peace . love . joy

more than twice the topic of fears and apprehension surfaced in the past 2 days..

i was reminded of (to me) a powerful entry by a fellow OJ reader..i think it wld do many good if i post it here..dont jus read it..think about it..munch on it..

Melting my fears

Flying in the cold months can be tricky in northern Michigan. In early March, winter is still very much in control. Like most folks, I'm always hoping to travel without delays. But, I also want to travel safely. Every time.

On one trip, my initial flight had just arrived in Detroit after a bumpy approach. The pilot had warned us of "high winds, blowing snow, and very cold temperatures". He was right. The steel-gray late afternoon sky looked hostile, uninviting. As we transferred to a smaller Saab 340 twin turboprop for the final leg home, horizontal snowflakes clawed at the aluminum skin of the plane. It was 7 degrees Fahrenheit. I shivered at the thought of being outside.

I also pondered for a moment if it would be wiser to drive the last 260 miles.

Suddenly, the captain's calm voice broke throught the cabin speakers and into my fearful thoughts, "We'll be taxiing over to the de-icing station before we take-off." He made it sound like a routing announcement. "We have a slight ice accumulation on the aircraft wings. We'll spray it off and be on our way. It won't take long." I couldn't detect an ounce of concern in his voice. None.

I watched uneasily as the ethylene glycol spray washed over the place. The ice I could see on the wing outside my window almost instantly disappeared. I was amazed. Slowly, a wave of peace gathered itself and gently wrapped around me like a warm blanket. I sat back in my seat. The pilot gently coazed the Szzb into the now-black, frigid sky. I was homebound.

As i listened to the engines drone, it occurred to me that gOd's love acts in the same way as the ethylene glycol. As i seek him each day, he covers me with his grace. i can trust him for today, and one day, i'll arrive safely home to live with him forever. his peace melts my spiritual fears. he even helps me soar above earthly fears as i remember his promise : "Behold, I am with you always, to the end of age" (Matthew 28:20).

Now that's a warm thought for even the coldest night in life.

John 14:1-4
(1) "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God ; trust also in me. (2) In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. (3) And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. (4) You know the way to the place where I am going."

when was the last time gOd guided you safely thru "bad weather"?

do u trust Him more as a result of that experience?

wad do you need to change in your life so that you'll be able to recognise gOd's presence?

gOd loves and cares about you -- ALWAYS

~ Clifford E. Denay Jr.,Michigan, written by a fellow Our Journey reader July 22, Our Journey

gOd bLEsS

me

it's monday!!..the 3rd day since i've seen any of my tapio-langs..

(those who are wondering, that's the name of my OG for the HSS FOC 2006)

already i've missed u guys loads la..hahas..i noe i've been abit of a hassle..having practically zero ability to speak\understand chinese..but twas fun =D

o..ya..wanted to say smthg that u pple probably already know..

gOd takes care of u..he never gives u things that u cant take..u hear pple talking about this all the time..and u know it by heart..but smhow..it nv really hits home base til uve experienced it first hand..and it nv ceases to amaze u everytime it happens..

wel..it happened yet again to me from the 17th - 21st Jul 2006..ask my family + friends and they'll tel u that i was petrified..being utterly alone for 5 days didnt really appeal to me..i've experienced that in MJ..except that that was onli 1 day..cos i pon the last 2 days of orientation =]

i cld onli rely on gOd to make a way for me..and guess wad, He did!!..

my OG was terrific!!..i'm proud to say i've made a number of friends (quite an achievement for anti-social me =D)..and u know wad??..i saw my really-really-long-time-no-see sec school friend, xinhui!!..she's taking Chinese studies..

source of comfort to me all thru the 5 days was my OJ..my daily bread..i woke up early each day to partake my daily bread..and on the second day, we were having war games in the field, i heard a worship song being sung nearby..it made me..i dunno..happy..for some strange reason or other..hah..

pple, remember..our gOd truly is an awesome gOd..he takes care of us real well..and he always watches over us, covering us with grace and mercy..trust him..dont worry too much =D ..some thgs are out of our hands and it wld do us gd to recognise that and to surrender it all to gOd..let Him prove to us that he is indeed great and wonderful =D

our gOd is an awesome gOd
He reigns from heaven above
with wisdom and power and love
our gOd is an awsome gOd

gOd bLEsS

me

i got this thru email by weichen (thx loads =D ) and i thought twas quite interesting & encouraging..

so i've decided to post it here for those who have yet to come across it :

Malachi 3:3a
He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver

a group of ladies came across this verse whilst studying the bible together, and it puzzled them. they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of gOd.

one of the ladies offered to find out more about the process of refining silver and will share it with the rest of them during their next bible study meet.

that week, the lady called a silversmith and asked if she could watch him while he worked, but she did not say why she was interested in the process of refining silver, except that she was curious about it. he agreed.

so she met up with him and watched him work. he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. he explained that in the process of refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the temperature was the highest so as to burn away all the impurities.

the lady thought about gOd holding us in such a hot spot, and she thought about the verse. she asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.

to which he answered "yes". he not only had to sit there holding the piece of silver, he also had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. if the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

the lady was silent for a moment, then she asked," How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" he smiled and said," oh, that's easy - when i see my image in it, it's done."

when ure feeling the heat & intensity of the fire, remember that gOd has his ever watchful eye on you =D

dont give up!!..gOd is always with you..all the way..

he's refining you, perfecting you til he see His beautiful image in you =]

think about it.

gOd bLEsS

me

smtimes, thgs happen to make u wonder "why on earth wld gOd allow this to happen to me??".."how will i ever get thru this thg alive??"..

these pit stops in life are almost always unscheduled..here we are, wrking hard to serve gOd when suddenly - whoosh, bam!! - the floor drops out and we fall into darkness..

this may be unscheduled from our perspective, but gOd knew about it all along - frm before the foundations of the earth. and that's why our time in the pits is not putting us behind schedule.

gOd is absolutely in charge of our lives..ultimately, as Job learned, He is the one who has allowed us to enter the pit - for our own good..

this does not mean what is happening is good..cancer is not good..divorce is not good..but gOd is BIGGER than any problem and will use it for OUR good..

so if ure in the pits, understand that gOd is preparing to do smthg great in YOUR life..u probably cant see it, but He does..

so stay TEACHABLE & OBEDIENT

yield your will to His

He knows wad he's doing..and as bad as thgs may seem, ure right on schedule..

at the right time, He will reveal the good He has been doing..

1 Peter 5:6-7
(6) Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time, He may exalt you, (7) casting all your anxieties on Him because He cares for you.

When ure in gOd's pit, He's in it with you =D

so how can we become more teachable - more mouldable in gOd's hands??

~ OJ Jun . Jul . Aug 2006 , July 12 Wednesday , Steve Farrar "thriving in the pits"

gOd bLEsS

me

i'm sorry, but i'm stil crazy & high over our zoo outing last week =D (apologies..)

anyway, i jus remembered, when we were looking thru the pix that were taken, either steph \ puiki pointed out this pix:

and steph mentioned that that bag strap saved her frm..u know..too much exposure =]

i totally agree!!..i mean, when we were there at the kids playground, having loads of fun, relivin' our good ol' childhood days, makin' abit of a fool of ourselves (cos noone was there..good timing, man)..gOd was stil looking out for us =D

he's protecting us in ways that can be so simple smtyms (like a bagstrap) that we may overlook it..

in a way it's good to look back and reflect..

cos smtimes, that's the only way whereby we can really see gOd wrking in our lives, when we're having fun and not noticing nythg else that surrounds, he's keeping vigil..

at times, we ask gOd why..why this had to happen to me..why of all things that..why of all people, me..we cant realli see gOd's plan..or even his hand comforting us \ wrking..

dont worry, in all things, gOd has the upperhand..gOd is in charge..He's there..

And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

Romans 8:28

here's a song from one of my fav animations :

tell me why, i dont understand.

tell me why or show me your hand.

tell me why because i cant see my way through..

what now..should i..do...

the battle is not ours

we look to God above

for He will guide us safely through

and guard us with His love

i will not be afraid

i will not run and hide

for there is nothing i cant face

when God is at my side

no there is nothing i cant face

when God is at my side

the battle is not ours

we look to God above

for He will guide us safely through

and guard us with His love...

~ Veggie Tales : Esther (The battle is not ours)

gOd is always with us, rest assure, beloved..

He has a plan..a brilliant, marvelous plan..and it involes YOU !!

dont worry..He will not give you things that u cannot handle..he knows your limits..trust Him..not easy..but trust..

gOd bLEsS

me

wowee!!

spent wednesday afternoon with ZhangHui, Steph & Puiki at the Singapore Zoo!!..(for those who dont know, that's one of my favourite places in the world =D )

an nice australian lady in pink took this for us (thank u!! =] ) ..

i took sm great (wel at least i thought they were great) photos of the animals..i took a

giant spider which was residing near the camel enclosure

(i think its called a) female Nyala..looks like it's talking to the crow hahas =]

a pack of wild dogs on the rocks

a cute meercat peeking out of a log

peering thru the foilage, u see a ring tailed lemur enjoying an afternoon snack

a rhino in the cool shade

(hmmm..cant remember if i was the one who took this pix of the rhino, but if it wasnt me, it's a brilliant shot, whoever took it =] )

a Bengal White Tiger walking upstream.

lovely.

right now..while i'm here on this planet..there is one thg that i've always asked gOd for..

i wanna be that person that gOd has always wanted me to be..

to live up to the standard that he has called me to live..to fulfil wad gOd wants me to fulfil in my life now..basically, to be a good girl in gOd's eyes =]

but i find it tremendously hard to do so..it's like a hill, when i first look at it, which turns into a super steep super high mountain, when i take my first step..

then i read Saturday's scripture reading by James MacDonald..

July 1 - Saturday . OJ Jun . Jul . Aug 2006

Where's the Power

Do you ever get out of bed in the morning and say, "Today is going to be different. I'm going to live like a Christian. I'm going to do it right." With ambitions of performing like an all-star Christian, you begin your day. But before you're even out of the driveway, your attitude or actions have already collided with reality. You've figured out what Romans 8:13 is saying in essence : "Those who live by the flesh will fail."

Are you tired of being the same person with the same struggles? There comes a point when we finally have to be willing to say, I cant do this Christian life in my own strength.

That's a freeing place to be. The reality id that gOd never expected us to do it on our own. He made no provision for us to live the Christian life in our own strength. If you know what it's like to expend all your energy to live for gOd, then you know what it is to fail. We cant come to Jesus on our own, and we cant live for Jesus on our own. He never said we could.

Ready for the good news? gOd has given you his Spirit to live the Christian life through you/ That's a really important statement. I repeat : gOd has given you his Spirit to live the Christian life through you.

Living the CHristian life in the power of the Spirit means getting out of the way. It's humbling yourself and saying, "Lord, not my will, not in my strength, not my way -- but yours!" Grace flows to us when we come to this place.

Romans 8:13 says if you live by the flesh (in your own strength), you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body (those old foolish ways of living), you will live. Major freedom comes your way if you let gOd's Spirit flow through your life. (Read Romans 8 for a bigger picture of this new way of living)

(12) Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it.
(13) For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live,
(14) because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
(15) For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."
(16) The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.
(17) Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Submit to gOd and begin experiencing real life through the Holy Spirit.

what have we tried to change that we've no power to change?

what will it take for us to finally realize that our strength is not enough and that gOd's strength is all i need?

Lord, live your life through me..

gOd bLEsS

me