Simple life and Generousity

Last weekend I bumped into a church friend who has on her way to Seremban to donate a brand new Toyota MPV costs more than RM100,000 to STM. Interestingly she drives a Kenari but had such a generousity to donate a hugh MPV to the Seminary. Such is a simple lady who live a simple life and use the God has given her to bless others. Normal, we tend to spend more on ourselves, and if we have the balance, we would spend on others. Knowing her for many years, she remains to a simple and humble life although I know she is capable of living a more luxurious life. Now, that's what I call as living a simple life and channel what what we earn to bless others.

Servant leader

I was sharing 3 learning points about leadership from Matthew 20:20-28 to a group of teenagers aged 11-18. Just to share with you too.

Lesson 1 (Vs 20-23): Being a leader is not about seeking self-interest.
Unlike James and John's mother who ask for a return for her sons because they followed Jesus, thus asking the question "What do I gain from becoming a leader?", we focus is to seek out God's purpose through us by the leadership role we play.

Lesson 2 (vs 24-28): Christian leadership is about serving others. It is about putting other people's interests first, serving them in light of the attitude of a humble servant.

Lesson 3 (vs.28):Leaders are clear about their mission and are he committed to do it
Jesus knew the reason he came into the world is to save you and me from the punisment of sin. A leader knows why he is appointed, he knows his responsibilities and carries them out well with full commitment even when it is difficult or even when it is not enjoyable.

10 reasons to sing

I will be sharing something about my singing experience with a choir group that I'm current attached with, next Sunday at a church where we will be singing. As I'm still deciding what to share,the idea of sharing my joy of sing came to mind and I listed 10 things.
1. We are created to reflect the glory of God
2. We are called to speak to one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual song
3. God speaks to us through music and songs
4. We are reminded of God's goodness and faithfulness
5. We sing as a response to God's deeds in our lives
6. We share God's message of salvation
7. We learn to worship God together
8. When we don't know how to lament to God, songs helps us to express to Him
9. We are humbled by the fact that God gives us the ability to sing to Him with the voices He has given us
10. We bless others when they are ministered to through our singing

Clean and Unclean

I'm back to the beautiful city of Ipoh to celebrate Chinese New Year and I shall be facing one of my greatest challenges i.e. to over eat during this festive holiday. My mother-in-law is a fantastic cook and somehow, I always have trouble controlling how much I eat. So I told myself that I shall be very cautious to control my diet this round.

I was reading Mark 7 this morning on how the Pharisees were accusing Jesus and His disciples taking in food with unclean hands because they did not follow the Jewish traditions to wash their hands before eating. It is interesting to see Jesus' reply in versus 14-23; that nothing outside a man can make him 'unclean' by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him 'unclean.' For food doesn't go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body. But what comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' Verse 21-23 records, "For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.' "

So as I was busy being concern of what and how much I should be eating this holiday, God reminds me once again to also keep a check on what my heart produces. Well, my prayer is that may this CNY be a time where I share of good and pure thoughts as well as a sharing of kind deeds with friends and family.

For those of you who are celebrating Chinese New Year, may this year be a year full of love, joy and serenity. And to those who are travelling or on trips, have a safe and enjoyable time!

Domino

Last weekend I had the chance to go back to Ipoh to worship at my husband's home church. That Sunday was rather special to me as it was my first experience hearing the message shared by the Sunday School kids and teachers. The theme of the message was on 1Cor 13:1-13. What was really interesting was that the Sunday School put all of us through the message just as how they would normally do in a Sunday School week. There was a short sketch, story telling, short message and even an illustration session.

I enjoyed the illustration about loving others. The teacher first used dominos to demonstrate the "domino effect". Then she explained that loving others is first experiencing love for ourselves first before we can truly love others. Once we are touched by God's love, the love will overflow in our interaction with others and this effect continues on. Another interesting point is that dominos need to be position near enough to run a "domino effect". So i about loving others. We can't love others from afar. True touch of love is when people experience a sense of belonging, understanding, acceptance and trust built through personal relationship. We need to genuining draw close to people just as how God would draw close to us. So it was a good reminder as I reflect on my relationships with people and how I could share God's love more by reaching out to people instead of waiting for people to come to me.

Becoming a Change Agent

Hello! I'm back!! Yea, I'm back from silence...been busy with wedding preparation and rushing out work after coming back from year end holidays. I was running through John Maxwell's book "Developing the Leader Within You" and found this comic which I find quite funny but yet a good reminder that we are change agents to make our own little world better. Enjoy!

Bonus

This month is one of me and my colleagues' favourite month. It's bonus time!!! I have already started spending even before the real cash comes in...as I would normally say..."aiyah...just charge it to bonus la..."

This time's bonus will be slightly different because there are people that I really care about and want to support them financially. I know this time, there won't be much for myself to enjoy. The idea of how to apportion the money this time really makes me think how I can use the money God has blessed me with. Hopefully this round, I will use it wisely.

There's so much we can do with our money. But what makes money more meaningful and fulfilling is how we use it to bless others. Yes, no doubt it's nice to splurge on myself but strangely enough, the inner sense of satisfaction is even greater when I put aside my own wanting and spend my money on other people in need. Wonder if you have experienced something I did?