Friday, February 29, 2008
Surviving Dry Seasons...
Hi guys, just read an article (in blue below) from Spirit-Led Women, that you can subscribe too FOC too. Even the guys, the contents are non-gender differentiating.Thought this will be a great blessing to you just as it had been to me. It's long, but bear with the length. So...enjoy and let God speak to you!
SURVIVING THE DRY SEASONS
"One Saturday morning several years ago when I was thanking God for the delight of His presence, I heard a quiet voice say, "If you seek Me for the way you feel in My presence, it is no different from any other soul-realm passion."
I had never thought about my relationship with Him in those terms before. God was saying that if I pursue Him simply for the pleasurable experience I have when He makes Himself known to me, then my enjoyment of Him is dictated by my feelings.
For months after this encounter I experienced a season of dryness -- called a "dark night of the soul" by 16th-century mystic John of the Cross -- during which it seemed as if God was not there. This season was all the more difficult because for years prior to it I had walked in an almost continual awareness of His presence. Now, suddenly, I sensed nothing.
During my "dark night" I realized that on our path to spiritual maturity, we don't go from mountaintop to mountaintop. We have to walk through valleys as well. Even after we have arrived in our "promised land" we may experience spiritually dry times.
David confirmed this truth in Psalm 63, in which he expressed the thirst he had for God in the midst of a “dry and weary land” (v. 1 NIV). He wrote the psalm in the desert of Judah -- a dry region in the promised land! David had experienced God intensely before (see v. 2) but found himself for a season in a place "where there [was] no water" (v. 1).
There are different reasons for dryness. Once during David's reign, there was a drought in Israel (see 2 Sam. 21:1). God told David that the drought had been brought on by Israel's sin. When David dealt with the sin, the rains came.
But sin isn't the only reason we enter dry seasons. God may be working in us to prepare us for a greater release. We are like trees in winter that appear to be dormant -- even dead -- while their roots are growing and preparing for greater fruitfulness. During these seasons we are learning to walk by faith rather than by sight or feeling.
Whatever the reason, a dry season can be a difficult period in our lives. So how do we respond?
God's Word tells us that He "will never leave [us] nor forsake [us]" (Deut. 31:6,8; Josh. 1:5; see also Heb. 13:5). This means that whether we sense His presence or not, He is there. We must determine to believe Him and walk by faith.
When I am faced with dryness, I encourage myself in the Lord by reading the promises He has given of His nearness to me. They remind me that His love for me is not diminished even though He seems far away.
Ultimately, the key to breaking through is prayer. There is nothing that will dispel the dryness more quickly than significant time alone in your prayer closet. The main thing is not to despair. God has not abandoned you, and in His time, He will bring you out of the desert and lead you again "beside springs of water" (Is. 49:10)."
Just last night in my QT, one of the things God has been speaking to me about is in 'maturity'. Most of us have been Christians for some time, but what constitutes one that is truly mature? And this is what God said, "Maturity is understanding the life MUST have its seasons. (Double confirmation with the article above!) Maturity involves tenacity and walking through both ups and downs with accountability, because being accountable demonstrates how willing you are to protect yourself as a child of God."
A friend once shared with me that the more accountable and open you are to your peers and leaders, the less your tendency to backslide from your relationship with God. That's coz if you ever do or want to, these people will know which buttons to press to shock you back into realising how much you are not honoring God's possession: yourself. Sometimes we say our friends and leaders do not understand, but how much have we allowed them to do so? Let's take the 1st step to taking the immunization jab today, and give no room for the works of the devil.
Zoe
i posted this at 1:26 AM
and i have received 1 comments.
I want to subscribe! How how?
Yeah I understand what the author mean... "Immunization jab", I like that. =)
By 
♥ Lady Wen ♥, at
March 1, 2008 at 12:54 AM
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
super late update of CG photos from my HP!
i posted this at 10:19 PM
and i have received 0 comments.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Our newly appointed...
The Tribe Has Spoken.We have voted and below-mentioned are our newly-appointed...
1) Treasurer: We needed ONE brave and detailed soul who can face rejection time and again and still persevere with determination...haha!
~The nominees were...Zhinian, Charles, Mark, Huiyun
~~And boy was it a close fight between 2 of them, but one emerged by a slight margin, and that is...CHARLES!
2) Birthday I/Cs: We needed TWO sweet and creative people who will go to the ends of the earth (wah) to make a birthday celebration memorable, i.e. no longer sing song, blow candle, give present at Expo Hall 8 after service. More more more!
~The nominees were...Huiyun, Kingsley, Val, YQ, Elicia, Zhinian
~~There were 2 names that stood out, but one of them opted out due to a higher calling for another erm, office. So no. 3 took that place. And our winners are...Oba.., oops I mean VAL and ZHINIAN!
3) Events Coordinators: We needed TWO fun-loving and uber cool people who have the hottest hangouts at their fingertips to tell us where we can head to for fellowship, as well as what a fantabulous outreach activity will be. They will determine how much more interesting life can get...haha!
~The nominees were...Terence, YQ, Ade, Elicia, Kingsley, Huiyun, Zhinian, Charles
~~This time round, there was fierce competition between 2nd and 3rd place. The 1st place, however, was unanimous. Almost everyone pointed their fingers at you. Haha! And the winners are...ADE and YONGQUAN!
4) Media I/C: This 'office' was self-opted. No one talked about it till the perfect person meant for it self-opted himself in and even named the office himself. Bravo man! This person will do up our weekly lyrics for CGM on Powerpoint (meaning Jo, please make sure the cables needed are in place by next CGM!), and he has even bought a camera, all ready for capturing our happy moments together in pictures! He has promised that all our pics taken will be up promptly in the same week they were taken, so...he is none other than...
KINGSLEY!
5) Of course, how can we forget our 3 Connect Group Coordinators: JAMIE, JOSEPH and WENDY, who have pledged their lives (hahaha!) to the greater cause?
**So, congrats to all our nominees and winners! Remember point no. 8 in Pst Tan's sermon 'Built to Last' yea? Diligence! =) And as for the rest, your job is to make their job easier, and to take INITIATIVE for other stuff such as refreshments, morning calls, etc... yea? Let's work together!**
i posted this at 12:15 AM
and i have received 4 comments.
lol congrats king
actually i wanted to vote for u... but didnt have that position
By 
, at
February 18, 2008 at 1:34 AM
hehe...
just saw the post... kinda cool i must admit... lol... rock on everyone!
zhinian
By Then Suddenly e348..., at
February 18, 2008 at 8:07 PM
Dearest Event Coordinators,
Both of you are busy Uni students but let's hope that won't get in the way of u guys organizing fun fun fun outings throughout the year yeah!?
Can we go Sentosa to play beach volleyball pls pls pls?
E348 has never really played sports together since our inception on 10 Feb 2007. Heh.
By ♥ Lady Wen ♥, at
February 19, 2008 at 11:11 AM
VOLLEYBALL!!! I WANT!!! haha.
ade and yq, you know what to do hor.
perhaps we can come up with the LATEST contact list of our family so we wont forget a single birthday(:
<3
val
By , at
February 24, 2008 at 11:09 PM
Sunday, February 10, 2008
happy chinese new year!happy birthday to jamie and zhi nian!
How many of you say that service was awesome today?? (: WING!! haha. i kept snapping pictures of him, ballad is aww.. love. (:
lou hei time!
the tray shifts as we lou.
the paper card says "think it's time to sing a song..."
happy birthday to jamie and zhi nian!(:
jamie got sabo-ed.zhi nian has already gotten her present but not jamie!!
tadaaa! finally(:
chuan2 jia1 fu2! minus a few faces.
this is my personal fav.(:
pretty ladies(:
lucas is being entertained.
new bs kid with jamie!
last but not least, photo of the day!!! haha.
hope you all had a great time (:
lou hei time!
the tray shifts as we lou.
the paper card says "think it's time to sing a song..."
happy birthday to jamie and zhi nian!(:
jamie got sabo-ed.zhi nian has already gotten her present but not jamie!!
tadaaa! finally(:
chuan2 jia1 fu2! minus a few faces.
this is my personal fav.(:
pretty ladies(:
lucas is being entertained.
new bs kid with jamie!
last but not least, photo of the day!!! haha.
hope you all had a great time (:i posted this at 10:44 PM
and i have received 0 comments.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
happy 21st birthday Kingsley!
i posted this at 2:48 AM
and i have received 0 comments.
21 years ago, Kingsley's first cry was heard! Today, he's a brother to us, a child of God. We are so happy to have you with us. thanks for all the blessings you have given to us!(:
happy birthday to you!
happy birthday to you!