i have mooooooved. Please RELINK - http://mycuprunnethover.tumblr.com/

thank you. (:

The Universal Presence is a fact. God is here. Wherever we are, God is here. There is no place, there can be no place where He is not. Ten million people standing at as many points in space and separated by incomprehensible distances can each one say with equal truth, God is here. No point is nearer to God than any other point. It is exactly as near to God from any place as it is from any other place. No one is in mere distance any further from or any nearer to God than any other person.

-from "The Pursuit of God" by A.W Tozer

I like it -- God is here.

That's a fact. I set out from home today in search of the perfect place to spend some time with God. Only to return 3 hours later to learn that there is no perfect place. God is here. and since God is at every place, every place is the perfect place to spend time with God. even if it means no nice beaches with crashing waves and the setting sun, but simply four concrete walls with a little window -- God is here

The Universal Presence

The Universal Presence is a fact. God is here. Wherever we are, God is here. There is no place, there can be no place where He is not. Ten million people standing at as many points in space and separated by incomprehensible distances can each one say with equal truth, God is here. No point is nearer to God than any other point. It is exactly as near to God from any place as it is from any other place. No one is in mere distance any further from or any nearer to God than any other person.

-from "The Pursuit of God" by A.W Tozer

I like it -- God is here. That's a fact.

I set out from home today in search of the perfect place to spend some time with God. Only to return 3 hours later to learn that there is no perfect place. God is here and since God is at every place, every place is the perfect place to spend time with God. Even if it means no nice beaches with crashing waves and the setting sun, but simply four concrete walls with a little window -- God is here.

Richer than you think!

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; 8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; 9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: 10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: 11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. 13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. Eph 1:3-14 (KJV)

___Have you ever felt you weren't rich enough? Think no further! The Bible says that we are blessed with all spiritual blessings! Do you know how rich you are in Christ today? We have in our Spiritual Bank Account:- all spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (v3) - we are chosen before the foundation of the world (v4) - we are adopted as God's children through Jesus Christ (v5) - we are accepted in the Beloved (v6) - we have redemption through His blood & forgiveness of sins (v7) - we can know His Will (v9) - in Christ we have obtained an inheritance (v11) - we are sealed with the Holy Spirit (v13)
---Why should we be defeated when we have all we need to live this Christian lifeWhy should we feel rejected when we have been chosen before the world was createdWhy should we feel all alone when we are adopted through ChristWhy should we feel dejected when we are accepted in the Beloved?Why should we feel guilty when we can receive forgiveness of sins?Why should we be confused when we can know God's will? [Ephesians 5:17]
How then can all these riches be accessed?Simply -- by grace, through faith. FAITH.
without faith, it is impossible to please Him.
//True riches come from God by His grace, for His glory. :D

You know better than i

I thought I did what's right
I thought I had the answers
I thought I chose the surest road
But that road brought me here

So I put up a fight
And told you how to help me
Now just when I have given up
The truth is coming clear

You know better than I
You know the way
I've let go the need to know why
For you know better than I

If this has been a test
I cannot see the reason
But maybe knowing I don't know
Is part of getting through

I try to do what's best
And faith has made it easy
To see the best thing I can do
Is put my trust in you

For You know better than I
You know the way
I've let go the need to know why
For you know better than I

I saw one cloud and thought it was a sky
I saw a bird and thought that I could follow
But it was you who taught that bird to fly
If I let you reach me will you teach me

For You know better than I
You know the way
I've let go the need to know why
I'll take what answers you supply
You know better than I

Yes Lord, I've let go the need to know why for You know better than i.

Soaring--

These past two days have not passed without me shedding tears.

It's painful, but I know this time of testing is needful.

As I was sitting outside at the patio this morning, just talking to God about all that's happening I saw a sight that really encouraged my heart. As I looked up to the sky overhead, to my delight, I saw an eagle. The eagle was flapping its wings really hard as it tried to rise up in the sky. It continued flapping its wings for some time till it reached a point where it started to soar upwards. It was soaring in circles, upwards. As I beheld this scene, I could see myself there.

Sometimes in our life, it seems like we are in a trying period. But during those times, we need to put in the hardwork and persevere in flapping our wings because after the night comes the break of dawn. There will be light.

Other times in our lives when it seems that we are going in circles and always having to deal with the same problem, remember, yes, though you may be going in circles, you are still soaring higher and higher into the sky.

The Lord's dealing with me, I know it. Lord, please continue Your work in me till You please. Take me. I will follow Thee my Saviour, wherever the pathway may go.

I shall never be moved?

And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved. Lord, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong...

Psalms 30:6-7a

Doesn't that sound familiar? "I shall never be moved." Maybe it is when life seems to be going well and everything is going our way that we secretly think in our heart "I shall never be moved" or maybe when we're doing well spiritually that we think to ourselves "I shall never be moved"

Just as the Psalmist David catches himself in the "I shall never be moved" trap, he acknowledges whom it is that keeps us standing. It is the LORD Himself. It is the Lord and by His favour that we remain standing.

So the next time we are tempted to think that we have arrived and shall never be moved, remember - that it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

Thank You, Lord. (:

--

It is of the Lord'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. 24 The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. 25 The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. 26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. 27 It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.

Lam 3:22-27 (KJV)

Lord, be my portion.

He's thinking of you

How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.

Psalms 139:17-18

Our family made a great discovery today. We found my late grandpa's diary. If you don't know my grandpa yet, let me introduce him to you. He's a man I've grown to respect. Jack of all trades, my grandpa built some terrace houses in S'pore, collected antiques as a hobby, could draw portraits and cook really well. I miss him ever since he passed on 5 years ago when I was 12.

Grandpa is a very detailed man. I held his diary with such anticipation because there was so much more I always wanted to know about him but never got the chance to. As I read his one line diary entries like "Gave up smoking - 15 - 09 - 1980", it was interesting to see the names in his dairy. He even took note of the date my sis entered uni - 10 - 08 - 03. So I was curious to see if my name would be found in my grandpa's diary. And I found it once! "Betty blessed with a daughter - Melody. 10.30am -24 - 05 - 92" (: I was so happy to find my name there.

Then I was thinking about it. My name was only mentioned in my grandpa's diary once, but it's comforting to know that God's thoughts toward me and about me are countless like the sand on the shore. I am precious to God and He's thinking about me and has the best in mind for my life; I can trust Him.

Yes Lord, I'll trust You, with my life. I'll wait.

I'm sorry if this post may sound abit strong, but my heart is deeply stirred and challenged.

Here goes...

My God is mighty to save and I have witnessed that first hand in the land of Philippines.
In the last five weeks, over 43 000 people have heard the good news and more than half have made professions. I do hope I can share more about what God has shown and taught me there in future posts. But my question is, "Do we today, know this same God personally? The God who performed miracles? The God who answered prayers so marvellously?"

Why? Why can't we see the same things which happen in the Philippines happen here too in Singapore as well? The problem surely does not lie with God; the ball is in our court.

What is holding God back from opening His floodgates of revival and blessing here in our homeland?

I believe the answer lies in faith.

"For without faith, it is impossible to please Him"

It is in simply taking small steps of faith that we will come to know our God in a more personal and experiencial manner.

You want to see miracles?

You want to know God for who He truly is?

then, what are you waiting for?

take a step out of the boat!

Hey Christians (myself included),

are we simply contented to warm our seats every Sunday?

are we satisified because we belong to a church that has mission work in 5 different countries?

What are we doing about our country? our homeland? Singapore?

But so we say, "oh, their hearts are so hardened. They don't need God."

Wait a minute, Jesus died for them on the cross too.

God loves them so much and He wants to save them.

But He needs us to cooperate with Him and to be His mouthpiece.

Enough is enough.

Wake up! Wake up mel.

By faith, take a step out of the boat, keeping your eyes on Jesus.

Enough of waiting for others to start an outreach here, an outreach there.

You see the need, what are you going to do about it? What am i going to do about it?

Talk is cheap. Let's take action now, by the grace of God.

I want to take this step, now what?

Pray and seek the Lord's mind.

Ask Him, Lord, how would you like me to reach out to my family, to my unsaved friends around me?

"But we have the mind of Christ." (1 Cor 2:16)

Don't pray till the rapture, after praying, take action!

The Lord has given us many avenues to reach our generation. Let's be creative, dream big!

-SportLight

-Music

-Student Hostels

-An open door already in YMCA

-1 room flats in Jalan Kukoh (Rem, the poor are rich in faith!)

-Going to playground to share with helpers and mums the gospel.

The Bible says: "Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." Matt 7:7

How will we know if the door is open if we do not knock?

Let's start knocking. ;)

It always starts with one - one who decides to go all the way with God.

Lord, help.

Greetings from the Philippines! (:

It's so good to be able to use the com again eh?
this is my first time ever since i arrived in Philippines.

God has been so so good.
Today and tmr is our day of rest, Wed we start again.
We're in the island of Cebu now.
Preached the gospel to 24 000 students so far and 17 000 made decisions to trust the Lord. Praise God!

The Lord too has been teaching me many lessons on ministry, calling, spiritual gifts, spiritual battle, evangelism and discipleship. I hope to be able to share em here when i get back.

We arrive back home on 17 Aug.

Thanks for all you who have been praying. (:
We really need ur prayers.
Pls keep Yu Fei in prayer too, as he's down with fever.

Stay strong in the Lord and God bless! :D

Are You Easily Edified?

June 30th, 2009

I don’t know about you, but I sometimes find myself suffering from a sense of over-familiarity with God and the gospel. Reading my Bible doesn’t excite me. Listening to sermons becomes routine. Even worship feels common and mundane. At times like these I crave something new and compelling to jolt me out of my spiritual rut. I figure that if I only had a better devotional book, a more powerful preacher, or a worship band with slightly more musical gifting, then my heart would become responsive again. Sin makes us stupid like that.

Of course, I’m not denying that there are better devotional book or more powerful preachers. We should read great books, not mediocre books. We should look for churches where God’s Word and the gospel are faithfully preached. But I often find myself dissatisfied with truths — however poorly presented — that should thrill me.

“A mature Christian is easily edified.”

Two weeks ago I stumbled across that statement by Dr. Harold Best — and it hit too close to home. Easily edified? That doesn’t sound like the Brett Harris I know. To borrow from friend and blogger, Justin Taylor, too often an accurate assessment of my life would reveal that I am easily annoyed, easily irritated, easily impatient, easily hurt, easily angered, easily distracted, easily arrogant, etc. Justin concludes:

Wouldn’t it be great if those who knew us best could honestly say, “It is so easy to edify him. It doesn’t take much. It doesn’t need to be the best sermon ever preached or the most excellent song ever composed or the most powerful book ever written or the most theologically eloquent statement ever uttered. Just the simplest truth was enough to refresh his heart in Christ.”

Not a bad way to pray — for ourselves and for others.

Over the past few months God has been working in my heart to restore a sense of awe and amazement — to ignite the idle sticks of my heart into a roaring blaze — but I am still God’s work in progress. Pray for me, as I pray for all of you, that we would grow together into men and women after God’s own heart.

“In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word. I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart!” — Psalm 119:14-16, 32

Heavenly Father, enlarge our hearts we pray!

-The above post is by Brett Harris, taken from the blog - http://www.therebelution.com/blog/

I came across this website - www.therebelution.com when i was reading the book "Do Hard Things". I have been blessed many times by the posts in the blog and i pray it will be a blessing to you to. I do desire to share more things about this "Do Hard Things" book that I have read and will be reading again, but maybe another time soon.

This post is just so close to my heart, cos recently, my heart just seems so cold to the things of God. Lord, please revive my heart.

Another interesting website to check out, esp for all teen girls - http://www.therebelution.com/modestysurvey/browse

This website has helped me alot esp with regards to modesty cos modesty is a topic that is not commonly addressed. Many times, its quite awkard to go up to a guy to talk to him about modesty. What he thinks is modest or not and what kind of dressing or posture or attitude or whatever may be a stumbling block to him. I know guys are visual persons and lust is a very real thing they struggle with.

As Christian girls, we should be careful not to cause our brothers in Christ to stumble or sin unnecessarily especially if it has to do with our dressing. Of course, modesty has more to do than the dressing. It's also about the heart. Well, i think that's enough about modesty for now, hmm...i think that's quite an interesting topic and maybe we can do more discussion about that topic in the future. ;)

btw, what's found on the modesty survey website are just views and commements combined from guys all over the world. take it for how much you deem it worth. Let us pray and ask the Lord to teach us and lead us in this area of modesty and staying pure for Christ. :)

Praise You in this storm (:

I was sure by now
That You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day
But once again, I say "Amen", and it's still raining

As the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

Chorus:
I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
Every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when
I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry
You raised me up again
My strength is almost gone
How can I carry on
If I can't find You

I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
The maker of heaven and earth

would it be okay to tell you that i'm not alright? that i'm actucally not doing too well now?
sure it would be. but sometimes in Christianity today, its hard to just be yourself.
its hard to show that u're actually not doing so well, when everyone around you seems to be fine perpetually. well, God help us. God help us to be who we really are. Thank God for good times, thank God for bad ones too.

in this valley,
i know God wants to strengthen my spiritual muscles.
i do not know how long this will take,
but i trust He knows best
and i am willing to stay in this valley till He is done with me

my heart is so hard
my heart is so proud
Lord, please please take my heart and break it.
make it soft, mouldable by You.
clothe me with humility.
i humble myself before You,
You are God.

we need more Christians that will stop being happy plastic people,
with shiny plastic steeples and walls around our weakness
and smiles to hide our pain.
Starting with - me. Get real, mel.

Lord, help me to be real. I thank You for mountaintop experiences, for valley experiences. I lift mine eyes to You, for You are my help. i will praise You in this storm.

lessons from the tumbleweed

i'm studying biology today for my homeschooling and i gleamed a spiritual lesson as i went though my lesson.

i'm on the topic of "Flowers, Fruits and Seeds" and from Fruits and Seeds Disposal, i quote:

"When the seeds of the tumbleweed, a plant of the Western plains, are ready to be dispersed, the entire plant withers and appears to die. When the wind blows, the plant stem breaks and the plant rolls across the plains, scattering seeds as it goes."

Isn't it interesting how the tumbleweed disperses itself?

I picked up a few learning points from the paragraph above.

the entire plant withers and appears to die

How often we Christians "appear to die". Appear to die to our flesh and live in the Spirit. Sometimes we think we have died to self when we have not, sometimes i think i may have surrendered all when i'm still secretly holding on to some dear thing. then when do we truly die?

the plant stem breaks

when the breaking comes and we choose to be broken before our Lord. when the walls are down and the roof off. Nothing between my soul and the Saviour and nothing to hide or keep as a secret from people around. after brokeness then what?

scattering seeds as it goes
after the breaking there is life again.

it is brokeness before revival.

may we be found broken before the Lord, allowing the Lord to have His way in our lives everyday.

it's so good to blog again. (:

I've actucally got lots to say and share about my family holiday to the Philippines and the church camp in Melaka. i'll be doing that in my subsequent posts, so stay tuned!

For now, i've got a new addition to the blog, its the book of the week and book in the pipline colum at the left hand side below the tagboard. i've long had the desire to read books, and so to encourage myself to read, i've decided to read one book a week [of course, also looking at the number of pages ;) ] and i'll do a lil review everytime i finish the book to share abit about the gist of it and lessons learnt. ;)

so far in the "Your Passport to Heaven" book, i've cleared a misconception i've had since young and that is that we'll be in Heaven forever. when i say Heaven, i mean, i think of this cloudy place where everything is white, the streets - gold...

This is what Randy Alcorn said and i quote "What we usually think of when we hear the word Heaven is the present Heaven, or the intermediate Heaven. If we're Christians, that's where we go when we die. It's the place where we'll live until our bodily resurrection. Our Christian loved ones who've died are now in the present, intermediate Heaven. But that's not the place where we'll live forever. Our eternal home, where God will come down to dwell among His people, is called the New Earth (Revelation 21:1-3)."

To leave you with a quote which i found on PC's blog-a big mission : "How could I spend the best years of my life in living for the honours of this world, when thousands of souls are perishing every day?" CT Studd

“Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?” Psalm 85:6

"When the church is prosperous, she never has revival. It’s when she's poor. Prayer is the language of the poor. 'Bow down Thine ear and hear me for I am poor and needy.' The self satisfied don’t need to pray. The self sufficient don’t want to pray. The self righteous cannot pray. But, the man who realises He needs something outside of what is human at all, he wants to bathe his soul in prayer…The weakest, weakest meeting in almost any church without exception is the prayer meeting. And when we’re not strong in prayer, we’re saying to God, we can manage. Cos we should pray if we have an invasion, we should pray if we have a famine, we have a great utility God…You need to maintain your prayer life in order to pray. No, not so. Not so. You need to maintain your Christian Life in order to pray…The church has to rediscover two things:
1. The Majesty and the Holiness of God
2. The sinfulness of sin
Prayer is not the easiest thing in the world. Prayer is the hardest thing in the world. Prayer is the most demanding thing in the world! ‘All earthly things will fade away but prayer grasps eternity’ so said Mongummary…if you claim to be filled with the Holy Spirit, the things that grieve the Spirit will grieve you…We’re heading for judgment faster than you could ever think, unless there’s a divine intervention…We sure need a heaven born, earth shaking, hell terrifying revival. And it only comes through brokenness…” -- Leonard Ravenhill

*extract taken from his sermon “Weeping between the Porch and the Altar”

Oh, may God break us.
May we rediscover the Majesty and Holiness of God and the sinfulness of our sin.
Revive us again.

thank God for the tue Bible Study that recently passed. Matthew 9:35-38

The King's Service
The King's Sympathy
The King's Strategy

learning about how Jesus went to the cities and villages surrounding Galilee truly challenged me. it is estimated a total of about 200 cities and villages there were surrounding Galilee. and Jesus went to each one of them, on foot. no car, no aeroplane, no bus. walk, walk, walk.

"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. " Mark 16:15

i heard this song some time ago, it still sticks with me -- the picture is painted so clear.
I do not want to be found having the blood of my loved ones and friends to be upon me.
what am i waiting for? what are you waiting for?

To Every Creature

The blood of men and nations is upon us,
As the church remains distracted from the call.
The Saviour’s great commission still unheeded,
To take His Word of redemption unto all.

To every creature I’ll preach the gospel,
In season out of season I would faithful be
This was our Saviour’s consuming passion
In every hour, it’s still God’s power,
Unto salvation for the world,
Unto all who will believe.

Oh, how then shall they hear without a preacher,
That our gracious Lord is ready to forgive?
To us it’s been committed as His stewards,
That light to shine every moment that we live!


"And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." Matthew 9:35-38

Thank God for a great time going door to door tonight with Jeremy, asking parents if they would like to allow their kids to come for Children's Camp.
Let's pray for one family in particular. Mr Kalek(i think that's how you spell it) despite hearing that this camp is organised by a church and there will be preaching, is still quite keen on sending his two muslim daughters to camp. Let's pray for God to keep this door open.
I thank God for challenging my faith, my mindset about how some people groups are 'harder' then other people groups. nonsance! With God all things are possible! Amen? amen!

Had a great time of fellowship with Jeremy along the way. He shared this quote on faith which he read from a book, "The greatness of your faith is shown in proportion to how long you can wait for the fulfillment of a promise." amazing quote! faith is not measured by result, but by faithfulness. by waiting on God in quiet confidence and trust that He will be faithful to what He said.

Hmm, before I met up with Jeremy, i was supposed to meet Glenda at 5 at Dover MRT. Waiting there, the Lord just gave me His eyes to the people. the multitudes, as sheep having no shepherd. it was the time of the day that all the students from SP finished sch and were gng home. oh how they walked by, group after group, pair after pair all engaged in their own conversations, obvlious to their eternal destiny. I wished i could stop them, grab all of them, bring them to a room and share the Gospel with them, tell them that God loves them and has a plan for them. oh, the masses. so many. and that is only one poly. one school.

"How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" Romans 10:14-15

Oh may the Lord of the Harvest Thrust forth His labourers! Thrust us forth, Lord.

Critical thinking. this is something i needa develop. Having grew up in a society and environment where everything has been thought through for me, my mind has become so lazy to think, to analyse. Of course, not the extreme of being overly critical, but just -i would say- evaluation. Why do we do what we do? is it cos we've been doing it all along? or what can we learn from things happening around us? The world is our classroom and the Holy Spirit is our teacher.

So, the session tonight. How can we improve? Why Bishan? What sort of blocks should we target? How do we approach the parents, what is the best way? Hmm.. is going door to door the best way to reach the children? We need to think, we needa evaluate. Not just do something and then say - okay, i've done my best. is this really my best? i'm not just saying this Children's camp going out on the street thingy. but this applies to anything and everything. Lord, help.

yummy! (: i just shared 3 boxes of durian with my dad. ahhh.. durian, been a long time since i had you. okay, but that's not what i'm here to post abt. i've been wanting to post since Sunday but haven't got the time till now.

wow. imagine. i'm all of 17 now. seventeen.
my birthday, which just past, was a sweet one. (: no sabos! haha. yay! anyway, i don't really participate in otrs sabos so..

this birthday that just past was a different one. differently in,

firstly, it was celebrated over 4 days!? hahah. the longest ever.
thurs night, my family together with my grandma had chilli and pepper crab at my house. we celebrated in advance cos my mum would be flying on Sat and hence, would not be ard for my bdae. i killed two crabs! my grandma helped me to hold them down though. it was chilly, i didn't quite like killing those poor crabs.
fri morn at Bible Sch coffee talk, had 3 cakes. haha. all thanks to..Ray! (: but i appreciate it.
sat at Vibe, Yvonne and some runners went to island creamy to get a tub of reverso with relightable candles to celebrate Guo Pei and my bdae. we had a fun time blowing out the candles.
sun, went out in the aftrn with my da ges and da jies to eat chicken rice at chinatown. ministry to one of Ian's armymates. then we had desert somewhere in the same vicinity.
had my favourite cake at ccwo when Dawn and Ray bought my favourite cheesecake from Pine's Bakery. haha. (: and at my voiddeck had yet another two slices of cake from Jia Hao. so - a grand total of 6 cakes this bdae!

it sure was a really sweet bdae.

secondly, i had a different mindset approaching my bdae. in the past, what happened on my bdae meant alot to me. not saying that it doesn't now, but in a different sense. after e exchange life course, i saw that i needn't seek my identity in anything apart from Christ, since I am already accepted in Him! (: last time, i saw my 'self-worth' in a sense, from how many people wished me happy birthday, how many smses, how many cards, how many presents. but this birthday, my self worth was not found in the wishes, or presents or cards. i know i am accepted in Christ. those wishes and presents were only affirmations that i had brothers and sisters in Christ who loved me, friends who remembered. talking about identity and self-worth, i also used to find that alot in running. I remember how i used to beat myself up over doing really badly for a race. it was as though how i performed in my races determined who i was. it is no more the case now, i would gladly say. I know i am accepted in Christ, and that is enough.
i'm not down playing presents or birthday wishes -
in fact, i'd like to thank all for making my birthday so so special.
thanks for the smses.
thanks for the facebook wishes.
thanks for the hugs.
thanks for the handshakes.
thanks for the green mushroom and dolphin bookmark.
thanks for the yummy chewy junior cream puffs.
thanks for the brown shawl and the cool card that emits music.
thanks for the rose and the card.
thanks for the cookies, the card, the ice cream, the friends, the vibe.
thanks for the sweet dress.
thanks for the watch that i would have never ever dreamed of owning. (:
thanks for the thought, the my melody, the lunch.
thanks for the gebera, the amt of work for the photo frame, the kitkat.
thanks for the book.
thanks for the lovely Christian coasters.
thanks for the shirt.
thanks. :D
really, thanks. You've showered me with love. God's love.

________
oh, one thing that i was really disappointed with was that i spend the day with many people, but did not spend it with my Lord. I woke up just in time to prepare to go to church. then rush, rush, rush, and i did not make the effort to set aside time for my Best Friend. i get really angry and upset with myself when i wake up late, or later than planned. cos then i feel as though i go though the day unprepared, unarmed, without meeting my Heavenly Father first. It's like i left Him waiting while i laid in bed fast asleep. aiyah, mel. cannot liketat. cannot liketat.

even this past two days, i overslept. late for prayer. argghh. i feel so..arggh with myself. its like the whole rythm of my day is spoilt. cos now in Bible sch and having to do homeschooling, its like, if i dun spend time alone with God before i leave the house, when can i? prayer, coffee talk, bs lesson, lunch, homeshooling, dinner... the whole day is packed.

but being late these past few days, i've also learnt some lessons.
who am I living for? I find myself thinking thoughts like "what will so and so think of me being late". i think of my reputation before men. what will he think? but i realise that i should be living for the audience of One - God. being late, what would God think? looks like i haven't had my roof off and walls down, if not i wouldn't be caring so much about what others think about me.

Lord, help me to live for You, and to only be concerned about what You would think of me.

------
recently, i've been having quite abit of questions when reading the Bible. and there's this struggle whether i should ask adults ard me (Ian, a.Lisa...others) the questions, but yet, i want to find the answers from the Bible. i think i should search out the Scriptures and let the Holy Spirit be my teacher, but of course, there is the tempatation to take the easier path in asking those around me. questions like what does cornerstone mean? and what does it mean to be perfect in 2 Chron 16:9? is this the same perfect as Matt 5 :48 - be ye perfect even as your Father...is perfect. how do i compare root words from the O.T and N.T when one is in Hebrew and the other Greek? deeper questions like from the passage 2 Peter 1:3-11 - how do i find the balance between depending upon God and "besides this, adding to my faith all those virtues"? and lots more questions. i've written em down, but i think i needa purpose to find time to answer em. :D

okaay, i can't really believe i'll be flying this fri night alrdy. so fast!
i believe that God is teaching me things even through this trip. most of all is that i am not indispensable, and that it is not that God needs me, but that it is a privilege to be able to serve the King of kings. i wouldn't be ard for 2 weekends, and im tempted to think who will take care of the younger gals? who will look out for them? then God reminds me that i am not indispensable and that the gals are HIS and He will see to it that they are taken care of, not to worry. then i think of all the things i'll be missin out on. the welcome thing at ian's place and the meeting on the Cambodia trip and God reminds me that don't think the whole world revolves around you!

Life still goes on even if u're around or not. I think this time of going away will be a good one. one to refresh, recharge, prepare my heart for church camp, prioritise things in my life. figure out why i do what i do, not just to go through the motion week after week.
why do i attend Fri evening prayer? for others to see? or to talk to God?
why attend Uth Worship? cos its a habit already? or to meet with God?
why go to Sat morn prayer? so that i can have lunch with the rest after prayer? or to interceed for the ministry?
why go to church on Sunday? cos my family goes so i go? cos I love God and want to meet with Him?
why serve in Children's Ministry? cos all the youths are serving there? or cos i believe that children are full of potential and have the capacity to make decisions for God?

Lord, please save me from going though the motion. it is so easy to do so. may everything i do be done out of an overflow of love for You. i love You, i really do.

___
this has been a ultra long post, thanks for bearing with me. last thing.
i just want to thank God for how in the past few days, He has drawn me and my sister, Christine, closer together. my bro, Caleb, and I are close cos we played alot growing up and our age gap is just 3 years. me and my sis are on good terms, but our age gap is 7 years and so not as close. but recently, our hearts have been knitted together. Thank God for her smsing me really sweet messages that never fail to warm my heart, telling me about how she's thinking of me even as she is on a bus. or even while having lunch at a Jap restraunt, msging me to arrange for lunch together. (: on mon, we went to the Jap restraunt together for lunch and it was on her. :D hehe. oh course, she's getting a pay check. ahah. so. yep. but it's great to be close to my da jie.

thank You, God. (:

my heart over flows with praise to the Lord! :D

I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.
Psalm 86:12

wow. i thank the Lord for all that He is doing in my life. many lessons He has been teaching me in the past week or so, this is just a gist:

- He has been teaching me the joy of prayer. The joy of communing with Him as friend to friend. He is giving me the assurance that nothing, yes nothing, is too small in His sight. That the slightest concern i may have is precious and valuable to Him and that He loves for me to talk to Him. He is teaching me a little more on waiting on Him in prayer. On waiting for His answer, not just to bring my prayer requests before the Throne and scurry off in life. I am to wait at His feet for the answer, for He never fails to give an answer. The best answer, be it - go, wait or no. His will is best

-He has been showing me that this Christian Life is one of progressive growth and change. It is not like i will totally change completely to become Christ-like over one night. It is a life long process of His Spirit working in me to mould and shape me to be more like Christ. and this my friend, requires patience. Much patience. At times it may seem like nothing is happening, or even worst, i seem to be going backwards! but take heart, His child, for He is faithful to fufill His promise in Phil 1:6 that "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform [it] until the day of Jesus Christ:"

-God has been teaching me that just when i think i've got it - when i think i've understood the exhange life, or when i think that i have learnt all there is in the Christian life - that i've got to stop, take a step back and realise that all i know is only the tip of an ice berg. It is only a little of the deep and intimate relationship God wants to have with me. Not so fast mel, your head is puffing up, YOU DON'T KNOW IT ALL!

-God has been showing me that it's not what i can do for Him that matters, but what i let Him do through me. It's not me (in my own energy and strength) living for God, it's God living His life through me! It makes a whole lot of a difference! Dependence on self vs Dependence on Christ! in my own strength and energy, or in His stregth.

and that's not all...i know there's still more. but i can't really think of em now cos something excites my heart so so much more!

Children's Camp '09! - We are preparing for rain! Are you ready?

Where do i start? I am just simply so so so excited at what God is going to do! :D
i thank and praise God for the vision that He has given Jeremy and i am very sure it is one from God. it is not some idea creative idea crafted out by man, but it is God, it is God's will and His will has to be done! Because it is HIS will, we can go forth in God confidence!

When Jeremy first shared this vision on Sunday with the carebears, it so excited my heart!
There was just convicion, passion, fire and energy in all that Jeremy shared and most of all faith in the never failing Word of God. It has to be God.

and you know various things that were shared then and even in the conversation that followed with him still lingers in my mind:

+ The Children's Ministry is God's ministry! Children's Camp is God's camp! and with God we do not need to care about success or failure bcos with God in it, there is no failure! we are on victory ground! and everything with God is success. It is His work, we are merly His vessels and He will see this camp to past.

+ We are preparing for rain! We are preparing for an outpouring of His Spirit! and it is only right if we are expecting rain to really go about preaparing full fledge for it.

+ It is interesting something Jem mentioned. That even if God takes away our feeling, even if God takes away our excitment about camp, are we still able to trust in God by faith resting upon His Word? Will we walk by faith, even when we cannot see?

Here are some facts from God's Word which we can claim, irregardless of feelings or not:

Matthew 21:22 - And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
Wow! look at this promise from God's Word! All things, whatsover, ask in prayer, believing - you shall receive! May we claim this promise and fall on our knees pleading with God for the salvation of the many unsaved souls He will bring in, and also the spiritual awakening that will come upon the believers.

Jeremiah 33:3 - Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
This verse speaks for itself.Call, God will answer. Not only answer, but more than answer, He will show us great and mighty things which we do not know. Great and mighty things which we have never seen before.

Psalm 81:10 - I [am] the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.
In the beginning of this verse, God is establishing Himself. Who is this God whom we love and serve? He is the God who is powerful, strong and mighty, bringing his people in time past out of bondage into freedom. He is the great I AM. He is the God who today is sill that same God. He never changes and the power which He displayed in Egypt, the 10 plauges He brought upon that land, simply goes to show us His mighty power. Open wide your mouth, and God will fill it.

May we stand upon the Word as camp approaches nearer and nearer. Standing on the promises I cannot fall, listening every moment to the Spirit's call. Resting in my Saviour as my all in all, standing on the promises of God!

+ and what then may be one thing that will prevent God from working mightly? - it is unbelief. Scripture says in Matthew 13:58 that "And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief." Look at this. What hindered Jesus from doing many mighty miracles in His own country? -- unbelief. May every bit of unbelief in our lives be purged that Christ may be free to do many mighty works in our midst. :)

but wait. look at this, the mercy and grace of God:
He says in 2 Tim 2:13 that even "If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself."

What does this verse mean? This is a short excerpt from Matthew Henry's commentry on this verse:
He is faithful to his promises; neither one nor the other shall fall to the ground, no, not the least, jot nor tittle of them. If we be faithful to Christ, he will certainly be faithful to us: he cannot deny himself, cannot recede from (withdraw) any word that he hath spoken, for he is yea, and amen, the faithful witness.

Even if we don't believe, God still abides faithful. He is still faithful to fufill His promises. Only, with unbelief, we will miss out on the great things God wants to and can do.

+ and I believe that this is a Spiritual Battle! we can expect attacks from the evil one if we are doing the Lord's work. Hence, we must -- as Ephesians 6:11 put it -- "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." and also we must be "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints" (Eph 6:18)

+ Hence, we must Pray, Pray, PRAY! This is a spiritual battle, and this battle can only be fought on out knees!

i know this has been a lengthy post (: but nevertheless, important and vital nuggets.

A note to all serving in Children's Camp:
Let us go forth in prayer, bathing this camp in prayer. We have a great God and He wants to do mighty things. The quesion Jesus puts forth to you today is: Believe ye that I am able to do this? Believe thou that I have the power to do this?
May we be able to say, be it with fear and trembling or with full assurance in our hearts -- yes, Lord. I do believe.

A last note to all who are not serving in this Children's Camp or who are not in Children's Ministry:
Please also do keep us and this camp in prayer. (: we will appreciate your prayer very much. :D and if you are keen or have a burden to serve or help out in this camp in any way, pls do let Jeremy know. (:

thanks for bearing with me. (: haha. God bless and good night!

Lord, High and Holy, meek and lowly,
Thou has brought me to the valley of vision,
where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights;
hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold
thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox
that the way down is the way up,
that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to possess all,
that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision.

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells,
and the deeper the wells the brighter
thy stars shine;
Let me find thy light in my darkness,
thy life in my death,
thy joy in my sorrow,
thy grace in my sin,
thy riches in my poverty
thy glory in my valley.

--from The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions