From He Still Moves Stones by Max Lucado

Be honest. Are we glad he says no to what we want and yes to what we need? Not always. If we ask for a new marriage, and he says honor the one you've got, we aren't happy. If we ask for healing, and he says learn through the pain, we aren't happy. If we ask for more money, and he says treasure the unseen, we aren't always happy.

When God doesn't do what we want, it's not easy. Never has been. Never will be. But faith is the conviction that God knows more than we do about this life and he will get us through it.

Remember, disappointment is caused by unmet expectations. Disappointment is cured by revamped expectations.

I like that story about the fellow who went to the pet store in search of a singing parakeet. Seems he was a bachelor and his house was too quiet. The store owner had just the bird for him, so he man bought it. The next day the bachelor came home from work to a house full of music. He went to the cage to feed the bird and noticed for the first time that the parakeet had only one leg.

He felt cheated that he'd been sold a one-legged bird, so he called and complained.

"What do you want," the store owner responded, "a bird who can sing or a bird who can dance?" ...

We need to hear that God is still in control. We need to hear that it's not over until he says so. We need to hear that life's mishap and tragedies are not a reason to bail out. They are simply a reason to sit tight.

Corrie ten Boom used to say, "When the train goes through a tunnel and the world gets dark, do you jump out? Of course not. You sit still and trust the engineer to get you through." ...

Next time you're disappointed, don't panic. Don't jump out. Don't give up. Just be patient and let God remind you he's still in control. It ain't over till it's over. =)

My own personal experience.

Thanks, Jo for sharing dat wonderful post! Made me wana share mine too.

Yep, juz ytd i was listening to Shout To The Lord Kids album songs. Those songs reminded me of my journey with God as a little girl, the familiar feeling juz rushed back to me. so awesome. =)

In secondary school, every time there's a netball match, without fail on the bus trip to the match, i would juz pull out my disc-man (at dat time) n listen to these songs. The anxiety would be so great dat u cant sleep e last night or eat food dat day, esp if it was a crucial match. But the songs really gave me peace n calmed my heart before the game. But really, it was juz God's presence with me, whispering soft words of assurance n love. It reminded me how much i relied on God for strength n wisdom on how to move on court. ya, n im really sure most of e time when i was there at the right place n right time to intercept the ball, its really e holy spirit that guided me there.

Another thing was dat there were times when i wonder how come my parents never wanted to see any of my matches or how i play. Since i was really into netball, how come they din seem to be interested? But of coz i dun blame them, as in probably e lack of time. Once, juz b4 i left for dat day's games, i asked my mum for some good wishes juz for fun, but she told me she hoped my team wouldn't make it to round 2, so i could go back earlier to study. Though it could be a joke or sth meant well for me, but it really hurt me a lot.

Dat's y i understand when our heavenly father can cover up the void or empty-ness which ur earthly parents cant, even though they dun mean it. I believe my heavenly father was there with me for every single match, jumping up n punching the air with a super wide smile everytime i intercepted a ball or when our team scored. Even smiling at me, n mouthing the words, 'its gonna be alrite' when i fail to be fast enough or tall enough. His presence n support really meant a whole lot to me. =) It's like our own close relationship, juz me n him. awesome.

ARROW CAMP 2008 HITTING THE MARK-FLASHBACK SERVICE

Hey beloved southies, hmmm i was kind of hestitant as to whether i should post this up here. Cuz it's taken from My IM team blog. But it's better to bless than to keep everything inside of me right? haha so here's the post=D

For last arrow service. i can only describe the deco in 2 words- SIMPLY MIND-BLOWING.
the deco was really simple. photos and captions that's all. but what that really came out of each photo was the TANGIBLE presence of Daddy God!. As i was putting up the pictures, i cant help but to look intently at each of them. Each picture SOOOOO precious because each of them spoke of a PERSONAL INTIMATE journey our Daddy has with each of His beloveds during the camp. Especially the ministering ones whereby people were worshipping, crying and some were hugged. And somehow i'm not just touched by their journey with Abba, but i got reminded by Abba Himself of the PERSONAL journey He took with me during the camp as well. And that's really really precious! because when all else fades,when everything in my life is fulfilled and has ended, Jesus remains.=D

As much as the people around us making a difference for our time in camp, as much as seeing our lives transformed and our relationships with our friends and family being blessed, as much as we're excited about the future seeing miracles and wonders, seeing our calling coming to pass, at the end of it all when we have all come to a place where all our desires and dreams fulfilled, all these dont matter at all, not anymore.

What that is and will be TRUELY special and SOOOO precious in our hearts, is actually the journey Our Abba took with us.All the bitterness, all the sweet moments, everything. It is just that journey we cherish deep and hold close to our hearts , simply because we EXPERIENCE HIm at such a personal, such a intimate level, that only Jesus and i understand, and it's only between the both of us.=D And that's the sweetest thing to a human heart - The EXPERIENTIAL LOVE of GOD=D

And for last arrow service, i got reminded of that as i served. i believe you peepos did as well. SIMPLY MIND-BLOWING=D

ICE SKATING!!!

Hi all,

Jacq and I are planning this week's cg activity on Saturday and we are going ICE-SKATING!
Please give us your comments on this suggestion and MUST reply whether you are coming.=) help spead this message.

For those of you who don't know how to skate; don't worry, it's easy and most people pick it up fast.
There will most probably be a few in the group who know how to skate and we'll try our best to catch you when you fall.
If not, we'll trust the lord to make it hurt less.

Meeting place: Jurong MRT. we'll be skating at Jurong entertainment centre (fuji palace).
Meeting time: 11.45am
There isn't a canteen in the skating and once you leave the area you can't get back in without having to pay again.
At this point I'm cursing the managers of the place but we could meet for an early lunch at 12pm then skate till dinnertime. Then, we can have dinner together!

One more thing; there is a promotion package for a group of 4 people. You get unlimited time to skate if you go in as a group of 4.
So we'll try to meet early as a group to see if we can organise ourselves into groups internally and go in together.

ATTIRE:
Try to wear dark jeans so when you fall, it wouldn't be obvious and you wouldn't be embarrassed.
Those of you who have gloves, please bring them. You can also buy them at the skating place for $2.
Please dress warmly, I think a normal sweater would be enough over your top/ t-shirts. Please wear socks.

If you have any questions or other suggestions you can contact me (HP: 98469882) or Jacq (HP:96936107).

Arrow Camp

Day 3!! (sorry took so long! the thought of uploading the pics for the most eventful day was overwhelming. haha)

quiet time in the morning. i think its a brilliant idea to instill such "godly habits". i actually like it, and still try to keep that habit even after camp. u guys should try it, wake up early in the morning to read the bible.. etc. you cant help but be reminded about god's love and grace throughout the day..


Breakfast!! as usual, the spread of good stuff..

kailin is not hungry. haha.

awesome service then its lunch!! this is how well fed we are. eat and eat and eat. haha

yay Games in the afternoon..

the clues and instructions as to where to go. and on the right, out first station.

didnt take pics for the very wet second station. but i learned a lot from that. the act of physically shielding the quotes from the bible that was kept close to the body instill the need to also keep the word of god close to oneself and not let it be attacked and destroyed. very good game!!

hunting for jewels in the sand!



the soapy lemony dizzy game. fun. haha.

the 'holy spirit' game.


while walking to the next station i was so impressed as i saw them preparing for the night. what a beautiful setting!! by the pool..

the game that we actually finally won!!! hurrah!!

off to shoot at the target..

tada! it reveals this poster. then we had sharing on the games at quite a scenic place. (i mean, compared to other grps who did so in the outdoor shower next to the pool? haha wayy better)

back to the room to get ready for the night! thats my next door room mate.. its great to open the connecting door! cos they were like.. the only new ppl i met.

cant believe we actually went along with the idea.. sushis?!

after the food and performance, we went for service, but not without chilling in the rooms for a little while first. haha.

joanne was suppose to bring her jacket, but brought her pants by accident instead. haha!!

very late night sharing. good to end the camp with..

- end of day 3-