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Dear sisters and brothers;

This is a picture of the entrance to our north pasture. Years ago it was the place where our horses spent the warm summer months. The clover and timothy are now nearly hip high, providing an ideal ecosystem for all the pollinators in the area. It is a haven for all kinds of God's wonderful creatures. Time seems to stand still here. 

This is the spot where I chose to say my evening prayers last night, for I knew that I was in the presence of the divine. I began by thinking about psalm 139, one of my favourite pieces of scripture. It brings me comfort because it speaks of the inescapable presence of God. 

There are times in our lives where the presence of God seems to fade a bit due to adversity. But we have to remember that God will never abandon us. The love and presence of God are everywhere, and as the words of the psalmist reassures us, we were loved by God even before we were born. 

PSALM 139

Lord, you have searched me out and know me, 

you know my sitting down and my rising up;

you discern my thoughts from afar. 

You trace my journeys and my resting places

and are acquainted with all my ways.

Indeed, there is not a word on my lips,

but you , O Lord, know it altogether. 

You press upon me behind and before

and lay your hand upon me. 

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

it is so high that I cannot attain to it. 

Where can I go then from your Spirit? 

where can I flee from your presence?

If I climb up to heaven, you are there;

If I make the grave my bed, you are there also. 

If I take the wings of the morning

and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

Even there your hand will lead me

and your right hand hold me fast. 

If I say "Surely the darkness will cover me,and the light around me turned to night"

Darkness is not dark to you;

the night is as bright as the day;

darkness and light to you are both alike. 

For you yourself created my inmost parts;

you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I will thank you because I am marvelously made;

your works are wonderful, and I know it well.

My body was not hidden from you,

while I was being made in secret

and woven in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes beheld my limbs, yet unfinished in the womb;

all of them were written in your book;

they were fashioned day by day,

when as yet there was none of them.

How deep I find your thoughts, O God!

how great is the sum of the! 

If I were to count them, they would be more in number

than the sand;

to count them all, my life span would need to

be like like yours. 

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My dear sisters and brothers, if you are struggling today, take the time to sit quietly, perhaps beneath the shade of your favourite tree, and feel the presence of God. 

God is in the wind

In every blade of grass

In every colour and hue in nature

Draw in a deep and healing breath

Your sorrows and joys are known to the God who made us all. 

We are not alone. 

God is here

Eternally inescapable. 

Let us pray 

Let us ask the Lord for a day of fulfillment and peace.

Let us ask the Lord to teach us to love others as he has loved us.

Let us ask the Lord for peace and justice in the world. 

Let us ask the Lord to strengthen and relieve those who are

in need. 

Let us ask the Lord to renew the church through the power of

his life-giving Spirit. 

Amen 

Diosito me los colme de bendiciones

Paz 

I love you 

John 

" Be still and know that I am God"