funny bits in Acts - part 2

Reasons why you should get a good night's sleep on Saturday nights...

And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead.
Acts 20:9

Oh SNAP! Good thing we don't sit on the window sill at church.

get smart

Get Smart was one of my favourite TV Shows back in the day - absolutely hilarious stuff. So when I found out that they were gonna make a Get Smart movie - I got a bit excited. Can't wait for this to come out. Steve Carrell is totally the best guy to play Maxwell Smart too.

melbourne

Melbourne was an experience. Lots of things happened and I don't really know where to start - so the beginning seems like the logical thing to do.

Before I set off for my 3 night trip (super-short) trip, I asked God to use me somehow during the trip to do His work, and I thank God that He gave me opportunities, encouragement, along the way. The trip also provided me with a nice time of sight-seeing in the CBD and some shopping along the way too. =)

Our flight to Melbourne was delayed for 2 hours and we subsequently ended up sitting in the airport lounge talking. After getting what we could for our $7.70 food vouchers (which evidently was a packet of chewies and a bottle of Mt Franklin) we sat and talked to pass the time away - there's a pic below of some of them sitting around looking bored.

The subject came up about the book - The God Delusion (a book by Richard Dawkins that says that religion is made up by man - or something along those lines) and the first opportunity came for me to talk to my work friends about God and Christianity. Thank God because I was able to explain to them that what The God Delusion was saying about Christianity, is different from what real relationship with God is - and was able to also talk about why Christians are so passionate about talking about their faith (I was able to tell them that the Bible says they are going to Hell if they don't believe in Christ as their Saviour). It was difficult, and I was nervous the whole time, but thank God for the opportunity and the words that He gave me to say too.

We then got on the plane and headed off to Melbourne and then St Kilda. When we arrived, we went out for 'dinner' at 10:30 Melbourne time, and over dinner, another opportunity came to talk about God! This time, someone had brought up the topic of Jewish Culture and was trying to explain what kosher meant. Thank God that I had been reading the Old Testament, because I was able to explain to them about what the Jews believe and why they are still doing these things today (because they believe they need to do these things for their salvation, not realising that their Saviour had already come 2000 years ago).

They then asked questions about Muslims and Mormons and thank God again, that I had recently seen read up about Mormons (there was a video on ninemsn Most Watched) on the Internet and had also recently seen a video on Islam, Judaism and Christianity - and was therefore somewhat equipped to tell them what I knew. They were all very interested and asked quite a few questions.

The last opportunity came when one of the girls asked me about relationships and I was able to explain to her why I'm not 'on the prowl' for guys like all the other single girls at work. I was able to give her a quick summary of what Josh Harris says in his books and in the end she agreed that what I had said made sense. I doubt she remembered our conversation though, because she then proceeded to get significantly intoxicated =P. And so it was for the rest of the time with my work buddies - after that, they weren't that great to talk to any more because they were either drunk or hung-over for the rest of the trip.

And so it goes on to the Melbourne part of my trip. I stayed in the Oaks Griffin Suites (which were really nice btw) and had the room to myself because one of the girls couldn't make it to the conference as she was fully sick (the bad sick, not the good sik).

I went out on Saturday night to have dinner with Shan, April and Kenny from Bethel and then Koko Black (yummy hot chocolate place) with the three of them plus Pat and Joyce. It was a really fun time of catching up and fellowship and I really enjoyed my time with them(if you guys are reading - thanks heaps!!). I was supposed to follow them to Bethel the following morning, but I slept through Shan's wake up call (which is REALLY unusual for a light sleeper like me) and got up at the time I was supposed to meet Shan and April at the City Train Station - OOPS!

I then went out on Sunday to see (and buy) Melbourne, and met with Sarah later in the day. It was good to catch up with Sarah and she really filled me with crazy ideas to buy a place in Melbourne and move over there and do the six-month-first-home-buyers thing... I am really considering it! I have even looked up places on realestate.com.au hahaha (seriously!). Her place is awesome and it's so close to the Queen Victoria Markets and CGF (Ebenezer BP's City Gospel Fellowship). I went with Sarah down to the Markets and then we went to CGF at 4pm (heheh I like the starting time for their church =]).

The people there were very friendly, and I was sad that I couldn't stay longer because I had to go to the airport. They meet in a townhouse in the CBD (there's a pic below of me standing outside) and the group is predominantly uni students. The service was run by young people and it was really like a little mini version of our own Sunday Worship Service in a house. Very cool indeed. Two people came up to me and the conversations went like this:

Them: So where are you from?
Me: I come from Perth and I attend BPCWA
Them: Oh... Yeah we had Pastor Ed come over for our camp! Do you know
Adrian?
[Sarah giggles]
Me: yeah I do... He's my brother!
Them:
WHOA... really?? OK then, send him my regards!

Hehehe.. that happened 2 out of 3 people that I got to meet before I ran out the door to go to the airport. Funny stuff. Well that's pretty much it. If you read up to this point, congratulations and man, you must be bored!

Hope you enjoy the pics.

conference time

Well it's that time of the year again - Conference Time! Also known as free-trip-interstate-to-stay-in-a-swishy-hotel-with-most-expenses-paid-by-the-company! YAY!

This will be my second time going to the HSA Conference and I am really thankful that I get to go on this every year. Last year I stayed at Bondi Beach, and this year I will be at St Kilda! To be honest, it is not all fun and games. It's a lot of boring seminars related to work and a lot of the time, they can be a bit on the boring side, but we get to leave work before lunch tomorrow and jump on a plane, so I guess that makes up for it.

Last year the food was SOOOOOOOOO good. The location was amazing and the hotel was schmick. This hotel looks pretty good too. I will make sure I take piccies for the blog, when I get there. I am also going to try meet up with the Ebenezer City Fellowship group, but I don't know if I will be able to go there because of my flight - we'll see.

I have one prayer request though, and that is that I will have the opportunity to evangelise to my friends at work who will be going. One of the movies on the plane will be Amazing Grace - so this may provide an opportunity. We'll see...

But for now, I have to pack. OOoooooOOoooo... I'm so excited! hehe

See you all in a couple of days - don't miss me too much!

an apology: it's all fun and games until somebody gets hurt

The Regeneration INTBRUTEBARQN (Inaugural Never To Be Repeated Unless The Event Becomes Annual Regeneration Quiz Night) was on last Friday night. It was my turn to run the program for the night, and I had to come up with something 'fun' in the space of a week - quite the challenge really...

I decided to do a Quiz Night (INTBRUTEBARQN) which was really fun to organise and (thank God) generally well received by the Regennies... But it was all fun and games until somebody got hurt - and that person was Mr Shaun Rodricks.

So I just wanted to say sorry to Shauny for organising the games which led to the demise of his ankle. Another brother, who was also running down the stairs to get an umbrella to score a measly point for his team, let's call him - Minh, saw 'the incident'. It went a little something like this...

While running down the stairs with a group of over-zealous brothers to source an umbrella from the church foyer, poor Shauny stacked it and came crashing down - falling through the white sliding doors. I believe he not only hurt his ankle, but looked up from where he had fallen to see Pastor Ed who was standing on the other side of the doors. I have been told by this other brother, who we will just identify as - Mr Ly, that... well... let's just say, Pastor Ed probably was not very impressed at the performance.

Sources at Prayer Meeting tell me that the ankle has been fractured. Crap. Sorry buddy. Hope it heals really quickly and you will get back to running to get umbrellas etc really soon. =)

As for the group of 'friends' last night at Prayer Meeting who tried to make me feel 'better', when I told them that I was racked with guilt after finding out about Shauny's ankle's fate - I forgive YOU!

That is all.

followup

Found a verse on follow-up that I thought would be good to share...

Acts 14:21-22 And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

Paul and Barnabus didn't just convert souls, they backtracked and ensured that the new believers had received adequate encouragement through trials and that they were continuing in their faith. That's all =)

funny bit in Acts

I am reading through the book of Acts at the moment, and I came across a passage that stood out to me because it had previously been shared with me by one of my Christian uni friends. It is in Acts 12 from verse 5 through to 16.

Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the guards before the door kept the prison.

And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he struck Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. And the angel said unto him, Gird yourself, and bind on your sandals. And so he did. And he said unto him, Cast your garment about you, and follow me. And he went out, and followed him; and knew not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision.

When they were past the first and the second guard, they came unto the iron gate that leads unto the city; which opened to them of its own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and immediately the angel departed from him. And when Peter had come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord has sent his angel, and has delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.

And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying. And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a maid came to answer, named Rhoda. And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate.

And they said unto her, You are mad. But she continued to affirm that it was so. Then they said, It is his angel. But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished.

That's such a funny part of Scripture hey? Peter has been locked up in prison, and all the people in the church come together and hold an all-night-prayer-meeting to ask God to help him get out of jail. Peter walks straight out of the jail with his new Angel friends and goes to the prayer meeting. When he gets there, little Rhoda comes up to the door, hears Peter, and then excitedly tells everyone that their prayers have been answered and Peter is standing outside! Everyone doesn't believe her and instead tell her "Rhoda, it can't be Peter, he's in jail There's NO WAY it can be him, you're probably just seeing things - now quit acting crazy and telling us he's out there and pray with us!"

Makes me laugh when I think about what poor little Rhoda must have been thinking. She must have been confused - grownups praying for Peter to get out of jail, Peter rocks up at the door, grownups don't believe her and keep praying instead. Heheh it's funny, but I can't help but think we are like the people in the prayer meeting sometimes too. We pray for this and that, and all the while God has answered our prayers already, but we still keep praying because we don't have the faith that God will answer our prayer!

What a great little passage. My friend at uni actually pointed out this passage, because it was one of the verses that helped her come to know Jesus as her personal Saviour. While reading the Bible and trying to find reasons not to believe, she came across this passage in Acts and after reading it, she thought - why would the Bible include such detail as a young girl trying to tell everyone something and no one believing her? She concluded that the Bible must be the Word of God because if man had written it, they would have skipped that part and just written that the prayers of the church had been answered.

I thought that was a pretty good point - and I guess that's why I have always remembered that part of Acts. But the lesson of that passage is a pretty good one too - if we are going to pray for something, we have to have the faith that God will answer. As Pastor James / Ed always used to say 'if you are going to pray for rain, you better bring an umbrella'- Amen!

not so baddy =)

I am preparing myself to eat my own words... They don't look very appetising, but I gotta do what I gotta do. I have to say, it goes against much that I believe in and I never thought I would say this but *deep breath*... I have to admit... that badminton is... pretty... fun. There... I said it. *phew*... OK, try to contain your laughter alright? You must remember that sometimes, even the very smart people in the world get things wrong, we can't always be right about everything - otherwise we would get too proud =P.

Tonight was pretty good fun, but my competitive nature came out once again. Whoa... I think I just heard everyone's eyes roll in unison as they read that... hahaha. I don't think it's my fault really... By nature, I'm a pretty excitable kinda person and I can really get into the game, so when my team gets a point, the competitive bug kicks into gear and I start carrying on as if we have one the game!

I really love the excitement that comes from sports. I love watching sports, mainly because I can't really play them very well. But the camaraderie and unity that comes from a band of supporters cheering on their team in chorus of encouragement is, to me, a beautiful thing!

I think that's why I love watching (some) sports - my whole family used to be mad Wildcats fans back in the day when they used to show the games live on TV. Some of my memories from those days included (all from the comfort of our own home - mind you!) yelling at the refs, cheering on the cats, me praying for Ricky Grace as he was taking a foul shot at the crucial part of the game (remember that famous look of concentration on Ricky's face when he was pausing to shoot the foul shot? Edge-of-your-seat-stuff man! I used to wonder what happened if I was praying for the Wildcats and some other fan of the other team was doing the same - I figured that if I had more faith, God would listen to me, but if they had more faith, I (and my beloved Wildcats) would be stuffed hahaha), my dad saying stuff like 'Crawford! So stupid! Always lose the ball like that', and my mum predicting the outcome of shots from downtown 'In!' *ball goes in* 'See, I know!'. Heehehe.. Good times, great memories!

I'm the odd one out amongst my siblings because unlike AJ and K, I am not particularly gifted in coordination and speed (I'm pretty crap at most sports). But because I am so enthusiastic and excitable, in games - most of my energy is exerted in trash-talking, celebration and cheering / encouraging the team. Occasionally I will have a moment of glory where I will do something just a little bit spectacular - but these, are truly occasional in occurrence and are, at that, few and far between.

The way I figure it, is that it's kind of like church life. Yep, here come the big-stretch-analogy-using-random-topics - don't kid yourself guys, it's what you read this blog for right ?? haha.... Not everyone can be good at different things - like singing, welcoming newbies, preaching, playing instruments, evangelism, followup - but everyone, if we truly believe in the team that we are on (God's team! The ultimate All Stars!!), can be cheering on the team and adding in our little bits of encouragement, prayer and doing our best when the ball comes our way (and through that, creating our own moments of glory - but giving the glory back to God!).

We might not be the goal scorers, the shuttlecock smashers, slam-dunkers, try-makers, home-run-hitting superstars, but we can cheer these guys on and get the ball to them so that they can do their thing! =) Hope that analogy wasn't too far of a stretch for late on a Sunday night. But there it was anyways.

Peace out guys - hope you aren't too sore tomorrow =)

crouch, touch, pause - engage!

One of the most entertaining sports to watch is Rugby Union I reckon. I just think it's great how the players on the field can be blokey but at the same time gentlemen too - shaking hands after having a tussle and calling the ref 'Sir'. I really also like how they do cool things like the scrum and the flying up in the air thing.

It doesn't always make much sense to me, but it is pretty exciting to watch. The Wallabies are playing today and I thought I would post up two of the cool Wallabies ads they have around. My favourite has got to be the Matt Giteau Qantas ad, but the Toohey's one makes me crack up every time I see it hehe.

Please note that I am not condoning the consumption of beer =p

Qantas Ad


Toohey's Ad

60 minutes later... Looks like it's all over for the Wallabies today =(... Here's something to cheer you up if you need it =)

fully tired

I'm fully tired, but finding it really hard to sleep. What's up with that? As I have blogged previously, when I don't get any sleep, I really start remembering what it is like to really depend on God for strength.

I was thinking about my sleeping problem today and I realised that sleep has become less important to me since I have been getting less of it. And I thank God that this has been the case because I really feel that God has taught me to find His strength sufficient. For example, this morning I could barely open my eyes in the shower and I just prayed for God to give me strength, and as I was walking to my last appointment for the day, I realised that God had truly answered my prayer and His strength had seen me through the day.

It is difficult to function without sleep, but I think in the past, I put way too much importance on sleeping to the point where not being able to sleep was making me stay awake at night. It's just good to let it go and remind myself that lying in bed and closing my eyes will help my body recover from the day, and sleep is just a bonus. If you have ever had problems sleeping, I hope that you too will start to learn this lesson. I just pray that I will remember how good it feels to not be a slave to sleep, and that I will continue depending on God more and more for my daily needs.

see this movie!

Quick movie review - Amazing Grace. This movie is about William Wilberforce - the guy behind the abolition of the slave trade in Great Britain. It was an awesome movie, great acting, cool costumes, and - what I reckon was the best bit of all - really-well-written-screenplay.

It looked really good and it was really really well made (except for one scene where you could see the microphone! :o), which is great for a Christian movie. I actually got free tickets to the movie through Sonshine FM - and to be honest I wasn't expecting that much from it, but I was really, really pleasantly surprised. Cool thing was that the movie was based on a true story!

I'm pretty excited about this movie - because it is not only inspirational (made me cry!), but it has a lot of truth in it too. I would encourage you all to see it and bring your non-Christian friends too. It is out at the cinemas on July 26.

crazy pic

world's tallest man (236cm) meets world's shortest man (73cm) - what a moment that would've been.

You can read the story here

saturday

This morning, we headed off to Kaio for our second Creativity Workshop. Again, Kaio did not dissappoint with good coffee, yummy wedges, friendly service and inspiring surroundings! We managed to talk to a few of the staff and they were really encouraged to see what we were doing. The ideas flowed as well as the coffee, and we ended up shortlisting some ideas for the 10 000 tract order that we had been planning to get under way for 30in30. We also started coming up with ideas for 30in30 publicity which was all very exciting! As you can see, we were hard at work for a few hours hehe.

I also got to head down to the new Word bookstore in Vic Park (FYI, they have moved next door to Makan Makan). Stuff is still in boxes etc, but I reckon it's a better location personally - finally a Christian bookshop that is south of the River! YAY! Didn't really buy anything, but it was good to have a brief squiz anyway.

To top off the day, a few of us from the evangelism prayer group had dinner with Pastor James at NCR. We had a few laughs and some great fellowship and it was an absolute blessing sharing a meal with PJ. I have said it before, and I'll say it again, PJ is one cool pastor who is so easy to talk to and who is full of so much wisdom too. He shared about some of the memories that he had such as the Christmas Praise Night and you could see just how dear this church has been to his heart. I really hope he visits us more regularly in the coming years.

weekend already!

YAY! It's the weekend already! Weeks have been going by much faster now that I have been more busy at work. And I'm lovin' it. Days go by much faster and I have been caught by surprise the last few Fridays with the realisation that the weekend had snuck up on me. Thank God for that because I know a lot of people out there drag their heels through the week and count down the seconds to Friday as soon as they walk into the office at 9am on Monday, but I can honestly say that recently, I have not been one of those people.

And I reckon it's gonna be a pretty good weekend too. We got PJ speaking at church tonight, Creativity Workshop tomorrow morning, Dinner at night with Evangelism Prayer Group, 9am Sunday School, Church, and the new Badminton outreach on Sunday night! Hopefully I will also be able to slip in some time to clean my room, but it's no biggie if I don't get round to that one hehe.

Weekends have been pretty busy of late which is good in a way, but bad in that I feel pretty tired come Sunday evening. What's good is that I know that I have been fully maxing out my weekends which is reassuring.

The past week has been pretty good work-wise too. I have had some good things happen with my files at work - which has made things a little easier, and I have had the chance to talk to my work mates and get to know some of them better. The work conference in St Kilda is in two weeks' time - and at this rate, I'll be on my way over sooner than I thought! YAY!

OK, I better leave it here and dive into the weekend!

career mum?

Something that has been raised recently in articles I have read and with people I have talked to (both Christian and non-Christian) is that of being a full-time mum. Now, I have to admit, that I haven't really given this very much thought up until recently where the topic has been brought to my attention, so if anyone out there would like to share their comments about this topic, I would be pretty interested to hear what you have to say! But this is what I reckon (at this stage in my life anyways).

I have always thought that being a stay-at-home-mother would be a pretty cool thing to do someday. Hanging out at home ironing in front of Oprah and Dr Phil, picking up kids from school and then making dinner etc.. I dunno, seems like a pretty good deal. You just gotta make sure the family is fed and that the cockroaches aren't running amok in the house (OK, before I get spammed by people who wanna say that being a housewife is a tough gig - I know, I'm just saving cyber space until I know what it's really like... but I acknowledge that the toilet doesn't clean itself (not yet anyways! Lord willing, someone will invent one that does!!) and kids aren't always like they are in Sunday School (which is sometimes a good thing!). So I get that it's hard, ya don't need to tell me hehe).

But after talking to some people who are pretty adamant about being working-mums, I have started to see their point of view. Maybe it's because I am really enjoying the working life and my job, I'm not sure, but as good as 'settling down' and doing the housewife thing sounds, I reckon it would be pretty hard to give up a cool career. I guess nothing is more important than making sure that your kids grow up right and that they learn to love God and be decent people. But I want to know if it is possible to do that and have a job? Is it possible to be a working-mum and still be a good mum?



I had a think about this, and the best answer I could come up with was to check out Proverbs 31 - the passage about the Virtuous Woman. It says:

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband does safely trust in her, so that he shall have no lack of gain.
She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
She seeks wool, and flax, and works willingly with her hands.
She is like the merchants' ships; she brings her food from afar. She rises also while it is yet night, and gives food to her household, and a portion to her maidservants.
She considers a field, and buys it: with the fruit of her hands she plants a
vineyard.
She girds her loins with strength, and strengthens her arms.
She perceives that her merchandise is good: her lamp goes not out by night.
She lays her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle. She stretches out her hand to the poor; yea, she reaches forth her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
She makes herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is fine linen and purple. Her husband is known in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land.
She makes fine linen, and sells it;and delivers sashes unto the merchants.
Strength and honor are her clothing;and she shall rejoice in time to come.
She opens her mouth with wisdom; and on her tongue is the law of kindness.
She looks well to the ways of her household, and eats not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.
Many daughters have done virtuously, but you excel them all.
Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that fears the LORD, she shall be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

She seems like a pretty busy chick. I'm not too sure whether she could actually fit a career in with all of that. But is it really necessary to make your own yarn or sew your own clothes when you could just buy them and save time and effort? hehehe.. Sorry, I'm being a smarty-pants. But what is cool about the VW (virtuous woman) is that she's an all-rounder. In my interpretation: She loves, respects and cares for her man (v11-12), she's resourceful (v13), she's a bargain hunter (v14), she takes care of everyone like they are her own family (v15), she dabbles in real estate (v16), she keeps fit (v17), she's compassionate (v20), she's prepared (v21), she's got good taste (v22), she's awesome enough to have a hubby who gots da respect in da hood (v23), she's business-minded (v24), she's got integrity (v25), she's wise and well-spoken (v26), she is hard-working (v27), her family LOVES her heaps (v28), and she loves God (v30).

So I guess I've kinda answered my own question (well, enough to satisfy my mind at this stage). No matter what a woman chooses to do in the future, whether it be a working-mum or a stay-at-home-mum, it will all be good if she follows the blueprint of the VW. She's what God has described as the perfect woman, and really, I think it's entirely possible, with the grace of God, for every single one of us ladies out there to become Virtuous Women. We just have to realise what is most important to us, what we need to change in our hearts, pray that God will complete what He started in each of us, and encourage each other on the way! Sisters, keep shining brighter than rubies!

looking back

It's kinda nice to look back at the last couple of months and just reflect on the things that have happened.

I had a browse back at my previous posts and just reflected on the feelings that I had felt, the experiences I had, the thoughts I thought and most importantly, the lessons I had learnt. There were some funny things that happened along the way but as random as they were, I am just glad that I had them (as well as all the meaningful stuff) all recorded on my humble little blog.

I guess that was the main appeal of blogging for me when I first decided that I was going to join the hardcore Internet community by launching an online platform for my thoughts. A big-mouthed-Christian actually gave me the idea of using a blog to record spiritual lessons (btw - thanks vicks). I had tried journals in the past, but because I can be a bit of a perfectionist at times, all the crossing out and ripping out of pages made me realise that a blog (with the option of going back and editing what I had originally written) was the wiser way to go.

Even though I am quite random a lot of the time, I have found that that I have started to really think more about things that happen in my life and I have tried to find out what God is trying to show me about myself or even, at times, Himself. It has really been a blessing for me and I have also enjoyed it too. What's encouraging is that some of you out there are enjoying it too - because the counter actually changes every time I come back to add another blog entry! Wow! You guys make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside haha..

I think it's really great the way that God has built each one of us with a desire to learn, improve, seek, and discover. It really makes life so much more enjoyable and interesting hey? It never ceases to amaze me just how much God has programmed into us as creatures. We are so complex within ourselves - we feel, react, think, cry, love, encourage, learn, feel compassion, comfort, care for, desire, we cherish, imitate, radiate, are driven, strive, help others, get angry, scheme, get excited, get scared, imagine, create, debate, write, read, paint, play, blog =), feel joy, mourn, inspire, get inspired, appreciate, get discouraged, feel lonely, dream, reminisce, sing, dance, observe, study, and so much more.

Life lived knowing that your Creator, who has planned everything so well so far, is so much easier to live. It's exciting too. I know that what God has in store for me will be the best, and I am looking forward to it - come what may.

friendly face

There was a friendly face who stopped by for a visit after Youth180 and Regeneration - our dear Pastor James flew in yesterday for his gig at the Chinese Bible Conference. It was awesome to see PJ, who hadn't changed a bit in the 2 or so years he had been in the states. He still looks, talks and acts the same.

That's a pic from about three years ago with Pastor Sam - see what I mean? He's exactly the same! hehe. I really enjoyed catching up (albeit for the brief time that it was) with PJ tonight because it just reminded me about how down-to-earth and approachable he is, and how much he really loves this church and the people in it. He actually made the effort after having dinner with the session, to come upstairs by himself to catch up with all the 'young people'. You could see his face light up when he saw each of us, as he extended his hand to give us a firm handshake-hello.

I dunno what it is about him, but it just feels like you can talk to him about anything and everything. He's just so friendly and he's always smiling. He's cool man. I'm kinda envious of all the people who get to go to the Chinese Bible Conference, because they will have more of an opportunity to catch up with PJ while he's here.

I guess there's quite a few of you who haven't had the chance to meet Pastor James before, and some of you might not even know who he is - so I would encourage you all to have a chat to him if you get the chance. Now that you know what he looks like, there's no excuses hehe.

hangin' out at the airport

The cool thing about my job is that I get to go to lots of different work places. That kinda stuff really interests me and I love seeing the types of jobs that people do. Today was cool. I spend the afternoon at the International Airport. I had to go there to look at the pre-injury duties of one of my workers who works as a Quarantine Officer.

It was pretty cool. It was like having a backstage pass to the Airport. I gotta say, they have a pretty interesting job. They get to see all kinds of random things and they also get to meet lots of people too. Makes me want to watch Border Security more hehe. My highlight was seeing the little beagles strut their stuff - one of them sat down next to a guy's bag - that's a big uh-oh for that fella haha.

The airport is always kinda exciting for me because I always associate it with the excitement of going for trips with my family - going to bed in my travelling clothes so I could get ready quickly in the early hours of the next day, not sleeping because I was so excited, going on the long drive (seemed much longer when I was younger) to the airport, seeing the planes fly in and out while driving up Horrie Miller Drive, waiting in queues with excitement, watching the planes from the lounges, hearing the boarding call for our flight, going down the corridor to the plane, sitting on the plane waiting for it to take off, getting some gum to help fight the ear-popping, getting freebies during the flight, inflight entertainment, plane food that looks like it has been prepared by NASA hehehe... Can't believe I remember so much detail - great memories.

So once again, thank God for my job. I also thank God for the opportunity to talk to one of the new girls at work, Nicola, who accompanied me to the airport. On the way back to the office I got to talk to her a bit about church and found out about her spiritual background. I pray that God will give me more opportunities to talk to her and my other friends at work.

And thank God also that tomorrow is Friday already! The weeks have been going by so fast for me since starting at Chevron! One more day to the weekend! YAY! OK, that's it for today. Peace out everybody =)

random shoe post

I fear that I am on my way to becoming a bit of an Imelda Marcos.

Yep... That's her - the happy looking middle-aged woman. Now for those who don't know, Imelda was a former first-lady in the Philippines who had an extensive (and I mean extensive) shoe collection. Which is probably the reason why she can't stop smiling.

I will be the first to admit that I love shoes. I'm a chick, it's in our blood. They can change your outfit and can make you change from feeling glum to glam in a few seconds. They come in all sorts of different shapes and sizes, with different colours and styles. They keep your feet warm, they stop your pants from dragging along on the floor, they provide a pretty little frame for your toes, they make your legs look longer, they make ya taller and they have new ones coming out ALL the time! But as good as they are... I can't help but feel that I am starting to accumulate too many shoes. I mean, how many shoes do I really need anyway? (OK, loaded question there).

Well, I think I might have a problem. As I am writing this, I am breaking in a new pair of boots (which, in my defence, were on sale) after specifically telling myself that I don't need any more. I am finding myself justifying the purchase. I just let my mum know, who has been an adversary to my enthusiasm for shoes for a long time now, and she challenged me to do a count of my shoes - I politely declined (She's cool with it, really. =]). Something must be done, but the motivation is lacking haha.

I don't know why I started writing this, it doesn't have any real point to it and frankly I'm surprised that you are still reading this. Especially if you are a guy. Hahaha.. just kidding. I dunno, I reckon God built us women with a desire for shoes for a reason. I just don't know what that reason is. Any theories? Hehehe.. OK that's it for this post. Hopefully the next post will be of more substance :P

anger is ugly

This video shows that anger is an ugly thang.



I shared earlier about being busted by one of the girls at work. And well I guess this is a bit of a sequel as to what has happened since...

I didn't tell anyone what had happened on Wednesday - I figured enough people had the privilege of being eyewitnesses themselves - but word got round to my boss (the ops manager) and she talked to me on Thursday and asked if I was OK after 'the incident'. I was quite surprised that she had found out about it and I just told her - yeah, I'm fine. She then told me that it was totally out of line for the other girl to shout at me in front of other people and to talk to me in the way that she did. She then told me that she fully understands why I wasn't able to do that thing that I forgot to do and said that it wasn't a priority for me to do that because that is not my main job. I think she then went on to bust that chick who busted me, because later I got an apology.

Well today, I was talking to some of the other girls at work and one of them said something like - 'I heard what Jen did to you the other day, and I reckon you handled it really well' she then went on to say that people had been talking about it and that basically, they all see her in a somewhat negative light, and had noticed that I didn't return her sentiments when she confronted me. She also said that management were starting to look into the way she relates to and treats other staff.

So first lesson learnt - the office is a breeding ground for GOSSIP! (the news travelled super fast man!). Second lesson, keep doing what you can to keep that testimony for God at work or at school. Third lesson, vengeance is God's, He will repay. And lastly, anger is ugly - and it doesn't bring you respect (even if you think it might).

my story

For those who are interested, my testimony has been posted up on the I Chose Life website as of a minute or so ago.

Check it out here.

If you haven't already done so, get your testimonies up online. You never know how God will use it to encourage someone who needs it.

Have a read of the other testimonies too. God has done awesome things is the lives of our brothers and sisters. Everyone has a different story, look and see what God has done. Also, let's all be encouraged through this site to help create more stories for His glory =)

fellowship marathon

What an awesome weekend... I have called it the fellowship marathon because this weekend, I have had some awesome fellowship with some awesome brothers and sisters in Christ. Fellowship is one of those joys-like-nothing-else that God allows us to delight in while we are on earth, it is not only enjoyable, but it helps us on our spiritual journey by sharing with bros and sisters in Christ about struggles, joys, laughs, tears, ideas, lessons-learnt, experiences-had, battles-won and all of that priceless stuff that we get to be a part of when we are Christians.

But the sad thing is that it seems as if not everyone gets the opportunity to experience true Christian fellowship, because they substitute it for talking about other stuff. All I can say is that I feel sorry for these people because they really miss out on what is a true-God-given-blessing. I feel like those people who don't 'get' or understand fellowship are the same ones who are enduring rather than enjoying their walk.

Fellowship makes the spiritual journey way more fun - it's like when you have to go for a drive by yourself as opposed to when you have a car full of friends to talk to, sing with, eat with, joke around with etc - the latter is way more enjoyable (for me anyways - some people like to be by themselves - I don't get that personally, but each to their own eh).

Well this weekend, I got to talk to so many different groups of people. I had dinner with Truc on Friday night; supper with a mix of y180, regen and CYPG folks after Regeneration; chatting with Jie Aom on Saturday day; coffee with Truc and Lil on Saturday night (featuring some awesome sisters-only fellowship); and today the marathon continued with Sunday school; worship service; EPG; lunch; old folks; coffee at Terrazas with the old folks crew; dinner at a Chinese restaurant with Truc, Lil, Minh, Vicks and my bros; and then to top it off, spur-of-the-moment-coffee with Lil, K, Vicks, Al and Jon. You would think that coming away from all of that I would be absolutely knackered, but all in all, I feel so energised and spiritually revived.

This is what it's all about - spending time with brothers and sisters in sweet fellowship. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! (Psalms 133:1).

But most of all, I'd like to,
Thank You Lord for the people here today!
They have been a blessing to my life,
They have given me gladness in times of sadness.
Thank You Lord.