The year that was...

Looking back at 2007, I have so many things to be thankful for. So I decide to list them down here today and acknowledge what a loving and faithful God I serve. He loves me with an everlasting love and never fails to surprise me with His grace and goodness.

Here’s to small and big things that made 2007 special and significant...

My Family

My mum and dad, I love you very much! They are my best friend and my life advisors who are both wise, loving and understanding. No one supports me like they do! When I was going through a tough patch season in 2007, they were the first people I ran to. I learnt to put aside my pride, my own dreams and hear their heart as they shared. I don’t always like to listen to what they tell me but I followed them anyway, sometimes unwillingly and now, as I look back I have seen how their words ring true. My life has been immensely blessed by their counsel and their love for me. I am fortunate to have parents who I can share my life with and they really do understand me better than i can understand myself sometimes.

Proverbs 1:8- 9 says..” Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck”. The fourth commandment says “ Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you”.. It’s a promise fulfilled in 2007 and I continue to I desire it this year!

My uncle Mun Heng and his wife continues to give me sound advice and bring perspective to my spiritual and practical living. He is probably the strictest of the family; a missionary and a pastor how I respect. He is anointed and without apologies, tells me what I need to hear. We may only meet once a month but the result of our sharing always puts my life in perspective. He challenges my faith and the way I live it. I have grown to understand that christian living is practical and not-somewhere-up-in-the-air-and-out-there.

Fabian and Yee Mei, who I consider my spiritual parents have always been there for me and encouraged me through the different seasons in my life. I know I can count on them anytime. Am just so attracted to their gentleness. Their counsel, fellowship and especially their example as a couple inspire me to one day have a family that loves and serves God together. Its such a blessing to have wonderful role models in my life.

Family portrait with me and my mum, dad and sis :P

My bike crash

On Merdeka Day I crashed on my bike and landed on the motorcycle lane along the Plus highway. If I had landed anywhere else, or just a little bit to the right, I would have most probably been knocked down by a car and not survive. The injuries were pretty bad. My legs had scratches and left thigh was badly bruised and I walked with a limp for awhile. I lost control of the bike and landed face forward. The impact of the crash cracked my helmet and broken my aerobars and sunglasses. I had cuts on my face and a broken tooth.

I remember limping up to the front of the church a few days after the accident for prayer

and God gave me a speedy recovery. I was quite traumatized by the crash and it took me 3 months before I could gather up my courage to ride again. The accident also required me to have dental surgery which was pretty costly but thank God for insurance!

A week after my crash, I read in the news that one of my favourite duathlete, Benny Vansteelant, a nine-time-world champion was involved in a bike crash. A car hit him while training. The doctors said that he was on his way to full recovery when His heart gave way and died several days later. His injuries were severe: a double fracture on his leg, a broken shoulder, grazing to his face, a ruptured spleen and damage to his heart and lungs.

My crash could have been a lot worst, really. I could have lost my life instantly but God protected me and blessed me with a speedy recovery. I am so lucky to be alive today.

Yeah, it was a pretty bad crash... The bike ride was from KL to Port Dickson and back.

My friend, Sri accepted Christ during The Tailor Made Man

I saw my taxi driver come to accept Christ during the Christmas Production! Praise the Lord! All glory to Him! I remember making calls to friends and sending invitations to everyone I knew. It was a joy to see Adeline and her mum, my sis and her boyfriend, Jin Li and her cousin, C Sze and her friend, Sri and his friend at the production!

It was easy to invited Sri to church. I had the opportunity to share with him about Christ when he picked me up daily to go to work. We would talk about life, challenges at work and I would share with him about my involvement in church and some of my stands. I praise and thank God for those precious moments where he would ask more questions and I’d have a chance to share further. We shared our experiences and our love for songs.

He came with a friend on Christmas morning and I saw his hand raised up during the altar call. I knew that God had predestined us to meet up for such a time as this. Nothing is by chance for God and He must have known that Sri would make that choice that christmas morning. :) I have been talking to him since and encouraged him to continue to come to church with his family. I pray he will continue to grow and desire God more and to see his life totally and radically changed for Christ.

The amazing cast and crew of The tailor made Man and my role as Ednar in the play.

My car license

My mom and dad has waited 13 years for this! Haha.. And some friends have literally pestered me and prayed for me to get my license. Ps. Guy, Patricia & Kien, Fabian & Yee Mei, Li Shuan, Cheryl Wong, Simon & Amy, Karen, Kimmy, Bryant, Winston, Bell... Thank you for not giving up on me! Love you guys!! FINALLY! Your prayers have been answered! :P

It took me 3 tries before I finally passed my on-the-road driving test. Not that I was careless or anything but I refused to bribe and believed that I would pass on my own merit and by His grace. God taught me the meaning of being steadfast and to...”not grow weary in doing good but in due time, we will reap the harvest if we do no give up”.. Galatians 6:9. I recall being calm and collected during my 3rd test. In fact, hours before the test, I was thanking God because I knew I was gonna ace my driving test! The officer who tested me was so laid back and we talked and joked as I drove. At one point, He was so impressed with my driving and asked how I manage to failed the first two times. Haha.... God is good!

A day after I got my license, I went back to Ampang to get my car! It’s a Proton Iswara passed down from my mum to my sister and now to me. The car works great, a little beat up on the outside but works fine! It’s also a-paid-in-full-car and it’s mine now! The trunk of the car now hold my bicycle and helmet, a bunch of clothes for swimming and running, a bike pump, yoga mat, shoes, slippers and a few bottles of 100 plus. I must say, it’s the idea vehicle to transport me and my stuff to my various training locations! Haha...

This car and new skill is ultimately God’s and my desire is to honor God and use it to bless others who needs transportation. To all my friends who went the extra mile, graciously providing transport for me, thank you so much, I have been so blessed! Thank you for your sacrifices and being an awesome brother’s keeper. It’s my turn to bless someone else! In fact, I’ve already begun to use the car and help with picking up and sending teens around! :)

LIFE Retreat: REWIRE

If there was a major milestone in my life, ACTS LIFE Retreat would be it. I was at the lowest point in my life then. I was literally hanging by a moment and waiting for just “something” to happen. Being part of the camp committee did not help either. My faith in Him had reached rock bottom and I was giving God a “shot” to speak to me before deciding to leave the faith. During the camp, God spoke through different ones! Ps. Alex share what it meant to love God forever, Elder Kien Yak share what it meant to serve God in his early years in AYA, Ps. Andy shared about his passion for God. Elder Adeline shared about the attitude of a young working adult in our age. Each of their sharing revealed what I had become and exposed my true heart and I slowly began to restoration in my heart. Yeah, God really did rewired my heart and after that camp I began to putting my faith and my life back in His hands. God had taken my harden heart and soften it.

This camp was a turning point in my life this year and I owe it to my fellow camp committee members and especially Ps. Alex for not giving up on me but encouraging me on!

Integricity

I was offered an Art Director job in a company called Integricity. I really believe God had prepared a vacancy for me there even though I had no experience with web. I remember praying months before for a good job offer and Integricity was the first company to contact me for an interview. the interview took place on a Friday and by Monday, I was offered the job! It can only be God! I was seeking for a 9-5 job, but I knew that no advertising company would adhere to such working times! But Integricity did! On top of that I am blessed with a large salary package and would be given exemption when/if I do choose to lecture with LIFE College. I thank God for His favour!

Now, that I have been in the company for over 5 months, I must say, I love this place! We have cheerful, whacky colleagues and bosses that are understanding and very encouraging. There is a different work culture in Integricity. We have Friday lunches with the whole staff, bonding activities within the company and a pantry that has endless supply of grub! You can really feel spoilt sometimes! There are creative books to look forward to every month and as a creative team, we have the opportunity to get out of the office to visit malls and exhibitions! That just does wonders to expand our creativity!

Integricity has shown me what family can be and I am blessed to be a part of it. Am learning a lot and giving back as I continue to adapt to this new media. I believe my bosses live by Godly principles and I look up to them. One day, God willing, I would like to emulate them when I own my own design studio. I was pestered by two friends, earlier, on separate occasions to join this company but I declined it before. And now I am in Integricity!

We’ve also started our prayer meetings every Wednesday and it has been awesome! Our sharing has been life changing and it empowers us as we work at Integricity and in our personal growth with Him. Am especially grateful for Terence and Eric who are awesome brothers in my work place. And for Mike, who constantly pushes my creativity a notch higher and Jill’s impatience that keeps me on my toes when I design for web. It’s all good!

I can’t wait to do some programming. Serious!

Christmas deco and encouragement notes each of us received. There was also a Christmas dinner Cruise which I could not attend because I was involved in the Christmas production rehearsal!

Actstream

No ministry in church has cause me to grow in my faith and in skill more than serving in Actstream. I’ve never seen being in Actstream a burden. There is always joy serving Him with the gifts that He has blessed me with. I don’t have a powerful voice but I’ve see how God can multiply our talents if we so choose to use it for Him. There were long hours, late night practises on Thursday and early mornings on Sundays and yeah, there were times when it was difficult to praise Him when I was going through different patches in my life but serving in choir gave me the opportunity to lift Him up through my praises. I love my fellow choir members and when the tenor, alto and melody parts come together, something happens and it lifts my spirits up and brings me to a place where God can minister and speak to me. I may be called to be a minister on stage but many times I have been ministered by God’s presence. Thanks to the help of Joy, Tessie and Elsa, I’ve seen myself improved in my vocal strength and I am more vocally mature than I was a year ago.

When I am in my car or anywhere else for that matter and I lift up a song to Him, I know that He hears the cries of my heart and whether I am on stage or in my room, I can praise him and give thanks to God because He is the song of my heart.

Marathons and triathlons

This was big for me last year. And I thank God for blessing me with a healthy body that wouldn’t quit, one that would bounced back from injury time and time again. I was always strong enough to finish well and make it to the finishing line stronger and better than the last race. I am just amazed at how God has formed the human body. How amazing and wondrous is my body! How it functions with such precision and grace. Only God in his wisdom could fashion such a masterpiece that consist of different parts yet work together as one. The Heart. Lungs. Limbs. Spine. Bone. All self-contained in one body so we can live and move and have our very being. It’s simply amazing!

I finished strong last year with a total of 3 marathons, 10 half marathons, 2 sprint distance triathlons, 4 olympic distance triathlons and a half ironman. My body averaged about 70km of swimming, 18,000km of biking and 7,000km of running this year. It’s crazy! Quite insane! I really thank God for such a beautiful gift and will continue to be a good steward of it.

Fitness is important. But I have been challenged time and time again that with each race I participate in or in train, I am called to be a light to the darkness. That is why I wear my “Powered By Jesus” shirts wherever I go to proclaim His goodness. My body has been pushed hard, sometimes to complete exhaustion. But you see.. when I hit the 30km mark of a marathon and my body begins to shut down and I have another 12km left to go, I let Christ be my strength. I call upon His name. I am doing something beyond my strength and I depend on him. In races, I have the opportunity to talk to someone and share my passion with them. Even better when they take notice my shirt, I’d love tell them why I run. I know swimming, biking and especially running, celebrate God! Because whenever I run, I feel His pleasure upon my life. I know God is just as near to me when I run as when I am in church serving.

Some will not understand the relevance in that and I do not expect them to. Looking back this year, I collected many finisher medals. Glorious achievements. There are so many medals that I am no longer bothered to hang them all because what I really desire out of each race is to have the mark of Christ be evident wherever I go. Team Powered By Jesus is not a fad or a passing craze. It is a movement that will bear fruit and unite the believers as we pursue what matters most at the end of the day. Souls. Glorious souls!

Team Powered By Jesus wearing our statement out loud. I pray more people will be spotted with these shirts!

1 Hour prayer

Ever since answering the call to pray for an hour a day by Ps. Kenneth, I have been immensely blessed. My life and my thought life has quite simple changed. Prayer reveals. It doesn’t just reveal but transforms my life daily. Every morning, I jump our of bed eager to speak to God. The first few words I speak usually starts with “Thank you Jesus! I am alive today! You’ve given me a brand new day and I will live it victorious for you! What would you like me to do today , Lord?”

Oh yes, there are still days when I do wake up and can barely open my eyes... there are less of those days now though, cause I persevere and push harder and when I get into God, something always happens. I wish I can share it more with you, maybe later because these are intimate times with God and they are so precious to me. Maybe as this new year unfolds, I will be able to share more!

(To be continued below...)

Everything

(Lifehouse - No Name Face)

Find me here

Speak to me

I want to feel you

I need to hear you

You are the light

That's leading me

To the place where I find peace again.

You are the strength, that keeps me walking.

You are the hope, that keeps me trusting.

You are the light to my soul.

You are my purpose

You're everything.

And how can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?

Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

You calm the storms, and you give me rest.

You hold me in your hands, you won't let me fall.

You steal my heart, and you take my breath away.

Would you take me in? Take me deeper now?

And how can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?

Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

And how can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?

Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

Cause you're all I want, You're all I need

You're everything, everything

You're all I want you're all I need

You're everything, everything.

You're all I want you're all I need.

You're everything, everything

You're all I want you're all I need,

You're everything, everything.

And How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?

Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

And How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?

Would you tell me how could it be any better, any better.

And How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?

Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

When asked what the new year may bring, some will shrug and say it will probably be the same as the last. Some will share with you their plans and dreams and a success plan. You probably will also hear people talk about their dissatisfaction with the year that was and how they wished they had done a little bit more, achieved something greater or how they would have done things differently.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

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