Really Cool! (LOL) LOVES THE LORD! in-line skating blogging IMing singing and more
Really Boo! (LOL) HATES satan! Dislikes eatingcelery&ginger pilesofhomework and more
Really Drool! (LOL) Hillsong CD iPodwirelessamplifier ZIGs&Tiera&Souffle&Aqualip&Popart and MANYMANYMORE
It's been some time on this blog. It's a visible change. I mean, you can check out the oldest posts on this blog, or even the really gross/icky ones in the OLDER blog... Under links (me) God's been good! And, I think it's time to move, and write into a new season(:
Rick Warren (REMEMBER HE WROTE "PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE" ) You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having "wealth" from the book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren, "Purpose Driven Life " author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California. In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said: People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven. One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me. I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity. We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense. Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort. God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy. We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness. This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer. I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore. Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life. No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on. And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for. You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems. If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness,"which is my problem, my issues, my pain." But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others. We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her. It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people. You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life. Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy. It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease. So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72. First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases. Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church. Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation. Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free. We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity? Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)? When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human beings, not human doings. Happy moments, PRAISE GOD. Difficult moments, SEEK GOD. Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD. Painful moments, TRUST GOD. Every moment, THANK GOD. The only person who could get all his work done by Friday was Robinson Crusoe.
So long into the year, and somehow... I'm still learning to be single-minded about God. Not to want to be single-minded, think of being single-minded, talking or hearing about it. But, to BE. Can't let go is next week. I'm gonna write down ALL my fantastic expectations! And I'm gonna believe that God will meet those expectations, just like He did before. Actually, 1st quarter worship experience is... A memory... From last year. Although camp gave me breakthrough, worship experience.. (it was called... No greater love... If I'm not wrong) and it was my step to action. Breakthrough can happen in the attitude, and a hunger and passion can arise, but these things get worn down when there's no action and things go back to normal! Somehow "No greater love" gave me that 'push' I needed to bring my relationship with God to the next level. And I'm definitely praying hard more! (: God bless ;D
I'm not going to tell my parents stuff that are highly personal unless I have to. Not because I don't like them- I DO. I already said, "I DON'T KNOW!" So tough not to write details. Thank God for LJ to rant about everything and not get read (: Anyway...
Chorus 1 No eye has seen no ear has heard The good that the Lord has prepared For those who wait on Him To hear His voice I am the Potter and you are the clay
Chorus 2 No eye has seen no ear has heard The goodness that I have prepared For you who wait on Me To hear My voice I am the Potter And you are the clay
Verse 1 Jesus take me in Your hand And make me all that You want me to be Jesus help me understand my purpose And what You can do through me Fulfilling my destiny
Verse 2 Let Me take you in My hands And make you all that I want you to be I will help you understand your purpose And what you will do in Me Fulfilling your destiny
Looking back, I have just so much to thank God for. Some how I feel that I should write about the promises of God that always hold true, and how we should claim them and believe in faith. I have a personal experience to share but I just don't feel like telling them. Remember the last year after I signed up for SP class? I signed up with no expectations. I intended to pick up some skills, grow to a new level, and basically learn how to SALT to people and all that... But shortly after that, at service.. Anyway, I don't even feel like saying it here, although it's really supposed to be good! I don't know what's up with me. Maybe because I sense God revealing His future plans for me. And it's unconventional, and scary. Unbelievable too. I'm really not sure either.. Anyway, for ALLSTARS email and for this, yea I'll be praying. Gosh, why are the 9487891208934732895728957 things in my life now? Some good. Some stressful. Some time-consuming. Some bad.
Busy today! Had my SP interview yesterday! Wasn't that scary la, I thought it would be worse!
PGC told me to go get a planner to plan my time. And to be more detailed. And not to impose my ideas on others, as a leader. Just some advice. Because he thinks these might be applicable to me. I agree with him. Mind-reading! O:
Told him about the worship min stuffs because I was talking about school, MEP and he said I should go join worship min. Haha. It was decided that I would mug hard and do well and give them confidence. Haha (: That's the gist of it.
CHEM PT! I started today, haha. Oh well. Less than 1/4 done! BYE!
God's been good. Dry period, and in the midst of that, SP empowerment. It was amazing. And God's presence was so, so tangible. I wouldn't say life has been a bed of roses since though! In fact, quite the opposite. Obstacles remain; they come one after another, no break in between. Today was a bad day because of a bad misunderstanding. It was a 'personal' thing which is worse. Worse still, it wasn't true. Oh well. Really praying hard for favour from the Lord! BUSYBUSYBUSY. So much to do, so little time!
The DIFFERENCE Dedicated to my philosophy classmates, with whom I have only recently learnt the concept that a flawed premises that leads to a flawed argument ;D
Science and God 'Let me explain the problem science has with Jesus Christ.' The atheistprofessor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of hisnew students to stand. 'You're a Christian, aren't you, son?' 'Yes sir,' the student says. 'So you believe in God?' 'Absolutely.' 'Is God good?' 'Sure! God's good.' 'Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?' 'Yes.' 'Are you good or evil?' 'The Bible says I'm evil.' The professor grins knowingly. 'Aha! The Bible!' He considers for amoment.'Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and youcan cure him. You can do it. Would you help him? Would you try?' 'Yes sir, I would.' 'So you're good...!' 'I wouldn't say that.' 'But why not say that? You'd help a sick and maimed person ifyou could. Most of us would if we could. But God doesn't.' The student does not answer, so the professor continues. 'Hedoesn't, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer, eventhough he prayed to Jesus to heal him How is this Jesus good? Hmmm? Can you answer that one?' The student remains silent.'No, you can't, can you?' the professor says. He takes a sip ofwater from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax. 'Let's start again, young fella Is God good?' 'Er...yes,' the student says. 'Is Satan good?' The student doesn't hesitate on this one. 'No.' 'Then where does Satan come from?' The student : 'From...God...' 'That's right. God made Satan, didn't he? Tell me, son. Is thereevil in this world?' 'Yes, sir.' 'Evil's everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything,correct?' 'Yes.''So who created evil?' The professor continued, 'If God createdeverything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the principle that our works define who we are, then God is evil.' Without allowing the student to answer, the professor continues:'Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things, do they exist in this world?' The student: 'Yes.''So who created them?' The student does not answer again, so the professor repeats hisquestion. 'Who created them? There is still no answer. Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace in front of the classroom. The class ismesmerized. 'Tell me,' he continues onto another student. 'Do you believe inJesus Christ, son?' The student's voice is confident: 'Yes, professor, I do.' The old man stops pacing. 'Science says you have five senses youuse to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seenJesus?' 'No sir. I've never seen Him' 'Then tell us if you've ever heard your Jesus?' 'No, sir, I have not.' 'Have you ever actually felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus orsmelt your Jesus? Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ, or God for that matter?' 'No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't.' 'Yet you still believe in him?' 'Yes.' 'According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn't exist. What do you say to that,son?' 'Nothing,' the student replies. 'I only have my faith.' 'Yes, faith,' the professor repeats. 'And that is the problem science has with God. There is no evidence, only faith.' The student stands quietly for a moment, before asking aquestion of his own. 'Professor, is there such thing as heat?' 'Yes,' the professor replies. 'There's heat.' 'And is there such a thing as cold?' 'Yes, son, there's cold too.' 'No sir, there isn't.' The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested.The room suddenly becomes very quiet. The student begins to explain.'You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat,mega-heat, unlimited heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat, but wedon't have anything called 'cold'. We can hit up to 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There isno such thing as cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than thelowest -458 degrees. Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter haveor transmit energy. Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of heat.You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal unitsbecause heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just theabsence of it.' Silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom, sounding like a hammer. 'What about darkness, professor. Is there such a thing asdarkness?' 'Yes,' the professor replies without hesitation. 'What is nightif it isn't darkness?' 'You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is theabsence of something. You can have low light, normal light, brightlight, flashing light, but if you have no light constantly you haveNothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? That's the meaning we use todefine the word. In reality, darkness isn't. If it were, you would be ableto make darkness darker, wouldn't you?'The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him.This will be a good semester. 'So what point are you making, young man?' 'Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed.' The professor's face cannot hide his surprise this time.'Flawed? Can you explain how?' 'You are working on the premise of duality,' the student explains. 'You argue that there is life and then there's death; a goodGod and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as somethingfinite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, muchless fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of lifeis to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it.' 'Now tell me, professor. Do you teach your students that theyevolved from a monkey?' 'If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, yes, of course I do' 'Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?' The professor begins to shake his head, still smiling, as herealizes where the argument is going. A very good semester, indeed. 'Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at workand cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are younot teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a preacher?' The class is in uproar. The student remains silent until theCommotion has subsided. 'To continue the point you were making earlier to the otherstudent, let me give you an example of what I mean.' The student looks around the room. 'Is there anyone in the classwho has ever seen the professor's brain?' The class breaks out intolaughter. 'Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain, felt the professor's brain, touched, smelled or tasted the professor's brain? Noone appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules ofempirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, with all due respect, sir. So if science says you have no brain,how can we trust your lectures, sir?' Now the room is silent. The professor just stares at thestudent, his face unreadable.Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man answers. 'Iguess you'll have to take them on faith.' 'Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith existswith life,' the student continues. 'Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?' Now uncertain, the professor responds, 'Of course, there is. Wesee it everyday. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man.It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil.' To this the student replied, 'Evil does not exist sir, or atleast it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God.It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God.God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens whenman does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the coldthat comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light.' Silenced, the professor sat down.
Gosh, super busy for cantata! Need to return everyday morning to evening Monday to Saturday! Okay, nearly. COME AND SUPPORT! I'll be a pig. You'll see me in costume singing and being retarded. It's worth your $4 (: Went for adult service today. Sermon about prayer. Spoke to me about why sometimes my passion for God doesn't go anywhere; I haven't been living a very prayerful life. I pray, daily and all, but... Not very much, I guess. And it struck me that this year my passion and hunger for God has been going down. I just noticed. And during the sermon (I wasn't entirely listening but received other revelations!), I remembered my emails to the allstars; the second was about HUNGER for God. It just struck me so hard that the reason why God is putting me through all this lack of hunger and passion through this season of so much testing is because it is how I will then be able to understand my SBs, to guide them along. I even remember catching myself thinking: if they don't have a hunger, I can't do anything. I was kind of... Saying it as though it was all their fault. I guess the amount of hunger we have for God depends on us, but sometimes it's possible to want to hunger, yet not hunger in reality. And this is really my greatest takeaway thus far. That beyond just trying to tell my SBs to do this and that, Spiritual Parenting is much more than that. And instead of 'making' my SBs observe very ritualistic activities (like calling them for TAWG), stirring up their hearts to want to know God more, love God more is really the essence of discipling someone in having a personal and living relationship with God. Wow, amazing. Even in a dry season like this, God can show me something so powerful. Isn't God awesome! I just feel that passion for God coming back. Verse 1: There must be more than this oh breath of God come breath within There must be more than this Spirit of God we wait for you Fill us anew we pray Fill us anew we pray
Chorus: Consuming Fire Fan into flame a passion for your name Spirit of God fall in this place Lord have ur way Lord have ur way with us
Verse 2: Come like a rushing wind Fill us with power from on high Now set the captives free leave us abandoned to your praise Lord let your glory fall Lord let your glory fall
The same old songs speak and work in different ways in different situations. Thank God
Yesterday was interesting. Some how, Sis Kim asked me how I was lately, I told her that I've been going through an arduous period of testing. And then I suddenly realised that I just 'saw' (rather, perceived, according to Trinitarian magazine) a new season of my life. The 2008 season. The magazine talked about entering into the season and bearing fruits when you perceive it. And I believe that after seeing this season of testing that God is going to challenge my faith and bring about exponential growth, yay. I wonder where I heard that word, it seems suitable enough. Okay okay enough about cheem words. Anyway, Sis Kim encouraged me to press on. She said that "Most of the time its under stress, pressure and testing that we grow to treasure our faith." Honestly speaking, I've 'failed' all my testings so far. As in, since last year. Though I've been growing but during periods of testing in past years, I haven't 'passed' the tests. BUT I'M DETERMINED TO EMERGE VICTORIOUS FROM THIS ONE! I HAVE JESUS IN MY SHOES! (: That's why I have the devil underneath my feet~!
I haven't blogged for donkey ears and a lot a lot has happened. I guess.
Oh well. But... it's gonna be settled, I know. I told BZH. And he might talk to me about it, I dunno... But I promised God that if he does, I will not tell him the truth. I will tell him the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Which is... Hard. Although on the surface it doesn't seem like very much, and I wouldn't call it anything 'wrong'. It's just... odd. I guess maybe I find it humiliating to talk about my PROBLEMS or my WEAKNESSES rather than something happy or good. Maybe. I've decided to drop french! This decision shocked some ((: But it's a decision I'm sure I won't regret! :D
Guess what, Laura started on a new drama series. 3 episodes since yesterday, not THAT bad. Romantic princess, hehe, that's the show xD The one airing on S'pore TV but I have no time to watch. The good thing about vids, you watch when you're 'free'/bored. TV is fixed (but nice, clear, and big!!) Oh well. LAURA LIM, DON'T CATCH YOURSELF HOOKED. MODERATION, MODERATION!
Today's been a terrible day. SLI, so I had to get to school at 6.30am and my parents brought me there. So naturally, not having had sufficient sleep, they were grouchy. And so everything went on, school was perfectly fine. Lunch at subway, not too bad, but gorged myself because I wasn't exactly in a very pleasant mood. I've been really irritable these days. My tolerance has gone down 50%. I remember last year I was so determined to live as a testimony of God's amazing love that no matter how irritated/angry I was, I shut myself up. This year my resolve is vanishing. I've snapped at so many people already, in the past 1.7 months since the start of the year. Time passes so quickly, I just can't believe it. And I've mostly been snapping at my parents because they nag a lot. I felt and still feel really really bad at it. And when I'm not irritated, I keep saying sorry. But I think my dad's really unhappy about it, and because I make a lot of mistakes, like losing things, wasting time, wasting electricity, being careless, being indifferent about important things... The list goes on. And today in the car my mum was talking about saying no to any possible commitments throughout the course of the year because I'm at my personal threshold. I kinda agree, but not completely. Nevertheless, my mum says it and I trust that she's right about it. And she was saying that God created all of us humans, not superpowers. And we all have physical, emotional thresholds. That really got me thinking. Emotional threshold- what does that mean; I feel like I'm bursting. Physically, no I'm not stressed. Homework needs to be cleared, there are so many things I can do. But parallel to my personal belief that time is 'created' in necessity and therefore there is enough time. But yes, different from last year, I feel the stress piling up. Fancy, I told BZH I don't get stressed easily. Maybe God wants to humble me. Responsibilities are one thing. In school, various people breathing down my neck, FT & CLET for admin, subject teachers for homework & exams, classmates for complaints (put nicely, feedback) about certain systems/practices (in a sense, very good they speak up but sometimes when they get too demanding it is incredibly stressful.) At church, Bro Zhi Hao. He doesn't put pressure on me, which is really nice of him, but nevertheless, a responsibility. Regular emails are really hard to write. Sometimes I'm just clueless as to what on earth I should be writing about. And it's stressful because there's a kind of QC involved. SBs also concern me, because they aren't taking responsibility over their own walk with God, rather, they are putting the responsibility on me. IH follow-ups are seldom stressful because they don't take long but they can still be occasionally. Well, responsibilities are but part and parcel of life I guess, just that sometimes the weight of it just piles on my shoulders and it can get rather unbearable. Then again, responsibility is a privilege and I shouldn't be complaining. Sometimes scolding can just double the stress. I told my mum that today, nicely and she was understanding about it. I told her 1. We should talk more to avoid misunderstanding/strained relations. 2. Sorry for being snappy, I'm really stressed. 2. Don't add to the stress by nagging. I'm not phrasing it appropriately here, just that it's concise(: Anyway a lot of stuff happened today that caused a lot of scolding, nagging and that really piled up on me. The number of times I've sighed today is a testimony of that. But when I got home I just kneelled before God and rambled everything to Him. And I sand One Way. One Way is a very meaningful song. The lyrics have so much meaning, just that because it's a fast song, sometimes the words slip by without sinking in. One Way Intro: Gm# / Gm# / F# / F# / E / E /
B I lay my life down at your feet Gm# You’re the only one I need F# E I turn to You and You are always there B In troubled time its you I seek Gm# I put you first that's all I need F# E I humble all I am, all to you
B You are always always there Gm# every how and everywhere F# E Your grace abounds so deeply within me B You will never ever change Gm# Yesterday today the same F# E Forever till forever meets no end
B F# Gm# E One way Jesus, You’re the only one that I could live for B F# Gm# A Gm#/ E / Gm#/ E One way,Jesus,you’re the only that I could live for
B F# You are the way the truth and the life Gm# E Gm# We live by faith and not by sight, for you F# E (END – B) We’re living all for you
I turn to You and You are always there. How true is that? It's the absolute truth. When I'm in the pits, the only one I turn to is God. Why? No one else understands, and no one else bothers to understand. No one cares enough, even though many care and do care a lot. We're all predominantly selfish creatures, it's just the extent of it. But God? Each and everything I've cried out to God, He's been there to listen, to comfort me. And though today's been such a bad day, I really thank God for reminding me about how important it is to live by His strength, not my own, which is what I've been doing these 2 months, causing so much stress. One way, Jesus, You're the only one that I could live for! :D Because I'm living for God, I will serve with excellence and dedication, faithfully and single-mindedly. To draw upon the strength of God and follow His guiding hand. This is my commitment today. I know this is yet a new season of molding, growing and I just have the feeling that these months are going to be one of the more taxing periods in 2008. But I thank God for molding & testing because without which, growth isn't possible, complacency sets on, everything goes. And I guess that's why we're always being molded into who we are meant to be. My next email will be thanksgiving. I'm pretty sure of it. Had better go do IH followup and homework! Forever- Chris Tomlin
Hi ALLSTARS (on my blog, er, whoever actually bothers to come and read, hehe)!
I'm sure all of you enjoyed Friday's event! It's awesome seeing IGNYTErs bringing in nearly 200 FTVs that night! Great job! :D Continue to bring your friends for services/events and to pray and believe in their salvation, yea?
Yes, pray. I know this is something that some of us struggle with! But as I've been saying to those who've prayed with me, what counts is what comes from the heart. Of course, the use of verses, appropriate vocabulary etc is good to have, but I don't think that's the most important. One can blabber non-stop, using the most impressive vocabulary and the most appropriate and exhaustive list of things to pray about. But if the person doesn't mean it, if the people isn't sincere about it, it's just as good as nothing! I admit sometimes, especially if there's something I NEED to pray about, I blabber. It's like, I know HOW I should be praying, and I say everything out. And at the end of it I realise that I don't know what I've prayed for. It's sad! I know that's also one of the things I really need to work on this year, to mean everything that I pray. You may ask, "Why is it so important to mean what I pray?" The thing is, God already knows what our needs are. When we pray, we are humbling ourselves to ask for it, which is what God wants! Just like even if your mum knows you need something, she might not get it right away! Sometimes, she waits for you to ask, right? ((: 2 Chronicles 7:14. "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." Remember that!
Now, I'd like to share an amazing testimony to all of you. This incident happened last year, around November, but it's only now that I see God's hand in it. I thank God that He has shown me that this is a powerful testimony of how prayer can work wonders, not just a mere coincidence as I dismissed it to be at the time when it happened. I was blogsurfing one day when I chanced upon the blog of a girl my age called *Janice. Everything about her profile seemed fine, and she was even in the same class as one of my IGNYTE friends. I went to the 'posts' section and I was shocked to see so much hurt reflected in her first post, which was about being bullied. Even though I didn't know her, I could feel for her through what she had written. My heart went out to her and I thought, "She must come to experience the love of God that will heal her from all that hurt!" Initially I wanted to tell my friend to bring Janice to church, but I didn't because I didn't know that friend well. So all I could do was to pray for her. I prayed hard that God would reveal Himself to her and that somehow or other she will come to experience His love.
Some time passed, and I forgot about the incident. That was until I saw my friend bring along a girl to church. I was thinking,"Great, an FTV!" but deep inside I thought, "Could that be Janice?"
And as I found out later, it certainly was.
I was totally totally amazed. I mean, I prayed for someone whose profile I had only seen online, and she didn't even know me. But by God's AWESOME power, she came to know Him.
Not only that. She began to regularly attend services and I eventually befriended her. And guess what? Less than 6 months from the start of this series of events, Janice rededicated her life to the Lord. God is good, amen?
As I recounted this to Janice and later, that IGNYTE friend, I asked, "Why did you decide to bring JANICE to church, out of so many people?" The response I received was, "You know what? She asked me to.
Why is God so awesome!!! :D
*Janice is a pseudonym
I hope this testimony has shown you that prayer IS powerful and effective.
I notice that nowadays I tend to blog a lot of reflections. Used to hate doing that, now I thoroughly enjoy it! I find it very beneficial to get back and write about something that happened, something I've learnt, something I can improve one, or something about God/something amazing((: Yep, today's gonna have more reflections. Coming from a geog video. I love videos. Especially the documentaries. I don't understand how people can sleep through lessons (okay maybe other than... french... maybe sometimes, lit!) Today's video was about the kobe earthquake. It was a 6.9 earthquake, big but not THAT big, yet the impact on the city of Kobe was devastating. Suddenly, everything just came to a standstill. Everyone was at a loss as to what to do. It's like they just lost their lives, not physically but rather, they lost the lives they were living. They lost their routine. They lost their purpose. And it struck me. When something shocking and catastrophic like that happens, what would matter most? If I were one of them, what would be important to me? Money? School grades? Positions of power? Popularity? My life? Helping others? My friends? My family? God? I couldn't answer myself, still haven't found the answer. I think I'll probably turn to God especially if there's no one else. But what would matter, other than that? What would my purpose be? I'll just leave you with these questions. Responses will be appreciated!
Service was awesome. It really really refreshed me and reminded me to trust in God's promises. I won't say what they are because, honestly, I don't dare to say it. I'm pretty sure if not absolutely sure that they are promises from God but it's a bit big. I've no problem believing the first, but the second... That'll take some time. But with the prayer group in the wings, yea I trust in that promise! Really really busy, better not say more. Bye!
222nd post! Cool, heh. Anyway today (friday) was a tiring day. So long. And the devil was draining me. Making me walk up and down, waiting for people, doing this and that. But thank God I still have energy at the end of the day for P.S. I love you. P.S. I love you was fantastic. It wasn't a large-scale thing and some singing was out of tune. But really, it was the message that Pastor Gary preached that spoke to the people. It was so amazing to see crowds of people gathered at the altars to accept Jesus into their lives. I didn't get any salvations but SALTed to a couple of people... Anyway, I was just reading my old blog and yea I was thinking about what I went through last year. I really blogged a lot last year and as I skimmed through the posts I could just see the seasons that God brought me through, like growth for some months, and then testing, and then more growth, and then more testing, and at the end of the year God was just calling me to rise up, encouraging me with leaders and friends, and then testing me again. It's amazing. I've been quite distant from God these days, I attribute it to hana kimi and drama watching and homeworking too but I'm not going to let it drag. I want that relationship restored.
Consuming Fire Verse 1: There must be more than this oh breath of God come breath within There must be more than this Spirit of God we wait for you Fill us anew we pray Fill us anew we pray
Chorus: Consuming Fire Fan into flame a passion for your name Spirit of God fall in this place Lord have ur way Lord have ur way with us
Verse 2: Come like a rushing wind Fill us with power from on high Now set the captives free leave us abandoned to your praise Lord let your glory fall Lord let your glory fall
(repeat chorus)
There's quite a lot to do. Besides homework, vday notes! And prayer guide for the allstars, as well as emails #3 & #4. I think I'll stop blogging about my SBs so that I can open my blog to the Allstars and put it back on my MSN. I really want this to become a form of encouragement to them, and also so they won't be creeped out by me! Should spend tawg now, bye!
I've got quite a bit to blog about, just that I'm not blogging. One thing is that I've finished Hana Kimi. Liked it, but not going to use time so extravagantly ever again! I'm in a weird stage of my life. My own spiritual health is suffering, I can tell. Not engaging during worship/TAWG, getting short-tempered, church things seem more like tasks than things done out of love, even the words I use. Not that I'm back to the F word or anything close, but I'm 'swearing' more, which is bad, even though the words I use are seen as harmless. And, the stuff we talk about aren't good either. Laura, get back on track. Amazingly, despite my critical condition, I still have such a burden for my SBs. When I see/think of them, I just feel so much that they HAVE to encounter how AWESOME God's love is. I'm discipling Miyuki more 'seriously' (alternate day 'TAWG' with her) because she's quite 'open' (though not exactly enthusiastic.) I don't know what to do with the twins. How do you disciple 2 at once? Do they spend TAWG together? I'm really clueless. Well anyway in all things praise God! P.S. I Love You! ((: Serving. Oh God, empower me. I think I still remember B.D and my personal testimony......
today- luke 9:1-9 14/2- luke 9:10-17 15/2- luke 9:18-27 16/2- luke 9:28-36 17/2- luke 9:27-45 18/2- reflect to darling yuenwan/alison. So sorry I'm a great big procrastinator O:
NOOO... Not drama mama as in being crazy and dramatic. I have BAD BAD NEWS. I'm watching 2 dramas at the same time. I watch TKA on Mondays/Tuedays/Wednesdays after each episode comes out on Sunday. If it isn't bad enough, I just started watching Hana Kimi. Hah, slow. It was aired last year, I know! I was just super super bored and I started watching it. I feel super guilty but the show's nice! I wanna finish it. I know I should be able to finish by Monday. I've watched 6 episodes since yesterday O: And I think the best thing is to finish the whole series before school starts! But I have a feeling my parents are going to ban me from comp if I continue being cooped up in my room till Sunday. But seriously la! I just wanna finish it so I can be a good girl. I mean like 1 episode a week is fine, but 15 episodes of hana kimi in 4 days (though doable) is nuts. And abonormal. Oh man. Anyway, gotta go, still have work (and more hana kimi!)
IH NAME TAG!WHEE.So high.WHEE.Not TOO much CNY homework.1 CL si han, memorise 25 cheng yu, a-math worksheets, edit commonwealth essay, MEP worksheets.One more to my list. LAURA LIM, TIDY YOUR ROOM! GRR... Oh and actually also spend some time to talk to my SBs!! Sometimes, just sometimes(!!) it's quite frustrating. I'm not complaining or anything. It's just that when you just watch them, you know what they need but at the same time you can't do it for them! I need patience. Oh and haven't called Janella to discuss about the prayer guide yet. Yep, lots of church 'homework'. Haha, but I don't treat it like homework! I really really enjoy it, yay. 1. Email #3 to the ALLSTARS 2. Prayer guide for ALLSTARS 3. whatelsewhatelse OH YA IH TAG! Finalising only though, heh. I had better start CALLING people before I have to go for reunion dinner. Gosh, I kinda... (not) look forward to it (reunion dinner I mean!) "Laura I haven't seen you for so long! You've grown!" "Aiyo, but also got fatter already." "Now primary 6? Or JC 2?" "Orh, RGS arh. Are you in the top 50%?" "Aiya, not all RGS people are smart la. *blah blah blah*"
I haven't blogged really long. I'm scared of unknown readership. I always thought my blog wasn't read! xD But I think I should blog as if no one's gonna read it! Anyway, God's been good. So many things have happened, so many things have passed. So many things have dragged on from last year. And, so many things have finally been resolved. Thosed involved/whom I talk to/who know me well probably know what I'm talking about. Gosh, thank God. I never imagined that this was how the whole thing would be resolved. I always wondered about that! :D Gosh, thank God. And things did come out of it, good things. I mean, it was a sort of waste of time, though not a lot of time, heh. And though this I know 1 person was blessed. At least, I hope so. And it's been inspiring and encouraging even through the whole thing and I've learnt a lot from you and I've gained a whole lot of respect for you. I have one fear- one I only shared with ONE person((: But I seriously pray hard that's not gonna happen. I don't think it will, but I have to be very careful what I do, how I behave, and always assess how I feel xD At least, intrapersonal intelligence is my high (: heh. This is just one of the things I came to blog about today. Today 2 other things that impacted me: 1. Geography video on volcanoes 2. Class chairperson leadership workshop And, I also hope to draft my 'thanksgiving' once BZH approves the topic. Thanksgiving is something I've learnt to value more and more even as I grow in my walk with God, even as I am exposed to more things, negative things happening to so many people. Or sometimes, just admiring the beauty of God's creation and the awesomeness of His fantastic plans. God's plans never fail to make me GASP at their perfectness! Like recently, THOSE incidents? The 2 slightly church-friend related ones, heh. Okay change topic. Geog videos. I was going to cry, seriously. But there wasn't much to cry about. It's just that the lava flowing out of the volcanoes is so so beautiful and the way they work out, connecting to the law of conservation, and everything, trenches, ridges, it's so awesome. And as I was wowing over everything it suddenly dawned upon me that these things were the work of God's single-handed creation. I mean like there are so many people who think that they are good and say they don't need God. I mean I don't deny that they are good when compared to fellow humans! But God? No offence, I honestly think there is not the slightest chance anyone who could even get close. Yea, God is good! Okay class chairperson's workshop. It was surprisingly good. Basically we learnt about leadership styles and how to adapt ourselves to suit our 'customers' the class and to suit the others we work with (EXCO, teachers.) One thing that really struck me was when he told us to write our personal mission statement. Honestly I was surprised people actually wrote get good grades, earn lots of $. Gosh, I don't think that's my life mission. I took a long time, and till now, no I don't know my life mission. But I do know that I'm going to align my life mission to the great commission! For the harvest, just like the harvest SP class video (did I actually describe it?) Yea I still don't know what God's plan is for my life but what I do think I know is that I don't have a full-time call. At least, I don't think so. Though I personally wouldn't mind! Heh. A lot of work. But wait one more thing- SBs! What I'm concerned about is hunger. To grow, they really need to get down and be desperate. I can't feel desperate for them, though I can pray with them, I can observe, set them goals (eg Miyuki Dec SP class). The goals part I just felt that way. Even though honestly if you ask me, I don't think she's ready. What I thought of in the bath. Don't know if it was God, something within me just prompted me "If it could be done for you, why not her?" and also the song. The communion song What He's Done. The very one I mailed to the Allstars not long ago! I don't know how to talk to Adelle and Amelia. I'm a bit scared. And I think Miyuki's a bit intimidated by me! O: Today I actually 'prayed' for her. She wasn't comfortable with praying. Reminds me of my Benavon experience in Jan'07! Thinking about past doesn't get me anywhere, I should stop! But of course it teaches me to be humble and thankful((: Had better get to work O: Need to sleep at 1030pm! Gosh. Oh 6 prebelievers invited for vday! Pray pray pray!
I haven't titled my posts for friggin long, heh. I just got sick for writing 'today' or 'something interesting' or 'something that really touched me' just because I'm really TOO lazy to come up with some spectacular alliteration/pun like 'our HAIR-RAISING experience at assembly (literally so)'. Okay that was copied from Miss Ong. We were flicking hair and Ms Ong came and asked us "girls, is it so HAIR-RAISING?' and we were laughing our guts out, heh. But twit talk. Not trying to be elitist or something, but I hate twit talk. Simple reason, it's hard to read. But well, I've been trying to pick up twit talk! xD Hah, I bet you don't know why. Clara. I've just invited her for P.S. I love you. I really really hope to see her there. Well she uses quite a good measure/vocabulary of twit talk, whereas I like to SMS with whole words. And I figured she'd find me stuck-up/show-offy if I used whole words throughout! Hah. Thank God I was a twit in P5. Okay fine not exactly TWIT as in TWIT. Lyk heyys im sry 4 juz nw kk. Not soriix ferz juxx nwz kkaexzxz Haha. No offence meant, strictly a joke. Well, is that a revolution? Perhaps not. B. Andy said that you don't yoke with them, but twit talk isn't wrong PER SE, unless it's from an english teacher's POV. Eg, Miss Ong. I remember vividly the 'TYVM class' 'TYVM Ms Ong' after talking about abbreviations, thank you very much! :D Hehe. History FA Math wksht (I accidentally typed math wk'poo' just now O: notty notty!) CL 'storytelling' I hope that's all gahhhh
I am very honoured. But I also feel a great sense of responsibility. BZH's returning to M'sia for CNY, so he'll be missing tomorrow's and the week after's service and FUEL. Which means something... Our buzz group has a total of 18 people. With 2 no-shows (that I haven't seen before) and plus Clara and others, actually more. But yea. Anyway, BZH sent us the FUEL notes yesterday, with a short message. 'Hi all, please go through this material, Laura will lead, but the rest please be prepared for this in case there is a need to split the group into 2. Have fun this week in FUEL. Keep me updated.' Gosh, I was shocked la! I was, okay fine, I was very honoured, I guess. But I got a little worked up. I'm so mixed I don't know how I feel. I think I feel partially confident (perhaps overly so) and partially inadequate (the same SP class feeling!) But well, trust in God, Laura Lim!
50 votes, if Laura didn't count wrongly! There was a long time, like say 10min, where I kept refreshing and my votes stayed at 49 okay! I was thinking, "Gosh, don't tell me I'm gonna be a congress applicant who didn't get in because she had only 50 votes -_-" Haha, when I was thinking that way, nothing happened. The total votes went up, mine stayed. Wah, I was stressed man. Then I remembered my mum saying something like "never curse yourself". Haha so I 'broke' it, and when I refreshed, one more vote! WHEEEEEHaha, I seriously hope I counted less than more though! If I only have 40 but counted 50 and I stop 'campaigning', I'll be in trouble man ><
It's amazing how some songs don't make sense till you encounter situations. Like, Above All. I've been pretty worked up theses few days. Not stressed, just busy busy busy. MEP exam and congress voting just added to it. And especially for congress voting I've been quite GRRR and anxious, basically. During worship just a couple of moments ago, I was led to the song Above All. And suddenly, though I never really understood it, it just spoke directly to me.
Above All Above all powers, above all kings Above all nature and all created things Above all wisdom and all the ways of man You were here before the world began
Above all kingdoms, above all thrones Above all wonders the world has ever known Above all wealth and treasures of the earth There's no way to measure what you're worth
Crucified Laid behind a stone You lived to die Rejected and alone Like a rose Trampled on the ground You took the fall And thought of me Above all
It talks about God's sovereignty. That no matter what it is, no matter who it is, no matter what's going on, God is sovereign and He IS above all. That He's in control and He loves us. And to trust in Him by faith, that He has the best plan. Amazing. Okay I'll go read the Word now, bye!
VOTE ME FOR CONGRESS! The link is in student's portal, under student links. Click 'student congress'. Then click the survey at the bottom left hand corner.
I hope you look forward to this email, just take it as a mid-week reminder not to forget about God(: I'm sure you've all been faithful in following the Bible reading plan, and praying for your friends in your Battle Plan, right? *grins* Well... Not all is lost if you haven't, it's not too late to start! You only have less than 6 chapters in luke to catch up with((: Certainly good news for you!
Before I begin my 'message', I just want to thank you all for reading my previous email! Please continue to do so! It would also be great if you would like to reply some thoughts/reflections about the email to me! But that's totally optional. Any feedback/suggestions, possibly as to what I can email all of you about, are also welcomed.
Okay this email will be based on the verse from Jeremiah 29:13. God says "You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart". I'll be sharing about what this means, how it applies to us, as well as some personal experiences.
Back to Jer 29:13. When I first heard of this verse, I was like "DUH!" When you search for God with all your heart, you will obviously seek God! But now, what I feel this verse really means is that when we come to a point of desperation for God, He will honour that desperation with a greater hunger for Him, and He will honour that hunger by revealing (more of) Himself to us. That might sound a bit complicated, so it might help if I showed a Biblical example? If you remember, we read luke 5:27-32 a few days ago. It was about Levi a tax collector (who were notorious for swindling $$ at that time.) But the moment Jesus called him, he left everything and followed Jesus. That's how hungry he was to repent and change his way of life! I think the word 'everything' here summarises too much. Do you know the magnitude of the word everything? Think of the EVERYTHING in your life. If Jesus came one day (and you knew it was him) and called you, would you be hungry enough to follow him? Think about it.
Honestly speaking, if Jesus really came one day, I might not be hungry enough to drop everything and just follow him. I mean, I guess I would, but it's hard to say. I've struggled (still do sometimes) with keeping my hunger and passion for God going 24/7, year round. Sometimes TAWG becomes so much of a routine, it becomes a chore. I guess with our sinful human nature, it's difficult to continuously have so much zeal for God. I've been getting dry spell after dry spell recently, especially if I miss services or TAWG. I notice that trend in myself, so I really try as much as possible not to! Though my passion might not keep on burning (kerosene can run out okay!), putting in effort to keep it going helps! And the time we spend with God renews us and keeps us going! I testify to that(: So don't be discouraged if sometimes you feel distant or indifferent (bo chap) about God. Press on, don't let go!
Or what if you don't know how a touch of God feels like? I can't describe it in words, just know it's indescribably awesome. Even if you don't FEEL God or love God or something, maybe you could try thinking of all the things you have, people around you, nature, all your blessings and gifts, and think of God, your creator. Keep giving thanks to God, and pray for hunger! If you don't know how to pray, ask God! (:
Just always remember "This is love: not that we loved God, but He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." (1 John 4:10) It's not about the love we have for God that arises from us, but the love God has for us that causes us to love Him and want to know Him more!
