Call-Out Over?

Hmmm… Owing to the huge number of responses I got in my last post (read: nada), I’ll just assume that you guys are too shy to introduce yourselves by commenting on a post specifically addressed to you.:P Again, I am not prohibiting you in any way in reading and/or commenting on my entries, but I just want to make a request that you do leave your name and where you’re from too (ex. Hi, I’m Joan from Timbuktu, and I just want to say that…), so I’ll have a rough idea on just how powerful the Internet really is.:p The only restriction is, no spam please!

Anyway, I realized that I haven’t really made a short write-up about what my blog will be about, so I decided to make one here.

First, the URL: jarletofclay. For those who are Jars of Clay fans, obviously, I count myself as one of you.:P Didn’t want to get the band’s actual name for the following reasons: (1) It probably is copyrighted; (2) I would be insulting the band if I say something that is contrary to what they’re saying; (3) and anyway, I’m too tiny (read: a few centimeters shy of five feet – the world is cruel, I tell you) to call myself a jar; and finally, (4) A friend of mine (calling out Nades :D) gave us little vessels when we first became Christians as a symbol of our faith, and it’s really due her why I chose the name. Again, an explanation of “jars of clay” would probably be helpful, and I got the verse from the band itself, as was written in their self-named, first album. In 2 Corinthians 4:7-12, it says,

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that His life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.” (NIV)

All of us are jars of clay, fragile, delicate, easily broken, but we are God’s instruments to reach out to other people. We are His beloved children, and He will never allow us to be destroyed; chipped, maybe, or even broken, but not crushed and completely ruined. He is the Potter, after all, and we are but clay that He can fix and make new all over again.

Now, why Worlds Apart? Here, it gets a little bit more personal. I’ve chosen the name for a variety of reasons also. Firstly, “Worlds Apart” is one of my favorite songs by Jars of Clay, simply because it is raw and honest, a prayer of a sinner to the Lord. Anyway, my favorite lines from the song are:

Soaring on the wings of selfish pride/I flew too high/ and like Icarus I collide/ in a world I tried so hard to leave behind/the rid myself of all but love/to give and die/to turn away and not become/Another nail to pierce the One who’d loved/More deeply than the oceans/More abundant than the tears/Of a world embracing every heartache.

Those lyrics are incredibly powerful, and listening and reading these again just strike me at just how much God loves us. It makes me wonder just how many scourges He had to receive to save me, how many wounds that bled to wash me clean, how much insult and scorn He had to endure to even make me lift my head up. That’s how much was paid so that we could be purchased, the currency of which was blood and life. His blood and His life for ours.

Another reason, definitely less serious, is that I think I’m pretty much worlds apart from other people. I would call myself, in Filipino, as someone na may sariling mundo, ergo… Seriously, I’m really quite a bit of a nutter. I mean, if there was someone who’s exactly like me in this world, I would seriously pity that person. Even people who actually do know me get disturbed by what I do or what spouts from my mouth, be it doughnut conversations or vacuum-cleaning partehs (again, don’t ask, if you wish to keep your sanity). I’m really different from most people, and if some go and try to make themselves be “normal” (whatever that means), I really go and embrace my uniqueness (putting it politely). I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: all people are unique individuals, and instead of trying to hide it and pretend to be someone that they’re not, they should go all out and shout to the world who they are (within reason, of course, and hopefully not literally). Why should they want to be someone they’re not when they’re perfectly fine the way they are? God created you the way you are right now. Love it. Love yourself. You cannot even attempt to love someone if you don’t love yourself, and that’s an honest truth.

Anyway, regarding the contents: as I’ve said earlier, I’m really Worlds Apart, and that includes my blog style of posting. While some people choose to have multiple blog accounts so that they can create a new one for their hobbies, another for their relationships, and some for their pets (further segregated into the kind and breed, of course), I would much rather have just one single journal. It’s really quite practical: less time-consuming, easier uploading, and all that. The downside is, everything’s jumbled together, but that’s just the way I like it. I call it my organized chaos (as I like to describe my room as well.) Nothing’s really consistent, like I’d post so-and-so entry on whatever-day and all that. Everything’s just bunched together. Before, I made it a point to post an entry every Thursday, but that changed because I changed my schedule. Now, I just post when I feel like writing, when I feel I need to write something (urgings of the Spirit?), or when I have something to put up. In the end, I have poetry, photos, entries, rants, raves, book reviews, movie reviews, reflections of what I’ve learned, stories of how my day went, thoughts, opinions, etc. all jumbled together in a hodge-podge of stuff that could only be identified as Lani.

You might ask, why the heck is she writing all these down? Is she some vain idiot who thinks that the world revolves around her? My answer to that would be a hopeful no. Like most, if not all bloggers, I created mine to share my thoughts to the world, and the funny thing is that it is quite a lot, owing to the fact that I have a lot of interests and am quite opinionated. The main reason why I made a blog, however, is that I hope to reach out to other people through this, and hopefully share to them what my belief and my faith are. Admittedly, not all the entries here are pleasing to the Lord. I can think of some that I know are pretty secular, if you know what I mean. But these are landmarks of the person I was, I am, and hopefully, will also lead me to what I will be in the future. These make me who I am, including the nonsense posts I put up such as me being a total klutz, my teenybopper kilig (how is this translated, anyway? Butterflies in the stomach does not even begin to describe it), my political views, etc. In truth, I didn’t really want to have a blog a few years back. I actually hated the thought of online journals, because I thought that this is just a way for people to show just how shallow (sorry about that) they have become. Yet the Lord convicted me, and told me that this is one way for me to share Him to others, and just let me get some outlet for all the stuff that’s in my head. In essence, this is really me. I’m not a bot, not a fake. I am Melanie “Lani” Sison. This is who I am, and I pray that you continue to be with me in my faith walk.

For all those that my blog has even in some small way ministered to, I praise God for that. Let Him be glorified, and continue seeking Him everywhere, especially in the small miracles in your life. For those who disagree to what I have said, you can still leave your comments, but please do so in a nice way. Don’t lambaste other people just because you think you can. For those who’ve used my blog for “information,” (as it was called by someone who commented), I have no idea what that means.:O Sorry, but I really don’t. If you mean the text, then praise God if my writings have ministered to you. If the poems have touched you in a way, thank you too. If you liked the pictures, thank you again. But for those who might get too aliw (rough translation: amused) with the stuff here and decided to copy-paste it, especially the text, please don’t plagiarize my work. I’ve already had a bad experience in that in high school, and I don’t want to go through that again – ever.

Anyway, that’s about it for now. God bless y’all (and please don’t forget my request about leaving comments).

Yours truly,
The King’s servant but God’s first,
St. Thomas Aquinas


Oops! I meant, Melanie Sison.:D Cheers!

"Post-ers"

Hi everyone,

It's not that I'm annoyed or anything, but for the people I don't know who read and/orcomment on my entries, please do introduce yourselves. I kinda get confused when I get a message saying I got a comment from "Anonymous." Unless your name really is Anonymous, please do give me your name so I can reply to you properly.

Thanks!:) God bless!