It does.
I don't know what all the excitement is about. It's such a chore. And for lazy people like me, chores are very bothersome.
I feel like I'm making a big deal about nothing, so I've tried to keep the complaining to a minimum, but today, I can't help it. Am I the only one that feels this way about driving? It seriously makes me really sad to acknowledge the fact that I have to get my driver's license. With that, comes responsibility. I could do without responsibility. If you ask me, it's totally overrated.
Oh, the trials of growing up. :(
Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Desert Song by Hillsong
Even in the midst of our sufferings, God is still God. He never changes. He will always remain faithful.
That's some powerful stuff.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
The Dangerous Act of Worship
I just finished reading a book called The Dangerous Act of Worship by Mark Labberton.
Wow, where do I even begin? For someone who has a hard time being articulate, it's even harder for me to put into words all that this book encompasses. Labberton really does a fine job when it comes to explaining worship and justice, and calling Christians to action.
"Safe" Worship
Worship is dangerous, according to Labberton. And after reading his book, I definitely agree. If you're like me, and like most people on this earth, you treasure your material possessions. We, as humans, feel the need for control over many things. We like to hold on to what we have. We don't really like change. We need to feel secure. Because of this, many of us have fallen into the temptation of "safe" worship, which isn't really what God wants. Safe worship is turned toward us, not God. In safe worship, we have control of everything. We feel secure and complacent. This complacency becomes a major problem, as we fail to look towards our neighbors and make an effort to help them and to do justice.
Reading about this made me sad because I think a lot of us, including myself, get caught up in "safe" worship. We get caught up in everything BUT God.
Another term for "safe" worship is false worship. False worship. That sounds scary. False worship offends God, and I think a lot of us do that without even realizing it. We make worship about ourselves. We only do what we want to do. We listen to sermons and nod our heads, but we don't take action.
God must be frustrated.
Dangerous Worship
Dangerous worship - true worship - realigns everything and puts our focus back on God. True worship throws everything we have control over into disorder. The funny thing is, this "disorder" is actually true order. To engage in dangerous worship is to let go of control, and give it to God, who is the ultimate power. When we allow ourselves to worship in spirit and in truth, our lives are to be transformed. When our lives are transformed, the world is transformed. Our lives are to be an outpouring of love and justice to the rest of the world.
Imagination
Dangerous worship stretches our imagination. It allows us to see a glimpse into God's imagination, and His plans for this world. When we confine ourselves to
"safe" worship, our imagination is limited. It's limited to what we can do for ourselves. Maybe, if we're lucky, it's limited to what we can do for the people in our neighborhood. However, when we realize that we live in God's heart, and that everyone is our "neighbor", we start to see what God wants us to do for the world. This includes people living next door, people in Africa with AIDS, people in Mexico, people affected by the China earthquake - or not. It includes every single person. We are called to do justice. To love mercy. To walk humbly with our God. (Micah 6:8).
After reading this book, I realized that I haven't been doing enough. (Actually, I probably knew that before I even read this book. Reading this book just made my inaction something that couldn't be ignored.) Even in my prayers, I sometimes get too tired and "forget" to pray for those who are affected by the China earthquake, the children in Africa who are night commuters, and endless more.
I really want to do more. I want to help the poor and the oppressed so badly. God has given me so much, but it's not because I deserve it. The only reason why any of us have a lot, if we do, is because God wants us to share our wealth with others. God blesses us so that we may bless others. He doesn't bless us so we can just receive all His blessings, sit and watch the news, and do nothing.
Writing all this down right now is easy for me. It's nighttime. It's quiet. There isn't really anything to distract me. However, in the bustle of the day...with all the distractions and millions of things that we "need" to do, it's a lot harder to keep this fire to help others burning. Everything is coming at me in different directions that it's so easy to let this fire become a tiny flame. It won't be long until the flame gets snuffed out.
In the light of the day, it's easy to forget where we live...where our true residence is. But we don't live in this world. We live in God's heart - a heart that is so big that it can fit every single person in the world. With that said, we are residents of God's heart...and citizens of this "country". That's our true identity. Our wordly occupation might be being a student, a nurse, or a lawyer. But our real occupation is to love others and to do justice. We must not forget that.
To truly worship God is to lay down our lives as we think they should be, and allow God to transform us. God doesn't just do a little tweaking here and there. If we allow Him, He'll really transform us in the greatest way possible. But are we really willing to do so? Are we willing to give up our comforts and our security? Are we ready to stop being complacent? And ready to actually start worshipping, loving, and making sure to do justice with all the risks that are involved?
Wow, where do I even begin? For someone who has a hard time being articulate, it's even harder for me to put into words all that this book encompasses. Labberton really does a fine job when it comes to explaining worship and justice, and calling Christians to action.
"Safe" Worship
Worship is dangerous, according to Labberton. And after reading his book, I definitely agree. If you're like me, and like most people on this earth, you treasure your material possessions. We, as humans, feel the need for control over many things. We like to hold on to what we have. We don't really like change. We need to feel secure. Because of this, many of us have fallen into the temptation of "safe" worship, which isn't really what God wants. Safe worship is turned toward us, not God. In safe worship, we have control of everything. We feel secure and complacent. This complacency becomes a major problem, as we fail to look towards our neighbors and make an effort to help them and to do justice.
Reading about this made me sad because I think a lot of us, including myself, get caught up in "safe" worship. We get caught up in everything BUT God.
Another term for "safe" worship is false worship. False worship. That sounds scary. False worship offends God, and I think a lot of us do that without even realizing it. We make worship about ourselves. We only do what we want to do. We listen to sermons and nod our heads, but we don't take action.
God must be frustrated.
Dangerous Worship
Dangerous worship - true worship - realigns everything and puts our focus back on God. True worship throws everything we have control over into disorder. The funny thing is, this "disorder" is actually true order. To engage in dangerous worship is to let go of control, and give it to God, who is the ultimate power. When we allow ourselves to worship in spirit and in truth, our lives are to be transformed. When our lives are transformed, the world is transformed. Our lives are to be an outpouring of love and justice to the rest of the world.
Imagination
Dangerous worship stretches our imagination. It allows us to see a glimpse into God's imagination, and His plans for this world. When we confine ourselves to
"safe" worship, our imagination is limited. It's limited to what we can do for ourselves. Maybe, if we're lucky, it's limited to what we can do for the people in our neighborhood. However, when we realize that we live in God's heart, and that everyone is our "neighbor", we start to see what God wants us to do for the world. This includes people living next door, people in Africa with AIDS, people in Mexico, people affected by the China earthquake - or not. It includes every single person. We are called to do justice. To love mercy. To walk humbly with our God. (Micah 6:8).
After reading this book, I realized that I haven't been doing enough. (Actually, I probably knew that before I even read this book. Reading this book just made my inaction something that couldn't be ignored.) Even in my prayers, I sometimes get too tired and "forget" to pray for those who are affected by the China earthquake, the children in Africa who are night commuters, and endless more.
I really want to do more. I want to help the poor and the oppressed so badly. God has given me so much, but it's not because I deserve it. The only reason why any of us have a lot, if we do, is because God wants us to share our wealth with others. God blesses us so that we may bless others. He doesn't bless us so we can just receive all His blessings, sit and watch the news, and do nothing.
Writing all this down right now is easy for me. It's nighttime. It's quiet. There isn't really anything to distract me. However, in the bustle of the day...with all the distractions and millions of things that we "need" to do, it's a lot harder to keep this fire to help others burning. Everything is coming at me in different directions that it's so easy to let this fire become a tiny flame. It won't be long until the flame gets snuffed out.
In the light of the day, it's easy to forget where we live...where our true residence is. But we don't live in this world. We live in God's heart - a heart that is so big that it can fit every single person in the world. With that said, we are residents of God's heart...and citizens of this "country". That's our true identity. Our wordly occupation might be being a student, a nurse, or a lawyer. But our real occupation is to love others and to do justice. We must not forget that.
To truly worship God is to lay down our lives as we think they should be, and allow God to transform us. God doesn't just do a little tweaking here and there. If we allow Him, He'll really transform us in the greatest way possible. But are we really willing to do so? Are we willing to give up our comforts and our security? Are we ready to stop being complacent? And ready to actually start worshipping, loving, and making sure to do justice with all the risks that are involved?
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
The Sound of Silence
In my previous post, I forgot to mention Brooke Fraser's cover of The Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel. (I think it's because I'm still trying to let it settle in.) When I heard it at the concert, I thought it was really beautiful. I was surprised to find that her cover of the song was on the deluxe edition of Albertine, which I had bought right before the concert. That made me really happy.
Listening to Brooke singing The Sound of Silence really stuck to me. After the concert, I couldn't help but listen to song over and over again. In fact, I am STILL listening to it...two whole days after the concert...there's just something about it.
It is haunting.
Brooke Fraser's voice and the lyrics combine to make a really beautiful song.
But the more I listened to the words, the more I found them...a little bit disturbing. I don't mean disturbing in the psychotic way. But disturbing in the way of how close to the truth it is. How real it is.
"Hello, darkness my old friend,
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence.
In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone,
'Neath the halo of a street lamp,
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence.
And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more.
People talking without speaking,
People hearing without listening,
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dares
Disturb the sound of silence.
"Fools," said I, "You do not know
Silence like a cancer grows.
Hear my words that I might teach you,
Take my arms that I might reach you."
But my words like silent raindrops fell,
And echoed
In the wells of silence
And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made.
And the sign flashed out its warning,
In the words that it was forming.
And the sign said, "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls."
And whispered in the sounds of silence."
The whole song is pretty disturbing. However, the part that got to me the most was the part that I've bolded above.
Are we a people who talk without speaking? Do we hear without listening? Are we a people who are numb?
I know this song isn't a "Christian" song, but it really made me think about the world and about God. I don't know if it's in Brooke Fraser's voice, or in the lyrics to the song, or both...but listening to it was like hearing God's breaking heart. I think God's heart really breaks for us. I mean, there are so many people who are numb, who go through life just being "silent". They want more, but they don't even dare admit it to themselves. And the sad thing is that God loves each and every one of us so much. These "silent" people are not what He created us to be. He created us to be alive in Him...alive in His love.
Listening to this song made me really sad. I wasn't going to admit this, but lying in bed last night, and listening to it...I couldn't help but cry. It was just one of those moments where you could feel God's heart breaking for his people. It's kind of overwhelming, too, to realize how much God loves us in order for His heart to break for us.
Knowing this just makes me feel SO alive. To be able to feel this sadness, and the joy that comes from knowing God's love...is just unbelievable. There's nothing that I can write that can quite explain it. But I pray that whoever is reading this, that you may be able to experience it too. God is real. And His love for you is real.
(If you have itunes and would like to hear this song, I'd be glad to send it to you. Just IM me or send me an email. It really is a great song.)
Listening to Brooke singing The Sound of Silence really stuck to me. After the concert, I couldn't help but listen to song over and over again. In fact, I am STILL listening to it...two whole days after the concert...there's just something about it.
It is haunting.
Brooke Fraser's voice and the lyrics combine to make a really beautiful song.
But the more I listened to the words, the more I found them...a little bit disturbing. I don't mean disturbing in the psychotic way. But disturbing in the way of how close to the truth it is. How real it is.
"Hello, darkness my old friend,
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence.
In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone,
'Neath the halo of a street lamp,
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence.
And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more.
People talking without speaking,
People hearing without listening,
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dares
Disturb the sound of silence.
"Fools," said I, "You do not know
Silence like a cancer grows.
Hear my words that I might teach you,
Take my arms that I might reach you."
But my words like silent raindrops fell,
And echoed
In the wells of silence
And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made.
And the sign flashed out its warning,
In the words that it was forming.
And the sign said, "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls."
And whispered in the sounds of silence."
The whole song is pretty disturbing. However, the part that got to me the most was the part that I've bolded above.
Are we a people who talk without speaking? Do we hear without listening? Are we a people who are numb?
I know this song isn't a "Christian" song, but it really made me think about the world and about God. I don't know if it's in Brooke Fraser's voice, or in the lyrics to the song, or both...but listening to it was like hearing God's breaking heart. I think God's heart really breaks for us. I mean, there are so many people who are numb, who go through life just being "silent". They want more, but they don't even dare admit it to themselves. And the sad thing is that God loves each and every one of us so much. These "silent" people are not what He created us to be. He created us to be alive in Him...alive in His love.
Listening to this song made me really sad. I wasn't going to admit this, but lying in bed last night, and listening to it...I couldn't help but cry. It was just one of those moments where you could feel God's heart breaking for his people. It's kind of overwhelming, too, to realize how much God loves us in order for His heart to break for us.
Knowing this just makes me feel SO alive. To be able to feel this sadness, and the joy that comes from knowing God's love...is just unbelievable. There's nothing that I can write that can quite explain it. But I pray that whoever is reading this, that you may be able to experience it too. God is real. And His love for you is real.
(If you have itunes and would like to hear this song, I'd be glad to send it to you. Just IM me or send me an email. It really is a great song.)
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
"You are the one that I want"
It is 1:08 a.m. according to the friendly little figures that are make-up the clock at the bottom left corner of my computer. I just came back from seeing Brooke Fraser at the Troubadour. I went with the lovely Ariel as an end-of-the-school-year thing. Plus, it was going to be one of the last times that I would actually get to hang out with her. So, in short...Brooke Fraser + Ariel = a really great day/night. :)
Brooke Fraser seriously has one of the prettiest voices I have ever heard in my entire life. Her CDs don't do her justice. Her voice really shines when she sings live, especially on the soft, slow songs. (At the end of the show, people kept calling her back on stage to play at least one more song. In her generosity, she sang two.)
The first song that she sang after she came back onstage was Arithmetic. It was her first big hit in New Zealand. I don't think that needs any explanation. Anyway, I've heard the song before and liked it... It sounds like any ordinary love song, BUT...it's not. Arithmetic is a love song to God, and when you see her performing it, you can see why. While she was singing this song, the whole audience was mesmerized. I guess, you could say that we were mesmerized the whole time she was singing, but even more so during this song. On the way back home from the show, I was trying to put a finger on what was so "unusual" about Miss Fraser's concert. The first thing that I thought about was her singing Arithmetic. That was it. Seeing her play and sing that song was seeing a girl in love with God. When she was playing that song, it was as if the whole crowd had disappeared, and it was only her and God. Nothing else mattered. It was a moment in time. Locked in for eternity.
Okay, so that description does sound a bit dramatic. But that's how it felt like to me.
The last song that Brooke sang and left us with was Albertine. I'm just going to steal what's written on Brooke's little booklet from the CD, because I don't think that I can explain the song better than her.
"In 1994, the tiney Central-East African nation of Rwanda was devastated by genocide. Almost one million Rwandans were killed at the hands of their neighbours, friends and community leaders within the short space of 100 days...the catastrophic outcome of decades of tension and fighting between two ethnic groups - the Hutus and the Tutsis - a catastrophic conflict that did not exist before belgian colonists moved in during the first part of the 20th century and introduced and alien political divide.
My first visit to Rwanda occured in June 2005, eleven years on from the atrocities. I visited local authorities, churches, schools, official memorials and living ones: child-headed housholds and communities living with AIDS, facing life without adequate medical care or basics like clean water. I met a people who are humble, joyous, diligent and in deep pain.
On ethe day before I was to fly out and onto Tanzania, my friend and guide joel Nsengiyumva took me to a villate school in a district called Kabug. He wanted me to see that Rwanda had hope - and no better way to see it than in the next generation. The kids and I exchanged songs and dances, and as things wrapped up and we were about to leave, Joel asked if we could take a few minutes and meet with an orphan whose personal history he was familiar with.
Throughout my trip Joel had introduced me to people as a musician from the other side of the world who was going to go back to my people, tell them about the people of Rwanda and help. No pressure. That afternoon we walked across the schoolyard into an empty classroom, joined by a tall, beautiful girl wearing the school's cobalt and navy garb, where Joel's introduction was about to become a kind of commision.
Just before he shared her story with me, that one of person laying down their life for another, he uttered these words:
'You must go back to your people and you must write a song, and I will tell you what the name of the song is going to be.'
He motioned toward the girl.
'This is Albertine.'
Albertine is alive today because of the selfless, sacrificial love of another. Funny thing is, so am I. And now I want to know what it's like to love other people like that, so have decided to spend my whole life on the experiment.
Feel free to join me. We might just change the world.
--Brooke."
A beautiful voice. But most of all, a beautiful heart. Today, at the concert, I was humbled and in awe of what God could through just one person. Here, standing in front of me was Brooke - a living testimony of God's plans...His heart. His love. And His hope for all people.
Brooke Fraser seriously has one of the prettiest voices I have ever heard in my entire life. Her CDs don't do her justice. Her voice really shines when she sings live, especially on the soft, slow songs. (At the end of the show, people kept calling her back on stage to play at least one more song. In her generosity, she sang two.)
The first song that she sang after she came back onstage was Arithmetic. It was her first big hit in New Zealand. I don't think that needs any explanation. Anyway, I've heard the song before and liked it... It sounds like any ordinary love song, BUT...it's not. Arithmetic is a love song to God, and when you see her performing it, you can see why. While she was singing this song, the whole audience was mesmerized. I guess, you could say that we were mesmerized the whole time she was singing, but even more so during this song. On the way back home from the show, I was trying to put a finger on what was so "unusual" about Miss Fraser's concert. The first thing that I thought about was her singing Arithmetic. That was it. Seeing her play and sing that song was seeing a girl in love with God. When she was playing that song, it was as if the whole crowd had disappeared, and it was only her and God. Nothing else mattered. It was a moment in time. Locked in for eternity.
Okay, so that description does sound a bit dramatic. But that's how it felt like to me.
The last song that Brooke sang and left us with was Albertine. I'm just going to steal what's written on Brooke's little booklet from the CD, because I don't think that I can explain the song better than her.
"In 1994, the tiney Central-East African nation of Rwanda was devastated by genocide. Almost one million Rwandans were killed at the hands of their neighbours, friends and community leaders within the short space of 100 days...the catastrophic outcome of decades of tension and fighting between two ethnic groups - the Hutus and the Tutsis - a catastrophic conflict that did not exist before belgian colonists moved in during the first part of the 20th century and introduced and alien political divide.
My first visit to Rwanda occured in June 2005, eleven years on from the atrocities. I visited local authorities, churches, schools, official memorials and living ones: child-headed housholds and communities living with AIDS, facing life without adequate medical care or basics like clean water. I met a people who are humble, joyous, diligent and in deep pain.
On ethe day before I was to fly out and onto Tanzania, my friend and guide joel Nsengiyumva took me to a villate school in a district called Kabug. He wanted me to see that Rwanda had hope - and no better way to see it than in the next generation. The kids and I exchanged songs and dances, and as things wrapped up and we were about to leave, Joel asked if we could take a few minutes and meet with an orphan whose personal history he was familiar with.
Throughout my trip Joel had introduced me to people as a musician from the other side of the world who was going to go back to my people, tell them about the people of Rwanda and help. No pressure. That afternoon we walked across the schoolyard into an empty classroom, joined by a tall, beautiful girl wearing the school's cobalt and navy garb, where Joel's introduction was about to become a kind of commision.
Just before he shared her story with me, that one of person laying down their life for another, he uttered these words:
'You must go back to your people and you must write a song, and I will tell you what the name of the song is going to be.'
He motioned toward the girl.
'This is Albertine.'
Albertine is alive today because of the selfless, sacrificial love of another. Funny thing is, so am I. And now I want to know what it's like to love other people like that, so have decided to spend my whole life on the experiment.
Feel free to join me. We might just change the world.
--Brooke."
A beautiful voice. But most of all, a beautiful heart. Today, at the concert, I was humbled and in awe of what God could through just one person. Here, standing in front of me was Brooke - a living testimony of God's plans...His heart. His love. And His hope for all people.
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