Thursday, September 24, 2009
Just wondering about how dead this blog is, and then how I was supposed to keep it updated :D So yeah, just decided to share little one-liners that keep me going throughout some of those challenging times ;)
The King is enthralled by your beauty (Psalms 45) - yes, that's for the girls :D especially when they're feeling not good enough, not pretty enough :)
I was born for such a moment like this - that's for those times you feel: "Aargh why me! Why this?"
God'll never leave me, nor forsake me (Joshua 1? something like that) - for those times you feel alone in your sadness, your challenges
I have a dream bigger than me - for those times you feel like you've got nothing to live for
My cup overflows with His goodness - for those times you need to claim those blessings :)
Hope that encourages and stirs you :D
Siaw Hui~*
She thanks her Jesus at 11:44 PM
Monday, September 7, 2009
One day after a great and absolutely mind-blowing camp, less-than-good news hits. And I have a gut feeling that this isn't going to be the last I hear - though I pray that it will be.
So what do I do now?
Well, I'd tell you what I do.
I don't care what news comes my way - be it good or bad. And I absolutely hate it when thoughts come into my mind and go: "Oh there you go. See, see, you were so into God and serving Him that's why this happened the way it did. If you were to play it down a bit, it wouldn't have been so bad, don't you see?" And, honestly there's a part of me that goes: "Yeah that makes sense. If I hadn't spend so much time chasing after God and building His kingdom, if I had tuned down, maybe things would have been better..."
And then I realize.
WHAT ON EARTH AM I THINKING? What happened at camp was real. What happened at camp changed me, turned my life upside down, my heart inside out. And nothing can ever change that, NO ONE can ever take that away from me! I had felt so alive in His presence, I kept jumping for joy because it was just bursting over and over again inside of me, I felt so ... floaty! Hahaha, that's my officially favourite word from now on.
God hasn't robbed me of anything. Loving Him, serving Him has only added more to my life! Sure this bad news had to come but that doesn't make Him less real, less true in my life. It's a lie to say that it happened because of Him. It's NEVER because of Him because He's only come to add more to me and my life!
This is just a challenge, a test of my whether I'd throw in the towel, go "Yep, you're absolutely right, I should stop serving while it's not so bad yet" and walk away OR if I'd stand absolutely put, ground my teeth and press on because I believe that there's something greater! And blimey, I'm taking the second option man! :D I know God'll give me the strength to get over this one and the skills I need to take the next hurdle and turn this bad news into a good one - totally! :D After all, put first His kingdom and everything else will be added right? My cup shall overflow with His goodness yeah? I"M CLAIMING THOSE PROMISES MAN and I'm living for more!
So, I just want to challenge you. What thoughts are you thinking today? Are you thinking along the lines of: "Yeah, if only I cooled down my relationship with God a bit, maybe I'd succeed better in this, maybe I'd do better in this..."? Because if you are, let me just say: "STOP THINKING THOSE THOUGHTS!!" They're absolutely rotten and they're absolutely STUPID LIES.
Because did God ever say: "Oooh yeahh, chase after other things first, I'm not that important... you can chase me after you've chased those things." OH WHAT ROT. He's a jealous God and He's so freakingly head over heels in love with you that He aches for you to love Him with all your heart. And how do you show him that? WELL, my dear friends, you CHASE HIM DOWN, you HUNT HIM DOWN, you serve Him, seek Him, draw close to Him, do EVERYTHING that pleases His heart right?
But you have a choice! He won't force it down your throat demanding: Thou shalt love me or I shall smite you into ashes! But He aches for your intimacy. That's a fact. He doesn't want you to be cold, not even lukewarm - He wants it all, just like how you have HIS all. And jsut because you're not seeing His blessings today DOESN"T mean it's totally non-existent. Did He say: I shall only bless you when I feel like it? He said ALL things will be added unto you when you seek first His kingdom yeah? He said: My promises are Yes and Amen yeah? He said: I will grant you the desires of your heart. He said, Ask and it shall be given unto you.
The key thing to note is that it never said: I shall add all these things... IMMEDIATELY. I shall say yes INSTANTLY. I shall grant the desires RIGHT NOW. I shall give it THE MOMENT YOU SNAP YOUR FINGERS. Patiences is something God highly values and one thing I've learnt, God's timing for blessing is sooo perfect - even though you wait for it - because when it's granted, you've learnt so much along the way that you doubly, triply appreciate what He's given to you. :)
This world is full of challenges. Whther or not you choose to back down, thinking it's because of God that these things are happening to you is a choice. But I choose to press in, go higher because I know I've got treasures waiting up there for me ;) and that whatever happens here can be overcome because I've already got victory in Him. So yeah, maybe I'm going through a rough time now. But I'm NOT gonna level the blame on Him, neither am I going to stop serving and loving Him because I know my blessing's just round the corner if I'd only let Him give me the skills I need.
So what are you doing today? Backing down or standing up?
She thanks her Jesus at 8:25 PM
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Psalms 27:4 - One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. (NIV)You know, when I was younger, I never really understood the meaning of this verse. I mean yeah, sure, understandably, David would want to seek out a God who is the most powerful being of the universe in an attempt to know His heart, know the workings of His mind. But to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord? Why would anyone want to do that?
Like can you imagine? Just sitting there and staring at God. Like eh, nothing better to do ah? Why don't you ask Him a question? :)
Then, I went walking in Carlton Gardens and it's like in that moment of time, everything became so crystal clear.
Imagine... a clear, cool Melbourne winter evening where the sun hovers somewhere between afternoon and night, casting a soft, almost orange glow on the path before you. A path littered with leaves the colour of autumn; rustic brown, yellow, the occasional red.
Imagine... trees of different characters. Some standing tall and proud; others slumped almost as if their backs hunched. Some - succumbing to winter's chill - stand bare, devoid of foilage. Then there are some that almost seem to defy winter, showcasing thick leaves that rustle ever so softly in the breeze...
Imagine... imagine.
Because that's what I saw for the whole week that God was teaching me about beauty. :)
Standing there in the midst of nature and knowing that it is as its most dormant because it's winter and yet ... seeing the quiet enchantment of it all just makes me go: Wow. And there's just something about it all that makes my heart give out this huge sigh of relief and slow its beat down - almost as if it's calming my soul. I feel as though the world has stopped turning for that moment in time - as if everything else in my life fades away because, just because it really doesn't matter all that much anymore - well at that point in time anyway.
It's as if there's a crystal clear message scrawled across the picturesque scenery that tells me everything's going to be just all right - so don't worry. I don't know how and I don't know why I should let the majesty of nature affect me this way - but it just does.
And the thing is that it doesn't end with just me standing and watching the beauty that surrounds me; I actually walk away from the gardens with this "floaty" feeling inside of me. The feeling that I can do absolutely anything because there's nothing that can stop me; the feeling of wanting to hug people for sheer joy - to look at people in a new, non-judgemental light :)
And that's when the reality of what David said hit me - loud and clear. That's when I began to understand how totally marvellous, how awesome it is to just be in God's presence and enjoy His beauty. To not say anything but just BE in where He is and letting joy, love, hope, security and so much more just wash over me.
And I realize that's exactly how relationships develop and how they mature. Like, when we first meet someone, we're all gungho about wanting to grow the relationship and cement it ever so strongly. So we go all out to talk (and I really mean talk) to them: tell them who we are, where we're headed for in life, what we love doing... just basically me, myself and I. Added to that is this whole: Let's get to know you too! deal. So we ask about the other person, we get to know MORE about the other person; her interests, her life...
It's how we behave around God when we first meet Him. We ask Him to show us things about Himself, ask Him to speak to us. And for the me part, we ask Him to come through for us, we tell Him about what's going on in our lives...
But then just like how a relationship matures into those long but comfortable silences. It's not that we don't put as much time and effort as we first did in the beginning because the effort and the time remains the same. It's just the fact that we know each other much more by now that we can just sit in silence and just ... enjoy each other's presences. And a lot can be said in those complex silences; a lot can be conveyed.
And that's how it is with God. You come to this point where you don't really need to blab everything out to Him anymore. There's this feeling that He knows you (well He always has, it's just that you don't feel the need to actually tell Him about yourself in tons of words anymore :D). And the silence is really enough because that's all He really needs (at this stage) to show you His love, His glory and His unbelievable presence... and so in the silence, you just ... rest in His presence and ... get that "floaty feeling" :)
So may I suggest that (if you've not already done it) to get into His presence and just, be silent and enjoy what His beauty has to offer? :D
She thanks her Jesus at 12:53 AM
