I like this song.
Second Chance - Hillsong
You called my name
Reached out Your hand
Restored my life
And I was redeemed
The moment You entered my life
Amazing grace
Christ gave that day
My life was changed
When from my shoulders
Fell the weight of my sin
So it’s with everything I am
I reach out for Your hand
The hope for change
The second chance I’ve gained
On You I throw my life
Casting all my fears aside
How could greater love than this
Ever possibly exist
Consume my thoughts
As I rest in You
I’m now in love
With a Saviour
Bearing the marks of His love
So I’ll wait upon You now
With my hands released to You
Where a little faith’s enough
To see mountains lift and move
And I’ll wait upon You now
Dedicated to Your will
To this love that will remain
A love that never fails
Thursday, December 27, 2007
I'm in transition.
So i went to find the notes I made when Pastor Paul Ang preached on transition. I'm typing it here for the benefit of whoever is also in transition.
The notes aren't fantastic, but well.
HOW TO RESPOND DURING TRANSITION?
Definition: a process of passing though or crossing over from one season in life to another. It helps us move to a different level that God has prepared for us.
[1] We must release our past.
Past hurts, failures and disappointment. And also our past success.
1 Samuel 16 -> Smauel had to release Saul
Joshua 1 -> God told Joshua Moses was dead even though everyone knew that. That was because Joshua had not released Moses so God had to repeat it. Joshua had to move on as the new leader.
[2] You must be alert and watchful.
Be alert to what God is doing.
2 Kings 2 -> Elisha kept watching Elijah because he never knew when he might be taken away and he did not want to MISS his double portion of blessing.
[3] Leave your comfort zone.
That includes waking up at 3am to pray.
All the disciples had equal opportunity and access to Jesus but only 1 walked on water because he dared to leave his comfort zone.
Ruth -> 2 seasons. Famine then the harvest. She left her comfort zone. By responding correctly, she somehow found favour in a land that didn't welcome foreigners.
When you work in God's will, you will find favour wherever you go.
[4] It's an opportunity and strategic time, but also a difficult time.
A mother goes through labour. An opportunity for life, but also a difficult time. A time when you wish you were not pregnant. But hey, it get's you ready to receive your miracle! In the form of your child.
[5] Persevere.
When the ocean is at the lowest, it's time for the tide to change.
When you're down with something, don't worry, because God is up to something. So don't give up!
So i went to find the notes I made when Pastor Paul Ang preached on transition. I'm typing it here for the benefit of whoever is also in transition.
The notes aren't fantastic, but well.
HOW TO RESPOND DURING TRANSITION?
Definition: a process of passing though or crossing over from one season in life to another. It helps us move to a different level that God has prepared for us.
[1] We must release our past.
Past hurts, failures and disappointment. And also our past success.
1 Samuel 16 -> Smauel had to release Saul
Joshua 1 -> God told Joshua Moses was dead even though everyone knew that. That was because Joshua had not released Moses so God had to repeat it. Joshua had to move on as the new leader.
[2] You must be alert and watchful.
Be alert to what God is doing.
2 Kings 2 -> Elisha kept watching Elijah because he never knew when he might be taken away and he did not want to MISS his double portion of blessing.
[3] Leave your comfort zone.
That includes waking up at 3am to pray.
All the disciples had equal opportunity and access to Jesus but only 1 walked on water because he dared to leave his comfort zone.
Ruth -> 2 seasons. Famine then the harvest. She left her comfort zone. By responding correctly, she somehow found favour in a land that didn't welcome foreigners.
When you work in God's will, you will find favour wherever you go.
[4] It's an opportunity and strategic time, but also a difficult time.
A mother goes through labour. An opportunity for life, but also a difficult time. A time when you wish you were not pregnant. But hey, it get's you ready to receive your miracle! In the form of your child.
[5] Persevere.
When the ocean is at the lowest, it's time for the tide to change.
When you're down with something, don't worry, because God is up to something. So don't give up!
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
We attempted to recreate a picture of us smiling without showing our teeths.Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Yes, that's me, Geraldine and Joey. So cute right!?
BIRD DROPPINGS FELL @ 11:50 AM
If I didn't know Jesus..
This Christmas would be just another chance to spend time with loved ones and to show love and appreciation through gifts and what not. So if for some reason both elements are removed, if i find myself rather alone this christmas and have not received any gift, then what is left of Christmas to me? I would then say that this Christmas is boring, sigh and hope for some excitement.
This is my sixteenth christmas and I think it's the first time I'm actually starting to think about the whole meaning of it.
Nowadays I hear these sentence fairly often.
"It doesn't feel like christmas."
And I would wonder, just what is christmas suppose to feel like?
When I was very young and unable to comprehend big pictures, I just knew Christmas as the time when mummy and daddy would buy me gifts. Some uncle and aunties would also give me gifts and I get to go to Joey/Rachel/my house to play with all the other kids my age. There would be a lot of laughter and good food.
And so, like the rest of the world, that became the meaning of Christmas to me. As I got older, christmas changed a bit here and there, mainly in the things I did but still the meaning was the same. A busy yet happy season. And like the rest of the world, I get drawn into this cycle. Maybe it's human nature. We don't think. We learn about the way things work in this world and then just blindly follow it. And later on, our kids will learn from us and blindly follow it.
Why do ppl write cards and give presents on valentine's day, birthdays and christmas day?
->Duno. But everyone does it so I do it.
Why do the adults give us red packet with money inside during new year?
->Duno. That's just the way thing is, and when I'm older, I'll have to do it too.
Why is red and green considered the color of Christmas?
->Duno. But if you use these 2 colors, everyone understands that it's for christmas.
SEE. Sometimes I think we're really stupid.
But hey, that can't be what christmas is all about right? Makes it feel so shallow. Which does not sit right with man's natural desire for deeper things. It feels so empty.
So for once, I went to think about the stuff we learnt in sunday school about christmas.
Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus. The day when our Mighty God for the sake of love put aside his godly status and became a man in the form of Jesus. We celebrate because it marks the beginning of the end. The end of living apart from God, living under Satan's oppression.
Now isn't that a very good reason to celebrate? I think this is what Christmas is suppose to feel like.
It's like feeling the rain on your outstretched arm while you're standing in a land that has experience the drought for many many years. The rain does not immediately bring a change. The seeds in your field have not grown and bear fruits yet. But you still do a rain dance because you know that although you can't see the fruits yet, by the fact that the rain is here, the fruits will come. So you celebrate when the rain comes and also when the harvest is over.
Likewise, we celebrate both Jesus' birth and ressurection.
Having said all that, I can now sincerely wish you
Merry Merry Christmas =)
*if i were telling this to an audience, right now I would end this with the song we are the reason.
As little children
We would dream of Christmas morn
Of all the gifts and toys
We knew we'd find
But we never realized
A baby born one blessed night
Gave us the greatest gift of our lives
Monday, December 24, 2007
The medicine I have to take makes me really drowsy. I feel like I'm on a boat and my brain's all messed up. I suppose I have things I want to blog about, but I need to wait till I'm not so drugged to sort my thoughts out.
This Christmas Eve, I just wanna share this video with everyone. I suppose most christians would have seen this before. Many have commented feeling really touched by it. But I wonder, to one who have not heard the gospel before, what would the impact be? As Christians, we know what the skit is potraying. But I really really want to know, what does the untrained eye of a non-Christian see when they watch this video?
Watch and comment.
This Christmas Eve, I just wanna share this video with everyone. I suppose most christians would have seen this before. Many have commented feeling really touched by it. But I wonder, to one who have not heard the gospel before, what would the impact be? As Christians, we know what the skit is potraying. But I really really want to know, what does the untrained eye of a non-Christian see when they watch this video?
Watch and comment.
Friday, December 21, 2007
A friend made an interesting comment.
Evangelists and pastors are able to heal people, because the people believe that they can be healed. Like, if a particular person is known to have done healing, he is able to do even more healing because the people around him would have more faith. Not that he is the one who does the healing, but i guess it is because of his faith that inspires the people around him to have faith too and believe that a miracle would happen that very moment.
I'm currently down with the flu bug. A rather inconvenient time to fall sick with christmas just around the corner. So, when i msged my fren to ask her to pray for me, she commented on this. Which I find interesting because while many christians know that healing is about faith, in our everyday lives we don't quite practice it. When we're sick, we ask ppl to pray for us but i think we often undermine it's effectiveness thus really rendering it ineffective.
So, this time round, we're not just gonna pray, but we're gonna pray and believe in that prayer. I believe I can be well in time for sunday's christmas event. That gives me 1 day to rest. Normally i take 2 to 4 days to recover from flu, but I really want to hope and believe that on sunday night, I won't be sniffing away.
Haha, we'll see. It'll be quite coolif when i get healed in like a day. Especially when I got it a little worse than usual.
I would call this, letting God work in our everyday life and not just during certain period we set aside for him.
Evangelists and pastors are able to heal people, because the people believe that they can be healed. Like, if a particular person is known to have done healing, he is able to do even more healing because the people around him would have more faith. Not that he is the one who does the healing, but i guess it is because of his faith that inspires the people around him to have faith too and believe that a miracle would happen that very moment.
I'm currently down with the flu bug. A rather inconvenient time to fall sick with christmas just around the corner. So, when i msged my fren to ask her to pray for me, she commented on this. Which I find interesting because while many christians know that healing is about faith, in our everyday lives we don't quite practice it. When we're sick, we ask ppl to pray for us but i think we often undermine it's effectiveness thus really rendering it ineffective.
So, this time round, we're not just gonna pray, but we're gonna pray and believe in that prayer. I believe I can be well in time for sunday's christmas event. That gives me 1 day to rest. Normally i take 2 to 4 days to recover from flu, but I really want to hope and believe that on sunday night, I won't be sniffing away.
Haha, we'll see. It'll be quite cool
I would call this, letting God work in our everyday life and not just during certain period we set aside for him.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Back from mission trip!
I don't quite know what to say. I have mixed feelings about the trip.
Well, boat rides are an excellent time to talk to God aside from the effect of being rocked about too much.
I set foot on Singapore soil and realize that I only have 2 weeks of my holiday left to do whatever I want. While I didn't exactly waste this holiday, I feel like I've been rushing/running after something only to realize that I have no idea where I am heading.
Haha, I think I'm lagging. It feels like I'm about to have an identity crisis. Maybe it's because I'm in transition. From one phase of my life into another. It's easy to get lost and lose your bearing. Who am I? What am I suppose to be doing now? Right now I'm just holding onto the one identity I'm sure of. That no matter what, I am a child of God. I am loved by the King. And no matter how lost I feel, I can have hope knowing that he's with me, he knows where he's heading and he will guide me there.
So I may be a little lost a little more. But just as all good things come to an end, so do all bad things come to an end. I just need to keep having faith to follow the voice that's trying to guide me out of pitch darkness and back into the light.
I don't quite know what to say. I have mixed feelings about the trip.
Well, boat rides are an excellent time to talk to God aside from the effect of being rocked about too much.
I set foot on Singapore soil and realize that I only have 2 weeks of my holiday left to do whatever I want. While I didn't exactly waste this holiday, I feel like I've been rushing/running after something only to realize that I have no idea where I am heading.
Haha, I think I'm lagging. It feels like I'm about to have an identity crisis. Maybe it's because I'm in transition. From one phase of my life into another. It's easy to get lost and lose your bearing. Who am I? What am I suppose to be doing now? Right now I'm just holding onto the one identity I'm sure of. That no matter what, I am a child of God. I am loved by the King. And no matter how lost I feel, I can have hope knowing that he's with me, he knows where he's heading and he will guide me there.
So I may be a little lost a little more. But just as all good things come to an end, so do all bad things come to an end. I just need to keep having faith to follow the voice that's trying to guide me out of pitch darkness and back into the light.
Friday, December 14, 2007
It is over.
NSSN came and went. That means, no more long hours of band practice, no more worrying about whether I'll be a loner and no more desperate attempts to sound like a trumpet. For this year at least. Sounds like rather good news, so why does my heart ache?
I'm slightly surprised that I'm feeling kinda sad that the band I'm joining next year, isn't this band. Somehow, I've gotten attached to it in these 4 weeks. Fun-loving, very very slack, kinda havoc and filled with people who love their instruments. Rah. Some of them I probably won't see ever again. Sigh. It's feels like the ending of NCO camp all over again.
It's amazing how masterful God is at crafting our lives. I think there were quite a number of twists in this short 1 month. One moment I was so excited I was crying. The next I hated it. Then loved it. And so on. I think in the end, this whole process was good for me even though it wasn't easy.
Ah well, tmr's mission trip. That's why i left their MAD cam whoring session early. I seriously mean MAD. Hopefully, I won't be feeling sleepy tmr.
NSSN 2007
NSSN came and went. That means, no more long hours of band practice, no more worrying about whether I'll be a loner and no more desperate attempts to sound like a trumpet. For this year at least. Sounds like rather good news, so why does my heart ache?
I'm slightly surprised that I'm feeling kinda sad that the band I'm joining next year, isn't this band. Somehow, I've gotten attached to it in these 4 weeks. Fun-loving, very very slack, kinda havoc and filled with people who love their instruments. Rah. Some of them I probably won't see ever again. Sigh. It's feels like the ending of NCO camp all over again.
It's amazing how masterful God is at crafting our lives. I think there were quite a number of twists in this short 1 month. One moment I was so excited I was crying. The next I hated it. Then loved it. And so on. I think in the end, this whole process was good for me even though it wasn't easy.
Ah well, tmr's mission trip. That's why i left their MAD cam whoring session early. I seriously mean MAD. Hopefully, I won't be feeling sleepy tmr.
NSSN 2007
Thursday, December 13, 2007
I should be feeling really fortunate and happy now, but I'm not.
I went blog hopping to try and find out where people got posted to. Not very successful, but I'm guessing that quite a number of people got into SA.
After 3 weeks of being in an uncomfortable foreign environment, I'm starting to wish that I had gone to SA. It's more familiar and comfortable without being overly so. If I hadn't gotten that phone call that faithful day, things would have fallen out differently. Then again, I would never learn to appreciate the nice environment St Margs provided for my "moulding years". Haha, I was so anti-SA then.
I feel like everything's just a dream. Whether a good or bad one, I can't decide. I wonder if this is really the path for me. The path God wants me to take. By the way things have fallen out, it appears to be so, for only God can open doors like that. But.. aiya.
I'd rather be friends with nerds than the cool kids.
I went blog hopping to try and find out where people got posted to. Not very successful, but I'm guessing that quite a number of people got into SA.
After 3 weeks of being in an uncomfortable foreign environment, I'm starting to wish that I had gone to SA. It's more familiar and comfortable without being overly so. If I hadn't gotten that phone call that faithful day, things would have fallen out differently. Then again, I would never learn to appreciate the nice environment St Margs provided for my "moulding years". Haha, I was so anti-SA then.
I feel like everything's just a dream. Whether a good or bad one, I can't decide. I wonder if this is really the path for me. The path God wants me to take. By the way things have fallen out, it appears to be so, for only God can open doors like that. But.. aiya.
I'd rather be friends with nerds than the cool kids.
HAHAH.
Nanyang!? NOT!
I did a lot of traveling today.
In total, i took 11 bus rides, 2 train rides and 1 cab. Only to realize that my bus stamp ended yesterday instead of tmr. So today I spent a grand total of $12.80 on travel fees. Heart pain.
AH, but thank God. I am considered blessed :D
I'm so tired right now. Tmr night's the concert. And then, on sat i'm going for mission trip. HAHAHA.
I think i'm a bit off frequency right now.
How unfair. LOL.
I should shut up.
Good night!
Nanyang!? NOT!
I did a lot of traveling today.
In total, i took 11 bus rides, 2 train rides and 1 cab. Only to realize that my bus stamp ended yesterday instead of tmr. So today I spent a grand total of $12.80 on travel fees. Heart pain.
AH, but thank God. I am considered blessed :D
I'm so tired right now. Tmr night's the concert. And then, on sat i'm going for mission trip. HAHAHA.
I think i'm a bit off frequency right now.
How unfair. LOL.
I should shut up.
Good night!
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
TMR I GET TO SLEEP IN!!! YAY!
Oh man, I've been feeling seriously sleep deprived ever since the saturday before camp started. I am very very VERY happy that I can sleep in tmr. WAHAHAHAHA.
Friday is the concert. Up to now, I don't know if anyone is going for it. Haha. OH well, it can't beat polka no matter what. Haha. At the end of the performance, when they read the name of your secondary school, you're suppose to stand up. So I'll have to stand up alone. They are other ppl just like me, but still, it's quite pathetic. HAHA!
Ok, anyway, I want to thank God that at last, the girl clique has been formed. Wahahaha! OK, so they guys always gather together so I like to call them the guy clique. Like one big clique. And the girls used to be seperated into .. sections, schools or wadever. But finally, we've gathered together to form one big girl clique. Which effectively means that I'm less of a lone ranger coz instead of being left alone, I can now hang out with the girl clique! Hooray! Power to the women!
I think I'm a little high. There's something about today that just makes ppl high. HAH.
SLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!
Oh man, I've been feeling seriously sleep deprived ever since the saturday before camp started. I am very very VERY happy that I can sleep in tmr. WAHAHAHAHA.
Friday is the concert. Up to now, I don't know if anyone is going for it. Haha. OH well, it can't beat polka no matter what. Haha. At the end of the performance, when they read the name of your secondary school, you're suppose to stand up. So I'll have to stand up alone. They are other ppl just like me, but still, it's quite pathetic. HAHA!
Ok, anyway, I want to thank God that at last, the girl clique has been formed. Wahahaha! OK, so they guys always gather together so I like to call them the guy clique. Like one big clique. And the girls used to be seperated into .. sections, schools or wadever. But finally, we've gathered together to form one big girl clique. Which effectively means that I'm less of a lone ranger coz instead of being left alone, I can now hang out with the girl clique! Hooray! Power to the women!
I think I'm a little high. There's something about today that just makes ppl high. HAH.
SLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!
Saturday, December 08, 2007
God works in amazing ways.
The end of camp means the return to reality. For those who still do not know, I went to join VJ for their NSSN which is open to all sec 4s. Amelia left singapore last saturday which made today, the first practice I attended without her company. Her absence means that I am the only person from st margs. And also, the only sec 4 girl in the section. It may not seem like a big deal, but being in a foreign place all alone is kinda intimidating don't you think? It was hard to mix around because I couldn't quite click with the guys and the few girls that were around stuck to their own sections.
So, knowing that that's the situation I would find myself in, I was a little fearful this morning. I mean, who would want to be a loner? But I just committed the day into God's hand and went in with as much courage as I could master.
Well today, someone new joined our section for NSSN. Ok, more like he joined this week but i missed one practice. It was easier to talk to him than the other guys in my section coz he was from a mix school. How should i put it? It seems as if your gender causes this barrier thing that makes it awkward for 2 ppl from an all-boys or all-girls school to interact. Haha. But with him, I felt like I was treated as an ordinary human being, genderless, which made it so much easier to interact. He and another guy in my section also happened to have attended a mass band camp I attended in p5. That at least helped to gain me some sort of common ground which helped to break the ice a little. Coincidence? I think not.
In conclusion, because of that, I wasn't so outcasted today. I actually followed them for lunch since the seniors disappeared. It feels weird to be the only girl with a group of guys I don't even know well.
Haha. I know that to some this may seem like nothing much to thank God for. But well, understand that I've been to an all-girls school since i was 7. Being thrown into a new environment like that is quite a .. culture shock. The fear of being left out can be quite real. I'm guessing that there are already several people who are pretending to be someone they are not just to fit in with the pack.
Well, God works in amazing ways.
The end of camp means the return to reality. For those who still do not know, I went to join VJ for their NSSN which is open to all sec 4s. Amelia left singapore last saturday which made today, the first practice I attended without her company. Her absence means that I am the only person from st margs. And also, the only sec 4 girl in the section. It may not seem like a big deal, but being in a foreign place all alone is kinda intimidating don't you think? It was hard to mix around because I couldn't quite click with the guys and the few girls that were around stuck to their own sections.
So, knowing that that's the situation I would find myself in, I was a little fearful this morning. I mean, who would want to be a loner? But I just committed the day into God's hand and went in with as much courage as I could master.
Well today, someone new joined our section for NSSN. Ok, more like he joined this week but i missed one practice. It was easier to talk to him than the other guys in my section coz he was from a mix school. How should i put it? It seems as if your gender causes this barrier thing that makes it awkward for 2 ppl from an all-boys or all-girls school to interact. Haha. But with him, I felt like I was treated as an ordinary human being, genderless, which made it so much easier to interact. He and another guy in my section also happened to have attended a mass band camp I attended in p5. That at least helped to gain me some sort of common ground which helped to break the ice a little. Coincidence? I think not.
In conclusion, because of that, I wasn't so outcasted today. I actually followed them for lunch since the seniors disappeared. It feels weird to be the only girl with a group of guys I don't even know well.
Haha. I know that to some this may seem like nothing much to thank God for. But well, understand that I've been to an all-girls school since i was 7. Being thrown into a new environment like that is quite a .. culture shock. The fear of being left out can be quite real. I'm guessing that there are already several people who are pretending to be someone they are not just to fit in with the pack.
Well, God works in amazing ways.
Friday, December 07, 2007
My body alarm woke me up at 7.30 this morning. Just 3 mornings and the camp managed to change my body alarm. Well that's good.
I would say that this camp is different. Feels different. Then again, having been to 4 youth camps now, I find that each camp is unique in it's own way, achieving it's own purpose and all just as fantastic. Yet, this camp still feels different.
Anyway, I'm back all charged up with minor casualties. God was definitely moving and working in the camp and I'm quite certain no one went home empty handed.
I'm here to blog about the strange event that followed after the camp rather than the camp itself.
A group of us went to eat lunch and somehow, matthew fung got separated from us. We weren't sure whether he was still in compass mall or if he had alr gone home. We kinda crossed out that he had gone home on his own since his brothers helped to establish the fact that he didn't take the train much let alone the NEL. Dhouby Ghaut can be quite confusing for a first timer let alone a 12-year-old who had not travelled much. It felt a little foolish, but we gathered to pray at burger king before splitting up to search for matthew. After about half an hour, in which i was starting to fall asleep on my feet which searching for him, we called off the search to head home. Then, ring ring. Haha. Daniel got a call from his mom saying that matthew had reached home safely. On his own. By the train. !!!!. Amazing. He probably got led by the spirit on how to change from the purple line to the red line. Lol.
Well, the hardest part is to maintain our walk with God even after the camp. I pray that we will. Many amazing things happened during the camp. These stories can be told later. Right now my arms are aching. Haha..
Praise God, and thank the leaders for Camp iFaith was a success :D
I would say that this camp is different. Feels different. Then again, having been to 4 youth camps now, I find that each camp is unique in it's own way, achieving it's own purpose and all just as fantastic. Yet, this camp still feels different.
Anyway, I'm back all charged up with minor casualties. God was definitely moving and working in the camp and I'm quite certain no one went home empty handed.
I'm here to blog about the strange event that followed after the camp rather than the camp itself.
A group of us went to eat lunch and somehow, matthew fung got separated from us. We weren't sure whether he was still in compass mall or if he had alr gone home. We kinda crossed out that he had gone home on his own since his brothers helped to establish the fact that he didn't take the train much let alone the NEL. Dhouby Ghaut can be quite confusing for a first timer let alone a 12-year-old who had not travelled much. It felt a little foolish, but we gathered to pray at burger king before splitting up to search for matthew. After about half an hour, in which i was starting to fall asleep on my feet which searching for him, we called off the search to head home. Then, ring ring. Haha. Daniel got a call from his mom saying that matthew had reached home safely. On his own. By the train. !!!!. Amazing. He probably got led by the spirit on how to change from the purple line to the red line. Lol.
Well, the hardest part is to maintain our walk with God even after the camp. I pray that we will. Many amazing things happened during the camp. These stories can be told later. Right now my arms are aching. Haha..
Praise God, and thank the leaders for Camp iFaith was a success :D
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