Happy Easter!

what rings in your head when you hear the word Easter?
eggs and bunnies?
a long weekend?
a busy Sunday?
or the Christ who is risen?

I first learned this Alfred H. Ackley's hymns
in a service in Islington Baptist 5 years ago
and I remember it ever since
I serve a risen Savior, He's in the world today
I know that He is living, whatever men may say
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer
And just the time I need Him, He's always near

He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me along life's narrow way
He lives, He lives, salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart

Have a blessed Easter, dear friends!

penciled by -rino @ 10:29 AM


surat buat bapak eka dharma putra

pak,
kemarin saya menerima surat bapak di satu milist
surat yang bapak tulis di pembaringan
di tengah sakit yang bapak rasa

pak,
tak terasa airmata saya menetes sewaktu membaca
kisah bapak yang sudah 21 tahun berjuang
melawan kanker hati yang bapak derita

pak,
tidak dapat saya bayangkan
bagaimana dalam keadaan terbeban berat
bapak masih bisa melayani,
masih bisa menggembalakan banyak orang,
masih bisa menjadi ketua pgi,
dan terlebih lagi,
masih bisa dan sering berbicara di mimbar dan media
tentang menikmati dan mensyukuri kebaikan Tuhan

pak,
akan selalu saya ingat tentang mengapa
against all odd
bapak bisa bertahan selama lebih dari 20 tahun
menurut bapak, salah satunya adalah
karena tiap hari ada ribuan (mungkin puluhan ribu, ya pak) orang
yang setia mendoakan bapak

pak,
terima kasih karena sudah mengingatkan saya
bahwa di akhir setiap hari
daripada saya mengukur apa yang saya capai,
menghitung kesuksesan dan kegagalan,
dan memikirkan cara memperbaiki kegagalan tadi
adalah lebih baik kalau saya
menghitung setiap berkat dan kebaikan yang saya rasa,
berapa banyak hati yang saya sentuh,
berapa banyak hidup yang hidup saya pengaruhi,
berapa banyak nama yang saya sebut dalam setiap doa,
dan berapa banyak yang ingat akan saya pada waktu mereka berdoa

pak,
sekali lagi terima kasih
karena meskipun bapak sedang terbaring sakit
bapak masih tetap bekerja, melayani, menggembalakan,
mengingatkan, menegur, dan menguatkan
orang-orang seperti saya

Tuhan memberkati bapak

“There is no life - no life without its hunger
Each restless heart beats so imperfectly
But when you come and I am filled with wonder
Sometimes I think, I glimpse eternity"
--from You raise me up by Selah

penciled by -rino @ 6:15 PM


the songs in me

I don’t know since when, how, and why
lyrics of songs I knew
keep on popping at unforeseen moments
keep on ringing back and forth inside my head
keep on reminding me of old memories

when I saw a student with a blank stare
while others nodding enthusiastically
Claude Michel Schronberg and Alain Boublil’s
“Why God? Show Your hand
Why can't one guy understand?”
rang inside my head
(to all my students reading this: I am NOT referring to you :-))

when I drove through Jalan Cipaganti
with all those tall trees on the two sides of the street
Joyce Kilmer’s
“I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest against the earth's sweet flowing breast
a tree that looks at God all day, and lifts her leafy arms to pray
A tree that may in Summer wear a nest of robins in her hair
upon whose bosom snow has lain who intimately lives with rain
Poems are made by fools like me, but only God can make a tree.”

unexpectedly popped in my mind

when I watched one of the parliament’s sessions on telie
I heard Andrew Lloyd Webber’s
“Masquerade! Paper faces on parade
Masquerade! Hide your face, so the world will never find you!
Masquerade! Every face a different shade
Masquerade! Look around, there's another mask behind you!”

when I heard the song by Cokelat
“merah putih teruslah kau berkibar
di ujung tiang tertinggi di Indonesiaku ini!”
my mind went to the moment
when our choir was awarded silver medal at the Olympics
all those mixed feelings…

and you know what,
these kind of experiences are
the ones that keep on motivating me to
keep on learning new songs, melodious songs with meaningful lyrics

“Music, the gift of the supreme God, draws men, draws gods
Music makes savage souls gentle and uplifts sad minds
Music moves the very trees and wild beasts.”

-- from Musica dei Donum – Orlando di Lasso (1594)

penciled by -rino @ 2:22 PM