How Great Thou Art...

Saw this from Yahoo! News...



Heavenly Father,


         How Great Thou Art, How Great Thou Art...


Amen.

There. nuff' said.

Ciao.

p.s.: Here's to everyone. How Great indeed is the Lord Almighty..

Good Friday: The bleeding hands and feet...

Passage Taken from Matthew 27:


Jesus Before Pilate


 ¹¹ Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

   “You have said so,” Jesus replied.

 ¹² When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. ¹³ Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” ¹⁴ But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.

 ¹⁵ Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. ¹⁶At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus^[b] Barabbas. ¹⁷ So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” ¹⁸ For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him.

 ¹⁹ While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”

 ²⁰ But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.

 ²¹ “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.

   “Barabbas,” they answered.

 ²² “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.

   They all answered, “Crucify him!”

 ²³ “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.

   But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”

 ²⁴ When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”

 ²⁵ All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!”

 ²⁶ Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

The Soldiers Mock Jesus

 ²⁷ Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. ²⁸They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, ²⁹ and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. ³⁰ They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. ³¹ After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

The Crucifixion of Jesus

 ³² As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. ³³ They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). ³⁴ There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. ³⁵ When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. ³⁶ And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. ³⁷ Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

 ³⁸ Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. ³⁹ Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads ⁴⁰ and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” ⁴¹ In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. ⁴² “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. ⁴³ He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” ⁴⁴ In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

The Death of Jesus

 ⁴⁵ From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. ⁴⁶ About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,^[c] lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).^[d]

 ⁴⁷ When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”

 ⁴⁸ Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. ⁴⁹ The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

 ⁵⁰ And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

 ⁵¹ At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split ⁵² and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. ⁵³ They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and^[e] went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

 ⁵⁴ When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

 ⁵⁵ Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. ⁵⁶ Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph,^[f] and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.

THANK YOU, JESUS for your love for me.

When I Fall in Love...

I was having a swim this evening (a very much needed swim.. hehe).. Anyway, as I was swimming, the waterpark was blasting songs with their new sound system. One of the songs played was an instrumental version of Nat King Cole's ~ "When I Fall in Love".

Hearing that put me in such a sentimental mood (jiwang lah tu..) and to top it off, one of my dearest friend is tying the knot in 3 days time.. !!!!!! (So exuberantly excited!!)

So just for kicks, here's the video from Youtube that I'm currently listening to over and over again.

That's it for now,

Ciao.

p.s.: Here's to all the brides-to-be.. Cheers!!

Sarawak State Elections 2011

Its a historical time. One of the hottest election ever. Highest ever registered number of new voters. I've done my part. Cast my "X".

How bout' you?

Its so interesting to see many of the younger generation really concerned of their state. So much so that even those who are still under-age are also having their say in this. Just take a look around facebook. Everyone has something to say. But ONE comment caught my eye. It was of a 17 year old girl that posted this song and prayed the best for her city..

Here it is readers: -

God of this City   (by Chris Tomlin)

You're the God of this city

You're the King of these people

You're the Lord of this nation

You are

You're the Light in this darkness

You're the Hope to the hopeless

You're the Peace to the restless

You are

There is no one like our God

There is no one like our God

Chorus:

For greater things have yet to come

Greater things are still to be done

In this City

Greater things have yet to come

Greater things are still to be done

Here

**************************

Lord, let your will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven...

Ciao.

p.s.: Here's to all those voting for the first time like me!! Cheers!!

Courtship?

How do I love Thee

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.

I love thee too the level of every day's

Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight

I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;

I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.

I love with a passion put to use

In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose

With my lost saints, I love thee with the breath,

Smiles, tears, of all my life! and, if God choose,

I shall but love thee better after death

~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning ~

****************

A student of mine yesterday randomly asked me a question.

"Teacher, are you ready to court?"

Wow.. straight out. No filtration. No easing of words into the topic. Dead straight to the point. How was I going to answer this? Am I of age to court?

To answer honestly.. If you go by "natural order of the earth" (well I've always wanted to use this phrase..hehe) at my age right now, I should be having my first child or at least getting married. But here I am, OF AGE, but never been in a relationship. Am I ready to court?

I still stand true to my belief that I will not get into a relationship that does not have marriage as a goal. And the longer this prolongs, the more I do question myself, "Am I born to lead a life of celibacy?" I mean, celibacy isn't THAT bad. There are many beautiful, strong, courages women of God that has lived a single life and done many things for God's Glory.. And sometimes I do aspire to have that kind of impact on the world. But... there is another side of me that just wants to nurture and build lives and impact them in their individual lives. In case that didn't make sense, I'll get straight to the point. I want to be a wife and mother. I also want companionship. To build a relationship of love in this small unit of life called a FAMILY.

With all that being said, should I start getting desperate and throw myself at any guy that comes my way?! Should I start flirting with random guys whom I think fits my physical requirements?! Should I start chatting up  (or email or facebook) long lost guy friends whom I know are still single so that I can widen my pool of choice (come on la.. I chat with them doesn't mean they want to chat with me mah..who am I kidding)?! Should I?

Obviously my answer would be NO. I do believe there is the right someone for me out there. And he's looking for me. And I do believe that God will bring him to me when the time is right. But until that time comes, I have to prepare myself to be better and I believe God is shaping me to be that person. What if that person doesn't exist? Then I pray that God will give me the grace to accept that..

Now that all is mentioned, the very same question comes to mind again:

"Am I ready to court?"

"Why, its elementary my dear Watson, elementary"...

YES.

Ciao.

p.s.: Here's to those who are having the same dilemma as I am. Cheers!

Gentle Reminder.....

Today is church day!! Yay!!

The sermon was wonderfully shared and focused on Nehemiah Chapter 6 where my church pastor preached about guarding our personal walls. One of the phrases mentioned really struck me which goes:

We must NEVER take our eyes off God and think that we can do it on our own. Then our walls will begin to crack (referring to the walls of Jerusalem that were taken over by the Babylonians)

Pastor went on to remind us that we should always REMEMBER GOD for he has been our help which immediately reminded me of my previous post where I mentioned that if we remember God is bigger than our problem, we are comforted.

Lord Jesus,
          Forgive me for my lack of faith in you lately. Thank you for your faithfulness in carrying me through each day. Lord I want to continue to learn to put my faith in you, to trust you. Teach me, mold me. Make me more like you.

Amen.

The youth sang a song that speaks of the same message too.. I guess I really need to be reminded of the awesomeness of God.. Here its is..

THROUGH IT ALL

You are forever in my life

You see me through the seasons

Cover me with Your hands

And lead me in Your righteousness

And I look to You

And I wait on You

Chorus:

I sing to You, Lord

A hymn of love

For your faithfulness to me

I'm carried in everlasting arms

You'll never let me go

Through it all

Bridge:

Hallelujah (4x)

Ciao.

p.s.: Here's to those of you who needs a little EXTRA reminder like me.. God Bless!!!

A new leaf?

Regarding the title.. Why do we always say "turn over a new leaf"?? I mean when you turn over a leaf.. it just DOESN'T become new.. hmmm..

Right. To post proper...

In light of my post before this, I need to address a few matters..

I know my post was very impulsive and reactive BUT, I do not regret it for I am but only human and no one was harmed (except probably for my ego..). Anyway, I had Bible Study for homegroup and we covered Nehemiah Chapter 4. From that chapter, the verse that popped up to me was

After I look things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, "Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes." (Neh 4:14)

 Upon reaching this section of the passage for discussion, the Bible study leader commented something that struck me hard. And it sobered me from my anger over the previous post. This was he commented.

"When you see that God is bigger than your problems, you are comforted."

Immediately my brain went "Wow.. Okay God, I get it.. I'm sorry... I should be better than this.. I'll power through the storm because you indeed are greater than my problem" It was a lesson learnt and I promise myself to be a little more accepting although personally I still think that the job distribution is a little unfair on my part.

But hey, I guess if it doesn't break you, it MAKES you... and I have much to be thankful for that. Hence my title.

Ciao.

p.s.: Here's to all who have  experienced God knocking ever so gently on the door to remind us of HOW GREAT HE IS...

Tired..

Yesterday, I received a new duty roster.

The worst thing is that its a new duty for me. So I now have to add on MORE work to my ever growing pile of work. Its just plain RIDICULOUS. There are so many other teachers that CAN be used for that duty and are MUCH MUCH more free (have less duties to hold) than me (and even have less teaching periods).

How am I going to be a good teacher and influence the students if more and more jobs keep coming my way and I have end up spreading myself TOO THIN (well weight and size is a different matter all together)??!! I made a promise to give the best to my students when I first joined the teaching force.

BUT...

How am I suppose to fulfill that promise if every time there is something new to do I'm thrown the duty?? Its really not fair. I know I'm suppose to rise and be the better person and accept it gracefully and be the nice person here. But... Right now steaming ears and pounding heartbeats infest my body to the point that I need to release them before I burst inside.

Argh!!!

I'm SOOOOOO angry!!! (and I bet you all can tell that by the way I'm writing this post)

Ciao.

p.s.: If only solving this problem was as easy as just telling people to "get lost"!