1At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
2He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. - Matthew18:1-4
Christmas is my FAVOURITE time of the year because of the joy & love that’s in the air!!! It’s also the busiest period of every year though… because I’m always rushing to plan parties, meet up with friends, get presents, wrap presents and to write cards – IT’S JUST CRAZY!!! Not forgetting this year’s even busier because of the wedding preparations *stressed*
Though crazy, this year’s Christmas has been very very memorable:
1. CN & myself had the privileged to host MANY Singaporean brothers & sisters in Christ back from our Oceania Hope churches for holidays. Hearing about their lives & how the churches are doing there really warmed our hearts. We might have met just for the first time, yet God’s love binds us together as family members.
2. Our JEDI group organised a Christmas Eve “C” Party that was SIMPLY A SMASH!!! It’s the BEST party I’ve attended EVER. We met on Hari Raya Haji to bake gingerbread man cookies as door gifts, and put in so much effort just to make the wrapper for that! The week before was CRAZY for Siewmin & her committee because she had to prepare food for 40 people, and the rest had to prepare the deco, cutlery, program and all the tiny details.
3. On Christmas eve we were just blown away by the deco – see the table set-up & deco all over the house (we even rented tables & chairs). And most importantly, everyone was so SPORTING to come dressed up in characters starting with “C”! So there was “construction worker”, “cockroach master”, “china kungfu master”, “cuban”, “cowgirl” and the list goes on……
4. The C party was a SMASH because the food was just fabulous (Thanks to Siewmin the Chief Chef & her chef assistants, & Mrs Mok & her helper.. so thankful for them) and everyone was so sporting with the games, and most importantly, the reason behind Christmas – Christ, was remembered! We heard touching stories of how lives were changed by Christ and how now Christmas means so much more.
Indeed, Christ is the reason we celebrate Christmas. He gave His life as a gift to mankind that whoever believes in Him shall have eternal life (life with him after death) and a life on earth filled so much more with meaning, purpose & love.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10
Thank YOU all JEDIs for making this Christmas & season such a memorable one for all of us. Your changed lives are proof of His love & your love towards Him. CN & myself are so privileged to be serving with you!!! We promise to have more parties like this - who wants to volunteer for next year??? ;p
feelin: amazed
listenin: silent night - jewel
Happy Birthday dear Jesus :)
Thank You for coming on earth to live like us that You may identify with our struggles & suffering.
Thank You for dying for me to give me a new life of hope, joy, peace, love, strength, courage, wisdom, purpose.
Thank you that your death has given me life for eternity with you, that i don't need to work towards my own salvation because i can never be perfect like you no matter how hard i try - You have DONE it on the cross for me.
feelin: gratefulness from within
listenin: we are the reason
1 Cor 13:4-8 are beautiful verses describing love and are loved by couples, christians & non-christians alike. I'd like to invite you to read it and apply into every other close relationships you have e.g. family and friends. Though just 5 verses, they can be applied deeply into our relationships with others we care for. Whenever i'm angry with a close one, i remember these verses, and i remember how God loves me with an even greater love; thus i can choose to love the one i'm upset with, with His love.
1 Cor 13:4-8
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails.
Then now i invite you read 1 Cor 13:4-8 by replacing "love" with "God" since 1 John 4:8 says “God is love”. The verses can also be used to understand God & His Love :) I think this helps us to understand the word "love" much more. He loves us with unconditional love - a level of love we can only pray to have, yet cannot achieve and fully comprehend. He is the creator of love. He IS Love.
4God is patient, God is kind. He does not envy, He does not boast, He is not proud.
5He is not rude, He is not self-seeking, He is not easily angered, He keeps no record of wrongs.
6God does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
7He always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8God never fails.
“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.” 1 Chro 16:34
feeling: Praise God for His love than gives me strength to love others more!
listenin: my typing
I’d like to give thanks for some things this week! J
1. Monday – I left my handphone in the taxi but the taxi driver was soooo nice, driving back to return me! I still find it unbelievable now… I didn’t realise it was lost at all. Thank God minutes after I left the cab, Irene called me, so the cab driver realised I had left the phone at the back, and he drove back to my office to return me!!!!! I can almost cry out in thanksgiving… I would really lose my mind if I lost the many MANY contacts!!! (hmmm… a warning to backup my contacts… but HOW ah?)
2. Wednesday – I woke up with such a bad migraine I couldn’t get out of bed at all, so no choice, had to take mc for the day. I’ve been having the migraine and cold on and off and was really very frustrated with it…. In the evening I went to see a better doctor (more inconvenient tho’), and well, THANK GOD he explained what was happening to me, and gave me better medication – WHICH WORKS!!! So relieved at least I know what’s wrong with me, and also relieved that the medication works, and ALSO, THANK GOD for the day of rest! J
3. Thursday – I took a cab somewhere and the Christian cab driver (about 60 years) really encouraged me with his testimonies of how God used him to touch the lives of his passengers, including how he managed to counsel a girl out of committing suicide! Really very encouraged…
4. Thursday evening – went to a wedding dinner of an NUS friend which I haven’t met since we graduated! I was seriously contemplating whether to go or not, because I won’t know many people at the dinner or mostly will be acquaintances I haven’t met for ages too. I guess since I told him I would, it wouldn’t be Christ-like to not turn up last minute. Well, I was glad I went! Though I haven’t met the group of acquaintances for the longest time, I met a good friend from NUS days that I haven’t kept in touch since. He was like my “buddy” in my first year coz’ we happened to be classmates and Malaysians and both quite adventurous. Sadly, we grew apart because he had a one-sided liking for me and also we split classes in the 2nd year. Well, it was really heart-warming to see him again, and hope we won’t stay out of touch till God-knows-when!
5. Thursday evening – left the wedding dinner half-way through coz’ CN & I went airport to pick-up a family coming back to Singapore for good from Hope Melbourne. I sure THANK GOD we went coz’ they had sooo many luggages! (coming back after 4 years mah) Thank God CN managed to borrow the car and we sent them home via the car & a cab. They’ve to come back coz’ the husband’s dad is very ill… praying that they’ll settle down well and to be able to take care of the dad somehow.
6. Well, Friday’s not here yet, but I wanna Thank God for the coming weekend coz’ I know I’ll be having a great time at caregroup, doing ministry on Saturday, and preparing for wedding Sun afternoon! I hope you too have thanksgiving points for your week!
feelin: a heartful of thanks
listenin: tai mei li – david tao
In a blink of an eye, “Journey” came & “Journey” went!
It was the fruit of many months of hard work. THANK GOD for everyone who played their part in their own way! The venue “Amici” was a great find. Thank God for His favour, we got the place with deco, good service, good food for a really good price. Thank God for the programming team, all the actors, musicians, ushers etc. etc. It was so heartwarming to see everyone preparing when I was there earlier to give moral support ;o The night before, we were all quite affected by the bad news that fen (a sister) was hospitalised due to a growth found near her chest. Thank God so much she was discharged on Sat morning, with the operation scheduled at a later date. Thank God too that cancer was ruled out. Still, it was and is not easy for us to know that a friend of our age can be down with a serious medical condition. It just serves as yet another reminder to live our lives well.
The night went really well with all of us enjoying the food, games, skit! The game was particularly HILARIOUS!!! hahaha….. can't wait till the official photos are out ;o
Christmas is fast approaching! Besides praying to have a memorable, fruitful season and a time to connect with friends, I’m praying for myself & all to have good health. Due to my asthma and sinus condition, the continuous rain has been affecting me quite a bit with bad migraines and continuous cold. Really praying to recover completely so I can enjoy this season and do the things I need to do well! Pray for me ya ;o
feelin: i wanna recover completely!
listenin: yi ge ren zhu - su hui lun
Below's an excerpt from Challies that touched me.
It reminds me to continue to ask God to expand my heart and to open my eyes to see things from His perspective.
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No one weeps like a prophet does. Why does he weep?
He weeps because he sees the eternal.
And others don’t.
Where others see gain he sees loss.
Where others see strength he sees infirmity.
Where others see security he sees frailty.
Where others see life he sees death.
“Then the man of God began to weep…”
“Why is my pain unending and my wound grievous and incurable?”
“It is enough, Lord. Take my life.”
No one rejoices like a prophet rejoices. Why does he rejoice?
He rejoices because He sees the eternal.
And others don’t.
Where others see loss he sees gain.
Where others see infirmity he sees strength.
Where others see frailty he sees security.
Where others see death he sees life.
“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”
“Day and night they never stop saying: holy, holy holy is the Lord God Almighty who was, and is, and is to come.”
“He who testifies to these things says,Yes, I am coming soon.”
And Jesus asked the blind man,”What do you want me to do for you?”…
And he replied, “LORD, I WANT TO SEE!”
Was pretty excited when Su invited Ben, CN & myself for her brother’s wedding ceremony on Wednesday. It was my first time attending an Indian wedding ceremony! It was definitely an eye opener. Though it was not the dinner (where they really do the dances together) but the traditional ceremony, it was a learning experience for me. The ceremony was held at the Indian temple opposite UE square.
The culture is definitely a deep and colourful one. All the ladies wore really pretty saris with deep colours, accessorised with shiny multicoloured bangles. I learnt much about the food and some of the differences between south and north Indians. I think Su’s parents are wise. Not just because they have a successful business, but because they brought Su and her brother up, emphasising on education and broadening their world perspective. He doesn’t want to let them know his home town in the south to prevent the children from being “trapped” unconsciously in the caste system. Thankfully too, like the Chinese, Su & her brother were brought up in Singapore where they’re now Singaporeans rather than Indians from India, so they can easily befriend and even marry Indians who originated in the North.
I seldom eat Indian food but I ate quite a full meal at the wedding! J Su’s really a warm, friendly and super-hospitable lady. I thank God blessing me with her friendship. May it grow deeper with time!
feelin: anticipating 2mrw
listenin: mary j blinge on mtv
Here’s some photos from celebrating Cyndi’s birthday! We’re sooooo ashamed & guilty to say, we MISSED her birthday! Somehow thought that her birthday’s on 24 Dec when it’s on 24 Nov!!! So poor her thought everyone forgotten… BUT how could that be rite??? ;o So we quickly pulled together a belated celebration for her after a smashingly powerful prayer meet.
Looking back at how I came to know Cyndi and how she gradually joined us, I know it’s really God’s hand upon the journey thus far. I thank God for letting us cross paths (miraculously) and for letting us be sisters in the same family of God now! I Thank God for her faith in God. Truly, she has been through really difficult times in her life and I know it’s her faith and trust in God that sustained her and will bring her further in His plan. I pray that our Father in heaven will continue to look after her, anoint and lead her to where He wants to place her, and to mold her to be the person He wants her to be J
Happy Belated Birthday sis! We won’t forget again!!!! ;p Thank you for being such a joy and blessing in our lives!
Here are some photos i took from my handphone during ARISE! It was fun watching the youths do the trustfall and i did it myself trusting that my friends would catch me! It's definitely a good team-bonding activity :) I thank God it went well and for the amazingly good weather - too hot actually! I thank God especially that no one was injured - i had such a heart attack when a 16-year old girl fell and hurt her back. I followed her on the ambulance and put my crisis-counselling skills to good use as i had to calm her down - she was crying, giving me a heart-attack myself. At that moment, i really regretted organising the trustfall because i was so worried about her back! What if she really hurt her back for life!!! So thankful when the doctor said nothing wrong and the xray showed she was perfectly fine too. It was normal procedure to go to the hospital just to be safe. Also, the girl was crying because it brought her bad memories of her beloved grandparents passing away in the hospital. All the same, i really THANK GOD no one was seriously hurt through the activity or it'll definitely be on my conscience for life.
Of course, we managed to create a Singapore record of “Most number of trustfalls done in an hour” by completing 2736 trustfalls! J
feelin: sneezy
listenin: 933fm
