Matthew 6:25-34

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

Spring loveliness

Stop. Take a breath, a deep breath. Count to 10, or 20 if you like, or pick some completely random number just for fun. Look around you. Notice the colours, textures, pictures around you. Listen.

As it seems to be the first gloriously sunshiny spring day in Melbourne for the year, I thought I'd stop and appreciate it. So, taking an old tablecloth to sit on, myself, my pillow, my journal, a book, and my laptop, out into the garden I went to reacquaint myself with spring. Yes, it is finally here!! The soft breeze, the differing shades of green and foliage emerging, and the buzzing insects are strangely calming to me (well, maybe not the insects!), and I find myself so glad to be alive. As I've mentioned on here earlier, I've never been a fan of lugubrious winters, no matter how cozy it may feel to sit in front of a roaring fire with friends.

Moments like this make me wonder how amazing eternity will be. It's a concept we mere mortals cannot fully grasp, and at times scares me, but when I look at the beauty of God's creation even despite the consequences of the fall, and flip through endless pages of God's promises in my Bible... well, words fail. How great is God? I cannot answer, I have not the depth of words or understanding to respond as I ought. All I know is, as Isaac Watts poetically expresses it,

Were the whole realm of nature mine,

Such were an offering far too small;

Love so amazing, so divine,

Demands my soul, my life, my all.

No matter what trials and troubles may come at me tomorrow, I just want to be thankful for the gift of today. :-)

Join all the glorious names

Join all the glorious names

Of wisdom, love, and power,

That ever mortals knew,

That angels ever bore:

All are too mean to speak His worth,

Too mean to set my Saviour forth.

Great Prophet of my God,

My tongue would bless Thy Name;

By Thee the joyful news

Of our salvation came, --

The joyful news of sins forgiven,

Of hell subdued, and peace with heaven.

Jesus, my great High Priest,

Offered His blood and died;

My guilty conscience seeks

No sacrifice beside:

His powerful blood did once atone,

And now it pleads before the throne.

My dear Almighty Lord,

My Conqueror and my King,

Thy scepter and Thy sword,

Thy reigning grace, I sing:

Thine is the power: behold, I sit

In willing bonds before Thy feet.

Now let my soul arise,

And tread the tempter down:

My Captain leads me forth

To conquest and a crown:

A feeble saint shall win the day,

Though death and hell obstruct the way.

Isaac Watts, 1674-1748