March Folk Hymns Concert (March 15th). Script

All the Way My Savior Leads Me When my big boys were little guys, I would often sing these old Folk Hymns to them at bedtime. Just like my mom used to do when I was small. They’re grown now. 21 and 17. But even now I’ll just bet you, they wouldn’t mind me singing them to sleep. On occasion… Rarely. Well, probably just to humor me. They’re good boys. This is such an important memory for me of singing these old time songs, or having them sung to me by mom… in the dark after getting tucked in and feeling safe. There are 25 minutes left of this simple concert tonight. I hope you won't think of it as silly, but I want to wrap up this little concert and sing for you as if…well, as if I’m your momma; especially if you didn't come from a loving family, or a family with the sweet bedtime ritual of lullabies. That experience is something you should not have missed out on, and I’m sorry for that. I want to make up for it tonight. I want to invite you to remember what it felt like to be small and enjoy these next few songs as a child might, or with a child’s heart. Soften a little. Relax. Forget the worries and airs you have as a grown up. Let me sing for you and let you feel safe.

Listed below are the other hymns in the set. Interested in the recordings? I have some sweet recordings of these songs from rehearsals with Meng Cham. 

Send me a private message and I'll email you what you want. Or find them on dropbox here.

Savior Like a Shepherd Lead Us

Savior Like a Shepherd Lead Us was originally written for children, but it ended up being loved by adults. I’ll bet you will find it in nearly every 19^th and 20^th century hymnal around the English speaking world.
 There’s even a true story from the civil war in US about a Union soldier who started singing it when a confederate soldier was going to shoot him. Because the confederate soldier’s mother had sung it to him as a child, he didn’t have the heart to shoot. Years later, when attending a revival meeting, that old confederate soldier heard the soloist Ira Sankey sing it. Afterward he asked Ira if and where he had served in the Civil War. It turned out that Ira Sankey was the singing soldier and this song had saved life!

Tell Me Why

This next song is so old and traditional that no one knows who originally wrote it. But I fell in love with it in the early 90’s when Sesame Street produced an album called “For Our Children” with old rockers singing various tracks. Billy Joel, Little Richard, Bette Midler. It was Hit Me With Your Best Shot Pat Benetar who had sung this sweet song. Here’s Tell Me Why:

I Need Thee Every Hour

In 1872, a housewife, Annie Hawks, is said to have come up with these next lyrics while she was doing her chores around the house. Thank goodness she wrote them down and Robert Lowry, who was quite prolific at hymnwriting and an influential music educator, learned of it and wrote the music. I’d love to tell you more about Robert Lowry. He is credited for writing the earlier song Savior Like a Shepherd Lead us, and one much more famous: “Just as I Am” But that’s not what’s on the program. This one is.

Jesus Paid it All

We’re going to switch it up here for one song, and get a little countrified on you. Once I started looking over all the choices of the old folk hymns, it was hard to come up with a short list for you. I had forgotten about many of them, but this one brought back happy memories from childhood, so it made the cut.

Softly & Tenderly

And now we’ve come to my last one to close out this Folk Hyms evening organized & curated by Dawn Fung. Thank you Dawn for your vision and putting it together for us! And the Artistry staff. Thank you for serving us. And you all too. Thank you for coming tonight. It was such a treat to sing for you. Here’s one last song for the night.

It All Now Seems So Normal

Can it be that I’ve lived in Asia more than 10 years now?

Some days, it never once strikes me that I’m the only blond for miles; an oddball foreigner. I go about my day, doing the tasks one does to keep the gears of life running, not thinking about my blessed and unusual life being in the midst of fascinating sights and practices and languages. I don’t think about the ethnicity of some of the sweetest friends I’ve ever known, I just think how great it is to be a godmother, or how soon I’ll get another foot massage with Namiko, if Yi Hui will stop by or how I should probably do more jazzercise than the once a week trip to the Clementi Sports Complex with my next door neighbor Jeannette.

Some days, however, I try not to leave the apartment because I don’t want be a head taller than everyone else in the supermarket line again. Ever.

I might very well have been the only Caucasian person on the flight I took to meet Jim in Ho Chi Minh City that week. I didn’t really notice.

I talked nearly the whole time with Brian, a young salesman for a new English multiplatform magazine for enjoying life and culture in Vietnam. He was a bit afraid of flying so I just kept him talking. We talked and talked about family; about his schooling in Singapore; about soulless people of the city; about the vibrancy of developing countries like Cambodia and Vietnam; about personal productivity systems for keeping a hyper-creative person organized and realistic. About experiences in life that make have made me absolutely convinced that it’s more than just “fate” but that there is a personal God who knows and loves us and wants us to know him as our Heavenly Father.

“I’m so encouraged to meet a person like you.” He said.

“Yeah?”

“Forgive me, but, it’s just that…for your age…you have so much life.”

I laughed.

“It’s encouraging to think that in your 50’s you can still have so many ideas and thoughts. And that you enjoy life.”

“Well, the way I see it, I’m only a little more than ½ way to the end of this side of eternal life. I got a long, long lot of time left.”

ExPat Marriages w/Traction

Web Version  |  Update preferences  |  Unsubscribe Like Tweet Forward It's a wild and sometimes slippery road. Resolve this new year to get a grip on the question “Why can’t he be more like me?”  Don't miss this opportunity to start 2014 in Singapore with some other women who are on a similar journey. Join us for a 1/2 Day tune up on understanding the man in your life. Speaker Poppy Smith, author of Why Can’t He Be More Like ME?: 9 Secrets to Understanding Your Husband, is a spiritual life coach and former expat wife. Her desire is to help women live resilient, spiritually fulfilling lives. Her upbeat, empathetic instruction offers hope and practical wisdom to better understand yourself and your spouse. Her book will be available for purchase at the event. More about Poppy: www.poppysmith.com Counselor Margo Husthwaite will focus on bringing financial harmony to your marriage and safeguarding your marital assets in the event of an emergency. This expat wife and mother will share valuable insight into living life abroad. In her private practice in Singapore, Margo offers individual, couples and family counseling. Her practice works from the premise that true inner health begins with good mental health. More about Margo: yourtimesg.weebly.com Cost – AWA Member $50  / Non-Member $75 Price includes Morning Tea, Lunch, Seminar Materials, Lucky Draw Prizes. Venue – American Club, Colonial Room. 10 Claymore Hill, Singapore. It's coming up quick! Invite some friends & sign up through the AWA Office +65 6734 4895 (credit card) or drop by or mail the AWA, 10 Claymore Hill, M-F 9:30-4PM (checks/NETS). Monthly Mondays Resumes February 3rd. Marraiges with Traction Facebook Event Page doesn't secure a spot, but you can join the duscussion as we look forward to our time together. Margo Husthwaite Happy New Year Hope to see you on the 22nd for Marriages with Traction! Poppy Smith "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Edit your subscription | Unsubscribe (The Bible, New Testament. Ephesians chapter 2, verse 10)

2014 Reflections

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One of my best adventures was…the week we found out rising Senior Cameron’s boarding school in Mississippi was closing. Chamberlain-Hunt had been open since 1876, and with 2 weeks to go before school started, there were no options available for him where we were living in Malaysia. We found a new school in 8 days. He was enrolled at The Kings Academy in Seymour, TN in less than 2 weeks.

I learned…How to publish a book on Amazon and other self-publishing avenues (I haven’t yet, but am well on my way in writing one). How to ship a dog and improved my cognitive ability with Luminosity!

I saw/knew God was doing something when I was healed from a chronic longtime illness.  I’ve not taken medication for it since September 2014. Then I prayed for a woman with a chronic illness at church and she told me the next week that she had been healed. The following week one of her friends/colleagues from work told me that everyone in the office had noticed the healing. I had to do counseling for Chinese pastors’ wives…in Chinese. I couldn’t understand what they were sharing, and yet the Holy Spirit gave me the words of encouragement to say to them. A very introverted older woman in church came to speak to me about God telling her to “come in from the cold’ and “come out of the cold” it was time to heal her protected heart, and she was to speak to me about it.

 A memorable gift was the arts group throwing a farewell party for me. Our welcome home party at Brett Place: filled our cupboards and condo with food and furniture. Keith & Judith Harrington’s downsizing provided some lovely furniture for our empty place!

Something I really enjoyed doing more of was... writing parodies to Disney songs. Gardening. Public speaking. Seeing my short term memory improve by using Lumosity.

I intentionally wrote letters of memories and blessing to those I was leaving behind in Singapore. Then did my best to meet personally with them for a meal or for coffee before our departure in November. I didn’t get to meet with everyone, but sure enjoyed the ones I did.

I was really brave when we made renovation decisions for our place in California from the other side of the planet. We wanted to enjoy the decision making process since we’d never, but it needed to get done, so we had to put a lot of faith in our contractor friend and just get it done, even if it wasn’t 100% what we’d have chosen had we more time and were face to face with the options!

My thoughts/prayers often turned to Syria, teaching the next Sacred Pathways lesson with women in Singapore, friends who fought and faced serious problems.

A Scripture passage that meant a lot to me was…”Give thanks in all circumstances.” 1 Thess 5.

And anything in Sarah Young’s JESUS CALLING devotional book.

I’m still trying to learn what God wants to teach me through: Tyler keeping his feelings to himself and not sharing with those who love him. When he asked to be taken out of Corinne’s book, and gave a window on to how badly he’d been hurt and how he interpreted the relationship, and how he’s moved on a harder more private person. That he cares deeply and faithfully for someone we’ve not met and he doesn’t talk to us about her.

The strangest thing that happened this year: My right baby toe has two scars souvenirs from being sliced 2 times in the same month by broken tiles in my bathroom at home. Well, and then there was our renters saying they’d cleaned out the place, but leaving stuff in cupboards, junk on the patio, socks and private items behind in the dresser drawers, and a car in the parking space!

The best word of advice or encouragement I can remember is…"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks continuously." 1 Thess 5

One of the happiest memories of 2014 I’d like to freeze in my mind…that our move to Malaysia for 2014 was confirmed over and over to have been the right thing to do. Our involvement at IBCBI (International Baptist Church Bukit Indah), and the Davis family who were planting the church, was a sweet mutually encouraging season for two families needing each other.

For Christmas we’re enjoying family time together in California! In 2013: We moved to Nusajaya, Malaysia, commuting distance to Singapore. Jim continuesmentoring groups of leaders in Vietnam and China, traveling 3/4 time. Cameron (17) and Tyler (20) are thriving in their schools (though CHA could use more students to keep going!). Kimberly loves mentoring artists and women. We look forward to a year in the USA starting at the end of 2014. We love hearing from you! Thankful for our leadership transition: www.crms.org.sg More stories from the year: www.worldcreasmans.com So thankful for our partners supporting this work! Just completed our 16th year empowering spiritual leaders in Asia! Blessed Christmas, Jim & Kimberly Creasman “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” John 1 Jesus is the only hope of salvation for the world! Giving @ www.crmleaders.org

This Monday: Sacred Pathway - The Traditionalist

Like Tweet Forward Traditionalist: Loving God Through Ritual & Symbol It's another 1st Monday of the Month! It's also the last 1st Monday of the year. The AWA Christian Connections group retreats again this monday to talk about traditions, ritual, symbol and your traditions for Christmas. There are some good nuggets to pass on from the chapter on Traditionalist in Sacred Pathways (it was the longest one in the book, so Gary Thomas must be a Traditionalist!). So, we'll spend some time with that. HOWEVER.... We also want to hear from those who've come: What have been traditions or ritual which have deepened your spiritual "walk," in a church worship setting, or in your individual practice. No one is forced to talk, but this group usually has a great collection of mature women with great insights. I'm looking forward to what happens when we open it up for discussion! Can't make the meeting? Share your spiritual traditions or rituals here with the group!  More about Monthly Mondays & Sacred Pathways: Our desire with these once a month Monthly Mondays mini-retreats is to create a place for individuals from different backgrounds to explore drawing near to God and knowing him better. There is a core team of women who have agreed to read the book Sacred Pathways, by Gary Thomas. They help me plan these gatherings for the larger group. We have really enjoyed this past year and look forward to more in the future! Our hope is that we plan them in such a way that it will be enjoyable not only for those who follow Jesus from various Christian backgrounds, but also for those who are interested in learning more about Christian spirituality. Monthly Mondays is part of the AWA (American Women's Association) Christian Connection sub-committee. You don't have to be American, or be a member of AWA to attend (though we encourage joining!). We strive to create a safe place where people seeking the God of the Bible can find him, whether or not they are involved in regularly attending a church. If you want to pick up the book Sacred Pathways from Amazon (kindle), Fishpond or any of the local Christian bookstores (our favorites are SKS and Campus Crusade Media). You don't have to read the book to prepare, but it is a great resource, highlighting ideas for nine various spiritual temperaments! We've already explored Caregivers, Naturalists, Aescetic, Sensate and Contemplative. Still to explore are Traditionalist, Enthusiast and Intellectual. Blessing. Joy. Humility. Gratitude. Grace. K!Mberly Creasman Church Resource Ministries