not sure where i heard this or saw this from, but yea, it must have hit me loads when i saw/heard this cos i have hurriedly typed these words into my mobile and saved it in my drafts.

now clearing my drafts, reading this brings a renewal and refreshment to what 'community' means.

In a world of flawed communication, community is possible through understanding others.
In a world of painful alienation, community is created by accepting others.
In a world of broken trust, community is sustained by forgiveness...

isnt it powerful?

The Armor of God

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

can't say enough thanks to all friends. meet ups have been the most enjoyable for me. and a mini impromptu tour around KKH today was great too. thanks hannah ceyu and steph! :))

you guys know who you are, and truly appreciate the friendships and the time spent!

and of cos, not to forget the very very advanced birthday surprise. that was reaallllyyy coolll. :)

being singaporeans, all farewells comes with foooddd. and i have been very much stuffed with food for the past week especially. great delight!

some more packing to go. once again, it's so surreal. i must truly say, i have enjoyed my bit of time much with family. and it's a period of time that i think i've truly spent time with every family member. and so of cos, it makes it harder to bear the thought of going away from home tmr.

o. i shall stop thinking. shall shower. pack up the last bit. sleep.

and how i pray my nose will stop runninnngggg. amen. :)

and a pic of grad last fri w the folks! :) (haha. dad's actually much kinder than what he looks on photos!!)

yesterday, my dad did something small in surprise that actually brought tears to my eyes. i was extremely touched by the simple love of a father.

and just as i was pondering about life- ups, downs, challenges and celebrations, i really must admit that there's more to life than what currently meets the eyes.

before i snoozed off in bed, i was reminded of this chapter in matthew:

Ask, Seek, Knock

7"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

9"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

as i was being updated about the lives of some friends, and seeing how strong they are still in Christ despite what i deem big obstacles in faith, i praise the Lord for such people in my life. i can so see Christ in them.

praise the Lord, and i know that the Lord's protection and guidance willl always be on them.

i often dream dreams. but honestly, i dont often remember the dreams that i dreamt.

but i remembered vividly a tiny part of my dream yesterday. before i heard my mum's voice to wake me up.

i was in this building that looked contemporary. as i walked in, i can't help but to see that at the front of the place, it had a cross, and the three digits of 3 on it. it was either "3:33" or "33:3", i can't remember. but anw. it was as if it was some sharing going on in the place; i can't remember what was shared, but all i remember was a sense of peace, and calmness as i sat in that place with others.

i woke up, and as i brushed my teeth and ate my breakfast, i was thinking of this scene. when i entered the train, i just decided to say a simple prayer, and to spend a lil time on the connect journal.

i was on day 2, which was talking about fanning the flame of the gift of God in our lives. Jeremiah 1:11-19 shares about him receiving his first vision from God, and he is able to interpret it. It further shares that God does not only empower us with gifting and anointing, He also encourages us to walk in our specific calling.

so a snippet of my personal response to the questions of the devotional went like this:

? community welfare

• to have spirit of love, compassion. enduring spirit.

? pw/ intercessory
? restoration ministry?- spirit of compassion...

just as i wanted to close up the bible and connect journal, thought about the dream again. thought of jeremiah 33:3, since i am currently on jeremiah.

an all time m&m: 'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.'

not an unfamiliar verse, but certainly, this time round, i felt a deep prompting within me to just pray and mull over the Word, since the Word is already so clear- 'call to me.'

honestly, i dont know what i ought to pray for. not that there's nothing that i want to pray about; maybe there are simply so many that i dont know where to start. the thought of Him telling me 'great and unsearchable things' that i do not know excites me, cos it's so true, there's so much about everything that i always find myself having no answers to. and i am assured by His Word, that as we call to Him, He will find most pleasure in answering us, and talking to us.

as i flipped the pages to read on chapter 33, it was a passage on the promise of restoration on jerusalem from the Lord to jeremiah! how timely!

you know, i haven had this great sense of confidence that it's a direct Word from the Lord to me for quite a while. so, with this time, there was overwhelming sense of comfort within me. in my walk with Christ, as i read the Word, there were occasional struggles to have greater faith to claim what i read, to acknowledge that the Word is for me. everytime, i got to go on and confess to the Lord that i really need mustard seeds of faith to trust that my Lord is a personal Lord, that He will speak to me just like how He spoke to the people in the Bible of the old testament.

and i know that the Lord has never given up on me for this. :)

of cos, it may seem like life are full of coincidences, like i dreamt this, and i flipped to that, here and there. but i always remember something that's shared by someone before-: coincidences are God's ways of remaining anoynomous.

all i know is that everything that's being placed in our lives adds to the bigger picture of our lifetime. i've encountered great things today; similarly, i was really upset over an incident. i took really, really long to get over it, in fact.

but i praise the Lord for the great things, and for the encounter with this particular stranger. i give thanks for them (not easy thou. haha. i am still human.). but i am really convicted that God has purposed them, and there's a season and reason for everything that's happened. amen.