Blessed Encounters

To: Dearest

2005-12-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

Hi dearest!
This entry is esp written for you!By the time you read this, I'm at the Youth Camp lor.. hahaha.. But just wanna say a Big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you! And dont to the zouk out okie? heh.. i will do spot check yah..

Healthy Dating Relationships

2005-06-23T06:58:00.000-07:00

The above is an article that I come across today.

1 You’re each other best friend.
2 Communication is easy, natural and free.
3 You have numerous values and ideals in common.
4 You both think of marriage as a lifetime commitment.
5 You’re able to resolve conflicts and differences.
6 You love to laugh together. You’re entertained by each other and share a sense of humour about the things in life.
7 You feel thoroughly known by your parther, and deeply care for. You’re able to be yourself ad still know that you are loved, faults and all.
8 Your family and friends seem to be genuinely supportive of the two of you as a couple. You have confirmation of those who know you best and whom you trust the most.
9 You feel romantic about each other much of the time, but you feel comfortable and content with each other almost all the time.
10 You have a relationship that feels sane and safe and stable. You sense that there’s a solid fit between both of you at many levels.

Still lazing at home..

2005-06-17T16:42:00.000-07:00

hmm...... seems that i haven been blogging for exactly 1 month... but actually, i did try to post an entry after the tiertiary cell retreat, but technology jus played a joke on me, and SURPRISE! and ERROR Page was shown.. felt very "dui"cos that entry was super long... neh.. never mind... forget it..

just met ivy on msn.. she's very frustrated over her rp job... i also dun know how to "an wei" her... told her to rejoice and consider it pure joy in all things (from James1, think is verse 2? or 3? hehz.. lazy to check up in the bible). know it is very hard to be joyful at this point of time for her and i believe what i said might hardly had any impact on her, but jus felt that God's Word is the truth and wisdom and should always encourage the pple around to think in a positive manner.. anyway, this was the same verse that impresses ivy most from James1, so it serves as a very good reminder to her.. (right hor, ivy? hee..) anyway, she got to know that she got into rp later!!! (applause!!!) think she will be in her super mood later when i meet up with her... hahaha...

printed quite a "stackful" of stuff from the moe website... cos got an interview for teaching position on coming mon.. yeah!! *clap clap clap!!* need to do some last minute research.. jia you!!

next fri to sun (24 to 26th jun) is youth retreat! quite satisfied that i had done up my statement of account summary that huiling wants... ;)

thats all for the moment... but before i end, just wanna thank God for the interview and the upcoming retreat and i pray that God will bless these 2 events. Amen!

In His Grace,

Cindy Magdalene

Cindy Magdalene was born!

2005-05-17T23:34:00.000-07:00

hey hey hey!!! i'm back again.. hahaha...

many things had happened during this month of may.. so "happening"!

first one on the list is definitely the marking of the end of my school life on 6th may! yeah! but sad to say, the paper was quite "challenging" eh, not a very good memory of ending my last exam of my life in such a way... never mind, i had done my best and God will surely bless! Amen! went to chinatown to eat eat shop shop chat chat with huiboon, before meeting with jc friends for dinner...

7th (sat) - the youth sports day! had a great time playing captain ball with the gals.. but hmmm.. by accident, my elbow banged onto the side of joanie's right eye... really got a scare out of my life! felt very bad after that though she was not angry with me (what a nice gal!)... glad that she didnt suffered from any blue-black, but it got a bit swollen... thank God for hearing my prayer and had His powerful healing hand over joanie's eye.

9th (mon) - met up with huiwen, joanie, qiufeng and celine for yong he dou jiang you tiao in the morning... after that, this group of good sis of mine insisted of accompanying me back home before they proceed to the city area... the weather was really warm that morning, so i was paiseh about their offer and tried to turn them down... but huiwen later said jokingly that i dont appreciate their kind intention.. so i let them be lor... by the time they reached my place, they were all perspiring.. hahaha... we cont our chatting session at my place for some time before bringing them to the bus stop to take no.7... went to give my cousins tuition in the afternoon..

10th (tues) - met up with huiwen at arts forum to try out the academic gown at coop... on my way to nus, received a call from PSA.... got an interview on fri! so happy! got a great fun while trying out the gown, cos the gown was so bulky and the cap was looked so nerdy! huiwen and i really looked hilarious in it... had lunch together and a great time of sharing together with huiwen... later, went to bedok's DBS bank to pay my laptop loan, procced to kallang to have a haircut and then go give tuition again...

11th (wed) - give tuition again!!!

12th (thurs) - went out with huiboon once again to shop... hahaha... quite a bit of things on the agenda that day... basically, i need to buy a pair of court shoes, foundation and eye shawdow for my interview on fri, a white shirt for my baptism on sat... hb needed to get something for wanglu before she went back to china... both of us needed to get a present for rachel... had lunch with hb at raffles city... shop and EAT from raffles city, to suntec, then to somerset... only started to prepared for my interview that night... panic xia...

13th (fri) - interview at 9am... thank God for the fluency in speech, fast response and a peaceful heart during the interview... then went to nus for a seminar for 3rd year chem students... after which, had lunch with huiboon, rachel and siew siang at arts canteen...

14th (sat) - my BAPTISM day!!! so excited! glad that huiboon, rachel and siew siang could come to witness the ceremony! was happy all the while until it was my turn to be baptised in the pool... quite nervous cos i cant swim... shared a different testimony this time round yet i'm not ashamed nor embarrassed to tell them out... thank God for the courage! went to magic wok for dinner with big group of bro and sis (no energy to type out each of their names liao cos too many pple..)

15th (sun) - wore all white together with tracy tiffany and ivy.. yeah! took my first holy communion! wow! went out with dearest, huiwen, jonathon, angel, celine and tracy to west mall to lim kopi... had a great time joking around! got arrowed to lead one worship session during the cell retreat on that day too... hmmm... wonder my tone deaf voice can make it or not... this time round, really need to go and lead by FAITH and OBEDIENCE, trusting that He will make my singing sound much better on that BIG day...

16th (mon) - met up with candice and caroline to discuss abt the food for retreat at jurong entertainment centre... after caroline left for her driving lesson, me and candice stay behind and chat for few hours!!! never had i spoke to candice for that long man... wonderful! praise the Lord!

17th (tues) - today went to bugis with dearest and my brother to buy my brother's school bag... so happened that huiboon sms me and then we realised that we were geographically so near to each other, as she was at TEC MAN at bras brasah complex... amazing!

i will be busy for the rest of the week too!
18th - meet up with candice, tracy, ivy (fellowship)
19th - meet up with rachel, huiboon (celebrate rachel's b day!)
20th - meet up with siew siang, huiling, xiangru (my belated b day celebration)
21st - girls' brigade meeting
21st to 23rd - tertiary cell retreat

In His Grace,

Cindy

02 Apr 2005

2005-04-02T23:03:00.000-08:00

Today will be a day when I wish that there is cloning.

Many thanks to the assistance given by the following people.
Wendy
Joanie
Shuhei
Si er
Uncle Jimmy and Uncle Ronald
John
Jun hong
And the many others.

Some Thoughts

2005-03-26T23:01:00.000-08:00

Below are some of the thoughts that came to me during times of seeking.

It does not matter how long the candle burns, but how brightly the flame is.

It is not the moments you had your breadth that counts, but the moments that took your breadth away that matters.

Friendship does not counts by the time, but the care and concern that was shown.

26 Mar 2005

2005-03-26T22:57:00.000-08:00

At this day, something had been confirmed and I believed it will stay like this for the rest of my life.

If God will permit it to happen and it has happened and although how I wish it is not true, but in the end, I will still praise God and accept this truth as I know that this will probably be the best for me.

So long!

Blessing vs Disappointments

2005-03-17T06:53:00.000-08:00

When a black dot is drawn on a large sheet of paper, most of the people will notice the black dot, instead of the sheet of paper, which is the most important thing.

We are often distracted by small, dot like disappointments and we forget the innumerable blessing we received from the Lord. The blessings are far more important than the disappointments that monopolize our attention.

In the same way, as we travel down life’s path, are we keeping our eye upon the doughnut, or upon the hole.

Rather than concentrating on the trials of life, we should fix our attention on its blessings. (Psalm 68:19)
So amid the conflict, whether great or small
Do not be discouraged – God is over all
Count your many blessings – angels will attend
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end

Spend your time counting your blessings – not airing your complaints.

Where is my rest???

2005-03-07T13:50:00.000-08:00

had been very busy for the past few weeks where all the essays. assignments and term tests are coming up one after the other... ah! not forgetting my weekly disgusting lab report... what an"eventful" final sem for me...

now in sch, supposedly to watch the 4 CD roms that will be tested during tmr test... but my eyes cant make it liao... i'm feeling so sleepy now... cos yesterday was my lab day, so last night had to complete a short lab report which is due today... despite the little sleep i had, i still felt quite happy, at least this weekend i no need to clear any report and can finally come for youth and service le... but next week most likely will be doing 2 expts, so 1 long and 1 short report to write again... haiz.... one more test coming up next week too... alamak...

May God has mercy upon me and grant me with both physical and spiritual rest! Amen!

In His Grace,

Cindy

Where Are You Looking?

2005-03-03T06:03:00.000-08:00

There are things that is bothering me during these times and I wonder why are these things occupying my life. The phrase below allow me to look beyond them and start to pick myself up slowly, but surely.

If you look at the world, you will be distressed. If you look within, you will be depressed. But if you look at Christ, you will be at rest.

Are we focusing on the world and its dangers?

Are we gazing at ourselves, hoping to find our own questions to our questions?

Or are we looking at Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith? Hebrews 12:1-2

In an uncertain world, we must keep looking at Him.

Looking to Jesus, my spirit is blest,
The world is in turmoil, in Him I have rest;
The sea of my life around me may roar,
When I look to Jesus, I hear it no more.

When your world is falling apart, trust Jesus to hold it together.

This post at the same time could go to my dearest and those who are job hunting. It is difficult to experience what you all are going through now, but I had come across it to. My past experience tells me that it is not the dollar that counts, but the time outside work you have for God and your love ones.

Amendments

2005-02-24T20:56:00.000-08:00

I had done some amendments to the post dated on 06 Feb 2005 as I had just been told that it is wrong to write like that. The post applies to all musicians instead of a single individual.

I would also like to take this chance to apologise to an individual that i had, in the course of writing, painted a bad image of the individual towards the mass media who read my blog. I should not had let my emotions do the writing when creating this post.

Why did I scoop so low to do this sort of thing to an individual?

I know that no amount of explanation and writing could pay back the image of the individual. But to those who had read it, I sincerely request you all to erase the image that the post has created in your mind. What I can do in my part is to send an apologetic sms to the individual and to treat the individual better from now on.

I am sorry, individual... Please forgive me and hope that things will turn out for the better.

I'm finally back here again!

2005-02-18T18:17:00.000-08:00

Halo pple... heez... i'm back again! yah, me hasnt been blogging for a loooong time. hahaha... i know my post was in high demand by some of you (sorry, but let me thickskin for a while, can? *ding ding ding*).

Being very busy this sem... this was totally out of my expectation!! i tot i would be the "sing nan"est person this sem, having to take just one chem module and 4 other "jak parang" module. BUT, the funny thing is i was even more busy than last sem (last sem i took 5 chem modules lor, supposedly to be siong one lor). lots of projects and essays to do... term tests coming too... every week kstill have to do lab report!! alamak, what is this man... never expected that my last sem would be so so "memorable".

now in sci lib computer cluster, was listening to a webcast lecture which is so boring that i was literally falling asleep alr, so decided to give up... but will definitely had to go through the whole webcast lect anyway as i alr bontank all the lectures of this module... hahaha....

today my group was doing a presentation on General Motors Co. in tutorial class. we only started preparing on tues, cos everyone had to rush for lab report over the weekend. (yah, talking abt lab report, let me side track for a while ah... i got to thank God for really guiding me through the night, or should i say early morning. Thank you, my Father for granting me with wisdom, keeping me alert and even by Your Grace, make me complete my report earlier than i expected so that i can get some sleep.) yeap... back to the presentation thing yah... yesterday actually stayed at sch to brush up on our presentation till 10pm!!! so in the end, me, huiyi and layhwee decided to share cab home. to get a cab at 10pm in nus campus (a place where niao bu la shi and gou bu sheng dan) was nearly mission impossible. we actually intended to walk all the way to a taxi stand at NUH. but Thank God for His provision, we managed to get a cab when we were some where near NUH. Thank God also for hearing my prayer and protecting me, my friends and the cab uncle as we made our way home, cos the uncle was driving so fast.... today, just 1 hour before my tutorial class, during which my group will need to do the presentation, i was rehearsing what i needed to said, when i suddenly realised that my points were quite out of focus. started to panic then.... felt quite lost at that point of time... tried to called to regi to get some console at least, but he didnt answered.... shortly after, saw one of my group mate, hui boon. so i poured out all my emotions to her, but she couldnt help much too... (sorry, hb, to give you that stressed cum "sian ji bua" look earlier..heez...)... so no choice liao lor, just present what i had lor... i just prayed to God for peace.

i dun know when i realised this, but this thought somehow came to me. why God was not my first thought when i was in distress? instead, i depend on dear and friends around for support... in fact, this was not the first time i rely on friends for emotional support and only to realise much later that it was actually God who has faithfully stay by my side and comfort my soul all these while... i believe God is continuingly asking me to trust in Him, trust in His unfailing love...

O Heavenly Father, convince my heart that You are who You are, for You are the One and Only who sees my heart and hears my faintest cry. Let not me lose sight of You, O Lord. Forgive me, O Father, for my own righteousness. Let not me depend on my own strength but to draw from You, from Your strength alone. Let not my heart be faint but to trust in You, in Your unfailing love. For God, Your name is love! May my lips sing praises to You and my heart dances with joy in Your presence all day long. Amen!

In His Grace,

Cindy

DILEMMA

2005-02-06T16:20:00.000-08:00

I wish to express my thanks to Marcus for sending the mass e-mail to remind the worship team to assist in keeping their stuffs after service on Sunday. I hope that we do not need to do this every now and then, but this ground rules will be embedded in their hearts. I also wish to express my thanks to the musicians for keeping their individual stuffs after playing on Sunday. Hope that this will serve as an example for the rest to follow. Lastly, I also want to thanks Wendy for staying back after the women’s fellowship to assist me in keeping the stuffs after that. Hope that this will serve as an example for the rest to follow too.

I apologize for being a grumpy person from the beginning of the year till now as I am down to a one-man team logistics. I am not blaming the logistics guys for their commitments as I know that they had a reason of not being able to assist. To rely on the musicians is the only alternative way out, but unless one can see the picture, it is very difficult to go down to the slightest detail of why logistics should be the one packing up only. Really hope that the message could get across this time.

Though we are called to serve, we would not like to be treated for granted. A note to all musicians that they had to set up their own instrutments on saturday and to keep their instrutments on sunday. As for the bulky ones that they are unable to carry, the logistic guys will always be there to lend a helping hand when being approached. I wish to remind all of us that that instrutments do not grow out legs and move themselves back into the cupboard but requires people to bring it back to the cupboard.

However, there is always a twist to the situation. Thank God for sending me Cindy, who knows when and how to deal with me. At that day, while we are sharing, we brought up the above mentioned points and she pointed out some defensive points for the worship leaders. Usually I will be quite offensive, but at that moment, I will just allow the points to go through my brain and reanalyze the situation. True enough, I had been overboard at times as I do not notice their other roles that they had. They also had to prepare lessons for Saturdays, attend cell on Friday and most of all, handling the challenging youths all the time. Recalling that, I wished to thank God for providing me the opportunity to serve him in youth and there brings some of the most remembered laughter and sorrows situation in my life. Though this form of exit is never in my thoughts or to my wildest imagination, I had to make a choice due to some issues within myself. Though the departure is sad as I had to leave my logistics guys and some of my close youths behind, I had to be sensitive to the spiritual realm and not to leave any loophole for Satan to attack the youth ministry. The same applies to the mission team too.

As for now, pray that God will continue to provide me with the strength to carry things, the wisdom to mix the sound and the flame in me to serve Him to continue to burn like an Olympic torch.

He is LORD

2005-01-09T14:20:00.000-08:00

Today's service was such a miracle to me... it had been so long that God last revealed to me (or maybe i was too insensitive towards His presence...). there's silent for so long that makes me feel that He is so far away. "God! had you turn your face away from me?" i once asked.

So during worship, even when tina was singing and leading the worship team, i asked Him, "God, could you reveal to me once again who you really are? could you let me have a fresh knowledge of you? could you restore my relationship with you?" i went further by even asking Him to show me a miracle(hopefully something that is easily observed and "supernatural") so that i knew that He is near and that i'm not far from Him. Praise the Lord! He heard my prayer and very quickly, He revealed to me thru a worship song, "He is Lord". i dont know if i get the name of the song correct, but surely, the bulk of the lyrics was "He is Lord!"... i was so excited! indeed, God was telling me that He is my Lord and He rules over all aspects of my life! God is gracious! this was not all that He was showing to me. later, during the sermon, pastor tim shared abt how we can restore our intimacy with God. isn't this what i had asked! how exciting!

Almighty Father, indeed you had never hidden your face away from me. Even when i was still in sin, you still call my name. How great is your love! Your mercy never ceased, your patience never runs dry! O Father, i pray that you will remind me each day that you are my Lord. let not me take your mercy for granted. let not me take your blessing for granted. O redeemer, redeem my heart again! in Jesus' name i pray, Amen!

In His Grace,

Cindy

Jokes or Hurts...

2005-01-01T20:16:00.000-08:00

There was a little boy with a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, to hammer a nail in the back fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Then it gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, " You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same.

When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still there. A verbal wound is as bad as the physical one. For the physical wound, people will be able to see it and know that you are hurt and are able to comfort you. But for the verbal wound, the scar will always remain unseen and only God and time could cause the wound to heal. Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. When you are down and need someone to share with, they are there to lend an ear to you. They share a word of praise, and they always want to open their hearts to you.

Tsunami!!!

2004-12-31T18:43:00.000-08:00

First time in my life where I witnessed the deaths of so many pple at one shot... thousands of deaths in one country itself was alr quite shocking and terrifying, yet the no. never stop increasing... really hard to imagining at some pt of time...

Indeed, man, however powerful and smart, are always so small and helpless before the force of nature, before the creator of such forces, before our almighty God...

Being very logical, i squeezed all my brain juice to try to reason out why such tragedy could occurred. I tot of noah ark and the 40 days of flooding... but didnt God established a covenant with us and promised that He will not wipe out mankind with "flood" again... hmm... did He break the promise, the covenant? think for few sec, realised He didnt... He didnt wipe out the whole humanity at least... God has mercy!

But still, many died... what have they done to deserve such treatment? Its hard not to question God, not to confront God when something bad happened... Why God! why are you so heartless? dont you care for us anymore? tot of Job... indeed, God's doing is beyond our comprehension... For He has told us not to lean upon our own understanding... He caused the tsunami, thats for sure... He is still in control when the tsunami occurred,thats for sure... He is there when it happened, thats for sure... its not His will for us to speculate why it happened this way... But its His will for us to go thru the process... come to realised that man dont have control over all things... it is not when God put us into a state of total helplessness will we know that we need to depend upon Him ultimately...

Tragedy it might be, but the glory of God is always there! pple who tot they have lost their loved ones found one another again... pple survived, though without food and water for up to 7 days... 18mths old toddler survived without injuries, though he was out there in the sea for some days, floating alone on a mattress... miracles isn't it? God has mercy!

Events like this happening towards the end of the year is of no coincidence... To me personally, it serves as a reminder of repentance as i start afresh with a new year...

Almighty Lord, you are always merciful! Amist the disaster, there're much to give thanks to you too. Thank you, Lord for your protection over pamela (clara's friend) and huiling who were in maldives and india respectively when the tsunami hit. Thank you, O Lord for your hand to be over a small nation like singapore, to even bless us with such a good geographical location that is free from the many natural disasters. May we be constantly reminded that our peaceful homeland is a blessing from you, my Lord, my Provider. In Jesus' name I pray and give thanks, Amen!

In His Grace,

Cindy

Christmas and Dearest

2004-12-25T04:29:00.000-08:00

Christmas is a time of the season where there are great happenings everywhere. Decorations are being put up in shopping centers as if there is a competition for the best décors. Christmas sales emerge from shops to shops as if the things are going for free. Pubs are organizing the best offer of house pours and liquor and are holding a mass count down in Mohd Sultan Rd. If you cannot take the heat, the beaches are offering a cooler form of celebration by allowing the celebrators to wear the minimum and having a mass bath in the form of foam party. Is this the way to celebrate Christmas or can I say is this the true meaning of why there is a Christmas? The following are the significant events of what Christmas means to me.

Christmas is a day of the birth of Christ, Jesus. About two thousand years ago, Jesus was born in a stable of an inn, instead in a palace. He came to serve instead of being served. This can be seen through the many miracles He performed which were for all, but not for Himself. The friends he made are commoners instead of high officials, although He is a king. Last of all, He died on the cross for our sins though He is sinless Himself.

Christmas is the day when I accept Jesus into my life. It was through the death of my 14 year old friend, Cui fen that led me to accept Christ. This is the beginning of the long race that He had told me to run. The race was never easy and falling out was always on the cards. But God is gracious to provide brothers and sisters to encourage me in the race. So here am I still pressing on for the prize that is waiting for me.

Christmas also marks a significant day on my life as God bless me with a girlfriend, Cindy, on that day. Poor Cindy, she always had to put up with my complaints, sorrows and anger. Though we had opposite personalities, we complement each other with our thoughts and views. No amount of thanksgiving could express my thanks to God for her and I lift up my relationship with Cindy to God and pray that He will guide our relationship.

2nd First Meeting Anniversary

2004-12-19T23:35:00.000-08:00

This sounds funny and weird, but this is really how we met... 18th Dec 2002 marks the day i first met regi thru ICQ random chat... hahaha... A complete stranger to me at that point of time, but he turns out to be my bf (wonder shld i be happy or sad... oops!). Anyway, its been 2 years alr. This year, we celebrate on the 19th... happens to be a sunday. To cut the story short, this is what happened...

He gave me a surprise by giving me a bouquet of lily in front of the many church members who were having lunch together in the cafeteria after the service... Though he intended to do it as low profile as possible, but "fortunately" we have got very nice bro and sis in Christ, who very helpfully provide sound effect and even music from the "wedding march"... (0_o") so in the end, the whole church took notice, even pastor tim ran over to see what happened!!! Immediate response? MALU lah... got lots of teases wherever i carried the flowers... but funny thing is many tot was my b day and so came to me and wished me happy b day... hahaha...

We intended to go PT (par tor) after service, but happened that day got x'mas rehearsal, so regi had to stay back to do the logistics stuff... as for me, got a call from home, mum asked me to go home to help out dad (my dad was a handicap, hurt his spinal in an accident, need pple to be around to support him in case he slips and falls, big-sized, think at least need 2 pple to lift him up)... these sudden crop-ups really spoiled our mood man... Though unwilling, but i realised later that this was a lesson of balancing priorities in our lives. It seems to me that God is posing these questions to me, "Which is more important, to serve the Lord or to PT?", "Who do you want to disappoint less, your parents or your stead?"

The ans are straight forward, but the actions are tough to carry out... May faith and strength be with you and me always!

So, in the end, regi and me only met up in the evening for dinner. PT was shorter, but a wonderful time together... a win-win situation when priorities are balanced!

In His Grace,

Cindy

Youth Camp 2004

2004-12-16T18:30:00.000-08:00

Hey hey hey!!! Finally i'm here to update my blog after much nagging by my dear reginald. Hmm... Feel like sharing this year's youth camp with you all since it impacted me very much... Yup! For friends of mine who dun know, the youth camp was organised my church, from 12th of Dec to the 15th of Dec, at sembawang sea scouts campsite (i mus say its a very kampong attap house style of campsite with lizards singing and mosquito dancing!)... A very different camp experience worth remembering!

One good thing abt the campsite i mus say, is that beds are provided though they are quite shaky... They're arranged in such a way that 2 double-deckered beds are aligned side by side. I happened to take one of the upper bed with qiufeng and was being teased by her throughout the camp for being clumsy in climbing up and down my bed... haiz...

This was my second youth camp and compared to last year's, i feel that this year i learnt more and was being impacted more... Maybe cos i was one of the co-leaders and needed to lead small group devotions, so was paying more attention to what pastor was saying... hahaha... But truly, what were being shared by both pastor tim and auntie joyce really touched my heart... All hit the 'fatal' areas of my life... By faith, i believe God really spoke, rebuke and heal me during this camp. Jus share one of the things God has revealed to me (though i had shared with my devotion group alr)...

It was on the second day of the camp, on which auntie joyce will be sharing the Word on that evening. Jus shortly before her sharing, i was discussing with my games group regarding the skit that we would be putting up on fun nite (on the evening of the following day). My group was still quite lagging behind in our preparation and i felt at that point that some of the members appeared not to be interested or were simply jus taking their time. A bit frustrated but i tried not to show it on my face. I grumbled to regi, telling him how slack my group was. Later during the worship before auntie joyce's sharing, the image of regi came to me as i sang the worship songs. Its like a sudden enlightenment... I started pondering, why regi is always in a very active and "on" group, while my group was always very "buay on" one? I suddenly realised that its not the group that is active but regi is. Because he is active and encouraging, thats why whatever group he is in, the group is always influenced by him and got "warmed up". Likewise, i shouldn't blame my group for being inactive, but myself for not being encouraging enough. I realised that i must not wait for people to warm me up (its jus too me...), but instead, be spontaneous and hopefully, get the rest to become involved too...

Confirmation came as auntie joyce shared with us how to be MAD (Make A Difference) about Jesus:

Do everything without complaining and arguing (Philippians 2:14)
Share the Word, ie the gospel (Philippians 2:16)
Serve the Lord out of faith, dun feel inferior of your ability (Philippians 2:17)
Show genuiene interest of the others (Philippians 2:20)
Died for the works of Christ (Philippians 2:30)

The first pt addressed to the "grumbles" that was made earlier, so did the third pt (i had always feel inferior of myself and is quite reserved in making suggestions, etc cos scared pple will find them stupid... hahaha... thats me...)

Maybe bcos what were shared was very relevant to me, thats why during the alter call, i stepped forth and had a big cry before the Lord. Never had i cried so badly, not even during alter calls in church (maybe cos of self-consciousness). I believed that unless we are truly repentent and determined to change our old ways with no reservation, we can never be able to pour our hearts out completely before the Lord and to received His healing and abundant grace completely too.

God has spoken to me of many other things in my life through pastor too and i find this year's camp life-transforming indeed. God must have spoken to each and every one of the campers in one way or another too. So do continue to keep His Word in your heart and be convinced to change! God loves and bless you! Amen!

In His Grace,

Cindy

Foreword

2004-11-11T16:44:00.000-08:00

Reginald and Cindy are a couple who has been together for 2 years already. We had accepted Christ into our lives and wished to live a purpose driven live for Him. Blessed Encounters is the site where we record down our daily happenings. Whatever the situation, we believed that God will always intent for the good and that we should not dwell too long in the situation itself, but should take a step back to look at the big picture and see what we can learn from it...