Date: 30th December 2011 - 1st January 2012
Venue: Costa Sands Resort (Downtown East)
DAY 1:
1pm: Meet for lunch @ Downtown East
2.30pm: Check-in
3.30pm: Captain's ball
5.30pm: Dinner (Picnic by the beach)
7.30pm: P&W + Lesson + Prayer
9.30pm: Night Cycling
DAY 2:
7.30am: Wake up + Wash up
8am: Drink Milo
8.15am: Morning worship + Devotion
9am: Morning jog
10am: Breakfast
11am: P&W + Lesson + Prayer
1pm: Free & Easy (Taboo/SPUD/Charades/Ultimate Ninja?) + Light lunch
5pm: Start Fire for BBQ
(Thanksgiving for 2011 & New Year resolutions for 2012)
DAY 3:
7.30am: Wake up
8am: Morning worship + devotion
9am: Breakfast
10am: Pack up
10.30am: Check out
(Go for Speedlight!)
Things to take note:
1. This is just a tentative plan, please feel free to share any suggestions/ideas (:
2. Joel will be notifying the 2 lucky persons who will be delivering the lesson soon! (To start preparing early)
3. Please confirm your attendance with Marcus Seah ASAP, we have yet to repay Lisa for the booking fee. (Those who don't confirm soon, we will just include you & force you to pay regardless of whether you turn up, hehe D<)
Godliness in the Last Days
1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.
6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7 always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. 9 But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.
Like what Wei Xiong has been reinforcing during cell group, let us remember to constantly keep the cell & each other in prayer, that we will remain Godly & united in Christ in these last days! & continue encouraging each other :D
Consuming fire fan into flame,
A passion for Your Name,
Spirit of God fall in this place,
Lord have Your way,
Lord have Your way with us-Melody
Hey guys! I've drafted this post twice because it was too long and i was worried it might actually bore you guys. So this is the summarised form of my original post :)
So how's your 2011 been? Can you guys believe we're coming to 2012 soon?!?! Like omg time really flies huh.. Anyway i want to tell you guys about my year! This year has been a really tough one for me. But this year was the year that i really grew closer with God and really let go of my worries and leave everything to God. This was also the year i discovered who mattered to me, and who didn't. This was also the year i realised exactly how fortunate and blessed i am to have such a wonderful people around me.
Here's a little background knowledge of me for the benefit of those who don't know. I have two older brothers, 27 and 28 years old. And since I'm the youngest plus am the only girl, my parents and basically everyone doted on me a lot. Whatever i wanted, i received. I never really had to fight or do anything in life because everyone else will just do it for me. You know how parents are supposed to support their child when they fall? Well, i don't think i ever fell because everyone was there 24/7 that i don't even have the chance to experience failure. That was until 10 January 2011 when i received my O level results...
For those of you guys who don't know/confused as to why i retook my O levels, I'll clear this doubt once and for all. I got d7 for both my e math and combined science. Oh i graduated from Greenview Secondary in 2010. I failed the subjects i wasn't supposed to fail at all because it's considered as important subjects in Singapore's education system. But most importantly, i failed my parents, my teachers and those who believed in me. I have always been the one that didn't want to disappoint anyone, and I've disappointed those that mattered the most to me. When i received the results that day, i didn't cry. I guess i thought that crying wouldn't make any difference so i decided to move on.
Fast forward to a week later~ I decided to retake my O levels this year. Yeah, me facing the exams all alone by myself. And then.. the thought of telling my friends, relatives around me was just horrible. I mean, it's usually the normal routine to take o levels and then proceed to a jc/poly and not retake it again. I think what hurt me the most was that i disappointed my dad so much that he was literally speechless that he didn't scold me at all. In fact, no one in my family scolded me. At that point I'd rather they scream and shout at me, or even chase me out of the house. But they didn't, they showered me with love and concern instead which made me feel even more guilty for not studying hard enough last year.
"Eh you go to what school ah?"
"Er... I'm retaking my os...."
"Huh? Why?!"
"I failed my math and science..."
Yup, i had to go through this exact convo for at least 20 to 30 times. And every time my chest would just get so tight that i could hardly breathe. Usually, i love to meet new people.. but i hated meeting new people because i know that i have to tell them about this. And then.. i got used to it. It didn't bother me as much as it did mainly because my past is not equivalent to my future, but it still bugged me a little when i have to tell people this.
I didn't really care about what people said about because they don't know my story and i guess I was misunderstood somehow? Back in secondary school, i wasn't considered a bad student. I went to school on time, followed school rules, didn't make any of my teachers cry, did my homework. I was actually not a bad student. I guess i was too lazy and when i decided to really work hard for the O levels last year, i was too late. And i wasn't entirely focused because of.... a boy. I have to admit it wasn't his fault that i didn't do well, no one is to blame except me for my failures. I was focused yet distracted i suppose? Text msges will be sent at least 10 times per hour with me smiling like an idiot after sending my msg. And you know what? I actually knew that i didn't have a future with this boy and yet i decided to go for it. I was practically digging my own grave at that time. Ah puppy love~ (i hope you guys won't change your perspective of me once you all know about this)
After my exams this year, i discovered that not only was i distracted, i forgot someone that's really important in my life. God. Honestly, during that period i didn't go to church, didn't pray at all. I wanted to just depend on myself and i guess that's where i went wrong? So guys, we are literally nothing without God. I learned it the hard way, and you know what, i thank God for putting me through this tough year because he knew that i would come through with it :)
Gosh this is so long, i hope you guys aren't bored!
Why is it a tough year? Because i had to watch my friends move on to different institutes, make new friends, learn new things while i was just stuck in 2010(not literally); studying for my O levels. No teachers to scold me when i didn't do my work, no teachers to grade my assignments. One pillar of support was gone. And i had to watch my parents' faces when their friends asked where i was schooling and etc. Simply heartbreaking. Which parent doesn't want their child to move forward in their education? It wasn't their fault that i didn't do well, it was mine and i didn't want them to shoulder the "blame" for my results because it wasn't fair at all. I didn't care about what others think about me, i cared more about my parents feelings more than anything else.
I never had a chance to experience failure. So when it did, it hit me really hard. Many times this year, i just simply refused to talk to God. I guess i was angry with him? You know those shows that we watch on tv, when the girl is angry with her boyfriend and refuses to talk to him and he is just there for her even though she's furious? Yeah, that's how i felt.
I can't say that this year was a bad year, because it's not. This year has been a training year for me~ I matured a lot spiritually and emotionally! Usually I'm every one's xiao mei mei, i still am but I'm more sensible, independent and stronger now :) Now, if any problem was to come my way, i'll be like "Oh please, my God is bigger than you can?"
Plus, i found out who really cares about me and i wouldn't have known if i wasn't going through this difficult stage in my life. Because true friends will stay by your side during your toughest moments right? Honestly, before that i felt that everyone was fine without me and my presence was no longer needed. But my clique showed up 1 day before my first paper to give me a "fun pack" filled with lots of tidbits and fruits, so i was really glad that they remembered. And of course you guys who msged and asked about my papers. I really am grateful for all your prayers :) Thank you guys so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <3 Especially to Hui Mei, Melody and Felicia. Thank you girls for your concern<3
Have a blessed week you guys!!!! :) And remember that God is always there. God is like a ninja you know, he works in ways you cannot see ^^ Ok... it sounds kinda strange.. But you get the point right?! Hahaha! God bless!! <3 Love you all :D
Alena :)
Something interesting i read:
" Churches often have a nebulous figure called God the Father -- and it appears He has nothing to do. The Son does it all. The Father is among the jobless, a distant unemployed figure. This is not what the bible teaches, but it's often how churches present Him.some food for the thought. Do we view God the Father in this way? He was the one who sent Jesus to die for us, so that the veil would be torn and would could indulge in a deeper relationship with our Father in heaven.
Sometimes the Father is represented as a malevolent figure. He is angry at humanity over its sin, but the Son has been able to appease His outrage by dying a cruel death. The Father ends up appearing to be threatening and dangerous, as if the Son and the Spirit have to restrain Him from going on a binge of destruction. But whether He is completely nebulous or dangerously angry, He is not involved. And this view creates a very monumental problem."
I know some of us are burned out. Dont give up the race and continue to strive for God's glory. My dear brothers and sisters, you are not alone in this.
in His love,
Marcus Jairus.
Intentionally Conveying a Message to God
So I chose the words: Prayer is intentionally conveying a message to God. And that prayer can be at least five different kinds of message:
- You can ask for something—this is the most basic meaning of prayer, and God delights for his children to ask him for help. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7).
- You can praise him or marvel at him or give expression to your adoration of him. “Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable” (Psalm 145:2-3).
- You can thank him for his gifts and his acts (which is not the same as praising him for his nature). “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign” (Revelation 11:17).
- You can confess your sins and tell the Lord that you are sorry. “I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin” (Psalm 32:5).
- And finally, you can complain to the Lord. “With my voice I cry out to the Lord. . . . I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him” (Psalm 142:1-2). Now here, again, language frustrates. So are you saying, Pastor John, that it is good to have a complaining heart toward God? No. Philippians 2:14: “Do all things without grumbling or questioning.” It’s not good to have a complaining heart. The heart should trust God in all his sweet and bitter providences. So why then do you say we should complain to the Lord? Because sometimes our hearts do complain about the circumstances God has given us, even though our hearts shouldn’t do this, and it is better to consciously direct it toward the Lord than to think he doesn’t see it. Acting like you are not complaining is hypocrisy and will make you a very phony, shallow, plastic person in the end.
So prayer is intentionally conveying a message to God. And that message may be asking for something, praising God for something about him, thanking him for some gift, confessing your sins to him, or complaining to him.
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let's make our prayers intentional!
