Seeing Jesus, Serving Jesus , Speaking Jesus

Listen UP!

2008-08-20T10:22:00.004+09:30

Hey Beautiful people!

Hope that you're doing well so far its almost the end of the week!

Here are the details for connect group this week :)

18 Coolah St , Kilburn (Along Prospect Road)
5pm

We'll be having dinner and then we'll go into a time of sharing and prayer.

In this time of transition as a church moving into our new city building
Edge conference happening in less then 3 weeks!
Assignments and exams happening all at the same time.

Its easy to get caught up in the routine of it and fail to hear what God is saying to you .
So take some time to quieten yourself and hear what he is saying to you :)

Lets come together and share about these :

1) In what ways does God speak to you?
2) what has he been speaking to you about personally?

Looking forward to see you!

Love

Sarah

2008-08-07T23:33:00.003+09:30

Hey Gorgeous ppl!

For tis saturday's connect group we're just gonna have a time of connection and chilling out!
WoohoO!

There's a few new people joining us so be sure to make them feel welcome :)

Everyone's gonna bring a dish so we'll have plenty of food as always!

Time : 5.30pm
Venue : 8A Trott Grove , Oaklands Park
Things to bring : Your stomach, your mouth and your heart!

Looking forward to see you!!

Much love

Sarah

Rejoice!

2008-07-23T23:07:00.005+09:30

Hi Gorgeous people!

Tomorrow..........

Lets come together with ONE HEART and ONE VISION!

On Saturday!
connect group this week...

Venue : 8A Trott Grove , Oaklands Park
Time : 5pm

We will have dinner before going into a time of sharing :)
Rememeber to bring your food..(for those that are bringing)

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again : Rejoice!

(Phillipians 4:4)

Think about these questions :

1) What do u think it means to rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS
2) How do u think our Joy can actually be stolen from us?

lets be prayerful about the meeting and come prepared to pray and encourage one another!

Love

Sarah

Gathering of the Saints!

2008-07-11T10:19:00.003+09:30

Hey People!

We'll be meeting up for Connect Group again! The details are as follows...

Date : Saturday ( 12 July 2008)
Time: 5pm

Venue : 8A Trott Grove
Oaklands Park
(Winnie and Kareeann's house)

We're gonna have a lot of new friends joining us for the first time!

Look forward to a time of Singing to the Lord , Sharing and of course not forgetting food!

(we will buy some fast food and some people have offered to bake and cook some stuff. Just prepare $5 dollars to help with the expenses )

Some questions of us to think about the share:

1) Share about situations/current situation in your life where your faith was tested and how God came through.

2) In your own words how do you think are the characteristics of a disciple of Christ ?

3) In what areas has God been growing you?

Keep tomorrow's meeting in prayer and
come ready to encourage as well as to be encouraged by God through each other!

Looking forward to see you :)

Love

Sarah

SURPRISE!!!!!

2008-06-13T13:42:00.002+09:30

It's Stephanie Wong reporting ALL THE WAY from Melbourne :) For those of you who didn't know, I attended the Planetshakers Women's Conference called Beautiful Woman last weekend.

It was unbelievable awesome! :)

The sermons were really good. The band was FABULOUS, of course. And most importantly, His presence was there :)

Anyways, there was this ONE sermon that I really wanted to share with all of you. It's based on Luke 15:11-32.

It's the story of The Prodigal Son. Now most of the sermons we've heard (or at least me anyways) were all about the youngest son . This one that I heard however, was about the eldest son who complained when his father threw a party+killed a big fat, juicy calf *cue Chuen's stomach to rumble* for his brother.

The eldest son felt that he had missed out on the blessings just like how a lot of us feel sometimes. How many times have we asked God: Why didn't I get this? OR Why did he get that when I should have gotten it?

BUT what the eldest son failed to realize (along with the rest of us or maybe just me again) is that HE OWNED THE FREAKING FARM!!!!

Allow me to explain.

See the father gave everything to his sons right? And being the eldest, not only does he get the first pick but he also get DOUBLE of what his younger brother had.

So he HAS 2/3 of the farm whereas his brother HAD 1/3 of the farm (having squandered it on God knows what) and ONE MEASLY CALF which will end up in some random people's digestive system anyways!!

Some people are so greedy.... :)

What I think the conclusion is is that we sometimes fail to realize what God has already blessed us with and begin to focus on what others get. The example that the pastor used was of a girl who didn't receive a prophesy from the pastor but her friend did. The girl became jealous and asked God why she didn't get one too. God then replied that He wanted to tell her Himself!

So I OWN THE FARM, people :) How about you?

Another thing is that the eldest brother said that he SLAVED away for the father. Thus, it made him even more peeved I suppose when his LAZY brother had a special party thrown for him.

The pastor said that some of us feel that we have to work extra hard to please our Father. We don't! He is already pleased with us NO MATTER what we do! That doesn't mean that we can just sit around though :) The most important thing is that we POSITION ourselves where He wants us to be! Do work/Serve Him out of what He tells you. It doesn't matter WHERE you do it (i.e. the toilets, kitchen, stage, kids) because they're ALL the same to God. If you can work in one ministry, then you can surely work in another.

That's all for now! :) Melbourne rocks!

Hard hearts and a Free Gift

2008-05-07T11:01:00.002+09:30

So, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said, 'Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.' So I declared on oath in my anger, 'They shall never enter my rest.'

See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. As has just been said: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion."

Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed?So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.

(Hebrews 3 :7-19)

As I read the passage this morning, the severity of this passage actually struck me.

The writer was referring to the Israelites who have been delivered by God out of Egypt, have seen him at work, providing for them etc. But yet, they turned away and failed to commit themselves to him. All except Caleb and Joshua died in the wilderness were not able to enter the rest that God has promised. In this context it was Canaan the promised land. How can someone who has seen the Lord, seen him at work, and seen his providence actually turn away from him?

I told myself, I would never do that! But before I could continue in my “holier than thou” attitude , God reminded me that I am just as human as the Israelites were and if I do not guard my heart and mind with his word and take for granted what he has done for me , continue living the life the way I WANT it to be . One day my heart may harden as well. I might just turn away from him. That’s quite a scary thought.

For us that have not yet received Christ, has the Lord been calling you into a relationship with him? Do not harden your hearts toward him.

There are always things in our life that we have to work on, that is out of revelation of who Christ is and thus you want to change in terms of actions or mindsets but let’s be careful not to allow ourselves to subtly motivated by WORKING TOWARDS SALVATION and thus be looking everywhere for stuff to work on.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.
(Ephesians 2:8)

IT’S A FREE GIFT! You don’t have to do anything to attain it. Receive it in gratefulness and thankfulness! Seek intimacy with God, desire to know him. Not that it will be easy or smooth but even persevering and walking through all that hard stuff would be a WANT because you’ve seen who Christ is and what he has done.

Committed on the Journey with you!

Sarah

Chill Chill Chill

2008-05-03T01:10:00.002+09:30

Hello People!!

Sorry this came so late...
Many changes along the way and it has been decided that!!

no more heavy 1, 2 , 3 questions just for this week
While i'm sure you love :)

We're just gonna chill out eat and play board games!!

KAreeann's mum will be cooking for us! woohoo!

VENUE : THE VILLAGE
TIME : AFTER 11am Service!

Looking forward to chill with you

Cheers!

Sarah

O Come all Ye faithful!

2008-04-15T23:20:00.007+09:30

Ok dosen't mean if you don't come you're not faithful hahha..OK jokes aside.

This sunday's Connect group will be at...............

Venue : THE VILLAGE@ Grote St
Time : Straight after Service

After service we will head to chinatown to grab out own lunch then heard down to the village

The discussion questions for this week are :

1) What experiences or accomplishments do i place high value in my life.

2) In what areas of my life do i try to take control and play God?

3) A situation that i can give God praise for!

Come ready and expectant to listen , encourage and pray for one another!

See ya!

Sarah

Meet Meet Meet!

2008-04-03T22:36:00.002+10:30

Hey Guys and Gals!

We're meeting this sunday for connect group again!
Its gonna be at the coolest place in adelaide :) (You'll see why..)

Where : 18 COOLAH Street, Kilburn
Time : Straight after 11am service

We'll try to get everyone transported to another side of adelaide and...
Lunch will be provided so we don't have to be like scattered sheep
We can graze together haha..
ok Anyways

The questions that we're gonna share about are..

1) Your Journey of getting to know Christ personally
2) How are you speaking Jesus in your world?

Its gonna be a very relaxed session, so don't be too stressed about having to share and do public speaking. haha..

Looking forward to see all of you :)

Sarah

We're coming together again!

2008-03-20T13:42:00.002+10:30

Hey People!!

After a looong time.....
We're coming together once again for a time of sharing and fellowship!
There's a going to be a few new people in our midst , so lets make them feel at home !

23 March 2008 (Easter Sundae)
1pm
THE VILLAGE........(Grote Street , Adelaide Uni Student Accomodation)
BYO Lunch

Its not just going to be me talking
but all of you are going to be listening and encouraging one another as well!

Here are some questions that i would love for you all to think about and share :)

1) Share about 1 significant situation where God answered your prayer or taught you something.

2) What is something in your life that can actually distract you from the things of God.

Keep prayerful about the meeting.

I'm looking forward to hear from all of you!

See ya!

Sarah

When being childish isn't such a bad thing

2008-03-01T15:30:00.005+10:30

How many times have we heard the following phrase being uttered, most times out of frustration and annoyance

“Stop being so childish!” (not that I’ve heard that being said to me in awhile because you know, I’m all mature and stuff. Really. Stop laughing. I kick you.)

All of us are of the mentality that being childish is something that is undesired (and rightly so) because developmentally we are at an age where we are expected to make decisions and choices which reflect maturity and Godly wisdom. (if I happen to have any 5 year old readers, don’t worry, you’re exempted. You’ve got quite a few years of bad/questionable decisions ahead, some of which will make you cringe at the thought. Just to give you a head’s up. Oh and a word of wisdom? Stop shoving random objects down your throat in the name of fun, alright. That’ll be setting yourselves up for a trip to the ED, where you’ll have to expose yourselves to unnecessary radiation and then risk having the X-Ray of the 1 dollar coin or whistle you swallowed being circulated amongst random medical students.) OK back to the point. There really hasn’t been a point to anything I’ve said so far to be quite honest. I just wanted to add a little disclaimer at the beginning so people won’t get the wrong idea and think that I’m propagating childish behavior with what I’m about to write about next. How it morphed into this is a mystery that will probably unveil itself once I’ve taken my Ritalin. (Kidding!)

What I’d really like to talk about today is being child-like, in the context of being God’s children.

Matthew 11:25
At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.

I read this verse sometime last week as part of my devotion material. As I sat back and began to reflect upon why it is that children are put on such a high pedestal in the bible, God began to reveal enlightening truths regarding the heart of children and why He made them the way He did.

1. Children are dependent, needy and not afraid to show it.

We don’t need to have children of our own to know that as playful as kids will be, the moment their parents leave their line of sight, their adorable, chubby little faces crumple and within approximately 0.75 seconds, Scream Fest 2008 ensues. It doesn’t matter that 5 other kids are staring at them (all of which will join Scream Fest 2008 in approximately 1.25 seconds because kids are united that way.), all they want is to know that they’re under the watchful eye of their parents. We can try to distract them with big, bright, colourful toys but even then, every few minutes or so, they’ll scan the room just to make sure their parents haven’t left.

Many times we get distracted by big, bright, colourful toys in the big playroom that is our adult world, assuming that God is there, watching us. Now see, that’s what children never do. Assume. True, God will never leave us nor forsake us as is stated in His word, but the thing that gets to us most times is that we get so engrossed in our new big toy that after awhile, it doesn’t matter anymore whether our Parent is there watching. We become insensitive to the presence of God and only stop to look up when the toy malfunctions. And sometimes, for various reasons, we look up, scan the room, but refuse to cry out for fear that other people will see our vulnerability.

2. They’re open and not ashamed to show affection.

It is a delightful fact that children are never selfish with their hugs and slobbery kisses when it comes to people they love. God like any other parent, delights in receiving hugs and slobbery kisses from us in the form of praise, worship and really, just simple words of affection.

3. They trust completely.

Children will never second guess their parents’ intentions and they’ll believe almost anything told to them. Because they trust completely. The world has taught us to be cynical about everything handed to us and so we second guess and build our own belief systems regarding matters in life. It helps to remind ourselves from time to time that God’s belief system is different to that of the world’s. Trust is a valuable commodity and something we have learnt to hold on to so strongly for fear of betrayal and rejection that we forget that “..the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame” – Romans 9:33

4. They need and love unconditionally.

Have you ever been to a supermarket and seen a child sitting on the floor screaming his/her lungs out because mum refused to allow him (could be a her but for simplicity’s sake I’m gonna go with just “him”) play with the knife set on Aisle 12? I’m sure you have. If you had stayed to watch the whole debacle unfold, you would have seen that at some point, mum would threaten to walk away, leaving him on the floor. What happens then? The kid screams even louder. Because as angry as the kid is at mum for disallowing him the pleasure of slashing himself and other customers, the thought of mum leaving him is even worse. Most times the threat and fear of being left alone will be the one thing that will make him stop. Inevitably, in our moments of frustration and sadness, we sometimes question God. I believe it is human to sometimes voice our questions and cry out to God (if we weren’t allowed to do that, the book of Job would only have one verse – “and so Job died, old and full of years.”)at the injustice of our situation, but like Job and Kid on Aisle 12, we have to always remember that no matter how distressing our situation may be, none can compare to the agony of not having God there at all.

That’s all for now. It was a pleasure being able to share what God has placed in my heart. Hope you were blessed.

God bless!

Keeping your eyes on the goal

2008-02-20T01:42:00.005+10:30

Hey All!

Hope you've all been well!
Pretty Hot these few days but Thank God autumn is coming really soon!

Just wanted to share something that God placed in my heart.

(Philippians 3:12-16)(New Living Translation)

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

Sometimes we look from a distance how God uses people mightily, it may even be uncomfortable to see the level of passion in people but you just can't understand how they arrive at that place, or maybe we don't even see the need to get so passionate?

I used to think that people that are "passionate" are some overly enthusiastic hippy christian. However, going from a point of being passionless to the present, its really about not giving up but PRESSING IN to the presence of GOD! What comes along with it is a wanting to be committed and connected to the church.

Where does your priority lie?
It is a year where a lot of crucial things are happening, final year of studies, stress at work, stress from needing to find work etc. Yes we have to be dilligent in what we're called to do presently. Yes be a good testimony thru all of that. BUT not at the expense of your relationship with God. lets not have the mentality of taking a year off to concentrate on studies or work and i'll work on my relationship with God later. Remember we are first a christian then a student, a valuer, a doctor , a pharmacist etc.

Its dangerous when we are satisfied where we are at with God, everyday do a bit of devotion, sunday go to church, go back home and the cycle goes on.
Do we have the hunger for God, his word and things of him?

In Philippians 3 Paul says that he hasn't attained it but he PRESSES ON toward Christlikeness. Being like Christ would mean having the heart of the things he is concerned about. For the people that have yet to know him. If you don't have the heart for that, pray and ask God to give it to you! Christ spent time with God whenever he could, lets be found doing that as well, and not because we have to.

Having passion and being Christlike dosen't come suddenly like a flood of emotions, or suddenly feeling like it. It comes from a heart that WANTS TO and despite not feeling like it and at the same time surrounded by various unconducive circumstances still pressing in and pressing on toward Christ!

It is not easy being a christian, but thank God for Christ who loved us to the point of death. Pressing on along the path to the cross.

Keep your eyes on the Goal. Its worth it!

Praying and committed on the journey with you :)

Sarah

Chinese New Year Celebration

2008-02-06T08:52:00.001+10:30

Hello everyone!

How has your week been? I hope that all is well with all of you...

I'd just like to encourage each one of you to DARE to DREAM or SEE beyond what it is for this Saturday night. Hehe, to be honest, when I was first asked what were my expectations they were quite puny really..but you know, I've been challenged to DARE (or TRY) to IMAGINE what God can do this Saturday night. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I'm belieivng for people to get saved immediately this Saturday (though it would be awesome if it was!!) but it's really more about divine connectins to be made with our friends or the new people!

I tried to imagine at first and began inviting my friends and was a litlle disappointed when my friends werent able to come for this Saturday night for I thought that "Oh no..how is this whole thing about dreaming BIG for Saturday is going to come to pass?" But you know what, God taught me that I was relying on my own strength or ability to try to make that come to pass. That it was back to the fact that it's all about HIM and for His glory, and if He speaks the word, it will come to pass! But nevertheless, we all still have to do our part in inviting our friends, and let the LORD do the whole drawing bit. That's why we have to really PRAY for this Saturday night! Only the LORD can move in the supernaturral and physical!! So yeah, let's really take the time to pray about it this whole week! Let's not give up!!!

I watched this show once where a bad man really repented of his ways and followed the Lord's ways till it came to point where his car business was going bankrupt and he simply PRAYED EARNESTLY at the back of his house and trusted the LORD. Then suddenly, his friend ran up to him and said
"What are you doing back here? Come quickly and take a look!" To his amazement, people started pouring in and his business had hope again. And his friend said

"While you were busy praying, God was busy working!"

So yeah! hope that reallly encourages each one of you! Let's all prepare the nets so that it won't be broken when the people come in! =) Let's believe together for the Lord GOD to move mightily!!!!

BERSEMANGAT ya in whatever area that you guys are doing!!!!Let's give our best to the LORD ya! and PRAY!!!

See you alll sooon!!!

Cheers
Jasmine

ONE HEART ONE VISION

2008-01-29T19:42:00.000+10:30

Hey Gals!

It’s just great to have all of you all back here in Good ol’ Adelaide!As I took some time to reflect on 2007, I can’t help but give thanks to the Lord for your growth individually as well as how we have pushed through as a group!

Pastor John’s message on 1 Samuel was timely as we step into the next level of growth in the Lord this year.

As I seeked God for the direction for us as a Connect group this year, my thoughts were directed towards reaching out. During service the week after, Pastor Jonathan told us that the focus for us as a church this year would be evangelism!

The sound of the word evangelism might be a little intimidating and in the face or you may think, its not your “area”. Lets not be fazed by it coz it’s not about getting the numbers and filling up seats in the church or doubling the number of people in the connect group.

It’s really about knowing the heart of God to see all men come to the knowledge of who he is and have that relationship with him which was intended since the beginning!I am certain all of you KNOW who God is in your life, seen him work in you, correcting perspectives, urging you not to withhold all that is due to him in praise and worship! Drawing you to himself!

I really pray that in this year, all of us will continue to put the Lord as first. I urge you not to compromise spending time with him. Seek and pursue him with all your heart!Ask him to break your heart for what breaks his!

There’s the ONE event this Friday with Pastor Danny at our South campus @ 7pm.It’s gonna be a combined meeting with Boost, Stomp and Accelerate as we come together to align ourselves with the Vision that the Lord has for the Youth Ministry as a whole.I will arrange transport and let u gals know about it!

2008! New Year, new vision, Same faithful God

Love

Sarah

Kareeann to you...

2008-01-15T13:28:00.000+10:30

The Void In Our Heart…………..

Hi girls…………..

It has been a while...but nevertheless looking forward to catching up with everyone in 2008!!!!!!!!!!!!! My hope is that 2007 has been a great year for everyone but my prayer is that 2008 will be even GREATER for all of us personally. Just cant help but feel there is so much in Him that is in store, if only we will realise it and dig deep into it…
Not sure about u, but I’ve always struggled about the meaning of ‘life’…Towards the end of the year 2007, I often ponder and trace back the patterns of my daily life, going to work, coming home, meeting up with friends occasionally, going to church ( maybe going through the ‘quarter of century’ syndrome thingy )..I will question myself, is this all??? Is this all about life, basically??….There’s surely much more into it than just this…
Then I began to realise that each and every one of us, regardless if we consciously or unconsciously know there is a void in each of our heart. And many times, I fill up the void with physical things ( such as activities or people ) or emotions which of course only gave me a temporary satisfaction, but it would not last and the dissatisfaction and unfulfilment will come rushing through again…
I began to see that as long as the void is not filled by Him, I will not be able to tap into the true meaning of life….

As Jesus said in John 4: 13, ‘ Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks from the water I give will never thirst again. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life’....

And there is only ONE fountain of life who is able to give us eternal fulfilment. A sense of completeness and wholeness in Him..

My simple prayer, ‘

‘Forgive me, Lord for walking my own road,
This life is Yours, Your kingdom come,
Your will be done,
Now and Forever,
And I Surrender’

As I began to surrender, little things which used to ‘ tick’ me off, suddenly doesn’t seem important anymore, the fact that there isn’t anything to do on Saturday morning after a hard week at work, or my main dream of coming to Australia is to travel to as many places as how I used to be in Auckland, and I haven’t even been to all the places in Adelaide, or getting upset or offended with people, all this doesn’t seem to be as important anymore…..

Hence, stepping into the year 2008, it is my commitment to keep Him my priority in everything that I do, and to ‘avail’ myself to Him not because of what He can do, but what Jesus has done in the cross and my wish is that all of u will join alongside me in this journey….

My encouragement is ( to myself and to everyone ) is to dig deep to the core, do not settle for a mediocre life or live a half hearted life because He wants us to live a life which is FULL……and what a great start to this year, by committing ‘I’m all Yours and I surrender ‘………..

Living in a year of new beginnings

2008-01-15T08:36:00.000+10:30

Hey everyone!

We in Adelaide are looking forward to seat down together as a connect group again!!

As everything begins to kick up & build momentum, I challenge you to ask yourself, would you be a disciple this year?

Many want the rewards of a disciple, but few count the cost & are willing to lay down everything they have, lay down themselves & be a follower of Christ. A follower of His teachings, a follower of His heart not part of His teaching & arguing about grey areas, not follower base on convienience, but truly a whatever-it-takes Lord & an abandonment spirit & attitude.

Let us approach this year determine to grow individually as disciples of Christ & make disciples. Let us not be pacifiers to one another, let us keep pushing boundaries in our personal life & corporate too as young adults, to not develop a poverty mentality but be passionate, teachable, desperately hungry disciples of GOD who WILL breakthrough, who WILL praise, who WILL give up our rights for Kingdom purposes.

I look forward to journeying & growing this year with you...

How often each of you individually go to your sacred place with God, how much you grow in revelation will determine the level of breakthrough in the connect group & Accelerate.

Updates with Accelerate

2008-01-10T08:40:00.000+10:30

Hello? Hello?
Has anyone dropped in for a visit?

Updates for Accelerate 2008!!

Accelerate will be held every Wednesday from 8pm to 9.30pm. Its EVERY Wednesday!!!

Once every 6 weeks (on a Friday night), we will have a youth rally where Stoomp, Boost & Accelerate will get together for an awesome time of fellowship, praise & worship & listening to the Word of God.

Once every 4 weeks, Accelerate will have a social night.

Connect group will run once a month, suburb based.

As leaders we are heaps excited at what God has in stall for Accelerate. Accelerate has suffer quite a bit in the last year from a lack of vision & life in the sessions, but this year we are ready to rock & roll & building a young adult ministry where people can be discipled & the atmosphere is uplifting, & there is value attached (excellence) to all we do where we do not have programs for programs sake. We are really hungry to see God move powerfully in our meetings & I ask that you prepare your hearts, come back to Adelaide or prepare to step into February with such a level of faith & expectancy, partnering with your leaders to build the vision that God has given us.

The realisation that not much focus has been given to young adults is not only an Edge thing, but GOD has been speaking to youth ministry across Australia too, & in April 2009 in Melbourne, PlanetShakers conference's focus will be enlarged to reach & cater for young adults too, not just youth.

So come alongside your leaders, with all you have to offer, all that God has made you to be & together we can make a difference in our circle of influence & most importantly, disciple a next generation of leaders by first being a PASSIONATE disciple of Christ with a whatever-it-takes heart attitude living a daily life of abandonment for Christ, the greatest lover of all time!

2007-11-30T11:36:00.000+10:30

Hi Everyone!

Its awesome to know you have been returning to visit the connect group blog.

Guess what, you dont have to wait for me to roster someone to share :o) When God reveals something to you during your devotion or anything at all that you learn during the week, feel free to write an entry!

Some updates:

Connect group will be run base on suburbs & we are commencing a Justice project where our young adults will be involve in serving our community every once a month - ie. cleaning or renovating a single mum's home.

It will be Pastor Jason & Kym's second last week in church as they prepare to head off to Bristol. Do keep them in your prayers.

Pastor Jonathan has invited the church to pray and fast with him for 21 days as God leads us into a new season. This is the 2nd week where we meet up at 7.30am on Sunday morning to pray.

I strongly encourage you to be purposeful & prayerful as we draw near to the end of the year as to what God has to say to you for 2008.

Its going to be a really exciting season in the life of the church & as daughters of the House, lets be involved & align ourselves with what God is saying. Lets seek His heart for 2008. I know as God speaks to our leaders, often He will be speaking the same things to us if & when we seek Him. Lets not wait till we step into the new year & when face with circumstances than we decide what our priorities, where our commitments will be. Instead, lets move forward with vision, asking that God open our spiritual eyes to see! Lets decide that next year we will be committed on the journey, passionate about our King, laying down our own desires, own needs & want, trusting in Him & moving forward as young adults of the church.

So do pray, & better still, begin & end the year with a fast as a sign of surrendering your life to HIs leading.

And when God gives you a word, a direction or anything at all for next year, share it with the rest of us. Nothing is too short, too small, or too long winded to share!

Keep praying for our leaders & church as we step into what is the most significant & huge transistion of church life.

Come back expectant, refreshed & ready to be stretched & enlarged!

Keeping you gals in prayer.

Love,
Winnie

Forgiven Much

2007-11-15T01:26:00.000+10:30

Very often we’ve done in “personality” surveys asking are you a rule keeper or a rule breaker? What is your answer?

Some of us like to deviate from the norm at times, but I guess most of us would say that we keep the rules as best as we can. All through our lives we’ve been asked to follow the rules, be a good student, be a law abiding citizen. I would say that for myself as well. What good would it do if we break the rules? God definitely wants us to keep the rules. He’s the one that gave the 10 commandments! Of course we can never keep all of them but, at least I won’t cheat in an exam, I try not to gossip about people, I do the right thing as best as I can. To me it is easier to live my life with a set of Do’s and don’ts, I like rules! Whilst many might praise me and say that I know my convictions. But what is my real motivation?

I realised that being law abiding, being “Christian” and doing all the right things can arise out of a heart of self centeredness. Pride. It may seem like I’m a goody Christian but in actual fact, sadly at times the motivation is to look good in front of others. My Christianity has been governed by “rule keeping old testament laws” as a preacher says.

The Pharisees and religious leaders in the bible had no problem following the rules but if u noticed, Jesus always had a go at them. Why? I mean they are the ones that are following the rules, what’s wrong with that?

Following the rules is a definite must but living for it alone is NOT.

Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. (Luke 7 :36-38)

I’ve read this incident many times and always thought whether that woman was actually trying to curry favour Jesus or something. I tried to imagine taking my CK One Summer perfume and pouring it on Jesus, its crazy man! Does she have to be so exaggerated in crying and wiping his feet with her tears thereafter pouring that expensive perfume?
What made her do that??

If we look at this passage in context, Jesus was having a meal at the house of Simon the Pharisee; around him were other Pharisees and high ranking people of that place. In those days, these kinds of meals are taken in an open space where the public is able to have full view of and even stand around the parameters of the place. This prostitute just walked into that intimidating environment in front of all the Pharisees and with her alabaster box poured out all that she had in worship to Christ.

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner."(Luke 7:39)

In the above verse, its funny how that Pharisee calls that woman a sinner. It just shows that he probably thought that he wasn’t. Jesus then addressed his problem in the verses below.

Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."
(Luke 7: 44-47)

The woman worshipped Jesus with her all, because she knows she has been forgiven much and Jesus was trying to say that Simon did not worship him because he didn’t think that he needed to be forgiven.

Its really true how we live our lives taking Christ sacrifice on the cross for granted, we don’t think that we need to be forgiven of much coz we didn’t sin much. May it never be. We’ve been born in sin but he took the initiative to reconcile that relationship. Lets continue to ask the Lord to help us to be grateful for what he has done.

Doing good works and following the rules should come from the inside out, a heart that is devoted to the Lord and out of love for him

Much Love

Sarah

CONNECT GROUP FINALE

2007-11-14T09:24:00.000+10:30

Hi everyone!!

A quick reminder, we will be having our last connect group for the year this Sunday!

I have booked table for 10 at the Argentinian restaurant for dinner @ 7.30pm.

After service in the morning, we will be spending time sharing our personal thanksgiving items for the year. Everyone will have a chance to share, come prepared :o)

Following the sharing, you will be receiving an early Christmas prezzie!!

Papers will than be handed out to everyone where you will write your name on it and pass it around for everyone to write a note of encouragement or anything they want to say to you.

Come eager to bless one another!

I'll see you on Sunday!

If any of you have ideas like going to a picnic or somewhere special for lunch let me know.

Please pass this information to Jebbrine and Suying.

Love,
Winnie

my sharing

2007-11-09T17:20:00.000+10:30

A lot of times we determine our emotions depending on the good and bad circumstances in our life. And due to that, we chase after little personal goals in hope that it might improve our situation. When we fail to get what we want we will naturally feel down about it, and at times when circumstances don’t turn out the way we wanted, we tend to look at \the negatives and complain about it. Has anyone ever shared this experience with me?

Ecclesiastes 5:19,20
Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work- this is a gift of God. He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.

This was what came to my mind last Sunday (yes, when I was caught flipping my bible).

When Ps JF talked about being low in confidence, I thought it was so true that more often than not, we look for happiness through temporary and superficial means be it better grades, praises from others, better things… and although we try our very hardest, sometimes we may or may not succeed and our emotions will then sway according to it. More often than not we pray for ‘things’ or for ‘better situations’ because we think that that is good for us.

From reading the book of Ecclesiastes, I’ve come to realise that happiness is actually truly from God. We can have the best grades, the best things and the best income and still not be happy. Why? Because it is God who allows us to be happy with what we have. Wealth and possessions are from Him but so is happiness. This is His gift to us.

I also thought then about the things we cannot change and the ‘bad’ situation that we are already in (eg. if we ALREADY have a disease or a misfortune). What is the next step then?

When that verse came to me, I realised that when we pray and ask God for His promise, we also can ask God to give us happiness. To allow us to accept and enjoy what He has already given us, to understand that joy and happiness comes only from Him. When we surrender our circumstances and situation into His hands to focus on Him, that’s when God will fill our hearts with gladness.

Chelsie

The call

2007-10-30T23:05:00.000+10:30

1 Kings 19:19-21

'So Elijah went and found Elisha son of Shaphat plowing a field with a team of oxen. There were elven teams of oxen ahead of him, and he was plowing with the twelfth team. Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak across his shoulders and walked away again.
Elisha left the oxen standing there, ran after Elijah, and said to him, "First let me go and kiss my father and mother good-bye, and then I will go with you!" Elijah replied, "Go on back! But consider what I have done to you."
Elisha then returned to his oxen, killed them, and used the wood from the plow to build a fire to roast their flesh. He passed around the meat to the other plowmen, and they all ate. Then he went with Elijah as his assistant.'

When I first read this passage, I was perplexed. The reason being is that I could not comprehend HOW Elisha knew what Elijah meant when he threw his cloak over his shoulders. I can imagine that if it were me, I would've said either one of the following:

HUH??!
Do I look like a coat hanger to you?!
Just because your cloak is out of fashion and you want to get rid of it, doesn't mean that you can simply dump it on other people!!
Do I LOOK like I need your stinky, old cloak?!

Hmmm....anyways whilst feeling very unsatisfied and annoyed that Elijah was such a rude dude, a couple of things came to my mind.

MAYBE Elisha knew Elijah by reputation and that he was in need of an assistant.

MAYBE that was the old-fashioned way of hiring people (Thank God it's no longer in use!).

MAYBE Elisha already knew a long time ago the purpose and destiny that was in store for him and was just waiting for a sign from God.

The fact is, Elisha RECOGNIZED the call on his life. He KNEW what the coat symbolized.

Do you know what the call of God is on your life? Will you recognize it when the time comes? Or will you push it away and think that it's just a junky, old cloak?

The second thing that got to me was the way Elisha was so WILLING to follow Elijah. He was prepared to LEAVE his family behind, knowing that he might not see them ever again! He was going to do it with no questions asked. He probably didn't even fully comprehend what he was getting himself into by becoming Elijah's assistant. But regardless of the circumstances, he still RESPONDED to the call. It didn't matter what the future held, wild horses wouldn't stop him from going.

If you do recognize the call on your life, will you respond like Elisha? Will you be willing to forsake EVERYTHING for something that you are uncertain of? Will you be able to TRUST that that is the circle of influence that has been so lovingly prepared and set aside for you? Or will you step back and make excuses?

Hope I made sense :)

Love,

Stephanie

Why…GOD?

2007-10-24T12:16:00.000+09:30

Many times as I travel along in the walk of life, scattered thoughts and doubts never fail to strike on me. The reasoning behind may be the truth, sometimes it is so simple, yet my human nature keeps me from revealing my real identity and the purpose behind every brokenness. At times like this, our heavenly Father reminded me that He is the answer to everything and His answers are always perfect. I ask Him…

Why do I have to go through trials of mountains GOD?
For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing (James 1:3-4).

Yes Lord, you are molding me to be Christ like through challenges. I have to learn to be an over comer with the strength in you to have a perfect life.

Why is it so hard to be contented with life GOD?
I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength (Philippians 4:12-13).

Yes Father, I should learn to be content with what you’ve given me and appreciate these gifts for being content does not mean everything is perfect, it means I have to see beyond the imperfections.

Why am I not given for what I’ve pray for GOD?
But those who wait on the Lord will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:31).

Yes Jesus, I should wait on you because only you know when the perfect timing is. I may not be able to handle the things I pray for because I may not be ready for it yet. I should be patient.

Why do I have to obey and listen to you GOD?
I am the Lord your God, who teaches what is good for you and lead you along the paths you should follow. Oh, that you had listened to my commands! Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea (Isaiah 48: 17-18)

Yes my Creator King, you are my beginning and the end. You know what is best for me; you hold me in your arms like a precious gift and guard me from every storm. How can I not listen and doubt your power?

Lastly, I’ll end with a short encouragement to all of you.

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD
Painful moments, TRUST GOD
Every moment, THANK GOD!

Bless you heaps and remember that our everlasting citizenship is in heaven.

Love always, Michelle

4 wives

2007-10-24T12:09:00.000+09:30

I came across a forwarded mail which I find it so true and I often been trapped by things that may not have eternal values.

Once upon a time there was a rich King who had four wives. He loved the 4th wife the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to the finest of delicacies. He gave her nothing but the best.

He also loved the 3rd wife very much and was always showing her off to neighboring kingdoms. However, he feared that one day she would leave him for another.

He also loved his 2nd wife. She was his confidant and was always kind, considerate and patient with him. Whenever the King faced a problem, he could confide in her, and she would help him get through the difficult times.

The King's 1st wife was a very loyal partner and had made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and kingdom. However, he did not love the first wife. Although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her!

One day, the King fell ill and he knew his time was short. He thought of his luxurious life and wondered, I now have four wives with me, but when I die, I'll be all alone.'

Thus, he asked the 4th wife, 'I loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?' 'No way!’ replied the 4th wife, and she walked away without another word. Her answer cut like a sharp knife right into his heart.

The sad King then asked the 3rd wife, 'I loved you all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?' 'No!', replied the 3rd wife. 'Life is too good! When you die, I'm going to remarry!' His heart sank and turned cold.

He then asked the 2nd wife, 'I have always turned to you for help and you've always been there for me. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?' 'I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!', replied the 2nd wife. 'At the very most, I can only walk with you to your grave.' Her answer struck him like a bolt of lightning, and the King was devastated.

Then a voice called out: 'I'll go with you. I'll follow you no matter where you go.'The King looked up, and there was his first wife. She was very skinny as she suffered from malnutrition and neglect. Greatly grieved, the King said, 'I should have taken much better care of you when I had the chance!'

In truth, we all have the 4 wives in our lives:

Our 4th wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look good, it will leave us when we die.

Our 3rd wife is our possessions, status and wealth. When we die, it will all go to others.

Our 2nd wife is our family and friends. No matter how much they have been there for us, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave.

And our 1st wife is our Soul. Often neglected in pursuit of wealth, power, ego and pleasures of the world. However, our Soul is the only thing that will follow us wherever we go and throughout Eternity. Today's grace is to cultivate, strengthen and cherish it now. .

But from there you will search again for the Lord your God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him (Deuteronomy 4:29). God is love and peace, he know we as humans will be easily bonded by false possessions. Therefore, he asks us to search for him with all our hearts and SOUL, with that we will find love and peace which can be feed to our soul and last forever.

This may just be a story, but it truly awakens me as I reflect how often I place my soul as the priority. I thought for a while what can I do by placing the soul as priority. It was not long until I realised that its nothing else but to build his kingdom. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and He will give you everything you need (Luke 12:31) His kingdom is everlasting, my soul is everlasting too. By building God’s kingdom, my soul will be nourished and everything that I need in my life will come along after that for my life will be the evidence of his promise.

May you all be blessed!

Love,

Michelle

Turn on The light, O lord .....

2007-10-15T22:16:00.000+09:30

Warm greetings to Mother of All Princesses, My fellow Precious Princesses ( for those yet to find their identity ) and not forgetting the Faithful “ Connecter’s Blog “ followers .........

Lo and Behold, the time has come for the ‘Forgiving and Gracious one’( athough some may beg to differ albeit my endless assurance that it is the truth ) to humbly carry this ark of honour to pen down a few words in this highly acclaimed and anointed ‘Connecters ‘ blog. As I sat , pondered and reflected, there isn’t any rocket science ‘enlightenment’ that I wish to share, but instead just to stand in awe of the simple truth and gentle reminder of our First Love .......

A glimpse into the deepest and darkest closet of the humbled Author ........

Past weeks had been a roller coaster journey, sweet memories of mountaintop experiences but yet in the next blink of an eye, the valleys of emotions, confusion and negative thoughts came gushing through. Time and again, in those weakest moments, part of my soul screamed out aloud in frustration, in anger and in despair but yet in the midst of the storm and thunder I barely listened to a whisper .....’ Whose voice am I going to choose to listen to? my emotions or His Truth, my thoughts or His Promises , my reasoning or His Will and Purpose.

As I stumbled through this, I wondered at time .... What have I done, How am I going to carry through, Why the pain .....At one point, I chose not to see the reality. Unconsciously, I developed a defense mechanism to block my pain, suppress my emotions, became withdrawn and passive, turned into a perfectionist to drive myself to succeed in other things to enable me to feel good / worth......I remembered it was my prayer before to search within me, to examine my heart but I came to realize that I was actually refusing to look honestly within for fear of what I’ll find. And the fear of even if I do find, I wouldn’t know how to go about it ......

But I thank God that we have a God who does not want us to have a superficial relationship with Him and also with others. He desires truth and honesty at the deepest level so that we can experience His love, forgiveness, grace and mercy…… And what struck me most is to experience His love does not mean I have to be perfect or spotless in my emotions or thoughts, but to simply be real, feeling pain and happiness, love and frustration, confidence and confusion ....

I was reading about King David and how he was also being honest in expressing his response to different situations .....

1)Anger when abandoned
I say to God my Rock, “ Why have you forgotten me ? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy ? Ps 42 :9

2)Despair in difficult situations
My heart is in anguish within me, fear and trembling has beset me. Horror has overwhelmed me. Ps 55 : 4-7

3)Confused
How long O lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart. Ps 13: 1-2

4)His love
As the deer pants for water, my soul pants for you.

5)Trust in Him
Lord is my light and my salvation .....Whom shall I fear? The Lord is my stronghold. Whom shall I be afraid? Ps 27 :1-3

I thank God that we have a God who delights in us being honest with Him, so that His Holy Spirit can turn on the light within us. A light that will bring transformation from ordinary to the extraordinary. To be an OVER COMER !!!!!!

As I come to a close, I would like to leave this short note which I was blessed ( as an encouragement or challenge ) to all my beloved fellow princesses .....

By little bits of wills,

Little denials of self,

Little inward victories,

By faithfulness in very little things,

With these ‘ unseen ‘ hidden little steps you take everyday,

There is no sudden triumph,

No ( sudden ) spiritual maturity,

Concentrate on obedience, not perfection ........

Goal of Perfection shows how far I have to go, but OBEDIENCE marks how far I have already come.

“ Search me, O God, and know my heart, test me and know every anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting...............” Ps 139 :23-24.

Bless you,

Kareeann

Forgiving and Gracious .....:)

2007-10-09T21:47:00.000+09:30

How are my Gorgeous Champions doing this week?

I'm sorry I had to miss out on yet another Sunday with u gals. Just 1 week short of a month of enjoying time with you.

I was carrying a word through the week to challenge and encourage you as well as get us praying for one another again, corporately and purposefully.

All of which without doubt I know Sarah would have done and excellent & outstanding job in facilitating not just on Sunday but for the last 3 weeks! *applaud* U r a legend mate!

Dont you like it that now we have praise & worship as we read through blog our connect group blog entries, esp when one posted by me which tend to be of a considerable length.

I've specifically chosen these 3 songs for us. Listen to the lyrics, may it encourage you to lift your eyes to God.

(ok, thats not exactly what I wanted to share, yes, but later...)

Here's an extract from Ps. Jack Hayford's book 'Worship His Majesty'. Beside Darlene Czech, Ps Jack is my other favourite...

See, I wanted to challenge you on living a lifestyle of worship.

Yes you, not some other girl in the group, but you & I'm speaking to myself to0 as these few weeks have been one of the toughest in the year probably in terms of personal struggle, carrying a spirit of defeat & weariness from constantly taking new grounds with what God has shown me in the Spirit (another whole new story).

But living a lifestyle of a worshipper DAILY is not to be dictated, driven, or flow as a consequence of our circumstances, seasons in life, emotions, valleys or mountain top experiences.

Defining Worship:
The word 'worship' is derived from the old English weorthscipe and means to ascribe worth unto a being or object.

Whatever you value most highly or place the greatest worth upon that is what you worship.

Right now, in these past weeks, what have you place of highest value in your life? Where is ur heart tuned towards? Its a daily choice.

You Become Like the God You Worship (p7-9)
Psalm 115:4-8 is one of the most insightful passages on the subject of worship found anywhere in the Bible:

Their idols are silver and gold,
The work of men's hands.
They have mouths, but they do not speak
Eyes they have, but they do not see;
They have ears, but they do not hear;
Noses they have, but they do not smell;
They have hands, but they do not handle;
Feel they have, but they do not walk;
Nor do they mutter through their throar.
Those who make them are like them;
So is everyone who trusts in them.

In this passage, the psalmist describes idolatry and the inadequacy of the false gods worshiped by the heathen. then he makes a very important observation: Those who make idols are like them, and so is everyone who trusts in them. In other words, you shall become like the god you worship.

Let me say that again because this point cannot be overemphasised: You become like the god you worship.

So girls, have you given your heart, your mind, your time to acknowledging something or allowing something to drive your each-day?

The act of worship means you are developing a set of values; you are determining what you desire most. Worship means you are choosing priorities; you are establishing what comes first in your life. Worship means you are determining what you are to become; you are choosing in whose image you will be made.

Just as God created man and woman in His image, the gods we choose to worship manifest their attributes in the worshiper. So in deciding what or whom to worship, you are making life decisions regarding your values, your priorities and how you are to live.

Your worship will determine what flows from you life. Humankind's highest attainment comes through glorifying God who is worthy of all glory. Some may find temporal glory in their works or pursuits, but that kind of glory fades. Some may even be remembered beyond their lifetimes for achievements in the arts, the sciences or sporting events. But all the accolades, all the medals, all the records books, all the social fame, will mean absolutely nothing when we stand before the judgement seat of Christ.

But those who worship the Lord - looking to the unseen rather than to the seen as we go through our present trials - will find what Paul calls an "eternal weight of glory" working in their lives (2 Corinthians 4:17). Those will possess a glory that endures.

What do You Worship?
So you can see that some very significant issues are raised by how you worship. Have you determined where you are going to bow? By bowing I don't just mean a physical posture but a stance of the soul. Whom do you seek? What do you pursue? To whom or what do you submit? The goal that you press toward - the object of your worship - will be the guiding force of your life.

...

God reveals Himself to those who bow before Him and seek Him. If you truly worship Him with all your heart, you will find Him. Then when you discover what He's really like, glorifying Him will be the only natural response. Worship will lead you along that path.

So who or what do you seek & pursue daily?

Think generations...

In each of u lies a generation...

What we allow to breed now & take root now, we cant be naive to think or say things like once my X circumstance change, than things would be different.

When you make the choice and allow God to be dethrone by something, someone, etc etc, anything else in life can come along the way and your priorities, lordship of your life will be swayed, will be surrendered and you will always be living in hindsight not foresight.

Your generations, both spiritual and physical will fight to fight those battles you lost instead of having a home, sisters, mothers, leaders who have set them up to win by having laid their lives down in worship daily.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Isaiah 40:28:31
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary.

His understanding is unsearachable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.

Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Lay hold of the promises of God gals! Take it, meditate on it, claim it, walk around your room proclaiming the Word of God.

In your weeks of stretching, where u just feel like u are tired but cant stop running, and desperately counting down to 'freedom' or holidays, don't retreat, don't give up, stay standing.

Dont hand over as freebies the grounds you & your King have conquered in the year.

Each of you,

* Chelsie & Steph, God has placed both of you in my heart quite abit in the past 2 weeks. I want to share with you a simple word, God sees, God hears, don't give up pressing in. You dont have to strive with your own strength, He will carry you through.

Chelsie * - Chelsie, look heavenwards. His unconditional love for you knows no limit.

Stephanie * - Steph, u have tasted of His goodness, of His miracles in your life as u lead it in abandonment - now, trust. God is as trustworthy as He was then, never out of control, never less generous.

Su Chuen

Michelle

Jasmine

Kareeann

Sarah

have grown in your walk with God this year, from where you were at the beginning of the year.

With your King, you had breakthroughs, moments of joy & tears, intimate moments, personal encounters, revelations in your sacred place & time with Him, so don't hand your gems over to the many gods who take the form of coming or current stress of exam / assignments preparation or busy schedules & let them be god, not even for one day!

Arm yourself, guard your heart.

Take the time, even if its short 10 mins whenever you can throughout the day to pause, and acknowledge His presence, give thanks, pray, praise, worship.

As we worship and in so doing make declarations from His Living Word, we are declaring His Lordship over our lives, our emotions, our situations. As we decrease, He increases. As we decrease, He increases. As He increases, our fears & anxiety, stress, pms, whatever you can come up with, decreases.

So please, I urge you, give leadership to your own life, be accountable to your prayer buddy if you need, take at least 10 mins away from your books, your assignments, your daily work, routine, whatever, and stop thinking about all of it, quiet your soul - with childlike simplicity open your heart to God & lend Your heart to His voice.

You see, God is Ominpresent. He is always with you. Why at times we feel the presence of God more than others, because people come acknolwedging the presence of God. Thats why when we get too busy & bog down, we start to say things like why I don't feel the presence of God as I used to etc etc. See, God hasn't change, not yesterday, not in the future, not today. He is not a ghost that comes and goes. What changes is our hearts & our minds & our willingness to pause.

Do we possess an equal hunger and passion, if not more each day, for His presence? Do we seek after Him with an undivided heart daily?

You see, its not just, 'Yep, i know you are here God, yep, thank you Lord' and than pray before meals, and than flick through your Bible minutes before going into lala land & start a prayer and wake up to say amen, but are we in reverent awe (remember what we learnt from John Bevere on Fear of the Lord) & with a surrendered heart (raised hands, face down - not necessary meaning only physically) acknowledging the sense and wonder of His MAJESTY.

You dont have to live in yester-day, you dont have to strive, but today, daily, each moment, God is there, He wants to give you rest, refresh you, strengthen you, empower you to excel in your day for He is your Strength, Your Deliverer, Your Portion, Your Shield, Your Comfort. He will carry you through as you rest in His love. Oh, & the best thing about being in His presence, He gives the best hugs!

Love you heaps,

You are Women of Purpose & Destiny! I sooo believe in each of you & what God is going to continue to do in you & through you!

Keeping you in prayers...

Connect Group this Saturday

2007-10-02T08:08:00.000+09:30

Hey Gals.

It feels like ages since i have caught up with all of you!
The photos look great!

I've been reflecting on how good God has been to us this year, uniting and drawing us closer to Him & with one another.

I know we are drawing an end of the year and exams are coming up etc. but God hasn't finish with each of us and/or the group. He has been revealing to me things to step forward in as we continue on this journey together. :o) Let us not allow Him to be displace or become a genie during exams / busy schedules and seek His face, read His Word, spend time in His presence only for help.

We will not have our weekly Saturday gatherings from November in order for you to be able to give your best to your studies.

Before breaking away for summer vacation, lets have a end-of-exam celebration and farewell for the year! It will either be on the Sat, 17 Nov (depending on what time Sarah & Mich's exam finishes) or Sunday, 18 Nov.

I am aware that it doesn't seem likely we will complete the Draw Near series. On one hand I would love to complete it but at the same time, I don't want us to rush through it for the sake of having to finish it.

For this Saturday, we will be assisting in the hospital renovation. Lets get on board with what our Family is doing to reach out to the community.

The 'why' behind participating shouldn't be any different from that of coming to connect group. After being fed weekly on Sundays, during discipleship and in our own quiet time with God, let us step out now to make a difference :o)

It will be fun to get our hands dirty together, get to meet & serve alongside others.

It would also be a great opportunity to invite your friends along! As you know, yet-to-be christians may not respond that well to coming for a church service, but some wouldn't mind or would like to be part of 'doing' something. It would be a great opportunity for them to meet others in a non-threatening environment.

To assist the Church in facilitating this huge project, can you please get back to me if you are not able to make it? Also, I would need the names of your friends who would love to come and help as well. Food will be provided.

If I dont hear from you, I will assume that everyone will be coming along just like if we were to be watching a Draw Near DVD.

There are 4 shifts on Saturday. As Connect Group normally starts at 4pm, we will go for the 4pm shift. We have to be there at 3.30pm for a half an hour induction. And though the shift completes at 10pm, its is perfectly fine to leave earlier. I have spoken to the person-in-charge, and say we would leave around 7pm. We will go for dinner and have an early night rest.

Look forward to seeing you tomorrow at GenFest!

Lets Get Ready For...............

2007-09-27T18:00:00.000+09:30

Its finally here!
There will be no connect group this saturday but instead we'll go for the night sessions of GenFest!

Mike Goug,Cam Benett and Matt Garner
are the speakers for this event.

Lets all be diligent in our sch work the rest of this week so that we'll be able to go for it. Steady?!

Dun forget to invite your frens to come along as well :)

Ps: Post any queries on the tagboard

discipleship

2007-09-25T14:01:00.000+09:30

What is discipleship in the world's perspective as compared to God's perspective? Is it a term that we ourselves may have used too loosely nowadays? As I reflected, I asked myself this question,

"Can I call myself a disciple or follower of Christ?"

I really wante to share with all of you gals this devotion of mine. I pray that may God bring clarity and understanding into your hearts as you read on.

Last weekend, when Sarah asked us if we ever had a distorted image of God, I never really pondered on the question not till I was doing my devotion yesterday. As I look back 3 years ago when I first gave my life to Christ, I reflected on what I have done with my salvation. The honest answer was NOTHING. I could justify that I was a new christian and my focus was to grow at that time. But really, I can say with all honesty, nothing. It was a sobering thought that all the 3 years, I thought I knew worship, purpose and everything else, my works...it was all nothing. It dawned on me that I never really captured the meaning of worship, everything that I've learnt, I really cannot say for sure that I truly understood or had a revelation of it. I am not douting my salvation but rathersomething was amiss in those 3 years. It was good fellowship, learning, being fed but there was not outworking in my life.

But I thank God that He has taught me so much this year. He has teared down and rebuilt my foundation from scratch. I vividly remember the LORD dropped into my heart this question last year.

"What if one day everything you once knew was different? Would you still trust in me?"

I did not fully comprehend the meaning not till recently. The past few months particularly in the recent few weeks, I am determined to be a true disciple of Christ.

"Not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven." (Matt 7:21)

"Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me" (Mark 8: 34)

4 main things I wanted to share are these.

1. Scripture
2. Sacrifice (Salvation)
3. Sanctification
4. Submission

God reminded me again and again, the power of His WORD. We all know that His word is sharper than any two double edge sword which divides the spirit and the soul. His word is eternal and will never fade away though heaven and earth may fade away. His word guides us and is like a lamp unto our feet and light for our path. This is His Scriptural truth. We were called to worship Him in spirit and in truth. The truth lies in us obeying all His commandments and not just mere declaration.

His Word was made flesh (Jesus). And this God reminded me the power of His BLOOD, that was shed on the cross for each one of us. His blood which justifies us to be His children, coheirs with Christ. His blood which washes us and cleanses us.

What can wash away my sin,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole again
Nothing but the blood of Jesus. (adapted from the song by Brooke Fraser)

Do you truly believe this gals? That His work was finished on that cross. His blood brings new life in us. =)

The power of the heart was something that struck me when I was reading gospel of Matthew after the beatitudes. The first thing that Jesus spoke was on heart conditions. I asked myself.."Of all things that He could start saying, He started by teaching on the heart issues, why?" And the LORD showed me that it was firstly, Jesus was the Son of God and He knew the Father's heart. He knew that since the fall of Adam and Eve, the heart issue has always been the thing that hinders true worship or intimacy with God . This deals with our fear of the LORD (John Bevere series) and our obedience to His word. For defilement, and the power to choose and obey His commandments comes from within our hearts. So God has always been teaching His people to deal with heart issues.

The word "sanctification" came to me one morning and when I did my devotion, there was a verse which challenged me. What were the words on my mouth and what was the meditation of my heart. Sanctification is not only in the Spirit. When Jesus died for us, He sanctified us in spirit with his blood. However, sactification is also necessary in our heart and words. Nothing is compartmentalized. It is something that I needed to learn too. Our attitude and approach towards things is also a heart condition. For example, does the words I speak reflect His character? But I thank God that by His grace and the Holy Spirit, he teaches us his way of life. In his word, God reminds us to think of things which are true, noble, just, pure, or lovely (Phillipians 4:8). And also to let words of edification come out from our mouths and to guard our tongue or words.

From the heart also comes the power of submission. This refers to our obedience to His spoken and written word. To take up our cross daily, to submit to His lordship. The final bit that I had a revelation on was this.

"Why were we saved?"

Without a doubt, because God loves us. But more than that, it was for a purpose. For His purpose.. for good works. That we may be used by Him as vessels of righteouesness. This is the outworking of our salvation. And really, all these that I've just said is part of our worship to Him. It is definitely more than a song.

Have a blessed day.
Jasmine

This week in Connect Group..

2007-09-19T23:40:00.000+09:30

After a loooong long time, Connect Group is back again!!I can't wait as we come together to learn from one another thru sharing as well as receive the word of the Lord thru John Bevere!

This week's Connect group will be at...

THE VILLAGE!
4pm
RSVP : Sarah (0423063264)

We'll be doing 2 sessions of Draw Near! woohoo!
Please read chapters 7 and 8

Here are the discussion questions for this week :)
You can choose to answer one or ALL the questions

1)As you look back at your life far, did you have a distorted /wrong mindset what who God is? What was it?

2)What do you find difficult to obey God in? / In which situation do you find it hard to obey God?

3)What changes do you think you need to make in your life to be obedient to God?

We'll also be attempting to make AB Yiros for dinner! (Winnie,we'll TRY to save some for you..)
We're planning to go marketing on friday evening..so if u can come come!

Let's come with expectant hearts to receive and give our all to the Lord as we praise and worship thru songs!

2007-09-18T17:34:00.001+09:30

Hi Gals!

I will not be able to join you for connect group the next 2 weeks. However, there will see be connect group on Saturdays and we will be covering 2 lessons of Draw Near per week.

Sarah will fill you in on more details.

When I return, I would like us to share and discuss our experience at Edge Conference and watched a message preached by Ps Steve Kelley.

The closing date for dicount in registration of next year's Colour Conference (Hillsong Women) is 30 September.

Please go to Hillsong website for further details and if you are interested to come along with me and Kareeann, pass your registration money to her this Sunday. That would be great!

The Power of Choice

2007-09-07T07:47:00.000+09:30

Hi all, looks like the baton has come full circle and once again fallen on my able (or unable?) hands. Today I will be sharing about the power of choice, something I believe God has been speaking to me about through my times of prayer and reflection.

So, what is choice? Dictionary.com lists about 8 different meanings of the word choice, all I believe, culminating in one ultimate meaning : the right, power or opportunity to choose. Now I'd just like to highlight the the words "right" and "power" because all too often some of us forget that one of the first gifts that God presented to us as His creations was the Power of Choice.

Genesis 2:15 And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die"

From the very beginning, man was given the choice to make his own decisions, knowing that every choice and decision that he makes has a consequence. It is not any different in this day and age. We still have the power of choice as did Adam to choose to

-love the unloved
-live lives that are set apart.
-build solid convictions that are unshaken by the world and all it has to offer

to name a few. In fact, I'd even go so far as to say that this is one of the few things that God has openly declared we have power over. Recent events in the life of the church and the people around of us have made it clear that we have no power whatsoever over the things that happen in our lives and that of the people around us. However, one thing's for sure, hard as it may be, the grace of God has enabled us to say this day

"I choose to trust in God who is faithful"
"I choose to praise God despite my circumstances"

or even more simple things like

"I choose to wake up early for church despite feeling tired"
"I choose to love this person despite the fact that he/she is clearly hard to love"

I'm not saying that merely declaring these will change the things in and around us. What I'm saying is that by taking the step of faith to declare "I CHOOSE..." we are opening our hearts and humbling ourselves before God with an attitude that says "Lord, I don't feel like it but today I CHOOSE..". And what I've found over the past few weeks is that as I continue declaring what I choose to feel and do, the Holy Spirit begins to work wonders in my spirit and after some time my "I CHOOSE" starts becoming "I DESIRE" and on one or two occasions it has actually become "I LOVE TO.."

Our very walk with God today is a direct result of a choice we made to give our lives to Christ. Let's not forget that the power of choice is still very much ours today as it was in the days of Adam. Feelings and emotions are subjective. Choosing today to allow the Holy Spirit to work through us through the choices that we consciously make will ensure that we don't live like the reeds in the sea, easily swayed by things that are not of God. I have learnt some costly lessons in the area of not fully using the power of choice that God has so generously given to me, and my prayer is that God will continue to strengthen me as I choose this day to make Godly choices that will reflect that Holy Spirit in me as He will in all of you.

Love y'all,

Chuen

Connect Group on Sunday

2007-09-05T11:40:00.001+09:30

Hey everyone,

Since we are not gathering on Saturday, please make yourself available for lunch on Sunday. I'm trying to arrange transport to fit all of us and we will probably go somewhere different for lunch instead of heading back to Chinatown.

No Connect Group this Saturday

2007-09-04T16:58:00.001+09:30

Connect Group will resume on 22 September 2007.

We will cover 2 lessons on each of the Saturday till the end of October to ensure that we will complete the Draw Near series.

Please read the next 2 chapter for 22 September.

Take the opporunity this Saturday to rest well, finish up assignments due next week or attend to things that needs to be completed straight after conference.

Sarah's friends will be joining us for service this Sunday. If you havent had a chance to meet them last week, do make them feel comfortable. We might have another girl coming with us too, she has yet to know God and is from China. She will either be with us for 11am service or 5pm service.

Prepare your hearts for Edge Conference!

Pictures!!

2007-09-02T23:29:00.000+09:30

Wooohooo our first picture post! Which one is the best?? I know I asked all of you to choose which one was best on my blog so I could put it as the blog header but then I realized that not al of us are in the picture....So shall we wait for another one?

Have a blessed weekend!!

Come Ready to Praise!!!

2007-08-30T17:46:00.000+09:30

There's a stirring in my heart all week that as we approach Saturday, lets get out of our comfort zones, if you can remember the lyrics to the song, put away the paper instead of hiding behind the security of it and let us just praise our King, regardless of how we feel, what is running through our heads, and how our week has been,ignore how the instruments sound. Lets just lift our praise, and give Him honour, give Him glory, & magnify His Name with our hearts, with our hands, with dancing & pour out our all.

Here are the questions for discussions. Once again, pick any question, if you want to share more than one, bring it on!

1) What are some of the struggles/ fears or things that will cause you to hesitate when it comes to stepping out to serve in Church?

2) Did you apply what you learnt last Saturday on giving Him your all? Share about what you learnt or discover, or what happened?

3) Share your understanding of what it means to 'fear' the Lord prior to reading the chapter, and what it is now.

More questions to come....

If you are free this Sunday between services, Jasmine would like to have a real live audience to practise her presentation.

Connect Group Special!

2007-08-28T00:08:00.000+09:30

Hi Gals!

I've been really encouraged by each of your sharing last Saturday. Thank God we serve Him who speaks today and who loves us so much to give up and leave us where we are but desires to grow us into His likeness!

For this coming Saturday, read chapter 6 of Draw Near.

We will begin at 4pm.

Michelle will be cooking Tomato Mee!! (some Kuching dish).

Bring some cash with you so we can split the cost.

I think we should play rapid dough again!!

Questions for this Saturday will be posted by Thursday night.

We will discuss and sought out transport for Edge Conference. Bring your roster with you. :o) Sarah, Michelle & I will be going shopping for conference this Friday night. Anyone else wanna come along?

Suyin, if you are free, it would be great if you can come and join us for dinner & play rapid dough!

Twinkle twinkle little Moon...

2007-08-26T23:09:00.000+09:30

COMING SOON THIS SEPTEMBER >>> OZASIA MOON LANTERN FESTIVAL

Missing home this Mooncake Festival? Wishing you were with your family? Do not worry, you are not alone! When the full moon rises high on this special night, we would come together to think about the strong bonds that unite us, eat moon cakes, and enjoy being together under the moon. This event will feature schoolchildren and community groups from across South Australia, parading hand-made traditional and contemporary lanterns, together with storytelling, martial arts, music, dance and Dragon boats on the Torrens River.

Date: 25 September (Tuesday)
Time: 6 pm
Venue: Elder Park (next to Adelaide Festival Theatre)
Duration: 3 ½ hours
Fee: FREE (only if you bring your friends along! hehe…)
Meeting place: Haigh’s Chocolate Rundle Mall @ 5.20 pm
Food: Domino’s Pizza, Moon cakes and Hot Chinese tea (cost to be shared equally and to be confirmed)

So lock in this date to have a meeting with one of God's creations Mr. Moon! ^_^

Note: Please notify Michelle the number of friends you are bringing the latest by 24th September.

the prodigal son's brother

2007-08-25T10:07:00.000+09:30

Luke 15: 11-31

This parable on the prodigal son has always stuck out as special to me. The lost son coming home empty, humbled, humiliated and broken knowing that he has nothing left to offer his father, yet the father welcomed him back with a feast! What an amazing scene that is.

And yet, there's the other part of his brother feeling left out. I wondered why Jesus wanted to add that part in. The brother, on seeing the celebration felt angry and refused to go into the house. He said, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yhour who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you killed the fattened calf for him!'

The brother was being realistic. His feelings might even be justifiable.

But that is not how God wants our attitude to be. The father's reply was this, ' My son, you are always with me and everything I have is yours. But we have to celebrate and be glad because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again: he was lost and is found.'

What is our attitute towards lost sons/daughter and new christians? Are we encouraging them in a way that makes them grow in the Lord? The brother was looking at the situation from a 'me' perspective and how he thinks it should be.

I wanna conclude that instead of getting upset at situations that seems unfair, we should rejoice that the lost son humbled himself to come home to the father.

Chels

Miracles [by matthew lee]

2007-08-23T23:59:00.000+09:30

Hi all,

As you may know, I decided to move over to Sydney, Australia to be closer with Chelsie. It was smooth sailing thus far, but with enough hiccups to prove that God is still in control of everything.

With my limited work experience, it was tough to secure a job in Australia without having an Australian work permit. By God's grace, my ex-colleague was willing to submit my CV to her boss, knowing that the company has had instructions world wide to cut down costs. What does this mean? Well, no hiring foreigners and having to bear the burden of sponsoring their visa... During my last visit to Australia in June 07, I went for an interview with my then prospective employers. The interview went well, almost an hour long. Before it ended, I was asked, "What can I say to assure my employers that I'm not hunting for a job in Australia just to jump again in the near future?". This was a fair enough question, as I had worked for 2 employers within a span of 2 years in Malaysia, both having justifiable reasons for change. I told them "I'm moving to Australia to be closer with my girlfriend", and that was good enough an answer for them.

I had another left week in Adelaide after our trip to Sydney. While in Adelaide, the verbal offer came through! I was fairly surprised as I didn't think I did that well to impress in the interview. I was told that they would still need to get higher management to approve the offer, due to the cost-cutting measures. If all goes well, a letter of offer should arrive in KL the following week.

When I arrived back in KL, the offer letter came a week late, as there were some minor hiccups in getting the approvals. As I made the decision to leave my job in Malaysia to move to Australia, there were still uncertainties then. Will my work visa be approved? Do I have enough finances to survive? What about my family back in Malaysia? As I took the step of faith to be closer to the one I love, God, in his mighty way, took care of my concerns one after the other.

As my visa was delayed due to administrative issues, I would be going in to Australia on a tourist visa. Having purchased a one-way ticket, I was told I may encounter problems at Australian immigration. Having packed 33 kgs of luggage when I was only allowed 20 kgs (and having my appeal for additional allowance rejected), I was prepared to pay for the additional 13 kgs, which would have cost a bomb.

It was truly a miracle that my additional 13 kgs was not charged a single dollar at all! And also, at Australian immigration, I was not asked a single question, despite entering on a tourist visa with a one-way ticket.

Having arrived in Sydney, I had planned to put up in my uncle's place till I managed to get a place of my own to rent. My visa was delayed again and again, each time telling me it would be approved soon. Chelsie and me were worried, but we still believed that God is in control. Thank God, it was approved on 20th of August! Having seen so many units, I managed to shortlist 4 that caught my eye, and submitted applications for rent around the same time. I had to trust God, as out of the 4 that I shortlisted, I had a priority of preference. Deep inside of me, I felt like God was testing me, seeing if I still place my trust in him. My 4th preference was the first to respond, asking me to decide on the spot. I turned it down, thinking that I have 3 more options. After I had rejected my 4th choice, the 2nd choice called to say that I was rejected, as the owner preferred a female tenant. This made me down a little, as the 2nd choice was a very nice unit, though the priciest of the 4. Then my 3rd preference called and wanted a decision by the end of the day. My 1st choice told me they could only respond the following day. I really felt that God was telling me to trust him, as I had done for my whole journey thus far. I picked up the phone, and told the real estate agent for my 3rd choice that I am waiting for another offer, and that he is free to rent the unit to others if possible. In other words, I'm saying no to my 3rd choice. With only my 1st choice left, and having started work, I was desperate, but comforted myself that God will take care of me. True enough, I managed to get my 1st choice, and will be moving in on the 25th of August!

God is a God of wonders, as His ways are much higher than ours.

I leave you with the passage from Proverbs 3:4-5

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

Regards,
Matthew

Get Ready....

2007-08-23T22:03:00.000+09:30

At this Saturday’s connect group, we will take time to listen and share what God has been saying to each individual as you read chapter 4 and 5 of Draw Near.

We are not after model answers, we gather to build one another up and help one another grow, so lets not be afraid to be vulnerable and open our hearts.

Consider the following questions and be ready to share your responses to all questions:

1) In the beginning of Chapter 4, John Bevere writes “Over this time I’ve
discovered two major groups within the church … The first are those who
seek God for what He can do, while the second seek Him for who He is”.

Which group do you see yourself? (pg 51)

2) Who is God to you? or Who would you say God is to you in your life?

3) What area(s) in your life is God asking you to ‘step out’?

4) John Bevere mentions that psychology tells us that relationships we’ve
had over the last 5 years will shape our personality. He also states that
this is affirmed in Scripture: ‘Evil company corrupts good habits” (1
Corinthians 15:33), and “He who walks with wise men will be
wise” (Proverbs 13:20). Have you had periods in your life which
exemplified either or both extremes? What were the results? (pg 66)

5) What is ‘worship’? What do you understand by ‘worship’?

God calls David a man after His own heart (Acts 13:22). When God looks at
us, would He say ‘You are a Daughter after My heart’?

Read 2 Samuel 6 & 7.

****************************************************************************
Meditate on:

• Psalm 103:1

‘Bless the Lord, O my soul; and ALL (winnie’s emphasis) that is within me, bless His holy name!’ – Psalm 103:1

• Psalm 149:6

• Deuteronomy 6:5

If you require transport, please let me know. Girls living in Village, pick up will be at 1.30pm. It would be great if others can make their way to Village too.

Connect Group @ 2pm this Saturday

2007-08-22T12:13:00.000+09:30

Look out for food-for-thought to be posted soon.

If you haven't touch based with your prayer buddy for awhile, why not take the opportunity today to catch up on one another's prayer needs.

What did you just say?

2007-08-18T02:33:00.000+09:30

A very long blog, but come with me…
It may seem like scattered thoughts, but don’t stop, keep reading…

*****************************************************************
2 Saturdays ago, I struggled with a stinking heart attitude. Have you ever had one of those days? Mine lasted for 2 weeks as I wrestled with God.

At the back of my mind I knew I was ‘giving out a strong stench’ and it was coming from a sense of disappointment and helplessness mix with ‘failure’ to transfer and zap to life that which lies dormant and in slumber. I just wanted to give up! I was like having a go at God, emptying out verbal vomit ‘what’s the point, why should I waste my time? Why can’t I have and live ‘ME’ days, just U & me, and not carry a burden and passion to see Your children step into the purposes and call on their life, living and walking in that abundant life, responding passionately to Your passionate love for them and their every actions be a love respond to Your love.

This year I had been there a few times, felt that, push through that ‘I want to give up, & as long as I’m growing in You, why do I need to bother about others growth?’. But the Spirit wouldn’t give me peace, wouldn’t say yes to giving up, yet I allow myself to be led and dominated by my emotions and fed my frustration and disappointment every other day of the 2 weeks.

Do you know, what u feed yourself with in the private, determines what comes out in your words, actions, decisions, and determines whether your sight and sensitivity to His presence and voice.

I’m passionate about worship. Each time I worship, I throw everything out of the window and go to my Lord in abandonment. Before I get on stage to lead others into His presence, I make sure I get a revelation of each song in my own time with Him, that what flows out of me, will not be a performance, but it will be birth from my intimate time with God & revelation.

*****************************************************************
We have been singing Saviour King in Church. The words that so grip my heart is:

‘Let now Your Church shine as Your Bride
That You saw in Your heart
As You offer up Your life’.

I’m passionate about His Church. Passionate about raising a generations of passionate lovers of our Saviour King. I love songs of declaration and prophecy. God saw His Church shining even before His death and He went to the cross for His Church.

In ‘Hosanna’ opening lyrics:

‘I see the King of glory, coming on the clouds with fire, the whole earth shakes, the whole earth shakes…’

Verse 2: ‘I see a generation, rising up to take their place, with selfless faith, with selfless faith, I see a near revival stirring as we pray and seek, we’re on our knees, we’re on our knees’

My question to us is, what do we see?

What do YOU see?

We can’t be women without vision, we can’t live a life just seeing things in the natural.

Women of God, we are empowered to ‘call into being that which does not exist’!!
So what you you see?
And what are you doing with what you see?

Are the things you ‘see’ bigger than yourself?
Awesome!!
Get on your knees & seek His face & call it into being!

I see a generation rising, that’s why I am passionate about the generations. I see army of God with my spiritual eyes.

I see the King of Glory coming, each time I declare those lyrics, I see it, I see it.

What do you see? Cos it determines the cost you are wiling to pay. It determines the sacrifices you are willing to make. People with convictions and have seen and seen and seen, will lay down their lives for the Cause.
*****************************************************************

God challenged me…
“What did you sing passionately in Saviour King just 2 hours ago in church?’

I replied:
‘You ask Your Son, to carry this, the heavy cross, a weight of sin. …
I give my life, to honour this,
The love of Christ, the Saviour King’

And He asked me:
‘what are u giving your life to? What does the word ‘this’ refers to?

And He showed me a picture and narrated the scene:
‘people jeered and mocked Me
yet it was for these very people I carried the cross
and walk and walk and walk
with thorns as My crown
I walk and walk

I saw the scene played out, and Jesus turned to me and asked, Winnie will you come and help me carry this weight
And walk with me?

My frustration was silenced. Tears couldn’t stop streaming as I drove. I sang I give me life to honour this, it was a declaration of commitment, of love and yet my ‘complaints’ far reflected what I sang.

God carried the heavy heavy cross, and the nails that He bored were sharp, they were so sharp it pierced right through His hands, into the wooden cross. And yes, He could hear the mocking of people, He could see the passer-bys who just stared, indifferent. He knew they wouldn’t appreciate Him yet the depth of His love for us led to His unfailing commitment till death. He saw what could be, that with His death, men & women will be given a gift of hope, a gift of life.

My God called and gave me the privilege of serving Him & shepherding His people (carrying the cross), what a humbling privilege, but I would be nailing Him repeatedly and spitting at His offer to carry His cross. I had loose sight of the cross at that moment of dwelling in my frustration and heartache for that which I cant change and move.
It is not about me, it never is about ‘I”, but always about ‘others’ and Him.

Girls, just as God has challenged me again, I challenge you now, let us not be found offering ‘lip services’ to God, being caught up with the atmosphere others have created by pursuing His heart. Let us not raised hands and worship and offer an emotional response which has no roots, no commitment, no substance in it.

I’m challenging myself, and speaking to myself as much as I am to you.

Listen to yourself, listen to what you are singing.

What does ‘giving honour, giving your life means?

Song after song after song we make powerful declaration of a surrendered life, giving total devotion, wanting more of Him, He’s all we need etc etc. Is it really true? Do we really mean it? Do we live lives with such hunger, such abandonment in pursuit of Him and nothing else is more important? Let the words sink…

Yes, we need to response to His passionate love for us with our hearts. No we can’t disengagement emotions from it.

But there has to be more depth than a few minutes of emotional response at a service, and come back again for another round the next week

Kris Gug. challenged our Creative team this week. No preacher would ‘dare’ to preach if he hasn’t got a word from God and has something to say. He asked us, what do we have to say / impart as we go on stage? And he said, don’t go on stage if you haven’t got anything to ‘say’. Go ask God for something to ‘say’ cos even though we don’t have the preacher’s microphone, but singing is very much preaching too through body language, through leading in the spirit etc.

What do you have to say to your friends? What does your life say about your Saviour?
****************************************************************.

Wherever you are at in your journey with God, lets continue on this journey together. Lets encourage and spur one another to not sit, get comfortable and ‘fat’ with messages on Sundays, but to lead transformed lives, passionately pursuing our Lord, as He had given us the greatest act of passion and love by dying on the Cross.

As Darlene said to the younger generation at Hillsong Conference, we serve a Holy God, let us never water that down, and walk in His presence with watered reverence for our King, dishonouring what Christ has done for us.

Committed to this journey with you…
Much Love,
Winnie

Scroll down....

2007-08-17T09:15:00.000+09:30

Have you viewed our blog twice yesterday?
Scroll down...this is the 3rd post in 2 days! :o)

Come ready to share with one another anything which you have learnt in the last 2 weeks from your journey of Drawing Near to God or journalling.

Hope you are enjoying and finding the Draw Near devotion useful as much as I have...

We will be starting connect group 4pm @ my place.

Anybody who needs transport, please meet 3.30pm at the Village. If you would like us to pick you from some other place, please ring to arrange with myself or Sarah.

Feel free to bring any snacks or food if you want.
For dinner, we could call in pizza or indian food

oh oh oh
Kareeann, can you please bring Rapidough?

I think someone left their copy of 'Draw Near' at my place...

Praise GOD!! Mike Gug is being healed!!

2007-08-16T23:07:00.001+09:30

Here's what Mike has posted on his Myspace..

"HEY GUYS!!!! INCREDIBLE NEWS!!!! THE HEALING PROCESS HAS BEGUN!!!! TODAY I WENT TO JOHN WESLEYS CHAPEL IN BRISTOL. AS I STOOD IN WESLEYS PULPIT GODS POWER TOUCHED MY BODY!!!! TO CUT A LONG STORY SHORT. I LEFT MY WHEELCHAIR THERE!!!! MY BACK IS HEALED, MY HIPS ARE HEALED, MY LEGS ARE HEALED!!!! I STILL HAVE PAIN IN MY UPPER BODY BUT IT HAS STARTED!!!! PRAISE AND GLORY TO THE KING OF ALL KINGS!!!! MY SAVIOUR, MY PORTION, MY FREEDOM, MY HEALER!!!!!"

This Edge Conference is going to be AAMMMAZZZING!! 1 year ago as Mike stood and prophesised miracles in the House like never before and a rising prayerful generation, there wasnt a trace of cancer in his body. Now exactly 1 year, God has carried him through cancer, and is healing him right now!

Let us not found to be passive, luke warm, lethgaric Christians attending church and miss God's passion, miss His presence and walk right pass it, instead of being passionate Christ lovers, Christ disciples who can't get enough of Him, can't get enough of His Word, can't get enough of His presence & take ownership, standing together with the rest of our Edge family & His Church around the world to celebrate Mike's healing & expect for such an unprecedented move of God at this Edge's Conference.

We are going to see miracles breakout like never before.
There's a thirst and hunger & growing faith in the House.

God is rising a generation who will stand, who will not give up, not give in, who will storm the gates of hell & live passionately for our King.

Will u be part of this generation?

Connect Group This Saturday...

2007-08-16T08:26:00.000+09:30

Connect Group will be held at 4pm this Saturday.
Venue to be confirmed.
Please read Chapter 3 of Draw Near
and Psalm 1.
We will be hearing from both John Bevere and Ps Brian Houston.

I encourage you if you have read Chapter 3 of Draw Near, to read it again.

You see, one thing I have learnt in my journey is even if I have heard a certain message over and over again in church, even if the speaker is boring, even if 'I already know',
there is a spirit to 'catch' behind what the preacher is saying, what the words in the book is really saying. Learn to be watchful, to speak to your soul (like David does) that as u read and listen, let there be such a well of hunger within you. Thats why you can have a quiet congregation, quiet individuals, but let me tell you, you can sense and you can see the level of hunger in a person. U often hear how a preacher says to a congregation, 'u bring the best out of me, i can feel your faith or hunger that draws even more out of my preaching'.

When a preacher, worship leader, or a book is being written, they are not just words or just lyrics. They were birth from revelation, from Godly men & women of God who seeks after His heart & are not here to transfer head knowledge to us, but wanting to impart something of their heart which they have received from God to us. So please please please, before anything else ie. emotions, reasoning etc.

Lets honour John Bevere for being obedient to the voice of God and writing this book, by not reading it without capturing more than just head knowledge (since we have committed to going on this 12 weeks journey), cos out of our mouth, actions, responses and decisions, shows whether there has been understanding and revelation in our lives.

************************************************************************************
From this Sunday, please take individual responsibility to sms and call for transport to Church. You can either contact me or Sarah, and give us ample time for organising transport.

Draw Near series will no longer be part of a 'formal connect group' weekly thing. The choice will be yours to decide whether you want to press forward in this journey or you want to place some level of priority on it. Its cool if you are not ready etc etc, we can still all catch up on Sunday during lunch. God loves us too much to leave us at whatever level of maturity we are at now, and I assure you, as you decide to commit yourself to drawing near, the 'carpets' in your life will be lifted, things swept under would be taken out and totally cleansed, weak foundations will be shaken and demolish to build solid foundations, mindsets, perspectives etc will be challenged.

Keep your eyes on our blog everday for the next few days, as there will be multiple posts leading towards connect group.

Are you really a Christian?

2007-08-11T10:27:00.000+09:30

I was brought up in a Christian family but never accepted Christ personally until when I was 14, I remember it was during a youth camp. That moment of accepting Christ was just great, every moment and minute I talked to the Lord, just enjoying his presence.
I am a Christian now, I can conquer the world! Really?

Mr X: What does it mean to be a Christian?

Me : (*mutters under breath*come on give me a more difficult question..) God being the centre of my life, He is my priority; I live my life for him.

Mr X: So how does your life show it?

Me: I go to church, go for Cell group, and do my devotion everyday.

Mr X: But do you know that there are a lot of people that go to church every week and serve in every ministry and say that they Love God but in fact they don’t have a relationship with God?

Me : what?! Dun bluff….How can it be?

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” (Matthew 7:21-23)

I heard a message preached on Matthew Chapter 7 and in it was the above verses that kind of made me rethink again how I’m living my life as a Christian. Jesus speaks these words not to people who do not know him, but to people that have been religious, serving in the synagogues, people that know him.

It came as a shock to me. What if 1 day when I stand at the Judgment seat and the Lord says “I never knew you”. We’re not talking about being in prison for a number of years. We’re talking about Eternity here!

I certainly don’t want to live my whole life and then find out at the end that I’ve not been living it right but rather I’ve been deceiving myself to think that my life is ok. How does God determine that? Christ says in the following verses:

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." (Matthew 7:24-27)

Jesus singles out 2 kinds of people in this example. People who say and don’t do, and people who hear the word and don’t do. I then started asking myself, am I like that? Many times we hear God’s word and know the right thing to do but follow what everyone else does because we don’t want to be viewed as an outcast. We say that we are Christians but our actions reflect poorly on God. How then can we say that we are Christians and that Christ is the centre and that we live my life for him?

Its really not easy being a Christian but the Holy Spirit empowers us to be witnesses for him through our Thoughts, Words and Actions.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

We’re not perfect and never will be until Christ comes again but come on Gals! Let’s be found constantly examining our lives, desiring after him and desiring to live a life that pleases him not just contented with knowing that he is in our hearts

In his Love

Sarah

No Connect Group this Week

2007-08-09T09:11:00.000+09:30

Hi Everyone!

There will be no connect group this week.

Ps Nikki is unable to make it at 12:00pm and is not available all Saturdays leading up to Edge Conference. She is however free on weekday nights, say following Monday night.

Michelle and Kareeann are unable to make it this Sunday.

How are you all going with journaling your journey of 'drawing near' to God?

Each time I listen to lesson 1, this declaration that John Bevere made always stands out 'drawing near to God is our responsibility'.

I pondered over it & isn't it true how often we tend to fall back to a 'passive' christianity? We serve a God who is in hot pursuit of us and often times I think we tend to fall back and wait to be pursued, wait for the right season, wait for the right timing, wait for a convienient time, wait till we are ready or till we feel like we can 'do' it, or till we are happy with everyone around us etc.

However, a passionate (what words did u use to describe ur personal understanding or definition of passion/ passionate' in the little activity we did prior to watching the DVD?) lover is one who takes responsibility and who pursues her Lord, forsaking all; who WORSHIPS with ALL her heart, ALL her mind, ALL her strength dying to self / regardless of how she feels, what she is going through, feverently, with TOTAL DEVOTION live a life that speaks I WILL praise, I WILL love, I WILL run, I WILL, I WILL, till I see His face.

Lets continue on this journey, encouraging one another to live extraordinary lives, (soo possible, because we serve an extraordinary God who has empowered us) consecrated (set apart), passionate about our Creator, our Saviour KING.

Keep presevering and praying :o)

Love,
Winnie

...pray continually... for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus

2007-08-02T11:39:00.000+09:30

Prayer has always been an important aspect in our daily walk with the LORD. When we first accept the LORD, the first thing we do is say the sinner’s prayer. Before we go to bed or wake up in the morning, we’ll say a prayer. Before we have a meal, we’ll thank the LORD for our food. There are even ‘methods’ of how we should pray. My pastor (in M’sia) and many other preachers I’m sure have always encouraged the A.C.T.S. pattern of prayer: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication. Due to the fact that I’m not good at explaining stuff and that I’m computer illiterate and therefore don’t know how to add links to the blog, I’ll copy and paste a snippet from google below. I think I need to add that this is not a must-method of prayer. It’s just a structure that we can follow:

Adoration is to adore God, to worship him and to fulfil the commandment to love him with all of our heart, mind and soul. As we spend time in adoration, we praise God for who He is - our Creator, our Sustainer and our Redeemer.
Confession allows us to clear away the things in the relationship between you and God which are displeasing to Him. All of us have sinned. St John writes in his epistle "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (I Jn 1:8,9)
Thanksgiving. From childhood we are brought up to say "Thank You" when someone does something for us, or gives us a gift. Each moment God is blessing us, every minute we can recall the wonderful things that God has done for us, and the gifts that we have been given. And so, we need to be constantly thanking God for his blessings. In writing to Timothy, Paul makes it clear that we also need to be giving thanks for everyday, worldly things "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." 1 Tim 2:1.
Supplication or Intercession. Finally we come to ask God for our needs and the needs of others.

I know that this is not my turn to put something on the blog, but I just wanted to share some of my thoughts with you all. God hears us in whatever way or situation when we come to Him. He does not ‘need’ our prayer. He is God and already knows what we need or what we want to bring to Him. If this is so, then why do we need to still pray? Or can’t we just pray ‘LORD, you know my thoughts and wants, AMEN’?
This might probably open up more thoughts, ideas… but I believe that prayer is for us. We pray to encourage ourselves, encourage one another and as an act of worship to the LORD. Prayer is our part in the relationship with the LORD. I believe that the LORD made prayer for our benefit when the focus is on Him. It is His will for us to be prayerful. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Chelsie

P/S: I wanna thank all those who have been keeping me in their prayers esp my prayer buddy Kareeann and my ex-prayer buddy Jasmine and all of you in the connect group who have been my friend. Thanks also to Winnie for dropping by and visiting me just because she thought i acted weird. :) Thanks also to Sarah for all her comical jokes and to Michelle for her hair curler. :) {not sure how to use it yet}. Thanks also to my housemates and Jebbie who have been great laughing buddies to me. {sounds like i won the oscar eh?}

Tis week, am supposed to encourage somebody, so i tot of encouragin ya'll. :) will keep all of you in my prayers...

Questions for this Saturday

2007-08-02T10:55:00.000+09:30

Hi Gals!

Sorry I hadn't post the following questions earlier. I've been busy preparing 2 job applications to be submitted tomorrow & Monday.

Most of you would have heard...

WINNIE is now an AUSTRALIAN PERMANENT RESIDENT!!!!
(I'm gonna get my visa sticker in a few hours, to ensure my residency status is stamped, sealed, permanent permanent!!)

Have a think and jot down your thoughts to these questions:

1. What does it mean (how would you react? what would you do? etc) to be a ‘member’ of a family in the following scenarios:

(a) Birthdays
(b) Get-together
(c) Trials
(d) Discouragement / Encouragement (e) Sickness

2. Jot down some phrases and descriptive words reflecting your understanding of:

(a) passion/passionate
(b) rooting yourself (in an environment) (c) priority
(d) knowledge vs revelation

and grab your copy of Drawing Near & read chapter 1 & 2!!

Come with an expectant heart. You will be challenged & encouraged!

Past Present and Future

2007-08-02T10:35:00.000+09:30

One fine day, a girl was praying silently as she spoke out to God:
Dear God, please tell me what should I speak about YOU with the lovely sisters I met here?

Then came a gentle and soft-spoken voice:
Tell them the journey you have with me for your past 20 years Michelle!

So here I am with my Past, Present and Future…

Past: I was brought up as a Roman Catholic and thought I knew God very well. I thought by attending masses very Sunday, reciting prayers like the Lord’s Prayer perfectly, obeying the rules on special occasions such as fasting during Good Friday will show that I’m a good daughter of HIM and that’s the whole picture of being a Christian. This is way wrong! I was never walking with Him as much as He desires to walk with me. I ignore every chance that He could reach and speak to me. When trials come, I shut myself up and instead of turning to Him; I rather suffer in pain and worries and let my brain overtakes my feelings, instead of letting Him to take full control. Little did I realise that the existence of God in my life has becoming more like a religion routine and not a relationship. Of course I did pray when I need Him, but in good times, He was a total stranger to me. I started running away from God, feeling ashamed and unworthy of His love. However that does not make me a better person! My life started falling into pieces and it seems like I’m losing control in everything I once thought I had control of.

Present: I went back to Him knowing that I cannot hide from Him anymore. He gave His pledge to all those who believe in Him that whoever who search for Him will find Him. He wants to build the intimate relationship with us and His spirit will guide us through each step in life even during stormy days. “The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged - Deuteronomy 31:8”. Indeed, He never leaves me but continues loving me far beyond my expectation. It was then I realise what an almighty and great Father I have in heaven, how could I have gone astray thinking that I can face the enemies of life alone? I wanted to have a relationship with Him, to share the ups and downs and to leave the wheel of my life into His hand knowing that He is the captain and all I have to do is to obey His command. But I love Him, what can I do to make Him glad after all that He has done for me? I know! That is to serve Him. Christianity is no longer a small frame; it is a far bigger picture that it seems to be.

Future: A faithful servant of God and a Christ-like girl who knows that God’s answer is always the best because “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take – Proverbs 3:5-6”. Wish I knew this earlier, guess it’s never too late to know! ^_^

I pray that all of you will continue to be faithful because in faith, He will provide. Have a blessed week ahead fellow princesses of the almighty KING!

Love always,
Michelle

Drawing Near...

2007-07-30T21:24:00.000+09:30

Connect Group will be @ 4pm this Saturday, my place.

We will begin the Drawing Near series by John Bevere.

I know each of us will benefit heaps from the series and through it develop a deeper hunger and intimacy with our Father.

Prepare your hearts by reading Chapter 1 & 2 of the book.

Village girls, can you please prepare dessert?
Kareeann will cover the drinks.
Sarah will be doing roast chicken and veg!

For this week's devotion sharing, we will hear from the youngest princess in our connect group, Michelle!

August Connect Group

2007-07-27T13:38:00.000+09:30

Hi Gorgeous Gals!

We are heading into August in a few days & counting down to Edge Conference! Its going to be phenomena!!! Can't wait to participate and host the conference with all of you who have signed up as volunteers!!

For the month of August, we will be holding connect group on Saturdays.

4 August - 4pm @ Winnie's
I've received some feedback on our last gathering. I don't know about you but I was so encouraged & in awe of our God by the end of the night!

So come ready, with your notebook, bibles and pens.

Keep a lookout for some questions and more details in the next couple of days.

11 August - 10am @ Winnie's
We will be organising brunch, come chill out, interact and get to know Ps Nikki. On the menu at the moment is roti chanai, egg tarts, congee, BBQ pork bun. We will be collecting probably $7 or $8 per person

7 or 14 August Movie Night (Tuesday)
Amazing Grace
Amazing Grace is based on the life of William Wilberforce (Ioann Gruffudd), who, as a Member of Parliament, navigated the world of 18th Century backroom politics to end the slave trade in the British Empire. John Newton (Albert Finney), a confidante of Wilberforce inspires him to pursue a life of service to humanity, and William Pitt the Younger (Benedict Cumberbatch), England’s youngest Prime Minister at the age of 24, encourages his friend Wilberforce to take up the fight to outlaw slavery and supports him in his struggle in Parliament. Elected to the House of Commons at the age of 21, and on his way to a successful political career, Wilberforce, over the course of two decades, took on the English establishment and persuaded those in power to end the inhumane trade of slavery. Barbara Spooner (Romola Garai) is a beautiful and headstrong young woman who shares Wilberforce’s passion for reform, and who becomes his wife after a whirlwind courtship. Olaudah Equiano (Youssou N’Dour), born in Africa and sent as a slave to the Colonies, bought his freedom and made his home in London where he wrote a best-selling account of his life and became a leading figure in the fight to end the slavery of his fellow countrymen.

18 August - 4pm @ Winnie's
TBC - Most probably 'Drawing Near'

25 August - 4pm @ Winnie's
TBC - Most probably 'Drawing Near'

And *drum roll* baby Levi & Kathii went home yesterday!!! Praise the Lord!!!! GOD is Jehovah Rapah!

A little peek into one of my devotions

2007-07-25T21:27:00.000+09:30

Stephanie Wong's devotion on the 22nd of July 2007 at 10.43 p.m..

I was getting ready to read the Word when the word 'way' popped into my head. I thus used my trusty PDA to search for every single verse in the Bible with the fore said word. 516 results came up! Scrolling through them all, I decided to read Psalms 37.

And guess what? The chapter fits nicely with the DVD we saw at Winnie's house on Saturday and also the exercise of writing down our dreams/desires :) Well, in my opinion anyways.

Here are the few verses which really stood out for me.

Verse 4: Delight yourself also in the Lord and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Verse 5: Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him and He shall bring it to pass.

Verse 7: Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.

Verse 8: Do not fret-it only causes harm.

Verse 9: But those who wait on the Lord, They shall inherit the Earth.

Verse 24: Though we (it says 'he' in the Bible, but I think 'we' sounds better :p) fall, we shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds us with His hand.

Verse 39: He is our (originally 'their') strength in the time of trouble.

Verse 40: He will deliver us (originally 'them') because we trust Him.

What I gather from those few verses are (you may not agree with me :p):

We need to fall in love with God and long to be with Him/find pleasure in Him. If we can reach this level, he will grant us what we wrote down on that piece of paper (provided it's not something like 'I want to own 10 Porsche's').
We need to commit our desires/dreams to Him and trust that He will see it through.
We should wait patiently for what He is going to do.
We should not worry about whether or not we can achieve our dream because it is in His hands.
Even though we fall along the way, He won't give up on us/let us go.
He will deliver us from all that stands in the way of our dream simply because we trust in Him with all our heart.

What a cool God we have! :)

Hope you all are having a great week!

Love,

Stephanie Wong

Connect Group Latest

2007-07-23T22:17:00.000+09:30

Hi Gals!

Connect Group this week

Have you invited your friends to the Variety Concert this weekend?
I've invited my colleague and her husband and she seemed keen. Gonna pass her one of those flyers. :p
Let me know asap which session your friends prefer to attend and we will go together as a connect group!

Connect Group 11 August 2007

Ps Nikki will be joining us on 11 August 2007 @10.30am (Saturday).

She is our women's pastor and an awesome Woman of God with a heart to see women in the House released and grow into 'Complete Women'. Its a rare opportunity & i know Ps Nikki is so looking forward to meeting each of you, so please make yourself available.

I'm thinking lets organise a brunch thingey and be ready by 10.00am at my place.

Please let me know asap if you can't make it.

Calling Women of Prayer

1) Matt & Kathii Wever
Please continue to keep Kathii in prayer. I spoke to her on Sunday & she shared that she had a really rough time and the doctor said it was one of the most 'brutal' delivery she had to conduct. So it was a very emotionally traumatic experience for Kathii & at one point in time, both she & baby Levi's life were in danger zone. Kathii is still recovering and could only walk on the 6th day.

Please pray Isaiah 55 over baby Levi. He is still in ICU but has his tubes removed. They are still doing MRI scan to ensure that bleeding has stopped and there's no brain damage.

Please pray that both mum & baby will be able to discharge on the same day. And that God will continually strengthen Matt & Kathii.

2) Mike Gug's healing from blood & bone cancer

3) Jasmine's mum

4) Steph's friend bro

Lets continue to press in as a connect group in prayer & see miracles in the House.

Keep smsing or calling your prayer buddies during the week! Encourage & spur one another on to be eagles!

Steph will be sharing with us something from her personal time with God. So look out!

May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of my heart

2007-07-21T00:35:00.000+09:30

Be pleasing to you, O Lord.

Most of us who grew up in Christian households or have been attending church for long enough would have stumbled upon this verse at one point or the other. As I was praying for a specific theme to write about- one which would encourage our connect group as a whole, this verse came to mind. I don't plan to write a 1000 word exposition on what this verse means right down to its original meaning in Greek, exciting as that may be. What I am going to do though, is write a little bit about what God has taught me over the past one week regarding my words and the meditations of my heart, with much emphasis on the word "meditate". I should probably clarify before moving on that "meditate" does not mean sitting cross legged under a bodhi tree as you empty your mind and imagine that your spinal cord is a never ending river of peace, or something to that effect. Quite the contrary, meditation in the Christian sense of the word (well to me, anyway) is to fill our minds with the promises of God as is written in His word, the bible.

God has reminded me on many occasions over the past 2 weeks of the importance of knowing and quoting His word. Some of the valuable truths I've learnt through the memorizing and quoting of scripture over the past 2 weeks are

1) It increases our level of faith.

The bible says that faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Basic human nature tells us that seeing is believing. However, our spirit-filled nature begs to differ seeing as faith would cease to mean anything if believing only comes as a byproduct of sight. So how else do we battle against our intrinsic human nature but to quote the word of God repeatedly, which we know is relevant and true.

2) It influences our speech, enabling us to speak faith into each other's lives.

The bible says that out of the heart, the mouth speaks. I have been guilty on many occasions of speaking against the very thing I pray about. To quote a simple example, how many times have we (and when I say we, I actually mean me) prayed for our exams to go well only to say just before we enter "aiyo, i think I'm going to fail. I feel so unprepared." What we need to do is start to not only read about the promises of God, but believe and speak it! So next time I say something quite the opposite to what I have been praying about, I give you the permission to smack me softly. (and make sure you tell me why you smacked me because I'd probably smack back if I think you did it without reason)

3) It encourages us.

We all go through highs and lows in life, sometimes even within a day. We need to remember that even during our lows, the validity of God's word does not change. Sometimes all we need is a simple verse to remind us that God loves us, or that He has plans to prosper us or that He can do immeasurably more than we can ever ask for or imagine, and the list goes on.

I really believe that God will continue to reveal more of His truths to all of us over the coming days as we spend time reading, meditating and acknowledging the importance of His word over our lives. It's amazing how much I've grown and learnt simply by remembering and quoting scripture on a daily basis. I'm praying that all of you have been blessed and encouraged by this.

Love y'all,

Su

Connect Group, 21 July 2007,Saturday@4pm - 7.00pm (incld dinner time)

2007-07-17T12:16:00.001+09:30

Hi Gals!

I'm so looking forward to this Saturday (pick up 3.30pm from the Village). As I prepare, there's such an expectation as I know God will breathe something new into each of us, encourage & challenge us as we gather to praise, share and listen to the message from T D Jakes.

Come with open spirit & hungry hearts. Ready to participate and to step out of our comfort zones to create an atmosphere for breakthrough & faith.

Bring your notebook and pen along with you.

Lets get hungry and continue to press in, as God promises in

James 4:7-8 (The Message)
So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he'll be there in no time.

Chelsie will be organising the pot-luck.Give her your support yeah.

I will confirm transport arrangements with all of you shortly.

Coming Up....
1) Look out for this week devotion sharing by Su!

2) Hospital Variety Benefit Concert 28 July 2007 @ 7pm
Grab a flyer & start inviting your friends!! Lots of fun & laughter from our very own in-house Stars!

3) I will be inviting Ps Nikki, Edge Women's Pastor to come to our connect group. Most probably it will be on 28 July, prior to going for the Concert.

4) Commencing on a 12 week journey of Drawing Near to God by John Bevere

5) SA Women Conference @ Paradise Church in August

6) Colour Conference 6-8 March 2008 (Thursday to Saturday)
Early Bird Single Adult - $139 (18 March - 30 September 2007)

I would love to bring a group of gals with me next year and join in with the rest of the women from Edge who will be going. Its a phenoma conference as we gather with our global Sisterhood.

Pls give it some thought. I would like to get us registered by 30 September.

There's so much to look forward to & I so believe as we are diligent in pursuing His Heart & coming alongside one another, we will grow so much as Women of Purpose & Destiny!!

Love ya heaps!

Connect Group

2007-07-11T22:24:00.000+09:30

1) We will be having steamboat this Saturday @ the Village after the 'Destiny' course!!

2) Connect Group @ Winnie's place commencing at 4pm followed by pot-luck. Bring a dish!

Next Saturday (21 July 2007) we will be listening to Bishop T D Jakes message and sharing on what God has revealed to us (ie the questions I've asked you to pray about) on:

1) Where do you think God is leading you or what is God saying to you to move, grow or step into in this second half of 2007?

2) What are the challenges, obstacles or struggles u face in responding to the voice of God?

3) Write on a piece of paper your dreams and desires (without limits)

We will than pray for one another and change prayer buddies (would be 5 weeks by then). Hope you have been keeping in touch with one another and holding ur prayer buddy in prayer!

Come expectant, prepared, and hungry!

Jasmine's Sharing

2007-07-11T12:21:00.000+09:30

A few days ago, I was asked to post up my sharing for this week with the connect group. As there was so many that I could share, I prayed and asked God to drop into my heart what He wanted me to share with all of you. As I walked to the bus stop on Monday morning, I felt the LORD dropped into my heart this statement.

“Share with them what had really captured you at the conference”

Immediately, thoughts flooded my mind and I was drawn back to the whole week reflecting on everything at once, I was searching for the thing that captured my heart at the conference.

“Was it the big stadium arena of crowd and the awesome worship?” or
“Was it he fact that the electives were all interesting and captivating?”, “Was it the fantastic line up of speakers which rallied the whole crowd of people?” or “Was it all the hype about Hillsongs Conference?”

NO.

It was all about You LORD. You and me having a personal encounter, being in the place at a time dedicated for Your Purpose and Your Glory. It was about You having your own way with me and every other individual who was there at the conference. It was about coming back to the heart of worship, to live it out and not just have head knowledge. It was about being impacted by You and being transformed. I guess one of the issues that I faced was distractions when I return to Adelaide. As you all know, distractions will come and I did not want the whole transformation bit to be just merely another “great experience” or a “just a moment at Hillsongs Conference”. Another thing is keeping eternity in perspective also really hit homeground for me and to know God more initmately. I was also reminded of the power of the Cross and what Jesus had done for me and you. The power of His love for us (not our love for Him) is what will drive me and you to spur on in our walk with Him.

With that, I pray that each one of you will also continue to seek God, to know Him and be challenged to love Him with all your heart, all your mind and all your strength. I know that you and I may stumble at times but be encouraged for God’s grace is sufficient for us and His strength is made perfect in our weaknesses.

In Jesus’s name, AMEN.

Revelation is yours !!

2007-07-10T22:04:00.000+09:30

Hey gals,

This is probably the first time for me "blogging", just wanna share with you all a thought and also to add some flavour into this blog (besides Winnie) .... hehe ....

For the past month/months, it is really my deep desire to know Him in a more personal way and not to settle for anything less than a "revelation" of His love ...

Among the journey (which I'm still walking), I begin to understand the meaning behind it, that revelation really means to ask God to UNCOVER and show everything of God and that belongs to us in Christ. Many people can give us opinion or tell us the truth (thank God for them !) but that is only information but when God helps us to understand it becomes "REVELATION".

And the amazing thing is, Revelation has our name stamp in it, nothing can take it away because it is God-given to you and belongs to you !! With this, I really thank God that He longs to give us His revelation (in anything that we ask) and as He has said, "Draw near to me, and I'll draw near to Him."

So guys, let us continue to tap into and never stop diggin deeper in the "spiritual mysteries" that He has in store in all for us, and I believe we'll begin to see the wonderful secrets that we may not even realise existed.

Let us pray like how Paul prayed, in Eph 1:18 "Pray that the eyes of our heart may be enlightened in order that we may know the hope to which He has called us, He riches of no glorious inheritance and great power for us as believers."

Cheers !!

Love,
Kareeann.

FAST and PRAY

2007-07-10T00:17:00.000+09:30

I would love us to pray and fast as a connect group this Wednesday for:

1) Mike Gug healing from cancer. (I don't know about u, but its kind of irritating and like soo sick to watch Mike Gug being cancer ridden for so long! Its like God, hurry up, heal him!)

2) For Steph, Chelsie & Su's friend brother (whats his name?), and perhaps one of u cld drop the family an sms encouraging them that we are keeping them in prayer.

3) Jasmine's mum who will be going in for another operation this Friday. Lets believe for a totally clean report and nothing less!

Partnering with you in prayer,
Winnie

Pray & Expect

2007-07-08T23:21:00.000+09:30

Hey gals!
As we enter into the new week, lets prepare our hearts for Wednesday night's miracle service. I would love us to intercede for the following 2 breakthroughs as a connect group and carry an expectant heart to Wednesday night service.

1) Mike Gug healing from cancer. I don't know about u, but its kind of irritating and like soo sick to watch Mike Gug being cancer ridden for so long! Its like God, hurry up, heal him!

2) For Steph, Chelsie & Su's friend brother (whats his name?), and perhaps one of u cld drop the family an sms encouraging them that we are keeping them in prayer.

Lets also continue to keep in touch with our prayer buddies throughout the week, pray and encourage one another. :o)

Keep a lookout for more updates!

God has given 5 pointers for our connect group to move forward and get our roots deep by knowing Him more intimately and rising up as women of God to become all that He has called and purposed for us to be, each unique and important in the body of Christ.

We will kickstart our weekly sharing of devotion or anything that God has taught us next week with a blog by Jasmine to be posted by Friday!

Love ya all!

Logged these Dates In!

2007-06-14T20:07:00.000+09:30

Hi Gorgeous Gals!!

How have you all been?

Steph & Chelsie, have you been and seen all in Sydney already? Must be enjoying sweet moments with your boyfriends yeah.

Su! Eat more ya, so you have an extra layer to keep you warm when you return!

And for the rest of you studying hard for exams, press on, don't give up, you are nearing the finishing line! Keep your eyes on God & draw your strength and wisdom from Him.

ACCELERATE IS BACK!!! We had an awesome night of prayer & praise and listening to Ps Johnathan and Ps Jason shared and stirred us in our faith and perspectives. I don't know about the rest of you, though I've heard Ps Jason preached that message for the 3rd time, there was still much to capture from it.

Logged these dates in!!

1) 24 June, Connect Group!

I would love for us to gather and catch up for 1 hour after service, following lunch as it has been a long time and a few of us will be away at Hillsong the following Sunday.

Please come prepared to share just 1 thing that God has been speaking to you since the last meeting we had at the Village.

Bring your pens & notebooks as I have a word which God has spoken to me & which I would love to challenge you as we prepare to step into the 2nd half of the year!

God is going to amazing things in and through us! Can't wait!

2) 27 June, Accelerate Cafe Night after an hour of praise, worship and prayer!

3) 29 June, Edge Generation One. Come along as Boost, Stomp & Accelerate gather for an awesome night with Ps Mike Gug. At the last generation meetings, there was such a powerful release of His Spirit as the young people of the church gather and celebrate our differences yet stand united for our generations in prayer, praise & worship!

If you are going to be back in Adelaide for service this Sunday, please contact Jasmine or Sarah for transport arrangements.

At the end of service, whilst hanging around, lets gather in pairs, and those not having exams, grab someone whose brains are being fried, and pray with them!

Love ya all!
Winnie

OUTRAGEOUSLY CHEAP AIRFARES TO KL!!!!

2007-06-05T09:53:00.000+09:30

Jetstar just launched their mid-year sales ....

Sydney --> Kuala Lumpur costs bout AUD650 return (airfares + tax)
No direct flights from Adelaide though ... sadly ... only Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane ...

Travel periods : 9/9/07-15/10/07 or 16/10/07-12/12/07

While stocks last !!!! Hurry hurry !!! For those home-sick Malaysians .... and of course Singaporeans .. akekekkekeke .....
SALE PERIOD : 5/6 - 8/6 !!!!!

www.jetstar.com

Especially for Michelle and Christine

2007-05-30T23:04:00.000+09:30

Dear Michelle and Christine,

This is just a short message to say 'HI'! :) Hope you've had a GREAT week!

From,

The angel who gave you the chocolates :) Yes, yes I know I'm nice! Hehehe....(this is so going to give me away)

Dear Stephanie ....

2007-05-28T19:47:00.000+09:30

Hey Missy !!
How are ya? Am your angel number 2 .... just dropped a few words, hope to wish you a blessed week ahead .... And I've heard that you've got some exams coming up on Friday .... wish ya all the best !!
A little angelic tweety bird for you ....

Steph's Angel 002

Praying

2007-05-21T12:08:00.000+09:30

Hi Everyone!

It's a season of mad-rush for many to complete their assignments and find the time to revise for exams.

Lets be diligent in upholding one another in prayer.

Rest

2007-05-21T12:07:00.000+09:30

Your 'Work' Is To Enter His Rest

Hebrews 4:10–11
10… he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. 11Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest...

A baby learns to sit first before he starts to stand and walk. The Christian life also begins with sitting. God “raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus”. (Ephesians 2:6) How well we walk after that, is how well we sit and rest in the finished work of Christ.

The promised land was a land of rest where God promised His people “large and beautiful cities which you did not build, houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, hewn-out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant”. (Deuteronomy 6:10–11)

But for 40 years, God’s people wandered in the wilderness because they refused to believe that God had given them a land where everything had been prepared — the work is finished. They could not believe that God had given them a land full of riches to enjoy, a land which just flowed with His goodness.

Today, there are believers who still cannot believe that the work of Jesus is truly complete and finished. They are trying to complete a completed work, finish a finished work and defeat a defeated devil.

There are believers today who are always working and trying to produce their healing, prosperity, success and victory. God wants us to stop trying and start trusting in His love for us. He wants us to stop working and struggling, and start resting and believing in His grace towards us.

The only “work” left for us to do today is entering His rest. We are to labour every day to enter His rest. We are to rest and believe that the work is done because it is a finished work, and rest and believe in God’s undeserved favour towards us. We are to rest in Jesus our true ark, who will carry us through the tempestuous waters.

So today, “if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts… be diligent to enter that rest”. (Hebrews 4:7,11) Let’s enter His rest. Let’s enjoy sitting together with Christ in the heavenly places, then we will run and not be weary!

Rise Up!

2007-05-17T23:17:00.000+09:30

Its a long blog, but stay with me. Don't just browse through the blog, there is something i want you to capture in your spirit and hearts.

HOSANNA

This Sunday, a new song will be introduced to the congregation. Its ‘Hosanna’. A song which I can’t get enough of. I soak and soak and soak the spirit and heart that birth the song. Its powerful, prophetic, it’s the ‘now’ word of what God is doing in His Church.
When the song was first released, it arrested my spirit, there was ‘a leaping in the womb’ (Luke 1) as my heart connected with the spirit and heart of Brooke Fraser who penned these words.

For those of you who were present at the International Student Elective, I shared briefly what God has shown me, what I see with my spiritual eyes.

God have me 3 visions throughout my 25 years of walking with Him, which I have guarded and protected over the years, not knowing whether it was from Him or a figment of my imagination.

1)When I was in Secondary 2, God gave my first vision. There was a cloud, shining so gloriously and brightly with no end in sight (width). And before the throne were my friends who have backslide, oblivious to the people around them, kneeling and worshipping the King. There was a sense of awe, serenity, His Majesty filling the atmosphere, and people were worshipping.

2) In 2001, at my first Hillsong Conference, God started my on a journey with the revelation of praise and worship. Of the power of Praise, the power of ‘I WILL’ praise, in good, in bad, when the sun is shining, in the darkness, I will praise till I overcome. For no other reason than He deserves my praise (my life became founded on the song from Hills ‘Blessed’ CD ‘Shout to the King’).

It was a real divine week in my life, as He set the foundations towards growing as a worshipper – of being extravagant in praise & worship; that ‘I will not bring to my King that which cost me nothing’; of being spent whenever I enter His throne-room in praise & worship, cos He deserves all my heart, all my soul, all my mind. That’s it not a matter of how I feel, how my week has been, what season in life I am in, what others around me might think of me when I praise my King with ALL I have.

Along with this revelation of praise & worship, God captured my heart and sowed in me a hunger week after week for a Church so hungry for His presence, that we will see the day where His GLORY so saturate the service (testimony shared in Tommy Tenny’s ‘God Chasers’), and in our individual lives, that every car, every passer-by that drives past is unexplainably drawn to stop, and people just coming out of their cars, even before they can step into the church, they are slain by the Spirit of God, and encounter Him in a personal way like never before. That healing takes places without the person needing to open his mouth or listen to a message.

3) In 2004, in a season when God was picking up the broken, stripped down to shame, and a sense of hopelessness and being cheap, He gave me 2 visions at PlanetShakers Conference and a promise ie. Isaiah 54 and 55.

(This I shared at the international student elective).

I saw a vision of a mighty army of God, faceless, marching boldly with such strength, such might, such power, with banners, and instruments, led by God, a bright and shiny Armour, unstoppable, taking lands.

The 2nd vision I saw was droves and droves of international students coming through the doors. They were crying and worshipping as they were being ministered from the platform. With it God gave me a word that Edge Church will be the place where students come, and not walk away with just a paper (degree), but they will be equipped, they will come to know Him & His love and they will be sent to all the ends of the earth, witnessing and carrying that revelation they have been imparted in their stay here.

The song ‘Hosanna’ is a sing which captures all the vision God gave me.

‘I see the King of Glory, coming on the clouds with fire. The whole earth shakes, the whole earth shakes.

I see His love and mercy, washing over all our sin. The people sing, the people sing.

I see a generation, rising up to take their place, with selfless faith, with selfless faith.

I see a near revival, stirring as we pray and seek, we’re on our knees, we’re on our knees’.

What do you see? What do you see, precious women of God? Are you aware of what God is birthing and doing in your life now? Are you listening in to the ‘now’ word of God for your life?

I don’t know if it has sink into you
That you are not here in Adelaide by mistake
That it is NOT by mistake nor by default that you are position right here
In this season, for this time,
In Edge, coming in right in this stage of accelerated growth prophesised and witnessed in the life of Edge Church this year.
Embrace the ‘now’!
Many of your peers might not get the opportunity to taste the goodness of what is standing at your door this day.
Lets not take fore granted this awesome privilege.

Stir yourselves up daily
Lets encouraged and spur one another on
To persevere, to fight for our breakthroughs
Lets not stand in one another’s way
Lets urge and encourage one another to meditate on His WORD day & night
To pick up the weapons He has given us
Praise, Prayer, His WORD

There is nothing too huge, nothing too illogical,
No mountain too high
That our GOD can’t move
No dream too wild that if birth and seeded by God, can’t come to pass.
No sickness that can’t be healed
No circumstance too hard for God to intervene and change
For at His Name, every knee MUST bow.

Rise up Daughters of God!
Rise up Daughters of Jehovah Nissi!
Rise up Daughters of Jehovah Jireh!
Rise up Daughters of Jehovah Tsidkenu!
Rise up, rise up, rise up!

Rise up in your university!
Rise up in your hospitals!
Rise up at your workplace!
Rise up among the international students!
Rise up in your circle of friendship!

God created us to be overcomers & conquerors, to take and possess the land that He has given us.

Let us lead surrendered lives
Abandoned to the purpose of God working in & through our lives
Abandoned to His call
Abandoned to His leading
Hunger, thirsty, desperate for more of His presence
More of His Living Word breathing in us
Renewing our minds, lifting our eyes
Carrying the attitude of ‘whatever it takes Lord, mould me into the woman You purpose and make me to be’

Release what lies in the past
Do not let the past dictate the decisions and responses of your ‘now’ and your ‘future’
Surrender! Let go of your fears
Surrender! Let go of your insecurities
Surrender! Let go and cling no more to earthly things, friendships, degrees, gift
Hunger! hunger for Him!
Longed for His friendship, His fellowship
Rest, so secure in His unconditional love
Lead spirit-led lives
Run, serve knowing that the gifts He placed in you are not for personal gain and fame
But be eager, ever ready to lay it down at His disposal.

Let us run and never grow weary
Lets dare to dream big
Lets never shrink back for whatever reasons
Lets not be satisfied with living in a place of ‘enough’ or ‘comfort’
Lets step out
Lets live on the edge where faith and miracles exist
Lets spread out, drive our roots deep into the local church
And make room for the harvest God is bringing in (Isaiah 54)
Give everything you have, heart and soul
Strength! Courage!
‘Take possession of the land the Lord our God is giving us’ (Joshua 1)

Let us not be fearful to enter and walk into unchartered waters
Lets lead lives bigger than ourselves
That God can be exalted and magnified
Lets not just sing ‘we stand for our generation’
But lets really stand
Lets get on our knees and pray, intercede, and declare into being that which does not yet exist
Lets life our eyes, and pray that God open our spiritual eyes to the things we can’t see

‘Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me
Break my heart for what breaks yours
Everything I am for your Kingdom’s cause
As I walk from earth into eternity (Hossana)’

Come on this journey with me
I really believe its not a coincidental thing that God has gathered the musicians, those with a call of leadership in their life, those who are gifted with creativity under one roof.

Come on this journey with me of going where other internationals have not gone or are fearful
Lets be leaders and as we run, bring others along with us
Into the purposes of God
That our peers will not leave Australia with just a paper
That they will not leave with just the growth that takes place in comfort zones
But flourish with the revelation and growth that comes in the challenging and uncomfortable but yet exciting zone.
Lets break and take grounds
Connecting and rooting ourselves in church, not just going to church
But carrying and running with the vision, spirit and heart of the House
Lets bring one another before God in prayer
That we too may experience and see breakthroughs in our individual lives
That we may see the people God brings into our connect group being ministered and coming to know His love for them.
There will never be a convenient time to step out.
Lets go on a journey together to be do-ers of the Word and not just hear-ers.
That we may be moved into action and not just stirred!

I see so much potential in each of you! More than what I think some of you believe or see in yourself. My heart as your leader, is to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in what God is doing in your lives and hearts.
My heart is to see you break free from the 'prisons' you are locked in,
to see u grow and live in the revelation that God soo desires to bring to you about His love for you, and to be the woman God has called, purposed and make you to be - nothing less than a Complete Woman in Him.

Love ya all!
Winnie

What's in a Name

2007-05-17T22:55:00.000+09:30

Hi Gals,
Hold tight to your seats, stay with me as you read this post and the next.

I would love to share with you my revelation of who God is. May you be blessed.

What's in a Name?

When I look at the rising rays of the sun, the fluffy clouds, the dew-soaked grass, I give thanks to Elohim, my creator.
He who supplies, nourishes, satisfies, and makes fruitful the animals and plants of the earth
Is my El-Shaddai, the One and Only True & Living God, who has been with me through all times.
In my tiredness, worries, tears, uncertainities, confusion, I fall repeatedly, like a new-born babe with weak limbs
But I was never alone
Jehovah Rohi picked and lifted me up
In sickness Jehovah Rophe is there
In a storm, Jehovah Shalom brings peace
When the enemy attacks, Jehovah Nissi equips me with an armour and weapons necessary to emerge victorious
Jehovah Jireh never fails to provide for every situation and every need
Each morning as I wake to find Jehovah Shammah near,
And breathe in His breathe that fills my heart & give me life
I find myself lost in His love
A love so pure, so deep, so intense, so secure
A perfect Lamb who deserves nothing less than to be given my best
And even my best is not enough
For Adonai surpasses what words can describe of any Being
I'm left standing in awe and speechless
The Ominpresent, Ominiscient, Omnipotent bridegroom loved the world so much
That He gave His only Son to bleed for us sinners
Jehovah M'Kaddesh did this that we may be sanctified
Jehovah Tsidkenu exchanged His righteousness for our unrighteousness that we may walk in an intimate relationship with God
It is such an extreme prvilege and blessing to be able to call Jehovah 'Father'
Its the best gift one can ever receive.

For Su Yin

2007-05-16T17:13:00.000+09:30

Hi Su Yin,

It's been awhile since I last saw you. How have you been? Hope you had a good time touring Auckland with your family. Anyway, this is just a little message from your angel to you, just so you know that you're thought of. Also, a reminder that no matter what the circumstance, through happy or sad God has loved you and will continue to as John 3:16 states , "For God so loved the world He gave His one and only son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life."

God bless,

Your angel.

Birthdays of the month

2007-05-15T13:49:00.000+09:30

This is our first time blogging, so.. testing.. testing..
We (Chelsie and Jebbrine) would like to wish Su and Jasmine a Very Very happy birthday from the bottom of our butts.
Till then.. bye bye. :)

luvluv, Chelsie and Jebbie

Go Kart

2007-05-14T18:46:00.000+09:30

Hey everyone!

We will be going Go-Karting this Saturday! The venue is fully booked for the whole day and the first available slot if 9.30pm. We have made a tentative booking and will be required to provide a fix number of people going asap.

Its 60 laps for $45.

Invite as many of your friends as you want!

It will be an awesome opportunity to connect, build friendships and reach out to our friends!

http://www.kartmaniarichmond.com.au/

There's lazer skirmish available too!

If car racing doesn't appeal to you, come hang out and enjoy a time of fellowship. There will be others who will not be racing too! Besides, we can only have maximum of 10 racers at any one time I think.

There will be a trophy and medals for the winning team!

Contact Kareeann or Winnie if you have an update of the number of people coming.

To Michelle and Christine

2007-05-09T22:12:00.000+09:30

Hope you have a great/blessed week ahead! I don't want to write too much in case it gives me away :)

Proverbs 3:5 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.'

From,
Your Angel

To Steph with Love!

2007-05-09T14:48:00.000+09:30

Dear Steph,

How’s your week so far? Hope you are doing great! Just drop by to let you know that you are being loved and cared for by your angel:) You will be in my prayer list when I go and have a chat with God. I promise that I’ll let Him know how much you love Him! The blessings below are especially given to you, may you sail ahead smoothly throughout the rest of the week. *wink*

S – Safety
T – Time for God
E – Endurance
P – Perfection
H – Humor
A – Ability
N – No worries
I – Intelligence
E – Efficient

Meanwhile take good care of yourself & Keep smiling!

Lots of love,
Your Angel

GO-KARTING!

2007-05-09T13:53:00.000+09:30

Hope you are all having an awesome day at work & uni!

Have you given some thought whether you would like to go Go-Karting next Sunday?
Have you invited your friends?

I will have to finalise the numbers and probably go a group booking.

More details can be found on http://www.check-in.com.au/Adelaide/Kart_Mania_Indoor_Go_kart_Racing.htm

Cya tonight!

Dear Pansy

2007-05-08T17:40:00.000+09:30

Just a short message to let you know that your angel cared enough to write you a whole post as opposed to all the other angels who merely left messages on the tagboard. (kidding,kidding) This whole anonymity thing is so fun because I get to annoy everybody with posts such as these under the guise of the name "Angel" (which is everyone else's name at this point of time) and then sit back and watch as everyone starts accusing each other.

Ok, seriously. Hello, my name is Angel. (not really, but for the next 5 weeks anyway.) There isn't much I can say about myself as I have been given strict orders not to reveal my true identity till the day of reckoning (5 Sundays from now, as set by Winnie) where you can by all means scream at me for being a crap angel or lavish me with compliments for the true-to-form angel I was to you over the course of 5 weeks. I'm hoping it will be the latter.

I'll try my best to bless you with gifts, words of encouragement and not least of all, prayers. We don't know each other very well, you and I. I'm hoping that over the course of the next 5 weeks you will come to know me not just as "Angel" but as someone who loves and desires God as I'm sure you do too. If ever you would like me to pray specifically for anything, please do not hesitate to send an email to our connect group's account (connect.group@hotmail.com) with the title "for Pansy's angel". I would leave you my mobile number but that would totally give my identity away so till the day of reckoning, emails will have to suffice.

Till next time.

God bless,

Angel.

Hello!!

2007-05-06T18:23:00.000+09:30

At the insistence of the other members of our Connect Group, I have finally completed the setup process for our blog! Thank God that blogspot has made its setup so much more user friendly....if not I probably would've taken a much longer time to do it (yes despite my almost everyday updates in my own blog, I still am very new at all this computer stuff).

However as you all may have noticed, the background is quite plain (told you I'm no good) and we still do not have a description in the 'About Me' part....

So....I need input from all of you!! Leave comments or tag or something please!!

From,
Steph Wong