Study break! (or is my blogging a break from studying?)

Thank you Lord for the holidays!

Finally! The Raya holidays are here and my school has a week off! Haha...but then, my final term exams will be 4 days after we go back to school. So it means it's time to study, study, study. Not much time left as time flies. It's already the end of September!

My picture speaks for the domesticated musician I am. There is a cookbook (Pol Martin!) and then there is a Mozart sonata I am working on and a book I'm reading, called I Can Only Imagine.

I was on worship duty yesterday in church and I really thank God for the opportunity to serve Him. I played more flute yesterday, and it was just so refershing! So a word of encouragement to all aspiring church musicians out there, it's an honour to serve God and we should take this opportunity to give back to God the talent He has given us. I wasn't all that confident when I started out playing in church, and I didn't really have someone to teach me what to do. All I had was..."Just fly around in the scale". That's all. I explored from there. It took time, yes, but then the end result is...I can't even find words to describe how it feels! Even now, I am still learning.

Ultimately, know that when you're up there, you're up there for God, and not for man. So like Colossians 3:23-24 says, "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ."
And then in 1 Timothy 4:12, "Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity."
Remember that when you go up there, people see you, so stay right with God and let your life be pleasing to Him and give Him all the glory!

Can I get an "AMEN!"?

Hmm...

Someone told me I should post more...so here goes.

I thank God for my brother. He's pretty intelligent, though he professes not to be...how else would one manage to do so well despite being so involved in the school band? He's a terrific guy, and I really envy him coz he always manages to think of something smart to say, or a quick comeback...he always seems to say intelligent stuff. I guess us being only one year apart is one of the things which has attributed to how close we are. Sure, he has his big-brother-I-know-better-than-you attitude, but I know that if he were to go overseas now, I would really miss it. So I'm gonna treasure all my time I have with him.

He's good looking, although he claims not to be, which is why there are girls who come up to me and go, "Your brother is SOOOOOOOO CUTE!!!!!!!!!". How else would you explain that? He IS good looking.

I know it's not normal for a sister to tell the world that she loves her brother, but in fact, I LOVE MY BROTHER!!!!!!!!!!!!! Really. I love him a lot. Maybe it's because I only have one brother, maybe it's because he doesn't go around talking non-stop, maybe it's because he teases me a lot, maybe it's because he simply cares for me. But ultimately, I'm glad I have him. He's a good listener, and he's fun to talk to. Sometimes we just sit in his room and have pointless conversations, but I really treasure our relationship coz I know that nothing in this world is forever, and since I have him, I'm gonna be selfish and keep him until we have to part.

He can be weird sometimes, but then again, who's not? As he says, "This is a normal world. Everyone's weird". See what I mean by he says intelligent stuff? He is full of analogies, which, of course, he puts to good use in debates. He comes up with them right on the spot.

Today, as usual, I went into his room to wake him up, and every morning, I say "Morning, kor". His response this morning was "Mmm". That's his usual response other than "Morning". And then, I came home from school, upset with a certain something and I find I can just confide in him. It's good having him around, coz I as a girl, can tend to go overboard with my reactions and it's my brother who brings me back down to earth. Yeah, so you know who you are, you made me mad today, and I've got a brother, and he's someone you don't have. He's my flesh and blood, and I absolutely, absolutely love him.

Thank You, God!

I have resolved that with every blog post, I am going to thank God for something. For this post, it's gonna be me thanking God for today, for my simple existence in this world, for Him guiding me through yet another day. I am NOT trying to be holy or religious or anything, just grateful for this life which my God has given to me.

There's this old song called I Don't Know About Tomorrow and it goes...


I don't know about tomorrow,
I just live from day to day.
I don't borrow from its sunshine,
For its skies may turn to gray.

I don't worry o'er the future,
For I know what Jesus said,
And today I'll walk beside Him,
For He knows what is ahead.

Many things about tomorrow,
I don't seem to understand;
But I know Who holds tomorrow,
And I know Who holds my hand.

Ev'ry step is getting brighter,
As the golden stairs I climb;
Ev'ry burden's getting lighter;
Ev'ry cloud is silver-lined.

There the sun is always shining,
There no tear will dim the eyes,
At the ending of the rainbow,
Where the mountains touch the sky.

I don't know about tomorrow,
It may bring me poverty;
But the One Who feeds the sparrow,
Is the One Who stands by me.

And the path that be my portion,
May be through the flame or flood,
But His presence goes before me,
And I'm covered by His blood.


Yeah, life has its ups and downs, but in any situation, as far as possible, I want to be assured that I've got someone I can turn to. I and trying to remind myself to be thankful in all circumstances. It's pretty new to me, not that I haven't been thankful to God or anything, just that I haven't been thankful to God in every situation and I'm gonna try to do that all the time. Why? Coz I have to be thankful and not take for granted what God has given to me.

Just today in music class in school, we were listening to this work called Tren Pamieci Ofiarom Hirozmy by Krzysztof Penderecki which, in translation is Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima. You know, the tragic Hiroshima-Nagasaki bombing. As we were listening to this work, I was caught by the depth of emotion in this work, the agony and the tragedy captured and put down on a manuscript then recorded. Of course, this repertoire was first composed with no particular intention in mind, but after this work was recorded and played back, the composer decided to dedicate it to the victims of this bombing. I was struck by the realization that we will never know when our life would come to an end, now will we know what tomorrow brings, as says the song, and so I feel the need to make the most of my life and live a life pleasing to God.

So yes, I thank God for my life and for today.

Me?

This is me. And this is my sweet sixteenth birthday gift to myself. Yes, today, I am sixteen. Happy sweet sixteen to me! May the content of this blog be pleasing to God, and with this, I officially post my first post!