Charismatic

I'm heaps excited! My dear friend and brother emailed out his success at getting a graduate position in July! Woohoo. Happy because I've personally seen this brother never lose faith and hope in God. He persevered, he fasted, he prayed, he remained faithful in his responsibilities and ministries. He constantly showed such a good example of trusting God. Wow....this is really God honouring the faithful! I'm also so glad to have been able to be part of praying for this particular position to be awarded to him. I'm particularly excited because this bro has encouraged [Ps Lance's definition of literally GIVING COURAGE] me a lot this past year or so, especially in the area of grabbing hold of my God-given calling and destiny. I was in a really low point a year ago and was wandering around a little bit, trying to figure things out. This friend came along and was really a true edifier and leader. He never shyed away from the hard things to say, but always spoke in love. He...

I've been thinking a lot about dancing. Now that I'm taking lessons, I've been pondering about the 'leadership' of the males and the partnership of the male and female. Nothing seems to illustrate God's plan for marriage and male/female roles than pair dancing or couple ice-skating. Somehow, I have always found that watching a couple dance or ice-skate is far more interesting and beautiful than a solo dancer/skater. The partnership is a really gorgeous thing to watch when it is done seamlessly. Some reflections: Someone needs to lead. There can't be 2 leaders in a pair. That would be chaos. And in dancing, it is the male who leads.  He is often the one who has to do the hard work of deciding the next move, and guiding the partner into it in a smooth, graceful way. In dancing, no one argues the concept of the male leader. No one usually has a problem with the woman submitting to the partner's decisions. Why can't we also treat marriage and male/female...

I'm so glad it's Thursday night. Tomorrow, I can sleep in. Work is only half day. It's in Sunnybank. I don't have to drive 23 km to get to the studio, and 23 km back. But wow, I'm actually driving! I'm doing something that I've been rather hesitant and fearful of all the while when I was in Brisbane. Goodness knows why, when traffic in Malaysia is worse and I manage fine there. But, it's just a 'first time jitters' thing. Mom would testify that I just freak badly at anything new before I do it, and then plunge in so deep like it never bothered me at all [and have people wanting to wring my neck for all the fear-whinging done previously]....It was like that with playing piano for church for the first time, going away for camps, singing on stage, driving at home, evax, exams, first year uni, work... I'm just here to reflect on the generosity of a brother that lent me his car this week and for as long as I need it these few weeks. This brother h...

Heard this recently. It's a beautifully sung song, so poignant and emotional. Check it out here . Near To You lyrics Songwriters:  Sample, Nicklas Joseph; Sudol, Alison Loren; He and I, it's somethin' beautiful But so dysfunctional, it couldn't last Loved him so but I let him go Cause I knew he'd never love me back Such pain as this Shouldn't have to be experienced I'm still reeling from the loss Still a little bit delirious, yeah Near to you, I am healin' But it is takin' so long Cause though he's gone and you are wonderful It's hard to move on Yeah, I'm better near to you Well, you and I, it's somethin' different And I'm enjoyin' it as cautiously I'm battle scarred, I am workin' oh so hard To get back to who I used to be He's disappearin' Fadin' steadily When I'm so close to bein' yours Won't you stay with me, please? Cause near to you, I am healin' But it is takin' so long Cause t...

I'm tired. But I can't sleep. My mind is racing at top speed. I'm online because I can't sleep. I really need to sleep. I have to wake up early tomorrow to do relief teaching. I now regret taking it up I want sleep in tomorrow. Have I mentioned that I need sleep? I've been doing more hours of teaching. These 3 days have really drained me. I've done nothing but wake up, gear myself up for work, shower, eat breakfast, prepare lunch for work, do Bible reading, go to work, work, come back from work. unwind online, and then sleep. My hours at the Northside have been increasing up to 7 and 7.5 a day.That is a HUGE output of mental and physical energy. Plus the 3-4 hours of travelling and waiting a day. Sigh. I hate living a life around work. Especially when I just tolerate teaching. It's a good job. But living my life around it is another thing. And I've discovered another thing. All my life, I've never been able to get along with guys from the age of 12-1...

I had a good day.  Bill Johnson and apple/orange smoothie. A chat with God and asking Him to search my heart about honouring certain people.  Lunch with a great friend and a half-priced meal at the Plough Inn. Food and fellowship and lots of  edifying talk and catch up. What can be better than that? Work with my favourite clients in Brisbane. The kids reported a good exam experience. Praise God! Had fun singing 'Matchmaker' with little Joey.  Dinner with another great friend.   Went for a dance class. It was lots of fun. Better than I expected. The people there were shy and nice. And I got a rosy face from all the exercise.  Home now to the rest of Bill Johnson.  And hopefully some guitar practice too.  I love expanding my life.

When the Lord reveals his sovereign work/act/miracle/provision, there is a wisdom and insight to be gained, so whatever happens accidentally will happen intentionally. We have a co-labouring role with the Lord and there is something to be learnt when He acts sovereignly. Ask the Lord for understanding, so that we can be tools to carry out God's will intentionally. We need to learn how heaven resources earth[heaven's economy?] Learn about how God supplies and provides. How he thinks and what is his attitude towards this.Learning about how he functions makes me available to invite the Sovereign God to enter into particular situations. Why does the Lord not often reveal himself openly to the world and especially to the church? Because he wants the worship to come from human decision and love. God has all authority and all sovereignty, but he does not control/force everything. He has already set certain parameters where human decision will play a part. He has set the stage where th...

I'm been very busy. Sometimes not physically busy [though mostly, I am], but mentally very busy. Thinking, thinking, thinking all the time.  It's late at night now. It's Sunday. I'm deliberately trying to rest my mind and body. I had a good nap just now. But... It's frustrating!  It's frustrating to pursue the vision of being an artist! It's frustrating to know that you've got to put in hours of practice to sound any good.  It's frustrating to feel like practice is getting you no where. It's frustrating to feel you'll never seem to get a particular genre and will never be good enough. It's frustrating when people don't understand your job and it's commitments.  It's frustrating to hear your own songs and feel like they are never good enough. It's frustrating not to have enough resources and money and influence.  It's frustrating to feel like I'm getting old and getting nowhere in a young industry. Help me...God.

God's really been opening up opportunities to share with my students. Due to the emphasis on political corrrectness in Western Countries, I have shrunk back from sharing the gospel with Aussies. But I remember a prophecy by Ps Donald early this year. He urged me not to quit my job, and that my ministry will start soon. It might not be prominent pulpit preaching, but it would be like the woman who put yeast in 3 batches of dough. They rose with that tiny bit of yeast [signifiying how the kingdom of God would  work. Small, insignificant beginnings like yeast and mustard seeds. But it would grow!] I see this coming to past. It's taken a year to build relationships in my work place. Now, I'm in a position where I can have dinner with colleagues and have a good chat. I've shared through Christmas cards to certain colleagues. I've been able to pray for the sick.  The fields are ripe for harvest, Jesus said. I sometimes wondered if that was always true. I've worked so ...