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.

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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.