The Voice In My Head…

Just back from the most fun non-date I can remember for the longest time, with a new angel the Lord has put in my life.

Thank you God, I know every little thing’s gonna be alright. Every little thing’s gonna be alright.

I have just completed reading Joyce Meyer’s latest book - the Secret to True Happiness.

I say “reading”, but the truth is that I took my time studying the book. I devoured every page of this book slowly and meticulously - underlining, highlighting and making notes - each page was a goldmine of ideas and facts written in Joyce’s straight talk and humouress way.

I think the best thing about the book, is that it is Simple and Practical. Each of the 28 chapters bring out truths which Joyce explains so simply, yet so powerfully, that I guarantee it will change your life if you truly follow them.

I have recently ordered Joyce’s Battlefield of the Mind, which I’ve been told by tons of people is also worth it’s weight in gold. Will review when I’m done.

Meanwhile, I’m placing this book in my top 3 Christian books (the other two being Fulton J. Sheen’s ‘Life of Christ’ & Merlin Carothers’s ‘Power in Praise’) that you MUST read - and re-read regularly - in order to fully absorb the wealth of information and truth and in order for them to change your life for the better.

More information on the book here.

is that I had a tiring weekend.

Not so much because I did anything that exhausting, but rather because there was something I really wanted to do - but which wasn’t meant to be. All I can say is, Praise God.

Conversation with my Dad on Saturday went something like this:

Me: Dad, please, I really want to do this.
Dad: You know how I feel about this, but if this makes you happy…
Me: Yes dad. Besides, don’t worry - the Lord always protects me. He’s never ever let anything bad happen to me. I know He’ll close this door if it’s not meant for me to walk through it.
Dad: Well that doesn’t mean you should stand in the middle of a busy highway and say “God will protect me”!

Sunday, on my way home, after finding out that Dad was indeed correct:

Me (via sms): Think God just pulled me off the highway dad. Love you.

~ x ~ x ~ x ~

One good thing that did happen over the weekend though was a mini school reunion. It was *super* fun. Had a similar fun night when I was in Sydney last year and it’s amazing how easily we regress to being little giggly girls simply by being put in the presence of school mates! It’s also amazing that no one seems to have changed - the warmth & love between us was as strong as before (perhaps even more so with the passing of time!)

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~ x ~ x ~ x ~

Finally, something that made me smile this morning - this 23 year old friend of mine sent me this link to xkcd.com this morning:

No, I am not planning on dating him - or the 25 yr guy I had dinner with last night either - but at least it’s good to know that “dating pool” is now wider!

Will you please send me this Bible?

I know I’ve got many other Bibles, but I just feel like I need something new to re-kindle the fire I’ve always had for reading your word.

Thank you

Hugs from your (favorite!) child,

Melody

PS: Thanks, was walking in the valley of the shadow of darkness, but as you promised you were right there besides me. The worst is over.

Based on whether you love Bombay or not, the words you’d chose to describe the city would be - crowded, filthy, noisy, spirited, alive, fun!

Whether positive or negative though, you’d probably never describe Bombay with these words - Vast, Green, Old World Charm!

And yet, that’s exactly what St. Pius X College (commonly referred to as the ‘Goregaon Seminary‘) is like (see an aerial view here).

It’s a fact not commonly known, that I was conceived in Goregaon Seminary. My parents were doing a ‘Marriage Encounter‘ there, about 4 yrs after their wedding. And lo & behold, I was formed! Not an immaculate conception (!) but a blessed conception for sure! I know lots of other facts about my pre-born state that I’m sure you all are dying to know but this post is about the seminary.

I went to the Goregaon Seminary for the first time in my (post-born, lol) life two Saturdays ago. It was like taking a trip outside Bombay, or perhaps to Bombay, but in a century long ago - All the the greenery, the sheer vast openness of it all.

And the building itself was so beautiful! Old World Charm all carefully preserved in an air of quiet and sanctity. I spent the weekend at the Seminary as I was attending a Bible Seminar (nope, I’m not becoming a priest!).

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… and in pictures too

Have been busy helping organize, praying for & finally, ushering (!) at a 4 day Church Lenten Program which got over on Sunday past. Crowd ranged from 2000 about 3500 people each day, and trust me, ushering is no joke!

In between stuff, have also managed to attend the premier of 27 dresses. The movie got terrible reviews - one called it “Porn, for chicks” so I wasn’t expecting much. And perhaps that’s the reason why the picture was pretty alright imo. It was a chick flick, yes. It was predictable, yes. But then again most chick flicks are. And they’re still nice (if you’re a chick or on a date). Lascelle Symons was just near me - all alone - I’ve noticed usually his wife accompanies him to premiers. Perhaps the designer only came to check out the dresses?

I’ve also started a two year offline, correspondence Diploma course on the Bible through the St. Paul’s Bible Institute, Chennai. It’s a fairly comprehensive course that spans both Old & New Testament. Booklets are mailed each month & answers have to be written and mailed back. The only tough part is actually writing the answers. Ever since I started this course, I’ve realised I type much much faster than I write. In fact I rarely write at all - so it’s hard getting back into school/college frame of mind and write answer sheets. But I guess it’s good for me, both in terms of the learning & the writing!

Have also become addicted to going to the sea front with giggly friend who I spend most of time with these days. We take long walks by the beautiful sea. On most days we giggle like schoolgirls though some days we’re uncharacteristically quite and enjoy the serene sea. And of course our mandatory Sev Puri, which I’m also become addicted to. Yumm (just googling for pics right now is making me hungry!)

And yes, I have (finally) cut my hair Excuse the pic, not me looking my best, but it was taken by me (as is quite apparent!) ONLY FOR YOU GUYS and only to see the HAIR, so cut me some slack ok?! Arnold & Karl, thanks for the many inquiries after the lenght of my hair, trust it gets a thumbs up!

The following is a copy of a letter written by the Archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar Raphael Cheenath, following attacks on people, churches, homes & other properties during Christmas 2007 in Orissa. I am disturbed & do not know how to react. I do know however, that when we speak out about things, chances of things being rectified usually increase. Hence, I am posting the letter here, in it’s totality.

Even as I post it though, I am (sadly) sure that there is bound to be people who will endorse such incidents (”conversion” will probably be the key excuse, as is all it is when there are any attacks on Christians in India regardless whether there is proof or not of conversions actually haven taken place).

I feel that we - Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Parsis, Christians and all others - in democratic India should not tolerate incidents like this.

======================================================

Bhubaneswar , Jan 5, 2008: The feast of Christmas, an event of joy and peace turned out to be a tragedy for the people of Kandhamal district in Orissa. Rioters have torched hundreds of churches, institutions and houses. Thousands of people are still stranded in the forests and on streets. Here is a first-hand account of the violence and aftermath that has left minorities especially Christians in fear and anxiety, submitted by Archbishop of Cuttack Raphael Cheenath, SVD.

From Archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar Raphael Cheenath, SVD

The background of the incident:
The trouble began on 24th December in Bamunigam village, which is close to the police station under Daringibadi Block of Kandhamal District. Around 8 am, a mob of fundamentalists forcefully removed Christmas decorations put up by Ambedkar Baniko Sangho comprising local Christian entrepreneurs as a preparation for Christmas, with due permission from the administration. This was followed by exchange of words between two groups, as the fundamentalists insisted that the people stop Christmas celebrations. Within a few minutes a group of people who were stationed close-by pounced on the members of Ambedkar Baniko Sangho with sticks, swords, guns and other lethal weapons.. During midnight Mass on 24th December, miscreants hurled explosives on Archbishop’s house in Bhubaneswar which though exploded, no damage was done.

Ambulance burnt at Balliguda:

Destruction at Balliguda Carmel Convent:

Homes of Christians in the area that were completely burned (these people are now homeless and without any material possesions):

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That’s where I’m going to be from the 17th - 20th of this month (tomm through Sunday).

Mum & I were (super) blessed to get the opportunity to meet & talk with Joyce Meyers & Brian Houston in person, at a small gathering earlier today. Am really looking forward to the blessings the Lord has in store for me!!

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(more details on the festival here)

If you haven’t already, do read Part 1 here. Part 2, is not a story but a collection of thoughts; some mine, some the thoughts of people I told Part 1 to.

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After parting with Ramesh & Dhinesh, I was plagued by these thoughts:
* Had I just been sucked into an elaborately prepared story (as was my first cynical thought)?
I dismissed it. After all, if that were the case, the only thing I had lost was some money - but hopefully I had been able to plant a seed of hope through all my talk with them
* Was there actually a school in Parel called Guru Nanak something-or-the-other? How would I find it?
Incidentally, I did ask Ramesh why they weren’t in a free school & he gave me some very fishy sounding gyaan that he didn’t know there was a free school and he could now only enroll in it from next year, which he planned to do.
* Why was it that I can’t bear to see injured animals on the road - that my heart would go out to them - but when I see beggars, 9 times out of 10, I just wave them away. The 10th time, maybe, I just feel a little sorry for them.

I tell myself that I mustn’t support the industry. I buy into the fact that they are “rich” beggars out there - with all the chance to advance but they choose to beg because it’s easy money, an easy life. They get alternate accommodation by the government and they rent out those homes and come back to the streets to beg. They have free schools but they run away, preferring not to stay in school (and which of us at one time or the other haven’t wished we didn’t have to go to school?).

But then again, surely there must be genuinely poor people out there who truly want to be something more than a beggar or a signal book-sellar all their lives? What is the way out? On my part, I have been supporting CRY for many years. Recently, been led towards Akanksha as well.

A friend who I’ve told this to - after having sounded me off about giving random people lifts in my car when alone - tells me that it’s a sad thing that in our country we don’t even know where half the money we donate to NGOs really go. We talk about a couple of actual life experiences we know of where money donated was not used for the causes intended but have gone into the pockets of corrupt officials.

I wonder:
* How cynical our generation is. And is it our faults? Has being almost the most corrupt country in the world turned us this way? Do we trust anyone? Do we feel for anyone? How many of us actually reach out to the poor on a regular basis?

How many of us are teaching them to fish instead of just giving them fish at signals?

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A photo post ~ Click on any pic to enlarge.

Soon, the crowds will come.

Soon, the Church compound will be filled with thousands of devotees, hour upon hour offering novenas (nine day prayers with Mass).

Soon, Mother Mary will be venerated. Decorated. Implored of for millions of favors.

Soon, candles will be bought. In every shape and size. House shaped candles to pray for houses. Children shaped candles to pray for children. Candles in every shape of the body. Every shape and size.

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