Songs of "love"

I have begun to write many songs in my spare time. Many are bad, some are ok, and only one or two make it into my memory for future playing. I noticed though, that the lyrics aways lean to what the world puts in its lyrics. Love, money, "happiness" which is just selfishness in disguise. Trying to break free from that mould was harder than I thought, which showed me how much what I listen to does affect what I think about.

Many songs I hear on the radio I pass off as wrong, and that as a Christian I have something more to live than what they sing about. However, a part of me longs for what they have, although I know it won't last, my mind gets distracted so easily. What is more dangerous is the fact that it so often gets veiled with my "Christian" face. I tell myself that it is wrong, it is just a breath, meaningless. But it is only a guise. In fact, I know that it makes me "want" which quickly makes me "need" which leads me further and further away from the life I was meant to live.

One topic that is so often sung about is relationships. Love dominates as inspiration for songs. A quick read through of the songs on the radio shows however, that the love they talk about isn't based on God's love. It is self-centered, uncaring, abandoned too easily, and unforgiving. Most of all, it is replacing the love that every human needs. God's. It becomes a "need" to have a girlfriend/boyfriend because they have no one else to love them. Thinking over it now, the love on the radio is something nobody wants. It tears people apart instead of building them up, it takes instead of gives, it is a source of pain instead of a source of joy.

As I sat in front of my piano the first words that popped in my head were:

"Us together feels so right".

Can that "us" be me and God? Can we restore love to its pure form, from God? I really hope so, because without it, we are getting a shell of what we really should be getting. Who wants that? It's like a song without any melody. Add some real joy to the world. Love as God did.

Friends and Aliens

A couple of friends and I formed a band, and we have been writing songs and playing for some time now, but not until yesterday did we finally decide on our band name. It took us so long to decide because we didn't want to get it wrong, we didn't want to regret anything. We wanted a name that would define what we were about, something we didn't have to hide from, a title that let us express ourselves as who we really were.

Many band names have come about in the matter of seconds, as my friends discussed over the "choosing period". One such band, chose their name while on a phone call to a prospective event organiser. They saw some mango nectar, and chose "The Nectars". As my friend remarked, lucky they did not become "The Mangoes"!

This doesn't really have anything to do with anyone, apart from the fact that we all want something that defines us. And we all find it in different ways, different places.

Some just don't bother finding a name, finding something that defines them. They are too lazy to figure out what they wanted to do with their life. However, this means at their shining moment, they fade away, are forgotten. I don't want you to be like these people who never truly consider why they are put on this earth, but just pass through, and in the end it is too late, they are forgotten, they have lived a life full of nothingness, a meaningless breath.

Then there are the people who choose their name in haste. Considering the importance, that it will define who they essentially are, choosing it in haste is not a good idea. It will crumble under pressure from all the struggles it has to put up with. Hold up for most of the time, and when it is needed most fail.

Finally, there is the ones who think carefully about their name, their meaning in their life. They discuss all the options, leaving no room for mistakes. Their name allows them not to hide anything, not to be ashamed of anything, it showcases who they really are.

God gives us this life as a blessing, and we shouldn't waste it. We need to stand up, as friends with God, aliens from the world, and live out our life, following God as he leads the way.

A passionate tree

Today I heard someone say "It is such a beautiful day! Good job God!" and it stopped me in my tracks. I looked outside, to the sky, to the trees swaying with the wind, and noticed it was a good day. It was a day to be thankful for. It was a day where I could take a moment just to appreciate the fact that God had given me another good blessing in my life.

I was glad that someone made me noticed, because otherwise, it would have slipped away.

My title is "A passionate tree" because when I thought of the above, it caught my attention that my little acknowledgement of the beautiful day made life a little bit more fuller, more interesting. It could be said that it made me "Live life to the full" as Jesus wanted me to.

Many people think that passion is a feeling that naturally comes to you when what you are doing feels good. They aren't incorrect, but I think they have distorted a bit. I was challenged today that passion isn't just something natural, but something you can work for. You can make yourself passionate about something, even if at first it doesn't "click" with you.

Like my experience today, where I was jolted from my seat of dull living to a little more interesting life, I became passionate about appreciating God's gifts more.

A passionate tree never gets bored. In all it does, it exerts its best. It makes the dullest task an important mission, the most mundane life a life filled with blessings. It doesn't acquire any new items, it just learns to appreciate what it has, to live life properly, to the full.