HeBrEwS 10:24-25

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another and all the mroe as you see the Day approaching.

Shared this verse during CG-thurs.
May we all grow to know the Love, received His Love, and to Love others as the way Jesus showed His love for us that He made Himself a sacrifice on the cross.
Amen!

Another Breakthrough again!!!

Tues-22nd Feb.
last minute was "thrown" with a pile of work...
sometimes can get so "frustrated" with so many things and time is always not ENOUGH!
however, somehow, each time, i feel so "stress" up at work.
i slipped to the toilet.
a break.
not to "eat snake".
but to do the important thing.
Pray.
pray for a peaceful heart.
a heart that will response well whilst the stress level goes up at work.
Becoz of te last minute work, couldnt be at airport to send David off back to Chile.
Kept them in prayer too....:)
The Lord watches over and always giving protection for the teams in South America.

Thurs-24th
Went off work sharp at 530pm.
Reached fairfield.
we dedicated a song to Michelle who's moving on to another group.
This is the last week with her.
i wanted to played the guitar for the first time for her.
A Common love
A Common love for each other
A common gift to the Saviour
A common bond holding us to the Lord
A common stregth when we're weary
A common hope for tmrw
A common joy in the truth of God's Word

In this family, we can meet each other's need,
We can light each one's path,
we can bear each one's grief.
As His children we can comfort each care,
we can build each one's faith
we can work we can share.

In His family all the love that we show
all the help that we give
All the life that we bestow
As HIs children
they're an offering we mkae
Not expecting return
Just a gift for His sake.

really liked this song- so blessed to have so many friends around me in this family.

The environments around us may change, but our hearts to love God and one another should not change.

Yes, yet another breakthrough.
debut in playing the guitar in UNit CG.
:)

Time Machine...

Today!
The Past and the Future.
to each, there's always a past, today, and tmrw.
what makes the difference in each person's is what did his/her past carries, what is he/she doing with Today, and what does he/she hope to acheive in the future.
just this thought came to my mind now....:)

well, bloging last week's memories....gonna be a time machine ride here....:P
Received a call from cryst, asked if i want to share a testimony on sun during service.
"ok, i'll try..."
putting down the phone, then asked myself : oh, wat i can possibly share?
each time, the testimony on sun inspires and encourage my heart a lot, now i am going to share?!
i prayed, ask God to give me some words so that i can share in a way He wanted me to.
Penned it quite smoothly, and emailed to Cryst on Wed.
the days went past-busy at work etc...
sat nite...then the reality hits.....i am not a "public speaker"....would i stammer on stage? would i forgot everything i wanted to say? would i get nervous? etc...
a few of them, guoliang, jane, june, meijuan sms me to encourage me..thank you all.
Sun morng...a bright new day.
as i walked down the usual path to Sengkang interchange from my house, i wanted so much God to be with me walking that path. oh ya...that path-one that brought me a lot of memories, my times with Him.

Then scenes of the past came to my mind.
One was a time i was sharing to a regional adults group- about half-filled auditorium.
Then came another scene of a time i was sharing at a sub-district level.
tt's not all, a time i was sharing in the unit came to my mind too.
finally i was brought back to the time i started to share in a caregroup.
my heart stilled for a moment.
God, thank YOu for being with me. Thank You for letting me realised that You will be with me where You bring me to. You do not "throw" me into a situation out of sudden that i cant handle. You always bring me through times of growth, and training me step by step.
Indeed, i felt the inner Peace within my heart.
Somehow, i knew Jesus would be with me while i am on stage. No longer i felt insecure nor lack of self-assurance.
"..let us draw near to God, with a sincere heart with full assurance of faith..." Heb 10:22

at the back stage with the church staff as they are preparing to go on stage to sing the song " a circle of friends"
a very nice song- " A circle of friends, we have One Father, a circle of friends, we share a prayer..."
this part touch my heart a lot.
indeed, this circle of friends i have in church is so very different.
we have the One Father, one Purpose, one Vision, one Spirit....tho we may be different and uniquely made. So amazing. :)
one of them asked: " oh, we have a new church staff ?" (refering to me)
Another joked: yes, in the future...
in my heart, yes Lord, when You called me to. i hope i can be used by You to help out in church.
For the lives of people matters.

i saw the "behind" scene of that sun service.
the sound team, the ushers, the stage manager, the worship team, the pastor etc....what i saw is many hearts that puts their time and talents to serve in the church. Nothing beats this kind of unity. Thank God i belong to a wonderful and beautiful church. even though each one of us are not perfect but God will change us to be perfect.

after service, many came to me to encourage me abt the testimony.
Kim, Sandy, lyndi, jane, Cryst, guangrong, zhihao, vivian, siew qin, mabel, dasmond, gavin( the other brother who shared before me on that sun), vincent, john, ps Dinah, Ps Ben....hope i can rem them all.
Thank God for emma too for praying together with me at the back stage so that i wont get too nervous. :)
i knew God worked through that testimony. It was a testimony i will remember. Coz it was a breakthrough for me to share so "assuredly" on stage in front of 500+ people.
i hope many hearts will be blessed through that.

thankful.
a breakthrough.
all glory to Him, my Father in heaven.

HeArT ToUcHed!!

just simply missed going to sun service.
seems like ages but it was only a week.....
looked forward for it...
"awaken my heart, to love and adore You o my Lord...awaken my heart, to know Your grace and to love You more each day..." song sung at the service today.
Indeed, Lord, pray that You will awaken my heart to You more each day, in every day living, to walk sensitively to Your voice!

Today, like a "school excursion" i felt like a teacher bring a bunch of "kids" out...
hee...really thankful that some of the sis/bro came to my hse for LNY visitation.
(Peiks. kim, sandy, cryst, shuwei, vivian, Guangrong, khiang keat, poy, jiawei, vinc, shiming, guoliang, bernard, john, wilson, hope i din miss out any)
some even talked with my family.
kim: thank you for listening to my dad's old stories....
vivian, poy, GR, cryst: thank you for praying together for the healing for my dad.
Wilson: thank you for "praying" silently in your own special way...:)
Sandy, Peiks: thank you for initaiting to talk with my dad. Hee, think tt time he's already tired so din talk much to you two. :)
K.K: thank you for chatting with my sis abt all the bi-tri-mara-thons!! hee, guess what, she asked me abt the "nugget" mystery you were asking abt?! ?? :P
Guoliang: hee, we wanted to give you that surprise abt your BD. see you so "ke lian" ya to make all the way here to SengKang. But really appreciated that u finally made it here. GR: u can make a good "scouts" wo ( scouting through the ulu sengkang n confusing block nos )....considering to change your eca to Scouts from your boys bridgade.? haha.
To those who came: i thank you so much. it made a lot difference at my home with the presence of you guys!
Especially the prayer you all made at my room for guoliang.
A first time that a group prayer at my home!
what amazes me was the acceptance of my family members that they "allow" us to pray!!!
WOW! Praise the Lord!
Coz never yet in my house were there prayers made in a group like this.
i thnak you all for the presence of God in my house!
and my mum actually so nice, brought the fan in for you all, thinking you all may be "hot" while praying. Hee...or maybe she thought we will pray very long?!
my sis actually came out to let us use the room.....

yet another NEW CHANGE for this year!
believe more of this to come as God contd to move within the hearts of my family members.
"....Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with your entire household." ACTS 16:31 (NLT)

after watching "constantine" and suppper at tiong bahru market...
went home...sniffing...must be the aircon at the cinema. haiz....
my sis, mum and dad... actually started asking about you all.
shall nt mention names....
sis asked abt kk, talking with her abt biathalons but never actually go for it...asking me if you r lazy person wo? hee...oh o. :p
mum asked me abt poy who talked with her, washed the bowls for her....i didnt knew this until mum told me. wo...brothers do household work le! hee.
dad asked abt kim who talked with him and patiently listening to him....
deep in my heart, i was touched because my family came to know more about this "other" family i have in church.
They saw your exemplary lives. m sure they saw God's character in your lives.

Hearts touched.
at least to me.
mine and family.
i hope yours too.

VaLEnTinE CeLeBraTioN "of a different kind"

Sat morning. Went market....aiyo...sounds like the life of a "housewife" haiz...:P
oh no, went market to find roses!
Its Valentine's day!

Went to Peiks' house. hm, a good housewife yeh. amazing to prepare all the food in such short time, together with Sandy.
Carried all those and made our way to toh tuck house.
the coffee tables nicely laid with candles. tt's kim's "style" la...:p
Peilin arrived shortly- with her warm "spanish" baked rice. Haha, had the first cup of it! tasty!
Then we came together and pray.
That the Lord will bless us with wonderful time with our friends.
Indeed He did!
We did the questionaire about friendship.
wo...some interesting discoveries about myself.
haha, i got the lowest scale for "self-sacrifice"...hm, got a lot to work on it ya!
And "sincerity" the WORD for that day....
it seems like everyone of us look for sincerity in friendship.

in this world of "back-stabbing", putting on mask. yes, tt could explains why we human beings look for what we need but lack in.
God, let this world be a better one, as we treat one another with sincerity and Love for the same kind. That through all these, friends may see Your Love in our lives!

Valentine Celebration of a different kind!
not exclusive for only two but inclusive of many good friends celebrating together!

SigNiFiCanCe TiMeS

Another time of Renuion Dinner on LNY's eve.
Steamboat, my family's regular "custom".
my mum was hesitating to tt idea for this year due to the hassle of preparation, but ultimately still gave in to the request of the "king" of the family-my father.
we talked more during this dinner more than any other normal days.
Coz we are, almost, never spent time together as a family.
Now that my brother is seldom at home because of NS.
i sense that as a family,we begin to appreciate one another more.
tho there's still "something" missing abt this renuion.

Da4 Nian2 Chu2 Yi1.
Siew Choo and zhihao-my elder brother in church came to visit me at home.
sometimes people ask me this question: can we still have lasting friendships despite in different CGs? - ( different environments?)
yes i believe so. But it takes initative and time.
I thank God for these two friends of mine. They did.
i invited my ex-caregp sis/bro to my home. and siew choo , being the more organised and faithful one, took the time to call and ask ard and arranging the common time slot. it is not easy, but i apppreciated tt effort so much.
they came, talked with my mum and family.
and i "slipped" out with them to rivervale plaza and had "KFC" haha, depsite my mum cooked lunch for us. :P
Had such good time with them talking about our lives and catching up with what we are going to do etc...
da4 ge1: hm, may you find your last tenth "stroke" so that i can start planning for your wedding decor ya!! :) hee.

And on 2nd day, received surprised call form Shuxuan that she's ard the area and wanting to drop by my hse.
Had such good time talking with her too!
recalling all the good old days, when i took the long journey bus969 to meet her up at sembawang when i was staying in bedok. Enjoying the times with her and encouraging one another to grow in the Lord.
Shuxuan: what amazes me by the words you said when u are facing changes in your life.
Indeed, you've grown to be a stronger person and one whom i can see you growing in the trust in God.
Things may be gonna be tough but i pray that you will stand firm and that your faith be refined more and more as you take up the challenges of the new changes in your life.

Oh yes, and so nice to meet up with my cousin, eunice (6yrs) and my nephew,jordan ( 3yrs)
little children. How sweet they are when they show forth a childlikeness through the words and actions they say or do.
Showed him a taxi model i got from my company, immediately he said: toyota!
hey, at his age, who would know the type of cars?! so amazing how the little mind of his can be!
that reminds me of stg:
"Dont let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you teach, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity." _1 Tim 4:12 (NLT)

God, let my life be an example to all those who are around and in my life, that we may all grow in love for one another , in our faith and purity towards You and people, and we would be what we preach from Your word. Give me grace to help and grow me.

Though this new year is only 2 days of GOOD rest and ZzZzz , but appreciate every moments of it.
not just abt the quantity of time but the significance of time spent!

SpArKs in e StArRy nIgHt

1 day before Lunar New Year's eve.
a surprise "meet up" over msn with a long-time friend-zhaotan.
He's back from London for a week...
So just gathered a few of us-badminton team in JC for renuion dinner.
haiz...in the end, i was "stuck" with 3 guys. all the gals seem to be busy.
And even our coach-mr ng is now busy with his newborn baby boy...

Renuion.
a time of gathering.
how many gatherings can there be within these few days?
for me, it'll be good time for me to get rest and spending sometime on my own.
personally.
when i start to think of the people i would want to meet up, come faces of my schooling times, in church etc...even my own sibling.
it'll take some time for now for those gatherings to happen.

i am already thankful i can make time for this friend who always initiates to meet up with us.
i rem the last time over msn, how he shares his morning cycling brought him to be thankful to God in all the things in his life.
i wonder who is God to him now......Does God become closer to him now? Does he sometimes think about God's love? God, i hope he did.
Over dinner with 3 of them, it was enjoyable. talking about the past and even just catching up with one another's lives.
Sitting there, immersing into the conversations. i felt we have all grown. yet, there are still some hints of our "childish" personality.
God, i wonder, would they someday in this near future come to experience You and Your love? i pray for them that they would find You.

As we were enjoying the dinner, there were sudden "SPARKS" in the starry night.
FIREWORKS!!
what a surprise! we were all in awe. Very thankful for the pleasant surprise.
Imgaine sitting at Marina Food court, overseeing the esplanade, and the beautiful multi-colours just sparks off contiunously.
a memorable eve of Lunar New year 2005.

-Panda/Owl: (zoo gang) and i think plus a fish now. Haha. This would be my adhoc post. :p

Puzzling thoughts

eyes almost closing now.
had a long day but very memorable one.
but i had to be "consistent" so m here putting up my weekly post.
Hee.

this whole week had been blessed in many areas!
first was a mobile hp from sandy.
it was very unexpected.
i still have sentiments with my old one though....
one that has gone through "thick and thin" with me since i first got a hp.
hm, tt's about more than 4yrs now.
it was a hp that carries more than just calls and message.
it bridges many relationships with the people i know.
the communication that brings joy and also pain....=)
Hope this "new change" will refresh the joys more than pain...hee.
Yes, another change for this year!

Sandy: many thks! really. i was not "prepared" to accept and in fact after taking it, i went back home and "didnt" feel good about receiving it....its not just abt paisey...:) Somehow deep in my heart i cldnot figure out why the "not good" feelings come about. But i thank God, you shared with me on thurs nite about what you also learnt in giving the hp to me.

And whats even unexpected was poy actually offered to bless me ( or rather my family) with his unused monitor.
Poy: Lots thks to you too! u always so giving, that i also had the "not good" feeling about accepting it.
Not just that, on last sun, i recd a nian gao from siew qin which she wanted to give to my parents.
Then my "gege" -zhihao gave me a book to read....
And also Ps lawrence gave all the careleaders a gift of magnetic stand.
i am very touched by the thoughts already! Indeed, i felt so blessed.

Yet deep down, there's this thing keep "bothering" me, the not good feeling abt accepting.
then it came to me....
revealing the puzzling thoughts.
It's all about God's grace.

i felt not good about accepting the gifts because i felt i dont deserve it.
all along, the logical mind says: recd from what you work for.
it seems illogical to recd something just like tt.
freely given?
hard to accept.
But God reminded me once again.
His grace is like tt.
We dont deserve His forgiveness, no matter how much we worked hard to "redeem" ourselves,
we can never earn enough.
God's grace is given freely. His hand is stretched out to us already. It only requires faith in Him to take hold of Him. No matter how much we try to analyse Him, we can know Him only to the human extent, yet when coupled with faith in Him, we can see far better and know Him personally and experienceing His presence.
Grace is never understood by mere intellect searching nor knowledge.
It is a gift from God.

it is hard to accept His grace coz we are always influenced by thoughts that says we need to do something to earn his grace, or to have certain extent knowledge.
i am no exception. i think likewise sometimes.

But i thank God, tt He reveals to me now.
through the gifts i recd from sandy, poy, siew qin, Ps law, zhihao..etc.
i understood His grace better.
i understood why i had all those "not good" feelings.
His grace bless and we will gladly recd.

It is more blessed to give than to received.
To give is to be like Jesus, He gave His life.
To receive is to taste God' grace, He gave though we dont deserved it.

God indeed provides all the needs in my life. All by His grace.

Today - Sat, 5/2/05
We went trek walk today. Cryst, Guangwei, Bernard, Jingyu, Ian, Mus, Jane.
started walking about near 10am....
had fun just enjoy the nature, monkeys, trees....and talking with them.
along the path, actually saw a miniature "waterfall" heehaa, very mini. all of us just laughed at the size of it. :) But a good discovery of bt Timah.
Got t know a new fren today, mus. A fun and easy-going guy.
remembered there was at a junction. Guangwei asked us which route we opt for.
One we saw was a steeply built-in steps up to the summit. Another a relatively smooth going pathway.
We choose the "deceptive" smooth going pathway.
Oh no! A wrong decision.
along the path, we had even to use all our 4limbs to get up.
And it is really tiring.
at the end of it, we finally reached the summit!
but this time round, it was a more satisfying "conquer" coz after so mcuh HARD WALK.

As we settled down at the foot, we just talked and talked. Laughing about our experience at work. about knowing one another...etc. Loved the time out from our work to be near the nature.
i remembering sharing that the first few months of my job, i had memorable experience with a debtor in my Company. calling him was so stressful, he even scolded me over phone unitl i do not know how to handle but just cried. So silly memories. Yet these are good lessons to learn and builds up my personal growth.
Though times at work can be tough but really appreciate the learning process.

then after that, we went exploring....
saw the quarry....so nice!!!
hm, too bad no one brought a camera. :(
then we discovered a interesting area where there's miniature hanging bridge, netted path, tripod-like structure....
hm, first time saw these at bt Timah.
There's more than just a hill.
hope to go there again...
so those who miss this trip, look forward ya for the upcoming one, ok?! ;p

went dinner at "outsider cafe" where june's working.
Had good time with cryst, vincent, kim, sandy, paulin.....
and our ah june, so cute. Serving us knife and fork for our spagetti.....hee!!!

Strolling down the road nearer tanglin mall....at orchard.
The night is windy. feww people walking.
just simply wonderful to have this slow walk.
then they went for KTV. i was so very tired, decided to walk to doby ghaut mrt.....
as i walked alone in the midst of crowds of shoppers along orchard road and somerset....
a song came to my mind......

You laid aside Your majesty
Gave up everything for me
suffered at the hands of those YOu have created
You took all my guilt and shame
When You died and rose again
Now today You reign, in heaven and earth exalted

i really want to worship You, my LOrd
You have won my heart and i m yours.
Forever and ever, i will love You.

You are the only one who died for me
gave your life to set me free.
so i life my voice to You
in adoration.

a song that tells God's love. Jesus' act of love. It touched my heart just now. to know that i am loved always. To know that Someone died for me.

may every song lifts up the souls of our lives to realize that there's love and hope from God.