You Love us Anyway

You Love us Anyway…

Every year as this day comes by,
The day of Your birth,
So many questions make me sigh,
Were we worthy of your death?

And despite our selfish way,
You love us anyway,
This one truth will surpass every doubt,
Yes, that You love us anyway…

Each day to become worldly,
So many reasons we find,
But one glance at the cross,
Gives us zillion reasons to rewind…

And despite our selfish way,
You love us anyway,
This one truth will surpass every doubt,
Yes, that You love us anyway…

You were guilty and ashamed,
For the things you did not do,
How much more we need to be,
Guilty…For the things we do…

And despite our selfish way,
You love us anyway,
This one truth will surpass every doubt,
Yes, that You love us anyway…

You bore our shame,
You died the death we deserved,
And now we know,
What is grace all about…

And despite our selfish way,
You love us anyway,
This one truth will surpass every doubt,
Yes, that you love us anyway…

We do not have room for pride,
Of any kind to live,
“It is Finished”, when you cried…
It was only you who paid our price...

And despite our selfish way,
You chose to die for us,
This one truth will surpass every doubt,
Yes, that you love us anyway…

____________________________Rashmi(12th December, 2013)

Simple Traditions – How wonderful

Simple Traditions – How wonderful…

Today after ages, talking to a friend made me feel at home… Felt like ok what I was thinking until now wasn’t wrong… 

Yes we live in this era of yes the world is changing… and we too need to change… But seriously we have stopped evaluating if change is worth it or not…

At times while you are surrounded in a world where you need to justify what enjoyment is all about… You need to give an account of how you spend your long weekend or weekends to all…. Write down about where you are, what you are doing, how you feel about things, uploading picture s so that all believe you are at a particular place…. Yes a facebook era… Everyone’s personal journal for today…

What we have lost in our lives are – Simple family traditions and how wonderful they are… Well if you ask me a simple tradition that my mom always did was give me a choco bar ice cream every Sunday post lunch…. Might sound silly today but I can’t tell you how much I used to wait for Sundays for that ice cream… Similarly there are list of things my mom used to do which had become a part of our simple personal family tradition….

Now that I am married… Me and Samit spend exclusive time with each other… God has blessed him with work from home option and I know it’s a temporary blessing… But rather than taking this for granted we spend lot of time together…. Talk a lot… go for walks… cook together… eat together… go to Church together… 

Everything passes… and I know this phase too shall pass… some pre planned activities will take up my time in the upcoming year… and we will have less time for each other… but having few family traditions is so much important... to look forward for it each day  or each week as married couple...indeed wonderful… 

We can stay “simple”…. and yet be happy... We need not catch a flight every long weekend to make it special… You need not eat in a fancy restaurant each day to make your day special… If you are together as a family but someone is on the phone, watching TV, busy with work calls, it’s not “quality” time… Key is having a family culture of spending quality time together…  
 

Like yesterday at 9 pm I felt like baking a cake…. Just out of the blue and I did bake one … it was a special moment created out of nothing… but it was special… I do that often…. Need not wait for an occasion, a special day to do something special… and something “simple” can also be simply special…

So what is your family tradition :)

________________________Rashmi(6th September, 2013) 

Simplify Life

Simplify Life…

We all started the race… Race to the finish line… Right? We all want to get there…”There”… yeah right… frankly speaking… none of us really have any idea where this “There” is located…  But we all are heading there… in our heads of course…

 Unknown pressure always surrounds us… Way back in school it was studies… then came time when we had to nail down career options…. And now it’s the job life… In the midst of all this we decide to get married… looks like a simple new addition in our life… But what about the rearrangements that would be needed… are we ready for that?

Our parent’s generation was nice… in one simple word I can say it was simply “Simple”… rather it still is… They do not run after career… do they? They do not run after money… They know what they need… and they know where to halt… the technologically retarded generation so to speak… but they live their life the best possible way… Their top priority is pretty simple… –Family… Simple, isn’t it... And they are happy :)

We complicated everything… Our single, love and married life… In the endless race to gain more and more … We moved out to gain more and lost the little things that add up to life… Whatsapp has reduced phone calls… Phone calls have reduced face to face talks… We live in a generation that talks to walls – The so called “Facebook Wall”….We try and be connected to the entire world but do we know the one who stays next door… Sighh!!!

Saturation is on its way… And when it will get saturated… we will love our parent’s generation… we will look for the simplicity in our lives… where all they got to worry about is family… work life is a medium for leading a happy family life… not the reverse… And its only possible when we start taking simple steps to – Simplify Life…

I have started taking my little steps in that path…. Trust me, it takes most of the burden off our shoulders…And I am loving it already….

____________________________Rashmi (12^th August, 2013)

What we all need...

What we all need…

Not much right… we all need love… we all need assurance…we all need “fulfilling” promises… we all need a hand to hold… a hand that will never leave us… will always be there for us... maybe we can do with less love… but not with less faith… yes, faith… faith that what one says he/she will fulfill… blind faith… foolishness all will call… as the term “blind faith” comes with a very big risk… risk of being hurt… risk of holding a broken heart...

We fall… hearts do break… tears do fall… but we are back to square one… searching for love… searching for holding that one hand… and recreating the blind faith… and living that risk again… why?... because God made us like that… humans are made to love… are made to live in faith… we may lose our track… and live a life of… “I do not need anyone… I am happy with myself”… But somewhere… deep down… secretly… at times even unknowingly… our heart keeps searching for that one person with whom we can be ourselves… we can just be the person who has nothing to hide… good or bad…

Yes… and that one person can be anyone… your friend… your partner… your parent… or at times even a stranger you have just met…

Hmm … Thought today… who is that one person I can rely on… one person who was always there… one person who is still there… one person who will always be there in future as well… yes that one person with whom I have nothing to hide… that one person who knows my silence… when I fall short of words… that one person who pushes me in situations I hate… but when I look back I know there was a reason and that situation didn’t last for long… it was for a season… that one person who taught me to smile when I want to cry… that one person who hugged me when I wanted to run away… that one person who cries when I cry… who smiles when I smile… my hurts is His hurt… my pain is His pain… who keeps knocking the door when I want to flee… that one person who reminds me to do the right when the world calls it foolishness… that one person whom I keep forgetting… But He waits… endlessly He waits… for me to come back home…

Yes… I believe you  know who I am talking about…

___________________________Rashmi(25^th July, 2013)

Yes its only you...

Inspired by the song - "Tum hi Ho"... From the movie Ashiqui 2... Amazing lyrics...

Now I just can’t live without you,

Do I even exist without you?

If I fall apart from you,

I will fall apart from myself…

As you are the one,

Yes you are,

My life from now on… is you…

My peace, my pain,

You alone are my love…

You and I are so different,

Yet even one moment,

I fail to stay away from you,

Every day I live only for you,

All my time is just for you,

No moment of mine can be without you,

On every breath of mine… It’s your name…

As its you,

Yes you,

My life from now on… is you…

My peace, my pain,

My love, it’s only you…

I live, only for you,

I give all of me, only to you,

Your loyalty gave me refuge,

Let go all my sadness,

My destiny now is with you,

With you I am now complete…

Because you are the one,

Yes you are the one,

My peace and my pain,

You alone are my love…

________________________Rashmi (24th July, 2013)

Hence… Left Unsaid

Hence… Left Unsaid

Afraid,

To face,

The reality,

Hence…Left – Unsaid…

Secret,

Our love,

Secretly,

Hence…Left – Unsaid…

                                  

Broken,

Heart held,

Quietly,

Hence…Left – Unsaid…

Tears,

Holding on,

Smiling,

Hence…Left – Unsaid…

Strength,

Null,

To meet,

Hence…Left – Unsaid…

Words,

Void,

To say,

Hence…Left- Unsaid…

________________________Rashmi (25th June, 2013)

PS: Some words are best left unsaid… Inspired by the poem - " When we two Parted"... By George  Gordon Byron

You bring me back home

Every time I drift apart,

You bring me back home…

Every time I feel lost,

You bring me back home…

Every time I move away,

You bring me back home…

Every time I look back,

You bring me back home…

Every time I look at future,

You bring me back home…

Every time I forget you,

You bring me back home…

Every time I miss home,

You bring me back home…

________________From me - to Jesus... 

Love her more and Love her less

Just read a beautiful poem in a book...From a father to his son on his Wedding day...

Love her more and Love her less…

If you now aim your wife to bless,

Then love her more and love her less.

If in the coming years, by some

Strange providence of God, you come

To have the riches of this age,

And, painless, stride across the stage

Beside your wife, be sure in health

To love her, love her more than wealth.

And if your life is woven in

A hundred friendships, and you spin

A festal fabric out of all

Your sweet affections, great and small,

Be sure, no matter how it rends,

To love her, love her more than friends.

And if there comes a point when you

Are tired, and pity whispers,

Yourself a favor. Come, be free;

Embrace the comforts here with me.”

Know this! Your wife surpasses these:

So love her, love her more than ease.

And when your marriage bed is pure,

And there is not the slightest lure

Of lust for any but your wife,

And all is ecstasy in life,

A secret all of this protects:

Go love her, love her more than sex.

And if your taste becomes refined,

And you are moved by what the mind

Of man can make, and dazzled by

His craft, remember that the “why”

Of all this work is in the heart;

So love her, love her more than art.

And if your own should someday be

The craft that critics all agree

Is worthy of a great esteem,

And sales exceed your wildest dream,

Beware the dangers of a name.

And love her, love her more than fame.

And if, to your surprise, not mine,

God calls you by some strange design

To risk your life for some great cause,

Let neither fear nor love give pause,

And when you face the gate of death,

Then love her, love her more than breath.

Yes, love her, love her, more than life;

Oh, love the woman called your wife.

Go love her as your earthly best.

Beyond this venture not.

But, lest

Your love become a fool’s facade,

Be sure to love her less than God.

It is not wise or kind to call

An idol by sweet names, and fall,

As in humility, before

A likeness of your God. Adore

Above your best beloved on earth

The God alone who gives her worth.

And she will know in second place

That your great love is also grace,

And that your high affections now

Are flowing freely from a vow

Beneath these promises, first made

To you by God. Nor will they fade

For being rooted by the stream

Of Heaven’s Joy, which you esteem

And cherish more than breath and life,

That you may give it to your wife.

The greatest gift you give your wife

Is loving God above her life.

And thus I bid you now to bless:

Go love her more by loving less...

________________________John Piper

House to Home

House to Home

As we entered,

You and me,

Stunned,

By the void…

We had to build,

Little by Little,

House to Home…

Little by Little…

Strangled in the space,

Due to storm,

Hungry,

Devoid of food…

We had to build,

Little by Little,

House to Home,

Little by Little…

Away from all,

Memories befall,

Lonely,

Missing everyone….

We had to build,

Little by Little,

House to Home,

Little by Little…

New country,

Unknown Street,

Lost,

Among new faces…

We had to build,

Little by Little,

House to Home,

Little by Little…

Story did begin,

All fresh,

Amazed,

With the abundance…

We had to build,

Little by little,

House to home,

Little by Little…

Everything new,

Yet everything old,

Acceptance,

Meant everything…

We did build,

Little by little,

Our - House to home,

Little by Little…

___________________Rashmi (5^th June, 2013)

Mahatma Gandhi – Follower of Christ

Mahatma Gandhi – Follower of Christ_______________________

Knowing Jesus can change a person’s life forever… When I became a Christian what troubled me was the question –

“Which denomination do you belong to?”

“Which church do you go to?” (Which is an indirect question to know which denomination one belongs to)

All I knew when I accepted Christ was – Christ… and his living word – “Bible”… I thought and still believe that is enough to be a believer in Christ… Why categorize yourself under any other denomination…

It’s easy and tough at the same time to follow Jesus... Confused haan…

Easy because knowing Christ you become free… you see life from a very different point of view… You just can’t hate anyone or anything anymore… your priorities start and end with Christ… which means it sets all other worldly priorities in place… Everything becomes beautiful… and life becomes easy…

Tough because it’s not easy to follow Jesus… He says simple things… but those simple things are seen as foolishness in the oh so modern generation today… Following Jesus does not mean going to church every Sunday…. It’s definitely much more than that… Jesus becomes center of your home…center of decisions you make…center of your life… You just can’t leave him at the altar… everything you do you need to pray about it…. Get His approval… in short let Jesus run your life and you would have to stop taking control …. Above all… all people should see Christ through you… your life should define Him… His light should shine through you… Now that’s tough right?….

Recently I came to know about how Gandhi was influenced by Christ… Trust me he was influenced by Christ not any denomination of Christianity… All I knew until earlier was He loved the hymn – “Abide with me”… which is one of my all-time favorites too… But here’s small story how Gandhi encountered Christ…

Gandhi had a very close connection with Christianity and admired Jesus very much, often quoting from his favorite 'Sermon on the Mount' chapter in Mathew 5–7.

When the missionary E. Stanley Jones met with Gandhi he asked him, "Mr. Gandhi, though you quote the words of Christ often, why is that you appear to so adamantly reject becoming his follower?"

Gandhi replied, "Oh, I don't reject Christ. I love Christ. It's just that so many of you Christians are so unlike Christ." 

“If Christians would really live according to the teachings of Christ, as found in the Bible, all of India would be Christian today,” he added.

Gandhi's closeness with Christianity began when he was a young man practicing law in South Africa. Apart from being attached with the Christian faith, he intently studied the Bible and the teachings of Jesus, and was also seriously exploring becoming a Christian, which led him to his discovery of a small church gathering in his locality.

These strongly entrenched Biblical teachings have always acted a panacea to many of India's problems during its freedom struggle.

After deciding to attend the church service in South Africa, he came across a racial barrier, the church barred his way at the door. "Where do you think you're going, kaffir?" an English man asked Gandhi in a belligerent tone.

Gandhi replied, "I'd like to attend worship here."

The church elder snarled at him, "There's no room for kaffirs in this church. Get out of here or I'll have my assistants throw you down the steps."

This infamous incident forced Gandhi to never again consider being a Christian, but rather adopt what he found in Christianity and its founder Jesus Christ.

“A rose does not need to preach. It simply spreads its fragrance. The fragrance is its own sermon…the fragrance of religious and spiritual life is much finer and subtler than that of the rose.”

 Indeed its tough to follow teachings of Christ… Mahatma Gandhi is the living example… and one more thing is portrayed in the story above is how the people in South Africa did not let him into the Church… They did not live the word of God in their daily life… maybe in the Church during their service… they tried to take a person away from Church… but they could not take him away from Christ…And that’s most important right…

Somewhere deep down I always thought that such nonviolent behavior of Mahatma Gandhi indeed has influence from someone… But didn't know that someone was – Jesus…

Time to ask yourself… Who am I? Lover of Christ and his word - Bible…Or lover of any denomination?

_______________________Rashmi(4th June, 2013)

Describe Yourself

Describe yourself_________________________

No, No… This wasn't my interview question… But one of my writer friend asked me to write a 2-3 line bio to describe myself as she needed that add one to one of my articles to be published on her website…

For the first time I thought … hmm… describe myself… That too in 2-3 lines… Trust me 2-3 lines felt like writing 2000-3000 lines… At times it is easy to pen down about what we feel, what we see but so tuff to describe ourselves… especially when we keep changing in every phase… When we were kids, when we became teens, when we joined work, oh the post first heart ache phase...and the most important change comes when we are married…. Every phase transforms us...

This question was easy maybe even 7 months back, but being married has changed me… Trust me - a lot… yes... and for good… I am much more patient now… priorities have reversed… world has turned upside down… so what I am today or what I am looking for from life today is so different… and my needs have reduced...

After lot of pauses…hmm’s… I finally managed to pen down these lines… About myself…

Rashmi is the former Project Coordinator in Teradata (IT company). Her best friend is - Jesus. Through thick and thin times, He has been there with her and she believes she is work in progress under His guidance. Writing is her passion. Even while she is staring out of the window, there is some thought that goes on in her mind which she looks forward to pen down. Recently married, she believes her marriage is "Gods" doing and she is looking forward to honor her marriage in every possible way. Her dream - To write a book to inspire and spread the word of God and to serve God full time…

So… it’s a nice exercise…. Try describing yourself… I bet you guys will start with “Hmmmm…”

__________________________Rashmi (4^th June, 2013)