patience and prayer

Today, I've learnt a very important lesson.  Because I had wanted to be seen peace-loving, not be the wet blanket or the 'partypooper' or be seen as naggy, I took a backseat after my views and suggestions were made known with regards to a session we run once a year. Generally, I do not impose my views on people, neither will I force anyone to do things my way. If I have told you why we should really do things this way, what more can I say, without losing you altogether? And because I was not assertive enough to convince on the importance of this and that, I had 'allowed' for a kids session to lose all focus on the basis of prayer. It was nothing short of a playgroup hour. And we lost a precious hour. I have never felt so conflicted. I can only pray for the spirit of peace, openness, understanding to be amongst me and my brothers and sisters. May we continue to be guided by God's spirit, for us to do His work according to His will. Amen.

Martha, Martha!!

Why must we eat? We eat because if we don't, we get weak and eventually we die if our body is starved for food for days. When we get weak, we don't have what it takes to do our daily work, activities, fun and play. Instead, we become susceptible to all kinds of ailments, diseases etc. So why do we eat? We eat so that we get filled up with the energy and strength to do the work while we are here alive on earth.

Why must we pray? We pray because if we don't, our souls get weak and we become vulnerable to feeling sorry for ourselves, we allow darkness and sin to creep in. We think it's ok to be indifferent to situations, 'as long as it doesn't concern me', we do as we please and we please who we want to please just so that 'everybody lives happily ever after'. Priorities get all mixed up!

Martha, from today's Gospel reading (Luke 10:38-42)  was so eager to please the Lord with her chores and service to ensure that He was well taken care of. Mary on the other hand, sat at the feet of Jesus listening to him as He spoke. Upset with her sister for not helping her, Martha asked Jesus to ask Mary to come and help her instead of sitting there. Aha! What did Jesus say to that?

"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed - or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." (Luke 10:41-42)

That's us right there. We get so caught up with the doing, that we forget that Jesus our Lord is right there in our midst!!  Doing the Lord's work is great, oh ho, but it's never easy and you know it. You serve the Lord and his people in ministry work, and just like Mary, if done with the right heart and spirit, one that is open to the voice of the Lord, you should never grow tiresome, burnt out and weary because the Lord will give you rest ["Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest." Matt 11:28]. 

Was Martha wrong to be so eager to serve the Lord? No. She had every right to feel excited to welcome Jesus into her home, and I mean come on, it's King Jesus coming through your doors and into your house, of course all you Marthas out there will want to make sure He is well taken care of. We have played hosts to guests before, some of which you may regard as 'very important guests' and extra measures are taken to ensure that everything is there to put the guest at ease and comfort. So what went wrong for her? Just like Martha, many of us can relate to her (myself included!!), we go about doing doing doing and get so tired, burned out and complain A LOT about this and that. Jesus was right there, in her house. Martha got caught up with the 'doing' and got consumed with feelings of negativity towards her sister Mary, who had chosen to sit and listen to Jesus. 

Doing great works and acts of kindness and goodness may leave you filling empty and discontented, if done without the foundation of a good solid prayer life. Yes, just like Martha, your intentions are good and pure. However, it becomes distorted over time when you grow weary and tired and have no idea why you got into the doing in the first place. That first place will have to be the only place you start and end with. That is sitting with Jesus, and spending that time with Him, in prayer. 

Jesus is right here in our hearts and lives, right now as you read this, He is with us and inviting you and I, to come and sit with him and spend time with him. If you feel like talking to Him, then talk, have an exchange of words and thoughts with him, tell him what's on your mind, He already knows it anyway so you can go straight to the point to tell him how you feel. I would however, recommend you setting aside some quiet minutes alone with the Lord. Put away your cellphone, tv, music, game box, calendar planners, gadgets and anything and everything that is keeping you away from the one thing you really need. Go. 

Spend that quiet time with Jesus.

Melbourne Air 2013

I really praise and thank the Lord God for this time I have right here in wonderful Melbourne! The cold fresh air is so good for the soul! LOL. Well, for my soul that is. Really helps to uplift one up and give a renewed fresh perspective on things.

Living in Singapore can be rather crappy but life in Singapore don't have to be. Read that again and again, until you get it. Whenever you find yourself complaining about this and that, stop yourself. Start thinking of what you will now do to make things better. Note to self: Complaining and whining is NOT ATTRACTIVE.

With that said, I'm going to do my best to give my best, until this soul of mine gets ol' and weary, it's probably then time to book another flight out for a recharge session :) For now, it's back to the super-duper Target Store! :) wheeee! Thank you Jesus! :)

♥♥♥

Leave the Light On

"Your eyes are like a lamp for the body. When your eyes are sound, your whole body is full of light; but when your eyes are no good, your whole body will be in darkness. 

Make certain then, that the light in you is not darkness. If your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be bright all over, as when a lamp shines on you with its brightness."

Luke 11:34-36

This gospel text caught my attention during a retreat earlier this year in Jan. For some reason, it resonated with me and I scribbled the whole verse into my notebook. I never looked at it since then till today when I flipped through my notebook and there it was. 

We all have some darkness in our lives, it is not good and what makes it worse is that we have become so comfortable with it that it becomes 'nothing wrong'. We accept it as the 'norm' and give up fighting against it. This should never be the case. "When your eyes are sound, your whole body is full of light; but when your eyes are no good, your whole body will be in darkness." 

I attended Penitential Service on Wednesday and the truth is I cannot remember when my last confession was! That's how long it has been I guess. It can be daunting to tell your sins to a priest but the absolution he gives, the act of contrition you make, and most importantly, the forgiveness you receive from God the Father will set you free.

So as we welcome Jesus on Palm Sunday and we enter the Holy Week ahead, let your light shine and let darkness flee away. As long as your heart is in the right place, it's never too late to make this coming Holy Week a good meaningful one with your acts of penance, fasting, almsgiving and prayer. 

Wishing one and all a Holy Week ahead.

Crazy Christmas 2012!

Wow. Where did the time go? I looked up and it was already the 12th day of 2013. Just today I was humming to a christmas tune and my colleague commented that 'hey! Christmas is over ya know.' Where was I?

It suddenly dawned on me that I had missed Christmas. I mean yes, I was physically present, busy with my job, the Advent programme and party for kids, gift-buying and wrapping for everyone, christmas dinners and luncheons, weddings, church meetings, even my weekly personal gym-time had to stop (for 3 weeks, oh the horror!! LOL).

• I remember being at my grandma's house for our annual family Christmas dinner and whilst I enjoyed everyone's good company, my mind was on the big party for eighty kids to be held the next day and the 101 things that was yet to be done. This is not good, I thought to myself. We only get to meet like this once a year and I'm not even 'here'!

• I remember being on repeat mode, as I kept saying how tired I was, can't wait for this to be over, can't wait for that to be over. I guess it really came to a stage where I was really just going through the motion.

• I guess also when too often your friends SMS or IM you and starts off each time with "hi hi... sorry to disturb you ah.. but just wanted to ask.." , it just means that your "BUSY HEADLIGHTS" must be on so bright that they are fully aware of how busy you are!

• I remember thinking to myself of how I now fully understand and grasp the meaning of the word 'hectic'.

So... Christmas has come and gone (ended last Sunday on Epiphany ie 12th day of Christmas). In spite of all these busy-ness and upon reflection, I have to say that I did learn a couple of things:

1. Something's gotta give - When your plate is full and you start feeling overwhelmed, something has got to give. This means you can't do it all. You have to take a step back to prioritise and see what can be done now and what can be done later, and what are some of the things you can actually do without. In my case, I had to postpone all dinner appointments with friends to a later time and totally give up my gym time for 3 weeks. 

2. Support from around - Truth is, I couldn't have gone through the crazy month without the support of the boyfriend, family, close friends, and children's ministry team. These are people who probably couldn't fully understand how I ended up taking on so many things but yet they loved me enough to stick around with their support and care. I praise and thank God for each one of you! 

3. Spirit Wings - Last but not least, all of the things I have accomplished in the last month and the whole of 2012 would not have been possible without the abundant graces, blessings, wisdom and providence from Jesus God the Father. He had given me the strength to get through it all and although I know I complained alot to Him, I know He listens and stands by me always, for He is ever faithful. 

So yes, it is very very important to have a prayer life. No one is asking you to pray 24hours a day but keep that relationship with God alive. Start talking to Him, turn to Him with your troubles and let Him take the lead and center stage in your life. Very often we get caught up with the busy-ness in our lives, just like what I've described in this blog entry. Put God first and everything will fall into place. Wishing one and all a blessed and fruitful new year 2013!! :)