There is an endless song
Echoes in my soul
I hear the music ring
And though the storms may come
I am holding on
To the rock I cling
How can I keep from singing Your praise
How can I ever say enough
How amazing is Your love
How can I keep from shouting Your name
I know I am loved by the King
And it makes my heart want to sing
I will lift my eyes
In the darkest night
For I know my Savior lives
And I will walk with You
Knowing You'll see me through
And sing the songs You give
How can I keep from singing your praise
How can I ever say enough
How amazing is your love
How can I keep from shouting your name
I know i am loved by the king
And it makes my heart want to sing
I can sing in the troubled times
Sing when I win
I can sing when I lose my step
And fall down again
I can sing 'cause You pick me up
Sing 'cause You're there
I can sing 'cause You hear me, Lord
When I call to You in prayer
I can sing with my last breath
Sing for I know
That I'll sing with the angels
And the saints around the throne
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
LSBC Church Camp 2010
Photos in this post are (reproduced without permission) from Yeo Mei's camera. Many thanks, girl. Please don't remove the photos from Facebook or they'll be gone from here too! I didn't save the eeemages, just got the URLs off your album.
This year's church camp was held at The Legend Hotel, KL, with about 750 campers comprising of the elderly, adults, young adults, youth, children and BABIES!! Needless to say, this was another awesome camp with a different set of memories and experiences. The next step is how to maintain this spiritual high that was encountered during the camp.
There were 3 40-seater coaches and 7 or 8 26-seater coaches I think. Those in uncle James' cell and Nelson's cell were in the same coach, together with a couple of other adults and some 17-yr-olds. You could say that our coach was rather lively.
When we arrived at the Malaysia Customs, the group split to join different queues to get our passports stamped. I joined the queue with 4 17yo guys in my coach. And out of the 4, 2 of them couldn't get through because apparently they had been asked to change their passport photos earlier.. which they didn't do. They held up the queue and I had to shout for help (i.e. get the attention of Nelson/Rebecca) to settle this issue. Thank God they eventually got through.. wonder what Nelson said to get them through.
Image 1: Waiting for Nelson to settle the passport photo issue
Journey there was smooth and comfortable :)
Image 2: zzzzzzzzzzzzz
We were greeted like VIPs upon arrival at the hotel. First we were received by the hotel staff who made a path for us to walk through, and welcomed us as we walked through. This was followed by the church elders who stood by a red carpet and welcoming us with noisemakers of all sorts. Party poppers, rattles, you name it. All of us were like, O_O WOW what a reception! Hahaha. But I must say that the hotel staff lived up to their first impression which they left on us. They are really polite. They even say good morning/evening to you when you're walking at the corridor! No pics of the staff though. And there were a few cute waiters. heh heh.
Image 3: This was at the hotel's entrance :)
Singaporeans need to take the trains in KL, experience a train ride for themselves before complaining about our MRT system. Like Emelyn posted on Facebook, I've really come to appreciate our trains a lot more. They're faster, higher in frequency, easier to purchase single-trip tickets, easier to change trains at interchanges, and passengers are considerably more thoughtful. I was disgusted to see how people shoved their way INto the monorail in KL while other passengers were trying to get OUT. And it was SO packed we had to forgo 3 monorails before we finally managed to squeeze ourselves into an emptier train. (no photo sorry) Oh gosh, the horror. That's why we pay higher fares in Singapore too I guess.
Image 8: Cell at Hang Tuah station
Image 9: Another cell at same station
We took the train to Mid Valley on the second day, more than 30 of us. Imagine such a large group walking to the station, purchasing tickets and boarding the train together. It was fun though :)
Images 10 & 11: Our 3osomething-strong group. See background
Image 12: Inside the Ladies' Coach
Image 13: Part of the group
Magnum in Malaysia is really CHEAP (relative to that of Singapore's). One Magnum costs RM3.50 in 7-eleven there, but is I think S$3.90 here. So a lot of us took the chance to indulge in a stick of Magnum ice-cream while we were there after a bak kut teh supper on the first night. (no photos)
Image 14: Mei nu Jacelyn who was coughing badly throughout the whole camp :(
We forgot to take our groceries after making payment for them at Cold Storage, and only went back 2 days later to retrieve them. Win already. hahahha.
We had a girls night on the second night where girls from the two cells (Nelson's and James') gathered to chill over snacks and some...gossip. hehe. Nothing like a good night with the girls!
On the last day, our coach was one of the last to arrive at the hotel.. so there was lots of camwhoring to pass time :)
Image 15: Very bored Bus B passengers
Images 16: Erm.. wow.
Image 17: One of the last photos taken before someone shouts "BUS B!!!!!!", which was followed by cheers from its passengers. Oh, and our coach number was 7878 :)
--
This year's theme revolved around the goodness of God, and breakthroughs in our personal life and in church.
During the discussion within our cell groups, the topic of serving in a ministry was brought up again. And that was when Michelle, the only other cell mate who is not currently serving, revealed that she has decided to join the Hospitality Team. I was still undecided, and that kinda put greater pressure on me to make up my mind and take action soon instead of sitting around and not doing anything.
For 2.5 years, I have been inactive in service to the church (or, serving God in the church) because I chose to join the AC Chinese Orchestra because I really wanted to be part of an orchestra/ensemble, and both practices clashed. I have been ministry-less ever since. Been thinking of what to join but I just could not come to a conclusion.
People who know me well know that I enjoy performing as part of an ensemble or orchestra, producing music in a group. It's something I have been doing since primary school, and something I intend to do for as long as I can. This has been planned out long ago.. I joined ACCO (where I picked up the erhu) so that I can continue to be part of a performing arts group in university. Because they don't have handbells (which I played in sec sch) or angklungs (pri sch). Music is so much a part of me that I don't ever want to give it up.
I don't think I have mentioned this before, but I communicate with God through songs whenever I can. I find that I can better express myself when I do this. Things which cannot be put into songs are put across through the normal mode of communication - prayer. You see, when words fail, music speaks... and that is something most of us musicians cannot deny.
During the Holy Spirit Night on the third night of the camp, people got ministered to, deliverance took place, God moved among us. It was also through this session that God spoke to me and suddenly everything seemed to fall into place. All the elders and their wives prayed for every camper who wanted to receive prayer and a word from God. The matching of camper to elder was entirely random, which makes it even more freaky when a prophecy is made which the receiver can 100% relate too.
Elder Melvin Gan prayed for me, and he started out with tongues, where my mind was just blank. I expected something to happen, but I just didn't know what. Then he said he felt that the word the Lord had for me was 'Music'.
As he said that, something stirred within me, and I couldn't stop crying after that. Why?
I didn't expect God to have been this specific. It could have been any word in the world, but it was Music that God chose to give to me. Like, wow. It was both reassuring as well as a sort of a confirmation at the same time with regards to which area I should serve in. (I spoke to Wendy about this... and she said to follow my heart, and go audition for it when the opportunity arises. That way I can really be sure)
It's like God is telling me not to doubt Him, or doubt what he has blessed me with. This can be really freaky sometimes, when a single word can be so direct and yet mean so many things, answer so many questions I can't seem to find an answer to. That night, God felt so real, I thought I could reach out a hand and touch Him.
The third night was definitely the highlight of the camp for me. It was so overwhelming I can't even explain how I truly felt then. Strangely, it wasn't the guest speaker's sermons that stuck with me. I gained most from SP's message that God is good, gracious and righteous. Never will he let harm come upon is if it does not make us stronger in character and as a person.
God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good :)
This year's church camp was held at The Legend Hotel, KL, with about 750 campers comprising of the elderly, adults, young adults, youth, children and BABIES!! Needless to say, this was another awesome camp with a different set of memories and experiences. The next step is how to maintain this spiritual high that was encountered during the camp.
There were 3 40-seater coaches and 7 or 8 26-seater coaches I think. Those in uncle James' cell and Nelson's cell were in the same coach, together with a couple of other adults and some 17-yr-olds. You could say that our coach was rather lively.
When we arrived at the Malaysia Customs, the group split to join different queues to get our passports stamped. I joined the queue with 4 17yo guys in my coach. And out of the 4, 2 of them couldn't get through because apparently they had been asked to change their passport photos earlier.. which they didn't do. They held up the queue and I had to shout for help (i.e. get the attention of Nelson/Rebecca) to settle this issue. Thank God they eventually got through.. wonder what Nelson said to get them through.
Image 1: Waiting for Nelson to settle the passport photo issueJourney there was smooth and comfortable :)
Image 2: zzzzzzzzzzzzzWe were greeted like VIPs upon arrival at the hotel. First we were received by the hotel staff who made a path for us to walk through, and welcomed us as we walked through. This was followed by the church elders who stood by a red carpet and welcoming us with noisemakers of all sorts. Party poppers, rattles, you name it. All of us were like, O_O WOW what a reception! Hahaha. But I must say that the hotel staff lived up to their first impression which they left on us. They are really polite. They even say good morning/evening to you when you're walking at the corridor! No pics of the staff though. And there were a few cute waiters. heh heh.
Image 3: This was at the hotel's entrance :)The food there was only so-so, not THAT bad but not fantastic either. Uncle James (cell ldr) was displeased with almost every dish. He brought us to Madam Kwan's at the Pavilion, near Berjaya Times Square... and boy, THE FOOD WAS SO GOOD I COULD EAT ENOUGH FOR 2 PEOPLE but of course I paiseh, though he said to order whatever and how much we liked, I just ate like a lady. Madam Kwan's makes the hotel food pale in comparison!! Such is the standard of our cell leader. haha. The lunch was on him, and I wonder how much he actually paid. . . .
Image 4: Digging in
Images 5 & 6: Before and after. Food tastes better than it looks.
Image 7: A happy UJC (Uncle James' Cell) outside the restaurant
Image 4: Digging inImages 5 & 6: Before and after. Food tastes better than it looks.Image 7: A happy UJC (Uncle James' Cell) outside the restaurantSingaporeans need to take the trains in KL, experience a train ride for themselves before complaining about our MRT system. Like Emelyn posted on Facebook, I've really come to appreciate our trains a lot more. They're faster, higher in frequency, easier to purchase single-trip tickets, easier to change trains at interchanges, and passengers are considerably more thoughtful. I was disgusted to see how people shoved their way INto the monorail in KL while other passengers were trying to get OUT. And it was SO packed we had to forgo 3 monorails before we finally managed to squeeze ourselves into an emptier train. (no photo sorry) Oh gosh, the horror. That's why we pay higher fares in Singapore too I guess.
Image 8: Cell at Hang Tuah stationImage 9: Another cell at same stationWe took the train to Mid Valley on the second day, more than 30 of us. Imagine such a large group walking to the station, purchasing tickets and boarding the train together. It was fun though :)
Images 10 & 11: Our 3osomething-strong group. See backgroundImage 12: Inside the Ladies' CoachImage 13: Part of the groupMagnum in Malaysia is really CHEAP (relative to that of Singapore's). One Magnum costs RM3.50 in 7-eleven there, but is I think S$3.90 here. So a lot of us took the chance to indulge in a stick of Magnum ice-cream while we were there after a bak kut teh supper on the first night. (no photos)
My roommate was Jacelyn, again :D
Image 14: Mei nu Jacelyn who was coughing badly throughout the whole camp :(We had a girls night on the second night where girls from the two cells (Nelson's and James') gathered to chill over snacks and some...gossip. hehe. Nothing like a good night with the girls!
On the last day, our coach was one of the last to arrive at the hotel.. so there was lots of camwhoring to pass time :)
Image 15: Very bored Bus B passengersImages 16: Erm.. wow.Image 17: One of the last photos taken before someone shouts "BUS B!!!!!!", which was followed by cheers from its passengers. Oh, and our coach number was 7878 :)This year's theme revolved around the goodness of God, and breakthroughs in our personal life and in church.
During the discussion within our cell groups, the topic of serving in a ministry was brought up again. And that was when Michelle, the only other cell mate who is not currently serving, revealed that she has decided to join the Hospitality Team. I was still undecided, and that kinda put greater pressure on me to make up my mind and take action soon instead of sitting around and not doing anything.
For 2.5 years, I have been inactive in service to the church (or, serving God in the church) because I chose to join the AC Chinese Orchestra because I really wanted to be part of an orchestra/ensemble, and both practices clashed. I have been ministry-less ever since. Been thinking of what to join but I just could not come to a conclusion.
People who know me well know that I enjoy performing as part of an ensemble or orchestra, producing music in a group. It's something I have been doing since primary school, and something I intend to do for as long as I can. This has been planned out long ago.. I joined ACCO (where I picked up the erhu) so that I can continue to be part of a performing arts group in university. Because they don't have handbells (which I played in sec sch) or angklungs (pri sch). Music is so much a part of me that I don't ever want to give it up.
I don't think I have mentioned this before, but I communicate with God through songs whenever I can. I find that I can better express myself when I do this. Things which cannot be put into songs are put across through the normal mode of communication - prayer. You see, when words fail, music speaks... and that is something most of us musicians cannot deny.
During the Holy Spirit Night on the third night of the camp, people got ministered to, deliverance took place, God moved among us. It was also through this session that God spoke to me and suddenly everything seemed to fall into place. All the elders and their wives prayed for every camper who wanted to receive prayer and a word from God. The matching of camper to elder was entirely random, which makes it even more freaky when a prophecy is made which the receiver can 100% relate too.
Elder Melvin Gan prayed for me, and he started out with tongues, where my mind was just blank. I expected something to happen, but I just didn't know what. Then he said he felt that the word the Lord had for me was 'Music'.
As he said that, something stirred within me, and I couldn't stop crying after that. Why?
- Music has always been something very dear to my heart
- I've been doubting whether my gifting does lie in music cos I cant seem to play/sing as well as I could before
- I've stopped serving for 2.5 years now, but am quite hesitant in going back to serving in a ministry, and which to serve in. Deep inside I know I want to go back to the worship team (just unsure of when) but
part of me says I simply am not good enough - Melvin, who prayed for me, has no idea what or how much music actually means to me. Which made God seem even more real.
I didn't expect God to have been this specific. It could have been any word in the world, but it was Music that God chose to give to me. Like, wow. It was both reassuring as well as a sort of a confirmation at the same time with regards to which area I should serve in. (I spoke to Wendy about this... and she said to follow my heart, and go audition for it when the opportunity arises. That way I can really be sure)
It's like God is telling me not to doubt Him, or doubt what he has blessed me with. This can be really freaky sometimes, when a single word can be so direct and yet mean so many things, answer so many questions I can't seem to find an answer to. That night, God felt so real, I thought I could reach out a hand and touch Him.
The third night was definitely the highlight of the camp for me. It was so overwhelming I can't even explain how I truly felt then. Strangely, it wasn't the guest speaker's sermons that stuck with me. I gained most from SP's message that God is good, gracious and righteous. Never will he let harm come upon is if it does not make us stronger in character and as a person.
God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good :)
Friday, June 11, 2010
MYOB - When do we draw the line?
People say, it's best not to poke your noses into others' business. Read: Mind your own business, or MYOB. In Singapore terms, it simply means not to be a kaypoh because others may not like it.
It is only natural for human beings to want to know more about what is going on around them, especially when it involves the people they know or care about. Take the school or workplace, for example. It may be a piece of juicy news (scandal, perhaps) or even a bit of information on a devastating event in someone's life. News spread fast, as observation of others' speech and actions eventually lead observers to make their own analysis and inferences, assuming that the subject did not give them a full account of their behaviour and actions. Humans just need to know about what is going on, even if it doesn't concern them at all.
And why does it (people's own inferences) spread? Well... the stimulation of discussion between and among individuals help to bond them together, maybe? There's also the need to hear what others' opinions may be, and to contribute their own to the story.
Of course, humans' need to know is subjective. People may be purely ignorant on current affairs of the country or world, and not bother to find out, out of sheer laziness (or bochup-ness). One explanation for this may be that such events are always happening, always changing, and it does not affect people's life directly. i.e. they are taking place far from home, where people cannot imagine themselves in those situations, or they simply cannot be bothered.
News is always jucier if you have to or happen to find out about them and draw your own conclusions. As mentioned above, this is usually discussed with other beings. When do we draw the line, though? When does such knowledge become gossip, and eventually, betrayal of friendship? Something may be entrusted to someone but that someone just HAS to share it, to hear another person's opinion with regards to that matter. Is there such a thing as knowing to much?
SHeesh, I wanna do up an essay with lots and lots of rhetorical questions (the exact thing my GP teacher said to avoid) but I'm just typing whatever comes to my mind, which is not the least bit coherent! AND my laptop battery is running low, it's gonna blow soon.
It is only natural for human beings to want to know more about what is going on around them, especially when it involves the people they know or care about. Take the school or workplace, for example. It may be a piece of juicy news (scandal, perhaps) or even a bit of information on a devastating event in someone's life. News spread fast, as observation of others' speech and actions eventually lead observers to make their own analysis and inferences, assuming that the subject did not give them a full account of their behaviour and actions. Humans just need to know about what is going on, even if it doesn't concern them at all.
And why does it (people's own inferences) spread? Well... the stimulation of discussion between and among individuals help to bond them together, maybe? There's also the need to hear what others' opinions may be, and to contribute their own to the story.
Of course, humans' need to know is subjective. People may be purely ignorant on current affairs of the country or world, and not bother to find out, out of sheer laziness (or bochup-ness). One explanation for this may be that such events are always happening, always changing, and it does not affect people's life directly. i.e. they are taking place far from home, where people cannot imagine themselves in those situations, or they simply cannot be bothered.
News is always jucier if you have to or happen to find out about them and draw your own conclusions. As mentioned above, this is usually discussed with other beings. When do we draw the line, though? When does such knowledge become gossip, and eventually, betrayal of friendship? Something may be entrusted to someone but that someone just HAS to share it, to hear another person's opinion with regards to that matter. Is there such a thing as knowing to much?
SHeesh, I wanna do up an essay with lots and lots of rhetorical questions (the exact thing my GP teacher said to avoid) but I'm just typing whatever comes to my mind, which is not the least bit coherent! AND my laptop battery is running low, it's gonna blow soon.
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