Christmas in Sept??

Was feeling rather 'sian' at work today, so decided to listen to some music. Searched my mp3 list and suddenly had an urge to listen to Christmas songs. Yes, its a wee bit too early I know, but well, listened to them anyway. Haha, it's one of my favourite album, called "Christmas for Worship" by Kent Henry. They are familiar Christmas songs, sung in the typical Kent Henry, worshipful style.

Listening to them got me rather "into" Christmas mood. And that got me started thinking about how to bring home the message of Christmas at my workplace. I know that I do not want to miss the opportunity to make a difference to the lives of people around me, and neither does God... So I guess there's got to be lots of delibrate praying and planning about it. And it's never too early to start...

Amazed

We sang a new song at service on Sunday. Was super touched by the lyrics of the song, especially the stanza's words. And very thankful that A passed me e song to listen as she got it in one of her CDs, so am able to enjoy the song again and again =) Had wanted to post the song here, but have yet to figure out how to do the link, and its a bit late now lah, so shall kiv it...

Song is called "Amazed". Sings of the Lord's love for me, and how He rejoices over me, when I am totally unaware. Music (keyboard and guitar) also very uplifting. Oh, how I want to be like John who boasted of the Lord's love for him, and not like many other disciples who boasted of their love for the Lord.

Amazed
You dance over me while I am unaware
You sing all around but I never hear a sound

Lord I am amazed by You
Lord I am amazed by You
Lord I am amazed by You
How You love me

How wide
How deep
How great
Is Your love for me

Irritation

Was reading J's post about 10 things that irritate her, and it reminded me of a recent encounter that really irritated me. Well, predictably, it happened on board a public bus, and predictably, the source is the passenger sitting next to me...

This middle-aged male boarded the bus and sat next to me. He was balding slightly. Throughout the whole journey, he seemed very concerned about his hair. Every 2 minute or so, he would raise his hand to attempt to sweep his hair off his face. I believe that it was just a habitual motion, since his fringe was not out of place at all! It appeared as if he were dusting at his hair, as if sweeping dandruff off his head, towards me! Yes, I was becoming rather paranoid that some of the dust/dirt/dandruff did actually fall on me. Errrgh!

In my mind, I was deliberating what to do - to tell him outright not to do it, to hint or show my disgust by staring at him, to choose to get out of my seat, or to quietly 'tahan' it and pray and pray that he will alight soon... For those who know me, yes, I chose the last option, coupled with the occasional stares at him. Yet, he did not get the hint. Sigh.. Boy was I glad when he finally alighted, say, about 20 minutes later.

Guess I am not the confrontational type eh... This is a rather trival matter, but I do hope that should I be faced with a more significant issue(s), my response would not be that of shying away or avoidance.

Teachers' Day

Can't believe it! My previous post was not published!! Got to retype again!!!

Had wanted to testify that Sunday’s Children Min program went on very well, despite the glitches in the video startup. We taught the children to make Rocher flower stalks, and then we bundled them into bouquets for the kids to present to their teachers. The end product was very beautiful, I must say... Thanks to Lucy and Ling.

The other segment was the video quiz. Thank God that facilitating it wasn't as difficult as I had anticipated. I just needed to be "ra-ra" with the kids, and be full of energy. Thank God that Chris was with me to handle the segment, and the children were really spontaneous and responsive. It was over all too soon. And honestly, I found the experience quite enjoyable =)

The other thanksgiving item was the acting and video recording done 1 week beforehand. It was very smooth and completed within 1 afternoon. And we all enjoyed ourselves in the process. Actually, when the idea was first mooted, I wasn't very optimistic. We did not have any prior experience acting and filming, and I thought we were quite reserved people. Hmmm, but I was wrong.. Everyone shed off our inhibitions and gave off our best for the recording, and we discovered new talents in our midst!! Ha ha! Certainly, recording of skits is a very viable option for future programs! Anyway, we hoped that the message was carried across clearly.

What really warms my heart is that every "Hopie" we approached to be involved in this program readily agreed to help out. And we managed to amass a rather large team of helpers to plan, practise and help out on the actual day. I believe all of us have had great fun, judging by the smiles on our faces at the end of the program. And we pray that the program has encouraged the children min leaders to press on in their service. All glory be to God!

A Father's Heart

Attended the course on Father Heart of God yesterday and today, and I have been blessed to hear the testimonies by the speaker Jo. Jo is a full-time staff with a christian organisation. He speaks with such enthusiasm, and realness. I marvel at his experiences of God, and how God provided for all his needs, especially financially since he knew the Lord in 1980s. The lessons were not easy, but through it all, he has drawn so much closer to God. Oh, he shared about how he had to get a suit for his wedding 4 years back, and how he had a budget of $600. Yet, he was ultimately blessed with a branded suit costing at least $2k! And he shared how he was so overwhelmed by God's goodness and provision, and God had whispered to him "A Father clothes His child". Oh, my heart just melted when I heard that. I could just imagine hearing the Lord whisper such personable words to me.

Indeed, "how great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!" 1 Jn 3:1
I have this in my head knowledge, but oftentimes, my heart is just not convinced. As pointed out by Jo, we tend to believe in the lie of the enemy, that God is good, but He is not good to me. How I have fallen for this lie so many times. And the challenge is to have the eyes of my heart enlightened as I encounter, experience Him at an intimate level.

I realised that I actually have many conflicts between my thoughts and feelings about God. The thoughts are generally formed by God's Word and Truth, but the feelings are a result of experiences, and they are often distorted views of God. I pray that God help me identify these distorted views, and right them in my heart.