Songwriting is for the soul

I can't remember the exact date that I started writing poems and songs but according to my songbook I was 13 years old. I don't think it a coincidence that the age of rebelling against parents, starting a new chapter of life, having first kisses, first heartbreaks, and realising people can let you down is in conjunction with the time that I started expressing myself through ink on paper.
 No matter what I was going through, writing always made me feel better, and now I get to look back and see little pieces of my soul, my memories,carved into a white page reminding me of the good things and the things that I've overcome. In my songbook there are angry songs, happy songs, mushy songs and what I like to call 'Jesus songs'. These are songs that are inspired by my moments spent with Him. A few months ago I began reflecting on how God has worked in my life and how He always has my back no matter what the circumstance. This was all the inspiration I needed to write my latest song, entitled You and I. It's not neccessarily the best song ever written but I wanted to share it because I think many can relate and God deserves the praise.
So here is a little piece of my soul :


You and I, we walk, we run
we twirl around until the sun goes down/
You and I, we laugh, we dance,
we cry until our eyes run dry/
You and I, we do everything together

** Because You've been there though it all/
You've seen the bravest jumps and caught the
heartbroken falls/ You know me in my weaknessses
and You know me in my strengths/ You love me 'til I'm
breathless and You take away regrets/ I don't believe
I'll ever know a warmth as great as Yours/ so sweep me
up into your arms and never let me go/ You and I, we're
nothing ordinary, we're a never-ending story.

You and I we work, we play
we sing and hum until we've overcome/
You and I we climb, we fall, we perservere
until the view is clearer/
You and I, we do everything together

**

Jesus Christ, You're the ultimate sacrifice/
I let you down all the time, my sin hung you on that tree/
but still, you came back for me/
You always come back for me.
  
Never-ending, your love is never-ending/
You bring new beginnings /
to a world thats doesn't deserve

Written 26th January 2011

My Bucket List...

A Bucket list : ‘ A list of things to do before you die. Comes from the term “kicked the bucket”. ‘  (UrbanDictionary.com)

Lately I have been watching a show on MTV called ‘The Buried Life’ which involves a group of friends who have composed a bucket list for themselves and set out to complete everything on their list. Their ideas range from playing golf with President Barack Obama to throwing the “biggest, most bad-ass” house party. Of course there is also the famous movie titled the Bucket List which is along the same lines as this MTV show and is also the inspiration behind this post. I was so moved and inspired by the concept of a bucket list that I’ve decided to compose my own one .

So here it is :

DANIELLA’S BUCKET LIST

1.       Travel to every continent.

2.       Go to Disneyland and brave a rollercoaster

3.       Get an article published in a  magazine or newspaper

4.       Start up a business.

5.       See the seven wonders of the world

6.       Visit the Simple Way in Philadelphia and meet Shane Claiborne

7.       Learn how to sew a complete outfit

8.       Attend a cooking class in Paris

9.       Skydive

10.   Learn how to surf

11.   Get a tattoo.

12.   Have coffee with someone famous

13.   Take part in an international mission trip

14.   Learn how to snowboard on the French Alps

15.   Make a significantly huge difference in a strangers life.

16.   Be a part of a band

17.   Go on a ship.

18.   Plan an unforgettable road trip

19.   Hear a song that I wrote playing on the radio

20.   Rollerblade along Miami beach promenade

21.   Witness a miracle

22.   Build a snowman and have a snowball fight

23.   Watch a Broadway musical in New York

24.   Make a Palace guard laugh ( or smile )

25.    Interview Oprah Winfrey

26.   Take part in a meaningful ( and peaceful) protest

27.   Take a photo that gets published

28.   Move to a completely new place where I know nobody

29.   See what I look like as a blonde

30.   Learn how to play piano

31.   Pull the ultimate prank

32.   Stay awake for 48hours straight

33.   Crash a party and join in like I belong there

34. Get cornrows

35. Start a collection
36. learn to slide on a skateboard
37. be on the front cover of a magazine
38. See Mumford and Sons play live
39. See Bon Iver play live
40. do Redfrogs in australia
41. Go Shark-cage diving

 This is not a finalised copy as I am sure that I will continue to think of things to add to it as the years go by, but it’s a start and I look forward to the adventure of it!

How to not have a blue monday...

Make sure that you laugh a lot. A mere chuckle does not suffice, you need to laugh as if you have just watched HotRod ( or any other comedic movie of your choice). I'm talking about laughter that brings tears of joy to your eyes. If you are unable to find something that creates that giggle inside of you, then I think you can get away with smiling. Smiling people are beautiful people.

Eat lots and lots of chocolate. Seriously, it is scientifically proven that the consumption of chocolate triggers the release of endorphins in your body which is known to reduce your sensitivity to pain ( because we all know how painful Monday's can be) and also make you feel more cheerful! So, on Monday's, it is okay to consume chocolate.

Surround yourself with friends. Whether you are at work all day or at university or at school, there is always going to be someone around that you regard as a friend or companion. So take 30 minutes out of that day to spend time with that person, because you will feel more relaxed, you will have someone to vent to if you have had a bad day, you will then probably be comforted or cheered up, and your mind will be taken off the fact that its a Monday. Friends are great.

Find a quiet place. So often I find that on Mondays there is always a lot happening, and I have to wake up early, and I didn't get enough sleep the night before so I'm tired and look like a mess. What makes this worse is when you are surrounded by chaos and noise. In order to feel peaceful which will actually make you feel happier, you need to find a place in your free time where you can breathe, close your eyes, and daydream a little. An escape from the chaos. Sometimes its even good to do this early in the morning before your day begins, so that you have a chance to wake up and begin the day refreshed. It probably sounds like I am some hippy whose about to tell you to hug a tree, but that's probably because I am some hippy and if hugging trees makes for a better day, well then...hug away!

 

When you wake up, think of the positive! Don't wake up and think things like " I'm so tired", " I hate School/Work/Varsity ", " My life sucks". Rather wake up and say " Four more days till the weekend", " In just 12 more hours I will get to go to sleep again", " What a beautiful sunny day". " What a beautiful rainy day", " What a beautiful get-up-and-be-alive day". You get the gist of it?

What if God was one of us...?

When it comes to loving the poor, I feel that I, along with many other Christians still have not got it right, Actually we suck. Raise your hand if you feel good when you give some spare change to the boy who comes up to your car window at the intersection. I know I do. This is because I have learned to become satisfied with those "saintly" actions, they have become enough for me, and they have become enough for my faith.

Lately I have been feeling so drawn to the poor after reading a book called The Irresistible Revolution written by hippy-missionary-radical author Shane Claiborne. In his book he mentions the poor a lot, and quotes plenty of famous people on this topic. One particular quote was by this very wise,lovely lady named Mother Theresa - you may have heard of her. Her words really struck a nerve in me and since reading them I have been disgusted at myself for thinking that handing out R2 at the traffic lights was good enough.

" In the poor we find Jesus in his most distressing disguises"

Imagine what would happen if we started to see every poor person as being Jesus in dress up. I know for a fact that I would definitely give him more than a measly R2 coin. In fact, according to the Bible, in order to feel complete I should sell all my possessions and give the money to the poor (Matthew 19:21). Hectic.
Lets just say I have started opening my eyes more to what it really means to be a follower of Christ and to love Jesus. I think that we need to all get out of our middle to upper class comfort zones and throw ourselves wholeheartedly into loving and serving the people in society that we feel superior to, that we maybe feel a little afraid of, and that we possibly would rather just pretend are not there.

How many of us would open up our home to a child that is sitting alone on a street corner with just a rubbish bag for warmth. How many of us would take ten minutes of our time to speak to the man with one leg who is 'looking for food, a job, clothes, anything ' and find out about his life and offer him what we can, even if its just some love and Jesus. The generation that I am a part of has so much to offer if only we would open our eyes and look past our blackberry's and expensive clothes and safe lives. Now I'm not saying having that stuff is a bad thing, because its actually a blessing, but what IS bad is when that kind of stuff blocks our vision to the reality of the world - a world filled with sick,dying,heartbroken who desperately need to be loved.

I think the best way to encourage you in this would be through this scripture in Matthew 25:31-46. The whole passage is amazing, but a key line for me is this one ( Jesus is speaking) " whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me  '

So, what if God was one of us....the Joan Osborne song says "just a stranger on a bus", but I say what if God was just a young orphaned girl, or a cripple who lives in a shelter, or a young boy whose life of poverty is turning him to drugs and petty crimes. What would our actions towards those people be?

Lets be the generation that makes a difference, the generation that makes the world open their eyes to what Jesus was really all about, the generation who loves the poor.

 {Images from We Heart it}

The Good Ol' Days

A few days ago I read a friends status (read her rad blog Diary of a Daydreamer) concerning the movie The Little Rascals, which was a very popular movie in my childhood. It got me thinking to "back in the day" (now that I am almost two decades old I feel I can legitimately use that phrase) and about all the movies,games,fashions and ideas that formed and shaped my days as a young girl in the 90's and early millennium years. I actually got quite excited as the reminiscing began and I was overtaken by memories and flashbacks. I wanted to share some of them with you :

Ninja Turtles. Marbles. Kissing catches. Spinning tops. Rascals. Climbing trees. Playing Hide and Seek. Gypsy skirts and tasseled shirts that ended just above the bellybutton. JoJo's. Edible necklaces and bracelets. Puppy in my pocket. Swimming in rock pools. Super Mario and Contra and any original Nintendo games. Stretchy bellbottom pants and peddlepushers. Jellybaby shoes. The Spice Girls. REAL Disney cartoons like Poccahantus and Aladdin. Sketchers. Pumpkin Patch and Kideo. Mr Chinwag. Swimming in underwear. Those hilarious kiddies wetsuits. Playing imaginary games. Building secret fortresses out of blankets and pillows. Clip on earrings.  Barbies and those mini army figurines. Fruit Loops. Cartoon Cafe and the Wild Room. Barney. Having play dates. Colouring in with pastels. Those great art boxes with pencils,koki's and everything. Plastic briefcases. little black "motorbikes". Hula Hoops. The Never ending Story. Putting on shows for the family. Birthday parties. Birthday cakes. Jumping Castles, ball pits and slippery slides. Thinking that hugging the opposite sex was a huge deal. Crop tops. Platform takkies and Turtle shoes. Making potions. School lunches with sandwiches cut into four squares. Getting filthy dirty and not caring. Training wheels. Roller skates. Secret handshakes. Jump rope. Cheesy hairstyles. Step cuts. Lots of hair gel. PepperAnne. School Fun days. Dungarees and Play suits. Making up lame dance routines. Sleepovers with midnight feasts. Treehouses.Being a tomboy. MC Hammer. Middle partings. Ice cream in colourful cones. Cake sales. Dressing up in parents old clothes. Dress ups in general. Pigtails. Jungle Gyms. Television that ended at midnight and started again at 5am. Alfalfa, Waldo and Buckwheat. Dinky Dino's and Tamagochies. Tazo's. Razor Scooters. Being carried on Dad's shoulders. Jumping off Dad's shoulders into the pool. Boogieboards. Colourful fishing nets. Sunscreen in bright green and pink and yellow. Bobbleheads. Being absolutely fearless and getting hundreds of roasties. Learning how to dive and putting both hands in a prayer position before tipping gently into the water. Nesquik. Selling Lemonade for 50 cents a glass. When R10 was an inexplicably large amount of money.Candyfloss and spicy pineapples on the beachfront.  Not having a care in the world.

Priceless.