ilovezafey

I used to hate the television.

It was loud and there was barely a moment of silence at home. But Papa loved it and so did many of his generation and the generation before them. The TV was the technology of their childhood. A new and very different form of entertainment that could bring the family or even the community together then. Everyone watching it and laughing together. Papa calls it the feeling of "togetherness".

In my childhood, it was the bain of my life. Was I to practice my piano with the blaring sounds of the drama as accompaniment? How about focusing on my mathematics homework as the newscaster fired off rapidly in mandarin about the day's events? When I talked to Papa, it was expected that I will be admiring his side profile and having to repeat my question umpteen times before he got half of what I wanted to tell him. I never understood its allure and it did not understand my annoyance. Was Papa entertained by the television and the programs it was constantly broadcasting? I highly doubt it. It's funny because he loves the TV but I don't think he often knew what he was watching. Perhaps it was to fill up the emptiness of life.

I was sure that when I moved out, there will not be a TV set in my life ever.

"That must mean you don't welcome me in your house," my dad and my uncle bemoaned, "you are such an ungrateful child. What are we going to do when we go to your house?"

They tried to guilt trip me, make me go back my vow and even talked of a generous offer to gift me one as a house warming present.

But I was adamant about never wanting this black box or now silver ginormous screen to ever set foot in my house. My house will be a house of peace. I am creating a very different type of space in my new home. So different that most of the renovation visuals that I flipped through did not showcase a living room without a TV. It is strange but as the 90s kid growing up with a TV, I should have at least some affection for the screen that mesmerized me with cartoons and granted companionship when no one could play with me.

But I hated that I could spend way too much time watching it. As a mother, or more of an ill-disciplined woman, I was certain that if the TV was present in my house, I would leave it perpetually running to suck the brains out of myself and my children.

But now in the present day and age, I find myself fighting a different evil. An evil so small that it fits our pockets. A seductive snake that comes in the standard shape of black rectangles. We even now throw around casual jokes about setting up the handphone club on the couch at gatherings, where everyone is tied down to staring at their bright little screen in an endless pursuit of catching up with whatever you think you are missing out or indulging lavishly in self-entertainement.

You see that at the cafes, along the streets, the markets, on the trains. It is a mad addiction beyond redemption. We are endlessly craving after the apples that dangle on the tree of the knowledge of news and gossip. Even the children are not spared. They know, oh they know how much we like this thing . The latest antic of the youngest kid has been to test gravity with my device. I begin to wonder if that is part of the normal development or a sign of my hopeless addiction that she has developed a disdain for the device.

Sigh... I wonder which do I detest more. The TV or the phone.

At least, you could turn off the TV and hope everyone starts talking to one another. I sort of miss it, but maybe only because it is the lesser evil.

Alas, the house of peace and quiet I now have, but the room of noise and chatter is sorely missed.

Those old days, those old days where we could look at another and dream of the ideal world and our unwritten future.

祸不单行

First, the strange dream where I woke up a little puzzled. It was meant for me in another parallel world, a world where I was possibly more observant in my early years and AJ remained unchanged. I never replied and just avoided him. I tried many times to draft a response over the years.
Then, the early wedding invite from G which left me pondering if I missed the signs again to yet journey with another friend through. What should I do to help her now?
Lastly, an old friend who ended a 10 or is it 15 year relationship. I pray she finds her way back to you. It must hurt so bad.

I miss the days of fleeting youth where we ran around freely, literally.
I miss those nights where I'd meet friends late at night to run from one point to another for supper. I'd return home at 3am!
But now, I have other commitments.
Another 20 years before returning to these youthful days.

May I say I'm back? Zafey... such a cool identity I had in the past. I remember the urge to create a unique identity, that is what ultimately lead to this name. A mix of what I don't think I'll ever be a princess (Zara is princess in some slavic language if I don't remember wrongly) and Stephy. I like it though. I jumped over to wordpress for a while, was trying to write some stories... They didn't work out that well... Here's one entry for your reading pleasure. "Remember that time when you rushed to the swings only to realize they were all taken? The teenage girls gossiping away on the swings didn't seem like they would stop any time soon. Neither were they inclined to let you have it for a while. So, you walked around the estate attempting to forget that despair. But just at that point in time, you would notice homes with swings installed in the porch, swings you've never noticed before. You'd recall the time long ago when you probably climbed onto one of those suspended chairs at Ikea while shopping with your parents. In the insolent manner of a young child, you simply refused to leave it, and bawled, "Can't we have it?..." You only got off the seat after your parents were so far away and you didn't wanna get lost in the maze of Ikea. For the whole week, as much as you've tried to bug your parents to get one of those swings, they would simply reply with, "No way! There's neither space at home, nor am I letting you drill a hole in the ceiling!"And you'd concede defeat or vow to get yourself one when you move out. But, that feeling of dangling your legs and swinging is just so refreshing, relaxing and chill! Gosh, the closest you would ever get to dangle your legs was by sitting on your study table. But alas that just meant waiting to gaze upon your parents' chagrin, as they peer into your room every hour. For sitting on the table is considered impolite. So don't you thank God for imaginations, the wonderful brain, the cave for rumination and solitude?? I am a daydreamer. Definitely. I can't concentrate because of that, (pause)I think. I picked up writing in an attempt to help myself focus. To be able to write coherently and logically, hoping that it would aid me in the sorting of my random thoughts and link up the bits and pieces of various stories I came up with. Then hopefully, the coherence developed in thought through writing, could transcend into reality and rationality of both my thoughts and actions. I'd like to think that as a fetus, a choice was given to decide which genetic code you want. I chose the math genes over literary genes. So unlike my younger brother who had no choice but to take all the leftovers, I am not one gifted with the glib of tongue and the flair for fluid writing. So back to the topic after a moment of distraction. I heard the song of castle on the cloud many times as a young child. This is where the imaginations begin. While young Cosette of Les Miserable builds a castle in air, I am no princess and have no inclination of being one, I fancy a swing that hangs from the clouds. Imaginations! starts here: The wooden plank was suspended by long black ropes. It swayed gently every time the wind blew. As in all imaginations, it was a scene of peace and serenity. The skies were blue with wisps of clouds, overlooking mountains with lush forestry. There's a plain where one could grow all the flowers and probably imagine little girls running around, playing hide and seek among the tall grasses. Or perhaps it's just a field for the hungry grass-eaters. So throw in a grazing sheep or two onto that plain, how about a flock of them? Along with the crazy black-white Shetland sheep dog doing its duty and running around in circles. There could be anything on that patch of field. For on the swing, it didn't matter what was on the plain. It'll just be spots of white fluffs with a ball of black circling around them. So the girl on the swing, yes there's a girl, is one I'm envious of. She could point her toes, stare at them against the backdrop of green. Giggle and laugh at the gentle breezes of the sky. Occasionally, hold the black ropes tightly and lean forward to see the green pastures below. She's an Asian-looking girl with long black hair, which had a tinge of dark brown under the sunlight. Relaxed and clothed in a white dress. Her hair was worn in a half ponytail with several plaited strands. Simple yet elegant. The rest of her long hair rested on her shoulders. Her only friend was there for her some nights, the boy who sits on the curve of a crescent moon, always fishing. But no, this is not gonna become a love story, that was just a random fact. I never thought how she got up there, she just did and just was. Did she feel lonely? Well, she had a friend, didn't she? She just sat there, exposed to the elements and enjoying what nature throws at her. Once in a while, she would let her hair loose, and imagine for a moment, the wind blowing from behind her, making a mess of her hair. Many girls get annoyed at the mere prod of their stylish crown. But this was a different girl with much poise and a good temperament. No voices of anger or shows of annoyance would be hurled at the wind. It would have been futile anyway. She took it in stride or perhaps in this case, in sway. Laughter and singing would ensue as her hair covers the front of her face, fluttering with the wind. Perhaps a playful glance behind as though to see if the jesting wind would appeared in visible form. Maybe her character was formed by being alone most of the time and dangling her legs in such a high place. She knew no anger, nor anything about vanity. A joyful soul, she was. She went where the winds took her. Literally. The wind blew the clouds over to a still lake. It was still. Really calm. As usual, she curled her delicate toes, placed her left ankle over her right and her long fingers clasped the black ropes tightly. Tipping the plank forward, she bent over to gaze at the scene below. Breath-taking. It was as though the clouds felt insecure about its looks and needed a mirror for affirmation from a close friend. The water reflected the beauty of the clouds in an azure blue sky. This little girl gazed at the beauty of her home. But she didn't know it was where she lived. Being so high up, she can't see herself in the reflection. It looks serene, she thought, I want to be there. For the first time, she felt a want so strongly. Gingerly, she stood on the swing, took a deep breath of the sky's fresh air and jumped off head first. There is no concept of pain. No, not in my imaginations. And no, there is no gory ending either. Her heart pumped at an exhilarating rate as she skydived. She held her arms wide open to receive her new home. It was so high up that it must have been a long time before she finally hit the water. Boy, did she get a shock. The water was warm, a very different feeling from being in the skies amidst the cool breezes. As she lifted her face out of the water, she sat up, all drenched but laughing. It was a shallow pool, I must have mistaken it for a lake. Rubbing her eyes, she got a clear look of the things around her. It was nothing like what she saw up there. Everything around her was green. She was not dismayed for it was a peculiar sight to her. Her feet, yes her feet! For first time, she dangled her legs no more. The sole of her feet kissed the bottom of the pool, a mushy ground. She tapped it twice and looked at her sole to see the sand escaping grain by grain as she wriggled her toes. Her white dress was now, no longer white. Wondering for a while, where on earth was she? Bleeeeat! Something different from the whistling of winds and the song of rainfall. For first time, she saw sheeps grazing. Oh such fluffy animals! The little lamb was chewing off grass by the bank. Then, her second friend in her life came, "Did it hurt..." the boy herder said as he stood by the bank touching his straw hat. "...when you fell from the sky?" He pointed skywards. She looked up and saw the home she longed to be in."

Why are you striving these days
Why are you trying to earn grace
Why are you crying
Let me lift up your face
Just don't turn away

Why are you looking for love
Why are you still searching as if I'm not enough
To where will you go child
Tell me where will you run
To where will you run

And I'll be by your side
Wherever you fall
In the dead of night
Whenever you call
And please don't fight
These hands that are holding you
My hands are holding you

Look at these hands and my side
They swallowed the grave on that night
When I drank the world's sin
So I could carry you in
And give you life
I want to give you life

Cause I, I love you
I want you to know
That I, I love you
I'll never let you go

By your side ~ Tenth Avenue North

Is it any wonder
That she would feel less than real
When she reveals what is clearer
In her mirror

Take a look around her
Magazines, glamour queens
Waist-line dreams in her diary
So inspiring

Nobody told her that little girls
Don't have to have the softest curls for love

So whatever's left inside her
Is gonna smile wider, shine brighter
Until she gets pulled under
Is it any wonder?

Is it any wonder
That he's obsessed with what is best
And nothing less... he's a hero
With six zeros

Take a look around him
His wallet size and what he drives
Will symbolise how he's made it
How they'll grade it

Nobody told him that little boys
Don't have to have the fastest toys to win

So whatever's left inside him
Is gonna keep on tryin' to keep on buyin'
Until he gets pulled under
Is it any wonder?

Will somebody tell her there's a love that can't be glamourized
Tell him there's a hope that won't be downsized
Someone tell them that the billboards lie
All the time

Cos whatever's left inside her
Is gonna smile wider
And whatever's left inside him
Is gonna keep on tryin'
Until they get pulled under
Is it any wonder?

~Is it any wonder? by Nichole Nordeman

Not really sure if she wrote it but I'd like to think that she did. Reflects how we choose to rely on society to tell us how much we're worth and we as usual fail to realize that the standards of society are ever changing. It's like hypothesis testing where you set your own benchmark. It's like wanting chocolate but not realizing that Mars bars may be called chocolate but it is actually more like candy. It's like asking for love and forgetting that love is NOT a greater liking for someone/thing. Basically, it's using all your effort and time to pursue something worthless... Society's standards are unreliable. What is really reliable is the WORD of GOD.

我好久没使用华文打字。 还是喜欢林俊杰的歌。

有了天空为何世界还有地心引力
有了希望为何绝望还是如影随形
有了勇气就让哭泣埋葬过去
去写一种历史名字叫奇迹

如果恐惧就像火炬那就让他沸腾我血液
带我到绝地 喔
我才能完全觉醒

在黑暗的对面是光明
光明后面是阴影
正义邪恶 是谁有权定义

在命运的前面我怀疑
在面具后面铁一般决心
光荣的牺牲也是种荣誉

不怕忍受不要认同我要证明
明天我的姓名才会是传奇
如果恐惧就像火炬那就让他沸腾我血液
带我到绝地 喔
我才能完全觉醒

在黑暗的对面是光明
光明后面是阴影
正义邪恶 是谁有权定义

在命运的后面我怀疑
在面具后面铁一般决心
光荣的牺牲也是种荣誉

失败会设下陷阱 没有胜利会发出邀请
只有我自己能够还我自己公平
还我自己公平

在黑暗的对面是光明
光明后面是阴影
正义邪恶是谁有权定义

在命运的后面我怀疑
在面具后面铁一般决心
要扭转命运最后的攻击

~ 林俊杰的 《黑武士》

THE LOVELIEST ROSE IN THE WORLD
THERE lived once a great queen, in whose garden were found at all seasons the most splendid flowers, and from every land in the world. She specially loved roses, and therefore she possessed the most beautiful varieties of this flower, from the wild hedge-rose, with its apple-scented leaves, to the splendid Provence rose.

They grew near the shelter of the walls, wound themselves round columns and window-frames, crept along passages and over the ceilings of the halls. They were of every fragrance and color.

But care and sorrow dwelt within these halls; the queen lay upon a sick bed, and the doctors declared that she must die. “There is still one thing that could save her,” said one of the wisest among them.

“Bring her the loveliest rose in the world; one which exhibits the purest and brightest love, and if it is brought to her before her eyes close, she will not die.” Then from all parts came those who brought roses that bloomed in every garden, but they were not the right sort. The flower must be one from the garden of love; but
which of the roses there showed forth the highest and purest love?

The poets sang of this rose, the loveliest in the world, and each named one which he considered worthy of that title; and intelligence of what was required was sent far and wide to every heart that beat with love; to every class, age, and condition.
“No one has yet named the flower,” said the wise man. “No one has pointed out the spot where it blooms in all its splendor. It is not a rose from the coffin of Romeo and Juliet, or from the grave of Walburg, though these roses will live in everlasting song. It is not one of the roses which sprouted forth from the bloodstained fame of Winkelreid. The blood which flows from the breast of a hero
who dies for his country is sacred, and his memory is sweet, and no rose can be redder than the blood which flows from his veins. Neither is it the magic flower of Science, to obtain which wondrous flower a man devotes many an hour of his fresh young life in sleepless nights, in a lonely chamber.” “I know where it blooms,”
said a happy mother, who came with her lovely child to the bedside of the queen. “I know where the loveliest rose in the world is.

It is seen on the blooming cheeks of my sweet child, when it expresses the pure and holy love of infancy; when refreshed by sleep it opens its eyes, and smiles upon me with childlike affection.” “This is a lovely rose,” said the wise man; “but there is
one still more lovely.” “Yes, one far more lovely,” said one of the women. “I have seen it, and a loftier and purer rose does not bloom. But it was white, like the leaves of a blushrose. I saw it on the cheeks of the queen. She had taken off her golden crown, and through the long, dreary night, she carried her sick child in her
arms. She wept over it, kissed it, and prayed for it as only a mother can pray in that hour of her anguish.”

“Holy and wonderful in its might is the white rose of grief, but it is not the one we seek.” “No; the loveliest rose in the world I saw at the Lord’s table,” said the good old bishop. “I saw it shine as if an angel’s face had appeared. A young maiden knelt at the altar, and renewed the vows made at her baptism; and there were white
roses and red roses on the blushing cheeks of that young girl. She looked up to heaven with all the purity and love of her young spirit, in all the expression of the highest and purest love.” “May she be blessed!” said the wise man: “but no one has yet named the loveliest rose in the world.”

Then there came into the room a child- the queen’s little son. Tears stood in his eyes, and glistened on his cheeks; he carried a great book and the binding was of velvet, with silver clasps. “Mother,” cried the little boy; “only hear what I have read.” And the child seated himself by the bedside, and read from the book of Him who
suffered death on the cross to save all men, even who are yet unborn.

He read, “Greater love hath no man than this,” and as he read a roseate hue spread over the cheeks of the queen, and her eyes became so enlightened and clear, that she saw from the leaves of the book a lovely rose spring forth, a type of Him who shed His blood on the cross.

“I see it,” she said. “He who beholds this, the loveliest rose on earth, shall never die.”

THE END. (by Hans Christian Anderson)

the rose is for anyone who wants it.

Three in the morning,
And I'm still awake,
So I picked up a pen and a page,
And I started writing,
Just what I'd say,
If we were face to face,
I'd tell you just what you mean to me,
I'd tell you these simple truths,

Be strong in the Lord and,
Never give up hope,
You're going to do great things,
I already know,
God's got His hand on you so,
Don't live life in fear,
Forgive and forget,
But don't forget why you're here,
Take your time and pray,
These are the words I would say,

Last time we spoke,
You said you were hurting,
And I felt your pain in my heart,
I want to tell you,
That I keep on praying,
Love will find you where you are,
I know cause I've already been there,
So please hear these simple truths,

Be strong in the Lord and,
Never give up hope,
You're going to do great things,
I already know,
God's got His hand on you so,
Don't live life in fear,
Forgive and forget,
But don't forget why you're here,
Take your time and pray,
These are the words I would say,

From one simple life to another,
I will say,
Come find peace in the Father,

Be strong in the Lord and,
Never give up hope,
You're going to do great things,
I already know,
God's got His hand on you so,
Don't live life in fear,
Forgive and forget,
But don't forget why you're here,
Take your time and pray,
Thank God for each day,
His love will find a way,
These are the words I would say

~ the words i would say - sidewalk prophets

To my all friends including fri-ends.

Friends... why's it like that?
it's like a shortform to say from friday to the weekends.
fri-ends...

I wish you not a path devoid of clouds, nor a life on a bed of roses,
Not that you might never need regret,
nor that you should never feel pain.
No, that is not my wish for you.
My wish for you is:
That you might be brave in times of trial,
when others lay crosses upon your shoulders.
When mountains must be climbed and chasms are to be crossed,
When hope can scarce shine through.
That every gift God gave you might grow with you
and let you give your gift of joy to all who care for you.
That you may always have a friend who is worth that name,
whom you can trust and who helps you in times of sadness,
Who will defy the storms of daily life at your side.
One more wish I have for you:
That in every hour of joy and pain you may feel God close to you.
This is my wish for you and for all who care for you.
This is my hope for you now and forever.
~Irish blessings.

angsty. hmph.

Yesterday is a wrinkle on your forehead
Yesterday is a promise that you've broken
Don't close your eyes,Don't close your eyes,
This is your life

and today is all you've got now
And today is all you'll ever have
Don't close your eyes.


This is your life,are you who you want to be
This is your life,are you who you want to be
This is your life,is it everything you've dreamed
that it would be when the world was younger,
and you had everything to lose?


Yesterday is a kid in the corner
Yesterday is dead and over

This is your life,are you who you want to be
This is your life,are you who you want to be

this is your life by switchfoot

it keeps throwing questions all over. future seems so far away yet so near... we take assumptions everything would go fine and thus we'll turn out fine. but we forget that most of the time things dont turn out the way we want it to. we rely on our calculations that is filled with uncertainty to gauge where we'll end up, failing to consider the significant error. it's like launching a space shuttle to the moon that is angled at 0.0000001 degrees off... that's why there's God isnt it? to trust that He holds our future, that no matter where we end up it doesnt matter because God knows the best way for our lives, He knows the path which would be fine for us and there's nothing called uncertainty in His plans.

i'm thankful for ky's msg that cheers me up. =]
this is how it goes. hello jiayi I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. =D.
If it sounds like paul that's because it was in the book of phillipians.

Thank God for friends.

Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know the suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
Romans 5:3-5

my sister's ipod and i

this little pink device reminds me of those songs,
the songs i used to listen to.
it's like a memory being played back at me.
i never knew i had an influence on the songs she listens to.
or was it the other way round.

the songs i used to hear.

my sister gave/ lent me her ipod. =]=]. gone are the days of listening music with just one earpiece. excluding that fact, i really loved my mp4.
i used to have conversations that go like that.
"what's this?"
"oh. it's my mp4."
*friend tries to slide open my mp4, but to no avail. then brings up my little silver rectangle up to his nose and examines it, in hope of finding a clue of how to operate it.
"is it touch screen?"
*friend then leaves his fingerprints on my mp4's mirror like screen.
"how does this work?"
*laughing, i'd point to the buttons that they always fail to find.
my classmates, the schoolmates, churchmates...

funny conversations.

my little device was like a puzzle to many.

anyways, i'm trying to figure out how on earth podcast from mars hill church, desiring God sermon Audio got into my sis's ipod. i erased everything... maybe it's God. now i'm listening to one of it.

this speaker's talking about John. =]

i thought i once again heard the sound of Haydn's symphony,
the seriousness of the bassoons together with the violins and cellos,
the merry dancing of violins once the slow intro faded away,
it feels like it was music class all over again.
how i missed it.

the class where we never did homework and always got away with it
where students were always ever punctual
while our dear teacher would saunter in an hour or so later.
this was the best class of my schooling days.
although it was delivered the worst grades on my O's cert.

all the rice with "zhap" (and stinking up the band room)
clock watching was our favourite pastime
when dear teacher fails to come when it turns 4
we disappear. (to play lan and arcade or just go home)
the delaying of exams by 2h (we were hiding in the classroom)
talking during the exams (despite the presence of the invigilator)

it was sometimes lonely though, being one of the three writing major students,
and not to say the only writing major student in the entire school,
i was honoured to have the whole examination hall and 3 wonderful invigilators
to conduct my O levels exam. as though i had any chance of copying...

The best two students were two very different people.
firstly, one was a girl and the other a guy.
next was the stark contrast in class attendence.
the latter was hardly seen attending class,
while the other had near perfect attendence.
what's the point of lessons i wondered?
they shared a similarity though, (they were from the same school)

unlike the sciences, being good with theory was utterly useless.
you could get the top grades in music theory
but if you cant play music, you've just chucked your A grade in the bin.
what's music you would say, it's organised noise.

welcome to my music class memories.

not to forget (Mark this is for you)
Mouths AGAPE.

Father God, just for today.
help me walk your narrow way.
help me stand where i may fall
let me listen to your call...

may my steps be your worship
may my thoughts be your praise
may my words bring honour to your name

~ Father God by unknown

Today's service was a bilingual service. Somehow i always enjoyed listening to a bilingual sermon. =]. was about tidings, or more of the kind of wealth that God wants us to have. pretty apt for me when i've just started working and wonders what to do with the money other than cover my daily expenses. compared to some of my friends, i'm much better off. i dont have to worry about my survival in the sense of paying my rent or buying my food. tidings apparently needs much courage. i remember how i first learn about giving the tenth to God in NCC. the analogy was when you have ten one dollar coins, all nine goes to you and one goes to God. doesnt seem that bad right. you're just having less candy and maybe eating bread for one recess. but as you grow up, you earn let's say 10 000. and you give God 1 000. that makes you think twice right. that 1 000 means you have less money to spend on perhaps clothes or to get that watch. (so on and so forth). many a times, we would think about what we can do with the 1 000 we give God. be it shopping, paying your tuition fees, buying presents yada yada yada. i guess we forget that what God can do with that mere 1000 is much greater than what we do with the 9000 that we would have. we would think of that tenth we give to God and forget to think of the portion that we're gonna be having...

thank God for his faithfulness, even to the unfaithful.

oh. happy cny and happy valentines day. @-/--

last year i attended two camps. one was about being set apart for God and the other was about friendship. from the latter camp, i came to a realization of one of my childhood christian songs. the one about a wise man and a foolish man and how they built their houses? well... i searched for the lyrics and came to find this paragraph that i dont remember or was not taught. i really think sunday school should have taught this part. (dont underestimate the mind of a little one. they learn faster than you can blink. =] ) So here's the lyrics of the song.


The wise man built his house upon the rock
The wise man built his house upon the rock
The wise man built his house upon the rock
And the rain came tumbling down
Oh, the rain came down
And the floods came up
The rain came down
And the floods came up
The rain came down
And the floods came up
And the wise man's house stood firm.


The foolish man built his house upon the sand
The foolish man built his house upon the sand
The foolish man built his house upon the sand
And the rain came tumbling down
Oh, the rain came down
And the floods came up
The rain came down
And the floods came up
The rain came down
And the floods came up
And the foolish man's house went "splat!" [clap hands once]


So, build your house on the Lord Jesus Christ
Build your house on the Lord Jesus Christ
Build your house on the Lord Jesus Christ
And the blessings will come down
Oh, the blessings come down
As your prayers go up
The blessings come down
As your prayers go up
The blessings come down
As your prayer go up
So build your house on the Lord Jesus Christ.

~ by unknown writer.

Anyways, i wanted to say in life, we dont know whether we are the wise guy or the foolish one. but i would say since God is the rock, build your house on it and you're the wise man. =] does that make any sense? And as always, to God be the glory great things He hath done. =]. I guess the last paragraph that i have no memory of learning shows what the lyricist was thinking about when he talked about the rock and sand.

Lord Jesus Christ is the rock.

I always needed time on my own
I never thought I'd need you there when I cry
And the days feel like years when I'm alone
And the bed where you lie is made up on your side

When you walk away I count the steps that you take
Do you see how much I need you right now

When you're gone
The pieces of my heart are missing you
When you're gone
The face I came to know is missing too
When you're gone
The words I need to hear to always get me through the day and make it ok
I miss you

I've never felt this way before
Everything that I do reminds me of you
And the clothes you left, they lie on the floor
And they smell just like you, I love the things that you do

When you walk away I count the steps that you take
Do you see how much I need you right now

When you're gone
The pieces of my heart are missing you
When you're gone
The face I came to know is missing too
When you're gone
The words I need to hear to always get me through the day and make it ok
I miss you

We were made for each other
Out here forever
I know we were, yeah
All I ever wanted was for you to know
Everything I'd do, I'd give my heart and soul
I can hardly breathe I need to feel you here with me, yeah

When you're gone
The pieces of my heart are missing you
When you're gone
The face I came to know is missing too
When you're gone
The words I need to hear to always get me through the day and make it ok
I miss you

~ When You're Gone by Avril Lavigne.

yes, this is like a super old song. but somehow the last part of the chorus keeps ringing in my head. i dont know why. but it does. imy. i thought for a while before realising where that line belongs to. this is still on my playlist in my mp4. (yes that funny little shiny gadget that looks like it can open but cant iy hh sx tried to open it hehee...) but the song of today was you were there.
ong: call me now.... before you disappear.

I wonder how it must have felt
When David stood to face Goliath on a hill
I imagine that he shook with all his might
Until You took his hand, and held on tight

'Cause You were there, You were there
In the midst of danger's snare
You were there, You were there always
You were there when the hardest fight
Seemed so out of reach
Oh, You were there, You were always there
You were always there

So there he stood upon that hill
Abraham with knife in hand was poised to kill
But God in all his sovereignty had bigger plans
And just in time, You brought a lamb

'Cause You were there,
You were there
In the midst of the unclear
You were there, you were there always
You were there when obedience
Seemed to not make sense
You were there, You were always there
You were always there

So haven't I learned that my ways
Aren't as high as Yours are
And You alone keep the universe
From crumbling into dust
You are God and though we would
Not have understood You
There You were

Hanging blameless on a cross
You would rather die than leave us in the dark
Every moment, every planned coincidence
Just all makes sense
With Your last breath

You were there, You were there
During history's darkest hour
You were there, You were there always
You were the Victor and the King
You were the power in David's swing
You were the calm in Abraham
You are the God who understands
You are the strength when we have none
You are the living, Holy one
You were, You are and You will always be
the Risen Lamb of God

You were, You are and You will always be
The Risen Lamb of God

~You were there by Avalon

Funny how I got to know this song. From Tim. He was trying to sing it during the only SIBI lesson I attended. Well... there was no guitar/ instrumental in his singing. but really liked the front part of the song. =]=]