hey u all,
WELCOME!!
If you're one of the youths, feel free to participate and blog your own post!! Because that keeps the blog active! and if you don't know how to blog, ask the regular bloggers like Tammi, Tanya, Wen Yi and me (ronan)!
"30Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
31but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and now grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint."
----Isaiah 40:30-31
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Friday, 19 June 2009
a challenging experience :)
hey u all,
Wednesday, 17 June 2009
MUST WATCH!!!
Maybe you have heard of this guy, maybe not, but he's born in Melbourne (here!), and without limbs. He's now a preacher and a motivational speaker around the world.
More info here in Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Vujicic
And the main thing of this post is VIDEOS!
This here is a shorter video, and showing him speaking to students in school:
And if you do feel motivated, this next longer video is an interview at church, like sharing, and you can get deeper insight on what the guy believes, which i hope really speaks to you:
Hope you all spend some time watching the videos.. it's worth it!
Sunday, 7 June 2009
So yeah, the speaker was this guy called Jay Koopman and he currently lives in Hollywood, California. Yep. And so he shared this amazing testimony of his, which - as he did tell us before starting on his story - really did sound like a movie of some sort.
I don't exactly remember every single detail of his rather long story, but to say it in one sentence would be that he had a very difficult childhood. His parents sold, dealt and actually did hard drugs. He found out that his mother was actually prostituting herself to get drugs and money. He soon found himself involved in selling drugs, and eventually, doing them himself. When he was in his late teens, he ended up in jail. (Again, I only remember certain points of the story, and I'm sorry if I might have told some parts wrong, so those who went and listened to him speak, correct me if you find any errors in what I'm writing, okay?)
So, growing up in such harsh conditions and circumstances made Jay a very angry, bitter and difficult person. He ended up hating his mother and everyone/everything else that had made him that way. He was angry at God.
His [Christian] aunt was the one who started his unique journey to finding Christ. She showed him unconditional love. She got him to enter this Christian teen program thing for jail inmates, and although he only agreed to go because he wanted to be any other place but jail, and it was difficult to get in, he did. After a series of events (I seriously can't bring myself to remember much of them, to be honest! I'm horrible -_-) he came to God and was released from the anger that were his chains. He felt free again.
So yeah. Darn, it really was moving. Hahaha. Again, sorry if my story has some inaccurate areas!!
Sunday, 24 May 2009
ODJ: above the mud (may 21)
read> Psalm 69:1-33
Let all who seek God’s help be encouraged (v.32).
more> Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with My victorious right hand (Isaiah 41:10).
Bog snorkeling is a popular sport in Wales. Competitors wear flippers and diving masks with snorkels attached and try to squirm through trenches cut through peat bogs without using their arms! While I have no idea how bog snorkeling got started, I know that getting “stuck in the mud” is nothing new.
David was in that spot—emotionally speaking—when he wrote, “Rescue me from the mud; don’t let me sink any deeper” (Psalm 69:14). If you’ve ever been depressed, you know what he was talking about. That struggle to stay above the mud can be overwhelming, frightening, and tiring.
David expressed feelings of hopelessness, but he also tried to encourage himself despite his despair. For example, he believed that he would eventually get out of the bog. He envisioned the end of his suffering as he wrote: “Then I will praise God’s name with singing, and I will honor Him with thanksgiving” (v.30). David believed God would set him free.
And check this out—David went on to say, “Let all who seek God’s help be encouraged” (v.32). The key phrase here is “seek God’s help.” Sometimes I think we’re too quick to outsource assistance to alcohol, advice from friends, or self-help books. Why are we so reluctant to beg for God’s help when we know He’s the only one who can truly rescue us?
After all, God “hears the cries of the needy” (v.33). He’s not going to dismiss our struggles and tell us to snap out of it. He’s “the God of compassion and mercy” (Exodus 34:6). He’s the One who is always available, always listening.
Do you know someone who’s sinking in the bog? Perhaps you’re that person. If so, remember that God can and will help you to stay above the mud. Seek Him today—no snorkel needed.
next> How can asking for God’s help revive a soul in despair? How does David’s example give you encouragement?