Blessings for the New Year!

"Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in ALL things and be in health, just as your soul prospers." 1 John 3:2 (NIV)

Dear friends,

May the New Year bring you greater BEAUTY, HEALTH & WEALTH !

Here are my resolutions to attain the above :

Attain Beauty - via surgery, of course!

I'm willing to succumb to the sword of the Word under the hands of the most skillful Surgeon. His credentials include creating the very 1st human being in the world.

Attain Health - via supplements.

Found this out-of-the-world supplement that can renew my mind, give me youthful strength & bring joy to my bones!

Attain Wealth - via good investments.

My Financial Consultant said the returns can be between 30 and 100 fold!! Best of all, I get to store them in an absolutely secure place where no one can steal & nothing can destroy!

To attain ALL of the above, it will cost you at least half an hour everyday for the rest of your life (to seek God's face in worship, prayer & reading the bible). So start sowing as much as you want to reap!

Warning - you may not end up with a fair deal. You may get exceedingly, abundantly, much more than you can ever think or imagine. Invest at your own risk! :)

Christ's always,

Averil

Blessed Christmas, dear friends!

Love, joy and peace be yours this Christmas season!

That mysterious album title...

It was such a pleasure to meet some of you who've bought my album.. at last Sunday's Agapella gig at the NUSS Guild House. I've had some questions posed to me about the title of the mini-album RE... like, "what does the title mean?" or "what's the crossword puzzle doing on the back cover?" or "do I get a special prize if I fill in all those squares?"

Well, as you know, this mini-album with 3 songs is the first of several in a series. RE is the first part of the title of the entire album, which will be only revealed when the third mini-album is out... and the crossword puzzle graphic is just my way of keeping you in suspense! :)) But of course, the words in the puzzle are actually the song titles! By the way, you'll see in the puzzle "clues" the names of my friends whose awesome vocals grace the song tracks. Thank you guys for your labour of love!

Worship is about more than just music and lyrics.

Thank you for the great feedback about the mini-album. Some of you have been asked me to share the music and lyrics to the 3 songs. Really-- you didn't need to ask, since that was the reason why I recorded this CD in the first place! :))

You are most welcome to learn these songs, use them and share them for personal devotion or corporate worship. To GOD be all the glory!

Here's a link to the chords to all the 3 songs--
www.riversoflife.org.sg/chordcharts.html


SONG LYRICS

"These people come near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is made up only of rules taught by men." - Isaiah 29: 13

* * * *

MORE (words & music by averil leong (c) 2004)
Soloist -- Amanda Lee

Set me apart-- here's my heart
I'll honour You, worship You
Humbly I pray-- Your will, Your way
I'll honour You, worship You

More than words, let my life speak
More than songs, let my soul sing
Owner of the air that I breathe
As I inhale each breath, may I exhale Your praise
Keeper of the time that I loan
May the seconds, Lord, count for You

From day to day, lead me Your way
I’ll follow and trust in You
From faith to faith, use me I pray
To honour You, worship You

* * * *


"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations ... and teaching them to obey everything I’ve commanded you." - Matthew 28:19-20

MANY (words & music by averil leong (c) 2004)
Soloist – Dorcas Yap

You implanted Your Word in my heart
You have called me and set me apart
As I hear, I obey and I follow Your way
By Your Spirit and pow'r we’ll breakthrough and we’ll see that

Many will come, many will call
Many will seek Your face
Lord many will run, pursue Your ways
Living Your Word, Your truth
Because we believe in You

You pre-destined I'll walk in Your path
You foreknew in eternity pass
Lord I'll hear, I'll obey and I'll follow Your way
By Your Spirit and pow'r we'll breakthrough and we'll see that

We believe in Your Word, we believe in Your pow'r
We believe You will rule and reign
We believe You are God, we believe are Lord
We believe You are Saviour and King

* * * *


"that I may know him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death" - Philippians 3:10

THANK YOU (words & music by averil leong (c) 2007)
Soloists - Sherman Ong & Averil Leong

I will ever sing about Your endless grace
I will ever sing about Your perfect love

You’re my life I live to know You more
You’re my Lord I live to love You more

You paid the price, Your sacrifice
Redeemed my soul from the way it could go
Lord Jesus Christ, my Strength, my Guide
You keep my feet on the victory road
We thank You

I will ever sing about Your faithfulness
I will ever sing about Your goodness

* * * *

R E - - - -

A long-awaited day has arrived... my mini-album "RE" has just been released! Jesus is awesome!The mini-album contains 3 songs: MANY, MORE and THANK U. Thanks to all my precious brothers and sisters who have partnered me in getting the CD out... the musical arrangements and instrumentation are just so lovely, and so are the beautiful vocals, which were rendered worshipfully!

You can get copies of the CD at any Agapella gigs -- that's the name of the a cappella group I sing with (performance schedules available at www.agapella.net. I'd love to meet you and tell you more about the mini-album. Buy it, learn the songs and use it for your own devotions and worship... that's the reason why I put this CD out!

By the way, if you're wondering about the enigmatic title of the mini-album, it will become clear(er) when the next CD comes out! Stay tuned... :))

My Journey So Far...

GENESIS

It's been simply amazing! About 5 years ago, I received the 1st worship song during my personal time of worship. Despite giving the Lord loads of "I'm not qualified", "I'm too shy" etc excuses, I was still convicted to share it with my church choir. That step of faith & obedience marked the break out of many other songs that God poured forth through my personal devotion with Him. Writing each song was like "taking down the minutes". As such, claiming the songs as "mine" would be the greatest infringement on copyright ever.

GROWTH

I brought a few of the songs to my music teacher for her professional criticism & evaluation. To my surprise, she encouraged me to get them recorded in an album. After seeking the Lord about it, I realised that my job as a secretary is not complete until the minutes are sent out. But the time had not yet come...

GIDEON’S ARMY

Kick-starting the recording project at the beginning of this year, I thought that I should rally lots of help in every possible area (which could easily be done). However, the Lord convicted me that I should do it with a Gideon’s army. That’s when I realised that I should not only do His will, in His time, but also with His strength & in His way. From then on, I took a cool & passive approach to the 101 things that had to be done (on the surface) to get the project going. Setting the spiritual rhythm & tempo right through prayer & fasting should be first & foremost. Perhaps some might have thought that I had abandoned the project during that period. :)

GOING IN FAITH

Being a task-oriented person, it was very hard to remain cool & passive on the surface when I knew lots had to be done. Yet I was resolved not to push anything through by my own folly & weakness (although I almost did at some point in time).

"What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do." Isa 46:11b (NIV)

GLIDING THROUGH

Total trust & surrender brought more benefits than just peace & joy. It enabled me to approach this project in ways I would never have thought of. Ideas from album themes to processes would just "pop" into my head. Best of all, God would simultaneously impress key people involved with similar ideas, affirming that His way is best!

"Now glory be to God! By His mighty power at work within us, He is able to accomplish infinitely more that we would ever dare to ask or hope. May He be given glory in the church & in Christ Jesus forever & ever through endless ages. Amen." Eph 3:20-21 (NLT)