March 9, 2011

我不会写歌了！
I don’t know how to write songs anymore!

那段日子我真的是这样想过，特别是2003年。。。几天前翻开我旧创作歌本而回想起。。。
发现原来2003年就只写了一首歌！然后我也读旁边与下面的笔录。。。

During that period of time, I really had such a thought, especially in 2003… I recalled those days when I turned the pages of the song book of my older compositions…
I discovered I only wrote but one song in the year 2003! And I read too my notes I wrote down beside and below that song…

下面写着我已怀疑自己失去这恩赐，所以当写完“爱到永远”时都不会分辨这首歌好听不好听，却只有感恩无论如何还是写完了一首歌。。。

没写歌其中一个原因是有好几年我的喉咙出现严重状况，只要是不在台上我就无法好好唱歌，私底下无论是要灵修敬拜或尝试要写歌都会唱得非常辛苦，常常失声、走调，或唱不上。。。
久而久之私底下就放弃唱歌了，也逐渐失去写歌的灵感或因为我的状况而根本没心情写，所以也渐渐有这个隐忧在心中，认为说：我不会写歌了！

是什么又激发我写歌的恩赐呢？我当时写完”爱到永远“也有记录下来。。。
原来是去了印尼棉兰诗歌布道后，回程在飞机上的感动。。。

Below wrote, I wondered whether I had already lost my song-writing gift, that was why after completing “Love Forever” I was not even sure whether the song was nice, but I was grateful nonetheless then because at least I could complete a song…

The reason I did not write songs then was, for a few years I encountered serious vocal or throat problem. As long as I was not on stage, I was not able to sing properly. Privately, whether wanting to worship during my quiet time or attempting to write songs, it was a torture just to sing, I often lost my voice, sang out of key or could not reach high notes…
So after a while, I gave up singing during my private time, and I began to lose the inspiration to write or I simply had no mood to write at all due to my condition. So I slowly had that nagging concern in my heart: I don’t know how to write songs anymore!

What motivated my song-writing gift again? I recorded that after completing “Love Forever” too…
It was the conviction I received in the flight on my way home after my evangelistic concert in Medan, Indonesia…

因之前的“牵我的手”和其他福建诗歌在棉兰引起的共鸣，和救了许多灵魂，让我自觉惭愧为什么没有善用上帝给我的写歌恩赐来继续创作，祝福听福建话的社群。。。
但我的另一个问题是，我的福建词汇非常有限，所懂的福建词句就只那么几个，感觉是已江郎才尽！所以，我在飞机上就跟上帝认罪悔改因我没继续认真写歌，但也求他印证是还要我写福建歌，若是他就要给我新的感动。。。结果上帝就以这首“爱到永远”给了我印证，也让我发现在我糟糕的喉咙状况之下，在我软弱和放弃的当儿，他对我的爱是不改变的。。。

Because of the previous “Khan Gua e Chiu” (Hold My Hand) and other Hokkien songs that won good rapport in Medan, and saved many souls, I felt ashamed that I did not properly use the gift God gave me to continue writing songs to bless the Hokkien community…
But I had one other problem, my Hokkien language is limited, I thought my Hokkien vocabulary was totally used up and I felt I had nothing more to offer! So in the flight I repented to God for not continuing to write songs seriously, and I prayed for His confirmation too that if He wanted me to write Hokkien songs again, then He would have to give me new inspirations…
As a result, God used this song “Love Forever” to confirm, also to show me despite my terrible throat condition and in the midst of my weaknesses and giving-up, God’s love for me was still unchanging…

 

感谢主，“爱到永远”也是一首感动了很多人的歌。。。可是之后，我又没写歌了！很大的原因跟我的喉咙有关，结果2004年也只写了三首歌，而且没有一首是福建歌！
好吧，那就改天再跟你们分享我其他写歌的故事吧。。。
Thank God “Love Forever” is also a song that touches many people… But after that, I stopped writing again! The biggest reason was to do with my throat condition, so I managed to write three songs only as well in 2004, and none was a Hokkien song!
Oh well, I shall share with you some other song-writing stories again some other day…

 

但有一件事我很清楚知道，若不是上帝，我真的是不会写歌。。。
But one thing for sure, if not for God, I really don’t know how to write songs…

 

 

 

February 11, 2011

出了16张专辑过后，依我个人的观察和经验，到底有什么因素能让一首诗歌很有魅力或吸引人？
最重要的当然是属灵方面，即恩膏和生命力的部分。
这方面是需要很长与很多的讨论，但今天我要讲的是其他“技术性”的因素。。。
那，最简单不过的理由当然是动人的旋律，和优美感人的歌词。。。

最近因着几场表演，我发现原来配合诗歌所编的美丽舞蹈也可以让人倍受感动，而注意到或被某诗歌吸引！
2010年结束前受邀在一些场合的圣诞倒数和新年倒数演唱会表演，刚好不久前从中国来的一位信主的前国家舞蹈教练受上帝感动，主动要求教导我们教会年轻人几支动人舞蹈，刚好派上用场！

After releasing 16 albums, from my own observation and experience, what elements will actually cause a song to be charming and attractive?
Of course the most important is the spiritual aspect, i.e. the anointing and the life of a song.
This aspect needs a lot of and very long discussion, but today I just want to talk about the other “technical” elements…
In that case, the simplest reason will be appealing melody plus touching and great lyrics…

Due to a few recent performances, I discovered beautifully choreographed dances accompanying a song can be very touching as well, and can cause people to notice and be attracted by that song!
Before the end of 2010, I was invited to perform in a few Christmas and New Year Countdown concerts. It just so happened slightly before that, a Christian ex-national dance coach from China was convicted by God, and she personally requested to teach our young people some very attractive dances, so we were able to present those dances then!

结果我们呈献“轻烟”和“车站”，虽然舞蹈员还不够熟练，教练说还不够资格上台，但却有非常好的反应和深获观众们的好评，的确带来很大的震撼！
单看照片，我想你们也可以感受到舞蹈员的用心和认真，也让这两首歌增添几许魅力。。。

So we presented “A Mist” and “Station”. Though the dancers were still not very familiar with the dances, and the coach said they were not up to the standard to perform yet, they were met with very good response and received very good comments from the audience. It really made a big impact!
Just by looking at the photos, I believe you can also feel the commitment and seriousness of the dancers, and they truly added to the charm of these two songs…

“轻烟”是清一色女子伴舞。。。犹如一群天使围绕。。。
“A Mist” presents all lady dancers… as if surrounded by angels…

“车站”则是清一色男生，也是我们第一次只有男生跳的舞蹈！
“Station” on the other hand presents only guys, and it was the first time we ever had a “just guys” dance!

他们的一些动作真的让我很讶异！
Some of their steps did really surprise me!

一流的灯光也为表演添色不少。。。
Amazing lighting also added to the colours of the performances…

当然能有这样的荣幸服事神、传福音，一切感恩和荣耀都归给主！
Of course to have such an honour to serve God and spread the Gospel, all thanks and glory be unto God alone!

December 28, 2010

又到了年底蒙福排行榜投票时刻。。。今年到底哪些歌将挤入我们教会最爱的20首诗歌排行榜里呢？
前五名又会是哪几首呢？
这里 GT 又给你们得奖的机会了，不是蒙福教会或外地的也可以参与哦。。。

It’s that time of the year when we are voting for Blessed Top 20 again… Which 20 songs will squeeze into our church’s favourite songs chart this year?
And which will be the top 5 songs?
Here GT is giving you a chance to win a prize again, you can participate even if you are not from Blessed Church or not in Kuching…

要如何得奖呢？How to win the prize?

1) 首位准确按排名猜中2010年蒙福诗歌排行榜”前面五首歌的将得第一奖，第二、第三奖也如是决定。
The first person to guess the Top 5 songs in all correct order for “2010 Blessed Top 20” shall be the 1st prize winner.
The 2nd and 3rd prize winner will be decided accordingly as well.
（*要猜对前5首！Must guess right the first 5 songs!)

2) 若无人准确按排名猜中所有五首，答案最靠近者将得奖。
Should no one guess all the Top 5 songs correctly in the right order, the winner will be based upon the closest answer.

3) GT 有权做最后决定。（你有意见吗？哈哈 ^^)
GT’s decision is final. ( Do you have any issue with that? Haha ^^)

4) 截止日期 / Closing date : 12pm. 31/12/2010.

5) 奖品 / Prizes :
第一名 / 1st prize : 任选林义忠专辑 5 张。 Choose any 5 of GT Lim’s albums.
第二名 / 2nd prize : 任选林义忠专辑 3 张。 Choose any 3 of GT Lim’s albums.
第三名 / 3rd prize : 任选林义忠专辑 2 张。 Choose any 2 of GT Lim’s albums.

(*每奖项只限一人 。若外地者得奖，奖品会寄给你。
Each prize is limited to ONE person only. The prize will be sent to you if you are from outstation.)

**提示 / Tips :
一般上前几名都会是今年才教的新歌，所以若不清楚今年蒙福教会有哪些新歌，以下提供一些给你参考：
Normally the top few songs are new songs taught this year, so if you are not sure what new songs Blessed Church sing this year, the following are some for your reference:

1）高分贝的赞美  Gao fen bei de zan mei

2）蒙召为此 （你们蒙召原是为此）Ni men meng zhao yuan shi wei ci

3）你的话 Thy Word

4）主耶稣爱你也爱我 （客家歌）Zhu ye su ai ni ye ai wo (Hakka song)

5）唱唱唱 Sing Sing Sing

6）称颂主耶和华的圣名 Baruch Hashem Adonai

7）爸爸的小孩  Ba ba de xiao hai (Father’s child)

8）我不明白你 （福建）Gua beh bang pek li (Hokkien)

9）一路走 （有什么歌。。。）（福建）  Ci loh kia (Ooh sia mi kua…) (Hokkien)

10）真 （福建） Zhen / Na khui gua e sim… (Hokkien)

11）呼求  Hu qiu

12）这争战属于耶和华  The battle belongs to the Lord

13）在我这个世代  In my generation

但说不定新编的舞蹈“轻烟”会把这首歌再推上榜哦！
But who knows the new dance “A Mist” might push this song into the chart again?

或者只有男生跳的“车站”？
Or the male-only “Station”?

但也不要轻看我们的常青树“牵我的手”哦。。。还有唯一的客家新歌。。。
But don’t under-estimate our evergreen “Hold My Hand (Khan Gua e Chiu)” too… Also, the only new Hakka song…