For Thou, O Lord, art high above all the earth
Thou art exalted far above all gods
I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee
I exalt Thee, O Lord
Thou art exalted far above all gods
I exalt Thee, I exalt Thee
I exalt Thee, O Lord
The brilliance of God's hand in the past few days is indescribable.
Being back, and feeling rather indifferent, I wasn't that excited about dcg on friday nite nor the busyness I anticipated that was to come on the weekend.
Lazing around the cafe enjoying my crepe on a friday afternoon with M, we decided to cheer ourselves up with milkshakes made with scoops of ice cream. Beep. It was an SMS from T saying he's ill and I need to lead the BS on Rev 2. Part of me knew I needed to as the cell leader, and the other part of me knew I'd much rather not cos that means having to dig deep in scriptures in that last hour and a half before dcg. The responsible part of me won. In the prep, I was studying the letter to the church at Perganum, and found that the true rebuke there was about compromising truth and God's standard from His word. Got me thinking of this tension between love and truth, how we need to strike the balance of that within the ambit of our own dcg and the church at large. Good to hear the group's perspective, and kinda integrating with my group was pivotal that day in hearing God's voice and leading for the weekend.
Had to wake up at 630am on SATURDAY. Beat that eh...It was painful waking up, a real struggle and I really did not believe it was worth getting up this early to go to a small group leaders seminar. Okay, so part of the drawing factor to go was that it was with Willow Creek Church (Bill Hybels). The drive there was pleasant, and I drowned myself with 2 cups of coffee before the session started just to look awake (not stay awake!) I had not much of an expectation for the seminar cos I thought it'll prob be the same kind of principles of leading small groups. I walked in a zombie. I came out glowing like an angel. This was the most insightful small group seminar I've been to, and I wish it lasted for longer. By far, I would say this was one of the best. This guy brought into alignment the realities of the tension faced in small group ministy esp as leaders, and engaged with us as small group leaders not on the principles and how tos(like most leadership trainings do) but on the practicalities of walking that tight rope we all are on. Relational risk taking and its challenges and taking small group out to the streets resonated with me most. Willow Creek got it spot on for me, because what is painted to me was not just ideas and what works for them, but more to what God was saying to me and it engaged in the realities of my own small group, leading it and its outlook to the members. The buzz of it I believe was the dialogue sessions that we got to do. Ended about 4ish and we came back to my place to take a short breather before celebrating T's birthday.
Sunday...I was out in the park running, sweating and playing tag ball with the tjs. Fun right? So get involved with youth work! We're exploring a series entitled Fit for Life, and thought we'd start off our lesson plan with obstacle races and some teamwork games interspersed with teaching. It was well fun!! And I can't believe it did not occur to me to dress appropriately, so I had a formal shirt on (for church service aft tjs) and can u imagine running in that! Church service was short, so alot of time for nurture groups and my time to catch up with my tpf group. For lunch, I thought I'd spend time with some people I've not caught up with in awhile so we decided to head off to Covent Garden for the Malaysian Food Exhibition Week . Rather disappointing variety but nonetheless tasted good, and got ourselves a tan sitting and eating under the sun :) How rare is that for london!
Finally...it was time. The only reason why I flew back to London before the weekend was cos of this : Casting Crowns Live! in London...730 the doors opened and I was there!! I expected the concert to be filled with songs from different albums and just a good time of hearing the band live. Stupid of me! U know, the night was packed with so much more prayer and testimonies and encouragement than songs! That was true worship I felt...and my soul was nourished simply by the mere fact that Jesus Christ loves me so much, and holds my life and everybit of it through the storms and seasons - articulated in the inspired words of the band. They may not have sung all the songs I was hoping they'd would but what they did was simply obey God. Not putting on a show for us but more a ministry to glorify the audience of one. I am so glad I went with a bunch of friends who have shared a journey with me, so it was meaningful to minister to each other and see each other ministered to.
And so I started Monday more relaxed and delightful...Met up with J for a couple of hours to share our lives supplemented by several indulgences of vietnamese and Caribbean cuisine before I headed off to the airport to meet my uncle, aunt and cousins who are visiting from singapore. If you think I am random, go meet them. They decided to come to London on Saturday, bought tickets and here they are on Monday evening!
So, yeah...this past few days I've seen abit more of the touristy side of London.. And they've encouraged me so much, to the extent of bringing me to the London Aquarium as a starter to jolt me back in my love for sea life and the ocean!
.........and I'm going back to work tomorrow - not as fun! But am excited about friday when I set off to a retreat with some of my peers for the weekend!! yay!
Being back, and feeling rather indifferent, I wasn't that excited about dcg on friday nite nor the busyness I anticipated that was to come on the weekend.
Lazing around the cafe enjoying my crepe on a friday afternoon with M, we decided to cheer ourselves up with milkshakes made with scoops of ice cream. Beep. It was an SMS from T saying he's ill and I need to lead the BS on Rev 2. Part of me knew I needed to as the cell leader, and the other part of me knew I'd much rather not cos that means having to dig deep in scriptures in that last hour and a half before dcg. The responsible part of me won. In the prep, I was studying the letter to the church at Perganum, and found that the true rebuke there was about compromising truth and God's standard from His word. Got me thinking of this tension between love and truth, how we need to strike the balance of that within the ambit of our own dcg and the church at large. Good to hear the group's perspective, and kinda integrating with my group was pivotal that day in hearing God's voice and leading for the weekend.
Had to wake up at 630am on SATURDAY. Beat that eh...It was painful waking up, a real struggle and I really did not believe it was worth getting up this early to go to a small group leaders seminar. Okay, so part of the drawing factor to go was that it was with Willow Creek Church (Bill Hybels). The drive there was pleasant, and I drowned myself with 2 cups of coffee before the session started just to look awake (not stay awake!) I had not much of an expectation for the seminar cos I thought it'll prob be the same kind of principles of leading small groups. I walked in a zombie. I came out glowing like an angel. This was the most insightful small group seminar I've been to, and I wish it lasted for longer. By far, I would say this was one of the best. This guy brought into alignment the realities of the tension faced in small group ministy esp as leaders, and engaged with us as small group leaders not on the principles and how tos(like most leadership trainings do) but on the practicalities of walking that tight rope we all are on. Relational risk taking and its challenges and taking small group out to the streets resonated with me most. Willow Creek got it spot on for me, because what is painted to me was not just ideas and what works for them, but more to what God was saying to me and it engaged in the realities of my own small group, leading it and its outlook to the members. The buzz of it I believe was the dialogue sessions that we got to do. Ended about 4ish and we came back to my place to take a short breather before celebrating T's birthday.
Sunday...I was out in the park running, sweating and playing tag ball with the tjs. Fun right? So get involved with youth work! We're exploring a series entitled Fit for Life, and thought we'd start off our lesson plan with obstacle races and some teamwork games interspersed with teaching. It was well fun!! And I can't believe it did not occur to me to dress appropriately, so I had a formal shirt on (for church service aft tjs) and can u imagine running in that! Church service was short, so alot of time for nurture groups and my time to catch up with my tpf group. For lunch, I thought I'd spend time with some people I've not caught up with in awhile so we decided to head off to Covent Garden for the Malaysian Food Exhibition Week . Rather disappointing variety but nonetheless tasted good, and got ourselves a tan sitting and eating under the sun :) How rare is that for london!
Finally...it was time. The only reason why I flew back to London before the weekend was cos of this : Casting Crowns Live! in London...730 the doors opened and I was there!! I expected the concert to be filled with songs from different albums and just a good time of hearing the band live. Stupid of me! U know, the night was packed with so much more prayer and testimonies and encouragement than songs! That was true worship I felt...and my soul was nourished simply by the mere fact that Jesus Christ loves me so much, and holds my life and everybit of it through the storms and seasons - articulated in the inspired words of the band. They may not have sung all the songs I was hoping they'd would but what they did was simply obey God. Not putting on a show for us but more a ministry to glorify the audience of one. I am so glad I went with a bunch of friends who have shared a journey with me, so it was meaningful to minister to each other and see each other ministered to.
And so I started Monday more relaxed and delightful...Met up with J for a couple of hours to share our lives supplemented by several indulgences of vietnamese and Caribbean cuisine before I headed off to the airport to meet my uncle, aunt and cousins who are visiting from singapore. If you think I am random, go meet them. They decided to come to London on Saturday, bought tickets and here they are on Monday evening!
So, yeah...this past few days I've seen abit more of the touristy side of London.. And they've encouraged me so much, to the extent of bringing me to the London Aquarium as a starter to jolt me back in my love for sea life and the ocean!
.........and I'm going back to work tomorrow - not as fun! But am excited about friday when I set off to a retreat with some of my peers for the weekend!! yay!
1 comments:
you know val, i'm always very ministered to when i read your blog... i appreciate your real-ness and your reflections. may God continue to anoint you.
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