Reflections on Living in God's Creation.

Fabulous photo of the recent eclipse. The heavens do indeed declare the glory of our God!

Penny, they are here!!! Our Bee Eaters have arrived!! Spring is well and truly sprung!!! Praise God for His perfect creation.

They are back!! Our red rump swallows herald the return of Spring with such joy! We love these playful little birds who fly all the way from Asia and Africa to raise their young here in Southern Spain. Their familiar cry and aerial gymnastics bring us delight every year. Soon the pretty little Bee Eaters will join them in the skies above our villa and we will know the seasonal rhythm is just as our Father decrees! Joyfilled season!

Another delight within nature, which I am sure makes our Lord smile!! This is Pareidolia Rock, Harris Beach State Park, Oregon. It looks just like a penguin! So much around us to give us joy in our Father's beautiful creation. Enjoy!

This Holy Week, we celebrate the amazing grace of our Good Shepherd. The Shepherd who became the Sacrificial Lamb.

We have had rain!! It may be dirty rain, but it is giving life to our dry and parched desert landscape! We are not quite fully blooming, as in the image below, but we trust and have hope! We look to Isaiah's words in chapter 35!
"The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing."

Spring provides us with the realisation that everything, in season, is renewed. And that means us! Let's be kind to ourselves and seek out the time and places to renew ourselves, body, mind and spirit, and learn from our Father's constant messages in His Creation.

Such a lovely thought to begin the day. The signs of Spring are all around us and the birdsong is just beautiful in the mornings now. Our nesting wheatears are busy busy and they now have neighbours who have discovered our pergola roof! So lovely to see and hear. And we have many common swallowtail butterflies 🦋 in the garden now.

Some days you just KNOW you're the child of the King!!

The grandure of nature! But don't let it make you feel small, we have the same creator!!

Praying God's blessing on all Mothers this special Mothering Sunday. For those who have mothered children, not their own or who have lost children and those whose children have special health needs.. For mothers trying desperately to keep their children safe from war, hunger, abuse, or emotional distress. We pray for our Mother Earth too that we might honour her and for all of creation where providing for their young is a daily treadmill. There is so much love in caring for our young and the difficulties faced in keeping them safe. We pray for a blessed and peaceful, joyfilled day on this their special day.

God bless and rest well tonight.

Shouldn't we all help others!!!

Just a beautiful photo this morning! We can learn so much from animals. If only our war-like nations could learn too.

The first day of Spring! We still have strong 'change of season' winds, but we are leaving the slumbers of winter behind. It is the time for new beginnings, rebirth and new life.
I love how nature teaches us resilience and determination! The little seed in our image has pushed its way through solid rock and blossomed. Doesn't it make us wonder how compassion, kind words and acts of love and acceptance can germinate even within the hardest hearts? We never know what happens to the seeds we sow each day. But our Father sees and our prayers, words and actions may well grow into a love for Jesus in the hearts of those who are seeking. Never give up!

These two old olive trees really captured my imagination! Seen apart, they look as though they are dancing in elegant moves, but from different sides, they look as though they are dancing as one! They looked so beautiful and as their branches, trimmed in lovely circles, reached upwards, it seemed almost mystical! They really seemed engrossed in a silent elegant dance together. I hope you enjoy their beauty too.

A lovely reflection on God's creation!

As dark clouds gather, isn't this the most comforting word from the Psalms.
Rest in peaceful sleep tonight.

It was such a glorious morning here in Llanos that we decided to take a walk through the ramblas. The sun was shining and as we walked, we passed all the beautiful almond trees, now in bloom from white to delicate pink to strong pink. Tree after tree, it was lovely. These trees are only really beautiful in blossom because as the leaves and nuts appear, they get quite aggressive spikes and the nuts aren't easy to either harvest or break open!
But this morning it wasn't only their lovely blossoms, their fragrance hung in the morning air. It was gorgeous! Fragrances stay with you, don't they? I remember the floral scents when I was younger, Lily of the Valley, Gardenia, Lavender and Roses, to name afew. And this morning I thought of the fragrance of Jesus in the days leading to His death. The beautifully fragrant oil with which He was anointed must have permeated His skin and hair, giving a fragrance which travelled with Him as He rode into Jerusalem on that young donkey. Like the fragrance of these lovely almond blossoms stays with us, a memory of our walks here, so that fragrance must have stayed with Jesus' followers as they recalled being near to Him. I thought how lovely to "bear the fragrance of God's Presence. We bear witness of our relationship with God through Jesus Christ's victory as an aroma unto life for those who have yet to believe"
2 Corinthians 2 14-16

I found this and thought it such a lovely blessing, I hope you enjoy it.

When the rains come, enjoy!!!

A perfect thought to help us embrace the restfulness of nature in these colder months. We have rain here at last and the sound on the roof is so comforting to snuggle up with. We need these times so much.

It is just the beginning of February but signs of Spring are all around us. The unusually warm days, up to 27 degrees, have made some trees and flowers bloom earlier than they should. There are still the strong winds ahead as the seasons change, and they can pull the soft blossom from the branches, leaving a paucity of fruit for the summer. It does make me reflect how we are often moved to start giving of ourselves too quickly, reading the influences around us out of their season. We blossom and bloom in good times, only to find ourselves without anything to offer once storms and trouble have passed. Our roots need to go so deep into our Lord and receive balance in our lives, so that we are not misled by what appears to be good, but may be out of season.
So here is my first, very early, iris and some other lovely blooms. The blossoms of the almond trees are beautiful, delicate and fragrant. I pray they survive the winter winds yet to come.