JACOB STRUGGLED FOR A BLESSING

1. Jacob struggled for a blessing
in the darkness all night long,
holding tightly to a stranger -
could he hear a distant song?
God of every person's future,
you gave him a change of name'
give to us a new direction
out of struggle, out of pain.

Jesus, you are the name of God,
Jesus, you are the face of God,
Jesus, you are the help of God,
keep us through our night

2. Jesus struggled in the garden
in the night of blood and tears.
He was lonely in the darkness,
though there was an angel near.
God of hope and transformation,
it took tears and pain and death
to destroy the power of evil,
to give us the Spirit's breath.

3. When we struggle in the darkness,
take away our fear and doubt.
In the dirt beneath the surface
quiet seeds begin to sprout.
God of great surprise and mystery,
make us constant in our prayer.
As we ask and search for answers,
may we come to know your care.

ALWS 5/10/23

To say I've been inactive on my website is a serious understatement! I've written nothing here since early 2021.

So, does this mean the world has stopped for us, that nothing is happening?
A major event for us in 2022 was moving house in October. We had been in Modbury Heights since July 1993.Now we're back in Klemzig.

In May we travelled to the Mentawai Islands in Indonesia, seeing work supported by Australian Lutheran World Service. Dorothy and I are Ambassadors for the ALWS programme, Lives You Touch. We are encouraging people to leave money in their will for the work of ALWS. We committed to leave a third of our will many years ago and hope many others can touch lives in this way.
Since then we have visited Box Hill & Loxton with Jonathan & Julie Krause as part of the Asante presentations, promoting the cause of ALWS. Still to come this year are Asante events in Toowoomba & Rochedale (Nov 26 & 27) and Perth (Dec 10)

Looking forward to seeing many people on these occasions.