Came back from the HopeKids Leadership retreat. Encouraged to see 19 people from different congregations with diverse background come together for 2 days of planning and retreat. We have only 2 things in common - Jesus and Kids Ministry. From as young as 19 to as 'mature' as 4o plus, it was a strong witness to what unity in diversity means.

The theme with a touch of 'fear' in it didn't seem to hinder many of us. Each of us were to answer 2 out of any 3 questions posed by the rest of the group throughout the retreat. All of us went through it without problems even though it was slightly uncomfortable opening up to private topics in a big group. We shared our memorable, joyful and embarassed moments and some of us private stories and well kept secrets as required.

I was amazed by the trust we have in the group by what was shared. It really demonstrated that in Christ, there's openess of lives as many of us don't know each other very well. I applaud those who dare to be vulnerable with one another.

People are in general not very good at trusting. It's a pity because that will mean a lot of life gets taken away. If we prefer a mask than the face of truth, we get further away from the core of who we are. I'm glad all of us were open. It was a wild time for me too.

Other than that, with the lessons, sharing, praise, worship and fellowship, I hope it was a good 2 days for everyone. To recap what I shared, THE CORE is...

C=Calling ..... We are God's beloved and we have a calling or purpose in our life to fulfill the great commission

O=Organisation ... We need discipline and organisation to get us going to fufill that calling. It is a tool to be used to make us effective in what we do.

R=Relationship .... We ought to develop trusting spiritual friendships where where's mutual exchange of leaning, sharing and Godly counsel. It helps us and supports us through difficult times.

E= Expression .... We are salt of the earth and light of the world. We have a unique voice which we can use to express our deep faith to others and to the world. We are superstars for Christ.

My prayer is that all may confront what our CORE is and with it, make a big difference in the lives of children and adults all over the world begining now ... or if not, the new year where we are 'moving out' in a bigger way to bless children and their families in Singapore.

Be His,

It's always a treat to laugh. Here's one i got from a friend. It has a local flavour with a bit of racist twist but don't take it too seriously. Just celebrate our differences. Realise I haven't been laughing for a while. Just invited all the guys from the office for lunch today. Hopefully we can laugh a lot.

WHO SANK THE TITANIC?

"Spielberg, You Sank the Titanic!"

A Chinese man walked into a bar in America late one night and he saw Steven Spielberg.
As he was a great fan of his movies, he rushed over to him, and asked for his autograph. Instead, Spielberg gave him a slap and said, "You Chinese people bombed our Pearl Harbor, get outta here."

The astonished Chinese man replied, "It was not the Chinese who bombed your Pearl Harbor, it was the Japanese". "Chinese, Japanese, Taiwanese, you're all the same," replied Spielberg.

In return, the Chinese man gave Spielberg a slap and said, "You sank the Titanic, my forefathers were on that ship."

Shocked, Spielberg replied, "It was the iceberg that sank the ship, not me."

The Chinese man, replied, "Iceberg, Carlsberg, Spielberg you're all the same."

The staff retreat was an unusual affair. This time it was at Kota Tinggi Waterfall resort with the theme of Solitude and Prayer. Being left alone with lots of free time, and with nothing official to do, we naturally go about doing what is most urgently needed. Some of us slept, some of us played games, some of us read and some of us prayed. I thought we all needed the last one a bit more than others.







I brought my son Chern Han because I wanted to relief Mag from what she does full time and also because I can. It turned out to be a good bonding time with him. With a toddler with you, any given free times will be halved. Even so with every 3 hour session, 1.5 hours of solitude is still very good (or very difficult) for prayer. I was confronted with God alone without much to say and feeling uncomfortable about it. I am surprised how unfamiliar I am with stillness in an environment that is not like my own home or office or regular quiet place back here. It was like my solitude depends on the environment rather than God Himself as the distributor of peace. Anyway I tried to do my quiet time as effortlessly as I could, barely realising, that in itself, is effort. Solitude is not easy but it is so necessary. With the type of work we are called to do in the church, it should be compulsory. Whatever it is work or no work, we ought to be delighted in any effort we can be engaged to bring us nearer into God's presence.

Psalms 37:4 tells us to delight ourselves in the Lord and He will grant us the desires of our heart. I understood that it was wrong to keep persisting for God to grate us things after things and depending on its outcome to delight in Him. We ought to first find delight in the Lord. It should not be difficult because of His great love for us. Not hard at all if only if we are comfortable to be still and acknowledge the beauty and wonder of God. If it is difficult, then know that whatever effort needed to bring us into solitude and prayer onto the Lord is worth it.

Listening to the song "Peace by Rich Mullins" in YouTube sung by someone else who didn't do a bad job and it really brought back memories of old times. This song was played during our first Holy Communion as a couple and it must be one of the most beautiful songs I know. Indeed we are all strangers, weird and disoriented never really look like we belong but we are united through love only by the peace of Christ.

I dug up some of my own songs written a few years back when I was trying to setup a home studio. They were used several times in ministry which is quite good because they were actually meant for my own therapy than anything else. If you can bear with them here they are uploaded in the Internet.

The first song is "Color of Life" which talks about the nature of the life that God has given us. It may appear good or bad, happy or sad but it is the 'Colour' of life which defines it and gives it meaning. To listen or download.

The second song was written before I became a father when May Ann was still in the womb. It is simply called "Father" a devotion. To listen or download.

The third song is a rock number called "Sunset" which is about surrender! It deals with our odd behaviour of craving control when it is obvious God handles our life much better than ourselves. To listen or download.

Enjoy, even if you need to laugh!