Hey friends
It has been a while since I updated
anything. I have been quite busy. I hope that you have been well. One of the reasons as to why I set up this
blog is to share my thoughts and experiences with you guys. It seems I haven’t
been doing quite a good job, have I? I guess things will have to change.
There is something that has been on my
mind for the past few months. As some of
you know, I really love music. I think the word love is the best that I could
find to describe this my feelings towards this beautiful language that God has
given us: Music. For me singing has been my passion since primary school. I recall
how I would imitate famous musicians and sing along with them. It was fun. It was
effortless and enjoyable. It’s funny how memorizing the lyrics to a whole song
took quite a short time. Getting the tunes was even easier. However, for a long
time, I ignored this great gift that is in me. In class 5 I literally ran away
from the school choir for two years, despite great persistence by the choir
mistress, the late Miss Ogao. She was really on my case, especially since my
elder siblings, Mwangi and Wangari, had been active participants under her
leadership. They had even represented the school at the national level. My efforts
to shun Choir were not fruitful, and I eventually became an alto then a tenor. It
is at this point that I just have to clarify this: I DIDN’T LIKE ALTO ONE
BIT!!! No offence to any altos. Strange thing, I really enjoyed singing in the
choir during my last two years in primary school. I made friends(even with Miss
Ogao), travelled a lot and even grew in my gift of music.
Then came high school. That’s when
things really changed, for the better. I got a lot of exposure to new music like Acappella, Plus
One, Commissioned and many more. To be quite honest, before this time, I wasn’t
such a fan of gospel music. I only knew the songs we sang in church, Chico and
Brenda and the few songs we had heard on an audio tape my mum had, a tape that I
recorded over using a radio we heard at the time. Otherwise, I enjoyed listening to secular artists like Boyz
to Men, Usher, Westlife and Backstreet Boys. Therefore , high school was the
beginning of a good change for me. My gift grew as I started writing my own
songs, which I sang a lot in the showers at 4:15 am, while walking, in class,
in church, during CU. Music became a very big part of me. In campus, it was all
about going higher in my talent and going deeper in my relationship with
Christ. through guys like Chester Kolek, John Musyimi, Mwaka Mutsumi, Eric
Gichuri, Benson Karimi, George Murichu, Mercy Mule and many more, I grew a lot in
these two aspects. They took time to teach me and share with me what they have
learnt over the years, as well as they vast music collections, which have been
a source of great encouragement to this very day. How can I foreget my dear
cousin Ndung’u aka NDOUSCH, who gave me
one of the greatest gifts ever: the Acappella discography(20 albums from 1985
to 2006). Be blest sana!!
However, I suffered a big blow in 2011
when my vocal chords were damaged. It was the most trying time for me. I couldn’t
do the thing that I loved most. Little did
I know that this was a chance for me to
slow down and go even deeper in my relationship with the Lord. I learnt a lot during
my time-out. The lessons are invaluable. As of now, I still can’t sing as I used
to, but I’m improving slow.ly. I went back to songwriting, this time with more
understanding.
I wrote this to encourage someone who
has a gift but is not using it, and also to someone who is using their gift to
keep using it to glorify God. I could have given up on singing in 2011, but I believe
that God is not done with me just yet. I have a dream that one day I will
travel to the nations and sing of this gospel that has changed my life forever.
I want to share with you the lyrics to
my most recent song and I hope that the message, by God’s power, will ignite a
passion in you to use the gift that our Father placed in you.
YOU SHOULD KNOW
Allow me to ask a simple question
And I hope that you will reply
Why does this life have this
progression?
You go to school, work, marry, get
kids then just die?
Or is all that we’re living for
Chasing after worldly pleasures,
Especially the ‘doe’
Deep inside, I know this one thing
There is certainly more than what I can
see
CHORUS
There is more
To this life than what we can see with our
eyes
There is more
Than chasing after the desires of life
You should know
Our greatest treasure is Christ Jesus the Lord
You should know
He is the reason for this life
Oh yes! You should know
It saddens me what we have made to be
What everyone calls Christianity
It has become some other activity
When it’s supposed to define our
identity
Do we know
That we are aliens and strangers here?
We should live
Our lives in holiness and reverent
fear of the Lord
This world will pass away
But the Word of God will always remain
(Bridge)
You should know
All men have sinned , fallen short of
the glory of God
You should know
The wage of sin is death, thus says
the Word
You should know
For we like sheep have all gone astray
You should know
God couldn’t stand the distance, He made
a way
You should know
For God so loved the world He gave us
His Son
You should know
To redeem us to Himself and make us
one
You should know
This is the miracle for you and me
You should know
Oh it’s not fiction, IT’S REALITY
(You should know, You should know, You
should know
The love of God
You should know) x3
You should know!
