excerpts from KD's sermon in workers prayer meeting. i'm gonna crash on my bed soon so i'll fix the wording later. happy reading peeps!
it was taken from the second book of Timothy, chapter 3. it is said that in the end days, men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.
and this does not happen to just unbelievers but also to the people who confess themselves as Christians, looking religious on the outside yet denying it inside.
stop and think for a moment.
am I a true Christian? or am I just a nominal Christian?
know that every work that we do will be tested with fire in the end, thus our intrinsic value will be revealed, our nominal value gone.
This can happen because we were led to confine our Christian life into a box of time and space, only when we're at church. Our worship, faith, service, ministry becomes superficial because it is not actually in our lives! It is reduced into mere 2-3 hours :( He is the God of our life, not just the God of our church.
let's take a common example. Worship is now reduced to just singing. That is what we call worship nowadays. But do we really live what we are singing? Is it just words we sing about or words we live by? Worship needs to be our life. Worship needs to come out from the heart that knows the Lord. Do you really know whom you worship?
Anything that you believe that doesn't affect our life is useless. It is wasteful. There is no medium ground, either you do it seriously or don't do it at all. Yes for all, or not at all.
These days and time, life is becoming more and more superficial. Take time to ponder on deep questions of life, what do I want in this life, what am I here for? Take time to think of the purpose of your life. Learn to leave our old life behind and let God rebuilt our new life. Strong life is build on conviction, purpose and value. Living by faith is to live with conviction, holding fast onto something that we will never let go, and let it be God, that we won't ever let go.
If my faith doesn't influence my life, it is dead faith! Dead faith equals to no faith, it gives false satisfaction.
We must not let spiritual laziness to creep into our life. If you know that your spiritual life is not right, must not we pray to God to help us?
"Grace is opposed to earning, not effort"
Grace is kairos, when you hear God speaks to you, listen and follow because the time of God (kairos) is not always there. It is maybe your only chance. God works in His time, in His sovereignty and in His will. When you hear His calling, respond to him.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Footscray no more
I really miss baking cakes!
Why all of a sudden? Hmmm, I just finished my last day at work and will be coming back to my beloved blimbank next Monday, which will be on valentine's day and I was thinking of bringing some sweet treats in. And I actually thought of baking something when I remembered I will be at a wedding just the night before (and most likely will not go home sober considering lots of my dental friends will be there). Maybe I will just buy some chocolates.
But I wanna bake! :(
*sulk*
Why all of a sudden? Hmmm, I just finished my last day at work and will be coming back to my beloved blimbank next Monday, which will be on valentine's day and I was thinking of bringing some sweet treats in. And I actually thought of baking something when I remembered I will be at a wedding just the night before (and most likely will not go home sober considering lots of my dental friends will be there). Maybe I will just buy some chocolates.
But I wanna bake! :(
*sulk*
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Work? Life?
*yawn stretch stretch*
Woohoo, I'm on a roll today. My third post in one evening! (albeit being done in the comfort of my bed via my super hi tech chrissie present haha).
I was proofreading my last post for the third time after some minor editing, grammar correction and layout adjustment, you know, as I always do with every post, when I noticed on the sidebar that I blogged significantly less in 2010, that is when work started to get busy. Since I am still on the subject of quarter life crisis, my current affliction and thorn in the flesh, I wanted to share my view on work-life balance. How much work do you need to do? And how much life do we need to get, really?
We work to live, not live to work. Cliche. Yet, how many people do live to work? I have a good friend who enjoys his work so much, it might as well be his hobby. Not me though, I love my job but I love to live too. I am probably on the lazier side, wanting to work four days in a week if I can afford it, then I will have more time to spend living. I am still working five days a week, if you're wondering. But yeah, o how I long for less working days. I wouldn't call this sheer laziness. There are so many things I want to do. Productive things. Things that actually matters in life, at least for me, like having time to cook more, so I can eat healthier, to read more, to exercise more, to learn new things (as a matter of fact, basic life skills I haven't mastered yet at the age of 26: swimming and driving). Do devotional routinely and properly, not a rushed one with only few watts energy left. And I definitely want to blog more!
Boo said the other day, maybe you just need to manage your time better. He did not know he was talking to wrong kind of person. Asking a bloody perfectionist to manage her time better is incredibly offensive. And I was a bit too proud and very emotional at that time, so obviously I got angry. Full time work drains one's energy to the extent that when you get home, all you want to do is just to zonk on the bed. But often you have to make dinner first, then do dishes, laundry, throw rubbish out, and run all this household chores before that sweet rendezvous with dear bed. And that's provided you go home straight away. What if you have other things to do after work? Prayer meetings, catching up with friends, appointments. No wonder people get stressed and no wonder I get sick every forthnight.
Sunday's always a busy day for me too. Ministering and serving the Lord brings joy, and it has always been enjoyable. I don't mind pushing myself for it. Yet, sometimes, Sunday night I will go to bed feeling unrested and wondering quietly how on earth am I going to survive the coming week with such battered body.
Anyways, back to what boo was saying, he's got a point, but I think I have a point too. How would you define life? How would you define a fulfilled life? Success? Happiness? I've learned that living is about purpose, about chasing and doing God's purpose in our life, however with all the worldly job we still have and all the worldly responsibilities that we have in that worldly job, surely we still have to do the best? How about our health? Are we not supposed to be looking after our body? Are not we responsible for it? And call me selfish, I still need time to do things I want to do, just to keep me sane. What to do? I really don't know, otherwise, I wouldn't be in such a crisis, would I?
Woohoo, I'm on a roll today. My third post in one evening! (albeit being done in the comfort of my bed via my super hi tech chrissie present haha).
I was proofreading my last post for the third time after some minor editing, grammar correction and layout adjustment, you know, as I always do with every post, when I noticed on the sidebar that I blogged significantly less in 2010, that is when work started to get busy. Since I am still on the subject of quarter life crisis, my current affliction and thorn in the flesh, I wanted to share my view on work-life balance. How much work do you need to do? And how much life do we need to get, really?
We work to live, not live to work. Cliche. Yet, how many people do live to work? I have a good friend who enjoys his work so much, it might as well be his hobby. Not me though, I love my job but I love to live too. I am probably on the lazier side, wanting to work four days in a week if I can afford it, then I will have more time to spend living. I am still working five days a week, if you're wondering. But yeah, o how I long for less working days. I wouldn't call this sheer laziness. There are so many things I want to do. Productive things. Things that actually matters in life, at least for me, like having time to cook more, so I can eat healthier, to read more, to exercise more, to learn new things (as a matter of fact, basic life skills I haven't mastered yet at the age of 26: swimming and driving). Do devotional routinely and properly, not a rushed one with only few watts energy left. And I definitely want to blog more!
Boo said the other day, maybe you just need to manage your time better. He did not know he was talking to wrong kind of person. Asking a bloody perfectionist to manage her time better is incredibly offensive. And I was a bit too proud and very emotional at that time, so obviously I got angry. Full time work drains one's energy to the extent that when you get home, all you want to do is just to zonk on the bed. But often you have to make dinner first, then do dishes, laundry, throw rubbish out, and run all this household chores before that sweet rendezvous with dear bed. And that's provided you go home straight away. What if you have other things to do after work? Prayer meetings, catching up with friends, appointments. No wonder people get stressed and no wonder I get sick every forthnight.
Sunday's always a busy day for me too. Ministering and serving the Lord brings joy, and it has always been enjoyable. I don't mind pushing myself for it. Yet, sometimes, Sunday night I will go to bed feeling unrested and wondering quietly how on earth am I going to survive the coming week with such battered body.
Anyways, back to what boo was saying, he's got a point, but I think I have a point too. How would you define life? How would you define a fulfilled life? Success? Happiness? I've learned that living is about purpose, about chasing and doing God's purpose in our life, however with all the worldly job we still have and all the worldly responsibilities that we have in that worldly job, surely we still have to do the best? How about our health? Are we not supposed to be looking after our body? Are not we responsible for it? And call me selfish, I still need time to do things I want to do, just to keep me sane. What to do? I really don't know, otherwise, I wouldn't be in such a crisis, would I?
oh ella!
I don't believe in frettin' and grievin';
Why mess around with strife?
I never was cut out to step and strut out.
Give me the simple life.
Some find it pleasant dining on pheasant.
Those things roll off my knife;
Just serve me tomatoes; and mashed potatoes;
Give me the simple life.
A cottage small is all I'm after,
Not one that's spacious and wide.
A home that's full with joy and laughter
And the ones you love inside.
Some like the high road, I like the low road,
Free from the care and strife.
Sounds corny and seedy, but yes, indeed-y;
Give me the simple life.
for whoever who's feeling like this, you are not alone
apparently it is not just me going crazy. everyone's mind gone haywire lately. welcome to quarter life crisis.
i don't usually trust wikipedia, but their description of what characterises quarter life crisis kinda fits what i have been feeling lately, so just this time, i'll cite them here. they say, early-twenties like me (and maybe you) would have gone through or is going through one or few of the followings:
"confronting one's own mortality
insecurity concerning ability to love oneself, let alone another person
insecurity regarding present accomplishments
re-evaluation of close interpersonal relationships
lack of friendships or romantic relationships, sexual frustration, and involuntary celibacy
disappointment with one's job
nostalgia for university, college, high school, middle school or elementary school life
tendency to hold stronger opinions
boredom with social interactions
loss of closeness to high school and college friends
financially-rooted stress
loneliness, depression and suicidal tendencies
desire to have children
a sense that others are doing better than oneself
frustration with social skills"
and damn right, they're pretty spot on.
what to do? what to do?
...
i dunno about you, but as for me, i'll stick to my God, my Lord and my Jesus. He does get me through the day, day by day and everyday. i'll have faith. will you?
i don't usually trust wikipedia, but their description of what characterises quarter life crisis kinda fits what i have been feeling lately, so just this time, i'll cite them here. they say, early-twenties like me (and maybe you) would have gone through or is going through one or few of the followings:
"confronting one's own mortality
insecurity concerning ability to love oneself, let alone another person
insecurity regarding present accomplishments
re-evaluation of close interpersonal relationships
lack of friendships or romantic relationships, sexual frustration, and involuntary celibacy
disappointment with one's job
nostalgia for university, college, high school, middle school or elementary school life
tendency to hold stronger opinions
boredom with social interactions
loss of closeness to high school and college friends
financially-rooted stress
loneliness, depression and suicidal tendencies
desire to have children
a sense that others are doing better than oneself
frustration with social skills"
and damn right, they're pretty spot on.
what to do? what to do?
...
i dunno about you, but as for me, i'll stick to my God, my Lord and my Jesus. He does get me through the day, day by day and everyday. i'll have faith. will you?
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