ANOTHER DAY - morning
You've given us another day of life,
help us to receive it as a gift from you.
You've opened up our eyes to see the light,
help us celebrate the gift, enjoy the view.
As we start the day, a new adventure —
the place is here, the time is now —
give to us an ever trusting heart,
Jesus, you are meeting us in every here and now.
ANOTHER DAY -evening
You've given us another day of life,
thank you for the air, the sun, the sky, the sea,
in every changing moment so much life,
thank you for the wonder and the mystery.
As we end the day, the earth is turning —
farewell the sun, the stars appear —
give to us an ever peaceful mind,
Jesus, when we sleep or when we wake you're always near.
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1994. This short morning/evening song grew from several seeds. The first was the waking sense of a new day presented like a gift. Also, the idea of everyday living as an "adventure" is a thought I'd had for years and it just needed the right song to appear in. But two other factors really made major contributions. The first of these was a tape Dorothy gave me for Fathers Day (first Sunday in September). American storyteller and humorist, Garrison Keillor, in a piece called "Thoreau on the subway" concludes: "...we only live one place, and here we are... and why else would anyone live here if not to observe reality." Many people talk of living in another life, at another time. I don't think we know about that. This is the moment, here is the place - let's live! The second was the film "Priscilla: Queen of the Desert", which we'd been to see the week before I wrote the song. What a celebration of life, a revelling in colour, an enjoyment of sheer existence - about three drag queens travelling through the Australian outback, from Sydney to Alice Springs. I heard God talking in that movie - in the scenery, the costumes, the people, the relationships - much more clearly than I often hear in a church. God's good news should be that enjoyable, not a burden, something weighing us down with a feeling of "someone is trying to get at me here!" |
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.