Monday, July 28, 2008

Lullaby and Random Info

Yesterday's rabbit trail about fathers and even Pastor Benjamin's sharing a while back about how he spends a bit of time with his boys when they are about to sleep reminded me of when I was little.

Bed time is really a precious time in a growing boy's life. I still remember my own personal lullaby that my Dad created for me. It's been years since I last heard it but I still remember how it goes. When I have kids of my own they will get to hear it too.

-----

An interesting bit of information:
- In the movie Snakes on a Plane starring Samuel L. Jackson, there was a scene where a woman sucked out venom from a boy who was bitten by a cobra. What got my attention was that she asked for olive oil and applied it on the boy's arm where he was bitten and then she gargled on some of the oil before starting to suck the poison from a cut that she made near to the bite wound. Even in the natural olive oil has some pretty interesting medicinal uses, eh? Cool stuff.

-----

God is love. People who are looking for love in all the wrong places are really looking for God...

-----

Oinky, thanks for the hp. It's really quite stable. Are you still going to need the numbers of ALL the Army/Airforce people in your phone? Either a lot of people arrow you or you arrow a lot of people...

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Updates and Some Reflections

Wow. The last entry was like almost a month back...

Been learning a lot this past month and have not had the chance to get them all down.

It's been a while since I had the chance to have a long sleep and somehow this morning it had to be cut short. All the food from that mediocre French-Japanese restaurant started acting up at about 5.30am. Anyway, I plan to go back to sleep after this.

I really wonder how people can live their lives without God in their life. The average human life is rife with problems and uncertainties and in my opinion it seems almost impossible to live it without Jesus at my side.

I remember a time when God would seem like He was only there on Sundays or Saturdays when there is youth service but throughout the week I would forget that He's there. I would only call on Him when I have a problem.

I'm not there yet but cultivating His presence is something that I really want to be a part of my everyday life. I want it to be so real to the point that prayer is the first thing I endeavour to do in any situation whether it be good or bad. I want it to be so real to the point that I run with the blessed Words of Jesus and keep hearing and hearing and hearing them, never tiring or taking it for granted because faith comes by hearing Jesus' words. I want it to be so real that I will not settle for second best but always live out the life that Jesus promised and that is a life that is much more abundant than I can ever imagine and that does not just mean monetarily but in every aspect because that is Jesus' promise. (John 10:10)

Never for a single moment think that God is not interested in our daily life. He wants to be a part of the everyday; from the food that we eat, shows that we watch, things that we read, people that we meet, choices that we make, things that we do, people that we are attracted to, relationships that we share - He wants to be a part of everything!

I realized that there are times when we can easily worship and praise God and that is in times of joy. It's so easy to praise God when things are going the way we want them to be but when the rubber meets the road do we find ourselves praising and worshipping Him? I think that's the furthest thing from our minds. One particular line in a song struck a chord in my heart.

"When my hope is gone, Lord, Your hope remains yet..."

How easy it is to sing that line when things are going well. I had been singing that without really thinking about it and I realize that it's so easy to sing songs without really meditating on them.

No wonder James says in his first chapter (read it up if you have the time, there's more to the chapter than what I'm going to say) to "count it all joy when you fall into various trials". How can we thank God for being our healer if we never fall sick. How can we thank God for being our prosperity if we do not lack. How can we thank God for being there if we do not even see the need for Him to be there? I am not saying that sickness, disease, poverty and other trials are from God, but these things are part of this natural fallen world. That is why we should remember that God is with us and He can turn all these things around for our good.

Oinkypig and I finished up the Sub-Space Emissary Game in my Super Smash Bros. Brawl Wii Game. Lots of fun by the way. Anyway, at the end of it this Latin song was played.

I realized that some to the words are really cool and although not entirely, I feel that the song reminds me of what Jesus has done. I've selected the parts here...

Audi famam illius
(I have heard of his rumor.) - What Jesus did is definitely not rumor, it's real.
Solus in hostes ruit
(He alone rushed into his enemies) - He alone bore all our sins and crushed the enemy's head.
et patriam servavit.
(and saved his homeland.) - He saved the whole world.

Spes omnibus,
(He gave everyone hope)
mihi quoque.
(as He gave me.)

Ille
(He is now)
iuxta me.
(next to me.)

Ille iuxta me.
(He is now next to me.)

As I said, only parts of the song remind me of Jesus especially "Ille iuxta me". The other parts can be scrapped. For those who are interested here's a link to the video with translations. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipIh5GkaQMM

Ok. Back to sleep!