Calling all ET Zoners
The Event of the Year is drawing near…whoops didn’t mean for that to rhyme!
Well after a long wait, the ET Zone Breakaway Camp is officially ON!
Expect a mighty move of God, games, bonding with fellow ET Zoners and a real mind-blowing, life-changing event for historymakers like us!
SEE YOU THERE!
A Happy Birthday To Jael Tan!
Some facts about Jael:
She likes the colour purple.
She once rubbed Mopiko on her eyes because it itched a lot.
She is a very good artist and drew a very convincing caricature of me at the Eiffel Tower.
She loves dolphins.
She’s a super slow eater, one plate at Pasta Mania took her an hour to finish, of course with a little help from me (ahem!).
We hope you’ll have rockin’ good birthday celebration. Believing with you for all the best this 14th year, greater heights in academics and spiritual growth as well.
But blessed is the man who trusts me, God,
the woman who sticks with God.
They’re like trees replanted in Eden,
putting down roots near the rivers—
Never a worry through the hottest of summers,
never dropping a leaf,
Serene and calm through droughts,
bearing fresh fruit every season.
Jeremiah 17:7-8, MSG
The statement above is a lovely thought. Life is too fast paced right now, I’m not even asking for an idyllic environment, I just want TIME to collect and order my thoughts. Maybe my reflex responses has been slow, but my life has gotten in the way of my living.
It’s amazing to know what can happen in twenty-four hours. Hurt, blessed, happy, angry… a roller coaster of emotions. It’s like you’re hit by a cable car and before you can even recover that first hit, you get smashed again because you never realised you were standing on the track.
Changes. Lot’s of them.
I so want to take myself out on a date. Yup, you read it right, I really have to make time for myself, because if I lose touch of myself, I will stray from my vision and well…
There are times when I feel like I’m on auto-pilot.
Went to the client place (Dhoby Ghaut) to help out with the worskshop, took a cab going there because I was too tired to take public transport. Had to rush down for fellowship to Nicole’s house (Chapel Close, near Bedok) and took a cab again.
Ate and then helped Sandy to playthe ABC game with Nicole, Deb Lee and Bernice.
Sandy, Bernice and I then went to Far East Plaza to buy Jael a gift. Two vintage shirts 
And then Sandy & I went to Takashimaya after seeing Bernice off to the MRT. We went to Kinokuniya to buy my Moleskine diary that I had been talking about here. Ate dinner at Pepper Lunch (Salmon Pepper Rice for Sandy and Hamburger Steak with Egg for me…uber yum!). Walked, passed Sandy’s spoilt shoe to the seller’s friend and then we headed off to the MRT to go home at 9:30pm.
So I’m beat. I have had a raging headache since friday…and I’m supposed to be getting some sleep here…ciao people!
My head, my neck, my shoulders, my eyes…every inch of my body!
Last week did not end in a nice way for me, I was throwing up and had the mother of all headaches. And the climax is today, my neck is sprained, people told me to stretch, while some told me to just relax. Sigh! And BS was all about divine healing…how timely!
And I have been doing a lot of things which make no sense at all. But I had been writing again which is a good thing. And soon I’ll be having something tangible to smile about. In fact I’m gonna be dedicating one blog post to that something!
Was pleasantly surprised to see M at work today. He came and visited along with the client. I thought he was gonna ignore me because we don’t really talk a lot when we meet up at the client’s office, but he practically shouted my name when he greeted me, so we’re cool.
I have been writing here and there my thoughts a convoluted mass. But it’s a bit too sad and more on coming to terms stuff than anything. I miss my raw optimism. I don’t want to be so jaded.
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
The Fray, How To Save a Life
PS Was at a meeting at work, since all the people I texted were too slow in replying, and the meeting did not really concern me, and it lasted almost an hour (read 6-6:50pm)…I started texting myself.
Elle: Why are you doing this (Send to Elle)
Elle (phone vibrates, views message, replies): Because you are bored, bored, bored
And over and over again until the meeting ended. Yay!
Yes, I’ve crossed over to the other side. And it helped that this one person was so persuasive.
Yup I’m in Facebook people!
Please add me up, my email is bohochick19[at]yahoo[dot] com.
For the past two days I haven’t been feeling well, may be it was all because of the food last friday at the company dinner…whoops social gathering thingy, I have not been the same.
Woke up today with incredible back pain and a sore body, making every twitch of a muscle a nightmare… grr…
Tonight my mom gave me muscle relaxants (herbal capsules) which smelled like a mongrel who had not taken a bath in two weeks. What I would give to have normal use of my body back…
And so Potpot if you’re reading this entry, I may not be able to go tomorrow to have BS with you. And I won’t be able to go for CG on Saturday because of the work thing I have at Dhoby Ghaut.
Argh…so many things to do…so little time!
Ciao people!
Arise and Build is coming up soon! I am so excited! Haha…anyway I have always loved giving to the house of God and I just feel very privilege to be part of a church that allows me to help build God a house.
In preparation for the upcoming Arise and Build campaign, this past cellgroup meeting the sermon topic was “What is Required to Build God a House?”.
We learned that to build a house for God we must have:
PASSION. Defined as sincere love and boundless enthusiasm. How in Exodus the Israelites were so passionate in giving to the construction of the Tabernacle, that Moses had to “restrain” the people from giving. The Hebrew word for restrain is כלא which is kala’, meaning to forbid, shut up, keep back. Now that’s passion, even now in modern times no congregation has ever been restraint from giving to God. This Arise and Build campaign will reflect the passion that we have not only for obeying God but also our passion to please God and show how much we love Him. That He will always remain our first love and that our love for Him will not grow cold. As Jerb said this time is an exciting time because it is a chance for God to take us to the next level, from glory to glory, strength to strength.
SACRIFICE.
They were incredibly happy, though desperately poor. The pressure triggered something totally unexpected: an outpouring of pure and generous gifts...I’m not trying to order you around against your will. But by bringing in the Macedonians’ enthusiasm as a stimulus to your love, I am hoping to bring the best out of you… 2 Corinthians 8: 2,4 (MSG)
Then the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God with that which costs me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 2 Samuel 24:24 (NKV)
Sitting across from the offering box, he was observing how the crowd tossed money in for the collection. Many of the rich were making large contributions. One poor widow came up and put in two small coins-a measly two cents. Jesus called his disciples over and said,”The truth is that this poor widow gave more to the collection than all the others put together. All the others gave what they’ll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn’t afford-she gave her all.” Mark 12: 41-44 (MSG)
In a generation where instant self-gratification is the norm, the Christian life challenges us to give, not just loose change offering, but sacrificial giving. In the early days of the church,the Macedonians exemplified this type of giving, even though they were not well off, and had great needs of their own, yet they were so generous that Paul commended them as an example to the Corinthians.
Sacrificial giving comes at a great cost. It also shows how much I prioritize God in my life. By giving an amount that “hurts”, I am actually saying that it’s not about me, it’s about God and His position in my life. That nothing, can ever take His place in my life, He’s more important than material things. I could “do” without these things for His sake.
3.FAITH.
But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out]. Hebrews 11:6 (AMP)
I remember the first Arise and Build that I participated in. I wanted to give so badly but I was unemployed and my prospects looked bleak. I prayed, “God don’t let this opportunity pass me by, please allow me to give to You”. In the weeks that followed, praying and fasting, I really sensed that God told me to give SGD1050. He could have just told me to part the Red Sea with my staff! There was fear and faith at the same time. Fear as I didn’t know how I could cough up that amount of money in six months or if I had really ever heard from God in the first place. At first I never really told anyone not even my family. To make matters worse, my pledge card was not recorded in the CHC database (gah!). I really felt that it was between me and God.
Yet, I had a tiny amount of faith. I think it was even smaller than a mustard seed. Faith is still faith. I believed that my God is great. And I remained positive even in the midst of rejection and “we’ll call you”. When I was wavering and I thought that I’ll be reading the release from pledge statement, I read my Bible, listened to sermons, prayed and confessed verses to build up my faith. It was scary, but I had peace. And God delivered, within a week after I wrote on my pledge card, I had a job, I was able to sow my first salary to God (as fulfillment of my vow that I would give my first salary in full as a tithe), and I not only able to fulfill my pledge BUT I gave over and above my pledged amount! Faith and fear at the same time is possible, as Jerb shared about the following verses:
Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.
So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” Mark 9:20-24 (NKJV)
Even if we have doubt, God can turn any situation around as long as we believe and not let our doubt control our minds. And even if we think we don’t have “just enough” faith, Jesus says:
He said to them, Because of the littleness of your faith [that is, your lack of firmly relying trust]. For truly I say to you, if you have faith [that is living] like a grain of mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, Move from here to yonder place, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. Matthew 17:20 (AMP)
I don’t know what this year’s Arise and Build will bring. But I am believing for a breakthrough in every aspect of my life. A lot of stretching, sacrificing comfort (also known as taking a cab!) and living a simple life for the next six months. To build God a house in the marketplace, for the marketplace, to penetrate the marketplace!
Sources:
Blue Letter Bible Lexicon – Retrieved 15 October 2007
http://cf.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H0360
Ok, random blog filler. See what you can make out of this:
The Movie Of Your Life Is A Cult Classic |
 Quirky, offbeat, and even a little campy – your life appeals to a select few.But if someone’s obsessed with you, look out! Your fans are downright freaky.Your best movie matches: Office Space, Showgirls, The Big Lebowski |
Ok a few updates. More about the goings-on of my life than any other posts.
Yesterday, Sandy decided to treat me to dinner at Pepper Lunch @ Takashimaya. I ordered Salmon Pepper Steak, and it was quite nice, the place reminds me of Sizzling Steak back home. Oh yeah, last night was my first night at Orchard, I am such a homebody I never leave my house unless it’s very urgent.
Then went to Kinokuniya… and I fell in love… many times over:
The Moleskine 2008 Diary Limited Edition (S$ 50)
I so want to get my hands on this. I don’t care how low-tech this sounds. Considering I have an Xda Atom Life, there’s still something nostalgic about a pen gliding on acid-free paper, all right I’m salivating.
I was supposed to buy it but someone violently deprived me of a wonderful experience. I just finished off my very first Moleskine Watercolour notebook and I’m kinda missing the feel of it. Hah, but come November I am so gonna buy it.
Next on my list:
Mr. Knightley’s Diary by Amanda Grange
Funny, I think there’s a surge of Jane Austen stuff in movies and books these days… case in point here and here and here.
The first Jane Austen novel I read was Pride and Prejudice when I was in third grade. The first Jane Austen movie I watched was Emma (1996), I loved Gwyneth Paltrow there! And I felt sorry for poor Harriet. And I think I liked Emma more because I am prone to be like her in some ways.
Anyway, I so want to read the male point of view, especially Mr. Knightley’s. So I would definitely borrow/buy/beg someone to get this book on my hands.
I so want to read this book, which coinicidentally has also been adapted into the big screen:
Atonement the book by Ian McEwan, you can check out his website here. The first time I saw this book was at Times in Tampines Mall. I was drawn by the title, but I had opted to buy The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini which is also being adapted into a movie. Keira Knightley and Vanessa Redgrave stars in this movie. So I’m torn between what to do first: Read the book or watch the movie. Sigh…
I have tons of things to do on my list. Part of it is being more creative, I caught a phrase from the September 2007 issue of the O, the Oprah Magazine , I want to “live creatively ever after”.
Books to read, prints to finish, contact lists to design, food to cook for Saturday’s cellgroup, I started on my personal Bible study, polishing some stories… Time where have you gone?
I received an email from ex-best friend today! I’m uber-happy 
Belated Happy Birthday to Louisa , keep shining in your new cellgroup! I am so gonna miss you!
And Happy Birthday to one of W351’s newest members – view here.
Random Quote of the Day:
I was in the battlefield. You were in the crossroads
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