Love, Have Hope & Gratitude

I found this song on the radio (k-love) and heard the lyrics to it and just found it to be so encouraging that I wanted to share this song with you all. So no matter how bad things seem to be - know that there is always hope for better things to come :)

[btw the version I posted is not the original. So here’s the original:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qG1ThtgguE]

Before the Morning - Josh Wilson

Do you wonder why you have to 
Feel the things that hurt you 
If there’s a God who loves you where is He now 

Maybe there are things you can’t see 
And all those things are happening 
To bring a better ending 

Someday somehow you’ll see you’ll see 

Would you dare would you dare to believe 
That you still have a reason to sing 
Cause the pain that you’ve been feeling 
It can’t compare to the joy that’s coming 
So hold on you gotta wait for the light 
Press on and just fight the good fight 
Cause the pain that you’ve been feeling 
It’s just the dark before the morning 

My friend you know how this all ends 
You know where you’re going 
You just don’t know how you’ll get there 
So say a prayer 

And hold on cause there’s good for those who love God 
But life is not a snapshot 
It might take a little time but you’ll see the bigger picture 

Would you dare would you dare to believe 
That you still have a reason to sing 
Cause the pain that you’ve been feeling 
It can’t compare to the joy that’s coming 
So hold on you gotta wait for the light 
Press on and just fight the good fight 
Cause the pain that you’ve been feeling 
It’s just the dark before the morning 

Once you feel the weight of glory 
All your pain will fade to memory 
Once you feel the weight of glory 
All your pain will fade to memory, memory, memory 

Would you dare would you dare to believe 
That you still got a reason to sing 
Cause the pain that you’ve been feeling 
It can’t compare to the joy that’s coming 

Would you dare would you dare to believe 
That you still got a reason to sing 
Cause the pain that you’ve been feeling 
It can’t compare to the joy that’s coming 

Come on you’ve gotta wait for the light 
Press on and just fight the good fight 
Cause the pain that you’ve been feeling 
It’s just the hurt before the healing 
Oh the pain that you’ve been feeling 
It’s just the dark before the morning 
Before the morning

God Is Able - Hillsong

God is able
He will never fail
He is almighty God
Greater than all we seek
Greater than all we ask
He has done great things

Lifted up
Defeated the grave
Raised to life
Our God is able
In His name we overcome
For the Lord
Our God is able

God is with us
God is on our side
He will make a way
Far above all we know
Far above all we hope
He has done great things

Lifted up
Defeated the grave
Raised to life
Our God is able
In His name we overcome
For the Lord
Our God is able

God is with us
He will go before
He will never leave us
He will never leave us
God is for us
He has open arms
He will never fail us
He will never fail us

Lifted up
Defeated the grave
Raised to life
Our God is able
In His name we overcome
For the Lord
Our God is able
For the Lord
Our God is able
For the Lord
Our God is able

Today at church [KIBC - in Hong Kong] we went through Nehemiah 5 where we addressed the issue of complaining. Our Pastor mentioned 3 main points: 

1. Consider the peoples concern

2. Choose your response

3. Confront the problem

This is just the outline of his sermon, I won’t expand on each point. What I wanted to share is that our Pastor mentioned that in Philippians 2:14-15 it says 

“Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky” 

And so our Pastor challenged us to get an empty jar and for a week, put a coin in it for every complaint we make so that we may see and hear each and every complain we make. 

I admit that I complain a lot… and so, this would be a good week to see how much I complain and work on this flaw of mine! And I invite you to join in this challenge with me :) 

Give me your eyes for just one second

Give me your eyes so i can see

Everything that i keep missing

Give me your love for humanity

Give me your arms for the broken hearted

The ones that are far beyond my reach

Give me your heart for the one’s forgotten

You Are LOVED 

not only by me :) 

But most of all Loved by our amazing Heavenly Father - GOD 

I said that alright 

The LOVE that this God gives is UNFAILING and is GREATER THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE and lasts FOREVER

Have you ever had that feeling in your heart where you feel like there’s a hole inside of it? And you’re waiting for the perfect boy or girl to make it whole? Well, the BEST LOVE to receive isn’t romantic love but Gods love which is so great it just fills your heart with this overflowing amount of love that makes you want to share this love with others. Which is what I am doing :)

So don’t let self pity be your best friend today just because you don’t have a valentine to take you out on some cute date and give you chocolate or flowers or attention or love. Don’t drown your sorrows with alcohol or have some burn party. Instead, let today be the day that you recognize how worthy you are as a person and how you are actually LOVED, and that someone is thinking about you, caring for you. This book we call the bible, is a book of stories showing Gods relationship with man and here are some quotes to end this post with:  

The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness” (Jeremiah 31:3)

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16)

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13)

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:4-5)

Don’t Ever Doubt How Beautiful You Are

For you created my inmost being; 
   you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; 
   your works are wonderful, 
   I know that full well. 

-Psalm 139:13-14

This goes out to all you sisters - Don’t ever buy into the lies of satan that you are not beautiful. That you are not worthy. That just because your body doesn’t fit into size Small you aren’t beautiful. Just because you’re skin complexion isn’t smooth that you are not beautiful. Don’t ever follow what the world and medias standard of beauty is. The number on the scale will never define your worth. The attention boys give you will never give you the sense of worth you are truly looking for. Romance, boys giving you attention will never give you the sense of security you are looking for. Stop trying to look beautiful, stop trying to impress people, stop trying to attract boys, stop trying to be loved and accepted. You already are. You are loved more than you will ever know. You are loved by our Heavenly Father who each times sees you cry because you think you’re not good enough cries with you and wants more than anything for you to know that you are perfect just the way you are because you are His precious child. 

Something Beautiful

Just a story shared by a youth in the ministry I will serve this year. I am so proud that there are such smart and amazing youth in this world that God is working on. PTL =) 

April

April has been interesting. I’ve survived April so far although I’ve got a quiz this tuesday I’m struggling to study for right now because it’s been a very long day. 

But I just really wanted to share how blessed I have been, how blessed my church has been this month. It was a crazy month for college students of Gracepoint as we were trying to survive the schoolwork piled upon us and do all our school work so we can dedicate almost our entire weekends to Special Guest Speakers. 

Easter was special because Good Friday Service was based on Matthew 11:28 and how Jesus took on every single human beings burdens on his own shoulders so that we may be free from our burden. This was special to me because the first time I heard of this verse I was a weary person. Constantly tired of life and everything, like a typical teenager but was so comforted to here those words from Jesus “Come to me all you who are weary and I will bring you rest” he doesn’t demand for us to do anything but rather he takes it upon himself to give us rest even though we do not deserve it. It was truly a special service, each Gracepoint trys to do something special so this year before service began we all received a sheet of paper with an image of a man carrying this HUGE rock tied to his back and we were instructed to write ALL of our burdens on that sheet and no one would read it. And during the Lords Supper we would drop it off in an open suit case. And at the end of the service piled all these luggages by the foot of the cross. symbolizing Jesus took off that weight off of our shoulders. All that baggage that weighs us down we are now freed from. Hallelujah! 

Then the week after. We had a one day retreat with Ajith Fernando and preached to us 1 Cor 13 and he broke down every single characteristic of love in the most detailed way. If I shared with you all the notes I wrote down it would just fill up this entire page and I’m way too tired to do that. But to remind myself Love is patient and how we must forgive, Love is not easily angered nor it keep any record of wrong. And that was truly amazing.

The week after that! Our high school ministry Interhigh was hosting their monthly event called Rise and had guest speaker William Lane Craig teach us some apologetics, specifically about Jesus’ burial and resurrection. But in the morning he had a morning 3-part training session for college and staff of our Church dissecting and destroying Dawkins and Ehrmans arguments and also tackling the issue of Evil and Suffering. Tomorrow is actually open house for college students to check out different ministries to serve and I’ve taken on a great interest in inter-high ministry and depending on the time commitment I might see if I can serve in inter-high next semester =) 

Lastly TODAY our church along with UC Berkeley hosted a Christian Worldview Conference with 4 speakers: Jenniger Lahl - bioethicist, Jennifer Morse PhD in econ, Rev. Robert Sirico and Dell Tackett from Truth Project. Today was just n overload of Christian worldview but it was very worthwhile to attend. Covering topics about stem cell research, that an embryo is actually a human being with the capacity of morality, abortion, euthanasia, cloning, marriage, same sex marriage, the social structure of society, the dignity of humanity, and truth and it’s consequences. 

This month has been REALLY busy and I don’t know whether my brain remembers all of it. But thank goodness I took a LOT of notes and my church records all of it! 

If any of you are interested in hearing any of the stuff I mentioned you can check it our at our churches Podcast:

http://www.gracepointonline.org/index.php/resources/resources/podcast

Although at times I just feel tired and not bothered and especially tired sometimes that I’m the only student in my college to attend any of this stuff. I always feel so blessed at the end of the event and wouldn’t have traded in my time for anything else and tell myself I should stop caring that I’m the only student from my college to attend because there are other college students I know from sister fellowships I see all the time who attend as well. Sometimes I’m so overwhelmed with schoolwork I don’t know how I organized my life. People judge me because I’m not the typical college student who lives the typical “college life” and thinks I’m narrow minded, “I haven’t lived”. I don’t have free time. But why do I need free time? I feel lost when I have any. I’m just bored. And so this month has been very exhausting but very exciting and I’m glad I’ve stuck it out this whole academic year so far and will continue on to do so. 

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible. By faith Abel offered to God…

God is..

God is TRUTH

God is LOVE

God is LIFE

God is WITH US

Today at bible study we watched the first lesson of the TRUTH PROJECT by Dr. Dell Tackett and was reminded of this question. What is truth? And I was reminded tonight that GOD is ultimately TRUTH. The bible mentions this so much in the book of John. And everyday I am reminded that God is love and he provides for me and is THE source of life and lastly was listening to the Song God is with us and thought that is true. God IS with us, all the time.

isamiam:

qtful:

ceyf:

lovelytruth:

(via heckyeahjesus)

My Challenge to Myself

So I just had a winter retreat and it was the most humbling and amazing 3 days ever.

I have been so blessed to learn so much just in this first month of 2010 and how God has been providing me with his truth every day since I’ve been baptized. Attending twe12th and learning about Psalm 46 how it reminded me that the LORD is my refuge and strength. How comforting those words are and encouraging to live out this faith in this world. Attending St. Andrews back home and just learning more about the word of God.

This winter retreat we went through several topics:

-The 4 almost guys:

Saul

Samsum

The Rich Young Ruler

Pontius Pilate

They were all just ordinary people, but through sin and their idols can fall the way they did or turn away from God like that. Doesn’t that sound familiar? Yea it does. It sounds just like us. I can relate to all 4 of them, but now I have learned how to prevent myself from making the same fall they took and REPENT.

Then we heard several testimonies this retreat, it wasn’t deliberate but several couples gave their testimony. All of them were directors (elders) of the church and to see that they were just like us, and how even after accepting Christ, working in ministry, getting married do they still struggle with sin. It reminds me that we are all sinners, but the difference between Christians and non-Christians, is that we have accepted our identity. A sinner but a child of God, we have accepted that Jesus died on the cross for us and through his blood have been saved. WE have been SAVED. How freeing it is to say, we now live joyful and abundant lives thanks to our Saviour.

The Pastor went on the topic of FAITHFULLNESS. How God is all about faithfulness. God is full of faith. The roots are faithfulness and the fruits are goodness, kindness, morality etc. There are so many verses we dealt with but I’ll just point out a couple of them because I just wanted to share what I’ve learnt through this retreat. How do you relate to God? Through faithfulness and loyalty. I admire Ruth so much for her loyalty to stay with Naomi.

On Sunday he talks about the Vision for the Church Acts 2:42. Acts 2 truly defines our church and I am so proud to be in a church that is living out Gods will. A church that holds a body of Christians who truly follow the word of God and live out his faith and understand Acts 2.

LAST and MAIN point!! The whole reason to why I wanted to tumblr!!

What divides people? POSSESSIONS.

Wealth, time, items.

I don’t want to go into depths of this message. Through the testimony of one of the directors, I realized one of my biggest idols is money and possessions. The belief that I NEED these new pair of shoes, I NEED to have this jacket. No. I don’t need them actually I already have some shoes, I already have some cardigans. I hold onto my possessions too tightly. The director said she was very materialistic and need to change, so she didn’t spend any money for a whole semester and allowed people to borrow her clothes her stuff and said it was such a freeing experience. I want to give it a try. So this semester, meaning the next 4 months I am going to give myself this challenge. I am going to make an oath that I will not buy any: Clothes, bags, shoes, accessories, stuff (cups, kitchen ware, room decoration) for a whole semester for myself. It’s going to be a great challenge for me. A lot of you know I LOVE to shop. Especially in H&M.. I think I probably just shouldn’t walk inside an H&M until I end this.

WISH ME LUCK!