It's MORE than just to be forgiven.....Isaiah 61:1-3

Joanne & I are currently reading this book 'Captivating' by Stasi Eldredge(the wife of John Eldredge who wrote the book 'Wild at Heart' ,which also i strongly recommend u to get your potential 'guy friend' to read it because it talks about the God-given manadate for a TRUE man ;)....hehhe,i gave it to Melvin a year ago and it did give him some insights about relationship...

anyway....would like to bless u all with this portion which i thought it was a good reminder; which says that " The purpose of Jesus Christ is not finished when one of his precious ones is forgiven" ....But He has a higher purpose for us to fulfill and enjoy as we celebrate in our journey as children of God. (hope that this will also be encouraging for Pei Yiing too as she discovered that there is MUCH MORE in life.)

Isaiah 61:1-3
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
(You are special and chosen by Him. He has sent us for a mission for the losts...)

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
(God has sent u to heal the rejected ones....to set them free in Jesus name)

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion-
(He is furious at the enemy who rob you of your divine priviledges and righteousness........but Let Him comfort you...)

to bestow on them a crown of beauty (He shall grant u with "beauty" from within...)
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness ( He shall grant u with a thankful spirit in exchange of your sorrow)
instead or mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of spirit of despair.

glimpses of you

Pei Yiing's Mountain-sized Lesson learnt out of an Anthill... :)

I was planning to go into a long long story of a recent 'misadventure', but since I sort of lost the 'oomph' to write all the details down, I suppose I will just settle with sharing the few lessons I learned from the experience. The whole story of my 'misadventure' will just have to wait for another day when everyone is free to listen. :)

Ok... So here goes...:

Remember the previous cell group meeting, when we had to rank the power of influence of several factors in our lives? I recall that I was the only one at that time who actually ranked 'studies' as my top priority, above even the 'Word of God' (which, ideally, should be on top of everything instead). During this most recent experience, I learned (the unpleasant way) that I put so much priority studies that I practically missed the bigger picture of things. It is ironic that I put so much emphasis on academic excellence that it (in a way) almost jeopardized my chances of doing exactly what I wanted to do so much: excel academically.

Yes, I know this is cliche and 'oversaid', but God is always good. I may have put my worldly possessions and achievements above Him, but He still stays faithful by my side. When I was feeling low, he put Bible verses and words of reassurance into my heart (Jeremiah 29:11, Psalms 23, Matthew 8:28). If that was not enough, He sent me an angel to remind me of his goodness and that I should always trust in Him and derive peace from Him. Indeed, He taught me that I have plenty of 'angels' around me (one of which is named Alicia... :D ), and all I need to do is use my imagination and view each 'angel' with halo and wings. :)

He taught me to wait, to be patient as He works his miracles. He spoke to me and told me that I needed to learn how to forgive. Not others, in this case, but myself. Sometimes it seems easier to put the blame on myself, and refuse to forgive my own weaknesses. But who am I to judge and condemn God's creation, even if that creation is myself?

Probably the strongest message God put forth to me came from 1 Samuel 16:7. Sometimes we become so engrossed in pursuing worldly goods and achievements, claiming that we do it for the sake of glorifying God. Sadly, I realised, the more I try to 'glorify' God, the more worldly and less Godly I become. So what if I am in the Dean's list, or my CAP is 5.0 and I gain a First Class Honours? God doesn't love me for all that. It sort of gave me a wake up call when I realised that it is so easy to verbally agree with the 'God-loves-me-for-who-I-am-and-not-what-I-do' truth, but so difficult to truly live up to.

I wonder if you'll laugh when I tell you about my 'misadventure'. Honestly, come to think about it, I really made a mountain out of an anthill - the problem was not that serious actually, but I was too emotional and overreacted to it. Still, I thank God how He made me so hypersensitive, or else how would He teach me so much from a 'small misadventure'? :) Indeed, Jehovah Jireh - He provides for me in the most unusual and unexpected of ways. Amen. :)

(P/S: The drawing is really a rough sketch. Drew it as the verse spoke to me. :D)

BLESSED 21ST BDAY to IVY

(the making of a beautiful eagle!)









HAPPY 21ST BIRTHDAY to INSPIRING & INTELLECTUAL IVY!

May you continue to blossom to be a Woman of Faith!We rejoice together on this special day with our sister who has just entered into early adulthood!;)

Bday Celebration with Wei Zi, 9th Nov (Thurs) at Ivy's place

1) Pei Ying was getting ready to play the guitar to surprise WeizI.

2) HOWEVER, Ivy ended up to be more surprised and fainted on her own bed! (eerrrr....wishing that someone will focus their attention on her instead).....:p

3) BUT, back to the star of the night..Here's the actual birthday gal!

HAPPY 20th BIRTHDAY TO WITTY WEI ZI!!!

posing with her attractive hand-made card designed by Pei Ying within 30 minutes...oops!

What's Your Life Story About?

I received my Daily Bread copy a few days ago and thought that the letter attached for Friends of RBC is well written.:). It was related to the sermon which Ps Melvin talked about last Sunday..hahha...honestly speaking,i dint copy down anything and i can only remember one of the points about " we are not the owners, but we can be good managers".

A quick recap was: The parable told by Jesus in Matthew 25:14-30 basically was about how a wealthy man entrusted his servants with his property and finally only two of the servants put them into good use while the other one was just waiting for his return.
In today's context, basically, we are to ask ourselves whether the things that the Lord has given to us (e.g talents, time, treasures) are well invested for His glory? Or,are we still waiting ...and.....waiting (silently or selfishly) for Him to perfect our lives before we dare to do our part?

i remember this is a common story told which also leads to a common challenge given to us... Somehow, everybody knows in their mind how to response to such common story.But i was captivated by the RBC letter which put it this way.

Imagine the Lord says,
"Each of those stories u read in the Bible told you something about ME and something about yourself.....THAT'S AS MUCH AS I WANTED YOU TO KNOW! I didnt give u the Bible to answer all your questions so that you can stop searching me....I was more interested in telling you stories that would help you to "discover Me"......in your own unique way...."

Father, forgive me for taking stories in the Bible for granted. Please grant me Your word of knowledge so that i can discover You, as well as, myself on each new day...You have told us enough through Your Word; teach me how to respond now.