A Mighty Fortress is Our God July 21, 2009
Posted by .F in myBooks, myMusic, myThoughts.add a comment
I did not realise that it’s been half-a-year since I last posted here. I really should write more.
I’m currently reading this book called 101 Hymn Stories by Kenneth W. Osbeck – it briefly describes the stories behind the writings of 101 classical hymns. The first song that Osbeck put in his book is “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”, written by Martin Luther, who was the father of Reformation.
1. A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing; our helper he amid the flood of mortal ills prevaling. For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe; his craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate, on earth is not his equal. 2. Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing, were not the right man on our side, the man of God's own choosing. Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is he; Lord Sabaoth, his name, from age to age the same, and he must win the battle. 3. And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God hath willed his truth to triumph through us. The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him; his rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure; one little word shall fell him. 4. That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth; the Spirit and the gifts are ours, thru him who with us sideth. Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also; the body they may kill; God's truth abideth still; his kingdom is forever.
According to Osbeck, one of the important significance of the Reformation was the discovery of congregational singing. Luther expressed his beliefs in the importance of hymns in many statements including this, ” If any man despises music, as all fanatics do, for him I have no liking; for music is a gift and grace of god, not an invention of men.” and “I wish to compose sacred hymns so that the Word of God may dwell among the people also by means of songs.”
This song itself was based on Psalm 46, and has become a great source of strength especially during Reformation time, for those people who were suffering for their convictions in Christ. The song was based on Luther’s own hardships, having confronted the corruption of the church at the time. He constantly lived in struggles, being marked as an outlaw, and at the time – going against the church meant death. However, despite all the fears, despite all the hardships, Luther survived it all and continued to stand firm. He confided not in his own strength but in God’s.
Living in the world that is going against us more and more each day, Christians are faced with the burden of having to stand firm. There are and will be days when we feel weak, where we no longer have the strength to stand. But let us constantly be reminded that the source of our strength is not from ourselves, but from Him who has risen from the dead.
1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,3 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.- Psalm 46:1-3
For One More Day September 5, 2008
Posted by .F in myBooks, myDays, myPictures.add a comment
For One More Day =
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Photographer: me
Location: my auntie’s house, Indonesia
Editings:
Levels adjusted
Framed & Signature
It was a picture I took long time ago in 2006. I gave the title according to a book written by Mitch Albom on the same year, read it and love it. Just few days ago I saw Oprah’s show and there Albom was talking about the book so that’s why I decided to write about it.
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‘Every family is a ghost story . . .’
As a child, Charley Benetto was told by his father, ‘You can be a mama’s boy or a daddy’s boy, but you can’t be both.’ So he chooses his father, only to see him disappear when Charley is on the verge of adolescence. Decades later, Charley is a broken man. His life has been destroyed by alcohol and regret. He loses his job. He leaves his family. He hits rock bottom after discovering he won’t be invited to his only daughter’s wedding. And he decides to take his own life. Charley makes a midnight ride to his small hometown: his final journey. But as he staggers into his old house, he makes an astonishing discovery. His mother – who died eight years earlier – is there, and welcomes Charley home as if nothing had ever happened. What follows is the one seemingly ordinary day so many of us yearn for: a chance to make good with a lost parent, to explain the family secrets and to seek forgiveness
- Publisher’s review
I think Mitch Albom is one of the few authors that can make me cry when reading a book. I love “The Five People You Met in Heaven“, “Tuesdays with Morie” is my all time favorite, and now “For One More Day” – telling a story of a mother’s love, of second chances and of forgiveness. Basically as it says above in the review, it is about Charley who wanted to kill himself but when he was making his last journey home he met his mother, who was supposed to be dead, still alive; acting as if there’s nothing wrong – as if it was just an ordinary day for both of them.
I don’t remember the details very well now already but what I remember is one of the messages of the story, one that was mentioned in Oprah’s show as well: that if you got something you want to say to a person, say it before you never got a chance to say it again. Not many people got a second chance and that’s why we have to live as if it is our last day living.
Oprah asked people in her show if you could have one more day with someone, who would that person be and what would you do to spend the day with him/her? I haven’t lost someone important to me (and I’m grateful for that) so I can’t answer who but many people answered that they will just spend the day as however they usually spend it with the person they love – and tell them lots of times how much they mean to them. And although I myself find it a bit hard to express my love to someone, but I think it is important to say it to those people you love. And that’s one thing the book was talking about.
I personally think the book is awesome; everyone should read it. Especially those who have someone they love (I’m sure everyone have someone they love though…well…) and those who often take their (the people they love’s) love for granted.
Oprah was so amazed by Albom’s book that she produced a special movie based on the book aired I think only in ABC a year ago but I managed to find a link where you can watch it online. I watched it just now and although the quality of the movie itself isn’t good, but it still got the message. I’d still recommend the book more though.
Le Grand Meaulnes August 27, 2008
Posted by .F in myBooks.add a comment
Yes, yes I know the trailer and the movie is in French – don’t ask me to translate that cause I have no idea myself.
The movie which trailer I put up there is the adaptation of the book Le Grand Meaulnes, often translated as The Lost/Strange Estate or The Wanderer in English publication. It was the only novel written by Alain-Fournier (real name: Henry Alban-Fournier) because he died later on during his military service at World War I while writing his second novel. First published in 1913, often known for its similarity to The Great Gatsby (which I haven’t read yet) but was in fact written earlier than it.
The story was told from the point of view of François Seurel, the son of the director of a boarding school in a small village. He was telling the story of his friend Augustin Meaulnes, who during his arrival in the boarding school soon became the “Le Grand Meaulnes” – The Great Meaulnes. That is, until he suddenly disappeared for three days and came back with a tale of a lost estate, where he was charmed especially by a beautiful girl called Yvonne de Galais. He returned to the boarding school only to find himself unable to let the very thought of the girl off his mind; and so set on an obsessive search of the lost estate.
Although the book is not very much recognized in the Western Literature, the book is actually one of the most acclaimed French classics. It was voted as the 6th best 20th Century book among French readers in a poll done around a decade ago, not far from the famous Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupéry and Albert Camus’s L’Étranger.
I personally would give the book 
. I don’t read much classic books and I always find it somewhat harder to follow the story with all the description and also the language use. But this book is full of details that were beautifully written, they do not just bring the readers to read through them but they bring the readers to engage in the world Fournier had imagined. The story was sad, but again, awesome. It is a picture of a boy’s obsessiveness of the unobtainable ideal, the mysterious relationship between boyhood and adulthood – depicted in Meaulnes’s refusal to grow up (Adam Gopnik, 2007, in the Introduction of the Penguin Classic translation), and I personally also think, of friendships.
Around the afternoon yesterday I started reading the book, and I had to postpone my bedtime because of the book, but it was awesome. I really want to see the movie adaptation, if only I can find the movie with English subtitles *sigh*
