our God is an AWESOME GOD

hello!

i think i owe an entry haha. but i've been so lazy to actually type out what i've been learning, as i tried to tell tianyi last saturday.

anyway, what has happened the last 2 weeks? i think spiritually it has been down and up. 2 weekends ago i was feeling very discouraged because the youth carolling/Christmas event thing didn't materialise, and i was just feeling very lousy. thinking that hey i really wanna do something for God so why couldn't He have made things happen? but i think that experience taught me that a) i need to stop thinking i'm really capable because there're so many things that are out of my control. and b) that ministry requires PRAYER (more on that later).

another thing that compounded my misery that weekend was hearing all the talk about the parents being upset and all. i saw it coming a few weeks' ago because my mum talks to me about such things, and during that particular week i remember juls and i discussing the whole issue at much length. but i was still very troubled by it all, least of all because i don't really know how to react to it. what should my stand be? so yes i was feeling very troubled and discouraged.

but thankfully, God sent a close friend who listened me out and provided much food for thought, and i thank God :)

then last week was a lot of seeking God for guidance as to the song set. every time i lead worship i REALLY struggle with the issue of pride, so last week was no different. but thank God for His mercy in making everything good, even though prac was quite bad haha.

i think i've learnt a few lessons from all these experiences.

1) the importance of PRAYER. prayer has never been my strong point because i tend to get bored very easily, but these couple of weeks (especially saturday's prayer meeting before worship) taught me the importance of prayer. now i fully understand and believe in the saying, "No Prayer, No Power". and usually when i pray at home it's really half-hearted and quite short, but i think God's teaching me how to enjoy praying more. having a greater desire to spend time talking to Him, praying for others (i've realised that this helps me to want to pray more, somehow) and yeah just reading His Word too. QT has become more of a joy :)

2) that life isn't a bed of roses. sometimes i think that God should give me an easy week because if i'm on a spiritual high, i should be able to transcend everything right? but i think i've learnt, through all my busyness these few weeks, that it's not true. i can be physically and emotionally exhausted, but still spiritually strong. the nature of life IS that it is challenging and tiring at times, and God doesn't expect us to be perpetually joyful and on a spiritual high. what He DOES expect, though, is a willingness to always stick close to Him.

3) that KNOWING God's Word is extremely important. i was ticked off by my friend for not knowing my Bible properly, and that taught me how crucial it is that we check every single practice/teaching against the Bible. i dunno, this experience has made me realise how important it is to be spiritually discerning, and i really want to have that. also seeking to study the Bible more closely, but not sure how to do that at the moment (beyond doing it during cg etc.)

yup that's roughly it haha. you all can pray for my exams too! have been very busy with my theatre studies practical exam so i've hardly begun studying (SERIOUSLY) so yeah pray for good time management. :)

thanks!