Goodbye 2007, hello 2008

Well, it's Dec 31st, notably the day when everyone wants to go somewhere or be somewhere celebrating the last day of the year and ushering in the new year. I'll be spending my "countdown" at church with my spiritual family. As usual, we'll be having praise and worship and give thanks to God for His blessings upon us for this year and also give our annual thanksgiving offering. The only different item is there will be performances by various church members namely a skit, acapella, violin presentation and others. So this year will start with a tiny bit of difference.

As I've told some friends, my mind has already been in 2008 mode for almost a month. There are a lot of things that have been going through my mind. My relationship with God, my role to play in my local church, my role in my own ministry and my job at GRC. These are things that are currently the closest to my heart.

I think in 2007 my relationship with God has taken a different tangent altogether. I always used to see who God is in a group - cell group, church, youth group, friends - but in 2007, I began to see God minus the crowd. Which is something I had unconsciously thought about when I was at RLC for the planetshakers workshop earlier this year. I had wished to see God and know Him away from the crowd. Well, I got what I wanted and I didn't even formally petition God for it. Thank You so much for answering that prayer of mine, God! For 2008, God, I want to rediscover and deepen that joy I have in relating with You. God, let Your will manifest in this request of mine. I know I still need correction and discipline. Bring it on! I'll go through anything just to come out stronger and more like You, Lord!

I love my church - World Harvest Church - alot. It's the place where I grew spiritually and found real friends who cared for me both emotionally and spiritually. It's the place where I find that Christianity is preached and practised to the best it can. And truly, I want to take 2008 as a time to reflect and explore what are my roles to play in this church. I want to reactivate my commitment to evangelism and see myself rise up in spiritual maturity. I want to be a team player. I feel I haven't been much of a team player in 2007 though it wasn't my choice. I feel I can do more. I want to try to do more.

What is my own ministry? There are no words that can accurately describe everyone's ministry. I highly doubt I have any pastoral calling nor am I an apostle. But I do know that God has given me a calling to serve Him all the days of my life. That much I know it will suffice. Because my deepest desire in ministry is to be able to be so flexible and dynamic for God. If He wills me to continue to minister to the youth, then so be it. If He wants me to minister to the sick and dying in the hospitals, let His will be done. I realise that I'd rather not know for now so soon what is my calling specifically, because it gives me opportunity to see every need and minister without reservation. I don't want to be just stuck on one ministry, but I want to be diverse. God, use me in 2008.

And lastly, my job. Working in GRC is something I have always given thanks for ever since the day I joined the happy family of GRCians. This job has taught me and is still teaching me about how God is using the younger generation to impact the world. It's a privilege to be able to be a part of God's plan in using them to preach the gospel and change their peers. I don't think I dislike children as much as I used to in the past thanks to this job^^ Of course there have been ups and downs that I have been through while serving at GRC but at the end, God's grace enabled not only myself, but all the staff, to persevere and come out victorious. I am praying and hoping that 2008 will be an even more successful year in seeing the children discipled and trained by the Lord and see them achieve and make known their testimony to everyone. I'm staying on for 2008 and I know that 2008 will be a year of change. Already, I am experiencing the changes as I write these words. But by God's grace, I will see 2008 be a different year because God is in it!

Christmas Projekt 2007

From the 19th of December until yesterday the 25th, I was involved with a combined effort of church members to bring the gospel's version of Christmas to our community this year. We kicked start with hospital visits at General Hospital, followed by two visits to two different orphanages and next was getting involved with carolling in our neighhourhood. Mind you, my neighbourhood isn't a housing area, we carolled at the hawker centres and smack in the middle of the mamak stalls. Not to mention carolling in the middle of my apartment's swimming pool area so that all the people in my area could hear us singing and proclaiming the Saviour's name. We also lit candles and did a carolling walk around our area - Section 2 - and sang all the way as we made a journey from one end to another end. Moreover, we had Christmas Nites on the 23rd, 24th and 25th. We had Acapella singing, band performance, skit, song presentation and games that night. At the very end we ended with talking about the gospel and sharing it to our friends that we'd invited that night. Also throughout the week, there was sports - archery, basketball, bowling and badminton as well.

Of course there were a lot of behind the scenes preparations that we had to do prior our Christmas Projekt week. We baked thousands of cookies, literally thousands!!! We put the cookies into gold/silver gift bags. Inside the bags we placed the cookies, some wafers, a booklet of testimonies from our church on God's blessings and a card with Bible verses in Mandarin/English for our friends/community to read. Not to mention preparing our throats to sing and practising hard our guitar skills and acting skills. For me, I had to prepare a story on the birth of Jesus Christ in BAHASA... pengsan aku (I faint!) One of my friends had to wear a Santa suit for story telling at one of the orphanages. The acapella team had to swear off eating oily food, drinking cold water, eating ice cream etc etc for the sake of their performance! We sacrificed many things for this project. Not to mention weeks of fasting and prayer together before the actual week started...

In the midst of it, God sustained us with His strength and anointing. We would end each day during that week feeling tired but wake up the next day strong and ready for another day of activities. We prayed for the sick, we played with children, we prayed for the youth at the orphanages, we packed hundreds and hundreds of gift bags, we joined in sports and ended up with a bit bruises here and there... God still sustained us!

All glory be to Jesus Christ! I don't know yet the number of people who have made a decision to follow Jesus but I've heard testimonies of people getting healed in the hospitals, a gangster in the hospital confronted by conviction from God and cried, children full of hate and hurt who turned peaceful after a prayer... God, so many of Your workings are among us even as we set our hearts to minister! Thank You, Jesus! Christmas isn't about gifts, it's about telling the world about You! Please use us more in 2008, God.

Thank You, Jesus.

and all I want for Christmas...

... is that all of YOU who know me or read this blog...

a MERRY CHRISTMAS...

Never forget. Christmas is not about santa claus. It's the birth of a Saviour, whether you believe it or not... Jesus was born for YOU!!!! And His arrival on earth was a departure from heaven, a separation of the Father and his beloved Son. It's the day when Jesus started to grow up into the Savior who would die on the cross for our sins. Withtout His birth, we would not have the cross on Calvary.

As many of us go for countdowns and shout MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Remember... that when Jesus was born, God was counting down the days when this child would grow up to die for the whole world. His life is the greatest gift anyone could give to a person. No one can outgive God because He gave His only precious Son. That whoever believes in Him will have salvation and live eternally and will not persish, but can look forward to a new life in God and eternal dwelling in heaven with God the Father [john3:16 paraphrase]

Said the king to the people everywhere,
"Listen to what I say! Listen to what I say!
Pray for peace, people, everywhere,
Listen to what I say! Listen to what I say!
A Child, A Child sleeping in the night
He will bring us goodness and light,
He will bring us goodness and light."

He will bring YOU goodness and light.

Merry Christmas and happy new year people! Love YOU ALL! But God loves you MORE!

when you're too free...

Hee... something I did out of boredom and free time! Enjoy!

what's wrong with this world?

choices...choices

Our lives are all about making choices. Will you eat nasi lemak today or mee goreng? Will you turn and pick up the paper that just fell to the floor or ignore it for awhile?

The choices we make have caused us to forfeit the choice of another thing.. If I choose to take a taxi, I lose the opportunity to save money by taking the LRT. If I choose to keep anger in my heart today, I lose the joy of feeling thankful for the circumstance. So in the essence of making choices, we forgo choosing something else in the process.

So mom, I made my choice. I chose to work where I'm working right now. I know it forgoes that long-ago RM2700 salary I had when I first came back from UK and I was working in this fancy institution in University Malaya, but I've chosen to stay where I am now at GRC.

Because I realise that although life is about making choices and counting the cost. I choose to educate young minds and young hearts because I hope that one day, they will learn to make wiser choices and choose to serve God with their lives.

I choose the future, and not the present. I choose to go down a different path.

God, I choose to listen to Your direction for my life.

GRC (specially my PJ kiddoes)... I choose you.

who am i? a brief introduction

PERSONAL BIODATA

Name: Catherine Ong Mei Ling

Age: 25

Birthdate: 6 February 1982

Current address: Section 2, Wangsa Maju

Church: World Harvest Church

Family: Mom and me (I'm an only child!!!)

Favourite colour: Black

Graduated as: Bachelor's degree in Biology and Chemistry

Hates: Dishonesty, durians (yeck), people who are late and last-minute in their work, Satan
Wishes: to get married and have children // to adopt children by age 30

OOOOH.. I LIKE!!! I LIKE!!!

My favourite past times:

Badminton, taking pictures, blogging, reading, debating, drawing, playing guitar//piano

Role models:

God the Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit

Favourite writers:

Philip Yancey, C. S. Lewis, Junn Chang, Adeline Yen-Mah

Favourite bands//singers//groups:

Hillsongs, United Live, Planet Shakers, Casting Crowns, Parachute Band, Mercy Me, Lincoln Brewster, Chris Tomlin, Tim Hughes, Paradise Live, Life Church, Switchfoot, Relient K, Jars of Clay, Mandy Moore, Vanessa Carlton, Boyzone, Backstreet Boys, Elliot Yamin, Rain

CAREER PATH
Currently working as:

Supervisor at Grace Resource Homeschooling Centre, PJ(2 years running already! woot!)//part-time English tuition teacher

Used to work as:

Promoter at gift shops (downtown//KLCC), Waitress (hotels//restaurants), Form 1 - Form 4 tuition teacher, part-time journalist at New Straits Time Press, Research Assistant at Asia Europe Institute (at University Malaya), part-time English to Mandarin article translator
Aiming to work as:

Radio DJ, columnist, book publisher, writer, magazine editor

Dreams of having:

A company that organizes youth events and campaigns, a recording Christian band based in Malaysia that is heard on local radio stations

Yup! Thats briefly about me for the past 25 years or so! I hope it's helped some of you know me better because I'm so busy nowadays with work, church and my personal projects that I don't really have time to sit down and relax and chit-chat. Or sometimes, when I DO have time...others are busy.

So thanks for reading this, whoever you are. Nice to know you. And if you want to add me on MSN... do so by adding flyindance0206@hotmail.com onto your MSN contacts XD

GY Camp 2007 .:D.I.E:.

Here's my take of GY Camp 2007. The four days there in Cameron Highlands really went by fast and almost every single minute was used up for activities or grappling for rest. It's my first time going to GY Camp and my sum up of the whole affair is...

... it rocks!!!

Here's the First Day happenings...

We boarded the bus at USJ after having a looooong delay of fetching the GRC students from PJ (sorry for the late arrival guys and gals!) and we ended up detouring back to Grace PJ to guide the other two buses to pick up the PJ campers. After that, we went on our way to the camp site. On the bus, I entertained myself by singing, walking down the bus to visit my kiddies and making sure no one threw up on the way.

The bus driver, out of his creativity took out his DVDs and I was giving thanks until the TV screen showed the dreaded words... BLACK SHEEP. A movie depicting zombie sheep that eat humans and how a bunch of humans restore order in the place. It was utterly disgusting and some of the girls were grossed out. It made me hungry though for some reason. Baaa...

After settling down our luggage when we arrived at Camerons, we proceeded to go for lunch and then went on our first activity... the Treasure Hunt. We didn't manage to finish the hunt but for what its worth, it helped our team - KFC - bond. Huffing and puffing we were as we teared around the campsite frantically looking for the first clue which Benny Wong mysteriously told us, "Lonely woman crying by a waterfall..." When we finally found it [a framed picture of a waterfall] we'd already lost time. Nevertheless, our group grew closer thanks to that because everyone had to think and use our brains.

Our name tag for K.F.C. (Kingdom for Christ), designed by Sophira Chong

My Team (I'm missing)..
Joshua, Gerald, Moses, Eugene, Sophira, Ta Yong, Brenda, Jern Lynn, Jared, Aaron, Fong Hei and Lee Chean

Second Day Rocked ;)

We had a workshop where Pastor John talked about friendships and what makes or breaks a friendship, the qualities you look for in a friend etc etc. But of course, the highlight of the second day was probably the fact that everyone was looking forward to Hydrowar. Because there were 20 countries in total, we were split into four continents. Ours was the colour yellow which comprised of - Kampung Bikini Donuts, Kampung Chillex, Teh Tarik Republic, Thousand Island and KFC. We had a great time squirting at each other and at the other teams. At one point people just started pouring water on others. Thanks to the rain, the first few teams who walked up to the battlefield (a Convent school) were drenched and shivering. But as the war started, the temperature rose as we fought valiantly for our bases and tried desperately to keep it dry.

Glory to the Yellow fellows! We came and we saw the other teams kill each other, and then we conquered the rest who were still alive! Muahahaha....

YEAH!!! WATER IN YER FACE!!!!

Third Day: Encountering the King of Kings

We watched a movie called Amazing Grace depicting the lives of two best friends. Pitt was desperate to become Prime Minister and Wilburforce wanted to abolish slavery. Youth was their trump card, and they were too young to realise that things were impossible... an observation that I liked very much. Here's a question to pose to ourselves as we get older every year...

"Are you too old to believe that you can do the impossible?"

The day session with Pastor Henry (the senior pastor) was enlightening because he talked about pornography, abortion and the purpose God created a man and a woman in the first place. I like his statement, "Once in a lifetime... not one at a time!" Besides that, we saw pictures of how babies looked like physically when they were aborted at different stages of their short lives in their mother's womb. The boys were grossed out, I could tell. Also he stressed to the girls to marry a man, not a boy. And the four steps a guy needs to go through before he can marry a girl he loves - be straight in every aspect in life, walk with God, get a job, get ready a home. Guys, hear that?

Did you know, that when a doctor inserts the scissors into the womb, to cut the baby up, the baby gives a silent scream of help? Pastor Henry's words haunt me whenever I think of abortion now...

"But does anyone hear the baby cry? No."

Pastor Henry observing the crowd of teenagers

But what I remember most was the third night's worship. In fact, every night there was just a strong presence of God. I didn't really join the crowd inside the hall because most of the time I was at Heaven Eleven (the tuck shop). But even there, the presence of God would be so strong that tears would flow and my throat would be all choked up with emotion.

That night, God called me to remember His plans for me. I tried to run away time and again. In fact, I've been running away for the whole of 2007. At camp, I had nowhere else to run because He was there face-to-face. I could see many had fallen under God's power, Bryant was baptised in the Spirit, many were crying and deep in worship. God's presence was so strong some couldn't even get up. It was just... too awesome for words to describe.

The last day was packing up and getting ready to board the bus. The funny thing I was left behind and couldn't follow the buses but it was a blessing in disguise actually because I followed the camp committee to eat SCONES, BUTTER, CREAM and STRAWBERRY JAM! Yum... not to mention hot cocoa as well!

After that, I proceeded to make my journey back to KL in Aubrey's car with Eunice. But we only made our way down around 6pm after stopping by Kea's Farm for some fresh vegetables, Cameron Tea bags, jam and also to the farms to checkout the strawberries. We only shared a box there with some ice cream as most of the berries were sour and mushy thanks to the nonstop rain and lack of sunshine. But it was cool. At Kea's Farm I also tasted this delicacy which you don't find in KL.... honey covered sweet potato balls that are deep fried until they are hot and crispy!

I finally reached home at 11pm and alls well that ends well I must say! I praise God for providing for this camp and touching many lives including mine. I never expected to hear so specifically from God and be cornered by Him at camp. It was painful but I find my freedom in Christ as always!

Thank you to all the committee members and to those who took the time to chat and be friendly to me, I'll never forget you ;) I'm definitely pumped up for next year's camp!

*my next post will be about certain individuals I observed in camp and my pictures taken at Kea's Farm and the strawberry farm :)

Some personal revelation

I know my post for GY Camp is due and Sophira is grumbling... but let me blog about something else first...

When my sight was darkened by confusion
When I lost sight of You
Your voice broke through the clamour
Restored order, peace and truth

Just when I thought I had ran away for good,
You drew me back to You
Just when I had it all figured out
You called me back to You

Called me back to purpose
Called me back to hope
A life worth living again
Because You call me by my name

Never will I mistake that Voice
Never will I deny my path
For its not that I have chosen
But You have appointed and decreed

Just when I thought I had ran away for good,
You drew me back to You
Just when I had it all figured out
You called me back to You

That last night at camp. For the past 11 months of 2007, I have been busy with work, but the busiest I was with was to run from something that I knew God had deposited into my life since the year 2003. I had decided to let it go in 2007 and with tears and agony in my heart I told God to show me if I had made a mistake to let go of His calling for me.

As the year 2007 progressed, every single month I would be at a place where someone would be talking about calling. I would get dreams and hear sermons about Jonah running from God's assignment for him. Friends would preach about Jonah. And then.... GY Camp happened.

When Ps. John gave a call to those who were called to make a stand before God and man. I balked. God, how could You do this to me? I made a quick move to the back entrance of the hall and hid among the people there in hopes that I'd forget about what was being said. Then Ps. John gave a second call to those who are standing behind who haven't come forward. Great, so God isn't going to let off, right?

I didn't go. And this time. The tears wouldn't hold themselves anymore. I knew I had denied Him again and this time, the pain was too much to bear. I cried and cried. I talked to a good friend and realised through her wise words that I know that I know that I know now...

That my true release will come when I acknowledge God's will upon my life and STOP running from Him.

So God, here I am... ready to embrace Your assignment for me. I won't run from it anymore.

Waiting for GY Camp to happen...: )

Currently I'm staying overnight at the Jesudasans' place so I decided to do some blogging while I'm still awake.

What am I expecting from GY Camp 2007? Well for starters, yours truly doesn't actually hail from Grace Assembly but well... I'm expecting to hear from God and its a conviction within me to go for this camp and help.

I don't really know what to expect. But I want God to touch EVERYONE at GY Camp so that no youth will go back just having another fun, crazy, nonsensical and wild camp. In response to a remark made by Joshua Jesudasan who said, "Everyone acts like another person at camp", I think its a matter of choice.

If going to camp means you become wilder and lose self-control, then don't go to camp. If it means coming back being a changed person for the better, then kudos to you. Really, God...

I want this camp to change all of us!

And now...introducing a new family member to the Jesudasans.

Put your hands together to ruffle the all adorable, cute and greyish....

SHADOW!!!!

Shadow's a greyish Persian mix and belongs to Sean. She's so friendly and cuddly. When she purrs she sounds as loud as a sewing machine. Eventhough I was new to her, she wasn't even scared of me but was playinjg with me from the very start.

Did I mention that I just LOOOOOVE CATS?!

People who have made a difference in my life in 2007 PART ONE

Wow... the number of posts that I have made today alone for Dec 5th, 2007 is more than I've ever written for the past few months! I'm so proud of myself... Aaaaanywaaaysss... I just want to take a moment to give due recognition to some people who have made an impact in my life for the life 2007. This is the first chapter entitled... "Those Pretty Girls I Call My GirlFriends"




*drum roll*

(TOP from the left: Elaine, Colleen, Belinda; Bottom from left: Michelle LP, Monica, Connie Lai)

Elaine - she's the one who always maintains a calm mind and logic for any situation. Although she's a bit blur, but she's been a great encouragement whenever she's around. Not to mention her cooking! Yummm... I'll always remember your beef strips! She reads quite a bit and I think she has better grammar than me.

Colleen - my dearest lil sister! She is sensitive to the needs of people and is never afraid to try new things. Having her is really like having a lil sister because she treats you with great respect and love. She's a great dancer and trainer, guitarist and drummer too! She has a great taste for food as well because she hails from Penang, her tastebuds never fail her and she and I have tasted some good food together: )

Belinda - the artist in our group of 20 smthings! She's the one who always never fails to have a joke and smile up her sleeve. Her cheerfulness and responsible attitude is something I've always been blessed with. Thanks for being our willing driver to fetch us from Wangsa Maju to SS2 in PJ, Bel! We know that's your way to bless us and we appreciate it! Don't be fooled by her quiet demeanour when you first get to know her... she's actually very noisy and fun-loving once you get to know her long enough!

Michelle LP - aka Fatimah... I've known her for like 5 years and still counting. Her passion and zeal is always on the rise and she's never stopped being dilligent in upkeeping her walk with God. Now that she's studying in UCSI, I bet her coursemates are being blessed with her energy and leadership! Keep marching, soldier!

Monica Lee - my spiritual leader/mom/comrade. I've known her the longest in this group. She's been my cell leader ever since I could remember and we've been staying in the same house for the past 2 to 3 years. We've been through our rough patches, conquered fears and grown to know each other better as the years go by. She amazes me time and again by her exercising of faith, energy and reliance on God. Truly, I wouldn't have stayed on track during those dark times in my problems if it weren't for her constant follow up and prayer support. Thank you, you're a blessing!

Connie Lai - WHO could forget this girl?! She used to stay in my apartment for 2 weeks and although I didn't know her then personally, her laughter was already ringing in my ears whenever she was at home. Her passion for God, her love for Christ... it is really simple and matter-of-fact to her. Something a person who is too scientific and logical minded like me has to learn. I've seen her struggle with her issues in life but it has never gotten her down for long. Because she always professes she's a precious child of God...and that means... she inherits the greatness and authority of God as well. Rock on, Connie Lai!

WAIT... There's one more!!! The pretty lady in the cap on the left is...

Charissa - She's one of those few people who knows me inside out without really asking me what's goin on on the inside. God's blessed her with a heart that is soft and warm at the same time. By the way, Belinda (on the right) is her cousin! Charissa's an awesome pianist who plays with her soul and not music notes. She's seen me at my worst and has never failed to sit down and just listen to me pour my heart out. She doesn't intrude but she does insist on her decision in her quiet and strong way. I'm going to miss her a lot when she goes to the UK to further her studies in music!

Well, that's Part One...stay tuned for Part Two!

YES!!!

FINALLY.... *sighs in contentment*

Ok...can we please see Voyage of The Dawntreader, The Last Battle out also...

Pretty please....

My 2008

What do I expect my 2008 to be like? I've asked myself that question about a month ago. As I look back and review my 2007, there have been glitches here and there... slip ups and U-turns at *points* here... here...and THERE...

So do I get frustrated? Do I get resentful? I do indeed have the right to be angry with certain individuals and situations that cropped up in 2007, but I choose instead to look at these happenings and smile. Not because I'm looney and I'm not being real with life...if you know me long enough you will find I'm an extremely logic-minded person... but I choose to be happy and give thanks for the many, many happening sin 2007 because I have seen God's hand upon my life.

The times when I was stretched to my maximum in faith and emotions, God taught me that He can replenish that faith and emotional strength. There were times when my authority in Christ was challenged and God reminded me that He has given the keys to bind and loose in the heavenly places. I went through moments of not being understood, isolation and depression; but within those dark days, God was there to support, comfort and hold me in His arms when I cried and cried until my throat was raw and the tears would fall hot and fast. It was painful, but God went through more pain and I finally caught a glimpse of what it meant to be in the shoes of Jesus. I'm not claiming glory. I'm just realising what it means to DIE everyday and deny everything else and carry my cross.

So how is my 2008 going to be? Well... I want it to be God's 2008 for me. I've been challenged financially for these past few months, but I believe God will provide in 2008. I'm believing for a car to come in 2008. I'm believing that more disciples will be made and the youth will have a growing passion to be more like Jesus everyday and be key influencers in their own peer groups in school and out of school. I'm believing that God will use me more for His Kingdom's glory. I'm believing that God can have His way with me. I'm believing that 2008 will be a year where I submit and surrender more of myself to Him because He is the only person I trust with all my heart.

I want God in my 2008. In the year 2007 I confess there were times God was left out of the picture and I struggled with my own might and strength. But my 2008 will be different. I don't have any special offering to offer to God at the moment, but I'm going to lay my 2008...all 365 days of it... on the altar and offer it up as a burnt offering.

I'm offering my all to God. It will be my reminder everyday that everytime in 2008, whenever I stray from God's will... I've stolen the offering that rightfully belongs to God. Everytime I ignore God, it will mean that I've withheld what is rightfully God's from Him. It sounds like a serious reminder, but honestly... God is a serious God concerning our promises to Him.

God is serious about blessing each and everyone of us. He's serious in making us great.

But how many of us are willing to stay committed to God's promises and instructions to us? How many of us have strayed and chosen to be complacent with our faith? How many of us started fiery in our faith, but later our hearts become cold and troubled?

Are you ready to...
D......Do
I........It
E.......Everyday?

Take up your cross daily. Crucify yourself daily. Are you ready to DIE?

There must be more...

There must be more than this...
God, more than just playing church on a Sunday
O breath of God come breathe within

There must be more than this...
Oh, more than just sitting in cell groups and playing an ice-breaker
Spirit of God we wait for You.

Fill us anew we pray,
Fill us anew we pray...
Lord, fill up that spiritual hunger for something more

Consuming fire fan into flame a passion for Your Name
Spirit of God fall in this place
Lord have Your way,
Lord have Your way with us...
When I say that Lord, I pray it won't just be another lip-service.

Come like a rushing wind...
Come! Come! Sweep us away like never before!
Clothe us with power from on high,
Now set the captives free,
Leave us abandoned to Your praise.
Oh, just to be caught in that secret place and be undignified with praise!

Lord let Your glory fall,
Lord let Your glory fall.

Stir it up in our hearts Lord,
Stir it up in our hearts Lord,
Stir it up so much that we break down and repent
Stir it up so that we fall face down broken, naked and exposed
Stir it up in our hearts Lord,
A passion for Your Name
That I may serve Jesus, the Love of my life

Entering God's Presence...

This book has really helped revolutionise my approach towards worship and given me a deeper spiritual insight about how to ready myself when I come before the King of Kings. It outlines the process of drawing close to God via the structure of the Tabernacle given to Moses by God and gives us a crystal clear picture right from the outer courts, to the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies and how these three sections of the Tabernacle relate to our daily walk with God as it progresses deeper and deeper until we meet God face-to-face.

Not only that, Derek Prince highlights the different levels of relating to God, namely - praise, thanksgiving and worship. He outlines the level of intimacy and surrender we need to attain to finally be able to approach God and see Him, meet with Him and touch Him.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to get serious with having a heart of worship before God. It's not just for those who are in the worship ministry(though I'm going to make it a point to share more of this to the team in GRC PJ), but I believe this book will be a blessing to those who have been wondering just how to cultivate an even deeper relationship with God. It's helped me remind myself everyday to not just stay stuck in the outer courts, but I've learnt to make the effort to find myself in the Holy of Holies.

Interested? Ask me more about certain snippets I like from the book! It's worth a look or buy!

I wanna blog now...

It's been a while since I've blogged. Checking the dates I realise the frequency of blog posts occur on an average of one post in a month for the whole year of 2007! Well, personally, I love to write but 2007 has been an awesomely-BUSY year for me.

But as I reflect back on the year 2007 (that's my habit), I can begin to count the blessings. This year has been a year of depending on God for satisfaction and sustenance. Many a time I could have just chose to drop the tasks at hand and walked away, but somehow, the Holy Spirit would have none of that and I found myself learning more when I submitted to God. I've grown to recognise God's voice even more clearer this year and He's been faithful and even surprising me with some spiritual gifts which I never thought I'd deserve. Even until now, it still makes me wonder why God entrusted me with some things and events that have happened this year. I can only lift my hands to surrender my life to the One who gave His life for me first.

But aside from spiritual blessings... I have some physical blessings in the form of people. These few people have been around me for the whole year and somehow, when things got rough, one look at their funny antics and expressions, have helped me through some bad patches in life this year. They might be almost 10 years younger than me, but we manage to see eye-to-eye with most things and I count myself blessed to have their company.



These three people (from left) - - Kelvin Wong, Paul Mae and Sophira - - They are dear to my heart.

Kelvin is a real gentleman and he's really good around the girls because he doesn't act bossy, neither is he too macho to mingle with the opposite sex. The best is he's sensitive to a person's mood eventhough no one says anything. He's the first to notice a change in mood in anyone in the classroom. Not to mention he's handsome and athletic as well!

Paul Mae is the one who always wants to compete with me to see who says "Hi" to the other first. Most days she wins just because she starts shouting hi to me even before she gets down from her car, which in my opinion is kinda cheating. Don't you think so, Paul Mae? Some days, I do see her first, but I let her say hi to me first because I love to see her look so delighted that she beat me to it. For a 10 year old going on 11, she has the mentality of a 14 year old. Her expressions, words and intelligence are way ahead of her age. But I like it best when she hugs me. Because she's like a baby sis I never had =)

Sophira Chong... is ... is.... is..... someone I can't do without in the classroom. You can't miss her laugh and her smile because she's a happy-fun-loving person. Even if she gets emo it'll just be for a short moment and she'll be back to her hyper and optimistic self again. Which a trait I truly respect her for. Not to mention that she and I click very much out of school. She's only 15 and we're 10 years apart but I totally do not feel the age gap because she has maturity, a good head on her shoulders! I've never seen her cry except for one rare occasion and I always get the impression that one day she'll grow up and be a famous dancer/writer/graphic designer. I'll miss her terribly when she goes homeschooling because there won't be anyone to call me Ms. Catherineeey the way she does. Soph, if you're reading this... I miss you already!

Well, that's one post and one picture for tonight. Don't worry, I'm motivated to blog. So more posts and pics to come! Stay tuned!

Soph was here

Wow, check this sexy thang OUT!
mwehehehe.
So beautiful.
Thanks to.....? :p

Btw, this was very VERY first skin last year!
So be honored! HAR HAR.

Kudos to Drogue Designs. Ya'll rock.

I'll be BAAACKKKK.

- The One and Only Soph.