Friday, September 29, 2006
-5:09 pm
Finally, promos are over.
I sincerely thank God for keeping me, especially through the past few weeks with little rest and long hours of study time (i.e. the self-imposed and rigorous process of stuffing my brain with (almost) everything that was taught for the entire year).
Without His peace guarding my heart and mind, the hope I clung on to knowing that He will carry me, and the assurance that He is in control, I wouldn't have survived quite unscathed. Battle wounds include big, dark, eyebags, a runny nose (a symptom which exploded right after promos as though it has been holding back all along for the right time) and a very slowly working brain because of the prolonged exertion of the past intense four days.
I've been spending the most of today sleeping and lazing around, which I haven't done in AGES.
And, as you can see, I took some time to change my blogskin. Nope, I didn't design it-
evidently. I haven't once changed my blogskin since I started blogging. See how risk-adverse I am? Tsk tsk. I'm somewhat uncomfortable with change (well, depending on what
kind of change)- that's why God usually has to use a sledge-hammer on me.
Although I don't really like these kinds of layouts in which there's only a tiny area for you to scroll through, I decided to give it a try. Experimentation, I call it. It does come with risks. But I have cautiously saved my old template somewhere, like a good, kiasee Singaporean who's always prepared with backups- in the remote case of our machines failing us. However, it is important to note that the chances of me completely sabotaging my own blog are increased tenfold because I am an html
noob.So, please kindly comment on this makeover. If you find that it's
1. really difficult to navigate around the page and
2. that it's immensely irritating to have to scroll up and down quite a number of times just to read the entire tagboard,
I will gladly rid you of the inconvenience and revert back to my good old Kisses From Heaven layout that Sandra did for me. Sidebars are always your safest bet. (:
No, I won't be offended by your (constructive) criticism so do feel free to comment! Thankee.
0comments
Sunday, September 24, 2006
-2:26 pm
I have decided to follow Jesus
I have decided to follow Jesus
I have decided to follow Jesus
No turning back, no turning back.
The world behind me, the cross before me
The world behind me, the cross before me
The world behind me, the cross before me
No turning back, no turning back.
It's all or nothing,
for extravagant love; My Lord and King deserves nothing less.
With what He has given me, especially grace for so undeserving a sinner, it time's to give back- to give my best for Him, for His kingdom, His Purpose.
Though none go with me, still I will follow
Though none go with me, still I will follow
Though none go with me, still I will follow
No turning back, no turning back.
Dead to worldly dreams, I'll stand counted as a fool.
No turning back, no turning back.
0comments
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
-8:47 pm
See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.
Where my own words fail me, songs fill the void.
HE WILL CARRY ME
Mark Schultz
(listen)
I call, You hear me
I've lost it all
And it's more then I can bear
I feel so empty
Your strong, I'm weary
I'm holding on
But I feel like giving in
But still You're with me
And even though I'm walking
Through the valley of the shadow
I will hold tight to the hand of Him
Whose love will comfort me
And when my hope is gone
And I've been wounded in the battle
He is all the strength that I will ever need
He will carry me
I know I'm broken
But You alone
Can mend this heart of mine
You're always with me
And even though I'm walking
Through the valley of the shadow
I will hold tight to the hand of Him
Whose love will comfort me
And when my hope is gone
And I've been wounded in the battle
He is all the strength that I will ever need
He will carry me
He will carry me
And even though I feel so lonely
Like I have never been before
You never said it would be easy
But You said You'd see me through the storm
And even though I'm walking
Through the valley of the shadow
I will hold tight to the hand of Him
Whose love will comfort me
And when my hope is gone
And I've been wounded in the battle
He is all the strength that I will ever need
He will carry me
0comments
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
-9:16 pm
by Mark Schultz
(duet with Rachael Lampa)(
listen)
Packing my bags this morning
Was the hardest thing to do
But packing my bags was so easy
Compared to standing outside your door right now
to say goodbye to you
Think of me
I know you've never seen me cry
Think of me
But it's so hard to say goodbye
Think of me
What can I say to show you
I'll never give up on you
I will be waiting for you
I will be there when you call
I will see you through it all
And even in your darkest hour
I pray that the Lord we found
Will set you on solid ground
I know that it feels like leaving
It's a part of letting go
But I'm praying with hope and believing
That I'll see you once again down this road
I hope that it won't be long
Think of me
I know God brought you as a friend
Think of me
I know He'll bring you back again
Think of me
What can I say to show you
I'll never give up on you
I will be waiting for you
Think of me
I know you've never seen me cry
Think of me
But it's so hard to say goodbye
Think of me
What can I say to show you
I'll never give up on you
I will be waiting for you
-------------------------------------------------
I'm beginning to like Mark Schultz's music. (Maybe I should pester Mike to lend me his album.) Remember Me, Give Us Clean Hands and He Will Carry Me are beautiful songs. I love his lyrics and arrangement, which are evidently God-inspired. His songs are just so uplifting, full of feelings and sentimental nuances that somehow resonate with me. The music touches you right there- your heart.
Such is the power of just notes strung together in sequences, resounding in choral harmony, of the right accents dropped in at the right places, together with the purposefully crafted words which convey more than just its dictionary meaning through the voice's expression of a whole spectrum of emotions.
W o w .
Whenever I think about music, I think about God. I stand amazed at this splendid gift that God has given to some- the precious, and sometimes innate, ability to create not just mere sounds, but beautiful music which has the power to touch, move and change even the hardest of hearts.
0comments
Monday, September 04, 2006
-8:43 pm
Michelle!!!!!! You've got to seriously stop slacking and start studying.I haven't done any mugging since the hols started, unless you count PW to be substantial enough for work. I am so so so IRRITATED with myself. I've been mostly sleeping off the accumulated fatigue from the school term to alleviate my sleep deficit over the weekend. I spent the first good half of today watching TV. WATCHING TV. It's all Joel's fault. He's forever either on the computer mapling or on the couch watching TV. And once I join him, that's it- I'll be glued there for at least an hour before I can manage to pry myself away. Funny, before this week, I couldn't remember the last time I watched TV.
Somehow, despite this nagging voice at the back of my head reminding me that promos are less than 3 weeks away, I cannot seem to overcome the horrible inertia that inadvertently paralyses my body whenever I slip into this almost trance-like, semi-conscious mode of zero productivity.
Besides, I have this tantalizing stack of library books that I so want to devour if only I had the time: (Somewhat psycho-feminist) Margaret Atwood, Creme de la Femme- women's humour, and other littish, intellectual pickings to beef up my knowledge for my H3 literature topic. Reading is such a permissible pleasure, but not when you have a billion and one topics to cover for 6 subjects in a grand total of 19 days.
And, I'm getting this HUGE guilt trip from Sara because she and a few others spent the entire day in school today studying. When I called her at 7.30pm, she was just leaving school. !!! So, in my frantic attempt to start studying, I'm going over to Nah's tomorrow,
away from all distractions (I hope). The grand plan states that wednesday and friday will be mug-day in church and thursday will be the day I get owned by an impossible overdose of Econs and Maths back to back.
Ok, don't worry. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Repeat: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Amen!
What a
wonderfully relaxing holiday.
Ack I just remembered! I have dinner with Mrs. Tan tomorrow. Oh dear.
I need a miracle Lord.
3comments
Sunday, September 03, 2006
-11:16 pm
It is night.
I lie in bed and watch the flickering shadows
Of still objects shrouded in darkness save
For the rays of pale moonlight, metallic
And magical- gentle beams illuminating
Dim, inanimate forms with silvery tendrils.
This is when dreamless sleep is desired
But sleepless dreams transpire to my dread
Instead, wistfully, fitfully longing for the
Comforting sea of oblivion, into which
Waves of cares and worries ebb, ebb away.
This is where facts melt into fantasies
Whims and fancies swirl in and out
Of focus, colours of the imagination
Dance fairy-like in and out of consciousness
I haplessly drift.
I see faces, blurred by the grainy lenses
of memory,
Of fatigue and of waning resistance to the
Insipid lure of the land of perpetual dreaming
Where stories of the mind unfold like
Sepia-tinged movies in play-back mode.
Grotesque forms sometimes dominate a
Backdrop of panic, fear and frantic attempts to escape
From some unknown predator fast, fast gaining
On me I run and run and run and run through a
Long, long harrowing maze of never-ending
Passages and sinister stairways, not finding
My way home nor even a sign which points me
In the right direction. So lost I am
Awake.
With a start I glance at the clock- its luminous,
Green numbers tell me it's 2.07 AM. Still dark,
The world sleeps snugly, so ignorant of my fitful struggle
And of the stuff dreams are made of- it is not all sugar, spice
And everything nice.
Warily, I close my eyes, too tired to fight the flow
And grudgingly let the darkness
Overcome me.
This time the mind's eye takes a more pleasant view
Of fantasy's landscape, where warm, bright shades paint
A radiant tapestry of the heart's unspoken desires.
Of random reflections remembered,
Children, painting, at a table covered with adorable drawings
Of colourful stick figures, some messy, but beyond that
I see us, sitting on chairs too small for our grown bodies, patiently
Guiding small hands which clumsily grasped paintbrushes,
Cooing words of encouragement, before
A quiet calm, coy lull and then- an surprising move
I will always remember, of touch that awakened such
Beautiful sensations, of reassuring warmth, joy,
Of a destiny made certain,
In more than just what our eyes said,
but what our hands too conveyed.
Yet, to know that it is but a mere dream,
I would rather be running for my life, from reality.
It is night.
Perhaps, just dreamless sleep will do.
0comments