by faith, not by sight

2011-10-30T00:24:00.002+08:00

this is still on my blogger dashboard... sooo...

HELLO EVERYONE!!!

take care and God bless :)

THJY

HCCG reunion CG!

2009-06-06T23:45:00.010+08:00

today, we had our reunion CG.(:

all the people in HCCG 2008 batch.(:

sadly, not that many people turned up so it felt quite retarded playing the games.:P but it was just so funny, i laughed till my tummy hurt. heh.:D

& we forgot to take photos too!): ohwells.

thank God for all those people who came.(: im really glad to see all of yall still faithfully serving God & persevering on despite struggles & changes. NS guys, jiayous! i think i can never fully understand how hard it is to stay close to God in NS where yall have such limited personal time & space. but do cling on to all the foundations & promises you've made to God & continue to be mighty warriors in Christ too!(: & to all those people whom ive not seen for so long.. (if yall ever come across this blog).. dont stop running this race kayys, no matter how hard it seems to cling on sometimes, how big the sacrifices are to remain in God, how tempting the world out there may look.. i really pray that yall will continue to walk close to Jesus & not forsake your first love. see ya at the end of the race yeah? & this family of God will always be here for all of you!(:

& to the existing HCCG, our juniors.. just wanna tell yall that whatever yall are doing right now is really of eternal value. souls & life transformations that will last beyond the 2 short years in JC, which will matter for a long long time & for all eternity. i felt really touched when i see my ex-HCCG friends still growing & serving God though we're in different ministries now.. or even seeing how my seniors are taking on new roles to serve God (like qinpei support singing, & jiexun, jon & yongsheng leading CGs..).. so treasure your CG now kayys! though they can only run this short part of this whole marathon tgt with you, the brotherly (or sisterly, for that matter) relationship formed is gonna last for eternity. yeah, jiayous jiayous! get charged up by God in camp & go back to make a difference in HC after that! will keep yall in prayers.(:

sorry that i spam my thoughts here. heh. God bless.(:

with love,

lips.

childlikeness :)

2009-05-07T22:52:00.001+08:00

hihi. the video of watoto children's choir that i was talking about during cg today :)

-calean

My Cup Overflows.

2009-05-05T11:09:00.002+08:00

Dead blog. Dead blog.

It's funny how the last blog entry dates back to my birthday. I seriously don't mind man! For time to just freeze at the moment I turned 19. But I guess we all have to move on, somehow. (: I doubt anyone would come back here man, with the tags dating back to a month ago, and the entries, goodness, 2 months ago. But here I am, just trying to get that ugly smelly picture of several smelly potatoes down the page. (:

Long time no see Hwa Chong.

My Cup Has Overflowed

I've never made a fortune
and it's probably too late now.
But I don't worry about that much,
I'm happy anyhow.

And as I go along life's way,
I'm reaping better than I sowed.
I'm drinking from my saucer,
Cause my cup has overflowed.

Haven't got a lot of riches,
and sometimes the going's tough.
But I've got loving ones around me,
and that makes me rich enough.

I thank God for his blessings,
and the mercies He's bestowed.
I'm drinking from my saucer,
cause my cup has overflowed.

O, Remember times when things went wrong,
My faith wore somewhat thin.
But all at once the dark clouds broke,
and sun peeped through again.

So Lord, help me not to gripe about
the tough rows that I've hoed.
I'm drinking from my saucer,
Cause my cup has overflowed.

If God gives me strength and courage,
when the way grows steep and rough.
I'll not ask for other blessings,
I'm already blessed enough.

And may I never be too busy,
to help others bear their loads.
Then I'll keep drinking from my saucer,
Cause my cup has overflowed.

(: Just a reminder to keep drinking from your saucer.

I miss you guys! (: I hope to see all of you soon.

Eileen (Who never blogs here)

2009-03-07T09:54:00.002+08:00

last cg was farewell for linus who would be transferring to the poly group:)
(i dont think he will see this but anw,)

LINUS! you've been a blessing to this group :) thanks for being part of us.. we will miss you. no more zai skateboarder in the cg liao,we haven't even seen your stunts:( hahaha. all the best in the SP group! keep running this race alrights.. keep up the child-like faith :)

And jiayou j3s, i pray that God will give you direction in your uni applications and the path to take. i believe where God leads you all to will be the best:)

calean:)

from an old snr...

2009-03-05T23:41:00.002+08:00

JIAYOU JUNIORS FOR A's tmr!

One year it was us now its for you but do God proud :D
In all things hold on to jeremiah 29:11 and Proverbs 3:5-6 tightly!
No matter what it is, you are safe in His hands! and you will be used by God no matter what!

Jiayou and God bless!

- Cale HCCG '07! :D

caregroup happenings

2009-01-22T22:29:00.016+08:00

HELLO EVERYONE! image heavy post ahead!

Last combined HCCG 010109the bus ride to bugis! for one stop we had the whole bus to ourselves (minus the driver of course :P).

steamboating! the tom yam soup was SUPER DUPER spicy!

then comes the aftermath of steamboating! pictures that were taken while waiting for junyao for come back from toilet o.o...
hccg<3

the happy
the sadddthe emo
the "AHH-JUNYAO-where- are-you?!"
finally the quan jia fu (minus the missing ppl)

jcca4 cg today!

some random shots of ourselves playing uno stacko before cg starts :D

man, the instability! it was shaking in the wind by then.

songkang focusing and yiyuan trying to dao luan..

jcca4 newest guy :D WELCOME RUI YI!

thank God for my dear cg members today, i enjoyed cg! and look forward to many more times spent with you guys :) thank you for sharing your lives.. the "luo suo" conversion stories, testimonies, and random stuff. im sure we can move towards building this community up to be stronger, biblical and more influential:)

Matthew 22:

34Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:
36"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

calean(:

Revival

2009-01-20T13:48:00.003+08:00

To revive the blog, a photo of the J4s and J5s! Some are real, some are cropped. =P

HEROES camp!

2008-12-22T23:07:00.005+08:00

all ready for minilutions!

J2s!

J1s!

HCCG 2008.

3 more days to camp!

2008-12-11T01:57:00.003+08:00

Once upon a time, in the land of Uz, there lived a man whose name was Job. He was an extremely pious man, “blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil”, habitually offering burnt offerings as a pardon for the sins of his sons and daughters.

One day, God asks Satan of his opinion of Job, an apparently pious man. Satan (which means “the accuser” or “the adversary” in Hebrew) replied that Job was pious only because of his prosperity. God hence gave Satan permission to strike Job with calamity to test his piety. Consequently, Job lost his possessions and family and was inflicted with boils.

I think Job is the true epitome of what “With Christ in the vessel we can smile in the storm” means! Even when he is racked with pain and misery, and when all his friends and his wife tell him to “curse God, and die”, he does not, replying instead, “Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”

Very often we fall into the trap of being fair weather Christians – we revel in and accept God when He showers us with blessings. But once we meet small setbacks in our walk with Christ, our first reaction are often to complain or to stop in our tracks or retreat from this setback.

Though Job was severely afflicted, he never once complained against God. He really set an example for us in faith and piety – in turn, we should ask ourselves: To what extent will we defend God’s word and our identity in Him? When our worldly possessions are stripped away, will we still continue to serve Him?

Sometimes we hear people say, I will serve God when I have more time/money etc. but well, serving God should not depend on the approval of our worldly circumstances! As the Creator he has freedom of control over his creation; God does not require our approval. Yet he allows us to make our own choices. So yup, make the right choice!

In his period of testing, only three friends visited him: Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite. They argued that Job must have sinned and therefore must deserve his misfortune.

This argument is based on the theological assumption that God always rewards good and punishes evil with no apparent exceptions allowed. In other words, in the view of theology, God awards karmic points. But no, this is not true! We must not forget that God’s ways are higher and more mysterious ways than ours; we cannot use human measurements of justice to perceive them.

This happens because the three friends have forgotten God’s sovereignty, righteousness and gracious mercy. They use their own human reasoning to “reason” out Job’s “just” or “deserving” punishment for his wrongdoings, misrepresenting God’s righteousness and discrediting his loving character – as Job says, “how can a mortal be righteous before God?” – God sees all our misdoings and flaws; if God was really an “eye-for-an-eye” God, then all of us, being sinners, should be inflicted with calamities throughout our lives. Instead, God chooses to forgive us and shower us with blessings out of love. [1 Corin 13:5].

In the end, Job is restored to health, wealth (with double the riches of before), and familial bliss. He has 7 sons and 3 daughters (who are the most beautiful of the land), and lives another 140 years to see his children to the 4th generation before dying peacefully at an old age. So yup! In Job we see the example of how a child of God could remain so faithful to God despite his circumstances (which are so much more severe than the mild setbacks we face in life today!) and how, through his faith, he persevered to experience God’s happy ending for him.

So whenever you meet downturns in your life, think of this victorious story of Job and know that, with faith, God’s unique happy ending for you will come true! :)

4 more days to camp!(:

2008-12-09T22:15:00.001+08:00

Hey all! The hero for today is NOAH. I’m sure we have all heard of the story of Noah’s Ark, but let’s study this in depth today! The main thing that we have to learn from this hero is OBEDIENCE and FAITH.

For those who are not so familiar with Noah’s story, you can refer to [Genesis 6 – 9] for more information! In Genesis 6, God was grieved because of the evilness of mankind on Earth, and He decided to wipe mankind away from the face of the earth. However, there was one man on earth whom found favor with God and that man was Noah. God wanted to bring floodwaters on earth to destroy all life. But He commanded Noah to build an ark for him and his family, and also for two of every living creature. God gave complicated instructions for Noah to follow but in the Bible it was simply said, “Noah did everything just as God commanded him”. [Genesis 6:22]

The following are some of the lessons I think we should learn from Noah:

1) Noah displayed great obedience by completing the difficult task of building the ark. [Gen 6:14,22] God gave comprehensive instructions to follow. Noah even had to bring two of every living animal up onto the ark with him. This idea of building an ark must seemed to be very ridiculous for the people of that time. However, Noah simply responded by faithfully following every instruction and completing the task, which demonstrated the great amount of obedience he had towards God. Never once did Noah complain to God nor did he question God. He simply did what God commanded him. I believe many of us have doubted or questioned what God has asked us to do. It is hard to respond like Noah –without doubting nor questioning.

2) Noah demonstrated great faith even in an unbelieving world. In [Gen 6:5] it is said, “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.” Even though the world was unbelieving, Noah still stood out as a man with great faith and absolute obedience towards God. This is the Bible’s account of Noah, “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.” In our lives, we face many temptations and distractions too, people around us may discourage us from our walk with God. Despite Noah being in such a world, he knew that he could always choose to right with God. I really encourage you to choose to be a Noah in your world today too. Let God’s account of you be the same, to be “righteous”, “blameless” and always “walking with God”.

3) Obedience is a long-term commitment. Obedience is not saying “Yes” to God, and then turning away to do our own things. It is saying “Yes” to God and following it through with actions, taking a commitment to fulfill what we have promised to obey God in the first place. Imagine if Noah had said “Yes” to God yet didn’t follow God’s every instruction, or even worse, didn’t fulfill what he said. The results would be rather disastrous. The building of the ark was a long project that Noah kept to till the end. What are the arks that God is commanding us to build in our lives? Are we following it through with long-term commitment?

If you refer to the picture at the beginning of the post, you can see a rainbow in the picture. This represents God’s covenant with us. This is what God said in [Gen 9:13-15], “I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.” Let this also be a reminder to us of the importance of being obedient to God in our lives! God is faithful and will be gracious to deliver those who obey Him in faith.

Think of the areas in our lives that requires obedience from us towards God. As it is said, partial obedience is not obedience. Do ponder carefully over these areas and commit these areas to God once again.

And whenever we see a rainbow, do also remember to whisper a simple prayer to God (: Thanks for persevering till the end!

Love,
Sharlene (:

7 days to camp!

2008-12-05T10:45:00.004+08:00

Today’s hero-in-discussion would be Jonathan. Jonathan is a small, insignificant character in the Bible I would say (as compared to Saul and David), so he is the calefare in the book of 1 Samuel. However, though having a small role in the bible, Jonathan has provided us with a BIG lesson to learn from – DARE TO BELIEVE.

In 1 Samuel chapter 13 to 14, Jonathan exercised his faith for God without much hesitation. This happened when Israel were fighting the Philistines, but were without weapons. In 1 Samuel 13:22, it says, “So on the day of battle not a soldier with Saul and Jonathan had a sword or spear in his hand; only Saul and Jonathan had them.”

Imagine this with me, you are leading a troop to war, but the thing is none in the troop that you are leading is carrying any weapon. What would come to your mind straightaway?

My natural instinct would tell me this, “Hey dude, fighting this war is a lost cause! Retreat or die!” Fear would come to my mind; surrendering would be the first option on my list and fighting the Philistines head on last, definitely. Normal you may say, but Jonathan did the otherwise. In Samuel 14:1 it says, “One day Jonathan son of Saul said to the young man bearing his armor, “Come, let’s go over to the Philistine outpost on the other side.” But he did not tell his father.”

At this moment, you may want to rub your eyes and look at 1 Samuel 14:1 again. However, let me assure you that your eyes are not playing tricks on you. Yes, Jonathan went to the Philistine outpost! You must be thinking, “Wow, this guy is crazy!” But read on, he is crazier than you think. He went to the Philistine outpost not with 500 men, but with 1 man – his armor-bearer. Full stop, that’s all. 2 men waiting to infiltrate the Philistine camp that was filled with troops, maybe hundreds of them, or even thousands of them. How can 2 fight against a thousand men? Some of you may say this guy is really out of his mind. Naïve, stupid, irrational… (The list goes on) But one thing I assure you, Jonathan is crazy, but he is crazy for God.

In 1 Samuel 14:6, Jonathan said to his young armor bearer, “Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows. Perhaps the LORD will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few.” Back then, faced with the dire circumstances, Jonathan was unfazed. He trusted in God, and he DARED TO BELIEVE IN GOD, even in unfavorable situation. In the end, this faith of Jonathan was rewarded by God. In 1 Samuel 14:15 it says, “Then panic struck the whole army… It was a panic sent by God.” Later on in 1 Samuel 14:20 it mentions, “The Philistines in total confusion, striking each other with their swords.” Yes, 2 men certainly can’t defeat a thousand. But ONE GOD is more than enough to strike down a thousand, or even hundreds of thousands!

How did Jonathan manage to dispel the distractions of his heart and mind and put his belief in God? He simply KNOW WHO GOD IS and KNOW WHAT GOD IS CAPABLE OF!

Most of the times, when faced with problems, our natural instinct will tell us to turn to people or objects around us, and attempt to solve the problem ourselves. We tend to focus too much on the problem, and in the process magnify it. We lose sight of God, who is much greater than the problem. We forget WHO GOD REALLY IS and WHAT GOD IS REALLY CAPABLE OF, and this is in fact the real source of problem.

Jonathan approached the problem differently. He knew who God is as well as the power of God. By doing so, Jonathan was armed with the confidence of God. He was able to take the ‘big’ problem in his stride, with courage, because he knew that God would deliver him, regardless of how bad the circumstances were, simply because, OUR GREAT GOD IS DEFINITELY BIGGER THAN OUR PROBLEMS.

Therefore, next time when we are faced with a problem, let us take a step back to remind ourselves of who God is and what is He really capable of. In times of trouble, let us be like Jonathan, DARE TO BELIEVE in God, knowing that God will deliver us. For “Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few”, and “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31)

Elijah

2008-11-29T00:06:00.005+08:00

Hey peeps! Sorry I missed my day! Elijah was supposed to be due YESTERDAY! urm since it's midnight now, the day before yesterday. (:

Anyway! ELIJAH!

As everyone knows, Elijah is one of the most renowned prophet in the bible! You can find him in 1 Kings, and he did many miracles, and the most exciting thing is, God took him up into heaven in a whirlwind! Isn't that cool!? I think from the life of Elijah, we can learn so much! But I think the entire of Elijah's life is centered on one thing, Faith.

In 1 Kings, chapter 17, Elijah prophesied drought in Israel to King Ahab, and right after that he had to go into hiding and he was fed by the ravens which were sent by God. Hmm. Let us ponder on this point. I believe many of us have received a personal word from God before, and they can be tasks that require us to step out of our comfort zone. i.e. evax-ing to this random person that looks mean and unreceptive? Sometimes we take that step of faith and believe that little voice in our heart, yet sometimes, we waver and give it up. Hmm. Elijah went to the king, to prophesy bad news. We have trouble telling our friends about the good news that Jesus is real! But nothing stopped Elijah. And he clearly shared God's heart beat.

Afterwards, when the brook (which God told him he can drink from) had dried up because of the drought, he obeyed God's word to search for this widow whom God said will give Elijah food. Okay, so the widow was poor and had no food. She told Elijah she wanted to have a last meal with her son. After that they'd probably commit suicide and die. If I were in that situation, I'd probably be so disappointed. I risked my life for God, and He's giving me more problems instead of helping me. But not Elijah. Elijah had so much faith that God's word will carry him through despite the circumstances. He made use of the opportunity to perform a miracle.
"Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said." He comforted the widow, (I don't think anyone of us would be able to comfort someone if we're hungry and thirsty, and at the same time are running away from the most powerful man in the country.) and told her, "The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry" .. till the end of the drought. Woah! Such great faith, such great love. You think that's cool!? There is more! After sometime, when the son of the widow died, she blamed Elijah. But he was not discouraged, neither did he felt that God was shortchanging him. Instead, he prayed for the boy and resurrected him. And through this, changed the widow's heart. His faith was so huge, and his heart so aligned with God's that he knew that he can make the best out of the worst situations, as God would. We have all heard about these miracles, but have we ever stopped and ponder over how we'd have reacted in the same situation?

It is easy to believe God when everything looks good. It is not hard to go to church when we have nothing better to do. However, if we are facing the same circumstances as Elijah, will we hold on to God, and trust that He will transform all our fears and inhibitions into testimonies? Will we trust that God is capable of turning the worst for the best? I take myself as an example. It was very hard for me to give up OAC for church, and though I no longer have to be too bothered by it since my term has ended, but I know deep down that if OAC has a chalet, and there's caregroup/unit meeting/membership class -.- or what not, it'd still be a great struggle for me. (though it probably will not happen since yuhui's my aci, and liping's my cl) But yeah, I know that even for these little things in my life, I still hold on so tightly to them. But, let us learn this together. We can receive so much more, and do so much more, if we really put all of our wants and desires at God's feet and let him navigate our life. Elijah passed God's test. Can we too?

There are many instances when Elijah performed other miracles, such as when he brought fire from the sky and shamed 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah. Weren't these possible because he was faithful, and courageous as well? Well, let us move on and inspect this part when Elijah became depressed after the miracle did little to change the hearts of the people. He was emotionally pained because of his love for God's people. Yet despite his feelings, he continued to give his all in doing God's work. He did not give up and stop believing in God's power because of the single incident (though it was a pretty BIG one). He continued to be God's messenger and hung onto God's every single word. He did not shut himself into his little tiny world simply because he was sad, and because things did not work out as he hoped and expected. Elijah has burnt out at this point. "I have had enough, LORD, Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors," and under that broom tree, he prayed that he might die. Yet when God sent his angel down to comfort him, he allowed himself to be refreshed by God's presence, (which came in a whisper) and after that, continued to carry out God's work.

I think this is a great learning point. Elijah was just another ordinary person, like you and me. He was very human, and he gets tired and discouraged too. But he did not dwell in it, rather he allowed himself to be refreshed by God. And this is not just some O.T's fairytale. This is VERY real! You know it's happening in your very own life as well! Don't all of us get tired and worn out when we're serving God too? But because Jesus died on the cross for us, today we can enter God's presence as and when to refresh ourselves anytime! So don't we have it so much easier than Elijah? Shouldn't we be doing so much more miracles than he did? Yes? What made the difference? Why did God used him? Why not us too!? I believe when you reach this part of the entry, you'd already have an idea why. (:

Please continue to read up more about this wonderful prophet, for there is so much you can learn from him! (: I hope this entry isn't too lengthy for you guys. (: I don't know what you think, but I'm so humbled after typing this post. Haha! (:

Let us build up on our faith so God can use us!

SEVENTEEN days to HEROES camp! :)

2008-11-26T21:08:00.004+08:00

YAY! its my turn to blog for our pre-camp devotions :) so next up in the HALL OF FAME... is none other than: DANIEL

yup. we know that Daniel is this cool guy who got sent into the lion's den for worshiping God and lions did not eat him :) thats in chapter 6!

we are going to look at chapter 1 instd! and you can really see the same resolve, determination and faith displayed in the lion's den right in the palace's dining room in chapter 1. :)

pls read: [Daniel 1:1-17]

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Daniel%201:1-17&version=31

during that time (605 BC) , the people of Judah, including Jehoiakim the king had been sinning against God through idol worship, adultry etc. God gave Judah to the Babylonians as a punishment, judgement for the people.

Daniel then was only about 14-15 years old! (o.o younger than us!). He was a smart and talented guy.. Nebuchadnezzar wanted to brainwash and 'babylonize' people like him. He wanted conformity. He gave Daniel and his friends new names after Babylonian gods, exposed then to new culture, language lit, religion, food.

and yet, one word to describe Daniel's life? he lived BY GOD's STANDARD.

"but Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine"

imagine the temptation with all the comfort food in front of them, yet Daniel knew that by eating these, He would be sinning cos these food are probably used as offering to the babylonian gods and is considered unclean. in other words, Daniel CHOSE not to comform. and by faith he even took action to ask the official if he could change their diets. .

THATS BIG COURAGE! in the lion's den, Daniel was in a bobian, no choice situation- just sit there and trust God. but in this case, He had to go up to the official and request for the change in the risk of making the king angry rather than just sit there, do nothing. it was a voluntary stand up for the sake of his faith and he did it tactfully:) and in the end, the chief official was won over, because he saw how God had made the 4 young men much healthier even with veg

-a short story from trinitycrc.org -

I'm reminded of the story of a young man who spent a year in a logging camp — a rough place with a lot of cursing, drinking, gambling and womanizing. When he came back home his minister expressed sympathy for the tough time he must have had in standing up for his faith. "It wasn't hard at all," said the young man. "They never found out I was a Christian."

stuff to ponder:

-What areas in my life will i resolve to stick to God's standards rather then follow the world? (this qn seems esp crucial for the NS guys to be. hahaha)

-Is God prompting me to do sth that would require me to take a step by faith? ( choosing to do would open doors for God to move and intervene, just as he did for daniel :) )

lets learn loads in upcoming 17 more days tgt! :D see ya guys at Peter truong's mtg!

-calean.

it's EIGHTEEN days to HEROS camp!

2008-11-25T23:40:00.005+08:00

YES! just 18 more days to HEROS camp!=D & as spiritual, hungry, excited, passionate, committed, devoted, chao ji super zai people of God, we gotta prepare ourselves well for camp yeah!=P so starting from today, pls rmb to tune in to this website daily for a dosage of wisdom & understanding of the characters in the Bible! there's just so many heros in the Bible, yet the camp is only covering 5 of them.. so let's self-study! AHA. focus will be on how these people lived their life that their names are worthy enough to be imprinted on the most POWERFUL book in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD! their attitudes, actions.. so much to learn mannz!=D=D=D so first up, we'll learn about HOSEA!!!

EH.. yall better dont be lazy ah! read till the end! later if i feel evil then i give yall pop quiz during CG then yall die!=P AHA. jkjk. but just read it la!(:

Hosea was a prophet in Israel in the 8th century BC. A prophet refers to a person chosen to speak for God and to guide the people of Israel (God’s people). The most significant thing we can learn from Hosea is about SACRIFICE.

What comes to your mind when you think of sacrificing for God? Missing outings & hangouts with friends? Forsaking time that could be used for studying for caregroups & services when a major exams is coming up? From Hosea’s life, we can learn what it means to totally surrender to God, to willingly & obediently offer his life & lifestyle for God’s cause.

[Hosea 1:2] When the Lord began to speak though Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord.”

So basically the context is that.. Israel had been backsliding away from God & turning to idolatry instead. & God has called Hosea to prophesy & warn the people of God’s commands. However, it’s not just by verbally telling the people about God’s word, but Hosea was called to prophesy through his life. Hosea’s marital experience reflected the “adulterous” relationship which Israel had built with polytheistic gods. PAUSE. Let’s think about the significance of this! Hosea was a prophet, who probably lived his life in purity & upheld moral standards. Yet God was commanding him to marry a prostitute! What a shameful & disgraceful thing for Hosea to do! Its like asking him to “dai lu mao” straightaway.=S Let’s look at how Hosea responded..

[Hosea 1:3] So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

WOW. The Bible said it so matter-of-factly! LOl. “So he..” Did Hosea even protest? Maybe. Did Hosea had to struggle to give up his personal rights & obey God? Perhaps. But the important thing is ultimately, he obeyed & sacrificed! He allowed God to use him to fulfill His plans & make decisions about his life. Furthermore, God didnt even promise him any rewards or privileges! For instance, when God commanded Abraham, God promised him descendents as plentiful as the sand on the seashore.. when God called Moses, He promised Moses that He’ll bring Israel to the promised land.. Yet even though nothing explicit (not territory, not descendents, not anything) was promised to Hosea, Hosea just simply & faithfully obeyed God.

God continued to use Hosea’s life to urge Israel towards repentance. As how Hosea’s wife had left him to go with other men, Israel had left God to go with other gods. As God commanded Hosea to search for his wife, forgive her & brought her back, God was conveying the message that He also would not abandon Israel and would bring them back even though they had forsaken Him.

From Hosea’s life, we therefore saw how he underwent bitter personal martial experiences to allow God to work through him & his readiness & willingness to follow God’s will. As we learn about Hosea today, let’s think about..

1. Is God challenging me to give up anything for Him today?
E.g. a secure normal lifestyle, personal enjoyment, privacy, status & privileges, personal decision-making..

2. What kind of attitude do I have towards giving up things for God?

okay great! you've persevered & read till here. do think about the above 2 qns carefully yeah! & come back for more stuff tmr!(:

with love,

lips.

2008-11-25T01:31:00.001+08:00

YOU ARE SO FAITHFUL

Verse 1:

Like the sun, that rises every day

You are so faithful, dear Lord You are faithful

Like the rain that You bring and every breath that i breathe

You are so faithful, Lord

Verse 2:

Like a rose that comes alive every spring

You are so faithful, dear Lord You are faithful

Like the life that You give to every beat of my heart

You are so faithful, Lord

Bridge:

I see the cross and the price You had to pay

I see the blood that washed my sins away

Chorus:

And in the midst of the storm through the wind and the waves

You'll still be faithful, You'll still be faithful

And when the stars refuse to shine and time is no more

You'll still be faithful, You'll still be faithful, Lord

a song that touched my heart lots.(: the slideshow abit qiguai la. just listen to the music & read the lyrics then!(: our God is so faithful. lets be faithful to Him too!

announcements(:

2008-11-23T22:56:00.002+08:00

some ANNOUNCEMENTS!:D

1. WFL gonna start this wed 261108!
Study on Numbers : 1-6pm, auditorium
ClC1 & 2: 3-6pm
shall we have lunch tgt first? 12 at cuppage?:P

2. Harvesters meeting w Peter Truong
When? Thurs 271108, 2-5pm
Where? America Room
What? Teaching & practicals on everyday evangelism
Who? Those committed to being disciples of Jesus & wants to play a part to fulfil the GC!

3. HEROES CAMP.. shirt!
Camp's in just TWENTY days time! *feels the anticipation in the air!*
anybody wants to buy the camp shirt but havent ordered? pls tag or sms me by MON 11am!
it wont be sold in the camp so must pre-order! state your size also! girl/guy.. S/M/L/XL(:

4. CG this week!
when can yall NOT make it ah? tell me kayys! xie xie ni!

YEAH! lots of happenings! let's spend this holidays fruitfully & grow, grOW, GROW in Christ!:D

love, lips.(:

2008-11-10T13:12:00.004+08:00

my FIRST time posting here. (: thankyou thankyou for your support.
((: PEOPLE HANG ON!!
Show you a nice picture I found from jiexun's blog. :D

I found it INSPIRING!

Because it works the other way round too! O.O WOW! (:

If you're AS SMART AS ME! :D:D:D You'd realised that, WE CAN BE THE VERY FLAME TO SPREAD THE FIRE OF DESIRE FOR JESUS!

((:

The best time, is right now! :D

eileen! ((:

2008-11-06T20:59:00.001+08:00

'Five Loaves And Two Fishes’ - By Corrinne May

A little boy of thirteen was on his way to school
He heard a crowd of people laughing and he went to take a look
Thousands were listening to the stories of one man
He spoke with such wisdom, even the kids could understand

The hours passed so quickly, the day turned to night
Everyone was hungry but there was no food in sight
The boy looked in his lunchbox at the little that he had
He wasn't sure what good it'd do, there were thousands to be fed

But he saw the twinkling eyes of Jesus
The kindness in His smile
And the boy cried out
With the trust of a child
he said:

"Take my five loaves and two fishes
Do with it as you will
I surrender
Take my fears and my inhibitions
All my burdens, my ambitions
You can use it all to feed them all"

I often think about that boy when I'm feeling small
And I worry that the work I do means nothing at all

But every single tear I cry is a diamond in His hands
And every door that slams in my face, I will offer up in prayer

So I'll give you every breath that I have
Oh Lord, you can work miracles
All that you need is my "Amen"

So take my five loaves and two fishes
Do with it as you will
I surrender
Take my fears and my inhibitions
All my burdens, my ambitions
You can use it all
I hope it's not too small

I trust in you
I trust in you

So take my five loaves and two fishes
Do with it as you will
I surrender
Take my fears and my inhibitions
All my burdens, my ambitions
You can use it all
No gift is too small

:)

2008-11-05T22:58:00.002+08:00

HEROES CAMP .13-16 DEC 2008. S'pore Sports School.

hey people, just some random reminders.

HEROES CAMP IS COMING! yes. even as you are drowning in mugging.. bio chem math? or rotting away at home :P lets look fwd to this man! ITS NOT TO BE MISSED!! seriously.

$140/ $120 (either one :/) by 15 nov.

can get excuse letters from the church for cca etc if it clashes,

apply by 22 nov

Start saving and get your stars from eeeileen! ;)

^picture above credited to my sister who did that for cg announcements :P

-calean!

SPAMMING God's Word!

2008-11-03T13:32:00.002+08:00

[Psalm 20:7]
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

[Psalm 125:1]
Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever.

[Ephesians 3:20]
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.

[Philippians 4:6-7]
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God and the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your minds and heart in Christ Jesus.

[Colossians 3:23]
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.

[James 1:2]
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

[Hebrews 12:1-2a]
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith.

[1 Peter 4:11]
If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anoyone serves, he should do it with the very strength that God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen

[Joshua 1:9]
Have i not commanded you, be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified. Do not be discouraged. For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

Let's let God's Word have the highest say and authority in our life! :)
jiayou jiayou jiayou!

happy 18 seok and lips!

2008-10-31T10:34:00.005+08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! we love you!

calean is seventeen!

2008-10-27T00:50:00.002+08:00

HAPPY 17TH BIRTHDAY CALEAN!!!:D

AHA. my attempt to dig out some ancient pictures of my dear fellow CL. hehheh. hope you had a great birthday!:D we love you!

just some pics

2008-10-19T00:11:00.005+08:00

One of the holy grounds in school.(:

i think ill miss the friday prayer meets in time to come.

A group im bonded to for eternity.

our masterpiece during our first J2 CG.(: i pray that we'll be coloured with much vibrancy & joy in reality too.

Jesus rocks.(:

2008-10-14T23:38:00.003+08:00

Hello everyone! Scanned it just in case anyone wants to pass it as a soft copy to your friends! See you all during CG on Friday!
-Songkang

2008-10-14T19:56:00.003+08:00

Shepherd of my soul, I give You full control

Wherever You may lead I will follow

I have made the choice, to listen to Your voice

Wherever You may lead, I will go

Be it in a quiet pasture

Or by a gentle stream

The shepherd of my soul is by my side

Should I face a mighty mountain

Or a valley dark and deep

The shepherd of my soul will be my guide

Hey j2s :) no matter how sian and tiring studying is, JIAYOU!! hang in there :)

and just a random shout out to val shar songkang junyao. THANK YOU for being there at the 1st J1 cg :). though open house sapped away most of our energy, you guys still came, made the effort in planning stuff. im thankful and proud of you guys :) for those who werent there, you are missed!

please like be a mustard seed.. its starts small but will not remain small...

Sermon!

2008-09-21T13:11:00.012+08:00

for the benefit of those who weren't at service yesterday!

MORE THAN WORK

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,
since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.
It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

(Colossians 3:23-24)

Here, work can refer to work for adults in the working world. It can refer to study for children and teenagers who are schooling. It can refer to National Service for NSmen.

Before sin came in, God wanted work to be joyous and this is seen in Genesis 2:15
The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

After sin came in, work became "painful toil", work became a curse as seen rom Genesis 3:17-19. Adam is destined to toil, to have "sweat in his brow".

So, are we destined to treat work as drudgery? The Bible tells us that this is not true.
After Jesus came, he not only forgave us of sin, he also changed how we treat work.

Key Point 1: I must do my BEST in my study life (from verse 23)

Sometimes, there are students who pretend to study when in school, not putting in real effort, just letting the days pass by. But when it comes to their care group matters, they are very enthusiastic, and they put in their all in worship, in games, in ministering to others, and all other church-related activities. In Pastor's own words in the 1st sermon "上课一条虫caregroup 一条龙" And the situation is paralleled in some of the adult churchgoers as well. This is not good. To place a distinction between secular and spiritual activities and then neglect the secular, the Pastor offered an example. Someone who always gets into trouble in class, never hands in homework, aggravates the teacher with unironed untucked school uniform, and sleeps in class. During recess, he told you he's a pious Christian and asks if you will like to go visit his caregroup. Most people will have a bad impression of the person, and naturally the activity he is proposing. This is a big warning against people who place a distinction between secular and spiritual activities, and then neglecting the former.

The solution is to love God very much both in church and in school as well. Doing your best in school to honour God is good and spiritual. It is worth noting that the emphasis here is not to strive to be a president scholar or anything that may be supremely unrealistic, the emphasis rather lies in doing our best and putting our heart in our studies. In the first session's sermon, the Pastor offered a few personal pointers for those who are trying to ace their exams. (That means that most of us HCCG peeps will miss this part! Read carefully!)

1st tip: Don't try too hard to solve a question yourself.
He tries doing a question for 5 minutes, and if he still don't know he will ask someone. It is better than to do a question for 4 hours. Although you will feel a certain level of gratification, but time is precious! Be humble and seek advice (and inspiration) when you need to, this way, you can excel fast.

2nd tip: Choose the right people to study with.
It's bad to end up studying 30 minutes and then talking for 4 hours. (But he wryly notes that that always happens for him..and a lot of other people.. us??!) So choose the right company, preferably those who are good in a few subjects that you take as well. He notes that he has a friend great in engineering 2 seats away, a math pro 2 seats behind, and then the electronics guru just beside him.

(Dunno how much these tips will help, but hope it does.)

Some of us may not be convinced that there is a reason to do our best in school, noting that this kind of work is only temporary, and mundane, and only have little or no impact in the God's Kingdom.

Look at it again. When we do our best, we are able to be witnesses for Christ, and to be witnesses to him in secular things as well.
(Here is a good time to ponder upon the difference between secular and spiritual activities. Do you know that In its orignal Latin meaning, secular simply meant mundane?)

Refer to Acts 1:8. God did not tell us to "do witnessing". Instead, we are called "to be God's witnesses" when the Holy Spirit comes upon us. Generally, to do witnessing is to tell others how your life has gotten better, using your mouth as the primary way to communicate. But to be a witness is to be a testimony in both speech and action.

And is there some specific instructions from the Bible? From Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus told the apostles to "go and make disciples". Go was translated from ancient Greek, and in its original meaning did not refer to traveling. Many of our Y-HOPE pples may be considering OCIP projects etc. Rather, the go refer to "going about your life". So we are encouraged to actually impact lives by living our daily life. The bible puts it this way: "your daily life may win the respect of outsiders" 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

It is tough, but do not worry, because when the going is tough, the possibilities is great as well. The light is brightest when the surroundings is darkest.
Sometimes, you also cannot know who may be impacted by this, but there may be many others who do depend on your example. And even more so do when you do your best. So, strive to be "the light of the world". Matthew 5:14-16

Key Point 2: I must do my best because God is my biggest BOSS (from verse 24)

First, He is in charge. Second, He is the ultimate paymaster.

Sometimes, when we're on Earth, we think that we have a lot of privilege or a lot of material wealth. But earthly riches may be very little. Heavenly riches, meanwhile...(Our pastor espouses on heavenly riches by saying that it is to play the harp everyday. No la. And er, it is just a joke that there is BBQ in hell. Anyway back to topic..) ...heavenly riches, meanwhile, is to reign with God in heaven for all eternity.

Things on earth are temporal, existing for a fleeting moment. Yet it is on earth where we are given a test to see whether we can be trusted with true riches. The Bible has told us that if we are unable to be trusted with little, we cannot be trusted with very much either.But when we can be trusted with little, we can also be trusted with much. (Luke 16:10-12) And one of the tests that we encounter are the promos and prelims and A levels.

For us students who are reading this, let us end the sermon with a confession onto God for our attitude towards studies. Sometimes, our attitude towards it may be, to put it bluntly, appalling. And I do hope that the blog post has been helpful for all those who may be facing your exams soon.

Feel free to comment in the CBOX/tagboard.

sermon!

2008-09-14T11:16:00.002+08:00

for the benefit of those who werent at service yesterday!

Handling Tests in Life

- [Job 5:7] Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upwards.

- As sparks will ALWAYS fly upwards, this verse tells us that there will ALWAYS be problems

in our lives. a sad but unavoidable truth isnt it?):

- But instead of avoiding them, we need to have a right understanding of why problems exist!

- Yes, we go through tests such as exams since we're students right now. but the truth is, no

matter at which life station & at what age, we'll always be students of life!

[James 1:2-6]

2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

1. Refocus on the goal (v2-4)

- v2 says "consider it pure joy.. whenever you face trials of many kinds"

- is the Bible being sadistic right here? like asking us to rejoice when im sick, to celebrate when

we have lots of hw! NOT THIS WAY!

- we need to understand that the goal of the test is not just to pass the test but to build our

character

- If you get all all As yet its because you cheated, even if you have passed in the eyes of MOE or

the world, you've failed big time in God's eyes

- why did God put so many problems in our lives? so that we wont become like spoilt brats!

- without tests, there will be no promotion cos we wouldnt have any idea if we've passed the

module

- for instance, how can we tell if we've grown in patience? we gotta face impatient situations then

from there can we see our response & tell our growth

- think about how athletes can train, put in so much energy, restrict their diet & all.. i dont think

they enjoy all these activities by itself. it's prob very dreadful & painful. but why do they still

do it? because they have an end goal in mind!

- the hard work thus becomes purposeful!

- [1 Cor 9:26] Therefore i do not run like a man running aimlessly; i do not fight like a man

beating the air.

- thats what we're doing if we dont have an end goal in mind. we're probably just wasting our

energy, investing in nothing at all

- rmb why we're studying! dont just study for the sake of studying! or to follow the crowd to get

perfect score or what. but its truly for God! not grades, but my life, for Jesus, for all to

see!

- also rmb why we're going through problems! its so that we can grow in our character, to be

more & more like Jesus, & thus ready to meet Him at the end of our lives!

2. Request for God's wisdom (v5-6)

- v5 says that "if anyone of you lacks wisdom".. he should PANIC? he should burn his textbooks

& drink them down? NO! the Bible says that "if anyone of you lacks wisdom, he should ASK

GOD!"

- sometimes we may feel unworthy to ask God for wisdom because we know that it's our fault..

it's our fault that we din work hard enough..

- but know the GOD you're serving! our God is a God of second chances, a God who is generous

& non-judgemental!

- why do people get stressed?

- because we feel that we lose control!

- even if we've studied everything, theres still many things you dont know about!

- we gotta let God do the rest!

- [Proverbs 4:7] Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get

understanding.

- we cant just study hard, we gotta study smart!

- when we serve God during exams period.. forsaking studying time to go for service, CGs & all..

in the eyes of the world, we lose out! we lost out big time!

- but as children of God, we gotta be secure & know that our God can help us!:D:D:D

- [Colossians 2:2-3] 2My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so

that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the

mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom

and knowledge.

- Christ is the SOURCE of knowledge & wisdom!

- need wisdom? dont just go to your textbooks, your tutors.. first GO to the wisest person & that

is God!

- know that He is always always in control.(:

- [Philippians 4:13] i can do everything through him who gives me strength.

- [Colossians 1:29] To this end i labour, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully

works in me.

- with Christ, we can STRUGGLE POWERFULLY!

jiayous everyone with prelims & promos!:D face them with God!

2008-09-01T22:06:00.003+08:00

hey people we had our Chao Mug In library Mugger's Meeting [CMI MM] this morning!

ahahaha. i set the time at 8am. then i was racing against the clock to reach school on time and i was super scared that i would be late and you guys would scold me! i reached at 8.15am and saw

NO ONE

hahahahaha!!!
wow God arranges everything perfectly. i really hoped that i would be the first to reach so that can set good example of punctuality and i was! (kinda)
so then, order of arrivals:

xiaoyang
linghuan
calean
liping+yiming
ying han
zhi qin

-clap clap clap claps-

ahh i feel damn bad! i wanted to self isolate because i am very distracting + i get distracted super easily. but then.. fellowship prevailed xP

i really enjoyed lunch though! breath of fresh air and great talk
with the topics going from gangsters to birds to snakes to bees to... UHM...
well bottom line it was entertaining!

hey i DID manage to get some work done okay. 3-4 chapters of physics + a bit of chem!
we camwhored lousily in the library too!

taken using linghuan's imba zhai webcam
everyone looks clear and happy! =P

haha metamorphosis tmr! i hope to see many of you there k?

kenny
i love this family of God!

my family of God.

2008-08-28T22:45:00.007+08:00

hey people, today we made a pinky swear as a commitment to build this family of God together.

Do yall rmb how yall played "gou gou shou" with your friends when you're young? Now we've prayed with our pinkies crossed, it means a promise is made yeah. I found out from the net that in the olden times, the pinky swear was so significant that the person who breaks the promise must cut off their pinky finger. aiyo. we're not so cruel but this promise we've made, cannot be broken kayys! & no "I take it back" or whatever too!

Dear God, i just want to pray for this family that you've placed me in. Although the family atmosphere is not as strong at present, i pray that with time & our devotion, this family will grow to be even more united & close-knitted. I pray that because you're in the center of all our relationships, the friendships & the bonds we form would be strong & biblical.(:

that more than eating together,

& having fun together,

we'll be each other's support in this eternal race! that no longer do we have to run this spiritual marathon on our own but we'll be able to run with much joy because of these friends you've placed in our lives. When the race gets tough, we'll cheer each other on & pull each other along. & when the scenery turns beautiful & an obstacle has just been overcome, we've got each other to enjoy the success together & celebrate with. we'll run TOGETHER with all our might till we see Jesus face to face.(: let's not underestimate how much God can work in a community that is united & truly wants to follow him! brick by brick, soul by soul, let's build this family together.(:

anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to CAMILIA!!!:D you're eighteen & you're dearly LOVED by HCCG & GOD!:D

with love,
asha
280808

2008-08-25T13:39:00.002+08:00

hey people!

i found the video "Dao Gao" on youtube with full chinese subtitles!
the lyrics are really touching (i can understand with my ridiculous chinese standard so you shouldn't have a problem :))

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

not sure how to embed =P
GP's tomorrow!

oh right i'm buying a praise/worship CD this saturday at hope resource!
fenghui's going to be on duty so she can give a 15% discount
good chance to grab some stuff (:
ah cant wait for CG and service again!!!!!!

p.s. this is the last week of august so let's pour on the oil k?

love,
kenny

i love my caregroup(:

2008-08-14T23:07:00.002+08:00

hello humans!(:

AHA. so random, but i just felt like posting something! i really enjoyed CG today! AHA. it wasnt exceptionally special, not really big since quite alot of ppl not there, just like any other caregroups we've had.. but somehow, i was able to experience joy & love. its so qiguai to say this, but actually ive been struggling for some time to come for CG cos sometimes CG really do take quite abit of energy out of me. so yeah, i admit that sometimes i go for CG & serve out of a grudging spirit, merely out of responsibility.. but God did sometime amazing in my heart today & He allowed me to truly enjoy each of your presence as brothers & sisters!(: so today, i wanna tell yall that i really wanna treat each of yall not just as a caregroup member, not just as my sheep or people i have to take care of, but FRIENDS! friends for eternity, friends who will run this race with me, friends whom i can share my life with, friends who i will treasure.(:

shall shunbian affirm some ppl here today! AHA. junyao for his maiden attempt at chairing caregroup. OOPS, both of us din really prepare well. but its cool to see you being so crazy, singing songs like nobody's business, & being so AA just to get attention. AHA. shall make you chair more next time, then your butt wont stick to the floor so much anymore! next, i wanna affirm songkang, its his first CG role, & he led games with val & zhiqin.(: wah. turning ten rounds can really make one feel giddy mannzz. AHA. games was enjoyable!(: last but not least, kennyboy! AHA. he's so funny. he couldnt fall asleep the previous night before CG because he's so nervous that he's leading holy com for the first time! anyway, you led holy com well!(: simple but thoughtful. for those i din mention, yall are deeply remembered too! AHA.:D

even as we work towards CG08, lets aim to make this caregroup a FAMILY too.(: AH. dont have much time left in HC, but what i have, ill give to my best! i pray that God will really knit our hearts together, to be close-knitted yet always outward-looking to save those who are still lost too. let's jiayous tgt!

with love,
asha
140808

CG photos

2008-08-07T22:15:00.004+08:00

WOOHOO! just some pictures from today's CG!
writing affirmation/encouragement for each other!

AHA. the heart looks like our wings. & aiya. thats junyao in his sleeping buddha pose.

it's one day b4 national day tmr! & the opening of Olympics 2008! & of course, not forgetting, JC anniversary (Happy 1 year old)! so yay! let's be excited for it!:D

2008-07-30T21:40:00.001+08:00

The Real Me - The song sung at last service

Picture done, still dunno how to make card

2008-07-17T00:02:00.002+08:00

Picture finally completed. Shadows is so hard to make manually shucks, with a mouse somemore!
But here it is! Wonderfully coloured, and if your dun like the hair colour or anything u can just ask me to change la! Write on the tag box say what colour u think u rather it has bahh e.g shirt colour, hair colour, headphone colour.. thanks!

But still im no where near making a card lehh... oh no 怎么办？
><

TO MEET SUCH A MAN

2008-07-11T23:54:00.002+08:00

TO MEET SUCH A MAN

I sat, with two friends, in the picture window of a quaint restaurant just off the corner of the town-square. The food and the company were both especially good that day.

As we talked, my attention was drawn outside, across the street. There, walking into town, was a man who appeared to be carrying all his worldly goods on his back. He was carrying, a well-worn sign that read, 'I willwork for food.' My heart sank.

I brought him to the attention of my friends and noticed that others around us had stopped eating to focus on him. Heads moved in a mixture of sadness and disbelief.

We continued with our meal, but his image lingered in my mind. We finished our meal and went our separate ways. I had errands to do and quickly set out to accomplish them. I glanced toward the town square, looking somewhat halfheartedly for the strange visitor. I was fearful,knowing that seeing him again would call some response. I drove through town and saw nothing of him I made some purchase s at a store and got back in my car.

Deep within me, the Spirit of God kept speaking to me: 'Don't go back to the office until you've at least driven once more around the square.'

Then with some hesitancy, I headed back into town. As I turned the square's third corner, I saw him. He was standing on the steps of the store front church, going through his sack.

I stopped and looked; feeling both compelled to speak to him, yet wanting to drive on. The empty parking space on the corner seemed to be a sign from God: an invitation to park. I pulled in, got out and approached the town's newest visitor.

'Looking for the pastor?' I asked.

'Not really,' he replied, 'just resting.'

'Have you eaten today?'

'Oh, I ate something early this morning.'

'Would you like to have lunch with me?'

'Do you have some work I could do for you?'

'No work,' I replied. 'I commute here to work from the city, but I would like to take you to lunch.'

'Sure,' he replied with a smile.

As he began to gather his things, I asked some surface questions. Where you headed?'

' St. Louis '

'Where you from?'

'Oh, all over; mostly Florida '

'How long you been walking?'

'Fourteen years,' came the reply.

I knew I had met someone unusual. We sat across from each other in the same restaurant I had left earlier His face was weathered slightly beyond his 38 years. His eyes were dark yet clear, and he spoke with an eloquence and articulatio n that was startling. He removed his jacket to reveal a bright red T-shirt that said, 'Jesus is The Never Ending Story.'

Then Daniel's story began to unfold. He had seen rough times early in life. He'd made some wrong choices and reaped the consequences.

Fourteen years earlier, while backpacking across the country, he had stopped on the beach in Daytona. He tried to hire on with some men who were putting up a large tent and some equipment. A concert, he thought.

He was hired, but the tent would not house a concert but revival services, and in those services he saw life more clearly He gave his life over to God.

'Nothing's been the same since,' he said, 'I felt the Lord tel ling me to keep walking, and so I did, some 14 years now.'

'Ever think of stopping?' I asked.

'Oh, once in a while, when it seems to get the best of me But God has given me this calling I give out Bibles That's what's in my sack. I work to buy food and Bibles, and I give them out when His Spirit leads.'

I sat amazed. My homeless friend was not homeless. He was on a mission and lived this way by choice. The question burned inside for a moment and then I asked: 'What's it like?'

'What? '

'To walk into a town carrying all your things on your back and to show your sign?'

'Oh, it was humiliating at first. People would stare and make comments. Once someone tossed a piece of half-eaten bread and made a gesture that certainly didn't make me feel welcome. But then it became humbling to realize that God was using me to touch lives and change people's concepts of other folks like me.'

My concept was changing, too. We finished our dessert and gathered his things. Just outside the door, he paused. He turned to me and said, 'Come Ye blessed of my Father and inherit the kingdom I've prepared for you. For when I was hungry you gave me food, when I was thirsty you gaveme drink, a strang er and you took me in.'

I felt as if we were on holy ground. 'Could you use another Bible?' I asked.

He said he preferred a certain translation. It traveled well and was not too heavy. It was also his personal favorite. 'I've read through it 14 times,' he said.

'I'm not sure we've got one of those, but let's stop by our church and see' I was able to find my new friend a Bible that would do well, and he seemed very grateful.

'Where are you headed from here?' I asked.

'Well, I found this little map on the back of this amusement park coupon.'

'Are you hoping to hire on there for awhile?'

'No, I just figure I should go there. I figure someone under that star right there needs a Bible, so that's where I'm going next.'

He smiled, and the warmth of his spirit radiated the sincerity of his mission. I drove him back to the town-square where we'd met two hours earlier, and as we drove, it started raining. We parked and unloaded his things.

'Would you sign my autograph book?' he asked. 'I like to keep messages from folks I meet.'

I wrote in his little book that his commitment to his calling had touched my life. I encouraged him to stay strong. And I left him with a ver- se of scripture from Jeremiah, 'I know the plans I have for you, declared the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you; Plans togive you a future and a hope.'

'Thanks, man,' he said. 'I know we just met and we're really just strangers, but I love you.'

'I know,' I said, 'I love you, too.' 'The Lord is good!'

'Yes, He is. How long has it been since someone hugged you?' I asked.

'A long time,' he replied.

And so on the busy street corner in the drizzling rain, my new friend and I embraced, and I felt deep inside that I had been changed. He put his things on his back, smiled his winning smile and said, 'See you in the New Jerusalem.'

'I'll be there!' was my reply.

He began his journey again. He headed away with his sign dangling from his bedroll and pack of Bibles. He stopped, turned and said, 'When you see something that makes you think of me, will you pray for me?'

'You bet,' I shouted back, 'God bless.'

'God bless.' And that was the last I saw of him.

Late that evening as I left my office, the wind blew strong. The cold front had settled hard upon the town. I bundled up and hurried to my car. As I sat back and reached for the emergency brake, I saw them... a pair of well-worn brown work gloves neatly laid over the length of the handle. I picked them up and thought of my friend and wondered if his hands would stay warm that night without them.

Then I remembered his words: 'If you see something that makes you think of me, will you pray for me?'

Today his gloves lie on my desk in my office. They help me to see the world and its people in a new way, and they help me remember those two hours with my unique friend and to pray for his ministry. 'See you in the New Jerusalem,' he said. Yes, Daniel, I know I will...

games&fellowship CG!:D

2008-07-04T22:30:00.010+08:00

YAY! thank God that blocks are over! here are some pics from our purely games&fellowship caregroup!(:

team 1! who wasted like 3 bananas cos it keep dropping off when they peeled the skin away!:P

team 2! guess what, they were trying to pose like bananas.:S

martial arts pose! AHA. we look so baichi!:P

YAY! we're cute!

scary photo mannz! i really got a shock when i first took a look at the pic leh! AHA.

and now, take a look at our attempt to capture a jump shot.. with xiang as our photographer!

HMM. still on the ground..

ready to spring..

UP IN THE AIR!:D

last but not least, linghuan & kennyboy competing to see who can jump higher!:P

there were considerably quite few ppl that day but i hope everybody enjoyed the simple fellowship! & FA XIE-ing after blocks! it was great that yuyu & linghuan could join us too!:D too bad that we din have anyone to help us capture the exciting waterbombs game! oh wells, im sure its well captured in all of your memories! thank God for jasmine, yinghan & kenny who really put in effort to plan this CG well too! even though i poke them here & there & coordinated the planning, it really was them who came up with the creative ideas! AHA.(:

wanna take this chance to affirm all those who went evaxing this week as well! i can really see that you're are more courageous now in approaching ppl & certain of how to evax! but that is not enough kayys, not just getting their contact numbers, our goal is to befriend them, invite them & eventually seeing them accept Jesus into their lives! jiayousjiayousjiayous!

2008-07-04T21:14:00.007+08:00

ready to GO!

2008-06-07T22:01:00.010+08:00

with the commencement of the restructuring in JC Central, HCCG is proud to be able to send the following mighty men & women of God out to other schools to extend the kingdom of God!:D

kelly, tianruo, weelic, yiyuan, yuhui & eileen! these people are specially handpicked & they are going to be pioneers in the land of NJC, RJC & CJC. it is going to be an adventure, a great opportunity to grow & a chance to get a taste of what church planting is all about! to the pioneers: jiayous alright! im very excited for yall! bring what yall have learnt from HCCG & impart it to whereever you go! DO US & JESUS PROUD!(:

& to the rest of HCCG! we've changed our name to JCCA1 to JCCA4! AHA. okay, thats not the point.O.o but now with the 6 ppl gone, we're considerably smaller. but our spirit must not be weak okay! YES. i really believe in REN XIAO ZHI QI DA! we're only 12 ppl strong now, may that give us the urgency to outreach, the holy discontentment to see more christians serving God in HC & the desire to grow even more!

[Mark 4:30-32]

Again he said, "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade."

HC for JESUS! HC for JESUS! HC for JESUS! *come on, chant with me* AHA. im zi-highing! calean, sharlene, valerie, louisa, melody, seok, wanchien, jasmine, junyao, yinghan, kenny, let's do this together alright? each of yall count!(:

and WOOHOO! its 37 more hours to camp! arent you excited!! here is the packing list:

CLOTHES/SHOES

2 district colour shirt (for games) JC district is wearing orange!
2-3 sets of clothes (up to your own discretion) (yall will get the unit shirt on monday! then include 1 HC PE shirt kayys!(:)
undergarments (pls rmb to bring!:P)
slippers
sports shoes
jacket

TOILETRIES

towel
toothbrush & toothpaste
shampoo & soap
comb
spectacles/contact lens & solution

OTHERS

Bible! (well, of course, it's a church camp! YAY! time to munch on the WOG!)
writing materials
handphone & charger
basic/own medication (if any)
camera (if you want)
cash
umbrella (AHA. if you want la. LOl.)
sleeping bag (i think we can just all squeeze in the beds la!)
pls intentionally leave out your HW & notes (i know alot of ppl are worried about our blocks, me too! but try as much as we can to consecrate these 4 days to God & our brothers & sisters in Christ alright? you have my commitment in this!)

YEP! & even as you pack for camp, you can forget to bring your undergarments, or leave out your shirts & shorts, but you mustmustmust PREPARE YOUR HEARTS okay! God is ready to move, but the question is, are we ready to listen? so let's go to camp with open & humble hearts ready to RECEIVE! & i know that God is going to touch each & everyone of us so so much! YIPEE!:D

see yall on monday at 11am at pasir ris mrt station!(:with love,

asha

read for a good laugh!

2008-06-07T09:21:00.006+08:00

HAHAH today we were at golden rooster, then for some reason we were talking about calling peoples' homes or something. so Kelly said, "even when the person who calls is polite, my mum will scold her if she doesn't jiao4 auntie, for example "hello qing3 wen4 Kelly zai4 ma1?" then my mum will say "mei2 you3 jiao4 auntie?"

and weelic cleverly inserts, much to our laughter and amusement, "so next time i call i must say qing3 wen4 Kelly auntie zai4 ma1?"?"

Basketball Hype!

2008-06-04T11:08:00.007+08:00

On May 22 Thursday, hwachong basketballers made history by having double wins on the same day! Both Boys Finals against giants AJC and Girls Finals against behemoth RJC! Sounds like Man U and the double wins of Champions League and EPL just the day before..

Ok so, a lot of J2s went down to support, bring their books along to calculate all those physics and how the balls' trajectories fits like a parabola and wadever wadever..okay lah, exaggeration!

Go on down to the official hwachong photographic society to see more photos!

But of course this post is not on just this, it is about the enthusiasm that spread over to our care group heheh! And we made history too! first time playing bball for CG! hence the sepia photo!!

So we played Bball b4 during our CG meet yea, and i think i did some bball tricks! Haha, but only once! Must thank all the bballers' inspiration ~

Here we're looking upwards for inspiration!! at the volleyball court somemore, when we're playing bball n not volleyball!

First junyao tried kicking the ball! the man utd win must have left him a great shock so..cant help kicking something =*(

Hey dont kick! we tell him! so he learnt a perfect bball posse

(or maybe it's the camera angle hehe) and shooott!

JY act "seh" =p

Then we had a match!

"BBall is shotputt! ~Kelly"

Our MVP will rather be "Man of the Match" any day, but heyhey i think yiyuan played really well!! lol, biased towards my shepherd XD he can chase the ball, spin the ball (by accident) and he also borrowed the ball and returned the ball to the council!! yay! that's the MVP attitude!

"Air Jordan!! Watch him flyy!"

So focussed are they, they dunno someone's taking pictures of them i.e. Sharlene!

And she's really good at taking photos de! Just i have to crop it a bit only here and there! and maybe photoshop change levels, histogram! u know, i do that for my own photos also haha!

And then everyone rested for a very long time.

Here's some unglam pics!

(i really dunno what Tianruo wanted to tell Sharlene haha!)

And we invited a friend to help us take the group pictures! Thank u !!

And that's abt it for our bball adventure! =)

unit outing pics!

2008-05-25T16:10:00.021+08:00

this is quite late, but never too late yeah!(: we had unit outing at ULU (but not so ulu afterall) labrador park on first may, labour day! before the mad rush trying to catch the bus that comes only half an hour, we had a spiritual birthday clebration for kenny (plus melo, but she wasnt there):) & real birthday celeb for weelic!:D

their first task is to ask a stranger to feed them with a milk bottle! they had a tough time finding willing strangers.. kena rejected quite alot of times. but in the end they finished their task!(:

kenny with maverick. some hwachong oac junior. AHA.

weelic looks so serious drinking from that milk bottle la!

their next task is to drink some weird concoctions. which i forgot got what. OOPS.

weelic with ares shirt wrapped around his head.:P

kennykennykennykenny was stomping his feet like a kid & whining that the drink was disgusting! AIYO.:P

our CG guys being kids once again. AHA. actually its quite funny looking at them playing like boyboys. LOl.

the guys! missing yinghan & yiyuan who's preparing for the next segment!

woohoo! the girls!:D

cool jumpshot in the water! & irritating junyao made us jump so many times cos of his lousy photography skills. HMPF. AHA jk yeah.

i thought this was a fabulous idea!(: the two small tarts as their birthday cakes floating towards them..

i think this picture is very funny! weelic & kenny look like they're really on some island like that.. even got coconut trees in the background!

kenny & weelic!

then i just casually asked the sheeps (kenny&weelic) to hug their shepherds (yinghan&yiyuan) for preparing such a wonderful bday celebration. but guess what? they really did it la! AHA. that scene was so sweet.(:

yiyuan&his mehmeh, weelic!

AHA. & another shep/sheep combi! a big heart from yinghan & kenny!

LOl. kenny took this! the butt refers to a cigarette butt btw!

YAY! a happy CG family!:Dive got wings, i can fly!

titanic? AHA. look at the expression on kelly's face!

the silhouette of me, tianruo, calean & kelly. such an artistic pic right!

YAY! then after that we had a fun time with the rest of JCCentral playing at labrador park!(: a pat on everyone's shoulders for coming though many of yall were worried about econs timed assignment. im sure it was worth it!(: i love my CG!

2008-05-05T21:36:00.001+08:00

Hey! I read this from a book I'm currently reading. Don't know if you all have read before but thought I would just share. It's a bit long, but do read! It's by Mike Bickle.

"Some friends of mine remained childless after twenty-three years of marriage, much prayer, two major surgeries to correct infertility, endless rounds of testing and treatment, and the expenditure of thousands of dollars. Refusing to be spiritually barren as well, the couple had decided long ago to invest their lives in the kingdom of God by ministering to others. The wife earned a doctorate so she could serve God more effectively in her calling. The husband, a successful businessman, became salt and light through the political offices he held in the metroplex where they lived.

Then God surprised them. A courageous young woman cancelled the abortion she had scheduled for the nest day, carried her baby full term, and gave it up for adoption at birth, with the stipulation that the infant be placed in the home of a Christian couple who would rear the child for God. You guessed it. Through a series of divine coincidences and interventions, my friends, who hadn't even had their names on an adoption list because they were considered over the age limit to adopt, were blessed with a beautiful little boy just a few days old.

The elated couple understood that completing all the legal paperwork that established the baby's status as a member of their family was only a beginning. The greatest task lay ahead - that of establishing a deep, secure relationship of love between their adopted baby and themselves. They knew they would love their little son devotedly whether or not he ever returned their love, but they set out to win the child's love by demonstrating their love and affection for him.

Bathed in an atmosphere of love and stability, along with many hugs and kisses, their son became a picture of contentment and security.

Time passed, and one afternoon as the couple drove up in front of their home, their little boy exclaimed, "My house!" It was indeed. Everything that hard-working father and mother owned had been willed to him from the moment he had become a member of their family. All they had was his.

Then the day came when the couple's little son began to return their affection. His father kissed him on the cheek and whispered, "I love you," just as he had done a thousand times before. The little boy looked up, smiled, and said for the first time, "I love you, too!" The father's heart melted. He told this story to everyone whether they were interested in hearing or not.

Whe he felt was just a small expression of what our heavenly Father feels when His children begin passing beyond the stage of self-centered receiving and start returning love back to Him.

We will never exhaust the fullness of the depth of love that God has demonstrated for us by making us His sons and daughters in His own house. As J.I. Packer writes in his book Knowing God, "The New Testament gives us two yardsticks for measuring God's love. The first in the cross (1 John 3:1); the second is the gift of sonship (1 John 3:1). Of all the gifts of grace, adoption is the highest."

God the Father adopted you and me as His children, gave Himself to us as our loving Father, and made us fellow heirs with Jesus because He chose to, not because He had to. "

:)

God loves us very very much!(:

2008-05-02T20:52:00.005+08:00

before i got the time to upload all the photos from unit outings, just wanna share these two songs with all of you. it reminded me of God's love, may it touch you as well.(:

In Your hands

I’m so secure
You’re here with me
You stay the same
Your love remains
Here in my heart

So close, I believe
You’re holding me now
In Your hands, I belong
You’ll never let my go

You gave Your life
In Your endless love
You set me free
And show the way
And now I am found

All along
You were beside me
Even when I couldn’t tell
Through the years
You show me more of You
More of You

So you would come

Before the world began

You were on His mind

And every tear you cry

Is precious in His eyes

Because of His great love

He gave His only Son

Everything was done

So you would come

Nothing you can do

Could make Him love you more

And nothing that you've done

Could make Him close the door

Because of His great love

He gave His only Son

Everything was done

So you would come

Come to the Father

Though your gift is small

Broken hearts, broken lives

He will take them all

The power of the Word

The power of His blood

Everything was done

So you would come

2008-04-27T00:18:00.002+08:00

2 random videos starring the shadows of junyao, val, the railing and the guitar! okay just sth we did aft our previous caregroup. quite cool eh! :)

anw i think service was really great today! very ministering... but its a pity tt all the huang cheng, choir ppl, louisa,melo werent there:(. u all were missed kays. todays sermon is simple: GOD is Love and patient!

I think the quote at the end is really meaningful:)

'What we are is God's gift to us, but what we become is our gift to God'

we only have our lives to offer to God cos everything else that we have is provided by Him. and even when all things go wrong, we wld always have Jesus to be thankful to God for :)

okay i dun know what else to blog about except jiayou everybudddyyyy for the week ahead and for sun which is likely to be the mug day for everyone><>

love, calean!

HCCG on 17 Apr and Kelly's belated b'day

2008-04-20T10:32:00.012+08:00

Yay on 17 Apr, i got to tote a D40 around to take photos! but wonder if my camera can make it.. anyways..this post didnt come about very easily..hahx! i wanted to post on thursday but i did'nt have a card reader to transfer photos from the camera to the com. When I did, i struggled to rmb the password, and also tried the various permutations of chee_liping, cheeli_ping, liping_chee, li_ping_chee becoz i dun have an inkling of what asha's email exactly is :s Finally i just sms-ed asha, n yay, Thanks!

And by the way the blog does'nt do justice to the photo's quality as i compressed them a lot and if u want any original photos just msn me! (i compress from 1 megabyte per photo to 30 kb..)

Cheers,

Weelic

17 April - HCCG
Today my shepherd yiyuan appears really tired out from his schoolwork and soccer...

And we quickly woke him up by playing the 1234567 game and making him do forfeit!

Yiyuan finding consolation from Shepherd Raphael.

"I'm hot and need to cool down with the fire extinguisher" ~Yi Yuan,

and he went on to kiss it!

Liping looking on

Kenny confused over another new game,

courtesy of our gamemasters eileen and sharlene!

Jumping game!

After the CG, we planned a surprise for Kelly!

Preparing a nice cake..

Yuhui the pastry master hard at work! and yiyuan too!

Meanwhile the candle team, comprising of everyone else, tried their utmost to keep candles alight from the buffeting wind...

Happy b'day kelly! and we sang b'day song while she she was led to the bridge!

Whoo! ^^

Xiangyu and Kelly

Tianruo and Kelly

And we end off with a special soccer performance from Junyao, and he really looks convincing as a soccer pro in this one, Serious!

well, kelly's 十连拍 is here, and i know u read all the way to see this right?! Ahaha, here it is! And ehh, can someone make it into a collage or somehow slideshow it ? that'll be nice!

:D

2008-04-08T20:26:00.002+08:00

YAY! quan jia fu!:D

BBQ at eileen's house! im sorry if it's kinda small.:P

calean's baptism!

unit grads farewell

2008-04-04T23:13:00.011+08:00

WOOHOO! give myself a pat on my back for uploading pictures from unit grads farewell! which brings great revival to this blog! lalala.:D

happy girls!xD

kelly & ACB!

AHA. ryan's face so funny!

dont show off to me!

NANYANG WARRIORS! fight ah fight ah!

trying to act as TOOT nanyang girls. which failed!

kelly & songjun! AHA. kelly's taller!:P

piggyback! AHA. i rmb seok was super scared!

this is supposed to be THE EYE 3! until eileen pops in & spoilt our scary picture!:P

3 sun wu kongs? with erms. one extra yiyuan!

5 little pigs went out one day.. fat ones skinny ones.. dumdeedum.

i <3>

alrights! stay tuned for photos from BBQ at eileen's house!(: i love this family of God!:D

with love,

asha(:

2008-03-26T23:46:00.003+08:00

yo...
no one blog, so i shall share a song. u gotta pause the songs playing at the side.

C.S. Lewis Song by Brooke Fraser

If I find in myself
desires nothing in this world can satisfy,
I can only conclude
that I, I was not made for here
If the flesh that I fight is at best
only light and momentary,
then of course I’ll feel nude
when to where I’m destined I’m compared

Speak to me in the light of the dawn
Mercy comes with the morning
I will sigh and with all creation groan
as I wait for hope to come for me

Am I lost or just less found?
On the straight or on the roundabout
of the wrong way?
Is this a soul that stirs in me
is it breaking free, wanting to come alive?
‘Cos my comfort would prefer for me to be numb
And avoid the impending birth
of who I was born to become

Speak to me in the light of the dawn
Mercy comes with the morning
I will sigh and with all creation groan
as I wait for hope to come for me

For we, we are not long here
Our time is but a breath,
so we better breathe it
And I, I was made to live
I was made to love
I was made to know you
Hope is coming for me
Hope, He’s coming for me
Hope is coming for me
Hope, He’s coming

Speak to me in the light of the dawn
Mercy comes with the morning
I will sigh and with all creation groan
as I wait for hope to come for me
For me, for me, for me

HAPPENING HAPPENINGS IN THIS COMING WEEK!:D

2008-03-23T22:17:00.002+08:00

1. secret meeting
EH. i want to hold this meeting on wed! but know some of yall have cca.. like choir & co & oac(? BOO! i dont know) but it wont be long so maybe can in the morning or smth. will appreciate if yall tell me whether yr wed is available!(:

2. CAREGROUP
thurs 3pm (EH. i cant rmb. does anyone end sch later than this?)
here are the roles:
chairing - yiyuan & yinghan (the cool Y&Y combi, hope yall can create fireworks, like the old R&R:P)
praise - kelly & me!
games - samuel, tianruo, calean
memory verse & holy com - seok (sheep! i know you've been waiting for this for very long!)
teaching - HMM. secret. those in charge will be specially informed by me!(:
HAHA. okay! pls dont hesitate to poke me to get a better understanding of what your role entails!

3. post-easter service! & unit meeting!
some of our visitors yday are coming back again, so pray that God will touch them once again! there's JCcentral unit meeting after service too!(:

4. CG BBQ
YAY! eileen has kindly opened up her place for us!(: we can play frisbee/watch dvd/nua/make friends with her hyper family then have bbq in the late afternoon/evening! its basically a time to relax & have fun! we can make it a matthew party & a chance to connect our new brothers&sisters in Christ to our family too! yep. so we'll go shop for BBQ food on sat!:D

2008-03-22T21:00:00.002+08:00

Hellohello! yay its my first time blogging here! and i wanna say that i really enjoyed caregroup ytd! i hope everyone did too! so many many thanks to every single one of you all who made caregroup as enjoyable as it is! :D and esp for the ppl behind chairing, games, worship, holycomm, bday celebs, teaching. :) Thank God for your hardwork!

and adding on to the xie ci below i wanna thank LIPING! our dearest CL! for faithfully giving her very best to this caregroup even down to the smallest ways. and its definitely not easy to handle this group with ppl of all sorts, from the quiet to the mega loud. im sure behind everything she does is her really big and sincere heart that loves God and people (like US :D). hohoho. so THANK YOU LIPING! for all your efforts and msges of encouragement and love :D

heys! easter service was todayyyyyyy. lets all welcome MELODY to the family! yay really hope to be able to see her in cg soon! and just a shoutout evryone in the caregroup! Im really very glad to be serving God with you guys! :D lets put aside whatever disappointments or regrets we may have in this easter and keep the burden and faith to see God continue to move in Hwa Chong!

just yesterday my Dad asked me about caregroup. He was like "WOW having almost 20 ppl in the same cg from the same sch is a powerful influence!" and tt i AGREE(:

even if what we are able to do seems small, lets not forget that our BIG BIG GOD is able to do many things thru us! Dun underestimate God yah! :)

/

Jiayou J2s! for those who have yet (but going to) ended blocks! keeping you all in prayer.

yay GOD IS GOOD!

-calean

thankyou for making HCCG home!

2008-03-21T22:48:00.002+08:00

HEY HCCG!:D i just gotta share my joy here! thankyou everyone for making CG today so GREAT! even though it was like the longest CG ever, like 6 HOURS CG, but im sure time passed by so fast cos we had each other's company! & i felt that homey & family feeling.. it made me warm & happy inside!:D wanna affirm all the effort yall put in to work on this caregroup, especially after our secret meeting. & i really can see obvious improvements, like how yall make effort to improve the atmosphere & everything.(:

YAY! okay, i shall copy oac blog & post some shoutouts here!
seok my sheep sheep!(: thankyou for being so dependable & someone i can entrust responsibilities to! wanna affirm you for the good job you're doing as a shepherd, i can see that your 2 sheeps are really growing under your care.(: & thanks for always being accountable & a friend i can easily talk to & share comfortable silences with.(:

wanchien hey girl, hope you felt loved by yr BDAY celebration by the CG.(: & as ive written in yr BD card, what you do matters! waiting for more jokes from you to entertain the CG! (hope nobody kills me for saying this!:P)

yuhui sheep! YAY you're growing healthily in Christ! & im really encouraged by yr response to be a shepherd.(: & thankyou for listening to my teachings & for the time tgt during shepherdings!

camilia sheep! im really glad you came to CG today! though its for games only. hopefully you'll be able to join us for CGs more often!(:

kelly spiritual buddy! thankyou for being such a support & for those times when we agonize/worry/think abt the CG tgt! hope we can continue to complement each other in this ministry & i treasure your company in this race alot! & thankyou for your house & your hospitality today!

tianruo a faithful servant of God!(: though you're not super loud or anything, your quiet presence & random blurness is a support by itself. i never have to worry about you cos i know tianruo will surely be there!(:

eileen thanks for planning the post-blocks activities without me having to poke you. & for being the person i know i can find when i need someone to plan mega games during CG! HAHA.

jasmine YO classmate! the one who goes kino every single week! continue growing in Christ alrights! & hopefully we can shine even brighter in a13!:D

shaun hey brother, know you're facing some rough patch lately, just wanna remind you that the CG is here to help okay! & really praying for you that God will bring you back on track once again!(: jiayous.

junyao thankyou for being a faithful guitarist! & for starting to open up to the CG more.(: & for standing so strong & firm even when you face persecutions at home. im always amazed when i see you on sat cos i thought you'll be stuck at home or smth. yet you always tried & made an effort down to come & meet God. a pat on yr back for that!(:

yinghan DAOYAN!(: huangcheng's over & its a great job well done! you know, today when you were sharing during holy com, i was smiling to myself leh! cos its really amazing how God has changed & impacted you. like from seeing you as a normal classmate to someone who shares this faith with me, woah cool!(:

yiyuan another A13 de ren!(: AHA. still rmb the CG when you suddenly shared some stuff then i was so amazed by yr "aura".:P anyway, im believing with you for F16 kayys! as we've dreamt it, lets see it become a reality!(:

weelic hey weelic! you're a COOL NEW BELIEVER mann!(: im really encouraged by your enthusiasm to come for all the church activities so far, be it metamorphosis, unit outing, CG or services. as you start on this new journey with Christ, be ready, its gonna be an adventure!(: & yeah. you make a significant part of the CG's male population! LOl. hope you'll grow to love God more & enjoy His love in this family too.(:

aaron aaron boyboy! EHs. you may not even come to this blog but oh wells.:P haven seen you around for quite some time, just wanna tell you that your presence is missed & that you're not forgotten! hope to see you around soon!(:

calean indeed NYCG & HCCG are worlds apart! but im very encouraged to see you still serving God fervently! shall have a nice talk with you soon, still rmb the amazingly long 3 hrs talk on the phone.:P make yr two years count!

sharlene the newest addition to my sheep pen! hope you're not traumatised by the niaoing & scandalised culture of hwachong. HAHA. but thank God for you for being a sheep that is very comfortable to talk to & whos open to share about your life. waiting to share more memories with you!(:

valerie you're a super popular target for niaoing by the guys.. i have no idea why.:P dont know you very well as yet, but hopefully, i will soon!(: thank God for you for planning the cool games in CG today!

louisa YAY! now im not the smallest in the CG!:P your handactions when you're talking is really so funny & UNIQUE to you la! though you cant always join us cos your X-country trainings are madness, i hope you'll still be able to build strong bonds in this family of God!(:

aubrey&brenda hey the sisters in this CG! know its tough for yall at home now but know that ill be praying hard for yall kayys! dont give up & God will surely open up doors one day.(:

samuelcheng even though you make me go O.o when you starts rapping or sharing qiguai things during teaching, still wanna thankyou for your contributions to this CG. thankyou for tanking CG roles when most of us are busy, for discipling the guys & for giving much-needed advice!(:

xiangyu shepherd, unit leader & friend!(: thankyou for holding the many unit meetings & for coming down to visit our CG whenever you can! & the many advice you've given me about this CG!

God(: thankyou God for growing this group! because without you in the picture, we'll prob just be like some random cca group/group of friends or smth. but now, we're binded tgt with Jesus's blood. God, i pray that we will continue to keep our focus on you & that each of us will grow closer towards you.(:

OH MY. i took super long to type that. but nvm! im really excited for easter service! we're having 30 ppl from our CG & we're filling 4 & 3/7 rows! God just showed me that the dream of 5 rows is possible! & He will help us do it!:D lets keep this momentum up!(: & God cant do anything else but bless us!:P HAHA.

with love,
asha(:
220308

God vs. Science

2008-03-07T18:14:00.013+08:00

this was just something interesting i came across in an email, thought you guys might want to read it :)

God is good and faithful forevermore! :)

love seokh!

A science professor begins his school year with a lecture to the students,'Let me explain the problem science has with religion.' The professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his newstudents to stand.

'You're a Christian, aren't you, son?'

'Yes sir,' the student says.

So you believe in God?'

'Absolutely.''Is God good?'

'Sure! God's good.'

'Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?'

'Yes.'

'Are you good or evil?'

'The Bible says I' m evil.'

The professor grins knowingly. 'Aha! The Bible!' He considers for a moment. 'Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help him? Would you try?'

'Yes sir, I would.'

'So you're good...!'

'I wouldn't say that.'

'But why not say that? You'd help a sick and maimed person if you could. Most of us would if we could. But God doesn't.'The student does not answer, so the professor continues. 'He doesn't, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer, even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good? Hmmm? Can you answer that one?' The student remains silent. 'No, you can't, can you?' the professor says. He takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax. Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?'

'Er...yes,' the student says.

'Is Satan good?'

The studen t doesn't hesitate on this one. 'No.'

'Then where does Satan come from?'

The student falters.

'From God''That's right. God made Satan, didn't he? Tell me, son. Is there evil in this world?'

'Yes, sir.'

'Evil's everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything, correct?'

'Yes.'

'So who created evil?' The professor continued, 'If God created everything,then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the principle that our works define who we are, then God is evil.' Again, the student has no answer. 'Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things, do they exist in this world?' The student squirms on his feet.

'Yes.'

'So who created them?' The student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his question.'Who created them?' There is still no answer. Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace in front of the classroom. The class is mesmerized.

'Tell me,' he continues onto another student. 'Do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?' The student's voice betrays him and cracks.

'Yes, professor, I do.'

The old man stops pacing. 'Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen Jesus?'

'No sir. I've never seen Him.'

'Then tell us if you've ever heard your Jesus?'

'No, sir, I have not.'

'Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelt your Jesus? Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ, or God for that matter?'

'No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't.'

'Yet you still believe in him?'

'Yes.'

'According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol,science says your God doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?'

'Nothing,' the student replies. 'I only have my faith.'

'Yes, faith,' the professor repeats. 'And that is the problem science has with God. There is no evidence, only faith.'

The student stands quietly for a moment, before asking a question of His own.

'Professor, is there such thing as heat?'

'Yes,' the professor replies. 'There's heat.'

'And is there such a thing as cold?'

'Yes, son, there's cold too.'

'No sir, there isn't.'

The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested. The room suddenly becomes very quiet.

The student begins to explain. 'You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat, mega-heat, unlimited heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat, but we don't have anything called 'cold'. We can hit up to 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than the lowest -458 degrees.'

'Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a bod y or matter have or transmit energy.Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of heat. You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.'

Silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom, sounding like a hammer.

'What about darkness, professor. Is there such a thing as darkness?'

'Yes,' the professor replies without hesitation. 'What is night if it isn't darkness?'

'You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light, but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? That's the meaning we use to define the word.' 'In reality, darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?'

The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him. This will be a good semester.

'So what point are you making, young man?'

'Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed.'

The professor's face cannot hide his surprise this time. 'Flawed? Can you explain how?'

'You are working on the premise of duality,' the student explains. 'You argue that there is life and then there's death; a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought.' 'It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it.''Now tell me, professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?'

'If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, yes,of course I do.'

'Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?' The professor begins to shake his head, still smiling, as he realizes where the argument is going. A very good semester, indeed.

'Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a preacher?' The class is in uproar. The student remains silent until the commotion has subsided. 'To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, let me give you an example of what I mean. 'The student looks around the room. 'Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor's brain?' The class breaks out into laughter.'Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain, felt the professor's brain, touched or smelt the professor's brain? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, with all due respect, sir.' 'So if science says you have no brain, how can we trust your lectures, sir?'

Now the room is silent. The professor just stares at the student, his face unreadable.Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man answers.

'I guess you'll have to take them on faith.'

'Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists with life,' the student continues.'Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?' Now uncertain, the professor responds, 'Of course, there is. We see it everyday. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil.'

To this the student replied, 'Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God.It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness thatcomes when there is no light.'

The professor sat down.

2008-02-28T03:05:00.004+08:00

Harloe, just thought i'd share a very short video. Dream big for God =)
Amidst everything in school or at home, dun lose sight of God's love and God's purpose in your life.

well, you dun have to preach to millions to be powerful. You dun have to be a powerful worship leader with a nice voice to be great in the eyes of God.
You guys just have to touch the lives of those pple around you..saving your friend's soul is just as powerful as a preacher is to God. So start by having a lifestyle of evangelism =)

-Cman

2008-02-23T23:07:00.002+08:00

Hey dearest Juniors!

I don't get to see you guys often, but one thing for sure is that you guys have our fullest support! Even though it has only been 3 months since we left, I'm already reminiscing the good times we spent together at the sky garden, the various split caregroups, the love and joy and fun. We love to see a vibrant HC community generations after generations, because our love for people is unconditional in Jesus' glorious name! Let our thirst for souls and spiritual growth be the hallmark of our ministry. Blocks are coming, CCA commitments are piling, but with God as our immovable rock, nothing is against us. Let the trailblazer spirit live on!

Regards,
Jacob

2008-02-17T12:01:00.002+08:00

EEEEE... ileen is here! :D haha. Okay, this is my first time blogging here. o.o I don't know what to blog about either, but this is to make my PRESENCE felt in THIS BLOG! :D:D

Hmm. For yesterday's special service, we had 8 visitors! If 1 row has 7 seats, and 14 (out of 20) from our caregroup turned up, that means 3 rows and 2 seats were taken up yesterday! O.O BUT THAT'S NOT ENOUGH! We're aiming for 5 rows! 5 rows every week for Jesus! Though camp seemed like a decade ago, and the motivation and chionging spirit we have for God's kingdom may not be as strong as it was then, let us intentionally live our lives for God! :D:D And people matter to God! So yes yes, let's embark on Mission Possible I: 'Finding the Lost Sheep'.

I have a feeling that some of us may be discouraged by other people's perceptions of us. But let's be reminded that we do not live to please people but to please God! People are imperfect, and sometimes, they do not really know what's going through their minds too! So as long as our actions are pleasing our Almighty God, let's not really be bothered by other people's views about us!

Anyway, there's still one more special service next week, and we all know, it's always easier to bring people to special service than the usual ones, so we shall all grab hold of this opportunity! :D We want the world to know that we love Jesus and believe in him, so why not bring them to our church and show them how we worship him and learn from His WORD! :D Jesus wasn't held back by anything when He took up the cross to die for our sins. Hence, we shouldn't hesitate to bring His people back to Him too! :D God misses his children!

Jiayou JCCA1!

Eileen

2008-02-07T23:03:00.000+08:00

our very crazy LAOYUSHENG session during CG!:D hope all of yall are enjoying your CNY bainian-ing & collecting angbaos!

anyway, heres a repeat of the announcements made during CG! in case yall forgot. its in chronological order!

1. CNY service

theres still service on sat! though its chu san. it'll be a combined service, 11-1pm! understand tt some of yall will have prob coming, but for those who are
able, ill see you at nexus!(:

2. HCCG reunion dinner

yep! with last year's J2s! venue & timing not yet cfn. arnd 6pm, prob in town.(:

3. CG outing!

im thinking of a CG outing! this can be on SAT (in btw svc & HCCG reunion dinner) or SUN (b4 unit reunion). we can go maybe go mindscafe to play & have fun! then can ask any of our friends who's bored of bainian to join us too. if you see this, tell me whether you're ON for it!

4. UNIT reunion

JC central reunion on sun! we're meeting at CCK at 5pm, going qinpei's house's function room. it'll be a potluck dinner!

5. HELLO, LOVE! ESS is next week!

valentines, love's in the air! it's time to spread God's love<3>

6. BTB next week!

wondering whats BTB? it means Back To Basics! its a class for us to learn about the fundamentals about our faith! things like tithing, fasting, holy spirit baptism.. come on & feast on God's word!

7. join a MINISTRY!

woah. sounds like alot of things yeah? well, amidst all these happenings, stay close to God! & rmb, what we're doing MATTERS! have a blessed CNY break!:D

with love, asha

2008-01-27T00:02:00.000+08:00

happy birthday CAVEMAN & VALERIE!!! *throws confetti & presents imaginary cake* hope you two enjoyed our little CG birthday surprise!:D specially prepared by kelly, sharlene, yiyuan & junyao! a pity that i dont have any photos though!:P

hereby presenting to you the RETRO & TOOT SPECS series! you can vote for your favourite shepherd & sheep combo & make our tagboard exciting! AHA. (OH MANN. im damn lame.:P nvm. its fun!)

Shepherd & Sheep 1: seok & lips xD

Shepherd & sheep 2: wanchien & seok!:P

Shepherd & sheep 3: kelly & tianruo(: (dont you think tianruo looks like a teacher!)

Shepherd & sheep 4:yiyuan & caveman (i'm the DUDE. NOT!)

Shepherd & sheep 5: xiangyu & fungmin!:D

& a complimentary picture of sharlene! AHA.:D

YAY!

with love,

asha.(:

Christian Ways to Reduce Stress

2008-01-26T23:02:00.000+08:00

Hey,this is to all my dear cgmates. As all of us have a really busy and hectic schedule in school, do remember God is our source of strength. I have read the following article from a friend's blog and it gives me some really useful tips. Just share with all of you.

An Angel says, "Never borrow from the future. If you worry about what may happen tomorrow and it doesn't happen, you have worried in vain. Even if it does happen, you have to worry twice."

1. Pray
2. Go to bed on time.
3. Get up on time so you can start the day unrushed.

4. Say No to projects that won't fit into your time schedule, or that will compromise your mental health.

5. Delegate tasks to capable others.

6. Simplify and un clutter your life.

7. Less is more. (Although one is often not enough, two are often too many.)

8. Allow extra time to do things and to get to places
9. Pace yourself. Spread out big changes and difficult projects over time; don't lump the hard things all together.
10. Take one day at a time.
11. Separate worries from concerns. If a situation is a concern, find out what God would have you do and let go of the anxiety. If you can't do anything about a situation, forget it.
12. Live within your budget; don't use credit cards for ordinary purchases.
13. Have backups; an extra car key in your wallet, an extra house key buried in the garden, extra stamps, etc.
14. K.M.S. (Keep Mouth Shut). This single piece of advice can prevent an enormous amount of trouble.
15. Do something for the Kid in You everyday.
16. Carry a Bible with you to read while waiting in line.
17. Get enough rest.
18. Eat right.
19. Get organized so everything has its place.
20. Listen to a tape while driving that can help improve your quality of life.
21. Write down thoughts and inspirations.
22. Every day, find time to be alone.
23. Having problems? Talk to God on the spot. Try to nip small problems in the bud. Don't wait until it's time to go to bed to try and pray.
24. Make friends with Godly people.
25. Keep a folder of favorite scriptures on hand.
26. Remember that the shortest bridge between despair and hope is often a good "Thank you Jesus."
27. Laugh.
28. Laugh some more!
29. Take your work seriously, but not yourself at all.
30. Develop a forgiving attitude (most people are doing the best they can).
31. Be kind to unkind people (they probably need it the most).
32. Sit on your ego.
33. Talk less; listen more.
34. Slow down.
35. Remind yourself that you are not the general manager of the universe.
36 . Every night before bed, think of one thing you're grateful for that you've never been grateful for before.
GOD HAS A WAY OF TURNING THINGS AROUND FOR YOU. "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31)

Judith,TR

T1W3 CAREGROUP!:D

2008-01-18T23:00:00.000+08:00

YAY! im here with pics from CG!:D
the first HCCG for valerie & sharlene! a pat on your backs for choosing CG over fac dance session though yall really wanted to go. hope CG was fun & enjoyable for both of you!

aaron aka lonely boyboy!

jumping jacks!

blindfolding ourselves..

AHHH.. wheres my shoes!!

AHAHA. this is kelly :P

yiyuan & eileen, our super zai chairpeople who put in lots of hard work to bring chairing to another level.(: a real life example of spirit of excellence!=D

i love this family of God.(:

with love,

asha

2008-01-12T23:36:00.000+08:00

YOYO HCCG! this blog is going to GG soon if no one is going to revive it. AHA. lets keep this place alive & kicking alright! such that we can bless ppl with our lives & thoughts, believers & non-believers alike.(:

anyway, this is just week 2 of school! & i see ppl dying alr, falling sick, tired, stoning & being sian. think school’s been hectic for all of us, lots of tutorials, struggling to keep awake during lessons, forsaking sleep to cheong hw.. to this, God’s answer is in

[matthew 11:28-29]
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

AND AND! besides God’s presence, He has blessed us with a family of God in school! lets treasure this okay, its really a privilege to have a community in school leh!(: this week, ive repented & decided to hang out more with CG ppl! cos alot of times im with oac/class ppl.=P so if you see any yhope face in sch, smile, offer to pray a prayer for them & say HI! LOl. all of yall are great reminders to each other that we have God with us & that we shld be salt & light!

coming few weeks are going to be crazy, crazy, CRAZY! here are some ppl who will probably have very hiong schedules so be a support to them kayys! Yinghan, aspiring director, has huangcheng! oac ppl got to prepare for our orientation hike & yltc. choir ppl starting to prepare for concert! then the rest of the ppl also got stuff to do one la. HAHA. so simply, lets carry each others’ burdens!

not forgetting the J1s, welcome SHARLENE, VALERIE, LOUISA & AARON boyboy to the big hwachong faaa-mily! *CLAPS* yall may probably feel fearful/apprehensive about joining us but rest assured we’re fun & harmless ppl! AHA. J2s, lets do our best to integrate them & be super WELCOMING kayys!:D

WOOHOO! WE WILL SURVIVE! & WE WILL LIVE VICTORIOUSLY!:D:D thanks everyone for serving in this team together with me.(:

with love,
asha(:

2007-12-28T22:49:00.000+08:00

YAY!! cg outing to kbox and dinner and singapore river rocks!!! pictures below, have fun viewing :)

liping finally sang after MUCH persuasion!!!!!

2007-12-19T22:05:00.000+08:00

hey guys,
announcements!
1) DRESS CODE FOR XMAS SERVICE
- girls ->top and skirt
- guys ->shirt and jeans
heh the idea is to dress formally! :))
2) XMAS PARTY
date: 22nd dec 07, saturday
time:7-10pm
location: palawan beach, sentosa
fee: yhope member-16$, visitor-10$
please do encourage your visitors to come too! it'll be real fun fun fun!
also, rmb to bring a change of clothes for the party!
3) UNIT OUTING
date:30th dec 07
details to be confirmed!:D
please keep yourselves free for on the 30th, unit outing is gonna be real fun too!!:D

The Window

2007-12-19T01:22:00.000+08:00

This is a story that really impacted me and I hope it will likewise do for you....

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation.

And every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window. The man in the other bed began to live for for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and colour of the world outside.

The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every colour of the rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance. It was simply gorgeous.

As the man by the window described all these in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene.

One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn't hear the band- he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.

Days and weeks passed.

One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away. As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.

Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the world outside. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it for himself. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall.

The man then asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside the window. The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you".

There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our situations. Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared is doubled! You can choose, to complain and despair in the worst of worst situations or to put that smile on people around you by being just like the man next to the window, seeing things not for what they are but what they can do for people around us. God never saw us for what we have presently but the potential that we have to serve him and do miracles, so lets not disappoint him :)

Adapted from: gateway to jesus

-Ryan

HEY GUYS

2007-12-17T23:07:00.000+08:00

:):)

hello ppl! seokh here! heh i'm your new friendly blogger! :D

1) if you're reading this, good good! heh keep reading kks impt stuff will be posted here and updates will be done regularly!

2) if you're not reading this, you probably won't know this is here, hahah so nvm for now!

3) HAPPY BIRTHDAY CLARENCE YOU'RE EIGHTEEN!! :DD

4) CAREGROUP THIS WEEK:

wednesday, 19th dec

meet at 12 at right wing

normal prog, then we're watching warlords!

confirm attendance with your shepherds if you haven't done so!

5) FASTING AS A CG!

heh this is super exciting! we're fasting as a CG tmr, 18th Dec Tuesday, from 9am-5pm, asking God to open up and soften the hearts of our friends and prepare our own hearts for the harvest! ITS SUPER EXCITING SO WE MUST ALL HANG IN THERE OKAYYY

fasting is leaning on God's strength, so jiayou ppl and rmb to praypraypray!

:D:D

HMMM hee and HOW WAS CAMP!! :( i miss you guys! must tell me what happened during camp okay!

ANW, in advance,

i shall be BLOGGING regularly here! you guys can blog too, just ask me for my login and password if you need! :)

also, apologies in advance for any technical errors or screwups, i'm terrible with computers! :S

Lastly, wanna share somthing interesting with you guys! don't know if you guys have seen this before, but i hope you'll take some time to read this!

A pastor had been on a long flight from one place to another.The first warning of the approaching problems came when the sign on the airplane flashed on: Fasten your seat belts. Then,after a while, a calm voice said, "We shall not be serving the beverages at this time as we are expecting a little turbulence.Please be sure your seat belt is fastened."As he looked around the aircraft, it became obvious that many of the passengers were becoming apprehensive. Later, the voice of the announcer said, "We are so sorry that we are unable to serve the meal at this time. The turbulence is still ahead of us."And then the storm broke. The ominous cracks of thunder could be heard even above the roar of the engines. Lightning lit up the darkening skies, and within moments that great plane was like a cork tossed around on a celestial ocean. One moment the airplane was lifted on terrific currents of air; the next,it dropped as if it were about to crash.The pastor confessed that he shared the discomfort and fear of those around him. He said, "As I looked around the plane, I could see that nearly all the passengers were upset and alarmed.Some were praying. The future seemed ominous and many werewondering if they would make it through the storm."Then, I suddenly saw a little girl. Apparently the storm meantnothing to her. She had tucked her feet beneath her as she saton her seat; she was reading a book and everything within hersmall world was calm and orderly."Sometimes she closed her eyes, then she would read again; thenshe would straighten her legs, but worry and fear were not in her world. When the plane was being buffeted by the terriblestorm when it lurched this way and that, as it rose and fell with frightening severity, when all the adults were scared half to death, that marvelous child was completely composed and unafraid." The minister could hardly believe his eyes.It was not surprising therefore, that when the plane finally reached its destination and all the passengers were hurrying to disembark, our pastor lingered to speak to the girl whom he had watched for such a long time. Having commented about the storm and behavior of the plane, he asked why she had not been afraid.The child replied,"Cause my Daddy's the pilot, and he's taking me home."There are many kinds of storms that buffet us.Physical, mental, financial, domestic, and many other storms can easily and quickly darken our skies and throw our plane into seemingly uncontrollable movement. We have all known such times, and let us be honest and confess, it is much easier to beat rest when our feet are on the ground than when we are being tossed about a darkened sky.Let us remember: Our Father is the Pilot. He is in control and taking us home.Don't worry.

i was reminded of this on my flight home. well i wouldn't say my plane met with turbulence or anything serious like that, but the situation was really quite bad for me. firstly the flight was in the night; the plane took off at 1205am and by then i was really tired and wonky and just wanted to go to sleep. but the seat was really too small, and i was seated at the last row right before the wall so i couldn't recline my seat all the way. then the engine was also behind so like there was this constant "wong-ing" sound and vibration sort of feeling and i really couldn't really go to sleep. and also international airports have this regulation that you can't bring liquids more than 100ml into the depature hall and onto the plane, so i was stuck in the airport for roughly two plus hours without water and i was thoroughly dehydrated. :(( it was terrible i tell you, i felt super sick and i felt like puking and no amount of water i drank made a difference. somemore! the water on board had this weird colour and foggy thingy so i was quite apprehensive about drinking too much. that aside, i couldn't really rest properly cus the lights on board weren't completely turned off and like the air stewardesses kept serving food and drinks so i was constantly awakened by light and sound. i really couldn't rest and i think the fact that i didn't get proper rest the whole trip made things worse. (i had to wake up like 5 plus 6 every morning) so i spent most of my time eating and drinking and watching ratatouille and generally feeling horrible. the worst came when my plane was landing. cus at that point in time i had finally fallen into a drowsy sort of sleep, so when the pilot announced that the plane was landing all i did was to put my seat belt on then go back to sleep again. but i had this TERRIBLE SEARING headache and the left and right front parts of my brain felt like they were having cramps as in leg cramps that kind. oh man i really wanted to die. :(:( then i prayed and prayed and prayed that God would take the pain away and help the plane land safely cus the vibration from the engine and the shaking of the plane seemed to be getting stronger and i was getting worried and that He would keep all of us on board safe. and then i think i fell asleep before i said amen and then when i woke up we had alr landed and i didn't even feel it! so thank God for the safe ride! :):) ahhh. long story but yes AMEN and HALLELUJAH. :)

okay hahah shall end this long entry here! NIGHTS PPL.

x29 pics!

2007-12-16T23:16:00.000+08:00

im sure x29 camp has been a blast for all who went! here are some photos to show how happy we were!

the new generation! my beloved JCCA1!:D

our dreams, our promises to God. i will give my all to see it accomplished! let's do this together, AMEN?(: & to all to those who are not there with us, U R MISSED! for now, lets CHEONG for christmas!

2007-12-08T23:11:00.001+08:00

Things to bring for camp:
1. 2 T shirts for games (orange or yellow)
2. 2-3 sets of clothes
3. undergarments
4. slippers
5. sports shoes

Toiletries:
towel
face towel
toothbrush
toothpaste
facial foam
shampoo
soap
comb
spectacles/contact lens/contact lens solution

Others:
Bible
writing materials
hangphone and charger
medication
camera
cash
gifts for international delegates

1 day to CAMP WOOHOOOO!

Prom

2007-12-08T23:00:00.001+08:00

Hello! Jacob's here to post some prom photos for ya all to fondly remember =) Actually its all over facebook..just go check it out!

me, huiying, lim mian

Leonzy, ACB, me

Eunice, Yongsheng, Weiwei, me!

?? what's yongsheng and wenwei doing.

Simon and Suet!

X29 here we come!

2007-12-08T09:54:00.000+08:00

WOOHOO ppl! it's ONE DAY to camp! :DD anyway, to the J1s, below are some stuff you need to take note of if you werent there for meeting aft WFL!(:

1. camp workshops (take note of the workshop you are in!)
guitar basics: yuhui (yuhui, you're not alone cos theres J2s going for this!)
guitar intermediate: lip, kel, junyao
hi, me EQ!: shaun, yinghan, aaron
project runaway: tianruo, eileen

2. things to bring
check last week's bulletin! if not i can send you online(:
PLUS:

- guitar for those going for guitar courses!
- 1 HC PE tee, 2 yellow/orange shirts, anniversary shirt (if you bought!)

3. 10th anniversary!

go visit the blog for more info on what is it about!

http://x29camp.blogspot.com/

you can invite any friends who are once from hope or just anybody to come!

4. meeting time tmr!

meet at 11am at causeway point BK wearing yr yellow/orange shirt! we'll have brunch tgt first then go SSS to pray & prep our hearts <33!>if you need morning call, just ask yr shep or me!(:

YAY! come on time tmr hungry & ready to gobble up God's word & spend 4 days 3 nights with the most happening CG!(:

2007-12-07T21:52:00.000+08:00

The family i love.
Cale:)

the last combined cg

2007-11-30T11:01:00.000+08:00

IMAGE HEAVY. (Someone fill me in on the exact names of the awards because they were so wacky that I cannot remember!)

Kudos to R&R for making us laugh. So much.

UPDATES!

2007-11-27T00:19:00.000+08:00

hello everyone, a few important announcements!

1. COMBINED HCCG
date: 29th Nov '07 ( thursday )
time: 130pm
venue: school concourse
its going to be our last combined cg before restructuring takes place, special exciting program,
you wouldn't want to miss it! :D

2. Church Prayer Meet
there'd be a church prayer meet ( for all ) this friday, details are as follows.
date: 30th Nov '07 ( friday )
time: 730pm
venue: Parkway Parade ( take 36 from town )
further details of where and when to meet will be given soon, everyone is strongly encouraged to go! (:

3. J2 District gathering
there'd be a J2 district gathering after service this saturday, for celebrating the post A-levels! all J2s who are happening must go! :D
date: 1st Dec '07 ( saturday )
time: ( to be confirmed )
venue: Jiexun's house

4. Camp Registration
please be reminded that you'd have to pay your remaining $70 for camp by this
saturday, (1st December '07 ). Anyone who fails to do so will not be entitled for early bird anymore! so don't don't don't forget! pass your money to yvonne asap! (:

pass on the message to fellow cg-mates!

fae.

2007-11-23T23:20:00.000+08:00

Poor Jiexun. (: You missed the boardgame fun at the j2 caregroup. And so did the rest who weren't there!

2007-11-19T20:42:00.000+08:00

I read this on Zachary's blog and I thought I'd share his nuggets of wisdom. (: - Mia

As Christmas season draw nearer, I heard some people discussing about churches becoming more number-orientated (church growth) instead of being concerned about the spiritual well-being (spiritual growth) of its members. Well, here’s my personal take.

Churches are supposed to be concerned about church growth. In fact, I believe that we need to grow ourselves spiritually in the first place because we need to grow the church! There is nothing cyclical about this; no qualms about whether the hen or egg came first. Church growth is the primary, spiritual well being is basically the strategy to ensure such growth is sustained, as such, it is secondary.

Both are important, but they are not equally important.

We are likened to spiritual paramedics. Of course we are concerned about the number of people we rescued from the brink of death! Along our journey, we take care of ourselves, we rest well, learn better ways to administer CPR all in the hope that we can save more people! If we were to learn all of those and yet stand and watch as people fall to death alongside us while the life saving news resides in us, we are no more guilty of being a heartless murderer then a useless paramedic.

We are in the life saving business. Remember that.

I believe such confusion happens because people tend to mix up priority with process. Matchsticks and charcoal are required to create a successful barbecue. However, regardless of the quantity of your charcoal, nothing is going to ignite without matchsticks.

There is no confusion in this analogy: Matchsticks are the priority; just as church growth is core.

Perhaps churches might need to spend equal amounts of time on both church growth and spiritual growth, but that does not make their priority equal.

Don’t get lost in the process. Ever.

PLAYLIST.

2007-11-13T17:30:00.000+08:00

what: EVANGELISTIC SERVICE -
'Playlist'!
when: 17th Nov & 24th Nov
where: Nexus auditorium

hello everyone!

YHOPE'S having ess for the next two saturdays so do invite manymanymany of your friends down. (: playlist is a showcases of repertoire of music presentations. you guys can download the invite (above) and send it to your friends if you want! please make good use of this opportunity, especially the j1s!

tell everyone to read this very important post! :D

meanwhile, to the dear j2s, hang in there, we're almost ending soon. heh.

<3 fae.

A Student's Psalm!

2007-11-07T22:35:00.000+08:00

Version 1

The Lord is my shepherd, i shall not flunk;
He keeps me from lying down when i should be studying.
He leads me beside the water cooler for a study break;
He restores my faith in study guides.
He leads me to better study habits.
For my grade's sake.
Yes, although i walk through the valley of borderline grades,
I will not have a nervous breakdown;
For you are with me;
My prayers and my friends, they comfort me.
You give me answers in moments of blankness;
Your anoint my head with understanding.
My test paper run with questions i recognise.
Surely passing grades and flying colours shall follow me all the days of
examinations.
And I shall not dwell in this stressfulness forever.
Amen!

Version 2

The Lord is my teacher; I shall not sleep.
He makes me stay awake in my studies all night;
He leads me from page to page.
He restores my sanity;
He guides me in the path of consciousness,
For my grades sake.
Even though I grow weary in the shadow of books,
I fear no test, for Thou art with me.
Thy rod and Thy staff, they keep jabbing me.Thou wilt prepare a test for me
In the presence of my classmates
Thou hast crammed my mind
with so much knowledge; my eyelids droop.
Surely a good grade and a kind teacher
Will follow me after the test,
Or I will dwell in this class forever

Courtesy of our dear UL Miss Say Xiang Yu!

How Will The Church Be Lighted?

2007-10-29T15:04:00.000+08:00

How Will The Church Be Lighted?

Several centuries ago in a mountain village in Europe, a wealthy nobleman wondered what legacy he could leave to his townspeople. He made a good decision. He decided to build them a church. No one was permitted to see the plans or the inside of the church until it was finished. At its grand opening, the people gathered and marveled at the beauty of the new church. Everything had been thought of and included. It was a masterpiece.

But then someone said, "Wait a minute! Where are the lamps? It is really quite dark in here. How will the church be lighted?" The nobleman pointed to some brackets in the walls, and then he gave each family a lamp, which they were to bring with them each time they came to worship.

"Each time you are here'" the nobleman said, "the place where you are seated will be lighted. Each time you are not here, that place will be dark. This is to remind you that whenever you fail to come to church, some part of God's house will be dark"

That's a poignant story, isn't it? And it makes a very significant point about the importance of our commitment and loyalty to the church. The poet Edward Everett Hale put it like this:

I am only one,
But still I am one.
I cannot do everything,
But still I can do something;
And because I cannot do everything
I will not refuse to do the something I can do.

What if every member of your church supported the church just as you do? What kind of church would you have? What if every single member served the church, attended the church, loved the church, shared the church, and gave to the church exactly as you do? Will you be the lamp that casts light on the world?

Be the miracle.

<3,
Ceph

2007-10-21T12:15:00.000+08:00

Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janerio, Brazil. A 38m tall statue of Jesus atop the Corcovado Mountain. One of the new 7 wonders of the world!

It's really beautiful isn't it. (:

yuhui

J1 happenings!:D

2007-10-19T23:42:00.000+08:00

This post comes rather late, but at least its here now! These few weeks have been really happening! Amidst being busy with ccas, open house, getting back of results, pw, blahblah, we’ve had lots of fun as a J1 CG too! (:

First up, we had our very first J1 CG on 130907!
The J1 family!:D missing yinghan, camilia & jasmine though!

Shaun & eileen grinning cheekily with their chilli+bitter gourd+carrot+other random fruits drink for holy com!

YUM SENG! Lets each take up a share of the “mission” & complete it TOGETHER!:D (but the drink was really quite disgusting though:P)

J2 spies! Hiding in a corner mugging!:P

Next up! some photos after our central J1 meeting!

This marks the beginning of our journey to continue the legacy & make God’s name known in HC.(:

Shi lian pai!

Next, the J1&sec 4 CG after open house last friday at jiexun’s old house! special thanks to jiexun for being a great blessing by providing us with a CG venue! & joke of the CG: GAOBAI.:P

We started CG with a cup noodle dinner! a tuan yuan fan pic!:D

Trying to be formal. HAHA. we look funny trying to act dao though.:P

We had fun games prepared by yuhui & fongyee! The 2 guys got saboed to be the one to be blindfolded & complete the tasks.

Junyao in a very funny position.O.o

& yinghan, who had a really difficult time trying to catch what his team members were saying cos the other group was real good at distracting him by screaming & singing!

The birthday boy! hope you were touched by God's love & the CG, brother-in-Christ!(:

The pretty cake.

After that, we had a fruitful time learning from God’s word & worshipping God. we ended CG rather late but really thank God for each & everyone of you who came & made it GREAT!

HAHA. here's some more photos from last sat! aft service!

The "nunnery" shot!:P

HAHA. & here's two-thirds of the J1 guys with Raphael!

posing with the bear biscuit! thanks seok for the biscuit!(:

YAY! thats all for the photos. anyway, thank you all the J1s who has been so ON about God & His kingdom! it has been great serving God cos i have all of you running together with me! this is just the beginning, we've got lots more to do! & thanks for the J2s for spying on us despite having to mug for your As! HAHA. thank you for caring & being a support to us! WOAH. this is a long post! hope it brought a smile to your face!(:

with love,
asha(:

the burning hut

2007-10-14T11:59:00.000+08:00

THE BURNING HUT

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhibited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements and to store his few possessions. But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had happened; everything was lost. He was stunned with grief and anger. "God, how could you do this to me!"

Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. "How did you know I was here?" asked the weary man of his rescuers. "We saw your smoke signal," they replied.

It is easy to get discouraged when things are going bad. But we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain and suffering. Remember, next time your little hut is burning to the ground - it just may be a smoke signal that summons the grace of God.

love,

`eunice

to the sec 4s and j1s:

2007-10-12T20:56:00.000+08:00

Hello,

By the time you read this on the 12th of October (or later), you are most likely going to be:

(a) half asleep
(b) dead tired
(c) all of the above

I was at Jiexun's house earlier and trust me, I was very encouraged to see everyone there despite having slogged at HC's Open House earlier in the day.

The best part? None of you whined about being too shagged for cg. (: I suspect God must have been grinning from ear to ear when He saw how enthusiastic you guys were towards cg and how warm the fellowship was.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY YINGHAN! (: I hope you realise that you are deeply loved and cherished by the caregroup.

(I apologise for the grainy photo! I'm sure Liping will upload the nicer photos from her camera soon.)

Lastly, a shout out to the other J2s who made their way down to Kovan. (: And to Jiexun who offered the caregroup venue. Plus he had to fuss over the birthday plans. Stressss la.

I had fun. I'm sure you guys did too.

with love, mia

Some events happening tomorrow-

Believer's Gathering: 11am to 12pm at Nexus
JC district J1s Gathering: 5pm at America Room

*Attendance is optional for J2s! (:

water baptism pics

2007-10-07T21:55:00.000+08:00

For koping purposes:

Was too lazy to add captions. (:

<3, mia.

P/S: Anyone up for a challenge? Address me as Mia for 2 weeks (without lapsing into Tracy) and I'll give you a mystery gift.

weird photos galore!

2007-10-06T23:32:00.000+08:00

ohmy cgmonster looks the most normal in all the photos! what has the world become??

Marge Simpson!

Moral of the story: don't leave ugly photos in shaun's computer! he'll do evil stuff with them xD
Jiayou j2s!

oh i got a special one for ryan! =DD

SANDWICH PARTY!

2007-10-03T00:15:00.001+08:00

Hello everyone.

Here are the pictures from JCCA4's sandwich party. (: It was pretty cool how the other caregroup had sandwich making too and believe me, there was no collusion involved!

I think we all had a lot of fun listening to everyone's explanation about how their sandwich represented their lives. Some smoked, while others were really insightful. (:

Lee Yang, Shaun and Robert were the very committed and dedicated sandwich party committee. So kudos to you guys for preparing all the food for our sandwiches. (:

<3, mia.

CA3 CG:D

2007-10-02T22:58:00.000+08:00

YAY! i seldom blog but ive decided to stop doing boliao stuff & do smth meaningful like livening up this place! xD some pics from CA3 CG today!:D

we had fun making sandwiches!

ryan -- our CG's great cook! :D

happy people with our sandwiches! :D (this is like some advertisement for sandwich O.o)

WOOHOO! so hope this brings a smile to your face! jiayous J2s, mug hard! :D

with love,

asha(:

2007-09-22T01:07:00.000+08:00

THE INTERVIEW WITH GOD

I dreamt that I had an interview with God.

“So you would like to interview me?” God asked.
“If you have the time” I said.

God smiled. “My time is eternity.”

“What questions do you have in mind for me?”

“What surprises you most about humankind?”

God answered...

“That they get bored with childhood,

they rush to grow up,

and then long to be children again.”

“That they lose their health to make money...

and then lose their money to restore their health.”

“That by thinking anxiously about the future,

they forget the present,

such that they live in neither

the present nor the future.”

"That they live as if they will never die,

and die as though they had never lived.”

God's hand took mine and

we were silent for a while.

And then I asked...

“As a parent, what are some of life's lessons

you want your children to learn?”

“To learn they cannot make anyone love them.

All they can do is let themselves be loved.”

“To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others.”

“To learn to forgive

by practicing forgiveness.”

“To learn that it only takes a few seconds

to open profound wounds in those they love,

and it can take many years to heal them.”

“To learn that a rich person

is not one who has the most,

but is one who needs the least.”

“To learn that there are people

who love them dearly,

but simply have not yet learnt

how to express or show their feelings.”

“To learn that two people can

look at the same thing

and see it differently.”

“To learn that it is not enough that they

forgive one another,

but they must also forgive themselves.”

"Thank you for your time," I said humbly.

"Is there anything else you would like your children to know?"

God smiled and said, “Just know that I am here... always.”

-author unknown

roars,
caveman

2007-09-20T18:31:00.000+08:00

i came across this while reading some book..
some food for thought!

' Earth's crammed with heaven,
and every common bush afire with God,
but only he who sees takes off his shoes,
the rest sit round it and plucks blackberries.'

- Elizabeth Barrett Browning ( whoever she is! )

have you been too busy/tired/hurried ( or whatever else there is ), that you miss out on God and how His fingerprints are all over your daily happenings? if so, do slow down, take off your shoes and see/listen to what God may want to tell you! (: don't be the boliao people who fail to recognise God when He's calling/speaking and pluck boliao blackberries.!

fae.

2007-09-18T20:58:00.000+08:00

Hey everyone JIAYOU FOR MUGGING! But enjoy this.

-God is like ASPIRIN - He works miracles.

- God is like a FORD. He's got a better idea.

- God is like COKE . He's the real thing.

- God is like HALLMARK CARDS. He cares enough to send His very best.

- God is like NappySan. He gets the stains out that others leave behind.

- God is like GENERAL ELECTRIC. He brings good things to life.

- God is like SEARS. He has everything.

- God is like ALKA-SELTZER. Try him, you'll like Him.

- God is like SCOTCH TAPE. You can't see him, but you know He's there.

- God is like DELTA . He's ready when you are.

- God is like ALLSTATE. You're in good hands with Him.

- God is like VO-5 Hair Spray. He holds through all kinds of weather.

- God is like DIAL SOAP. Aren't you glad you have Him? Don't you wish everybody did?

- God is like the POST OFFICE. Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet nor ice will keep Him from His appointed destination.

- GOSPEL = God's Only Son Provided Eternal Life

- If you’re still living, God isn’t done with you yet.

- Faith is the ability to hold on to the promise until the answer comes. - Steven L. Miller

- Some people say they would want to live right next to a church where there's laughter and happiness, but I would rather live two miles from Hell on the rescue team. - T.J. Dooley + Drew Forbes

- If you can't feed 100 people than just feed one - Mother Theresa

- Need a lifeguard? Mine walks on water!!

- Knowing the Bible is one thing;
Knowing the Author is another!

- For God so loVed the world,
That He gAve
His onLy
BegottEn
SoN
That whosoever
Believeth In Him
Should Not perish,
But have Everlasting life."
John 3:16

- Two people can break you, either man or God. When man breaks you, you have to pick up your own pieces, but when God breaks you, He'll pick up your pieces and form you into the person that he sees you as.

- To gain self-control, give God control.

- God's retirement plan is out of this world.

- One filled with joy preaches without preaching. - Mother Teresa

- People use duct tape to fix everything; God used nails.

- When God measures a man, He puts the tape around the heart instead of the head.

- The light of this world has no power failure.

- If you find a man with a Bible that is falling apart....chances are the man IS NOT falling apart.

- Dog spelled backward is still man's best friend.

- Faith is simply trusting in God when life gives you reasons not to.

- If you worry why pray. If you pray, why worry.

- GOD'S
REDEMPTION
AT
CHRIST'S
EXPENSE

- I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess. -Corrie Ten Boom-

- Peace is the presence of power, not the absence of trouble.

- God does not ask your ability or your inability. He asks only your availability.

That's quite a list take your time :)

2007-09-07T18:36:00.000+08:00

Whatever your cross,
whatever your pain,
there will always be sunshine,
after the rain! :)

nuggets of wisdom (:

2007-09-06T01:38:00.000+08:00

I AM ACCEPTED

John 1:12 - I am God's child.

John 15:15 - I am Christ's friend.

Romans 5:1 - I have been justified.

1 Corinthians 6:17 - I am united with the Lord, and I am one spirit with Him.

1 Corinthians 6: 19 - 20 - I have been bought with a price. I belong to God.

1 Corinthians 12:27 - I am a member of Christ's body.

Ephesians 1:5 - I have been adopted as God's child.

Ephesians 2:18 - I have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit.

Colossians 1:14 - I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins.

Colossians 2:10 - I am complete in Christ.

I AM SECURE

Romans 8:1-2 - I am free forever from condemnation.

Romans 8:28 - I am assured that all things work together for good.

Romans 8:31-34 - I am free from any condemning charges against me.

Romans 8: 35-39 - I cannot be separated from the love of God.

2 Corinthians 1:21-22 - I have been established, anointed, and sealed by God.

Philippians 1:6 - I am confident that the good work that God has begun in me will be perfected.

Philippians 3:20 - I am a citizen of heaven.

2 Timothy 1:7 - I have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind.

Hebrews 4:16 - I can find grace and mercy in time of need.

1 John 5:18 - I am born of God, and the evil one cannot touch me.

I AM SIGNIFICANT

Matthew 5:13-14 - I am the salt and light of the earth.

John 15:1,5 - I am a branch of the true vine, a channel of His life.

John 15:16 - I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit.

Acts 1:8 - I am a personal witness of Christ's.

1 Corinthians 3:16 - I am God's temple.

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 - I am a minister of reconciliation for God.

2 Corinthians 6:1 - I am God's co-worker. (1 Corinthians 3:9)

Ephesians 2:6 - I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realm.

Ephesians 2:10 - I am God's workmanship.

Ephesians 3:12 - I may approach God with freedom and confidence.

last but not least,

Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

love, fong.