lifesong
Everyone needs compassion
Love that's never failing
Let mercy fall on me
Everyone needs forgiveness
The kindness of a Saviour
The hope of nations
Saviour, He can move the mountains
My God is mighty to save
He is mighty to save
Forever author of salvation
He rose and conquered the grave
Jesus conquered the grave
So take me as you find me
All my fears and failures
Fill my life again
I give my life to follow
Everything I believe in
Now I surrender
Shine your light in
Let the whole world see
We're singing, for the glory
Of the risen King
Jesus, Shine your light in
Let the whole world see
We're singing for the glory
Of the risen king
Friday, August 19, 2005
-11:10 pm
OK, I'm breaking my vow of not blogging for three weeks until exams are over but I really can't help it, there's so much I want to record.
My tawg has been getting better by the day, ever since I prayed with Schezn on sunday. I thank God for giving me such beautiful revelations. I'm currently doing Genesis and going through Joseph's story. It's one of my favourite Bible passages because his trial and hardship was really hell, but God was with him the whole time (this phrase was repeated 4 times in chapter 39!), blessing him in whatever he did and granting him favour in the eyes of so many.
Thursday's class cell with Mrs. Tan and Mr. Chia was great. Well, God spoke to me about this verse as my bio teacher was sharing about his favourite verse and its meaning . Often people ask questions, wondering what is there to live on for, why are there so many trials and tribulations, problem after problem which never seem to go away. I know I do. But I believe here's God's answer to that:
The verse is from 2 corinthians 4:7-9. First, some background info on 1 and 2 corinthians. In 1 corinthians, the church of corinth was a young church so Paul addressed more of teething problems, basic things that a young church would face. But in 2 corinthians, the church was more mature and hence he moved on to more intimate topics.
2 Corinthians 4:7-97But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
I've always wondered what the significance of the "jars of clay" is. Then my bio teacher said that it was a metaphor, for how you know these earthen jars are made of clay. God has called us to be like these jars of clay, and inside us, we hold God's all-surpassing power and glory. But in order for the light to shine and His glory to be seen by the people around us, we have to be first broken, broken down to shards and pieces of pottery. The Potter's Hand has shaped us into these jars of clay for His purposes. If we are not broken, God's glory will not be seen. This speaks volumes about how we as His children have to be humble and broken in spirit, and for us to be broken, we must constantly face problems and trials, hardships which will break us, allow God to work and His glory to shine forth in all the world. That's why we always seem to face never ending problems in life. Yes, Christ died for our sins, we are God's children and we have no more condemnation in Christ Jesus, but God never promised a smooth flight, only a safe landing. We will always go through problems and tough times, walk through deserts seemingly alone but God is with us. Every single thing we go through is for a purpose, God has a reason for allowing that to happen.
Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
But like Joseph, we have to continually trust Him to bring us through it and guide us. The bigger our destiny, the long and harsher our preparation process will be. God put Joseph through really trying times, to refine him as gold, in order to make him a worthy vessel for His use, to one day be in charge of the whole of Egypt during the famine. God has a great calling for you, and you need to be ready for it. So don't be discouraged by what is happening. Accept the challenge and allow God to work. He might not reveal to you His plans immediately, but just trust that He knows what He's doing. He wants to prosper you, not to harm you, to give you hope and a future. I always hold this promise close to my heart.
Well, today was a rather productive day, in more than one way. Cynthia has been really spiralling down into a depressed mood with her getting unconsolably upset over a literature performance task result. Sigh. Life's so much more than that, it doesn't define her worth or significance as a person. She's just taking everything so hard, especially when things don't meet her high expectations. I'm concerned for her because JC next year will definitely be so much tougher, with a new syllabus, new school, new environment and our grades will most surely go plummetting, coupled with increased competition from the RI guys and other O-level students, she won't be able to cope with that. I've said all that I could say to counsel her, tried all kinds of methods and approaches, mostly soft ones. But I realised that she'd jolly well snap out of it or face a certain fate next year. So I figured she needed a proper wake up call.
Took her aside and just gave her a piece of my mind. She was really agitated at first, accusing me of not understanding her and having everything going well for me that I can't feel what she feels. Didn't expect her to react that way but well, I can't blame her. She was already emotional before I talked to her. Thank goodness for Juliet who was peacemaker when I wanted to walk off in exasperation. After that, and apparently after she was in her right mind, she apologised but she didn't have to apologise to me. She has really beaten herself up bad.
Well, at least I know she listens to and remembers what I say. And I'm glad she still wants to hold on to God.
Got back my THT lit diary entry PT and guess what--- I got full marks! That's so miraculous because the day before the test, smart, intelligent me forgot to bring home my book! How can anyone study for a text-based exam without the text? But God has proven faithful by helping me with it. And this is the testimony of His goodness! Praise the Lord!
Studied together with Hannah, Brandon, Marcus, Daniel, Dinesh, Schezn and Amanda today in church. God provided an open room for us on the 3rd floor fortunately, which we later found out was booked by Bro. Victor. Was pretty productive, except that I was so lousy at maths that I couldn't get the answer for most of the sums I was doing. And I thought that integration was a lot easier than differentiation. Hmph. Hannah and I tried to dethrone Brandon as the Maths Pro by asking Marcus for help and boycotting him, but in the end, we had to concede that he really is good at maths.
I'm glad that Brandon told me to stop teasing/ insulting him and the others, and I appreciate it. I can get carried away, by my natural sarcastic puns which I can't resist saying because well, sigh I don't know. But I'll try to be mindful of my words, think before I speak and tame my tongue. Then again, Brandon didn't seem very tactful when he said this to Hannah: Are you very stressed? You have pimples popping up all over the place. Then we all went, "Crucify him! He should be crucified!" Well, it was all in good fun. Today, Brandon and I both learnt a lesson each (:
Whee, wrote a record of two songs today! Wrote another one last midnight. It came to me while I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth. Today, I was playing the piano in the school foyer and managed to scribble down the melody when the inspiration came. And just now after my jog, while I was figuring out that melody on the piano, another song was created! God is AMAZING. So now I have 5 songs by my name (: Hope I can continue to write songs like that, with this frequency. Bro. Victor heard me play the piano in PJ one night after cell and he asked me to join the worship ministry. I was of course elated, but at the same time so unsure of myself because I wasn't that good. Oh wells, if Bro. Victor can go from tone-death to song-writer, worship leader, keyboard player, guitar player, drummer extraordinaire, I can too (: It's the heart that counts and I believe with God's musical annointing, which I can already feel flowing through my veins, will help me to learn fast and then start serving Him really soon! I'm so excited.
But first, I have to clear the hurdle of the EOYs. It's late so I shall go now. Will post some great songs I've heard recently.
2comments
2 Comments
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at 3:58 am
blah said...
You really are a blessing, Michelle. I really enjoy reading how God is working in your life & the lessons you are learning because of it.
If you have the gift [of writing/playing music] then definitely let God take you wherever He wishes. Unfortunately, I am just recently realizing that even though I am not completely confident in my guitar playing, I can still use the calling that has been on my heart to play for the Youth Ministry at my church. Just have to take more time & practice, but I am heading back to college in 8 days. Well...there's still time, & it's never too late to be used by Him ^^
Wish I could write lyrics, haha. I tried writing some last night after figuring out exactly what I wanted to play on guitar. I'm just not good at it, but I'm trying anyway.
That's awesome that God got you through your testing in that tight spot. I know for sure you prayed like crazy that He would bring everything back to your memory. I'm glad He did, & your level of faith is that much higher because of it.
"...I will never leave you or forsake you...all things [good and bad] will work together for the good of those who love me and are called according to his purpose."
It's promises like that that keep me wanting more of Him in my life.
Keep standing by your friends & encouraging them the only way you know how.
Err...sorry about the long comment. I guess I have a lot to chat with you about at some point or another. Best to you on your exams! God bless.
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at 1:55 pm
Mich. said...
Thanks for your long comment Alexiel, I like them lengthy so you're more than welcome to write as much as you want (: For me, writing lyrics is a very natural thing. Usually I write the melody first, then I fit in the lyrics. I always try to vary my use of vocabulary. Alternatively, you can "cheat" by using MS Word's thesaurus, though I don't do that. I guess for me, I'm a language person so the flow of words comes pretty easily.
I like to write songs which describe God's beauty, His creations, His goodness, His greatness and how He brings me out of the valleys. There are two kinds of songs, according to my worship min. adult leader: ministering and worship songs. Ministering songs will be like the very first one I wrote, and the casting crowns songs. Worship songs will be more like hillsong music. I write more ministering songs but I do have a few mid-tempo worship songs.
I usually write songs at the piano, just doing what I call "flowing" or improvisation- that means letting my fingers play the keys and going with my emotions- and when I'm fiddling with the guitar. Sometimes, I can't write a song when I sit down and aim to write one. It depends on the inspiration. A tune came to me once while I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth (:
I guess I'm also being influenced by my friends in church. My cell last year is very musically talented. We're still pretty close although we've been split into two cells this year. We have a guitarist (he's really pro and he's my shifu), a drummer, two keyboardists, three vocalists, and one basist. Most of us can double up for more than one role. We were planning to form a band and jam together after the others have finished their O-levels exams. God has abundantly blessed us more than we can imagine and we're going to make sure we use those gifts to impact lives for Him.
I'm glad that you have followed your calling as well. Keep shining for Jesus! (: