Sing to the Lord a NEW song! Let my whole being worship You!
Photographing a rosebud which survived the heavy rain this week inspired me to write my own Psalm. The sheer delicate beauty of roses always attracts me, and they make such striking images.
So here is my “Psalm of the Rose”…. I hope it inspires you to focus your attention on Almighty God for a few moments this morning.
May the peace and grace of God keep you in eternal peace.
“It’s just another sunset.” Mighty God, you set the skies on fire tonight.
Molten gold and crimson blended in glorious blaze that turned the sea to liquid light. Lasting a few short minutes until dusk dimmed the display; and the balm of darkness hushed the world.
Who owns the “rights”? Who will package dusk as merchandise to make more gold?
Thrown with carefree abandon, the Artist of the Earth squanders another masterpiece for those eyes that see, the hearts that quiver, the souls that magnify God.
Wasted? Never a waste! Priceless extravagance of the Father’s heart, spent in celebration of Creation and salvation.
Rich beauty invested in moments of grace, as splendour wakes humility. Witnesses of the Glory Fire are touched by awe, moved by majesty, drawn closer by Love. A luminous moment of numinous awareness. Transcending mortality, the Light imprints joy on the soul of those who truly see.
Water, dust, air- and the rays of the distant Sun. Such a palette of pigment born from starlight and heaven’s light! Farewell to a day that was gifted by God! What will tomorrow bring? What rich new gift will speak the Love of eternity? Will we truly see?
O Lord of grace and mercy, help us to read the canvasses painted across sky and sea. Teach us to notice your Present Love proclaimed with a shout, a whisper, a sunset.
Look! See! The signature of God, the Name above all names. All Earth responds and praises the Three-in-One, Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer of Life. May our thoughts, our prayers, and our longings echo the angel song. Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty! Heaven and Earth are filled with His glory.
Or was it just another gaudy sky? You must decide.
Gardening is in the blood of my family. The appreciation of beauty was instilled early, together with the realisation that the gardener never has full control. Jobs take longer, pests invade, or the good old British weather trumps your hand.
In my mind’s eye, there is a rose bed out front. Problem is… the roses are out the back, in pots!
Clearing the overgrown shrubs and brambles takes longer than I hoped. Our clay soil also has a mind of its own- too boggy in winter, rock solid in summer. Yet there is hope.
Last week the rain came lashing down. One of my “David Austin” roses, Boscobel, had just opened up before the apocalypse began.
Last year the rose looked gorgeous.
It has struggled this time round. Pot life doesn’t suit it well. Fewer flowers have bloomed.
This time the rain tried to dissolve the rose!
The petals became translucent, and the colour changed. Very strange to see.
Gardeners are patient; and they don’t give up easily. I’m taking this semi-dissolved rose as a symbol of hope. The plant has survived. It has not been beaten.
Life lesson? You are never beaten until you don’t get up anymore.
Life rarely turns out as we expect or “plan”… and life brings disappointments as well as triumphs. Quite a lot of the time living is just about keeping on going, doing the ordinary, believing and trusting that God won’t let us go.
Prayer point: Has there been a deluge on your rose recently? Something that has spoilt your dreams, rattled your cage, threatened your future security?
Make that the focus of your prayer. Trust the Lord to bring fresh growth, renew the damaged roses: and maybe even see something beautiful or insightful in the situation. My translucent rose has a magnificence of its own, even with its imperfection. Study the consequence of the storm, look for beauty in the moment. Rain affected the bloom- but the plant survives. Unbeaten.
Lord, whatever is going on right now, and however it looks in the middle of the deluge, may Your Spirit renew and keep me UNBEATEN. The best IS yet to come. Amen.
Yes! I won a prize. A photographic company invited readers of their Facebook page to submit pictures of their “adventures.” I had a go.
Imagine my surprise when I had a message to say they liked the photo and had awarded me a £30 voucher to use against their services. OK, not earth-shattering, but an unexpected joy. My winning photo was taken in the Austrian Tyrol, one of the loveliest places I have visited.
One drawback- the prize had to be used in a couple of days.
Let the hunt begin! I decided to put a canvas print on my study wall. When you take as many photos as I do, there’s a lot of choice. So I tried out several favourites, and had a go at editing and printing a shortlist.
The final choice came down to a memory.
We spent an amazing holiday in 2016 going from Vancouver up the Inside Passage of Alaska. Everything was stunningly beautiful, but one place was extra-special. We entered Glacier Bay and as we arrived the rain stopped- to unveil the majesty of the Marjorie Glacier. I was awed into silence. Awesome colour in the ice, eagles resting on ice floes, and almost complete silence.
Few places have left me silent, awestruck and overcome. This was the most profound quiet: it seemed wrong to make noise.
Look closely at the foreground. Two bright red canoeists bravely exploring- and their size gives a clue as to the immensity of the ice sheet.
This is the photo that will be seen every time I enter or leave my study. It reminds me of awe. It also reminds me to be concerned with the changing climate: we watched three “calving” moments where tons of ice splintered and crashed into the waiting sea. These glaciers are shrinking alarmingly quickly: the next generation may not be able to see these mighty glaciers. They are melting away and threaten sea-level rises that will impact on the globe.
God gave humanity a responsibility: to care for the Earth and everything in it. What will we say when the Lord asks us how well we did our work?
Looking at this photo can only give an impression of awesomeness. Perhaps, though, we can also look in our hearts to find memories of moment when awe closed our mouths and opened our spirits to the Eternal.
May holy awe touch your life. Thanks for reading.
Theory is great. It’s an idea to be played with, debated, discarded or adopted.
Moving from theory to practice is different. As I watched the para-gliders taking off over the Alpine peaks and valleys, I firmly decided this was not for me. Vertigo and perpendicular cliffs don’t really make a good mix.
Some were experts. One was not. Most took off smoothly. One did not; it took several attempts, flailing on the edge. Phew!
Once airborne the para-glider is committed. Presumably they enjoy the adrenaline (and the views are spectacular!)
Christian faith has similarities. We can play it safe, keep it theoretical, and fail to put faith to work. Bet God loves that.
Or we can step out, taking faith for a flight, and believe that God keeps hold of us when we try to fly.
A prayer for the moment:
Lord Jesus,
I took you at your Word and I’m ready to take off.
My faith is pretty flimsy, though, and it’s a long way down…
Please hold me up and help me reach the end of this flight.
I’d like to ask You to make sure I enjoy the trip.
But I suspect You don’t guarantee that.
You do say that we are working with You
to change the world and bring Love to people everywhere.
That sounds worthwhile, if a bit alarming!
Me? Really make a difference?
Well, me PLUS You- that should be OK.
The hardest bit is taking that first step.
Lord, please, may You Spirit help me find courage
and then determination- I choose to trust You.
Lord, I don’t know what I will see on this adventure.
I don’t know exactly how or when it will finish-
but I think it could be the biggest and best step for me.
You say “Follow.”
I’ll say “Yes.”
Please forgive me when I’d rather say “no” and stay a theoretical Christian… I want to live by Your purpose, and remember that You went all the way to the Cross.
Don’t let me fall… it’s such a long way down.
Here we go, Jesus! Take a good grip, please,
and don’t let go! Amen.
Waiting, hoping, needing.
The glue-like mud clings heavily, like lead weights.
We watched the tide go out and the sparkling waters
became a twisting path to desolation.
How strange that, at the lonely times,
the little glory left behind causes disappointment
reminding us only of what we used to have.
Our vision is blurred by the mist of tears
and the plaintive whistle of curlew and gull
draws attention to what we have lost.
Surely the rhythmic tide will come sweeping back?
There are tides, and times, and seasons
but the turning point has delayed so long
that our dreams are ashes, scattered,
and heartache holds our spirit
in the grip of the vice of despair.
How long, O Lord, how long?
Who can tell the lonely ones with the ravaged hearts
that peace flows, like a river, towards the sea of grace?
How long, O Lord? When will mercy come?
A lament over the state of the Church and the nations.
The last century has seen the tide retreat as faith is devalued, morality has divorced wisdom, and entertainment has become the opiate of a purposeless people.
As God’s people pray, we raise burning candles toward the sky, each one contributing a light to call upon the Light of the World.
If you read this far and your heart is stirred for the nation, please join in prayer: and if you wish, share this post on your timeline in the hope of others also crying out to Christ.
Lord, bring the tide of compassionate love over the mud and sorrow of these days. Amen. May true grace be with you.
Holidaying in Malta was a new experience for us. Parts of the island were dusty and dry, filled with exotic plants like this agave with its fruits.
Thinking about that was helpful when I needed a group activity for some men at church on Tuesday. I came up with a reflective “game” called Desert Island Disciples. See below!
My idea was based on the observed discontent of so many. If one was stranded on a desert island, what would I miss? What would be “enough” for me to be contented? If everything that is “standard” in my life were taken away, what would I have left that was precious?
Paul’s words in Philippians 4 are heroically challenging. “I have learned to be content…”
The idea of the worksheet below is to explore what really matters to us. If all we are left with is God, is that enough? It should be, at least in the short term. The Book of Job asks and answers a very similar question.
So much of our lives is about being entertained and distracted. The industry is huge- think of the millions spent on making movies, selling sports cars, and merchandising cosmetics! Christians in the contemplative traditions have discovered something wonderful. If we are prepared to avoid or dismiss distractions, we can encounter the reality of the Living God in the space and silence we have chosen.
Have a go at answering the questions. You might find a treasure. If all else fails, you can smile at the piggy with dentures at the bottom! But I hope, that we may, like Paul and like Jesus, discover the freedom of simplicity and learned contentment. God bless you as you give it a go!
Enjoying some quiet time in the memorial garden at Guildford Cathedral, I paused to admire the old-fashioned roses with their beautiful pink blushes. Movement and noise attracted my lens- a honeybee was relishing an ecstatic experience!
My photo shows the bee about to head off home. What you can’t see is the enthusiastic work that happened a few seconds earlier. The bee was gathering pollen and nectar by doing an interpretative-dance-plus-gymnastics. No decorous sipping for this bee: writhing, rolling, creeping, crawling, pouncing… it must have been a prime site for worker-bee support.
Almost as soon as this bee vacated the site, another type of bee (like a small bumblebee) dived into the rose and performed its own version of the same dance!
I don’t think I have ever seen happier bees- they were absolutely enjoying their job.
We had gone to the Cathedral as a group of men from our…
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Low tide uncovers all sorts of hidden treasures. These great boulders were put here as part of the sea defences, and at high tide are completely covered. Only the surf shows their position- and that can look very hostile. What a place to live!
As the tide drops, it quickly becomes evident that the rocks have tenants… and the tenants have squatters.
Colonies of limpets cling with considerable force to the rock surface. Their grasp is strong enough to even withstand the storms: and at low tide they can make themselves into a “diving bell” that resists the sun’s heat and retains moisture within the shell.
On top of the limpets- amazing numbers of barnacles, living, feeding, breeding, and surviving in their harsh environment. The whole rock is covered with a living armour. It is home, larder, protection and a foundation.
Perhaps you thought the photo is a bit dull…
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Most of us enjoy getting out into the countryside even if we don’t fancy the really wild landscapes of mountain or forest. Open spaces are satisfying to the soul.
This photo features a farm in Brittany, not far from Mont St Michel. Rich agricultural land produces great harvests: in the early summer, the fields were a patchwork of fields of vegetable and specialities in demand for the excellent local cuisine.
My attraction to this scene is the network of lines: fields are separated by lines of wind-breaking trees, and low earthworks and ditches. At first sight, it seems chaotic: however there is a clever and careful order that has been created by the farmers. Out of this structure comes fruitfulness- it is one of the most productive agricultural provinces. It is also home to wonderful cheese, and seafood caught locally is popular and excellent.
Left to itself, this rich land…
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Look, See, Pray 