Charismatic: Favour and Grace

Thoughts before I crash into bed

2009-11-06T05:08:00.000-08:00

Love Eureka. The people are refreshingly honest, imperfect, and unpretentious. And they are the most loving ppl I've met. The diversity in Eureka satisfies my heart that loves such variety because it represents the multi-faceted world of humans made in God's image!
I am not a Calvinist, nor would I call myself Reformed. However, that does not stop me from being friends and co-labourers with those call themselves Calvinist or Reformed. I notice that they are usually really intelligent ppl. They are usually guys. They also really need to build up their relational skills. :P
I am most grateful to Rachelle for continually giving me opportunities to prophesy and to encourage me to bless others with the giftings God has given me. Rachelle! You are so pastoral, yet you are prophetic in the way you release ppl in their destinies! 100 hugs to Rachelle.
I think Nat is the intense prophetic-intercessory type. That's why she looks scary but is actually not HAHAHA. She's actually very funny. 100 hugs to Nat.
I think Phil is so great in the way he believes in people. He trully brings out the potential in ppl by genuinely treating them according to their potential. He calls me 'superstar' enough, and serves the vision so whole-heartedly that I think I'm starting to believe it can happen. He calls Peggy an 'expert' in image and 'feel'. She doesn't really believe it yet, but I think if she lets herself, she will be one. I really get inspired because I want to see ppl with such eyes too!
Loooong day tomorrow. But thank God for 2 K's, Karen and Kuan who are being very kind to a muso who has no transport.xoxo
WHY? the car has issues...boohoo...second hand cars are really problematic....:( No wonder Alvin used to have issues with his 5k car all the time. But....it's been a very great blessing to me already so I won't complain. Thanks Ming.And I will try to be good to the car.
I also want to thank Johnnie Ongstar. He's been so patient with all the work I'm piling on him and also giving me really good ideas. Maybe one hug to John. He doesn't like hugs.
I believe in a God who is sovereign, yet in his sovereignty he has allowed humans to choose and to have a will of their own. Because He, being love, wants to be loved in returned. If you 'program' people to love you, it will not be love anymore. He values love so much that he will risk the chance of ppl hating, or not loving him, so that there will be the genuine opportunity for ppl to love Him. Although He is God and all-powerful and He is awe-inspiring, and all would fall flat on their faces if He showed up in His glory, YET, He wants to be loved as who He is. He wants to get married to a GLORIOUS bride. He is SO smart and powerful that He will still accomplish his purpose while He allows humans to choose, incorporating sin and destruction in His plans by redeeming the wreckage. I believe that He does not want anyone to perish. He is patient for EVERYONE to come to repentance. That's why He is still waiting for us to fulfill his commission.
Charis is tired. Good night. God is good.

I will not stay in my comfort zone

2009-11-05T05:55:00.000-08:00

I am attending the Daniel care group tonight.

Then, I will decide where to go.

I do love Judah.

But I do see the pointers of leaving Judah to join the Daniels.

I will not stay in my comfort zone.

27th Feb 2004

I was browsing through some old journal entries. I documented my first few days in Brisbane. My first few weeks.

I attended Judah 1. However, I remember Chia Yen suggesting that I should visit the Daniels in the city as my uni

campus was based in the city. I remember visiting Daniel 1 lifegroup, then I prayed over it with Edna, and we felt the peace to

change over to the 'other side'.

This move probably changed my life forever. I remember God challenging me not to stay among people who were more

similar to me, but to constantly challenge myself to push past my comfort zone in life.

My life has been characterized by these moves out of my comfort zone. From Malaysia to Adelaide. From Adelaide to

Brisbane. From Judah to Daniels. From Daniel 1 to Daniel 5. From Daniel 5 to Daniel X[focusing on GU rather than QUT].

From Daniel X to Eureka. Now from Australia into Taiwan and the unknown.

This move is one of the hardest I've made. I've agonized for about 1 year. I've lacked faith so many times. But I'm at a

place of relative peace. God is the Lion of Judah. He holds all authority in his hands. He is a God who has the best plans

for me. He is my shepherd, as he promised through prophetic words. I will endeavour to experience the joy amidst the

wracking sorrow of uprooting once again.

Thank heaven for the one who will never leave me nor forsake me.

Temperaments

2009-11-01T20:35:00.000-08:00

It's interesting to re-do temperament tests once in a while.

My main 3 temperaments are Sanguine, Melancholic and Choleric.

I was born a Sanguine. Bubbly, chatty, impulsive, adorable [:)], careless, friendly, VERY extroverted, forgetful and 'hangat hangat tahi ayam'[started things, but wouldn't finish them].

I think life...especially moving overseas and being on my own a lot has helped me follow-through with projects and goals a lot better, enhancing my choleric side. And trouble/heartbreak has made me a lot more melancholic, though being melancholic is not my natural nature.

I've come out as a Sanguine-Choleric, Sanguine Mel-Chol, Sanguine Mel etc. Just never Phlegmatic. :)

This time, I've turned out Choleric-Sanguine. I think the little description somewhat paints a picture about me at the moment.

My results for 2009: TADA

The Choleric / Sanguine

The choleric-sanguine is a blending of the two extroverted temperaments and will be somewhat less extraverted than the sanguine-choleric, because the choleric’s extraversion often takes a back-seat to his goal-oriented behavior. Nonetheless, this temperament combination is second only to the sanguine-choleric in terms of being outgoing and people-oriented. This temperament mix tends to give rise to an enthusiastic, motivational, and highly driven leader (choleric) whose social skills and interest in other people (sanguine nature) make him less dictatorial and capable of some flexibility. He will value relationships more than a pure choleric, and will show greater compassion in dealing with people, will be less controlling than the pure choleric, and will be more willing to take time out to relax and enjoy himself.

If you are a choleric-sanguine, you will find that you have a great amount of energy and inspiration for initiating projects and can be highly focused on task completion as well. Although you tend to be very objective, pragmatic, and logical -- and may sometimes find yourself stepping on toes in the process of accomplishing the task at hand -- you will also have the interpersonal skills needed to resolve conflict and to help people work together and get along with one another. The creativity and sensitivity of your sanguine nature will enable you to be flexible when the situation calls for it, and less demanding and harsh than a pure choleric would tend to be. You are likely an energetic leader or manager, with superb debating skills: firmly convinced that you are right, you also have the “people-skills” necessary to convince others as well!

Without strong formation and a deep spiritual life, however, your temperament’s weaknesses will be intensified. Without attention to self-formation you may find yourself quickly aroused to anger, yet also unforgiving. You can be impatient with others and overly opinionated. You may speak frankly or impulsively without regard for others’ feelings. You should take care that you become neither a workaholic nor driven by your passions. You may insist on having your own way, and become angered, blame others, or make excuses when corrected. But, once you become aware of the weaknesses of your nature, and make a commitment to self-improvement, you will be able to be equally determined in pursuing self-formation.

If your temperament is choleric-sanguine, for a better understanding of your temperament it is recommended that you read the full descriptions of the choleric and sanguine.

7 reasons why Jesus could not have been a pastor in a modern church

2009-10-29T19:35:00.000-07:00

For a great post on this by Perry Noble , click here

One more for Jesus and other dreams!

2009-10-29T07:33:00.001-07:00

Today, I led one more soul to Jesus. This year, God has really been opening the doors among the kids that I teach. It's a privilege to input little things about God in each lesson, and invite some of them after class to receive Jesus into their hearts.

Today it was a 9-year-old girl who had a hunger for God. Praise the Lord! May God continue to keep her and

Other breaking news [hehehe, it's Charis's 12.36am news]:

Charis has been really thinking about lots of things
Charis really wants to win a Grammy in her life-time for Song of the Year
Charis wants to sell albums past the one million mark
It's a step of faith to say that out loud...or write it out loud.
Charis is really excited about the coming Eureka camp and the prophetic presbytery for church! BreakThrough!!
Charis thinks Bill Johnson's sermon 'Burn the Towel' was totally enriching and faith fuelling and REAL!
Charis also likes Kris Vallaton's old sermon: 'God, the ultimate Body Snatcher'. SO many great great points.

7 is a complete number.

Good night!

From the depths....

2009-10-22T07:01:00.001-07:00

I was browsing through my friend's blog....Jason. It's been a while since we've been in contact.
Hope to see him and Wee Liem when I go abck to M'sia for a holiday.

Hope to see Miranda too. It's been ages. Miss her!

Miss my house and household. Dorcas would be heaps tall now.

Miss the food...been dreaming about belacan fried chicken, kangkong stir-fried with chilli, sizzling plate tofu, and ha-ko [little lobsters] fried with egg yolk. ARGHHHHHHHHHH...can't wait to eat all of these things!

But..today...this struck me. Jason blogged about dreams.

This is a partial post of his, that was actually referenced from ANOTHER friend's blog:

As taking reference from a good friend, only our dreams reveal the deepest secrets of our hearts that remain hidden even to ourselves sometimes.

Lately, I can recall most of my dreams when I wake up. And these dreams showed me what my heart desire, minus all my intellectual thinking...these dreams really showed me how I felt at that moment when it happen. Some sad,that I cried. Some happy dreams, only to wake up knowing it is just a dream.
But I know I am losing what I cant keep in the 1st place.
I will cling on to the only hope I have in You, knowing that You have the best plans for me in life. Just help me to believe despite the circumstances.

http://tzeseong.blogspot.com/

those dreams, the gnashing of teeth, the sorrow, so bitter and deep...how does it feel to be abandoned?
how does it feel eh? Somehow, no matter how I try, I can't seem to shake of that uncanny feeling of being treated 2nd class for so many years.

Nevertheless, now i stand by my own.
I chart my own journey now.
The weight of adulthood rest like an enormous burden upon this shoulders, heavier than the PRS i so often sling.

I know what they mean. Their writings resonate within my soul. i've been having so many odd dreams. Some of them I clench my fist at because I do not want to dream of those particular people, yet I have no control over it. I feel like it's so unfair, because I have put those people out of my mind so long ago. My dreams sometimes bring them back.

And I loathe and revile the feeling of abandonment and rejection. Of misunderstanding. Of betrayal. It is probably the very thing that gives me the drive to keep steady, to keep cool, guarded, and never too emotional in public. WORK, even though your heart is breaking. SERVE, even though your life is falling apart. Life GOES ON. And no one will really bother about another nut-case who is in unexplainable pain.
Taking my mom's advice for once. I'm not going to wear my heart on my sleeve. Seems like I've succeeded. A few comments have drifted back to me, people think I'm poker-faced, reserved and self-protective. Aged, not care-free.

Yet it breaks out in the sub-conscious. All these feelings, desires, thoughts...

And Adulthood does weigh heavy. Feel like it's sapping the fun and the vitality out of me, because I'm struggling to survive all the time, and it ages me. I don't want to grow old before my time. I don't want to grow sour just because I'm growing up. I want life, ABUNDANT LIFE.

God is still good. I am actually valuing this time of getting to know Him. And if He is sifting all these things up from the depths of my heart, I need His grace to face them courageously though it crushes to my ego.

Evax today

2009-10-19T07:10:00.000-07:00

I had such a busy and obstacle-full day that I didn't want to go for evax.

I had a meeting in the morning that I felt suffocated in. There was a huge traffic jam on the Gateway Motorway while I was driving back to the South. My petrol was gobbled up steadily. Sigh.

I swam. That was ok. Itchy throat though.And it made me so sleepy later.

Ravs came over to record but his fire-wire was playing up. So we couldn't.Sigh. He was really disappointed. So I offered to shout he and Nat a meal tonight. Gotta look after those who work hard for free for you. It's the best I can do for moment.

Went to work. Super sleepy but I love Monday work anyways. It's usually cool. Clare Bear was a gem as usual. So encouraging.

I decided to go for evax after all. Met up with Gene and the guys. Prayed a little. Felt an impression that we should look for someone in pink. Couldn't find her. Gene felt we should look for a contact from a few weeks ago. Called. No one picked up. Now what? Well, we decided to go to the cafeteria. Lo and behold, Gene's friend was there. And beside her was a girl in a shocking pink T-shirt. Woohoo!

We said hello. Sat down. Got to know them. They're both Aussies, from Bundy and from Tweed Heads. 'Res' students.

I got an impression to ask about loneliness, though from the conversation, they were busy all the time and always doing stuff. I'm learning to act on impressions quickly. So I steered the conversation towards it. They affirmed that sometimes living on campus got a little lonely, though parties were going on all the time. Gene and I invited them to go to my place sometimes to hang, play Wii and eat. We alerted them that we went to church on Sundays, and where church met. Then we exchanged contacts.

Hopefully, we get to assimilate them these coming weeks into a Matthew dinner or something.

I'm trying to learn friendship evangelism that's Spirit-led. Really hard, because it's hard to share the gospel and be a close friend over an extended period of time.

Anyway. Praise God for the leading. I definitely hope God will give us grace to be bolder next time. Sometimes, 'according to my faith will it be done to me'. More! More! This is just the baby pool. I hunger for much more for the supernatural in reaching people. For God to manifest His power and for signs and wonders to happen!

If only I can also be more diligent in paying the price. Sigh. Fasting, Praying and the Word. And lots of love for the every individual.

Conclusions of the morning

2009-10-11T19:35:00.000-07:00

I concluded something from my morning's readings of Genesis.

God is weird and so unpredictable.

God-encounters are so weird. So supernatural. So abnormal.

Angels ascend and descend in Bethel.

God wrestles with Jacob and knocks his hip out of whack.

God tells Laban not to say anything bad or good to Jacob.

God sends fire through the covenant animals that are in set in halves. [Abraham]

God tells people to go to somewhere random that they don't know.

Jacob meets angels in Manaheim.

Abraham feeds angels.

Weird.

And I want more of it.

I am tired of conventional ideas that are tame and tasteless and soul-killing.

God is wild and good. He does whatever he likes. And He is usually not boring!!

Markets!!

2009-10-03T22:55:00.001-07:00

I've discovered something about myself. I prefer shopping at markets rather than department stores. I get energized with the fresh food, the bargains, the individuality and the colourful array of stuff on sale at really good prices. At department stores, I get a little depressed because everything looks the same, it costs much more than I'm willing to spend, and looks so artificial. Sigh. The only thing I love about department stores is the perfume department [I will never buy perfume at a market].

Today, it was a rare opportunity to go to the market on a weekend. Anniversary was yesterday, so Sunday is free!!

Allister, Simon, Pegs and I went to the Rocklea markets. I ended up eating and shopping heaps. Haha. There were great Dutch pancakes, German sausages, slurpies, Dutch toasties, cheap $1 - $4 books, feature files, shelves, sour lollies, note books...Between all of us we purchased all of these things. It's great to see 'Ter' back for a little while. His nuttiness and spontaneity is weird but refreshing.

Anniversary yesterday was a lot of fun. A couple of mishaps with people stressed me a little, and performing when I have little control over AV is always stressful. But it all turned out good. I kept praying throughout to focus on God and to remember that I was there to bless the people.

It was great to see many wonderful performances by the different services and the increase of talent in our church!

Now....off to someone's birthday surprise....:)

Deja Vu

2009-09-29T06:44:00.000-07:00

Today, I felt like I was repeating my life...deja vu.

A few years ago, I was cooking happily very often. I opened my house almost every week to different people to come and have a good hearty meal, because I enjoy feeding people. A lot of these were guys, because they appreciate free food more, but my best gal friends would also come along and I would feed them too. I remember my new house-mates at that time looked at me like I was weird because I was having social parties every week. They were pretty uncomfortable with it all. They were even offended that THEIR friends, who hardly visited them, would be coming every week to hang out and eat with me. In retrospect, it was a mildly amusing situation in some respects. Quite sad in other respects.

After a while, busyness and fear of wagging tongues set in. I baked less, Cooked less. Entertained less.

Today, I took a step to bless some people from Eureka. It was fun to plan the menu. Fun to see people eat up the food. Fun the introduce them to my house mates (this bunch is far more easygoing). Fun to see everyone 'breaking bread' and getting to know each other. Fun to see them playing Wii.

It was a good use of my holiday.

I felt like I was starting all over again. Getting to know new people who are just starting to grow in their walk with God. The freshness of being in a new life-group and unit. I've had such a rough journey over the last 4 years.It's left me so worn, quite jaded, and feeling so broken.

Well, it's like life just reset in 2009. Feeling queer but quite happy. This time hopefully older, wiser and I won't repeat the same mistakes. Hopefully I will walk with more stability, and regain my passion.

Still need a breakthrough in the Spirit though.Looking forward to the Bill Johnson conference tomorrow.

Ciao

Missing the point

2009-09-24T09:21:00.000-07:00

I was watching Suki Low on youtube. She is the winner of One in a Million, a singing competition in Malaysia that's modeled off Idol.

She has a really good voice. She's talented, and she can write in Chinese and in Malay. And she was only 16 when she did all of this. She laps up limelight and is very confident.

However, I was pretty unimpressed by the delivery of this clip below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJrzP132Qjw

Why?

It was a rendition of Alanis Morissette's 'You Oughtta Know'. It's one of the most powerfully angsty songs written. Raw emotion. The point of Alanis's music is not the polish or the entertainment....It's the heart - to - heart sharing of her stories. Her pain.

This performance was technically excellent. As the judges commented, low notes were really good. Her performance had energy and commitment.

BUT, IT WAS THE WRONG ENERGY. Something so angsty and so raw [please, the song has swear words, references to sex etc], and you see a 16 year old bopping along the stage, looking like A-Mei, and singing a song like this with a big smile on her face!!!!!

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

NONONONONONO. Big boo boo. Almost sacrilege. I'll explain myself better. I don't mean that I am that fond of the song, but there jumping around, shaking your hips to lyrics like the ones featured below is missing the entire point of the song!

'cause the joke that you laid on the bed that was me
And I'm not gonna fade
As soon as you close your eyes and you know it
And every time I scratch my nails down someone else's back
I hope you feel it...well can you feel it

And I'm here to remind you
Of the mess you left when you went away
It's not fair to deny me
Of the cross I bear that you gave to me
You, you, you oughta know

To those Malaysians who can understand me. Karangan TERPESONG....

SHUDDER......

Not Ready To Make Nice

2009-09-21T22:57:00.000-07:00

Click here for the video

Forgive, sounds good
Forget, I'm not sure I could
They say time heals everything
But I'm still waiting

I'm through with doubt
There's nothing left for me to figure out
I've paid a price
And I'll keep paying

I'm not ready to make nice
I'm not ready to back down
I'm still mad as hell and
I don't have time to go round and round and round
It's too late to make it right
I probably wouldn't if I could
'Cause I'm mad as hell
Can't bring myself to do what it is you think I should

Snappy

2009-09-17T18:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I was terribly snappy and abrupt in my own head. Most of the time, I kept my temper with my students, who kept trying to push me over the edge. But I was growling inside like a bear.

I think it's just PMS. It does horrible things to you when you are stressed and keyed up, which I'm very much these few weeks.

Taking some time out on Friday...Friday morning is good. I can relax and work will not stress me out this afternoon as much. And it's in Sunnybank. And I would have had time to practise guitar, jog and browse youtube for great songwriters I want to be like.

Ha.

But thank God for his rhema word on Wednesday. "Do not be afraid, Charis. I am your shield and your exceedingly great reward"

A listening leader

2009-09-15T07:10:00.000-07:00

Why should leaders listen?

A)You are probrably not the smartest person in your organization. You are just the leader.

Some are leaders

Because they got the idea first
Because they were willing to risk something first
because everyone left.

Which means, leaders should listen to the right people in order to succeed.

B)What and whom you listen to will determine what you do.

C)Your organizational decisions will be judged will be judged by the organization.

Your private decisions will be judged publicly.
It would be good to design a system that includes the involvement of as many people in the organization without going into extremes

D) Leaders are attracted to environments where their ideas and opinions are heard

Create a system where you are listening to the great leaders.
One of the main frustrations of people is that they have no voice. Eg: getting assignments instead of being involved in the decision making process.
Very few people have to be number 1 as long as they have input in the decision making process.
The more people feel like they have a voice, the more great leaders you will attract to your organization.
The older a leader gets, the more they need to feel like they need to have influence over their own destiny

E) Leaders who refuse to listen will eventually be surrounded by people who have nothing important to say

Good leaders will leave an organization where there is no system for their voice to be heard.
Surround yourself with smart people if you want to make correct and wise decisions

Other tid-bits:

In church world, we can overestimate spirituality and forget about smartness.
Although the church places greatest value in spiritual maturity, spiritual maturity does not necesarily make a person a good leader. They should not immediately be elevated to places of authority and decision-making without first testing their competence in other areas.
If there's an area of expertise missing in our church organization, it's also a good option to seek counsel outside our organization.
The minute a sharp number 2 person realises 'no one is listening to me', he/she is not going to stay. They will be replaced. Eventually, the people who stay are those who are not bothered that they are not listened to. They have nothing valuable to say.
Andy said,"The day the organization is just about WWAD [What would Andy Do], it is set up for failure."
Make good decisions, and also present them in ways that people will be ready to embrace them

Just reflecting back on the leaders and also the decision-making processes I have encountered in the past and present. This is all true.

Been blessed by Andy the Stanley: Leading in uncertain times

2009-09-15T06:45:00.000-07:00

Leading in uncertain times

When things are uncertain, the safest place for leaders retreat is to the original vision/ idea/mission. That is the safest place to go.

Retreat back to the original call from God. Look back on how far we have come, and remember God's provision throughout the years.
In the beginning there was only an idea. Things were even more uncertain.
It can discouraging to only look froward to uncertainty and need [money that needs to be raised, people that need to be met]. Look back in gratitude once in a while and see how far you've come.

Plans change. Vision remains the same.

It is so easy to be enamoured by our plans. But plans are not the vision.
Abandon bad plans, even abandon good plans if circumstances change. But do not abandon the vision
It's really dangerous to attach God's name to your plans
Die on the hill of your vision and calling. But not your plans.
Be FLEXIBLE FLEXIBLE FLEXIBLE!

CD's to get

2009-09-10T17:12:00.000-07:00

Priscilla Ahn's A Good Day
Dido's I'm no angel
Emma Dean's Real Life Computer Game

Really good-looking space-man!

2009-09-07T17:43:00.000-07:00

He's Malaysian. Isn't he cute? hehe.

Experiences I almost forgot and I must record

2009-09-06T06:10:00.000-07:00

This was from an old email I sent. I've been clearing out my inbox of old mails, particularly things that evoke unnecesssary emotions of the past. I want to press on to my future.

But this caught my eye.

I think I've lost the fire and fervour and clarity I once had at that time. It's coming back, but I need this to remind me....Sometimes, I wonder, wow, was that me? I need to rediscover me.

At the end of 2004, I wrote:

Chris Long..a great youth speaker, was so good and so funny each session. My dad was intepreter to mandarin. He was funny too.

2nd afternoon...there was a ministry time by the pastors...and i was helping out.I was very shocked at how i could give words to 3 different ppl..with confidence.I KNEW it was from the Lord..for each one..no straining to hear from God whcih i sometimes do....no trying..but i just spoke..and i could see that God touched them.I got to counsel a few too.I was very glad for the move of de Spirit...it was very unemotional and unsupernatural for me...outwardly..but i knew the confidence i had was not mine.It was the Spirit.

I was prayed for as well.Ps.Chris gave a long word.Instantly he said 'The encounters you have with God are all real.Dun doubt them.the experiences God are giving you, coz your tears have touched heaven.Each encounter, i even say, sometimes romantic encounter u have with God. God is meetin you in a special way....'

i was so touched.Remember the images I've had of Jesus and God?remember i told you sometimes God would hug me, he would sit me on his lap, he would give me a daddy's kiss, i would sit at his feet, he would swing me around..all that...?sometimes i think..am i just imagining?but twice, once from ps.Lailing, once now...GOd has confirmed he IS bringing me to a new level of intimacy..and giving me exactly what i need.

recently...sometimes God dances with me..those really cool...ballroom dancing....and there's always a lot of laughter...a lot of adoration...

there have been images of waterfalls...of HOly SPirit being like the waterfall that POURS down on a hungry me under it...'raining down on me'...there have been images of running all over the hills with God...haha...in many beautiful scenes...

I think it very strange and lovely that God is meeting me in this way. I've never experienced it b4.Until after..maybe..august?

Then Chris Long continued with memorial stones and well digging...he said the patriachs left stones and wells everywhere God did something for them. to remember and to leave a legacy. Ps Long said that I have been having many encounters and experiences, and leaving meorial stones where i went. But I have not been digging many wells...not leaving many legacies..not enough.I was to be a well digger...

i think i know what he means..i have great capacity to impact ppl..and they do remember me..and my expriences with God..but without the praying and intercession i won't be able to impact them deeply and leave a good legacy.

God's prodding me..i have not been praying or interceding faithfully enough..nor do I love ppl enough to invest so much into their lives...so i will change this

Ps Long said..'I see nothing but a great future and an awesome destiny'....

i am touched, encouraged,..and convicted.

We had quite a few ppl accept the Lord..which was very encouraging as well..

i led a girl to Christ...coz i could speak mandarin..and had to lead her in mandarin..

MAN..that was an english conference..and still i had to lead ppl in chinese..and PRAY in chinese for only the 2nd time in my life...i can't pray in chinese..i'm so tongue tied..but forced to do it.so i did..as well as i could.

Prophetic destiny...Ps Long said...is your destiny in God..when all you have still is not enough for it..and God is the one who brings you the great heights...

God may have chosen Chinese ppl for me..as...i am so totally inadequate...so ..it's the best place to put me to depend on God...hahahaha...my prophetic destiny....

Another Rip-off Issac's blog. Funny as.

2009-09-05T22:58:00.000-07:00

Do read.

It's really funny. :)

The Children's Bible in a Nutshell:
In the beginning, which occurred near the start, there was nothing but God, darkness, and some gas. The Bible says, 'The Lord thy God is one, but I think He must be a lot older than that.
Anyway, God said, 'Give me a light!' and someone did.
Then God made the world.
He split the Adam and made Eve. Adam and Eve were naked, but they weren't embarrassed because mirrors hadn't been invented yet.

Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating one bad apple, so they were driven from the Garden of Eden.....Not sure what they were driven in though, because they didn't have cars.
Adam and Eve had a son, Cain, who hated his brother as long as he was Abel.
Pretty soon all of the early people died off, except for Methuselah, who lived to be like a million or something.

One of the next important people was Noah, who was a good guy, but one of his kids was kind of a Ham. Noah built a large boat and put his family and some animals on it. He asked some other people to join him, but they said they would have to take a rain check.
After Noah came Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob was more famous than his brother, Esau, because Esau sold Jacob his birthmark in exchange for some pot roast. Jacob had a son named Joseph who wore a really loud sports coat.

Another important Bible guy is Moses, whose real name was Charlton Heston. Moses led the Israel Lights out of Egypt and away from the evil Pharaoh after God sent ten plagues on Pharaoh's people. These plagues included frogs, mice, lice, bowels, and no cable.
God fed the Israel Lights every day with manicotti. Then he gave them His Top Ten Commandments. These include: don't lie, cheat, smoke, dance, or covet yourneighbor's stuff.
Oh, yeah, I just thought of one more: Humor thy father and thy mother.
One of Moses' best helpers was Joshua who was the first Bible guy to use spies. Joshua fought the battle of Geritol and the fence fell over on the town.

After Joshua came David. He got to be king by killing a giant with a slingshot.. He had a son named Solomon who had about 300 wives and 500 porcupines. My teacher says he was wise, but that doesn't sound very wise to me.

After Solomon there were a bunch of major league prophets. One of these was Jonah, who was swallowed by a big whale and then barfed up on the shore.
There were also some minor league prophets, but I guess we don't have to worry about them.
After the Old Testament came the New Testament. Jesus is the star of The New. He was born in Bethlehem in a barn. (I wish I had been born in a barn too, because my mom is always saying to me, 'Close the door! Were you born in a barn?' It would be nice to say, 'As a matter of fact, I was.')

During His life, Jesus had many arguments with sinners like the Pharisees and the Democrats.
Jesus also had twelve opossums.
The worst one was Judas Asparagus. Judas was so evil that they named a terrible vegetable after him.
Jesus was a great man. He healed many leopards and even preached to some Germans on the Mount.

But the Democrats and all those guys put Jesus on trial before Pontius the Pilot. Pilot didn't stick up for Jesus. He just washed his hands instead.
Anyways, Jesus died for our sins, then came back to life again. He went up to Heaven but will be back at the end of the Aluminum. His return is foretold in the book of Revolution.

Repaying old debts

2009-08-27T20:48:00.000-07:00

As I am about to launch into a new phase in my life, God has been nudging me gently about old 'debts' I need to repay as reformed Zaccheus.

When I started listening to pop music in high school, I couldn't afford to buy original CD's and I was too afraid to ask my parents for the money. Therefore, I secretly bought a couple of pirated CD's. After my mom found out about it, she told me off and told me to go to her whenever I wanted to get a CD and she would it get it for me if it was a reasonable choice. Since then, I've tried very hard to stay on the narrow path in terms of copyright, buying software or music etc.

I remember one of those pirated CD's was Alicia Keys's first album. It was one of my favourites at that time. Since then, I've bought 2 of her other original albums. Recently God has nudged me to repurchase original CDs of all these artists that I had ripped off in the past. So today, I started. I bought Songs in A Minor. I owe it to her. Next up will probably be Dido. I don't think there are more. Maybe a couple of jazz artists whose stuff I need to get rid off because they are copies.

It's been a long hard journey towards intergrity in these small matters as well as big matters. I've often struggled with the inconvenience of such decisions.

For anyone reading, I encourage you just as people like Alvin used to encourage our lifegroups 5-6 years ago, please get rid of your pirated music and software. In the end, when we face up to God, we won't have any excuses when He asks us about our integrity in even this small area. It might be more expensive and more inconvenient, but even small decisions that are wrong affect the world's depravity in general. Every action is significant.

The PIT

2009-08-25T06:22:00.000-07:00

Picked this from Isaac's blog. Isaac is a good friend of my sis, Liz.

Want to thank people like Dad, and Rachelle and Nat who never questioned the pit too much, but helped me out of it and helped me move on strong in life.I hope to be the kind of person who helps others out of their pits too.

The Pit

This is quite an interesting read. Simple but strong message on how man has complicated society when life is sometimes actually quite straightforward.

A man fell into a pit. These were the reactions of the people:

A Subjectivist type of person said, 'I feel for you down there' But did nothing.
An Objective person wandered by next, and said, 'It's logical that someone would fall down there.'

A Pharisee said, 'Only bad people fall into a pit,' and put his nose in the air and kept walking.
Then, a mathematician calculated how he fell into the pit.

A news reporter wanted the exclusive story on his pit, but was too busy interviewing everyone in sight to help.

A fanatic fundamentalist shouted, 'You deserve your pit!'
Then a government tax-man asked if he was paying taxes on the pit.

A self-pitying person then whined, 'You haven't seen anything until you've seen MY pit!'
Then a Christian Scientist came by, and said, 'Just believe that you're not in a pit.'

An optimist said, 'Things could be worse!'
But the pessimist disagreed, and said, 'Things -will- get worse!'

A New Ager jumped into the pit to share the experience.
A conspiracist rubbed his hands together in glee, and said,'-They- threw you into the pit! I -knew- it!'

A Jew said, 'Why are we -always- in a pit?'
A Communist shouted 'Why are you in the People's Pit without permission?'
An Alcoholic muttered to himself, 'It's not -my- fault you're in the pit.....'

A Liberal said, 'Those Conservatives must have dug this pit!'
A Conservative said, 'See where Liberalism has gotten you?'

A TV Evangelist came by and promptly took up a collection from the bystanders.
A television news commentator shouted, 'Man in a pit! Why is the government responsible?'"

But then, a Good Samaritan came along, looked at the man in the pit and at all the others standing around pursuing their own agendas,and said, quietly, 'Here are two shovels. Let's get you out of the pit.'

Priorities

2009-08-25T06:11:00.000-07:00

I hate it when people continuously tell me they don't have time.

They might as well just say straight to my face that they have no time for me.

There is no such thing as having no time....

When people say that, it just means that they have no time for the person they are talking to in particular.

Everyone has 24 hours.

Enjoying cereal

2009-08-24T18:26:00.001-07:00

I haven't had chocolate cereal like koko krunch for ages....like years....I've always been hesitant to buy any breakfast cereal except oats because of the high sugar content. And the lack of fibre.

But I've always loved chocolate cereal. So yesterday, I decided to get some Milo cereal.

It's yummy....it's very yummy.

Maybe 6 years later I'll buy another pack.

A Call to Anguish - David Wilkerson

2009-08-23T19:26:00.000-07:00

Need to be convicted more? I do. True passion for the lost and for the truth is born out of anguish.

Click here

Point to ponder - lack of fathers

2009-08-14T07:07:00.000-07:00

I had a splendid night with Nat. Korean cold noodles[yum] and blueberry cheesecake. I also found out she had been praying for me all week. Well, emotionally, I had a rough start to the week, but I haven't had an issue bouncing up from it. It's been fairly smooth. The power of prayer and of hearing from God and intercession.

The issue of absent fathers and lack of male role models came up in the conversation. I'm trying very hard to think of a friend[in Australia] who has a godly father who is a role model, involved in the nuturing and leading the family in God's ways, that I know of and met, and only 2-3 names names are coming to mind.Rach? Jos?Uncle Richard?Cait?WOW.There is a serious lack.Some fathers I know have abandoned their families, some are present but absent at heart, some are passive...

Where are the men?Our generation should have strong godly men leading the family, validating and blessing their children, being prophet priest and king in the house. The men should not just be providing for the family[though that is essential], but also leading the way in discipling the children, partnering with and leading their wives to advance God's kingdom.

I'm blessed. My dad is such a man. The more I travel around the world, the more I see that men like my Dad are so so rare. My dad is a leader in the household. He is compassionate. He is wise. He is imperfect, but he is humble and teachable. He is a leader in the community. He is a leader in the church. He is a leader in his own family of brothers and sisters. He has walked with God faithfully and served God in his workplace and the church and at home. He wants to release his children to the next level of breakthrough and anointing.

Even among many of the great godly friends [male or female] I have here in Brisbane, many of their lives are actually held back or immature in some point or other because of the lack of godly fathers in their lives. Some of them might not even realise it till later. Or not at all.

Where are the fathers that are passionate about the kingdom? Passionate about Jesus and reaching the lost?Passionate about loving their wives not just in some human way, but like Christ loved the church? Where are the fathers who not only love and provide for their kids, but also disciple them, impart to them, serve together with them?

Makes me think about my recent Taiwan trip. How many kids have the privilege of ministering toegether with their Dad?Seeing their Dads walk the walk and also bring you along to walk the walk too?

Paul said that there were many who could teach in the church, but there were not many fathers[in the faith or otherwise]. Age-old problem.

Many of my students don't live with their dads. Some of them have step dads or stepstep dads. They don't know what a long-lasting, committed marriage looks like. They don't know what a genuinely strong and loving man looks like. It's heart breaking.

There is a strong need for men of this generation rise up and be what their fathers have not been. If not, even among Christians, there will be grave issues throughout the community. We can talk about advancing God's kingdom, spirituality, etc....all the great things. But if element is lacking, how will the next generation go to the next level? They will have start all over again. We're all back to square one with each generation. Sometimes even down to the negatives!!

It is no coincidence that many people who build great spiritual dreams are standing on the shuolders of their godly fathers and even grandfathers before them: John Maxwell, Joel Osteen, Rick Warren, Bill Johnson, Joshua Harris, Loren Cunningham, Reinhard Bonnke etc.

Where are all the godly fathers?