Chronicles of William...: September 2004

Tuesday, September 28, 2004

admin meeting...

today had dinner at richard's house. he cooked for us. it was tasty mee hoon. and then there was the admin side of the OCF meeting up. portfolios were discussed and also about the improvements and things to implement.

one thing that was taught, was about being long sighted, or to see things in the long run. richard was teaching about our actions, and do they(in our portfolio) have a good effect in the long run. will the things prepared only be useful for the short run or will it really be the backbone and foundation for the portfolio and OCF in the future. we should be looking at things in the long run, where OCF will grow and prepare for the big number, not to maintain the number.

which where it brought me to thought about the things we do, not only in OCF but in our daily lives. do we see things in the long run? or do we just see the short term?
our actions actually have an effect. an effect in the long run. it causes a butterfly effect throughout. the effects will happen on us and also on to others.

we should have wisdom in our actions which is hard to do so. the pull to the opposite decision always seem the best and the easiest and most relaxing. and we got to struggle and learn. no one's perfect. but we should continue to persevere. not easy to do. but its a daily struggle. that's where the wisdom of choices come to the test. to choose, would it be the short term, or the long term? is it a wise choice, or not?

Monday, September 27, 2004

Heart of Worship

just came back from worship practice for a praise and worship event. well, it is a wow. there were arguments. the atmosphere was really spoilt. the changes of the shape of the face is all there. till even people got to stop the argument. and i'm sure heart tearing hurtful words would have been said. i can't type what, cause i don't understand mandarin. but i could piece a little bit here and there. it was about something really small. about the speed of the song, and about the worship leader coming in early, or later. one was wanting only a certain way and another was saying that its not needed. and as one gets exasperated with each other, things got worse ( it was already getting late, and everyone is tired). it was only between a few musicians that things got heated up.

ironically, funnily, weirdly, the argument was about the starting of the song, ' Heart of Worship.' if you look at the words of the song, it seriously contradicts a lot of the actions mentioned above. what is the heart of worship? is that the heart of worship?
clearly, the heart of worship wasn't there.

another thing would be that, we didn't pray before we start this practise. the previous practises was alright cause there was prayer. and it is evident as to what happened in the musicians side. the choir prayed before they practised and all went well for them. thus, the importance of prayer. indeed later, after a prayer by the pastor there(who didn't know what happened earlier), the last few songs went really well.

as pianists, well, musically we would have been trained well, having the strong foundation of music and would know many ideas and ways of organizing the worship. we should do our best to contribute and help the worship leader ( especially if the worship leader does not know much of music), but it is the worship leader who has the last say. we should not serve our ideas, we should serve God. we should let the worship leader choose what he/she wants, not demand a certain way. why would a worship leader be called a worship leader?

we got to be tactful in what we say. even if we want to help and contribute. what's the point of helping if what you say is going to hurt people? it is then wiser not to help. and words can really cut deep. the wound in the heart takes longer(or maybe never) to heal than the wound on the body.

i was standing at a corner with the keyboard, and well, could observe everyone and their reactions towards the scene. there were people who kept quiet (for it is better to), and there were people who stopped them, there was the choir (the best), who continued to sing the song for they know what it means for the song.

i was reminded of the verse 'Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God.' Matthew 5:9

Sunday, September 26, 2004

for always....

and does anyone know of this song? probably A.I movie fans, lara fabian and josh groban fans only would know. titled, ' For Always' . there is the duet and single version. it's a nice song from the soundtrack, ' A.I. ' .
________________________________

For Always

From The A.I. Soundtrack
Written by John Williams

I close my eyes and there in the shadows
I see your light
You come to me out of my dreams
Across the night

You take my hand though you may be so many stars away
I know that our spirits and souls are one
We've circled the moon and we've touched the sun
So here we'll stay

For always, forever
Beyond here and on to eternity
For always, forever
For us there's no time and no space
No barrier love won't erase
Wherever you go
Is to know
In my heart you will be
With me

From this day on I'm certain I'll never be alone
I know what my heart must have always known
That love has a power that's all its own

And for always, forever
Then we can fly
And for always and always
We will go on beyond goodbye

For always, forever
Beyond here and on to eternity
For always, and ever
You'll be a part of me

And for always, forever
A thousand tomorrows may cross the sky
And for always and always
We will go on beyond goodbye
________________________________

reflections: well, its a love song obviously. i haven't watched the movie A.I. so i would not know how does the love reflect on who-to-who. it could be 2 lovers, or in the movie? robot and human? ( no idea). anyways, the line that stuck out would be the lines that express neverendingness. like, ' We will go beyond goodbye' , 'Beyond here and on to eternity'.
it could be in friendships, our parents love, the 'someone' who cares for you. Are the friendships that you made going beyond goodbye? how about the love you give? is it for always?
i would say God's love. the love of God. it is 'for always, and ever, beyond here and on to eternity, for there's no time and no space, no barrier love won't erase' . that is God's love for us.

many thanks...

got to thank the many people who have been helping me to get the site right and hearing my neverending questions. html is quite an ok thing if you know it. had a few problems with the site when was adding in the tag board. woo hoo... hit 100 on the counter. i wonder whether was it mostly me checking whether the site is alright? hahaha... anyways, there will always be improvement. and thanks to zhi yong, ying mei, jessica w and the many more people that would be added to the list soon.

i just got a new bible. woo hoo! i have been carrying the 2kg study bible to OCF, prayer meets and church. man... heavy... eng poh said it would have built my muscles. hmm.... no wonder i feel like got buldge like that... hahaha. but that's not the point. the study bible was good for bible studies which is why i bring it to OCF. but to prayer meets and church, i needed a smaller bible to bring, and also so that i could bring a bible everywhere. you'll never know when you'll need it. and the study bible isn't so practical for that. yay to my grey-black italian duo tone compact and portable silver lined page bible by zondervan.

so many thoughts....

too many thoughts been going through my head. just suddenly had a few busy days and learnt a lot. had OCF yesterday and this morning, prayer meet. well, had many thoughts while talking to people, and just had even more thoughts at prayer meet. there were a few issues and one of it was about drinking.

the issue of drinking. there is nothing wrong with drinking but if going drinking causes another person to stumble or fall, then it would be wrong. if the action of drinking causes a butterfly effect to others that they will fall ( and most of the time you'd not know it ), then it would not be appropriate to drink. unless your motives are clear that the going to the pub crawl is just for socializing sake as a college event, then it would be alright. and to think on it, if someone were to ask what you are doing and drinking, you would be clear to answer that it is purely for socializing and if the action is causing one to stumble, then apologize and not do it in front of them.

another would be when one allows substance to take over control of the body. for when one is drunk, one is not aware of the actions one is doing. and this could lead to even more worse things. would one be alert enough to distinguish right from wrong? how would others look at you as a Christian? what type of witness are you giving for God? and that would cause others to stumble and fall.

one can live without drinking. its not essential in life. or is it a must? or a 'modern' and 'in' thing to do? or is it the 'high' thing that is needed and wanted to feel?

drinking wine or a little bit of alcohol, hmm...nothing wrong. Christians drink wine for Holy Communion. drinking wine on occasions is alright. parties, formal events, celebrations. of course it is still one's choice.

i have nothing against drinking, only at how the drinking is done and the actions portrayed out to others.

Bible references = Romans 13:13, Galations 5:19-21, 1st Timothy 3:2-3, 1st Corinthians 8

Thursday, September 23, 2004

Wednesday, September 22, 2004

what it takes to start a blog

well, this marks the birth of the blog. was pretty excited... wanted to read up html to do as much as i can for the site. but yeah, busy with uni. and the time could be used better. so i'll make do with the template and write... its the stuff that counts and the appearance is just to support.

so, i was wondering what's the purpose of writing or getting this so called 'blog'. ( to be honest, i don't like the word 'blog'. i think it's not such a nice sounding word.) anyways, i realise as the years go by, the circle of friends grow bigger and you meet more and more people. its hard to keep track of everyone, or to help everyone. and what more with life lessons, the better you could help the person. to be an elder brother to younger friends back home at church and at school before ( of course they would have left school by now) , and to grow up together with classmates who are everywhere now.

i was basically inspired by giok leigh, a dear elder brother of mine, from his website, http://www.geocities.com/leigh316. i was thinking, i want to do the same as well. but as i have no expertise in html or comp stuff, i would have to start simpler. he has articles that he written, his daily 'entries', and songs, and articles from places. one may not be able to keep up with everyone, but one could still ensure that there is a place that someone could look for guidance or the ' life's lessons. '

there goes the opening speech... it's officially open....woo hoo!