Sunday, March 30, 2008: distracted.
AH. i'm so behind in my work, i keep leaving it to the last minute. so many things going on, its so hard to keep track of time! maybe i need to learn how to prioritise..
as of now i have yet to complete my tutes for all 4 units, my BE assignment and get a head start on studying for mid sems which is just around the corner, like in 2 weeks! i am so dead, and i am still so distracted.. it is already the FIFTH week of school. which means i have been back in perth for almost 2 whole months! already! which means semester is ending in like another 3 more months.. which means exams are coming.. :/ not good at all.
but in other areas of my life, things seem to have been going rather smoothly. my not-so-scary-after-all experience leading worship has led me to think that worship leading isnt that bad after all. maybe i should try it more often. its just so strange how God uses me in strange ways. i even shared about things that i wasnt planning to share in the first place! somehow i didnt stumble or stutter over words and i didnt blank out! Surely God was with me there and then. (:(: BS leading was quite interesting. and as unprepared as i was that night (i forgot to bring my prepared answers), somehow i managed to remember what was discussed at the BS leaders meeting and what pastor timon brought up at the BS leaders training! unbelievable for such a poor memory like mine. it did take a while for my group to warm up to each other and to answering the BS questions, but i'm glad that things turned out okay in the end. yay! i had been worrying for nothing (:
so moral of the story? a passage came to mind..
"Therefore i tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consder the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; uet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? ... O you of little faith! ... But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and these things will be given to you as well. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your posessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Luke 12:22-34haha, just more excuse not to do my work! :P dont worry i'm trying to do it now.. :/
a shout of praise.
5:15 PM
Friday, March 28, 2008: just another fairytale.
jeannie sent me her collection of the Enchanted Soundtrack today, and I CANT STOP LISTENING TO IT!
the music in this song is quite beautiful, but it makes me feel so sad..
So Close - Jon McLaughlin You’re in my arms
And all the world is calm
The music playing on for only two
So close together
And when I’m with you
So close to feeling alive
A life goes by
Romantic dreams will stop
So I bid mine goodbye and never knew
So close was waiting, waiting here with you
And now forever I know
All that I wanted to hold you
So close
So close to reaching that famous happy end
Almost believing this was not pretend
And now you’re beside me and look how far we’ve come
So far we are so close
How could I face the faceless days
If I should lose you now?
We’re so close to reaching that famous happy end
Almost believing this was not pretend
Let’s go on dreaming for we know we are
So close, so close
And still so far
a shout of praise.
2:51 AM
Monday, March 24, 2008: that little voice.
sometimes i can be so in awe of God. in awe of what He did for me, in awe of what He does to me everyday, in awe of what He has in store for me in the days to come.
yet sometimes i feel like God has hidden Himself from me.
when things are going good, God seems to be there. but where is God when things start to fall apart? where is God when i'm suffering, when i've got too much to worry about, to handle, when i'm too afraid of failing?
perhaps God has been reminding me that in the midst of my struggles, in the midst of the overwhelming, in the midst of being lonely, i can find comfort in Him. "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."
James 1:2-3 my faith, is probably even smaller than a mustard seed.
so its quite appropriate that we're doing daniel for BS this semester in OCF. i think as God uses me to lead BS this year maybe i'll get more out of it than i'll imagine. its interesting how God manifested His sovereignty through daniel's life, but i guess more important to me is how daniel trusted in and depended on God even in his time of persecution..
i think you better pray for me for this friday. i think i need it alot! leading worship and bs and doing convention publicity! OH MAN! i hope God puts words into my mouth because i probably need it! i guess pray that i wont be too involved in the technicalities, but focus on worshipping and leading others to worship Him. oh and of course, confidence to speak in front of a sizeable crowd! (:
i better sleep..
a shout of praise.
11:58 PM
Sunday, March 23, 2008: happy easter!
a sense of joy for hannah washed over me as i watched her get baptised! her reason? because she wanted to show the world that she had a BIG HEART FOR JESUS! (: i was so proud of her today when she proclaimed her decision. yay hannah! i think it was quite the big eye opener for the other kids as well when we brought them over to the main service to watch her get baptised. it surely did let them think abit more seriously about following Jesus.. and it is heartwarming to see them make that step. i guess thats why i'm in children's ministry; so that i remind myself that all it takes is to believe in Jesus and that He rose from the dead, so that we conquer sin and death!
"I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." -
Matthew 18:3-4
a shout of praise.
8:42 PM
Saturday, March 22, 2008: camwhore good friday (:
a shout of praise.
12:55 AM
Wednesday, March 19, 2008: lazy mornings
and nice, cold, beautiful mornings.
no sun in your face.
just a cool breeze.
yupp. thats what mornings have been like so far.. and its not good because i have been sleeping too much and waking up too late. take the past 2 mornings for example. ive been waking up just 10 mins before each lecture started, i.e. having me waking up and rushing around the house, in and out of the toilet, rummaging through the closet #1 time, clothes dont match, grab some pins, stuff into pockets, rummage through closet #2 time, just throw on some daggy tshirt and stick to the same pair of jeans! then realise that i havent packed my bags so throw everything thats on my table into my big bag and race to the LT and find a seat somewhere, obscure, so that people dont look when i come into the LT looking all just woken up.. yupp, that has been 2 mornings, straight.
i like winter. (:
a shout of praise.
10:44 PM
Sunday, March 16, 2008: being martha
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."
- Luke 10:38-42
i think as school and work and ocf and crossroads starts to pile in, i tend to easily forget about the reason behind what i do. maybe God has been misplaced from the picture, as i go through the motions and get involved with the technicalities.. too much commitments, too little time. i'm not as efficient as i hope to be..
With what shall I come before the LORD
and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
- Micah 6:6-8
a shout of praise.
4:47 PM
Thursday, March 13, 2008: my God is Big
Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
-1st Peter 5:7
~
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
The Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and His understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary,
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall.
But those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles,
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
- Isaiah 40:28-31
a shout of praise.
10:58 PM
Wednesday, March 12, 2008: O Lord be magnified.
"When i consider Your heavens,
the work of Your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which You have set in place,
what is man that You are mindful of him,
the son of man that You care for him?"
- Psalm 8:5
Job 38-39
(too long to be recorded)
"He determines the number of stars
and calls them each by name"
- Psalm 147:4
"And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered."
-Matthew 10:30
"And God saw that it was good"
-Genesis 1, the story of creation
"Would you discredit my justice?
Would you condemn me to justify yourself?"
-Job 40:8
"For You created my inmost being;
You knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Your works are wonderful,
I know that full well"
- Psalm 139:13-14
a shout of praise.
11:08 PM
Sunday, March 9, 2008: reliance, dependence
"We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves
but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He
will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us."
2 Cor 1:8-10
a shout of praise.
12:13 AM
Thursday, March 6, 2008: sovereignty
"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And He is not served by human hands as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man He made every nation of men that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being."
We are His offspring.
Acts 17:24-28
a shout of praise.
1:28 PM
