Meditation – May 2012

•09/05/2012 • 2 Comments

“If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with gettingso you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

Matthew 6 v 30 – 33

Choose God

Of all choices

Everyday

First

Mind fully

Heart fully

Soul fully

Will fully

Choose God

Make all other choices

As He would

Out of Love

In Love

Underpinned by Love

Saturated

Satisfied

Inwardly

Outwardly

In His Love

Through His Spirit

Choose God

Words and Photographs © Denise Stanford 2012

Meditation – April 2012

•06/04/2012 • 2 Comments

Don’t be fooled

By the weight of the world

There is One

Who shares

All you carry now

Look up

See the King of Glory

Our Gentle Lord

His hands

Held out for you

His Love

Written there

For all to see

In

Open wounds

The price He paid

For your freedom

For your love

For your joy

For You

He whispers

Fear not

I am with you always

Therefore

Always

Believe Him

Always

Acknowledge Him 

Always

Look for Him

Always

Listen for Him

Always

Share with Him

Always

Include Him

As Lover

As Saviour

As Redeemer

As Word

As Lord

Jesus came to them and said:

I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth! Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world.

Matthew 28 v 18-20 NKJ

Words and Photographs © Denise Stanford 2012

Images captured at Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show 2012 –  Dew drops by God

Prayer Bracelet: The Life of Christ

•05/04/2012 • 2 Comments


With prayer band in hand

Use the beads 

To review

To refocus

To reawaken

To remind

To reorient

To recollect

To rediscover

The Life of Christ

Hold the God Bead

Remember Christ

One of Trinity

Word With God at Creation

He came to Earth

At the Father’s bidding

Returning to Him

To reign

He sends the Holy Spirit

As Comforter

Each of the Trinity are God

The One who loves us so much

He would sacrifice part of Himself

To reach us…

1st pause in Silent Awe

[Do not skip the pauses

Most important

Focus on resting in God

Listen for the Voice of the Shepherd

Make it an Attitude of Gratitude]

“Step out of the traffic and take a long loving look at me…” Ps 46v10 Msg

Hold the ‘me’ Bead

In Christ

God became man

Human and Divine

Leaving Glory throne

Born as a baby

Small

Vulnerable

Surrendering all

To show

How deep His love

Almighty God

Suddenly subjected

To human frailty

With

Limitations

With

Corruption

As a boy

He grew

Part of a family

Part of community

Taking up the family trade

As a carpenter

He knew

Failure

Frustration

Satisfaction

He experienced

Cuts

Splinters

Grazes

Aches and pain

Hunger and thirst

Tears and laughter

Loves and scorn

Like you

Like me

All the time Knowing

Heaven with all the angels

At His command

All the time Knowing

Oneness with God

He chose to

Put it all aside

For Human life

For Human experience

No shortcuts

For you

For me

Pause in Silent Wonder

Hold the Bead of the Baptised

Jesus

Obedient to the Father

Setting the example

By dying to Self

In the waters of Baptism

Humbling Himself

Before the crowds

Before The Baptistiser

Jesus

Sets the example

Always

From the beginning

To the culmination

Of His ministry

He humbled Himself

To keep us close

            Pause in Silent Amazement

Hold One Wilderness Bead

From waters of Baptism

To dusty dryness

Christ enters

Wilderness

40 days

40 nights

He fasts

Spending time with Father

Battling Satan

We read

How He

Desperately Hungry

Was Enticed

To abuse

Power

To change

Elements

To food

For His own sake

We read

How He

Weakened before God

He was inveigled

To abuse Power

Casting Himself down

To be rescued by Angels

Cheating Death

With no price paid

We read

How He

Humble before God

He was seduced

To abuse power

Taking charge

To control

Earth kingdoms

Imposing His will

Removing ours

All designed

To tear apart

Divine

Human

Jesus

With

Determination

Wisdom

Authority

By Christ

Wields

The Word of God

Overcoming

Satan’s

Temptations

Pause in Silent Gratitude

Hold the Bead Serenity 

Blue like water and sky

Think of

His work

His Word

Among us

This bead reminds me

Wandering by Galilee Sea

Gathering disciples

Uneducated men

Turning water

To wine

For feast and celebration

His face turned skywards

Finding Zacheaus in the tree

Understanding

As only the Son of God could do

Bringing forgiveness

Peace

To some

Stirring the establishment

Polarising

Challenging

Shaking them to the core

He brought regional change

With

Equity

Love

Hope

Light

Exposing falsehood

Climbing a mountain

Against a blue sky

He gave the Sermon that remains

A deep

Eternal example

How to Live

Kingdom of God

In Him

We can know

Serenity

Doing God’s work

Fulfilling His Will

Pause in Silent Expectation

Hold the Beads of the Heart

Consider

God’s Love

Expanding

To embrace us

In His Love

Through the Son

Putting aside

Heaven’s Crown

For earthly Humility

Out of Love

To bring us Home

To show us

How

To Live

To Love

To Believe

Beyond evidence

To search

The Heart

For Whispers of Love

To look beyond

The everyday

To see the Eternal

Jesus came

Showing us how

To Love

To Love all

To Love us back

To the Father

The other side of the heart

Gives back

Gives out

Gives All

Gives Life

In love

Freely given

Freely received * Matt 10 v 8

Pause in Silent Adoration

Hold the Bead of Mysteries

Our Age

Of Information

Of Communication

Of Scientific rhetoric

Declares

We know all

We are in control

But…

Oh What Mysteries

Concerning Christ

Such Mysteries

Brought Christ to His knees

In Dark Garden

Weeping

Pleading with God

Enough to sweat blood

Do I really want

To see beyond the veil?

In that garden

At such a time

He prayed

He pleaded

For you

He prayed

He pleaded

For me

And still He intercedes

Such Love is indeed a mystery

Pause in Silent Exultation

Hold the Bead Distorted Dark

The deepest mystery of all

Rejecting

Man of Love

Accusing

Man of Truth

Execution

Guiltless man

Death

By Crucifixion

Nailing Down God

Suffocating

Cruel

Prolonged

Agony

Of Love

Finally

God turns

His face away

Christ takes

All

Upon Himself

World Sin

Distorted

Deformed

Desire

He Hangs Alone

Upon the Cross

With final

Breath breaks free

Yields His Spirit

Finishes it

Once and For All

Darkness gathers

Earth Quakes

Dead walk

Haunting the living

The Veil of Separation

Torn Asunder

Separates no more

Pause in Silent Sorrow

Hold now the Resurrection Bead

Lifeless body

Taken down

Lain with haste

In a borrowed tomb

Sealed away

In Death

In Darkness

He joins me

In Forgiveness

He meets me

In Newness of Life

Life eternal

In what for me

May have been an end

He writes

New Beginnings

Life Renewed

Forgiveness

Understanding

Healing

Delights

Not just on a human physical plane

I am transported

To a realm of dimensions

Beyond my knowledge

This is Resurrection Life

Christ risen from the grave

He overturns

Death

Separation through Sin

He overwhelms

The Evil one

Confounds him with Love

Christ my Saviour

Brings this Life Gift

To me

I am His

Powerless

To gain more

Powerless

To lose it

I surrender

I surrender all

Pause In Silent Surrender

Hold again the God Bead

Jesus Christ

Rose Again

Son of God

Opened the Tomb

Opened eyes

Opened Scriptures

Opened the Way

To Kingdom Life

Commission us

To Raise Others

Jesus Christ

Son of Man

Returned to God

He sends

Comforter

Paraclete Spirit

To teach

To guide

To breathe

His New Life

Into my everyday

Trinity

I am

Grateful beyond measure

I return to God

It was determined from the Beginning

I return to God

Father

Creator

Lover of my soul

And I am Home

In Him

Words and Pictures © Denise Stanford 2012

 

 

Passion of Christ

 

 

The Anointing

Point Impossible

•31/03/2012 • 7 Comments

The path leads skyward

I make my way

Carefully

The track

Softened

Rutted

By recent rains

Soon has me bogged

My helpmate rescues

Leading me to firmer ground

He walks ahead to check the way

Through the dunes

Past Melaleucas

Pressed low by winds

Lower still

Salt bush

Heath myrtle

Correa bells

Upon the rise

A Great Southern Ocean

Comes into view

Deep blue green

Constantly moving

Helpmate finds a place for me to pause

I can go no further in my wheelchair

My legs too weak for a steep decent to the shore

He goes ahead with camera

To capture the view

To be my eyes

My inspiration

I am alone amongst the Dunes

Closing my eyes

Soaking up the freshness

Nearby sand scatters in the wind

Brush beside me shakes with hidden wild

Wallaby, lizard, native rat

Even endangered bandicoot or fairy penguin

I see no one

On the distant horizon

A thunderhead

The deluge

Fills the gap between sea and sky

I am content

I am at peace

Here amidst

The Beauty

The Peace

God’s Creation

Far from Pure

Far from Simple

I am Grateful

Surrounded by His plenty

How I long to dip toes

In Autumn chill waters

Walk the long beach

Surf the waves

But…

I’d rather be here

Deficient

Flawed

In a wheelchair

In the presence of My Lord

Than running through the dunes

Without Him

Like the melaleuca

I am laid low

Twisted

Plaited

By the winds of change

By the harsh weather

By storms of Life

 

He uses all

He is carving Me

Sculpting Me

Creating a work of art

Of deeper beauty

Words and Pictures © Denise Stanford 2012

Making A Ragged Quilt

•20/03/2012 • 2 Comments

I cut 6 squares

Of soft flannel cotton

Colours fixed in salt rinse

With cuts along weaving lines

Weft and Warp

I collect my sewing things

Pure cotton thread

Needles

Bees wax

Pins

I make sandwiches

Of  colours

With white between

I pin

Then

Running thread through wax

To polish and strengthen

I hand back stitch

One to the other

Leaving a 1 inch edge

A machine stitch would do

So begins the beginning

Of a Ragged Quilt

I will need more flannel

Much more

112 coloured squares

56 white flannel squares as batting

Each square 9 inches

Allowing that 1inch seam

On each side

I piece by piece

According to the plan

Seams exposed on one side

Joins aligned

On the other

When complete

I fray the edges

Then using special shears

I clip’n snip

Making Ragged those 1 inch edges

To finish

A turn or two in  a washing machine

Helps finish the Ragged look

The Ragged Quilt

Honest

Simple

Warm

Snuggly

A comforter

For sick days and story time

For cats and Kids

And Young at Heart

Photographs and Words  © Denise Stanford 2012

Fiskars make a set of shears especially for Ragged Quilts

My Ragged Quilts are a variation of a Raggy Quilt the instructions for which can be found elsewhere on the net

See also…

A Lesson Learned the Hard Way  

Meditation – March 2012

•08/03/2012 • 2 Comments

 Jesus said ”Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”   Matthew 11 v 28-30 The Message

Be Still the clock

Refuse to hear

The tic tock of rapid day

The gun that starts

The ragged race

We run

Be Long With God

Choose the gentled pace

Of endless Time

He sets

Turn back to Him

Time stolen


Look to the Eternal

He who controls

Time and Tide

Winds of Change

Rhythms of Grace

He who would hold you

Close

Closer than the heart beat

Place your hand in His

Be together with God

Belong to God

Words and Watercolours © Denise Stanford 2012

Watercolours of  rock stacks known as 12 apostles, Port Campbell NP, Great Ocean Road, Victoria, Australia

Remember Children

•09/02/2012 • Leave a Comment

‘Let us remember that fun and laughter and a sense of security are as necessary as sunshine and milk and sleep to the growing child, who is not body only, but also mind and spirit…’ 

‘Let us not think meanly of our job  (care-givers to children) – the world moves forward on the feet of children – shoe buttons, blisters, elusive wellingtons, odd and undarned socks; these are all details in the building of tomorrow.’ 

Mrs G.M. Goldsworthy, Rommany  Nursery School, West Norwood   

Quote from ‘When The Children Came Home’ by Julie Summers, p 106/107  Simon and Schuster UK, 2011

 

 

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