Praise God for a edifying time of worship today in church. Guess the group of Korean missionaries in Afghanistan must have been weighing on the minds of many in the congregation, yet this is really one of the times when i have no idea how to pray. So really glad Elder Daniel led the church to intercede on behalf of the women and men still kept hostage, as well as praying for their captors. And even though this particular passage from Romans 9 did not seem particularly interesting or relevant, he managed to draw some practical applications from it. Showing us how strongly Paul feels for his fellow Jews, i ask myself: how strongly do i feel for my friends who do not have the same eternal hope? And am i too complacent with my heritage of a Christian family, with so much to thank God for?

Seems to me that's often the easiest trap to fall into - complacency and self-reliance, and being too caught up in my own little world to think about the people around me. O, for a heart of compassion, to be able to see others as Christ sees, and love as He loves.

His eye is on the sparrow

Why should i feel discouraged,
Why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonesome,
And long for heaven and home,
When Jesus is my portion? My constant friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow, and i know He watches me.

"Let not your heart be troubled," His tender word i hear,
And resting on His goodness, i lose my doubts and fears;
Though by the path He leadeth, but one step i may see;
His eye is on the sparrow, and i know He watches me.

I sing because i'm happy,
I sing because i'm free,
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And i know He watches me.

the joy of self-discovery

Just attended a great first-half of a workshop by Dave Geisler yesterday on Conversational Evangelism. Actually, a lot of what he talked about wasn't new to me - Rob and others have touched on it, especially during my time in Perth. But it was a good reminder that really, it might take many different people sharing about different things at different points in a person's life before he comes to know Christ for himself, and really, our job is just to help people come one step closer to knowing who He is. Also, how true that the best way of helping someone learn something is to let them come to the truth about it themselves instead of telling them directly. So that's where the power of clarifying and thought-provoking questions comes in. Now.. only to learn how to ask the right questions.. Looking forward to the concluding session of the workshop in a fortnight's time but meanwhile, we got homework to do ;)

Five weeks and counting

Am glad that we have kept rather well to the schedule on our to-do list drafted a few months back. The invites have been mostly written and either handed out or are on their way in the post. Earlier to that, we have also bought the wedding rings, e-filed our notice of marriage with ROM, booked tickets for honeymoon (to Brisbane and Sydney - familiar territory for Stan, and which allows us to catch up with some friends and relatives while there!), gone to confirm about the wedding gown and suit, and had the complimentary hotel food-tasting. So that leaves most of the wedding preparations regarding the actual day's programmes, and all that entails with coordinating with the various helpers, along with confirming the number of guests. (If you're reading this, please help us by rsvp-ing, if you haven't done so already!!)

It is true that this is a rather busy time for us, although Stan seems to have had lost more sleep than i in the past week at least, but i was reminded by yesterday's care-cell study not to lose focus of the main thing. Was convicted that i have been rather self-absorbed and caught up in my own little world especially recently, and in doing so have neglected some things at work and have behaved rather poorly in dealing with some colleagues, not making the use of every opportunity to show love and Christ.

I do miss the days in Perth when i had more time to read the Bible and other material and just meditate on God's Word and what's going on around me more. But yet i know that we all have 24 hours a day and it's up to us how we make use of it. So i'm real glad of even a long bus ride last night and a quieter evening today to reflect a bit on how i'm spending my 24 hours, especially in relating to the people i encounter each day. Truly, it is my prayer that the time we spend communing with the Lord and in prayer better equips us for whatever we face in our daily lives.

So tomorrow is our annual staff outing.. In previous years we had a buffet dinner or went bowling; last year, which i missed, they had Amazing Race at Sentosa! This year, it's a costume party with the theme "Heroes and Villains". I'm now wondering what to wear. You're probably thinking, as my dearest best friend did, that it's a bit last-minute to think about it now and check out what costume i can come up with by looking at what's inside my wardrobe, but the truth of the matter is, that i'm really not sporting when it comes to this kind of thing. Don't want to go all out and spend money on renting a costume or anything, and feel quite sheepish dressing up, even if it is in the name of camaraderie and building up of company spirit. Guess i didn't stay in Australia long enough to have the costume thing wear off on me. Hm, is Maria from Sound of Music a hero? Not that i have anything in my wardrobe that looks like what Julie Andrews wore in the movie.. Well. We'll see what happens :P