shine before others so they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.' Matthew 5:16
I look from my office window across the road to a large pond and on a day when the air is clear, the sky is blue and the day bright I am drawn to see, in the stillness of the water a reflection of the ponds surrounds is  so clear and detailed that it stops me in my path. Were I to take a photo it would be hard to distinguish the reflection from the real scene. I often see the beautiful reflection before I see the scene that made it.
I remember reading about St Francis of Assisi and how he felt  so unworthy of God's presence and use of his life and people would say, 'What is it that draws us to you, why is the whole world following you?'
Francis himself would marvel that God chose such a 'worthless creature' to do his work,  to reflect God's life.
Amy Carmichael says: A pilgrim looked at the reflection of a mountain in still water. It was the reflection that first caught his attention. But presently he raised his eyes to the mountain.'Reflect me, ' said the Father to him, then others will look at you, then they will look up and see me.'  
                                       The stiller the water the more perfect the reflection.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord.

photo:Galong monastery

Jesus among us

'Lord Jesus stand among us and bring your healing love. May we know your presence as we break bread together.Give us your peace.' (APBA)
A small, frail, elderly lady sat  among the others gathered for the Communion service at the aged care facility.I had been told she had dementia and she had forgotten much. She sat quietly, just looking at the floor, not engaging or participating until we sang our final hymn, 'Jesus loves me this I know.'  She didn't move, she showed no emotion, she held the hymn book closed on her lap but her lips mouthed the words and her eyes seemed to be looking down the years of knowing. As I looked at her my heart melted. I felt a deep sense of peace, of hope, of assurance and of  being on sacred ground. All else might be seemingly lost to her but there is Jesus. His presence was  alive in the very words she mouthed ' Jesus loves me this I know.'
How important it is to retain the old hymns and the old familiar version of the prayers. especially the Lords

Prayer. They allow inclusion and familiarity for those who seemingly have lost all else.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord.

God's presence

Jesus said: ' I am not trying to do what I want, but only what he who sent me wants.' John 5:30
I can imagine how a climbers heart must leap and spirit soar when they reach the summit of a high mountain and survey the view around and below. Breath taking. I can imagine a leaping heart and soaring spirit when an architect surveys a completed magnificent building. When I drove into Durham and came around the corner to be confronted by the city, there in its midst was the Durham Cathedral towering over all other buildings causing my heart to leap and my spirit to soar. Like wise when I came over the hill in Jerusalem to be confronted by the city with the Dome of the Rock before me and the tears just silently  ran down my face. Yet I also can look at a brightly coloured beautifully crafted flower or a tiny blue wren and my heart leaps and my spirit soars. To me this is standing on sacred ground. A hiker on a mountain top explained her experience like this: ' Suddenly I felt God's power and presence penetrate right through me. I was so overwhelmed I just sat down.  My eyes overflowed with tears and I thanked God that he had taught me to know him and I begged him ardently that my life be consecrated to his will.'
What causes your heart to leap and your spirit to soar?  Where do you 'meet'God?
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord.

Photo: Western Wall. Jerusalem

You are seen

I am his and he is mine, here in the power of God I stand.(Song: How deep the Fathers love for us)

I think  the words of this spiritual song make for a good mantra.'I am his and he is mine, here in the power of God I stand.' Think of all the situations and times  you could grasp hold of that line as a life line, a means of strength or to express the power of God's saving grace.

I remember a conference I went to at Kurrajong in the foot hills of the Blue Mountains, a place of beauty and rest, a place of quiet yet the sound of the Bell birds still rings in my mind.  There an aged care chaplain told the story of an elderly frail  lady with sever dementia and her conversation seemed to have no meaning to the listener. As the chaplain sat with her,gently  massaging fragrant oils into her arthritic hands she had a great sense of inadequacy in her ability to have meaningful conversation with this lady and often the silence was long and uncomfortable. This particular day the chaplain had brought with her a CD for background music  to fill the silences. In the CD was a repetitive one liner: ' You are seen, you are loved, you are doing very well.'  Then, in the midst of a muddled conversation the elderly lady looked into the chaplains eyes and after a moment of silence said, as clear as the call of the Bell birds. ' You are seen, you are loved, you are doing very well.'

Serve God with confidence for you to are seen, loved and doing very well.

Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ

Anne, servant of the Lord

God's recreation

'Morning has broken, like the first morning.' TIS 156
The sun did nothing spectacular when it came over the horizon today but minutes later a midst the morning fog and icy frost it hung ghost like from  the shifting fog that had covered its face, a breathtaking  perfect circle of , colourless shinning  silver. All was so still and quiet except for beautiful song of a magpie. It was a special moment.
One of my favourite hymns is 'Morning has Broken.' It says so much about what we see and hear if we take the time to listen and look, and it says so much about what we miss if we don't go a little slower, to say nothing of missing the joy of the gift of each new day
.(Lessin)
Jesus is the sun rise in the morning and the sunset of your day.
His mercy greets you every morning and his goodness tucks you in at night.

Every new day is like looking God straight in the eye. Its as simple as that.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord.

let your light shine

At the end of each day I reflect on the people who have crossed my path and sum that up in my prayers, especially  when I think of those who experienced Christ through the encounter, those who catch a glimpse of Christ through  relationship with them or in a brief passing. a brief word, a brief touch. I think of my daily round and yours and sum that up as many who have had a touch of God through us all and I thank God that we can bring some light into a dark world through who we are and what we are doing. For some, as the saying goes, we may be the only gospel they ever hear, the only encounter with God they ever have and it may be just enough to change their world.
'Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven.' Matthew 5:16

Robert Louis Stevenson, as a small boy, was staring out his bedroom window one night when his nanny summons him to bed. He was reluctant to come and

his nanny asked what was the attraction outside in the dark night. he said, pointing to the lamplighter who was lighting the street lamps. 'Look nanny,the man is putting holes in the darkness.'
Lotz says in her book Just give me Jesus. 'You and I may not be able to change the world, but surely each of us can put a hole in the darkness.
Turn on the light! share what Jesus means to you and give God's word to someone else.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne,servant of the Lord.

A gift for life

And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things in all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 2 Cor 9:8
Most of us love to receive gifts. They remind us that we are thought of and loved even if they are only 'momentary' gifts like a movie pass,a book, once used or read it becomes a personal memory. How many times do we receive a gift that we can share with others, for life.
I think of our daily lives and how we give from the bottom of our hearts, for the love of Jesus, giving him to others through love, a love that we ourselves have experienced in Christ. What a  gift. There are still many in need of that lasting gift, the gift of God's love: your neighbor,the homeless, the man on the street corner looking for a handout, even the friend you might be having coffee with today.
The gift of Jesus, the Christ, is the gift that keeps on giving, through us as we share the gospel through word and action.
Lets not hoard and keep this gift stowed away in our hearts, but scatter it on the air and breath of this new day so it falls on those who need it.

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

God's beauty

 To behold the beauty of the Lord: Psalm 27:4
So many times and in so many places we have the opportunity to behold the beauty of the Lords, if we are looking for it!
Yesterdays frost was as white and almost as thick as newly fallen snow. Everything, everywhere, as far as could be seen across the pond, the hills and valleys and mountains was white, glistening, shinning,  crisp. Freezing yet glorious and wrapped in a soft, white mist.
 All so beautiful. All so of God.
As I had prepared to go for my morning walk I found these words falling from my heart in prayer: 'Lord, show me your beauty today.'    And he did, in a far grander way than every expected.
God shows his beauty to us from frosty mornings, to a beautiful flower, breathtaking scenery, a tiny bird the smile of a baby and in  the face of the elderly.
Seek his beauty.Ask him to show it to you.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ,
Anne, servant of the Lord.

rain drops

He made water flow for you from flint rock. Deut 8:15
I watched the rain drops fall into the bird bath outside my window as they rippled to the edges  one after the other they fell, pods of life giving water, that rolled off the edge of the bird bath and  onto the ground below.
Rain drops full of nourishment, so small yet so vital to life.
Filled with the life giving, living waters of Jesus we too become ' pods of nourishment and life' spilling over into the lives of those God puts in our path day by day.
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord

God is love

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4:8
One of the most moving things that I have experienced of late was the first letter I received in the mail from my  granddaughter. It arrived  with big bold wording on the envelope in the script of a six year old child declaring it was for Nanna Ranse. I held it close to my chest, savoring this 'first' experience before opening it to see a letter of two lines which simply said' I hope you are feeling better, I love you very much'
How those words made me feel is indescribable but I know I went back to them many times through that day and the days that followed, I was so blessed by them and my thoughts went to God. Do we ever tell him we love him? Do we ever give him the words that cause him to hug them to his chest and savor them for hours and days?  Today I found myself humbling the song, 'I love you Lord and I lift my voice to worship you O my soul rejoice.'  Try it, it will lift your soul and your spirits and God will love it to.
Solly Ozrovech says: There is tremendous spiritual power in the mere act of confirming softly, 'Living Christ, I love you dearly.'
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ
Anne, servant of the Lord.

the cushion of God's love

The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7.

The clouds this morning were grey, tinged with the pink of the sunrise and sat low in the valley looking like they had fallen from the sky. Peeks of mountains poked through them and the whole scene emanated the quiet and stillness of the morning and a peace, a God filled peace was present.
 There are many places to find the deep peace of God. LB Cowman says in a reflection that there is a part of the sea known as 'the cushion of the sea.' and it lies beneath the surface that is agitated by storms and churned by the wind and it is so deep that it never stirs.
The peace of God is an eternal  calm  like this cushion of the sea, or the peaceful, God present peace of the valley. It lies deep in our hearts undisturbed by what is happening around and within us. This peace comes when we take God with us in the moments of our days and lives regardless of the storms within and without.

I like this quote from Pilgrim's Progress which says: ' Pilgrim was taken to a large upper room that faced the sunrise and the name of the room was peace.'
May the deep peace of God's love and presence be the cushion for you today.
Anne, servant of the Lord.

Praising your name

I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and faithfulness. Ps 138:2.
Often I am lost for words when I walk in the morning.
There is just me
and those I take along in prayer
and God
 and as the last of the night stars fade into the day the rising sun comes over the mountain top and colours the day.
 It warms my heart, it stills me, it takes my breath away, it takes my words leaving me in awe and I want to take my shoes off ans slowly, quietly, beautifully a song comes to my heart.

The new day is created, new opportunities are opening up. I have sung, I have prayed, I have been in the presence of God and God knows my heart is blessed and I call it my morning prayer.

What is your experience of morning prayer?

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

your power, O God.

' I am with you always.' Matt 28:20
It is such a wonderful thing to know that God is always with us. That is where his peace comes from.
 I woke up in the night and through my uncovered window I saw a sky of stars and immediately came to mind one of my favorite hymns: '  I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder, thy power throughout the universe displayed.'   (How great thou art)
Jesus said:' I am with you always.' Not I will be, not I might be, not perhaps, but I AM with you always. How blessed are we when our thoughts immediately go to God, in the day and in the night. How blessed are we to really know his presence.
I recall this old  verse: (author unknown)
 O Jesus, make thy self to me
 a living bright reality!
more present to faith's vision keen
than any outward vision seen.
May you know deep in your heart the words of Jesus:' I am with you always.'
Grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Anne, servant of the Lord

strength and blessings

'Better is the end of things than the beginning.' Ecc 7:80
How true.
A rose starts as a bud and grows to an open flower filled with perfume, incense that brings joy to the heart.
A sunrise, rich in colours fades to a glorious day that holds potential for multiple blessings.
A delicious meal, wonderful to smell coking, to wait in anticipation, but the memory lies in the enjoyment of the finished product
A new found faith, rich with potential, grows and blossoms into service for the Lord.
Better is the end of things than the beginning
God's only intention is to strengthen and bless us. May you be richly  strengthened and blessed through

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