Adriel's Music Notes

This site is dedicated to chronicling my music writing journey. Posts include personal thoughts, stories behind songs with links to listen and download these songs for free.

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The 4 Year Mark

October 24, 2016 by Adriel 2 Comments

KIRMPlain

4 years ago my life changed overnight.

I went to bed normal.

I woke up in the middle of the night and I was never the same.

As I reflect on the desperate months following in which my health would plummet to a critical point, I can finally face the memories, the losses, the guilt, the grief, and the pain that has haunted me for so long and face it with hope, with courage, with security, and with joy. And most importantly, with God. He has been unfailingly faithful, always constant, unchanging, and ever present.

4 years.

In some ways, these past 4 years have gone by achingly slow, but in other ways, it feels like it was just a few months ago that this nightmare-turned-journey-with-God began. I won’t lie to you. Every inch of ground gained has been fought for. Every day has been a battle. And no, I haven’t fought the best or been the greatest soldier. I’ve had my share of bad days, miserable days, days when I didn’t make the choices I should have made, days when I just didn’t try very hard, days that I wish I could do over, days I felt stuck, days when I’d cry and tell God I was tired of fighting, that it was too hard, that I couldn’t keep going.

But not every day has ended in defeat, and although this has been the most difficult period of time in my life so far, I’ve had many good days as well, and that’s not because I’m good, it’s because God is so good. God never stopped being good, He never let me quit, and He never gave up on me during this time of refinement in which He did a lot of molding, changing, and renewing. God has brought me so far.

mountain-quote

I can say without hesitation that I am not the woman I was 4 years ago. I am a very different person. What I’ve walked through has changed me and even though I’m still adjusting to living without aspects of who I used to be, like living without a limb, there were so many detrimental things about the woman I was 4 years ago, that I’m glad I’m not her any more.

I’ve sensed for a few months now that this specific chapter of my life is coming to a close and a new season is beginning. It is hard to say goodbye to this chapter in some respects and it has been bittersweet. This chapter has refined me, changed me, and redefined me in ways no other chapter in my life has. It holds some of the most challenging, painful, and difficult moments in my life that have made me more confident and secure in my relationship with Christ, more aware of others’ needs and suffering, more willing to be transparent and real, and (hopefully) more like Christ. This precious time unearthed many treasures that I will be taking with me into the next season of life. While I am sad in some ways, I am also relieved to have closure, to move on, and to embark on yet a different part of my walk with Christ that holds more precious discoveries for me.

pathway-quote-every-step

When the new year begins, I plan on sharing a new project with you that has been on my heart for the past 2 years. I’ve talked about sharing it for awhile, but I haven’t been ready and things just kept standing in the way. This project is called “When I Look Back: The Journey” and I will be sharing the songs I wrote during my travels through this part of my journey that is coming to a close. In the meantime, I will be sharing journal entries from that time, revisiting old posts, and sharing new stuff as well. I’m looking forward to the new year and sharing the special, precious songs and insights God blessed me with along the way.

I will be back soon to share more with you!

Moving forward,

Adriel

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“God With Us” – A Christmas Song

December 25, 2015 by Adriel Leave a Comment

Late 2014, I had an overwhelming desire to write a Christmas song. It’s interesting how you go into a composition in one regard not knowing what the end result will look like. On the other hand, there are also expectations you have and more times than not, it turns out being so different than you had imagined. This song was a combination of the two and began from the simple thought of Jesus as a baby and those little hands and feet one day having nails being driven through them. It was a painful picture that was painted in my mind when I thought of it, but I also realized that is the reality.

And so from that thought, other parallels began emerging until finally there was a completed song. It’s a Christmas song that is not jolly or happy, but rather thoughtful and poignant, but also has that element of hope in it because of who Jesus was/is and what He would accomplish in coming to our world as a fragile infant.

We think of babies being innocent, and in a sense, they are. They haven’t known the pain or depth of sinfulness that is in this world, but we also know from scripture that they are “sinful at birth” (Ps. 51:5). But here was Jesus Christ, who was in every sense of the word, innocent. No sin or deceit was found in Him. I think it’s a mercy Mary didn’t know what would happen to her Son in the end. I can’t imagine being a mother holding my sweet baby and thinking about what their tiny, delicate body would endure as an adult as the Savior of the world.

But as believers, we have that aspect of knowing Who Christ the Lord was as a baby and what that meant for Him in later in His life. The celebration of Christ’s birth is very, very special, but it’s just the beginning of the story of our Savior’s life here on earth. Jesus was born to die, but His death would mean our freedom and liberty from sin and eternal life everlasting with the Father. What a miracle!

Rejoicing in the Lord!
Adriel

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I'm Adriel Hong and I am a child of God and believer in Jesus Christ. I'm also a wife, a homeschool mom, and a Christian singer/songwriter.

I'd like to welcome you to my music notes, a little corner of cyberspace where I share my songwriting journey, which includes free music, stories behind the songs, personal testimonies, music videos, and my musings. I pray that God would bless you and encourage you through this site and the songs that I am privileged to write down for Him. Check out my blog posts, listen to music, watch a video, or just poke around to make your own discoveries! Thanks for visiting and have a very blessed day! =)

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The 4 Year Mark

The 4 Year Mark

4 years ago my life changed overnight. I went to bed normal. I woke up in the middle of the night and I was never the same. As I reflect on the desperate months following in which my health would plummet to a critical point, I can finally face the memories, the losses, the guilt, […]

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