UPDATE!!!! (Like finally)

YEA~~

Its time!! To revive this dusty blog of mine..I havent been writing here in ages !

Its been an eventful 2009..though nothing super major happened (oh wait, there is! Got attached :) ) I'd reflect back and say this is a year of growth. Growth spiritually, emotionally, financially (DEBT FREE BY END OF THE YEAR! YEA!), growth in capacity, in FAITH, in love.

There's much to be thankful for, and much to look forward to.

2010 is going to be a super bombastic year. Looking forward so much to our new building! We're going to get it....looking forward to see the years of prayer and sowing .. show fruit. I'm excited, the journey has only just begun. I dont know what new things lie ahead.. but i wanna be a part of His plans.

Anyways, since Xmas is around the corner, I might as well post up my Xmas wishlist!! (NO this is NOT the reason why i posted today) Items are not in order of preference! I know the items are a bit steep... but its a WISHlist ma..so no harm..


IPHONE


Ed Hardy belt!

Sims 3 (this is the least preferred gift among the rest! haha..)

ION Vouchers....the more $$ the merrier...since stuff in ION are so ex...maybe a few hundred will suffice! haha..

Topshop vouchers!

Make up store eyeliner. (one of the colours I want is black! Rocks!

Also, Clothes + Accessories + Shoes!!! (Bling bling preferred)

Hehe. This is just a brief list....hmm... I dont have a strong desire to own any of them la...just that it'll be nice if i received them instead of things like mugs, photo frames...but then again..I guess if I receive those stuff from my friends and loved ones, they will lose the "cliche" feel and take on a sentimental value to me..

XMAS~~ love the season!

Jesus..I love You!

Oh, before I forget - this the the first bouquet of flowers I received from dear. He gave it to me ystd..surprise! :)



I cooked dinner for him (or rather, attempted to).. I still have a long way to go for improvement! Haha..but i'll work on it ;)

Yea..oh, I'm v happy for pearlyn too! =) Met her the other day @ Vivo...hope she'll really be super super blessed and happy...thanks pearie! U ROCK .. love you LOTS!

Signing off now! If my entry seems a little disjointed...its because I havent written in so long...so all the "need to update" stuff are like trickling in here and there..haha.

Going to work OT4 this week! 2pm-9pm everyday! Looking forward to celebrating Shilin's bdae tonight! This happy girl is now officially engaged !

Fang

Emotions

"Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23

In a general sense, your emotions are a product of your thought life. “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he”(Prov. 23:7). If you are not thinking right, if your mind is not being renewed, if you are not perceiving God and His Word properly, it will be reflected in your emotional life.

One of the best scriptural illustrations of the relationship between perceptions and emotions is found in Lamentations 3. Jeremiah expresses despair as he wrongly perceives that God is against him and that He is the cause of his physical problems (Lam. 3:1-6). That is why he vents his feelings of entrapment and fear (3:7-11, 18). If your hope is in God, and these words are a correct portrayal of God, you would probably feel discouraged too.

What was Jeremiah’s problem? His perception of God was way off. God wasn’t the cause of his affliction. God is not someone who plays games with your life. But Jeremiah wasn’t thinking right, perceiving right, or interpreting his circumstances right, so he wasn’t feeling right or responding right either.

Suddenly, Jeremiah’s perception changed: “Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness”(3:22-23). What a turnaround! Did God change? Did Jeremiah’s circumstances change? No. His perception of God changed and his emotions followed suit.

You are not shaped so much by your environment as you are by your perception of your environment. Life’s events don’t determine who you are; God determines who you are, and your interpretation of life’s events determines how well you will handle the pressures of life. In reality, we have very little control over our emotions, but we do have control over our thoughts, and our thoughts determine our feelings and our responses. That’s why it is so important that you fill your mind with the knowledge of God and His Word. You need to see life from God’s perspective and respond accordingly.

Romans 12:1-2 says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Caleb (II)

14/11/09 Pastor Kong

Caleb (II)

Num 14:24

“But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.”

3 qualities in Caleb that excited God

1. Humility – “My servant Caleb..”

Caleb was God’s humble servant.

1 Cor 1:26-29 – not many wise, mighty and noble are called. God is not against us attainting knowledge, getting a better education or gaining influence in the marketplace. However, many wise, mighty and noble people tend to be dependant on themselves, rather than lean on God and desire to serve Him.

Mtt 20:25 – To the world, the way to the top is by lording over others, but Jesus says, the only way up is by serving!

A servant is not servile, as some people may wrongly perceive. A servant lays his life down for others, but it does not mean he is insecure, devoid of personality and a doormat for others to step on.

Mtt 20:26 – The meaning of a “servant” (Grk.”diakonos”), is different from that of “slave” (Grk “doulos”). A servant can choose to leave as and when he wants to, but a slave belongs fully to his master, going where his master wills and doing what he wants. Are we slaves or just servants in the house of God?

Ps 69:2, Ps 107:6, James 4:6, 1 Pet 5:6 – humility is important to God!

2. Courage – the capacity to do what is right even when it is unpopular

A different spirit which is positive, creative, innovative, pleases God! In a world of conformity, it can be challenging to be different.

“Tall poppy syndrome” – the world tries to cut down tall poppies that stand out or try to be different.

Our God is a creative God, the God of new things! What new things can you do in your life and ministry for God? Remember, God’s favor is upon those who dare to step out and do something different, great for Him!

3. Loyalty

Being loyal can be easy, but remaining loyal, in spite of challenges and opposition, is not easy at all. Caleb remained loyal to God in the 45 years before his dream was fulfilled. When your dream is delayed, can u wait and remain loyal to God?

4 reasons for divine delay

1. There are other things God wants to do first

His ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Trust Him!

Ps 62:5 – “My soul, wait silently for God alone; For my expectation is from Him.”

In Caleb’s case, God could not give him the promised land immediately, because the people of Israel were not ready to inherit the land! They were a generation of complainers, murmurers, and a stiff-necked people. It was only after 45 years, when a generation had passed and the new generation had risen up, that the people had the capacity to inherit the promised land and defeat the giants there.

In our lives, God has His own timing for everything. When there is a delay, don’t question God or start doubting, but keep on believing! Trust that God knows what He is doing. Know that He loves us and is our your side. As we live a life of obedience to the Lord, there is no good thing He will withhold from those who love Him!

2. God is giving you time to get ready for the responsibility.

We may have great dreams of being a high flying CEO, or a manager, having a big ministry, but do we have the capacity and time to handle it? Imagine what your life will be life now if your dream were to come to pass immediately. Do you have the extra time which comes with commitment to the dream? Are you able to handle the stress which will come with the responsibility?

Take time to become more organized, more disciplined. Get your life in order and get rid of pesky habits which need to be done away with.

If you will do your part, God will do His part!

3. God is waiting for you to show more passion for the little things He has already given to you.

Lk 19:17 – “And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.’

We should be working like our little things are the greatest, have an excellent spirit! Are youa slacker and slipshod when it comes to the little things? How then can you expect God to give you even greater responsibilities?

Prov 13:4 – “The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; but the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.”

When God blesses you with $10000, and you are already conniving and scheming in your heart how to escape your tithe and evade your taxes, why will God bless you and make you a millionaire?

When God has given you a ministry, a cell group of 8 people, and you are not even faithful in the little things, preparing for CG meetings, availing yourself, meeting needs, giving bible study and serving these 8, why will God give you the anointing and favor to lead 100 people?

We do not need to wait until we have great things under our care, to start being faithful. God’s law are opposite – the way to having great things is to FIRST show your faithfulness in the little things!

Show more passion for your dreams!

4. God is waiting for you to deal with the sin in your life.

Sinful habits, negative attitudes, all hinder God from speaking into your life.

If you know you have secret sin in your life, or attitudes which need changing, its time to come to God and repent of it, and ask for grace and strength to walk away from it!

It could be the only thing that stands between you and your God-given dream!

___________________________________________________________________

Michael Jordan is a basketball legend. In a particular game, Michael Jordan sealed the win for Chicago Bulls in a blind backward shot which he made at the last few seconds. He had tripped and threw the ball anyway, and the shot went in. One commentator said, “Having MJ on your team, is like having God Himself on your team!”

The truth is, it is possible to actually have God on your team! However, God is not going to play the game for you, He is your team player. He will catch the rebounds, block the defenders, pass you the shots, but you have to be in the game.

Be in active pursuit of your God-given dream, and God Himself will back you up!

The Anointing Oil
19 Oct 2009

It shall come to pass in that day that his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, and his yoke from your neck, and the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil. Isaiah 10:27
During the reign of King Hezekiah, Jerusalem suffered from heavy taxation imposed by Sennacherib, the Assyrian king. Instead of relying on his own military strength, Hezekiah sought the Lord for deliverance from that evil oppression. The Bible tells of a miraculous defeat of the Assyrians by the angel of the LORD (2 Kin. 19:35-36). Isaiah says the enemy was destroyed because of the anointing.

Assyria is like a picture of the devil oppressing people’s lives. What will it take to break the yoke of the devil? It is the anointing of God. Jesus cast out demons “with the finger of God” (Luke 11:20) and “by the Spirit of God” (Matt. 12:28). Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power, and He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil (Acts 10:38). Jesus depended on the anointing of the Holy Spirit for ministry. And that same anointing of the Holy Spirit is now abiding in Jesus’ believers (1 John 2:27). Under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, we can break the power of the devil and enforce the victory of the cross.

As such, if we depend on the anointing and yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit more and more, we will find rest in God. We will find success in what we do and, at the same time, there will be no tension, stress or anxiety because the anointing of God does the work! The anointing is a tangible, spiritual substance. In the story of the woman with the issue of blood, it was described that Jesus felt power (the anointing) going out of Him. The woman simultaneously felt the anointing come into her and she was completely healed (Mark 5:30). The anointing is something that is very spiritual. Our bodies are temples that house the Holy Spirit and the power of God. The anointing permeates our bodies with life, our emotions with joy and peace, our minds with understanding and our spirit with inspiration. The anointing lives within the cells of our body.

The anointing oil also revives and refreshes our spirit. In biblical times, when guests arrive at the home of their host after a long journey under the sun, they would be greeted with a basin of water to wash their hands and feet. Then they would be anointed with fresh aromatic oil, which revitalizes them. This is exactly what happens when we receive the Holy Spirit at conversion. Acts 3:19 says, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” The word “refreshing” (Gr. anapsuxis) literally means “a recovery of breath, or a revival.” So in the presence of the Lord, the anointing refreshes and revives us. That is why it is so important that we constantly experience the presence of God everyday in our lives. Let us have a fresh encounter with the Lord so that the anointing comes upon us afresh.

Its been a good, long while since I unloaded my brain juices in this blog of mine! I think the dust is settling already...better start writing again before blogger deletes my account altogether..

Its certainly been an eventful time... and God is bringing things to pass in my life one at a time. Things which many said is impossible, turned out very possible in my life.

I've been thinking about CHARACTER and values, and how it is really the character and values of a person, and not the circumstances, which depict how a person responds to any particular situation.

We're all far from perfect - including myself, but its striving to improve that makes the difference.

Alright, this is a short post! Pretty tired now...1.10am in the morning..7 more hours to go..

Wooooooo~

Its been a gazillion years since i took time to pen my thoughts down here.. i think its time for a nice reflection on my life and stuffs now..before i get too tired to do so. Tiredness is this rather cumbersome physical neccessity which gets on my nerves sometimes. I often think about how much more i can do if i could get by without sleep. Same goes for eating ... with the exception of durian and coffee, of course. I often bulldoze through my meals..finishing my food wayyy before other people. Having my plate clean while my partner is only 30-50% through his/her food is quite a common occurance. I always attributed my fast eating to my "training" at the market...where u got to eat + stand + look out for customers at the same time...i got used to eating fast. I could finish a packet of wanton noodles in all of 2 minutes, without feeling that i ate too fast. Its just something u gotta get over and done with..

Then when i started serving in CG ministry and working..and then the 2nd CG came on.. sleep became an irritating necessity. I wanted to do so much, but it was always the physical tiredness that got in the way. It was literally the verse "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak" coming into play everyday. I remember pastor once mentioned, people who really serve the Lord are always tired. I didnt understand then..but then I came to experience it for myself. Many a time i got impatient for needing rest. Yet its God's way, in His wisdom, to let us know His concern for balance in our life. Of course, boundaries can always be pushed, and we can obstinately choose not to rest despite the body's warning signals..but it doesnt bode us well in the way that we think.

Balance, balance.. always the key of life.

I learnt how to pioritize. how to endure. to have perserverance. And i learnt to depend on God like I never had before. I grew to be a better person. "better" has many aspects and different people will define "better" differently.. but i know myself. The greatest battles are those within and not those without. The greatest victories are those i know I've won internally, and people outside may not see them. Its not something which u display outwardly. Though the internal battles often result in external victories, it takes time before the results show. Having peace with myself and with God - thats a great thing which i treasure.

=)

Paradox of obedience

The Freedom Of Obedience
8 Aug 2009

Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. Hebrews 5:8

The word “obedience” often strikes fear in the hearts of many immature Christians because they think that God is going to take away all the fun and pleasure from their lives. Quite on the contrary, obedience to God brings with it great freedom and blessing.

Firstly, obedience keeps our relationship with God open and free. In the Garden of Eden, God wanted Adam to live by revelation knowledge, which is the highest form of knowledge. Yet, Adam disobeyed God and went after the knowledge of good and evil. The results were disastrous. Adam’s relationship with God was severely damaged and he started walking in fear and doubt. That holy innocence and open communion with God was cut off. Sometimes we have the illusion that freedom is doing anything we want. But true freedom comes from obedience and knowing what not to do. The restrictions God gives us are for our good, helping us to avoid evil. We have the freedom to walk in front of a speeding car, but we don’t need to get hit by it to realize it is a foolish thing to do so. Don’t listen to Satan’s temptations. You don’t have to do evil to gain more experience and learn more about life.

Secondly, obedience to God often keeps us from harm. God promised that if the Israelites obeyed Him, they would be free from the diseases that plagued the Egyptians (Ex. 15:26). Little did they know that many of the moral laws God later gave them were designed to keep them free from sickness. For example, following God’s law against prostitution would keep them free from sexually transmitted diseases. God’s laws for us are often designed to keep us from harm. Modern medicine is now acknowledging what these laws had assumed for the past thousands of years. If we want God to care for us, we need to submit to His “prescription” for living.

Thirdly, obedience to God is pleasing to Him. Many people think that prosperity and success comes from having power, influential personal contacts, and a relentless desire to get ahead. But the strategy for gaining prosperity, which God teaches us in Scripture, goes against such criteria. He told Joshua that to succeed, he must (1) be strong and courageous, (2) obey God’s law, and (3) constantly meditate on the Word of God (Josh. 1:8). What’s harder than getting to the top is having the character to stay at the top once you get there.

Fourthly, obedience to God leads to peace. Asa’s reign was marked by peace because he “was careful to obey the Lord his God” (2 Chr. 14:1-2, TLB). In your case, obedience may not always bring immediate peace with your enemies, but it will bring peace with God in your soul. Obeying God is the first step on the path to peace.

Different seasons have different purposes.

I'm just glad to know no matter what season I'm in, God's always in control (even in those seasons where I'm dry).

Tonight's CGM was good, everything is worth it.

I've got a lot more things to say, but somehow everything slipped off my mind when I started to write..

Tomorrow's fluoro again! Somehow, I always seem to "kana" the shifts and postings which I dont like. Things like N1, fluoro, OT, etc etc. [Does this mean ESWL will come next?? Noooo..] Yet, I guess its a good thing, because the sooner I get them over and done with, the better! And I'll become a better radiographer, an all rounded one, and my capacity will increase, and I'll be able to take on more!

Alright, its time to turn in :)

Thanks God for everything. Tomorrow will be a brand new day! Saturday OFF!!! Yes!

"See that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is."

Eph 5:15-17

Time, time, time.

A day that has been lived, can never be returned. Every second that ticks past, even while I'm typing this post, can never be taken back. I cant freeze time, nor can I make it go faster.

As it is, half of 2009 has already passed. Time really flies + waits for no man. In the blink of an eye:
- I've been in my new job for 3 months
- pearie has gone overseas (and I miss her!)
- N412 has grown to 16-17, been with W341 for 3-4 months
- Written 2 CN pieces + writing another big one
- Gotten TWO paychecks (most went straight to the BILLS department though, I'm terminating all the debts!! Rawr)
- Weathered a few storms & got through closer than before

Overall, I'm happy to say - I've grown! Aint no job stress gonna pull me down!

And thanks be to God, You're always, always more than enough for me. Thanks Lord :)

2009

In the blink of an eye, more than half a year has flashed past.

I'm really excited about things to come.. been hearing what He has been saying about the rest of 2009.

That which I have always been praying for is coming. At the appointed time, the harvest will come in. Already, it is on the way. N412 has grown - to 17 as of this week, to His glory! The journey has not been easy, to be honest, it was much harder than I expected it would be. Yet, the longer I walk, the more I realize, my trust in Him, my dependance on Him, always has room to grow. Never will there be a moment when I have "arrived".

Pst AR Bernard shared about original sin yesterday - how Adam's original sin was not disobedience, but idolatory. In the area of ministry, figures may end up being an idol. And its oh, so, subtle.

Pressing on and on to the upward call of God!

And not just in the area of ministry is breakthrough coming, but in other areas of my life. Relationships, emotions, walk with Him, finances.. the list goes on. A season of my life is coming..one which I guess I am looking forward to. It hasnt arrived yet though.. I just know its next on the list.

=)

Yea.

Finally settling down for some blogging.. I'm in the middle of my 3rd night shift. Time check: 2am , 6 more hours to go!

The keyboard is a little stiff..almost as if its protesting against me blogging.

Its a little distracting to be typing here and keeping my ears on the telephone & intercom at the same time.

Anyways, things have been pretty okay, my body clock is finally adjusting itself, and I actually managed a good 8 hours of sleep before I set off for work.. so I'm pretty energized now! N1 was a torture, because

1. I was seriously super scared to be going up to the OT alone for the first time, handling cases by myself.
2. I'd never assisted/seen a shoulder/humerus opt before, and I had to assist in them..
3. I was really, really tired because I couldnt sleep before work started

Ahh, anyways, its all over. Not losing any sleep over N1 anymore!

I'm looking forward to having my next 3 days off.

Best friend's bdae is coming soon.

So is mine! =D