In these times, it is distressful to note that the immature actions by a handful of people can cause disharmony and fear in our nation.  I am not one to judge easily, but yesterday as I lay in bed thinking of what has happened during the first week of the new decade, I still could not, for the life of me, understand what the big hooha was all about.

When we should all be united and strive for oneness in this land, we are unfortunately torn apart by petty words and selfish actions.

It is sad and disheartening that text messages are being spread like wildfire asking us to remove Christian-related articles from our car, lest our cars be smashed.  It is even sadder that we are also asked to remove the cross pendants some of us are wearing.

“All in the name of safety.”

In times like these, when we are all being tested, we should remain calm, be true to ourselves and keep the Lord God at our side, remembering Him at all times.  Acting irrationally will only make matters worse.

In times like these, I fall on the unending faithfulness of our Lord God to see us through.

My brother shared a beautiful song on his blog on Sunday, a song that that I have really grown to love.  I’d like to share it here too.  It’s a beautiful song that praises God’s faithfulness, that I hope you’ll enjoy.

 Allah Yang Setia

Allah Yang Setia

(Songwriters : Jonathan Prawira & Joseph S Djafar (Music); Vocals: Franky Sihombing)

YESUS, KAU TELAH MEMULAI
S’GALA YANG BAIK DALAMKU
ENGKAU MENJADIKANKU
SERUPA GAMBARAN-MU
DAN BERHARGA DI MATA-MU

YESUS, KAU TELAH MEMULAI
KARYA YANG MULIA DALAMKU
KAU BERIKAN HIDUP-MU
S’BAGAI GANTI DOSAKU
KAR’NA KASIH-MU PADAKU

REFF:
S’KARANG KUMEMUJI-MU
ALLAH YANG SETIA
YANG TAK PERNAH MENINGGALKAN
PERBUATAN TANGAN-MU

S’KARANG KUMENYEMBAH-MU
ALLAH YANG MULIA
SEMPURNAKAN SEG’NAP HIDUPKU
AGAR INDAH BAGI-MU

Here’s the short story behind this inspiring video:

A son says to his father: “Dad, would you be willingly to run a marathon with me?”
The father, despite his age and a heart disease, said “YES”.
And so they ran that marathon, together.

The son asks: “Dad, can you run another marathon with me?”
Again father said “YES”.
So they ran another marathon, together.

One day the son asks his father: “Dad would please do the Iron Man with me?”
Now just in case you wouldn’t know, The Iron Man is the toughest triathlon
in existence;
4km swimming, then 180 km by bike, and finally another 42 km running, in
one stroke.

Again father said “YES”

Read more about the inspirational father and son who make up Team Hoyt.

Chorus:
Well I know my Redeemer lives
I know my Redeemer lives
All of creation testifies
This life within me cries
I know my Redeemer lives

The very same God
Who spins things in orbit
Runs to the weary, the worn and the weak
And the same gentle hands that hold me when I’m broken
They conquered death to bring the victory

Now I know, my Redeemer lives
I know my Redeemer lives
Let all creation testify
This life within me cries
I know
My Redeemer

He lives
To take away my shame
He lives
Forever I’ll proclaim
That the payment for my sins
Was the precious life He gave
But now He’s alive and
There’s an empty
Grave!

And I know
My Redeemer lives
He lives
I know
My Redeemer lives
Let all creation testify
Let this life within me cry
I know my Redeemer lives

Let all creation testify
Let this life within me cry
I know my Redeemer lives

I know
My Redeemer lives
I know my Redeemer lives
I know my Redeemer lives

He lives!

This year, I didn’t have to wrap any presents, because the leasing office for the apartment I am staying in provided complimentary gift-wrapping services, complete with a selection of Christmas wrappers and gift tags.  Ain’t that cool?

Though amid all Christmas celebrations, we need to remember first and foremost what Christmas is really all about…

 
Credits: Elegant word art (love os the Savior) from Bethany

… and I am so grateful that I was able to celebrate it once again this year with my loved ones in a very memorable manner.  I’m thankful that despite the adversities life has thrown my way, Christmas still bears the same meaning each and every year, and every time, the meaning grows deeper within my soul.

So…where did my family and I head off to the past week for our Christmas vacation?  Well, here’s a glimpse of ONE of the several places we were at:

One word: MAGICAL

Of course, coming home was a sweet experience too, especially when we tucked in to a nice warm dinner in a local Vietnamese joint.

And hey, I must have been a pretty good girl all year through too, ‘cuz I got a nice little surprise from Santa in the mailbox as well. 

Santa’s quite telepathic, I’d say, for it’s something I had wanted.

So that was my Christmas in a nutshell post, how was yours?

Some hypocrites are friends in disguise, or rather some friends are hypocrites in disguise.  Is there a difference though?  In my opinion, the latter is more lethal in nature, because the pain is harder to bear.  Some people indulge in pretend play, but viciously stab you in the back in a manner that hurts tremendously.  The betrayal is the part that gets me the most.  Do you grin and bear it? Do you retaliate?  Do you give them the benefit of the doubt, because you know, perhaps they really don’t know what they are doing?

I detest hypocrites immensely.  Don’t you? 

I had a conversation with God and He says “Forgive them, for you know I forgave you first.”  And I am trying my best to, I really am.

Photo credits: Hulagway

On Saturday, we made a day trip to Ipoh to celebrate my nephew Collin’s full moon. It was again another excuse to stuff our tummies with food. Hehe… no regrets there. In fact, we were so full after the lunch that all plans of tar-powing the famous Canning Garden chee cheong fun vanished into thin air (although the stall was only a stone’s throw away). Ah well. There’s always next time.

Then came Easter Sunday. As usual, the church was packed full to the brim with parishioners (methinks some of them were hoping that the CM would make another appearance). We had to make do with sitting on plastic chairs placed by the pews, because we were ummm….a few minutes late. Actually, it was rather a blessing in disguise because we had a full view of the altar and was able to concentrate 100% on the sermon being delivered. Well…maybe 90% because of intermittent distractions from Ethan.

It was also Race Day (Sepang Formula 1 Grand Prix) and Super Sunday (Barclays Premiers League) that day, and hubbs hinted VERY loudly that he would prefer homecooked food for dinner that night. So I bought a few items from Jusco for cooking dinner. I was only able to start cooking at 5:55p.m. though, that’s when Ethan finally fell asleep. One hour later, I managed to whip up a piping hot dinner, one which hubby gave the thumbs up to, much to my delight. *grin*

Although Race Day ended with Kimi getting what he deserved (yay!!!), I shall choose not to say anything about the Super Sunday score, which I don’t think was super at all. Bleagghhh….

However, the highlight of the celebration was not the palms, I believe. Instead, it was a very moving, very touching skit performed by the youth group of the church. The skit was acted out to the song “Watch the Lamb”, which is really a personal account of what Simon went through the day he visited Jerusalem with his two sons.

“A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross” (Mark 15:21).

Just imagine watching this all live in the church sanctuary…

My heart was moved the moment the lyrics of the song was sung, and although I already knew what was coming, I still could not stop my tears from flowing as I imagined again the pain and suffering He must have felt. My heart bled with the sound of every whip that was cast on Him and the piercing sound of every nail that was struck again and again and again into the cross. The congregation was in total silence as the cross was lifted after the crucifixion, fully displaying the sacrifice Jesus made for us all. It was as if we were all transported back in time. And then the strains of the music started again, and again, I wept… It was a truly remarkable play and an extremely fitting way to start my reflection this Holy Week.

Watch the Lamb

Walking On the Road
To Jerusalem,
The time had come to sacrifice,
Again,
My two small sons,
They walked beside me down the road,
The reason that they came,
Was to watch the lamb…
And they said,
“Daddy daddy,
What will we see there,
There’s so much that we don’t understand,”
So I told them of Moses,
And Father Abraham,
And I said dear children,
“Watch the lamb….
There will be so many,
In Jerusalem today,
We must be sure this little lamb,
Doesn’t run away,”
And I told them of Moses,
And Father Abraham,
And I said “Dear children,
Watch the lamb….”
When we reached the city,
I knew something must be wrong,
There were no joyful worshippers there,
No joyful worship songs,
And I stood there,
With my children,
In the midst of angry men,
Then I heard a crowd cry out,
“Let’s Crucify Him!”
We tried to leave the city,
But we could not get away,
Forced to play in this drama,
A part I did not want to play,
Why upon this day were men condemned to die,
Why were we standing right here,
Where soon they would pass by,
I looked and I said,
“Even now they come,”
The first one cried for mercy,
The people gave him none,
The second one was violent,
He was arrogant and loud,
I can still hear his angry voice,
Screaming at the crowd,
Then someone said,
“There’s Jesus,”
I scarce believed my eyes,
A man so badly beaten,
He barely looked alive,
[ Watch The Lamb lyrics found on http://www.completealbumlyrics.com ]
Blood poured from His body,
From the thorns on His brow,
Running down the cross,
And falling to the ground,
I watched as He struggled,
And I watched Him when He fell,
The cross came down upon His back,
And the crowd began to yell,
In that moment I felt such agony,
In that moment I felt such loss,
Till the roman soldier grabbed my arm and screamed,
“YOU! Carry his cro———–ss!”
At first I tried to resist him,
But his hand reached for his sword,
So I knelt and I took
The cross from the Lord
I put it on my shoulders
We started down the street
And the blood that He’d been shedding,
Was running down my cheeck…
They led us to Golgatha
They drove nails,
Deep in His feet and hands,
And on the cross,
I heard him pray,
“Father, forgive them…”
Never have I seen such love
In any other eyes
“Into thy hands I commit my spirit,”
He prayed,
And then He died.
I stood for what seemed like years,
I lost all sense of time,
Then I felt two tiny hands
Holding onto mine
My children stood there weeping,
And I heard the oldest say
“Father please forgive us,
The lamb,
Ran away…
Daddy daddy,
What’ve we seen here,
There’s so much that we don’t understand,”
So I took them in my arms,
We turned and faced the cross
And I said
“Dear children
Watch the—– la—–mb…”

Have a blessed Christmas everyone! And happy holidays!

By the way, thanks for the pretty silver gift wrapped in pretty red ribbon, Paris! That will go right under my Christmas tree, not to be opened till Christmas! And here’s the song that has been playing in my head the whole day long today:

Joy to the world – Mariah Carey

Joy to the world
The Lord has come
Let earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare Him room
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven and heaven and nature sing

Joy to the world
The Lord has come
Let earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare him room
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven and heaven and nature sing

Joy to the earth
The Savior reigns
Let men their songs employ
While fields and floods
Rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy

Joy to the world
All the boys and girls
Joy to the people everywhere you see
Joy to you and me

Joy to the world
All the boys and girls
Joy to the people everywhere you see
Joy to you and me

He rules the world
With truth and grace
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness
And wonders of His love
And wonders of His love
And wonders and wonders of His love

Joy to the world
All the boys and girls
Joy to the people everywhere you see
Joy to you and me

Joy to the people everywhere you see
Joy to you and me

Is that what Easter is all about?  Sadly, a lot of people seem to believe so.  To them, Easter is primarily the embodiment of bunnies and eggs, when in actuality, Easter is celebrated by Christians worldwide as a beautiful meaningful proclamation of the resurrection of Christ.  Many many years ago today, Good Friday, Jesus Christ died for all our sins and resurrected on Easter Sunday, what we have come to know as the Passion of Christ.  This Easter, I pray that many more will know and understand the true meaning of Easter and not just link Easter with bunnies and eggs.

I love this Easter poem, Easter Reflections, penned by Helen Steiner Rice, which very simply portrays exactly what Easter is:

Easter Reflections

With OUR EYES we see
The beauty of Easter
as the earth awakens once more…

With OUR EARS we hear
The birds sing sweetly
to tell us Spring again is here…

With OUR HANDS we pick
the golden daffodils
and the fragrant hyacinths…

But only with OUR HEARTS
can we feel the MIRACLE of GOD’S LOVE
which redeems all men…

And only with OUR SOUL
can we make our ‘pilgrimage to God’
and inherit His Easter Gift of ETERNAL LIFE

Have a blessed Easter everyone!

He was bleeding from a beating, there were stripes upon His back
And He wore a crown of thorns upon His head
And He bore with every step
The scorn of those who cried out for His death

Down the Via Dolorosa called the way of suffering
Like a lamb came the Messiah, Christ the King,
But He chose to walk that road out of
His love for you and me.
Down the Via Dolorosa, all the way to Calvary.

The blood that would cleanse the souls of all men
Made its way through the heart of Jerusalem.

Down the Via Dolorosa called the way of suffering
Like a lamb came the Messiah, Christ the King
But He chose to walk that road out of His love for you and me
Down the Via Dolorosa, all the way to Calvary.

‘Tis the season of Lent, the month leading up to Easter… and last Sunday during church, this song was played.  As the melody sang its way into my heart, I was transported back in time to my schooling days in Ipoh.  I remembered hearing this song for the very first time during a Christian presentation organized by all the churches.  The soloist who sang this very same song evoked such passion and emotion that I found my tears streaming freely as she sang.  And last week, those feelings were resurrected as the words of this song ingrained in me the true meaning of Easter.

Jesus Christ died for our sins and made a difference in all our lives.  How, then do WE make a difference in the lives of others? 

This year, there is a outlet for us to make a difference and to make sure it COUNTS.  “Do Something!” is a project that aims to provide for the poor and needy.  It is a campaign undertaken by the churches in Penang, and among the highlights of this campaign are:

• Be Generous

• Feed the Hungry

• Visit the Sick

• Volunteer to Work at Charitable Organizations

• Show your Faith by your Actions

• Stand up for your Beliefs

• Be kind to the Poor

Unfortunately there is no official website for the “Do Something!” campaign, hence I had to take a photo of the flyer.  So just in case you can’t read the fine print, here’s a thought to leave you with:

Look deep into the eyes of a suffering child.  She too longs for a decent life…a life with enough food, a roof over her head, amidst people who care.  You feel the painful squeeze in her heart at her plight.  Don’t let your sympathy end there…lend a hand and touch the lives of those in need.

Do Something!