Turn your eyes upon Jesus

I'm pretty much exhausted after today's not so long run. But all the tiredness led me to wonder what I should be focusing in my life. Lying on the sofa or on the bed, feeling immobilised, even driving back to the chalet from church got me thinking, what comes next?

His response is this:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus

Look full in His wonderful face

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim

In the light of His glory and grace

All I can do is smile and rest in His presence =)

Life Lessons =)

I’ve realised that in life, not everything will move towards the way we want it to go. No matter how much we want to do well in our studies, or how much we want things to be better than what they are, it is never in our control. All we can do is to just give our best and pray that God will do the rest. Ultimately, we have to recognize that we should let His will be done and not ours, that we should be content with whatever circumstances we are placed it. Because, He knows what’s best for us and what is required for us to grow. I’ve learnt to surrender all things to Him and commit all things into His hands. Something which is very difficult and requires a lot of patience and trust. But I’ve come to realized that as we begin trusting in Him, seeking Him and believing in Him, no matter what happens, His peace and joy never fails to reach us because as we live in Him and Him in us, we will experience His faithfulness. We will finally experience how God never fails to honor His promises, that He has never left us nor forsake us, that He is constantly by our side to raise us up and grant us the strength to rise up above our circumstances. I believe that He will make all things beautiful in His time for I’ve truly experienced the meaning of “Ask and you will receive, Seek and you will find, knock and the door will be open up to you.” He is our faithful and loving Father. That’s why I choose to love and believe in Him and worship Him as much as I can. I’m not saying that I am a master at surrendering things to Him. But I’m still learning from the Teacher, the Teacher who has shown me new mercies each morning. Each day has become a lesson where the Teacher places you in real life situations to help you understand the importance of leaning towards His understanding and not ours. This journey and lesson has not been an easy one, but not once did He allow me to crumble and fall into that deep hole I dug for myself. Truly, His grace still amazes me and I feel very blessed to have come to know Him. I hope and pray that others will come to experience His grace, His mercy, His love and most of all, how awesome this mighty God of ours is.

Prayer for a Friend

Lord I lift my friend to You.

I've done all that I know to do.

I lift my friend, to You.

Complicated circumstances

have clouded his view

Lord I lift my friend up to You.

I fear that I won't have the words

that he needs to hear

I pray for Your wisdom, oh God.

And a heat that's sincere.

And Lord I lift my friend up

to You

Lord I lift my friend to You.

My best friend in the world,

I know he means much more to You.

I want so much to help him,

but this is something he has to do.

Lord I lift my friend up to You.

There's a way that seems so right to him.

But You know where that leads.

He's becoming a puppet of the world.

Too blind to see the strings.

And Lord I lift my friend up to You.

Lord I lift my friend to You.

I've done all that I know to do.

I lift my friend, to You.

Watching How to train a dragon reminds me of this song somehow. =)

One Thing (Psalm 27)

One thing I desire

One thing I seek

To gaze upon Your beauty

Your Majesty

In the day of trouble

You cover me

In the secret place of refuge

Lord I will sing

So I pray to You

So I pray to You

Lord Your name is higher than the heavens

Lord Your Name is higher than all created things

Higher than hope

Higher than dreams

The Name of the Lord

I will seek Your face

Call upon Your name, Jesus

All I want is You

Jesus

"One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.

For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.

Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord

Hear my voice when I call, O Lord; be merciful to me and answer me.

My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face, Lord, I will seek."

Psalm 27:4-8

I don't think it is coincidental for someone to listen to a song and at the same time, chance upon the verses that inspired the song. What a nice reminder You have for me, Lord! =)

My God and King

My God and King

To You alone I sing

You're the face I seek

For all eternity

You'd be my dream come true

Just to be with You

How I'd see brand new

With eyes for only You

My God and King

Through the storm I sing

Covered by Your wing

This song of love I bring

You are my dream come true

Just to be with You

Now I see brand new

With eyes for only You

One Way

I lay my life down as Your feet

You're the only one I need

I turn to You and You are always there

In troubled times it's You I seek

I put You first that's all I need

I humble all I am, all to You

One way, Jesus

You're the only one that I could live for!

One way, Jesus

You're the only one that I could live for!

You are always, always there

Every how and every where

Your grace abounds so deeply within me

You will never ever change

Yesterday, today the same

Forever till forever meets no end

You are the Way, the Truth and the Life

We live by faith and not by sight for You

We're living all for You

Thank You Father for all Your blessings! Reallyy really, THANK YOU! =)

Why

We rode into town the other day

Just me and my Daddy

He said I'd finally reached that age

And I could ride next to him on a horse

That of course was not quite as wide

We heard a crowd of people shouting

And so we stopped to find out why

And there was that man

That my dad said he loved

But today there was fear in his eyes

So I said, "Daddy, why are they screaming?

Why are the faces of some of them beaming?

Why is He dressed in that bright purple robe?

I'll bet that crown hurts Him more than He shows

Daddy, please can't you do something?

He looks as though He's gonna cry

you said He was stronger than all of those guys

Daddy, please tell me why

Why does everyone wants Him to die?"

Later that day the sky grew cloudy

And Daddy said I should go inside

Somehow he knew things would get stormy

Boy was he right

But I could not keep from wondering

If there was something he had to hide

So after he left I had to find out

I was not afraid of getting lost

So I followed the crowds

To a hill where I knew men had been killed

And I heard a voice come from the cross

And it said, "Father, why are they screaming?

Why are the faces of some of them beaming?

Why are they casting their lots for My robe?

This crown of thorns hurts Me more than it shows

Father, please can't You do something?

I know that You must hear My cry

I though I could handle the cross of this size

Father, remind Me why

Why does everyone want Me to die?

When will I understand why?"

"My precious Son, I hear them screaming

I'm watching the face of the enemy beaming

But soon I will clothe You in robes of My own

Jesus, this hurts ME much more than You know

But this dark hour I must do nothing

Though I've heard Your unbearable cry

The power in Your blood destroys all of the lies

Soon You'll see past their unmerciful eyes

Look there below, see the child

Trembling by her father's side

Now I can tell You why

She is why You must die"

He chose to die for us even though He knew how painful it would have been. That is how much He loves us =)

Your Grace Still Amaze Me

My faithful Father, enduring Friend

Your tender mercy's like a river with no end

It overwhelms me, covers my sin

Each time I come into Your presence

I stand in wonder once again

Your grace still amazes me

Your love is still a mystery

Each day I fall on my knees

Your grace still amazes me

Cause Your grace still amazes me

Oh, patient Saviour, You make me whole

You are the Author and the Healer of my soul

What can I give You, Lord, what can I say

I know there's no way to repay You

Only to offer You my praise

It's deeper, it's wider

It's stronger, it's higher

It's deeper, it's wider

It's stronger, it's higher

than anything my eyes can see

I've just realised that each day, I'm struck with a song that serves as a reminder of His awesome presence. How great is our God! =)

None But Jesus

In the quiet

In the stillness

I know that You are God

In the secret of Your presence

I know there I am restored

When You call I won't refuse

Each new day again I'll choose

There is no one else for me

None but Jesus

Crucified to set me free

Now I live to bring Him praise

In the chaos in confusion

I know You're sovereign still

In the moment of my weakness

You give me grace to do Your will

When You call I won't delay

This my song through all my days

All my delight is in You Lord

All of my hope

All of my strength

All my delight is in You Lord

Forever more

Before the day

Last night when I was sleeping

You were watching over me

While I dreamt about tomorrow

You knew my every need

Now another day is waiting

For me to make it through

And there's no way that I could face it without You

Before the day slips away

I want to stop and say

I love You, I love You

Before the world rushes in again

I want to stop and say there's none above You

There's none above You

I'll just be still and know You are God

Be still and know You are God

There's something about the morning

The stillness of it all

It calms my heart to hear You

When You gently call

Now another day is waiting

For me to make it through

And there's no way that I could face it without You

Here I am in Your presence
Where I long to be

Alone with You in the silence

Bring down Your love and Your mercy

I've been listening to this song almost every night before I sleep for the past 3 to 4 years and only today did I realise how meaningful and beautiful this song is. And what a great and wonderful reminder it is!! =))

I Long to worship You

I have not come
To ask You for anything
Except for the privilege
to glorify Your name
Let my singing and my prayers to You
Fill You up
Oh God, that You might be satisfied

I long to worship You
I long to worship You
To stand in Your courts and tell how marvellous You are
To You I raise my hands
I want to lift You up
Here in Your presence Lord
I long to worship You

You are here

Thank You for being there for me through the storms and deserts of my life.
Thank You for holding my hands and guiding me through whenever I feel lost.
Thank You for loving me first, and for loving me constantly despite failing You again and again.
Thank You for being so faithful, for always answering my prayers and reassuring me.
Thank You for the peace that has guarded my heart and mind in times of need
Thank You for listening to me whenever I pray.
Thank You for Your blessings, for the special friends You've blessed me in my life.

Thank You for your awesome reminders, for reminding me of Your words in times of need.

Thank You for just being this wonderful Father whom I can run to all the time.
Thank You for just being here with me, always, now and forever.

Thank You!!

Reading an article about Him being here and listening to the song entitled, "You are here", has made me realised that God has always been the answer that I seek. For He is here with me, now and forevermore! =)

You Are Here

Only by Your love, I am breathless
Only by Your touch, I am left forever
Longing for Your presence and somehow
Abandoned to the mystery I've found

How Your majesty once again can
Strike a chord in me
Leaving me surrendered
Knowing I am heaven's
And always worshipping
The love of my life

You are here, You are here with me
Everywhere I go, You are loving me
I am Yours and You are mine
Forevermore

Through the valleys low
You will keep me
O where can I go
Holiness surrounds me
Angels all around me forever
Shadowed Your glory I hide

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

The Results

And so Iwoke up at 8.55am, praying that I won't do as badly as I think I would. I guess the past few days, if not weeks, I have been worrying about it subconsciously and is therefore unable to eat or sleep well. But thank God for His constant reminders, that I have given my best and that I should just let go and let Him work and not make life difficult by myself. For He said, "who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?" That is so so true.

The examination period was extremely stressful for me because I could not finish studying what I want and the modules that I'm taking were much heavier compared to last semester. Nonetheless, God has proven that He will guide me through. "Ask and you will receive" indeed.

CM1131 was a mentally challenging exam for me because I only had 2 hours of sleep the previous night. I couldn't sleep the night before because I chose to stress myself up for no apparent reason since i couldn't study finish in time and the past year exam papers seem difficult. But amazingly, I went into the examination hall filled with energy and the questions that came out were amazing. Whatever I have studied/read through/glance through, came out!! It's truly a miracle!! But I came out feeling worried because I couldn't answer 2 small questions has high weightageon the marks even though. It was then, where Jesus reminded me that I have done my best for the paper and I should just rest so that He can do His best.

All in all, I thought I wouldn't have done well based on how I answered during the examination which explains why I have been worried about my results even though there's nothing I can do about it. This morning, I actually went to the S/U website to take a look at how I have done for my SS module. When I saw a B, I thought, :hmmm.... not bad, hopefully the rest are better. " But when I logged on to the results page, what I saw made me cry instantly...


I just want to praise God for this is His work and not mine. God has blessed me with 3A-. I was totally shocked and crying uncontrollably. All I can think of is to praise Him constantly. I'm overjoyed because this is so so much better than what I asked for. I've been praying that my cap would maintain, but he blessed me with an increase in cap. This is definitely more than what I ask for. Indeed, God will provide! Glory to Jesus!! Praise God for all that He has done!! =)))

The Holidays

I have not updated my blog for like 4 months? That is equivalent to 1 semester of busy time and indeed, it has past by super quickly. This semester has been very very hectic and tiring and there are definitely times where I was very very stressed out. But praise God for His wonderful presence and blessings for without His guidance and the many good, fun times with my friends that I was blessed with, I don't think I could have endure this journey. This Semester is really terrible because I felt so so tired throughout and I don't think I have the time to revise my work. The motivation wasn't there I must say. But nonetheless, I did my best, and I shall now let God do the rest! =) He has proven to me that with faith all things are possible! During the examination period, there were many times when i felt I didn't study enough or couldn't study finish. But miraculously, the papers came out things that I have actually read through or "glance" through before (except for LSM1401... that is another story). What can I say? God is indeed very very real!

For now, I must start to prepare myself for yet another exam, i.e. Driving! I've finally pluck up the courage to go and enrol for practical lessons. I don't know what the outcome will be like, but I guess, once again, I'm going to do my best and let God do the rest. Of course, I have to start boosting my confidence again.... Haa...

Miracle breakthrough!

A new year

With a blink of an eye, we bid farewell to 2008. Yup, that year has been a very eventful one for me definitely and I give all thanks and praise to God for blessing me with the many experiences and lessons that I receive. There are lots of happy memories for me to keep, interesting life lessons that I've learnt and the wonderful experience of serving God in the music ministry.

Yes, I may be complaining about how busy I am towards the end of the year and how I don't have time for people and things because of my studies and commitments to church and choir. But at the very end, the one big lesson that I've learnt is to trust God and enjoy the process of things. And true enough, my theory/belief of God making time for me if I make time for Him is proven by the results I got for my final exams. They may not be very impressive, the outcome may not be what I hope or expect it to be. But I'm still happy and am especially amazed by 2 of the modules that I took. I didn't do as badly as I thought I would have done for geography (in fact, i think it wasn't too bad a grade =)) and I did quite well for maths even though I didn't know how to do quite a number of questions. The amazing peace I felt throughout the exam period (almost stress-free I would say) is truly by God's blessings and I praise God for all that he has done for me.

Oh wells, now that 2009 is here, there will definitely be more and more challenges ahead. I suppose I will have much lesser time for myself since my timetable is planned in such a way that I finish school at 6pm on non-choir days and even later on choir days since I'm part of the committee now. But I guess, to be even more victorious this year, I will have to put my absolute trust and faith in Jesus for he is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords! Yep, praise God for all that he has done and for what is to come! amen =)

Offering

The sun cannot compare
To the glory of Your love
There is no shadow in Your presence

No mortal man would dare
To stand before your throne
Before the holy one of heaven

It is only by Your blood
and it's only through Your mercy
Lord I'll come

I bring an offering of worship to my Kind
No one on earth deserves the praises that I sing
Jesus may you receive the honour that You're due
Oh Lord, I bring an offering to you

Back from Japan

My holiday was great!! wahaha... I feel so blessed because everything that is planned for us went very smoothly. And it felt really good to be able to experience snowing, snow and volcanoes. Though I was quite unhappy about the trip before I went, I guess the trip changed my mind though I wished we could have spend a few more days there. Company was great and the things we do were interesting. Wahaha... Anyway, photos of the trip are up on facebook. I will post some when I am free.

After my short trip to Japan, there are many things for me to look forward to and I guess I have very very little time for myself during this holidays.

17/12 - meet cousins
18/12 -meet dai kor then choir practice
19/12 - caroling in the afternoon
20/12 - caroling
21/12 - caroling
22/12 - caroling
23/12 - caroling (release of results!!)
24/12 - caroling
25/12 - mum's birthday
27/12 - cousin's wedding
28/12 - serving for pm service
30/12 - meet andre/watchnight service rehearsal at night (Bidding for modules begin)
31/12 - watchnight service

Woohoo! so happening. And that does not include other meetings and gatherings with other friends and families. So I am seriously having trouble to fit meetings in. Also, I am still clueless about the fifth module which I should take and bidding is like 2 weeks away. So so so busy!! I pray that I wll have time to breathe through this busy holidays and at the same time, enjoy myself because I'm very optimistic about the schedule. Wahaha.... Oh well, whatever that comes, let it come =)

Emmanuel

Together in this
Place of Worship
Your greatness we proclaim

We stand as one in
Giving You
All glory and acclaim

To You our hearts are open
To Your our hands we raise
Come take the place
Of honor in
Our lives

Emmanuel
Our God is with us
Prince of peace
Mighty One
The everliving God

See the praises
Of our Saviour
Rise to open skies

With the dawning
Of redemption
Your glory will arise

For You alone are worthy
Here in Zion You are praised
Our Lord and King
Forever You
Will reign

Emmanuel
Our God is with us
Prince of peace
Mighty One
The everliving God