Antechamber
Overture
Chloe Tan Yi Xiang
Sophia Huang
Grace Toh Wai Yan
Phyllis Wong Y. K.
Sophia Huang
Contributor Biography
Chosen and bought with a price, Sophia finds her true identity and worth in Jesus. She has been set apart and is continually being transformed into His likeness. On this side of eternity, she struggles to make sense of God’s purpose for suffering in her life. Sophia seeks to reflect God’s glory and beauty in her calling as a children’s book author, copy editor and mother of three.
Grace Toh Wai Yan
Contributor Biography
Grace Toh Wai Yan loves savouring and smithing words, especially when
they are used meaningfully or humorously. To that end, she serves in a Christian organisation, documenting policies and procedures that enable
the ministry of the church.
Prelude to a Silent Night
“I will lighten your load,” He said,
Still, worries ricochet around in my head:
When will I know? How will it be?
What is the future that I cannot see?
My soul trudges on, weary to death,
Unsure that I have enough energy left.
“How long, O Lord?” as the tears wend their way.
“How long?” wrings the silent cry both night and day.
And then came the answer, on a midnight clear:
“I will do for you what I’ve said; you need not fear.”
Still reluctant to let go my worries, I asked:
“What do you need from me to accomplish this task?”
“Be still, and know,” He softly replied,
“Just be still, let Me, and let go of your pride.”
So I prised open fingers, relaxed my hold,
Gave it up as I would myrrh, incense, and gold.
No angelic pronouncement, no earth-shattering peace;
Just the gentle caress of a blanketing fleece.
So I lay down my head, as the Saviour’s on hay,
With His whisper: “Dear child, simply trust and obey.”
Phyllis Wong Y. K.
Contributor Biography
Phyllis Wong Y. K. grew up “eating” books. Her occupations had nothing to do with words. Instead, she worked as an accountant, morphed into a social worker. In solitude, Phyllis expresses her relationship with God in the day to day. She writes so that you may know: God loves. He is present. Always.
Joy in the Journey
—a song of release to walk and work with Grace
There is a joy in my journey,
A joy received with each drink.
This joy, my Lord, pours for me,
Restores His peace to the brim.
There is a joy in my journey,
As I walk with Him who stills.
His joy, my Lord, pours for me,
My voice is no longer shrill.
There is a joy in our journey,
Each time I'm pushed to the brink.
Sweet joy my Beloved freely gives,
My cup o’er flows from the brim.
There is His joy in our journey,
Light on Perfect Love revealed.
Walking, I sing my story,
His Word to us unconcealed.
Chloe Tan Yi Xiang
Contributor Biography
Full-time dreamer, part-time writer, Chloe Tan Yi Xiang enjoys prospecting insights from the mind's endless stream of consciousness, and delights in ascending flights of fancy conceived from unlikely sources of inspiration.
She writes to invoke contemplation and wonder, hoping her works transport readers between the shifting boundaries of fantasy and transient realities.
ASSEMBLY
The milieu is assembled as dawn harks
The cicadas shrill amidst singing larks
Nature’s ode to joy in massed sound
Rises above the resplendent crowns
Of nodding giants, that offer succor,
Shelter, shade, and stay, all linger
Ah, that many hued splendour
As Man stands in quiet rapture
Mending hurts, he drinks in
Nature’s most glorious scenes
This panacea to the modern psyche
This perfection of pristine Nature
Truly the work of Divine Wonder
PRAISE
His noble profile draws me near
But I cry when I see what they have done
Oh blessed son and prince so dear
Who bore our terrible sins
In despair I utter his name
No matter the sin or wicked deed
He responds all the same
With mercy and love, a love so sweet
I could almost feel his embrace around me
Comforting me, covering me, so great is he
“Don’t be afraid for You are Mine”
All hurts he mends, all grudges soothe
Oh how great his love encompassing
Oh verily verily so is he King
His Compassion everlasting
Author's Note:
God’s presence is always with us. Sometimes a shadow, sometimes a guiding hand. We see his footsteps everywhere, and his connexions are manifold.
However, humans are fallible. We often do not follow Christ, to our detriment.
Yet, how in our defiance have we inflicted spiritual wounds upon ourselves?
