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.

Fire inside me

I was freezing as I walked home one day. I somehow managed to get by, by imagining a great big fire burning inside me. After a while, it felt so real that I could feel my whole body warming up. The tips of my fingers tingling with this funny sensation. Cold on the outside, but warm on the inside. It was an interesting experience, as I kept whispering to myself, "There is a fire inside me", over and over again, until I got into the warmth of my house.

What was it that kept me warm? It wasn't that suddenly the sun had woken up from hibernation and increased heat production, or that I had somehow put on some more layers of skin to protect me from the cold. Really, it was just me accepting the fact that I coouldn't do anything to change the situation, so I learnt to live with it, albeit for only 10 minutes.

Contentment is a hard lesson to learn, but once you have learnt it, it really frees your mind. You no longer are unsatisfactory with what you have. You no longer crave the next product release from Apple, or the new fashion item in Westfield. You are content with that small fire inside you, which doesn't need any upgrades, or attachments. It will keep you warm.

Sometimes we are not content with God too. We are not content with what he promises to us, we forget the fire that he has planted inside of us. The image above is one that is now my desktop picture, which I see everyday. Just that simple prayer to God really sets my priorities straight. Reminds me of the fire within, that will never be blown out, however windy the outside world becomes.

Smiling through life - Part 2

Last week I talked about how we should all put a smile on our face, and just by simply doing that, life will seem to get better. This is a part 2 to that post, because during that week, I noticed that smiling is good when you do it, but you have to stop smiling sometime. And for me, it meant all the happiness which came with the smile just slipped away.

How can I be more joyful, all the time? How can I see the lighter side of things, even when all seems to be dark as night? Thinking about these questions, many thoughts came into my mind which I'd like to share with you.

We are imperfect beings. As humans, we are emotionally unstable, we can will ourself to be happy for a short period of time, probably less than a day, but somewhere there, some part of grief or depression sneaks in, threatening to ruin our day. Never will be able to stay happy for a long amount of time.

After we understand this problem, what can we do about it? Nothing! But luckily we have someone who has done something for us. In our sadness we can always have the hope of a better time, when God makes the earth and heaven new again.

Still, we seem to forget this amazing hope, especially when we are too unhappy. The good thing is though, not everyone is sad at the same time. This is where encouragement comes in. By encouraging others, we can keep them hopeful, keep them looking forward, and not looking at their present state. This is probably one of the most powerful things we as humans can do. Not make them happy, but make them look to where they can find true happiness.

One more point, the difference between joy and happiness. To you, they might be synonymous, meaning the same thing, but they are quite different. The big difference is, happiness comes and go, but joy is much longer lasting. It is the core of your being that is joyful, and more your emotions that are happy. As I said before, we are emotionally unstable, but joy seeps deeper inside than that. I hope you can understand that and be joyful, even when you might not be happy.

Please read the page "Feeling down?" for some more ways to keep seeing the bright sides in life, and I hope that you can continue to be encouraged, and also pass your encouragement to others. May God fill your life with joy, as you continue to live for him.

Joy. How it has changed!

I just finished reading Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo, and it was very good. Although sometimes boring, he has many quotations that are very, very deep, and he puts his ideas to words very well. One quote that struck me was this.

"Children instantly accept joy and happiness with quick familiarity, being happy and joyful by nature."

What do you think of it? Does it make you happy, or sad?

What I thought was first that he explains children very well. They always seem to accept everything as good, and even if something bad happens, once they have had a cry, they soon get over it, and still keep a good outlook on life. A child then brings that joy, and shares it with others. It is hard to be mad at something when you have a beaming child next to you.

However, there is a sad aspect to this quote too. It implies that all children grow out of this joyful nature. Slowly, the world erodes away the joy in a child's heart. It is a sad but true reality, that shows the brokenness of this world. People still say they are a child at heart, but a hard, cold wall of cynicism, and reality, bar that child from freely expressing itself. Is is also a sad fact, that even if that child manages to express itself, people around that person think he is crazy, further pushing his inner child into darkness.

Another point about joy, is that it is something that humans really need. Imagine a world with no joy, it is like a world without any sunlight! It is sad when people turn to man made things for joy. They will never satisfy a mans inner most yearnings. It is amazing though, to see someone who has found the proper source of joy; in Gods love. Once a person understands that, they know their life is filled with joy. They do not have to search for it anything more.

I hope you liked that quote, and again, I really recommend you reading that book, it is one of the most deep and emotional books I have ever read.

I hope you enjoyed this post. Please comment about your thoughts and any suggestions you would like to make.

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