Beautiful

This is such an honest song by Bethany Dillon, who's only 19 years old by the way.
Made me ponder upon Love, and how Love accepts us, flaws and all,
And beyond just mere acceptance,
Love pursues us with a relentless persistence,
and sees us....
as beautiful.

It's almost absurd if you think about it,
especially when confronted with our selfishness and shortcomings.
But Love sees us as beautiful....
and worthy to be loved.
Love doesn't just see us as who we are today,
But Love sees who we can grow to be in Christ.

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Beautiful (by Bethany Dillon)
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Sometimes I wish I was someone other than me
Fighting to make the mirror happy
Trying to find whatever is missing
Won't you help me back to glory

[Chorus]

You make me beautiful
You make me stand in awe
You step inside my heart, and I am amazed
I love to hear You say
Who I am is quite enough
You make me worthy of love and beautiful

CompassionArt

After an Afternoon....

Andie, Cheryl & I went down to the Integrity/Alby Warehouse Sale today (it will last until Sun). I was very happy in that place. :) It was like heaven. We barely got past the entrance and we were already squeaking in excitement and sending a flurry of smses/calls cos of the good buys. I think Andie said "Ok, let's spread out!" but Cheryl and I simultaneously replied, "but I want to see everything!" haha! When we finally calmed down....we came up with the strategy of doing a preliminary sweep before making our selections.

Wanna know the damage? haha! Well, I shall only list my own although all 3 of us had a full basket each. hee!
- 15 cds (including the new Jon Foreman and Hillsong London albums)
- 2 books
- **free** 5 new Integrity Calendar Posters (with pics of Israel/Tim/Chris and friends.)
(we also pulled off 2 Third Day "Revelation" posters from their wall...but we asked nicely first. haha!)

Andie thinks I'm a bad influence cos when she takes a moment to consider buying a cd, I will stand behind her and chirp, "buy it!" :) haha!

Our arms were seriously aching, our mouths were thirsty and tummies hungry after that afternoon adventure....but it was worth it. :)

Rediscovering Sarah

It all started with me listening to Sarah McLachlan's Christmas album, "Wintersong"...cos I was in the festive mood (and she's got one of the best Christmas albums around). And Muffin was telling me how much he's getting into Sarah's music....and today I saw her newly released album, "Closer-the best of Sarah McLachlan." I nearly bought it...but it was quite pricey at That CD Shop, and I have half of the songs in that album so I stopped myself.

But I was listening to the 2 new tracks in this album on her website ...and I just started falling in love with her voice and her music all over again. If you're talking about the best female vocalists out there, I would have to say, Sarah is queen. Yeah...way before Brooke Fraser even came into the scene. :) This all feels quite nostaglic....I had a little Sarah McLachlan obsession when I was in JC and NUS (quite like Felicity)! haha! I would play her cds until they got all scratched, and I had to buy 2nd copies.

So I think I'm gonna buy her album when I get a chance to. I was quite moved by her two new songs, "U Want Me 2" and "Don't Give Up On Us". They are based on the recent breakdown of her marriage to her drummer, Ashwin Sood, with whom she has two daughters. I guess I was impressed because her lyrics and voice reveal so much honesty and vulnerability about that difficult journey.

Sometimes I still get shocked by how starkly honest some of my fav artistes are in their music...but I'm learning that it's a journey I have to take in my writing/music too. To bare one's heart to the world is not an easy thing. In fact, during a conversation about songwriting, I once told Dawnie that some songs are better left unwritten....because the pain is just so raw. But something a dear brother once said encourages me, "your life experiences are meant to be shared..."

My heart trembled when I heard him say that. Perhaps because I knew he was right, and that I cannot run away for long. After all, the songs that are most powerful and memorable, are those that are true. That word intrigues me. It reverberates through one's soul.

[Listen to the songs on her "Closer" album here]

[Muffin: I hope you are happy with my new posts. haha! Muffin checks my blog daily, he says its like his "Daily Bread". Oh man.]

"Once"

I can't wait to watch this little gem of a movie...it's indie, it's Irish, it's about musos and the elusiveness of love (wait for the last line at the end of the trailer). Hmm...rather like August Rush.:)

Why I Love Our Band....

During band rehearsal just now...
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Ivan: *writing on his score...then looks up and asks earnestly..* "How do you spell rhythm?"
Mich: *jaw drops*
[Ivan is not just our electric guitarist...he is also a bassist mind you. And we all know what that entails!]
Cheryl, Eliz, Andie: *start laughing in disbelief*
Reg: r-h-y-t-h-m.
Andie: No!! It's r-e-e-t-h-e-m! haha! Reeeeetheeem!
Ricky: Arun would spell it as r-r-i-d-d-u-m!!
(Arun wasn't even present at the rehearsal, and he kena whacked by us again. haha!)

Jeremy Camp - There Will Be A Day

Tweee

Check out this photo taken by Daley Hake. This little boy is just so precious. I want to be his fwen. :) Such amazingly round eyes, such a winsome smile. :)

Fa La La La

I'm in the office, feeling insanely bored although I actually have work to do.
(the ridiculously slow PC isn't helping either.)
I just feel like zipping off to town to do some Christmas shopping.
Fa La La....
I blame it on all these retail merchants who have put up all their Christmas decor already.
The festive mood is in the air although it's not even a month before Christmas.
Fa La La....

I like these cool, breezy nights we've been having lately.
When I close my eyes, I feel like I'm walking on the streets of Sydney again...
I just need my sweater and cup of hot choc with sprinklings of choc & cinnamon powder. :)
I'm looking forward to a quiet, acousticky (Arun thinks that's a funny word), folksy Christmas eve with Dawnie.
We plan to catch Alarice in concert at Timbre @ Old School. :)

[A note to hard-core bloggers: People will think you're doing serious work when you blog on Microsoft Word, and look at your comp screen with furrowed brows. Just cut & paste your writings on to blogger later...who's to know you were wasting time in the office? :)]

Sydney/ Melbourne Roadtrip 2008

With May at the Kiama Blowhole

I finally got our Sydney/Melbourne roadtrip (in Feb) photos from May last week. It's been quite fun looking through them again. And yes, makes me wanna go back again. Australia is like my 2nd home. haha! Come on, let me take you by hand to relive the memories. :)

[Photo Credit: Lim May-Ann]

Excited and all set to board the plane. L-R (clockwise): Me, Shan, May and Rie.

Our first stop after arriving in Sydney? Pancakes on the Rocks for an early breakfast. :)

The library book that was our lifeline...it helped us to navigate our way from Sydney to Melbourne without a proper map.

Mmmm....coffee, much needed for the jet-lagged traveller.

Queen Victoria Building, in downtown Sydney

Our faithful car.....Wagaweewee. Yes, we named him. haha!

Rie terrorising birds along the coastal route that we took on our roadtrip.

Batesman Bay, which was quite magical in the evening.

Chinatown, Melbourne...where we had one of our best meals on the trip.

Pic says it all. ha!

A little creek near the Jenolan Caves, Blue Mts, Sydney

This is our view from Govett's Leap...a pretty famous look-out. haha! It was soooo cold and foggy lah! But trust me, behind all that fog, is a view of some spectacular mountain valleys and waterfalls.

And what do the gals do in the face of such unfortunate weather? We tried to blow the fog away !!

Yeah, don't ask why.

The cold got to our heads...so we started climbing things as well.

Everyone up!

And Mich has problems getting down now. ha!

Back in Sydney. This shot was taken near The Rocks....the "lady" behind was made entirely out of peaches. heh!

I Heart Sydney. :)