In the breeze

Drinking a lot of wine can be a funny thing, because you never how it's going to effect you. I love it when I just sing (badly) at the top of my voice, and dance as if no one is watching. It's like my whole body comes alive and music turns into liquid oil running through my veins, not a bit of me able to keep still or silent. A state of ecstasy, full of joy, completely free. Other times I'm a complete wreck; crying my heart out, tears and snot running down my face - its not pretty!  Or I've felt invincible, as if the impossible no longer exists. All insecurities or fear of failure,  evaporate.  I've been so intoxicated that I can't stand and all I can do is lie on a heap on the floor until the weightiness lifts. And there's the talking none stop in words no one else seems to understand.  This could be my memories of over doing alcohol, in my teens and twenties, but it's actually a description of being filled with the Holy Spirit.  Having tried both, ther...

  I discovered last year that I'm neuro-diverse! There are great things about seeing the world in  a different way. My mind is both linear and abstract all at the same time. I'm creative and a bit random, but not random at all! I can look in the boot of a car and see in an instant if and how luggage is going to fit. My mind works full speed pretty much constantly which means I fit in huge amounts of thoughts in, in a small amount of time.   But then there are the negatives. One thing that has been a struggle for me, is to get from seeing a task that needs doing, to completing it. This has left me, many time, feeling like a bit of a failure!   Then a couple of weeks ago,  an amazing friend prayed, like the Bible says, for a renewal of my mind. And the Holy Spirit answered.   He explained to me that my mind had something like traffic lights going off. Getting laundry from dirty state, all the way to being in cupboards has had around 6 sets of t...

I hear the Spirit say  "How I long for your gaze. Long for you to lift up your eyes and see the love I have for you. It is without measure and in my perfect love, your fears will flee. Come close enough to listen to my heartbeat.  Don't be eager to leave. Wait and listen until your heart beats the same rhythm as mine. Until your heart responds, as I do. Synchronise with me. Hunger for me, as I hunger for you. Turn off the constant distractions that are as annoying as a fly and allow yourself to hear the cry of your spirit for more of me. Can you feel the desire growing in you, to be even closer to me? Do you long to taste the new wine I have prepared for you?  Are you eager to receive the gifts I have ready to bestow upon you?   For now, lay down the treasures others have found and seek me for yourself. Don't be satisfied with second-hand revelation but hunger for the fresh bread I have hidden, waiting for you to find. Find ME on my pages, and let me nourish you...

As a florist, b e tw een working with a knife, stabs from r ose thorns and handling wet stems and oasis, my hands take a bit of a battering with work. I've had burns, glass cuts, fingers shut in doors, and even lost a nail many moons ago. If you look at my hands, they're showing their age, but there's no sign of all they've been through. I've got scars in other places. I was quite a clumsy child and had numerous scrapes and bumps. I fell over in an oil-covered car park when I was ten years old and had a black knee well into my thirties. I've had two children, and my body has kept the memory of the stretching. But my skin didn't remain stretched! Amazing! The human body is an absolute masterpiece. I'm delighted to have saucepans that were wedding presents, still going strong, yet I'm rarely thankful that my body has been working continually for nearly twice the time and, on the whole, is doing a great job. We are not only fearfully and wonderfully mad...

Peacocks are often used as a symbol of pride with their flashy "Look at me!" tail and loud "I'm here" hoot, yet I heard from our Father that in this next season, He is looking for the Church to be more peacock-like. See how the feathers collectively draw the hen's attention to notice the bird. In the same way, the Church is to stand in unity, side by side, all "eyes" and action directing the world to the head that wears the crown - King Jesus. There's no pushing for place, no individualism, but each feather takes the position it's been assigned. There is room for all stages of growth due to the support system, and we will support each other significantly across generations, communities, tribes and nations.   The peacock's feathers aren't self-made and have no life apart from the bird. Jesus said that we are to abide in Him. He knows that removed from His body, we become ornamental at best! Attached, the feathers see what He sees and...

 The Spirit of the Lord says "I am dealing with the trauma and shame you have lived under. That which binds and confines you. That which makes you feel small and insignificant. Come to me, yielded, knowing that I am a Good Father. Allow me to remove the heavy armour you wear over your heart that keeps you from intimacy with me. I have beauty for your ashes. But first you must bring to my altar all that needs burning. Will you let me make the exchange? Do not fear my anger. That is reserved for the proud, for those who  refuse to humble themselves. Come quickly, for I am waiting to pour out my Glory on the prepared Bride." Isaiah 61:3, 6-8 And provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. And you will be called priests of the Lord, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boa...

 Isn't it amazing that trees get rid of their toxins through dropping their leaves. First they take back all of the goodness,  then all that's left is the waste product, displayed for all to see. Bit more glamorous than the mammal kingdom! 🤭  But this year, the trees seem to be holding on to their greenness, stubbornly refusing to recognise the change of the season. I've been pondering this and asking the Holy Spirit if there's something for us to take note of. He is ready to blow on His church, but there are things that we are reluctant to let go of - control, politeness, dignity, tradition (not necessarily old traditions, anything we do repeatedly, can become a tradition) unforgiveness, offence, to name a few. We know, of course that the leaves will be blown off in the next few weeks, whatever their colour, and so too the wind of the Holy Spirit will remove what no longer brings fullness of life to the Body. He is looking for those who respond to the heart of God,...