Wednesday, December 24, 2014

CD Info

Hello there. If you are interested in the lyrics or knowing some stories behind the songs on the CD you have (or the lyrics), see below... Feel free to print if you want.

In 2008 I wanted to try to be creative with Scripture. At the time I was reading in Isaiah, and began attempting putting some of it to music. Later, other songs emerged as well.

1. Ballad for Isaiah 29-30
November 2008

These verses struck me as I wondered how often I give the Lord lip-service and He is longing for heart-service. As I wrote this, it reminded me more of the people among whom I live. They go through the motions of washing, kneeling, and moving their lips five times a day, saying the words they are required to say, in a language they don’t speak, to a God they don’t know personally. It is easy for me to fall into their trap of going through the motions, even when I know better. In repentance and rest is your salvation. In quietness and trust is your strength. I see it as a call to more than the people of Zion—the people of my island, and I’m sure there are plenty of others that could be inserted into those parentheses.

Hear the Lord:
“These people come near me with their mouth.
They honor me with their lips 
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship is made up of rules taught by men.”

They say to seers: 
“See no more visions of what is right!
Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions.
Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us
with the Holy One of Israel!”

The Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel says to you:
“In repentance and rest is your salvation,
In quietness and trust is your strength,
But you would have none of it…”

Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you;
He rises to show you compassion.
For He is a God of justice.
Blessed are all who wait for him!
O people of Zion

You will weep no more.
How gracious he will be when you cry for help!
As soon as he hears He will answer you
O people of (Zion)!

2. Be Gracious to Me / Be Glorified (Isaiah 33:2)
January 2009

This song is about a continual morning battle that I had for several years while working on "the island." When I read Isaiah 33:2, my heart resounded with the prayer, and I fleshed it out with my own thoughts. It was the first song I wrote that included lyrics other than Scripture.

When I wake up in the morning
There’s a cloud over my head
And it happens nearly every morning
Father hear my cry of distress:

O Lord, be gracious to me
I long for you
Be my strength every morning
My salvation in times of distress.

Well I woke up yet again this morning 
With that cloud back over my head
So I sing out yet again this morning
Repeating my cry for help:

You know He wakens me 
Morning by morning
Because He helps me 
I’ll not be disgraced
He awakens my ear to listen
Awoken to listen like one being taught

In my life, Lord, be glorified
Be glorified
In my life, Lord, be glorified today

3. Hezekiah’s Writing (Isaiah 38)
July 2009

I tried to change the tune of Filthy Rags, but didn’t like it. Then I remembered some verses a precious friend of mine had liked, and when I looked them up, it was a perfect fit. I couldn’t stop with just a few verses, but had to keep on going through most of the chapter.

I cried like a swift or thrush,
I moaned like a mourning dove
My eyes grew weak 
as I looked to the heavens.
I am troubled;
“O Lord, come to my aid!”
But what can I say?
He has spoken to me,
and he himself has done this.

I will walk humbly all my years 
Because of this anguish of my soul.
Lord, by such things men live;
And my spirit finds life in them, too.

You restored me to health
And let me live
Surely for my benefit
I suffered such anguish
In your love you kept me from the pit
The pit of destruction
And put my sins behind your back

For the grave cannot praise you 
and death can’t sing your praise (x2)
The grave cannot praise you and death:
 Well those who go down to the pit
Cannot hope for your faithfulness.

The living, the living—they praise you 
As I am doing today
The living, the living—they praise you 
As I am doing today

Fathers tell their children 
Of your faithfulness 
And I will sing your praise!
The living, the living—they praise you 
As I am doing today.

The Lord, He will save me,
And we will sing His praise
The Lord, He has saved me,
And I’ll sing all my days

4. Sing a New Song (Isaiah 42:10)
February 2009

This song is a prayer for the Island where I worked, but instead of “you islands,” any island name or location can be inserted. The song came shortly after my January 23, 2009 journal entry: 
Isaiah is amazing. So much meat in it. So much that feels applicable to us here. Father, I want to write a song for 42:10 because it is so perfectly matched to this place!... 
Sing to the LORD a new song
His praise from the ends of the earth
You who go down to the sea
And all that is in it
You islands and all who live in them
Sing praise

Arise!
Arise (you islands)
And sing a new song to the Lord
Sing his praise
From the ends of the earth
(You islands)

5. Redeemed (Isaiah 44)
December 2008

One will say, “I belong to the LORD,”
Another will call himself
By the name of Jacob
Still another will write on his hand
“The LORD’s”
And will take the name “Israel.”

I have swept away
Your offenses like a cloud
I have swept away
Your sins like the morning mist (repeat)
Turn to me, for I have redeemed you!

Sing for joy (o heavens)
Shout aloud (o earth beneath)
Burst into song (you mountains)
You forests and all you trees
Repeat

For the LORD has redeemed

6. His Word (Isaiah 55)
November 2008

In 2006 I tried to memorize this chapter, and eventually it occurred to me that maybe putting it to music would help me learn it. This was my first attempt at song writing, borrowing the Jehova Jireh tune. It was too long for one song, so eventually this chapter ended up as two songs when I came up with another tune for the remaining verses.

Come all you thirsty—
Come to the waters,
And you without money:
Come, buy, eat
Come eat, come eat!
Come all you thirsty—
Come to the waters,
Come buy wine and milk for free!

Why spend money 
on what is not bread?
And your labor 
on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me
And eat what is good
And your soul will delight
In the richest of fare
And your soul will delight in rich fare!

My thoughts are not your thoughts
Neither are your ways my own
Declares the Lord
of the heavens and earth

Just as the heavens
Are higher than the earth,
So my ways and thoughts
Are higher than yours

The rain and snow
Come down from the sky
And don’t return
Without watering the earth
They will make it bud 
And flourish giving seed
Then the sower has his seed
And the eater has bread
Then the sower and the eater are fed

It is the same with my word
That goes from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty at all
It will accomplish what I desire
And achieve the purpose
For which I sent it

7. His Promise (Isaiah 55)
November 2008

Listen and come to me
Hear me that your soul may live
I will make a lasting covenant with you
My faithful love promised to David

See how he’s a witness to the peoples,
A leader in charge of nations
You will call out to nations 
You’ve never known
They’ve never known you
But they’ll come running

Because (of) the Lord, the Lord
The Lord your God
The Holy One of Israel (x2)
He has honored you

Seek the Lord while he may be found
Call on him while he is near
Let the wicked forsake his way
And the evil man his thoughts
Let him turn to the LORD
And He will have mercy

You will go out, go out
Go out in joy 
And be led forth in peace you will
The hills, the hills
The mountains and hills
Will break out in singing
And the trees of the field
Will clap their hands

Listen and come to me
Hear me that your soul may live
Instead of thornbush
The pine tree will grow,
And the myrtle instead of briers 

(This will be) for the Lord, the Lord
The Lord’s renown
For an everlasting sign be found (x2)
Which will not be destroyed

8. Filthy Rags (Isaiah 64)
March 2009

All of us have become 
Like one who is unclean
And all our righteous acts 
Are like filthy rags;
We all shrivel up like a leaf,
And like the wind 
Our sins sweep us away

Yet O Lord, you are our Father.
We are the clay, you are the potter,
We are all the work of your hand
Don’t hide your face from us 
Because of our sins

9. All of My Days (Psalm 90)
December 24, 2010

I love these verses. They speak of my life, and the chorus is the cry of my heart. It came together over a year and a half and finally finished on Christmas Eve, 2010, a special Christmas with family and friends in Singapore.

You, O Lord, have been
my dwelling place through all my life.
Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the earth,
you were eternally God
and you will be God both now and forever

Satisfy me with your love,
O Lord, every morning
so I’ll sing for joy to you,
I’ll rejoice, and be glad all of my days.

And let your beauty, O Lord
Be upon me through eternity
Treat me with kindness, my Lord
and bless me, O my God!
May I see your glorious power

established in me—the work of your hands

10. Praise the Lord! (Psalm 149)
August 2009

I love that our praise is a sword and fights the Enemy!

Praise the Lord
Sing to Him a new song
Let’s rejoice in our Maker 
And be glad in our King

Praise the Lord
Sing to Him a new song
Let us praise His name with dancing 
And make music on our strings!

For the LORD takes delight 
in his people
He crowns the humble with salvation
Let us rejoice in this honor!

Sing for joy on your bed
Put the praise of God in your mouth
It’s a double-edged sword in your hand
To inflict vengeance on the enemy!

12. Family (Colossians 3, CEV)
November 2009

Each year our Island team would individually write up a “game plan” for guarding: our intimacy with the Father; our team unity; and our focus for those we have come to serve. Part of my game plan for guarding team unity was to memorize Colossians 3:12-17. The easiest way for me to memorize is through song! I finally got around to it. Although written about the body of Christ, I also thought of flesh and blood brothers and sisters in large families as the song came together. Any way you define it, it’s for family.

God loves you, He’s chosen you
God loves you
You’re his own special people
God loves you…It’s true

So be gentle, be kind, 
Be humble and meek, 
And don’t forget to be patient. 
Put up with each other
And forgive any wrongs
Just as Christ has forgiven you

Love is more important
Than anything else
It’s what ties everything all together
Each one of you’s part 
Of the body of Christ
And you were chosen to live together

Since you were called to live in peace
Let the peace that comes from Christ
Control your thoughts….
And be grateful. 
Let the message of Christ 
Completely fill your life
While you teach
And instruct with wisdom
With thankful hearts, 
Sing psalms, sing hymns
And spiritual songs to God.

Whatever you say or do 
Do it all in the name of Jesus, 
As you give thanks to God through him

Trust Him… Obey Him… He loves you

13. What To Do


On February 18, 2012 I wrote a stanza in a bad funk, depressed over not knowing what to do with my life. I saw a counselor a few days after that who said, “Start knowing some things. Saying ‘I don’t know’ all the time is draining you!” The next day I looked back at the song I had started, and decided to apply her advice there. This song makes my heart smile.

Lord, I really don’t know what to do
I’m gonna need your help today
Show me what to do and say (repeat)

I know!
The thing for me to do is praise
In rain, sunshine or haze
I know I want to praise your name (repeat)

So I say:    Ha - la - la - la - la - le - lu - ia  [King Jesus]
Ha - la - la - la - la - le - lu - ia  [My Savior]

Ha - la - la - la - la - le - lu - ia  [my Jesus]
Ha - la - la - la - la - le - lu - ia  [Creator]

Hosanna 
to the KING of kings
Hosanna
Hosanna

Today and forever I sing glory to your name
Today and forever I’ll sing glory to your name

Glory to your name (3x)

14. Daddy My King
October 6, 2011

Now in 2014 I don't recall what scripture prompted this song. I think I was trying to believe that God is pleased with me, and started thinking about kings. Months after writing this, I was playing around with "Garage Band" on the Mac, played with my flute, and had fun making this recording with multiple instruments.


Kings have processions with trumpeteering praise
They’re mighty, they’re warriors they establish all our ways
A king has the power to take off a head
His word once decreed cannot have amend

Hosanna! Hosanna our king!
Hosanna to the King of all kings

The King of the earth established the mountains
Earth trembles at His anger, He’s the Almighty God
Eternal, Immortal, Invisible King
the One who will save us is King of all kings

Hosanna! You are my king!
Hosanna to the King of all kings

A king who is with me? Now that blows my mind!
The One Who has made me is here at all times!
He says He’s my Husband and I am His bride
He calls me His daughter in whom He takes pride

You are my daughter, in you I’m well pleased
Oh heavenly Father, please help me believe!
I am your daughter, a daughter of the King
You are my Father, I’m a princess of the King

Hosanna! Daddy my King!
Hosanna to the King of all kings!
Hosanna! Oh Daddy my King!
Hosanna to my Daddy, THE KING!

15.  Hallelujah Intro

While playing around with intro ideas for the song Hallelujah/Your Love is Amazing, Garage Band again came in handy for creating 2 flute parts. I think I have only ever made 2 recordings with Garage Band. Hmmmmm.... I made a little video to go with this recording. You can watch here.

16.  Sin Ming Improv

Mom and dad lived in a neat apartment in Singapore on Sin Ming Avenue that had great acoustics, so I had fun playing my flute in the loft and recording it. 2010 I think?

17. His Eye is on the Sparrow

Also recorded at Sin Ming Avenue. Recently added photos to make a video that can be viewed here.

18. Mozart's Thousand Tongues

2014––While working a flute concerto by Mozart, I decided to try mixing in one of my favorite hymns. This arrangement is the result. I hope to add piano to it someday!

Friday, June 20, 2014

Which blog?

I realize I have 3 blogs going now. One is specifically for flute stuff:
sjfflute.blogspot.com
but which one to use for general life? I am tempted to return to this happyliver site instead of continuing on:
jasonandsj.blogspot.com
since my hubby isn't a fan of being public to the world, maybe I should leave him out of it.  :-) I haven't blogged in a long time. But might strike it up again. Hmmm....

Saturday, November 17, 2012

That Darn Cat

Great movie by the way. Would love to watch it again. It's hard to go wrong with Haley Mills.

A dog scared Frack up a tree on Sunday, and he was still in the tree Monday morning, crying pitifully. Jason got a ladder and got him down. Tuesday when he got home from work, Frack was back up the tree! Twice as high. Too high for a ladder. After 4 nights in the tree (windy, freezing temps at night, and even some rain!), we decided to take action. The rescue effort proved successful, but only because Frack stepped on a dead branch and fell out of the tree. I hope he has learned his lesson, but I won't be surprised if we find him up there again. I couldn't believe he survived so well! Cats have some sort of miracle powers. Here is a 15-sec video of the rescue operation.

Friday, October 12, 2012

My sister is married!!!

What a GORGEOUS, God-honoring day.
And I now officially have a brother-in-law!
Click here to watch them exchange their wedding vows.
Below are a few pictures from family cameras.
Can't wait for the photographer's pictures to come out!


above: pre-wedding photo of family that came from out of town
(photographer said act crazy, but you can see who heard/understood. haha)


Charis was hoping for a full chapel, and in the end it was so full people had to stand in the back!



The happy Mr. & Mrs.
Yenny dances in the bridal party to "Wonderful Day"


Family!


Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Sister & Brother-in-law Time

Sundanese food

Enjoying the gazebo at the villa

Sisters!

Noodles

We wanted to make banana bread but had no oven, so we created a "Dutch oven"--rocks in the bottom of a pot, and had some small aluminum loaf pans. YUM! SUCCESS!



Charis the cooking artist

Ika came to visit! SO WONDERFUL to see her again and catch up. I've missed you, Kak!

Mmmmm.... one of my favorite dishes. Sate Ayam (grilled chicken on a stick with peanut sauce)

Can't let any of that good sauce go to waste!

Sun's rays peeking out at sunset


Monday, September 17, 2012

A True Story


On April 1 this year, I was sitting at a stop light on my way home from a camping trip. Thumbing through a stack of mail, I saw an envelope with a return address sticker from a Jason Fickling. Surely not Jason himself? I wondered as I stared in disbelief, and then decided, It must be from his parents. Maybe his father's first name is Jason, too, but he uses his middle name?


Around 36 years ago my parents met the Ficklings at church while living in Waxhaw, NC. The couples became special friends and over the years, every time my family went back to the U.S., we would get together with the Ficklings. They credit my parents with leading them into a relationship with the Lord. Their daughter and son were in between Charis and I in age. Even as an adult traveling without my parents, the Fickling house was a stop I continued to make. I loved listening to Sue's stories and eating her cooking. While I knew I had encountered Jason before, I had no memories of him. I knew he was out there somewhere, but aside from a few old childhood photos of us together, I had no connection with him.

I opened the envelope with great curiosity and my eyes bulged at the sight of a hand-written letter from the man himself! That night on skype with my mom, I said, “You’ll never guess who I got a letter from today.....” She was quiet, and when I told her, she didn’t look surprised. Odd. Instead she said,
“Well, I guess it’s time to fill you in on something,”
and she forwarded an email to me that she had sent to Jason’s mother a couple weeks earlier, suggesting that correspondence from her son might cheer me up in the rough time I was having. That was the heart of it, but there was more. The email had been signed by my mom, dad, and sister!

Jason’s short letter was no more than a simple attempt at encouragement. He closed it by saying,
“Don’t feel any obligation to write back. Only write back if you feel like it.”
Well, I felt like it!!! Over the next couple months, our SNAIL mail correspondence increased in volume and decreased in time intervals. I discovered he had lived a quiet life of working (diesel mechanic for FedEx Freight), eating, sleeping, reading, fly fishing, house cleaning, and a little carpentry. His parents forced him into a cell phone the year before, and in June, he entered the 21st century and bought a computer (against my protests, but I was soon glad he did! His ideas & decisions are usually better than mine), and created his first email address.

On June 11 I received a test email from Jason, and correspondence sky-rocketed from there. On June 15, I drove up to his parents’ house in Gastonia, NC for our first meeting that we both remember (he lives 20 miles from them). Six-foot-four met five-foot-three in a long bear hug, as if we had known each other all our lives. I had been a wreck through all our correspondence, wondering if I would have half the attraction to him in real life that I did through his writing. I need not have worried. He was everything I had imagined and more.

After talking around marriage over the months, the engagement became official on Friday, September 14.


That is the story in a very small nutshell. In some ways it is a fairy-tale, but as we have discovered, real life is hard, complicated, and not like the movies. If I wrote a novel, it would include:

  • the miseries of a long-distance relationship (which has a few advantages too);
  • the struggle for both of us mentally shifting from being happily single to considering marriage (he never had a desire for marriage, and I was convinced I never would marry);
  • the astonishing number of little ways we are alike and the handful of major ways we are different (ex: globe-trotter vs. thoroughbred Carolina boy);
  • things I love about him (maybe another post?);
  • the huge changes that have been taking place in Jason’s life (his story to tell);
  • and the journey for me in making up my mind (poor Jason, who quickly knows his mind).

It has been both a happy and agonizing journey. Now it is WONDERFUL to be past my slow decision-making process and engaged!

I am in awe of the treasure God has been unwrapping before me in this man, and cannot wait to marry him. A two-hour engagement period would have suited him; one month would have suited me, but it looks like the soonest we’ll be able to get my family to the U.S. will call for a December wedding. It will be small, but I hope to do a virtual (live-stream) wedding, so stay tuned!


My parents were coming to the U.S. this month for meetings, and decided to come several days earlier than planned in order to spend some time with Jason and myself and his parents. So we were able to celebrate the very special occasion together.





What a year for our family. Charis and I always told our parents we were fine with an arranged marriage––that we trusted them to choose for us. Mom and dad, you done real good.



(one of Charis' engagement photos)

Monday, August 27, 2012

48-hour film project

My pastor entered a film-making competition and I got to be a part of it. Lots of fun. View the finished product here: Choose to Win.




Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Intern video

I had the privilege of working with 5 interns in Orlando this summer. This is their 10th and final week, and they made a video that you can watch on youtube. Enjoy!

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

High Tea in Pajamas


Ding-dong!


Dinner: cheese fondue



Dessert: chocolate fondue


 High tea time and sharing



 Sugar cubes!!!



mmm... cinnamon stick


and somehow, after all the tea & chocolate, I was able to sleep. Oh, wait, at 3 am.




Sunday, May 27, 2012

If There's Anything Good in Me

I've been listening to this song a LOT lately:
It Must Be You (Moses), sung by Bart Millard

I'd like to look in the mirror without hiding my eyes
I'd like to see what You see, why You think I'm qualified
To speak for You, O God, Most High

Who hides a baby in the reeds of a river, until he's grown?
Gives him a stage and the strength to deliver his people home?
'Cause I'm tongue-tied, weak in the knees
Must be something you only see

If there's anything good
Anything that's good in me
Well, it must be You
Must be You
And if there's any part of my shaking heart
To see this journey through it must be You
Must be You
It must be You

Not gonna argue with fiery branches that speak my name
Not gonna start taking backward glances from where we came
'Cause tomorrow's holding our dreams
But today I'm here on my knees

O God of parting water, God of falling bread
If my words should falter, will You speak instead?
You must see something good
You must see something true
It must be You
It must be You

Friday, May 25, 2012

Jadon Lavik

Came across this song, "Surrender" tonight, sung by Jadon Lavik. I love his hymn renditions, but I had never seen any of his other stuff. I particularly like the last 2 lines of verse 3.
Another step on the path of confusion;
Troubled heart can't find it's melody
Held under by my nature's fall
Held up by this love for me 
Another day spent fighting motives
Trapped in all the pointless games
Tired of holding on to my guilt
I'm tired of feeling all this shame 
So here's all I have
Here's all I can give
I surrender it all to you
I give you everything I do
Let it be my joy tonight
My burden lifted high
I surrender it all to you 
Broken from the weight of choices
No more strength to hold my head
But helpless is right where you want me
And helpless is where I am free

The Fellowship of the Ring

After several months I finally finished this work of Tolkien's. I have no desire to read the other 2. But a couple quotes I noted from the book:
"Just a plain hobbit you look," said Bilbo [after dressing Frodo in his concealed armor]. "But there is more about you now than appears on the surface." (pg. 312) 
"...So Bill was going as the beast of burden, yet he was the only member of the Company that did not seem depressed." (314)

Monday, May 14, 2012

Once Upon a Time

I've been watching a show called "Once Upon a Time," a creative mix between fairy tales and the modern world. Last week I perked up at these lines:
"...her child is our only hope! ...the only one who can save us.... All we can do is have faith that one day the Savior will restore all that we have lost."
Well put. : )

Friday, May 11, 2012

Walking on Water––reflections

This story takes place after Jesus' disciples have been out on their own teaching and casting out demons, and after he finds out his cousin John has been beheaded. He tried to get away with his disciples to a quiet place for rest, but got interrupted by a huge crowd in the process, and allowed for it––he was moved by compassion when he saw them. After teaching them AND feeding all 5000 men (plus their families) off 5 loaves and 2 fish:
Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida while he dismissed the crowd.
He assertively sends away all distractions! He had tried to get away before, but now he gets rid of EVERYONE.
After leaving them, Jesus went up on a mountainside to pray.
Extra assurance of not getting interrupted? Sending everyone away wasn't enough? True solitude.
When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake and Jesus was alone on the land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them.
The disciples didn't have a clue that Jesus could see them struggling, but that made him no less aware of what was happening.
About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake.
He didn't go immediately to them, but he DID go to them, after letting them struggle most of the night.
He was about to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified.
Then he went out to them in a way no human would have thought of, let alone could have done! So they freaked out when they saw him do something completely outside of their natural, expected world. What is my response when Jesus works outside of my world of experience? When he doesn't behave in the way I think he should? How great that he is not limited to my imagination!
Immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."
He makes himself known.
Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down.
He entered into their struggle with them!!! What a great line! AND the struggle vanished. Wow.
They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.
Lord, help me to intentionally make time to be alone with you. Give me the grace to respond with compassion when my efforts are interrupted, and the wisdom to know how to assertively put away all distractions. May I trust, because of your character displayed in this story, that you see my struggles. Whether or not I see or feel you, may I believe that you DO see me and you ARE with me. Thank you for having tricks up your sleeve that are way beyond my wildest imagination. Show yourself to me in mighty ways. May my heart not be hardened when you do, but understand that it is you, and not be afraid.