Going beyong your paradigm

Going Beyond Your Paradigm
Today God Is First Volume 2 by Os Hillman
Thursday, November 27, 2008

When God calls you into a new endeavor you will find that God will anoint you in areas you considered your weakest traits. God turns shepherds like Moses into leaders of nations. He turns farmers like Gideon into reformers. He turns impetuous and unstable personalities like Peter into leaders that can transform a culture and lead a movement.

Whenever God does a new thing in a life, those who knew them before notice the change. Quiet people become bold. Poor speakers learn to become great communicators. Those who were never leaders before become the new leaders. This is the way of God.

When God looks at an individual, He looks at their future, not their past. He is always looking at the person He has created you to become, not the person you are now. When Samuel anointed the young shepherd boy, David, to be the next king of Israel, it would be years before this would happen. However, God already knew who he was to become.

How does God view your life? What is the destiny He has chosen you to fulfill?

English enrichment class

Graduation ceremony (From left: Cindy, Me, Angela, Rachel, Vincent & Irene)

Certificate of achievement

Last lesson for this group (English Basic module)

Class/group shot

These are my China students (our company's employees).

From July - October,

Twice weekly lessons of 1.5-2hours per session

Of Basic module English

After 4 tests, 1 oral presentation & 1 final exam,

They have finally graduated!

They have become my friends

I am looking forward to the next group(s) :)

I like all of them.... they're really sweet & nice people.

Recalling the flood.....

Colleagues going to work

This is the volleyball court in between our apartment & the office

Our garden.... becomes a swimming pool for our croc. Look at tokoloshe's head in the background.

My feet... soaked in water. I was in the kitchen cooking dinner....

It flooded for 3 whole days!!! The water level in our apartment rose to about 10cm in height in the wee hours of the morning.

Darling Juno had to save himself from the flood by climbing onto a shelf that could barely hold his weight up. We had to "rescue" him by carrying him onto a sofa. The poor boy was shivering in cold. He had no where to pee and do his business. He was voluntarily constipated!! haha.

We spent 4 hours cleaning out worms, dirt and mud in our apartment.... it was so back breaking. Norm even got bitten by a leech. That blood sucking thing caused his wound to bleed continuously and he had to wrap his feet in a plastic bag. What a sight it was.....

Those were the longest 3 days in my entire life. I wanted to go home so badly. I never imagined that I would get to experience such a thing. Afterall, Singaporeans are really blessed and the only natural disasters we see are on television. Now, I really understand what it feels like to be in a flood, going to bed with wet, soaked feet. One thing for sure.... I don't wanna experience the flood ever again!

Through it all, we still thank God for His protection over us in times like this.

God is GOOD all the time!

How thankful we are for HIM
We can't explain how things seem to fall into place
We can only admit that HE is in control

Praise God for the circumstances
Praise God for the decisions
Praise God for windows of opportunities
Praise God for placing the right person in our lives

Woohooo...! We're looking forward to our journey ahead and anticipating. anticipating. anticipating!

No fasting but still seeking answers

7am: Avoid Misleading Impressions!
Bill Gothard

If we want to have full and successful lives, God has some very specific requirements for us. “What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it” (Psalm 34:12–14).

In order to fulfill the command to keep our word, we must identify and remove any guile from our conversation. Guile is deceit, which includes exaggerations, partial information, or half-truths that are designed to give a false or misleading impression. As stated in Psalm 32:2, God rewards the man who removes guile from his spirit.
“Blessed is the man … in whose spirit there is no guile.”

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6pm: Grace Abounds
Today God Is First Volume 2 by Os Hillman

"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work" (2 Corinthians 9:8).
God always knows what we need before we even ask. I recall a few years ago when God was allowing my business to dry up - it happened in order to lead me to an entirely new calling. Lack of provision is one way God leads us to a new place. This was a scary proposition because I had many outstanding obligations to banks and others, and I had to have some significant cash flow to make these payments.

I was ending a consulting contract with a client and saw no prospects for replacing it. Days before the contract expired, I received a call from a new ministry that was consistent with the calling I sensed God was leading me to. They asked me to consult with them for the next year. At the end of that year, I learned that God spoke to the ministry's founder to pay my entire salary out of his own pocket in order to meet the needs I had at that time. This was no insignificant amount either.

At the conclusion of my contract with them, I was wondering where my income was going to come from for the next year. The day before I was informed that their commitment would decrease by 50%, I received a call from the administrator of our foundation. They informed me that a supporter had just given $20,000 to our ministry. God encouraged me through this gift to know that He was my provider.

God equips us to fulfill the mission He has for us. Whenever there is a lack of resources, God is either teaching us to trust Him in greater ways or He is using this to direct our path to new sources of income. Trust the Lord to bring you what you need in the timing that He determines.

A clearer answer today. Father, continue to reveal your will in our lives. Amen & Amen.

Day 3 of fasting

7am: Dishonesty Is Doomed
Selwyn Hughes

"Dishonesty puts sand in the machinery of life," says one writer. I would add: "And honesty and integrity put in oil." We can choose to live with sand, or oil, in our inner mechanism.
I cannot say whether or not I would ever lie. I would like to think not - but I am fallible and human. I know this, however: my moral joints will creak if I am dishonest. I am made for integrity and I will not function well without it.
Prayer:
O Father, help me grasp this simple but important fact – I am designed in my inner being for truth and honesty.
When I work with truth, I go leaping into life. When I work without it, I limp.
Drive this truth deep into my being. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

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2pm: The Fallacy of Full-Time Christian Work
Today God Is First Volume 2 by Os Hillman


"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him" (Colossians 3:17).

Wherever you are called, serve the Lord in that place. Let Him demonstrate His power through your life so that others might experience Him through you today.

Day 2 of fasting

7am: FAMILYLIFE
Help For Today, Hope For Tomorrow
MOMENTSwithYOU

Dear God, whenever I am in an argument please help me to know what to say and what not to say. When I am in the wrong, help me to be humble enough to admit it, apologize, and make things right. And if perchance, I am not in the wrong, help me to be humble enough not to rub in 'my rightness,' and gracious enough to forgive the one who has hurt me as You so freely forgive me whenever I sin and do wrong. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name, Amen and Amen.


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2pm: Picking Fruit
Today God Is First Volume 2 by Os Hillman

"So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant" (Joshua 24:13).

When something unusual happens in our daily life experience it is a time to tune in to your spiritual antennae. God is often at work. So, I prayed, "Lord, what are you saying through this?" The answer came quickly: "I have called you to walk a specific path. I will bring the fruit to you. All you will have to do is pick it up and stay on my path for you. That is what it means to abide in Me."

The people of Israel conquered the Promised Land as a result of obedience, not sweat, toil, or natural talent. In our work life call, He desires to give us fruit from our calling when we fulfill the unique purpose for which God made us. You will not have to manipulate the outcome. Abide completely in His presence and purpose for your life so you can pick the fruit He desires to bring into your path. His nature is to do exceedingly beyond what we can think or imagine.

Dear Lord, we hear you. 'Obedience' is the key word. When we obey, you will grant us our heart's desires.

Day 1 of fasting

7am: Supernatural Love And Devotion
DailyDisciples

God knows what we need and He will send to us the kind of friend that is best for us. We have to remember that to have a friend, we need to be a friend. And no friend can ever compare to our Friend in Jesus. As Jesus would tell His disciples, there is no greater love than laying down one's life for his friends. We should all be asking for the kind of love that Jesus has for us as His friends, all for His glory and honor.


Lord God, may I comprehend the sacredness of friendship. I thank thee for my friends, and for all the beautiful influences which they bring to my life. May I never hold friendship without the sincerity to return it. Correct my faults, and cause me to learn the secret of cheerful endurance, that I may be steadfast. Amen and Amen.

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4pm: Playing to One Conductor
Today God Is First Volume 2 by Os Hillman

The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I don't need you!' And the head cannot say to the feet, 'I don't need you!' On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor" (1 Corinthians 12:21-23).

Every member of the Body of Christ matters. Every job matters to God and contributes to our great Conductor's grand plan to fulfill His purposes on the earth. Your contribution matters to God and has no hierarchy of importance.
Play your instrument to the glory of God in unison with the other instruments God has raised up for His purposes.

We continue to pray & seek God for His guidance....

The technician wannabe

Back view (Batteries and SIM card are ok)

Front view (Damaged screen)



Last week, I lost my china mobile phone.

I forgot where I misplaced my phone. I thought that I left it on the office table and it got stolen when I went away for a short while.

I wasn't panicky about it but was bothered by the loss of contact numbers in that mobile phone as I do not have any back up in hardcopy. Norm and I went round the office building trying to look for the phone. He even called my line to see if we can hear any ringtone nearby. However, the line was dead..... our colleagues concluded that the phone was stolen.

It wasn't surprising that such things are occuring coz a company's laptop got stolen recently, and since it is near the CNY period, there will be more thefts happening.

Norm said jokingly that we should place a bomb in our laptops or handphones so that we can activate it when we realise that it's stolen. Hahaha! Maddness...


We then decided to head home and the first thing we did was to look for Juno as he did not welcome us at the door. Lo and behold...... we discovered a sofa full of broken pieces of plastic from the phone cover and a damaged handphone!! How furious we were!!!

Apparently, I left my handphone on the computer table (which was rather high for Juno to reach). The technician wannabe grabbed my handphone while I was out of the house and carried out his project!

Yes, if we installed a bomb in the handphone and activated it, we would have bombed Juno DEAD! Muahaa!

Buying a new phone would cost the same price or is cheaper than repairing that damaged phone. Maybe I did wish for a new handphone on my birthday..... Thanks to the little rascal, Juno. :P

B.R.E.A.K.T.H.R.O.U.G.H

Do You Need a Breakthrough?
Today God Is First Volume 2 by Os Hillman
Friday, November 7, 2008


"...while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. He instructed me and said to me, 'Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding'" (Daniel 9:21-22).

There are times in our lives when we simply need a breakthrough from God. Maybe you need a new job or a breakthrough in your finances, direction on a big business deal, or maybe physical healing from an illness. Sometimes we need to hear from God directly for situations in our lives.

Daniel was seeking God to understand why the nation had been in captivity for 70 years. He began to fast and pray. At the end of this time an angel of the Lord appeared to him. It is clear the angel came to Daniel because of his fasting and prayer and his seeking God for answers.
The prophet Jeremiah says, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13). The problem with most of us is we are unwilling to seek God for the answers. Seeking God requires an intentional focus that may require prayer and fasting.

Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ said, "I believe the power of fasting as it relates to prayer is the spiritual atomic bomb that our Lord has given us to destroy the strongholds of evil and usher in a great revival and spiritual harvest around the world. The longer I fasted, the more I sensed the presence of the Lord. The Holy Spirit refreshed my soul and spirit, and I experienced the joy of the Lord as seldom before.

Biblical truths leaped at me from the pages of God's Word. My faith soared as I humbled myself and cried out to God and rejoiced in His presence."*

Do you need a breakthrough? Consider committing to a time of fasting and prayer.

The challenging bit would be fasting......

Meet Juno the destroyer

The culprit posing with his handiwork *argh! so angry with him*

I should put a number tag on Juno, just to make him look like a convict!

Norm and I often wonder....

Is this sort of behaviour due to a lack of attention?

Juno gets destructive when we're not at home. Although the distance between our apartment and the office is just a volleyball court's width, Juno still destroys stuff. We go home to visit him and get some stuff once in a few hours, but it doesn't seem enough.

He wants someone to play with him and we've decided to play ball with him more from now on.

Norm's conclusion: Juno has a depressed childhood. He's a city kid, cooped up at home with toys but no one to play with and lacking in attention. Kekeke!

Poor Juno baby... we promise to be better parents from now on.

1 million Yuan

If converted to SGD would be $200,000. How many of us earn that much in a year?
A person earning an average income of $3,000 a month will need 5.5 years to earn that much money.

Question.... Would you be tempted to cheat for one year to be able to pocket that sum of money?

Do you know anyone who has been in that situation before? No?

I know someone who has done this "one-year project". The person is not a S'porean....this person is a local Chinese. Imagine this... this person is now richer than any of us (1 million Yuan!!) and used to earn only $1,200 Yuan ($240 sgd) a month!

The punishment: Just being sacked from the company. period.
(What an easy getaway)

Would you put away all conscience and principles for money?

I know that the "devil & angel" scene is playing in someone's head right now.

1millionyuanyesno?1millionyuanyesno?1millionyuanyesno?1millionyuanyesno?1millionyuanyesno?

1millionyuanyesno?

2 birthday cakes for once in my life

China style Birthday cakes

Courtesy of colleagues and students from the English enrichment class
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Celebrated my 28th birthday in China on the actual day: 1/11/2008

Had a great time with the

Chinese colleagues,

2 S'pore students

Juno (my furkid)

Tokoloshe (my reptilian daughter)

& of course Norm (I'm so tempted to type out something else here!)

Delicious BBQ & 2 three-tiered cakes which I've never had before!! Felt like I was cutting some wedding cakes!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!