What gives

Christmas is here and the pastor ,our simple ,quiet pastor asks us gently from the lectern on Sunday-will it be an empty 'Merry Christmas ' again this time.There will be buying the best,never-ending shopping lists,programmes to be charted ,gifts to be bought,parties to be organised ,choirs to be practised.It's activity time but in all that business we have no time,no thought ,no not even an intent for the king.As we go around wishing every body a happy christmas its all empty shell with no content.One honest look at self and even more honest look at Him who is truth personified will see us looking towards a new direction.The lord have mercy on all of us.

Been to England and back.Enjoyed the wise-cracks at the BTS.Saw umpteen number of cousins hadn't met for a while.Ragged my cousin PG about religion as usual.Enjoyed a time to remember with my siblings...Everyday I talk to my sister and everyday she makes me laugh.My ear is giving me some problem -my world keeps spinning around-my taste-buds seem to have gone on a holiday.I am living on boiled patatoes and tomato chutney but for the exciting stuff my juniors make off and on. I am living in a totally different plane.My cousin bought me a Sony Home Theatre system.I bought a Jack and Danny for myself.Its a sleek guitar.Janet presented me with a capo to go with it.Its christmas here away from all that is home but I feel detatched enough!

So goes Bono and the gang and so goes my heart....a deep,deep sense of lack of identification to the people and places around me.Is this emptiness?How can it be?Have I strayed??I don't know .Heard Ravi Zach say that the older he gets more to the basics he goes?Do these preachers in their all knowing assurance they potray feel a deep sense of hollowness sometimes?Are they convinced about what they share?Oh lord help me. Yes there was a bit about absolute purity in word ,unseduced by the world -real to the core which did strike a cord within me .Help me lord in these times to hold on to your absolute standards.

Three days of heaven-night and day revival service-We are at it.The campus looks and feels different.A time of worship,and a time of listening to his words from his servants.It is going to continue for another seven days.Nav-jivan feels like a new-life hospital.Praise the lord.Hoping to attend the RZIM national conference in Delhi if the lord wills it.

It was like a deja-vu.I have always loved Kolkotta .I have mantained it throughout my college days but there have been times in between I have often wondered why.I had to go down to Kolkotta for my visa-this week.I put up in the YWCA which to my utter delight was in the Park-Street.As you entered the premises of the YWCA,you immediately feel at home with posters of Jesus and mother Teresa all over the place with notices sbout the church timing,et,al.Just when you walk out of the gate 'Sourav's'-Ganguly's eatery stares you in the face.For better part of the day I straggled my way around for my visa.I had a half day in Kolkutta to do what I wanted and that is exactly what I did.Just the previous day,two things Kolkottans romance most about had happened .I was lucky to have been there when it did.Nandigram had taken place during the week.The intellegentias of Kolkotta had called a morcha which was to march through the streets of Kolkotta.Nothing like it had happened even i...

Yesterday I saw a movie-'victim innocentes'-a story of a boy Chama ,based in the background of the civil war in El-Salvador.It was a heart-breaking story made more poignant by the wonderful acting of the boy-actor.It sort of made me get the focus back which I personally felt I was losing for bits due to all the pettiness which I am also a part of in our everyday lives.As I sat in the church and participated in the singing of the song'jivan rupi more dunga ahay'which speaks of jesus taking us through the stormy sea across to the other side -it brought tears to my eyes.In that level of suffering and desperation where innocent children are being used everyday to cater to the animal spirit of man in all coats of sophistication what sort of tomorrow do we have to give our children?The world needs the hope that only Jesus can give.Do I in my everyday life give even ten seconds of thought to all the souls that are being moulded to frames where Jesus may or may not be accomoda...

In the midst of the haze of trying to balance a hundred and one things together one often forgets to savour every minute that passes by.It is God alone who needs to be given the glory for all the beauty in our lives,I am getting a year older and it seems like I am really putting on in years,hopefully more mentally than physically.I very often find myself unconciously going through the motions automatically. Then I stop for a moment to take a deep breath and look around which is when I realise what I am actually missing. The other day I received a mail from ODC asking me to write something about my time there.As I sat back with my pen to write - this is what actually flowed through.It was a revelation for me. ODDANCHATTRAM-The way I see it now. Oddanchattram,ten years since.After a decade in the rough and tough world of Indian missions,it almost seems like a distant dream.What does ODC mean to me now?It means Dr.KV's warm smile that reaches the heart,Dr.K.O pulling out gauvas from ...

Life has its twists and turns but God has it right all the time .The secular see but the surface and come to conclusions based on what the biased finite eye sees which is seldom much but the believers ,when they truly come to the feet of God in repentance see with the eyes of christ that looks through right through to the heart and sees things which can move heaven and earth.

Everything has changed in the last two months.My personal walk with the lord has a sense of urgency.I cannot compromise on it because it is not just me anymore.Lives of 110 families inside the campus and lakhs outside the campus is entwined with mine. The other day I raised my hands up and told my junior how unfair it was that I was to be accountable for the lives of 110 fully grown adults.He laughed at me and the next moment I realised that I was taking things in my own hand.I had forgotten that I was just standing in the gap it was the holy spirit who would do the perfect work through me. I have realised over the days that the lord wants me to depend on Him alone so there I go in my dramatic way cutting off people's counsel in every which ways. I am expectantly waiting for the lord to do His perfect work. There are people I know who are praying for us but what could be more important than our own relationship with the lord. People have come and gone from the campus.Some have lef...

There are such a lot of things happening around the world.You only realise how much a part of it you are as you relate to people around you.In Sikkim ,for instance,the teesta valley project continues to be an issue around which people concerned ,unconcerned with agendas,with half an understanding of the issue comment and centre their life around the happening half-heartedly.Politicians are trying their best to cash on the event,some well-meaning people continue to comment,and toss the topic in their conversations .People who are going to be affected by the project have long since given away their land and would have collected their compensation.Suddenly out of the blue,after the project is more than half way through,we hear of people going on a hunger strike.Where were these kids in the initial days?They would have been just that kids and the chances are ,that they are only just beginning to understand the connotation of the whole humbug.Suddenly we see the national television broad-ca...

Had a wonderful time at home.As one of my siblings said it was like reliving our childhood again.Got to meet everyone from both sides of the family by God's grace.Getting back to work has so far been non-controversial to say the least-the heat is considerably more tolerable but since the phone lines are down it gets difficult to sit inside the phone-booth for fifteen minutes straight while talking to the folks at home.

Looks like I will get a chance to go home this month.The heat of June is all but beckoning me to the hills .The folks at home are all eager to have me home and I cannot wait to be with them.There are major issues to be addressed in the coming days and I cannot wait to get to the bottom of it.In the mean-time it looks like I am in for another break-through academically.I always pray ,lord keep me in-step not ahead,not behind but in step with you.Help me to be obedient in small and big things regardless of what it is going to cost me.Help me to do what you want of me.

Got invited to the village for a meal.Could not refuse even though I was on-call.All of us around fifteen people in all hired a van and rumbled our way through the difficult terrain.We sat in the open air under the moonlit night trying to make conversation with the old village folks who were much concerned about our well-being .Sat on the floor on the mats laid out for us and were served wonderfully delicious mutton curry,rice,salad and pappad the way only the villagers can .Tried making conversation with the folks in their colloquils.The lady who sells vegetables in front of our hospital with her deaf husband who always tries to show her affection to me by giving me an extra ounce of coriander or vegetables was their to serve us .We ate, wished the newborn,whose birth we were celebrating well.The pastor took time to say the grace and stuffed in his preaching in his prayers. It took me back to the time two years ago when we had sat under the moonlit night in one of the villages singin...

What do I write on ?There are so many things happening in and around this place.The heat seems to get hotter and the nights without electricity are sitting out waiting for that stray bit of gale to blow across.Meanwhile the campus is all alive and green with every kind of fruits vegetables and flowers peeping out from every corner.The green mangoes ,drumstick,spinach,bananas,ladies finger,bitter gourd,brinjal ,tomatoes,beans and chilly.Malo my maid's husband is my gardener.After he had tilled the land and the sprouts started bobbing out from every corner someone asked me what had I put in my garden?I frankly did not know .Even when the plants were waist high it was still a mystery to me till the fruits actually started coming.Once it started there was no stopping it.I stopped every other person passing through to stop by and help themselves.It was especially a joy asking the girls from the nurses hostel to take their pick of the vegetables because I see them every evening walking ...

A Bride for Isaac-A musical. Abraham to the servant I want you to swear By the creator of heaven and earth That you will take a wife For Isaac my son from amongst My people,Israel Go forth and choose Him a wife but lest she refuse To follow you to Cannaan I release you from the oath. But Isaac shall remain For God had promised this land to me And my descendants. Servant My master has given me A mammoth task To choose a bride for his son How do I find the right one O’God Give me a lead before dawn So many come to the waters To fill their pitcher to the brim So many yet just one Is she the right one for him. So be it o’god and my king The one that lowers the rope To quench my thirst and the camel’s Fulfils my master’s hope She who has the graciousness To tarry and stretch a mile To do a deed of kindness To a stranger for a while CHORUS Velvet ,green ,purple and blue Bangles and trinkets in every hue Delicate hands ,pitcher and pots Drawing water ,casting lots Watching and waiting For a m...

RUTH-A Musical. CHORUS In the days when the judges ruled Israel There was dearth in the land Ebimelech and his wife Noami Ventured to Moab with the clan. The man died ,his sons married Oprah and Ruth of Moab. Soon after all that was left Were three widows abroad to cope. “These children of the promised land Wandering and as lost in the sea Three widows in a foreign sand The future looked bleak as can be.” Noami to the daughters- My daughters, I return To the country that is my God’s I leave you now to fire the kilns For lives that are your own Go forth with my blessings To your kind to live as you should choose Go forth and may the lord bless you For all that you loosed. Ruth- ‘Do not ask me to leave you Or turn back from following you; For wherever you go I will go; For wherever you lodge I will lodge, Your people shall be my people, And your God my God. Where you die ,I will die, And there will I be buried. The lord do so to me ,and more also, If anything but death parts you and me.’...

Some wonderful white roses are growing on the wall of my compound.The sight of it gives me a warm feeling because it reminds me of my mother's garden and her favourite white gardineas which she so lovingly tends.All my childhood I have watched my mother tenderly nurture and spend time with her flowers as she has done with me.I remember coming back home for the holidays from the boarding school.She used to follow the car headlights all the way through the hilly terrains till it entered our compound.The first thing i did was to jump from the car and run all the way to where my mother would be standing and go and wrap my arms around my mothers tummy that was all I could manage given the height,my mother not being a very demonstrative mom used to pat me in the head .She was nothing short of strict.She was the discipline monger in the family but always had something up her sleeve.She was always challenging us,disciplining us and keeping us interested in whatever we had at hand and yet s...

A momentary feel Sun shines on the hill All is but sublime Flowers dancing gay smiles to me with love Radiant as can be Such happiness potrays Intoxicates the mind Infectious as it is Can feel his gentle hand And serene mind at work spread the word world-wide preaching its great worth.

A momentary feel Sun shines on the hill All is but sublime Flowers dancing gay smiles to me with love Radiant as can be Such happiness potrays Intoxicates the mind Infectious as it is Can feel his gentle hand And serene mind at work spread the word world-wide preaching its great worth.

ESTHER.(Old testament) In annals of the history of GOD’s people Esther’s name is written in golden letters. There are several characters of Esther which comes through in the book.She was a winsome lady.People took to her immediately,whether it be Mordecai,who grooms her for a bigger cause , the eunuch who prepares her for the king or the king himself who chooses her to be the queen. She was an obedient lady,she followed Mordecai’s instructions to the tee even when she was elevated to such a powerful position. She was a discerning lady .She made the right decisions at the right time and listened to the right people. She was a wise lady.She knew the secret of touching the heart of God and the importance of cooperate fasting and prayer while praying for a cause which would have been dear to god’s heart-of saving his people. And yet if one were to single out one reason why there should be a whole book in the bible named after her,it is because of the simple reason that she put all that she...

ESTHER.(Old testament) In annals of the history of GOD’s people Esther’s name is written in golden letters. There are several characters of Esther which comes through in the book.She was a winsome lady.People took to her immediately,whether it be Mordecai,who grooms her for a bigger cause , the eunuch who prepares her for the king or the king himself who chooses her to be the queen. She was an obedient lady,she followed Mordecai’s instructions to the tee even when she was elevated to such a powerful position. She was a discerning lady .She made the right decisions at the right time and listened to the right people. She was a wise lady.She knew the secret of touching the heart of God and the importance of cooperate fasting and prayer while praying for a cause which would have been dear to god’s heart-of saving his people. And yet if one were to single out one reason why there should be a whole book in the bible named after her,it is because of the simple reason that she put all that sh...

Noah -the mad man who chose to build an arc in the dry land because God said so. An old man at the prime of his life adament in his ways and yet his own followed him to safety. Built an arc in a dry land while the world was busy sinning and dissapointing God in every which ways possible. Noah -the ordinary man who did an extra-ordinary feat.he heard the voice of God and followed it to safety. Where are the Noahs of today?Where are they?