Praising God in the midst of Barrenness

Yesterday, I went for a little walk and catch up with a girlfriend of mine. At this point, where we stopped, while chatting, I saw this tree. It looked like it had hands uplifted towards the sky praising God and thanking Him. The thing about this tree was that it did not have any leaves. It had only a trunk and a couple of branches. (See photo).

At that moment, God spoke to me about my own situation - if a tree that's barren can praise God - so can I. I can praise God in the midst of barrenness.  It's when in times of your life where you have absolutely nothing and don't even feel like praising God - that you deliberately and intentionally praise God anyway. That's what I believe it means to give a sacrifice of praise to God.

I also felt God saying to me - "I challenge you to do that and see what happens....".

Sacrifice - Motivational Video

"When you are literally not pursuing your goal, you are committing spiritual suicide!"

To achieve, you must sacrifice!
To become who you want to be you must put in the work. 

DO YOU DARE BELIEVE GOD FOR SOMETHING BETTER?

I always believe that when God brings restoration, He always makes it much, much more awesome than what it was before. It's only in our own limited thinking/feeling that we think/feel we deserve something less. DO YOU DARE BELIEVE GOD FOR SOMETHING BETTER? Remember this - God did say in Ephesians 3:20-21, "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

And He is someone who cannot lie and He swears by no other.
Hebrews 6:11-15 says, "And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realise the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, "I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply you." And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise."

Because God is a person who cannot lie and there's no one greater that He could swear by but Himself, I can definitely trust in His promise to me. In order for me to obtain God's promises for me, like Abraham, I have to patiently wait with full assurance of hope in God.

PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, by your Holy Spirit, help me to patiently wait with full assurance of hope in You that I will definitely obtain the promise(s) that You spoke over my life. I thank You that You're a God who does not and cannot lie. In Jesus Christ name I pray, AMEN!!

What was Year 2010 for me like?

The Year 2010 for me has been a year wrought with intense challenges, trials, and changes. It has been a really tough year. Moved into my house sometime in April. That has been and joy and hard work at the same time. Work wise - this year has saw me being employed as a part-time worker to full-time worker to casual worker all in a year. To top it all off, I've had to manage a mortgage & expenses (house maintenance, utilities, food and petrol) as well. Have I managed to buy myself a piece of new clothing - NOPE! Can't afford to waste money on that one. Well, God did tell me in 2009 - that my shoes and clothing will not wear off. So that - I suppose is a good thing to hear. (Not that I'm someone who does heaps of clothes/shoes shopping anyways - definitely not my favourite thing to do.) It has been tough for me emotionally as well. Wasn't expecting that one. (Not going to expand on that one). I've also had to learn to be vulnerable - to be honest about how I feel to others and to God as well. There has been a lot of tears. Bucket loads, I'd say. Everything have been so intense. My heart has just been so sore - from the intensity of it all. It's now Year 2011 and I can still feel it. Intense loneliness - is one of  the worst feelings ever. Things WILL have to change for Year 2011. Have had to confront various issues as well. Wasn't pleasant but very freeing at the end of it.

Besides all that, God's been doing some good things in my life too. One thing I can clearly say is that He has let me experience the kind of PEACE that surpasses understanding. I have felt it tangibly and have felt what it's like not to worry or be anxious. Being someone who perpetually worry all the time, that was something I definitely noticed. I'd have to say - going to School of Empowered Ministry have been a real blessing to me. It's not just any Bible College. It's one where not only do we get taught the Word of God, we get to experience it in a real sense. So, it's not just head knowledge. At every class, we activate what we've just learnt - we get ministered by God and we also learn to minister to each other. I miss those classes. It has brought me heaps of encouragement. Every class is charged with God's tangible presence. It is so addictive. One thing that really stood out to me was getting to know who God is as my Father - my Daddy. And I'm still getting to know Him. Have had to un-learn and re-learn a lot of things about God. Have had to re-learn about my identity was well - who I am in God.

Chris Tomlin - Lord I Need You

Stairway Dance - God of Justice

Hope you are blessed and challenged by watching this dance that we did.

Fill us up and send us out.....

(Take One) - I do kinda like this as it's taken when we did this live.

(Take Two) - This is a proper filming of the dance that we did.

我 想 飞 (Wo Xiang Fei) by Andrew Yeo

Wo Xiang Fei from Andrew Yeo on Myspace.
Find more Andrew Yeo songs at Myspace Music 

Lyrics:

我 想 飞 (Wo Xiang Fei) by Andrew Yeo

Verse 1:

有 时 候 我 会 疲 乏 软 弱,

Yǒu shíhou  wǒ huì   pí   fá  ruǎnruò,

觉 得 不 知 所 措

jué  dé  bù    zhī suǒ cuò

你 伸   出 你 的 双 手,

nǐ   shēn  chū  nǐ de shuāngshǒu,

来 围 绕 守 候 我

lái  wéirào shǒu hòu wǒ

Verse 2:

有 时 候 我 像 一 只 小 船,

yǒu shíhou wǒ xiàng yī zhǐ xiǎo chuán,

迷 失 在   大 海 洋

Mí  shī  zài    dà   hǎiyáng         

你 伸 出 你 的 双 手,

nǐ   shēn chū nǐ  de shuāngshǒu,

来 带 领 我 到 你 的 心 房

lái  dàilǐng  wǒ dào nǐ   de   Xīnfáng

Bridge:

我   耐 心   等 候   你 赐 给 我 力量

wǒ    nài   xīn   děnghòu   nǐ   cì   gěi   wǒ  lìliàng

你 让 我 的 生   命   在 一 次 有 希 望

nǐ   ràng wǒ de shēngmìng  zài   yī   cì  yǒu  xīwàng

Chorus:

我 想 飞, 飞 到 你 的 身边,

wǒ xiǎng fēi,  fēi dào nǐ de   shēnbiān,

和 你 到 永 远

hé   nǐ  dào  yǒngyuǎn

我 破 碎 的 心,   等待   你 的 出 现

wǒ pò   suì   de xīn,     děngdài   nǐ  de   chūxiàn

我   想   要 飞,   飞 向 那 蓝 天

Wǒ   xiǎng   yào fēi,    fēi xiàng nà lántiān

永 远   不   后 悔,   你 把 我 的 心

yǒngyuǎn Bù   hòuhuǐ,     nǐ    bǎ  wǒ  de   xīn

慢 慢   的 转 变,    我 好 想 飞

màn man de zhuǎnbiàn,   wǒ hǎo xiǎng fēi

List of things to be thankful for

Why am I writing this list? It's so easy to loose sight of the things that I can be thankful for when life takes a difficult turn - that is why I am writing this list. To remind me of the blessings that GOD has bestowed on me in times past. To remind me that all things come from Him and He is the provider of all my needs. That He is faithful in all things and at all times.


These are what I'm thankful for:
- Shelter (my very own house)
- Transport (my car that was given to me)
- Sofa (given to me)
- Coffee table/Side table/dining table set (free)
- Lounge/Entertainment Unit (free)
- Dining Plates (free)
- Crockery (free)
- Beds (free)
- Current 1-month relief job
- Friends
- Family (Parents and siblings)
- GOD Himself
- Desks/Drawers/Bookshelves (most of them free)
- Storage Unit (free)
- etc. and many others