Sunday, January 01, 2006

all other goals bow down to this

Heart3_1

I have resisted making "new year's resolutions" for as long as I can remember.  This is not becuase of some strong conviction or belief.  It is simply because I am a recovering perfectionist who hates failure.  So instead, I have goals, but they are not new for the new year--they are a perpetual list that is always growing and shrinking (as things get done) and changing. 

Anyway, tonight I was doing a 15 minute room rescue of my living room (somehow the "bathroom slippers" keep ending up in the middle of my living room--oh the joys of having a puppy) while I was listening to the CD Here I am to Worship, when I heard Wendy O'Connell singing "Above All Else" written by Vicky Beeching.  The words caught my attention and sent me to my computer to search for the lyrics:

Jesus my passion in life is to know You
May all other goals bow down to
This journey of loving You more

Jesus You've showered Your goodness on me
Given Your gifts so freely
But there's one thing I'm longing for

Hear my heart's cry
And my prayer for this life

Above all else
Above all else
Above all else
Give me Yourself

This song sums up my heart's desire . . . my longing for 2006:  that all my other goals bow down to the journey of knowing and loving Jesus more.  I also like the way she pleads with Him to give her Himself. 

I have spent most of my life mistakenly believing that I had to "earn God."  If I was good enough, if I prayed well, if I studied my Bible right, then He would reveal Himself to me.  Oh how wrong I was!  Actually, this thinking robbed me of the joy only those redeemed by grace can experience.

Jesus, this song verbalizes my heart's cry.  I want to know you better.  I want to love you more.  I want to be intimate with You, the lover of my soul.  Give me Yourself.  Help me to make all other goals I set this year bow to this desire.  And, I thank You that I do not have to earn You--that You freely give Yourself.  I love you, Lord.

Jan 1, 2006 10:46:24 PM | desires, my inner me, spirituality

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the beginning of 2006, taipei 101 Originally uploaded by Coolmitch. World's tallest building is all aglow for ringing in the new year.
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terrified of whistling What sound sends shivers down your back, makes your heart beat faster, and speeds your breathing? Is there a sound that strikes fear in your heart of hearts? Is it the sound of a sliver in the grass when you are gardening? Is it the screeching of the brakes of the car right behind you? Is it the scream of one of your children when they are in pain? Is the sound of footsteps behind you in a dark parking garage late at night? What about a praise song being whistled at dusk? Would that sound strike terror in your whole being? Would it give you goosebumps and make you fearful for the rest of the night? If you are American, you are probably thinking right now that I am a little crazy saying that. But, if you are Taiwanese, you know exactly what I mean. The sound of whistling after the sun sets is terrifying to the Taiwanese people who are lost. They believe that hungry ghosts follow the sound of whistling much like a dog trails a scent in the woods. Hungry ghosts are terrible, scary things in Taiwanese culture. They bring curses and evils to people; they hunt for people to prey upon. Thus, there is no whistling at night in Taiwan. However, I often sing and hum when I am on my moped (those things don't come with radios--go figure). When I dismount and walk in the underground parking garage towards the stairwell to my apartment, I tend to continue whatever I had been humming or singing by whistling--often enjoying the echo of the underground cement box and the sound of my voice. If it is night, as soon as I do, I recall that whistling scares my neighbors. Most of the time, I stop whistling and pray for my neighbors the rest of the way to my apartment. Sometimes, I just change to singing and proclaim aloud the praise of the true God. And, at other times, like tonight, I whistle louder, a proclamation that I do not fear the evil of this world. The next time you catch yourself whistling at night, would you please remember the Taiwanese people and pray for their salvation?

amanda p. wu

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