Lessons From My Mum

Something to lighten your day =)

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE."If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."

2. My mother taught me RELIGION . "You better pray that this will come out of the carpet."

3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL."If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

4. My mother taught me LOGIC." Because I said so, that's why."

5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC ."If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."

6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT."Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."

7. My mother taught me IRONY."Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about."

8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS."Shut your mouth and eat your supper."

9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM ."Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!"

10. My mother taught me about STAMINA."You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone."

11. My mother taught me about WEATHER."This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it."

12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY"If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!"

13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE ."I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOUR MODIFICATION."Stop acting like your father! "

15. My mother taught me about ENVY ."There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do."

16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION. "Just wait until we get home."

17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING."You are going to get it when you get home!"

18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE."If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to get stuck that way."

19. My mother taught me ESP."Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?"

20. My mother taught me HUMOUR."When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."

21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT."If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."

22. My mother taught me GENETICS."You're just like your father."

23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS."Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?"

24. My mother taught me WISDOM."When you get to be my age, you'll understand."

25. And my favorite: My mother taught me about JUSTICE"One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you"

Have a wonderful day ahead!

-tIaN

Something to encourage you, from a good friend of mine :)

Beauty of Math!

1 x 8 + 1 = 9
12 x 8 + 2 = 98
123 x 8 + 3 = 987
1234 x 8 + 4 = 9876
12345 x 8 + 5 = 98765
123456 x 8 + 6 = 987654
1234567 x 8 + 7 = 9876543
12345678 x 8 + 8 = 98765432
123456789 x 8 + 9 = 987654321

1 x 9 + 2 = 11
12 x 9 + 3 = 111
123 x 9 + 4 = 1111
1234 x 9 + 5 = 11111
12345 x 9 + 6 = 111111
123456 x 9 + 7 = 1111111
1234567 x 9 + 8 = 11111111
12345678 x 9 + 9 = 111111111
123456789 x 9 +10= 1111111111

9 x 9 + 7 = 88
98 x 9 + 6 = 888
987 x 9 + 5 = 8888
9876 x 9 + 4 = 88888
98765 x 9 + 3 = 888888
987654 x 9 + 2 = 8888888
9876543 x 9 + 1 = 88888888
98765432 x 9 + 0 = 888888888

Brilliant, isn't it?
And look at this symmetry:

1 x 1 = 1
11 x 11 = 121
111 x 111 = 12321
1111 x 1111 = 1234321
11111 x 11111 = 123454321
111111 x 111111 = 12345654321
1111111 x 1111111 = 1234567654321
11111111 x 11111111 = 123456787654321
111111111 x 111111111=123456789 87654321

Now, take a look at this...

101%

From a strictly mathematical viewpoint:

What Equals 100%? What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?
Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than
100%?
We have all been in situations where someone wants you to GIVE OVER
100%.

How about ACHIEVING 101%?

What equals 100% in life?

Here's a little mathematical formula that might help answer these questions:

If:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

If:
H-A-R-D-W-O- R- K
8+1+18+4+23+ 15+18+11 = 98%

And:
K-N-O-W-L-E- D-G-E
11+14+15+23+ 12+5+4+7+ 5 = 96%

But:
A-T-T-I-T-U- D-E
1+20+20+9+20+ 21+4+5 = 100%

THEN, look how far the Love of God will take you:
L-O-V-E-O-F- G-O-D
12+15+22+5+15+ 6+7+15+4 = 101%

Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that:

While Hard Work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will
get you there, It's the Love of God that will put you over the top!

With Love,

TiAn

Cracked Pot

Dear readers, This is a story that really touched my heart and I hope that it will touch yours =)

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. 'I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.' The old woman smiled, 'Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?' 'That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them.' 'For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.'

Dear friends, God is like the woman in this story. God already knows our weaknesses when He created us. In Romans 8:28, the Bible says that "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."

God can use our weakness like this cracked pot to be a blessing to the people around us, to be a vessel for the glory of God to flow through. Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.

Maybe you feel that you are not good enough, people have told you that you are useless, but the apostle Paul says in 2 Cor 12:9 that God's strength is made perfect in our weakness. In Romans 8:29-30 "For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified."

Friends, God knew you before you were born! God has predestined you to become like Jesus! You have been called, justified and glorified! God has a great plan for you in life! God can use your flaws to achieve great things in life! Amen!

With Love,

Tian

A nice poem to share with you =)

THERE HAS TO BE A REASON FOR THIS PAIN
by Mariane Holbrook

There has to be a reason for this all-consuming pain.
There must be something I have done, though I have wracked my brain.
What punishment is being dealt that I deserve this plight?
Should I accept it from God's hand or should I stand and fight?

I've searched and searched my heart until my tears have poured like rain.
I've read until my brain seemed dead to find the source of pain.
There has to be an answer that is waiting just for me;
I need to find that hidden link that finally sets me free.

But then I heard the voice of God who whispered through my tears;
"I'm here to give the strength you need and help you face your fears.
For though I did not cause this pain, I feel that you should know
That I permitted it, my child, because you need to grow. "

Don't let these precious hours of testing be a waste of time.
You have some valleys to go through and mountains still to climb.
And as I chart your progress and decide you've passed the test,
Then I'll erase your pain, my child, and give you needed rest."

________________________________________________________________ Here is my little verse of the week: Exodus 14:14- The Lord will fight for you;you need only to be still.

Bless you heaps!

- Tian

A brand new 2007

It has been almost half a since since I have posted! School has started. God has been amazing, incredibly awesome. How thankful am I to be serving such an awesome God!

Dear readers, how have you been? I hope you have enjoyed your holidays! I am sure 2007 will be the best year yet for you! If you will continue to love and follow Jesus with everything you have in 2007, you will be blessed beyond your imagination.

In Psalm 65:11 (Amplified Bible): You crown the year with Your bounty and goodness, and the tracks of Your [chariot wheels] drip with fatness.

God has blessed me greatly in 2006, not only in material things, but also spiritual and emotional growth, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Just take a short while to think back of what God has done in and for you in 2006, and I am sure you will say "Amen" with me. :)

Friends, if 2006 wasn't such a good year, I have a Word of the Lord for you:

Philippians 3 (Amplified Bible)
12Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own.
13I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
14I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.

LET GO of the past that has been making you feel condemned and guity. LET GO of the things that has been holding you back. FORGET THEM! Don't give in to the stinking Devil! PRESS ON toward the call of God in your life. HOLD ON to JESUS and never let Him go! Keep on keeping on. Never give up! And one day I believe that you will be walking in the good, acceptable and perfect will of God, doing great and mighty things for Him, and fulfilling the great destiny that God has planned for you. =)

Bless you heaps!

- Tian

Emerge Conference 2006

The Emerge Conference 2006 was definitely the best conference ever. Filled with games and many exciting events. But the most wonderful thing was the strong presence of God.

The session that impacted me the most was session 6, the finale of the Emerge Conference. Pastor Kong was speaking about how Jacob walked with a limp and the apostle Paul having a thorn in the flesh. He even said that Sun, pastor Phil Pringle, Ulf Ekman, Dr Ar Bernard and even pastor Kong himself suffered from some form of weaknesses in their life which God never took out of. These great men and women walked with a limp in their life despite their great success.

As he was preaching, his words pierced straight in to my heart. I identified with a thorn in my life that I had been struggling with for a long time, since I was a kid. I was rejected by my friends and even by people in my family, people that I really love. Even after I gave my heart to Jesus and started to serve Him in the past 2 years, this limp in my life continued to torment me. I prayed and cried out many times to God to beg Him to take away this root of rejection in my life. But it is still here. It hurts very badly from time to time. But recently, it has gotten much worse.

As I thought about this during the service, Pastor Kong asked: "Can you still love God? Will you carry on to do God's will? Can you continue to serve the Lord?"

As I was praying today and asking the Lord to deliver me from this, He led me to the Scriptures in 2 Corinthians 12:9 : And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

As I read that part of the verse again and again, I felt the love of God beginning to wash over me. God uses my weaknesses to make Himself strong in me!

Though it hurts, I will not give up. When I am weak, you are strong. You are the light in the dark days of my life. Youwill never leave me nor forsake me. Your love is sufficient.

Emerge Cybergames

Well, we got knocked out at the quarter finals. Having won 3 games and lost 2... It was totally fun. Our team leader was the only female competitor. And she's a cell group leader!!! And the camera man kept coming back to take videos and pictures of her.. O_o

Somehow the bitterness and disappointment of losing isn't there to torment me as much as it used to in the pass. I feel that I have more power over this area now. Indeed my life was changed by the renewing of my mind through the truth of God's Word.

Tomorrow will be my Word Power Scripture Memory Challenge Semi Finals. Wish me the best of memory =)

Dying to self is a daily decision I have to make. So do you!

Dying To Self

"How can I be even more in love with You? How can I be closer to You?" I asked God.
"Be willing to die to yourself," I felt the Holy Spirit whispered into my heart.

Ok... Die to myself.... But how???? That was all He said, or at least what I could hear. The whole week I was thinking about it. I've heard about dying to self many times. To me, its normally associated with bearing the cross, following Jesus, placing my life on the altar as a sacrifice, submitting to authority above you... So, what really is dying to self?

The results of the final round of the preaching challenge was accounced during service. I did not manage to get into the finals. I was sad... and disappointed. As I shared with my cell leader, she rebuked me and said that I was disappointed because I was too "self-focused" and that I felt bad because the outcome had not met my expectations. It was because of my pride, my attitude, and my fear of failure. I was too concerned about how man will think of me.

Yea, you could imagine that I felt even worse. She had told me many things as well that I should change. She was rebuking me till she started crying. At that moment, I felt so bad that I started to weep as well. From then, the entire atmosphere of the conversation changed. All I said was, "I'm sorry..... Though its.... hard... But.. I will not give up.....I will keep on trying....."

All of a sudden I felt so much love for my leader and I could feel the wall that was between us began to break down. Ah! Thank God so much for a leader like her!

Today, as I was fasting and reading the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit led me to this verse in Philippians 2:3 "let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself." That's right! It was my selfish ambitions, my pride that caused me to drift away from God!

Then He led me to 1 John 4:18 "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment...." My bitterness, disappointments are due to the fears in my life. Fear of failure, fear of rejection by people! But God says that perfect love casts out fear! Where there is the love of God, there is no place for fear!

To die to self, is to live a life that is God-centered, not self-centered. To die to self, is to to love God so much, so much that all you want to do is to please God, and not men. To die to self, is to serve God through His people with a humble attitude.

When you can do that, the devil can no longer use fear to torment you, to break you apart from divine relationships with other people. He will have no hold over you. Because you are already dead to yourself. You are on your way to a glorious future filled with love and power!

A Wonderful Meeting

What an amazing cell group meeting we had today. I teared the moment we started singing the first praise song. Yes, the praise song.

The presence of God was amazing. The words which my leader spoke hit my heart like a waves of rushing water. It was totally amazing. She spoke about prayer, dying to self and how to have a closer relationship with God.

During the offering, I was thinking in my heart that I have been sowing faithfully in my tithes and offerings for more than a year since I joined Church, but why have I not received my hundredfold blessing stated clearly in the Bible?

Then I saw a vision of different trees and plants. Beans tend to mature very quickly and you will reap its fruit in a few weeks. Some of our seed which we sow are like beans, you will receive your blessing very quickly from them, but not very much.

Then there are bigger trees like durian, rambutan, mangosteem which takes a much longer time to mature. I felt that the seeds which I have sowed are like these, and it takes a much longer time to mature, to bear fruit. But they are definitely much tastier and more valuable.

And I was encouraged by God that He will keep His word and will restore to me a hundredfold and that I should be patient and not lose heart in doing good.

Nonetheless, we should love God more than His blessings. If we truely love Jesus, no matter how bad the situation is, we will never blame Him, for we are after His relationship more than His blessings. And when we follow Jesus and His Spirit, we will have no lack in our lives!

City Harvest Church Emerge 2006

Our annual youth revival conference is around the corner! Its my first time going for this conference and I'm very excited about it!

If you need a revival in your spirit and you are below 26 years of age, I welcome you to fly over to Singapore to join us for the most exciting youth event of the year.

Next week I'll be going for the Rock Climbing and Memory Scripture Competitions. Still waiting for the results of the Preaching Challenge. I've not got a team for the cybergames so I'm not very sure if I can join that though I really wish to. :D

Tomorrow morning I'll be training for the speed climbing competition with a really powerful and spiritual climber. I believe that she'll be the women's champion for this year! Go Hwee Teng!