The Seventh Day

Old~OCFers gathering in Singapore

2009-01-21T17:50:00.007+10:00

Photos Source : Courtesy of Kane.

Gathering for a dinner, Chinese round table style.

The Food was good!

Group photos of O..Ocf`ers at Calvin and Amy's Wedding.

Congrats to the newly-wed.

A Life of Faith.

2008-12-17T18:16:00.004+10:00

"It is not asking God to bless you then you do it but it is for you to go ahead and do it then God will open doors for you." We should all learn to live a life of Faith.

This is a sermon video from Cornerstone Church in Singapore.

Happy B-day.

2008-12-15T01:01:00.002+10:00

Our Bday boy on 12 Dec 2008

My apology on the quality of the photo, using my handphone not a proper camera.

Farewell Dinner @ 23

2008-12-09T01:19:00.007+10:00

Unit 23 had seen quite a few gathering for the OCF-ers of UQ. This most recent one was for our ex-president Dr. ST. ha-ha...May you have many wonder and fruitful years in your new season of life. Remember the times you had devoted in service to the Overseas Christian Fellowship @ UQ + QUT. You will definitely be missed. Will see ya around. God Speed!!!

A Graduate's Prayer

Dear Lord,

As I look toward the future
Bright hope conducts this prayer,
For I know the plans You have for me
Were wrought with divine care.

Holy Spirit, lead me.
Let me run at your command,
Yet be still and know that You are God
When trouble's close at hand.

Your Word will be a lamp for me,
A guide to light my way,
A solid place to set my feet,
A compass when I stray.

May I live my life to praise You,
Not for fortune, nor for fame,
May everything I say and do
Bring glory to your name.

May my eyes stay fixed upon You
As I seek the way that's pure,
Tasting your love and goodness
Sleeping and rising secure.

Planted by your living streams
I'll delight in all your ways,
Hidden by your sheltering wings
With new mercies for each day.

Even in a dangerous land
When storms threaten to destroy,
At the cross I'll stand upon the
Rock My Strength, my Hope, my Joy.

Dear Lord, show me your favor,
At all times keep me blessed,
May your face ever shine upon me,
With peace and perfect rest.

Amen.

by Mary Fairchild

Photo Slide Show >>>

Gathering @ Rice Table

2008-09-21T20:04:00.005+10:00

Few of us went for a nice meal at Rice Table 2 weeks ago. Had lots of yummy food and lots of laugh (yes, thanks to Kane and Patrick)

Because the drink was free flow, we stuffed outselves silly with lime, then plum juice. Cannot lose out! Haha.

the food! we went for third rounds for some of our favourite dishes

concentrating very hard.....which one to eat first???

A day at Doulos

2008-08-21T21:52:00.008+10:00

The OCFers visited Doulos (made 1914) on 16 Aug 2008. Here are a group of photos. If you wanna see more of this old historical vessel, be sure to click the link provided at the end of this blog. Doulos will sail into history come 2011 and perhaps a new vessel will take over its mission. The crew told us that the vessel will have its dry dock procedure this December when it dock in Singapore. Given the age of Doulos (94 this year), our guide said something at the beginning of the tour, "The makers of Titanic said even God couldn't sink and We say only God can keep Doulos afloat." In case you wasnt aware this old vessel had only 1 engine and modern ships had a couple backups.

Wanna to see more of DOULOS ?

Click HERE view it !

Another OCFer went back to SG liao

2008-06-28T14:35:00.007+10:00

So fast it has been a week since Dawn went home to resume her duties as a teacher. The fellow OCFers had a prayer session for her at a unique venue; right in front of the Brisbane General Post Office.

Here are some of the photos I managed to capture last week;

Best wishes to Dawn and May you have a great new phase ahead. God speed~

There is comfort, peace and strength in the Lord

2008-06-07T01:43:00.009+10:00

Hello all,

I have 2 songs to share with you. You've probably heard of them before but I think the lyrics of these 2 songs are quite meaningful. I've been through it and I know what the songs say are true. You might be going through a difficult time now but don't give up. Continue to hold on to the Lord, trust in Him, seek Him and commit every part of your life to Him. Enjoy your walk with the Lord in that valley. When you walk out of that valley and stand on the mountain of God, your heart will be filled with joy and you'll be happy that you've chosen to trust Him and follow Him.

All praise and glory and honour be to the Lord our God!

Enjoy the songs and to those who are having exams, all the best!

1. Praise You in This Storm

2. Mountain of God

Blessings
Tiff

Examinations & Assignments

2008-05-31T14:45:00.003+10:00

Dear students,

The coming weeks are going to be intense especially when we are entering the month of exams and assignments. Remember to share your exam dates with fellow mates for prayers.

All the best for another mile stone of 2008. Cheers ;-)

Here's a clip to relax your mind a little bit...

Yes... let's pray for them!

2008-05-25T21:53:00.007+10:00

I'm not sure how much do all of you know about the China worst-hit earthquake and Myanmar cyclone. I'm going to tell a little bit about these 2 disasters and hope that together we can pray for them.

China's earthquake death toll has risen to 60,560 with another 26,221 people missing and 353,290 injured. The death toll could rise to 80,000 or more . Nearly every building in Yingxiu (one of the worst-hit town) was destroyed and no residents remain there. About half of the town's 18,000 residents are either dead or missing and most survivors left on foot, leaving behind a ghost town (see pictures here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2008/may/20/china.chinaearthquake?picture=334257550 ). When the earthquake happened, it was school time so lots of children were killed. A lot of them are the only child in the family. Lots of children lost their parents too and some of them are still very young. Imagine, they must be so devastated and helpless.

Because some of the roads are destroyed, the army got to walk few hours to reach those towns. Some of the soldiers were dehydrated while carrying the injured people out and some died. Lots of helpers take care of the victims w/o sleep days and nights and one of them died of heart attack!

Sichuan is home to the world's largest water project, this earthquake has scarred nearly 70 dams and they might be in danger of bursting. It has also caused new lakes to be formed. That's not all, it was reported that the raining season is coming soon. The huge amount of water might burst the dam and cause flood. This can bring more damage and cost more lives. Also, millions of them are homeless, where are they going to hide from the heavy rain?

As for Myanmar cyclone, news were not reported as much as China earthquake. However, it's definitely as serious as the earthquake. It was reported that until now Myanmar has blocked significant amounts of aid and refused visas to foreign specialists. 3 weeks after the cyclone, it is estimated that 134,000 people were killed and leaving millions homeless. I really don't know how these people survive without sufficient help. The UN chief has tried very hard to ask the ruling junta to let the international aids to go into Myanmar especially the worst-hit delta. You can read more from the website ( http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article3994628.ece ) Anyway, let's not talk about politics, I just pray that God will soften the heart of these rulers so that lives can be saved.

As we live so comfortably in these safe countries, worrying not about food for tomorrow and shelter over our head. Let's remember those who are suffering now. Though we can't be there to help them, except for donation, I think we as Christians can definitely help by praying for them. God has taught us to always support those in need in prayers, let's not forget about what God has asked us to do.

So please do remember them in prayer!

Let's Pray

2008-05-19T09:43:00.003+10:00

We have heard the news, we have seen the images.
How can our hearts not be moved, how can we stay silent?

Let's pray for God to move among the grieving parents, the orphans, and homelessness
that they will find comfort and hope and strength

Let's pray that God will soften the hearts of the leaders and give them wisdom
that they will do what is right

Let's pray for God's protection over the workers
that they will have the strength and perseverance

Let's pray against those who are evil
that they will not steal, rob or murder amidst the crisis

Let's not be bothered by what the media is telling us.
The news may be wrong, the images may be misleading.
It doesn't matter whether it's Burma or China.
We know God's children are suffering.
He hears their cries and their pleas.

Let's listen to His heartbeat for the suffering.
Let's feel the pain of the suffering.
And pray. Pray like we have not done before.
For miracles to happen. For hope to carry on. For doors to be opened.

Remember the faces of those whom you are praying for.

He never leaves

2008-05-13T14:58:00.002+10:00

Hi boys and girls,

Today's (13/5) daily bread message is quite comforting (http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/our-daily-bread/2008/05/13/devotion.aspx). Go and have a read. It reminds us that God never leaves us when we feel good, bad, happy, sad, down, helpless, lost, disappointed or whatever. He's always watching us.

Other than that, it also gives me another feeling. It reminds me to always go back to God, to check if I'm close enough to Him. Did I walk too fast and leave Him behind? Always check... always go back to God. I feel safe when I'm with Him. He has all that I need... the peace, comfort, rest, strength, courage, love, hope and many more.

Have you checked today?

Finding Security in God

2008-05-10T17:51:00.002+10:00

I cried to him, "O my God, who lives forever,
don't take my life while I am so young!
Long ago you laid the foundation of earth
and made the heavens with your hands.
They will perish, but you remain forever;
they will wear out like old clothing.
You will change them like a garment
and discard them.
But you are always the same;
you will live forever.
The children of your people will
live in security."

Psalm 102:24-28

Faith

2008-05-10T17:43:00.005+10:00

Nature of faith is taking the risk.
Object of our faith is what matters, not our feelings.

Faith deals with the invisible, it's personal and it involves just u and God.

Faith is a promise and it requires preparation.

Responding to God is our response to Faith.

Trusting is exercising our Faith.

Special mid year deal for Malaysian

2008-05-10T11:12:00.003+10:00

There is an interesting promo from Singapore Tourism Board. Watch video to find out more details. cheers

OCF 2008

2008-05-03T22:29:00.005+10:00

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CNY Dinner 08

2008-03-01T19:29:00.008+10:00

Fish balls Soup
Chicken Curry
Creative Brisbane Yu Sheng

Our Table of Food
Fish
Yu Sheng before mixing
Healthy minced meat Tofu

a gif image~if you can't see this try again later.

hehe..Lousy webhosting 'free' service got limited quota for viewing.

Sorry mate.

Makan Trip @ Geylang

2008-02-29T17:38:00.005+10:00

A few of us met up for food at Geylang when we return home for the CNY.

Food tasting in progress... (Click to play)

Our Mr Kane

OCF Team in Singapore

2008-01-15T00:45:00.000+10:00

Makan fellowship @ NYDC Singapore

The Thai Farewell

2007-12-10T21:16:00.000+10:00

A little farewell makan session at the Thai restaurant (BAANTHAI) off Marshal Rd at Kammore for the team lissner. Tiff and Pat went back to sg today liao! Dear Neighbours, you will be missed. Already missing the cookies, muffins and 汤圆! ha-ha all the best to your future endeavours! God Bless ;-)

Is rights that important?

2007-10-16T10:08:00.000+10:00

Here's an excerpt of the sermon by Pastor Michael Ross Watson back in July 2006. He's a regular guest speaker at my church back in Singapore. This ang mo from Great Britain spent decades serving in the mission field of Indonesia with his wife. He speaks eloquent bahasa melayu and now he has returned to an itinerant teaching and preaching ministry.

Sermon : Making Jesus Lord
Click here to download full Sermon

2007-09-09T16:03:00.001+10:00

Hi all,

Just wanna share some photos that we took recently. Enjoy...

And, to people that are buried with assignments and tests, feel like giving up and doubt if God is still with you. God has promised to never leave you nor forsake you. He 's your helper, of whom shall you fear! Have faith in Him and don't give up... we'll all get there! Jia You!

Some verses to share with you all:
"... the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and not lacking anything." James 1:3-4

"Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised those who love Him." James 1:12

Human OCF

Facial under the sun

The Three Statures

Err Vic... are you ok?

We are so proud to be OCFers... YEAH!

Breather for those rushing assignments

2007-09-01T19:30:00.000+10:00

This is one amazing dude. A fellow contestant at the recent Indian Idol and he's Chinese. Believe it, Your jaw will drop when you hear him sings in Tamil language.

The Lost Tomb Of Jesus

2007-08-05T22:16:00.000+10:00

ok. The Titanic movie produced by James Cameron was an epic and this time the producer and Canadian documentary + film maker Simcha Jacobovici produced a documentary under the banner of discovery channel on the findings of the lost tomb of Jesus. Well in my opinion, Hollywood and discovery is a bad mix, not to mention all the wrong hypotheses. The "documentary" will be broadcast on Channel 10, Monday at 9 30pm.

The following are just some stuffs I have put together if you are interested to explore a bit more on the issue. Cheers :-)

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Extracts from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lost_Tomb_of_Jesus

The Washington Post in an article of 2/28/07 cites Dever as being "widely considered the dean of biblical archaeology among U.S. scholars" and quotes him as saying, "I just think it's a shame the way this story is being hyped and manipulated" and "all of the names [contained in the tomb] are common."

The archaeologist William Dever summed it up when he stated on Koppel's critical analysis, The Lost Tomb of Jesus—A Critical Look, that Jacobovici's and Cameron's "conclusions were already drawn in the beginning" of the inquiry and that their "argument goes far beyond any reasonable interpretation."

More comments :

Scholars Dispute Over the Discovery Channel Documentary - (from: http://www.garyhabermas.com/articles/The_Lost_Tomb_of_Jesus/losttombofjesus_response.htm)

12 Major Problems for the "Jesus Tomb" Theory

1.	The Names "Joseph" and "Jesus" were very popular in the 1^st century. "Jesus" appears in at least 99 tombs and on 22 ossuaries. "Joseph" appears on 45 ossuaries.
2.	"Mary" is the most common female name in the ancient Jewish world.
3.	The DNA evidence establishes no positive links in this tomb whatsoever.
4.	The statistical comparison to Jesus of Nazareth is severely flawed.
5.	There is no early historical nor tomb connection to Mary Magdalene.
6.	There is no historical evidence anywhere that Jesus ever married or had children.
7.	The "Jesus" in the tomb was known as "Son of Joseph," but the earliest followers of the New Testament Jesus didn't call him that.
8.	It is unlikely that Jesus' family tomb would be located in Jerusalem.
9.	The Talpiot tomb was costly. It apparently belonged to a wealthy family.
10.	The tenth ossuary has been accounted for without recourse to the "James" ossuary.
11.	All ancient sources agree that, very soon afterwards, the burial tomb of Jesus of Nazareth was empty.
12.	The Talpiot tomb data fail to account for Jesus' resurrection appearances.

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Our recent returnees

2007-08-02T01:50:00.000+10:00

Best wishes to our returnees and may they have wonder new beginning as they pursue their future endeavours. Thank you for sharing apart of your life with all of us at OCF! Cheers

Returnee 1 - Melisa

Melissa's little farewell lunch on Sat 28 July. Our dear sister-in-Christ went back to Singapore on the 29 of July and back to work as teacher on the very Monday. Press on Cher.

Returnee 2 - ZhongRong aka 'Chong'

There are limited images of him. ha-ha you can spot him out in the photo posted in previous blog. Chong went back to Singapore on 30 July and he will be seeking for employment to keep him occupied for the next few months before returning in Feb 2008 for his Honors Year. Fortunately a few of the bros in-Christ managed to catch up for 2 days of FIFA gaming and an Asia Cup match in the City before he left for SG.

2007-07-14T22:50:00.000+10:00

Jokes about ST... I also have one! Hehe... sorry ST!

Remember that night we watched "State of Origin" cum celebrated Eileen's birthday at my house? Patrick said a very "cold joke" (冷笑话）and everyone laughed crazily! The joke goes like this

What do people call Siong Ting when he goes party?
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Answer is
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趴地熊 (tare panda) a.k.a party Xiong =.="

Very cold right? Ahaha...

Surprise Party...Again?

2007-07-10T11:32:00.000+10:00

The date: 29 June 2007

The place: ST and Louis' abode

The "victims": Louis and Darren

The 2 boys actually share the exact same birthday on 2 July. Haha..of course different year lah.

Although the party was given away (twice!) by the same person....we still enjoyed it alot. And had lotsa fun teasing him about it. ST, we still love you. Hee....

Give-Away 1:
L: I saw someone in front of the cake shop today. He was bending infront of the cake shelves..and I recognised that it was ST's butt!

Give-Away 2:
ST : Think we can cut the cake first. (Immediately received several murderous glares)
D: Hehe....I know what you all up to.....

Exam stress relief aid

2007-06-08T10:33:00.000+10:00

Hey guys and gals,
All the best for the coming exam. Here's something to relief you of stress. I found a series of comic strip posted online which was done by a Singaporean. It's actually a series of parodies on the political issues in Singapore and you can see more of it on the main webby.
Just go to >>>
http://www.insanepoly.com/blog/?cat=7

If you are not a Singaporean then here's a chance to learn more about our little city-State.

Cheers :)

Knowing God's Will

2007-05-26T23:59:00.000+10:00

Darren and I have the habit of listening to the online sermons from our church back in Singapore. The sermon that I would like to share here is by our favourite “guest” speaker, Pastor Michael Ross Watson from the UK. It’s about knowing God’s will. I guess this is a topic that many pastors have spoken on, but this one was especially refreshing and ministered to me. It’s my prayer that it will speak to you as well.

Verse: I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you (Ps 32:8)

I remember a youth pastor sharing with us during a retreat: To know God’s will is like handing God a blank piece of paper and let Him write what He wants for us. But how many times do we actually do that? Our usual mode is to go to Him with a piece of paper filled with all our requests. Our interpretation of knowing God’s will is: “God, I want to know your will for me..within these options hor”.

God wants to lead and instruct us. He wants to and He will. For us, the challenge is to know how God reveals His will to us (or how He speaks to us lah).

Pastor Michael shared 4 ways in which we can know God’s will:

1. Through the Bible
God reveals His will through His word. It is like an instructional handbook. The guidelines of how we should make decisions are there.

2. God speaking to you internally
Have you ever experienced God just “put something on your heart”? It could be a phonecall or email that you want to make to a friend. It could be a place that you feel you should go. Just remember that God will not tell you to do something that contradicts His written laws and He will arrange for the circumstances for you to do the thing He wants you to.

3. Prophesy
In 1 Cor 14:3, it says that prophesy strengthens, encourage and comforts. But, we should not take prophesies as THE guidance. Prophesies need to fit in with the other things that God have planned for us. It could be the beginning of a series of events that God will orchestrate to lead us to our goals, or it could be the end of a series of events to confirm something. Prophesies should not be taken or interpreted on its own only.

4. Sanctified Common Sense (my favourite)
Use your minds! Sometimes it’s not that difficult to make the decision. We like to complicate things in order to “show” that we are seeking God’s will. If we have a close fellowship with God on a daily basis, what we desire is what He wants for us (erhm, abit complicated here. i hope i can explain clearly: it means, if we know Him enough, we will know His character and what He will do in certain situations. so, what we think we should do, we are already under His “instructions”...makes sense?). Whenever we make any decisions, trust God to close the doors if you have made the wrong decision. Remember that He wants to leads us? And He is our loving and faithful God. It hurts Him to see us hurt. (Ps 37:4, John 15:7)

Personally, God speaks to me in another way: through images. God can speak to me using a bus-stop sign. A poster on the road. A building or a tree. I remember some years back I couldn’t decide where I should go for my mission trip. It was between China and one of the SE Asia countries (can’t remember which country now liao). I was on the bus on my way to church and I saw the China Embassy. It was a new building and I did not notice it in the last few times I took the bus. I made the decision then: China. I was scared of going China at first, because my impression of China were that of the spitting locals and the door-less toilets. But God removed that fear n during my trip there. I have learnt to love the Chinese and had been back again in 2004. And I will go back again.

But well, knowing God’s will does not mean we will have a set of full-proof blue print of our lives. It does not happen that way lor. We have to take it step by step. We move one step in the correct direction, God will lead us to another. It takes time and a lot of patience. There are many times we are just too impatient and of course there are times we make mistakes and need to go round some circles. When we seek God’s will, we want instant answers to solve our immediate problems. We lose sight of what is important from God’s perspective. We want money to pay the rent, but He wants us to build faith in Him. Contrasting goals? No. Just one is short-term and one is long-term. God works in long-term basis. There are many times that I look back on my life and now then I understand why God made me go through all that difficult times. But seriously, during those times, I questioned God lor. Why I need to go through them and why God just did not take them away. Give me a miracle to solve all the problems at 1 go.

So what is holding us back? It’s the fear of the unknown, the lie that Satan made us believe. The lie that says if we give God that blank piece of paper, God is going to write “Give up everything and go India as a missionary”. Following God’s will is not going to be miserable. We will not end up losing the life we are used to. We will not end having to make huge sacrifices. Of course, there are some of us who will be called to do these. But many of us can still follow God’s will in the jobs or ministries that we are in. Even our roles in our families can reflect God’s will in us.

For many of us, the big decision that we will face soon (or later) is what are we going to do after our studies? Go back Singapore or stay here? Continue with Honours? Masters? PHD? Don’t wait until your last semester (or after your last exams) to ask God what He wants you to do. Seek Him now and see Him at work in your life as He leads you step by step towards the plan He has for you. But first, pray that He will remove the fear in your heart and reject that lie that Satan has made you believe. When we want to listen to God, we have to be still (Ps 46:10, Ps 37:7) and cut out the distractions in our lives that are preventing us from listening to Him. And what is the guiding principle that we are on the right track? Peace! When we are in God’s will, we have the peace in our hearts.

Disclaimer: Me no pastor hor. Just sharing what God impressed upon my heart from the sermon and “steal” some notes from Pastor Michael. So, don’t take whatever I wrote as bible truth hor. (:

PS: For the full sermon, can download from http://www.coos.org.sg/sermon/

What's good leh?

2007-04-11T17:36:00.000+10:00

Hey guys if you are looking for something different from Gospel songs or hillsongs tracks to listen to... Check out the song "Lose my Soul" from the album Portable sounds by Toby McKeehan. The genre is Christian Hip Hop. TobyMac is from dc Talk; a Christian rock band formed in the late 1980s. You can sample more songs from this album. Just google it.

First Saturday's OCF BBQ

2007-03-08T22:26:00.000+10:00

@ Roma Parkland

Group Pix

Hot Shot.

hot plate Food !!

Game of the day which we didn't get to play.

Nope. It wasn't because of the renovation.

...too much Ultra-Violet Rays.
Our Game marshal doing his sky gazing.

CNY away from Home

2007-03-08T21:59:00.000+10:00

What can you do in a Foreign land during Chinese New Year?

You could visit your locate Chinatown if there's anything interesting.

Or

Put up decorations at home to improve & bring in the joyous atmosphere of CNY.

But the best way to remind you of CNY is to...
eat , eat and eat.

Have your neighbours over for a mini-CNY Dinner

Or

Have a big scale "makan" eating session with fellow frenz.

Nothing beats the good old fashion steamboat dinner.

Now that is how you celebrate your Chinese New Year anyway in the world.
...a time of fellowship.
;-)

Surprise Party?

2007-02-14T14:05:00.000+10:00

Last night was Mei's b-day. How old is she? Ask her yourself lah. (:

Mei picked up some clues along the way and sort of guessed what we were up to..guess we did not cover our tracks that well. Haha...anyway, we had a good time of fellowship...over food! Yummy!

Every party needs a highlight. And that came from Kane's incredible stunt of stuffing grapes into..his mouth! It started off as a silly suggestion to guess the number of grapes that could fit into his mouth. Kane very sportingly took up the challenge...and...well, look at the video to see how many grapes actually went in. Tiffany guessed the number correctly though. YAY!

See ya Bro-in-Christ

2007-02-09T11:25:00.000+10:00

Jon has gone another state to pursue his studies. A couple of us joined Jon at Sabu Sabu restaurant for a mini farewell dinner. All the best Bro and see ya around when we drop by your state. God Bless & take Care.

A New Year's Message

2007-02-02T23:15:00.000+10:00

This is a sharing from a fellow sister-in-Christ!

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Here i would like to share with you some practical ways to live out the Christian life at work which i got from attending OCF Convention 'o6. THank you to Mr Paul Coyle who hosted the "Worship GOd at work" workshop.

Why in the world do we work?

Let's rewind from 2007 back to Genesis. What was the first task that God assigned Adam to do?

No it wasnt sex , nor eat and be merry. It was WORK!

The Lord took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. (Gen 2:15)

Now, does that tell us how important is work?

What does it mean for me to worship God at work?

God is totally at home at our workplace as he is at our church.

I've heard of this term once. A man can be a tiger at church yet desize to as small as a mice at work, not influential nor victorious at all. Let us not fall into that trap and be deceived.

For me, it is the challenge to treat and serve everyone equally, be it an arrogant doctor, a lesbian couple, a customer who's a thief or supernice customers. I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me -----the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace. (Acts 20:24) At the end of the day, only what's done for CHrist will last. Thus this verse will be my NY resolution for 07, what's yours?

Lessons from a wise King - King Solomon

1. Motivate yourself (Prov 6:6-7)

2. Work is a calling (Col 3:23)

3. Get started (Prov 6:9-11)

4. Be useful (Prov 10:26)

5. Face the facts (Prov 12:11)

6. Complete what you start (Prov 12:27)

7 Embrace hard work (Prov 14:23)

8. Face your problems (Prov 22:13)

I like this prayer very much that he gave us in the handout:

Lord Jesus, as I enter this workplace,

I bring Your presence with me.

I speak Your peace, Your grace and Your perfect order into the atmosphere of this office.

I acknowledge Your Lordship over all that will be spoken, thought, decided and accomplised within these walls.

Lord Jesus, I thank You for the gifts You have deposited in me.

I do not take them lightly, but commit to using them responsibly and well.

Give me a fresh supply of truth and beauty, on which i draw as i do my job.

Anoint my creativity, my ideas, my energy so that even the smallest task may bring You honour.

Lord when i am confused, guide me. When i am weary, energize me.

Lord, when i am burned out, infuse me with the light of Your Holy Spirit.

May the work that i do and the way i do it, bring hope, life and courage to all that i come in contact with today.

Oh Lord, even in this day's most stressful moment, may i rest in You.

In the name of the Big Boss of the Universe whom i serve,

In the name that is above all names, my Lord and Saviour Jesus I pray,

Amen.

I hope u're encouraged by what Mr Paul Coyle have inspired in this workshop as much as i did. Since i'm in a burned out state now, i'll leave you with this beautiful picture taken at Mt Cootha on New Year's day 07. Like the sun that rises everyday, so is our GOd who is so FAITHFUL. Praise the Lord.

In Christ's abundant luv + my limited luv,

judy

A Time for Everything

2006-12-05T12:00:00.000+10:00

Title: A Time for Everything

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Content:

It is so interesting that the wisest king in the history would write this.

The 8 verses simply emphasizes that everything has it's time and it's season. It seems so cool to acknowledge that each season, we need to do different things and to take our approach differently.

King Solomon said: 'There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.' (v1) To think about it, this is so true. Simply look out into the world and we witness the nature and the beautiful world that God has created. He made it so beautiful and pretty that each quarter of the year, so part in the world will experience each season of Summer, Spring, Autumn and Winter. Thinking about this further, at any same time, each part of the world would experience all the different seasons concurrently! How amazing is this!

I guess the important lesson that we can take away from here is that we must prepare ourselves for each different seasons. We ought to seek His will to know what is our next course of action in each phase of our spiritual life.

For instance, there will be times when we work extra hard to serve the Lord. This may be the time when He wants us to share what He has given us unselfishly. Then of course there is time when the Lord wants us to sit back and relax. This may be the times when He wants us to nourish ourselves with the Word of God or even attending some bible training course. This means a time when we spend more time to learn and strengthen our relationship with Him.

Think about this: if we keep giving away generously from our possession, even while we may be the richest person, we will eventually run out of possession if we don't find any means to replenish our possession. It is the same with spiritual blessings. We may teach and tell and do plenty of things in His ministry, BUT more importantly, God wants us to spend time with Him.

The time of retreating away from the business of the world to spend quiet, intimate and quality time with Him is very much essential. If we don't spend time with Him seeking His will, how do we know if He wants us to serve Him in which ministry at all? Moreover, importantly we seek God because God calls us to have a close relationship with Him, it is not just mainly because of His ministry, but rather that is our calling in life.

There is a time for everything... what is His will in your life at this time? Reflect and think in what season are you now? Are you

1) Still searching for His will?

2) Knowing His will but struggling to obey Him?

3) Persevering in His will and being encouraged while u are at it?

Whatever season we are in, it is so important to keep our eyes fixated onto Jesus the Author and Perfector of our Faith, when your eyes are on the right focus, your heart will also be focusing the right things. Also take heart and know that there are brothers and sisters as we journeyed along in life.

in His love,

louis

Thank God for Mazda RX-8

2006-11-28T15:12:00.000+10:00

Hmm..how should I describe this experience? It is at first thought appetizing, considering the fact that I could ever get the chance to drive a sports car. On second thoughts, slight disappointment and abeit impractical to own a RX-8. Disappointment because my hsemates and I initially had planned a wonderful day out with this new 'baby' of ours. We planned to go to Scarborough for seafood lunch, drive along the stretch of Logan Road since it is a long stretch to explore and go to Wellington Point & Cleveland to take pictures. At dusk, have dinner at this shabu shabu place called 'Antartic Circle' at Logan before starting the long night drive to Byron Bay to catch the sunrise before heading back in the early morning to Brisbane and return the car.

But atlas, the rental contract states that we only get 200 free kilometres on this RX-8 and any extra kilometres driven would cost 30 cents/km. Considering the fact that to and fro Byron Bay would take abt 500 kms, we decided not to go..Hence the impracticality of a sports car if anyone of you decide to rent one for a day trip like ours. A sedan would be more useful. :)

Our plan then switched to Springbrook National Park to see the 'Best of All Lookout' since Mark and Dave have not been there before. After lunch at Scarborough and lots of pictures taken with the RX-8, we headed for Springbrook. It was my turn to drive from Redcliffe to Springbrook. It was quite cool and awesome to be behind the wheel...to be honest..esp when 3rd gear can get you through the sharp mountain bends up to the national park.

Roughly around 6.30pm, we left Springbrook back for Brisbane. I was wondering where to go for dinner when Jonathan called me..Haha..call it good timing or what, in the end, Mark, Jon, Darren and me headed to Sunnybank's Melaya Corner for dinner. It was good fellowship as Mark got along quite well with the both of them. :) It was later to La Dolce Vita for some Italian Hot Chocolate (on Jon's recommendation) with George.

After the coffee session, Jon suggested that we go to a stretch of long road behind Indooroopilly to 'test run' the power of the car. Mark was behind the wheel first..Whoo..on first gear, the RX-8 could get you up to 64km/hr at 9000 revolutions/min. Second gear was abt 82km/hr plus if I am not wrong. The gist to obtain high speed for this car is to get it to maximum speed limit at each gear before shifting to the next gear.

When it was my turn, George took over from Jon on the front passenger seat and Darren behind the back seat. Hmm..somehow, knowing myself, I wasn't really that keen to drive since I know I can get carried away when adrenaline comes. But anyway, with some persuasion I took over the wheel. Looking back, I gave George quite a bit of a scare when I drove very fast along that road. As I went into the roundabout, I accelerated inside the bend. It was really a bad mistake as the car started to skid and I could see the car heading straight towards the signpost. By God's grace, I managed to pull the steering wheel back and avoided a potential costly accident. Of coz, I was shaken and shocked by that near incident. But thank God, nothing happened, no damage or whatsoever. And yeah, I have learnt a good lesson, that is never to accelerate inside a roundabout and will remember it. :)

All in all, it was a good experience to have driven a sports car at least once in my life. But hee, I would not recommend anyone to buy it for family purposes. It is better to get a proper sedan car which comes with a bigger boot to store your baby stroller and also a more spacious backseat to strap your toddler onto the safety seat. And what's more, it can seat more people comfortably. :P

P.S. Jon, no offence with the last paragraph. I wasn't meaning anything. :P

Mark, Dave & Me..

Posing in front of Morgan's Seafood at Scarborough Harbour

This picture of the sea behind the background can only be taken at Redcliffe

The RX-8 by itself.

Another view from the 'Best of All Lookout'

Monkeying around at Purling Brooks Fall Lookout Point

Purling Brooks Fall..

The exhilarating front view from the Best of All Lookout point

Mt Warning at the far background folks...Familiar??

A Good Holiday

2006-11-27T15:35:00.000+10:00

Hello!

Yeah! Me am the first guest blogger here!

Me back in SG for nearly a week already. And I just came back from Bintan. My colleagues booked our company bungalow at the Bintan Lagoon Resort. Woah....when I checked the internet, the villa we stayed in costs $1200++ per night! Haha...never thought my company's bungalow is so nice one....and after 6 years, it's my first time there. Wasted lah! See the photos here.

I'm enjoying all the SG food...hokkien prawn mee, satay, curry puffs, kueh chap...just to name a few of the cravings I've fulfilled. More to come for sure..but must spread out the goodies, or else will put on alot of weight! Haha...

And it's been raining for the entire week (nearly)...Missed the rain back in QLD? Hee.....

(Eileen)

Lawn Bowl with the New & Ex-President

2006-11-25T00:42:00.000+10:00

Today, a couple of us managed to try out the "ah pek" game of lawn bowling. hee... it’s actually pretty fun and requires certain level of skill in precision bowling. It's really not as easy as you thought it would be cos the bowl doesn't travel in a straight line . Both presidents love it. For $6 you actually get to bowl the entire day but we kinda started only in the late evening.

Makan at Hawken Drive

a quick lesson on lawn bowling

Demonstrations

Ready for a go...

We shall return.

Organizers

2006-11-24T23:55:00.000+10:00

The 2 brains behind the beach farewell beach party.

Don Macsween Park/Beach

2006-11-24T23:46:00.000+10:00

Yahoo we've arrived

2006-11-24T23:35:00.000+10:00

Freezbie Challenge

2006-11-24T23:15:00.000+10:00

Sun Bathing

2006-11-24T22:58:00.000+10:00

Tug of War Challenge

2006-11-24T22:20:00.000+10:00

The Great Sand Challenge

2006-11-24T15:27:00.000+10:00

Poser...ssssssssssssssssss

2006-11-24T15:21:00.000+10:00

Makan Time

2006-11-24T10:52:00.000+10:00

Chit Chatting on the lawn

2006-11-24T02:15:00.000+10:00

Team 1 presentation

2006-11-24T02:06:00.000+10:00

Team 2 presentation

2006-11-24T01:56:00.000+10:00

Team 3 presentation

2006-11-24T01:42:00.000+10:00

Special 8

2006-11-24T01:39:00.000+10:00

Closing + Prize presentation

2006-11-24T01:24:00.000+10:00

Organizer giving his speech.

Ninja Turtles champion - Sand challenge

Freesbie champion

Tug of War champion

Say Cheese!

2006-11-24T01:19:00.000+10:00

Take one

Take two

Take Three

Packing up

2006-11-24T01:14:00.000+10:00

Fellowship is many fellows + relationships

2006-11-23T20:20:00.000+10:00

The men...

enjoying their candies...

Our Transports (thanks for driving us)

2006-11-23T20:01:00.000+10:00

Only managed to capture the ladies !
(Jody, Judy and Eunice)

Thanks to the guys too (Louis, Jonathan and Theo).

Beyond the Horizon lays the unknown

2006-11-23T16:04:00.000+10:00

Inventories

2006-11-23T14:02:00.000+10:00

Message in a bottle.

Jonathan's holeysoles

Up close, message in a bottle

"this is an umbrella." ding!

More Top secret bottles.

The leap of Faith!

2006-11-23T13:40:00.000+10:00

Trust in the Lord always! All the best to the fellow OCFer leaving us and returning home. Wishing you the very best in your future endeavours.