Make a Wish...

"Everything"

Everything (by Israel Houghton)
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Everything, everything
Lord You are everything to me
Everything, everything
Lord You are everything to me

My treasure, my priority
Who can compare to You?
Great is the measure of Your royalty
O Morning Star
You truly are, everything.

Extreme

Just something that I've been thinking of lately....

"The question is not whether we will be extremists,
But what kind will we be?
Where are the extremists for love and grace?" - Martin Luther King

Mumble's birthday present

This afternoon...Jo asked me "Can I eat your goldfish biscuits?" (ie. Mumble's birthday present from Berno) So I said yes, and she proceeded to open up the packet and share it with the other coaches, who really loved it. Then I told her, "Mumble doesn't look very happy leh..." To which she replied, "Aiyah, he also cannot eat what! Not happy for what?" haha! Poor Mumble...look at what happens next.

Abi taunting a clearly pissed off Mumble, as she eats his fav fishies in front of his penguin eyes.

Rubbing it in, for all it's worth.

Mumble: When what you desire is simply...out of reach.

Rainbow coloured, cheddar cheese flavoured goldfish! They're cute and yummy!

Song of the Soul

I'm not one to wear my heart on my sleeve,
And I don't unfold easily.
But if you care to look deep into my eyes,
beyond the smiles,
You'll see how I really feel,
and uncover the soul behind.

Perhaps I fear what I hold inside,
A reservoir of emotions
too much for anyone to bear.
There is only One,
who can carry the weight of my heart.
With everlasting arms,
and eyes so piercing yet kind,
He'll lead me home.

There is so much road ahead of me,
And I'm still trying to find my way,
to make sense of this so called life.
So I'm holding on to my faith.
And I'll keep singing...
Listen closely,
and you'll hear
my soul
unravel.

Boppin' around

I love my fwens and the crazy, random things they say. :) I had an emotionally draining day...but these folks make it all better by making me laugh.

Glenn & I talking about how much we love blueberries, and how he accidentally dropped blueberries from his cup of frozen yoghurt (and apparently when blueberries drop, they make a *BOP* sound).
===================================================================
Mich: Wow...you're my blueberry fwen!
Glenn: I'm your STRIPED, blueberry fwen! [cos Glenn has plenty many striped shirts in his wardrobe]
Mich: I never had a blueberry fwen.
Glenn: You should be disturbed if you did.
Mich: So instead of Strawberry Shortcake....you're like...BLUEBERRY BOPPINS!
Glenn: .......

Erica & Abi at my table, playing keys. Erica tries to teach Abi how to play some syncopated, funk rhythms:
===================================================================
Erica: *in musician speak* So its...UGH ugh UGH ugh UGH ugh..and then ugh UGH ugh UGH ugh UGH etc.
[the accents are on the UGH]
Abi: huh?? *lost* Why must ugh?
Erica: *earnestly* Sometimes you must UGH to know?
Abi and I: *look at each other before bursting out in laughter*

During service in church....Pastor Vincent is preaching about the importance of observing the Sabbath:
===================================================================
Muffin Boy: Does Mumble keep the Sabbath? You should give him Sun off you know.
Mich: WHAT?!?!? But he doesn't do anything!
Muffin Boy: But he's always in the office.
Mich: So I should bring him and his furry frens to church?
Muffin Boy: Yes exactly! Mumble keeps the Sabbath. :)

Randomly over sms:
===================
Abi: "Still a friend of mine, oh, still a friend of mine!!" [it's an Incognito song which Erica was trying to teach Abi how to play on keys]

Randomly over msn:
===================
Muffin Boy: "Live High" [lyrics from a Jason Mraz song]
Mich: *continues* "Live Mighty"
Muffin Boy: "Live Righteously!"
Mich: *simultaneously* "Live Righteously!"
Muffin Boy: Ba ba ba La pa pa
Mich: !?!? hahaha!

The Journey of Worship

This is an overdue blog post....but I was too tired to blog about it earlier. So here it goes. :) Last weekend, I attended the Tim Hughes & Planetshakers worship concert at Expo, and the Worship Central Conference (featuring Tim Hughes & Al Gordon) at Faith Methodist Church. [In case you didn't know, Tim Hughes is a Brit worship leader who wrote the well-known worship anthem "Here I am to worship", as well as other songs like "Consuming Fire", "God of justice" and "Beautiful One".]

Tim led us through a great time of worship with a very well-chosen set. He chose a few of his songs like "Oh Happy Day", "Here I am to worship", "Beautiful One"....and mixed them with other familiar favourites like "Mighty to save" and "One way" by Hillsong. I love how real and unassuming these Brit worship leaders are. :) No airs, no need for hype. Awesome.

During the conference, Tim Hughes taught a workshop titled "The Journey of Worship" which covered the theology of worship. It was also a time where he shared very humbly and honestly, his heartbeat for worship and the church. And of course, his anecdotes were littered with witty Brit humour, and quotes by great literary figures like G.K Chesterton...all of which I thoroughly enjoyed. :) I was very blessed by his sharing and teachings....and here are a few of my notes from that session:

1) Tim was talking to a Bishop in Manila about the Westminister Catechism which states:
"Q. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever."
The Bishop made a little amendment to that statement, which somehow made it a lot more powerful.

"Man's chief end is to glorify God BY enjoying Him forever."

2) "God is calling us to a passionate love affair"- G.K Chesterton
- worship is first and foremost about an intimate relationship with God.
- It's heart to heart, being undone. Honesty, vulnerability.
- It's important to give people SPACE for intimacy with God in worship.

3) All of creation is praising God with an eternal song (Job 38:6-8; Isaiah 55:12, Ps 93:3, Rev 5:13). When we lift up our songs unto God, we are joined in harmony with the eternal song of creation...we become part of something bigger.

4) Never neglect the secret place, actively pursue space with God.
- that's how we become fully alive, and that's our best gift to the church.

5) Set aside a 'creative day' to simply enjoy God and work on your craft, meet with other musicians/songwriters.

6) Worship is caught, not just taught.
- we set ourselves on fire for God at the start of the day, and the world watches us burn throughout the day.

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After the conference...God led me to meditate on Psalm 138 which seemed to sum everything up and relate to my walk with Him during this season. I've been chewing on the nuggets of truth in this Psalm for a week now....and here are a few things that I've learnt.

1) It's so easy for us to assume the semblance of godliness....especially for those of us who are serving heavily in church, or are on full-time staff/ working for christian organizations. But the first verse in Psalm 138 reminds us that we must praise God with our WHOLE HEART....and not just part of it.

2) Worship is truly a journey which will take each of us on different paths in life...but the end point is always the same- God's heart. I'm clinging to that promise in vs 8..."The LORD will perfect that which concerns me." From ashes to beauty. :)

Psalm 138

A Psalm of David.

1 I will praise You with my whole heart;
Before the gods I will sing praises to You.
2 I will worship toward Your holy temple,
And praise Your name
For Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.
3 In the day when I cried out, You answered me,
And made me bold with strength in my soul.

4 All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O LORD,
When they hear the words of Your mouth.
5 Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the LORD,
For great is the glory of the LORD.
6 Though the LORD is on high,
Yet He regards the lowly;
But the proud He knows from afar.

7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch out Your hand
Against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.
8 The LORD will perfect that which concerns me;
Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands.

"After an Afternoon"

Today, was all about chilling. :) It started with Senior Pastor preaching about the 4th Commandment- understanding the importance of the sabbath principle. I thought it was so refreshing to hear a church teaching us to guard our rest and to live a balanced life...it really is very important especially in a hectic, fast-paced society like Singapore. (I guess the Aussies understand work-life balance a lot better. heh!)

The most memorable part of the service for me was when Pastor Vincent got us to put our fingers on our wrist, to feel our pulse. At first, nobody knew what that was for.....but he went on to make this beautiful statement: "The Sabbath is about feeling your pulse again...about remembering that every heartbeat is a gift from God." That blew me away. :) Keeping the sabbath is all about remembering that God is the sustainer and provider of life. Wow! :)

And so...in keeping the idea of rest, I spent the rest of Sunday afternoon just chilling and hanging out with Pammy and Abi at Brewerkz, Riverside Point. :)

We sat outside to enjoy our beer, buffalo wings and chilli fries over fun & meaningful conversation. Hmmm...although at one point Pammy very randomly said "Joel Houston is so blonde." haha! I dunno what she means, so we'll just let that pass. Anyway, that's not us in the pic...but I think we all a bit camera shy.

Abi and her beer....in an accidental emo shot.

I love the vibe of this whole place...it's just so laid-back, and the view of the river is just so refreshing (dun ruin it by telling me how dirty it is). It's one of those few, non-crowded places in S'pore where I feel like my soul can breathe again.

Ang moh kids playing in the fountain beside Brewerkz. It's just so heart warming to see kids in their natural element eh? I think they remind us not to take ourselves so seriously. :)

A beautiful mess- who cares if we get wet? :)

Soul in the city

Restful

It's been quite a while, since I've had a whole day to myself to spend as I please (ie. michelle does nothing). :) So I woke up luxuriously late.....then made my way down to the gym for a good work out. Endorphins rock!

After gym, Abi and I jammed to Brooke Fraser's "You'll Come"...that was so fun! Then Pammy and I had a little debate over the cuteness of Brit worship leader Tim Hughes aka Dimples, while munching on popcorn. haha! Frivalous I know. :p I played a bit of keyboards while waiting for Abi and Jo to finish work. It was quite funny to have a background chorus (ie. Abi and Pammy) humming along spontaneously while I played the piano-based intro of "God of this City." The chord progression Bm7_A_G2 never sounded better. haha! Yeah, we are geeks at play. After that, we went to Cedele, Wheelock Place for dinner. Jo had some yummy Alfredo mushroom & bacon pasta....while Abi n I shared a chicken salad with honey mustard dressing, and blueberry pancakes with ice-cream!

Now, I'm lazing around at home...listening to Jason Mraz's fantabulous new single, "Live High." and singing along to the chorus.
"Live high
Live mighty
Live righteously
Takin it easy"
What a wonderful message!! :) I can't wait for his new album to be released on May 13th. :)

Okie...I'm off to watch Bones Season 2 now. And perhaps catch up on my reading, and songwriting later. This feels soooo good and restful. :) *happiness*

Little Blessings

I received this heart-warming sms from my grandma this evening....and yes, she knows how to sms! Altho she makes a few typos here and there cos she's not that familiar with how the phone works. hehe! :)

"Mich, your dad have collected soon kway, otak and chibken pie.
Enjoy eating.- Mama"

Trying to catch my breath

It's been quite hectic the past 2 weeks. Last week was term break, but I had so many things on my plate, that it turned out to be more intense than a normal work week. Still....I'm grateful for God's blessings which come in various forms n mediums. :)

1) Time to connect with old friends like Desmond, Dehui and Shan over weekday dinners. (something not normally possible during my work week)

2) A beautiful, intimate time of worship during the vocal coaches meeting.
- It's easy to get tired/fall into a routine after working at the same job for so many years. But thank God for bringing me back to basics...and reminding me that a song is essentially an overflow of the heart. So far beyond working on our skills and syllabus, we need to first of all guard our relationship with God, and build intimacy with Him. From the overflow of the heart, that song of love, life and truth will spring forth. :)

- I got each of the vocal coaches to share a song that expressed their heart's cry in that season, and to lead us in worship using that song. It was quite amazing how all our songs converged in terms of theme. :) Seems like God was speaking the same thing to all of us....to just drop the cares of the world, to love on Him.

3) I'm not one who likes to leave things unresolved, especially when it comes to major life decisions. But through the fellowship of my cell, I've learnt that a true test of the maturity of one's faith in God, is the ability to handle uncertainty. A Christian writer, Tan Soo-Inn put it this way, "We often try to sprint through life, but life is on a stroll..."

So well...Michelle is trying to catch her breath. :)

And oh....I was really happy to hear Muffin Boy tell me this tdy, "Muffin Boy is giving back" (he got that phrase from American Idol, the "Idol gives back" charity show). Thanks Muffy for reminding us that we shouldn't be whining or waiting to receive, but to take the initiative to love and give. :) And truly, there's a lot of loving to do in this world that we live in.

Mumble's 3rd Birthday!!

It's that special time of the year again, 10 April...Mumble's birthday!! haha! He turns 3 this year. I don't know how many of you remember the madness that exploded in the BMI office last year during Mumble's 2nd birthday celebration.....but it seems to have grown to bigger proportions this year.

It started at 8.30am in the morning....I was awoken by a sms from Jason who sent his bday wishes to Mumble. It really tickled me that he actually remembered! haha! But thank you Bassist Boy for continuing the tradition (he wished Mumble last year too).....you are a true fwen of Mumble! :) Next....check out the scene that greeted me when I reached the office.

Berno, Mumble's bestest fwen I reckon, actually came earlier to set up his elaborate party! With Abi's help, she gleefully put up his birthday card, pressie, birthday banner stating "I AM THREE YEARS OLD TODAY! Happy Birthday to me!"...and even made little pink party hats for Mumble and his soft toy fwens. I laughed so hard at that scene I tell you.

A close-up of Mumble's bday pressie- Pepperidge Farm goldfish biscuits, and his hand-made birthday card. The pic on the card is a goldfish in its bowl, and the line below says "WHEN WHAT YOU DESIRE SEEMS BEYOND YOUR REACH.." Berno is hilarious...haha!

The rest of the party. Actually, we commented that they look a bit like Ku Klux Klan here, except in the wrong colour. haha! The boss and a new colleague walked by my cubicle, and got a bit startled. heh!

Everyone wanted to take photos with the bday boy! That's Abi...who wore her Threadless penguin/polar bear t-shirt specially for Mumble.

It's a really cute t-shirt...the penguins and polar bears are hanging out together...at a 'swimming pool', which is actually an ice-cube tray if you look carefully.

Thanks everyone for celebrating Mumble's bday! haha! It sure was a lot of fun, and I think you've made him one happy little boy today. Berno has declared it "Mumble Birthday Week"....so he's still accepting presents. haha!

Who We Are

I read this blog post from John Mayer's website....and I'm truly blown away by the guy. He writes so insightfully and sensitively. His musings are quite philosophical but he writes in a style that is very accessible. I thought he really nailed it...when he talked about our generation having such a high level of self consciousness that it's toxic. Looks like we're more alike than we think we are behind all the veneers, personas that we put up.

I really love how he concluded the post too....about being real with each other, taking a greater interest in people and rooting for them...opening up your heart and living boldly. I was so moved by his post that I was near to tears. I've posted the entire article here, cos I think it's really worth the read. (Thanks Andrea for sending me the link!)

May you find your way fellow traveller.....


FROM THE HEART....(by John Mayer)
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I need to write this.

I've been traveling alone in Japan for the better part of three weeks now, and It's been so remarkable an experience for me that I can't book a ticket home yet. I haven't spoken very much out loud these days, but I've been thinking to myself in what feels like surround sound. I can see so many things clearly, and feel so connected to myself and the world around me that I need to share the perspective with you.

I'm already aware that when I sing, say or write anything, 50 percent of the response will be in support of it and the other 50 will want to discount it. This blog, though, is directed to 100 percent of people reading it. If my blog truly does have any cultural effect, then it should be used for more than just pictures of sneakers and funny youtube videos. (If you don't think my blog has any effect, than you can't by definition be reading this right now and therefore don't have to respond to it in any way. Isn't that tidy?)

What I'm about to write isn't about fame or success or celebrity or the media. That's my business.

This is about us all.

This is about a level of self consciousness so high in my generation, that it's actually toxic.

This is about the girl in her bedroom who poses in front of the camera she's awkwardly holding in her outstretched hand. She'll take a hundred photos until coming up with one she's happy with, which inevitably looks nothing like her, and after she's done poring over images of herself, will post one on her myspace page and then write something like " I don't give a f*ck what you think about me."

This is about the person trying out for American Idol, who while going off about how confident they are that they were born ready to sing in front of the world, are trembling so badly they can hardly breathe.

This is about me, the guy who walks through a throng of photographers into a restaurant like he's Paul Newman, but who leaves a "reject" pile of clothes in his closet so high that his cleaning lady can't figure out how one man can step into so many pairs of pants in a week.

This is about a young guy who maintains a celebrity blog that subsists on tearing other people down but who has wrestled with a lifelong battle for acceptance as a gay man.

This is about us all. Every one of us. Who all seem to know deep down that it's incredibly hard to be alive and interact with the world around us but will try and cover it up at any cost. For as badass and unaffected as we try to come off, we're all just one sentence away from being brought to the edge of tears, if only it was worded right. And I don't want to act immune to that anymore. I took the biggest detour from myself over the past year, since I decided that I wasn't going to care about what people thought about me. I got to the point where I had so much padding on that, sure, I couldn't feel the negativity, but that's because I couldn't feel much of anything. And I think I'm done with that.

I'm not the first person to admit we're all self conscious, Kanye was. But what I want to do is to shed a little light on why we're all in the same boat, no matter the shape of the life we lead: because every one of us were told since birth that we were special. We were spoken to by name through a television. We were promised we could be anything that we wanted to be, if only we believed it and then, faster than we saw coming, we were set loose into the world to shake hands with the millions of other people who were told the exact same thing.

And really? Really? It turns out we're just not all that special, when you break it down. Beautifully unspectacular, actually. And that truth is going to catch up with us whether we want to run from it or not. The paparazzo following me to the gym ain't gonna be Herb Ritts and the guy he's following ain't gonna be Bob Dylan. It's just a matter of how old you are once you embrace that fact. And for me, 30 sounds about right.

What now, then? I can only really say for myself: Enjoy who I am, the talents and the liabilities. Stop acting careless. In fact, care more. Be vulnerable but stay away from where it hurts. Read. See more shows. Of any kind. Rock shows, art shows, boat shows. Create more art. Wear hoodies to dinner. Carry a notebook and hand it to people when they passionately recommend something and ask them to write it down for me.

Root for others.

Give more and expect the same in return, but over time.

Act nervous when I'm nervous, puzzled when I don't know what the hell to do, and smile when it all goes my way. And never in any other order than that.

And when it's all over, whether at the end of this fabulous career or of this life, which I hope takes place at the same time, I should look back and say that I had it good and I made the most of it while I was able. And so should you.

I'm going quiet now.

John

Let's All Fly Away

I got this sms from Glenn a few hours ago...he just got bk from a short trip to Melbourne.

Glenn: I'm home. Shit. This is terrible.

Doesn't that just sum up how we all feel? (well...at least me, Abi & Berno) haha! I love it.
I wanna fly away.
Again.
Nessie is in Scotland. :)
Nice.