Steven Curtis Chapman again

As some of you know, I've a pretty big fan of Steven Curtis Chapman's music.

Yesterday during my lunch hour, I happened to jump on SCC's website and saw that he had a new album release.


If you're not aware, SCC is a big advocate of adoption - he has six children, three of which were adopted from China. However last year his family suffered a terrible loss with the when one of his adopted daughters was killed in a tragic accident. But out of the depths of his grief, came this release of very personal songs chronicling his journey through this period of sadness and mourning.

As the sample tracks started playing through my earphones, the lyrics were just so real and honest that I felt the tears welling up right there. I quickly pulled myself together so not to end in a blubbering mess right in the office. I couldn't believe how such emotions could surface so easily in me, the words and music just struck a chord in me that made me go "wow, that's exactly how I feel..."

I'll let the extracts from the album introduction and description speak for themselves...

...In the aftermath of unspeakable tragedy—the death of his five-year-old daughter Maria—Steven did what all songwriters do, he poured the torrent of emotion into his music.

The result is "Beauty Will Rise," a stunning body of work inspired by a circumstance no father should ever have to endure. Steven is unflinchingly honest in his exploration of grief and loss. He asks the questions we all ask when horrible things happen to the innocent, yet throughout the album hope shimmers, faith becomes more real and even more precious, and the peace that surpasses understanding leaps from the page and becomes palpable.

Who are You God?

Cause You are turning out to be so much different than I imagined

And where are You God?

Cause I am finding life to be so much harder than I had planned

You know that I"m afraid to ask these questions

But You know they are there

And if You know my heart the way that I believe You do

You know that I believe in You

But still I have these questions

... from "Questions"

These songs became Steven's own personal psalms. Yet as he wrestled with the heartbreak and loss, his faith remained, somewhat bruised, but never broken.

I will proclaim it to the world

I will declare it to my heart

I will sing it when the sun is shining

I will scream it in the dark

You are faithful, You are faithful

When You give and when You take away

Even then still Your name is faithful

You are faithful

...from "Faithful"

This will be on my wishlist for my birthday/Christmas.

Here is SCC talking about and singing one of the tracks from the album "Heaven is the Face"

The dawn of the cat era

We have been talking about getting a pet. A dog would have been great, but I think they do need a quite a bit of attention and particularly consistent training at the start, which we knew we could not give. So we talked about getting a cat.

Hubby had never had a pet before, so he had a lot of questions.

“What kind of things will we need to get for it?”

“How much will it cost to maintain it?”

“How long can it live up to?”

I duly answered his questions and did some research on the ones I wasn’t sure of… and when he was satisfied with the information, then came the best question yet…

“Aaah, OK… cool, cool… so what can the cat do for us?”

“Huh? do for us? He will love us lar! What do you mean?”

“I mean like, what can it do… like maybe catch insects for us or something…”

I burst out laughing.

“Seriously, who knows… maybe can get some ROI or tax benefits for pest control or something”

“You mean like put the cat in our investment property for it to catch insects? Pleeeease lar…no way, man!”

But after such discussions, we seriously started to look into it. I did some of research, looking into the pros and cons of different breeds and adoption options.

Then just last week I happen to mention it to my colleague, and she exclaimed excitedly “…my friend has been trying to look for someone to adopt her cat! She’s moving back to Canada in a few weeks and wants to find a good home for him…”

So she introduced us, had a look at some photos (he was gorgeous!) and we popped by their apartment to meet him.

They called him Roo, or Roux which means ‘red hair’ in French (they're a French Canadian couple). He was just over a year old, they had adopted him as a kitten from the RSPCA.

We loved him on the spot… he was such a gorgeous rich reddish-orange colour, beautiful big golden eyes, and showed an inquisitive, affectionate temperament.

He seems to be settling in pretty well. He’s been a busy explorer in our house, which must be a big change compared to the cosy little apartment he came from.

He’s already established this little corner as one of his favourite spots… here he is just woken up from a nice siesta

Look at those big eyes... don't you think they're just like 'Puss in Boots' in Shrek?

See how manja he is

Love me, love me…

Le purrrrrr.

We have been calling him Mishu. Seems to suit him well with his super teh and manja character.

Food, Fun and Friends

Last Saturday night was spent preparing goodies such as…

Cinnamon rolls

And herby-cheesy nibbles

Next day we woke up to a beautiful Sunday morning

…for a a picnic in King’s park

…with plentiful food

…some relaxation

…a little recreation

…and great company!

We hung out from around from 10 o’clock that morning all the way until past 2 o’clock in the afternoon. All in all a great day.

Except that I didn’t put on sunscreen and got a little sunburnt…

But that’s ok. It means summer is really here… yippee!

If you were curious what game we were playing, it’s a card game called Mamma Mia where each of us have to use different ingredients to make the most number of pizzas.

We’re getting a cat!

Cantik kan?