Finding a soulmate....

Was feeling rather left out during a colleague's wedding recently....everyone either turned up with their partners/bf/gf/spouse....or came with friends that they have known throughout their lives......dun be mistaken, it was a lovely wedding and I truly am very happy for the couple....but I guess it just made me contemplate the state of singlehood that I am in right now........
This is not something new to me...I have struggled with this for a long long time...and many times I questioned God-" Have You forgotten me?!?".........which is always then followed by a disclaimer-" I have served You faithfully and sacrificially over the many years since I gave my life to You, is this too difficult a request that You will not even grant me?!?"........
How silly we human beings can be at times....who are we that we should question Him? And how is it that we always doubt His wisdom and faithfulness to us? And how often do we forget that He has given us so much more in comparison to what we have sacrificed!!!
Was duly reminded of passages of Scriptures which have held me steadfast in my faith through these times of testing....

" Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there, do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper........For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.... (Jeremiah 29, 5-7, 10-11)

Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you (Deut 31:6)

Indeed....He is faithful....and I know that He is faithful even in this area of finding a soulmate for me.....;) and yes....even in the times of 'exile' here...He remains faithful to me!

Ficklemindedness...

Was just reading through my last entry in this blog....and felt truly ashamed of myself......how we oscillate as humans! how inconsistent we can be?!?
Whilst I wanted to be Christ-like last week....this week I just felt the opposite.....could feel the mean streak coming out.....the same friend that I wanted to share the Gospel with just kept irritating me...not just with her whinings...but her complains and judgment of others........to the point that she asked some colleagues who were away on a course to come back in the evening to help her out! I was shocked...to say the least.....
Questions that kept popping into my mind were:
a) Why did she not approach me if she needed help? Was I so unapproachable?
b) Why did the others agree to it? - granted, those colleagues were Christians too....
c) What's wrong with this person?!?

The list goes on....and slowly the thoughts became ' why should I help her? she didn't help me when I needed help?!?"......and as you can see...they slowly degenerated to selfish and self-justifying thoughts.....appalling!!

Lord, I ask for Your forgiveness. When i choose to rebel and walk against Your principles. When I choose to live according to my own terms. When i choose to disobey Your commands. I am sorry Lord and I repent of my hard-heartedness and disobedience.

What do u in the face of adversity?

That was the sermon in church this week - what do you do in the face of adversity?

Made me wonder...especially since that seems to encapsulate what work is like...on a daily basis!!

The past week has been pretty breezy for me...however, my colleagues have all been going through a really really tough time....some of them have exploded in exasperation and frustration...some have broken down....others just suffer quietly with exhaustion......

it was really sad seeing what used to be kinda cheerful people grumbling and complaining.....and i thought of what Jesus would have said at our attitude?!? and for me....i just get sucked into the vortex of complaining as well.....till God convicted me a few days ago....

really struck me that I am there for a reason...to be an encourager and a supporter......to help and to share His word......and its amazing how He gives opportunity to share our faith....like having coffee with a non Christian colleague on a saturday afternoon talking about life and death and what our religious belief were....

take home pointers from the sermon?!?

1) Patience

2) Perseverance

3) Perception



Above it all.....we need to have a spirit of thanksgiving in every circumstance we are in...good or bad! ;)


















" Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged." James 5: 7 - 9

Cell group- what it really really means...

Sigh...yet another cell group outing on Sunday morning which I am unable to attend.....
And then, we get a mail from a dear sister exhorting us to meet up to share and pray....how wonderful! Someone with spiritual insight - finally!!
Been thinking about this cell group that i have been in for the past 1 year ... it has been very different from my Uni cell group....guess as one starts working, different things take priority, eg. family, children, work, etc.... I know, i know...it's part of growing up......
But, cell group is not just about us meeting up to study the Word of God....as far as I can understand, most of my CG members are really grounded in the Word....and hence, we start nit picking at all the Scriptures, coz we think that that is what we are supposed to do in the CG instruction manual!
Food for thought - why is a CG called a CELL group? not care group or some other name? Coz it's supposed to be a dynamic structure which grows and multiplies.....and that can only happen if the cell is healthy.... but when a cell is only concerned for itself, it fails to grow and achieve what it was intended to be....and hence, the whole body suffers........
well, as far as i can understand - it says in the Bible that we are blessed so that we can go and bless others....not so that we can be comfortable and grow fat and lazy?!? God blessed Abraham so that he could be a blessing to the nations!!

of waffles and spaghetti?!?

my pastor made an interesting comment during his sermon yesterday...

" Men and women are created differently with very different though processes- men are like waffle whilst women are like spaghetti" ?!?

and for better visual effect...take a look at this:

MEN

WOMEN

Now...what do you make of that?!?

Siblings....and family...

It's been great being on holiday...ok, mebbe not the studying for exams bit! But the thought of not having to worry about work and what the events of the days will bring is just great....no thoughts of ' will any patient die on me today?" , 'will i have to resus any one today?" or even the ' i hope i dun screw up today' ...... sigh...

But better than that is the fact that my sis is in town... ;) hehehe....

Been soooo long that I have spent any time with her under one roof...come to think about it, I have been staying away from my family since the age of 18...gasp...that's like almost 9 years now!! Argh...

Always amazes me how similar we are in some ways...yet so different in others....

Like the time when i bought my 1st mobile phone in Australia....still remember it vividly, the turquoise coloured ericsson phone (T10)...and to my surprise, my sis had the exact same model and colour in UK! Talk about telepathy! Over the years, we've developed similar taste in movies, books, music, clothes....( as for clothes, no thanks to our dear mum - all 3 of us always pick the same stuff off the clothes rack during shopping!!)....it is uncanny....yet fun to know that there is a part of us that will remain the same no matter what life brings!

Well...though we have taken different paths in life.....and entering different phases of our lives, it is comforting to know that some things don't change - for better or worse. ;)

Here's to family kinship!

AMAZING GRACE

Watched this over the weekend with my mum and sister....was a pretty good show....despite the misconceptions that I had about it....we (i.e my sister and I) thought that it was the story behind the famous hymn 'Amazing Grace' - which would likely be the story of John Newton....

Well, we were pleasantly surprised at the story line.. which featured the life and contributions of William Wilberforce in the abolition of slavery in the United Kingdom.

Excellent acting from the cast....and yes, John Newton was featured in this movie too - played by Albert Finney.

How humbling and amazing it was to find out how difficult the struggle for the abolition of slavery was in those days.

Another word of praise- excellent use of makeup in this movie. You must watch it to believe in the utilisation of make-up to depict the various possible looks of one person at different stages of life - youth, sickness, old age.....

and here are the words of the great hymn we know so well...

The Lyrics of the Song
Amazing Grace (How sweet the sound) That sav'd a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found, Was blind, but now I see.'

Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, And grace my fears reliev'd; How precious did that grace appear, The hour I first believ'd!

Thro' many dangers, toils and snare, I have already come; 'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me. His word my hope secures; He will my shield and portion be, As long as life endures.

Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail, And mortal life shall cease; I shall profess, within the vail, A life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow, The sun forbear to shine; But God, who call'd me here below, Will be for ever mine.

Wow!

John Newton - played by Albert Finney