Gladiator

Have any of you watched the film Gladiator, starring Russell Crowe?

I happened to be up late today, watching the film. It is a wonderful film with a professional cast, captivating settings, beautiful imagery, heartwarming story... and it left me with a certain dissatisfaction that the protagonist who loved his country had to die to set his people free.

And whenever I have that feeling from a film, i'll begin to ask The Lord what He is trying to teach me through it. And as I reflect, i really respect the Gladiator's boldness and courage and love for His country that He was willing to die, so that Rome could be free of a horrifying dictator... so that the prisoners could be set free. One of his last words were "set the prisoners free".

And i begin to draw what i see from the film to what Jesus did for us on the cross. An innocent man free from sin, chose to die the most gruesome death so that He could set us, His dearest children free! He fought to the end, even though He was at a disadvantaged side because He became flesh, all just so that He could overcome the power that death had over us!! And i just stand in awe of His great act of love for me.

"God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." - 2Corinthians 5:21

Now what?

God made Jesus to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God! And how do me begin to walk on that narrow path to become the righteousness of God? I believe we need to draw near to Him... and act in obedience to His word and the prompting of The Holy Spirit.

As I continue to reflect on the film: How many people are willing to die on behalf of their country? Am I willing to go all the way, even to sacrificing my life for God's people? May I be like Esther who chose to act in faith, even if it cost her life.

"For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" Esther 4:14

I pray that in every moment of my life, I will live a life that glorifies The Lord, that SHINES for Him! =) Truly I will live a simple life - that focuses on loving God and loving the people He loves.

Resilience in The Lord

Haha. It's been a long long time since i blogged. Perhaps you could say that I just simply forgot about the blog in hectic seasons when i'm just rushing out so many things. =PpP Anyway, i really thank God for teaching me how to guard my heart and emotions over the past year.

I used to be someone who was very vulnerable emotionally... i can be happy at one moment and sad the next... keeping to myself away from the crowd...But as i grew deeper to allow The Lord to build and strengthen my emotions, i find myself growing to have a greater emotional resilience. I thank God for restoring joy in me... If you knew me in JC, you'll probably find that I wasn't all that joyful always as I am now. In Japanese tutorial today, the whole class said that I was the most lively person in the class! =) I believe that it's only by the transforming work of God that I am who I am today.

"For God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things - and the things that are not - to nullify the things that are, so that no one may bost before Him... Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in The Lord." [1Corinthians1:27-31]

Honestly, I am a very weak person... if you ever thought I was strong... well, you were wrong. haha. Ever single bit of strength that I have comes from The Lord, for He is my source of strength. =) Indeed that strength comes daily as I seek Him in stillness and from daily prayer. At times when I feel that I can't go on, God never fails to grant me strength.

So i wanna encourage you today, that if you feel that you're too lousy for any task or are just too tired to continue trying, don't give up! For The Lord will surely grant you the strength that you need. =) And don't forget to eat your 'daily bread'(the Word of God), cos it really gives you all the energy that you need for the day!! =) hee.

IFG Frisbee!

Yay! Thank God for the fruitful and enjoyable time i had yesterday after a long week of mid-terms. haha. it doesn't feel like i just came back from US just a week ago. It feels like a month ago! haha. Anw, here're photos of my IFG Frisbee teammates. It was really exciting playing tgt with them. Before i went, none of us knew each other... but as the day passed, we really played together like a team! =)




And after that, i met up with my cousins and we had a great time catching up. It's really nice to see how they can remember the past so clearly... haha. and we played some of our childhood games too! It's like going back in time. Yay. I love my cousins... they're like my xiaodis. haha. I pray that God'll continue to use me to be a blessing to them in whatever way i can. =)

My US Trip - Part I =)

Yay! Thank God. Recently during the midterm break, i went for a short trip to the US together with my family. It was really nice. =) Here're some pictures we took...

First Stop: Disneyland
This was a model made out of a scene in one of my favourite movies: Ratatouille! =)












Haha. Those are just some of the hundreds of photos my sister took. I'll try to post them on facebook instead. =PpP
It was really exciting and i thank God for the time there =) But somehow during the outing to disneyland it just felt weird. I mean i enjoyed having fun and all, but somehow, i felt that life is more than just about having fun. And I would rather spend a day volunteering to bless others than a day to just play at Disneyland. haha. Or I'd like to bring all the poor kids that havn't had a chance to step into a themepark there! The thought kinda made me feel older. But i thank God that indeed over the years He has taught me to grow and to see that life is really more than just receiving. It is about giving and being a blessing. It is about loving Him wholeheartedly and serving Him wholeheartedly - that sums up the name of my blog... to live a simple life of loving God and loving each and every one of the people whom He created and loves dearly. =)

The Heart of a Youth Worker

This has been an exciting season. =)
Somehow there were some problems with my attachment with a lab in NUS... and I ended up volunteering at Touch Youth once again. But i believe that God has a plan for me even as I choose to avail myself to volunteer. You know, initially when i started volunteering last year, it was just out of the capacity to serve, because I enjoy giving. But this time, as I volunteered, I really caught something very important - the HEART of a YOUTH WORKER!

I start to see myself wanting to build into the lives of the youth, to bring them from one level to the next, to encourage them and affirm them, to correct their wrong values and mindsets. You know, every single youth is a youth-at-risk... because it is so easy to be led astray at their impressionable age. And that is why it is so important to have people to guide them, to teach them at every opportunity, to lead them so that they will grow to be people of great destiny!

Each and every person is a person of great worth. The bible says in [Psalms139:14] that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made"! Isn't that beautiful? I thank God for giving me the heart for the youth. I pray that He will continue to use me to build and impart into the lives of the youth, and to love them, just like God loves them so abundantly. =)

I am NOTHING without God

It's been a long long time since i last blogged. =P whoops. haha... and since my exams, there has been so so many things and exciting activities that I have been participating in. Above you see a picture of the sun that I took on my kelong trip to Tanjung Pinang.

Let's list the amount of things I have done since my exams were over:
1. Kelong Trip to Tanjung Pinang
2. Helping auntie Lily do Admin and logistics in Touch Youth Office
3. CLASS workshop at TeLok Kurau Secondary
4. Service-Learning at Dunman High School
5. Inter-cluster Epic Race
6. QQS preparation and meetings
7. Attending my 'xiaodi's' wake
8. Global Day of Prayer

And can you imagine... I havn't even started my internship yet! haha. But i'm praying that I will get my internship... because somehow the professor hasn't responded.

But I have been very blessed by all the activites that I have gone for and I thank God loads for it... Let me share a picture I took at the kelong trip

This is a picture of me and one of the helpers at the kelong. I really thank God for using me as a blessing. Though we don't speak a common language, but somehow everytime she sees me she'll smile BIG BIG =D like that! haha. And as I reflect, perhaps it's the way i treated her that earned such a response... The other kelong workers are usually very serious and keep a distance from the whole group of us. And i'm excited! Because it's a form of God using me to bring joy to those who are poor in spirit. and i thank Him for that.

In this year of victory, we are called to approach this year with 3 attitudes:
Always thankful
Always victorious in Christ
Always a blessing to all

The million dollar question today is : have i been doing all those 3?

I believe that I have been going through the year with these 3 attitudes... somehow or other they have become apart of me. Of course I'm not 100% perfect, there are moments that I just feel like giving up. But it is God's grace that sustains me and gives me the strength to press on in the race i'm running. =)

"For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength... Let him who boasts boast in The Lord." [1 Corinthians 1:25,31]

You know the past week, The Lord has been bringing me to the point of brokeness to recognise that I am NOTHING without Him and whatever I can do is all by the grace of God. Truly, i am His creation and everything i have is from Him. Recently, one of my friends passed away. He was only a 15 year old boy!! When I heard the news, i was heartbroken. But i thank God that He received Christ before He died! =) cos that means His salvatian is assured in The Lord.

I prayed for the family fervently and asked God to use me to be a blessing to them as I go for his wake... because I really don't know what to do at wakes and i'm really blur one la. haha. So as I went for the wake after a long day of rushing to and fro from Bukit Merah to Marine Parade, I thank God for using me. I spoke to the sister and she appreciated our presence there. I prayed for the father (in CHINESE!) and told him if he needed help he can ask us. And amazingly, he asked for my telephone number. To me, the fact that he asked showed he appreciated the offer. I thank God for giving me a heart of compassion for the poor. You know, I found out that both my friend's parents weren't working... and as i recalled the state of his house, I just found myself giving over and above what I initially wanted to give in the funeral box. To me, $100 is a lot cos i'm not working, but I know that it will only help them a little bit in paying the expenses for the funeral and even for their daily family expenses.

I pray for the family's salvatian... that they might be able to encounter God in a tangible way over time. =)

Now i have a greater glimpse of how Jesus felt when he "landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd." [Mark 6:34]

The world is in need of prayer... Let us intercede on their behalf and go out to be a blessing to them all! =)

Living a Life of Surrender

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world and yet lose or forfeit his soul?" [Luke 9:23-25]

The word of God says that if we want to follow Jesus, we must deny ourselves and take up our cross DAILY to follow Him. What does it mean to 'take up our cross'? I believe that to take up our cross is to surrender all and align our lives to the will of God. That means we give up our desires, our plans and ask God what He wants of us.

Someone once told me that there is JOY IN SURRENDER. And recently, i've had a greater taste of it. All year, i've been waiting for the OSIM triathlon... because i want to do the olympic distance tri! haha. But then, i realised it falls on a Sunday and that's the day that I've my Gkidz ministry. And even as I made the decision not to go for the tri, with encouragement from my leader, I just sensed the pleasure of God.

You know the word of God says in [Psalm37:4] "Delight yourself in The Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart."

As we choose to surrender all to God, He will bless us with much much more. =)