small steps to glory

my thoughts on the holy land

2012-01-12T21:42:00.001+08:00

What an amazing trip!

Seriously. If you have never been to the Holy Land before, you need to go! It was the most memorable trip of my life. It was a HUGE blessing to go see and experience the places written about in the Bible with my own eyes. We went from Amman in Jordan, to Sinai in Egypt, and then through Israel, before heading back to Amman to fly home. Now when I read the Bible, the names of places are not just names, visuals come to mind! I've got more of an interest in the maps at the back of my Bible too!

The different religions was one of the things that struck me the most. There are some really misled people in the world who are very devoted to the rituals and traditions and relics that just seem to cloud them from seeing true salvation by faith in Christ. I treasure Sola Fide (by faith alone) a lot more now... I don't have to wake up at 5am to pray like the muslims do. I don't need to spend all day reading the Torah and bending repetitively in front of an old wall. I don't need to journey to an old church to kiss a stone where Christ supposedly was born. God loves me the way that I am because of Christ. There's nothing that I could do that could make God love me more, and there is nothing that I have done that will make God love me less. God knew what He was getting when He paid for me with Christ's blood, and He still chose to go through with the transaction! Amazing love, amazing grace!

So what else did we do?

We climbed Mt Sinai in the middle of the night to watch the sun rise.

We floated in the Dead Sea.

We viewed (through fog!) the Holy Land from Mt Pisgah's lofty height (sweet hour of prayer style)

We hung out at Jacob's Well in Samaria (a la woman of Samaria with Jesus)

We did our QT in the Garden of Gethsemane

We saw a possible site for Golgotha

We went into the old city of Jerusalem

We waded through Hezekiah's Tunnel

We visited Gehenna (aka Hell)

We sailed on the Sea of Galilee

We saw (and ate) hyssop

We saw several conies on rocks (as mentioned in Proverbs)

We saw wild goats (also mentioned in Proverbs)

We visited Dan

We visited Peter's Mother-in-law's house

We went to Tabitha's tomb

We went to Tel Dan (don't ask me what we told him lol)

We rode camels down Sinai

We picked fives smooth stones from the Valley of Elah, but no Goliath was spotted

We saw and got scolded by Pharisees

We went to Nazareth

We went to the land of the Ammonites

We went to Mt Carmel, but we didn't challenge any prophets there (only a group of Nigerians haha)

We saw a recreated Nazareth Village (as per Jesus' time)

We were at Bethlehem for Christmas!

We sang carols in Bethlehem's Manger Square (including Silent Night in Arabic)... on Christmas Eve!

We saw Beth Shemesh (no golden calf tho)

We saw the stony home of the Edomites (Petra)

We hid from Saul in Ein Gedi (we did a good job because he never found us - well we never found him either)

We saw the cursed site in Jericho

We had a squiz at Herod's crib in Masada

We saw a life-sized wilderness tabernacle

We saw the actual Pool of Bethesda, Pool of Silom and the Spring of Gihon

We didn't get baptised in the Jordan River, but we saw it!

We did QT at the Mt of the Beatitudes

We visited the Mt of Olives

We walked the 'Palm Sunday' route

We ate lunch at Caesarea

We ate icecream at Joppa

We did a lot more!

We took lots of photos

We had lots of fun

We made lots of new friends

We learnt many new things

We loved every minute of the Holy Land!

happy new year!

2012-01-12T21:06:00.000+08:00

Wow, more than half a year has passed since I blogged.. much has happened!

I finished Bible in a Year! YAY!

My bro got married!

I went to the Holy Land!

I got a new phone!

I joined the gym!

I lost and regained 3kg! hahaha

I went to the zoo!

I booked another holiday!

I got a new credit card!

My cousin had a baby!

A vintage traveller got married!

I turned a year older!

I went to an outdoor cinema for the first time!

I went on Emirates for the first time!

I got my first speeding ticket!

ahh the memories... and agghh! my memory is so bad.. I'm sure I did a lot more too! Should keep blogging more often...

Holy Land post coming soon!

I ♥ my snuggie!

2011-06-22T20:00:00.000+08:00

When I first saw this, I thought it was ridiculous.

Then I saw it at Kmart for only $7.

Now I am wearing my snuggie and I LOVE it! I don't know how I ever got through without it!

exhale...

2011-06-22T19:55:00.000+08:00

Thank God today is over.

For a few weeks now, I have been dreading 22 June. Today was the ominous day of training that I was asked to deliver to managers and supervisors at my work. A room full of people staring at me for three hours - and all bosses! What a nightmare! Public speaking is said to be the biggest source of fear for most people, and I was definitely feeling very jittery. Though I have done it before in my old job, I was quite nervous about today because I am still fairly new at my current job and I still feel as though, I myself am learning. I just didn't feel that I was experienced enough to be training!

Leading up to today, I was about a fortnight ago that there were only three people signed up for the training and that it might not go ahead. That was truly music to my ears and as I thanked God and reassured myself that the training wasn't going to go ahead, a bombshell was dropped about a week later... There was a problem with the registration process and there were at least 24 people coming. I was told that that was some kind of record.

WHAT?

The disbelief was soon followed by panic that climaxed on Monday night when I couldn't sleep at the thought of doing training in a few days. I went to work tired-as, and went along to the first day of training (which thankfully was delivered by someone else (I just came in for the introduction as I would only have to take over from Day 2)). As I went to the training and waited for the people to arrive, people kept coming, and coming, and coming. In the end, I did a head count of 29 people! *faint*

Now I was really nervous.

Last night, I prayed that God would help me calm down, have a good sleep and do a good job the next day so that He may be glorified. Sure enough, after doing a big clean up of my room (don't know why, but cleaning seems to help when you are stressed) I read my Bible, and had an early night. I slept very soundly and that night I dreamed that I was doing the presentation. I was nervous, but the nerves felt as though they were under control! I woke up feeling excited to do the presentation with a good amount of nervous energy.

One of the things I was taught about Public Speaking was that if you picture yourself doing a good presentation, that would help you actually do a good presentation. At the time I thought that was silly, but I think it might have actually worked!

Even leading up to the presentation itself (which is usually when I start getting nervous) I felt fine. The presentation came and went, and I think it actually went well. Questions were asked, and I was able to answer them! People even came up to me after the presentation to say thanks and give me complements! I was shocked! I got some really good feedback and I walked away feeling very relieved and thankful.

As I realised this afternoon that it was all over, I was full of praise to God! God is so gracious and kind. He knew exactly how to calm me down and He gave me the strength to control my nerves.

fruit traffic light

2011-06-20T10:47:00.001+08:00

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I eat dinosaurs for lunch!

2011-06-04T12:30:00.001+08:00

Best... idea... ever!

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zebra sky

2011-06-02T16:34:00.001+08:00

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another year of entertainment is over

2011-05-31T20:05:00.002+08:00

Didn't do too bad this year, used quite a bit of the Entertainment Book and I think I recouped most if not all of the cost of it. Well maybe not I exclusively, but me, my friends, and family :)

This coming year I'm hoping to make more of a profit!

Dinner anyone?

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the wonders of Job

2011-05-31T20:00:00.000+08:00

Finding that reading Job has been a blessing. It's been a good reminder of God's sovereignty and the fact that though we don't know what's going on, God is still in control

I was intrigued by one of yesterday's little side notes in the DWB (daily walk Bible) regarding Job 38:16

'Have you entered into the springs of the sea? or have you walked in search of the depths?'

The note mentioned the the Mariana Trench so I looked it up today - it sounds like Adrian's favourite pasta, but it's actually a dirty, great, big trench in the sea! It's nearly 11000km deep and Wikipedia says

'If Mount Everest, the highest mountain on Earth at 8,848 metres (29,029 ft), were set in the deepest part of the Mariana Trench, there would be 2,076 metres (6,811 ft) of water left above it'

Now that's deep!

Also another intriguing inclusion in Job 39 about a unicorn!

Job 39:9 Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib?

There are other mentions of unicorn in the Bible so I wanted to find out more... hence this link to an article by Carl Wieland from Creation Ministries. You may agree or disagree that it is supposed to be translated as a 'wild ox', but as for me and my imagination, we will think of unicorns.

the broken rod

2011-05-25T15:32:00.001+08:00

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last day for free coffees!

2011-05-25T15:30:00.001+08:00

Got in during rush hour...

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saw this...

2011-05-25T12:52:00.001+08:00

... and read this...

Job 26:8
He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them.

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a small taste of Job-ness

2011-05-23T20:26:00.000+08:00

So I bought a fishing rod less than a week ago. Brand new, couldn't wait to use it. Spent a few hours probably tying up rigs and reading up about rods and fishing. My brothers and I decided to go fishing yesterday - well it was my idea because i wanted to try out my brand-spanking-new rod. We put everything into the back of the van with the back seat folded up to fit everything in. And off we went. As the car accelerated after reversing from the driveway, the back seat slams back down and a huge crack made me turn around. The back seat landed right on top of my rod, snapping it like a twig. Totally devastated. Tears in my eyes. Hadn't touched the spray of salt water, never even been cast.

Then, later last night, I read the devotion for 22 May. 'Imagine that you have been deprived of possessions, health, and loved ones. Could you still proclaim that your hope is still in the Lord?'

Oh Snap! (literally in my rod's case). Well it's not exactly something that took my hope away from the Lord, but it was definitely a possession, and maybe even a 'loved one'... maybe that's stretching it, but I did like it a lot. It was minor, and can be easily replaced at Kmart for $30, but the sense of loss still felt very real. Imagine how Job felt!

can the boat sink?

2011-04-28T17:03:00.000+08:00

Thou art the Lord who slept upon the pillow,
Thou art the Lord who soothed the furious sea,
What matters beating wind and tossing billow
If only we are in the boat with Thee?

Hold us quiet through the age-long minute
While Thou art silent and the wind is shrill :
Can the boat sink while Thou, dear Lord, are in it;
Can the heart faint that waiteth on Thy will?

— Amy Carmichael

current reading...

2011-04-28T16:59:00.000+08:00

I've been a bit slack with updating the blog, but thought I would check back in about current reading - it's been months since I have!

I recently finished the book Quest for Love by Elisabeth Elliot which I found was really good.

I loved Passion and Purity and I've wanted to re-read that for a while, but came across this book which is kinda like a sequel. Let me explain.

Basically, the book is a collection of stories that people have written that support the ideas that Elisabeth Elliot had proposed in P&P. People who had read the book, and have either decided to follow what they read (successful love stories) and those who chose not to (unsuccessful love stories) and experienced great hurt as a result. The book also contained the accounts of courtship and marriage of some missionaries and other Christians who preceded P&P. Intertwined with the stories and letters, Elisabeth Elliot makes comments and further explains the different principles. Each chapter also ends with review questions and questions that may be used in discussions.

I personally found the book to be a blessing, but I reckon you should read Passion and Purity first if you have not already done so. I guess I am pretty biased toward Elisabeth Elliot - I have a lot of her books and I also like listening to her sermons (she has spoken at many ladies meetings) that are available online. I won't harp on any more about how great she is, so all I will say is that you should read the book for yourself and make up your own mind.

Hmm OK other reading..

I am nearly finished Esther by Chuck Swindoll and I have also started reading The Savage My Kinsman by Elisabeth Elliot. The last book was one that I picked up from the 2011 Vose Seminary Book Sale that just passed. There's many more that I want to read, but I just need more time!

Also...

Project Library has started! More soon..

the looong weekend!

2011-04-26T13:12:00.000+08:00

I was incredibly blessed to have a longer than usual long weekend these past few days. Usually, long weekends would go for three days, but I have had the last six days off due to three public holidays, two weekend days and one flexi day. Praise - the - LORD!

It's been such a blessing too. Did so much!

Thursday

Lunch in the city with Truc and Trina

Coffee

Officeworks

Church

Birthday dinner for Cheryl with Juanita and Truc

Baskin Robbins

Good Friday

Good Friday, I spent the morning with John Piper watching the series 'Seeing and Savouring Christ' which turned out to be so appropriate for Good Friday.

Sorting in the church library

Dinner at home then coming back to church for Good Friday Service

Saboteur into the wee hours of the morning

Saturday

After a good sleep in...

Yum Cha with my family

Off to the hills with Truc and Trina

Devonshire ~~Tea~~ Coffee at our new Secret Spot :)

Atrium at Burswood for Minh and Selina

Easter Sunday

Sunrise Service!

Easter Brekky at Church - Hot Cross Buns, McDonald's Hash Browns, Coffee

Easter Sunday Service

Lunch with Regen and the Tans at Sommerville Cafe

Epic Nap

Watched the end of Game 2 of NBL grand final

Off to the 25th Anniversary Dinner

Supper at Valentino's with more coffee

Monday

Church Family BBQ at Burswood Park

a bit of Soccer

Clean-up at church

Coffee

Impromptu Fishing Trip

Late-night fish feast at 1:30am

Tuesday

Epic Sleep-in...

And still half a day left!

friends outside my window...

2011-03-26T16:23:00.001+08:00

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getting creative

2011-03-26T15:27:00.000+08:00

To 'destress' at work, my boss introduced a couple of packs of plasticine for the team to get creative with. This is what they came up with. It's still going on now with new additions popping up all the time :)

You can't see it very well, but in the b/ground, someone put a real figurine down and popped a post-it next to it that has 'beat that!' written on it haha

Also, there's the bear that you can colour in and decorate...

the new job

2011-03-21T20:08:00.027+08:00

After four years and ten months in the job I went to as a green OT grad, I started a new job at UWA on 7 March 2011. It was strange leaving my comfort zone and coming to a completely new environment, starting a new routine (7:30am starts), driving to work instead of being driven, adjusting to a different role, and developing a new way of thinking. It's been a challenge, but a blessing too.

I'm thankful also that my new workplace is so scenic. I'm required to go all over campus for my job, so I get to take in the sights daily. Here's a sample...

Pretty nice huh?

Also, I found a use for my gift from Sel...

accidental geniusness

2011-02-13T00:11:00.001+08:00

Bobby pin and clip tidy!

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massive Mr G.

2011-02-12T22:49:00.000+08:00

Tomorrow, my Sunday School lesson is on David and Goliath.

So much fun right? Giant, slingshot, one of the all-time-hall-of-fame-heroes of the Bible, the little fella beating the huge behemoth of a man.

Good times.

It's interesting though, to see how huge Goliath was...

And there went a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span 1 Samuel 17:4

Apparently, 6 cubits and a span equals 9 feet and 9 inches... which equals 297cm. I didn't quite fathom how big this was until I got out a tape measure. Even then, it didn't really hit me until I googled 'tallest man record' and I was introduced to Mr Robert Wadlow...

Yep, that's ol' Robbo. The tallest living male in medical history. Apparently his pituitary gland (which makes growth hormone) didn't really work properly and kept making him grow and grow and grow. Unfortunately, he (and others like him) didn't live very long and he died at the age of 22.

But he wasn't even as tall as Goliath!

Robert Wadlow was only 272cm! Goliath was still taller by like 25cm! A whole ruler length on top of Rob's head!

But the bottom line is, as tall as Goliath was, he was no match for our Almighty God and with one measly stone projected by a red-headed shepherd boy with a slingshot, the towering frame came tumbling down.

How great is our God?!

2011-02-08T17:25:00.001+08:00

Explanation coming soon...

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a thousand pieces later...

2011-01-19T09:03:00.001+08:00

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the daily walk

2011-01-18T22:04:00.000+08:00

The daily walk continues and I'm currently on a rest day. Yesterday I finished Chapter 10 of Exodus which means I am a quarter of the way through Exodus!

Bible in a Year has been great so far. I was reminded of how much I loved the story of Joseph, the lessons I learnt from Genesis all those years ago in the DHW Bible study series, and am looking forward to continuing the story of Moses tomorrow.

BUT

What keeps looming over me is the inevitable cloud of falling behind or stopping my reading. In some ways it encourages me to keep trying to defy that cloud of failure - but then I am faced with a second cloud of obligation where I dutifully complete my reading because I am supposed to and not because I want to spend time with God in His Word. The temptation of one is to submit to the other - I try to overcome the failure cloud by making sure I read every day, then I think 'am I doing this out of duty and not devotion?' and then I am tempted to not do it because it becomes seemingly contrived.

What has helped me to find the right heart in doing the reading has been John Piper's IOUS.

Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness (Psalm 119:36)

Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law (Psalm 119:18)

Unite my heart to fear thy name (Psalm 86:11b)

Satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days (Psalm 90:14)

The times when I have remembered to take time to get my heart right before reading, I am encouraged by what I read. Just makes me wonder, will this work when it comes to Leviticus?

Only time will tell. :)

vocab-boost

2011-01-09T22:44:00.000+08:00

Reading the autobiography of CS Lewis at the moment and I am really enjoying it. The big words have continued to baffle me, which means it’s time for another instalment of the very vocabulous vocab-boost!

pique [peek]

to affect with sharp irritation and resentment, esp. by some wound to pride: She was greatly piqued when they refused her invitation.

obsequious [uhb-see-kwee-uhs]

servilely compliant or deferential: obsequious servants.

harangue [huh-rang]

any long, pompous speech or writing of a tediously hortatory or didactic nature; sermonizing lecture or discourse.

surreptitious [sur-uhp-tish-uhs]

obtained, done, made, etc., by stealth; secret or unauthorized; clandestine: a surreptitious glance.

invectives [in-vek-tiv]

vehement or violent denunciation, censure, or reproach. an insulting or abusive word or expression.

welter [wel-ter]

to become deeply or extensively involved, associated, entangled, etc. to roll, toss, or heave, as waves or the sea.

forsooth [fawr-sooth]

Archaic. (now used in derision or to express disbelief) in truth; in fact; indeed.

mercurial [mer-kyoor-ee-uhl]

changeable; volatile; fickle; flighty; erratic: a mercurial nature.

heterodox [het-er-uh-doks]

not in accordance with established or accepted doctrines or opinions, esp. in theology; unorthodox.

precocious [pri-koh-shuhs]

unusually advanced or mature in development, esp. mental development: a precocious child.

vapid [vap-id]

without liveliness or spirit; dull or tedious: a vapid party; vapid conversation.

jocular [jok-yuh-ler]

given to, characterized by, intended for, or suited to joking or jesting; waggish; facetious: jocular remarks about opera stars.

Impressive list huh? Look, you’re welcome. I’m glad that you are clearly piqued about weltering in this new sea of words. You may think it vapid but forsooth, it is indeed a jocular attempt at helping you become more precocious in your speech – as is quite heterodox in today’s society.

three words

2011-01-07T20:38:00.002+08:00

Fighting
Learning
Pursuit

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oh yeah...

2011-01-04T19:27:00.000+08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR everybody!

I would post a photo of the first sunset of 2011 in Perth (taken from King's Park) BUT my phone's SD card died and the photos died with it so please enjoy this random puppy picture instead

Bible in a Year (take two!)

2011-01-04T19:23:00.000+08:00

I decided to start the Bible in a year again this year - actually I started a few days earlier at the end of December 2010 when I received this Bible...

I have officially done one week of readings and it's been quite good so far. Already once, the passage I read (and the verses that I highlighted) came up the day after - when the verses were the text used for the sermon in church! I remember thinking the night before, it's funny that not many sermons are preached about Enoch and then just like that, the very next morning the message was about how Enoch walked with God!

And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
Genesis 5:22-24

What will be better this time round is that there's a group of us doing Bible in a Year with the same Bible, and hopefully, this will give the extra motivation and positive peer pressure to keep up with the readings. If you're interested, the link to the blog that we will be keeping is here

Thought it was also funny that Jon Acuff's Stuff Christians Like blogged about Bible in Year today too

We'll see how this goes in the coming year...

the candy cane

2010-12-25T23:10:00.008+08:00

I wrote my first tract in time for Christmas Carolling! We ended up giving these out with mini candy canes attached to them to people that we met when we went carolling. Thought I would share it here...

The Candy Cane

It is not known how the candy cane came to be a Christmas tradition, but we can view it as a reminder of the true meaning of Christmas.

Firstly, it’s shape. Turned upside down it is the letter ‘J’ for Jesus, turned the right way up, it is the shape of a shepherd’s staff to show that Jesus is the great Shepherd sent by God the Father to care for His sheep (us!). Secondly, it’s colours. A white background shows that Jesus lived His life on earth with purity – He never sinned. Unlike us, in His entire life Jesus never lied, stole, cheated, swore, envied, or did anything that broke God’s law (the Ten Commandments). The red stripes of the candy cane reflect the blood that Jesus shed on the cross – the three thin stripes remind us of His suffering, the one thick stripe shows that Jesus ultimately died on the cross to pay for the sins of all mankind.

Christmas is such a big deal because it celebrates the fact that God loved us so much that even though we did nothing to deserve it, He gave us the BEST GIFT we could ever hope for: eternal life through Jesus Christ – wrapped in the form of a baby in a manger!

If this is a gift that you would like to receive this Christmas, pray to God…

Admit that you are not perfect, that you have broken God’s law, and that you no longer want to live a life of sin
Believe that Jesus paid the debt of your sins on the cross, and accept the gift of being saved from the punishment of your sins (Hell)
Read the Bible and obey it. Find a good church that preaches the Bible to help you grow. And tell others the good news!

the year that was..

2010-12-12T23:31:00.000+08:00

Can't believe Christmas is less than two weeks away! And the new year is about three weeks away... Where has this year gone? Doesn't seem like too long ago that twenty ten rolled round the corner and now it's rolling off into the distance again...

I found this little app on facebook that helped me reflect on the past 12 months. It's called My Year in Status Updates. Basically it grabs your status updates (or a selection thereof) and puts them together in a collage.

Mine came back like this...

Totally cool.

Year isn't over yet though. The next few weeks will be pretty busy but I'm totally looking forward to it!

Oh BTW - camp was GREAT! Will post some stuff up from there eventually :)

get ur tree on

2010-11-21T23:37:00.001+08:00

It may be early, but the tree is officially up! Now for all the presents to go underneath yewww!

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cramming for camp

2010-11-21T23:18:00.000+08:00

I decided last week that I will go to National Camp in Adelaide this year. Camp goes from 29 November to 3 December, and I booked my airfares on Friday (19 November) - kinda last minute, but I'm glad it's done.

The only thing I have left to do (other than pack) is to do my pre-camp reading of ALL the minor prophets! yowsers! So I have started cramming and doing big chunks of reading to try get through all 12 books. Praise the Lord that they are only minor prophets and some of the books are quite short!

It's funny that they are called minor prophets because what they have to say was pretty major - so far in my cramming, I have noticed common themes along the lines of 'watch out! God has been seeing what y'all been up to and He's not happy - y'all better watch out for the judgement, 'cos God is up-set and He gonna let y'all know about it really soon...'

It's not too often that you come across a solid section of the Bible devoted to God's judgement, so reading chapter after chapter about it has helped me to reflect on God's holiness and my own sinfulness.

It's a timely reminder.

Anyways, I still have heaps to go through so better not waste any more time blogging. Feels like I'm in school again haha!

am I lukewarm and lovin' it?

2010-11-07T22:17:00.001+08:00

Watched this sermon on the weekend and it convicted me. Definitely a lot of things to think about here...

annual work conference

2010-11-02T22:15:00.002+08:00

On the weekend, I was in Melbourne for my work's annual conference. We left on Thursday afternoon, arrived at midnight, and I headed back to Perth on Saturday night. It was a short trip, but it was just right if you ask me. The weather in Melbourne was pretty cold and wet so it was nice to come back to sunny Perth, sleep in my own bed and spend Sunday at church, and at home.

The hotel we stayed at was the Hilton in South Wharf, and it was pretty impressive. It's usually the small details that win me over with hotels, and for the Hilton, the attention to detail was definitely there: T2 teas, plunger coffee, Crabtree and Evelyn toiletries, bathtub, bathrobes, pillow menu, and an electric blind.

It was also Melbourne Cup weekend so the foyer had all these different horses - including one that paid homage to Elvis...

Breakfast was buffet-style with everything you could hope to eat during breakfast. Most importantly, they served some great coffee which helped pull me through the jetlag that came from losing three hours in transit. It was a nice mini getaway at work's expense so I lapped up every moment. I should also mention that I learnt lots at the conference part of it too!

Because I have been to Melbourne a few times now, I am pretty familiar with it, so Friday morning, Friday afternoon and Saturday afternoon gave me ample time for me to get my Melbourne fix - and by that I mean shopping. I managed to pick up a purse, a bag, a cardigan, a necklace, and some hair clips. Not a bad effort at all.

Encouragement: The Key to Caring

2010-10-25T22:55:00.000+08:00

This book was written by Dr Larry Crabb and Dr Dan Allender.

I google image searched the book and google gave me this picture...

It's completely different to the copy I have which is a bright green book that looks like this...

The difference between the two is that my version was bought at a book sale for $1! I seriously cannot help bragging about the bargains I get...

Anyway...

The book was so good. I think for me, encouragement has always been one of those things that I had a vague idea about, but that I never really knew how to define. 'Oh yeah, it's just like being nice to someone especially when they are feeling down and stuff'

But it's so much more.

Crabb and Allender help unpack what exactly encouragement is. What it is, what it isn't, why it's important, what barriers there are to it, what an encourager is like, how encouragement works, how it can change others and how to do it. There was just so much in there! I read this book quite quickly because it was really easy to read, and it gave me a thirst to want to know more. A chapter would end talking about some other topic and that would be addressed in the following chapter.

I found the concepts of surface communities especially interesting as this is something I have often observed growing up in church where people have layers that keep other people from knowing their fears. This in effect has the result that people communicate by just talking from one layer to another and never really get to address the core fears of others. They end up thinking they have encouraged someone, but anything that they thought they did was shallow and ultimately ineffective. We are to be totally committed to being instruments used by God in other people's lives.

I also found it interesting that the wrong solution to a surface community was total openness. Crabb and Allender explain that total openness is self-serving as you are really just presenting your true self and expecting other people to accept you 'just the way you are'. We are to depend on God for acceptance - not other people. Total openness as Crabb and Allender put it is 'falesely courageous self-centredness'. Ouch! But so true.

Encouragement: The Key to Caring is a very practical book and a helpful resource which is fantastic because it is something that we all need to know how to do as Christians.

it's been a while...

2010-10-16T17:38:00.001+08:00

...since I've cleaned the windows at home. Today we did a bit of spring cleaning and I found this two cent piece in the window tracking. We haven't used two cent pieces in like 20 years!

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birthday blessings to a big brother

2010-10-11T22:25:00.000+08:00

Today was my bro's birthday.

Though we have our differences at times, he's still a pretty good brother most of the time. I know I can count on him to give me a stern talking to when I need it (and even when I don't) - but that's cool, he's my gor gor and that's what gor gor's do. God has used him to shape me, teach me, encourage me, and toughen me up.

For that I am pretty grateful. Here's to my gorgsie!

accidental genius-ness

2010-10-09T21:38:00.002+08:00

Problem: lack of desk space

My solution: get lid from plastic storage box and place on my lap in a makeshift stable-table kinda way

Accidental genius-ness: got distracted, placed lid on open draw to stand up, and realised I was an accidental genius...

problem soved

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the urban orchard

2010-10-07T22:28:00.000+08:00

Perth is a cool city. We have beautiful weather, people are friendly, work-life is relaxed, we aren't too over-crowded, and we don't care too much about what other people think of us. We could comfortably walk down to the shopping mall (well at least the smaller ones) in our ugg boots and nobody would really care.

I remember a friend from Melbourne came over once and described people in Perth as 'not pretentious' and I really think she described Perth very well.

Don't you agree?

Where else would you be able to plop a vegetable garden in the middle of the 'cultural precinct' with a man-made swamp just a stone's throw away?

I'm serious!

We have a vegetable garden outside our Art Gallery and it's called the Urban Orchard - check it out!

If you forget your lunch one day, you can always go to the vegie patch, pick a few leaves, grab a tin of tuna from woolies - and hey presto - lunch in a jiffy!

I actually don't know if you're allowed to go picking stuff from there - so don't quote me please!

But the idea is quite original. I'm sure people from other states will think it's very backwards and weird, but I think it's original and I really believe that if they say anything like that, it's just out of jealousy because they can't get free salad. :)

A few weeks ago, when I was strolling by the vegie patch, there was something else quite original that caught my eye - lotuses made of recycled plastic floating on tyres in a wading pool!

Other states, eat your heart out...

gettin' grill'd

2010-10-07T22:04:00.002+08:00

I was first exposed to grill'd in Melbourne. I tried some of their chips and was hooked - fried to a golden crisp and then sprinkled with herbs and sea salt... They were SOO good that I took a menu back home to drool over in Perth. Grill'd became a 'must-go' in Melbourne and whenever I went to Melbourne for work or whatever, I would go back to visit my dear friend - even if I dined alone...

Then grill'd opened in Perth.

It took over the old Cino to Go in Mt Lawley and though it was sad to see Cino's go, it was great to see grill'd in it's place - I can always get my Cino's hit elsewhere. 'Twas a happy day indeed, when I went to grill'd in Perth for the first time and feasted on a delicious burger and of course those delectable fries..

Needless to say I have been back a few more times.

the wild west burger

the BEST chips with herbed mayo

Mt Lawley grill'd

Now a second shop has opened in Subiaco! Funny, they also took over the old Cino to Go...It only opened this week, and a few of us went to check it out on Tuesday night.

Honestly, it was pretty disappointing - but not terrible. I was expecting my beef to be juicy, but it was a tad dry and quite average, and I think they were a bit too heavy-handed with the tomato sauce. Oh, and the chips were pale and soggy! Given, they are still learning - but hopefully they will learn quickly :)

they don't make teabags like they used to...

2010-10-06T12:39:00.001+08:00

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I'm reading...

2010-10-04T22:52:00.001+08:00

Esther: A Woman of Strength and Dignity by Charles Swindoll

Disciplines of a Godly Woman by Barbara Hughes

The Book of Psalms :)

And I recently (today) acquired a few books from Koorong...

The Shadow of the Almighty by Elisabeth Elliot (a biography about Jim Elliot)

and Mornings with Tozer (a devotional by AW Tozer)

That should keep me occupied for a while.

I got mail!

2010-10-02T14:03:00.004+08:00

I got mail yesterday. My order from Nicene Council arrived - a whole box full of DVDs! Yeeeow!

I don't often get stuff like this on the mail so it was a Kodak moment...

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God is so good!

2010-10-01T16:51:00.003+08:00

He's so good to me....

I once was lost, but now am found...

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like sands in the hourglass of time...

2010-09-29T22:11:00.004+08:00

...these are the days of my life.

Tomorrow I will turn twenty seven.

In the past year, I feel as though I have really learned more about myself. Most people may think that as a result of finding out more about yourself, you would have increased in confidence, but I don't believe that has been the case with me.

I think instead, the whole process of 'finding myself' has made me realise the sort of person I really am. And if I am truly honest with myself, that is nothing to be confident about.

In the past year, God has revealed a lot to me about my character, and a lot of it hasn't been easy to take. I fall short of what I should be ALL the time and I have so many flaws in my character that when I dwell on them, it can be really overwhelming... Sins that I struggle with seem to continuously knock me about and I am often tempted to just give up. It's so easy to just get discouraged and not feel worthy to do what you are called to do. SO easy.

But... God has also reminded me Who He is.

Yes, He is omniscient and He know exactly what I do, say and think. Yes, He is perfectly holy, and Him being omniscient, He knows that I am perfectly not holy. Yes, I fall short and constantly fail in my attempts to be better - to be more humble, to have more faith, to be more content, to be kinder, to say nicer things, to show more love, practice more self-control, embrace discipline and authority, be more gracious, be less sarcastic, flee from temptation, read my Bible more, have a better prayer life, to encourage others, evangelise, practice obedience, put away worldly things, be more diligent, and all the rest...

But what gives me joy unspeakable is knowing that though my Heavenly Father knows all that I have done, and all that I ever will do, and though He knows how much I will fail and keep failing to be all that He wants me to be, despite the constant revealing, reminding, convicting that He is gracious enough to give me through His Holy Spirit... He still chose to save me, and He still chooses to give me the chance to be used to bring glory back to Him. God is willing to use me.

This gives me GREAT confidence - not in myself, but in God and His love for me.

I don't know what the future will hold, let alone the next twelve months! But as long as I can look back every year and say that I have learned more from God, and have changed - even if just a little bit - I will be more than blessed.

a poem

2010-09-25T22:46:00.000+08:00

From prayer that asks that I may be
Sheltered from winds that beat on Thee,
From fearing when I should aspire,
From faltering when I should climb higher,
From all that dims Thy Calvary,
O Lamb of God, deliver me.

From subtle love of softening things
From easy choices, weakenings
(Not thus are spirits fortified,
Not this way went the Crucified)
From silken self, O Captain, free
Thy soldier who would follow Thee.

Give me the love that leads the way,
The faith that nothing can dismay,
The hope no disappointments tire,
The passion that will burn like fire -
Let me not sink to be a clod:
Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God.

Amy Carmichael

How Women Help Men Find God

2010-09-21T19:13:00.001+08:00

Time for another book review.

How Women Help Men Find God - by David Murrow

I originally came across this book at Word bookstore in Vic Park when a few of us were browsing before we had dinner next door at Makan Makan. It caught my attention because of the title, and I picked it up to have a flick through. I read a few bits inside (I think the section was about worship) and I liked how it was written and that it made some good points that I never thought about before. It seemed to cover a lot of ground in one book, so I thought I would go buy it.

It was a bit more expensive than what I normally like to pay for a book ($17.95), but because I was interested, I bought it anyway. My rationale was that I spend more on dinner or a CD sometimes so why not spend on a Christian book?

Anyhoo.

Basically, Murrow writes about how the church has been feminised in recent years to the point where men have been gradually put more and more off from going. With more women in church, the church has changed to become more appealing to women (often unintentionally), and as a result, most men have just felt out of place and have ended up leaving the church. He writes about why this is a problem, how it has become like this, the common mistakes that churches make, what the church can do to fix the problem, and practical ways to evangelise to the men in your life.

Personally, I found the book very helpful and it made some excellent points that I had never thought about. It also helped to affirm the things that we do in our own church already which have helped to encourage the brothers to keep coming (e.g. men's fellowship).

However...

I found that there was quite a contemporary slant to what Murrow would write, and coming from a traditional church, I didn't quite agree with everything he wrote in the book. It seemed as though he favoured the idea of a big, slick, tech-savvy, modern church with all the bells and whistles - a view that I didn't necessarily agree with. Also, being from a predominantly Asian church, some stuff was less relevant - he presented an idea of having a group of mechanics at church providing free repairs to the community, but I ain't seen no Asian mechanic in church recently.. Maybe there can be an accounting or engineering consultation? Maybe not.

It's not that I was being close-minded to the ideas in the book, it's more that I wasn't too convinced that these would achieve the ultimate goal for us as Christians - which is to glorify God. I felt that sometimes, what was written in the book tended to be more fearful of man than of God.

But that's just my opinion.

I would recommend that you have a read of the book, just to get an idea about the problem that the modern church is facing currently. It is definitely a very real problem and one that would jeopardise the future of the church, the family unit and the effectiveness of ministry. Read the book with an open-mind, but with discernment. But really, any book that we read written by man should be read in the same manner.

packed and productive weekend

2010-09-20T09:06:00.004+08:00

Dinner at david jones * regeneration * maccas * home for sleep * brekky at coode st cafe, mt lawley * subi op-shopping * san churro, subi, for a caffeine n sugar fix * quick pit stop at home * garden city to buy some essentials * met juls at coles * church for a mini project and dinner * dropped off massive pile of clothes at good sammy bin * home for sleep * sunday service at church * lunch at happy star. myaree * pit stop at church * coffee at toast, east perth * hanging out with the Palms * dinner at anticco, east perth * caught up on x factor * sleep

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a story about Daniel

2010-09-16T20:53:00.000+08:00

On Saturday I partook of a fellowship between young, old and in between as some people in my church gathered for a church picnic. Being in a smallish church is great cos you can do these kinds of things, but it can still be difficult to get to know everyone on a more-than-hi basis if you never get the opportunity to spend time with one another. So Saturday was a great opportunity to do just that.

After a bit of singing at the gazebo in King's Park, we all broke off into randomly assigned groups to complete a challenge. We were told that the Sunday School was the victim of budget cuts and we had to help put together a lesson for the children (this is of course fictional!). We were all given a story from the Bible, and in our groups, we had to recreate scenes from those stories. My group had Daniel and the Lions' Den.

Here's what we came up with.

Daniel and the Lions Den

After King Belshazzar died, Darius took over the kingdom of Babylon

Daniel was made into one of 120 governors, and was very good at his job. Even King Darius was very fond of Daniel, so fond in fact, that he wanted to put Daniel in charge of everyone else! But the other governors became very jealous and plotted against him.

They tried to find a problem with Daniel, but they couldn’t find anything wrong with him! They did notice, however, that Daniel prayed to God three times a day, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, without fail. The jealous governors devised a wicked plan.

They approached King Darius and suggested that a law be passed to make in illegal for anyone to pray or bow to anyone else other than the King – it was a law that would be punishable by being thrown to the lions! King Darius did not know this was a trap for Daniel, so he passed the law and signed it with his royal seal.

Daniel found out about the law, but that didn’t stop him from praying in the same way – three times a day, with his windows open toward Jerusalem. The governors found him praying to God and told King Darius.

King Darius was sad to hear this and disappointed that he had been tricked. He tried for the rest of the day to think of a way to save Daniel. But he couldn’t go back on the law that was made. Instead he spoke to Daniel and said ‘Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee’

Daniel was thrown into the den of lions. All night King Darius worried about what would happen to Daniel. As soon as it was morning, he went to check on Daniel. He called out to Daniel and Daniel responded – he was safe! God shut the lions’ mouths and Daniel didn’t even end up with a scratch!

King Darius was happy about Daniel’s deliverance, but angry at the jealous governors who tried to have Daniel killed . He ordered that they (and their families) be thrown to the lions’ den instead.

This time, the lions didn’t keep their mouths shut!

The lions ripped the jealous governors to pieces – even before they touched the ground!

vintagey goodness

2010-09-16T17:59:00.003+08:00

Picked up this cute little bag at the op-shop this week. Total score.

Guess how much...

Go on, guess...

One dollar.

You can close your mouth now :)

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can you have too many bags in one colour?

2010-09-15T22:39:00.001+08:00

You certainly can.

I seriously had no idea that there were so many...

My name is Rowena, and I am a shopaholic.

a glimpse of the past

2010-09-15T22:34:00.000+08:00

I found this while spring cleaning today.

It's a random illustration that I drew when I was in primary school... I have no recollection of drawing this. But I know it was me, during my cartoonist phase.. It was the only thing in that booklet too. Weird.

I also found this...

I made this bag out of an old denim jacket when I was in High School (I think). Pretty cool huh? That's a breast pocket (which still functions as a pocket - totally rad), and the handle was what used to be the bottom bit of the jacket (the waist thingo??). You wish you had one huh?

Well it doesn't really fit my style any more, but I couldn't bear to give it to Good Sammy's so it's staying in storage... Along with my Perth Wildcats memorabilia (foam finger, inflated hand, hat, bag, autographed cap (yep, you can wipe the drool of your keyboard)) and a whole stack of other random stuff that is too good to throw away. Sentimental value man.

The clean continues.

Faith Beyond Reason

2010-09-13T23:13:00.001+08:00

It's been a while since I have reviewed a book. Too long. I will definitely try to do this more often! In fact, I have been toying with the idea of starting a book club for a while now - but I don't know how interested people will be in doing one, and I also don't know if people would have the time. I guess I won't ever know unless I actually do it.

Anyway.

First off, I just want to say that AW Tozer is a great author. I have a read a few of his books now (I think this was my third?). And each one has been a blessing to me spiritually. I actually finished 'Faith Beyond Reason' a while ago now but I feel that I need to share how good it was - just to try encourage more people out there to read this and other AW Tozer books!

Like the majority of books I have in my growing collection, this was another acquirement from a book sale. Two bucks very well spent.

mine was a different cover
but ah well, you get the idea

Faith Beyond Reason is actually a collection of sermons preached by Tozer from the Gospel of John. In this book, Tozer covers a lot of ground - the book is about faith, but Tozer unpacks what faith means in light of conversion, the character of God, discipleship, conscience, hypocrisy, temptation/sin, holiness, and the truth. The great thing about this book (and a lot of Tozer's books) is that truths are simplified into digestable chunks. He can pack a lot (though not too much to overwhelm you) into one sentence, so it doesn't take him a lot of pages to get his point across.

Because these were a collection of sermons from Tozer, I thought the book had a different style to previous books I had read by Tozer. Faith Beyond Reason had a lot more anecdotes and illustrations in it - though at times tangental, and often hilarious, they still helped to illustrate his point.

If you haven't treated yourself to a book by AW Tozer, get to it and maybe one day we can book club it up.

out of hibernation

2010-09-11T00:47:00.000+08:00

Well it's been a while since I have last blogged. In fact, one whole season has passed and I guess it's fair to say that my little blog went into hibernation for the winter. However, much has happened since Spring has sprung..

I went on holidays!

my cousin, aom

my porpor

street vendor in ubon

mmm... best padthai ever

my cousin, nuey, and I

thai-laos border

universal studios (singapore) with my bros

I also did a bit of reading...

one of a few winter reads

I met a dog named Sunshine

she's cute and she knows it!

I got me some new shoes (well a few actually)

thought I would brogue about it :P

I fared a brother well

yorkie left for HK that night

I took a day off to hang with some lovely sisters

brekky

on-a solid rock we sat, all other rocks weren't as big as that - all other rocks weren't as big as that

great place for a coffee

blossoms

more blossoms

I witnessed God's mercy (and sense of humour)

what was left of the shrubbery

I witnessed God's beautiful creation

rain

I had a spanish latte

at next cafe

I hung outside at the Northbridge Piazza on a chilly night

beanbag cinema!

I did some cooking to feed my bros

pre-bake pasta bake haha

I had a squiz at some local fashion

nice dresses

bottled prettiness

I discovered a magical instant noodle cave

cold snap!

2010-06-25T09:16:00.002+08:00

It's getting really chilly in Perth now. This morning it was 0.4 degrees! Yowzers! Walked out to the bus this morning, completely rugged up from top to toe. I absolutely love the winter chill.. I love how when you breathe out, 'smoke' comes out like a dragon! And I love this....

app-tastic

2010-06-20T22:41:00.000+08:00

So I've been playing with apps on my phone - all free from the android market mind you - and thought I would share some of my faves! Firstly, Roidizer. This app takes photos, and the turns them into polaroids that you can tag and save. I found ou about this from Trina who had an iPhone app that did the same thing. What's cool is that you can use existing photos and polarise them. The app gives the photos a retroey feel similar to FXCamera's Toycam editor... here's a few pics I prepared earlier :)

I made this cake the other day - and it was pretty nice. Almost like a giant muffin, packed with apples and had a great crust on top that was just delish straight out of the oven! But I digress...

Second app is one I have been using for a while now, and it's the previously mentioned FX Camera. This has got to be one of my favourites. I downloaded this after my bro showed me what it could do. I absolutely love love LOVE the Toy Cam editor. Similar, to the roidizer, it gives the photos a darkened-round-the-edges retro feel. There is also a Polaroid-esque editor which in my opinion makes the photos look more like polaroids than the roidiser - but because they kinda have theat faded polaroid effect, the end product doesn't look as nice as the roidiser (which tends to saturate the colours). The other features are FishEye, Symmetricam (mirror images everything) and Warhol (psychadelic four-coloured reproduction).

So much fun with the phone! Will leave it here for now. Next time round - 360camera!

call me the caffeinator

2010-06-19T01:03:00.000+08:00

Coffee - the most necessary of all evils

Today I had...

Two double shot coffees

A can of red bull

and some Coke Zero

the beautiful letdown

2010-06-14T20:59:00.000+08:00

Well let's face it, it wasn't beautiful. It stunk. Stunk like a burrito left in the sun, or a very average Mexican ref who robbed the socceroos of a chance at the World Cup. OK, Sure. Aussies didn't have a chance to begin with but the sting was totally real. Or maybe I am over-reacting because I, like most patriotic and over-hopeful Aussies, did not get enough sleep last night.

Yes. I set my alarm this morning for 2:30am, got out of my toasty, warm bed - eyes hardly able to open, plopped in front of the TV with my doona, and watched as goal after goal, the socceroos got owned by the Bratwursts (and the little Mexican Ref). It was heart-breaking. I had to stop watching after the fourth goal hit the back of the net.

But the loss, the bad reffing, the constant buzzing of those wretched horns, the poor timing of matches, the constant diving/over-reacting, and the fact that Australia doesn't seem to have a chance, will not put me off the World Cup!

I still went out today for Maccas - just to get a free World Cup cup. I still (even as I am typing this) will keep watching the Netherlands and Denmark fight it out - even though I don't even care for either country (going for Denmark cos they are the underdogs, and because Apple Danishes are nom nom)... And then Cameroon and Japan (going for Japan - because they are technically Asian and I love karage)... I will still watch and read the news about the World Cup, even though I don't follow football normally... And I will still wake up early again for the Aussies (cos they will most probably only have two more games left in the Cup!)

I have a bad case of football fever!

wardrobe stock take

2010-06-14T20:05:00.000+08:00

On the weekend, I had a bit of a mini stocktake on my wardrobe and was really surprised to see just how much stuff I have in there! I seriously have a lot of clothes and the only reason I can fit everything into my wardrobe is because there is always something in the laundry!

I have a problem.

So I think it's about time that I take some action. Here is my plan...

1. No more shopping for a month or at least until I have sorted through everything. Ouch! This will be hard it's the end of financial year - and there are sales galore! Every time I have the urge to shop, I will spend time sorting.

2. Proper stocktake - sorting everything into jeans, summer tops, cardies, vests, coats, long-sleeved, dresses, skirts, work pants, tees, etc

3. The great purge - decide whether stuff should be kept, saved for the next clothes swap, thrown away, put in a sewing pile for alterations, put on probation (i.e. keep it just in case I think I can work it back into the wardrobe, but if not, it's a gone-r!)

4. Replace wardrobe/drawers an an orderly manner.

Somehow, I think this task is going to be greater than I can handle, but we'll see how it goes.

Any suggestions to make it easier?

baby got ba-by showered

2010-06-12T01:13:00.001+08:00

A few weeks ago I went to a friend's Baby Shower... It was so much fun hanging out, eating lotsa yummy food and drinking lotsa yummy tea... And I scored a prize! Thought it was a nice touch too that every guest left with a white rose with a handwritten note to say thanks for coming! so sweet!

of pics past - the lwe

2010-06-08T01:21:00.000+08:00

current reading

2010-06-07T00:55:00.003+08:00

Wow, haven't done this in a while!

Well let's see... I'm reading a few books at the moment...

1. How Women Can Help Men Find God by David Murrow - verdict so far? read with discernment, but some good points.
2. A Woman's Choice by Eugenia Price - not far enough into it to comment
3. Faith Beyond Reason by AW Tozer - wow!
4. Discipline: The Glad Surrender by Elisabeth Elliot - easy read so far
5. Be Real by Warren Wiersbe - not far enough into it to comment
6. Book of Psalms - switched to this from Leviticus.. la la laaa..

But I have also recently finished a few other books...

1. Not My Will by Andrew Murray - wow!
2. The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom - wow!!

And I have given up on a few other books

1. The Left Behind Series - might come back to this one day
2. Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella, and a book by Marian Keyes - both recommended by a colleague, OK, but just think my time could be used much better

starts with p and ends with ride

2010-06-06T22:54:00.005+08:00

Occasionally there are times where I just feel fragile. I get into this moody, emo state where I get ultra-sensitive, down-hearted and get consumed with a cloud of self-pity. Usually it doesn't take much to trigger such feelings, but small things become huge things and the depressive state begins.

I've had a bit of a think about why this happens to me and I have come to realise it is mainly because of one thing - Pride.

I have never really thought of myself as a proud person (I guess just by saying that I qualify as being proud!) - in the sense that I don't usually look down on people and think I am fantastic. But God has shown me that I am proud in other ways - I get complacent about my spiritual state because hey, at least I'm doing more than just coming to church on Sundays... or I think something that I am helping to plan is going to go really well because of all the effort I'd invested... or I feel as though I shouldn't be treated with perceived antagonism (and so many times it is perceived and not real at all) because I had done nothing to deserve it... or I believe that because I have been obedient, I should have my desires met... or I get discouraged because I had been misunderstood and that an incorrect opinion of me had been formed as a result... or I think my will should be done, and not so much God's will... I could list so many more things.

It's like I have taken the L'oreal commercial too much to heart and I just think that only good feelings should come my way 'because I'm worth it'. But no. The Bible reminds me that what I really deserve is what was given to Christ - nails through His hands and feet, a spear through His side, and suffering beyond anything I could ever imagine.

Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Blessings are what they are - blessings. They aren't deserved! They aren't owed to me! They're a pleasant bonus in life. Even if I live my whole life never feeling accepted, loved, valued, included, acknowledged, or I never have any of my desires fulfilled and instead I go through continued trials, tribulations and discouragement - I should be OK with this, because what have I done, really, to deserve otherwise? My flesh keeps telling me what I should have, but the Spirit reminds me what I truly should be given. And man, what a difference there is between the two!

God is showing me that I need to learn to humble myself, and as Amy Carmichael says, I need to die to self...

When you are forgotten, or neglected, or purposely set at naught, and you don't sting and hurt with the insult or oversight but your heart is happy, being counted worthy to suffer for Christ, that is dying to self.

When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed, your advice disregarded, your opinion ridiculed, and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart or even defend yourself, but take it all in patient loving silence,that is dying to self.

When you are content with any food, any offering, any raiment, any climate, any society, any solitude, and interruption by the will of God, that is dying to self.

When you never care to refer to yourself in conversation, or to record your own good works, or itch after commendation, when you can truly love to be unknown, that is dying to self.

When you can see your brother prosper and have his needs met, and honestly rejoice with him in spirit and feel no envy nor question God, while your own needs are far greater and in desperate circumstances, that is dying to self.

When you can receive correction and reproof from one of less stature than yourself, and humbly submit inwardly as well as outwardly, finding no rebellion or resentment rising up within your heart, that is dying to self.

He's changing me, slowly but surely. And though it is a blow to my pride to admit that I have a problem with pride, I'm thankful that I realise this now rather than later in my life!

Please God, continue to mould and shape me. Purge me of my prideful heart and replace it with true humility and confidence in You. Remind me Lord, and help me never take for granted what Jesus' went through for me because of my sin. Help me hate sin as you do. Please Lord, help my faith grow, so that I may trust in You with my whole heart - come what may. In Jesus' name, Amen.

contentment revisited

2010-05-03T23:05:00.004+08:00

I heard a message by Elisabeth Elliot today entitled Guide to Contentment. It was a real blessing to me because this is something that I know I have a problem with, but never really knew how to deal with. Well OK, I had SOME idea, and I had made SOME progress, but I know that I still have a LONG way to go.

I took notes along the way and thought I would share them here.

Hope it's a blessing to you!

Contentment
Elisabeth Elliot

1. A Command to Be Still
a. Psalm 131:2
b.

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side. Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide; In every change, He faithful will remain.

c. What is my Issac? What is the most precious thing in our life that we need to surrender to God?

And shall I pray Thee change Thy will my Father,
Until it be according unto mine?
But no, Lord, no, that shall never be, rather
I pray Thee blend my human will with Thine.

I pray Thee hush the hurrying eager longing
I pray Thee soothe the pangs of keen desire.
See in my quiet places wishes thronging,
Forbid them, Lord, purge, though it be with fire.

And work in me to will and do Thy pleasure.
Let all within me, peaceful, reconciled,
Tarry content my Wellbeloved's leisure,
At last, at last, even as a weaned child.
- Amy Carmichael

2. Teachability (meekness)
a. If we want to learn contentment, we need to be teachable
b. Are we teachable only with some sources?
c. Will we be meek enough to receive counsel from a strange/unexpected source
d. Phil 4:11-13 – Paul was content
e. Recommendation: Daily Strengths for Daily Needs – Mary W Tileston (May 23)

If we wished to gain contentment, we might try such rules as these:--

1. Allow thyself to complain of nothing, not even of the weather.
2. Never picture thyself to thyself under any circumstances in which thou art not.
3. Never compare thine own lot with that of another.
4. Never allow thyself to dwell on the wish that this or that had been, or were, otherwise than it was, or is. God Almighty loves thee better and more wisely than thou dost thyself.
5. Never dwell on the morrow. Remember that it is God's, not thine. The heaviest part of sorrow often is to look forward to it. "The Lord will provide."
E. B. PUSEY.

3. Trust
a. Trust that God knows what He is doing
b. Father, forgiving, fortress, friend, helper.
c. Psalm 16:5 – everything has been assigned by God and planned
d. Psalm 17:13-14
e. God knows our needs and the timing to provide

The Robin and the Sparrow
Said the robin to the sparrow,
“I should really like to know,
Why these anxious human beings
Rush about and worry so.”
Said the sparrow to the robin,
“Friend I think that it must be,
That they have no Heavenly Father,
Such as cares for you and me.”

f. God is not worried about anything! Worry is a sin

4. How much is enough?
a. What is our attitude to earthly possessions? Do we always want more than we have?
b. Numbers 11: 1-6
c. Do we have a complaining spirit?
d. God assigns our portion
e. Clutter is an indication of a refusal to make decisions and reasonable estimates

5. Acceptance
a. This is a spiritual matter
b. Do we have a cheerful, thankful spirit for what God has given us (1 Thess 5:18)
c. Give thanks and be willing to receive what God appoints
d. When thou has truly thanked the Lord for every blessing sent, But little time will then remain for murmur or lament - Hannah More
e. DSDN – Jan 19
f. Acceptance brings peace ‘in acceptance lieth peace’ Amy Carmichael

6. The results: Love, Joy and Peace
a. Simplicity goes alongside tranquility
b. Own less, talk less, don’t be a busybody
c. There are very few things which are my business
d. We make odious comparisons all the time
e. Phil 4:11

shazam!

2010-03-13T21:32:00.002+08:00

A cool little application I found on my phone is called Shazam. It's a program that listens to a few sesconds of a song and then tells you the song title, artist and album that it comes from. Too cool. I've been using it to tag different tunes I hear and most times it has been pretty good! Even when there is quite a bit of background noise, it still knows!

I've said it before and I'll say it again - my phone is smart :)

my phone is so smart

2010-01-27T11:32:00.003+08:00

So I got my new phone a few weeks ago now and it has been pretty impressive so far – does everything except the laundry. I’ve been spending some quality time learning more about the new phone and in the process I feel as though I am becoming more and a more of a nerd. Now when people ask me what type of phone I have, the reply is laced with foreign words such as ‘android’ ‘operating system’ ‘applications’ ‘platform’ ‘GPS’ and ‘megabytes’ – scary stuff.

The phone is not just pretty-looking, it also has lots of great little features. It's a "smartphone" which means it is like a little mini computer - same kinda thing as an iPhone (just a fraction of the price). I can download applications from the Android Market (for all the Apple-tons this is the App Store - only most apps are free here) and so far, I have downloaded everything from the Bible (one of the things I had to have on the new phone, to a personal trainer, to a constellation mapper, to a guitar tuner, to an animal sounds player (very useful and popular with the young kids), to an ebook reader and even a guitar! It's totally cool. On top of that, I can access the Internet, use GPS, play games, sync to my PC, record audio, view documents, and I can even make phone calls! haha

One thing I learnt with the whole phone selection task was to wait on God's timing. Let me explain. I wanted a new phone for a few months now - since maybe October or November 2009, but every time I wanted to get it, Three would not allow me to upgrade yet. Each time, I saw a new phone that I thought would be the one that I was supposed to get, but each time, it just wasn't possible to upgrade. It wasn't until I discovered a deal online for this phone that I knew would be a green light to go ahead - the phone was free on the same cap I was on already, it came with three months of free credit, $100 credit on top, and my bro even found a way for me to get $50 back through some website thing (don't ask me to explain cos I still don't entirely get it myself - something to do with advertising and links or something). You can't really say no to that kind of value.

So I have a new phone now and a few weeks on, I am not having ANY buyer's remorse - which can only be a good thing, especially for someone who is a compulsive impulse shopper.

post-vacation blues

2010-01-10T18:48:00.002+08:00

Since coming back from holiday on Monday last week, I've had this unrelenting desire to do something. I think I was just too spoilt while travelling and I have become used to eating out, discovering new places, meeting up with people and just being on-the-go all the time. So coming back to sleepy Perth has taken a bit of adjustment. At the same time however, I really do appreciate being back home, having my wardrobe back (and not living out of a suitcase), sleeping in my own bed with my own pillow, having a decent shower (what is up with showers in hotels these days?? no water pressure!), and being with my family and friends. I guess I am pretty blessed. I'm also grateful that I live in the relatively unpopulated Perth where the weather is nice, the streets are clean, people are courteous (and conscious of hygiene), smoking is minimal, pollution is unheard of - my own little comfort zone :)

twenny-ten

2010-01-10T00:53:00.002+08:00

Wow. I can't believe we're already more than a week into 2010. It didn't see like it was THAT long ago that I wrote down some resolutions for 2009, and just like that - the year was over. Looking back at my resolutions from last year, I am glad to say that I have somewhat achieved (or at least made a significant effort) most of them. I think my relationship with God has grown, I've read quite a few books (including finishing the Bible!), I've cut down on TV and shopping quite a bit (to the point now, that I can say I don't really watch TV much at all, and that shopping is no longer an addiction - still enjoyed, but I restrain myself too), I tried to pick up piano (and I can kinda play a few songs - albeit slowly with one or two mistakes - no chords yet, baby steps, baby steps!), err the get healthier one - that one kinda didn't eventuate (but I haven't put on any weight - which is good right?).

So I guess that leaves me with setting resolutions for this year. To be honest, I haven't really thought too much about what I want to achieve this year. But last night at Regeneration, we listened to one of my favourite sermons - Five Steps to Genuine Revival by Iain Paisley, and during the discussion that came afterwards, we talked about what we expected for Regeneration in the coming year.

Now Regen is a fellowship group that has been a real blessing to me since I started working and as such I really do love being a part of it. So for me, I really want to see this fellowship group grow in the Lord and for it to be a greenhouse of encouragement. It has changed for the better in the past year with the group becoming (by God's grace) a lot more open, trusting, loving, innovative and a real desire to learn God's Word together and pursue holiness has developed. I really want it to keep developing and as such, I realised (like how the late Michael Jackson realised when he said 'I'm starting with the man in the mirror') that I need to start with my self and try to change some things and enhance other things in my own life.

Firstly, I need to be less selfish and more loving. I need to put others first and deny myself. I need to love sacrificially and not always be focused on attending to my own needs or my own feelings. This, of course, will not happen in one year, but I need to start now.

Secondly, I need to pray more. Genuine pleading on my knees before God, being specific in confessing my sins, praising God for who He is and what He has done, opening my mouth wide and asking Him to do that which is beyond what I can ask or think, praying with faith, specifically. And I want to maintain regular attendance at Prayer Meeting.

I want to get into the practice of spending a day with God. I have never done this before in my whole Christian life and I really want to try.

Regular evangelism and being bold for Christ. I've recently fallen off the horse a little bit with this one, so I really need to get back into it.

Lastly, I want to try find ways to encourage others to learn and memorise God's Word. Some of us sisters have been trying to memorise Proverbs 31:10-31, and I've really enjoyed it. I want to help get others to do similar things to continue to equip ourselves for battle.

I really pray that God will help me with this and hopefully by blogging all the above, there is some kind of accountability for me to keep at it.

'Beloved' He beckons me...

2009-12-15T23:42:00.003+08:00

It’s been a while since the last post, but I have been busy busy busy with camp preparation, camp itself, social engagements, work, playing host to interstate campers and preparing for my holiday this week. What a crazy time of the year. Camp was an amazing blessing. The year of preparation was well worth every second and every effort. Though there were times where I was tempted to believe that the labour was in vain, I again learned how much more I need to trust in my ever-faithful God. He truly blessed the camp, and I believe most campers have been impacted deeply in their spiritual walk.

Basic things in every Christian’s life were re-examined in light of God’s love for His people, and Jesus’ love for His bride, the church. I found an all-new appreciation for reading my Bible, singing praises, confessing sins, and prayer.

This camp was unlike any other I had been to. There was a real atmosphere of prayer, honesty, fellowship and a genuine desire to seek a deeper relationship with God. I have never been so moved at a camp before (I don't think I have ever cried so much in a camp) and I think many others can say the same thing.

The camp theme song was so special. Every time I sing it, my heart wonders how God could love me with such an amazing and undeserved love - and it just makes me want to praise Him more and more. It was written by Sister Winnie (so so so talented) and I will share it here:

God's Wonderful Love

by Winnie Ho

How deep and how wide is God's wonderful love
I scarce cannot conceive
He gave His only Son to die for me
A sinner now set free

How faithful and true is God's wonderful love
His compassions never fail
He sees me through life's journey, joys and trials
He comforts and He heals

How condescending is God's wonderful love
The Almighty God cares for me
He chose me in His grace and mercy
"Beloved" He beckons me

How everlasting is God's wonderful love
No beginning and no end
He keeps me safely in His hand
In Him I rest content

CHORUS
O Lord! Such is Your wonderful love!
Have I loved You enough?
Have I lived for You?
Give me the true desire to leave my sinful ways
And to know and love You more each day
And cleave to You always

saying the un-say-able

2009-11-13T00:02:00.000+08:00

I often say and do things which I really wish I could make people forget. I occasionally suffer from chronic verbal diarrhoea, where the delayed realisation that I have said or done something inappropriate dawns on me and makes me subsequently wish that I had access to one of these...

Hehe do you remember the neuralyzer from Men in Black?

But I also have the opposite problem (though admittedly this is not as common) of NOT saying things that I probably should. For example, I will see someone with their fly undone and just quickly look away rather than do the kind thing and let them know. In retrospect, it would be much kinder to tell them as soon as I noticed it because it would mean that less people would see and they would subsequently save a bit more face. Not saying anything (on the other hand) until much later, will of course mean that more people will have the opportunity to see the undone fly and the person will not only feel embarrassed that their fly was undone, but they will have the compounded embarrassment of having to fix the problem with more people realising what has just happened.

Early intervention is always the best cure!

Another thing I have a problem doing is letting people know when they have done something that has offended me, caused me to stumble or be discouraged. Though I may have been quite hurt, I tend to just grin and bear the situation, and just continue to stew on it. It's a very unhealthy cycle that I have going on here and I am fully aware of it, but it is something that I know that I need to do something about. By His grace, God has shown me that to leave things unsaid is wrong, and I do believe I am making some progression with this, albeit subtle.

I think my main barrier is the fear I may come across to the person as over-sensitive (which I guess I can be at times) and a hypocrite (because yes, I admit, I would have definitely said things in the past which would have had the same effect on others - or even worse, I could have done the very same thing that was done against me to cause me to be discouraged). Letting someone know their shortcomings is a tough thing to do, but it's biblical.

Proverbs 27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

I just really hope that God will help me to be able to take future wounds inflicted upon me too.

The second part of the verse is very true too - flattery is not only fake and deceitful, it can be a hinderance to spiritual growth too. By saying nice things about someone all the time and never saying anything about their weaknesses, the flattered person gets fooled into believeing that they have no cause for concern and therefore, no need to try improve. Though I love to be complemented (I mean seriously, who doesn't?), if someone is just saying nice things with no reason to do so other than mere flattery or to give you a false sense of friendship - I would rather them not say anything. I'm sure you know of someone who always says nice things to people's faces and then talks smack about them behind their back. Nobody really likes that kind of person.

In the same way, a lot of the time, people don't take criticism well (e.g. talking bad about someone who criticised them), and because this eventually becomes common knowledge, people avoid criticising them. These people end up becoming 'untouchable' but at the same time, will never really know what they could have become if they were to take on board what others say. And let's face it, that's pretty sad.

Though I can be as tough as nails on the outside, I'm often as soft as tofu on the inside. So I really hope and pray that God will show me how to give, take and apply criticism in my life.

this time next week...

2009-11-12T21:59:00.003+08:00

... I will be at the 'Top End'. Earlier this week, my work asked if anyone was interested in making a trip up north to help out the Darwin Office with some assessments and I jumped at the opportunity. I have never been to Darwin before and the thought of a mini-holiday was very appealing. I will be a spending next week there from Tuesday to Sunday. I'm pretty excited. Not just because it's a whole new place that I have never visited, but I also think it will be a really good spiritual getaway to spend some time away from Perth, do some reading, and see some of God's awesome creation (including some trademark wet season thunderstorms and lightning). And I also get to see some crocodiles! It's gonna be great!

ode to the banana

2009-11-11T14:20:00.004+08:00

I have learned to be patient with eating bananas. If they don't snap open, it means they need some time to open up. I've had enough waxy mouth experiences to know that it is just not worth rushing the slightly green friend of mine. Once they turn yellow, they snap open so easily, and because they have been pre-packaged, there's no need to wash before eating! The ready-to-eat contents have completed their transformation from hard, waxy naffness to soft, sweet mushiness. Full of Potassium (what you need Potassium for is beyond me), they are supposedly nutritious, but undoubtedly tasty.

However, once they turn black, they pretty much open themselves up and try to make themselves more tasty by turning up the sweetness to an unappetising level. Some would call such an attempt desperate, but amazingly, they can still be used to make a really good banana cake (and they work much better than their yellow counterparts).

All in all, the banana is an awesomely-intelligently-designed fruit - once it turns yellow.

stan, the man

2009-11-09T00:16:00.004+08:00

This year I have been following Australian Idol on the Internet - I never seem to be able to catch the episode because I am usually out, but I play catch up on the net. This year, a young man named Stan came onto the scene with a very intriguing voice, and as the show profiled him, it became very public that he was a Christian. Throughout the show, he has been wow-ing the judges and all the celebrity guests, but tonight, he did something that I thought was very brave. He sang Amazing Grace as one of his songs! It will be interesting to see what happens if he wins the competition - whether he will sell out one day, or remain a witness and testimony in the industry (I really hope it will be the latter). But the performance tonight was fantastic. I hope he wins!

we're singing 170

2009-11-06T17:57:00.003+08:00

Caleb taught me a song recently which I really have grown to love in the past week. It's written by Mac Lynch and is found in the Wild's We're Singing Songbook, number 170. The lyrics have been an encouragement to my heart and as such I would like to share them here.

Don't Be Afraid

Lyrics and Music by Mac Lynch

When deep water curls around you and fear replaces faith,
When the floods would seem to overwhelm God's promises of grace,
When the fires seem overtaking and all seems torn and tossed,
Trust His Word, O truly listen, hear Him say, "All is not lost."

CHORUS
Don't be afraid, don't be afraid.
I have redeemed you; you are Mine; don't be afraid.
Don't be afraid, don't be afraid.
You are a precious child to Me; don't be afraid.

I am with you thru the water, I'm with you thru the flood.
They will never overwhelm you: I have bought you with My blood.
Even though you walk thru fire, I'll go with you all the way.
I'm your Saviour, truly listen, hear Me say, these words I say:

CHORUS
Don't be afraid, don't be afraid.
I have redeemed you; you are Mine; don't be afraid.
Don't be afraid, don't be afraid.
You are a precious child to Me; don't be afraid.

I have read the Bible!

2009-11-05T21:27:00.003+08:00

After two years, and seven months - I have read the Bible from cover to cover. I'm not sure exactly when I started reading, but that's how long I have been documenting my reading (albeit sporadically). My thoughts? Well, in a way, I am very happy that I can finally say that I have finished reading the whole Bible. I have always felt a bit sheepish as a Christian because I had not read through the whole Bible before. Though it is no sole indicator of how 'good' you are as a Christian (in God's eyes anyway), it was something that I just always felt a bit guilty about. How could I say that I believed the Bible when I hadn't even read through the whole thing?

It had also crossed my mind a few times that if I were to die and meet God, I wouldn't be able to say to Him that I had read His number one best-seller in it's entirety. Not that He would hold that against me, but it would be a bit embarrassing!

I'm also glad that it's all done, because, though I got a lot out of reading the whole Bible, at times (I am ashamed to say) it felt like a bit of a chore. While I was reading some parts of the Bible, my heart was just elsewhere and I just wished I could finish the Bible off quickly so I could go back to my favourite books and study them more instead. There were also other times that other non-Bible books were much more appealing to read because compared to the relatively 'dry' patch I was reading in the Bible, the other book offered either something more practical or entertaining and I subsequently took breaks from my reading scheme. It sounds terrible, but I must admit that is what I was feeling in my sinful heart. I really thank God that He taught me to appreciate even the 'boring' parts of the Bible as they too have valuable lessons that help me to understand who God is and how we should view Him.

But in the end, the biggest lesson I have learned from the reading the whole Bible (in conjunction with the last few months where at church and Bible Study we have been studying the Old Testament books Ezra,2 Chronicles and 2 Kings) is that perspective and context really help aid understanding of God's Word. Reading the whole Bible has given me a wider view of the Bible and all it's events. I still find it absolutely amazing how the Bible is so linked and so interconnected. It has not only made me realise how LITTLE I know about the Bible and how MUCH I have yet to learn, it has shown me in new ways how much God loves us and how constant His love is toward us - yesterday, today and forever.

I think the next step is to read through the Bible chronologically to gain an even better understanding of when stuff happened. Then dig deeper and deeper. I think the rest of my life will never be enough to study the Bible completely, but I will try my best!

lessons learnt

2009-10-26T22:45:00.002+08:00

I shared a testimony during the Regeneration Retreat. Thought I would share it here since I typed it all out. Hope it's an encouragement to you - wherever you may be, and whatever situation you may be in...

There have been several turning points and spiritual lessons that I have learnt through the twenty or so years that I have grown up in the church. Though at times, the years were punctuated with discouraging barriers, God has taught me valuable lessons that have helped me to understand more about the God that I serve. Tonight I want to share with you a few lessons that I have learnt (or at least the ones that came to my mind while preparing this testimony). I hope they will be an encouragement to you!

Studies have shown there are significant links between strong emotion and memory, and likewise, for me the strong emotion of exclusion was one that marked my early church years. In those days, my family did a bit of church-hopping and we came to BPCWA irregularly. As a result, I never got to really know the other kids very well, and I always had the feeling that the other kids didn’t like me because I didn’t go to church as often as they did. I don’t know where that belief came from, but I remember just getting an unfriendly vibe from them. I had no sense of belonging and therefore church was a complete drag. I went to church because I knew it was the right thing to do, but I didn’t want to stay there any longer than I had to and I looked forward each week to the time where my parents would say it was time to go home. Essentially, the feeling of exclusion and the longing to belong was where my fear of man would grow from over the next few years.

From Sunday School, my idea of “service” was more to man than it was to God. I learnt my memory verses because I knew that Aunty such and such would ask me for it – don’t ask me what it actually meant, as long as I could remember it as the car turned the corner onto Ullapool Road, I didn’t care too much about what it actually said. I knew it was right to give offering, but my main motivation was because I knew the other kids had a tendency to gossip about kids that didn’t give offering and of course I didn’t want to be the object of their gossip. During Junior Worship, the other kids would giggle and snigger as other kids sang out of tune or in the wrong key, and as a result, I was so afraid to sing out of tune, that I would mouth the words to the songs instead of sing them out loud (Sometimes I still have to remind myself these days that I am singing for God and even if I sing out of tune, He still enjoys it!).

As time passed, I eventually got to know the ‘core’ group of kids better and through spending more time with them, I learnt how to ‘play church’. I learnt how to do and say all the right things. I would hear some of them make judgmental comments about others and make mental notes to myself not to do what that other person had just done. Learn your memory verses, come to church every week, sing in tune, put a coin in the offering bag every week. I had it all under control.

I think it was during my teenage years that I realised the hold that the fear of man had on me. It had affected my friendships, my sense of self, my testimony, my service to and even my relationship with God. Though I knew that God’s love for me was unconditional, I never realised that my understanding of His love for me was diminished by my fear of man. It was through an audio sermon on Proverbs 29:25 (The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.) that I realised how much I feared man and in comparison, how little I feared God.

By God’s grace, at about the same time, God started putting people in my life who were great examples of people who really loved God and who had a genuine relationship with God. I could see it in the way they worshiped, prayed, and talked about God. They didn’t care about what other people thought, they were more concerned with what God thought. I really thank God for bringing these people into my life because it helped me realise that a deeper relationship with God is what I lacked, and I subsequently started to desire this more and more. I started getting more involved in Church. I started evangelising, leading care groups, doing Bible study, reading more Christian books, attending prayer meeting, having true fellowship with brothers and sisters, teaching Sunday School and really delighting myself in the Lord. The more involved I got with things I never thought I could get involved with, the more I realised how the fear of man really brought a snare in my life. Service was enjoyable and I wanted so much for others to get involved more in church too. Most of all, I actually started ENJOYING church! And I even sought out more opportunities to spend time with people in church too. Gone were the days of bugging my parents to take me home from church, now they started saying stuff about how much time I was spending in church!

Though it sounds all very happy and joyful, I should also mention that discouragement came on a regular basis. A few years ago, there was a period of discouragement that knocked the joy out of my service to God. I think at the time, I had just started work, and for various reasons, priorities changed and my world became a darker place. I still kept serving, but the whole time I felt like a massive hypocrite because I knew that my “spirituality” on the outside was a farce. I stopped singing in church because it felt wrong to sing when I was feeling the way I did. I still fellowshipped with other believers, but I was more interested in talking about things in the world than the things of God. Eventually, people started to notice and became concerned for me. I remember one time in particular that two sisters said to me ‘Hey, we’re praying for you OK’ and though I graciously accepted their kindness at the time, I was saying to myself how dare you say you will pray for me. That’s the kind of heart I had at the time – it wasn’t pretty. I knew it, but I think I was just too proud to do anything about it.

However, God heard their prayers and anyone else’s who were praying for me. Not long after that incident, God prompted me to do something that would impact me significantly. After having a bit of a pity party about how much I had allowed myself to change, I wrote a list of all the things I had done against God – all the things I had thought, said and done in the past few months that have angered and upset Him. And then I wrote a list of all the ways that He had responded to me. As I realised the gap between my list of terrible things, and His list of undeserved grace, love and forgiveness toward me, I repented and he truly brought me back to Him. I had a bit of a cry, I thanked God for His perseverance toward me, and I returned to serve Him – this time with a renewed heart full of gratitude and with the knowledge that the God that I serve is One who will always love me and will continue to change me into the woman He wants me to be – He is after all the author and finisher of my faith.

I guess from all of this it has taught me that the more we know who God is, and the extent of His love toward us, the more we will serve Him with all of our heart. He doesn’t deserve any less, but at the same time, when we serve Him with all of our heart, we will experience true blessings from Him and more of His grace to help us to do even greater things for Him. I hope what I have shared was an encouragement to you. May we all continue to serve God with our whole heart and encourage each other to do the same!

retreating

2009-10-24T17:20:00.005+08:00

Thank God for an awesome Regen Retreat.

It was a blessed time of

blessed fellowship

laughs

gazing at stars

praising God

feeding on His Word

encouraging one another

learning our strengths

being confronted with our weaknesses

sharing testimonies

eating

drinking coffee

playing with an old doggy

discussions

staying up late

rising early

action songs

being let loose at Woolies with $5!

and building bonds within Regeneration!

melby

2009-10-13T18:40:00.005+08:00

Thank God for another opportunity to go to Melbourne this year - this time for the work conference. It was a nice and relaxing weekend with great non-Melbourne-weather. I got to catch up with some Melburnians, I got to do a little shopping, I ate some yummy food, drank some good coffee, and have a mini holiday. Here are a few holiday snaps!

the home straight

2009-10-13T18:23:00.003+08:00

After a long time of procrastination, I finally made a dent in my last book of the Bible - Ezekiel. On the way to Melbourne last Thursday, I had my Bible in my carry-on and I thought it would be a good time to do some reading - it's not like there was somewhere I could go or something I could do - I was just stuck in a seat in a plane for a few hours.

So with the help of my good friend, Alexander Scourby, I started reading, and reading, and reading. I got through half the book! Which was 24 chapters!

It turned out that Ezekiel wasn't as boring as I had remembered it to be, and in fact, there was one chapter that really spoke to my heart. Chapter 16.

Have a read of it yourself here.

The all-too-common story of God finding Israel, caring for her, making her beautiful and respected, and loving her deeply, only to be forgotten, cheated on, humiliated by and despised in return, is told by the prophet, Ezekiel. What a heart-breaking story. It really gives us a true understanding of how bad our repeated trespasses are against our God.

It was a real blessing to read through that big chunk and hopefully, I can finish off the last chunk really soon too.

breaking the golden rule

2009-09-21T20:36:00.003+08:00

Though I have done 30in30 many times before, I had always followed my golden (fear of man) rule - don't give tracts to people I will see again. This included people that caught the same train or bus, people I regularly go to to get food or coffee, colleagues, shop keepers of my favourite stores. Shameful I know.

Last year I recognised I had a problem but didn't really do anything about it. This year I was determined to make sure I did something about this bad habit.

I think it was about here (marked on the map) during my journey home from Perth Underground Train Station on Friday that I overcame my paralysing fear of man and broke my golden 30in30 rule. despite some moments of hesitation, I reached into my handbag to grab a tract and gave it to this man sitting next to me.

I gave it to him fully knowing I could see him again someday cos he caught the same train home as me. This was BIG for this wussy serial tract-and-runner.

Thoughts raced through my head such as 'what if I see him again - it'll be awkward!' 'he doesn't look like he'd be interested' 'can't I just give him the tract when he leaves?'... But I knew God wanted me to at least try talk to him so I gave him the tract saying 'this is for you, it's a gospel tract'.

He then looked at it for a while, turned it round and read the address of our church. 'Ullapool road... where is that? I think that may have been the church I got married in'

We talked more and it turns out it wasn't the same church, but he then went on to say 'the problem with this is that I am an engineer and I believe in logic, so I won't be able to believe in God'. We talked a bit more about that and then he had to get off the train because he had arrived at his stop. We parted with him saying 'we could talk about this for hours, but I need to get off here'. He handed the tract back to me and I told him it was OK and that he could keep it and read it properly later. He thanked me and popped it into his pocket

I kinda regretted not starting the conversation sooner cos I ran out of time, but at the same time, I was happy that I overcame my fear of man and that I didn't just wuss out with another tract-and-run. I think God was gracious enough to even give me a pleasant experience too.

Maybe someday I will see him on the train again and we can continue our conversation. Instead of dreading this day, I'm kinda looking forward to it!

He lives within my heart!

2009-09-12T20:09:00.003+08:00

I really thank God that I have the opportunity to read more these days. With few commitments outside of work, and since trying to cut back on things like shopping and TV, I have found myself with a lot more spare time! It's amazing because since I have tried to cut back, I haven't really missed either that much. I'm honestly enjoying reading more and doing other more productive things.

I managed to finish another book - 'Man: The Dwelling Place of God' by AW Tozer. After reading the Pursuit of God, I was fond of Tozer, but now after reading MTDPOG - I am a complete Tozer fan! The book was a huge blessing to me - through it I really feel as though my understanding of a lot of the basic fundamentals of my faith as a Christian have been cemented and deepened to a whole new level. I understand more now why holiness is so important for prayer. I don't feel as petrified about standing up for God because in the end to be right with God is to be wrong with the world - and I'm cool with that (though time will be the ultimate test). The importance of repentance, true contrition for sins and a longing for holiness have been reinforced in my heart.

Tozer is great. But don't take my word for it, check him out yourself! To read MTDPOG online, click here. For any other Tozer fixes, this is a good website.

Next book on the list is 'Problems with Christian Discipleship' by J Oswald Sanders.

bible in a year (or 3)

2009-09-07T21:14:00.003+08:00

I finally finished Jeremiah tonight. And wow, blogging this is quite convicting. I haven't blogged about my Bible in a year since February this year! As Ruey would say to Ynez 'Shame Shame!'. Shame Shame indeed.

I've been really slack with my Bible reading. I think I have had Jeremiah and Ezekiel as my last two books to read for a while now (maybe not quite as long as February, but still it's been pretty long). I think with Jeremiah, I didn't really know what was going on. I get that the people of Israel had rebelled, and I get that Jeremiah was saddened by this, and I get that despite all of that he kept trying to preach to them, but I just found that my mind kind of wandered off and never came back.

I guess the main lesson I got out of Jeremiah was that it's a serious thing to mess with God's people. God won't tolerate unfaithful shepherds and He will weed them out to ensure His sheep are protected.

Now all I have left is Ezekiel. I have read part of it already I think, but I have no idea where I read up to, so I think I might have to start from Chapter 1 again. Let's hope I'll stick it out to the end and that I won't take too long to do so!

pursuing God

2009-09-01T19:08:00.002+08:00

I finished reading Pursuit of God by AW Tozer today. It was a really good read. I found that as I read it, I would tend to re-read paragraphs a few times over just because they contained so much depth and meaning. I also read the book with a highlighter in my hand because there were just so many points that spoke to my heart and convicted and challenged me.

Tozer just has the knack for making things understandable and clear. The book is about how Christians can pursue God, what usually stands in our way, what joy is experienced when one truly pursues God with all their heart, and the right attitude to have to pursuing God. Midway through reading this book, I read the back of the book and was so surprised to read the following:

During a train trip to Texas in the late 1940s, AW Tozer began to write The Pursuit of God. He wrote all night, the words coming to him as fast as he could put them down. When the train pulled into the station, the rough draft was finished.

WHAT???

I seriously can’t believe that. Yeah, it’s a short book (93 pages) but seriously, the draft was completed in a train trip??

Tozer is one talented writer.

the great september shopocalypse!

2009-08-30T21:51:00.004+08:00

For the month of September, I have decided to begin a self-imposed shopocalypse - no shopping for a month. Yep that's right web-peeps, no buying clothes, shoes, accessories, or the like for a month. I think for the past few weeks, I've developed a bad habit for walking around during my lumch break looking for things to buy and it has to stop. My wardrobe is on the brink of exploding, and I have so many pairs of shoes I don't even think I will wear any of them out for a few years.

Tomorrow I will buy a few essentials, but come Tuesday, the shopocalypse is ON.

I wonder how long I will last...

another book bites the dust

2009-08-26T11:50:00.003+08:00

I just finished a book last night that I had been reading since May 2007. I knew it had been a while, but over 2 years? Wow! I really do have a problem with starting and not finishing books hey? The book is called 'Tired of Do-List Christianity?' and it's written by Scott Morton who used to work with (or still does, I can't remember) with a Christian organisation called The Navigators. I found the book to be a real blessing. The book goes through different misconceptions that Christians usually hold on to - either to make them feel better about themselves or things that actually weigh them down and steal their joy.

Going through the book, there were many times where I read the misconception presented and then thought Hang on a second! That's not a misconception!. But before I could cry 'Heathen!' Morton continued to explain why it was a misconception and I, subsequently, composed myself, realised my wrong, and then settled into a state of deep conviction.

The book is very easy to read too. It has short chapters, it has a very conversational tone to it and it is quite humorous in it's delivery - yet, like I said before, it still continues to pack the punch of conviction. You may not agree with everything in the book, but I believe there's still more than enough to gain from the book to make it worth recommending.

I ♥ book sales!

2009-08-22T17:08:00.003+08:00

I got all these books at the SCF secondhand book sale today - and all I paid was $32. Bargain. The annual book sale is held at UWA and the whole room was PACKED with all kinds of books! Most of these books came from the literature section, but there was every genre known to man available at the book sale, and I don't have to tell you that it was a great way to spend an afernoon.

I know I have HEAPS of books to read still, but books have no expiry date so this will keep me going for a while.

current reading

2009-08-19T22:27:00.002+08:00

I'm in the middle of a few books at the moment, and all the while I am still trying to finish reading the Bible (which has been extremely slow, and not very steady :( but I only have a book and a half to go!). I'm not really good at maintaining interest in one particular book, I switch and swap, and start new books ALL the time. I wonder if I will ever fiinish any of these...

The Spiritual Man - Watchman Nee
Man, The Dwelling Place of God - AW Tozer
Pursuit of God - AW Tozer
Vanity Fair - William Thackeray
Pride & Prejudice - Jane Austen
Tribulation Force - Tim LaHaye & Jerry B. Jenkins
Prayer - Philip Yancey

Not likely I reckon.

the classics

2009-08-19T21:50:00.002+08:00

I finished reading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte last week. What a great book. I actually started reading it at the beginning of the year, but stopped because there were too many difficult words hehe. After picking it up again a few weeks ago, I knocked back the whole book in a few weeks! It was such a good read and though the hard words and the occasional French made it difficult at times, the plot was interesting enough to keep me hooked.

As I read the book, I couldn't help but realise how our language has deteriorated over time. The verbal sparring between Jane Eyre and Mr Rochester is just something that is not really seen (or rather heard) these days. I'm totally guilty of this. My lazy-talk is so habitual that I don't even realise it. I thought I'd try to make a list of lazy-talk words and try to replace them with proper English.

totally = very much so
dude! = Oh dear, how alarming / interesting / fantastic!
kinda = almost as if
sif bro = I find that quite difficult to fathom
you suck = you offend me very much
I'm so dead = I believe I will be in a significant amount of danger
my stuff = my personal belongings
I'm so broke = I am in want of sufficient finances
what the? = that is really quite peculiar..
lol = hahahah you have been esteemed with a wonderful sense of humour
ummm = please allow me a moment to collect my thoughts
gross = that's rather horrid
nup = no thankyou, maybe next time
dunno hey = my apologies, I am unable to confirm your query at this time

Though it's more efficient, lazy-talk just makes me think we're getting stupider as the generations tick over. Just sitting on the bus with some high school students behind me all I could hear was 'like, she just like needs to get over it and stuff' with the f-bomb and the OMG-bomb sprinkled in between.

I think I will try to keep up the reading habit for the sake of preserving at least my own English. If at the very least I learn some new words and expand my vocabulary beyond my default of lazy-talk, I will be happy.

it's been a while...

2009-08-09T22:19:00.002+08:00

...since the last city evangelism. But today we went out once again and it was a great experience. I was reminded of the joy of serving God, and once again reminded of His love for me. I think that's one of the best things about street evangelism, as you tell people about how much God loves them, and the sacrifices He made for them, you can't help but reflect yourself about how much God loves you.

It's good to see also that God is with our church and He is continuing to work in it by bringing new people almost every week. I honestly don't know where these people are coming from, but it is so encouraging to see new faces every week. It reminds me that God is with us and that He continues to bless us as we trust in Him!

white Christmas in july!

2009-07-20T17:40:00.004+08:00

Today I took an early lunch break to fight the mighty snooze, and as I was in a shop, I heard really loud 'rain' start bashing down on the roof. When I walked out of the shop, I realised the 'rain' was actually hail - and loads of it!! The whole mall was covered in hail and from a distance it looked like snow!

What an unexpected blessing!

the perfection of culinary suspense

2009-07-19T19:03:00.006+08:00

For the past few months I have become more and more addicted to Masterchef. And it's all going to come to an end tonight - in less than half an hour. I will confess right now that I absolutely love watching reality television and cooking shows - so when I heard about a reality television cooking show coming on to the tube, I was pretty excited.

I have to say, the show has passed all my expectations. It has made my mouth-water in every single episode, it's entertaining, it's moving, it's inspiring and it somehow makes something as plain as baking a cake into some kind of spectator sport. I remember a few weeks ago when watching the contestants make this...

It was so exciting hey. I was sitting at the edge of my seat the whole way. I sighed as they failed, rejoiced as they succeeded and felt their pain as they burnt their fingers. It was great television.

So it all ends tonight and either Julie or Poh will win. I want Julie to win because she is just so cute and I love how she breaks into a sweat every time she cooks! And I want Poh to win because she is Chinese and she made one of my favouritest foods - century egg congee - on national television!

May the best (wo)man win!

wiiii!

2009-07-06T18:11:00.004+08:00

I treated myself to a new little toy on Friday. I've wanted a Wii for a while now and when I saw there was a deal at Dick Smith, I went after work on Friday to pick one up! I got a Wii console (which comes with Wii Sports), a Wii Fit, and a Moto GP game in a bundle. This was usually worth a total of around $600 (so I'm told), but I bought mine for $388. Not bad huh? If you hurry down to Dickies you can still probably grab the deal! Tell them Rowena sent you - no don't actually, otherwise they will look at you funny and ask whatcha talkin bout willis?

It's pretty cool. I'm very happy with it. I especially love my Wii Fit! It's so much fun, and I am actually doing exercise!! After about 90mins on Saturday night, I was sore all day Sunday and today! If it wasn't for me doing a bit more last night, I think I would be in even more pain today. It's totally dealt with my usual excuses for exercising - weather (too hot, too cold, too windy, too rainy, too sunny, too much hail, not cold enough, not warm enough, too dark, too early, too late) and having no one to exercise with. With my Wii, I can exercise in the comfort of my home and I can't make the excuse of no one to exercise with because I only have one remote anyway! hehe

I'm curious to know if the Wii will actually make a difference to my fitness - actually, I'm pretty sure it can - it's just my persistence (or lack of) which will interfere. Anyhoo, it's my new little toy, and so far, I'm loving it.

counting it joy

2009-07-01T10:49:00.003+08:00

So the last few days I've been in a bit of a mood. I realised the other day that I was going to miss out again on an away day at work because they had scheduled the event on a day I couldn't go. Away Days are cool because we don't have to do any work, we get to go for a nice lunch and we get to knock off early! I've missed out so many times before, but this time I couldn't help but feel a little more miffed than usual, because I had been working pretty hard recently, and it just felt as though I wasn't being recognised for my efforts. I prayed that I could go, but it just felt that it wasn't going to happen.

Junk thoughts entered into my head, and as a result I felt discontented, disappointed, unappreciated, excluded, angry, and I even thought how I would take 'revenge' - take time off work as a 'sick day' or look for another job. Yep, junk thoughts through and through. I knew what I was thinking was not right and I just tried to get over it by trying to count it joy despite it not really being joy-worthy.

The song 'Count it Joy' was in my head for the last few days, and every time I was tempted to start mulling over some more junk thoughts I just heard in my head the Wilds Men's Choir Count it Joy Joy Joy, when you're faced with trials and tests - though that's all I could remember, it was enough.

So when I woke up this morning and I had to go to work, as much as I wanted to stay home, I just kept thinking Count It Joy as I got ready. And it really became easier. Every time I thought I had the right to be upset (i.e. when I didn't get a seat on the train because people who got to the train station later than me pushed in front and got a seat - well it didn't really give me the 'right' to be upset, but I still got upset!), God intervened (the lady I was standing next to got off at the next stop, and I got her seat). So I took that as God showing me what I was doing was right in His eyes.

Last but not least, when I got into work today, I found out I was able to go tomorrow to the Away Day after all. I was even told I HAD to go, and prior commitments would be rescheduled! So not only did Counting it Joy help me during my mini trial, my prayer was answered too! So I'm pretty happy and thankful to God.

to julia with love

2009-06-11T23:30:00.001+08:00

In response to your blog.

He'll never leave me

2009-06-10T18:50:00.002+08:00

Hooked on this song at the moment. My brother taught me this song on guitar and I have been trying to play it on piano as well. The lyrics are beautiful.

I'll Never Leave You
Words and Music - Mac Lynch

As Joseph sought the Lord his God, with all his heart (with all his heart)
God laid on him a burden he would bear, yet not alone.
The Lord was with this holy man to bring to pass His master plan.
Through foreign lands, God walked beside His own

Chorus
I’ll never leave you, never forsake you.
By waters still, in pastures green, I’ll often take you.
But when I break you, so that my name be glorified,
I’ll never leave you, never forsake you.

Though fires and floods would seem to hide His plan for you (His plan for you),
Though trials and afflictions seem to take away your song,
Though you may never understand, just trust in His upholding hand.
In time you’ll learn, He’s been there all along

in less than an hour...

2009-06-08T21:47:00.004+08:00

My folks are coming back home after 39 days of globetrotting, and leaving their young to fend for themselves. It's about time too, was starting to get sick of the friends that kept coming over for dinner...

conviction by calendar

2009-06-08T21:33:00.008+08:00

It’s not every day that you get convicted by a calendar.

I’ve been thinking a lot about my spiritual life recently. It’s been pretty average for a few months now and I have neglected a lot of things that I shouldn’t have neglected. I had points where I was OK, after which I would rest on my morals and think ‘that was pretty good Rowena, well done,’ and then slack off again for a while. The conviction has continued to grow and grow until recently I realised the sluggish spirituality I had been experiencing has been pretty much my fault for being lazy, and pretty much just losing interest in my First Love.

There have been a few things that have prompted me to make a change. Firstly, random as it sounds, organising the National Youth Conference. After a bit of discussion, we decided on a theme, ‘Come, My Beloved’ – God. It’s a theme that is revolves around God calling us (His beloved) back into a relationship with Him. When I think of this, I picture myself as a type of Hosea’s wife – a dirty, sinful, selfish, woman who left her husband to prostitute herself, only to be bought back again when no one wanted her and when she was at her lowest point in life. Well, I haven’t exactly prostituted myself and this isn’t exactly the lowest point in my life, but I have strayed from my God – and that’s bad enough. I have been infatuated with the things of the world and have lost interest in the most important things in life. The camp theme has reminded me (like many times before) that God is always there for me and that He is always ready to take my repentant self back.

Second, while teaching Sunday School, one of the lessons that came up was being Loyal to God’s Team (as opposed to my own or the world’s team). Though the lesson was meant for the kids, I knew it was also meant for me too. I had started cheering for the wrong team. I had to get the right colours back on again. This was sometime last month.

Third, seeing a man on the train reading his Bible. Convicted by his devotion, I started reading my Bible again. Hmm, this would have been about last week-ish.

Fourth, having two opportunities to share the Gospel. Doing so lifted my heart and reminded me what a privilege it is to be called a child of God. It reminded me of my own sinful nature and God’s disgust for sin. It reminded me of His unbounded grace, and ceaseless love. It also reminded me of the joy in serving God by being His hands and feet.

Fifth, Regeneration Campfire (as well as other discussions I have had in Regen) just helped confirm with me that spiritually, I’m not really where most others are and that I have fallen behind. Just sitting at the campfire reminded me of the times where I had done so previously with a heart full of devotion to God and full of desire to serve Him. That was... on Friday night.

Sixth, a long lunch at McDonald’s with Truc and Julia. I think just talking about what was going on in my head helped me determine to do something about it. Now that it was out in the open, I couldn’t just not do anything about it – especially not with two watchful sisters who would start checking up on me. Accountability can be a powerful motivator. That was yesterday to be exact.

Seventh, seeing my Regeneration Prayer journal on my desk starting to gather dust. Convicted by the dust, I grabbed it and started praying. That was last night.

And then today, as I flicked through my calendar at work to June 8, I came across some wise words from Oswald Chambers:

What’s next to do?

If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them – John 13:17

When you know that you should do something and you do it, immediately you know more. Examine where you have become sluggish, losing interest spiritually, and you will find it goes back to a point where you did not do something that you knew you should do.

It was just a few words from an old dude I don’t know, but they penetrated right through to the squishy bits of my heart. I had been thinking for a while that I needed to get back on track with God, and this was just the push I needed. God is really, truly amazing..

warming by the fire, underneath the stars

2009-06-06T20:59:00.003+08:00

On Friday night, Regeneration headed out to Lake Leschenaulta for a Campfire, without the camp. It was a night of sitting outside, surrounded by 4 degrees of freezing-ness, and warming up by a toasty hot campfire. We sat around praising God, praying, sharing, fellowshipping, drinking hot chocolate (and Tea Tarek), toasting marshmallows, taking photos, and some of us wannabe MasterChefs even tried our hand at Campfire Cuisine (corn, potato gems, sausages, roast potatoes, and even a choc chip cookie).

It was great doing something so different, and I'm sure it won't be the last time.

threadless

2009-06-03T23:57:00.007+08:00

I bought t-shirts on the internet! Wow! I'm so excited. My first internet clothing purchase. Soon I will be getting t-shirts in the mail!

These were from Threadless and they're having a summer sale with tees selling for USD 5! I kind of got a bit excited and bought 9 t-shirts, however two Caleb bought for himself (I shouted the shipping and he jumped onto the bandwagon). Including the shipping each tee worked out to be around AUD 11 - not bad eh? Just promise not to buy the same tees as I did OK? :D

These are what they look like!

Caleb's more expensive tees (USD 10 ~ AUD 12.50 - not including shipping) were these ones.

I LOVE this one...

keep left!

2009-06-03T20:29:00.006+08:00

There's nothing like the train station at peak hour. I fight it on a daily basis. It's really quite interesting to see the different types of people there. Over the years, I have classified people into a few different categories. Personally, I dabble in between the different categories, depending on how I feel on the day. That's how I am in general - I like a little from column A and a little from column B - variety is definitely a lovely little spice in life. By no means is this an exhaustive list, but it's a start. You could probably write a whole thesis about stair and escalator etiquette, but here's the wikipedia version.

The Climbers. Climbers don't like to waste time. The speed of the escalator is not enough for them, so they will insist on climbing up the escalator - or to top that, they will even use the stairs instead to avoid the risk of the escalator's fast lane being slowed down by a floater. Nothing frustrates the climber more than a floater (description below). Some climbers will confront offending floaters with a polite 'excuse me', but I have witnessed some climbers even shout to offending floaters to 'keep moving!'. Climbers are go-getters, and when their go is gotten by someone else, heads will roll.

The Floaters. Floaters are either really oblivious or really inconsiderate. Most people know basic escalator / stair case courtesy, if going slow or staying still - KEEP LEFT! It's not a hard concept. But some newbies to the train station are not aware of the rules and will break them unkowingly. That's alright guys, you're stupid - you can't help that, I understand. You may be forgiven for being a noob. Then there are the inconsiderate ones - the scum of society. These guys will stand on the right side of the escalator, turn around and see a line of climbers waiting to ascend, and then TURN BACK AROUND to face the front - WITHOUT moving over to the left! Just thinking about that is annoying me!!

The Left Keepers. These are the good citizens who know the rules and keep them. They assist with the smooth flow of escalator / stair traffic with considerate behaviour. They keep left. They avoid trouble. You could even call them peacemakers. Some left keepers will even tap floaters on the shoulder and tell them they're blocking the flow of climbers below. These are the silent heroes of the train station.

Finally, there are the occasional Show-Offs. These are the people who will run up the stairs, over-taking others and skip all the way to the top without taking a breath. They make other people feel unfit and fat with their incredible fitness. Some will even wear their joggers to and from the train station just to assist with gaining their moment of glory. I wouldn't be surprised at all if these guys spent all their spare time at Jacob's Ladder running up and down the concrete steps. Though all the non-Show-Offs openly despise the Show-Offs, deep-down they all aspire to be just like them someday.