I was blog surfing this morning and read a post about HopeKids and children’s ministry from irrevocable. It was so uplifting that it gave me an extra ounce of energy for our last LOST Sunday. If you read right down to the comments, you’ll hear from pastors, worms, former worms and hopekids all in there. It’s great to know the impact of our former team to folks today.

Irrevocable is blog you should check out of our youth pastor Shirley where she rants about dark chocolate, italian footballers and most importantly all that life in the Kingdom from an exciting, youth-minded and gung-ho perspective.

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Meanwhile, on ground zero, things are moving. I received 2 mails (amongst all my spams and junk mails) from Andrew that the new North East bus is kicking off this week. Andrew and the team has been doing such fantastic job with the transportation ministry and its great to see it raise another level higher. It’s no easy job coordinating with the bus company, the parents, the care leaders and me (yeah, the biggest headache).

Jesus must be real for all these guys to do what they do.

My boy was sucking on an apple and when we asked him why he was doing that, he said he wanted to drink the juice. Then my girl told him the right way to do it is to stick a straw into the fruit.

All of us laughed.

A while later I realised one didn’t….

He literally did it.

Yes I picked this up a few weeks back. It’s of 1980’s vintage, A Luxman integrated amplifier that drives my vintage pair of speakers beuww-tee-ful-lee…

Who can resist the sweet lush tone of old?

I saw a book lying around in the church library. I picked it up and took out The Emerging Church by Dan Kimball. It’s the first time I read something in detail about the Emerging/Emergent church that I’ve heard so much bad press about. So its really not of the devil as what my ignorance’s been suggesting to me.

Taking up the book, studying the subject did it for me. It’s really beyond just being seeker sensitive, engaging the culture or being relevent. It’s about going back to the roots, to welcome back vintage Christianity, teach more about Jesus, being missional and how to be the true church. It is also because all these are strangely what the new generation of emerging people with that ‘Jesus’ void are really seeking for.

What I find interesting about the whole thing is Dan the man’s hairstyle

I think its totally radical. Born in the Elvis era myself, I loved it. I think it’ll work in children’s ministry (although I won’t wear it). But the question is how did he get away with it in big church? If someone dares to wear that hair in church, I think we should shut up and listen up cos there’s something he has to share.

Listening is never a sin, never wrong or a bad thing to do. Be-careful when speaking, but w reading and listening are some of the best things you can do with your time.

Post-modern ministry strategies, spiritual experiences, homosexuality, animal activitism, veganism and other people’s weird behaviors. We shouldn’t care to make too much comment until we care to study the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ of the subject matter.

It’s all about listening first and only then if you need to, to make up your mind.

Yung and I sat down to talk and dream about HopeKids in 2009.

Yung is coming on board fulltime comrades in ministry. She will have a special mission to develop our HopeTots and HopeKinders services. We have a philosophy of hiring shepherds (or proven people with a heart for God and His people) and Yung is a great one. She has tirelessly served with us all these years and shown herself to be a great merchant of hope. 

So we looking forward to having her as part of the staff team in September.

As Singapore’s Women’s Table Tennis Team led by Li Jia Wei enters the Finals, Malaysian’s Lee Chong Wei does the same in the Men’s Badminton Singles @ the Beijing Olympics

Will they settle for what is already great achievement or will they go for Gold?

I think it makes a lot of difference aiming to go all the way. It makes a great difference in sports, in life and in ministry.

Let us all go for Gold today!

1) Speak and justify less. Do more

2) Look the way you are suppose to look, nothing less and not much more

3) Don’t care what others think, do what you know is right

4) Don’t seek for attention, attract it

5) Insist of being the person God meant you to be

6) Be curious and question the status quo

7) Don’t be shocked or surprised by anything, well at least don’t look like you do

Chew your food, do healthy things and listen to good music

9) Don’t scramble for an answer, seek and ask for it

10) Be the same person outside and at home

11) Talk to everyone, even the ‘lesser’ people

12) Know everything isn’t perfect but everything is ‘Practice’ always!

Saturday is the day I try to not schedule anything. But yet I have family things scheduled in and one of the important one is to “play with my kids”. After doing the things that I dread the most that is to wash the car, I played with the kids. We usually invent some games, try them and get the most of the fun when it work and also when it doesn’t work.

In the spirit of the Olympics, in our latest game called “Swing that Skipping Rope”, we decided to present some trophies.

The results:
Mei Si vs Me (Winner = Mei Si)
May Ann vs Chern Han (Winner = May Ann)
3rd & 4th playoff (Winner = Me)
Final playoff (Winner = May Ann)

So May Ann got the gold medal. Mei Si got the silver. And I, got the bronze.

We decided that being 4th that Chern Han should get something.

So in our scheme of things, it’s Gold, Silver, Bronze and Snack.

I can’t help it but see that in the life of Christ, everybody’s a winner and if there are losers, then we are not doing it right.

I’ve been starved from using my Mac cos its Mag’s assignment time. So I have to fast from blogging for 2 days for what is more important, peace on earth … starting at home.

At last she’s done and lasting peace is attained. So what have I been doing? Where should I start? Let’s see….

• I’ve joined CMConnect and I’ve linked up with some friends including Lin, our friend in Hope Bangkok IF Children’s Ministry
• I’ve prayed.
• I’ve written and taught a lesson on the Power of Positive Prayer
• I’ve really prayed
• I’ve had lunch with Freedy, our cool and young HopeKids leader to share the lesson on Leading Kids in Worship.
• I’ve prayed so much.
• I’ve facilitated the Team Coach Course “Problem and Conflict Management”.
• I’ve fixed the water cistern in the bathroom without flooding it.
• I’ve been really really praying.
• I’ve finished preparing for Lost part 2 this Sunday.
• I’ve connected to mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and cousins of new visitors.
• I’ve seen through May Ann finished her grade 3 piano exams and Mag her first assignement… so now I can have my Mac back!
• I’ve rejoiced together with my team that we reach a new high in attendence last Sunday.
• I’ve had a great care group in Cecelia’s place.
  
• I’ve learned that work and prayers done in secret will be greatly rewarded

err..I better stop here.

Another big thing I’ve learned this week is we do not need to promote or advance ourselves because God is already keen on and busy doing that already.

God loves us and advances us all the time. It makes no sense not to grow and be promoted all the time in all areas of our lives.