10 reasons Why I DREAD being a woman

1) I stand more chances of getting killed even before I'm born.

2) In the middle of the night, if I get an inspiration to write something, I can't go for a stroll in the park to get it done.

3) All sacrifices are defaulted to me.

4) In the name of marriage, I have to play savior in the lives of immature men. 

5) Quite often, I seem like an object.

6) It's always me who's expected to follow all 'protocols'.

7) If he's in a fit of rage and is speaking trash.. "C'mon he's a man", but if I stress out, I'm hysteric and I need therapy.

8) Loads of technical issues.

9) If some one has been led astray, then I'm accused as the tempter.

10) The beauty of my heart is seldom known.

10 reasons Why it's GREAT to be a woman

1)  I can make a home or break a home.


2)  I have the freedom to cry. I don't have to pretend dry-eyes to show that I am bold.


3)  I only need a bunch of flowers or a box of chocolates or in some rare cases a diamond necklace ;) to    overlook a mistake. Bottom line - I can forgive easily.


4)  If I can't do something, I can ask for help, No one is gonna tell me, "C'mon, be a MAN.."


5)  I can multi-task. Strict-cool mom, beautiful-patient wife, Wise-warm colleague, Tough-talented shopper, fun-forever friend, generous-understanding sibling, Obedient-loving daughter, Caring-Careful daughter-in-law.


6)  The devil is scared of my ability to travel on my knees.


7)  With or without Paychecks, I always have loads to give.


8)  I know how women think.


9)  It doesn't matter how much fathers slog, kids love their mothers more.


10) I can wear a sari, a skirt, a jean, a maxi, a salwar, trousers or a frock. One dress for each  day for a week. My choices are many.

Happy Woman's Day ! What's your list??

What makes me proud to be a working woman?

(I won a prize for this write-up in the place where I work)

There is quite a lot of emphasis on how a working woman gets financial independence, and a chance to prove her skills in a career of her choice. But work for a woman, means more than just that.

The roles that men and woman ought to play in the world are entirely different. Therefore, I take no pride to say that I am able to do something which was once thought, could be done only by men. However, I take pride to say that work in its own way has helped me realize my own unique, intellectual, emotional and physical capabilities.

I’d give myself a pat on the back when I realize that being a working woman has helped me completely utilize the potential that’s been placed in my life. Work provides for numerous opportunities to discover myself and pursue my purpose.

A job and a work title have more significance than just getting me a paycheck at the end of a month. It is a way to uncover secret skills and untold talents. The joy and the pride that swells my heart when I get a job well done, fills me with enough confidence to continue moving forward to grab my destiny.

The test for real potential lies in the opportunities in which it is used. Being a working woman, helps me find a way to be a part of the lives of many people whom I meet and interact with everyday. Not that we always get a chance to strike a great friendship. But in almost every work relationship, I get a chance to identify my strength and sometimes my weakness too.

I am fortunate enough to be relieved from doing household chores, because I have the comfort of my mom doing all the work. Being a working woman herself for more than 25 years now, she has learned to alternate gracefully between her career roles and her duties as a mother, wife, and daughter.

In addition, I greatly admire many colleagues at my workplace who do a splendid task in seamlessly handling a client, a team, a manager, and to top it all, check on their child at home, enquiring about school, homework, music classes, and telling him to drink his milk and relish the chocolate cake that she baked for him. Then, she talks to her dad’s doctor enquiring about his health. She then gets back to the monitor screen; taps the return key to resume her work. She multi-tasks and travels across different worlds with great effort, but for the spectators of her life, it seems like a cake-walk.

The working woman lives a life of style. When a woman dresses to work, she appends several interesting traits to her personality, making her professional, smart and approachable. The same life, in a different package.

Many, who look at the life of a woman in the cubicle, look through rose colored glasses. “It’s the money, the glamour”, they say. Partly it stands true. Every working woman faces new challenges tirelessly, climbs the career ladder, and makes her mark, only to leave a legacy for her family. She strives hard to give her children a life that she had only dreamt about. The working woman today rolls up her sleeve and gets down to work to help her family build castles on firm ground. She does not look around for support; she puts her own skillful hands at use. She supports, sustains and succeeds.

Being a working woman helped me realize my ability to work with focus, achieve excellence, and work in a team. It is indeed true that we do get opportunities for the same at home, but never as versatile and dynamic like those at work. There is no greater pride when you do something without realizing it, and suddenly it strikes you that you’re a star.

The things I learn at work help me become a better and stronger person at home and in the society. My vision has broadened. I have become more tolerant. The way I look at people has changed. I can now see needs beyond the obvious. I have learnt to understand expression, read between lines and obey authority. These things are invaluable, and I am proud to have gained them at work.

Proverbs 32

The book of Proverbs ends with 31 chapters. Proverbs 31 speaks about the qualities of a virtuous wife. What if there was a Proverbs 32 ???

Proverbs 32 - A husband of noble character

An excellent husband, no one can find
To his value, all money resigns.
He's forever calm;
In her love, that remains.
He trusts in his wife
Beyond all other gain.

When she gets angry
And she’s fuming out stress
Her crazy moods
He doesn’t mind
So strong is his love
That is patient and kind.

He does not complain
about her choices.
And he doesn't take for granted
Her generous sacrifices
He values her life,
More than the money she brings
His favorite music
Is the song she sings.

He is her best critic
The anchor for her dreams
He’s proud of her achievements
He knows that she’s unique.

The beauty he sees,
Is the beauty that never fades.
It's her heart that charms him
Today and always,

As her waistline broadens
Her body loses grace.
Years begin to creep in
And draw indelible lines on her face

But he loves her even more,
This wife of his youth.
Each day, he learns her better.
And remains to her, forever true.
_____________________________________________________________

From the lives we’ve seen;
We know...
That only a woman can make a home
And it is her,
who builds her husband's throne.

Husbands can’t be everything you need.
Poor guys!! they don’t have a clue..
Because,
There is no Proverbs thirty two :D :D

____________________________________________________________________


Image Courtesy
http://life-nolimit.blogspot.com/2010/06/proverbs-31-man.html

How to start writing?

I attended a writers' workshop and I realized that the problem for many was not their dislike towards writing, rather it was an inability to start it off. I'm not an accomplished writer, but I've written consistently, so maybe that qualifies me to talk about how you can start off writing.

1) Ego-Writing

Start with lines like these, "I love to ....", "I don't like people who .." ,"I hate..." "I wish..." , "I'm a .... kind of person", recount your parents' experiences with you as a mischievous child, express your lost dreams, write your favorites and your dislikes and write all that you feel about yourself.

Writing happens only when there is an active thought process, and that's why this exercise works because we're always thinking about ourselves. Therefore, it is very easy to put down thoughts about yourself on paper. Once you've done it, read it, and re-read it and let your mind know that you can write.

2) Write sermon notes

Write down what you hear at the Sunday Service and transcribe it when you return home and post it on a blog, or forward it to church members and friends. After you've done this for a while, you could probably graduate to write your thoughts on the sermon, and how it helped you.

3) Get Observant

The most important quality for a writer is to be observant. The more you observe, the more you find stuff to write about. Again, this comes by practice. Choose a specific thing that you're going to observe more carefully, for instance, start observing how people say "thank you" or "bye", if you travel a lot by bus, look carefully at the expressions of people as they enter a crowded bus. Observe a lot, and make it a point to jot down each day's observation (not more than a line) somewhere, with time you'll find that your capacity to observe has increased and you'll have lots of subjects to write about.

4) Write about photographs

Pick up pictures from your album and write about when it was taken, what you think about the people in the photo, and how you felt when the photo was taken. If you took it in a special place, maybe you could give some background information of the location as well.

5) Rewrite Bible stories

Personally, this exercise helps me a lot. Rewrite bible stories as if they were narrated by a different person. For instance, write the story of Joseph, as if it were narrated by the Potiphar's wife. Write the story of the iron axe floating (Elisha's miracle) as if it were told by the axe. When you do this, you don't have to think about creating new content, instead you would just be thinking in a different dimension and doing some research to create continuity. And in the end, you would be satisfied with a unique piece of writing.

6) Write to appreciate

To be appreciative and critical is a very essential quality for a writer. And most importantly, when you're appreciating something, it's important that you don't use tired words like "amazing", "awesome", "great". Get a little descriptive and write what you really liked about it. For instance, I once stumbled upon an unknown blog (long ago, even before I started blogging), and I wrote a personal mail to the author.

"I want you to know that I really like your blog and appreciate your writing. I read a few of them and I especially like 'Making my Creator Proud' very much. I understand that it requires a lot of discipline and listening to be able to write such good work and kudos to you;you are doing a great job.

Continue writing and inspiring lives for God."

Once you've become really good at appreciating, start critiquing work. All of this spurts the mind to think, and the more you think, you can't stop yourself from writing.

7) Write letters (emails)

I bet there are lots of friends out there whom you haven't been in touch for a while. Start writing personal mails them. Write about how you've been, bring back some memories of your good times, write about how much you think of them. Include lines of best wishes and be sincere in what you're saying. This is a great way to get rid of the "I can't write" blocks.

8) Read

The urge to start writing comes when you read good books. Reading is just a habit, it isn't a special skill endowed to a select few. If you don't have the habit, hang out with people who read a lot. This works like charm, the influence would just rub on you. If you're the won't-read-anything-but-the-Bible kind, I suggest that you read a lot of Psalms and start writing your own psalms.

9) Find someone who can encourage you to write

I hate to accept it, but when you start writing, you need someone to keep pushing you to do it. Someone, to just read your work. It's a little hard to be self-motivated to write. I'm grateful to God, that I have a sister who constantly encourages me in what I do. Whatever I write, she reads. Sometimes, she doesn't say anything more than just, "it's nice", but through the years, I've learned to distinguish between her different "it's nice" tones :)

Maybe, if she wasn't around, with no other encouragement, and everyone either too busy or too critical (don't get me wrong, criticism is necessary, but is harmful if lots of doses are given in the beginning itself), I would have probably stopped writing. Find someone who can encourage you and thank God for putting them in your life.

If you're unable to find anyone, drop me a message, I'll be very glad to read, re-read, and be your buddy as you progress in your writing journey.

10) Pray a lot

I'm not a great writer, neither do I pray a lot, but most of my sensible writings have come from my conversations with God. I'm not talking about having a book of prayer or a petition list or reading 1000 praises, but a proper conversation where you communicate with God.

Nothing, opens up your mind like this. Even when you have to thank God, don't use some clichéd verses. Instead, think of specific things that you're grateful about, and say it to Him. Talk to God, as you would talk to someone looking at your face and listening intently to your words.

The more you talk to Him, more you'll find the right words to write.

Affectionately,
Callie Ariel

Image Courtesy:
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/clipart/clip/writing-color.html

New pals

I have great friends. But my bestest friends have always been books.

I read practically every genre, however, deliberately avoiding romance (because I can't bear it). I don't like romance novels, not because I don't like a good love story, but because I don't have the patience to read unrealistic prose descriptions glorifying each other more than what they're worth. I'd rather read a cryptic romantic poem ;)

My favorite fiction authors are Jefferey Archer (I like his choice of words) and Robin Cook (He helps me delve inside the world of Medicine which is where I once wanted to belong to).

My favorite genre is the Christian one. But then, it's easy to write a Christian book, and very easy to write a bad-bestselling Christian book. Because of this, I am very choosy about the Christian books I pick. In the ocean of the millions of books out there, I have few authors whose books I've picked and never regretted. One of my future posts would be about these authors, and why I like them, and why I like their books.

My favorite authors

1. King David
2. The unknown author of Job
3. Dr.Luke (The one who wrote the Gospel and the Acts)
4. Apostle John
5. Selwyn Hughes
6. CS Lewis
7. Ravi Zacharias
8. A.W Tozer
9. Bill Hybels
10. Carole Mayhall
11. Tommy Tenney
12. J.N Manoharan

While I have many favorite books, I do have a very personal book.

And that's my Bible.

Let me confess, I haven't got up every morning, reading the Bible and always feeling like I had a helping of honey. Sometimes, I dread having to read the Bible, sometimes I sleep when I am reading it, sometimes, I frown; sometimes, I cry; sometimes, I'm enlightened; sometimes I laugh out loud, and sometimes I'm just too amazed for words.

Nevertheless, it is my Bible and it is God's personal message for my life.

I love scribbling on the pages of this Personal book, my deepest thoughts, and penning my insignificant words near the Words breathed by God. You can find smiley faces, angry faces, question marks, exclamations, stars, and so many different remarks in this Personal book of mine. My Bible is unique to me, and my bestest friend.

I've grown only 2 Bibles old until now. The first Bible that I started reading was my parents' gift on my 13th birthday. It was an NIV Teen Study Bible. I've written audacious notes on that Bible such as "Today, God cheated me :( ", "Is God over-reacting here ?"

I started growing up, and my Bible started falling apart, so I wanted something that would give me more insight when I read a verse. So, I asked my daddy to buy me an Amplified Bible. With this Bible, I could never read more than 2 chapters a moment. Simply because, there was so much in the brackets. But this Bible was my closest confidant, especially because; in this phase, my life was racing across different terrains. This Bible helped me see and saw with me the faithfulness of God. There were times when I hit rock bottom unable to talk to anyone. Those days I would curl up in bed hugging my Bible close to my heart. It was also during this time in my life that I was introduced to studying the Bible. And so you would find, many papers stuck on the pages containing exegetic and hermeneutic notes.

I now discerned that I needed to further mature my understanding of God's Word. I so believe that the Master wants me to step into another dimension that I haven't yet explored. I therefore wanted a fresh start, a cleaner Bible :) with more fresh space to scribble. So, almost after a satisfying 6-year journey with my Amplified, I bought a TNIV Bible last week. I actually bought two, a pocket size one and a bigger one with lots and lots of margin space.

I signed my name on my new bibles, thanking God silently for the tremendous sacrifice of the numerous people who labored to bring God's Word to an ordinary person like me. I tucked my older bibles back to the bookshelf, contented that the Master in His grace let me hear His voice. Each of those bibles bring memories of a life now left behind.

I am ready to continue running with my new Pal, my new BIBLE.

Hoping to hear more of the Master's Voice,

Callie

Yokebreaker 2010

After close to a month of tedious praying, planning and preparing, we got yet another chance to have our yokes broken. It was time for Yokebreaker 2010.

Last time, we discussed on Bible Reading, Honoring Parents and Sex. This time, by divine purpose, our folks planned the event along the lines of Decision Making and Disciplined Life. Several young people who are in the cross roads of making crucial decisions, get several yokes fastened on their lives due to wrong choices. Consequently, it retards the speed at which we're heading to achieve God's goal. With time, we rust, stagnate and suffer. Instead of living, we just exist.

Can we get rid of these yokes, by making the right decisions ? If yes, then how do we do it?
The first session by Pr Charles Dawson, helped get to the HEART of decision making.

The second session by Bro Prince, dealt with how a DISCIPLE ought to lead a DISCIPLINED LIFE . We did have some sound Biblical pointers, which when applied, would liberate us from the Satan's yoke of always looking busy, but doing nothing productive.

And we had some really cool team building games. In addition, we had one rib-tickling Bible trivia quiz.

Hosea was the prophet who got to marry the prostitute. But did I forget that Hosea was also the real name of Joshua who gave good report about Canaan to the Hebrews. Man!! it was disheartening to know how much of detail we skipped when we read the Bible, but then the playing was fun. I guess, some of us would have taken some real resolutions to raise their Bible IQ!!

Chicken biryani, and a great deal of snacks. I must say that every detail was carefully planned. Time was perfectly managed.

Our church planned to have the venue out of the church. We had it in a place called Dash n Splash. It's filled with trees and extremely shady. Nature cooperated with us, by restraining the rain, yet keeping the weather absolutely cool and breezy. In our worship sessions, I guess the trees clapped their hands and the winds sang praise too. It was just the perfect place to get ourselves restored and refreshed.

Did I forget to mention that we did get to end this great day with a dash of splash in the water slides, pools and games that were there around in this place ?

Swingin, playin, runnin, jumpin, slidin, dashin, we all had a great time. By 6 pm we left the place, leaving behind our yokes, moving forward in freedom to love Him, know Him, and live for Him.

And that's the only decision we would ever have to make.

Excerpts coming soon.

The shack: Where tragedy confronts eternity

The shack: Where tragedy confronts eternity

Author: Wm. Paul Young

Publisher: Windblown Media, Los Angeles

Year of publication: 2007

Reviewed by: Rev. Dr. J.N. Manokaran jnmanokaran@yahoo.com

http://jnmanokaran.com

Paul Young has written a brilliant Post-modern novel. It is written in contemporary style, with beautiful narratives, creative imagination and that portrays the struggles of people in their day-to-day lives. A reader would find it difficult to keep the book down, unless s/he completes it.

As a good author, he has used his imagination creatively and purposefully. It is amazing to see how he has weaved the biblical truths in cohesive manner. In that, the author reminds us of John Bunyan of Pilgrim’s Progress and also of Sadhu Sundar Singh, a mystic Christian leader from India.

The main character of the novel, Mackenzie Allen Phillips has a difficult childhood and could not relate with his father. Then he leaves home for good and does theological training. He is married to Nan and the couple have five children. The youngest daughter Missy goes missing during a vacation. Great sadness descends in his heart. He felt he failed to protect her and he could not trace her body and bury her also. The whole story is how he tries to wrestle with this irreparable loss.

Mack’s own childhood was not good or great. His father would drink quite often and beat his wife. Mack was guilty as he never stood up for her. Later, he walks out of his home, when his father beats him for sharing the family secret with a church elder. Hence, he was unable to relate to God as ‘Father’. He goes through ‘The Shack’ experience. In that, me meets God as African-American woman (she is addressed as Papa), Son as Middle-Eastern man and Holy Spirit in the form of Asian woman named Sarayu. The God head Trinity without a White personality. A weekend turns to be his memorable experience in which he comes out all his emotional baggage.

As a creative artist, he has taken liberty to relate with the young Post Modern audience. In that, he deviates from or challenges some of the evangelical ideas. The idea of the Trinity having weekend with Mack and related incidents could be hard for some evangelical Christians to understand or digest. It is also a theological treatise packaged in contemporary Postmodern vocabulary appealing to young people. Also, the author has presented the gospel in implicit manner, as much as possible within the context of a novel.

This book could be used to help people who go through emotional turmoil and understand the love of God in their lives. It could be as a Pre-evangelistic tool. Using this book in secular forums could create creative opportunities to present the gospel.

YokeBreaker 2009

" Now I will break their yoke from your neck and tear your shackles away " (Nahum 1:7, 13)

The rising generation of Philadelphia Church Villivakkam, celebrated their annual youth treat on October 2nd 2009. The time spent in organizing this event were filled with tremendous team work. selfless efforts and high levels of expectation.

And the treat by itself, was an opportunity of immense learning and self evaluation. For those, who submitted themselves to the lessons taught, this event was truly a yoke breaker.

YokeBreaker 2009 was a spiritual celebration without any extravagant frills and mass attracting entertainment bombs. It was focused on God's purposes, real, relevant and fun.

Yokes are not fastened on to our lives with a loud noise. They attach themselves very silently through the choices that we make and through the way we respond to issues in our every day relationships .

YokeBreaker was an eye opener, a heart talk, and the Master's voice in each of these areas. A sincere effort to apply the lessons taught gives way for a supernatural explosion that sets us completely free.

(Please click on each session, to read an excerpt of the message heard.)

Session 1: The power of Revelation.

Session 2: Honoring Parents

Session 3: Exploring Sexuality as God created it.

Each session had a generous amount of time allocated to ask questions relevant to practical concerns in our own lives. The answers given were something that called for immediate attention and application.

We worshiped, laughed, jumped, cheered, fought for scores, made new friends and ate scrumptious food.

And the event came to an end, with a united cry for the new anointing of the Holy Spirit in each of our lives. The Spirit of God enveloped the place with His sweet embrace, transforming the hearts and minds of everyone who prayed the prayer of submission. All the lessons learned throughout the day, were reinforced by the Holy Spirit, moving us to the next level of spiritual, physical and emotional progress.

YokeBreaker 2009 broke the yokes of some, prepared the soil for some, sowed the seed in some, and reaped a harvest in some. And more than anything, YokeBreaker 2009 fulfilled God's agenda in the life of each participant.

Visit My Master's Voice for an excerpt of each of the session.

Christian 'Neverlands'

Original Forwarded Message:

A man trusted ...... in WHAT!!! please see what he has done for his earthly life? what can we call this!!! I kindly request you to look at the pictures.

My Dad's reply to the forwarded mail

I think Michael Jackson earned all these by his own worldly talents though he originally started as a Gospel singer. But being a poor administrator of finance he did not enjoy his wealth to its fuller extent. I do not think he was greedy or stealer of someone's money.

By comparison , I think he is more honest than the so called 'Christian wolves' who amass personal wealth, Vanity and pride in the name of Evangelism to build their own castles.

Many of the so called soul savers for Jesus unnecessarily build dubious scriptural NEVER LANDS. in the name of intercession towers,competing with each other to conduct expensive concerts, meaningless conferences and Mosaic Mega churches by selling the GRACE of our LORD and deceiving the masses in the name of God's secret revelation.


I am an observant media critic, both Religious and Secular.

I observe that in Christian media, many presenters 'perform' without any perseverance in preparation and Prayer. They seem to have inadequate understanding and conviction about the specific call of God in their life and poorly imitate everything that seems attractive , commercial, self propagating and self gratifying.

I do not deny that there many excellent Christian TV programmes , I have been personally enlightened by some.

But Most of our TV programmes especially Indian Christian programmes are rubbish, wasting precious bandwidth.

Matthew 21:18-22

Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, "May you never bear fruit again!" Immediately the tree withered.

We have many 'leafy' performers and orators out there, with absolutely no fruit. We don't realize that the Christian media has the highest responsibility in the Kingdom.

But we are allowing ourselves - the Kingdom of power and transformation to be portrayed as a bunch of jokers, always in need of money to build structures, asking people to pay our debts so that they can be free of theirs and a breed of 'spiritual' apes who pathetically imitate and compete with each other stealing each others' sheep instead of venturing into the lands of the unknown and the unheard.

End note :

I am not a fan of Michael Jackson.I just knew him as an eccentric entertainer. But after his death I read as much available material on him, saw many video clippings and have come to believe that if he would have been properly molded as a Christian Singer,and if the Christians he saw, in his family and beyond related to him in the spirit of Christ, he would have done a enormous service in the spread of Gospel.

THE CHURCH I KNOW

If this is not a place where tears are understood,

Where do I go to cry?

If this is not a place where my questions can be asked,

Where do I seek?

If this is not a place where my spirit can take wing,

Where do I go to fly?

If this is not a place where my feelings can be heard,

Where do I go to speak?

If this is not a place where you'll accept me as I am,

Where do I go to be?

If this is not a place where I can learn and grow,

Where can I be just me?

That's the church I know.

-Source Unknown

All our churches, and our Christian homes have enormous talent. When they are not crafted and channeled correctly, they get distraught and become vulnerable. With time, they drift away to the wrong places and become prisoners of wealth and loneliness.

As a church and in our family, it is our responsibility to recognize, appreciate, train and mould talent in the love, counsel, care and perfection of Christ.

Otherwise we will loose many more Michael Jacksons.

Let us stop judging the world and check the cancer that's growing in our minds and within our own body of believers.

Church Software - Free , Open Source , Public Domain

I found this software around mid March. My primary requirement was to find something that would help in dual display and song presentations.

I came across a lot of proprietary software like Easy Worship , Worship-him, Praise! and it was really getting frustrating when I saw their very heavy price tag ranging from a minimum of Rs. 10,000/- And I was beginning to lose hope when my good 'ol pal Google saved my day my landing me on the website of Church Software.

Before looking at Church Software, I did have a look at many other open source software like Openlp and Zionwrox, but the problem was that it did not support Tamil.

There was just one thing on my mind when I was searching, dual display for song presentation and that's it, but when I saw the mind blowing features that CS had to offer, it was just more than what I had asked for....

Presentations

• Church Service Planner - pre-select songs, verses for display.
• Easy selection of Bible multiple verses and instant display on projector screen in any supported language.
• Enhanced Quick Search with auto-flling and Bible Reference Only option
• Our LORD's worship songs display in any supported language.
• Managed MS Powerpoint - Display sermon slides using thumbnails.
• Blank Screen option added for all consoles which displays the background template/image without the Bible verse/lyrics
• Automatic Birthdays and Marriage Anniversaries display.
• Birthday and Wedding Anniversaries displays with photos if present
• Templates with background images
• Previous and Next butttons included for Photo Gallery and MS PowerPoints.
• Automatic projector selection and display.
• Type and update the projector immediately for any instant announcements.
• Grab the displayed presentation text and dynamically edit it. E.g., when the preacher stresses a word in the Bible verse, the projector operator can bold that word in the verse by grabbing the displayed text
• Lyrics Library. Preloaded with 4000+ lyrics for 6 major languages (English, French, Spanish, Tamil, Hungarian, Portuguese)
• Lyrics editor for adding/editing/pringing lyrics with transliteration option
• Used to display video presentations with preview. Supports many video formats.
• Capture streaming video from camera device and display it on projector.
• Transition effects between slides
• glGui 3.0 Music Player
• Sermon Recorder
• Church calendar events Display

Tools

• A complete Backup and Restore.
• A complete audit logs is available for every changes made in church members and budget.
• Virtual Keyboard to type in your own language even if OS does not support it. Transliteration is supported for some languages

Bible Study

• Bible search available for all supported languages. (Note: some language search may not be accurate).
• Bible available for all supported languages and all supported English versions.
• Bible Reading Planner for all languages.
• A complete Bible genealogy (based on complete-bible-genealogy.com)
• English to any language and vice versa is also available.
• Parallel Bibles to compare any number of versions.
• Detailed Bible liking genealogy with KJV+ Strong Dictionary.
• Export Bibles to e-Sword, SWORD, GoBible, PalmBible+ and Text.
• Completely Customizable
• Multiple themes for look and feel
• Church Logo, Background image, default language and many others can be customized.
• Menus in your selected language.

Church Administration

• Church Members Database. Birthdays and Wedding Anniversaries display fetches data from here. Members can be added, modified and removed easily.
• Photos can be included in Church Members database
• Chruch members can be exported to and imported from CSV (comma seperated files), Excel and Church Software Members (CSM) file
• Church financial budget is included for easy financial management.
• Church Calendar. Create events and display on projector and/or publish as ics.
• Print postal address labels of church members.
• Print ID cards for representing the church.
• Financial Report generator.
• Annual church report generator.
• Church attendance module with absent report.
• Chuch Members Report.

User Management

• Users for this software can be created and managed.
• User groups can also be created defining what access each group has.

Automatic Updates

• Updates are now made automatic.

Other Features

• Transliteration and Phonetics for most of the supported languages
• Complete Unicode support
• Preloaded with 154 Bibles from various languages/translations
• Preloaded 56 English Bible Versions

Honestly speaking!!! Many new things that could be done occurred to me only after having a look at the features enlisted. Mr Felix Jeyareuben (the father of Church Software) has not just brilliantly put together an efficient piece of code which requires a minimum piece of hardware but has also worked hard to identify the specific requirements of the church in its different dimensions.

Another very nice gesture of Mr. Jeyareuben to respond to every query regarding the use of the software through his forums without delay. He'd answer basic questions on usage as well as clear bugs in code with the same promptness.

The different versions of bible available are really very helpful when pastors quote verses for comparison and study.

I think an incredible work has been done on the song collections . And not just that, making the software being able to support 61 major languages is a clear evidence of the kind of herculean effort put in.

Churches using this software, should not just stop with just recommending it to others, but also try and contribute to this powerful initiative. Many things could be done

• You can send gospel lyrics of songs available in your language.
• You can send newly typed songs to get bundled for the benefit of all.
• You can provide new feature suggestions.
• You can do testing to find bugs.
• You can participate in Forums to help others with their ideas and issues.
• You can inform or provide new electronic Bibles for other languages to get included.
• You can design templates for use.

And the rest is left to your innovation and your heart to share.

When I was hunting for some worship presentation related products, I came across this marketing statement by a proprietary 'christian' software ....

"Purchase our new Shadow of the Cross PowerPak at 60% off and breathe new life into your worship service."

This is definitely not the kind of trend that we should be heading to.

I don't believe that true worship needs any extra frills. We can survive without expensive gadgets, smoky stages, sizzling performances, extravagant interiors, large LCD panels and trendy technology. The heart of worship is all about surrender and gratitude to the Creator King.

But an attempt of this kind, "does not just help to make worship better" but the hard work put in, is worship by itself.

The greatest resource for the church is not the money, or the building or the popularity of the pastor. But people. People who are ready to get together and work together in love and faith despite the differences in lifestyle, culture, education or spirituality.

But today, the sad fact is that, we have begun to imitate the world in our dealings and transactions.We look for personal profit, recognition and gain even in church.With all the "show",maybe we are doing many things perfectly right, but we are certainly not doing the right things.

Church Software has done the the right thing the right way. Technically, it is sound.And the spirit with which the software has been developed has truly made it honorable in God's sight.

Church Software is an attempt that compels the rest of the church to be go-givers and show the world not just our potential but also the Master's heart.

My verdict, Church Software is a one stop solution for the needs of the church, totally customizable, and truly Christian at heart.It is available for Windows/Linux and Mac machines.It requires just 256 MB RAM and 533 MB hard disk space.Bugs are constantly updated and new features are consistently added with increasing frequency. Developer guides are provided and the entire implementation is in java.It has tremendous community support and a steadily growing international user base.

What are you waiting for??

Use it, Recommend it and Contribute towards making it grow!!!

Download at http://churchsw.org/content/downloads

The Shack - William P. Young

I got this book on 16th January 2009. It was a paperback of about 300 pages. I was pretty jobless at that time, and in my usual pace I could have finished that book by 3 days. But I took 10 days to finish this book.

So what does that make you think about it..??

The story is narrated by Willie who is the closest friend of Mackenzie Allen Philips (Mack) the protagonist of the story.

So here's the basic plot as the author gives it and there are no spoilers ahead!!

Mack's youngest daughter Missy has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found on an abandoned shack deep inside a wilderness. Four years later, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God inviting him back to that shack for a weekend.

Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack in a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there is the rest of the story.

Let me confess, the story took sometime to pace up. Maybe that was because I was so used to the style of secular fiction, where the drama and action begins quite naturally in the first few pages itself.

I was so used to a reading about blood,anonymous mails,high tech gadgets, state of the art apartments,kidnaps and genocide in the intro, that when this author speaks about rainfall and winter and wind and snow, for the first few paragraphs. I had to be a little patient.

The plot is divided into different topics, the titles of which seems like a fantasy movie, check that out, "In the Belly of the Beasts", "A Long Time Ago, In a Garden Far,Far Away"...

This book is heavy, very heavy in content. He communicates his thoughts with clarity. Each line is a sermon by itself, and you can hardly read more than 7 pages a day, because your mind would have absorbed so much.

There is action in the place where you least expect it. The dialogs between the characters are really long, but it just sticks so close with the plot that you can hardly get bored reading them.

The author has a great way of driving a very valid point through a simple conversation between the characters. I wish I could quote, but then I could never decide which one to put.

Maybe.. I'll try to list a few;

"Relationships are never about power, and one way to avoid the will to power is to choose to limit oneself - to serve"

"Its not the work, but the purpose that makes it special"

"Jesus didn't hold on to any rights; he willingly became a servant and lives out of his relationship with Papa. He gave up everything, so that by his dependent life he opened a door that would allow you free enough to give up your rights"

"So many believe that it is love that grows, but it is knowing that grows and love simply expands to contain it. Love is just the skin of knowing"

There's still lot more. But I think it would be better if you read it yourself.

Though it is deals with tough stuff, the book has a prominent lighter vein. Certain parts of the story sets you laughing loud.

This book falls in the genre of theological fiction, as some would like to put it. But I think that it is just a feel good book, entertaining and thought provoking, but not something with a very strong biblical base. It does have a few errors.

My verdict.

Don't miss reading it! There's lot of hard work ,creative energy and wisdom in it. !!

But don't build your convictions or theological studies based on this book. Don't give in to non-Christians and new believers. If you are a discerning reader, read it and enjoy it thoroughly.

All human work is filled with errors and misinterpretations, and so is The Shack. However, it is closest to revealing the heart of God. God must be proud!!

Hurry!! get your copy!

Unlocking the Bible Omnibus - David Pawson

Dad had bought this book on February 2007  but only around mid 2008, I started reading it seriously. I haven't completed it yet, but I can't wait to tell you how immensely I have been affected by it.

I need to confess that I haven't yet read the Bible completely cover to cover .I feel ashamed about this and I don't want to justify it but the reason could be that at certain times, certain portions of the Bible seemed repetitive and uninteresting.I have no reservations concerning the fact that the lack of a longing for God's Word is a symptom of wickedness and, I am constantly at work trying to get my heart to consume God's Word and receive direction, discipline and discretion. 

When I tried to find out why Bible-reading was sometimes burdensome instead of being a truly wonderful experience, I realized that it was because my understanding of the background of the Scripture was shallow and insufficient.So I could not identify even the obvious treasures of God's Word.

Here is where David Pawson does a terrific job, by putting his years of enormous studies in a simple common man's language through his book; he makes you so interested in the Bible that you get committed to it.Now, this is the key to unlocking the treasures of the bible.

This book does not attempt to give a verse by verse commentary instead it provides a spectacular insight to the essence of the biblical setup and the stage where the Scripture was written.Does this sound like a dry history book to you? Then you are terribly wrong, the language and the presentation makes it as interesting as a novel.

It is quite a large book comprising of about 1340 pages. But remember, this book has put together enormously large eras of history and culture from the works of different people.Considering the fact, that an amateur like me would never be able to find all the required studies and reference books, this kind of a collection under a single binding is very helpful indeed.

Not just that, it shows us how we should read a particular book of the bible?, how the parts are divided?, what are the theological views of the book?, why should we read it?, what are the misconceptions existing?, what was the significance of the period in which this book was written?, What do we know about the person who wrote it and how his lifestyle has affected the way the book has been written? These are some questions whose answers will help understand the relevance of what God wants to communicate.

Some people have advised me not read bible reference books, commentaries, or even study bibles because I need to learn the truths by myself from the Holy Spirit. I don't deny their good intentions, because they are afraid that I maybe misled or get distracted.

However, I beg to differ. Bible references, studies and books such as "Unlocking the Bible  - Omnibus" help to understand the Word with more clarity. So that we can spend more time with the Holy Spirit to receive direction, discretion, and discipline from the Word. Without understanding the context of the Bible and the background of the Scripture, the reading becomes unconnected and boring. Eventually, the inspiration to consume more of the Word wears out.

This is not a devotional book, rather it helps you gain wonderful devotionals yourself, once you have understood the backdrop.I highly recommend this book to everybody who want to make their Bible-reading more rewarding.

The purpose driven life- Rick Warren

I'll be one among the many millions who appreciate this book. Written by Rick Warren, the founding pastor of Saddleback Church; *This book has been on the New York Times Best Seller list for advice books for one of the longest periods in history, while also becoming arguably one of the best-selling non-fiction books of all time, topping the Wall Street Journal best seller charts as well as Publishers Weekly charts with over 30 million copies in print by 2006.*

The book aims to enable you to discover the most important question, What on earth am I here for? The author calls you to have a 40 day spiritual journey and strongly urges you to read only 1 chapter a day so that you will have time to think about the implications for your life.

The journey begins by unveiling the purposes of God under these titles

• Purpose 1: You Were Planned for God's Pleasure (Worship)
  
• Purpose 2: You Were Formed for God's Family (Fellowship)
  
• Purpose 3: You Were Created to Become Like Christ (Discipleship)
  
• Purpose 4: You Were Shaped for Serving God (Ministry)
  
• Purpose 5: You Were Made for a Mission (Mission)
  

Each of these is fulfilled sequentially and built upon the other, i.e, one cannot function without accomplishing the previous.

Let me confess, that I did not take the 40 day spiritual journey, and I finished the book in a week.However I have re-read it many times, and during travel, this is one book that you will find in my backpack.This is the kind of book which impacts your thinking.This book has served as a great conversation starter at many places too.

I like this book not because I read it and Eureka!! I found my purpose, but because this book helped me look at the big picture of God's purpose instead of my tunnel materialistic view of success.There is not a single page that you can afford to skim through in this book.Each sentence drives a point to your heart.

Though some wont agree with the paraphrasing of Scripture from different versions, I think that the verses are not taken out of context.Usually the tendency is to skip the bible reference while reading a book, so instead of reproducing the complete reference he includes a reference id that could be looked up in the appendix to find out where it can be found in the Bible.

I know that Pastor Warren has many critics,but as far as this book is concerned, I can assure you of its clarity and its motivation is to glorify God's purposes.Short anecdotes, poetry and punchy one-liners make it even a more interesting read.There is also this 'question to consider' at the end of each purpose, that serves as good discussion topics with your friends.

The best part of the book is the way it deals with 'eternity'.It does not mince words yet the work is done gracefully.This book is not some Christian 'self-help' book aimed at topping best-sellers. Rather it is a no nonsense straight talk about the expectations of the Mighty Conqueror God.

I don't believe that our life should be 'purpose driven' rather it should be God-led.No one but the Holy Spirit can show us how to fulfill God's purpose in our life, but this book goes a long way in helping us realize that eternity is our goal and everything else we do on earth need to help us reach there.

Reference

*-Wikipedia

When God Whispers-Carole Mayhall

My sister's Scripture Class teacher(who was my teacher as well) presented her this book.The author, Carole Mayhall calls herself a very ordinary woman but she has done an extraordinary job in capturing ordinary moments of mundane life and etching out a beautiful and meaningful insight from it.This was one of the books that inspired me to listen keenly to my Master's voice in every routine event of the day.

She has carefully divided her experiences under the following categories;
Part 1:He Transcends my Dailies
Part 2:He Transforms my Weariness
Part 3:He Thrills at my Trust
Part 4:He Touches my Hopelessness
Part 5:He Triumphs in Praise
Part 6:He Travails through my emptiness
Part 7:He Applauds my willingness
Conclusion

Each part contains several short commonplace moments where God meets us and strengthens us.Some books make you feel happy, this is one of them.It contains a warming collection of very normal facets of life, but portrays the extraordinary visitation of a supernatural God right at the place where we are, and captures His responsible, loving and embracing heart.

I really envy her style of writing, very simple but very impacting.Her amazing sense of humor smooths the treatment of tough stuff but keeps the reader focussed, so that he leaves the page without missing a point.

Though she speaks a lot of personal experiences, she is careful enough not to deviate the reader to concentrate on her life instead she has done a thorough job in keeping the reader directed straight to the heart of God.Each reflection is grounded with a relevant Scripture and ends with a short straight and refreshingly honest prayer.

This is just the perfect book to read when you are taking a break in the middle of a busy day or just before you are about to doze off totally exhausted because of the days' pressure.It is not one of those "How to relieve stress?" books rather it is a book that helps us hear the loving whisper of our Creator God.

The Gifts and Ministries of the Holy Spirit-Lester Sumrall

I shared my little experience in the previous entry because I don't think I can effectively 'review' this profound book.

The book begins with a direct confrontation, "God cannot bless ignorance, He can only bless intelligence"., thereby compelling the reader to understand the need for the importance of information on this subject.He asks the reader "to have an open heart and a consuming desire to know all we can about the nature and role of the Holy Spirit."

The contents are arranged under the following parts,

Part 1-Gifts of the Holy Spirit

• Nature and Role of the Holy Spirit
  
• Charismatic Renewal
  
• Sign Gifts of the Holy Spirit
  
• Two Foundation Stones
  
• Weapons of Our Warfare
  
• God's Gifts to the Church
  
• The Revelation Gifts
  
• The Power Gifts
  
• The Gifts of inspiration
  
• The Gifts in Jesus' Ministry
  
• The Gifts in the Early Church
  
• The gifts in the Apostle Paul
  
• How You can Receive the Gifts
  
• The Devil's Couterfeit
  

Part 2 - Ministries of the Holy Spirit

• The Ninefold Purpose of Ministry Gifts
  
• The Fivefold Ministry Gifts
  
• Elders,Deacons,Helps and Governments
  
• Combinations of Ministries
  

I think the effectiveness of this book is primarily because of the excellent blend of scriptural illustrations and personal experiences. Rev Sumrall elucidates the relevant Scripture as a brilliant narrative and brings out a parallel drawn out from his years of ministry.

The honesty of the book is its speciality, like Rev Sumrall puts it, "The gifts were born, not in a moment of jubilation or victory in my life, but in a moment of great attrition.They were born in a moment when I was downcast and almost broken, which made me realize the greatness and majesty of God."

He examines each category of gift in a teaching approach and not like a preaching.I like the way he explains what each category means,and what gifts are placed in there and who are the bible heroes who were endowed with that gift, how the gift is manifested and how it is often misinterpreted.

Through each page he equips the reader with a solid teaching in a simple straightforward style so that even a newbie like me could understand the depths of the truth.It helps us understand the great value of the free gifts God has prepared for us and ready to give us.It helps us to move from the place where we just think of the gifts as bits of the charismatic revival to the place where we begin to grasp the infinite love of our Heavenly Father.

Whether you are already operating in the gifts of the Spirit for a long time or whether you are longing for receiving it for the first time, this book will definitely speak the Master's voice to your heart.

A special day

After being saved, the one thing I was longing for like mad crazy was the annointing of the Holy Spirit.I'd run to every altar call and I'd be present in every special meeting held for this purpose.

Actually I had an issue in my own life that I was struggling with, but I conveniently buried it deep, thinking that it won't cause much harm to my relationship with God. But all through the way God was dealing with that one issue. I would say to God, "Lord I surrender completely", but there was that something in a corner that I did not let go.

I remember one time when a few girls whom I used to strengthen and encourage in the Lord walked with me to the altar and they received the annointing and I did not.That was the height of my embarrasment and frustration.

The devil strikes you most when you are hungry and when you are angry. Fortunately for him, I was both at that time..Furiously hungry!!! he made me to believe that I don't really need an 'annointing' or 'tongues', and that these were just for a few who are called for a different purpose.

I believed it and I was satisfied.His theory gave me real peace and comfort. And I stopped praying for it or reading about it or listening to teachings about it.It was just not for me. I was brainwashed.

It was at this time that I came to Chennai, India for completing my higher school education. By divine appointment I was acquainted with Evelyn, how we became the best of friends is another amusing story.

My bad luck, she received her annointing just weeks before, and ohmygosh, this girl would not stop yapping about her experience. She would go on and on and on and I would be so polite outside but trying to hide my anger and irritation with the widest smile possible.The truth was that I really loved this girl and was very happy to be in her company, but when she opened this stuff, it was like a pandora's box for me.

While this was happening, God was also directly confronting me about the issues of my life, which He was not very happy about. For the first time, I let go of it, and asked God to strenghten me to stick to my decisions. I was so sure I had to leave it in order to satisfy God.I accepted my fault, repented  and surrendered to His grace.

Slowly as my friendship grew with Evelyn. I started understanding a different dimension called trust-relationship. I believed that God put her in my life. Until that, I never spoke about my personal life to anybody, but that one day, I spoke my entire heart to her.I spoke about my issues and the decisions that I took, but again conveniently hiding the fact that I had stopped asking for the annointing.After this little talk, my sin was no longer tormenting me, because I had confessed it, repented it, received forgiveness from my Lord, and now by sharing it with a God given friend, nothing remained buried, everything was brought to light.Believe me!! sin cannot survive the Light.

One day, we paired up for studying Math together at my place. We'd gone through the stuff, had a few laughs and suddenly she strikes me, "Callie, are you praying to receive the annointing??".

I am the kind who always walks around with a self defence mechanism, never succumb to emotional blackmail. I always thought I was invulnerable. But that moment, I burst to tears.The first time I actually cried to a third person. I poured out everything. She was totaly understanding. When she left home, I was on my knees crying, praying. I felt like the prodigal daughter.I said, "God I am back!! I surrender all, please annoint me."I became crazy hungry again.

In about 2 months I left to Dubai for my Summer hols.I was dying to hear some teaching about the Holy Spirit, but we had no such sessions. At that time, I got hold of this book, "The Gifts and Ministries of the Holy Spirit" -Lester Sumrall in a resource centre present in our church premisis. When I took it to the counter. The cashier looked at the book, looked at me, looked at the book,looked at me and said; "This is one heavy book, you are taking kid!".I did not really understandwhat he meant because it was just a small 300 pages paperback.

I went home, and after dinner began reading it, I was hooked. I could not keep it down. I read and read, till it was about 2:30 am. The first thing that I was thinking about the next day, was the book, I went back to it. I read it like mad. I read every word, read the bible references. I studied it. I bought the book on 16th April 2004.I finished it on 24th April 2004 11:30 pm.After finishing it. I prayed. I walked the length of my room and said "God I badly need this power. I am desperate. Please don't make me wait any longer". 

The next morning April 25th 2004, my mom wakes me at 6:00 am; which is quite unusual on a holiday. She told me, "A man of God is coming home at 10:00 to pray for us, Get ready"!!I wasn't really expecting anything, I thought it was those usual prayers that used to happen in my house. I got ready. The person came and we chatted for a while, and then prayer time began. He was praying for my mom. Then suddenly he placed his hand on my head and I started believing that I would receive the annointing that moment.

Bang!! the fire was let loose. My God had answered my prayer.25th April 2004,the most memorable day of my life ever.