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Monday, November 06, 2006
@ 1:55 AM )
it's 1.45AM already and i'm waking up tmr for morning jog but i don't care, i just have to post this entry!just finished a 2hr phone conversation with minyang, and it's my longest phone conversation ever with a friend believe it or not. and it's been ages since i've had so much fun talking to someone. and from now on, i've been strongly affirmed to be more loving and people-orientated.
it's all about loving people like how God loved you.
it's all about impacting, creating imprints in people's lives.
it's all about making a difference and making their day special.
it's all about inspiring people to take on new goals and visions.
i'm going to be people like ivan, he draws his strength, his drive from people, apart from God. i want to be able to wake up everyday, with this natural joy coming from inside, knowing that your day today is going to made out of people.
seeing the smiles on their faces, knowing they have caught the drive to move on.
it's worth it!
God i say i'm going to know you, not just about you.
let's start afresh.
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Sunday, October 15, 2006
@ 8:17 PM )
IT IS FINISHED ! hahaha finally the exams are over and the holidays are starting!
last wednesday i celebrated my 16th birthday.
the feeling was so different from the past years', more emotions and sentiments.
i really have to thank all the people who have entered my life in one way or another and have become part of my memories. i would not be the shiwei that i am now if not for anyone of you.
celebrated my birthday with a simple lunch at thompson plaza's swensons with a couple of classmates. really a bunch of great people who will be there to stick it out with you through thick and thin. (although the niao-ings are really cheem to understand) but nevertheless, i still had a memorable birthday.
last night in church, the cg celebrated ru's and my birthday through TREASURE HUNT. wah piang, fort canning park was so dark. but it was a totally new level and i'm so glad that the bday coordinator really took the extra mile to plan this. breakthrough larh. by the end of the year, we'll hit 40! it is possible!
in the past, what birthdays meant to me was just a day that i could be king and just demand anything from anybody, birthdays meant having a birthday cake and of course, many many presents. but this year, the word "birthday" began to take on a whole new meaning.
16 years ago, one of God's countless masterpieces was unleashed onto Earth, according to His plan, and therefore i was born.
in the past, i always grumbled over the slightest things, i grumbled about why i looked like that and would always compare myself with the more handsome classmates in class; i grumbled about why i couldn't study and score as well in exams as the guy who got first in class; i grumbled about why i couldn't be as tall as the tallest guy in class during height&weight measurement; i grumbled about why i couldn't get the prettiest girl in class to catch the latest movie with me. now that i think about it, all i could do is just to giggle and laugh at my foolishness.
the answer is so simple: because I am myself, not the strongest hunk in school, nor am i the smartest geek in class.
God created me just the way He intended me to be. From the texture and colour of my hair to the size of my toenails, it's all created according to His purpose. God prescribed every single detail of my body, He purposely chose my race, my parents, my relatives, and even the talents and abilities that i should have. Isn't our God amazing! Also, God already planned the days of my life in advance, the exact time of my birth and death. God is also a God of details!
There are so many people out there who think that they are accidents, resulting from mistakes made by their parents, whether it is because of unplanned marriages or one night stands. But no, you are not an accidet! Your birth might be a mishap, but your life is not a fluke. Your parents did not expect you, but God certainly did. In fact, He even planned that this was how you should be born! It is not fate, nor chance, nor luck nor coincidence that you're here! God never makes mistakes. He has a resaon for everything he created!
Hahaha. So there is no need for you to follow somebody else or try to be like the coolest girls in class, because by doing so, you're not yourself already. God created us to be unique and special, that's why we're all His masterpieces. The only way to honour him is to live by the purposes that He has set for you, then only will your God-given talents and abilities be developed.
Do not worry about the number of pimples on your face, nor worry about the number of centremetres you have grown, because you are you, God's very own masterpiece, God's child. (:
One more reason why my 16th birthday was one of the greatest ever. I received this card by snail mail on wednesday evening. I looked at the handwriting on the cover and I started to wonder who it might be from, my brain felt like a processing machine, mixing and matching faces of people to that handwriting. I opened the card and i teared. There i saw the last line - "Pst Lia & Pst How". I was totally blown away, how thoughtful and caring Pastors are. Despite all the struggles and mistakes. Thank you.
Now i view birthdays as a gauge to see how much I've grown as a disciple of Christ, how much spiritually mature i have grown, and how much more of myself i have become.
Thank You for everything you've given me.
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Monday, September 04, 2006
@ 2:27 AM )
what a weekend it was !Pst Joakim's preachings simply blew my mind off. in the midst of all the laughters and drama, the message was ever so clear. now 'taking the schools' isn't just a slogan that's for show, my heart's burning with this inner flame and passion now.
the examples and testimonials were extraordinary. the impact was beyond words.
the desire, the urgency and the need.
next year, we'll be the one having the pizzas (:
oh man arent we so lucky and blessed to have Pst Joakim for the weekend!
man too bad i missed out one session!
hahah besides having a breakthrough in faith and passion on a personal level, i felt that a church as a whole brokethrough as well! the praise and worship went up to a whole new level, with everyone lifting their hands and voices as loud and high as possible. the responses and the enthusiasm level was awesome too, the "wow!" and "yes!" was deafening sometimes. most importantly, God's presence could be felt so strongly.
i'm just so proud to be a heart of God youth.
i'm just so proud to be a disciple of Christ.
I BET YOU ARE TOO ! (:
Jesus, i believe in you and i would go to the ends of the earth
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Thursday, August 31, 2006
@ 9:43 PM )
alright man the holidays are here again! but not for long, it's a mugging holiday. the exam's are coming in 4 weeks time! arghh, but here's the bestever way to start off your september holiday:
my church's having a cool seminar this weekend! a pastor from sweden's coming, i saw e prog and i was immediately blown away. it's a showdown between so many schools!
if you have been wondering what my church's all about, what better time then to come down this weekend! it's going to be power-packed, action-drived and awesome!
if you want to catch the essence of my church, then this week's the week.
it's all worth it. everything's lined up. all we need is YOU.
i long to see Your face and hide in Your embrace
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Tuesday, August 29, 2006
@ 1:23 AM )
tired but REWARDING ! (: (
Sunday, August 27, 2006
@ 1:16 AM )
Footprints One night, a man had a dream. He dreamed that he was walking along the beach with the LORD. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonging to him, and the other to the LORD. When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life. This really bothered him,and he questioned the LORD about it. "LORD, You said that once I decided to follow You, You'd walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why, when I needed You most, You would leave me." The LORD replied, "My son, My precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."
My feelings for our Father was encapsulated in this short passage. you know that He is that with us through all the seasons, regardless of whether we're celebrating over our A1s that we got in our test, or whether we're crying over the loss of a loved one, our Father is there. After 8 months of being a Christian, i learnt that no matter how far you've walked or grown in the Lord, you just have to keep coming back to the most fundamental basis that keeps you going - God's unlimited, unconditional, perfect love, and that this love is not far away from us but is the gift of God's Spirit dwelling within us. Sometime around mid-April, i really found myself getting bored at all these routine stuff, Sunday service, Praise & Worship, Sermon, Prayer, besides all these, my life was very much the same as before. But i was worshipping God one day and i heard the Lord asking me this question, "how much do you love Me?" That time, all i had in my mind were the times and encounters with Him, the day i was saved, the joy and happiness i expeienced, the revelations i got, and i felt really challenged but motivated to get back on the spiritual track.
Then again, when Jesus died on the cross, he didn't just do it for SELECTED people. His death and resurrection are God's way to open for ALL people the door to eternal life. Jesus said: "When I am lifted up from the earth, I shall draw all people to myself" (John 12:32). All people, from all times and places, are lifted up with Jesus on the cross and into the new life of the resurrection. Jesus' death is a death for all humanity, and Jesus' resurrection is a resurrection for all humanity, not just for you and i.
"I am the Way; I am Truth and Life. No one can come to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). When Jesus said this, again He meant it for everybody. He opened the door to God's house for all people, also for those who never knew or will know that it was Jesus who opened it. The door's open to everyone and anyone! Can't it get any better ? Hahah.
And if this isn't enough, actually the Lord isn't waiting for us to go to him, He comes and find us! Pastor How shared in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve committed the first sin and hid from God, "the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” We love Him because He loved us first! xD
For people like us who have experienced His amazing love, the best and only thing that we can do is to share this abundant love! Let us "proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ" and "make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 3:8-9). What we have received is so beautiful and so rich that we cannot hold it for ourselves but feel compelled to bring it to every human being on earth. (:
Like what Pastor How said two weeks ago, the window of opportunities is wide open now, but it's going to close in two months time when the exams are coming. Once it's closed, it won't open again until the holidays, but then the circumstances and situation will be totally different already. Let us not be like the people in Jeremiah 8:2, “ The harvest is past, The summer is ended, And we are not saved!” Let us really just go all out in the last sprint before the exams start! Let us all be radical and on fire for Him cause He will provide. I really cannot imagine next year when so many people graduate to the junior colleges and yet not making any impact on their secondary schools. Like for Hwachong, when minyang and i graduate, there's only jianrui left to hold the fort. Let us just press on in faith and prayer, for God "is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think" (Ephesian s 3:20). let us all breakthrough! in numbers, in faith, in everything! (:
I know the next few months will be physically and emotionally tough for all of us, with the workload increasing, especially in studies. imagine doing mock papers everyday o_o, but think of it as chances and opportunities to stretch yourselves even further! On top of all these, we still have our Bible reading, Quiet Time to do, being a Christian indeed isn't easy! hahah but this should not deter you to compromise on your faith. Instead i encourage all of us to rely on God's strength! Like what Pastor Lia does, take pitstops and just zoom in to His Presence whenever you're feeling tired and weary. For "He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength" (Isaiah 40:29). When you've done this, the whole scene is brought to a whole new dimension and level!
Our lives are fragile and destined to death. But since God, through Jesus, shared in our fragile and mortal lives, death no longer has the final word. Life has become victorious!