A Happy Week

Last Sunday, our Nepali Sangati (meaning Nepalese Fellowship) in church had the Nepalese Christmas Party. God must love the Nepalese a lot, because we had many sponsors, abundant food and lots of gifts on that day! About 100 Nepalese came, and I have to say that God must have brought them because they came from all over town. The transportation guys did an awesome job, picking them up and sending them home... some of the Nepalese stayed really far away. I'm glad that we were able to bless them as its not easy being in a foreign land, working extremely long hours and 7 day weeks. I hope Malaysian employers will treat their foreign workers better.

On another note, I was looking through my old entries in my journal on my birthday this year. I wrote: Many times our lives are so hectic we fail to realise what matters most and sadly, lose the ability to savour special moments. We are always looking forward to something. Eg. A marriage, a paycheck, a raise, etc. We need to savour each moment we live because time really flies.

I must learn to do that again... savouring each moment.

Feeding the hungry

A few days ago my fiance and me couldn’t finish our dinner so we packed the extra rice and chicken in a plastic bag and did something new.  We drove around looking for a hungry stray dog that really needed a meal.  It was 10:30pm and the streets were pretty quiet.  Suddenly, we saw a white dog with 2 puppies.  The dog looked skinny with her ribs showing but her puppies looked well-fed and they were still trying to get milk from their mom.  As I emptied the contents of the plastic bag I could see the dog’s relief at getting some food and she gobbled away while we looked.  After she ate a fair bit she came towards the car and looked at us, I think she was trying to say ‘Thank you’.

We went for dinner again tonight and couldn’t finish our pizza.  Guess where we went? To look for the white dog again.  She was at the exact spot we fed her a few nights back, and this time we saw her puppies and ‘husband’.  She was sleeping on the sidewalk when I approached her and when she saw me with food she jumped up immediately.

This is a very special neighbourhood that is friendly to stray animals and the residents actually allow the animals to roam around the area freely...(I shall not disclose the location to protect the residents privacy).

Many times we are told not to feed strays… but I’m just thinking, how would I feel if I had children to feed and I had to go hungry days in a row, but then I see loads of food being thrown away everyday? I think this is what mercy and grace is about, to think about the very least and give them what they need the most – love.

I can't believe its December... rewind please!

I'm a little frustrated that I haven't had time to set-up the Christmas tree at home and its already the 2nd week of December. I usually get it up by November.

It's been an extremely busy year...especially November and December. And I've had 7 consecutive Sundays booked with rehearsals, events and activities from November to December. I miss having time with my family and Hoi Hian...just having dinner with them and chilling out. I feel like I'm running around constantly.

Anyway, things are more relaxed now... just a few more events to go and I need to clear 6.5 days leave this month, which leaves me with just a few days to work... but still quite some work to deliver.

Anyway, enough of work. 2 things I wanna highlight this month....

Bolt
One of my favourite movies this year by Walt Disney Pictures about Bolt, a superstar dog who accidentally gets shipped to New York from Hollywood. While he's lost, he realises that he's not really a superdog and it was all a lie by the movie producers. But amidst his challenges and loneliness, he befriends a cat and a hamster and together they make the journey back to Hollywood to look for Bolt's beloved 'person' Penny. It truly showcases the wonderful heart of a dog that is perfectly loyal. And a really superb night.... Dew Media Appreciation 2008!

We didn't have the usual thank you speeches... well, just a few. Instead, everyone just let their hair down and enjoyed themselves singing and dancing to the 70s music that Paulos had compiled (lots of Abba)! We had quite a crazy time... with Cindy being the MC. What made it special for me was seeing everyone enjoy one another's company and just being themselves. I had no idea they had SO MUCH passion to dance! No doubt we're all different and imperfect, but we have a God who loves us as who we are... and that's why we should love each other the same way. I shared just one verse with them which I felt spoke to me a lot recently and something we should never forget:-

To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices. Mark 12:33

The Passion for Worship

Last weekend was awesome. My church DUMC had our very first Worship Conference... and it turned out to be a very meaningful weekend for me.

I had been quite tired and stretched lately because we've had 4 concerts in 4 consecutive weeks, the Worship Conference being the fourth. Nevertheless, I was still looking forward to the Worship Conference because I just felt that God had something in store for me... and I wanted God's touch desperately.

The speaker was Pastor Glenn Packiam from New Life Church, Colorado Springs and his messages really spoke to me personally. I was looking forward to each session because there was so much to absorb from him. He emanated with a truly inspiring and overwhelming passion for God, not only in his worship but also through his preaching and interaction with people.

Sunday was my favourite. The morning's message was titled 'Let Worship Rock and Justice Roll'. It was about hearing what God hears. That God doesn't care so much about all the great things we do if we tolerate injustice. Because God is a God of justice. And that loving God is about loving and helping those considered the very least in society. I feel that sometimes, injustice exists in the most unlikely places.... and we won't see it unless we really look...and listen.

The night session revived me. I was up at the gallery by myself (apart from the security guys) just outside Media Control. I wanted to worship God so badly because I had not been doing that lately...being caught up in all the technical stuff. So I did. Worshipping God freely all by myself in the dark.... singing.... after awhile I just switched off from everything else.

When Glenn started singing 'I Am Free' and 'Counting on God', by this time I was dancing with overwhelming joy..... till my energy ran out and my knees hurt. Haha. I was filled with so much joy seeing the congregation... old and young, dancing with such freedom and passion in worshipping God. I was reminded of how much I loved worshipping God, and how much power lies in the act of worship. That through worship, God breaks the chains of the enemy, releases the joy of the Lord, grants peace and supernatural healing to those who need it. Worship is the key to being free....

Worship the LORD your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span.

Exodus 23:25-26

My Vision & Mission

Phew! I'm so relieved. I found the back-up to my old blog from 2002 to 2006. The entire blog got deleted from Tripod for some reason. Yesterday, I searched through my back-up hard disc and found most of the files.

One of the most precious writings I had there was my vision and mission I wrote in 2004. Reading it again last night reminded me of who I used to be and who I want to continue being.

My Vision

I want to be a living testimony of God's power, leading people to fruitfulness, faithfulness and undying love for our King!

My Mission

I want to walk in God's perfect will. I will commit everything I do in prayer to Him, I will seek Him in all my ways and I will always come before Him with thanksgiving. I will not forget His goodness towards me and I will continue to guard and nurture my faith in Him. I will obey His command to 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind (Luke 10:27).' I will continue to commune with Jesus in prayer, worship and reading His Word daily.

I want to love others the way God loves me. I will be sincere in my actions, always keeping a check on the state of my motives and my heart. I will not judge others on their outward appearance and I will always forgive as Christ has forgiven me. I will look to the needs of others above my own.

I want to be humble in all I do, always seeking the glory of God and not my own. I will not be overcome by evil, but I will overcome evil with good. I will try my best in everything I do, and I will not be afraid to fail. I want to be in a constant learning attitude, and avail myself to teach others what I have learnt. I will work hard and trust in God, remembering that perseverance builds character.

I want to be passionate in everything I do. I want to be a good steward of the gifts God has given me, no matter how big or small. I want to bring love, joy and peace of God into people's lives, showing them that life in God is indeed awesome. I will encourage and build people up to see how precious and unique they are in God's eyes.

I will always cherish and maintain my childlike faith in God, the energy of my youth, the beauty of purity, the value of integrity and the importance of truth. I will be excited as each day unfolds, revealing more of His plans for me.

I want to be the woman that God created me to be. I want to be a woman after God's heart.

My Testimony

When I was about 6, my mum told me stories from the bible of someone called Jesus who loved me and could do all kinds of amazing things like heal sick people. I can't remember everything she said but I do remember saying a prayer after her asking Jesus to come into my heart.

So after that day, I started talking to Jesus since He was now my friend. I told Him everything - please watch over my family, please give me a new pencil box and all sorts of requests. Once when my parents argued, I wrote long letter to Jesus telling Him I didn't like earth very much and it would be nice if He took me home.

One of my most vivid memories of being with Jesus was when I was about 13. While I was sleeping at night, someone came to take me somewhere. My spirit seemed to be flying in the air, and I couldn't see but all I could feel was a love that was so strong .. a feeling that I belonged to that person. A love much more intense than what I feel for my earthly parents, and what I have ever felt from them.

We seemed to be flying in the sky, and we reached a place where there were lots of children. They seemed to be surrounding someone and they were all singing. We were there for awhile... then it was time to go back. We 'flew' back to my 'body' and I woke up. The experience was so real I touched my face... and it was so cold.... just like I had just been flying in the sky.

I realise now that I had been with Jesus. And when I was with Him, I didn't want to be with anyone else. I would have chosen to be with Him and never go back to earth if I was given the choice. No words can express the intense love I felt from Him... and there is no possible comparison of that love to anything I that have ever felt in this world.

Its been nearly 20 years, and I still miss that moment of being so near to Jesus. And I know, one day I will experience it again. I know not everyone will believe me, but this is my testimony.

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and how long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:17-19

The Measure of a Leader

Obama became the 44th President of USA today. I'm not American and probably know very little of what's going on in that country... but hearing and reading all thats in the media got me all hyped up too. I saw many 'coloured' people in tears, rejoicing at the very first 'coloured' President. I was touched seeing so many people of different 'colours' united and cheering the leader they have chosen.

People have different reasons for electing a leader. However, its not always that we get to choose our leaders. So I think its a privilege that Americans get to vote for their leaders, and their leaders get to rally for themselves. This got me thinking about how I measure leaders...

My respect and allegiance to my leaders are based on this question - Do they sincerely care about me? I have discovered that it is quite impossible for me to pledge my undying support to a leader who does not seem to care about the people he is leading. He may be a really eloquent speaker, have great knowledge, good looks and is extremely talented but if he doesn't care about his people, I don't think he's fit to be a leader.

On the other hand, he may be shy, not so great in looks and not such a great speaker but if he has a heart for the people he's leading, I will support him. I'm not saying that leaders don't need to have skills, its just that at the very least they must care for the people they are leading.

Leaders aren't superhuman or God, and I think they will fail once in a while. The difference is this - a leader who has cared for his people consistently will be forgiven easily by those under him, but the leader who has not shown care for his people will not be shown mercy when he fails. Its as simple as that.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13