Last night there was a conversation in my head.
Left brain: Do you remember the good old days when there used to be more than 200 visits a day to this blog?
Right brain: Ofcourse I do. Those good old days…
Left brain: And do you also remember how some of the posts used to get more than 50 comments at one go?
Right brain: Indeed I do. Sigh* now the number of daily visits don’t even reach 50, and it would be an occasion worth celebrating if the number of comments even reach double digits now!
(At this point, my left brain gave a dramatic pause
)
Left brain: I know… but… do you remember how empty it sometimes used to feel during those days?
Right brain: hmmm… empty, I’m not so sure, but yeah, sometimes something definitely felt incomplete... There were ofcourse times when it felt like Heaven, but they were all short-lived…
Left brain: Exactly, bro. So do you think it’s worth it?
Right brain: Yup indeed! Definitely. Let’s continue churning out thoughts and saws for our inexperienced little master…
I smiled.
One of the biggest thoughts in my head these days is, how do I increase traffic to my blog while writing only about Christ? I asked my good friend Xeres_79 (a Christian) for his honest opinion about me and my new blog topics. He’s one friend I know who will not beat around the bush and white-lie for the sake of being polite. He told me plainly that my topics are not what most people (read: Christians) would spend their time on, and that no one is going to read my posts and suddenly go “aaah” and change themselves for the better. Because, as he explained, most Christians “are a lazy lot”, and when they don’t even go to Church to listen to the sermons (Note: “Go to Church to listen to the sermon” is one word), they are definitely not going to read any articles on the net related to Christianity.
Touché.
Well, I’m definitely not a good Christian writer. But amateur as I am, I write what I feel like nevertheless because it fills me with a strange sensation of obedience when I play a small role in spreading the message of Christ.
When people experience Christ’s abundant love and mercy, they change; Not necessarily a complete change in their attitude/behavior/peculiarities etc but there is definitely a change to some degree.
Among us Christians too, there is a small section of people who criticize singers who had a “born again” experience for singing only Gospel songs on TV when they used to sing love songs and other non-Gospel songs before, and even absurdly mock them because they think these Gospel singers regard all other forms of songs as a sin.
My two cents on this: I’m sure Gospel singers sing Gospel songs not because they regard non-Gospel songs as a “sin” but because it’s what makes them happy. There is nothing wrong in singing non-Gospel related songs; it’s just that they are more satisfied and content singing songs that praise the Almighty Lord’s name.
That is why today I had a brainstorm: Every Sunday from now onwards, I am going to do my part of blogging about that particular Sunday’s “Sunday School” lesson, as prescribed by the Mizoram Synod Authority for the MSSU (Mizoram Sunday School Union). In a way, this will not only help me polish my writing skills on Christianity, but will also be an opportunity for many of our Mizo brothers and sisters living outside Mizoram due to studies or work to catch up with what’s happening at Home.
Hence come this Sunday, I really hope some of you will spare just a few minutes of your precious time to go through the Sunday School lesson… In case some of you may not know, the main subject/topic for this year is “Israel-te chanchin” (About Israel and the people). There are altogether 46 lessons (zirlai) this year, where the topic (thupui) span right from Genesis and Exodus all the way to the Holy Gospels.
The topic for this coming Sunday is Lesson no.3: “During their time in Egypt” and the readings are Gen. 15:12-16; 45:1-8. More on that will be discussed on Sunday
. So I really am hoping to find you all on Sunday here. Until then, continue keeping the faith, and God bless.
----------------------------------------------------------
By the way, here is my heartfelt wishes and congratulations on the Holy Matrimonial of my two friends John (S/o Dr.Larimawia, MacDonald Hill, Aizawl) and Marina (D/o Chalthanzuala, Saron Veng, Aizawl) who tied the knot in His Holy name today. Unfortunately I couldn’t make it for the wedding due to an important prior commitment.
John (aka Tribalsuperstar) blogs at roastedpork.blogspot.com and Marina (aka Diddley) blogs at diddley.blogspot.com. Two blog friends of mine have now become one. I find that really cute. May you both live happily ever after John and Marina. Wishes and prayers.
Left brain: Do you remember the good old days when there used to be more than 200 visits a day to this blog?
Right brain: Ofcourse I do. Those good old days…
Left brain: And do you also remember how some of the posts used to get more than 50 comments at one go?
Right brain: Indeed I do. Sigh* now the number of daily visits don’t even reach 50, and it would be an occasion worth celebrating if the number of comments even reach double digits now!
(At this point, my left brain gave a dramatic pause
)Left brain: I know… but… do you remember how empty it sometimes used to feel during those days?
Right brain: hmmm… empty, I’m not so sure, but yeah, sometimes something definitely felt incomplete... There were ofcourse times when it felt like Heaven, but they were all short-lived…
Left brain: Exactly, bro. So do you think it’s worth it?
Right brain: Yup indeed! Definitely. Let’s continue churning out thoughts and saws for our inexperienced little master…
I smiled.
One of the biggest thoughts in my head these days is, how do I increase traffic to my blog while writing only about Christ? I asked my good friend Xeres_79 (a Christian) for his honest opinion about me and my new blog topics. He’s one friend I know who will not beat around the bush and white-lie for the sake of being polite. He told me plainly that my topics are not what most people (read: Christians) would spend their time on, and that no one is going to read my posts and suddenly go “aaah” and change themselves for the better. Because, as he explained, most Christians “are a lazy lot”, and when they don’t even go to Church to listen to the sermons (Note: “Go to Church to listen to the sermon” is one word), they are definitely not going to read any articles on the net related to Christianity.
Touché.
Well, I’m definitely not a good Christian writer. But amateur as I am, I write what I feel like nevertheless because it fills me with a strange sensation of obedience when I play a small role in spreading the message of Christ.
When people experience Christ’s abundant love and mercy, they change; Not necessarily a complete change in their attitude/behavior/peculiarities etc but there is definitely a change to some degree.
Among us Christians too, there is a small section of people who criticize singers who had a “born again” experience for singing only Gospel songs on TV when they used to sing love songs and other non-Gospel songs before, and even absurdly mock them because they think these Gospel singers regard all other forms of songs as a sin.
My two cents on this: I’m sure Gospel singers sing Gospel songs not because they regard non-Gospel songs as a “sin” but because it’s what makes them happy. There is nothing wrong in singing non-Gospel related songs; it’s just that they are more satisfied and content singing songs that praise the Almighty Lord’s name.
That is why today I had a brainstorm: Every Sunday from now onwards, I am going to do my part of blogging about that particular Sunday’s “Sunday School” lesson, as prescribed by the Mizoram Synod Authority for the MSSU (Mizoram Sunday School Union). In a way, this will not only help me polish my writing skills on Christianity, but will also be an opportunity for many of our Mizo brothers and sisters living outside Mizoram due to studies or work to catch up with what’s happening at Home.
Hence come this Sunday, I really hope some of you will spare just a few minutes of your precious time to go through the Sunday School lesson… In case some of you may not know, the main subject/topic for this year is “Israel-te chanchin” (About Israel and the people). There are altogether 46 lessons (zirlai) this year, where the topic (thupui) span right from Genesis and Exodus all the way to the Holy Gospels.
The topic for this coming Sunday is Lesson no.3: “During their time in Egypt” and the readings are Gen. 15:12-16; 45:1-8. More on that will be discussed on Sunday
. So I really am hoping to find you all on Sunday here. Until then, continue keeping the faith, and God bless.----------------------------------------------------------
By the way, here is my heartfelt wishes and congratulations on the Holy Matrimonial of my two friends John (S/o Dr.Larimawia, MacDonald Hill, Aizawl) and Marina (D/o Chalthanzuala, Saron Veng, Aizawl) who tied the knot in His Holy name today. Unfortunately I couldn’t make it for the wedding due to an important prior commitment.
John (aka Tribalsuperstar) blogs at roastedpork.blogspot.com and Marina (aka Diddley) blogs at diddley.blogspot.com. Two blog friends of mine have now become one. I find that really cute. May you both live happily ever after John and Marina. Wishes and prayers.
17 comments:
Go! Right brain. Go!
:D
Kim, as I mentioned in ur previous post, ur post's these dayz are an inspiration and a BIG help...
carry on Christian.
God bless...
BTW, the sunday school lessons wud be lovely.
Congratulations to Marina and John, may The Almighty God bless them with beautiful and intelligent kids. :)
honey,u r doin a great job!! spreading HIS words through ur blog,i'm sure u'll get more traffic eventually...
annddd about this gospel and non gospel singers thingy..... i think u r wrong there, every parents...even my mom and dad(psst..i think even ur mom) thinks that a person who sing a love song is not piangthar,so when those people who used to sing love songs before they are reborn couldn't sing the same songs again coz they are afraid of criticisms.... some may do it becoz they want to praise God and are happy with it...but most of them do it because of the public opinion on the non gospel singers.
virgo: Thanx. I really hope I can reach out to more people this way. The Word of the Lord is not only wonderful but extremely powerful. I just have to find a way to tweak and adjust myself to amplify that magnanimous Power.
@ myself: Thanx dear. I really hope so too.
That was a great insight from someone having two celebrity sisters famous all over Mizoram as one of the most popular Gospel singers on TV channels here.
Regarding the love song thing, well, there are those songs that parents (especially parents like ours!) despise, like people dressed indecently and dancing immorally. However, not all peopla have that attitude about all non-Gospel songs in general.
However, I think it is quite reasonable when many of our parents don't like a gospel singer to sing non-gospel songs ON TV. Because, as you know, in mizoram, we have a lot of people who are a good vocalist (you ofcourse being on top of my list).
I'm sure many of our gospel singers too sing non-gospel songs during their private time or in the bathroom :-) Similar, non-Gospel singers definitely sing gospel songs in Church services too. But on TV, where everybody sees them and where they are an idol that other peopl look up to them, we are talking about a public image here. And in a way, mixing gospel and non-gospel songs do dilute the whole issue a bit.
Bottomline, it's not like we are in dearth of gospel or non-gospel singers here in Mizoram :-) Hence on TV, I kinda support the idea to a certain extent. However, I ofcourse do not believe singing non-Gospel songs means one is not a piangthar (born again).
By the way, since the number of visits and comments on my blog have drastically reduced ever since this new era, I am going to reply to any comments here one by one, each as a new comment (without replying to everyone on one single comment) Shrewd bloggers do that to make it look like there are many comments lolz.. :-D
so who are da two sisters of myself
:O
LDP and Nunui???
I will be visiting your blog anyways :)
Sunday School lessons !! Whoaaa!!! Looking forward to them :)
Gospel singers singing non-Gospel stuff!! I mean if you are a Christian and on fire for Him, why should you if you do not believe in what you sing? I cant say much about guys who have done well in secular music and then switched to Gospel after being born-again. Maybe pressure from record companies and organisers is what compels them to go back to their secular songs!!
When a musician(or anyone) is born-again, and encounters the truth, he/she knows the world has begun to spin the other way round. You cant run away from the truth, Kim. You can hide in the closet but the truth stares at you in the face when you emerge. That is the bottom line. When you have no knowledge of the truth, the most passionate thing to write songs about is love. When you find the truth, those very definitions of love get skewed bigtime. Priorities change, the world is turned upside down, and so are the song lyrics.
Its a bit like reading your old blog posts and realising that you dont wanna write about you wrote about earlier, now. No more passion to do the things of the olden days i guess!!
You can check out http://onesongperday.blogspot.com
One song with video and lyrics from the Contemporary Christian Music world per day :)
Kim, every time Left Brain pipes up, get Right Brain to say "You win some, you lose some!" And I agree with your supporters here...you're doing a great job. I always wanted to use the net in the way you're doing here but let myself get sidetracked by silly stuff.
The Sunday School lessons thing sounds like a great idea. I remember learning a lot when we studied Kings and church history at SS. All the best. And keep the faith.
Great insight Jason. Thanx for using me as an example :-P
I guess for me, the reason why I am blogging only about Christian related topics now, is because it makes me feel good doing it. Suppose I have a lot of time, I dunno, I might be blogging about other topics too. But right now, since I hardly have any free time, I use up that small free time to write what is most important. Priorities indeed get reshuffled. Word!
And hey, thanx for the link Jason. But I hope you know I am coming online from a slow dial-up connection here in Mizoram. :-) I'll try getting my hands on the songs u mention there from my friends. But definitely not through online! sorry bro :)
virgo: hmm... I dunno. Why dont u ask "myself" yourself? He's a nice guy, very friendly and works as a missionary at China.
J: Thankyou dear. But I'm having a small difficulty in translating some of the words... Anyway, lets see what happens come this sunday
now here we go again....
illusionaire & jason : the gospel and non gospel singers theory. :P .. when a person who is famous for his/her secular songs on tv or anywhere else sings a gospel song at a church or anywhere,people talk behind their back..saying "how can he/she do that??".....it seems that we mizos try to judge each other eventhough we know and hear about God's love for everyone everyday.So,only when they are piangthar,they started singing gospel songs as it is clear that if they start singing the same old songs,there'll be a serious case of public criticism.But there are also some few singers who do that for God and feel compelled to use their gift to praise the Lord.Personally,i admire those people who still have the guts to sing secular songs in mizoram.And the more outrageous ,the more fun to watch.:P.but ,yea won't be wise for the two to mix on tv.
And Kim,i think the sunday school thing will be so boring...lol...i hate sunday schools. boring,boring,boring.......ancestors of this that blah blah blah...history..puhleezzz
kima, another great post. Sorry didnt hve time to go through your blog yesterday.
As quoted by R.Lalbiaksanga (my neighbour :P) "Singing love song is not a sin and there. But if I am to sing out my love for someone, why not sing my love of Jesus. I prefer to sing about the love of God".
And Sunday School...lets see :D
My congrats to John & wife. Had known John n family..he used to be sooooo cute n handsome...dnt know how he turned out to have this look, lolzzzz
guy goes to "indian" school
guy goes to "world class mba"
guy goes "over the top"... !!!
kim -(for lack of any familiarity),
you're a disgrace on the "materialistic" world.. that gave u the footing to have such a fan following.
If today, you tell everyone that IIM was a fluke, and you are in Mizoram for life, we'll believe you. But, we trust, that you'll live up to those stupid vows (if at all...)
I'm not against your Christian feelings. Not at all. I've attended some DBF to know that it always leaves a positive impact on you.
I'm against hypocrisy. Against sinners-turned-saints. I cannot profess to be one. And I don't intend you to be (one such).
Sinners can be saints though. Rather should be. But not hold the public garb. And must stay away from the pulpit. Your past only gives you a license to kill (metaphorically). Not to facilitate blessings. Not to preach.
But its a personal topic.
You can decide best what to do.
Go to an FMCG major or waste your education on "petty criminals."
BTW, nothing's wasted
and nothings earned
till you have a vision
and the passion to learn
(sometimes from your mistakes)
achoo..
the word verification word is
zbnbeswg (is that swahili for "eat me alive?" :)
and i write all this cos u r gme's friend.
a friend's friend is a friend i think
Hi! Kim
Ka Lawm e!!
Its really nice to read through your blog.Thanks adding me to your Mizo blogger.Pls do continue your creativity. Best of luck.
I dont agree that a non-gospel singer is bad or unpure, its just our typical Mizo way of stereotyping people. Infact i would like to know how many gospel singer are truly 'born again'. In the eyes of our God we are all equal, God do not didtinct us.
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