the half day leave i took was so refreshing. cos since it was half day, meant i had to work. n working fr home n lb's pl proved so productive n freeing. having now to lock in my time on campus, i missed such flexible work venues n times (wen i was in community). i realised today that i was n still m a very free spirit. n inflexibility crushes n frustrates me. i felt so good really!
it was raining so heavily all over the island the whole day. really thankful to God for withholding the rain when we were returning the flags. cant imagine the trouble we ll have if the stands, poles n flgs were wet. thank You God!
stumbled upon this unique artist in yahoo while clearing mail. Phil Hansen specialises in pointillism and uses internet to bring his art to pp. his projects are amazing!
http://potw.news.yahoo.com/s/potw/23115/strokes-of-genius
http://philinthecircle.com/
juz makes me rem my own dabbling in art. n how drawing, painting n taking pics used to bring so much joy and refreshment to my heart and soul. maybe i really should make time for this. i rem that i was a happy gal during the time wen i did spend alot of my free time on such.
prayed with joanne n a line hit home- make our hearts feel the ache of how much we need You. n i recalled that there was a time wen i more keenly yearned for God than i m now. n, i remembered how my heart ached for God then. n then, i felt my heart ache. not in a similar way, but in the way like when something hard cracks up. i ached for how my heart no longer ache for God. Joanne's prayer was answered almost immediately. now, the ball's in my court. wat do i do when i feel this ache? carry on my work n distractions? put them down to satisfy the ache of my soul?
yes... i'll go off now.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Thursday, August 30, 2007
LONGER, DADDY…LONGER
(Gary Smalley and John Trent, from Leaving The Light On)
Recently, a woman grabbed my arm at a conference after I had finished speaking on the enormous need we all have for affirmation.
‘Dr Trent, may I tell you my story?” she asked. “Actually, it’s a story of something my son did with my granddaughter that illustrates what you’ve been talking about – the importance of affirmation.
“My son has 2 daughters, one who’s five and one who is in the ‘terrible twos,” believe me, she is!
“For several years, my son has taken the oldest girl out for a ‘date’ time, but he had never taken the 2-year-old until recently. On his 1st ‘date’ with the younger one, he took her out to breakfast at a local fast-food restaurant.
“They had just gotten their pancakes and my son decided it would be a good time to tell this child how much he loved and appreciated her.”
‘Jenny,” her son has said, “I want you to know how much I love you, and how special you are to Mom and me. We prayed for you for years, and now that you’re here and growing up to be such a wonderful girl, we couldn’t be more proud of you.”
Once he had said all this, he stopped talking and reached over for his fork to begin eating…but he never got the fork to his mouth.
His daughter reached out her little hand and laid it on her father’s hand. His eyes went to hers, and in a soft, pleading voice she said, “ Longer, Daddy…longer
He put down his fork and proceeded to tell her some more reasons and ways they loved and appreciated her, and then he again reached for his fork. A 2nd time…and a 3rd…and a 4th time he heard the words, “Longer, Daddy…longer.”
The father never did get much to eat that morning, but his daughter got the emotional nourishment that she needed so much. In fact, a few days later, she spontaneously ran up to her mother and said “I’m a really special daughter, Mommy. Daddy told me so.”
----
juz like the litle girl of two, we need to know how we are special, and how much we are loved. often the sad tragedy is not that we are unloved, but that we are not told by those who love us so. while we can lament at that, know this:instead of you needing to say "Longer Daddy, longer", your heavenly Daddy is saying to you "longer, child, longer" so that He can tell you all that you long so much to hear. only, will u go? only, will u stay?
again, as in the previous post, quiet time is spending time with Someone who infinitely loves you.
(Gary Smalley and John Trent, from Leaving The Light On)
Recently, a woman grabbed my arm at a conference after I had finished speaking on the enormous need we all have for affirmation.
‘Dr Trent, may I tell you my story?” she asked. “Actually, it’s a story of something my son did with my granddaughter that illustrates what you’ve been talking about – the importance of affirmation.
“My son has 2 daughters, one who’s five and one who is in the ‘terrible twos,” believe me, she is!
“For several years, my son has taken the oldest girl out for a ‘date’ time, but he had never taken the 2-year-old until recently. On his 1st ‘date’ with the younger one, he took her out to breakfast at a local fast-food restaurant.
“They had just gotten their pancakes and my son decided it would be a good time to tell this child how much he loved and appreciated her.”
‘Jenny,” her son has said, “I want you to know how much I love you, and how special you are to Mom and me. We prayed for you for years, and now that you’re here and growing up to be such a wonderful girl, we couldn’t be more proud of you.”
Once he had said all this, he stopped talking and reached over for his fork to begin eating…but he never got the fork to his mouth.
His daughter reached out her little hand and laid it on her father’s hand. His eyes went to hers, and in a soft, pleading voice she said, “ Longer, Daddy…longer
He put down his fork and proceeded to tell her some more reasons and ways they loved and appreciated her, and then he again reached for his fork. A 2nd time…and a 3rd…and a 4th time he heard the words, “Longer, Daddy…longer.”
The father never did get much to eat that morning, but his daughter got the emotional nourishment that she needed so much. In fact, a few days later, she spontaneously ran up to her mother and said “I’m a really special daughter, Mommy. Daddy told me so.”
----
juz like the litle girl of two, we need to know how we are special, and how much we are loved. often the sad tragedy is not that we are unloved, but that we are not told by those who love us so. while we can lament at that, know this:instead of you needing to say "Longer Daddy, longer", your heavenly Daddy is saying to you "longer, child, longer" so that He can tell you all that you long so much to hear. only, will u go? only, will u stay?
again, as in the previous post, quiet time is spending time with Someone who infinitely loves you.
turns out, cloudy sky over singapore blocked our view of tue's eclipse! oh well, it wasnt as if i was sitting ard looking into the sky at that time anyway. was busy with DG and nursing Survivor, then to LM at that time (tues 4-7pm). so the ecilpse slipped my mind!
well, the tan from sat is here to stay. m too lazy to post the pic of how tanned my arm is. so juz take it from me la ah.
LM(tues) was good. good time of reminding all of us wat the one priority, the one thing that is needful - ENJOY GOD (theological sanctification!). quiet time is not learning more about God, knowing more about wht the Bible says, but quiet time is spending time with Someone who loves you infinitely. priority is abt "arranging your life’s activities, so that by doing what I can do TODAY, I can move closer to what I want to be in THE FUTURE"
finally... the Taleban released 12 of the 19 south korean hostages yesterday. they didnt keep up their side of the bargain, holding still 2 more. how long Lord? it's been 6 long weeks, 2 deaths. Your will is indeed a mystery, Your thoughts are not ours, Your ways are higher.
Iran's poised to "fill the power vaccum in iraq" so says Iran's president Ahmadinejad. well well... watch out... Revelations is playing out right before our eyes people! Persia will rise.
Blessed Theresa of Kolkata, or more commonly known as Mother Thersea's private journals and letters will be published next month (Mother Theresa: Come Be My Light) revealing that the saint suffered decades of "dark nights of the soul" where she questioned even her faith. will this "delight her detractors and confuse her admirers. or is it the other way around?" (ST p 37 30th August 2007) well, MOther Theresa concluded that her dark night could help her identify not only with the abandonment that Jesus felt during the crucifixion, but also with the abandonment faced by the poor.
well, all in line with the topic i m studying for this period. teaching "How Can A Loving And Powerful God Allow Evil and Suffering?" at School of Leadership and Development. taught it last year too. but this time's different. gotta revise the student notes n instructors' guide so that others can teach it too need alot of time to do it! read a few books in prep for it. but still not much headway. need to really sit down and set aside enough time to wrestle with the comp!
these2 months will be quite tight with a few church speaking engagements on the workshop i did last dec. m a little apprehensive cos it's like alot of speaking engagements coming together - 5 sessions in 6 weeks. a little daunting. need to pace myself n set aside time to prepare!
took half day leave to settle mis conf stuff. cos returning stuff to Trinity needs to be within office hours... so yeah while i m waiting for my uncle n his pick-up, i finally sat down to blog! i m not pleased with how lazy n tired i m that blogging gets shelved once too many.
well, the tan from sat is here to stay. m too lazy to post the pic of how tanned my arm is. so juz take it from me la ah.
LM(tues) was good. good time of reminding all of us wat the one priority, the one thing that is needful - ENJOY GOD (theological sanctification!). quiet time is not learning more about God, knowing more about wht the Bible says, but quiet time is spending time with Someone who loves you infinitely. priority is abt "arranging your life’s activities, so that by doing what I can do TODAY, I can move closer to what I want to be in THE FUTURE"
finally... the Taleban released 12 of the 19 south korean hostages yesterday. they didnt keep up their side of the bargain, holding still 2 more. how long Lord? it's been 6 long weeks, 2 deaths. Your will is indeed a mystery, Your thoughts are not ours, Your ways are higher.
Iran's poised to "fill the power vaccum in iraq" so says Iran's president Ahmadinejad. well well... watch out... Revelations is playing out right before our eyes people! Persia will rise.
Blessed Theresa of Kolkata, or more commonly known as Mother Thersea's private journals and letters will be published next month (Mother Theresa: Come Be My Light) revealing that the saint suffered decades of "dark nights of the soul" where she questioned even her faith. will this "delight her detractors and confuse her admirers. or is it the other way around?" (ST p 37 30th August 2007) well, MOther Theresa concluded that her dark night could help her identify not only with the abandonment that Jesus felt during the crucifixion, but also with the abandonment faced by the poor.
well, all in line with the topic i m studying for this period. teaching "How Can A Loving And Powerful God Allow Evil and Suffering?" at School of Leadership and Development. taught it last year too. but this time's different. gotta revise the student notes n instructors' guide so that others can teach it too need alot of time to do it! read a few books in prep for it. but still not much headway. need to really sit down and set aside enough time to wrestle with the comp!
these2 months will be quite tight with a few church speaking engagements on the workshop i did last dec. m a little apprehensive cos it's like alot of speaking engagements coming together - 5 sessions in 6 weeks. a little daunting. need to pace myself n set aside time to prepare!
took half day leave to settle mis conf stuff. cos returning stuff to Trinity needs to be within office hours... so yeah while i m waiting for my uncle n his pick-up, i finally sat down to blog! i m not pleased with how lazy n tired i m that blogging gets shelved once too many.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Sunday, August 26, 2007
ah... a change! from forever friends bear to Tatty! well... i'm the sort who likes changes. and sometimes i make a change juz for the heck of it. so yeah...
i had wanted to blog many times throughout this week. but was juz so tired n occupied to do so. well, not so super woman after all eh? i had vacillate from feeling whiny to being hopeful, feeling grumpy and frustrated to getting on top of things. so my busy-ness kinda spared u from taking a roller coaster ride with me!
ytd had fellowship day at labrador park. was there the whole day. got pretty charred... now red like a lobster!
anyway, will be spending today recharging... reading books, listen 2 online sermon and getting into the Word. in prep for more cheong-ing the coming weeks. perhaps more later. ciao
Sunday, August 19, 2007
i would consider myself a superwoman if not for my aching body n fatigue! but i'm glad the missions conf is over! phew! i m actually quite amazed at how crazy these past week weeks have been... n how i was riding it. sometimes i can almost feel the exhilaration of adrenaline rush. but well, shant attempt such feats too much.
(BTW, i think my pastors are supermen! it's been a very tiring week for them cos of the wake n prep for some big conference etc. way to go pastors! praying for you! haha... as if they read my blog. well... u never noe... lol)
took 2 days leave to settle missions conference but much of the 1st day was taken at TH's deathbed n family after he is gone. and the 2 days were such a mad rush, both emotionally n physically tiring. (was surprised dat after sharing wif my team, a colleague can pray thanking God for a refreshing break! i looked up in surprise with a "huh? where did that come fr?" look. my other colleagues try to stiffle a laugh.) by sat when the youth track of missions conference started, my whole body ached n i was so so tired! but after a good rest on sat night, woke up today feeling fresh n ready to take on the new day - missions conf day!
today, alot of things went wrong. at the children's track, d laptop, projector failed. but later we managed to get it tog n the prog wen well. was so tiring. sweat as if i ran 5k! log s was a crazy thing. DLee shouldnt gotten a group of guys 2 run instead of juz one person. not easy putting this conf tog but it was worth it. the number of pp going for the workshops was up. glad we tried to put it on sun. n even the pledging was up for the chinese side. let's hope next week ours will be too.
heart sank last night wen i got an email saying that payday will be pushed back 1 day due to new acc syst. u have no idea how much i was looking forward to this particular payday! n then a short but not helpful memo saying that sept's payday will be affected as well... they never say when or wat... sigh... hope deferred makes the heart sick! was juz recalling after vision tea wen SE commented that money is "sheng wai wu" n SW n i juz almost flipped n say "wat?" haha... it's not dat we r money minded... but really...we are really living on "daily bread".
some company's sale tactics are really deplorable! use guilt/embarrassment/insult to sell. dun they have any morals? why take the moral low road? but sad to say, such antics do work on gullible, weak-conscience ones who bear the slime n condescension n willingly fork out hundreds n thousands. sigh... can i appeal to your better sense? dun give in to such unethical sales n marketing antics. u do deserve better treatment. dun pay them to further insult u.
"wat is the right thing to do?" (Yeep 2 hui on drums vs tutoring 4 PSLE)
hmm... gd question. need to learn to ask that more often.
(BTW, i think my pastors are supermen! it's been a very tiring week for them cos of the wake n prep for some big conference etc. way to go pastors! praying for you! haha... as if they read my blog. well... u never noe... lol)
took 2 days leave to settle missions conference but much of the 1st day was taken at TH's deathbed n family after he is gone. and the 2 days were such a mad rush, both emotionally n physically tiring. (was surprised dat after sharing wif my team, a colleague can pray thanking God for a refreshing break! i looked up in surprise with a "huh? where did that come fr?" look. my other colleagues try to stiffle a laugh.) by sat when the youth track of missions conference started, my whole body ached n i was so so tired! but after a good rest on sat night, woke up today feeling fresh n ready to take on the new day - missions conf day!
today, alot of things went wrong. at the children's track, d laptop, projector failed. but later we managed to get it tog n the prog wen well. was so tiring. sweat as if i ran 5k! log s was a crazy thing. DLee shouldnt gotten a group of guys 2 run instead of juz one person. not easy putting this conf tog but it was worth it. the number of pp going for the workshops was up. glad we tried to put it on sun. n even the pledging was up for the chinese side. let's hope next week ours will be too.
heart sank last night wen i got an email saying that payday will be pushed back 1 day due to new acc syst. u have no idea how much i was looking forward to this particular payday! n then a short but not helpful memo saying that sept's payday will be affected as well... they never say when or wat... sigh... hope deferred makes the heart sick! was juz recalling after vision tea wen SE commented that money is "sheng wai wu" n SW n i juz almost flipped n say "wat?" haha... it's not dat we r money minded... but really...we are really living on "daily bread".
some company's sale tactics are really deplorable! use guilt/embarrassment/insult to sell. dun they have any morals? why take the moral low road? but sad to say, such antics do work on gullible, weak-conscience ones who bear the slime n condescension n willingly fork out hundreds n thousands. sigh... can i appeal to your better sense? dun give in to such unethical sales n marketing antics. u do deserve better treatment. dun pay them to further insult u.
"wat is the right thing to do?" (Yeep 2 hui on drums vs tutoring 4 PSLE)
hmm... gd question. need to learn to ask that more often.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
"Sorry" and "Thank you" can sometimes be the cheapest words!
feeling taken for granted and unsupported at the moment.
(by LB n P/chu)
----
i mourn for the lost of dear uncle TH.
remembering that Jesus wept as He saw Lazarus' friends weeping gave me comfort as i wept at his deathbed; wept at the lifeless form on that hospital bed. grieving for the wife, kids and loved ones He had left behind, grieving for the lost of a wonderful man, husband, father, brother in Christ, "Why?" became too weighty a question to ask. i don't ask "Why?" not out of faith, but out of fear. i dare not tread down that path of asking my Whys knowing i cannot bear to have the weight of "non-answers" crush my soul. cos really... only God knows "why". the answers we can come up with just fall short of convincing. so don't you dare offer glib answers. it rubs bad on gaping wounds. in such times like this, one might ask, "what then is faith good for?" "faith", my friend is the only good thing one can hold onto in times like this. faith is knowing that he is in somewhere better than the best we have on earth. that he is in good hands. that we will meet him again. that there is resurrection thru Jesus Christ. faith is strength and hope. faith is praising God despite our disappointments and our tears. faith is wat keeps us going.
feeling taken for granted and unsupported at the moment.
(by LB n P/chu)
----
i mourn for the lost of dear uncle TH.
remembering that Jesus wept as He saw Lazarus' friends weeping gave me comfort as i wept at his deathbed; wept at the lifeless form on that hospital bed. grieving for the wife, kids and loved ones He had left behind, grieving for the lost of a wonderful man, husband, father, brother in Christ, "Why?" became too weighty a question to ask. i don't ask "Why?" not out of faith, but out of fear. i dare not tread down that path of asking my Whys knowing i cannot bear to have the weight of "non-answers" crush my soul. cos really... only God knows "why". the answers we can come up with just fall short of convincing. so don't you dare offer glib answers. it rubs bad on gaping wounds. in such times like this, one might ask, "what then is faith good for?" "faith", my friend is the only good thing one can hold onto in times like this. faith is knowing that he is in somewhere better than the best we have on earth. that he is in good hands. that we will meet him again. that there is resurrection thru Jesus Christ. faith is strength and hope. faith is praising God despite our disappointments and our tears. faith is wat keeps us going.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
today i found myself at a wedding rehearsal, wondering how on earth i got to be worship leader cum master of ceremony yet again. thankfully it's not being wedding organiser. but oh well, it's not dat i'm doing this unwillingly. but m surprised how i so gamely said "yes" yet again.
well, walking up to church for the rehearsal, thanking God for the cool of the evening, i realised that i m totally content with my life right now. glad. fulfilled. it was almost as if every bit of me heaved an "aahhhhhh". i like my life. not dat there's nothing to improve on... i especially would've liked 2 up my bank acc.. but yeah right now even with dat, i m content. wont mind a boyfriend/ husband or a rock on my ring finger, but right now, i m so content being single. boyfriend or no, rock or no rock, i'm perfectly fine. (not dat there was anytime it wasnt! mind you) this contentment s so overwhelmingly sedative, peaceful. aahhhh........
it's so fun watching the to-be-marrieds run thru the prog. they're such a cute couple. despite not knowing them as well as the many couples whose weddings i organised or emceed, i still find myself rejoicing with them so much.
so this weekend's all packed with wedding prep, wedding, worship pract, worship.
made it official that i stepped down from Youth. was sad. but needful move. i felt me spreading myself in so many min made me so ineffective. n disruptive to the youth min leadership. n i need to watch it b4 i crash n burn. been really a challenging few months for me... n all i can expect is more thrills. but having been with them for... errr... 1 n 3/4 year? n taking 2 cells so far has made me rather attached to them... this special bred of "humans" hahha... n so touched esp by en for showing such "yi yi bu se". thanks darling en... yes will come back one...
well, walking up to church for the rehearsal, thanking God for the cool of the evening, i realised that i m totally content with my life right now. glad. fulfilled. it was almost as if every bit of me heaved an "aahhhhhh". i like my life. not dat there's nothing to improve on... i especially would've liked 2 up my bank acc.. but yeah right now even with dat, i m content. wont mind a boyfriend/ husband or a rock on my ring finger, but right now, i m so content being single. boyfriend or no, rock or no rock, i'm perfectly fine. (not dat there was anytime it wasnt! mind you) this contentment s so overwhelmingly sedative, peaceful. aahhhh........
it's so fun watching the to-be-marrieds run thru the prog. they're such a cute couple. despite not knowing them as well as the many couples whose weddings i organised or emceed, i still find myself rejoicing with them so much.
so this weekend's all packed with wedding prep, wedding, worship pract, worship.
made it official that i stepped down from Youth. was sad. but needful move. i felt me spreading myself in so many min made me so ineffective. n disruptive to the youth min leadership. n i need to watch it b4 i crash n burn. been really a challenging few months for me... n all i can expect is more thrills. but having been with them for... errr... 1 n 3/4 year? n taking 2 cells so far has made me rather attached to them... this special bred of "humans" hahha... n so touched esp by en for showing such "yi yi bu se". thanks darling en... yes will come back one...
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Evan Almighty on greatness.
haha... pardon the title... got it off this movie dats in the cinemas... fren juz watched it... well... maybe i shall... then again.. maybe not... i can always juz turn on the vid cam on myself eh?
okok back to the topic "Greatness".
we dream of being someone great. everything inside us yearns for that. yet we have huge trouble with really believing that we can be someone great. pride and all those fantasies aside, we cannot even dare to think it much less even begin to grapple with the promises in the Bible - "we are more than conquerors", "victorious", "rule over nations", "judge even angels".
we are too beset by our insecurities that we fail to lay hold of what we have in Christ! and not knowing wat we have, we go about our lives looking for attention, affection in the wrong places; looking to imperfect human beings to stroke us, to give us a sense of worth even when knowing that they too are struggling to feel good about themselves.
check out:
http://www.ficm.org/whoami.htm
http://myredeemer.org/foundation/identity/index.shtml
more thoughts next time... really tired... these past month was too eventful n tiring for me! n august promises to not let up! haha. ganbatte ne!
haha... pardon the title... got it off this movie dats in the cinemas... fren juz watched it... well... maybe i shall... then again.. maybe not... i can always juz turn on the vid cam on myself eh?
okok back to the topic "Greatness".
we dream of being someone great. everything inside us yearns for that. yet we have huge trouble with really believing that we can be someone great. pride and all those fantasies aside, we cannot even dare to think it much less even begin to grapple with the promises in the Bible - "we are more than conquerors", "victorious", "rule over nations", "judge even angels".
we are too beset by our insecurities that we fail to lay hold of what we have in Christ! and not knowing wat we have, we go about our lives looking for attention, affection in the wrong places; looking to imperfect human beings to stroke us, to give us a sense of worth even when knowing that they too are struggling to feel good about themselves.
check out:
http://www.ficm.org/whoami.htm
http://myredeemer.org/foundation/identity/index.shtml
more thoughts next time... really tired... these past month was too eventful n tiring for me! n august promises to not let up! haha. ganbatte ne!
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