When darkness surrounds all of me
You are the light the shines and shows me the way.
When there is nothing but hopelessness and despair,
You stretch your arms to embrace and deliver me.
When I am burdened by my failures that threaten to drown me,
You raise me up and lift my head up with pride.

You’re an awesome God.
When I stray, You’re the shepherd that seeks me.
When I leave, like the prodigal’s son, You wait for me.
And upon my return, You see me in the distance, break into a run,
embrace me, celebrate my come back.

You’re a beautiful God.
You have showered your love, grace and mercy upon me.
You’ve only brought joy and prosperity in my life.

You’re a mighty God.
You’re my strength, my rest, my peace.
With your hand in mine, there’s no hurdle, no woe I cannot overcome.

Thank you for walking with me.

1 John 4:17 (NKJV)

Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.

Today, the choir was recruiting.
And I heard my twin (hehe) elder sister sing for the very first time. As in, I heard her voice and all.
Praise God! I can’t thank Him enough for whatever He’s done in our lives so that we grow closer. Its amazing. What an awesome God we have. I love you Jesus.

You know what, I think I’m gonna be famous cos of the video she was featured in.
Cos we look so alike and all, and already people have mistaken me for her. So I expect a lot more of that now that the whole church has seen her. Woooohoooo, that was easy, almost effortless Haha

One day, when I’m ready, when I’m all confident and full of esteem, I’ll be up there singing for His glory.
She’ll go up to people and tell them, “That’s my younger sister. My lookalike” just like how I go around boasting about her now In fact, not her alone, my younger sis will say “That’s my irritating but caring sister up there”. My dad will say “That’s my daughter, Joy and I’m so proud of her” and then go on to tell the person the famous story of my birth and how he put me on his lap and drove to a pub to show me off to his friends on the very day of my birth. My mum will say “That’s my eldest, defiant, stubborn but all the more loving daughter”. My brother will say “That’s my darling younger sister.”

I think that will be the day when I have accomplished all I’ve wanted to. What a nice picture!

1 Give ear to my words, O LORD,
consider my sighing.

2 Listen to my cry for help,
my King and my God,
for to you I pray.

3 In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait in expectation.

4 You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil;
with you the wicked cannot dwell.

5 The arrogant cannot stand in your presence;
you hate all who do wrong.

6 You destroy those who tell lies;
bloodthirsty and deceitful men
the LORD abhors.

7 But I, by your great mercy,
will come into your house;
in reverence will I bow down
toward your holy temple.

8 Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness
because of my enemies—
make straight your way before me.

11 But let all who take refuge in you be glad;
let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

12 For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous;
you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

Never were those arms opened so wide as they were on the Roman cross. One arm extending back into history and the other reaching into the future. An embrace of forgiveness offered for anyone who’ll come. A hen gathering her chicks. A father receiving his own. A redeemer redeeming the world.

No wonder they call him the Savior.

– Max Lucado – Open Arms

Everytime I watch this scene in The Passion of The Christ, I cry. It evokes a lot of feelings in my heart. There’s a scene, after Jesus’s first hand is pierced through the cross, when one of the soldier’s pulls Jesus’s arm so his hand is in line with the hole in the cross. Whenever I see that, it reminds me of fingernails scratching the blackboard. The sound is deafening, similarly, the sight of that gruesome, brutal scene makes me wanna go blind.

But that kind, loving sacrifice never broke Jesus. All the time they whipped and scourged him, he thought of us. In fact, even on the cross, with blood all over him, with an aching body and nail-pierced hands, he was thinking of us. He said “Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do”.

That’s how deep his love extends. My love, compared to his is pathetic, miserable. You know, he knows the number of hair on your head? Even the one that just dropped. To him, we’re not a serial number. We’re not tagged with Identity Card Numbers, HE KNOWS US BY NAME. That’s how awesome my God is and this is why I am not of this world but merely in it.

There’s a time when nothing in this world matters. When you’re humbled and amazed, simply blown away by His love for you. As you stare into His eyes, comfortably seated on His lap, you realise your worth in His eyes. You realise that you’re more than just a name, more than just a face, that in His kingdom, you’re a King, you’re royalty, adorned with grace, mercy and love so abounding that it leaves you breathless. At that moment, you feel all your desires satisfied, your thirst quenched, your strength rejuvenated. Its just you and your Heavenly Father. He smiles and at that precise point in time, all your worries fade away like it was never there before.

Things may not have gone well today: your devotional in school may have failed, your grades may have taken a dip, your dad may have made you feel like the most terrible person on earth, your mum may have cried out to you in anguish. You may have no one to talk to, to pour out that sea of complaints, no shoulder to cry on, no hand to pat your head and say “things will turn out just fine” but just then you look up and there lies your answer to all your worries, anxieties, all your questions.

At that time He places me on His lap and things feel right, my life feels smooth. It is on His lap that I realise that I’m not alone in this walk, that at any time at all I can turn to Him and seek solace.

It came as a surprise, this call from my Care Group leader requesting me to assist my schoolmate, Shaun, for weekly devotional meetings in school.
i didn’t know if I was ready yet, but I guess the Lord just urged me to say yes and so I did.
In a way, I’ve started serving in Arrow, in a way.
its amazing how I’ve moved from being nothing to something, all glory to God.

What Coach Gary preached today ministered to me.
And especially and essentially what Samantha shared was really eye opening. As she was saying it, I could totally relate to it. I wouldn’t say what she went through was exactly what I did, but there were some similarities. I look at where I’ve come to today, all by the grace of God, and I realise things have been so supernaturally blessed and it leaves me speechless.

This is how I thank you as you stand by my side, exalting me with your presence:
There is a peace, There is a rest
That settles here in Your presence
When Your face is very near, Your love erases every fear

It’s the power of Your presence
It’s the strength of Your hand in mine
It’s the glory of Your greatness
That has the power to change my life

Merely few hours ago, my olive oil was just natural oil.
Now, it is SUPERNATURAL OIL, my ANNOINTED OIL.

And I’m gonna be radical with it.

I’m gonna use it for my exams, my health, my lazy eye (which is a condition of the eye I am born with), my finances, my family, my friends, my house, my car. EVERYTHING MAN, EVERYTHING.
I just had a drop of my dad’s oil (don’t worry his is the edible one) and annointed myself with my own one later and it felt awesome man!

And Abba will bless me abundantly, He will restore and multiply.
And anyone of you can say its superstition, but you know what? No matter what, I will still use it and I will still believe in it. You can call me foolish for all you want.

I’M GONNA BE A HISTORY MAKER!
WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

When I say…”I am a Christian”
I’m not shouting “I am saved”
I’m whispering “I get lost!”
“That is why I chose this way.”

When I say…”I am a Christian”
I don’t speak of this with pride.
I’m confessing that I stumble
and need someone to be my guide.

When I say…”I am a Christian”
I’m not trying to be strong.
I’m professing that I’m weak
and pray for strength to carry on.

When I say…”I am a Christian”
I’m not bragging of success.
I’m admitting I have failed
and cannot ever pay the debt.

When I say…”I am a Christian”
I’m not claiming to be perfect,
my flaws are too visible
but God believes I’m worth it.

When I say…”I am a Christian”
I still feel the sting of pain
I have my share of heartaches
which is why I seek His name.

When I say…”I am a Christian”
I do not wish to judge.
I have no authority.
I only know I’m loved.

Carol Wimmer

Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of
the Lord been revealed?

He grew up before him like a tender
shoot,
and like a root of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to
attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we
should desire him.

He was despised and rejected by
men,
a man of sorrows and familiar
with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their
faces
he was despised,
and we esteemed him not.

Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by
God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our
transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us
peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.