centralthree

2010-12-28T04:39:00.000-08:00

I miss you all still! Always do and sometimes I still think about you guys before I sleep at night. I feel glad I spent some of my best years with you guys. (:
God bless wherever you may be now.

Heather

2010-10-18T06:01:00.001-07:00

i miss u guys man.

2010-01-27T05:09:00.000-08:00

hey c3(:

first up, congratulations:) we've suceeded in multiplying.

i'm sorry that i wasn't able to attend our farewell cell, but it was really a decision that i had to make- to honour my family.

i leave you guys with no regrets.

God has blessed us in abundance. to be able to reach the number of disciples we have now, was really unthinkable just last year, as i believe many of you would know. numerically our attendance was at an all time low.

look at where we are now(: honestly.

it feels like my heart is being torn apart. ripped apart. haha.

central three is my home. it's really where i belong, where. i'm just filled with so much joy. so much fun, so much laughter.

it's the place i grew up in.

we're all selfish people. we want to remain where we are, in our comfort zones. we don't wanna take risks, we're doing so well already. why must we share what we have. why must we multiply. why can't we just stay together.

million and one questions. simple answer, you've no choice.

the right (and holy) answer. move with God. honour God.

stay strong man. it's not going to be an eaasy period of transition. transition is rarely smooth.

but keep the faith. support your leaders.

most of all,

trust God.

:)

JAE

2010-01-23T06:55:00.000-08:00

hey central 3 (:
my 2nd time posting on this blog.

i had a really good time with you all today(:
i'll never forget all the times we've been through together, whether happy or sad :D

though i wish that we had more time together, i trust that God has a bigger and greater plan for all of us, and central 3 is like the preparation for the bigger plan :D
though one chapter has ended, another new one begins :D let's look to the future yea?

like ming says, let's bring what we have in this cell to our new cells(:

this cell has really been a big part of who i've become today, in just 2 years i've been with this cell, i've grown so much, both spiritually and mentally. :D

i've made some really awesome friends whom i really appreciate alot, and i regret not gettting to know some of you better ><

thanks for everything you've given me, i love you guys, and i'll miss you!(:

all the best in you new cell, and God bless!
Always be a shining light for Jesus and keep that fire for God burning(:

Always believing in you,
Vivian! :D

p.s. maybe we could have combine cell outing some time!(:

2010-01-17T06:50:00.000-08:00

Sunday, 17 January 10'

hey central three, its Alisa here(:

okay. maybe this sounds weird saying it, since i kinda have moved on from c3 and already but you guys still hold this special place in my heart as the first ground ive ever learnt to share my life with fellow siblings in Christ. and though i hardly pay visits because jc life keeps me really busy :( but i still cherish central three, the cell and my time there.

and.. as you guys multiply, i wish i could have around not just as an alumni but as a member to see the cell grow to where it is today (: its so heartwarming to see how God has grown this cell central three and sometimes i do wish i was still around though m1's been real good(:

and im sure God will be with you guys, every step of the way. God believes in you guys and im sure He has His great plans for you((: when the going gets tough God will be there(:

and im sure in His own way He would use you guys to be a blessing to your new cell members around you((:

so anyway,

all the best and head forth with strength and courage and anticipation into the things God has in store for you guys(: yup!

Alisa.

FAREWELL CELL!

2010-01-17T06:36:00.000-08:00

HI GUYS! so finally, farewell cell (:

i got 3 words for you guys... DONT EMO LEH!

its finally time for us to move on, and move forward in the plans God has for us. many stories will be born out of your lives. amen and amen.

BUT of course, central 3 will always be so dear to most, if not all of us (: so lets have a good farewell this saturday.

here are the instructions.

for those that were in central 3 camp, this is similar to what we did there..

we will be having a time to exchange words and hugs and encouragements. ( no kissing pls, JAE)

what you are supposed to do is, write on a piece of paper "i believe in you" and go to any person whom you feel you want to say something to and say whatever you wanna say. say things like thank you for this and that, and tell that person that you believe in him/her, and why! and whatever else you may have to say(only kind words!) and at the end, say "i believe in you".

simple?

great.

of course alternatively, many of you would prefer to give little notes to each other. i think thats great too, because then the person can keep it forever and ever (: BUT! i have a condition.. you MUST read out what you have written on that piece of paper to that person. (: bless each other in speech (:

can can??? i suggest you guys start preparing this week your notes and whatever, so that on that day itself you dont have to scramble to write to each other...

lastly on this matter, can i encourage you guys to approach people whom you may not be close to? yupp. we are all ONE cell. together. leave no one out (:

yayy..

next thing... WONDERING IF YOU GUYS WANNA HAVE A DRESS CODE.

there is the cell tee shirt, but perhaps we can dress something else?

was thinking of white and black.. like.. all the girls come in white, all the guys come in black. that might be nice (:

let me know what you think.. sms me k? 97396744. or can just tag here.. i'll check everyday.

see you sat!

ming

2010-01-01T05:07:00.000-08:00

Dear God,
as the new year comes around I thank you for a wonderful year spent with central three. I thank you for every moment we have spent together, every laugh we have shared and even every tear we have shed together. Thank you for the support I find in my cell members and the love they bring to me and bring out in me. Thank you that you are with us constantly and your love is unfailing.

Thank you for the talkative and chatty, the quiet and meek.

Thank you for the confident, thank you for the shy.

Thank you for the small, thank you for the big.

Thank you for the tall, thank you for the short. (yes!)

Thank you for the expressive, thank you for those who are quietly appreciative.

Thank you for the kind and the lovely.

Thank you for the hugely talented, but also thank you for those who have yet to discover where heir true talent lies.

Thank you for the discerning and the wise, but also for those who possess that childlike innocence.

Thank you for the leaders, and thank you for those who trust and follow.

Thank you God, for everyone who can call himself or herself a part of central three, because it is every unique member that forms the beautiful work that we are as a cell.

Even though I am going to miss every single one of them so, so much, God I thank you because I know my friends and loved ones are in your good hands, all the days of their lives.

Amen

"The Lord watches over you - the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm - he will watch over your life
The Lord will watch over your coming and going, both now and forevermore."

Psalms 121:5-8

God bless your new year!!

Heather

Cell!(:

2009-12-10T05:15:00.000-08:00

Hey guys! Haha i think my second post here for a long long time.

I sincerely hope you guys had a really good time bonding and having fun together during the cell outing(: haha i really hope u guys had as much fun as me :P esp. the water bomb game really(:

This cell since the start has really made me become a different person. i mean, since the start when the number of new sec1s was around the number of the existing c3-ers , i've really made friends with a lot of people!(even people of my own batch :P) . I would really like to thank you guys for makin cell such an enjoyable time, to socialise and be able to develop our walk with God at the same time!(:

Cell camp was really awesome.i mean, it was the time i really got to know a lot of people much better!(: although it was rather disgusting at times (*cough*) but mostly happy times(: big thanks really goes out to the cell camp com. who spent so many hours planning this really awesome camp(: (by the way, check out the photos of facebook by caleb)

Our cell now is really really bonded, and im really thankful for you guys who prayed for me and zachary, cos i guess we were really touched by God, prompting us to do whats right, and we should!(: I would really cherish every moment i have with u guys and i love you all!(:

Regards,
Daniel(:

2009-12-08T08:12:00.000-08:00

hey guys!

Just wanna blog to say, cell outing was an awesome time today (:

Today was actually pretty down for me right from the start, since morning I had been literally tearing in the bus on the way to church. But from the moment I joined in the ball games, going to the beach and stuff, you guys really made my day, distracted me and really made me felt the love and bondedness of central 3 (:

I joined megalife in sec2, but since then have only been attending service every week, and stopped there. Sec 3 occasionally turned up for cell, but it wasnt until cell camp last year that I made up my mind to attend cell regularly. Looking back, I regret not attending cell regularly those times. I would have made so many more, deeper friendships with you guys, and now before I can do that, I'll soon be moving on the another cell alr.

Those days the only people I knew was heather, sherwyn, jae, shirleen, alisa etc. ming to me was like a faraway figure, a leader to me only. Now I know how fun ming actually is, and how fun the rest are too.

I guess I just wanna say thanks to all of you people, both the girls and guys. The girls have been so nice to me, so supportive and all. The guys are a weird funny lame bunch of people, but still very nice. I really dont wanna leave Central 3 this big happy family in Christ that I have, but I'm grateful for being here.

love you guys, and God bless. (:
-lihui

2009-12-07T02:05:00.001-08:00

Hey c3!

To thank Ming for leading our cell, i created this facebook group, which can be found : http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=230346759114&ref=mf

Pls join.

thx

central 3

2009-12-06T05:59:00.000-08:00

dearest central 3.

thank you for all your posts on the blog.

family. thats what we are. that is so true. jeanette brought up this analogy to me which i felt fit perfectly.

i feel like a proud father. seeing each and everyone of you, grow and become awesome young men and women for Christ. I've been so blessed just getting to know you guys and all your words of encouragement, your care, and every little thing you guys do, just makes me love you all more (:

despite me being so much older than you all, i feel like im more than a cell leader to you and you are more than cell members to me. you guys are friends. friends whom i will cherish for a long time to come.

carrying on with the analogy.

when i think about multiplication. i feel like a proud father marrying off his daughters and sons. each of you to begin your own family and write your own story. when the time comes for us to multiply, that would be the time that each one of you become, like i said during cell camp, pioneers.

you will have your own sons and daughters and you will help them to grow.

this is more than an administrative action.

This is a God given opportunity for you guys to rise up! STEP OUT of your comfort zone, and charge forward to expand the kingdom of God.

i thank you guys, jh and jeria, for your input. but i think that this is the best decision. if you guys wanna, we can talk about it.

and i also thank you that you trust the leaders to make the best decision. because we are trying our very best to. whatever the decision in the end,

i urge you to take what has been placed in your hands and use it to the fullest.

we've got the whole world to save guys! and its going to start soon. use this next one month to just gear yourselves up for the coming school term. that is the mission field. we've a calling to go and make disciples! will you go?

when we multiply. you can build the same closeness in your new cells once again. continue to be authentic and share life the way we do now. your juniors (the new sec ones) and whoever you guys might merge with, will be inspired to do the same.

lastly, i urge you to

run, all together [with] hearts ablaze

with a fire that cant be tamed

[for] God ; all glory to [his] name

your father.

(haha)

ming

central three

2009-12-05T19:23:00.000-08:00

Hey guys ,
This one year has been a hack of a time spending time with you guys, even in cell camp learning about god and growing in him and having fun with you guys have just been really great .I feel that Central three has extremely close bonds and we have really grown in the lord as well as in friendship and unity .I really love you guys as my second family and when i heard of the splitting i was dismayed , really up sad about the three cell thing . i really hope even after this year we all will still have the same close bonds like now . And really a big shout out for Wei Ming !Being a cell leader ain't no joke it takes commitment and it takes alot of strength , being an awesome cell leader takes anointing from god . I have to say that Wei Ming your the best !!! I love you guys central three

Jon.h

2009-12-05T09:00:00.000-08:00

hi guys(:

honestly, i think it's gonna be hard for me to transition into like an only ri cell. but hey, that's (partly) what cell's for. support. and i KNOW i can rely on not just the ri guys, but on everyone to provide support not just for me, but for everyone else too. and what i saw just now during cell really encouraged, motivated, and touched me. everyone gathering around the people who really needed the support (daniel and zach), praying for them. and after tonight, i really truly believe that the ri cell is gonna be really bonded together :D

and there's something else about our cell. every single passing moment, every second that goes by, the time that we spend together feels more and more precious, more and more valuable. it's not just me who feels that way. weekeong told me he feels that way too, and i'm pretty sure many other people share the feeling.

okay my emotions and thoughts are super messy at the moment. it's probably cos man u just beat west ham 4-0 and i'm super sad. haha. well that's all i got for now.

love all of you guys so much! :D
jonathan b

2009-12-05T08:47:00.000-08:00

hey c3 (: i totally agree with Jeria about what he has said, everything. when i looked back on my life and when i just joined the cell (together with my fellow sec 1 cellmates), and reflect upon everything, i can come up with two observations: 1. central 3 has many unique bonds between each centrallite, bonds so strong it really felt like being in a second family, when having worship, sharing, and games together. 2. my spirit has grown stronger alot, and i know deep inside that it would not have been possible by just myself.
as for the first observation, well, i dunno, but i feel that bonds between each centrallite and i have is actually stronger than those i have with my ordinary school friends. after the cell camp, bonds between each of us (especially those who came for the camp) became stronger than ever, that i'm sure of. i also realised that central 3 has a very unique ways of worship (such as the "dance floor"), and not only that, almost every time, the sweet and strong presence of God was always there. i am finding words to express my feelings for central 3, but there isn't anyway i can describe how i feel towards central 3 and all its centrallites, the best word is still "family".
in this cell, i witnessed firsthand what mutual trust is, as we are able to be authentic towards on another, like a split up group discussion we had a few weeks ago. apart from that, it was also the cell that spurred me on to continue in my regular Bible study, because it was mainly from my cellmates and cell leaders that showed me the importance of having Bible study everyday. apart from that, cell is always something i always look forward too, however tired i may be on any day, as i know that it is a time that we can have fun together, worship God together, and share a little bit of this and that of our lives with one another.
Well, this is all i have to say for now. However, i believe that even after central 3 has "multiplied" into several more cells, central 3 will always be in our hearts and that nothing can make us forget all that we've been through together and central 3 will always be central 3 in our hearts. goodnight :)
-Wee Keong

2009-12-05T08:05:00.000-08:00

Hey c3!!! I wish to express my feelings about c3, as I couldn't from the laggy Internet connection at KFC just now.

Ever since I became a centrallite a year ago, something changed in my life. I'm thankful for it too. Was it the worship? The sermon? The games?

Yes. But most importantly the strong presence of God there. And the strong bond between every centrallite.

I shall skip the long talk, but it impacted me to lead a life for Jesus, and thus leading to my baptism( unfortunately I didn't know that I could make a middle name. Oh well...).

The strong bond between each centrallite was witnessed today by me. It was well...kinda heartwarming to see my friends conjure the courage to talk about their difficulties they had whether in school, home etc. After hearing, you could feel a sense of... Understanding.

It is this strong bond that enables everyone to trust one another, and tell one another just about anything. Moving into a different cell will take a long time for this to happen.

I feel that many of us feel the same way too.

Riverlife has become my second home; c3, my second family.

This day will never be forgotten.

Regarding separation, I leave it to the leaders to decide; however I will still respect their decision. I know the tough responsibility of handling a big group of 40, as I have experienced it first-hand before.

See you guys soon!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod

2009-12-05T07:08:00.001-08:00

hey c3!(:

[btw pls take alook at jon hwang & jeria's post below mine]

my first time posting on this blog!(:

cell was awesome today, had a really great time of fellowship(:

i would really miss this cell next year ): thank you all so much for the jar with the cactus & the paper boat notes. i cried when i read it cos i was so touched. really (:
and even though my cactus was the shortest, xP i still really liked it, quite cute ma ^^ like ME! haha xD

ok anyway, on to admin stuff.

this are the workshop details for the elevate camp i told you about today.
for those of you who don't know, there would be workshops held for you guys during the 2nd day of the megalife-highlife camp, to allow you guys to know more about God's word and teachings.
these are the elective workshops which you guys can choose from:

1.Leadership Exploration by David Ng
Leadership is a state of being. It is who you are, what you believe, and how you behave. In this fact-informed workshop, we will look at what researchers and latest findings have to tell us about the core competencies required for those who want to rise to the place to influence others for change both in the marketplace and church. This is a workshop not to be missed if you are aspiring for leadership!

2. Using Your Gifts in Creative Arts by Thomas Chow
God is a God of creativity and we are all creative being made in the image of God. In this cognitive and experiential workshop, we will unpack what the bible has to say about creativity and at the same time soak you into an experential learning on how you can use your passion in multi-media, song and script writing, drama, arts etc via different platforms to impact lives.

3.Using Your Gifts in Sports by Marie Chan
This is a workshop for Sport lovers. In this fun workshop filled with activities, you will hear experiences from a lecturer and coach on how PE, physical activities and sports have helped people physically, cognitively, emotionally, and spiritually in reaching out to others.

4. Using Your Gifts in Science by Elder Dr. Freddy Boey
God is a God of all creations. As His created being, we are gifted with the ability to invent and innovate to reflect Him. In this workshop, we will hear from a scientist and professor, on how to think innovatively to solve problems around us using science and thereby touching many lives.

5. Principles from Average to Great by Tony Lee
There is an enemy called Average. Many people have resigned to staying at average and thereby living in mediocrity. In this workshop, we will impart cognitive restructing on how you can breakout of limitations, patterns and mediocre thinking and rise to greatness wherever you are.

6.Discovering Your Ministry by Joachim Tan (For P6s - compulsory) [on a side note: ming says not to be deterred, you can also join if u feel God is leading you to join this workshop, cos it'll be a great opportunity(:]
God has given everyone specific gifts, passions, and talents to build up the universal church. Discover how at a young age you could start to identify, develop, and serve in the strengths and passion that God has placed within your heart! Many have been called, but few are chosen. Are you soing something about it today?

yup please indicate your 1st, 2nd & 3rd choice, and let the respective people know what ur 3 choices are.
RI report to Jon Boey.
ACS, Coral, SCGS, Junyuan report to Wee Keong.
DHS report to me ((:

ok please try to tell us ur choices by 10th december yea?

THANKS SO MUCH! God bless and see you next week!

~vivian!

Separation

2009-12-05T06:30:00.000-08:00

Hey c3!
I feel that RI and ACS should be in one cell next year when we split.
RI is in a small number of 9, while ACS has 7, excluding sherwyn and Derek unless sherywn is staying.
Moreover, very few students enter RI and ACS every year.
We also feel that we have bonded very closely this 1 year.
Thus I Would like to suggest a petition for RI and ACS to be merged next year.
However, we would still respect the decision of the leaders If they would disagree.
Sincerely,
Jon Hwang and jeria
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod

2009-11-18T22:02:00.000-08:00

" May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Romans 15:5

Hey Central Three,
let us be united by nothing other tha our faith, love and trust for and in the Lord.

God bless!

Heather

Cell shirt

2009-11-15T22:31:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,

Can someone upload a full updated(!!) name list of our cell so that i can do the design for the cell shirt?

Thanks.

2009-11-01T02:30:00.000-08:00

hey central 3,

hope you guys are enjoying your post exam days! let's continue to keep those who're still having Os and other exams in prayer alright!:)

anyway guys, let's not see coming to service and church as the most 'holy' thing you can do throughout the week alright.

yes, you do worship, you do prayer, you do communion.

but you can worship God anytime, anywhere. worship doesn't have to be singing songs! worship can be the simple actions that you do, the way you speak to each other, speaking into lives and all that. worship really, has no boundaries. let's not be stuck with just singing songs in saturday services alright.

prayer, prayerful lifestyle. prayer should be done every single day, as much as possible. thanking God for the good, confessing our sins, just talking to God etc etc!

communion is about remembering Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross (am i right? if i'm not please correct me!) and yeah. i don't think we need communion to remind us about what Jesus did for us.

it's really messy but i do hope you get my drift.

you don't judge how well the musicians play. worship comes from the heart. worship isnt even just restricted to songs! so why say worship was bad, when the truth is many a times it's us who aren't looking to God. or the truth is many a times we choose not to worship God. we choose to harp on the misfortunes that have happened, and we CHOOSE not to worship God for who He is and the blessings that He has given to us.

every single day, that's what counts most. how you act all around, that's what counts most.

you may be holy moley in church, but if you're crude, anger prone, jealousy prone and all that outside church that's hypocrisy. and i believe you know, what that means.

you may be able to lead your cell members, you may be able to lead your church friends in church activities but if you cannot even lead your friends outside school to do the right things and worse still you join them, then you have some reflection to do.

you may sing Lord i put you first in my life but during cell you turn on your handphone and start messaging unimportant stuff or playing handphone games. honestly, there's something that you'd need to do then.

you may sing Lord i honour you, but if you fail to honour God's people i don't know how you're honouring God. guys, do NOT belittle others. do NOT put others down. do NOT disrespect others. love your neighbour as yourself. no one of us is greater than the other.

guys, central 3. let's be Christians who truly live our entire life glorifying God.

you may fool man, but i assure you you aren't even close to fooling God.

have a great week, remember camp forms and missions collection alright:)

jae

2009-10-17T22:37:00.000-07:00

dear central three,

my name is Jae Lee.

i'm aged 15, and i've been in central 3 for close to 3 years now.

i'd never been me in my first 1+ years in central 3.

i was a good little church boy, coming to church every single saturday and attending every prayer meeting.

i was nice to everyone around me, i never ever told them what i really thought of them, what i really thought of their actions.

but outside church i was part of the world. the system of the world. the world without God. i wasn't a Christian. i didn't show Christ through me. i was like any other guy on the street. i wasn't afraid to say i was a Christian. but that probably did more harm than good. a Christian of no difference. then what's the point of being a Christian?

i did my quiet time. i said my grace.

but i wasn't close to God.

in Church i didn't wanna be rejected. so i acted differently.

it wasn't me.

i don't know what happened. i cannot remember.

but i changed.

i started to slowly integrate my lives together. who you see outside and inside church's the same now.

honestly i dislike being known. i dislike being on stage, being seen by so many people.

cause that's not who i am.

i'd rather know really few people and have deep relationships with them,

than to know many people just by their name.

and i'm still changing. i'm still changing.

i'm learning how to always stay in God's presence,
learning how to trust Him and put Him before everything.

i'm learning how to find security in God and not in friends,
learning how to turn to God first before anyone.

it hasn't been easy, honestly. but i thank God for friends who really speak truths into my life. they do what they know will be best for me even though it will hurt me.

i've learnt so much during the past short 3 years.

one thing i'm really taking away, is what's true friendship. it's not about making you happy. but it's about guiding your way to God. cause only in God can you ever find true security, true love, true happiness.

what about you, my fellow cell members?

let's be real in cell. let's be who we are in and out of church, in and out of cell.

let's be real friends, real brothers and sisters in Christ, speaking the truth into others' lives.

for only the truth can set you free.

only the truth,
can set anyone free.

let's be free my friends.
let's be free.

let's be truths.

2009-10-10T08:56:00.000-07:00

hi c3. ya'll all too busy to post right... i post la. hahaha. and heather and lihui can post too since their exams are over!!!

anyway, before anything, i wanna give a big shout out to those who havent been coming because of exams.. JIA YOU!!!! and please remember, God is our strength, be sure to keep your spiritual life in check too (: life is more than just studies! its about God and family and friends and fun and love and joy and all those things (: but there is a season for everything. now is work season. so jia you!!!!!

especially our 3 major exams people.. derek sherwyn and ted. WOOHOO!

today at cell, we watched LEFT BEHIND: the movie. only part 1.

i think it was a good time, and i trust that you guys learnt a little bit.

most important lesson:

we are living in the end times. we must be watchful at all times. keep ourselves in check (by God's grace) and keep on reaching out to our friends. Cuz only the Father knows the time which these things will happen. (thats right, even JESUS doesnt know when the time is!)

i really hope that some of you will take an interest in this subject, because it is a important subject to know about.

BUT!

remember, at the end of the day, it doesnt really matter when it will happen, or how it will happen (will it be like the movie? or would it be different?) also, never let our differences in understanding of this subject cause a divide among believers (we worship the same jesus!more importantly, how does all this translate to how we should live our lives? how do we prepare ourselves for the tribulation we might go through?

keep these things in mind, feel free to ask me questions.

have a really good week people (:

love,

ming

2009-10-05T03:18:00.000-07:00

hi c3!!

well, its been pretty exciting the last few weeks huh?

the worship encounter service, pastor joyce's farewell, and the special service with mike connell.

how's everyone been doing? i know like sherwyn is really studying hard for his o levels which is in like 3 weeks. probably derek is too. and ted for his n level.

and everyone else is also just studying hard for their EOYs.

singapore and examinations... sigh!

just wanna encourage you guys to really keep the faith and give your time generously to God. remember him as you study and trust that he can give you strength and help you out. our God is an awesome God.

i myself having mid term tests and LOTS of papers and essays and projects to submit this month. i got 3 essays and 3 projects all due this month. woohooo! but as for me, im choosing to serve the Lord. i will do my work to the best of my ability but not at cost of my time with God and my spiritual health.

also, im hoping that this week i will demonstrate love and hope in a greater measure to all my friends around me. i'll start by praying for them, so that as my heart overflows, so will my actions.

have a good week all!

God bless (:

Ming.

2009-09-23T08:29:00.000-07:00

hi guys. ming here.

i just watch a video of this extraordinary young 11 year old kid dance at the very popular show, Britain's got talent. i was like wow. you can check it out here.

but what really hit me was not the dance.

in this show, and the many others like it, its about getting approval from the judges and your fellow countrymen. you stand there, you sing your song, you do your dance, you do crazy stunts, you do magic tricks etc, all in the hope that you be approved by the judges to go to the next round.

for this kid, he simply, loves dance. and he dances. he gives it his all to this audition.

see how similar this is to our christian walk.

we all have our own songs that we sing to God, our own dances, our own performances. all of which we show to God hoping for his approval. like the story of cain and abel. would our sacrifices of praise be lovely or despicable to God? would God approve us?

so i urge you all. dance your heart out for the Lord. it is the most important approval we need.

imagine father son and holy spirit are like 3 judges watching you, perform the performance of your life. and in the end, he would either say "well done, good and faithful servant." or "away with me evil doer!"

this is the most important approval we must have. lets rise up and take our upward call, that is; christlikeness.

amen.

ming

Cell icon

2009-09-23T03:08:00.001-07:00

For those who don't have Facebook or are not tagged.

2009-09-15T13:20:00.000-07:00

hi c3 <3

ming again.

i must tell you all that... university is probably my best time in education EVER! i mean.. im just having a blast learning so many wonderful things about our world and about people and about everything.

my modules

1. intro to psychology. FASCINATING. our brain.. its INCREDIBLE. do you have any idea what it takes to make a person like YOU, work? i mean.. even if you're just stoning... your eyes are looking at something (which you choose not to pay attention to), your butt is feeling the chair (hard? soft? warm? but you dont really care either), your back is automatically keeping you seated up right, your lungs and heart and digestive system work without a trace (other than occasional farts). and that grey lump between your ears controls all of this. amazing.

2. geog. patriotism and loyalty and territorialism and migration.. how do we come up with all these things? how does the government influence us? national day songs useful? li jia wei at the olympics.. WHAT FOR?

3. theatre studies. drama, acting, speech, lighting, stage, props, signs.. so many of these things even in everyday life, we can employ.

4. genes and society. dna? genes? eugenics? pre-natal diagnosis?

5. einstien's universe and quantum wierdness. WOW. special and general relativity. space and time and space-time. gravity is not a force! its geometery! stars, nebula, sun, explosions blah blah.

my point. i feel that all these things i learn are giving me such an incredible picture of who God is and what he is capable of. awesome stuff.. im growing in awe, in school! you can too. see the little wonders of the Lord in science, math, art, literature. open your heart and eyes and see with spiritual eyes. God is everywhere.

what measurement can i use to quantify your love?

how far can my arms stretch wide?

what songs can i sing to the one above?

the one from whom, i cannot hide.

your love for me is like the only star i see at night.

it shines and captivates me in the deepest of ways

your love it dances around in full sight

yet sometimes i turn away.

why am i so little in faith?

does my unbelief hurt your heart?

still the truth remains, you conquered the grave

oh take me back to the start.

my darkness, my shame, my pain, my blame

your light, your fame, your healing, your grace

for me you gave your all.

i am eternally yours.

ming

2009-09-09T19:28:00.000-07:00

Thursday, 10 September 09

many of you many not know who i am, and i guess its been a while since i ever posted on the cell blog or visited the cell. but after reading heather's post on cell and her memories with the cell, it made me think bacak of my own. its.. amazing how four years have passed by so fast, like as though there are those times im in a new cell now but i want to pause for a moment and go back to the days i was cell members with you guys! hehe:D

like heather, i too feel that i learnt more about God week in week out as i went for cell one week after another and i enjoyed that (: i think cell also taught me courage and trust (:

There was this once in sec three i was going through something tough and challenging, and i guess it sure took a lot a lots of courage to step out and be able to share it with the whole cell in sec three.

Its then i realized cell's where we really should share lives. okay i guess i may sound like the next cell leader telling you that but... REALLY! (you know how much i love that word! haha). Cause thats how become pillars of support for one another (:

It taught me trust too, pretty much. I dont know about you guys but for me i takes me to be able to trust something in order to keep on doing it again (; pretty much thats how it worked out. This whole thing about sharing my life with the cell built trust into me- trust that even though you guys may not have understood what i went through or how i felt back in sec three when i did that, that you all were still supporting me in prayer, through advice (:

But my journey in central three cant be summarized in a post. Its been too many memories, lessons learnt, friendships made to be able to even type everything in just a post ((: you guys have a great cell :D

M1's been great but miss you guys too okay!

see you guys soon!

-Alisa.

2009-09-09T05:50:00.000-07:00

This is the scene in The Prince Of Egypt where Moses leads the people out of egypt.

There can be miracles! (:

Heather

2009-09-06T09:26:00.000-07:00

Hey,
after reading Ming's post on our history as central 3 I decided to write something like that too, about what this cell means to me.

When i entered this cell allll the way back in sec one, I was scared. Oh I was. I didnt know more than two people in Megalife and all I knew about weiming was his voice, after getting a call from him letting me know which cell i was in (Central 3 lah). Of course fear and the blues never linger and I really grew to love this cell.

I loved everything. I loved the people, as small as we were back then. I love the way Daryl laughed, Shirleen farted ( God, please dont let her see this), Jae's wierdo hairstyles, Sherwyn's ego (its huger than ever now by the way), Ming's leadership. I loved sitting in a dark corner of the then unrenovated Victory chapel to play games, fellowship, and learn valuable lessons about God each week.
Central three was, I can safely say, a fundamental part of my spiritual growth. From baby to what I am now. I never regretted a single day with Central Three. In fact, I would do it all over again!

I loved the memories we made. The weekly grass patch dinners, concentration games, praying together, laughing and getting all serious together. I loved every minute of it. Central three was almost the biggest reason why I looked forward to saturday every single week!

I thought things would always be the way they were. Then things started to change - Shirleen's batch graduated out of the cell, along with Daryl and Nicole. Around the same time Ming left for army, and I was like "huh? all gone?". I felt lost, like alot had suddenly been grabbed from me. A whole bunch, a real BIG bunch of sec ones came in (thats all of you, loves) and it kinda made it a little harder to adapt.

That made me realise, how dependent I was on the cell. Too dependent, and that I needed to look for something more in my spiritual life than the people. And though I fell then, I began to grow in faith and reliance on God, and I think I emerged in better shape than I ever was.

To present. I have mastered the art of reacting appropriately to silly antics and the LAMEST comments, all becasue of you guys. (: I love you all, esp the littler ones, cause you make me laugh each and every week. I feel happy when Im with you guys, and though we get messy and chaotic and rowdy at times, the sweet times we share totally overwrite that and I thank God for that. It is incredibly heartwarming to look and see how the youonger ones grow, and your devotion and faith is always an inspiration for me.

For the older ones, esp the pots (yeah, we're old now), I am thankful to God for giving me good friends and partners like you guys to walk these years with me. I think we've seen each other grow and mature and its amazing how you guys step up and start becoming role models to the cell.

Thank you, Ming, Shawn, Randolf, for being friends and leaders to us.

To end it all, you all have a special place in my fist-sized little heart. Maybe a heart cell each.
And seeing how we've grown, thats a realllllllllly big place! :D

Love and God bless,
HeaTher.

sept 5

2009-09-05T09:16:00.001-07:00

hi guys (: ming here.

just like to share with the rest who were not at service what we talked about at cell today.

the "main sharing" was about living for Jesus. I asked the cell 3 questions in which i tried to get them to respond.

1. what does it mean to live for Jesus?

2. is it important to live for Jesus?

3. why is it difficult to live for Jesus?

answer these 3 questions yourself and perhaps you can share with someone your difficulties and pray for each other. thats what we did (:

next thing,

i want to just give a shout out to everyone. all of you who are like really busy with school and all and hence cannot come, can i urge you guys... COME!

2 reasons why.

1. you gotta have a sabbath day. the sabbath law is one of the most pushed aside law. we tend to break it without even knowing it, neither do we feel guilty about it. ever wondered why? go figure. but more than just obeying they law, i believe the sabbath was put in place to help us to manage ourselves. our energy, our spiritual life. so please, do yourself a favor and take a sabbath on saturday (:

2. your spiritual life is important! cell is a time where we come together, worship, learn, PLAY, share, encourage. these are things that are to me, much more important than studying. of course you do it in moderation. once a week is not too much is it?? besides. its only 4pm to 10pm. its not even one whole day! consider it an investment of time. be smart. do the smart thing and invest in something that is really important and worthwhile.

i can only say so much. know that i am praying for all of ya'll. i know exams are tough. i went through it all already. and AM NOW STILL GOING THROUGH IT. uni i tough man.

even though i have only 3 days of school a week, im like struggling to keep up with my readings and all. and thing is, i have to monitor my own studies, cuz no teacher would do that for me anymore. which makes me even more conscious of the effort i have to put in.

but thank God, i have been able to maintain a balanced life of friends, family and studies. but i'd tell ya'll honestly. have not been doing well spiritually.

its quite hard to find a quiet time to do quiet time. especially now that im staying in the student accomodation. pray for me!

okay!

see you all really soon (:

MING

2009-09-03T23:47:00.000-07:00

hey guys(: before you read this post, PLEASE scroll down and read ming and jae's posts first(:

if you've done that, here are the baptism photos (daniel, andrew & jeriah's), sorry for delay, i've been kind of busy..

o.o

nice smile andrew!

haha ps ming the camera focused on andrew not you

getting ready...

nervous?

aww.. bestest of friends

all smiles(:

instructions

:D:D

more instructions

out of the water! daniel looks refreshed

still smiling(:(:

:D:D:D

big smiles(:(:(:

andrew looks contented(:

andrew wiping his face

he's got his specs back on(:

daniel shaking the water from his head (you can see water flying!)

and now for jeriah...

in preparation

on the stage

SP tellin' them to look at the cameras. but somehow not at me):

now everyone's looking at the cameras except SP..

all posing nicely(:

another set of instructions..

and still more instructions..

out of the water and drenched!

PJ tellin' them to look at the cameras

looking at the cameras(: but still not at me):

it would've been a nice shot, but it's overexposed..D:

this shot's slightly better(:

still posing, but still not facing me):

SP motioning for them to step out of the pool..

that's all! see you guys tomorrow at service&cell! i'm trying to bring some friends(:

jon(boey)

2009-08-30T22:22:00.000-07:00

hey man,

please read ming's really touching post below!!:)

there's really something that i wanna share with you guys.

i really believe in all the potential in every single one of you, and i really see such a great heart in each and everyone of you.

but guys, i think that it's time for us to start impacting those around us. in school. at home. everywhere.

Church equips you with what you need to impact lives around you throughout the entire week. so more than just receiving loads of knowledge every single saturday/sunday and keeping them to yourself, we really have to start applying these knowledge to our daily lives, to people all around us.

as much as i believe in each and everyone of you, i believe in every single person who is living on the face of this earth.
you give them the opportunity to get to know Jesus, and i assure you that every single one of them will be able to fulfill their potential.

we always talk about the secular world being filled with alot of rubbish and all. but honestly to me the 'christian' world has just an equal amount of rubbish. people are attracted to attractive people. having Jesus in us makes us attractive. but why isn't everyone being attracted to Christians? cause there's a whole lot of things in christians that turns people off.

we are called to make disciples of all nations.
let us start reaching out beyond the boundaries of Church. start showing Jesus in your every day lives. i assure you, you start showing Jesus in you, you wouldn't even need evangalistic outreaches to bring your friends to Christ.

but first, let us place Jesus in the right place.
as first priority in our hearts.

God bless ya'll, and see you guys this coming friday at prayer meeting!

jae.

2009-08-29T10:46:00.000-07:00

dear central 3,

let me try to say to you all how much you guys mean to me.

my passion in cell ministry is to see young people being transformed by God through Godly community, the Word and worship. both in terms of christians growing and stuff, and also for non-believers becoming believers through the cell.

i grew up in central, since sec one. there was a period there was an acs cell. but that didnt take of well that time, and we eventually came back into central 1.

that central one cell was perhaps my best experience of God's community. i was growing, i was learning, i was accepted, and there was a great sharing of lives.

basically, my point is that central has a rich history, of which im a proud part of. but then comes the present.

which is you guys.

you are an awesome bunch. i always tell you. so much potential and gifting present in our cell. and i believe with all my heart that God wants to use each one of you in a unique way. only if you would allot him to.

but thats not why i love you guys.

you guys are fun and full of NONSENSE. endless laughter and nonsensical interruptions to my otherwise very serious sharings. i enjoy cell meetings alot. i hope you guys do too (:

but that is not why i love you guys.

during worship, we have the most awesome moments ever! some of my best worship experiences have been with this cell. you guys are so engaged and fervent in your worship that it not only allows the holy spirit to flow in a great way, but also inspires me.

but that is not why i love you guys.

i'll cut this short.

i love you guys, because of who you are. each one of you. special and dear.

the quiet ones, the noisy ones. the tall ones and the short ones. and of course those inbetween). the expressive ones, the less expressive ones. the studious ones and the playful ones. etc etc.

each one of you are important to me. and i apologize that i may not always show that.

so in summary. i really <3>

i'll see ya'll on sat! do remember to invite and bring your friends for this saturday's special service (: lets see lives changed!

2009-07-30T06:53:00.000-07:00

really nice post derek(: thanks for sharing that post with us!

i would like to start of this post by asking you this question:
what do you see in others?

and secondly,
what do you see in yourself?

love your neighbour as yourself. everyone has faults!
i admit it. i judge. and i judge easily, based on the way they talk about stuff. subconciously i evaluate the way people move, the way people talk to understand what they are like. Like after just listening in to a normal conversation i will be able to make a decision that someone's insecure but tries to cover it and stuff. but it's not true all the time. haha.
okay after going rounds and rounds with some broken links.

basically build real relationships with others. accept each other for who they are, be honest with them, love them, care for them

i'm sorry such a short random post haha

just one question for you.
why do you wanna follow Jesus.

(: take care.
jae

2009-07-05T22:43:00.000-07:00

As a Christian, what are you expecting for today or tomorrow? Are you truly expecting to rise higher in life? Are you truly expecting any good breaks? Are you truly expecting goodness to follow you everywhere you go? If you are only expecting to get the short end of the stick, then your own negative thinking will keep you from your own success. Because God will only meet you at the level of your expectations, whatever they may be.

You need to consistently give attention to what you are thinking about, and always keep a positive attitude. Then make the decision to truly believe that God is the way for all good things. Always start out everyday only thinking "This will be a great day and something good is going to happen to me." Each day you should imagine and truly believe in your heart that there are blessings, favor, increase, and promotion in your path, and that they already have your name on them!

Each day remember Psalm 23:6 (NCV) "Surely goodness and loving-kindness will follow me all the days of my life..."

Constantly keep this verse in your mindset and have a positive expectancy. Deep down in your heart and mind you truly need to believe that God's blessings will overtake you. When you can do this each and every day, you can truly expect goodness and prosperity to chase you down! Condition yourself to raise your desires higher and maintain your level of expectancy, because God will meet you at that level. He truly loves His children so much that He wants to pour out His blessings and His favor on you!

Have you ever tried to imagine what God might have in store for your future? No matter how great the goals are that you may be able to come up with, God has more in store for you than you can even begin to imagine! This is His Christian gift to each of us.

1 Corinthians 2:9 (NJV) tell us, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him."

Let this verse encourage you today to dream bigger. Get your expectancy up. There is nothing that you can come up with that is beyond God's power! He wants to see you rise higher and it starts with your thinking. Think bigger. Think expansive. God wants you to excel and go beyond where you are. He truly wants to see you fulfill the desires of your heart! If you continue to stand strong and unwavering in your faith and dream big, you will live the life He has already prepared for you!

Every hurdle and obstacle in your life is subject to change. It truly does not matter what you may be facing, or how insurmountable it may seem, there is an answer in the unseen of God's realm. The unseen is the spiritual realm where the promises of God exist. Your strong unwavering faith and focus in your positive desires and through your prayers will bring those unseen things into this natural realm, and to you.

Have you ever started to do something when you had a nudging on the inside of you started telling you to do something completely different? It is easy to override that little inward voice, but that small voice deep on the inside of you is one of the ways that God speaks to you. It's how He leads you by His Spirit. The more you can yield yourself to His leading, the easier it becomes to follow Him. When you follow the Spirit's leading by faith, even when it does not make sense, you are making a declaration with your actions that you are a child of God.

Romans 8:14 (NAB) tells us, "Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God."

Make the decision today to fix your eyes, mind, and heart on the promises of God. Meditate on your positive desires until they become more real to you than the air you breathe. Develop a strong and unwavering Christian faith, and declare that His promises will come to pass in your life. Do not ever doubt that you do not have His favor, and continue to truly believe it! Do not allow fear and doubt to change the desires that you are praying for in your life. As you continue to fix your spiritual eyes and prayers on your desires, and always with thanks for God's Christian gifts, His blessings of prosperity will truly overtake you!

http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Steven_Coffman

Hope this helps all of you in your christian faith,

Derek.

2009-04-26T05:16:00.000-07:00

The best singers are those who sing from a broken - yet healed- heart.
The best speakers are those who speak from joy born of despair.
The best artists are those who are able to paint hope because they have known hopelessness.
The winning athletes are those who are secure enough to climb out of the spotlight for awhile to improve themselves while losing.

Will you let God break you to make you?

Heather

2009-04-10T04:31:00.001-07:00

I think you should all go see Ming's childhood photos on facebook.
Hilarious!

2009-04-10T03:49:00.000-07:00

Hello central three.
Thursday was career day in school and it really got me thinking.
I feel like im positioned in one of those all-important crossroads in life, where i will soon have to make one of those humongous decisions that can take me down or pull me up.
As you all know, im moving on to jc next year and i have to choose a combi. So many questions you know! Should I continue art? Should i take history? (i'm a geogy now) Should i continue bio? should i take econs? (it seems REALLY important but also REALLY boring).
And of course that leads to the even bigger question : what do i wanna be in future?

Haha maybe i should tell you all the occupations ive previously considered:
- housewife
- astronaut (but i dont take physics, so)
- vet (i cant put animals to death, i will cry)
- Paediatrician (doctor for children. I cannot see children sick or dying, i will cry)
- zookeeper (seriously)
- art critic (i topped my class for art history you knowww)
- travel show host (dream job)

dont know dont know. I dont even know which uni to go to!
Online survey for combi is by next friday, and im so vexxed now. nevermind! trust god for the answers i guess.

(P.S i feel quite bad for writing this post over derek's far-more-important post so PLEASE GO READ THE POST BELOW)

See you all tmr!
heather

2009-03-29T06:42:00.000-07:00

Hi guys, I think this should be the first time i'm writing here.

i just wanna say, I have no where else to turn to, and i don't know what to do.

really.

about a year ago God brought me down the harsh way to teach me certain things, like to treat him seriously, for example.

i felt weak, and sad, and i was far away from God. I kept pressing on to reach back to him, but to no avail. I ended up giving up trying after 6 months and just let it happen. however, about 3-4 months after i gave up, God still brought me back up and i was near him. His objective and will was done, and i learnt many new stuff from that harsh period of time. I was happy.

about december God told me he was gonna put me in a period of dryness this year. I refused to believe it, but it happened again. He told me on the first day of January his objective was to teach me discipline, both spiritually and world-ly. I was like " i already have that!" But little did i know, he took it away from me,which led to losing many other important things as well. He also told me he was gonna use me, as a servant, but only after i have gained this spiritual discipline.

after much struggling and slacking, God spoke to me in the shower today and reminded me of all these things.Then I had just realised, everything is coming true. My discipline is gone, I have fallen back from my self-made promises to him, I have fallen back from servanthood, I have fallen back from everything he said would be taken away from me.

his objective was to use this year to train me to somehow get them all back,so as to prepare me for something which i honestly don't know,but definitely a huge role/task. So i got pumped up, all ready to go, but QT just didn't feel right. I found it hard to even concentrate on him, even basic things like sitting still. I kept thinking to myself,'press on.' But i gave up. It's just so hard, really hard. I dunno about you guys, but i guess this is the way God uses to teach me things (to put me through a tough time of dryness so as to learn from it), to prepare me for stuff. About half an hour later, i gave up. i came out,and now am typing this here, with tears in my eyes which i am trying to hold. I didn't expect this to be so hard, i really didn't. I feel like giving up, but the other half of me says persevere.

(about 10 min later after typing the paragraph above)

but i have thought about this, and i ain't gonna give up. It's gonna be hard, difficult, and all the other words that mean difficult..but, i'm just gonna walk towards this path that God has carved out for me,because i know, that this is the best decision anyone could ever make for me,because of the fact that he is God. I know it may not make sense here, and you maybe thinking like 'wth is so hard man? discipline? tsk.' I know it sounds 'okay' here,but it's just the way i type. i'm not good in english nor am i good in expressing myself, and i don't wanna type it all out, cos it will take hours. but trust me, it's more than that. discipline is just a tip of what God is training me for.

my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, please pray for me as i go through this tough time. If you don't know what to pray, then just simply pray that God's will be done in my life.

Thank You.

Derek.

p.s if you don't understand what i'm trying to say, it's fine.

2009-03-05T05:51:00.000-08:00

i was just skimming through the archives. and it really brought back so much memories(:

what was years ago seemed just like yesterday. the memories are almost tangible. yet i know they will eventually fade away.

we always talk about how God is always there for us, we always tell our friends God bless and all that.

but do you actually, honestly, believe it? if you do. are you walking your talk!

we tell them turn to God,

well do we?

i know i didn't.
till recently.

let's be the change.

2009-02-27T04:21:00.000-08:00

When you spend valentines day with the cell

Credits to joan ng's cam!

SHERWYN!

JAE!

Whatever he's trying to do

Evil plans at work again

Eh Zac chicken dance ah?

Mo, just cos your face is blurred doesnt mean we cant SEE YOU!

Nice!

This would have been good if not for mr tan

Randolf prances across the room!

Aiyo sherwyn looks like hes gonna slap mo

(and shawn's laughing very happily)

Man of the moment!

HAHA

The other man of the other moment

Central three! (:

see you all tomorrow, take care!

Heather

2009-01-26T08:11:00.000-08:00

what are you looking for in God?

happy cny!

jae(:

2009-01-26T07:00:00.000-08:00

i don't have a million bucks sitting in my safe.
i don't have the answer to why billions of people are suffering
i don't know why people have to get sick
i don't know why you've to be hurting so badly
i don't know why there has to be lust. hatred. anger.
i don't know why God punished so severely.
i don't know why i don't have a maserati sitting on the car porch
i don't know why i can't get straight As
i don't know why i'm so unsporty
i don't know why everyone tells me im so ugly
i don't know why everyone rejects me
i don't know why everyone close to me has to leave one at a time
i don't know a billion and one things

but what i do know.
is that i've a Father in heaven who loves me unconditionally and wholeheartedly.

and that's all i need(:

jae.

2009-01-21T05:24:00.000-08:00

you know when people ask me to count my blessings?

it's not just the food. not just the house i have. not just the education. the lifestyle. yes, all these are God's great blessings to us.

but guess what. i count each and everyone of you too (:
cause all of you are my precious brothers and sisters in Christ.

great blessings.
what could be greater than having such a wonderful family? :) the wonderful family, under the hand of God :)

jae.

2009-01-09T18:07:00.000-08:00

Saturday, 10 January 09

i think its strange how fast we can forget things the moment we actually learn them. sometimes, we learn things and these things go into our heads forever. they somehow manage to stay inside our heads and our hearts. sometimes, we learn other things but the moment they go in, the come out the next instant.

its.. strange, isn't it?

i think all of us, at some point of time, will come to a point where we're faced with circumstances that make us grow stronger. and thats AWESOME. As we continue to grow stronger and stronger, we start to realize that we could never come this far by our own strength.

Its by God's strength that we've come this far, not our own. by God's strength, we've reach heights we've never reached before, accomplished big dreams and goals that we really wanted to achieve, and do things we thought we could never have done.

but somehow as we grow stronger and stronger, there is a point where we come to have some sense of humility. we have to humble ourselves, and realize that no matter how much stronger we are growing, that we will never outgrow God, and His strength.

i loved how my friend once had beautifully said this on her blog:
'there are many giants in life. i'm glad God is one giant i will never outgrow'.

we will never outgrow God and His strength, He truely IS like our giant that we can never outgrow.

at some point in time, we realize no matter how strong we are growing, we are still weak. we still have our weaknesses, our faults. but in God, we are made stronger and whole. we could never have been made stronger without God's strength.

they say God is like our "feet when we can't move on", the "light in the dark" and the "whisper inside our hearts" and its so very real, and so very true.

hope you all are having great time at school central three! i will visit you guys pretty soon :D i hope.

Alisa.

2009-01-01T05:54:00.000-08:00

i've just one question.

what are you?

reflect upon your answer to that question. and yeah, it'd probably say alot about yourself.

you may be a student, a model, a president's scholar, whoever.

we are still dust. and yeah, i think that we really need to be reminded of that.

we may be the highest of God's creation, called to steward everything else. to name everything else. but we are still dust.

and i think it's time we realised that only with humble dependence on God, can we really excel. let's not get all high and mighty, but realise that as easily as God could breathe life into us, he could destroy us anytime.

let's place God in the center once again.

on a side note, jiayou for those who are gonna return to school once again (: alisa, do visit us often! zachary as well!

take care(:
jae.

2008-12-16T08:03:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, 16 December 08

okay long time never post, hello central three :D today's been a really interesting day for me cause i had my AUSSIE FRIENDS over for dinner with their families! and my ex-neighbours. we all know each other, what a small world.

its kinda difficult for us to meet for the simple fact that we're maintaining a friendship here across the globe! its summer in australia now, summer over there is around december to march i think. or maybe i remembered correctly. their summer is three months but we only have december and january for us to meet cause school in Singapore starts in mid/late january/february even though they have three months off, so our timings are really quite limited to meet up!

but yeah, its interesting. we haven't seen each other in a year (talking about me and my aussie friends), and we seem to have done quite some looking back in retrospect tonight and laughing over the good times...

i only wished we had remembered to get each other's contacts after number changing here and there, and each other's msn! and photos, but we were probably talking so much that in the midst of that it just slipped past our minds.

anyway,

just a thought that striked my mind.

friends just come and go. and sometimes its sad cause you have to suddenly bid a close friend goodbye, when you need that friend the most or when you just find it so hard to.

friendships aren't very easy to maintain, especially across the globe.

for those who don't know, i have friends in australia :D quite some la, its just that i haven't talked to them for very long.

its just that after a while, when you don't see friends, both parties sometimes just seem to move on into their own lives. everyone just gets busy with their own things and people hardly take that time and effort to catch up, but i think me and my aussie friends did that tonight :D hehe.

just a thought,

friendships don't have to be limited just because your friends are across the globe. modern technology helps you in the smallest and slightest way- phone, msn, facebook, email, skype, friendster, and so much more. yes my aussie friends are asking me to add them on facebook when i don't even have an account but because of that i'll be considering getting one after all these years of not wanting one, HAHA(:

okay, i'm gonna cut this short and get to the point..

it just striked the thought that after all these four years, i've made so many friends in central three. people have graduated out of the cell here and there, and many new people have come in. i think i haven't talked to those who graduated out of the cell for a very long time! but nevertheless, i made many friends here. and..

yeah.

just wanted to say that even as next year i won't be with you guys anymore, lets not let our friendships be limited by a fact that i'm from central three! lets continue to keep in touch even after people enter the cell, and graduate out of the cell as each year passes by.

lets not let such a simple fact limit our friendships :D for sure we'll all move on to our own lives. you guys will probably be busy with other things next year i guess, maybe? i don't know, like maybe planning for another cell camp or another worship experience? and meanwhile, i'll be busy too trying to cope with IB cause its really no joke, its going to be hard core and quite demanding. probably gonna be busy coping with ministry, trying to make new friends in my new cell and cope with changes here and there.

yeah i know, it won't be easy to maintain that same level of closeness. some of us will grow closer to people we already know. others of us will start to make more new friends.

maybe? i don't know.

and i don't know, perharps it won't seem easy to maintain that same level of closeness. but its okay, lets still continue to keep in touch with one another and be good friends, have that same laughter and joy of our friendship, when next year comes! lets not let our friendships be the great friendships they are only when we're in central three but even when we leave and there after when that story continues (:

Alisa :D

2008-12-16T02:40:00.000-08:00

hi guys. im starting on a study on the bible, so i will try to post some of the things that i have learnt so that you too can learn with me (:

God is just awesome in his word. may you all be excited and devoted to discovering it.

love,
ming

PSALMS 1

verse 1

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.

paraphrase: joyful and well is a person who is not influenced by those who do evil, is not open to the way darkness and is not proud and haughty.

to be blessed we must not be influenced by those who do evil.
this means that, we must be able to stand firm even in the presence of worldly influences. some of these influences that are rampant among us now are those of anger, drunkeness, sexual immorality, gossip, materialism and rebelliousness.

anger: have we been angry at those who skive when doing group work? have we been angry at our parents for not giving us all that we want? have we been angry at ourselves for the way we behave at times? have we been angry with God for not providing?

drunkeness: do we seek highs from substances such as alcohol, tobacco or even drugs? do we allow such substances to take over our consciousness?

sexual immorality: do we condone immoral television? even though its PG doesnt mean it is acceptable to God, BY THE WAY. do we entertain thoughts that are displeasing to God? are we involved in pre-marrital sex, or any sexual activity that we know is wrong?

gossip: do we speak ill of others, be it true or false, so as to de-fame him/her? do we make up stories of people so as to ruin their reputation? do we listen to gossip and allow it to impact our impressions of the people involved?

materialism: do we weigh material well being above spiritual well being? do we make friends who are rich, just because they are rich? do we try to win friends over by material means? do we judge people by the way they dress or the cars they have? do we desire material things more than we desire God?

rebelliousness: are we disrespectful to authority? do we allow ourselves to participate in acts of rebellion? do we speak ill of our leaders/teachers because we do not like them? do we intentionally not comply with their instructions to anger them? do we try to cheat them?

check yourselves. im in many of these categories sadly. but there is hope, God came that we may become more than conquerors!

are we walking in the counsel of the wicked today without even knowing it? are we letting the world influence us? remember, not all things that the world says is okay, is really okay. we must always head back to the word of God to find that out.

i'll continue on the rest of verse one another day (:

2008-11-30T23:56:00.000-08:00

FOR YOU! (all)
This is major delayed but nevertheless its quite worth the wait!

Derek actually looks taller than sherwyn!

Jae's in pain! (look at his face)

Wow tjoeng you thick-skinned-but-brave, brave boy I can't believe you did that.

BEST!

Anyway sentosa was fun cant wait for the next outing with you all (: Can't wait for camp too!

Stay healthy ah, you dont wanna miss camp.

God bless you all,

heather

2008-11-23T06:31:00.000-08:00

Sunday, 23 November 08

today was one time in a long time that i went with my parents to church, on sunday, for EA first service. it felt a little weird, how we usually go cell together but now its just me and my parents, surrounded by so many adults and highlifers i don't know, and unable to find those i know in the big crowd.

basically,

i went along with them to EA service because i couldn't go for service and cell yesterday.

anyway, i wonder if you guys are still doing worship series for word at cell? cause like i haven't been around for cell last week, for a short while. but anyway, just one random thought came past my mind i guess (:

remember how during worship at cell some time not too long ago, randolf was saying worship goes on even after the music fades?

worship goes on after the music fades. music doesn't control worship, worship is about God (;

i guess today i was kinda like "huh" and stuff, cause i really don't know any of the songs they sing at EA, like quite old stuff or like the ones that i know, i only reached service in time for the song's end (sadly).

but just one thought came across my mind rather:

does it matter if its megalife service, or english adult service, or first service or second service, or if we go with central three every week to megalife or follow our parents to church on sunday?

of course, the thought is:

'woaahhhh its been long since i've followed my parents to church on a sunday some more when i just laze around and have time alone on sundays... kinda weird but wow'.

then again, does it matter anyway?

whether its megalife service, whether its EA adult service, our purpose to worship God will still be the same. our reasons are still the same.

services or the people we go with don't change worship, so to speak. don't modify it, or don't affect it.

randolf said worship goes on even after the music fades (or something about there, i cannot exactly remember and quote him off my mind at current).

in other words, i think what he was trying to explain to us was worship goes on even if there is no music. of course, music is an important, significant, effective and very useful tool to create an atmosphere for worship. thats important but... is the atmosphere a reason for us to worship?

worship is not about music, not about who we go with to the worship services, not about the songs they sing, not about what service it is, be it megalife or EA.

worship is about God :D

our purpose and reasons to worship God will still be the same even if we attend megalife service or EA service, even if we go with central three or not, even if the music's good or bad. our purpose remains the same, to praise God, not because we need to do it, but because He deserves our worship, praise and is worthy of our adoration.

so i guess today, that thought kinda striked my mind a little in the midst of worship.

that whether its adult or megalife services, we will still worship.
like how randolf has said worship goes on after the music fades, whether there is music or not, we will still worship.
that whether the music is good or bad, we will still worship.

as many of you know, i'm serving in worship ministry playing syn.
it kinda striked the thought in my mind.

whether i'm serving up there or not, worship still goes on, and i know, i must still worship.
whether we're up or in the dumps, worship still goes on.

come to think of it, maybe to summarize all of what i said (but forgive me if i'm wrong and feel free to correct me yes).

worship goes on, irregardless of anything and everything.

ALISA<3

2008-10-31T23:02:00.000-07:00

i'm so grateful to God for having placed me in central 3.

central 3.

it's such a wonderful cell.
but yet, in all we do,

let's still put God first (:

2008-10-31T09:16:00.001-07:00

Friday, 31 October 08

what if you had no tomorrow to tell the ones you loved how much you love them? what if you had no more tomorrow to tell those who love you and greatly care for you how appreciative you are of what they've done for you and how much they love you?

central three, what would you do then? i don't know what i'd do. i'm at a loss of words to react now,
but i'll leave you with that question anyway.

2008-10-19T06:43:00.000-07:00

Sunday, 19 October 08

your strength is running out.
your motivation to study is running out.

your like, power to study is running out.
exams chase after you, and you puny brain.

where do you look to today? who do you love, who do you trust? who do you confide in today?

was just thinking about this some other day because my exams start tomorrow. i'm not really supposed to be here and all but yes, economics is such a killing thing! haha. demand and supply, fiscal policy, monetary policy, jobs, money, trade, government country country and so much more..

suddenly one point of time i kept falling asleep while studying economics. i don't know why demand and supply curves lost their magic all of a sudden when they really used to interest me somewhat.

then i wondered

is this what it feels like when you have no strength left? then only then, you know you have to turn to God cause you've got no strength left inside you. you're tired, and only in God you'll find strength, strength like no other.

is this is a good thing? yes and no. why? cause we're treating God like our bank. when we need money we go to the bank to withdraw money, and when we don't we just leave it alone.

banks are banks and God isn't our bank, why should He be treated like one then right?

so anyway,

i just was thinking about it, cause my exams start tomorrow and econs has to be the first paper of all things!
but but but.

just a random post to say

sometimes, you'll feel like you really have no strength left to keep going. never mind, just think about this:

where do you look to today?

trust God because He has my results in my hands, i fearfully say really hoping for what i wanna achieve.

where do you look to today? who do you trust? do you trust God? who do you confide in and place your confidence in?

turn your eyes upon Jesus.

okay,

see you all at cell this saturday! back to demand and suppply curves, wahaha..

alisa:D

2008-09-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, 30 September 08

i bought JM's NEW ALBUM (we sing, we dance, we steal things) (JM stands for intials for Jason Mraz) lately :D its nice :D not the most awesome album, but its a good one :DD nice to hear from Jason Mraz since i haven't heard about him for very very long, haven't heard his songs or any new ones till new rather. its been keeping me up late night studying because the music's just nice and has a nice jazzy touch and it doesn't make you fall asleep.

i got curious about what kind of person JM is, by the songs he wrote, they're quite interesting beyond the fact that they're really relaxing music with ability to keep you going for long.

and i read his story, which was so cool! :D haha. it was talking about dreams, about how he never really thought he'd be a singer and all..

dreams are some kind of strange. you can't really picture what dreams you have, and you never know when they come. they just come when they do. and placing your hope in a dream is, well.

sometimes, it comes true. and when it does you're overjoyed. when it doesn't, you feel sad and you look into why it didn't. maybe, it just wasn't your dream. maybe, it just wasn't the right time. who knows?

in the end, we fall to succeed. some way or another, even if a dream comes true, there'll be times it doesn't go well, but thats only what makes us learn more things and makes us stronger, to in the end, press on and achieve our dreams.

dreams have one question at the end,

who knows?

okay.

off to upload more jason mraz songs to my ipod people(: see you!

alisa(:

2008-09-28T01:25:00.000-07:00

i thank God, for central 3.
i thank God, for all the members and leaders, past and present(:
i thank God, for every saturday. for everyday

most importantly.

i thank God for you(:
every single one of you.

time

2008-09-22T10:47:00.000-07:00

time time time.

how many of you have wished for 25 hours a day? haha. like just one hour extra so that you can relax, take a longer shower, say a longer prayer, read an extra chapter and snooze that little bit longer.

sounds good eh?

not gonna happen. sadly.

so i want to tell you how to get an extra hour everyday.

by not wasting time. easier said than done? its actually really easy.

1. call instead of send super long text messages or letting messages bounce back and forth and back and forth. saves ALOT of time. so instead of discussing things over sms, just make the phone call and it will save everyone alot of time. AND i know many of us like to chat over sms. haha. i also like, but i cut down and only when im like on the bus, or like walking from place to place do i reply these chat things. instead of interrupting my work to reply. so i can finish my work faster!

2. learn to do things the fast way. eg. instead of wearing your shoes by taking out the laces all the time, leave the laces slightly loose so you can just slip your foot in, but tight enough so its still snug. works for me, i still do it. or even things like typing on the computer. develop good typing skills! helps alot.

3. dont watch tv. thats right! you heard me, dont watch tv! tv is most of the time junk seriously. hardly any value in watching it. pick up some other "relax" activity instead! like playing an instrument or exercising. you will feel like you used your day more wisely.

4. dont watch tv, and DONT pick up another relax activity if you already have a relax activity. basically, do what you gotta do first.

5. if you take public transport home everyday and it takes REALLY long, you may want to look or ask around if anybody's parents give them a lift home everyday or something. and maybe you can take a lift to somewhere nearer home. most parents dont mind (:

6. if you're on the train, or bus, you can do plenty! read your notes, read a book (if you dont get a headache) talk with your bus buddy about something meaningful.

7. during reccess, WAIT for the queue to subside. while waiting, you can do your homework or talk with your friends about something meaningful. that way, you dont spend so much time waiting in the queue. only risk is, you gotta time it such that you wont be late for lesson.

8. during lessons, PAY FULL ATTENTION. so that you dont have to RE LEARN the whole thing again on your own. that way, when you pay full attention, you can ask the teacher questions without fearing her scolding you for not paying attention.

9. make sure you know where things are in your room. so that you dont waste time looking for them. use labels, organisers, and what not. i tend to waste ALOT of time looking for things.

9. learn to write fast and neat. this is really super important for exams, but in everyday school life, if you can write fast and neat, you'll save so much time! practice makes perfect.

10. by committing your time everyday to God. this way, you may have a clearer understanding on whats important to God and not important to God and hence, you can clear away some things on your schedule.

see. saving time is possible. but make sure, the time you save, you gotta use it wisely! sleep a little more if you get too little sleep, spend time with God if you dont already do so, spend time with family, read a christian book, listen to an audio sermon.

God wants us to be good stewards of our time. and i dont mind being extreme to get every second i can. precious time.

responding to Jae's post.

2008-09-21T23:15:00.000-07:00

I would like to respond to Jae's post.

Bro, that was a very mature piece of writing. proud of you man! those who havent read it please read it, and reflect upon yourself.

i'd like to pick up what he has said.

Guys, think about it. where are your hearts when you come to church on saturday?

i can tell you some honest confessions about myself, i hope you guys can identify.

1. during my exam season, O and A levels, prelims, if i had been studying till 4pm before going for service, my mind would be TIRED. Not only that, i would also be thinking about that last question that i had no idea how to do. my mind was not focused on God.

2. other times, my motivation for coming to church would be to meet my dear friends. my best friends are from church by the way. haha. so i really look forward to meeting them. but i do not feel the same about meeting God.

3. yet other times and this tends to be the most true. i come to church for central 3. seriously. you may say, YAY ming loves us so much, but its actually not the best situation to be in. my heart is not in seeking the Lord or worshiping Him.

4. i come because i've no excuse not to come. im sure this resonates with many of you. my heart is not open to the Lord.

so where are your hearts on saturday?

i suggest. you come early to service, at the very least, be punctual so that you can allow TIME for yourself to take your mind of the hussle of life, and return to the simplicity of worshiping God. also, you'll be more open to God's word when you have restored that "you are God, I'm your servant" relationship with him.

and also, jae mentioned something about taking the lead without being afraid of what others may think.

i'd like to offer some balance to what he said. he is RIGHT in saying that we should worship God without caring what others think, but at the same time, there is a need to be considerate too. see, when you worship in a church setting, like it or not, there are at least 4 people in your one meter radius. so, if your arms are swinging around and hitting people, i think thats no good, cuz you distract others. also, if you feel you want to turn to face the back to worship, that is distracting too because it looks like you are worshiping somebody else. okay a little bit extreme. how about shouting out loud jumping around and clapping your hands in joy during a worship song. it is distracting. dont do distracting things, because we want to help others to be in a place of worship too.

HOWEVER, there are some occasions that you can really be undignified, it may be distracting, but it might inspire passion in others too (: take ONE camp for example. it didnt start of crazy in case you dont remember. the craziness only started when some crazy people started being crazy, hence inspiring others to do likewise. which turned out to be awesome, RIGHT?

see the balance?

i hope so. if you've any questions about this, feel free to ask about it k?

MING

2008-09-20T23:37:00.000-07:00

Sunday, 21 September 08

i guess, i guess. sometimes.

to grow strong, you must first be weak. to stand tall and strong, you must first experience falls. to have successes in life, you must first experience failure.

some kind of wonderful.

but i think growing strong can be not an easy process at times. i guess, to grow strong we fall and stumble, and

and things happen that break our hearts. things happen that hurt us in a way we never have felt hurt before. things happen that make us so so sad, that it becomes harder to smile each day.

i admit though i do love to smile but i have a sad side too, haha.

but yet out of these things that break us so much and hurt us in such a way so so much, we grow stronger. yet, though we hate going through these things and feeling all sad, they're only those that mould and shape us as we grow up, as we grow older, more and more to be the person we've been created to be.

doesn't really sound easy on the ears, does it. to have to grow through falls and all, though everyone does. but yet the joy of seeing yourself emerging into a stronger person, able to handle more things life throws at you from in a better way,

entails much much more joy, than all the grumbling of growing through the process of growing stronger.

so its a beautiful yet painful process at the same time.

all the best for exams everyone! haha. we should go study together soon or something, haha.

alisa.

2008-09-20T21:22:00.000-07:00

Now that you're near -Marty Sampson/Hillsong

(bridge)
And i will sing for you always
'Cause in Your presense God
Is where i want to stay

It's so easy to sing these songs. there're the fast songs, the slow songs. there are worship orders. like the speed of songs have to be gradual. you've to pick the correct songs. you have to have the worship team jumping up and down to get everyone hyped up. you have to have the drums to get you into the beat of the song. or the sad tunes to get you to reflect.

you have to wait for the worship leader to lead you into the chorus. lead you into a song. get you to stand up. you know how whenever we enter into worship centre we would just sit and talk waiting for the worship leader or PJ or someone to ask us to stand and pray and yeah just to get us ready.

why?

i admit. i'm guilty of this. i'm ashamed. no matter what you say, i'm ashamed. it's not that i don't care. i don't dare to start praising him the moment i step into the sacred place. there're no excuses for me. no excuses. and i doubt that would change anytime soon.

i don't dare to stand up and be special. to be that leader. i guess it's cause i fear that no one would follow! imagine you walk in and everyone's sitting down and it's not time yet. and you start singing and worshipping and everyone goes quiet and stares at you. the whole centre's lights are still on. the band isnt up yet. and there you are singing with everyone staring at you. if that'd happen to me i don't know how i'd respond. thats the fear in all of us isn't it.

we need the preacher to crack some funny thing every few minutes just to ensure that we don't wander away. why? if we were hungry enough for the knowledge and the truth of the word of God we wouldn't need the pastor to do some attention seeking thing! it wouldn't even matter if he was speaking in a monotone and just reading off his script! We would be devouring every single word he says because every word he says is blessed with the Holy Spirit and if that is what we are seeking after we would be picking up every single thing for the full length of the sermon.

even if we are in a stuffy place there is no aircon no comfortable seats and we are sitting on the cold hard ground it would not matter.

but that's not us, is it.

exams are coming for most of us. the older people are having their promos. the sec 4s are having their Os. the sec 1s are having their first major exam in secondary school. the sec 2s are having streaming. the sec 3s are having exams too.

if i may ask one thing.

how are you living your life today.

jae(:

2008-09-07T04:59:00.000-07:00

dear central 3.

the leaders are currently in a mode of seeking God for a new vision. please pray for us that we will be sensitive to God. also, do feel free to share with us anything that you think might be God telling you about the cell's future. dont worry about being wrong or anything because sometimes such mistakes do happen. just freely share.

thanks for praying (: and i wish you all a good new term. im gonna be having a really stressful week, but God is still GOOD!

lots of love,

ming

2008-09-06T19:08:00.000-07:00

Sunday, 7 September 08

hello central three! haha, as i was saying i'll post about my birthday party here(: well its not so much a birthday party la, the whole thing behind it is to just have friends over to share the joy of turning sixteen so its more of a celebration la, yup.

its at my house.

time: evening time, as of current 7 plus.

days: 12, 17 or 19 september

thanks for letting me know, for those who have replied :D yup! anyways, yup hope you guys can reply as soon as possbile as to which day/days you can make it, and thanks

sorry things are haywire! haha. i realized i do have quite bad planning skills and i guess i'm learning along now towards my birthday's nearing.. yeah sorry ); but if you guys have any questions feel free to call me and i'll reply you asap,yup! thanks, see you all soon :D

alisa :D

2008-09-02T03:05:00.000-07:00

Monday, 2 September 08

i found this rather meaningful(:

our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. it is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. we ask ourselves, who am i to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? actually, who are you not to be? you are a child of God. your playing small doesn't serve the world. there's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. we are all meant to shine, as children do. we are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. it's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. as we are liberated from our own fear, our prescence automatically liberates others.

- Marianne Williamson.

see you all tomorrow,
alisa(:

seek the kingdom of God, store up treasure in heaven, be part of God's temple.

2008-08-20T07:16:00.000-07:00

derek today asked me what we mean when we say: seek the kingdom of God, store up treasure in heaven, be part of God's temple.

3 quite different things. i'll touch briefly on the first and third and elaborate more on the second one. i believe derek was reading from matthew 6 when he got these questions, so that is the bible reference.

here we go.

seek first his kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.

the whole chapter is talking about how we should not be overly concerned with worldly wealth, acceptance from man and physical well being. so "all these things" refers to things that we need to live eg, food, money, clothes, etc. jesus is telling us, there is MORE to life than mere survival of the physical body, and ANYWAY, God will provide for you if you seek his kingdom and righteousness.

so what does it mean to seek his kingdom and righteousness?

seeking his kingdom means to have a mindset that loooks into the heavenly realms. see. firstly we must understand that our world is more than the physical. it is more than about surviving life, its more than getting past school, its even much more than getting someone to come to church! THERE IS MORE!

we must realise that there is something of greater importance to material gain. "what goood is it that a man should gain the world but lose his soul?"

as a result of this understanding, we live life in a different way. kingdom mindset. our lives are for a purpose(remember purpose driven life). worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry, evangelism.

seeking his righteousness means to work towards being holy as god is holy.

be part of God's temple. i'll talk about this another time. not enough time now! i gotta get ready to set sail. haha. i and i just got distracted by this beautiful girl. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4quJa3XzN_g
ive never seen a girl play like that in my life.

okay. treasure in heaven.

that does it mean to store up treasure in heaven?

1. what is treasure in heaven?

truth is I DONT KNOW. but some plausible answers are as such.

a) it is a physical wealth.
when the world comes to an end, we will not be living in heaven as spirits. the bible says that we will be living on a new earth in a NEW physical body which is perfect and imperishable(wont die). there will be work and people would be God's servants in ruling the universe. hence, it could be that God will reward us with "money" or "gold and silver" so that we can live even better, though things would already be perfect.

b) it could be that this treasure is simply the joy and privelegde of serving God. eg. when you see someone whom you've been praying for for very long recieve christ, there is great joy and thanksgiving to God.

okay but there is another question. are we having wrong motivations if we are just seeking for this treasure?

this one i dont know. i asked my dad, he said this. this is NOT a wrong motivation. it is not selfish motivation either. its kind of like a wife desiring her husbands love and attention. not to the point of possesiveness, but just to the point that is desirable. that desire is not wrong, its a good thing to desire. likewise, when we desire treasure in heaven, we desire a goodthing.

(from here onwards is mine, so dont quote my dad anymore haha) OF COURSE, we must not cause harm to others will pursuing this treasure.

2. how do we get treasure?

by serving the Lord sincerely and faithfully. without looking for man's approval though man's approval may come together with God's approval.

3. why do we need this treasure?

this one i dont know. but i think its a good thing from God and we should desire it. it is not necessary for salvation, but salvation should lead to us serving God which would lead to this treasure.

okay, i gotta go im runnning out of time.. and im falling ill. pray for me you guys. you are in my prayers too

see you 3 saturdays from now (:

God bless

ming.

2008-08-13T08:46:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, 13 August 08

hello central three!

haha. i've been off school almost this whole week (monday, wednesday, thursday) and tomorrow's my last off day! sadly.

anyway, hope you all have been doing well! haha. feels like i haven't been posting on the cell blog for ages, really.

but anyway, realized something quite cool today..

if you were to focus on someone, you could lose your own identity because well, you disappear and the "someone" is all you see

thinking about God

maybe if we wanna feel God, we can try a lot things and really really focusing on Him is something we can try, hmm.

anyway, jyjy! haha. its only two days till the week's end, and saturday's here! and its just two weeks left to the term before a nice one week break :D haha.

anyway! i had a really really random thought of a cell outing at the beach, haha. like picnic :D which is quite cool but i don't know. maybe i'm the one watching too much of tv, haha cause you become what you watch right. haha.

okay okay, enough of my randomness. good rest of the week to all :D

<3alisa

2008-08-05T05:07:00.000-07:00

hey guys. several things! important please read (:

1. On saturday, i brought up one point during my sharing that is potentially confusing and easily misinterpreted.

" we are not sinners" i said. instead, we are perfect. Because God has paid the price through His Son Jesus Christ, and since we are in his forgiveness, we should not consider ourself sinners, but holy ones, saints.

the term sinners can be used in 2 ways. 1. sin-full people. 2. people who do sin.

in my suggestion, i was more thinking of option 1. we are not Full of sin (sinful) but instead, we are cleansed (: AMEN!

but yes, we still do sin, and we MUST never take the grace of God for granted. His grace is sufficient for us, but we do not take it lightly. a high price was paid, and we are called to holiness. so, we do not make our efforts to fight sin less just because God's sin makes us perfect.

my main point in sharing this is that you guys would be encouraged to not always think about yourself being sinful and hence not able to serve God, or start wanting to serve God. i often hear people tell me they want to sort their lives out first. this is a wrong mentality. we will never be good enough for God's service. thats why jesus died. if you one day think you are good enough, that is the day spiritual pride has come into your life.

HOWEVER, it is true that the church has certain requirements and standards for people who want to join ministry. this is another discussion. but yes, just because you "cant" join a ministry because they dont accept you, doesnt mean you cant serve God in other areas. instead of ushering, be hospitable to new comers in our cell, to people in your class, to new friends. this to me is perhaps more important (:

cool.

2. this coming saturday, we will be having a WORSHIP EXPERIENCE. a time where we really gear ourselves and give ourselves lots of time to experience God in a new way through worship and prayer (:

do pray for this saturday that events will flow smoothly and that God's hand will be over this event. pray for randolf who will be leading. as i type this, the leaders and some others are fasting (: so do pray for us too, that we will be sensitive to the holy spirit at this time.

lastly, DO try your very best to come this saturday.. its Gonna be great and i hope that more of you can come! seriously. homework, try to finish up on friday and sunday. i KNOW there is enough time. even if there isnt, perhaps its time you decide which is REALLY more important. and i dare unapologetically say, an encounter with God is more important.

dont say that you can experience God yourself. you yourself know your own spiritual condition.

come this saturday!

God is going to move, and he wants to move in you. respond to him.

that is all!

lots and lots of love.. MING

2008-07-06T22:51:00.000-07:00

Monday, 7 July 08

well, really.

what if Jesus didn't carry the cross cause it was too heavy? what if He said "why should I die for them, THEY sinned not me, why should i bear the weight of the world and all sins? why ME?"

what if He really said that?

but no, Jesus never said that..

instead He died for us.

for the world

for you, for me

somehow this makes me do stuff i don't want to do.cause im a feeler i always just do what i feel like doing but thinking about it..

yeah feelers are quite feeling-feeling type of people. but Jesus died for us regardless of what He felt, and how painful it was.

it all goes to show how much Jesus loves us(:

compared to the list of "i hate this, i don't want to do this" kinda things, isn't all the pain and suffering Jesus faced in dying for us, so much worse than the things we completely hate doing?

all for love a Saviour gave
for only love would make a way

all for love
all for love

and so this post shall be called

ALL FOR LOVE

alisa

2008-07-06T06:19:00.000-07:00

Hello Central three!

Yup yup yup since I was unable to share word on sat, I decided to put it up here instead. (:

Okay, ya'll might remember when Pastor Paul talked to us about confidence? Yes, and he started off with Genesis 12:1-3, God's promise to Abram. Abram didn't ask questions, he didn't ask "What if I won't fit in?" or "What if I'm not good enough?" or even "what if I'm not good enough for the job?". Nope, he simply walked with faith and Godly confidence and God favoured him for that. If he hadn't many people probably wouldnt have received the blessings meant for them.
God created you, and he knows who you are and who you can be, and He wants to take you on a journey to be a blessing too!

Pastor Paul (PP) shared 3 facts about confidence -

1) Godly confidence releases reward
When you take the bold step towards God's plan and purpose for you, God will take you by the hand and bless you greatly.
"Dont' cast away your confidence!" Sometimes we get so intimidated by the cultures and requirements of the society that we lose the Godly confidence we were emant to have.
Every step of the way, God is walking behind you, shining his light thru your life - we are sufficient in God's sufficiency.

2) Limitations thrive in the environment of the safe and the satisfied
Courage is truely shown in the face of danger. Likewise, confidence shines when we step out of our comfort zone into the great unknown, and trust entirely on God to be our map.
Why be afraid to fall? God will definately be there to catch us.
" It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed."
-Theodore Roosevelt

3)We master life's experiences or they master us
Confidence is a spirit that conquers the dominance of discouragement.

We have nothing, yes, but we can "do all things through Christ who strengthens us" -phil 4:13
People say, "Don't take it to heart!"
Thtas right, dont even let discouragements get that far, cos you can cast all your burdens unto Jesus who will fill you with confidence in him.

And hey, this means we shouldn't be saying or doing things to put others down either. Be careful, sometimes things just slip out. Pray that God will help you always speak words that build up and not bring down!

Developing a God-centred confidence

Genesis 1:27
"So God created man in his own image;
in the image of God he created them
Male and female He created them."

Seee! You are created in the very image of God! God loves you so mucha nd wants you to share what He has, including hos Godly confidence, so we can share the gospel and bring people to Christ.
No matter how you feel, you are empowered by the spirit everytime you draw strength from God, so, no fear!

Commit to decisions of enlargement and growth.
Commitment- make God your first piority and pray that God will show you his plan and purpose for you. Then you will be fully equipped w confidence when its time to step up!

Accept the challenge!
Failure is the mother of success, so don't be afraid to fall.
"He who fears being conqured is sure of defeat"
-Napolean
Read these two verses - Hebrews 3:13,14
Psalms 37:23,24
Encourage each other to grown in faith and confidence, and don't forget God will always be there should you stumble.

Confidence matures in a God conditioned heart
With God-centered confidence you will prolly have a shuffle of piorities, such that the demands o the world will nmot come before the commands of God. Freedom in Christ, no longer restrained by the requirements of this world.

So long! But as I end leme leave you all with this -

"God works with those who work with will"

"Our greatese glory consists not in never falling, but in rising everytime we fall."

So lets turn our eyes to Jesus!

heather

2008-06-29T07:48:00.000-07:00

Sunday, 29 June 08

hello all! hahaha. service yesterday was just AWESOME wasn't it :DDD haha.

well, anyway. since today im like craving for shopping but i can't cause i gotta study i decided to tell you all a little something cool! haha. okay, maybe this ain't gonna be coool but likt, whatever? haha. think some of you might have heard me tell you the long story at cell last week, right? hahah..

basically i needed to look for a formal dress for this friday because..

i have to attend a wedding dinner on friday, yes.

so so. i decided to go look at wisma atria because sis says "ZE. max&moore's bound to have some dresses i think".

so went to shop with my mum.

first dress was turquoise and white and i really loved it! BUT. guess what, it was VERY expensive. i couldn't believe it man! how can they set such HIGH prices. inflation? ahh, terrible, sucks.

anyways.

then went to some other shop, nicer dresses more expensive.

everyone says, siggggghs. alisa's shopping trip SUCKS so far.

okay okay.

then went ISETAN and found nice stuff but they're all too.

big.

ohh my gosh.

those i don't like, fit my size. vice versa. have you ever ever met with that before? oh man. just sucks right.

so finally me and my mum were already SO tired. we said we'll look one FINAL time, if not just wear something formal but not thaattt formal as we wanted to (because its a wedding dinner, so yeah).

and we found this nice black dress.

by that time i was so like "woahh this is stupid man! i don't wanna shop anymore". kinda thing. but my mum like KEPT asking me to try it. and some woman came by and was like "aiya girl, why so fussy its just a dress anyway!"

so FINE. i good girl, go try it.

then i realized.

at first i thought its ugly cause its just plain black and its really.

long.

not my taste kinda thing.

but after trying it i somehow realized that hey actually its not bad. its not overly formal but formal and its really nice too, not that "ugly" as i defined it to be

which made me realize

you know sometimes. when we all have our tough times.

i like turning to friends a lot alot. i think they'll understand me. cause they're like me, they're humans and some are feelers , like me too.

then after a while, i realize. they're either busy or away.

they can't help me and they're "being there" for me is limited at times.

even when they can be there for me, sometimes the advice they give doesn't necessarily fit my problem. like it can be really good advice but stuff that might not really be able to help, if you get what i mean.

but when we open up to God right.

He's the only one who can help feelers. thinkers. introverts. extroverts. whatever.
He's the only one who can give us advice that can truely help and fits the problem.

like the lock and key thing in enzymes. some don't fit and don't react. others fit and become catalysts.

when i realized that 2 of my really close friends in school left, thats when i realized friends can't always be there for us all the time.

YES, we need friends. they're an essential ingredient in our life's cooking receipe to make the final outcome successful and tasty. however they're limited also, they cannot always be picking up their phones to hear us rant about our problems, they won't always be tagging our blogs, be on msn..

that point in time, i thought.

HOW?

really. like, just how? God's not a human, like them. would He really understand everything?

but then again, if God didn't understand our problems, i wonder if He'd really place us in those problems in our lives in the first place? i doubt so.

so yeah, it made me realize that we never know how God can help us until we just open our hearts up to Him, let Him come into our lives, our hearts, our minds and just really help us, love us and..yeahh.

and..

after buying the dress i realized, it was 70 bucks. and with a 25% discount, thats 59 bucks.

some kind of meaningful dress that is, haha ;D

alisa.

2008-06-21T21:37:00.000-07:00

HI cell WEI MING HERE.

well, as many of you know, im going to OCS, which is officer cadet school. basically, learning how to become a leader in the army.

furthur more, ive signed on the the NAVY to become a naval officer too. this means that i have to serve a bond of 5 years, which includes this one year in ocs.

i'll be in training for about a year till next year june i think and during this time, i will be travelling different ports, on missions/exercises out on water and so on.

VERY exciting really! haha.

but you know, although all this is such a blessing, i still cant help but feel that i will miss you guys so much and that i wish i could be around more to give more to you guys. sigh..

but i know this one thing, God is bringing in something new. im a old man now. leading c3 for so long. he is raising up new people to lead this group into greater things. things that i have not accomplished, they will be done.

ONLY IF

only if those that need to rise up are willing to say " i will choose to serve the lord" and WORK WORK WORK. we need people to learn how to pray good prayers, we need people to learn how to share the gospel convincingly and sincerely and smoothly, we need people to learn how to invent or conduct games that help the cell bond and assimilate new people well, we need people to learn how to counsel those who are in trouble, we need people to play guitars, we need people to share word, we need people to lead prayer groups with passion and commitment, we need people to give their money for the extension of the kingdom, we need people to give their lives and make sacrifice for the cause of JESUS CHRIST.

not all will be leaders, not all will be intercessors, not all will be guitar players. but i want everyone to give what they've got.

derek samuel jae, ive taught you some guitar, work on it and use it. USE IT. i believe you can do it to bring in the presence of God everytime.

heather, you've been a source of energy and life for the cell, games and whatsoever, you've done good, but lets take it to the next level of creativity and innovation. activities that can change lives!

sherwyn has been faithfully leading worship for a long time, but dude, i know you can bring more. worship unto God is a sacred act that at the same time requires the freedom expression, take it to the next level man. next level.

alisa, a humble heart and one that is willing to do things without being recognised. take you're faith to the next level.

tiziana dorothea samuel, i think you have what it takes to be a great preacher of the gospel. do you?

i cant mention all the people here. but i think many of you know you have something that you can bring. BRING IT ON! i know also that you guys perhaps see undeveloped potential in each other, encourage each other to bring it on.

one for all, all for one.

jesus for all, all for jesus.

i want you guys to really start to see that this thing we have here, cell group, is not just some kind of place for you to simply grow in your spiritual life or whatsoever. that is important but its not the only thing. WE HAVE A MISSION. we must all find out our roles, and challenge ourselves to play it.

do you dare?

wei ming.

2008-06-21T19:37:00.000-07:00

This is my first time posting on the cell blog (:
Well, there's a joke that I'll like to share, but I hope it won't offend anyone.
There was this pope in Italy who wanted all the Chinese there to move out. The Chinese refused to budge and hence, they decided to have a debate. The Chinese representative, Ah Pei, knew he couldn't speak well. Thus,he suggested that they use actions to communicate. The pope agreed.

The debate began. The pope showed three fingers, Ah Pei showed one. The pope did a circle above his head, Ah Pei pointed to the floor. The pope took out wine and bread, Ah Pei took out an apple.

The pope conceded defeat and allowed the Chinese to continue living in Italy.Everyone was puzzled. The pope said, " When I showed three fingers to represet the holy trinity, Ah Pei showed one finger and said that there was only one God. When I drew a circle above my head to show that God is above us, he pointed to the floor and said that God is with us now. When I took out my bread and wine to show that God absorbs all sins, he took out an apple to show Man's first sin.

Now Ah Pei's version...
When the pope showed three fingers, I showed one and shouted a foul word. When he did a circle above his head to indicate that we have to go, I pointed to the floor and insisted that we're staying right here.

The people asked, " Then why did you take out your apple?"
Ah Pei replied," He took out his lunch so I took out mine"

Hahah. I hope this joke doesn't offend anyone :) God bless

bridget (:

2008-06-19T19:19:00.001-07:00

Friday, 20 June 08

we may lose people close to us/have to lose people close to us. friends, our very very good friends like, like best friends? they may have to leave us, and move on.

and it may hurt a lot. maybe tears are all that we can do during then.

but God lost His own son, Jesus, you know. and Jesus was innocent. thinking about that today makes me hold back broading over the things i do broad over. because, i guess it must have hurt for God even more right.

thinking of the way Jesus was mocked and all that. how people longed for the Messiah's arrival and missed it when He came itself, ohhhman.

alisa.

2008-06-19T10:22:00.000-07:00

i believe in the power of people.

for now, lets just sorta not think about the power of god and how he does things. lets focus on the power of people. the power of a person.

in this world, there are a group of people who are extremely critical to our survival and growth of our human race.

they are the change makers.

without them, not enough food to eat.
without them, no electricity.
without them, no freedom for women.
without them, no bible to read.
what else?

lets cut this down a little.

each individual has the potential to change, be changed and be affected by change.

Christians are change makers.

WE ARE the salt and the light of the world.

God has called each and everyone of us to be a light to the darkness. notice how dark darkness is without light? but a little light from a candle, immediatelly illuminates the room. there is visibility. limited none-the-less, but darkness has been dispelled.

notice how plain a fried piece of potato can be? never tried before? go try. but add some salt, and suddenly, the taste of the potato is brought out. the goodness of the potato is shown. whats more, once the potato has salt on it, it is being preserved. salt preserves.

each one of us, we have the potential to change our circumstances.

OH! how often do we mellow in complaints and self inflicted pity about our school our friends our family our cell our church our boyfriend our teachers our studies our........
but how often do we do something about it.

how often do we BELIEVE that WE CAN do something about it. im here to say there is something you can do about it.

but alas, what great amounts of courage we need to face these things head on and rist failure, risk getting hurt, risk wasting our time, risk rejection, risk our reputation, risk....

im here to tell you there is a Jesus in everyone of you.

i spoke with the cell last week about the fiercesome person Jesus was in his actions. ask them about it.

There is a jesus inside you!

You can be the one that changes your class to practice integrity.
You can be the one that gets your cca to seek God's guidance.
You can be the one that preaches the gospel in the canteen during recess/lunch.
You can be the one that makes cell from dead to alive. ALIVE!
You can be the one that stands up for the weak.
You can be the one that fights for the truth.
You can be the one that gets things sorted out at home.
You can be the one that is radical, different, bold.

what else?

never take things lying down. make yourself heard, make yourself known. a problem is a problem.

what fools we are to believe that this is how its meant to be.

contribute.
you may not be the one leading the front. you may not be the charismatic spokesperson who is able to stir a crowd. but you contribute. changemaker.

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers(and perhaps for other non believers) in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

i charge you. courage.

be empowered by the holy spirit, and be encouraged in your heart. this is what we are meant to be. we must fight our battles. the Lord sees the heart. he knows you want to do it and he will bless you.

sometimes, we are scared and we seek the Lord and give excuses such as, oh its bad timing, or "oh i must maintain my reputation for his name's sake". this in psychology is known as self serving bias.

going for what is right is all that needs to be done.

of course, there must be wisdom in your decisions. if not sure, ASK OTHERS!

courage brothers and sisters. courage.

2008-06-16T09:51:00.000-07:00

Monday, 16 June 08

wonder if any of you feel the way i do. but well, its just so..

strange..

you know. how sometimes, when you see no hope in things and you just wanna let go of God, but yet you don't? its such a weird feeling that can really take control of you and when it does then you suddenly hold back from letting go of God, you suddenly think "maybe i'll try to be more, hopeful"

its so.. weird. but i guess, its a good feeling too?? i don't know..

well imagine

we're holding on to our balloon which is God, and God's holding on to His which is us. somehow, we wanna let go because.. of one thousand reasons you can think of. yet you don't want to, so you hold tight as best as possible. and yet despite that, God grips on tightly to His balloon and never lets it go, makes sure its not about to slip out of its hand, loose grip, and fly away into the skies, perharps gone forever.

i wonder how, i wonder why.

God just never lets us go when we wanna let Him go so so so so..much..
and we in the end hold back when just wanna let go so bad.

what a weird feelinghuh..

makes me wonder then

then what happens if we just let go? are we like balloons, light as ever that floats into the sky and gone forever if you even let go just once, purposely or accidently?

weird..

its just so..

weird.

oh anyway, nice post Jae (: here's to a nice last week of the holidays, which is really sad but have a good one y'all! :D

alisa

2008-06-16T01:15:00.000-07:00

central 3.
one cell.
one purpose.
one God.
many different lives.
different experiences.
many changes.

central 3.
one body.
many different parts.
but.

we work as one.
one.

it's a new week, last week of holidays. don't get too caught up with chionging until you stress yourself out like mad. just plan your time well(:

jae.

2008-06-13T07:27:00.003-07:00

what's money, what's grades,

when there's nothing else.

see you all tomorrow(:

jae.

2008-06-05T23:28:00.000-07:00

Sunday, 8 June 08

A radiant bride greeted her guests with a brilliant smile as she entered the reception hall after the wedding ceremony. She gracefully moved about the room, the train of her white gown flowing along the floor behind her, her viel cascading down her button-adorned back.

She conversed with each guest one by one, taking the time to mingle and soak up the compliments. "you look absolutely lovely". "your dress is divine". "i've never seen a more beautiful bride". "what a stunning ceremony". The lavish praises rang on and on. The bride couldn't be more proud or more appreciative of the crowd's adoration. She could have listened to them swoon over her all evening. As a matter of fact, she did.

But where was the groom? All the attention fouchsed on the bride and never once did she call anyone's attention to her husband. She didn't even notice his absence at her side. Scanning the room, i searced for him, wondering, Where could he be?

I finally found him, but not where i expected him to be. The groom stood alone over in the corner of the room with his head down. As he stared at his ring, twisting the gold band that his bride had just placed on his finger, tears trickled down his cheeks and onto his hands. That i swhen i noticed the nail scars. The groom was Jesus.

He waited, but the bride never once turned her face toward her groom. She never held His hand. She never introduced the guests to Him. She operated independently of Him.

- "every young woman's battle", Shannon Ethridge & Stephen Arterburn.

that story was really touching ((((: i took it from "every young woman's battle". hehe :D as i wrote above. its a really awesome book about learning how as a girl you can have victory in battling sexual and relationship struggles ((: really really awesome book.

it made me think of when i once struggled badly with that kinda stuff. how God really sees us through the seasons, every single minute, every single day, every single second, every step of the way. WOW HEY THAT RHYMES :D! kidding, back to what i was say. how, how sometimes. you may not feel as though He's there and you can't hear His voice but He's still there, helping us through every single big or small struggle in each and every one of our lives (:

but more than that, if you've read it before. think yeah. the last chapter was kinda like the "answer" for me la (: about falling in love with Jesus, again and again and again, that despite having a healthy, wonderful and awesome relationship with your Mr. right (girls)/ Mrs. right (guys), that above all the most beautiful relationship you can ever have is with Jesus, simply falling in Him over and over again, simply Him being your first love (:

and the relationship being simple :DDD as Sherman said it yesterday at band practice la. its really "i love you, you love me. period".

haha, i like Sherman's analogy :D

anyways yeah :DD

haha, THIS is super interesting.

'We asked six young men, "what are th top ten characteristics you will be looking for in Mrs. Right?" '

HAHA...

1. she has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ (which was ranked most important by all six guys! haha :D)

2. She takes care of herself and has a positive self-image

typical :D

3. She is generally a happy person and has a positive outlook on life

true and important too right :DDD haha. as all my friends kept telling me when i was sad last time "cheer up! no one likes being around sad people".

4. She exercises self-control around other guys.

yeah, important.

'One young man said "if i'm in a serious relationship with someone, i want to know that i'm the only one for her. i don't want to see her getting all giddy around another guy and then have to worry that she's about to dump me for him".

hahaa.. suprising to hear the jealous side to that guy, but yeah. quite true actually! hehehe :DD

5. She is careful with money and can budget wisely

woahh. if i had to list characteristics of Mr. right which i actually did before, i can't recall putting that in :/ but quite true. that guy must be super the "thinking of the future" type. cool man.

6.She has good relationships with her family and has close friendships
:D

7. She is nurturing and would make a good mother someday

8. She is supportive of what i want to do with my life and encourages me

'more than anything, a husband needs his wife to be his cheerleader. Mr. right will want you to be his biggest fan.'

HAHA! cheerleaderr...

sounds very HSM(one)...HAHAH...

imagine literally like cheerleading.
instead of wild cats.
hmm.

lets see.

what team?
MR AND MRS RIGHT!
what team?
MR AND MRS RIGHT!
what team?
MR. AND MRS RIGHT!

MR AND MRS RIGHT, WHOO!

hahha..... ! :D

9. she has her own dreams and goals that i can help her fulfill

haha.. sounds high school musical also.

'we're all in this together...'

lol...

but yeah, it never really occured to me that a small part of being Mrs right can be about your dreams too. special to think that hey, actually dreams can have a small but meaningful part in the making to be of Mrs. right.

cool :D

10. She is adventurous and can enjoy at least some of my hobbies..

tsst..HAHAH...

interesting.

then they went on to talk about picking up hobbies. woah, never thought about hobbies to the extent of it playing a part in your bgr la. :D cool and interesting too :DDD

hehe.

ohyes! haha yesyesyes.

as SAMUEL has requested, here the baptism photos :DD hehehe!

and

:D

alisa.

2008-06-05T01:46:00.001-07:00

"Daddy, could i have a goodnight kiss?"His little darling asked him. He gladly obliged.

Love, that special connection was always there while the little girl was still a child.

time flys by, and we all stand as witnesses to the fact that we change. we do change, all the time, as we see more and more of the world which was once just confined to the small space we call our house.

what was once
"daddy, mommy, could we have dinner together?"
becomes
"dad, mum, i'm going out for dinner with my friends. don't wait up for me."
and then
"i'm out."

but yet, you know that when you shout at your parents to go away when you've just encountered some setback,

they are watching your back. peeking through the crack at your door, standing outside the door listening to you crying. wanting to go in.

but you rejected them.

"get lost! go away. i don't want you in my life" strong words. great hurt.

we feel bad.
but we don't change.

we want a perfect life.
but the thing is, is there such a thing?
yes, we as Christians would say there is a perfect life in Christ.

but we are humans. and we rejected Christ. Although christ is still in us.

are we still perfect? we rejected what was perfect and chose to go for what was imperfect

made in God's image, yes,
but did we go for a makeover to remove all the parts of us that says "God"

we're passing through this earth, yes once again.
but have we made this earth our home?

who are we now.
our daddy's little child?
or have we just fallen prey to yet another paedophile. who's trying to take advantage of our weaknesses. for we are strong in Christ. but could you say that you're strong without Christ?

jae(:

2008-06-04T08:01:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, 4 June 08

Sow a thought, reap an action
Sow an action, reap a habit
Sow a habit, reap a character
Sow a character, reap a destiny
-Samuel Smiles

got this quote from a book called "every young woman's battle". it was on recommendation during the true love waits period of time :DDD its a pretty good girl-book. the first girl book i think christian guys in my school wouldn't make fun of for reading.

yes cause last time i read this other book (not christian one) which was REALLY nice, sophie kinsella. this christian guy in my class who was my desk mate really super super irritating, like every single day also poke me about the book being a "girl" book. whatever la he. that was random =D

happy holidays :DDD

alisa.

2008-06-01T20:04:00.001-07:00

you know it's there. you had left it there one minute, and turned away to play your computer game or something.

after you finish whatever you want to do, you go back to get it. but you cannot find it anymore.

you know very well it was just there.
you had left it there.
to take it back only after you had done everything.

yes, taking things for granted. presuming that they will always be there no matter how you just throw them aside. your family, friends. God is probably the only exception who would be there for you no matter the circumstances.

you can't find it anymore. you cry. you kick, you grumble. you get angry. you get depressed.
but truth is.

it may just be too late.

why not treasure everyone you have now?

jae.

2008-05-22T06:18:00.000-07:00

The natural disasters are real spooky. One after another. These are signs of the end of the world.

Just think of it, so many lives are lost without knowing Christ. Then, I thought through, what if the end of the world is earlier than anyone could ever predict? What will happen to your friends? And when they see the truth, it may be too late.

I know it's hard to reach out to your friends. Everytime you invite them to church or tell them about Christ, they reject your invitation or stay away from you. You may be rejected, but these tries are worth it. Remember, Christ was rejected by the WHOLE world, his people.

But just try hard ya. Build more friendships. Keep on trying. Not easy, and requires lots and lots of faith and courage. Pray. Coz you never know when your friends may leave you...

Dont just wait for a breakthrough at the end of June. Prepare! It is God's promise.

Isnt the end of the world quite scary eh? Are you prepared?

Samuel

2008-05-19T00:59:00.000-07:00

Monday, 19 May 08

hello hello! haha long time i never post here liao :DD heheh. anyway, as heather requested i shall say it on a post! :DD

yup. the conferrence thing's on the 30 may apparently right? haha. but i'll be going to, so those who wanna come for sleep over can like follow me home after the conferrence ends (((: y'all wanna come, just come :DD

its central three and two combined together so yeah! haha.

whenever you want and can make it to come, then just come lor :DDD yupp. me plus my sis and c2 and c3 will be going megalife together on saturday after friday :DD

yup! actually thats about all :DD hehe. happy vesak day and last week of school people!

:D alisa.

2008-05-03T06:55:00.000-07:00

Hello!
Since quite a few people have been asking for the various peekchas,
I have uploaded ALL the cell related photos i have. (:
BBQ pics are courtesy of Ali. I took away the disable right click function so,
Kope lah kope lah.

Potential lunch peeks are with me too, if any of you want them just ask me on msn okay. :')

2008-05-02T09:31:00.000-07:00

Friday, 2 May 08

today, alisa shan't say she doesn't know what to say. today, alisa has decided, she'll just share her heart out if that could make her feel a little better.

like how people always ask it, i'll ask you guys too : how's everyone central three?

okay, maybe, this will sound weird. but it feels like i haven't actually catched up with the cell for a super duper long time cause lately i had a lot of ministry stuff on, and i didn't manage to join you guys on thursday (yesterday), and.

its weird saying i haven't really shared my heart out like that with you guys for a thousand i don't know how long ages..

but like i said, i'll just do so because, maybe thats what makes one feel better too.. ((:

so anyway, yeah. in case you all were wondering where i was on thursday? i went to meet a friend, a very. special friend. someone who's very close, like a best friend, just that she's not my best friend. someone perharps, i won't see for..

almost. forever, literally.

well.. yeah. i decided, no matter what i had on that day, i'd lreally ike to meet up with her just one last time so that, even if she goes to a place thats so far away to further her studies, i could try cheering myself up by thinking, at least i met her once before we won't see each other forever.

so yeah, thats where i went on thursday and...

yeah. i wonder how thursday was for you guys.. haha. i guess it must have had been quite fun right? after all, sentosa's such a nice place because of the reaaaaaaaally nice beach and the fact that its so fantasy like, like as if you're on some imaginary island far away from everything back in Singapore.

well..
my thursday was.......... __________.

it was a bad thursday because.

i got really angry at God for many things, just thinking about life the way it is now and i couldn't understand the way God worked, i just didn't understand why God did what He did and i got really angry with God and.....

urgh yeah, it was just really terrible.

i tried feeling happy that i met that friend one more time, but after reading the super long stuff she wrote me it only made me miss her more, and instead made myself feel more sad...

but then.. i went online, as usual and..

yeah. i had some long long conversation with a megalife friend..

and, after i talked to that friend.

i just felt so bad..

sometimes, we just feel so upset and angry over the things that happen in our lives, and all we think of to say to God is "why God, why are things this way? why did you place me in this situation, even when you knew i'd be this angry at you for doing so?"

we'll be pin-pointing the blame at God and...

thats because we don't understand the way God does things..

well. you guys may think of me as someone who's a really "high" girl, you know. but anyway, like i said, since im sharing my heart with you..

im not that "high" as you think i am. i may laugh a lot when im around you guys, but i don't think you guys really see me when im angry or sad, like literally SO upset that the tears really can't stop falling. like, REALLY.

yeah, don't think you guys have seen me in that state before, and i don't know if anyone in megalife actually has but.

but then i realized that..

God knows you know? He knows its hard on us too.. and after the whole looooooooong convo i had with that megalife friend (like the longest time i ever talked to that friend la, haha..)

thankfully, somehow, i dont know how but just somehow, my anger like subsided...

simply put, im not feeling angry at God anymore, but yeah, im still feeling sad that someone close to me in school, has to study overseas and i might never ever see her again since she's going to Canada..

i mean thats..

thats like SUPER far away...

sometimes, i wanna tell her not to go.. i wanna tell her how precious a friend she is to me, and how sad i feel to have to see her go so far away... but, sad as it is, we'll just have to let go of those dear to us, when its difficult for them to have us near..

truely that's more than line from a korean drama, but its really true and i didnt think i'd be true.. haha..

but..

in a way, i kinda feel sorry towards God too..

if you ask me, i don't know what to tell God now.. and if people ask me why im feeling sad, i can't find the words to cut the long story short and summarize everything...

yes, sorry if this post is like my longest post EVER here....

but......

yeah i feel really bad..

i realized its God's way of testing.. at times like this, when its hard to love God, if we really love God, we'd still hold on to Him and not give up right...?

i really wanted to give up and.. and i kept on holding back many times...
but then, as things got more and more and more difficult for me, i came to a point where i just felt so angry with God...

like never before, i couldn't recall any other time i was this angry with God, maybe even this upset and angry with someone...

and.. yeah.

like i mentioned earlier, i got into my mood of tears can't stop falling kinda thing.

thats when after that long convo with my megalife friend.. i realized that.

i don't really love God, enough to trust Him when i can't see His hand..

in a way, i guess. maybe its okay to feel ashamed of oneself, maybe its okay to feel bad for failing.. but..

yes, this is a SUPER long post so i'll end it here..

God really cares for us and...

i dont know, maybe even a thousand "sorry"s can't repay our anger towards God, nothing can express our apology as much as we want too, and the saddest part of it all is...

that it'll take long, i dont even know how long but i know long, to find back my love for God now... after "cooling down" so to speak. haha...

so yeah. okay this is weird weird werid, like just. WEIRD. i cant recall a time i've said stuff like this but anyway...

if its hard to love God, don't give up...

because God really loves us and cares for us and.. He knows too, He knows its hard...

its just a time to test ourselves on how much we love God, whether we'd love Him that much to trust Him when we can't see His hand..

and..

don't ever let go of God..

for me, this is just the start of finding back what i've lost...

when i made a mistake last year to not trust God, i felt far away from God and it took quite some time to be able to feel near to God.. and even then, i still can't really feel that joy i felt when i trusted God because of the mistake i made..

now i made my mistake to let go of my love for God because of how angry i felt at God on thursday with all the things happening lately...

and just like how hard it was to get back to where i once was with God after making the mistake of not trusting Him..

i have a feeling it'll be hard, or maybe even harder, just that this time its finding back my love for God..

so yeah.

don't ever let go of God (:

okay. if i say some more, it'll probably be more and more weird and it ALREADY feels weird. so i'll end this post here... (:

goodbye.

Alisa.

2008-04-26T08:40:00.000-07:00

Yo WAZZZUP Y'all

Moses here. Alright guys i reeeeaaaaaallllyyyyy need help. My Examinations are in a weeks time so i haven't studied that much and most of my tests i have been failing. Yesterday i got 10/40 on my chemistry test. For my CA i failed 4 SUBJECTS and the rest were on the verge of failing , one of them was F9! and im having doubts about my SA so if can pray for me plz :) I'm always very lazy to study Man! Whenever I come home, I will either switch on my computer and play Cabal (Online game) or watch television :D I lack self discipline!!T.T

Oh and Ali did great today during cell, hope all of you (especially Ian) were listening! :D

Moses

2008-04-23T06:51:00.001-07:00

Hey central three!

Heather here. Thought i might want to say a few words about our tagboard.

Okay, there are spammers, quite obviously. And since multiple requests for these spammers to quit has proved UNSUCCESSFUL, its our part to play to forgive&forget. Some of these spams are quite mean so lets just IGNORE and hope these spammers give up! Our cell tagboard should be filled with encouraging and Godly tags so lets hope these spammers turn a new leaf. Meanwhile lets just make do and CHILL okay? If your name has been used in a mean tag please clarify if you wish to, if not we all know you guys are innocent so its okay. :D

central three, we're a cell! Not a verbal battlefield. :D

So lets learn to love&praise God in all these things and not let childish pranks create conflicts in a sweet cell like ours. (: We're growing in number but we cannot miss out the importance of growing in spirit too!

Lets do our best to respect and care for our cell members yeah.

Oh, and central two is praying for us, so lets pray for their cell too! We're one big central family and its very important that we intercede for each other and cover our cells in prayer.

Praise God, Heather. (:

2008-04-22T08:55:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, 22 April 08

adults always tell you to "tell the truth and they always say "thank you for telling the truth". or maybe that's a common line of edision in grey's anatomy that i remember.

its like as if telling the truth is a happy happy good to do thing.
its as if honesty is like too...

but actually...

its just. so tough sometimes.....

its sometimes hard to be honest to the people around you, to your friends, to those close to your heart... and saddest of all, is God.. who's even died for you......

all because..

you do not want to feel what you want to feel...

just like how PJ said last week about not doing what you want to do...

especially when you know the things you say may hurt people, whether to a small or big extent.. but that truth needs to come out of you rather than hold back because its best the opposite party knows..

oh well.

i hope school's been fine for you guys (((: my chinese Os prelims for aural is this friday ))): oh well. i really hope it'll be okay.

see you all soon ((:

alisa.

2008-04-22T07:33:00.000-07:00

Change is ever present.
Change is ever happening
Change is forever in us, around us
Change is the thing that changes us

yet. why do we despise change?
Change is what destroys us
Change is what brings us harm. disappointment. fear.

but yeah,

if things can change for the worse, it definately can change for the better (:

everything has a good, and a bad side. we as humans prefer to dwell on the negatives, leaving the positives alone.

well well, why don't we just turn our heads now (:

take care, stay safe.

jae.

Good news

2008-04-22T05:26:00.001-07:00

Joel has started to enjoy christian music, and he has agreed to let Samuel take him to church and cell for 3 months. This may be a short time, but we believe miracles can happen!

On behalf of Samuel, I want to appeal to you others to continue praying for Joel. Also, I want to say thank you for Samuel for the efforts and guidance you have shown him.

James

2008-04-14T07:59:00.000-07:00

Monday, 14 April 08

i love you.

are three very simple words, but they're very hard to mean.

we keep thinking we can mean those three words.
somehow, we always want to mean those words.
towards God.
when we tell God "i love you", somehow, we always really want to mean what we say.
when a line in a worship song captures our hearts, we always wanna tell that line that captured our hearts to Him.

example:

"and in my heart i pray you'd let your will be done, and till i see you face to face and grace amazing takes me home i'll trust in you"

or

"break my heart for what breaks yours, everything i am for your Kingdom's cause... Hosanna, Hosana, Hosanna in the Highest.........."

we always want to tell that to God.

when we do something wrong.

okay, i won't write WE this time. i'll just write about I this time cause i dont know if you guys are like that too.

but when i do something wrong, or/and when i hurt people around me. i always feel wanna tell God/those people i'm sorry but i dont know how to tell God/ people i've hurt and wronged, that im sorry, miane. simply because i dont know if the mianes (sorry in korean) is meaningful enough to bring my apology across to the opposite party. simple because i don't know (applies to people only, not God haha) if they'll forgive me.

its always like that.

then when things change.

we're still all "i love you i love you" when things first change

then we don't realize that there's a certain depth to which you say those words
because you know never really know how deep your "i love you" is
how true your "i love you" is
and how long you can go on "i-love-you"-ing even when problems come your way
and when those problems; make "i love you" not so easy to say anymore

i think. i kinda thought about it today. i think we all know we love God. but then when the tough times come, when its not easy to love God then.

then i wondered if that was really okay.

then i thought "i don't know. but so what if its okay or not okay, is there a difference anyway."

then my brain squeezed out its million neurone cells
and the impulses restarted.
then my brain starting working
my mind starting cracking.
and, i began to just really
think.
and as i thought deep and thought hard
as my thoughts narrowed down.
then i realized.
somehow, loving God really really isn't easy.
somehow along the way, being on fire for God really isn't easy.
but did anyone, ANYONE say it was easy?

then my mind relaxed
and my brain stopped its deep thinking
and i began to just flash back to the past.

then i realize
im stuck now.
because no matter how easy "i love you" really once was easy to say
now, its not the same anymore.

no matter what happens,
God didn't create time to be something that could be turned back.
and it'll never be the same again.

then and i thought and i realized.

God.

God always has His ways of showing us how much He loves us. when our minds suddenly change and tell us "does God really love me?", then somehow, sooner or later..

God always His special way of showing us that He loves us.

maybe, for us.

its like God's "i love you" towards us.

but what about us?

when times are easy. then "i love you" can reach the depth you wanted it to reach.

but then.

when problems come your way.
your "i love you" fades away

then i realized.

that really. its when our problems come, that we'll see for ourselves how much we love God.

now we may say "i love you" just like how we always used to do

but when problems come, will we still say that?

or will our "i love you" just be three simple words, not of depth?
will it be "i will love you even if problems come my way, no matter what, i will love you forever and ever and ever"

or will it be " i mean. i really love you. but i don't know if i love you enough to..........."

whatever whatever.

?

Alisa.

2008-04-06T05:40:00.000-07:00

Together we make, a difference

one voice one family

We remain, undivided

our hearts in harmony

Together we make, a difference

we're friends we're family

We will share, a special dream

together we feel, the CENTRALTHREE HEARTBEAT!

Haha no idea why I suddenly thought of that! and to Weiming, yes, SEE YOU SOON. :D To Jesse and Moses, man I'm, we're proud of you guys. So brave of you two to go up yesterday! Did great man.

heather

AIYA

2008-04-05T10:22:00.000-07:00

firstly, let me say i really appreciate the sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet gesture (: thanks for all your letters and your love and your effort. it meant so much to me. really it did. these things make cell leading such a joy. thanks.

secondly, let me say that, though you guys say goodbye, its really only a farewell! haaha. i'll be back before you know it. not as consistently as usual, but i will be there alot! haha. so all your goodbyes.. thanks but, NO THANKS! i'd rather be with you guys (:

thirdly, please support shawn as he takes on his new responsibility. its gonna be quite a big change so give him sometime to grow into the shoes God has made for him to wear. and PLEASE, i ask, be co-operative and loving and whatever to all the potentials too! they've been given various roles and they really love you!

fourthly, make your life count for Jesus. your life can make a difference in someone elses. always do what is right and pleasing to God and always be ready to fight the battles you have to fight. but okay. as i said, this is not goodbye but only farewell. i hope to see you all on the 26th of apr when i FIRST book out. ahaha. YEAH.

2008-04-02T07:25:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, 2 April 08

hello central three :D i haven't talked to you all in like. ages. okay i don't know i haven't to like so so many people in like ages. but HELLO again! i just wanted to post something but can't post anything cause i don't know what to say.

never mind, i'll just post something, whatever i can think of (((:

anyway, hope you guys have been having an okay week at school so far :D wee okay. thats something. nah, imma kiddin.

yeah! hope school's been alright.

and its like 3 more days to saturday and 2 more days to friday and we'll see each other again! :D yay, okay.

so yeah! will see you all at my chemical romance :D

alisa.

2008-03-22T11:08:00.000-07:00

hello cell.

my name is WEI MING and im going to PHUKET for holiday!

yay!

from monday to saturday, imma be with my good friends alexi and joey ye and another one whom you do not know.

im going there to beach bum, snorkel, surf, eat, shop, surf more, explore caves, watch the sunset, bungee jump, and all that (:

but there is more. this trip, i want to get back to God. this year has been difficult for me spiritually as i dont feel God as much as i would like to. but through this, ive learnt to lean on the word of God for faith and fuel. ive learnt that to worship is to give glory regardless of how close or how glorious God seems to be right now.

but i really want to get back to the heart of God and feel him, because that energises me so much. so pray for me as i go for this short retreat. if all goes well, i should be back on saturday for service and cell with a nice tan and phuket treats for everyone!

pray that i'll be safe and that we would be wise as this is the first time i am going on a trip without adults. COOL!

but yeah. we gotta be more careful.

anyway, next thing, thank you all for being great hosts!

there were no spiritual decisions but that doesnt mean that God hasnt done anything. all your prayers have not been in vain as they are being stored in a bowl which will be poured out once its full! so keep on praying for your friends and keep on believing that the Holy spirit is working.

anyway, i'd like to acknowledge jesse as he invited 10 friends but got played out on the last minute. matthew also invited about 5 too and alisa a couple. your friends gave lame excuses to not come. but its okay. you must not give up on them. they are too precious.

there are probably more of you who got played out, so just keep on pressing on yes?

evangelise at ALL times.. when necessary, use words.

i believe that you guys want salvation to happen. but you must see it happening before it happens. you must see the hand of God. identify it and work under it (:

i'll be in phuket! see you guys on saturday!

MING

2008-03-22T08:40:00.000-07:00

Saturday, 22 March 08

ever felt something's important's always missing in your life before?

i kinda realized.

we'll never be satisfied if we keep on looking for what we're missing for from the world.
so thats why. maybe we have to search for what we're looking for from God...

hmm.

okay. well.

the smiling game was pretty fun! HAHA. im kinda tired from all that smiling. i think your muscles will ache after a while.

oh yeah! you guys should listen to mutemath songs. control is the nicest! its like a softer version of switchfoot to me, and they're stage presence is REALLLY real. listened to it on the bus just now and zhengyi's got me so addicted it la he. haha.okay random.

see you guys! soon. which isn't even soon?

alisa.

2008-03-17T09:04:00.003-07:00

hi CentralThree!

im 21 days from NS, 6 days away from my phuket holiday and 4 days away from good friday.

so little time left!

anyway, i'd like to meet up with these groups of people sometime soon (:

sec ones

jae, sherwyn, heather, daryl, nicole

shawn

and the rest not in these groups as well!

ok basically, i wanna take you guys, lets go get a meal and talk and have some fun. of course, there is an objective, but i wont reveal here la. haha.

but really, i wanna spend some time with each one of you before i go into the army. you guys mean so much to me man.

okay! im already meeting the barker boys this wednesday for lunch near their school. hope you guys can date me before i date you (:

PRESS ON FOR EASTER!

minggg

2008-03-16T05:55:00.000-07:00

Sunday, 16 March 08

sometimes i wonder if its okay to not withstand to our selfish feelings, our selfish thoughts when we go through stuff.

sometimes i tell myself i really shouldn't be sad or the whole world perceives you to be an "emo kid".
sometimes i tell myself i should really just fake a big, wide smile in front of the world.
and sometimes i tell myself i'm strong and i can do it.

but just for one moment, is it okay to let selfishness in the way?

2008-03-16T03:22:00.000-07:00

It looks bad now, BUT.

"Eh why so hard to scoop ah?"
"Not chaotah yet right..."

"IM A BIMBO!"
"Arrange nice nice..."
"~~cook~~ bake faster!"
"Its really hot."

Heather and Shiao do wayang kulit.
Lion eats Hazel.
tango!
"Wahts going on back there?!"
"Do i look funny?"

Putting the fudge on

TADA!
The special ones for Weijie and Ivan

Heather and Shirleen's

FIRST BAKING EXPERIENCE OF THE YEAR!

And it was FUN. :D

FYI anybody is welcome to come to my house to bake ok.

This is the work that went into the cupcakes you guys ate ytd!

Well, some of you. (:

Will make one for everyone next time!

Heather.

Oh yeah,

EASTER'S COMING.

2008-03-12T18:39:00.000-07:00

HELLO:D

hope ya'll are enjoying your holidays!

take care & God bless! :D

-Jae

2008-03-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

Sunday, 9 March 08

talked to sean kong on msn and he suddenly sent me this.

the words of this thirteen year old will move you.

alisa.

2008-03-09T01:02:00.000-08:00

I miss you guys central 3

I know im wierd, i just saw you guys ytd

but gee i still miss you guys loads

Lets have another outing like this one soon okay? (:

Heather