Saturday, October 11, 2008

Mr and Mrs Ng

This postor was COOL...

Congrats to Francise and Valerie....

Friday, October 10, 2008

Many thoughts

Candid Mammee feels......

Sheepy Cloud's wedding was one of the best ones I've attended. Both of them looked fabulous.
We had great company at the table although we're now YS653 & Faithful 139, every dish was savoury, service was prompt, atmosphere was fun (we have rowdy bunch behind us), AND the red wine was great!

Their video was entertaining and creative, we had much laughter watching it :-)

And we attempted to do a high-pitch "Yum Seng" suggested by Mel. But couldn't stop laughing when we tried. I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes. So I guess we should do it at Jo Ho's wedding then huh?

I hope everyone enjoyed last night as much as I do.

Thanks, Sheepy Cloud and Congratulations!

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Ben 10 Watch

Candid Mammee------

One day last month, I was watching TV and Isaac was crouching in front of the TV ( near the drawer where we keep his colouring materials), so I thought he was doodling as he often did so.

A while later, I was curious as he was at it for quite a while already. Slowly and quietly, I went behind him and saw that he was using a green pen to draw a "watch" on his left wrist! I asked him what was that and he said, "Mummy, this is my Ben 10 watch!" And he even drew buttons on them!. Then he pretended to press on the watch and he "changed" into Four Arms, Diamond Head etc...

I'm really touched and amazed at how he finds ways to fulfil his desire. Isaac had been talking about this watch for one whole year already. His classmate had it and he requested before. The original costs $49 (has sounds) and fake one costs $10 (no sounds). I decided not to get him one. I told him it's very expensive and we don't have a budget for it. (I didn't want to get him a fake one as his classmates may tease him. His classmate had expensive original toys.)

This incident reminds me to be creative with fulfulling our wants. And yes, even children have to learn about delayed gratification.

p/s: Anyway, I promised him that he will receive one this Christmas yesterday.

Saturday, September 06, 2008

Testimony

S.Sand

Sometimes, my memories are overwritten very fast, sometimes just over a few days things and start to forget, so i think blogging will be great or even jounalling...

Thanks God for the great weather yesterday afternoon, as most of you knows that for the past 2 weeks, it was rainning everyday and yesterday morning it was raining too.

My company is having a team building event at Sentosa yesterday, so if it rains, everything got to be indoor, which i prefer outdoor activities. 2 few days earlier, i started praying for good weather, and God answered my prayer. Late afternoon on friday, clouds were clear and it was a sunny day , which is good for beach activities.

And i really enjoyed the team building, we had some indoor games, eg 10 and 5 cents game (bigger group), more interactive game. Follow by beach game, we are supposed to build a raft(given 5 big rubber air filled , ropes and a pillar), after that sit on the raft and puddle over the other side of the sea. And my team was first to puddle back to shore.

It was a great time and get to know more people, and meet up with the president.

There will be another team-building event coming up in Nov, which i am part of the committee, and i am looking forward for this.. hee hee..

A True Story of the Titanic

S..Sand...

Do you still remember movie Titanic? What is the most memorable things that come to your mind?
- the Handsome actor and Beautiful actress!
- great cruise!
- 'You jump, I jump'!

Here is a true story that this movie had missed out.... I am really encourage by this true story, to be a evanglist for God.

Let's share your thoughts after reading this story.

=========================
John Harper was born to a pair of solid Christian parents on May 29th, 1872. It was on the last Sunday of March 1886, when he was thirteen years old that he received Jesus as the Lord of his life. He began to preach about four years later at the ripe old age of 17 years old by going down to the streets of his village and pouring out his soul in earnest entreaty for men to be reconciled to God.
As John Harper's life unfolded, one thing was apparent...he was consumed by the word of God. Harper was taken in by Rev. E. A. Carter of Baptist Pioneer Mission in London, England. This set Harper free to devote his whole time of energy to the work so dear to his heart. Soon, John Harper started his own church in September of 1896. (Now known as the Harper Memorial Church.) This church which John Harper had started with just 25 members, had grown to over 500 members when he left 13 years later. During this time he had gotten married, but was shortly thereafter widowed. However brief the marriage, God did bless John Harper with a beautiful little girl named Nana.


Ironically, John Harper almost drowned several times during his life. When he was two and a half years of age, he almost drowned when he fell into a well but was resuscitated by his mother. At the age of Twenty- six, he was swept out to sea by a reverse current and barely survived, and at thirty-two he faced death on a leaking ship in the Mediterranean. Perhaps, God used these experiences to prepare this servant for what he faced next.......
It was the night of April 14, 1912. The RMS Titanic sailed swiftly on the bitterly cold ocean waters heading unknowingly into the pages of history. On board this luxurious ocean liner were many rich and famous people. At the time of the ship's launch, it was the world's largest man-made moveable object. At 11:40 p.m. on that fateful night, an iceberg scraped the ship's starboard side, showering the decks with ice and ripping open six watertight compartments. The sea poured in.

On board the ship that night was John Harper and his much-beloved six-year-old daughter Nana. According to documented reports, as soon as it was apparent that the ship was going to sink, John Harper immediately took his daughter to a lifeboat. It is reasonable to assume that this widowed preacher could have easily gotten on board this boat to safety; however, it never seems to have crossed his mind. He bent down and kissed his precious little girl; looking into her eyes he told her that she would see him again someday. The flares going off in the dark sky above reflected the tears on his face as he turned and headed towards the crowd of desperate humanity on the sinking ocean liner. As the rear of the huge ship began to lurch upwards, it was reported that Harper was seen making his way up the deck yelling "Women, children and unsaved into the lifeboats!" It was only minutes later that the Titanic began to rumble deep within. Most people thought it was an explosion; actually the gargantuan ship was literally breaking in half. At this point, many people jumped off the decks and into the icy, dark waters below. John Harper was one of these people.

That night 1528 people went into the frigid waters. John Harper was seen swimming frantically to people in the water leading them to Jesus before the hypothermia became fatal.

Mr. Harper swam up to one young Man who had climbed up on a piece of debris. Rev. Harper asked him between breaths, "Are you saved?" The young man replied that he was not.

Harper then tried to lead him to Christ only to have the young man who was near shock, reply no. John Harper then took off his life jacket and threw it to the man and said "Here then, you need this more than I do..." and swam away to other people. A few minutes later Harper swam back to the young man and succeeded in leading him to salvation.

Of the 1528 people that went into the water that night, six were rescued by the lifeboats. One of them was this young man on the debris. Four years later, at a survivors meeting, this young man stood up and in tears recounted how that after John Harper had led him to Christ. Mr. Harper had tried to swim back to help other people, yet because of the intense cold, had grown too weak to swim. His last words before going under in the frigid waters were "Believe on the Name of the Lord Jesus and you will be saved."

Does Hollywood remember this man? No. Oh well, no matter.
This servant of God did what he had to do. While other people were trying to buy their way onto the lifeboats and selfishly trying to save their own lives, John Harper gave up his life so that others could be saved.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." [John 15:13] John Harper was truly the hero of the Titanic!


Monday, September 01, 2008

Meeting the Parents....

~Lola
Haven't heard this phrase used since school time!! Though of cos i'm sure our dear teacher in the house hears it at least 1x a year!!?

Thot I'd just share a little about whats going on tonight...
As the title states....there's gonna be a Meet the Parents' Session tonight - ie, my mum shall be meeting my other halve's parents for the first time over dinner!!!

Not sure how things will turn out, but have already prayed together with 'Superman' , leaving everything to the Lord, that the discussions about our wedding and the whole interaction will be a good time! :) I'm sure all will turn out well!

Shall share more with you guys tomorrow!
Keep me in prayer ya!!! :)

Friday, August 29, 2008

Away for 2 weeks.....

~ LoLa
hi guys!
Surprised that not many have left their prints on the blog since i left! Was expecting to come back to a super busy blog....what happened? :)

Anyway, Candee Mummy, I'm so encouraged to read your previous blog. Yeah, i still remember the times where you were going through a rough patch and how some r/s were being threatened. As i look back, indeed I have seen how God has saved you, not just giving you salvation, but also how He has changed your life in so many ways. You have never ceased to be an encouragement to me: your enthusiasm, openness and passion to learn more about Him. God honours such a heart.. :)

You know, when i was away for the 2 weeks, I have a very honest confession to make...we were so busy planning where to go, what to do, that I really had no time to really spend time alone with God.....it's ironic that when we go for a holiday, we as singaporeans just want to squeeze as much as possible to see within the given time! And sadly, we end up tired and need a holiday back home to recover!!ha!

Anyway, yea...i really felt the 2 weeks away was also a time where I kinda drifted a little...no cell, no service, no TAWG.....and then i realised....how EASY it is to just slip away ....to just backslide...

As i am thinking aloud, the word 'accountability' really rings out loud ....often we don't realise, but coming to cell and coming for service regularly does a lot more than just making the cell look good or making the cell leader happy!!! haa :) it keeps all of us accountable in our walk....Hearing how God has been real in each other's lives as we come together to share, as we pray together....as we set aside time to worship God as a corporate body, as we hear the Holy Spirit speaking straight to our hearts through a sermon....all these are more than just actions and duties, they are really intentional moments we spend with God's people, in God's presence....and I really want to encourage all of us...let's not give ourselves reasons to disappear from God's people....even visiting this Blog, reading about God, listening worship songs about God, blogging about God...just these few minutes here have uplifted my spirit.....thanks guys for making this blog a place of rest for me...a refuge from the busy world that we live in....

i was listening to the beautiful ministering music on the blog. As i heard the song ' You are my all in all' (Track 6), it just brought me back to my Christian walk many years ago....don't know how to express, but sometimes, there are certain songs that just have a place in your heart and represent a particular period of your life....not sure if you guys have that :)

This song has always been one of my old time favourites....and thought i'd share the lyrics below....it's a beautiful song that I would never want to forget...a song that speaks of our smallness in the midst of a great almighty God!

You are my strength when I am weak
You are the treasure that I seek
You are my all in all
Seeking You as a precious jewel
Lord to give up I’d be a fool
You are my all in all

Jesus Lamb of God
Worthy is Your name
Jesus Lamb of God
Worthy is Your name

Taking my sin, my cross, my shame
Rising again I bless Your name
You are my all in all
When I fall down You pick me up
When I am dry You fill my cup
You are my all in all

Friday, August 22, 2008

COMEX 2008

Comex 2008 Singapore is here again! Anyone need anything or buy anything? =)

http://www.comexshow.com.sg/

- Chipmunks -

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Cell Gel

Candid Mammee--..---..---

During the recent Gel, Martin asked us to share 3 things we like about cell and the reasons....

I was reminded of those times when you guys were there for me when I needed help and support. So I wanted to "extend" my list from my three. (First 3 was Birthday cakes!, Worships and Sharing of TAWG).

I want to write them down lest I forget...
-in year 2004(i think), my dad was admitted to SGH for coughing blood. I held on to a plastic box of his blood on the way to hospital (he had been coughing whole day and had collected it for the doc to see). Tuberculosis caused an infection. The bleeding couldn't stop. I was alone and very scared in the hospital, my sis was held up in a meeting. Suddenly I thought of Sandie and smsed her. She smsed a prayer back to me and I felt much better. At first the docs had problems locating the bleeding, but they finally managed to stop the bleeding by middle of the night.
-Dec 2005, I accepted Christ because of Sandie's relentless belief in me. She pursued and asked me to one of the services preached by Pastor Gerald.
-in year 2006, Laura and Sandie were there for me when I was facing personal challenges. They took time to see me, smsed me and encouraged me by buying books for me and bringing me to counseling sessions. The issues were resolved and today I enjoy a much improved relationship with my family.
Also, my Buddy at work discovered cyst in her womb. We prayed for her in cell. The cyst is no longer there the last I checked with her.
-in 2007, I was pregnant and was feeling very lethargic. I didn't attend cell or service regularly. You guys took time to call me so that I stay in the loop and kept encouraging me to return to cell. Some of you even took time to celebrate my birthday with me.

I have never attended other cells to compare. But I felt really comfortable when I first visited Y653.
I'm sure we'll multiply fast if we keep this Vibrant Atmosphere for all visitors.

Cheers x many

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Moi Birthday Wishes

Someone spurred me into writing this post.. Wanting me to list down my birthday wishes (Not here actually), but where else I can post? Haha! So bear with me peepos.. Just a few wishes and Im done.. Dun say me "thick skin" k! Lolx! =)

1) PDA phone (Samsung Omnia or Asus P750??)
2) White Sony PSP
3) MP4 player
4) 14" laptop (Fujitsu?)
5) Reserved for entry...

Ok! That's all. Its just wishes afterall. ^^

Chipmunks

Disclaimer
The information contained in this post is only for information purposes. The material on this post does not constitute advice and you shall not rely on any material in this post to make any decision or take any action. Of cos, if you are to bless me with any of the above and I shall gladly accept it with much appreciation.

The contents in this post may contain technical inaccuracies and typographical errors. The information in this post may be updated from time to time and may at times be out of date. I accept no responsibility for keeping the information in this post up to date or liability for any failure to do so.

Lost in sea - Hang on to that rock - choose the right one though

No other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. —1 Corinthians 3:11

Many a times, I hear sharings during cell that one feels a sense of a lost of direction in life. Alas, I am beginning to feel thus. I feel like I am floating everyday half awake.

I am encouraged by this verse which says that Jesus foundation is the best. In my floating along the sea, I better cling onto the right rock, which is the foundation that Jesus had laid. If it sounds too chim, it probably means hanging onto all the lovely things that He promises and He believes in, which is, us. I think Jesus believes in us, otherwise He would not have died on the cross, zun boh?

P.S by the way, william is single and very available, works at HSBC, slightly cynical about the faith though. I burst out luffing when Christine sneaked up to me and asked, "eh you change bf?"
Anyk

Sunday, August 03, 2008

Abounding Provision, Amazing Grace

~ Lola
hi all, I was very blessed by this morning's sermon. Though it was short, it touched by heart and God spoke to me...

For those of you who might have missed it, or may have been tempted by the ZZzzz monster halfway through, here's my short sharing on what was shared.....

Ps Keet touched on the 2nd part of the 2 part series: Abounding Provision, Amazing Grace. He started off with one of my favourite verses:

"Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." 2 Cor 9:7-8

He shared that Biblical generosity goes beyond finances...ie, God loves a cheerful giver, not just in terms of giving of our finances.

2 Questions we need to ask:
1. Why does God provide for us?
2. What can stop the inflow of God's provision in our lives?

Before we answered those 2 questions, he brought us to Matt 22: 37-40

Jesus replied: " `Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: `Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

Question: Are we generous with others /neighbours with our lives? Have we been generous with our lives? As leaders in ministry, in our workplace, at home..? Do we love our neighbours like how we love ourselves?

On question 1:
Why does God provide for us?
  • God's provision releases us to b a blessing for others
  • We allow love to flow out of ourselves to be a channel of blessing
  • The difference between the Sea of galilee and Dead Sea is Sea of Galilee is full of life because water flows out, while Dead Sea is dead because whatever flows in stays in.
  • When we become a channel of blessing, we open the way for inflow of God's abundance in our lives

Have we been generous with what God has blessed us?

The analogy he drew with regards to the two Seas was very interesting...it was simple yet it struck me...I asked myself...have i been allowing all that God has blessed me with, to flow out to bless others? Have i been a channel of His blessing? What struck me wasn't finances, it was something that God has blessed all of us with - TIME....and LOVE

During the past few months, it has seemed as if somehow my usual 24-hour day has been halved...as I have been struggling to find the time to do so many things. Very often, there has hardly been enough time for me to settle my own personal things, what more to find the time to bless others? That also tied in with LOVE. God has loved all of us, and it says clearly in John 3:16 that He demonstrated that by giving of His Son (Himself!)...I asked myself...have I been really giving of myself to those around me? my colleagues? my cell members? :), my family members...it was a time of reality check with me as I sat there asking myself...

He went on to the second question:

2. What can stop the inflow of God's provision in our lives? ie when we know that we are not living to our full potential.

a. Laziness (Prov 6:10-11)
Preparation precedes blessings.
We can't expect God to provide when we are not prepared for it.

b. Greed (Ecc 5:10)
It is sometimes easier to give everything when have little. But when we have been blessed, often it seems harder to give everything.
He urged us to LEARN TO GIVE OUT OF THE ABUNDANCE God has provided us.

c. Sins (Pro 8:13)
of stealing, hoarding, robbing the Lord

He ended off by encouragin us to be generous with others with ALL OF OUR LIVES just as God did with His.

I hope you have been blessed by the sharing above....and pray that it may also urge you to pause and ask yourself....how generous have you been in the giving of your lives and of the the things God has blessed you with, to those around you? :) Or have you, like me, been busy with our own lives, that we sometimes forget that God has blessed us to be a blessing?

I believe, that as we have been blessed by God in terms of His love, His time, His financial provision, the more we give, the more we shall receive! Am reminded of Ron Kenoly's worship song based on the verse below:

Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

Food for thought and prayer :)

Friday, August 01, 2008

Whom have I in heaven besides You?

~Lola

Hi all, this was the passage that I smsed you guys on Monday and wanted to drop a post about it too, but only managed to do it today...

v25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.


v26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.


~Psalm 73:25-26

There is a beautiful old worship song that was composed from these verses. ANd below are the chords that Aileen has requested and i also thought would be great to share with you all:)

GOD IS THE STRENGTH OF MY HEART

G C G
Whom have I in heaven but You
C G7
There is nothing on earth I desire beside You
C G
My heart and my strength
D7 G
Many times they fail
Cmaj7 G C D7
But there is one truth that always will prevail

C G
God is the strength of my heart
C G
God is the strength of my heart
C Bm
God is the strength of my heart
Em Am D7
And my portion forever
G
Forever


Ail, why don't u play this with Christopher and record for all of us to hear!? :)

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

God is loving toward all He has made

~Mystery~

I am sick again!!! Throat hurts badly.. hmm too much singing I guess.. on mc for 2 days.. hehe.. Which gives me time to spend it with God and reflect upon His grace and blessings. God renewed my perspective about Him as I was doing TAWG earlier. So I thought of blogging to bless all of you with what I had read.

Psalms 145 : 9 - 21

The LORD is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.

9 The LORD is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.


10 All you have made will praise you, O LORD;
your saints will extol you.

11 They will tell of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might,

12 so that all men may know of your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
The LORD is faithful to all his promises
and loving toward all he has made. [c]


14 The LORD upholds all those who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.

15 The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.

16 You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways
and loving toward all he has made.


18 The LORD is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.


19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.

20 The LORD watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.

21 My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD.
Let every creature praise his holy name
for ever and ever.

Referring to the verses whom I have set in bold. God is loving towards all He has made. Yes, that means you and I. God is loving towards us and its repeatedly mentioned. There is something powerful when a verse is repetition, it means God is emphasing on something. Thats all, turn to your neighbours and tell them, "God is loving towards you". wahahahaha, sorry can't help it. Verse 18 says, God is near to all who call to Him. He is but a prayer away, let this bless your heart. For He is not a distant God but a Loving and Near God.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PS Aileen : hahaha you are right I did laugh my heads off while I was reading your blog. But on a serious note, pray and ask God to renew that passion to draw near to Him in worship. For all it took me was a simple prayer to ignite that passion within me that propelled me to practise and to reach where I am. God sees the heart, be faithful in the little things, the few chords that you know. As you become faithful in practising these chords, God will add on to what you know.

Oh this clip is for you. Its called Mighty to save by Hillsongs :



Well, as for the inspiring guitarists.. my aim is to raise up musicians for the Lord so if you are willing to practise and to learn, I will be willing to teach. :) Have a blessed day ahead and whoever it reading this pls pray for my healing ya...

Cheers...

Monday, July 28, 2008

Calluses

~ Aileen

I got a new friend on Saturday :)
Meet Christopher, my guitar :) [yes, Melvin-I can hear you laughing away]
No, havent got a pic of it yet but I can assure you it looks great, to me!
So, I brought my previous guitar down to Parklane on Sat..thinking I'll get it set-up properly so that i can try tinklin w it again. Though I must confess I was hoping I can find a shop which'll allow me to trade-in for a new one...lo and behold, I did! Thankfully, Melvin had kindly offered to go down w me and a divine help in shortlisting/selecting a new guitar. :)
And calluses wld be the next best thing I hope for on my fingers, so that I can play longer and maybe better :) I had gone for lessons some years ago, and amazingly can recall some simple chords.
Well, I figured giving a name to the instrument wld increase sense of ownership and perhaps practise time - so after much deliberation, it's Christopher! you bet it's better choice than Tommy huh? [ok, now I think Julia prob has some things to say...hahah]

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Just Do It!!!

Would we risk the danger and uncertainties that arise if we continued to travel through the forest, the hills, ravines, lakes, climb the mountains to see a more spectacular view of God's wonders or remain where we're at?

Hmm.. good question, if its me I will gladly take the plunge just for a better glimpse of God. No pain no gain! Just one glimpse of His glory and I will never be the same again.

Let me post yet another video for your enjoyment..

God is constantly working in YS653...and beyond....

A BIG hello to the fun loving and Godly people of YS653...Its been a long long time since i'ved posted something here. Let's imagine a beautiful scenery with a valley surrounded with mountains, we all view this picture in awe of God's creation and wonder...imagine every single one of us from YS653 standing right in front of that valley. Would we risk the danger and uncertainties that arise if we continued to travel through the forest, the hills, ravines, lakes, climb the mountains to see a more spectacular view of God's wonders or remain where we're at? Lets ponder over this question, feel free to share ....

1 corinthians 2:9
However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"


Warmest regards

Martin.

We Multiply

Candid Mammee laments.....

First, let me say that whoever came up with the idea of smsing Bible verses is great! Sometimes the verses speak to my heart and remind me to be positive. They're especially effective when we don't hear much good news in the media these days.

Secondly, about our cell multiplying....(multiply always sound like we're some sort of bacteria multiplying and mutating into something else). I don't know how the rest of you feel. I have mixed feelings.
I remember when I first joined in Dec 2005, we were small and Alvin was THE ONLY guy. He got ALL the attention in those days. I am happy that we have more cell members now, it means more souls are saved and more will be saved.
Frankly, I regret to say that I really haven't grown to know much about the Bible from then and now. I will work harder.
However, I see how much Silence Sands has grown in Christianity. How she overcomes her challenges with her faith in God these few years has been an inspiration to me. And now she's going to lead a cell! I am truly proud of her.
Then again, I will miss many of you.....
Nevertheless, I believe God will be happy that we're multiplying and that we'll continue to do so.

So, you see, I'm really having mixed feelings.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Hi all, its been a long while since I blogged. Was busy and stressed out from my work. I know I know... not a very good excuse. But well, here I am back! And I bring along good tidings. Just to share a testimony with all of you. As you guys know my job is extremely challenging cos you do not know what kind of customers you will face. On top of that I still have to lead my team. Man... the stress can sometimes be too much to take. But I thank God for his word.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. - Proverbs 3:5-6

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose - Romans 8:28


God has brought about peace to my heart and now armed with a new found confidence, God has been blessing me in my work. In fact, we are having a lull period now. Praise God for rest. Its not easy BUT I have emerged victorious.

Just an update of what I am planning to do. I am now venturing into electric guitar. Going to take up a Berkley online guitar course. Course fee is 5k so please pray for me, pray for blessing... Haha I am appointed as electric guitarist for my best friend's wedding, so I frantically do up my gear.. here is what the it looks like :



Well as usual, here is a clip to help all of you relax.

Teach me Your Ways, O Lord

~Lola

I believe all of you would have received a verse that i shared via sms a few hours ago.

Wanted to share with you a few more verses on this blog and how the Lord reminded me of a powerful song within those few minutes of doing my Tawg. (I realise that God speaks to me very often through songs...)

PS 86:11 - 13
Teach me your way, O LORD,
and I will walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name.
I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart;
I will glorify your name forever.
For great is your love toward me;
you have delivered me from the depths of the grave.


Psalm 86 was written by David as a prayer to God. Do read it if you have the time. As I read the psalm, as I was reading verses 11 to 13, instantly, God seemed to remind me of an old worship song. As I sung it in my head, it seemd like an intimate prayer I was making to God....telling God that I really want to have an undivided heart, so that I may fear His name and walk in His truth every day... Though I may be a leader, it doesn't make me immune to the similar struggles that all of us face as humans...and it is a constant reminder that i daily have to take up my cross and die to myself....

I searched online for a free midi/mp3 of this song, but couldn't find anything, not even on youtube! So, i decided that since I really wanted to share this song with you...and how else then to sing and record it for you guys!

At 130am in the morning, I didn't really put in too much effort to ensure the singing and recording was perfect though :) Nonetheless, i pray that the song ministers to you :)

here are the lyrics:

Purify My Heart

Teach me Your ways
O Lord my God
And I will walk in Your truth
Give me a totally undivided heart
That I may fear Your name

Purify my heart
Cleanse me Lord I pray
Remove from me all that is
Standing in the way
Purify my heart
Cleanse me Lord I pray
Remove from me all that
Is standing in the way
Of Your love

I will upload it to music hutch...so you can select it from the playlist on the top left hand corner of the blog :)




Monday, July 21, 2008

good point candie mammee. actually i can identify with what Ps Wil said. When the stress level in my life is high, basically trying to achieve much at work and life (with little sleep), I am usually short-tempered, and little things make me irritated.

However, in recent weeks, as my amount of work has been reduced as I am in the transition period to a new project, life has been stress-free, and I notice that I am a lot more patient, joyful, at peace, and not easily irritated or angered. Although on the work front it has been less than fulfilling, I thank God for his peace, to know that agreeing with Ps Wil does not mean that I settle to be a mediocre person, but that I am able to do great things to him by full reliance on his strength.

This period has been very different compared to other periods when I was searching for a job. Although I do not yet see the light at the end of the tunnel, I feel a lot more at peace and hopeful compared to other times. By God's grace.

I recently started reading this book by Joel Osteen, called "Your New Life Now" or something like that, given to me by my mum. It really elicited a paradigm shift in the way I view my life. In short, it really brings to life what it means to have "audacious faith", that since we are Children of the Most High God, we are no worse off but instead tons better off than non-Christians out there. In fact, I have had my staunch non-Christian gf come to me to download work struggles, and when I took time to share and tell her I'll keep her in prayer, I could sense that she was thankful. It's a great testimony, cos I have never really dared to broach christianity to her b4 cos she's like really staunch and all....but I thank God that he's given me divine peace in this period to be able to bless her too!

~ the one who got 7 points.....cos cannot write real name ma

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Prison Break - Last of the 3-part series

~ Lola

Today was the last sermon on the 3 part series Prison Break. I believe that those of us who have attended the past 3 sermons have been greatly blessed by the simple yet powerful message. For those of you who missed it, you can download from our church website...but hey...it's never the same as BEING in service :)

Anyway, today P Wil spoke on breaking free from the prison of anger and rage.
Are Christians allowed to be angry? That was a question asked as we turned to Eph 4:30-31
"And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. " ....which seemed to suggest that we are NOT to be angry.

Then, looking to Eph 4:26-27
"In your anger do not sin" : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold."...
it seemed to show a clearer picture of what the Word of God says about anger.

Indeed, anger is a God-given emotion and IS permissible for us as Christians, as long as we do not sin against God and man...as long as we do not allow our anger to become rage.

P Wil defined the difference between ANGER & RAGE. Rage is like a 2nd stage of anger....when it is uncontrollable & violent....where the devil gets a foothold in our lives. Anger & rage is an outward manifestation of many other deeper issues within our lives.

He went on to share that 2 reasons why there is anger/rage in many peoples' lives today.

1) Bitterness and unforgiveness in our lives that has been locked in our hearts, and which get triggered when fresh events happen.

2) Stressful environment which sometimes makes some of us like a 'walking time bomb'!

What are some ways we can help to break free from anger and rage?

1) Identify the root issues of bitterness and unforgiveness and release forgiveness.
2) Examine our personal goals and ambitions and ask ourselves, ARE THESE WHAT GOD WANTS OF ME? Stop striving and ask What has God designed for us? Take a long sabbatical and seek God's will for our lives.

I pondered for awhile as he shared the above. I am generally not an easily angered person, and less so, do not easily flare up into a rage. However I do notice that in recent months, I have become more easily irritated by little things.

Just a few nights ago, I stopped over at my uncle's home for a quick dinner. He had friends over , and at the same time, had his hifi set on with some nice jazz music. However, as he really is into audio systems, and loves music, it was, as usual, pretty loud (to me at least). As I chatted with him, I felt myself having to stretch my voice and my ears to carry out the conversation.

Then, a few minutes later, I answerd a phone call. By the time I put down the phone, I realised that tension had started to mount in me emotionally, and i was starting to feel moody. It started to affect my mood somehow and I started feeling temperamental. So, i decided to take my leave early and get out of the 'noisy' environment. However, it seemed as if i was the only one bein bothered....the rest of them in the house seemed totally comfortable with the level of noise!!

Well, this was just one example of my recent incidences of easy irritations....As P Wil was sharing, I was asking myself if it was due to the too many things that I feel like i have to do in the recent months...eg. settle house rental, find bridal studio, work etc, amongst other things...could it be stress? but then again, I don't really feel stressed leh...my mum thinks that it is stress and that it manifests itself through my eye bags, gastritis, growing level of impatience....

Oh well, as P Wil shared, the stress levels that each of us face at work and during the day often are a reason for the unexplainable anger that we vent out when we reach home. And sometimes its because we are loading tooo much on ourselves....more than we can take.

Let's be encouraged, then, because we have a God who can carry our load as we cast our cares upon Him (1 Peter 5:7). Let's learn to take life easy...stop striving, learn not to worry about tomorrow as tomorrow will take care of itself (matthew 6), and to....count our blessings one by one.

At the end of the day, when we breathe our last breath, what are the things that matter? Our career? Our millions of dollars? Our assets? Our ministry? All these we will never bring to Heaven.....We could die a millionaire, but when we appear before the Lord, our hands will be empty....so it means...ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

I guess, when I finally see the Lord face to face, what would really matter most at that time would be.....my relationship with God, my relationships with my family members and those God placed in my life, the lives that I have/have not impacted for God.....

oh well..at the end of the day, how we want to live our lives is really up to us isn't it? How stressful I want my life to be is within my control. How impactful i want to be to the lives around me is also within my control.....after all, God gave us the ability to make choices....

Okay i'm wondering how to end this post....can't quite come up with any ending...
so there it is....just some of my thoughts :)

Friday, July 18, 2008

Time Alone With God (TWAG) - Psalm 1

As some of you all knows that I am Super duper FREE for last 2 weeks, next week will be the same. I had been surfing internet during office hours lor.... too bored now... some of you must be very envy for me rite... :P

If you have any research and no time to do, let me know, FOC service next week. I am so stress until i must list down what i want to surf everyday... hai... terrible.... i must enjoy these period now, I will miss it when i start my new job...

SERIOUS now, You got message from Lola, please prepare yourself and share during cell next week.

Listed here are 3 version of translation.

Psalm 1

a) NIV version
1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.
4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

b) The Message
1 How well God must like you— you don't hang out at Sin Saloon, you don't slink along Dead-End Road, you don't go to Smart-Mouth College.

2-3 Instead you thrill to God's Word, you chew on Scripture day and night.
You're a tree replanted in Eden, bearing fresh fruit every month,
Never dropping a leaf, always in blossom.

4-5 You're not at all like the wicked, who are mere windblown dust—
Without defense in court, unfit company for innocent people.

6 God charts the road you take. The road they take is Skid Row.


c) New International Reader's Version

1 Blessed is the one who obeys the law of the Lord.
He doesn't follow the advice of evil people.
He doesn't make a habit of doing what sinners do.
He doesn't join those who make fun of the Lord and his law.
2 Instead, he takes delight in the law of the Lord.
He thinks about his law day and night.
3 He is like a tree that is planted near a stream of water.
It always bears its fruit at the right time.
Its leaves don't dry up.
Everything godly people do turns out well.
4 Sinful people are not like that at all.
They are like straw that the wind blows away.
5 When the Lord judges them, their life will come to an end.
Sinners won't have any place among those who are godly.
6 The Lord watches over the lives of those who are godly.
But the lives of sinful people will lead to their death.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Angel and Mortal where's my angel?

Hi everyone,

My mortal and me
I surprised myself by smsing my mortal a few times to have a good week and also told her I would not be able to make it. on the section event I also ask her about her felt need which was time management which she said was okie. and she also wished me a blessed week. I also took a photograph of a Christian postcard encouraging us to count our blessings with her name written on a small post it on the postcard and mms her.

Alvin's angel and me
Alvin's angel ask clement to pass a big packet of "Jiu Hu aka you yu aka dried cuttlefish" to me to pass to alvin. So sweet right? But But But I haven got a chance to see alvin and tada! the Jiu Hu is still in my carrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

My Angel and me
Nothing leh ... angel wru?

Anyk

You got mail ! Angel and Mortal

~ Sand...ie~

I am very blessed by my Angel during the YA gathering...

At the beginning, we are supposed to let Melvin knows about our felts need, and i smsed him a few items:
- New job
- financial stability

Before the event, i did not received sms or anything from her, i tot my angel was missing or forget that she got a mortal waiting for her..

During the event, i received a card and a book mark from her. When all the angels were reviewed, she started to talk to me, and asking me how am i doing as regards to my felt needs.

I mention to her that i am looking for a tuition teacher for my niece, and before that i did called up a agency, but no response from them. Last friday, my angel past me a name card, she knew someone who can help me. Today morning i called that person, and before that my angel had already called her earlier.

I believe this little act from my angel, really make my day... Expect from the unexpected...

Just as what i highlighted in the yesterday blog, PUT WORDS INTO ACTIONS, so that the other person will be blessed.

As the Bible Acts 20:35 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'

I got a new job, and thank God for His provision and also had 20% pay adustment.
Sometimes ago, during a service, there was a lady who shared that she got a pay adjustment for 20% , i am thinking to myself, how can it be possible.

Matthew 19:26
"With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Praise the Lord.

As for my new appointment, some of you had heard me sharing since beginning of the year, God open and close doors, at one point, there is a hope that i will get new posting (3 x internal transfer), but due to some changes which are beyond my control, only God knows. During this process of waiting, there are lot of disappointments, but God is good, He had a better plan for me.

Hebrews 11:40 'God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.'

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Thank you Lord.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Put words into ACTIONS

~ Silence Sand~

No wonder my score is only 2... as my nick implied , Silence Sand, will always keep SILENCE... good observer, and input when neccessary...

Just wanna share during Church Camp, it reminded me to put words into actions when P. Ong preached in Chinese service, I need to reflect for myself, I do not like people to talk only and no action taken especially at work place, some of you may recall, your boss like to boss around...

Seems like I forget to look at my life too, i had all the ideas in my head, but no action taken... :( which are more towards developing my own faith goals)... oh no, today we are suppose to review our faith goals, what had i done for the 1st half of the year? NOTHING lor...Time just fly away...

1 John 3:1-18
"Let us not love with words and togue, but with actions."

This versue reminded me about my actions to be taken, even to show love to my family and friends. Other things like my faith goals...

Listed some practical ways you can show LOVE to your family and friends?

a) Family member
- Drive my mum around on sun eg. go marketing, or anywhere she wants to go.
- Spend time with my niece before bedtime, to talk to her, and find out how she feel
- Do TAWG with my niece
Need to find other ways to show love to my sister and sis-in-law, these are challenging.

b) What about friends?
Have not been contacting with them for sometimes.
- meeting up with them

As for my faith goals, i need to put into actions
eg
1. learning guitar(HOW), and
2. healthy life style,
- stop eating fried food...

Maybe you would like to share with our cell, some practical ways you can show LOVE to your family and friends?

Monday, July 14, 2008

Just saying..

Candid Mammee says.....

Finally I can post! And on my birthday too! Alex changed the faulty keyboard. Looks like anyk's rating system worked! And she gave me a 9 for Consisitencies!! I am guilty for not having been "around" for some time...but I still am...

I wonder is it me or something else, I recently told lola and sands about my choice in stepping down from management to focus on my personal sales and family. I even illustrated that alas, life to me now is like a big spreeaad of buffet, so much good stiff and yet so little time and energy. So I can't be too greedy to eat them all, just choose my favourites on my plate. So I've decided, here's my choice: God, Family, Health, My clients, friends and one hobby.

Anyone wanna guess what's my hobby? I'll give a gift for the FIRST one to be correct! (serious)

Anyway, since I'm writing this on my birthday and I always count my blessing like they're jewels, here's my list of blessings(big and small):

Thank God for :
1 giving me good health to enjoy quality life
2 cute and adorable kids, loving husband, caring mum, helpful helper and smart assistant
3 wonderful cellmates for always being there though i sometimes am not...lol
4 a home and shelter of my own, so I didn't have to live in someone else's
5 clients who are like friends and friends who are my clients and become better friends
6Birthday smses received today

Can I wish for:
+Spiritual growth , salvation of my family and baptism?
+weight loss of 5kg?
+World peace, less selfish politicians, no more ERPS, poor people to be fed, no more crazy weathers and insect attacks, children to be saved

Happy Birthday

Saturday, July 12, 2008

ramblings

wah this anyk, give me 7 points,.....must buck up :)

anyway, just some ramblings....have been physically very tired and weak recently, for no particular reason. some more i get my 7hrs of sleep a night, plus there is absolutely no stress at work. add to that a seemingly perpetual urge to eat. i should see a doc which i have been putting off :P

hmm.....its interesting, recently i have been entertaining the possibility of going into institutional sales and trading. I've never realli fancied myself as a sales person, but in recent weeks as i jio-jio different friends in the finance industry to pick their brains, some have been helpful, others hmm.....you realli see who are the "good times friends". Told my friend, I'll bochup, continue to jio the unresponsive ones cos if i want to be in sales, better learn how to grovel. :P Jokes aside, just wanted to say Lola's a great inspiration of a great salesperson, the only one I have met thus far who has shown me its possible to be a strong testimony for God even in the schmoozy world of sales.

jokes aside, I just read this article on christianitytoday, which talked about submissive prayer:, where the author talked about moving from knowledge of God to struggle and obedience even when God's answer to our most fervent prayer is "NO".

heh, oh well, pls do pray for my physical health, not too sure why, but just feeling realli weak and tired most times.

~ ze one who got 7 points.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

So what's great about our faith?

~ Aileen

howdy! it'd been ages since i posted - oops :P
well, no better time to start than now :)

and so we've been talking abt new steps in cell recently...and i was wondering, as usu, what's really so amazing about our faith? of coz we are all familar with how great Someone was martyred for our sins and love us unconditionally...but attitudinally, what's our story? so i pondered for a while and concluded (for myself, at least) that it must be the angle of perspective He has changed! you know how some advice start off with "take a step back and re-examine the situation". when i take it upon myself to solve a problem, it's almost money-back-guarantee that i find stress knocking at my door too. but when i humble myself and ask God "help help!", it somehow makes the tough easier going. i guess the difference between both instances is really how i choose to view. when i narrow the world to just me and the problem, it's simply claustrophobic. when i kick the boundary further, there's me, the problem and God --> and seemingly more air to breathe. in short, it helps me heaps when i remember to view everything everyday in God's eyes.

today, i got this e-devotional which kinda echo these thoughts of mine and i wanna share with you too :)

07/9/08 Hem of Grandeur by Jill Carattini

Actor Jimmy Stewart is loved for his extraordinary depth in both career and character. The film Harvey is a Stewart classic and my favorite among his lifework. As Elwood P. Dowd, he roams the town with Harvey, a six-foot tall invisible rabbit. When a psychiatric doctor inquires about the rabbit-friend, Elwood explains that mostly he and Harvey sit in bars and listen to stories. In that classic Stewart voice he says:


[People] tell us about the big terrible things they've done. And the big wonderful things they’ll do. And their hopes, their regrets, their loves, and their hates--all very large--because nobody ever brings anything small into a bar. And then I introduce them to Harvey. And he's bigger and grander than anything they offer me. And when they leave, they leave impressed.

The prophet Isaiah tells of an experience where he encountered the Lord as one far greater than anything he knew before, and when he left, he was not merely impressed, he was overcome with awe. Isaiah writes, "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne high and lofty, and the hem of his robe filled the temple" (Isaiah 6:1).

Isaiah's encounter with the grandeur of God is particularly interesting in light of the circumstances under which it took place. God appeared to Isaiah during a time of international crisis. The death of good King Uzziah took a king of 52 years off the very throne that brought a divided kingdom back to the life and prosperity it knew under David and Solomon. Isaiah was understandably defeated. It was all in the year of Uzziah's death that Isaiah saw the death of a good and able king, the rise of a wicked and selfish king, and the decline of the kingdom he loved. Isaiah entered the temple with distress and loss, despair and confusion--all very large. And then, Isaiah says, he saw the Lord, and the very hem of his robe filled the temple. The prophet had come to worship grieving a king and in the midst of his pain had an encounter with a throne of far greater caliber. God's kingship was far bigger and grander than anything he had imagined.

Whatever our circumstances, let us not hide from the one who offers to stand beside us and asks that we cast our cares upon him. "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:28-29). In the awe-inspiring presence of God our worries are put into perspective. As a friend is fond of saying, worship is an encounter with one who is "always bigger than what's the matter." Yet perhaps it is not that our anxieties are in fact smaller than we perceive them, but that the King of Kings is far greater than we have perceived Him. In the words of Isaiah himself, "From ages past no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you" (64:4). And we have yet to see even a hem of the grandeur of his kingship.


Jill Carattini is senior associate writer at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

To subscribe to this list send an empty email to: slice-html-subscribe@lists.rzim.org

____________________________________________________________________________________

Support? What kind of Support!?

~Lola
haha, it was another entertaining read of anyk's blogs...although at the same time i was also wondering why she didn't return my call 2x in a row....*hmph!*;p

Can't help but grin while i was reading her blogs...and it certainly helped to lift off some steam which initially triggered me to come to the blog to AIR my irritation....thanks Anyk.

So what happened? Here's my story.....

I have been a loyal user of one of my pda's software for the past 3-4 years, and each time there is an upgrade, I try to upgrade wherever possible. There was recently a new release of version 8 software. And because i purchased version 7 last October, i qualified for a free upgrade to version 8. So 2 weeks ago, i happily went to the website, followed whatever instructions that were there, and downloaded v8 into my pda! The instructions clearly stated that I just had to use my existing 29-digit registration key to register this new software and it would work!!

Wa la! When i installed it onto my pda and tried to register, it didn't work! And so started by 14 day trial period on this software!

This was just the start of the frustration...never in my LIFE have i ever met such horrible tech support!! I emailed out my query and asked for help. I didn't hear from anybody for 1 week. Upon my reminder to my email, the reply i got was:

"You can upgrade using the product pages on our main web site"
- Support

That was all!!?? That was the reply i got to my several lines of thought-out questions, to help them understand my problem so that they could help me.....!?

Irritation and abit of anger rose up on the inside as i read the reply. Especially from a company of which i had held in high regard for producing such a powerful software.....

Trying my best not to sound hostile and sarcastic, i reduced my reply to a milder-that-intended one:

Dear Support,

I have been waiting for a reply, and would certainly appreciate a more
detailed and helpful reply from you.

Please read my initial problem and I really hope you can put in some
time to assist.


Thinking that my reply would have at least triggered some form of guilt on the other end....i was sorely disappointed. A second reply just came in:

"Yes, did you put some time in going to our web site and looking for the upgrade instructions?
- Support"


I nearly wanted to strangle that person!!!! Seriously!!! Gosh...

well, frustrated, i just copied and pasted some information which I got from their website and left off saying that i wouldn't have requested for assistance if i had found the information on the website....

Anyway, i just decided after that last email, to go figure it out again....
And thank God i DID manage to figure it out. Nonetheless, i just couldn't help but seem to hear a sarcastic voice somewhere over the other side of the world saying "See...I told you to check our website...!"

Grrrrrrr.....

Friday, July 04, 2008

It is only 840pm

I made a mistake. It is not 9pm. But its alright. It has snapped me out of the minus ( follow my previous post).

I am so boh liao that I have decided to mark ATTENDANCE. Since I am way too tired to go out now I may as well type some nonsense

Full marks 10

LOLA 10 (steadfast)
Chipmunks 11 (1 mark more for upkeeping)
Sheepy 8 (saved by recent comments)
Candid Mamee 9 (consistent)
Aileen 1 (1 pt for 1 post)
Sandie 2
Martin 2 ( 1 post but 1 pt higher as he explained their PC is very slow)
Christine 3 (1 more pt for being my buddy. My style is relationship management)
Joseph 0
Michelle 0
Lingyeow 5 (rem he drew some cartoons? huge project)
Melvin 5 (rem his very funny video clips?)
June 0
James 0
Charlene 0
Julia 7 (some posts some comments but marks deducted for inconsistency)

Did I miss out anyone? Disclaimer: The above points are meant for comic relief.

I am so tired now that I feel like sleeping. Maybe no 9pm show for me after all.

Ciao

Anyk

Calculating happiness

If happiness is a calculation of postive and negative things, is my day happy or not so?

Happy is +
Not so happy is -

+ I think my children are very cute
+ The exhibition booth looks rather nice
+ I saw former colleagues at exhibition booth
+ C made a surprise visit at the booth
+ My colleagues were so nice to agree to help out at the booth
+ My mother cooked fried pork balls
+ My father and sister said my fried pork balls were nicer
+ I enjoy both 7 and 9 pm show
+ Work was smooth

- My obese boy was sad I gave him health education on not eating too much chocolate.
- I am very tired now
- I am falling sick now
- C has to attend classes 3 times this week
- My colleagues were tired
- My mother might be sad my fried pork balls are nicer
- China sea has algae
- My feet is sore from the standing
- Another project might not be complete on time
- More work not done


My 9 pm show is starting. Byeee. One thing i realised is that it is easy to stop blogging about the + but once u start blogging the -, it is like a sinking feeling... a sadistic good but negative feeling. Good that the show saved me from going on about my minus. Hope you too will snap out if you are counting the minus and cant stop .. Byeeeeee

anyk (previous post by me 2)

Grey Choices

Feeling slightly vexed, I decided to blog. Life is filled with choices. Recently heard over the pulpit that life is actually very simple. Good choices = Positive Outcomes. Bad choices = negative outcomes E.g. Smoke = High cancer risk or Exercise = Healthier

But what about grey choices? Choices that have pros and cons. Choices that don't really involve moral values. E.g.Colour the picture blue or yellow. Yellow will make readers feel cheery but blue will make readers feel peaceful and the objective of it all is just to make readers feel good.

Anyway enough about choices, last weekend, I spent it overnight with my two good frens sm and Hy at sm house as sm husband is away. I felt like i was transported back into sec school days. It was such a fantastic time chatting till we fell asleep and eat high tea and shop the next day and continue to chat till I fell asleep.

My thoughts are random now. Thinking back my uni days, the hostel crazy days seem so distant and nostalgic. Was that me? Choose to stay hostel = make frens Choose to stay hostel = more distant with family

I guess ultimately most choices can be both good and bad with both positive and negative outcomes depending on how you look at it. I hope I can intoxicate myself with thinking about positive outcomes till one day. One blue day, where the snowball of possible outcomes accumulate into a ball named Regret and I can then bravely throw it away like in a snow fight.

Sm was my fav roomate and still is.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Faith sometimes doesn't change things...

~Lola

Kudos to Mushroom who has just been awarded "Best Summariser" Award by me! Concise, to the point, entertaining and yet from the heart! Reading your summary got me excited to start a little summary of my own...not so much in point form though.

Side track abit...previous entry's contributor was Juls i believe....:)

well, On the last day of the camp, while we had our 'medley' of 3 sermons by the 3 great preachers, it was pretty amazing how all of their sermons linked up so well. Truly, none other than the Spirit of God at work.....
Ps Ong went on to share about Faith..a topic that most of us could share hours on...(maybe!?hah!) 4 concise points -

1) Faith sometimes changes things
2) Faith sometimes doesn't change things...because Faith changes you (BANG! WOW! This hit me)
3) Faith always leads us to make XO decisions
4) Faith will ultimately TRIUMPH
The second point was the one I wanted to share more on...

Ps Ong made this analogy abot point 2...
About the story of Daniel in the lion's den....
What was the greatest miracle in that story?
It was not that the lion did not eat Daniel, but it was how Daniel could still sleep in the lion's den!
I never thought of it that way, but it is true isn't it?
And the greatest miracle about Noah was not the Ark, but the fact that he could STILL preach on even for 100 years even though the people kept rejecting him!
Faith did not change the landscape of belief, it developed Noah's and Daniel's perserverance, attitude.....etc.

i thought about myself....Prior to church camp, i had been suffering for about 3 weeks to a month of dry spell in sales. I was demoralised, as I had shared in cell....for a few weeks, my spirit was low, my self-esteem took a dip and self-doubt started to climb. It was one of those short moments of questioning my faith and trust in a God who is more than able to provide for my every need. How could i ever question His character? How could I ever doubt His providence? Yet, it seemed for those few weeks that God was quiet in granting favour, appointments, sales etc. Everyday seemed like a drag on my spirit, especially on my mind, the battlefield where the enemy never stops planting seeds of negative thoughts. My faith was challenged....Yet nothing changed during those few weeks.

Church camp was an excellent break. Somehow, getting out of country seems like the only most effective way I can stop thinking about work. Maybe it's the idea that I have a valid excuse not to be as responsive to client's requests/needs as I am on a vacation....
So, when I was back after camp...I continued to pray....and I just wanted to share that since you guys prayed for me in cell (last week i think? or the week before?), God has been pouring His favour on me daily. Clients have been calling up to request to meet up with me, out of the blue...and I have been closing sales (albeit small cases) almost every other day for the past week!

Looking back, those few weeks of faith NOT changing anything has made me realise that when God finally changed things around this week, my heart could truly leap with joy and thanksgiving.
When my faith didn't change the circumstances around me, it changed my heart to be more malleable towards the Lord....a heart that was more desperate to seek Him and cry out to Him.

A new perspective to faith...not that I never knew it before, but that's how God reveals Himself to us all the time isn't it? Same Word of God, but the Holy Spirit who teaches us new things everyday which cuts to the very fibre of our spirit during that rhema moment! :)




Sunday, June 22, 2008

Identification

ExtraO Camp entry and Art of Listening is by Anyk (new nick previously known as Mushroom). Agree with Lola is by?

Agree with Lola

harros,

just a short one, been searching for a job for a while cos while my project is winding up, there really would not be a role for me unless i transit to china. on the other hand back in office, morale has been very low as my colleagues are increasingly frustrated with our jobs. we function as mere "professional googlers" as my colleague put it, churning out research paper after another based on just desktop research. i realli realli hate that type of work.

however for the 4 years tat i have started work, this is the worst year to be looking. i was rather frustrated, as there had been opportunities this time last year to interview with some realli good firms in the finance industry, but i turned them down cos i felt i had to see through the project.

maybe it was a bad move, as seriously, no one is recruiting like now. i even had friends retrenched in the finance sector. but i thank God that although he is making me wait, much like the verse in 2 Cor 12, where the writer said he pleaded with God 3 times, but the Lord would only say my grace is sufficient to meet your needs, he has sent many friends who have been helpful in helping me look out for jobs. even if nothing comes up, it has been very comforting to know they are there and that God is showing me that he is still in control.

Cheers,

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Extra extra extraordinary camp 08

Hi hi, I have repeated my version of Camp a few times so I shall give my Popcorn version of it.

Emotional version
1. Very sad to leave camp.
2. Enjoyed frens' company very much.

Memorable moments
1. The appearance of a snake in the room
2. Prayed for a miracle to change room
3. Prayer answered and disturbed roomate to chat with me until 5 am.
4. Very ministered during one service.
5. Mixed around with different frens

Fun times
1. Played game with cell in Clement's suite.
2. Room tour and gained moral lessons.
3. Bangkok 2 day tour of shopping eating massage running
4. Chatted with roomate until 5am
5. Swam in the pool and played with Bei sq

Not so glorious but funny moments
1. Lost soccer to a group of very young boys
2. Lost Connect 4 to a kid ( I really was not concentrating keke)
3. Slammed the door and scared snake back to its den
4. Team was thrashed during volleyball
5. Hide in swimming pool
6. Bangkok team ran like mad on the last day to board bus to Cha Am
7. Trying very hard with Aileen not to listen in the private onversation (private+ juicy) of two loud TCCians on the bus.

Appreciative thoughts
1. Accomodating frens who bore it all with one and another suspected idiosyncracies (anyhw spelt)
2. TCCians who volunteered to serve in the camp. I went up to the coach champion and thanked her for serving. She was so surprised and looked very happy at my gratitude.

Spiritual take aways
1. Faith sometimes changes nothing but you.
2. Life can be a book of snapshots of moments. Make sure you take nice pics! Take an active role to weed out the ugly pics.
3. Doing it the proper way does not mean that the unexpected is not effective.

The different perceptives of listening

After some time of being Auntie Agony to some fans over the years, it suddenly struck me that women and men seem to view "The art of Listening" from slightly different angles.

When a woman lament that "Hey you don't listen to me." It NORMALLY (of course there are the stray species) means that the guy is doing something else while listening or not showing in his actions that he is listening in an emphathetic manner. Maybe he is also too quick to brush his lady off with some nice thoughtful solutions. This female perception of Listening is so widespread in books on shelf and in girlyl magazines.

Now now, when a man complains "hey you don't listen to me", it usually simply means "hey you don't do what I say or you don't obey me." Surprisingly, the male side of the art of listening is left strangely silent in the world of books.

Nothing's too small for God to fix ! :)

~ Lola

Hi all!

i smsed several of you last night to inform you of my 'emergency' prayer request....
Here's the story....

Yesterday evening, i had an appointment with a client. After I ended, I hibernated by notebook by closing the cover. This has always worked as I had enabled this function.

I went home for dinner and 3 hours later, when I opened my notebook bag to take out my notebook, i realised it was really hot....and realised that all this while it was not shut down because there was some program in the background that needed me to click 'end task' before the computer could shut down!!

Actually, this was not the first time I have encountered this problem. My previous notebook had the same problem before, but usually after i just shut it down and rebooted, all was fine. So, initially, I thought it wasn't a big deal....so i just shut it down to reboot....

Then! I realised that it wasn't rebooting....no response.....to cut the long story short...i pressed the button several times, tried several different ways (pull out cable, plug in cable, take out battery, put in battery etc)....and then I prayed....
Not too long after, it suddenly came to life; I was momentarily thanking and praising God....only to see it shut down again by itself 30 secs later....then i tried and tried again...and then it came to life again! I was really happy cos i thought it was fixed....it shut down by itself again, this time after 15mins....

Thereafter, I decided that it needed time to cool down....
10 hours later this morning, I was confident that it would work..but I was disappointed that it still didn't respond even after 10 hours of cooling down! I was asking God why He didn't answer my simple prayer :(

Then, I smsed you all and then brought it in for service.

Thank you for all your prayers and my last weak prayer (i prayed in my heart this morning, with whatever little faith I had left for God to revive my notebook). When it came to my turn at the counter....lo and behold! It switched on!!!!!
I described the problem to the tech staff, and told her it really didn't work for the past 12-15 hours! i even suggested ways to her how to 'not make it work' so as to prove that something was really wrong with my set...but after 10 mins waiting and waiting....we couldn't find any problem..i was just told to go home and monitor it and if it happens again, to bring it in!!
i was bewildered, yet in my heart, thanking God for the little miracle He had performed for me!

For the past 10 hours, my notebook has been well, praise the Lord!

Well, I learned a few simple lessons through this mini-ordeal:

1) Don't neglect the importance of backing up data!!! : )

2) We are like computers.....when we overwork ourselves, we can get burnt out!!! We need proper shut downs, hibernations won't work! :)

3) Never doubt the power of God to perform even the seemingly less 'significant' miracles! Nothing's too small or insignificant for Him!

4) Don't give up praying...perservere until something happens! Sometimes, God just lets us wait....

5) Encourage one another by sharing testimonies of how the Lord has answered our prayers, whether big or small!

Okay folks! That's all from me! Hope to hear from all the rest of you busy people....
Let's take time to share and encourage one another ya!?


Friday, May 09, 2008

Lord Reign in Me - Brenton Brown

hi Alvin

Thanks for putting up this song on the Blog. I haven't heard it for the longest time. It caught a string in my heart when I heard it...
For me, I have been so busy, that so often I have let other things subconsciously take the place of my King to reign in my heart...

Wanted to share with you guys the lyrics...and hope you all are blessed by this song. May this be our prayer to God - But my one request Lord my only aim Is that You’d reign in me again - as we take a few minutes to sit back and reflect upon the beauty of the Lord of our lives...and ask God to fill us one more time...


LORD REIGN IN ME
Over all the earth
You reign on high
Every mountain stream
Every sunset sky
But my one request
Lord my only aim
Is that You’d reign in me again

Lord reign in me
Reign in Your power
Over all my dreams
In my darkest hour
You are the Lord
Of all I am
So won’t You reign in me again

Over every thought
Over every word
May my life reflect
The beauty of my Lord
‘Cause you mean more to me
Than any earthly thing
So won’t You reign in me again

Thursday, April 03, 2008

Powerful Testimony

Dear all,

my colleague shared this testimony by an ex-Muslim,

http://www.muslimjourneytohope.com/testimonies/testimony_afshin.wmv

Love,
candid mammee

Thursday, March 27, 2008

"Guilty" Song: Alabastar Box

This was the beautiful song that was sung during Guilty!

It's called "Alabastar Box" but during Guilty, we changed it to Alabastar Jar.
i preferred the rendition that was done during our production, but nonetheless, it's a beautiful song! :) Be blesssed!

Moral Question

I was watching Channel 8 series,this scene came up:

An Indian man in his 50s lost a 4D ticket. His number 8888 won $150,000. He was searching desperately for it.

His neighbours knew about it and they also went searching for it themselves. (it's a not-so-well-to-do neighbourhood). A young couple found it.

Question: If you found it and knew who the owner was, would you return it to the owner?

**your comments are welcomed ;-P
Candid Mammee

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

He Lives!

Our church Easter song and I love it very much! Very much ministered I should say... So I searched thru the webby and found it in YouTube! Though I couldnt find the mp3 format around. Anyhow, enjoy and be blessed! =)

-=[Chipmunk]=-

Monday, March 24, 2008

Talking about Songs...

I hope all of had a great Easter!

I happened to watch S-POP competition last night and many songs sung and written were by the very pioneer batch of "Xin Yao", people like Eric Moo, Liang Wenfu, Lee SiSong and Lee WeiSong, Wu Jiaming etc... (I onder any of you young bros and sis remember, perhaps I'm from diffenrent era..ha ha ha)

I remember they had a hard time starting out in the 1980s when there were hardly any local singers and this occupation weren't highly regarded. Many people were "worshipping" overseas singers as idols.

However, many of them pressed on til today and wrote many inspiring great songs. They've even groomed younger stars like Lin Junjie whose extremely popular, Kit Chan (enough said), Stefanie Sun (enough said, Alex said she's EXTREMELY popular in Taiwan, her posters were everywhere). They've EVEN wrote songs for Heavenly King and other overseas talents.

As I watched how much they've achieved since they first started, it reminded me one thing....PASSION. Only with LOVE for our PASSION, can we persevere through hardships and achieve what we desire. The results may not come in a day, a month, a years...it comes many years LATER.

Also it reminded the importance of COMRADESHIP, many of them celebrated their success with their peers and showed GRATITUDE to their seniors in the industry.

Most of all, this entertaining programme reminded me of Jesus and Cell.

Love,
Candid Mammee

Friday, March 21, 2008

Great Worship Songs!

Hey all,

Just logged in today to see if there has been been anything new. Somehow while I was listening to tracks 2 and 4, I felt that greater sense of inner peace in my heart that literally transdecends all understanding as is written in the Word of God and so I started worshipping God. Just thought that it might be worth mentioning that no matter where you are or what you are doing, God is God. Worship Him, you might actually be surprised at what happens even if we knew about this so long ago. Thanks for the wonderful effort in maintaining the web Alvin. ^^ The songs were really ministering. :D

Cheers,
Yeowie

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Challenging 2008

candid mama:

Candid mama been feeling very overwhelmed.

These few weeks has been interesting, meeting interesting characters of different sort. There's this man whom told me that IRR (i.e. Investment Rate of Return) of children is very bad, child rearing is a moneylosing business!? I immediately responded that you can't measure children with money. But I don't think he saw my point of view because he's calculative with everything though he makes $10k every month. I wonder if people who knows too much about calculating money is good for them this way.

If one hoards very cent he makes and not make part of his income shared to others who are in need, then I think he hasn't learnt about sharing.

Then there's this one man who threatened to sue me and remove my business license after I apologised for making a mistake and offered to make it up. That incident caused me to be in a complete daze for week. I was in total doubt of myself, my integrity, became absolutely hurt by the way he threatened and intimidated me, bullying me into admitting something i didn't do etc. I carried on with my daily activities despite of all these. Even my husband told me to rest but I decided not to let this incident affect my daily life.

I recovered only after meeting a longtime client who reminded how I've helped her planned her financials and she totally trusts me. It was then that I rediscovered myself and realised that that guy was trying to cast doubt in me.

I told another client of mine about this incident. He's a senior police officer and he said luckily I wasn't agitated by him. I could also have reported the incident to the police because I was actually conned into his office when he did all those things to me and I was alone.

Anyway, I've decided to let this incident pass and have reflected upon it. I've got be careful with my paperwork, be clear and sure in my purpose when conducting my business so that i won't be confused by others.

Thank God he's watching over me and things have been fine after that. These are just two weird encounters. If I carry on, you guys will fall asleep ZZZZZzzzz

tell you guys more next time..ta ta!

Happy Chipmunk

candid mama says...

well, with lola's contributions and all, it should make dear bro alvin very happy. During our last cell gathering at Yishun BK, our Bro Alvin said that he checks out this blog couple of times a day to see if there's any inputs or new posts. He has put in lots of efforts to decorate and enhance our blog, so now it's deco seasonal and very up-to-date and attractive. He felt kind of disappointd when there's no input from us lor...Am i right, Bro Alvin

Anyway, hope you're a happy chipmunk now...ha ha ha

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Food for thought

Okie, in between Ps Gerald's sermon on Sunday....i mean i am the sort who catches main points of sermons, he mentioned you know how you should love God regardless of whether there are blessings in store, whether he's gonna deliver you from your current predicament etc......but for who HE is, for the relationship between you and God.

and it got me thinking,....i mean....ok yes I agree with him, but then, you see, its not tat simple. For all the people that pursue God, do great acts of love, relinquish the secular rat race for a life of service, aren't they doing it to build up riches in heaven, i mean that's one of their little mantras to themselves ya knoe.....so yeah in a sense, they are loving God, doing things out of good heart and all, but there is this niggling thing that it is not all that altruistic....its just tat its delayed gratification.

well....tat's me....i'm not skeptical, just thinking more than i should.....hahhaa........

anyway yeah, there is this one verse, where we should pray to be as wise as a serpent.....and in work, i realise its a really really fine line of protecting yourself yet not sinking someone else.....cos with all the competition, and politicking, and covering of asses....it really brings out the worst in pple, and its so easy to be either disillusioned or to just "lose your soul". I really what God meant when he said to be "as wise as the serpent".

Arghs.......the travails of the corporate rat race......

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Such a boo boo!!!!

~ Lola
Felt like such a blurblock just awhile ago, when I realised that my handphone was actually not SPOILT as i had thought for the past 3 weeks!

I have been living with my dopod pda handphone for the past 3 weeks, without any ringing sound when people called in...so, inevitably i kept having missed calls.
So I thought there was some silly problem and was detesting the fact that I had to bring it for service (because there is no loan set and i can't live without my pda!!)

Lo and behold! My brother was fiddling with it, and found out within seconds that I had not turned up the volume control on the start page of my pda!!! it was such an obvious thing to have checked but can't believe that I was so blur ....

But i'm happy that i don't have to miss calls anymore, and that I dont have to live withoout my handphone for a few days :o) Thank God for that!

Anyway, this post doesn't need any replies....just thought i'd share what happened today! :)

Meanwhile, i just posted my 2nd decent composition....don't know how it is...do give me your feedback :)