Just a song.

hmm..well as i was driving at night on wednesday..i happened to listen to this song from class95..it's an old song i guess (probably most of you had already listened to it before)..from christina aguilera.."I turn to you"..and while listening to it, I was sort of moved by the lyrics which goes:

(When I'm lost in the rain,
In your eyes I know I'll find the light
To light my way.
When I'm scared,
Losing ground,
When my world is going crazy,
You can turn it all around.
And when I'm down you're there - pushing me to the top.
You're always there, giving me all you've got.

Chorus:
For a shield from the storm,
For a friend, for a love to keep me safe and warm,
I turn to you.
For the strength to be strong,
For the will to carry on
For everything you do
for everything that's true
I turn to you.

When I lose the will to win,
I just reach for you and
I can reach the sky again.
I can do anything,
Cause your love is so amazing,
Cause your love inspires me.
And when I need a friend,
You're always on my side
Giving me faith
taking me through the night

Chorus.

For the arms to be my shelter
through the rain,
For truth that will never change,
For someone to lean on,
For a heart I can rely on through anything,
For that one who I can run to...

Chorus.);

although it was the first time I listened to this song, the very first thought that came to my mind when i was "processing" the lyrics was actually "oh is she singing about Lord Jesus Christ?". haha I don't know if this sounds funny to you guys..but for me i really felt that this song really made me felt that no matter what happen, i do not have to worry because God is always there for us to turn to and rely on..that's why i was kind of 'touched' after listening and all my troubles in my heart at that moment just faded away..as i have confided to Him all my troubles..and believing that everything will be fine in time to come..

I do hope that everyone is doing well in whatever you are doing now..no matter what troubles/difficulties you are facing..just rmb that God is always there for us..and have faith in Him...anyway thanks for reading my post if you happen to read it..God bless all of you!! Take care..

To love, and be loved in turn

                       Indeed, when i look around me, i realise that nothing around me is permanent. I thought of the house that im in, the family that im surrounded by, and im struck that even these things will change. Brick and motar of the walls we build will crumble, and even the alphasalt and tar of our roads will be worn away, thus how much more so will flesh and blood return to to dust. I realised that building up riches on earth, indicators and materials of wealth created and coveted by man, is an act of fultility. What really matters is that we treasure the love and relationships we have with our loved ones, to love and be loved. In a sense this is what im trying to build in my relationship with God. To love Him, by learning to trust him. To love Him, by learning to believe in Him. To love Him, by learning to obey Him. It is through the process of trying to love, be it others around me or loving God, that i realise that it is actually quite difficult, and that i havent quite managed it yet. But i will keep trying, to love God, to love other people, and to be loved in return.

Treasure Life - Storing up treasures in Heaven

Hey everyone!

As some of you would have known, my grandfather, who is my only grandparent left, is diagnosed with Stage 4 canncer. Over the recent Christmas, we saw that he was breathless, frail and not his usual self. He talked about how it was time for him to return home, which is Heaven. A family doctor said that it might be possible liver failure looking at his condition and thus, he was admitted to hospital. The doctors found out that the initial diagnosis of prostate cancer many many years ago have spread to many of his organs. The doctors mentioned that they can't do much at his age of 88 and could only offer palliative care. Well, that New Years Eve night, I went to visit my grandfather at the hospital. He looked sleepy and tired. He could still eat well, but kept requesting to get discharge from the hospital and return home. My mum happened to talk to a patient's daughther (right beside my grandfather's) and they were chatting about how their father's were recovering. The lady was just saying that her father has been getting better these 2 days. Then after aboout 5 minutes, the nurses found that he stopped breathing. I saw it with my very eyes that the doctors could not revive him after all the resuscitation. I can't helped but look over to observe my grandfather. Although I didn't converse much with him, I started to reflect and see how life is fragile, no matter what age you are.

Just as I was thinking about Year 2010 and for setting some goals for Year 2011, God has been reminding me time and again, to "store up treasures in Heaven" (Matt 6:19-20). God has been telling me to observe that life can get busy and hectic if you choose to let worldly things control your life. But if you put your life in God's palm, for Him to craft and direct your path, you will observe that life is about loving others, cultivating relationships and impacting others' lives. So with that, i'm starting to see life in God's point of view, to not waste my life chasing after worldly desires that will not last eternally, but to treasure what I have, the inmaterial possessions and to live a life seeking to follow after God's plans.

I know that God is going to one day take my grandfather back to Heaven, and even one day all of us will be in Heaven. All of us will one day be in Heaven and meet with the Lord. But are we ready to say that we've lived our life to the fullest and have done things that are of eternal value? This may be something that you all may want to reflect on this year as the new year begins.

God bless!!

Elisabeth

God's power at work

In all randomness, I am in the writing mood. Probably due to the fact that I have been more 'free' at work, without the stress of assessments/presentations/projects/reports etc, in addition to the 'end of year and time for reflection' idea, there is a sudden rush of thoughts about the year 2010.

Eventful as it was, I really thank God for seeing me through the past year. At times, as distractions draw me away from Him, I look back and see His mighty hand working in my life. Countless things to be grateful for.

As I was scrolling through the updates on my facebook home page, one of my friend's status was 'A year ago, this time, Canada beckoned.' Just a couple of days ago, I was chatting with my friend (fellow intern) during work. She went to Georgia Tech for exchange earlier this year (the same semester I was in UK) and she mentioned how fast the year has passed (similarly, the idea of 'this time last year, I left for US'). Now that we are approaching the end of our IA, we see people from our batch leaving/leaving soon for exchange, hence the recalling of past experiences exactly 1 year or at least almost 1 year ago. She can't wait for the last day of work, while I feel some sort of attachment to the place/people there. She said that maybe I haven't worked long enough to dread coming to work. Maybe it has become a habit and I'm accustomed to going to work everyday, and once this routine is changed, I'll end up feeling disoriented for a while before getting used to the next 'pattern' of my life.

Whatever it is, when I think about the past year, certain specific events keep coming to mind, and I see the worst of situations turn into manageable ones, or even better than expected. I believe only God is capable of changing such circumstances. In particular, He has placed people to help along the way, which made things much better. Being away from home for almost 6 months and returning safely is the first thing that I thought of. Specifically, even travelling to 'dangerous' countries in Europe was only possible with God's protection. Times of trouble (disruption of travelling plans) were also solved somehow, with the prayers of everyone I believe. Glad to have met fellow Christians over there when I first thought that none of the other Singaporeans from NTU going there were believers (not that I know of). Back in Singapore, as I began my IA less than 2 weeks after I returned, worries about grades and presentations surfaced. How will my supervisor grade me? Even if my prof is lenient, will it be enough to get an A overall? What can I present for the final presentations? What if they ask me questions I can't answer? All the uncertainties. And how everything fell into place. It appears that God had already planned everything. How I got help from one of my colleagues to start on a project to present on, how he helped with the conclusions, how it was still insufficient, how another colleague suggested to improve on it, how he helped me looked through my slides and pointed out things to change and went through possible questions the assessors might ask and took the time to explain additional stuff (just 1-2 days before the actual presentation), how some of the questions asked during my presentation were mentioned by him, how the presentation turned out. How the second presentation got postponed to allow more preparation time, how the second presentation went and the questions asked and how I answered. Can't be mere concidence.

Even in uncertain circumstances, past events are, I think, reminders of His power. Looking forward, with even more possible worries, challenges and changes in the year ahead, I believe that with Him, everything will fall into place as He has promised.

Christmas Party on the 19th Dec!

Hellos!
           Im hosting a christmas party at my house, 15 coronation road, on the 19th December. It starts at 6pm, if you are attending, please bring a gift for the opposite sex as well as a gift of chocolate! The gift for the opposite sex is for a gift exchange, whereas the gift of chocolate can just be a chocolate bar, but please wrap it up and write your name on it! I intend to collect them and pass them to Faithacts!

Thanks! Hope you guys can make it : )
Bon

How about love?

Heys
        Im wondering if the bible talks about love between like a couple. Are there any guidelines/rules to follow? I think im jealous, but im not sure haha. I get this odd feeling whenever i see my friend together with her boyfriend, ya. Its totally new to me, and im not sure what to do with it. yups.

Update.

Hi all, time for me to update again on my week to the PCM. Everything has been rather ok this week. Besides doing final report and preparing presentation for IA, I have also been doing some of my on-going projects. Most importantly, I have sort of completed the most important project for my internship. So I would have more time to do report and presentation during work; also more time for other projects. So for work wise, everything are going quite smoothly.

As for my family side, they did not say anything serious until today when I was about to leave the house for service. Then my mum was asking me where I'm going and my eldest sis sort of shouted very loudly, "He's going to church lah (in Mandarin)" and also said something like "You dare to go church but don't like to admit you go are going". I was like totally sian cause I was afraid that something bad might happen but thank God nth serious happened. My mum only asked the reason for going church and my sister just said very directly "To pray to God lor". Then my mum replied about going to church is ok but do not pray to God (means do not convert). I was like sian at that moment and wanted to say something but I chose to keep quiet to avoid more tension being built up. Then after that I just went off for church. So basically I was like thinking of the scenerio during the service but luckily God is there with me and through the pastor, His words were instilled in my mind and I was rather relieved after that. Instead of worrying so much, I should just share with Him all my worries and have faith that everything will work out somehow and think positively.

I guess that now my whole family know that I'm going to church and soon, someone will just start talking and I will have to settle this issue once and for all. So pls pray for courage and calmness in me so as for me to handle this issue better. Thanks and really appreciate it. Finally, I would like to wish those who are having exams soon good luck and I believe the rest of the PCM will be praying for you people during the exam period in December. Take care and have a nice week ahead. =)