Charismatic

My morning podcast and meditating on Bill Johnson's sermon on 'Reformational Prayers'. Wow. Full of good stuff. So many things God is trying to mould ito my life at the moment. Basic things, like the discipline of meditating on the Word, and prayer for people around me, and building the foundations of life strong. Building stability. Building strength. Here are some notes anyway. He talked about the Elijah and prophets of Baal showdown. In the absence of men/women of God, occult activity zooms in to take the place of real spirituality. When one has a huge spiritual breakthrough, the man/woman of God is at the point of their greatest vulnerability. We face the greatest temptation after our biggest victories and breakthroughs! We become tired or careless. Elijah became fatigued and depressed.[hmm. Sounds familiar. VERY familiar]. Because we are limited people, limited in energy, strength etc. The same kind of situation happened to King Hezekiah. He was a reformer and led the ...

I had a great time on the weekend. I think I've forgotten the value of having a good night out. I attended the Masquerade Ball organised by NG with a couple of Eurekan lifegroup mates. Was a blast! Well. Mainly because of the baby above...my new baby!! It was the prize for winning the best-dressed competition! Well. Honestly, I didin't really think I was outstanding. It was a decent outfit and mask[pictures will come when Messias passes them to me], but there were more creative ones. However, the tables voted. And this baby is mine! I thank God for providing something like that. For a while, I have been praying and asking God for more affordable ways to obtain small things. Like an ipod to store more music and a generally trusty compact digital camera, laptop etc. They are small but pricey. I don't earn much. I do what I can with the money and try to save for a rainy day, as well as give to the Lord's work, and still try to enjoy life. Jehovah Jireh he is indeed! My awe...

Thursday night reflections. In the future, I want to publish a book. Not written by me. But written by all those people around me who's stories have inspired me. A little short story for each of them. It will be so cool if their stories can be shared. I've been reflecting about heaven. The coolest thing about it will not be the streets of gold or even no pain and suffering. It will be the absolute intimacy and transparency we will have with God and with each other. I will be able to see your heart, and you can see mine. And we will enjoy each other and learn more and more without hiding anything. Without masks. I hate hiding. Yet so many things have a need to be concealed. Because people misunderstand. Because we need to be 'wise'. Because we are ashamed. Because we don't know how to express ourselves. I don't know. A million reasons. I hate hiding. I hate hiding. But true true intimacy is hard to find. True understanding rare. That's why I really appreciat...

Torchie challenged us to make a list of things to thank God for. I'll make a little one first. I thank God for: Being alive and having no major ailments Great parents who are godly, non-supestitious, loving and supportive Great functional family A job that is not heavily affected by the economic down-turn Living in a spacious first-world country The gifts and talents he has graciously bestowed That there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus. He does not hold my many failures against me The people he has put around me There are a million other things. That will do for the moment.

I feel a little better. Having long walks, and a fun games night with a couple of Eurekans has helped. Or perhaps I know that it is ok to experience highs and lows after doing so many new things. Thank you Rach for the prayer and catch ups. Thank you Phil and Sharon for the dinner and the lifts and good will. Thank you Nat for the long chat and the dinner on Friday. She told me she really missed me while I was away. That she was glad I was back. It was great to know some people missed me while I was away. It's great to know that I matter to someone. That my presence would make a difference in someone's life...especially in their day to day routine. It's easy for people to say you make a difference in their lives, but honestly, if I died today, most people's lives would go on like normal. They might have a jolt for a day or 2, but after that, the presence of Charis is not really indispensable or anything they can't do without. They won't really miss it, to be bru...

I'm tired of my housemates using the internet quota WEEKS before the deadline due to their incessant watching of online videos and movies. It's annoying the first time, it's frustrating the 2nd time, but after many times, it's a real thorn in the flesh. I just want my web access to be at a normal speed so I can access Facebook, websites, email, and podcasts at a reasonable speed. I don't use much quota, so I am already paying more than my share each month. I'm a little tired of people who brush it off and ask for forgiveness but do nothing to change their habits. How much of your life do you want to waste away in front of the tv and computer? Perhaps you're not really sorry. You just want me to smile, brush every irresponsible thing that you do off, and move on like I always do. Because I always love you anyway. Because I always think about your welfare anyway. Because I ache to see you in this place of life. Because I can't do anything about it as it...

I'm not really in the mood to blog about Taiwan. In summary, it was full of God-moments and opportunities, and it was amazing to see how God is moving there. The food is excellent. the shopping wonderful. My hosts were so generous and kind. My dad's company really enriching and I learned a lot. But...yet... Prophetic words of encouragement have come streaming in right after I returned to Australia. Perhaps God knows how low I am right now. Or how much I am struggling with my next few steps. I'm struggling to view things with anticipation. If I walk straight ahead, it will be a new beginning. Like the visions describe, the world is my oyster. It's time to take over the world, God's way. Time to expand. Time to be transplanted. God has paved the way. God is holding on to me. Time to jump off the flying fox. Time to let God clear the road. Time to launch ministries and musical careers. Sounds great. Except all I can think about is what I'll be losing. 7 years o...