::Hope:

There's this joke that people in my church always made: there's hope in Hope.

it's kinda lame, but, not less true...

Today is a beautiful day. Very blessed by the time at Hope Tots.

Today i manage to made Jotham, the uber cool kid, laugh. Glenda actually remembered my name and ask to sit with me during worship. Joanne actually talk.

Aunty Jane commented that one of the kids, Caleb, is very fluent in speech, and i replied: yup, time to move on already. (ps: once a kid reach the age of 4, he/she will move on to another "SubD")

As i look at my ministry with the children, i realized how similar it is to discipleship in the uni group.

When they are still young, you try to run around catching them, make sure they don't fall, make sure they don't eat the wrong stuff, trying very hard to explain to them why cannot do certain things.

And when one day you see them telling the other kids don't cry, picking up the toys when they fall on the floor, come into the room and know where to put the bag and where to put the shoes, then you'll know, they are ready to move on already. They have already grown up and your job here at this phase of their life is done.

It's kinda a bitter-sweet moment, just hoping that maybe they can stay back at this place a little while more because you've grown to love them so much. Yet, at the same time, you can't wait to let go your hands so that they will really soar and find their own joy in that sky. Even if 10 years down the road, they might not remember you name, it will just make you proud to know that you have been part of that life.

(i sound like a mum :) this is my happy complaint )

Anther small gift form God is the glorious view of sunset i managed to catch just now, it's far better than any romantic scene in korean drama. For the reason that it's from God and He even bothered to gave it to me.

And i met Serene "the church-planter" today, and in her conversation with another sister, i heard the word "Nepal" and my eyes lit up. That's my bucket-list country! Therefore, i shall exercise more (like i did today) so that if i were to go Nepal or Tibet one day, no one can tell me my body is too weak therefore cannot go. Nope, i shall let no doctors and well-meaning people stop me.

The meh meh is gonna be a guitarist, i am quite happy and proud of her, i hope that one day i will see her soar too.

::Story::

One of the things i take away from cg last night- everyone has a special story to tell.

it's true what eng how once told me: everyone is normal until you become their shepherd..oh well, in my case, a caregroup member.

was just musing over this on the bus to hougang just now.

The couple sitting in front me of me, i wonder what's their story..they look about 30-ish, with no rings so might be not married yet.. the lady keep staring at the baby sitting across them while the guy tried to look away or have some small chat with the girlfriend. i wonder if the guy don't like children, why doesn't he like children? commitment? fears? memories from the past? or is it he already has children? (you'll never know). how about the lady, will she feel sad that she don't has a kid yet? does she even want a kid? hmmmm

how about the mum with the daughter, why did she come to the zoo alone with a less than 2 year old toddler? where is the husband? does she even has a husband?

and that couple hugging each other over there. how long have they know each other? do they really love each other? will they marry each other?

and the baby boy who just can't seem to sit still...how will his story be 20 years down the road?

it's really interesting to think of all these, apart from stopping me from falling asleep while standing and knocking over someone, think it's just quite amazing how in 24 hours, every single person on this earth are weaving our own stories...and after the sun set and rise, some continue while others not, yet, still other starts theirs anew....

on the cab back to NTU, had the fortunate experience of getting to know a very interesting uncle...his story is very amazing as well.. at the age of 50 plus, he have had a fairly good life, with amazing story to tell about his life...perhaps after i retire, i can be a cab driver as well..so that i can tell my story to others (hope it's amazing enough, haha)

hope i will meet him again...well, i guess it's another of those amazing things about life, how in that half an hour, together in that tiny space, we share our stories and our life, and when i closed the door behind me, he became just another face in the crowd and we might never meet each other ever again...

Behind every name is a story.

Behind every story is God's unfailing love.

::Hundred::

i just realized my last post was the 100th post i have posted on this blog. Waoh! what a mark of perseverance..wakakaka..

Thus, making this the 101th post..it sounds so romantic right?

Thanks Timothy for commenting on my 100th post...haha..you'll get a surprise gift for that..wait for it k...wakakaka..

[i am just sprouting nonsense because i have to go back to work again tomorrow...clearly sound-minded is not that prevalent in my head right now]

::Tired::

"Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. "- John 4:6

The passage following this verse, Jesus will change the life of many people.

This is a passage that always touches me in more ways than one. But today, i see it in a new light yet again.

Jesus was tired, we can all get tired once in a while, some of us are constantly tired even. But what's different was Jesus lived with the consciousness of God in his life, therefore lives were changed, people were healed.

Today, Cassie Eva Seow, tired as she was from work \ministry\school......

how would i end my sentence? would i be one that changes life?

Yes, we are all tired and busy and always pressed for time, yet, it should never be the excuse for me to turn a blind eyes to people around me, to greater things that can be done in this city if only i see, if only i see what Jesus had seen, not his tiredness, but this woman that has been waiting for God, the Messiah, someone to come and save her...

eva, tired as she was from work, saw the people whose hearts are broken, whose eyes are blinded, whose body are chained by sins. eva make a difference in these people's life.

i hope that my book of life will be filled with such sentences.

::Calling::

There was once that i thought i have found my calling, it's not until these few days that i realized i was wrong.

The calling remains the same, but it was never mine to begin with, it has all along been His burden.

To phrase it more appropriately, i think it's not "my calling" per say, but rather at a time that God has deemed right, He has opened my eyes to what He has been doing and wanting to do all along. It has been His mission right from the beginning, it's just that He has shared it with me and now i have made a choice, a choice to make this burden the purpose of my life.

It's not work, but His.

::Reunion::

也许，如果团圆饭不是“团圆”饭，那我也不会有这苦涩的滋味。

但，尽管苦涩，我也满平静的，因为，现在，我有了活着的理由。

那份打从心低的喜悦与满足，是不会因为周围的状况而改变的。

::Sacrifice::

"Two words in the Christian language cannot go together: No, Lord. If you say No, He is not your Lord. If He really is your Lord, your answer must always be Yes." - Experiencing God

"Thomas had been saved in a refugee camp in Thailand...... He went through the community trying to led his Laotian brothers to Christ. The first week Thomas led fifteen adults to the Lord. The next week he led eleven to the Lord, and he wept because he felt he was so unfaithful to the Lord" - Experiencing God

“King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”- Daniel 3:17-18

When you see the greatness of our God, then you'll truly know, there is nothing that you cannot lose. Is that sacrifice really that big in the light of eternal salvation? You can lose all things in life and yet still have life itself, and when even that is taken away..so what? If I perish, I perish.

It's time to start reevaluating do we really know how great God is.