Are you having a bad day? In need of a little pick me up? Or just want to listen to something sweet? I randomly remembered 3 words of this song then found it on YouTube, and I’ve basically been listening to it on repeat this morning.
This song is soooo cute!!
It’s called “A Little Sweet” by Wang Sulong and it’s shot straight to the top of my Songs of the Month playlist. It’s just so cheerful and adorable, and so I really wanted to share it with you because no matter where we are we can all do with a little more joy in our lives.
Music has a way of affecting our moods dramatically, so while Taylor is still a treat to listen to, I’m a little over the summer blues and wistful nostalgia for now. My favourite Chinese artist, JJ Lin, also released some new songs recently so you’ll probably see more Chinese songs on the list this month!
Anyways, here are the lyrics in Simplified Chinese (you can find the Traditional lyrics in the video description as well as the video itself) and my translation. It’s in the format of a conversation between a couple so I’ve also added who’s singing, otherwise it won’t make as much sense:
You have probably heard: Taylor Swift suddenly dropped a new album this week and the world wasn’t ready for it. I was casually scrolling through Instagram on Thursday and saw her announcement and, well, forgot to breathe for a second for how excited I was haha.
She uploaded the entire album onto her YouTube page yesterday and I spent the day listening to it on repeat. And, thanks to Taylor, my site now has a “Songs of the Month” widget on the sidebar haha. That’s right, I created a “Songs of the Month” playlist in her honour and will be updating it semi-regularly with what I’m listening to these days. Feel free to play it as you’re reading my posts!
The link to the playlist is here, if you just want to check it out on YouTube (this will avoid the songs cutting out if you navigate to a different page on my site as well). You’ll notice that the majority of songs on the playlist are from the “folklore” album. In fact, currently it’s just the entire “folklore” album plus this video by Nomadic Ambience. It’s been a while since I’ve liked one of her albums this much, and it’s a refreshing change from her last two releases.
I actually made a cover of this song because I wanted to use it as relaxing background music for a video at a later date, but also I do like doing worship song covers that I can listen back on too.
Eventually I hope to have enough relaxing covers for worship songs that I’ll be able to put together a playlist that I can personally listen to when I’m working or reading or for quiet time. Hope you enjoy to :)
I really got into recording more for YouTube. Realising that I somehow gained an audience of over 1.3k subscribers over the past decade while trying to figure out how I can do my part to share the gospel in this time of quarantine has led me to feel convicted to use it as a platform to do just that.
I don’t know if anything will come of it, or if it’ll even serve its intended purpose, but at the very least it gives Jacky and I more opportunities to worship together, while also giving me something to upload with a faith angle behind it.
I am rarely vocal about my faith online outside of my blog – shame on me – so, God willing, I think it’s time to change that.
Circumstances are really difficult right now for many people. I’m coming to realise that I’m one of the (fewer?) lucky ones who have really found rest, restoration, peace and joy during it. God has been very gracious to us in providing everything we need, and we are blessed that Jacky still has a job and income to support us both. I live in comfort and privilege and I am becoming ever more aware and grateful for it (though may I also be wary of the dangers of idolatry that come with it).
However, regardless of circumstance, it is always a good time to come before the throne of God above and worship Him, to bring our struggles, our desires, our darkness, sins and despair to the feet of Jesus — and remember just how good our God is.
No matter what, we who are trusting in Jesus have a great hope: that the sinless Great High Priest has indeed died for our sins and saved us from the wrath of God that was rightly due to us, and He is alive today! He is risen, death is defeated, and He lavishes grace upon grace over us by granting us eternal life and, one day, eternal glory with Him.
This life is not all that we have. In this life, may we be grow in spiritual maturity, ever more conformed to the image of Christ, to live out a life that glorifies Him. And through it all, may we not falter in our hope of eternity with Him, not forgetting that one day, we will stand before the throne of God in Heaven, in the New Jerusalem, where we will reign with Christ; there will be no more tears, no more sorrow, no more pain, no more death. No COVID-19s, no need for vaccinations… all things will be made new.
That is what we hope in, and Jesus’ death and resurrection proved His authority as God, His authority to bring all these things to pass, and that His promises will never fail. Our hope is in Jesus, not in this world. So let us not grow faint or weary, or fearful, but let us cast our anxieties onto Him who grants everlasting peace. And now, more than ever, may Philippians 1:21 ring true:
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Philippians 1:21, ESV
Filming this song made me realise just hoooow out of tune I am when I try to play and sing at the same time. Sigh. I don’t like my singing voice in general, but this one really highlights how shrill my voice sounds. Nevertheless, I hope it can be of encouragement for others who also don’t have a perfect singing voice – worship is from the heart, to our Lord, and as long as that is fulfilled, He is pleased.
(I do feel sorry for the listeners though, sorry. I cannot promise I’ll succeed, but I will still strive to improve!)
It’s been forever since I posted a YouTube video, but since we’re all at home, it’s really given me time to work on things that I used to love but came to neglect in favour of school, Uni, work, life.
Square Enix released their remake of Final Fantasy VII and it just totally reminded me of my favourite song from there. 11 years since my last cover, I wanted to film an updated one – hopefully with a little more skill in me now so I can do the beauty of the melody some justice.
Before that, though, I need to re-learn and really practice this thing! The goal is to finally be able to play it without errors, but the chances of that happening very soon are slim to none… so a preview will have to do for now.
Edit: my friend, Daniel, created the professional title overlay and sent it to me! Some people are just super talented, right?
