Thursday, March 31, 2016

In Christ Alone by Stuart Towend and Keith Getty



In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! - who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe.
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious day
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand:
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.
Stuart Townend & Keith Getty

Copyright © 2001 Thankyou Music (Adm. by CapitolCMGPublishing.com excl. UK & Europe, adm. by Integrity Music, part of the David C Cook family, songs@integritymusic.com)
- See more at: http://www.stuarttownend.co.uk/song/in-christ-alone/#sthash.AfNLoSe1.dpuf


Tuesday, March 15, 2016

There is Hope by Stuart Townend

I first heard of this song, to be precise, I first heard of Stuart Townend, from Aunty Phyllis Day's Memorial service DVD. When I listened to the lyrics, it was so meaningful and lovely. Reminding as our real hope is beyond this world and it burns within our hearts.


Lyrics

There is a hope that burns within my heart,
That gives me strength for every passing day;
A glimpse of glory now revealed in meagre part,
Yet drives all doubt away:
I stand in Christ, with sins forgiven;
And Christ in me, the hope of heaven!
My highest calling and my deepest joy,
To make His will my home.

There is a hope that lifts my weary head,
A consolation strong against despair,
That when the world has plunged me in its deepest pit,
I find the Saviour there!
Through present sufferings, future's fear,
He whispers 'courage' in my ear.
For I am safe in everlasting arms,
And they will lead me home.

There is a hope that stands the test of time,
That lifts my eyes beyond the beckoning grave,
To see the matchless beauty of a day divine
When I behold His face!
When sufferings cease and sorrows die,
And every longing satisfied.
Then joy unspeakable will flood my soul,
For I am truly home

Stuart Townend & Mark Edwards
Copyright © 2007 Thankyou Music (Adm. by CapitolCMGPublishing.com excl. UK & Europe, adm. by Integrity Music, part of the David C Cook family, songs@integritymusic.com)

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Life between the Dash

So much musings over our arrival on earth
Clinic visits and hospital stays
The day finally came we breathed our first
We came into the world screaming out loud
We were crying but everyone was smiling
Mum and dad, Aunts and uncles
All cant wait to see us
We were their bundle of joy
From then on life is like living
In between the dash
We are trained to run
Life between the dash

Our life is often lived like
Life between the dash
We dash from bed to get ready
for the challenges of the new day
Daily chores a load of care
We even dash through lunch time
and forget to eat
Evening comes, the dust settles down
We dash to come home
With a heavy weary soul
Our body tired to its core
Now I lay me down to sleep

As we dash from here to there
Sometimes we forget
to watch the beauty of the earth
We dash to get things done
Tuitons, Games, Movie nights
We dash through the events
We could hardly enjoy
all the moments with people
We dash through the traffic
Try to make it on time
Just to find we are worn out
From the dash of the day

As the years gone by
At last we find time to rest
Slow down and we could finally enjoy
But alas we have no more energy to dash
Just as well we could take it all in slowly
Living one day at a time
The true meaning of life
The true purpose of living
Slowly become clearer to us
Although life is about living in between the dash
We do not need to dash through
Then we have truly lived



The Dash Between

by Ron Tranmer©

I knelt there at the headstone
of one I love and cried.
Name, with dates of birth and death
were perfectly inscribed.

I pondered these two dates
and how little they both mean
when compared to the tiny dash
that lies there in between.

The dash serves as an emblem
of our time here on the earth,
and although small, it stands for all
our years of life, and worth.
                 
And our worth will be determined
by how we live each day.
We can fill our dash with goodness,
or waste our life away.

To ourselves, as well as others,
let’s be honest, kind and true,
   and every day, live the way
we know God wants us to.

May we look for opportunities
to do a worthy deed,
and reach out with compassion
to those who are in need.

For If our hearts are full of love
throughout our journey here,
we’ll be loved by all who knew us
and our memory they’ll hold dear.

And when we die, these memories
will bring grateful, loving tears,
to all whose lives were touched
by the dash between our years.

http://www.rontranmer.com/the-dash-between


​The Dash
by Linda Ellis copyright 1996

​I read of a man who stood to speak
at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on the tombstone
from the beginning…to the end.

He noted that first came the date of birth
and spoke the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all
was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time
that they spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved them
know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own,
the cars…the house…the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
and how we spend our dash.

So, think about this long and hard.
Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
that can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
to consider what’s true and real
and always try to understand
​the way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger
and show appreciation more
and love the people in our lives
like we’ve never loved before. 

If we treat each other with respect
and more often wear a smile,
remembering that this special dash
might only last a little while.

​So, when your eulogy is being read,
with your life’s actions to rehash…
would you be proud of the things they say
about how you spent YOUR dash?

http://www.linda-ellis.com/the-dash-the-dash-poem-by-linda-ellis-.html


Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Being Impregnated with Ideas


My brain works in a funny way. I could have spells of dryness like desert, there is nothing in my life that has life. All seem dead or dying. Those are the lifeless moments which thankfully are not that many. It most likely happened when I am ill or hospitalised or incapacitated to think due to the event at that time like I was hospitalised.

But on most days, I woke up with a To-Do List in my mind, whether I get to write them down or memorise them, they be on my mind the whole day. I might forget the key ones which I often do, but I recall them in the evening full with regrets. Sometimes, the one thing as Urgent and Important that I set up to remind myself to do, reminded myself as I entered my office, that be the one thing I forgot as much as my computer is fired up. Social media interesting readings, whatsapp messages demanding replies, some daily routine tasks will quickly fill up my mind and my time and I get to concentrate on them.

Still, there are days, I am fully concious of my To-Do List, I keep calling them to mind but the mind just decide to do the next most urgent thing on the list. Sometimes, everything looks equally important until I realise time is running out on the most urgent item, which often, its too late.

Typically though, I will feel impregnated with those ideas, those key concepts of things to do, those that are urgent and important or very important though not urgent, I could feel those ideas impregnated within my mind, body and soul. They keep me concious of their existence, importance and urgency. I will call to mind again and again as I drive out in the morning to work and remind myself again as I drive back home in the evening. They bug me like no other.

For example, towards the end of February 2016, I have the following ideas in my mind, they keep floating and reminding me the whole time :-


  1. Exercise regimes for me to loose weight
  2. Diet programmes and menu for my body to loose weight
  3. Blogging regularly
  4. Kitchen Storage Cabinets make over - Ingredient audit
  5. Menu Re-do and make over
  6. PhD research methodology finalised
  7. Exam papers for Malcolm
  8. Dealing GCU for Wallace (another nightmare)
I got lots of ideas inside my head, just insufficient time to google them and sort them out especially items that cannot be done digitally and must be manually. Such is the digital life taking over.