I so miss you all, 20th.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Dear Mandy,
I might be lying if I said that I didn't miss the people back home, or that there are times that I actually feel quite alone, and wish that I had my closest friends near me.. A small handful.. Audrey, Prisc, Yvette, KT, Yvonne, Gayne, Jacob and Zhiyuan. 8 pple. Haha..
But then.. I do like my community here. Jim and Nicola, Juliet, Beth and Angie... wonderful people. And of course, who can forget IVCF! They've really helped me settle in, and I've really enjoyed the time I spend with them. But when I realistically sit down and think of it.. they won't be my community. The ministry I serve. They'll be good friends, and hopefully, long friendships, but they won't be the community I will be hanging around.
I know that God has called me back to serve in Singapore... of course.. i may be called somewhere else in the near future.. but for now, this is where I'm called.
But somewhere deep down, I know I'm not strong enough. And I believe I'm getting by purely by the sustenance of God. It would be so easy to just throw in the towel.. but I know God has a plan and a purpose for me.. and that's why I'm here. So while I'm here, I'll just do my best. God will take care of the rest.
I know that Aud and KT know what that might encompass as well, but for the time being, I'm not going to dwelve on that.. =)
I might be lying if I said that I didn't miss the people back home, or that there are times that I actually feel quite alone, and wish that I had my closest friends near me.. A small handful.. Audrey, Prisc, Yvette, KT, Yvonne, Gayne, Jacob and Zhiyuan. 8 pple. Haha..
But then.. I do like my community here. Jim and Nicola, Juliet, Beth and Angie... wonderful people. And of course, who can forget IVCF! They've really helped me settle in, and I've really enjoyed the time I spend with them. But when I realistically sit down and think of it.. they won't be my community. The ministry I serve. They'll be good friends, and hopefully, long friendships, but they won't be the community I will be hanging around.
I know that God has called me back to serve in Singapore... of course.. i may be called somewhere else in the near future.. but for now, this is where I'm called.
But somewhere deep down, I know I'm not strong enough. And I believe I'm getting by purely by the sustenance of God. It would be so easy to just throw in the towel.. but I know God has a plan and a purpose for me.. and that's why I'm here. So while I'm here, I'll just do my best. God will take care of the rest.
I know that Aud and KT know what that might encompass as well, but for the time being, I'm not going to dwelve on that.. =)
Monday, October 05, 2009
Dear Mandy,
Over the IVCF weekend, I felt prompted by God to share an analogy that I encountered about a year or two ago, and that it was rather apt.
The question: which is stronger? The tree or grass?
Different people would have varied answers... When I posed this question to my group of wonderful amazing people, they each had their different answers. So imagine how surprised I was when there were members who quantified both and said both are equally strong.
Most of the people might say that trees are stronger. They're majestic, they're hard and sturdy. They reach up to the heavens, they get so much more light, and they are generally more useful than grass. I mean, let's face it. What can grass really do right?
Imagine one fine day, a hurricane, or a typhoon comes. Which would be the first to topple?
Well, needless to say, it'd be the tree. Amazing, isn't it? A majestic, strong tree, first to topple in a disaster. Surprisingly, it's the grass that would remain sturdy, more or less rooted in its place.
Why this story? Because it reflects about how God created us. Sometimes we think we're so high and mighty, it takes one disaster to bring us down. Other times, we feel so small and weak, but yet, we make it through a disaster the most intact. Conversely.. we are all made differently. Some of us are outspoken, more extroverted, but we have our moments of weakness. Similarly, some of us are really quite broken, we've been through so much, or we keep to ourselves, introverted, but in times of a crisis, we rise above and beyond ourselves to make things happen.
All these are because of the grace of God, and it's amazing to also see how God created each of us so much more differently than what we would even so much as expect of ourselves. If we think that we are so good that we subconsciously equate our capabilities to that of God's, God can bring across a situation to humble us at the foot of the cross once again. And if we feel that we are inadequate, then God will bring across a situation to make us rise up above ourselves and to realise that we are all capable with God.
But, all of us harmonise and live together as one community. The extroverted and introverted help each other out and live harmoniously together.. just like how the trees and grass live together. The leaves of the trees drop to the ground to become nutrients for the grass (who would take up majority of it), while the grass retains the soil, so that erosion does not occur.
God meant for us to live as a community, yet He made us so diverse and unique. So tell me... how great is our God? =)
Over the IVCF weekend, I felt prompted by God to share an analogy that I encountered about a year or two ago, and that it was rather apt.
The question: which is stronger? The tree or grass?
Different people would have varied answers... When I posed this question to my group of wonderful amazing people, they each had their different answers. So imagine how surprised I was when there were members who quantified both and said both are equally strong.
Most of the people might say that trees are stronger. They're majestic, they're hard and sturdy. They reach up to the heavens, they get so much more light, and they are generally more useful than grass. I mean, let's face it. What can grass really do right?
Imagine one fine day, a hurricane, or a typhoon comes. Which would be the first to topple?
Well, needless to say, it'd be the tree. Amazing, isn't it? A majestic, strong tree, first to topple in a disaster. Surprisingly, it's the grass that would remain sturdy, more or less rooted in its place.
Why this story? Because it reflects about how God created us. Sometimes we think we're so high and mighty, it takes one disaster to bring us down. Other times, we feel so small and weak, but yet, we make it through a disaster the most intact. Conversely.. we are all made differently. Some of us are outspoken, more extroverted, but we have our moments of weakness. Similarly, some of us are really quite broken, we've been through so much, or we keep to ourselves, introverted, but in times of a crisis, we rise above and beyond ourselves to make things happen.
All these are because of the grace of God, and it's amazing to also see how God created each of us so much more differently than what we would even so much as expect of ourselves. If we think that we are so good that we subconsciously equate our capabilities to that of God's, God can bring across a situation to humble us at the foot of the cross once again. And if we feel that we are inadequate, then God will bring across a situation to make us rise up above ourselves and to realise that we are all capable with God.
But, all of us harmonise and live together as one community. The extroverted and introverted help each other out and live harmoniously together.. just like how the trees and grass live together. The leaves of the trees drop to the ground to become nutrients for the grass (who would take up majority of it), while the grass retains the soil, so that erosion does not occur.
God meant for us to live as a community, yet He made us so diverse and unique. So tell me... how great is our God? =)
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Dear Mandy...
At the back of my mind in all that I do, are the pending assignments, essays, presentations and readings that I feel I must do and get done soon.
Then I realise that there's sometimes not much point being so hardworking...
But I want to give in my best for God.
But God asks "Are you running on your strength or are you drawing strength from Me?"
So I prayed. =)
At the back of my mind in all that I do, are the pending assignments, essays, presentations and readings that I feel I must do and get done soon.
Then I realise that there's sometimes not much point being so hardworking...
But I want to give in my best for God.
But God asks "Are you running on your strength or are you drawing strength from Me?"
So I prayed. =)
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