More on Dew Trip @ Singapore

Hi There... am back again here at 1250am...

where do I start.. yeah.. about the wonderous exposure and retreat for my ministry.
29th August 2004

We got up early on Sunday morning, proceeded for breakfast. We reached City Harvest for the 9am celebration.. this was my 3rd time to City Harvest. Must say that each time I am in awe of the servants of God serving at City Harvest. They have hearts to serve with a spirit of excellence. Celebration was as always excellent. Very "Hillsong" like, similar to what we do in DUMC! Of course more canggih, however this does not mean that we worship less because we don't have as much as them. Praise God for blessing them. We at DUMC have our own style of worship and it is also unique to us. I guess we can always learn to serve as they do, meeting the needs of our church here in PJ!

Some of the sermon points that we learnt.. about

6 Don't of Dealing with Hurts ( John 16:33 )

There are 3 ways that we can hurt
1. We hurt physically
2. We hurt emotionally
3. We hurt relationally

So the 6 ways with dealing with hurt (especially wrt #3) are

1. Don't ignore the hurts (Ps 39:2-3)
2. Dont' run from the hurt (Ps 55:6-8)
3. Don't hide your hurt (Ps 32:3)
4. Don't worry about the hurt (Job 5:2, Ps77, Ps55:2, PS37:8)
- worry is an attempt to control something that cannot change. Even if you can change it be careful because as followers of Christ we need to apply faith.
- Worry is actually prayer in reverse.
- Prayer (in faith) enables us to recognise and makes God "bigger" in the circumstance
- Worry (dwelling upon the issue) makes God smaller in our lives.
5. Don't resent the hurt
6. Don't give up

I guess point #4 speaks very much to me. And I need to exercise FAITH even more. Because my aim in my life is to please God and in Heb 11:6. Without Faith it is impossible to please God! So I thru prayer I continue to claim that I will overcome worry and increase in faith!! Amen!

We met up with Mr Suraj, the facilities officer after the celebration. We met him 2 years ago. Don't think he remembers me. Well, he gave us a tour of the facilities, which was amazing and learnt more this time around! Am amazed at how they have served, I pray that we'll catch the same spirit of excellence and servanthood that they have over here at City Harvest. Throughout the whole time, he was always smiling and even "belanja" (paid for) us with some muffins and brownies and Apple & Aloe Vera juice! Amazing..

Hey, better sign off now! Better fellowship with my fellow ministry mates!

Lord Bless you all.. till later.. God Bless

Dew Crew @ Singapore Thus FAR!

Hey there once again!

Well, I do wonder who actually reads my blogs, but hey, I'll write anyways.

It's 2:17 am on 30th August 2003, here at The Hangout @ Mt Emily (http://www.hangouthotels.com/)

We've had a splendid time over here in Singapore so far.

Well here's a gist of what's happened so far..

Saturday 28th August, we set out for Singapore at 830am in the morning. We had a wondeful time of Praise & Worship in the bus, and a impromptu MTV recording in the bus with yours truly on guitars in the bus
We arrived at the Hangout at approximately 4pm in Singapore after many stops along the highways and clearing the customs etc etc.

We then proceeded to visit Lighthouse Evangelism church in Woodlands. We attended what was called the Miracle Service. I guess some of us were tired that we dozed off a little during the message. Points to note about Lighthouse is that

• built with a huge stage and 3 storey balcony
• A pair of line arrayed speakers. AWESOME sound! Just so crystal clear. It's one of the latests churches that's been built in Singapore. The worship leader's singing was very beautiful and even effortless.

Take home points from the sermon :
God's created each and everyone of us so uniquely that He has never made anyone and will never make anyone else just like us. And He sent His son Jesus Christ to be our Saviour. And like in the parable of the Lost Sheep, Luke 15:3-7, Jesus our Shepherd took the trouble to come searching for us, the Lost Sheep. And upon finding us raises us upon His shoulder's rejoicing. Because in His eyes and in His Kingdom, we are precious because we belong to Him, and there will never be anyone else in this World that's made just like we have been made. We are uniquely and specially made for His purpose, to fulfil His purpose that we may have life and life unto the fullest. Therefore shouldn't we be all the more the more excited that we as Christians have this special task and privilege to actually serve Jesus by spreading His Good news in order that more and more unique people (created specially by a loving God) back into His Kingdom.
For we want to see and hear Heaven rejoicing over the salvation of one unique person each day. Remember, we are all part of the bigger picture of God's "Big Jigsaw puzzle". We all have a special place, shape, attributes, function and purpose to fulfill, in order that God's glory may be complete! Let us continue to shine for Jesus Phil 2:14-16 Do everything without complaining or arguing so that you may become blameless and pure, children of GOd without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life..

Goodness it's getting late. I have more to write but I guess I'll try to slot in some time tomorrow.
In summary on Sunday , we got up early, had breakfast, visited City Harvest Church in Jurong, had a tour of their facility and had a Q&A session. Had a light lunch at Suntec City before attending another celebration at New Creation Church a.k.a Rock, where we thence proceeded to have dinner at Marche in Suntec city itself. There we were joined by my dear brother and bassist extraordinaire Gabriel Thomas. We then went back to the Hangout for a quick debrief session. A quick walk down Selengie Road to have some drinks and discussion and now it's BEDTIME!.... Hope to write more tomorrow. Lord Bless

Another Singapore Roadtrip!!

Guess what guys and gals!

I'm in Singapore again! This time I'm with a cool bunch of guys and gals... We all serve in the same ministry in church called the DEW CREW. Nah! It's not anything like Motley Crue or anything.

Basically we're here in Singapore on a ministry retreat cum exposure trip. So far today we've not done much except for eat and then visit this really cool church called Lighthouse. It's located in Woodlands. Not much details on what their setup is like exactly. But the sound system is absolutely awesome!!! AWESOME!! The voices of the worship leaders and instruments were crisp and crystal clear. Man! I'd show you all pictures but we're not allowed to do take pictures in the sanctuary!...

Well signing off for now. Gotta sleep early to get up to visit City Harvest Church in Jurong at 8am tomorrow. Till tomorrow. God Bless!!

Peace out!!

The Joneses

"Anything you can do, I can do better... " was a song I remember hearing in a Cheese Ad in Australia. You know the feeling? Makes me feel "Grrr!!!"

What am I talking about? Well, not naming names, but I was over at a birthday party the other day and my cousin's mom-in-law who happens to be a "Born Again" Christian got on my nerves. Very sorry to say this, but she irked me a fair bit.

Ok here goes, some of you may now I come from a Catholic background. Irregardless of where I was or where I am, I have great respect for Catholics. I may not agree with some of their doctrine etc, but I was part of it. In a lot of ways who I am today is because of my Catholic upbringing. I don't resent being raised a Catholic. My parents brought me up well and the best way they knew how. We all have our "ideals" to how we should've been brought up, but we are where we are and that's God's design for us. So be it!

Why'd she get on my nerves? A few things she said :

1. "I am glad there's someone in family is of the same kind"
2. "How does your Catholic family treat you?"
3. "You should come and visit my church we are the best (in this and that)"

It just irk's me to know that people are still comparing between churches. I thought we were in the business of Evangelism and Salvation. I am glad to say that my church is not a perfect, and we have our faults. I am glad that we are humbled by our imperfectness, because we are only human. It shows us how much more we need to depend on God to strive for excellence in order to honour Him. I am glad that the church is growing in numbers because it shows that behind each number is another child of God returning to the Father's arms!

I love my family dearly and I respect them very much. I pray for them and share with them the lessons I have learnt from my church with them whenever I can. God's been so good to us. But I am not about to go telling them, you're wrong and I am right. You gotta love them into God's kingdom. I must admit I have a burden for my family members who are just practising the "going to church" bit, but not having a living and victorious relationship with Christ. But you gotta "love" people into God's kingdom. If my family can see Christ in me and are intrigued by it, Praise God it gives me an avenue to share with them God's good news.

I do not expect my family members to come to the same church as me, but I want them to have a living and real relationship with Christ. I see that in my parents! And I am very encouraged by my parents in the way they live their Christian lives by faith. Some "born-again" Christians may look upon them with scepticism, but I've seen how they live and I am have no qualms about their salvation. Praise Be To God!

So my point is, it doesn't matter if you're Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Baptist, Evangelical, Pentecostal whateva.. as long as you're living right with Jesus, and you know it, and He speaks clearly to you, convicts you and your life reflects His Majesty and Love.. Hey Brother.. Hey Sister.. you're COOL! :)

So let's continue to live a life of faith.. because without faith it is impossible to please God. Heb 11:6

The Transference Pt 3

Final and last part of the Transference process ;)

This blog was posted on Aug 12, 2004

Blue Wallabies or Donkeys

The trouble with not feeling well is that you get weird dreams or you don't get a good sleep. I didn't go for cell last night. I was feeling lousy the whole day. Feeling a wee bit tired but had some amount of work to do.

I still tried to prepare for cell, but I knew that if I went for cell and prepared for WORD, I'd just end up being tired and I'd be really worse off the next day.

Anyways, why the Blue Wallaby/Donkey? I had this weird dream last night about owning this donkey but I was supposed to send it somewhere. So I had to take it on this horse cart. And so we rode on this horse cart from Kangar (my hometown) to Alor Setar about 40km) away. So we took this ride. I was quite fond of this donkey. As we sped along the road, we realised that the road was iced. Pretty peculiar.. Iced roads in a tropical country. But miraculously we didn't slip or slide. Then we reached our destination. And when we reached there, i was saying good bye to the donkey, which had then turned into a wallaby and became blue in colour. Peculiar! Was very hard to say goodbye to the creature. As we struggled, I looked away and suddenly the the wallaby disappeared into the forest. As I saw it go, the wallaby turned back into an orange donkey. All very strange.

Well that's all I can write for now. Still wondering about this colour shapeshifting donkey/wallaby. ;)
Good night!

The Transference Pt 2

Being part 2 of transfering from another blog site to Blogspots! This post was on August 10,2004

The Tea Has Worn Off!!

Yeah, follow up to the tea story. Found out on the next day that the cheque that was sent in by the previous chief tennant actually bounced. Now can rest easy. Kinda troubling when you don't know what's happening with your cash and stuff like that. Am I bound by money?
What's been happening lately to me? Well, it's been a very interesting weekend. I actually spent 24 hours at home without leaving the house. I had to leave the room. Can't imagine what it's like being in solitary confinement in a prison. YIKES!

Spent the whole day catching up on some Bible reading, watching Samurai Jack ( Wahcaa!!) and other cartoons. Played my bass guitar for approximately 3 hours in total. Repaired a guitar as well. So it was a fruitful day in the house. Couldn't move around much because me ankle problem was there. So I mostly dozed off in and out on my Lazy chair. Very relaxing day. Kinda caught up with the sleep that I lost over the issue a couple of days before that.

God's been good in teaching me in how to be secure in relationships. A few years ago, I would worry, fret and let my mind run through many permutations of things that could go wrong, and from that I'd worry myself to sleep. Now, even if those issues run in my head, I am not worried. I am sure it's that reassurance from God that He's got all the bases covered. He's in charge. No longer I. "No longer I that liveth, but He that liveth in me!".

Well tonight we've got band practice with one of the YA Camp worship teams. I am excited as it's one of the few times I get to play worship songs on my bass with fellow Christian brothers and sisters. It's a different experience than playing secular songs. Secular songs has a self-centred effect on each player. Whilst when you're playing worship songs. Wow! The experience is awesomely different. Coz you're doing it unto the Lord. And it's just fantastic!!

Submitting this BLOG.. before I forget to submit it.. Got somethings to do!

The Transference Pt 1

Guess what... I'm moving! Yeah.. well not moving house just moving from 1 Blogsite to another. Not gonna name the other blogsite. Just felt that I wanna be here in this blogsite. Plus it's got the colour pink that I feel is something I wanna groove with right now.

So as being Part 1 of the Transference of my blog, please find my sharings dated Friday, August 6, 2004


Da Trouble With Money or Tea!

Hey hey hey! It's been like 2 weeks since I blogged. Not an excellent Blogger eh?
Well talking about money.. .*sigh*.. I couldn't sleep last night until nearly 5am. Why? Well here's the story.

I had an excellent time with my fren Bernard listening to some songs that we're gonna play at YA camp. Just catching up with him. Then I went for some tea at Mohsin with Cheryl. Caught up with her before she leaves for Australia on a weeklong holiday. The conversation was deep and thought provoking. Need another blog on that.. Yikes.. I'm backlogged on my blogs!
Of all nights.. I chose to drink tea. Maybe I have some kinda adverse effect to tea. But something else kept me awake. I received an SMS from our landlord saying that we're backlogged on our house rent. As far as I knew since I took over chief tennancy, I've been up to date. I couldn't talk with the previous chief tennant as he was already asleep.

So I stayed awake trying to think what it was that I could've missed out. Honestly thought it was my fault. So at 4 am I wrote a message to the previous chief tennant and slipped it underneath his door. In it I wrote how I don't like us to appear to be a bad testimony to our landlord if we were bad paymasters.

I kept on worrying what had we not fulfilled our payment until then. I tried releasing it to the Lord. Many times. I read God's word. .*something Cheryl shared with me

Ps37:24*....

"though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand. "

but I still found no rest. I tried listening to music and still I couldn't sleep. Until final I believe out of exhaustion I only slept at 5am. 3 hours later I got up and went to work.

I wonder could it have been the tea that kept me awake or really it was the money issue. There were a few more things that I was thinking about, but am sure that wasn't the issue. Maybe I shouldn't drink tea before I sleep. It was a very rare occassion that I took tea before I slept.
Lord tonight I pray for a good rest and peaceful sleep. Running off now. Got to go for dinner!.

Lord Bless you and your family!