I am ABBA's child - a song

This is a song I wrote and composed for children. They assert their identity of being a child of God, the Father in this song.

The tune of the song can be heard at this link
https://www.reverbnation.com/henriettadecruz/song/30256947-i-am-abbas-daughter-son-henrietta 

If any of you would like to teach children to sing this song, you are free to do so. I'll be happy to hear any audio or video recordings of this song

Song:       I am ABBA’s Child! 

Chorus: I am my ABBA’s daughter/ son (2)

               May I be more like Him!

                    I want to be more like Him!  

I want to learn, I want to walk

I want to talk like Him!

I want to work, I want to care

I want to be like Him!

          Chorus

He game me hands so I can help

He gave me lips so I can speak

A helpful word to those in need

And sing my songs of praise to Him!

     Chorus

I want to be all I can be – fulfill my destiny!

I want to see His will for me and do my best for Him.

He gave His best for me

So I’ll give my life to Him!

     Chorus

Modified Chorus:  

              We are our ABBA’s children! (2)

              May we be more like Him!

                   We want to be more like Him!  

~ written and composed by Henrietta Decruz 

                                       (Copyright 2018)

Tell Me More About Christmas - A song

Christmas is coming once again. I felt it was time to write a new song about Christmas. I thought it would be great to have a song that is a conversation between friends? The idea clicked and this song 'Tell me more about Christmas' was born! 

I am sharing the lyrics here, it would be great if someone adds music to it and would like to use it. Feel free to visualise the four characters who are part of this song. Make a creative presentation that people can relate to well. All I would ask of those who use this song is to remember to give credit to me for the lyrics.  You could share a link to the audio/video of your presentation with me on Twitter - @henrietweets  

Here are the lyrics of the song. 

Tell me more about Christmas

1.      Voice 1 (non believer's question):

I heard about that silent night

I heard about the bright new star, the mistletoe

The reindeer and Santa Claus

Oh won’t you tell me more about Christmas…

Why do we celebrate this ‘so-called’ happy day?

Oh tell me, tell me – more about Christmas

I want to know!

2.      Voice 2 answers: (believer's answer)

Oh! Haven’t you heard the Christmas story?

How the angels sang on that blessed night

Sharing the good news of God’s glory

To some shepherds on a hill faraway

They shared that the King of kings was born tonight!

And they could go and see Him – He’s a baby in the manger

So the shepherds rushed to see the sight

And they found baby Jesus – with Mary and Joseph!

3.      Voice 1: (non believer) 

I have some more questions…

Why would the King of kings be born in a manger?

And why would shepherds rush to see a stranger?

Why do you rejoice at Jesus’ birth

When you know He later died on a cross?

Oh tell me more about this mystery

Cause when I think of it, I’m at a loss! 

Tell me tell me more about this mystery

For when I think of it, I’m at a loss! 

4.      Voice 2 answers: (believer)

Oh! That’s the reason that we all rejoice

You see the King of kings He had a choice

He could have chosen a palace but He chose an inn –

He could have lived as a king and sat on a throne

         but He gave it all up for me!

You see He did these things to set us free

From the sorrows that rob us of life!

He could have stayed in heaven on the throne

But He came as a babe just for you and me!

5.      Voice 3: (curious to know more) 

Hmmm… Your Jesus seems to be a wonderful guy

And you talk about Him as though you’ve really met Him!

I hear you pray a lot in Jesus name

Could you tell me more about Him?

The truth is I’ve been searching all my life

For the answers to some questions

You seem so happy ever since you found this Jesus

I really wish I could know Him too….

6.      Voice 4 answers: (happy 2nd believer) 

Wow! Sure! Let me tell you first that Jesus loves you!

When He left His throne – He was thinking of you!

He chose to give up everything He had

So you could find true peace and happiness too!

No matter what you did wrong in life                  ]

He was happy and willing to pay the price         ]           2

To set you free so you can enjoy                        ]

All the best in this life and eternity!                     ]

7.      Voice 2: (believer) 

Oh I’m so glad that we celebrate Christmas!

Wouldn’t you love to receive the gift of brand new life?

Oh how I thank Him for thinking about us

When He left His throne became a human for us!

So come let’s celebrate Christmas

For Lord Jesus became a baby for us

He lived His life on earth and then He died

To wipe away the tears we’ve cried!

Together

So come let’s sing –

Joy to the King!

Glory to God in the highest

Angels & saints

Sing praises to God

For giving us Jesus

The most wonderful gift of all!!!

I’m so glad it’s Christmas

I wish you a Merry Christmas!

Come let’s celebrate Christmas

The happiest birthday of all!!   

We’re so glad it’s Christmas

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

Come let’s celebrate Christmas

The happiest birthday of all!!  

Written by Henrietta Decruz (Copyright 2018)

Salaam Zindagi! – A Salute to Life

My life has come full circle

I started out with many minuses

There were many tearful years

But everything turned out beautifully for me

The negatives were dealt with

The positives I held on to

Became lifesavers… literally!

I am not saying I’m a hero

I am not saying I did it all by myself

I am not saying that life is a bed of roses

But I am saying that my life turned around!

My sadness and sorrow was turned to joy!

From living in despair not knowing my future

I have become a person who is happy and content.

There was a time I stood at the brink

Not wanting to live

Not having a reason to live

There wasn’t a soul who knew of my predicament

No human soul…

But the God Who created me…

He knew and held on to me.

I cannot but stand in awe that…

This great God Who holds the universe in His hands

Should care so much for one tiny little soul

Like me.

Why would He stoop so low to touch the ground

Just to comfort one hurting soul,

One girl no one else wanted.

Yes there He was day after day,

Night after night… without fail

Patiently bearing with my unbelief

Waiting for me to look to Him with faith.

It took Him years but He got my attention

When it dawned on me

That I had been saved in every way possible. 

Today I know that no matter what

My God is for me, He is with me and will never leave me!

I can vouch that even in troubled times

He will always be by my side…

My biggest encourager, support, teacher and guide

My most gracious provider and protector

He even fights my battles for me!

Today I have no doubt

That anyone anywhere can make it

If they just give Him one chance

To touch their life.

The ever-loving hands of the great ‘I AM’

Are ever reaching down to hold a soul

To touch, to comfort, to fill their every need. 

This great Creator didn’t stay in a heavenly mansion

Cut off from the pains we endure as humans

Jesus instead chose to become man,

Live a life like us and become a sacrifice

So we wouldn’t have to suffer ‘forever’.  

His love for each soul compelled Him

To make the supreme sacrifice… So great is His love!

If you have doubts or fears

If your eyes are full of tears

If you have no source of joy or supply

Try Him! He won’t let you down 

If friends and family have abandoned you

In your most dire need…

Call Him! He will be there for you!

~ Henrietta Decruz

A New Beginning!

Its been a while since I wrote a blog. I was always meaning to write one... but weeks became months and I got really busy too.

In the course of Life, there are so many lessons to learn... some from our own experiences and some through those of others. There is never a dull moment!

Questions become essays and essays become chapters... and life goes on!

The good thing is that some questions do have answers... and some of these answers are helpful and interesting too.

In the recent months, I experienced the generosity of someone I haven't even met. Her generosity gave me the most priceless gift. The gift of overcoming the obstacles that I had encountered in my earlier years of life. Obstacles that had become stumbling blocks and didn't let me move ahead.

When someone has had to experience a lot of rejection, pain and suffering for years, the most obvious conclusion they would come to is that 'humans cannot be trusted.' But when someone comes through the chaos, the confusion and lights a lamp in the midst of the darkness that engulfs you... something magical happens... you begin to feel, to care, to believe that goodness still exists in the world and there is hope for you!

This somewhat describes what happened to me. The generous good deed by this precious lady had a great impact on me. It happened out of the blue!

My life's course took a great leap forward! I could see, learn and understand myself, my life situation and have a clearer more positive image of my future, thanks to what she facilitated. I pray that the Lord will bless her greatly just as the impact she had on my life.

I also got back to art! I got myself a new drawing book and decided to try using pastel colours for a change. And the result? This!

Colourful! - Henrietta Decruz

Drop of Life! - Henrietta Decruz

Scenery - Henrietta Decruz

The Cross at the Center - Henrietta Decruz

From Chaos to Clarity - Henrietta Decruz

Are you grappling with questions too? How do you deal with them?

Do you have hobbies that help you express yourself and what you are going through?

If you feel like it, do share about it.

😊

Where Is Your Treasure?

This video asks some very pertinent questions!

Do watch it!





P.S: I take no credits for this video. 

Heroes Come and Heroes Go

Heroes come and heroes go

Time goes on and no one knows

What the future holds for each

What the present tries to teach.

When we rave about someone

Make them bigger than they really are

It’s not fair, it sets them up

To lose their tag of being a star.

And on that day, people will cry

Some will wail a wail

While others will die

Because they said he wouldn’t fail.

Wake up people! This is life

If you fight a fight you can win or lose

Life is full of strife

Win or lose it’s not for us to choose.

Let your hero have some peace

Surely he didn’t want to lose

He works so hard, he paid a price

Don’t let his stardom become a noose.

Remember the good and great things he’d done

Thank him for his good skills and good work

Remember the matches and battles he won

Thank God for memories we have to look back.

- Henrietta Decruz 

Dedicated to the Football heroes, teams and fans who were sorely disappointed in this World Cup. 

An Old Song & A New Journey

It has been a while since the ‘Good Old Golden Oldies’ have been tugging at my heart. They were reminding me of the times when I was just a quiet little girl who would almost always be found near the radio listening to songs. These were the songs that played at that time!

I was a shy girl who didn’t like to come up in front when visitors came home and found it difficult to make conversation with anyone! (Well, that is history!)

Music was life to my soul! I breathe music and the melodies and rhythms of my favorite songs was everything to me. I would sing Hindi Bollywood songs, Western songs and even sit glued to the radio when classical music played! I loved almost every kind of music.

What was special about my singing along was that I would imitate the singer, whether it was male or female. I enjoyed mimicking Kishore Kumar, Mukesh and Mohammed Rafi as much as I liked singing along with Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle! I sang the Western numbers too!  

As time passed I noticed that the quality of songs in Bollywood movies came down drastically. Since I am a writer-songwriter, the lyrics mattered to me a lot. The lyrics of many songs that came then were terrible and I just could allow myself to sing those songs. Disheartened I left my post beside the radio. But the Golden Oldies lived on at every Antakshari I could be part of, any picnic or event where anyone loved them.

Anyway, many years later, some months ago, I wondered if I can still sing in the male voice as I used to. It took some weeks and finally I mustered up the confidence to sing and record it.

While a lot of songs dallied with my heart to be the first one… somehow the song “Aanewala Pal Jaane Wala Hai” from the film Gol Maal (1979) managed to grab my attention. So here I was downloading a karaoke track to sing too and recording my voice, mixing them and voila! My own cover version of the song happened! I was quite happy with the results so I decided to share it with my friends on Facebook. Their sweet comments and appreciation have made me smile much more than I usually did!

Here’s the link to check out my cover version of this song…

https://www.reverbnation.com/henriettadecruz/song/29695450-aane-wala-pal-jaane-hai-cover-by?source=artistProfile

If you love the Good Old Golden Oldies’ I hope it rekindles old memories and makes you smile too!

My experience with this cover song has opened up a new chapter of the Good Old Golden Oldies once again in my life. I am happy that I can sing them and bring joy to so many people.

Smile and keep on smiling!!!

What does it mean to be a woman?

In some parts of India, it means you have no right to live, the female foetus is killed in the womb or the baby girl is killed after she is born.

In many cultures it means being born a human being but being counted as less than that because you were born to be a girl.

 

It means being conditioned to think what they want you to think

It also means to be 'free to be oneself and have your own dreams’ is a lonely and tiresome battle.

It means you’re taught to think of others so much

That you forget to learn to take care of yourself.

The onus is so much on ‘others’ that you begin to believe you are invisible and you will get by while others take you for granted almost always.

It means when you go through abuse, people tell you, “It didn’t happen, forget about it”

Because if you spoke about it, it will give your family a bad name.

It means suffering in silence while the one who is causing the suffering keeps on hurting you.

You bear it up until you can’t take it anymore and then you run for your life.

It means having different parts of your ‘self’ that don’t seem to fit together

You cannot be yourself in different places so you become the ‘role’ you have to play.

It means being emotional and being looked down upon for being emotional
Because this world doesn't care for sensitive people and ‘feelings.’

It means you get treated like you’re dumb-doll if you’re beautiful

And getting treated like a doormat if you are simple and plain looking.

It means having to work double or triple the amount to be counted in the world

You manage your household, take care of the children and do your job as though it was the only thing you do!

It means seeing rapist after rapist let out by the courts of the land citing lack of evidence

And finding the victim was treated worse than the criminal and had to go through torture during court proceedings.  

It means managing your family single-handed when your husband is alcoholic, an addict or absent,

Having to slog day and night and still be misunderstood and have to bear the brunt for doing it alone. 

It means no matter which day it is, you have no rest – day or night, holiday or working day…

Whether you are sick or healthy, whether you are down in the dumps or not… Just cook, clean up and feed others before you care for yourself.

It means the life-partner may not be present in the family and still some will call him the ‘Head of the family,’ 

For some women it means not being in touch with your own friends and not having time to have a hobby of their own, many men on the other hand are able to go for recreational activities like playing cricket or other sports with their friends.

For some women, it means not being able to call, meet or speak to their own family members

For some others, their own family doesn't care if they are dead or alive as they think that 'She is from that family now'. 

In many places it means not getting the same wages for the same work,

And in some countries it means not having the right to decide for yourself.

I am a woman. How do I see myself?

I see myself as a human being first and then as a woman. 
It means that as a human I have intelligence, abilities, talents, dreams and desires as any man does.  

The Bible says in Genesis 1:27 "So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them." This means God created men and women as equals and both are made in 'His likeness'. God Himself makes it clear through this verse that He did not create women to be substandard or to be lesser than men in any way.

Moreover Galatians 3:28 says, "There is [now no distinction] neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Isn't it great to know this! If only everyone knew and understood this. It would change how they view women and treat them. Wouldn't it?

I believe each person is special and unique. 

A woman is not a separate species. She belongs to humankind. Human rights are applicable to everyone which means it is applicable for women too. 

Having said that let me acknowledge that there is a difference between men and women. The  difference lies in the fact that the female gender has a special role in the continuity of the race. Women give birth to children and spend a lot of time as mothers taking care of their children. This doesn't mean that men have a less important part in bringing a child into this world, the truth is that they have an equally important duty in teaching children how to live right by being a father and a good role model for them. I am happy to see that many men now take their duties and roles as fathers seriously compared to in bygone years. 

Let us stand up for women, uphold their dignity and self-respect and support them so that all women can be and become all that God the Creator created them to be. Let us also ensure that all women are treated equally.  

Free to be myself!