Hear us from heaven - Ross Parsley


Lord, hear our cry
Come heal our land
Breathe life into these dry and thirsty souls

Lord hear our prayer
Forgive our sin
And as we call on Your name
Would you make this a place
For Your glory to dwell

Open the blind eyes
Unlock the deaf ears
Come to Your people
As we draw near
Hear us from heaven
Touch our generation
We are Your people
Crying out in desperation

Hear us from heaven
Hear us from heaven
Hear us from heaven

in view of christmas some people have asked me what i want...


LOL.... seriously... i dunno leh... i ll think abt it
ever since i started working, Christmas has been pretty shiong for me... always have camp right after Christmas. well, this year, i've chosen to enjoy Christmas even tho this has been one of the most tiring one so far.
so yeah... i wish you a META Christmas (staff joke)!!
by God's grace dis dreaded december has been not as dreary...thank God!

3 scenes in church today spoke to me about me right now:

1) yeep was talking to me about the new song we sang in service... n her daughter ran up to her, arms extended, desperately flopping herself on her saying, "carry, carry" in a near sobbing tone. that vulnerability; helpless desire... n of course i see the deeper, fuller love from her mum as she bends down just as immediately to scoop her up in loving embrace.

2) my 2 nieces (both 2 year olds) trying to hold hands and run together. they stopped every few steps to unclench or change hands position cos they've yet to figure out how their fingers should come together, or who prefer palm up or down etc. it s so cute to see the simple joy of holding hands n running n figuring out how to do so together.

3) my 2 nieces again... they ran towards the stage hand in hand... then stopped n decided to hug each other. n of course, with the usual clumsiness of toddlers, one of them tripped on the other's foot and down they went into a tangled heap on the floor, getting hurt in the process. tears ensued.

man... this is one of the few extended times i see them together cos of the christmas service rehearsal. they are soooooo cute! i wanna b a cool aunt that they can relate n hang out wif when they grow up, 2 guide them 2 stay pure n loving God!

u noe, as adults, we aren't that much different from mere 2-year olds... juz dat we got more complicated n we got more 'sophisticated' in our clumsiness or figuring out process.

I LONG TO WORSHIP YOU - Parachute Band
i have not come to ask You for anything
Except for the privilege to glorify Your name
Let my singing and prayers to You fill You up
O God, that You might be satisfied

i long to worship You
i long to worship You
to stand in Your courts and tell how marvelous You are
To You i raise my hands
i want to lift You up
Here in Your presence Lord
I long to worship You

yeep taught this song today... (they were beginning to say i poor thing - need to pick up on and follow through every other WL's new song! hee) this song expressed my soul. so beautiful... was wondering wat song it was when singing it... turned out it was from the album i did not buy! argh...yeep says this album "Amazing" 's the best. its slant is such contemplative and "God God" kind (if u noe wat i mean)... so beautiful...

God told me in the strong winds and pelting rain today - this is why I resurrected ur heart.
(dun understand? nvm... this is 4 me to rem)

BBC news 17 dec
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6187319.stm?lsf
US parishes weigh Anglican split: Two church congregations in the US are to announce whether they are breaking from the American Episcopal Church amid the continuing row over gay clergy.

pls come for Metamorphosis 2006 "BE THAT SOMEONE"

http://www.everystudent.com.sg/meta

i truly believe this is a very very very good camp! come for a life changing experience... pls! see things like u ve never seen b4... hear like u ve never hear b4.

we want to see christians raised up to be true followers of Christ... will u be that someone?

right now, i m very stressed with coming up with the student notes for Meta workshop. i tell ya, i ve worked at this for the longest time n yet... the pieces are not falling together. think maybe tonight cannot sleep!
n, i m very discouraged at the min sign-up for meta. we've worked at it lor...
Lord... pls come and take our efforts, our labour... and make it good in Your name. if i've been doing it in my own strength, (which i have been examining myself lots), forgive me and help me...

yesterday i fumbled irretrievably at singing "Everyday"! seems like i always outdo my own mistakes in leading worship! oh well...
attended 3 services... was pretty hungry for worship and Word.
what i took home from the process:
we need to go back to the Word always! faith comes from hearing, hearing the word of God.
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (heb 4:12)
our faith MUST be based on the Word... we need to build biblical faith. anything else is blind, weak, false.
i need to be a preacher of a Theo(God)-centric gospel, not an ego(man)-centric gospel.
i need to shift thru my messages as well as songs i choose... that they dont perpetuate an ego-centric Christianity, or further fuel the consumer mentality - what can God do for me, what can the church do for me me me!
and, actually, my church service/sermon is not dat bad!

God... let us be people who seek
not just Your blessings... but YOU.
not just to receive gifts from Your hand but to behold Your face
help us to desire You.

my heart aches for Home... where we fully come alive... to behold His face... to be wif Him forever...
i cant even begin to describe how much i yearn for Him

had Evangelism Training [E.T reloaded] today... thankfully i opened to sci n SIM n SMU...or else so very small! was fun having them too... hearing this gal Vanessa share, during lunch, abt how God was so real to her was a wonderful treat!

n dunno why i kept meeting Chinese nationals and indonesians! had fun talking to and sharing the gospel with them in mandarin... my mandarin has "gone bad" especially after coming into med. seldom use or even read/write as compared to my earlier days. n too busy to read chinese novels anyway... n m reminded to bring along my bahasa M & I 4SLs next time! sigh...

last nite Casting Crowns concert. thanks Cyn for understanding my stress n dryness to let me go instead of meeting up.
they showed the MV for "Can anybody see her?" - i put it up on this blog last month!

Voice of Truth

dis song ministers to me so much. i realised there's so much lies from the evil one dat i listen to that paralyzes me fr service, fr sharing, fr understanding dat i can do it in His strength, dat i m anointed by Him for the work He has entrusted me with. the voice that taunt me... mentioned sometime back abt my goliaths... gotta slay them... need to hear the voice of truth...

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes
To climb out of this boat I'm in
Onto the crashing waves

To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He's holding out His hand

But the waves are calling out my name
And they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again. "Boy, you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

Chorus:
But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
The voice of truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant
With just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors
Shaking in their armor
Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand

But the giant's calling out my name
And he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
Time and time again. "Boy you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

chorus

But the stone was just the right size
To put the giant on the ground
And the waves they don't seem so high
From on top of them lookin' down
I will soar with the wings of eagles
When I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus
Singing over me

I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

Praise You through the storm


these 2 songs were back to back n they ministered to me so much...
wow it's so late! i need to settle some stuff (eg. mug "everyday")! GTG... share with u more soon... there's juz so much... but juz no time...!

juz read Yeep's email. she s sucha blessing to me... she's there, encouraging me wen my strength is failing. thank God for her!

met up wif Krys for my birthday celebration... yesh... i m not done yet! wen up sheares bridge n to the marina south breakwater to eat our subway dinners... laid on our backs to admire the full moon n chatted... wow... fr 5-11pm... din expect to hang out this long!
she said i m torrential!(re how i can cry) haha... told her i must blog dis! forgot wat exactly... asked her on msn... then now blog. haha.. so old huh.
other stuff she mentioned that hit me:
i measure pp using me as a standard. she said i did it to her too... n reminded me dat not many pp r like me (n i corrected her dat no1 is like me la). hmmm... need to reflect n rework dat...
wen i updated re L. she added dat i wasted 6 years of our friendship(due to our silly mistake- it was a beautiful thing God has given us n we messed it up!) suddenly realised it was indeed costly... n dat things will be such if i move out of God's will... that i'll miss out on God's best for me in any given situation/relationship (that God has blessed me wif) if i took things into my hands.
n she added i make her cry the most! sigh...

We have here with us Evan, who has just completed the Standchart half marathon. Evan, tell us how you did you start running long distance.
Well, I didn’t take to running actually. Just that ever since I started work, running is the easiest form of exercise. No frills, no need another person, no need to bring bathing stuff etc. just put on track shoes and I can be off.

The main contributing factor was med min cos I realised that in full time min, it is for the long haul… not the sprint n crash kinda thing. So the idea of covering distance and running the marathon grew on me.

when i was in JC, my fren SL runs long distance... i remember her sharing why she does it - "it feels really good after you sweat..." being less restrained n tactful, i blurted, "you must be crazy!" it was plain insanity to me 10 years ago... i hated running... even 2.4! well, i've come to join the crazy pp...

Share with us your pre-race experience.
I went over to Darling’s to sleep over. What nice bed she has! Slept after talking a bit. Haven’t had such a deep n restful sleep in a long while! Gr8 bed she has! I didn’t feel like waking up when the alarm went off… anyway, we took a pic n left. Couldn’t get on a cab! N when we finally did, the driver didn’t know how to get there with all the road closures… so we dropped off at lavender and ran for the mrt! [note 2 self: next year pls take mrt!]

We were late already n I was panicky… n ran n ran to the starting point… n juz started the race feeling out of breath n so not ready! Haha… n my muscles were v tight… I had to stop at the 1st bus stop to stretch again… n many times subsequently. Kept telling myself to relax relax! Haha! Body felt so out of whack!

heard you enjoyed running half marathon this time than 10K…
yes, cos starting late has it’s benefits… it means the first 2k is clear for you… n then it’s just mainly overtaking people from there on. So it’s kinda fun. And, by the time I hit the 10k turning point (the place where I dread cos last year it was from there that I struggled through the 10k crowd), I met up with the early 10k women runners. They were all running pretty well so it gave me an extra boost to run too.

Share with us your running journey
I ran the 1st 10k faster than last year. But I was really tired by 12k. I was grumbling inwardly why the 13k marker is taking so long to turn up. At 14k, my MP3 player – Schatz was playing ‘Church on fire’. I was telling God, “God! My calves are on fire!” and Ricky Martin’s hot spanish number couldn’t cajole me to run. I was berating myself for walking cos I felt I wasn’t pushing myself harder, n that I lacked mental strength. But by then I couldn’t get my legs to run.

But what I enjoyed tho was running on roads I couldn’t have otherwise, like shenton way. And Im thankful to God for the weather – it wasn’t hot, but cloudy.. providing the much needed shade. And tho it drizzled when I was at 17k, it refreshed me, n gave me extra impetus to finish n not get caught wen it pours. But of course it didn’t at all till probably after 11 (after I had left).

one thing i especially enjoyed was blatant littering! (throwing the cups by the side of the road) haha...

[smiling] I heard you were eating breakfast at the 15k mark…
Haha. Yesh! They were giving out bananas n drinks at the 15k mark (just after the esplanade). N I, since I was walking, decided to snack n load up too… juz too empty… so yeah… walked another km! heehee… even tho I told myself no more excuses after I finished, I couldn’t run still… it became walk-a-jog for me. I was at the republic boulevard – a place I had enjoyed walking along… n was screaming inside “where the heck is the turning point? I want to turn back!!!”

At 19km, Schatz was playing “Running after You”, one of my must-have running songs. i was telling God, “I cant run liao!” not even when I rounded the last 3oom. But I did run in the end.

what is the highlight of the race for you?
That’ll be the last 100m for me… sprinting past thru the crowd to the finishing line… it’s exhilarating!

were you satisfied with your timing?
oh yes i m! im pretty pleased with myself despite walking n all... i actually hit my personal objective! tho it is not fast or anything (i m the 2nd LAST among my colleagues!) i felt good. this's all i can do for the conditioning i ve done... so yeah. i gave myself 2 pats on the shoulder saying, "well done!" after the race. haha...

Tell us what you did post-race.
I went to Ya-Kun wif Darling. And then went home. I travelled light this year. I only carried my arm band (with hp, easi-link card, atm card, cash, keys), schatz clipped outside, and a small towel. No change no nothing. So juz went home stinking up the train n bus! Haha.

What are your future running plans?
I intend to lay off running at least 1 week… which probably will turn into 2 or 3… shall go back to swimming… probably start gunning down 30 laps. Then oso… maybe be good to my knees n go back to cycling… so then after a while, I can try for a triathlon.. haha… ignore me… I m delirious now.

Darling wasn’t keen on joining me to run for a full marathon. N I think my knees cannot take it… n my work schedule doesn’t permit that… so maybe the other thing is to run half in other countries (standchart has it in 3 other countries!)

well, whatever it is, i wish you many more wonderful racing experience. thank you, Evan for your time.
it's my pleasure.

today's a pretty fine day. woke up today feeling i needed more sleep... realised that i should stop making appts in the morning esp if i dun have meetings... i should sleep in... i cant engage... the rest of the day was pretty nice!

had a wonderful family time... then jammed wif bro a little... kinda fun.

tmr's stand chart! still undecided whether to sleep over at Darling's... a little excited... n reviewing the route... i feel i really CMI!! nvm la.. tmr juz go there n do my best lor... c how... 30000 runners.. sure jam one... last year 10k jam like mad... pp no running ethics... looking at it... i sure hit the 10k-ers n jam there too... sianz...

was pretty drained after DG... had intended to end by 330... but... stretched till 5... at first planned some time for me to go sit by water n sort out some stuff b4 meeting Kr 4 dinner... but then cant liao... n suddenly like a ton of bricks, it hit me - how needful that planned space was for me... i felt weak n tired. i felt i cannot give liao. [cant give wat u dun haf] i felt i needed breathing space... i needed time for myself... i didnt want to tok anymore... i sms-ed to ask for a rain cheque despite feeling real bad abt it.

m glad i did it... was good. realised i miss God. i miss thinking God-thoughts, miss thinking of Him, juz Him, not for His will, not for His leading, not so that i can teach, tell, lead, guide someone else... juz for Him. i ve been so busy dat i havent spend time JUZ. [just let me say...]

was pondering over how Jesus could do it... give n give... n yet handle the heartbreaking knowledge dat they dun have faith... that their hearts r so far from God... i would have broken down seeing that rich young ruler walk away with his head down... did Jesus' heart sink as He saw him go? did He inwardly cry a million tears while saying, "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." (Mk 10:25) yet perhaps He knew what i still dun... "with man it is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." (v27)

mystified by "Love"... God is Love. it's amazing. how God is the source, the giver. how we are created for love, to love. how we love cos He first loved us. (1 Jn 4:19)

i really do think my sis has a great figure... n she's chio too! *whistle (she's gleefully fishing in my wardrobe for clothes for tmr's wedding n FYP presentation... so it's kinda like a fashion show for me!) n i juz got sudden inspiration to dress her in really really hot stuff!LOL i'm glad her examz r over n she s in like the greatest cool mood in a long while... maybe oso cos i had a good time-out earlier... my mood's ok too... juz realised too dat i ve been the "main sponsor" of her clothes n shoes for most of her events! from head to toe! wow... m glad she's gonna wear d over-priced delicate tube/halter i fell in love with n committed to... only to b rudely awoken to the fact dat we r mismatched... i m too fat for it... really happy my sis fit so nicely!
"that's wat sisters r for... to help tie knots!"

i heard this song today at Ben & Jerry's... was so terribly moved by it. went up to the counter to ask 4 title n singer... Ben & Jerry's really haf gr8 sound system - Bose. sounded so terribly wonderful. heart nearly melted there n then.



The way you look at me - Christian Bautista
No one ever saw me like you do
All the things that I could add up to
I never knew just what a smile was worth
But your eyes say everything without a single word

CHORUS
'Cause there's somethin' in the way you look at me
It's as if my heart knows you're the missing piece
You make me believe that there's nothing in this world I can't be
I never know what you see
But there's somethin' in the way you look at me

If I could freeze a moment in my mind
It'll be the second that you touch your lips to mine
I'd like to stop the clock, make time stand still
'Cause, baby, this is just the way I always wanna feel

BRIDGE
I don't know how or why I feel different in your eyes
All I know is it happens every time

this is the way my day usually go:

i usually am down with what i call the silent scream syndrome (SSS). i wake up with a whole body full of silent screams... wondering where i've 'topped up' in the night. i dread the start of the day, and drag myself out of the bed eventually, not without wrestling wif sleep for a long while.

then with much prayer n grumbling to God, i struggle thru the day, doing my work with increasing joy and thankfulness to Jesus for His srength, grace and encouragement. and usually, my day will end with a bang - a climax i wouldnt have imagined.

like yesterday, i was eating dinner wif Liebe wen the lady i sat diagonally across turned out to be my pri 3 classmate! she initiated the conversation (if not, i would've blur blur not have noticed). turns out she is Liling- an EXTREMELY quiet gal. she refused to talk to anyone, didnt even respond to teachers' questions! but only talk to her 2 other friends. she had always puzzled me as to why she doesnt talk to other pp... however she dun rem me trying to talk to her!( i was like " of course i got try to talk to you lah.. i so friendly one.... i was much less noisy, obtrusive, obnoxious 18 years ago...) i think she forgot she never talk to others! but thankfully she remembered me (my full name some more!) and even remembered that i had wanted to be a doctor (she oso asked if henry is a doc. both of us didnt become docs. CMI lah... hee... but turns out everyone knew i wanted 2 b doc... even henry, after finding me on friendster asked me if i m a doc now! so much for being the sci whiz kid...). n also mentioned that i was pretty (note: WAS!!!) haha. [like i always say... i tihnk puberty is the great equalizer - reverses one's fortunes! hee hee]

my highlight was that Liling is also a Christian and was juz recently baptised. she had even gone for mission trip to M'sia! i really was overjoyed at our reunion! n was super giving thanks for her salvation. n also puzzled over how is it that we both, having stayed in the same place for the past 18 years, have not even bumped into each other (not even once!) till now! asked her her prayer requests, prayed for her... n left still feeling so high. wow. found another friend!

woke up today actually calling out (aloud) to Jesus cos again had SSS! i m blogging now cos decided to take half day leave... to sleep in... n blog and think thru some stuff... the morn's short man... need to go off liao... DG at 1 in NUS... but yesh... m looking forward to today... knowing that God has written a wonderful day filled with His blessing and wonderful opportunities for me to be a blessing to others too... enjoy yours too.