One Thing Remains

As I sang to You, You hushed everything else and said

“Listen to my daughter as she sings to me”

My prayers are lifted up to You Lord. Be it this country that I was born in, the city I grew up in, the institute I study in, the church I serve in, the family I live with; whether it be me, I place it all into Your loving hands, believing and knowing, You will work all things good in accordance to Your will.

I trust You Lord. And to some that may not be enough, but it’s more than enough for me.
All I have is Your trust Lord, and I hold on to it so tightly.
May I never forget how precious I am to You.

Higher than the mountains that I face
Stronger than the power of the grave
Constant through the trial and the change
One thing remains
One thing remains

Your love never fails
it never gives up
it never runs out on me

On and one and on and on it goes
It overwhelms and satisfies my soul
And I never ever have to be afraid
One thing remains

In death and in life
I'm confident and covered by the power
of your great love
My debt is paid
there's nothing that can separate my heart
from your great love

Wish

This may seem a little ignorant, but I was honestly unaware about this phenomenon. Had I known or be informed about at the time, who knows what would have happened. But yeah, news came to me late, and I’m living the shock now =P

Brian Littrell of the Backstreet Boys is a Christian; like a proper gospel singing, Jesus loving Christian…Who knew?! Haha, maybe that isn’t news to you, but I grew up with the ‘Boys’, loved them, wanted to marry all of them (well maybe not all), and to find out that one of them was a Jesus follower all along…It’s mind blowing (literally)...I am so pleasantly and genuinely surprised and inspired =)

Anyway, this one song that’s on Brian’s album ‘Welcome Home’ always puts a smile on my face. It’s like the thoughts in my head were interpreted and then this song was birthed, amazingg. It’s pretty self explanatory, and it’s really how I feel about the past and future sometimes. Hope you enjoy it =)

For just a moment
I wish I could have been there
To see Your first step, hear Your very first word
Tell me, did You ever fall and scrape Your knee?
Did You know Your wounds would one day heal the world?

For just one moment
I wish I could have seen You growing
Learning the ways of a carpenter's son
Just a little boy gazing at the stars
Did You remember creating every one?
If you passed by, would I have seen a child or a King?
Would I have known?

I wish I could have been there
My only wish is to see You, face to face
Wish I could have been there
Just to see You, Jesus, face to face

For just a moment
I wish I could have been there
When You left Your footprints upon the waves
To walk along beside You and never look away
Just Your whisper and the wind and sea obey
To see You feed the people
To feel Your healing in Your touch

To hear you pray in the garden alone
Laying down Your will with each tear
To see You walk that lonely road
Willing to die for me
And in that moment
I know I should have been there
You took my cross and gave Your life
And you live again, oh
And You live again!

Someday I'll be there, I'm gonna be there
I'll see Your face, Your mercy, Your grace
Someday, someday
I'm going to see You, Jesus
Face to face

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmacF-VZrqk

Awakenings

If you don’t already know, I’m a Psychology Major at HELP University (Msia, KL). I’ve just started my new semester and I’m taking this subject called Psychology of Film-it is the most awesome subject ever! Haha, so for this entryI shall fill ya’ll in on how God mind blowing-ly got me to see this one movie in His way.

The movie’s called Awakenings (1990; starring Robert De Niro & Robin Williams-he was serious in this movie). Not many people have heard of it, much less seen it, which is quite sad cause the movie is so so good… So good! If you haven’t seen it, I don’t intend on spoiling it for you but I’m gonna anyway =P If you are interested in watching it and hate spoilers, then you don’t have to read this (you can read it after you watch the movie =P )

Here I go:

It’s basically about this up tight psychiatrist who's put in charge of several seemingly catatonic (deficit of motor activity that can render patient motionless; mute and rigid, and initiate no social behaviors) patients. As he runs a diagnosis on them he finds out that they respond to certain stimuli (when he throws a ball at them, they catch it) and this compels him to look for a way to help them recover from their disorder. He finds a drug that works wonders on them, and all the patients are awakened from their ‘sleep’ and are given a second chance to really live their lives. But as it turns out, the drugs didn’t last and slowly but surely they all depleted back to their original state of catatonia.

That is the whole movie in short =( I know it sounds horrible, cause of the sad ending…but what was a revelation to me was seeing how the catatonic patients wake up and live their lives again. It made me think about the people around us, the people who don’t know Jesus, who may have known Jesus once but have fallen backwards, or the people who do know about Jesus, but not personally. They to me, are like the people in catatonia, basically asleep, not living life the way God has intended them to, not knowing what *living* is really like. Yet, God(like the psychiatrist) still sees hope in them, and believes that they will be revived someday, only difference is He’s the only ‘drug’ that will work on them and that will never fail. To think that once these people get a ‘shot’ of Jesus in their lives, how set free, how alive, how awakened they will feel, it really makes me smile, and makes me want to try harder for them. In the movie, when those patients woke up, they never wanted to fall back into catatonia ever again, cause being awake felt so so much better, and I know once people experience God, really truly, honestly..they’ll never want to go back again.

What’s on my heart is basically, don’t give up on them. Don’t brush them aside thinking there’s no hope for them, or that they are too much for you…Cause He hasn’t given up on them. Keep trying, believe in that day where their eyes will be opened and for them to really *see* God for who He is =)

And if you think you are that person that is 'asleep' and in need of an awakening, God's so ready to revive you. Of all the people whom will never fail, never dissapoint, never hurt...God's perfect, and I know that may seem unlikely, but He is. He's exactly what we're looking and who we need. We're not living till we have Him, till we know Him, trust me on that. It's never too late, give Him a chance =)

That’s just my prayer for all of us. Thanks for taking the time to read my long story. Hope ya’ll have been blessed =)

Here’s the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FURflBxeTyI
(quality’s bad but it gives a gist to the movie)

p/s: At the Golden Globes this year Robert De Niro was awarder 'Life Time Achievement' (or something like that) for his work over the many years, and he said the best movie he has made out of all was Awakenings. That day was the day I watch the movie, for the very first time..Didn't think it was coincidence.

pp/s: The nurse in the trailer is the voice of Marge Simpson =P

Perfect Picture

I fell in love with this picture! Every child's gift to God-It's the perfect picture of how I offer my heart to Him =)

It truly may not be much, but it's all I have..And I know He honours it, and He loves that I'm giving all I have to Him =)

Gratitude:2010; Hope:2011

I was in the car on the night of the 31st (2010), and I was basically thanking God for the year He has given me, and all that I've been blessed with. As my prayer grew, and as I thought through the last 365 days, I was so overwhelmed with joy and gratitude; He has really blessed me, really. I've gotten more than I deserve and, I mean how can that not move you to tears??!

It's frustrating how words cannot express the feelings bursting inside of you. All I know is that all I have thus far, the person I'm becoming, the people that surround me; it's all thanks to God. He orchestrated this amazing life of mine and I'm just the privileged child living it! I still pinch myself all the time, and I've yet to fully take in the reality I'm in and know that God's always going to play a part in surprising me pleasantly (without fail)

There's this one song, by Jesus Culture (amazing worship team!) that summed all my heart hears and feels when I look upon God, especially in relation to 2011. He got great things in store, massive things, and I am so very, very excited =) Can't Wait...

Come away with me, come away with me,

It's never too late, it's not too late,

It's not too late for you

I have a plan for you, I have a plan for you

It's gonna be wild,

It's gonna be great,

It's gonna be full of me

Open up your heart, and let me in

Just The Way You Are

I fell in love with this song, not just cos it's a sweet song..but I had a revelation of who the author(in my head) and singer was:


Just The Way You Are

Oh, her eyes, her eyes, make the stars look like they're not shining
Her hair, her hair, falls perfectly without her trying
She's so beautiful, and I tell her every day

Yeah, I know, I know, when I compliment her she won't believe me
And it's so, it's so, sad to think that she don't see what I see
But every time she asks me do I look ok, I say

When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change
Cause you're amazing, just the way you are
And when you smile, the whole world stops and stares for a while
Because girl you're amazing, just the way you are(yeah)

Oh, you know, you know, you know, I'd never ask you to change
If perfect's what you're searching for then just stay the same
So, don't even bother asking if you look ok
You know I'll say

When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change
Cause you're amazing, just the way you are
And when you smile, the whole world stops and stares for a while
Because girl you're amazing, just the way you are
The way you are, the way you are
Girl you're amazing, just the way you are

Someone once told me that a 'Revelation' is aligning our thoughts with what God is thinking, and I know I definitely got that when I heard this song. Though it was sung and probably written by Bruno Mars, to me, it was sung by God Himself =)

I know it may seem silly and a little wrong (seeing as how this is supposed to be a romantic song), but imagine this song being sung from one best friend to another?? Or from a father to her daughter?? It just touched me, and it always does =)

I may, or may not have have my future husband sing this song to me; regardless, anything pales in comparison to Him singing to me =)

He really, really loves me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AwPds6U-fU

Pillow Talk-Judah Smith

During the recent Hillsong Conference (2010), Judah was invited to speak for one of the sessions. It was a shame that I wasn't able to make it, but I did get a hold of the DVD and watched it here at home. I dont know what it was, whether I was just caught in the moment or whether Judah's speaking just has an effect on me, but I was balling my eyes out. His message spoke to me so intensly, I just...felt moved to write it. And that's (evidently) exactly what I'm doing.

His message basically highlights what happened when Jesus and his disciples were caught in the storm on the way to the other side, and the significance of the scripture. Judah mentions a couple of points:

1.) Even with Jesus, we still have our storms

2.) Sometimes during the storm, we need to get wet

3.) The storm wants our 'awe'-dont give it our 'awe'

4.) We're all at different stages with our walk with God

5.) Jesus slept soundly during the storm

Each point needs elaboration, but if I were to do tht I might write a textbook more than just a blog entry. But what did catch my attention most was the part where Judah mentions how in all 3 books of the New Testament, this particular verse is describe with a slight twist...

Matthew 8:24-27
Jesus Calms the Storm
Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!"
He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!"

Mark 4: 35-41
Jesus Calms the Storm
That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"
He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"
They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"

Luke 8: 22-25
Jesus Calms the Storm
One day Jesus said to his disciples, "Let's go over to the other side of the lake." So they got into a boat and set out. As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.
The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we're going to drown!"
He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. "Where is your faith?" he asked his disciples.
In fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him."

Why this caught me was that, we're all at different stages with God. And sometimes it's when we're caught in a storm that our faith, our walk, our relationship is truly put to the test. The 3 disciples mentioned above, Matthew, Peter & Luke were at different levels of their faith. Matthew at the time may have had faith, but it was probably small and little, thus in the storm that little was begin put to the test, whereas Peter possibly had none, thus causing him to take what Jesus had said question that missing faith. And Luke probably lost his faith in the midst of the storm, ths causing to hear Jesus' reponse as a question to his lost faith.

I was blown away by this string, this painting of a more detailed picture; making it more real to us. We're all facing our storms and struggles, and no one's storm is bigger than another. But the true test is our faith-who do we turn to, what would we do, how much do we really trust God?? I dont believe it's bad in any way, to stumble and fall when a wave hits you, doubt even God would expect us to be on our feet when our boat is shaking heavily. But it's what we do once we've been hit that counts.

A good friend of mine once said, "If He brings us to it, He'll bring us through it"...Dont doubt, just trust. Even Jesus fell asleep in the midst of a storm. He's always in control, always...