The story of the little cup

A cup was seating on the table, looking at the baseball game going on outside the window. It was enjoying the good game played outside. It was wondering if one day it can join the game outside.

One day, the master took the cup out to have a drink while watching the baseball game outside. The cup was really happy! After the game, the cup was still thinking about how good it was to be able to enjoy the game after waiting for 2 months.

The master met a friend and left the cup on a seat to speak with him. And the next moment, a kid swung a baseball in the direction of the cup and it was broken into pieces. The cup was shattered, and all kinds of thoughts ran through its mind.


Would you be the cup?
Are you daring enough to take the chance to pursue your dream?
Or would you stay where you are and never know if your dream can ever come true?

I wish that your dream will come true as you step out.
Even if you may fall, I encourage you to take the first step out.
Cos you don't know which is the step that you will take that will make your dream come true... :)

You will always have a cheerleader in me and in daddy God. :)

Be Passion for Excellence

From Casey Treat's CD series - Consumed with Passion.

Point 2: Passion for excellence

Live purposefully, worthily and accurately.
Make the very most of the time, buying up each opportunity.

Passion is that enthusiasm and commitment to live life to the fullest.

We must live a life with a passion for excellence.
Live on purpose, without compromise and mediocrity.

Everything about God is excellent, never with mediocrity, never haphazardly, never coincidentally, but always with purpose. Always accurate and according to His plan.

We too must have a passion for excellence!

Passion is a powerful force of emotions, beliefs and actions.
It is a feeling, something on the inside, an attitude, a lifestyle. Causes us do things above average, beyond what is normal. A Christian with a passion of Christ acts differently from the average person in the world.

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength."

1 thing that happens with religion is that you get mediocre in your attitude towards God, lukewarm in your relationship with God, you take for granted.

"Serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul..."

Do you live with passion or do you settle for average (just enough)?

How do you live life?
If you want to be like Jesus, you got to have a passion for excellence.

If life is boring and mediocre, you are set up for sin.
When people get tired of something, they start accepting, they start settling, average, mediocre.

We are not made to be mediocre. We are made in the image of God and He is excellence. So when you are in excellence, you feel good, you like it, you enjoy it.

When you settle, you get dissatisfied. And you are set up for sin and negativity. And next thing you know, you compromise, you sin and do something stupid.

When you fight for excellence and have a passion for live, you find fulfillment, you find a sense of peace and a sense of satisfaction.

Passion is the desire and commitment to do whatever it takes to live God's will for your life. It is the energy, enthusiasm, excitement. it is the love for life.
Excellence is that which excels above the average.

Jesus says go the extra mile, don't do what everyone else does, be a little better, go a little further, be different. Show excellence. Be and do the best that you can. Reduce "good-enough" and mediocrity.

Great people do great things, because of a passion for excellence.

Your excellent spirit will cause you to rise above your problems.
(Eg. Daniel, Moses, Dr. David Yonggi Cho)

Tiger Woods: My life is about never settling.
He fights for excellence.

What do you settle for?
Just enough, good enough, barely enough, ok, mediocre...?
Refuse to be mediocre!

1. A passion for excellence is a lifestyle.

It is a choice we make everyday.

Let's make more choices for excellence than for everything else.

A passion for excellence starts with a purpose for life that is beyond you.

You can't live with passion when it is all about you. Self-centredness loses energy. Be consumed with yourself, you are burning up yourself. You are losing life. When you live for self, you stop the procreation for a healthy destiny.

When you live for something beyond yourself, now there's something energizing, something flowing - a passion for excellence.

2. A passion for excellence takes a single-minded lifestyle.

Got to give a life to accomplish your vision.
The pay will always follow the passion.

When you are passionate, you will attract money. Cos you will make things happen, you will be worth so much, you are so valuable.

3. A passion for excellence takes a full assurance of faith.
(Fully convinced of what you believe)

Don't focus on your doubts. Cos they will grow if you focus on them. Then you will get confused and don't know what you believe anymore.

God brought you so far and He will not leave you. He will complete what He started in you.

4. A passion for excellence means you refuse mediocrity or compromise.

Where is your passion?
Where is your fight for excellence?
How much do you settle?
How much do you miss what God has for you, cos you settle for less?

Passion = Fervently living for God with all your heart

Whatever you do or say, do it in the name of the Lord!
Remember His name is excellence.

Whatever you do, do it heartily as onto the Lord and not onto men!

*******

Friends, let's get excellence in our spirits once again!
Let's make more decisions based on excellence from today onwards.

Food that makes me go "Yum yum!!!"

Yummy Food that I had this week

1. Pork Chop Cheese Baked Spaghetti at Xin Wang HK Cafe - Cineleisure

2. Packed Sushi at Mr Sushi - NTUC Xtra at AMK Hub

3. Mini chicken pie at Prima Deli


More Yummy Food that I am currently or had been thinking of

1. O’Briens Irish Sandwich Bar

2. McDonald's Big Breakfast


Food Places that I want to check out

1. Corduroy Cafe - Vivocity

2. Brotzeit German Bier Bar & Restaurant - Vivocity

3. Novus Restaurant & Bar or Wa Cafe - The National Museum

4. The Book Cafe - Martin Road

00:50AM

Be Passionate about God's house

From Casey Treat's CD series - Consumed with Passion.

Point 1: Passion about God's house

Are you passionate about anything?
Is there anything in your life that stirs you up and fires you up?

Are you wasting your passion on irrelevant things that pass away?
Are you passionate about what Jesus was passionate about?
To have passion is to have strong feeling and desire, powerful and compelling emotions.

John 1:17
Then His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up."

Christ was passionate about the Father's house.
To be a Christian, is to be like Christ.

Eph 1:22-23
And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

The authority of Christ is over a church. But if you are not part of the church, you do not get the authority of Christ. The head goes with the body, and vice versa.
The church is Christ's body and it is the fullness of Christ to all the earth. When you see all that the church (churches) is doing all over the world, you see Jesus at work in the earth today.

There is no one person that represents all that Jesus is.
When Jesus walked in flesh, He was the perfect representation of God. But since Him, there has been no other. Now the church is the body of Christ, and in the church, you see all that Christ is. That's why we are so different and it is good that we are different. Each church is focusing on different things. Cos God wants to do everything.

Matt 16
v13 - He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"
v15 - He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
v16 - Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
v17-18 - Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

Understanding who Jesus is includes embracing His church (the body of Christ).
Understanding what Jesus wants to do our lives and in our world includes embracing His church.

Value the church that God loves.

Can you be a Christian but not be a part of the church? Can you love the head but not the body? Can you want Jesus in your life but just not want any of His people in your life?

He who says he loves God must love his brother also.

God takes the body of Christ to help you to become the person that God wants you to be. Church = gathering of the called-out ones.

The church is His voice to His world, His hands in this world, His feet going into all the world. The local church is the only manifestation of the global or spiritual church. There is no other way to be part of His church, if you are not in a church.
Love His body and serve His body, and participate in the ministry of the body of Christ.

Acts 2 - Birth of the church (1st century Christians)
v47 - And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
As soon as you were saved, you are part of a church. Only place that you get spiritual food, spiritual support and spiritual things that God has for your life is the church.

Paul was birthing churches.
The church has a different level of responsibility. The church is responsible for souls and spiritual environment in which we live.

Can you be a Christian and not be part of a church?

Paul wrote to the churches.
If you weren't in a church then, you wouldn't get to know what Paul told the church.

Paul carried the churches in his heart cos he knew it was the key for Christianity forever in the earth.

The book of revelations was for the churches.

When you are lying around in your house all by yourself, you get dusty and dull.

When you get in the church and get around other people, you get shinier and look better. Because the body knocks the rough edges off each other. That is what church is all about. Serving God isn't doing my things my way, but doing His things His way.

Do you have the passion that Jesus has for God's house?

Eph 4
v11 - And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
v12 - for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
v13 - till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
v14 - that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
v15 - but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ--
v16 - from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Everyone does his/her part.
That causes growth of the body.

1 Tim 3
v15 - but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

We all need an environment where we are challenged to grow, encouraged to grow.
The church is trying to build you, bless you and help you to be all the God wants you to be.

Heb 10:24-25
And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

Ps 92:13-14
Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing.

If church is optional for you, or
If you have to think if you should go to the church every week, or
If moving churches is common to you, or
If you have no intimate relationships in the church, or
If you don't serve in your church,
If your kids love church more than you,
If you love your car/house/etc more than your church,
you are not planted.

And if you are not planted in the house of God, you will never flourish in the blessings of God.

******

Isa 42:3 & Matt 12:20
A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench.

Ps 23:4
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

Friends, let's march on together for God is walking with us.

Be Passionate for People

Here's the 4 main points from the Casey Treat's CD series - Consumed with Passion.

#1. Passion for God's house
#2. Passion for excellence
#3. Passion for truth
#4. Passion for people (Passion of Jesus)


Point 4: Passion for people (Passion of Jesus)

Where is your passion?
Where is the passion that affects those around you?
Where is the passion that impacts the lives of people in your world?
If you want to be like Christ, where is your passion?

Passion is a focused energy, a commitment, a desire, a willingness to go the extra mile, a willingness to go beyond the average, an unusual feeling and emotion that moves us to action.

You are passionate about something but are you wasting your passion on things that don't matter for eternity. Are you following Jesus with passion that makes a difference in the kingdom of God and in the lives of people?

Jesus has a passionate love for people.
Love your neighbor as yourself.

I know you can, but will you?

It doesn't matter what you do, some one will not like it.

It is not about being awesome but it is about being willing.

Would be one of the laborers?

3 Things we do to love our world

1. Show them you have a real relationship with Jesus.
Show them that you really know him.
Show them that your faith is sincere. That you are not just being religious.
The world doesn't care what you think until they think that you care about them.

2. Giving/Sacrificing for something bigger than ourselves.
We live and give for something bigger than ourselves, beyond ourselves.

3. James 1:27
"Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world."
Do something practical and keep yourself unspotted from the world.

There is an element in our lives that we live for God because someone else is watching. We stay right with God, because someone else is watching.
We live for something beyond ourselves.

Let's delight in Jesus and move with compassion for people who need us.

What is Passion?

Explanations from the dictionary

- A strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for anything
- Boundless enthusiasm
- Powerful, intense emotion

Synonyms

Fervor: great warmth and intensity of feeling
Fire : burning passion
Zeal : strong, enthusiastic devotion to a cause, ideal, or goal and tireless diligence in its furtherance

My own evaluated definition of Passion:

Passion is a strong and complete belief in something; it gives you the energy to run the course for the thing that you believe in. And this passion will enable you to excel in the area you believe in and inspire others.

Be Passionate about Truth

From Casey Treat's CD series - Consumed with Passion.


Point 3: Be Passionate about Truth

Grace loves and accepts.
Truth enables us to change.

You are the way you are cos that's the way you want to be.
You are going to be that way as long as you want to be that way.
As soon as you want to change, you will change.

You got to accept the truth, then you will change.

How are our lives sanctified?
Through God's Word - the truth.

As long as we are avoiding truth, there's stuff in our life that won't get better.

If you never apply yourself to truth, there's certain things in your life that you will never overcome.

Sanctify yourself truth by truth.

Whatever you are passionate for, you will apply yourself to.
Anything you are passionate about, you will give yourself to.

Truth will make you free.

If we want God's best and God's blessings, we can't look to the world.

America was built on "In God we trust".

The truth will sanctify, free and bless you.

To accept God's word as truth, but live a life without truth is a worst kind of hypocrisy. We can't just accept the truth and then be liars.

Truth in our beliefs, truth in our lifestyle, truth in our personal integrity and honesty.

Is there any passion for truth in your life?
If not, you can be deceived.

Let's love truth, know what we believe and stand for what we believe.

Passion, Prayer, Love

The blog records for May are on-going and doing well! :)

PASSION is the key to success.
PRAYER is the key to restoring passion in every area.

I need a fire to consume me. I need to have zeal and energy in my life!
"Not my will, but Yours be done."

I did try to be on time for the training today.
But the bus that came was lop-sided. 1 side was lower than the other, quite scary.
So when the bus came to my busstop, the passengers alighted shortly. I had to wait for the 2nd bus. So I was late for class. But I managed to get there before the class started. Thanks to another "classmate" (I think he is called Shao Wei) for giving up one of the books for me! Cos I did not have the set of books for the last round and I really wanted the books this round.

Did I say what training I have been attending?
It is training on Vignette Content Management System.

Had WaterCress soup (one of my fav soups) at the Chinese restaurant place near cg location as usual with my cg members. :)
Then bought the "Eden drink" for J. Aloe Vera drink now is popular cos of Eden. hehe! :P But it is nice and refreshing. Do try it if you can. :)

Wanted to get my mum a phone but she din want it.
So i think I will give her hongbao so that she can get a pair of new specs.
13 May - Mother's Day (also 5 more months to my birthday, Haha!)

I finally got a call about TGI after 5 weeks. It was a Thursday that time I got the call too. But still need to wait to hear more about it. This time the person did not say weeks, but I don't know when I will hear news again. But I am glad that the person called to update, so that I know this thing is still possible.

At this moment, I am not very sure what to do if the thing is actually possible for me. JX shared in cg today that sometimes decisions are hard to make. You have to separate the task that God has for you from the emotions/ambitions/etc to make a good decision. If you have already decided in your heart/mind subconsciously, you will tend to go towards that decision (even before God confirms it). I pray that though it won't be easy, I can be able to do accordingly to God's will for my life when I need to make the decision. :)

Life is wonderful with my fav family members and my family in Christ loving me.

S: I wish that everything will turn out ok for you. You are very precious to me, all throughout my life!
C: I hope that your "spiderman" will appear in front of you soon.
K: I hope that your "SR" will "wake up" and realise what a treasure you are.
MPC: You make me smile. You are in the "HAPPY FOOD" category.

Oh yes, I ate nice yummy Mashed Potato from my colleague's Western food dish this afternoon. Yummy, I simply enjoyed it!!! Maybe it shall be my lunch tomorrow!

1:07am

Bugis & light-hearted stuff

Met up with YL at Bugis today...
Went shopping...
Seems to have some sales going around. Could have gone to try more clothes if I had more time... Hehe! I think I was in a shopping mood.
Bought a simple navy-green top and a brown 3/4-length pants at G2000. :)

Then went to eat at "Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant" at level 2.
YL had some discount. :)
We were not very hungry, so we ate Xiao Long Baos and Cai Baos...
We had 2 types of Xiao Long Baos filling. 1 was just meat while the other was meat with cabbage. =) Too bad, when we had our 2nd "long2" of Xiao Long Bao, the soup had almost dried up. Nice tastes. Slightly bigger than Crystal Jade's. Comparable to Crystal Jade's. :)
Had a nice dinner of baos with chinese tea. :)

Bought a Watsons pack of facial cleanser tissue.
Cos I am lazy to wash my face at times... :P But yet, i want to have a clean face, so this is a good solution! Yeah!

I forgot what was the Editor's favorite when I read one of the magazines...
So I bought the cheapest. Haha! I think it was voted one of the better ones (value for money). I hope it really does what it is supposed to do - cleansing. Haha!

Bought a box of 10 cushioned plasters so that I can wear one of my shoes without getting my skin cut again.

Bought Watsons tissue packs too.

Is this light-hearted stuff nice to read?
Haha, trying not to be always too serious. Good attempt?

It was a nice time catching up with YL.
Talked about some interesting stuff too. Had laughs! Hehe!

Oh yah, looking forward to watching "Priceless" on Monday with A and V!
I think the show will be very nice! Should be considered a love comedy bah. :)

Let me go sleep and get to the training on time today!

Chocolates

Chocolates are nice...
I had M&M'S peanut yesterday...
Tomorrow will eat Snickers!!!

I also had a mini chicken pie and custard puff. :)

Chocolates still leaving a sweet taste in me... Or is it the "chocolatey dream"?
Haha!

BTTM: Is this topic light hearted enuff? :P
I think you will be scratching your head. Haha!

M&M'S Chocolate

M&M'S® Dark Chocolate Candies
http://us.mms.com/us/about/products/dark/

M&M'S® Milk Chocolate Candies
http://us.mms.com/us/about/products/milkchocolate/

What is the difference between Dark Chocolate and Milk Chocolate?

More fat and saturated fat, but less sugar and sodium.

I wonder how does the Dark Chocolate taste like... Is it bitter?
Hmm, I guess it should be bitter sweet. :)

My favorite is M&M'S® Peanut Chocolate Candies!!!

Time to sleep...
Let me have a M&M'S dream tonight. :)

11:33PM

What to get?

What should I write about?

Pointers on what you should get for a guy that you like:
1. Things of his interest
2. Things that he use
3. Things he need
4. Something that he will use often so that he will think of you
5. Don't get something common

These are the compiled good advice of 2 ladies and 1 guy, so it is a balanced view. :)

What can you get for me?
Pardon me for being so "direct", haha!
But this my blog and my space mah!
I really feel like receiving flowers now, so decided to write this.

1. Flowers (Red roses or sunflower)
2. Denim jacket (I lost the one that I bought at a good discount and it looked great on me)
3. Bag (No lady will reject a bag, cos all ladies love them)
4. Sneakers (Comfortable shoes)
5. Sponsored trip to a nice beach resort
6. iPod Nano or iPod or iPod Video
7. IBM laptop
8. Nice clothes
9. Ticket to Phantom of the Opera
10. Etc, etc...

Thanks for your blessings in advance! *grins*

My Nokia 5200

Life is as good as it can be.

My God hears me... even the thoughts that I have.
God is gracious. He knows how I feel and help me to get what I want.

I am a happy girl today, cos my Mum went to my church's Family Day with me today.
I wore a simple dress that I bought recently, dressed up and went for the Family Carnival and Mini Concert with my Mum. It is a miracle that she could come cos of some change of events that God miraculously allowed.

I was happy cos Bro Darren has told Vivian and I that we will be appreciated as ministry leaders for M3. It was such a privilege and honor to receive appreciation from the church with the cg leaders. Indeed, promotion comes from the Lord. I believe in being faithful with the things that God put in my hands. Then naturally, God will bless my hands and promote me. This is how it is with my ministry. And it shall be true for me in my career too. God is a giver of good gifts!

So I went to Expo excited. :)
We had food and drinks at hall 7 with a few cg members with their family/friends. Then went into hall 8 for the concert. It was packed man!
Thank God that a few of them were already inside and they were very nice to let us share seats with them. And it was at the central slope, good location! So blessed!

The session started with Praise and Worship. Then pastor appreciated those cg leaders and ministry leaders. And I received my Nokia 5200. Hooray! On Monday, I was just thinking that it is so nice that my colleague received a hp for her anniversary with bf. And thought how nice it would be if I have a new phone too. And there I have it, a new Nokia 5200. God is really so sweet to me.

Then there was a grand draw. 5 lucky winners walked away with trip to HK Disneyland!

Then it came to the highlight of the day. Sun's concert.
It was great! Really great!
You know what? Only the Pharisees kind of people in Singapore do not like Sun. There are many many more people who like her. Non-believers are more open than the religious people. What a pity! But, Sun, you have a good name in more people's eyes that those few religious and negative people. Even my Mum says that you have a good voice! :)

The best thing about the concert is the atmosphere. It is all kinds to all people. It is relaxed, happy, lively, helps people to relate to situations in their lives - allow people to cry and get soothed in their souls. I really enjoyed myself at the concert. And I sang to most of the songs.

I had a happy day! =)
And now, I look forward to tomorrow with hope.
With what God has done for me, I will make a decision to forgive and to bless.
Can one live without expectation?
I doubt so. Cos expectation is very much part of us. But God wants us to manage our expectation, and not to raise it beyond what it can be, so that we will not be crushed when the disappointment comes. And God says, if you can believe it, you can have it. If you can see it, you can have it!

Just as how God has laid down His life for me while I was yet a sinner, I want to be able to do that for another person. Not that I want to be God, but I want to be like Him. He was able to do it out of love, to fulfil God's purpose. So I want to do it, cos it is the only way out. I pray that God, You be my help. Let "WWJD" be my guidance for this season. I am more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus!

"God said it, I believe it, and that settles it!"

Onward with Jesus!

12:40am