HERE WE ARE

1. Here we are, under this sky —
oh, what a land to live in.
How did we come to be in such a place?
A sky that talks day after day,
telling of endless glory,
the glory of God, the work of his own hands.

But how do we say our thankyous?
Anything would be far too small.
How do we show we care?
We could try to share.

2. Here we are, under your roof —
safe and secure you make us.
You are the rock, the centre of our land.
Jesus here, speaking our names —
oh what a gift his word is —
making us part of his own family.

But how do we say our thankyous?
Anything would be far too small.
How do we show we've heard?
We could spread the word.

3. Here we are, richer than kings,
all that we need provided,
more than enough for this life and beyond. Jesus' blood, shed on the cross,
healing our broken bodies,
filling us up with his new kind of life.

But how do we say our thankyous?
Anything would be far too small.
How do we pass it on?
We could sing his song.

1988. Written for the sesquicentenary of the Lutheran Church of Australia. I left Horsham at 6.40 am, early May, 1999. I noticed the sky already when I was packing the car. Deep, rich colours, lightening towards dawn. I had to watch the road, but I kept glancing off to the right to see the show. Too little time to appreciate all that beauty . . . And thinking: we humans seem determined to ruin as much of this glorious gift as quickly as possible; instead of enjoying it, we rush about trying to destroy it! How do we say our thankyous? By conserving, not exploiting. By sustaining, not exhausting.

30.9.24
 

Back from a Break 

 

During September, Dorothy and I travelled
to Norway and the UK.

After long flights
- Adelaide to Melbourne,
Melb to Dubai (14 hrs),
Dubai to Oslo (7 hrs) -
we did Norway in a nutshell
from Oslo to Bergen, then
the Hurtigruten Cruise 
up the west coast of Norway
and back again.
Then an 8 day Trafalgar tour
and 4 days in London,
before taking the direct flight
(16 3/4 hrs)
from Heathrow to Perth.
We're a bit tired (!) but we'll still be a part
of the LWA convention and the 
General Convention .

See some of you there.