christian songs rawks!

yes, Christian songs rawks!

for these past few months, ive been listening to some Christian bands, and im now in love with them. i used to think that christian songs are just those praise and worship songs, which sometimes i found quite boring. but well, a bit of contemporary Christian bands like Lifehouse and Switchfoot have changed my point of view. telecast, Mercy me, Relient K, The Wedding, Delirious?, Casting Crowns, Kutless, Parachute,... whoaa, the list goes longer than you know. haha.

those bands are really great bands. i would love to see them perform live. well, i did for Parachute band. thanks to my beloved City Harvest Church for bringing them here last week and i had a blast! im pretty sure they are too. poor thing i couldnt stay for three services cos i had to work. but well, i believe theres gonna be a lot more to come. :)

a short review for the Parachute band 2007, theyre all commited to their local churches and to honouring God in their lives and music, these boys are the new face of Parachute.

theyre from New Zealand and theyre really good. trust me. the presence of God just flow as you sing along with them. FYI, i spoke to the keyboardist, Allister, saying that they had a great performance and he was really nice asking my name and we shook hand. :)

one of the acoustic band that i love the most is Telecast.

lovely acoustics songs they have. i think Josh white is a great singer and song writer. their first album that i bought is 'Eternity is Now', and the very first song that captured my attention is the last song, which is 'Building a Sorrowful Loveliness'. sooo nice. it talks about how you find God in the midst of darkness or brokenness in your life. what a lovely lyrics they have. ;)

moving on to switchfoot.

i would say one word. FABULOUS! i love the front man, Jon Foreman. hes so talented and all the songs he wrote are amazing. i love ' dare you to move', 'let that be enough', and twenty-four'. switchfoot rocks! :)

well, i have a lot more reviews coming. nothing really important actually. i just simply love music and try to introduce them to people who havent heard about great Christian music. so Christian Music is not boring ok? so change your mindset!

yours truly,
.amanda natalia.

a little piece of me

the other day, my friends and i were hanging out together and talking about music, favorite bands, and so on. then someone was asking about whose concert we would love to go before we die. Adeline, who has been to so many rock concerts (Muse, The Strokes, etc.. *shes sooo lucky!), yelled for Coldplay, while yee mun wanted John Mayer and myself, i voiced out for Lifehouse. but wait! i would die for Coldplay and John Mayer too. argh! too much good music :)

speaking of my friend adeline, i guess shes a real music junkie. my first friend here that i can really talk about music cos she knows alot of bands, especially indie bands. makes me miss my old times talking about music and only music with couple of old friends. well, i cant label myself as a music junkie actually. i do love music, mostly any, and back in old days, i was the only girl that can talk about music to my guy friends. i was the only person they came to when they need to make mixed cds or maybe songs selection, or even in the car, i always take charge of the music. hehe.it was fun! i love music. i used to know the latest music updates and gossip about my favorite bands and singers. just to name a few, Lifehouse, Goo Goo Dolls, Oasis, Our Lady Peace, Snow Patrol, Jason Mraz, Holly Brook, John Mayer, Michael Buble... *phew alot more.
well, as you can see the bands that ive listed out, those are mostly acoustics, alternative, and jazz. im not a hiphop or r&b kinda person, but a little bit of love Rihanna and Ne-Yo is good. i think theyre awesome.

so, back to the topic.
last week, i was sitting beside Adeline in human comm class after my speech (one of the best presenters of the day, people! wohoo! :D), then i asked for song recommendation from her. she asked me to list out my 5 favorite bands, she took out her iPod to let me listen to couple of songs. theyre really great, i think. she recommended me these 10: A Fine Frenzy, Priscilla Ahn, Athlete, Rilo Kiley, Vega 4, the Go! Team, The Magic Numbers, Let's Go Sailing, Maximo Park, The Perishers, and Gomez. oh i love The Perishers! well, i havent heard of most of those names but when i listened to the songs, yeah, Janice would definitely say that those songs are so me. haha. oh how i miss my chickas.

oh yeah. for those of you who havent heard of Holly Brook (if you dont know who she is, shes the girl who sang the 'where'd You Go?' with Fort Minor), shes not that commercialized and thats why i love her. besides that, shes very simple but she has a very nice voice. shes so lovely. try to listen to her songs. youre gonna love it. two of my favorites are "Curious" and "Like Blood Like Honey".the kind of songs to listen to when youre not in any mood state. haha pardon this emo missy :)

oh how i miss spending hours by hours on talking and listening to music with couple of old friends. one thing that i regret the most is that im not able to play instruments, yet. oh why did i have to drop my keybaord and guitar class last time? (i got free guitar practise from church last time you know? and i blew it off!). oh blamed it on the tuition. argh!

ehm speaking of the past, i was once thinking of being a song writer. hahaha yeah i know it sounds crazzzyyyy! well FYI, i used to write poems when i was in junior high; and most of them can be used as song lyrics i guess. believe it or not, my friends and i had the thought of writing a teenage inspirational book. ehm, it all started when we all were in charge of class wall posts and we're so proud of it cos actually quite many students come to our class to see them during break time. you couldnt be happier than that.

yes, those are great memories from the past and sadly, we never finish the book. yes, we had done some stuff. quite emo stuff actually. it was about love, hope, friends, and family. you know how hormones can effect teenagers at that point of time. haha. well, my point is that i used to love to write a lot. i was a creative writer and an editor last time for wall posts and i did some stuff for junior high yearbooks and couple of other stuff. not only that, i was also did quite a good job in organizing some basketball competitions and events in high school. it took a whole lot of effort and risks but here i am right now, thanking God for so many things i have achieved in my young age. im so proud of myself of being a representative of the children of God.

now, seeing myself not-so-busy as i used to be, im actually quite discouraged. but well, i believe that God is giving me time to manage things, to put everything together again so i wont be missing any piece of my puzzle of life. faith, love, the hope, family and friendship are the best treasures in the whole world. ive never been greater. ive never been happier. never been more grateful, cos i believe i will have alot more than i could've asked for. and the best is yet to come.

Praise the Lord!
Psalm 71:6 for me :)

let that be enough

I wish I had what I needed to be on my own
Cause I feel so defeated and I'm feeling alone
And it all seems so helplessAnd I have no plans
I'm a plane in the sunsetWith nowhere to land
And all I see It could never make me happy
And all my sand castles
Spend their time collapsing

Let me know that You hear me
Let me know Your touch
Let me know that You love me
Let that be enough

It's my birthday tomorrow, no one here could know
I was born this Thursday 22 years ago
And I feel stuck
Watching history repeating
Yeah, who am I?
Just a kid who knows he's needy

Let me know that You hear me
Let me know Your touch
Let me know that You love me
And let that be enough

let that be enough-switchfoot

19.

im now nineTEENnnnnn. *sigh. i used to love being older when i was a little. but now!?! friends keep saying that this is the last year of my -teen :( but no worries. next year im still gonna be twenTEEN :) hehe
oh man! im definitely older.


btw, so many thanks to my lovely friends who blindfolded me for more than half an hour in the car (dizzyyyy!), which in the end, ended up in pris house. kinda predictable you know? haha but we had fun doing props. more fun when the event itself came. the soup factory was great. even my friend felix said its really good. so *cheers to all of your good job. im proud of HUC CF! :)

also thanks a lot for those SMS. it did lighten up my day :)
plus, thanks to Tim for the teddy. omg i cant believe the outfit is hand-made. thanks tim! very thoughtful :)
but i miss my chickas. a lot.


i *heart you guys :)

well, the most important thanks goes for God. ive had the best life, the best parents, sister, and the best friends that i could ever have. its been a great year. i learned a lot. now im still learning to put myself together again. so im gonna need a hand for that. thanks for everything :)
Is 58:11 and 2Tim 3:15 for me

until next year :)

infatuation

okay.
so its 8 years gap.
what do you say?








song in my head: infatuation by Maroon 5

*sigh
this is not right, is it?

max lucado and life.

For these past few weeks, ive been reading two of max lucado's books. both are fantastic! Max Lucado really knows how to put words together and make it really really nice. the way he uses analogies to describe something, perfecto!

the first book i read is "a love worth giving". its basically talking about a different view of love based on the scriptures (1 Corinthians 13). it talks about how apostle Paul see and experience love himself and how he loves others. his question is "are you low on love?" how far would you go for love? cos loving others is never easy. could we be missing a step? go and find the answer from the book. no regret!

the second book, the cure for the common life. it talks about how God made you so wonderfully unique. the very first chapter says," you are you-nique." use your uniqueness to make a big deal out of God in everyday of your life. max also tells about how you to find the sweet spot in your life, that God never called you to be anyone other than you. if you are arent you, we dont get you. the world misses out. that is how special you are in God's eyes. "He makes me who i am and remind me of who im living for. the cure of the common life begins and ends with God. He cures the common life by giving no common life, by offering no common gifts. do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can" (Lucado, 2005). dont discount the smallness of your deeds! trust your little deeds.


its great that i finally found back my passion in reading again. i remember the last time i tried to read the same book, i thought it was just another boring book. but it turns out to be a blessing for me. also to a friend of mine. thanks to God. by the way, my sister just bought another book. 3:16. hope its gonna be another great books.

im looking forward to buy another books from max lucado. i went to salvation bookstore in summit the other day and i saw a lot of max lucado's. not easy to find. i found travelling light, i read the review and i think its really good. its about letting go of your burden and come to Christ to find your rest - from matt 11:28. anyway, the other books like facing your giants and come thirsty are also another bravo books i think. they're all not the latest but i think its good if i can collect all of them. :)

by the way, for these upcoming four months, my church has started the building fund. ARISE & BUILD (future unlimited). RM 1,6 million. im nervous. we're all nervous. but i know that we all will be able to fulfill it for the House of God. i pledge for a certain amount that i have to make myself work hard. i hope its worth it. well, i know it will be worth it. thanks to my friend, she helped me to find a part-time job. yesterday was my first day of working. the job involves approaching people, or in details, moms. haha. dont ask me what my job is. the thing is, the pay is good. even though i have to work 16 hours on weekends, have to be really patient with silly customers, plus, on the first day of my work, i couldnt believe that i took the job because it is not something that i usually do. i felt like i dont belong there and i was quite embarrassed if my friends show up and see me. even my mom laughed when she heard the news. but then again, im doing this not for myself, not for anyone, but for God. as in 2 Sam 24:24, David says "i wont give offerings to God that cost me nothing." so, whatever things cost me by taking the job, i'll take it. cos im doing it for God and i'm gonna try my best.

til later.

current mood: grateful
current song: history maker