Desire

An excerpt from "Mere Christianity" by C.S Lewis:

"The Christian Way-- The Christian says, 'Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire: well, there is such a thing as sex.

If i find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probably explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing...."

Invade Me

These are excerpts from the daily devotional by Oswald Chambers that I'm reading.....and it's such amazing stuff. To be honest, I normally don't take well to daily devotionals cos they seem kinda 'weak' to me. BUT this is really strong, insightful stuff! I really love how he writes with such a beautiful literary feel, and yet manages to be blunt and in-your-face at the same time....he just throws all these Christian cliches out of the window.

He offers very good reminders too. Before this, it never would have crossed my mind that one could unconsciously build up pride/confidence from emerging out of the 'fire', the trials of life.

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"No matter what changes God has performed in you, never rely on them. Build only on a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ, and on the Spirit He gives.

All our promises and resolutions end in denial because we have no power to accomplish them. When we come to the end of ourselves, not just mentally but completely, we are able to 'receive the Holy Spirit.' 'Receive the Holy Spirit'--that idea is that of invasion. There is now only One who directs the course of your life, the Lord Jesus Christ."

"God does not tell you what He is going to do- He reveals to you who He is.....You must learn to 'go out' through your convictions, creeds, or experiences until you come to the point in your faith where there is nothing between yourself and God."

-Oswald Chambers, "My Utmost for His Highest"

Footprints of God

"I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars." - Walt Whitman

A Generation of Truth

Show us Your heart O God,
And cause us to rise up as a generation of truth in times such as these.....

Isaiah 58:12

Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins;
You will raise up the age-old foundations;
And you will be called the repairer of the breach,
The restorer of the streets in which to dwell.

Where would I be without You?

"Self actualization apart from God leads to self absorption"- Pastor Sy Rogers

A blunt statement, but a neccessary reminder at times.
Lord, help me to see beyond my circumstances, desires and dreams...
To recognize that You're bigger than my imagination, my heart.
Your ways are perfect O God,
Your righteousness is like the great mountains.
Teach me to serve Your heart first and foremost.

"You are my freedom
Jesus You’re the reason
I’m kneeling again at Your throne
Where would I be without You
Here in my life "
- 'Here in my life' by Mia Fieldes

Grace notes

I had a small gig with Jon last night at New Life Vineyard Church (small house church in a shophouse@Katong). Well, not really a gig....it was actually an open-mike session cum outreach event. And apart from singing lead on "Bless the Broken Road", I mostly did back-up vocals for Jon's original songs. His songs are the killer, challenging kind lor. (there's hardly a simple, clean chord in his songs. They're all 7th, 9th, augmented, diminished etc with weird key modulations!!) So to be honest, I was feeling kinda stressed out preparing for it cos I had no time nor energy after teaching all week.

I won't say the gig was perfect, there were some minor booboos....but all in all, it turned out to be a refreshing and fun experience! :) I really miss the music making...sigh. The feedback we received was very positive......and I think the cozy, homely setting was the perfect way to break the ice for newcomers. Also, I got to meet new musician friends, Ivan and Nigel. :) So it was most cool!

Thank God for reminding me to pray before the gig too....afterall it was an outreach event, and we really wanted to acknowledge God as the source of all our gifts, and to use them for His glory. I really needed that reminder, as I was totally caught up in the preparation. Thanks to Jason, for remembering us, and covering us in prayer too! Much appreciated. :)

Forgiveness

It amazes me how I can quarrel, get pissed off with a close friend one day...and just talk as if nothing happened the next. It just goes to show that the strongest friendships can weather these little storms, and that we receive each other with acceptance in spite of our flaws, and release forgiveness for the times we hurt each other unconsciously. Afterall....with the drawing close, comes the inevitable friction at times.

I'm so grateful for all you dear friends...:)

Fade Away

Just came back from a refreshing and empowering service at church. I really thank God for Riverlife church! (haha! I tell Andrea this all the time) :) And to think I almost didn't make it to church this morning, cos I felt like roadkill....was soooo tired. But I dragged my sorry body out of bed, cos I knew God was gonna speak to me during service....as He does every week.

I thought today's worship was particularly good....and you know why? Because I came away remembering how real God was, how clearly He spoke and ministered to me. That was my most distinct memory....not so much how well the band played (although they were great!), or the songs that were selected (in fact, I was struggling to recall the songs that were sung after service...which is a very weird thing for me.) There were some points during the worship where I could barely sing....cos I was just so overwhelmed by His presence.

It's like that old song "And the things of earth, will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace." Wow...that's awesome worship! And now I know why Jared Ming, the speaker at the Saturate Worship Conference said this: "the best worship leaders are like magicians- they know how to do disappear," meaning they know how to focus the people upon God, and not upon themselves or the music.

Yes Lord, let everything else fade away.....as You captivate us with Your beautiful heart!

"Let now our hearts burn with the flame"

"Let now the weak say I have strength
By the Spirit of power
That raised Christ from the dead
Let now the poor stand and confess
That my portion is Him
and I'm more than blessed...

Let now our hearts burn with a flame
A fire consuming all
For Your Son's holy Name
And with the heavens we declare
You are our King."

- 'Saviour King' by Marty Sampson and Mia Fieldes

Glenn my fwen

I can barely remember the crazy exchange that led to me promising to post Glenn's pic on my blog! It all happened so fast, and before I knew it...I received an email (with an attached pic) titled "You say one ah". Ah well....so what to do?

Anyway....everyone, this is Glenn, my fwen. *chuckles* And he is.....

G: Good stuff (seriously! I tell him this all the time. :p)
L: Learned (esp. in all things pertaining to Hillsong and CCM.)
E: Eccentric (as you can see...he LISTENS to beer foam)
N: Nocturnal (yeah, this boy sleeps later than me most of the time)
N: Nonsensical (but I'm glad for a random fwen like u!!)

Welcome back my fwen.....farewell to Marcus (for now!)

This post is like one week overdue.....cos Michelle has been very busy and tired. Well, as some of you know...Berno my fwen, has been on a 3 week holiday. So to welcome her return, we decided to 'decorate' her cubicle! This was the scene that greeted her last Mon.

It's a pity you can't really see the notices cos of the highlighter ink...but we've basically plastered her cubicle with notices of "Welcome back Mrs Choo"/ "You've been Choo-ed"/ "Enter only if you're a Choo" etc.

We re-arranged her soft toys in semi-suicidal poses beside this notice that says "Now she loves Choo, she no love us. Let's escape..."

Jaymee proudly pointing to the mess that we created!

Berno is such a dear, we bombed her table, and on the same day, she decorated the lockers/cubicles of the girls with lovely flowers! haha! This is my cubicle...Poof the dragon is hugging some pretty flowers.

Marcus on his last week of work....we'll miss him when he goes off to NUS. He gave me that horse soft toy on the first day of work. So sweet lah! Thanks neighbour! :)

Shameless Marketing for "Marty, Brooke and friends"

Yes, it's finally OUT!!!!!! The new Hillsong album. There was some mild excitment in the office when the CDs arrived. I've uploaded a few tracks onto my multiply site for you to sample. http://jazzymoo.multiply.com/music/ PLS BUY IT!!!!! Every single track is awesome....I'm not kidding you. It's one of the best albums to come out in ages.

Today, I met Adam, one of my students who graduated the term before, at BMI. (he's a wonderful boy, he came to send his gf for our vocal classes. What a firm supporter he is! haha!) It was really great to see him again. Then this exchange took place....

Mich: *points to the newly released Hillsong album "Saviour King" on the counter* Adam, have you bought this yet? It's really good you know!
Adam: Er not yet...I just came back from some overseas trips and the Campus Crusade camp. (a few mins later, after giving it a listen at our listening booths...Adam decides to purchase it)

Marcus: *over the cash register* You must listen to Brooke Fraser!
Mich: He doesn't know who Brooke Fraser is lah...
Adam: *blur look*...yeah who??
Marcus: She sings so well lah. She sings 'Hosanna'...you know that track right? And she's so HOT!
Mich: *shocked at the choice of vocab* MARCUS!!
Marcus: Oh...and she really loves God too! :) You must listen to Brooke ok?
Adam: ......

[Glenn: Look at what you've created....haha!]

Paula Cole "Courage"

She's one of the vocalists that I admire the most...and this is her latest album after an 8 year hiatus. When asked what Courage means to Paula Cole, she says the word was her daily mantra when recording the record, making for a fitting title. Simply put Cole says, "I am searching for the truth. Somewhere, it's in the music."

Her vocals are simply arresting and disarming....switch off the lights and lie on your bed to fully appreciate the nuances of her singing.

I've uploaded 3 tracks on my multiply account: http://jazzymoo.multiply.com/music
1) "In Our Dreams"- featuring David Foster on piano
2) "Lonelytown"- feauturing the legendary Herbie Hancock
3) "Safe in your arms"

Hello there baby!

I just came home from Thomson Medical Centre after visiting Dehui and Joanne, and the brand new addition to their family!!! Their little bundle of joy just stole our hearts the moment we laid eyes on him....he's so handsome with his stylo hair and pouty lips! haha! He hasn't been named yet though. I must say, I'm just soooo happy for Dehui, who's been a close brother for so many years. It's the start of an exciting journey for him and Joanne...:)

Dehui, the proud father...it was such a moving sight

Like father like son....

A close-up of the handsome boy! He's really so sweet-natured too.

Me cradling the wee little baby in my arms....I sang Queen's "We are the champions" to him. haha! I'm sure he's gonna grow up to be a cool rocker like his Daddy. It was so amazing to carry him and actually hear him make cute little noises, and make little kicks as he was dreaming.

Check out those pouty Steve Tyler lips!

Mich go Spa...:)

Michelle hardly splurges on frivalous stuff like manicures/pedicures/spa sessions...
(in fact, she gets quite annoyed with them manicures...haha!)
But considering that she's not travelling, and it IS a hard-earned term break for her,
she decided to treat herself to a 1 hr aromatherapy massage at Amrita Spa, Raffles the Plaza. :)

Shirley was Michelle's companion for the day at the spa...
and we had such a shiok shiok time. haha!
They really do give EXCELLENT, super relaxing massages there (it's my 2nd time there btw),
and I could have easily spent the whole day there, just sleeping away, and occasionally sipping hot ginger tea with honey. haha! *bliss*

The one hr passed by too quickly I thought....but we proceeded to while away our time at the bubbling jacuzzi pools, where we also chatted to some friendly Jap tourists who wanted to practise their English. hehe!

Yeah, it was a good day. :) And the massage really relieved all the muscle aches from work. Yay! Term break is coming to a close soon...but I'm grateful for this short pocket of rest.

You hold my every moment....

"But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord;
I say, 'You are my God.'
My times are in Your hand;"- Psalm 31:14-15

I just find that so comforting to hear...."My times are in Your hand."
So often, we grapple with frustration or stress because we don't know what lies ahead.....
but truly God knows all that is in our fragile hearts....and He will provide when He calls us out.

I'm praying for those of you who have shared with me your prayer needs. :)
Let's walk in trust together....

"Healer" (by Planetshakers)
=======================
You hold my every moment
You calm my raging sea
You walk with me through fire
Heal all my disease
I trust in You
I trust in You

I believe You're my healer
I believe You are all I need
Jesus
I believe You're my portion
I believe You're more than enough for me
Jesus You're all I need

Nothing is impossible for You
You hold my world in Your hand

A Deeper Shade

"Lord I'm your instrument, I'll shoulder the weight
Of feeling emotions in a deeper shade.
I'll be the one who puts them to song,
And liberate the heartache comin' down.

I'm free here in the mountains of peace may I be,
I see the greatness above and the smallness of me." - "Comin' Down" by Paula Cole

Mich@Seng Kang

stephanie says: show me pics of ur new roommmmm
sengkanger! hahah
**Eowyn** says: ok ok..
stephanie says: eeeee
stephanie says: so ulu
stephanie says: eeeee. so unglam

Ah yes...and that's the welcome I get after the big move to Seng Kang. (I love you too Steph!) Yes, I'm offically a Seng Kang-er. *dead-pan expession*. Thanks so much to May and Rie for helping to shift my things! I know I can always count on you babes. :) Thank Marcus, my new neighbour, for helping me get orientated to this new estate where everything still looks the same to me.

It's been an exhausting day cos of the unpacking. My parents were SHOCKED at how much shit one girl has, and they kept exclaiming "no space lah! where u going to start? too much lah!" Believe me, I shocked myself too..at the tonnes of STUFF I have....13 plastic containers, 4 paper boxes, 1 suitcase, 2 gym bags to be exact. But ah well....as Glenn said, "Well, you keep your Lit notes what...so it figures." It was a funny moment when one of the movers said this as he lifted my box of books "Wah, Solid ah!" ahhaha!

I guess I really will miss my grandparents...especially having daily meals with them n laughing at their antics. I'll definitely be visiting them regularly now that I've shifted over. But a good thing about shifting over is having all my stuff in one room again!! Wheee! Instruments, laptop, TV, books, cds, bed etc. :) Was telling Eunice and Winnie, that I felt truly at home when MY INSTRUMENTS were settled. haha! Of course, sorting out my books and cds gave me even more joy. Teehee!

My beautiful bookshelf cum CD towers. My books FINALLY have a place to call home. Before that, they were all scattered and hidden away. Now they're sorted according to genre. Yay! The CDs are sorted alphabetically according to genre too (Male/Female Artiste, Groups, Jazz, Classical, Funk, Fusion Rock, A Cappella, Christian Contemporary Music, Soundtracks, Musicals, Misc.) Ta-dah!!! Sorry...this is so geeky I know, but it gets me hyped. As you can see, I have extra space too...so I can buy more!! haha!

The LOTR collection and Jane Austen box-sets taking centre-stage! Flanked by the treasured John Donne anthology of poems acquired from Sydney.

I've inherited my great-grandfather's dictionaries and encyclopedias!!!!! My grandmother passed them on to me...obviously nobody else would appreciate it. Apparently he was a court translator or something. Quite highly educated type. I was quite moved as I placed them on my bookshelf. So much history. :)

I'll post pics of the rest of my room when its fully done up. :) I still need to go to Ikea for stuff.

Relationships

"And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men."- Luke 2:52

"As you grow in your relationship with God, you will grow in your relationships with people as well."- Phil Dooley (Youth Pastor of Hillsong United)

I realize how preachy this might come across, but I think the above quote makes A LOT of sense, as simple as it is. :)

Bernice's Wedding: "How Love Should Be"

It was Berno's wedding over the weekend!!! Oh my fwen is MARRIED!!! I look like absolute crap in that pic, but check out how RADIANT AND PRETTY my fwen is!!! *sniffles* My fwen, despite her busy-ness that day.... could still ask me "When are we meeting next week??". And during her all her walk-ins, she would mouth 'MY FWEN!!' excitedly as she passed by. Bless her heart! See why I adore this girl?

Here are some shots of the 'Best Penguin'! haha! This is Mumble's erm...humble ang pow for Berno. He gave his best fish to her! :)His name was actually on her guest list/seating plan for the wedding dinner. Berno's fren who was in charge of the recep table actually excitedly requested to SEE Mumble, cos she was told to expect him. So yes...I had to quickly present him to her, before hiding him in my bag again. Wahh...so malu. haha! Then after that, we deposited his ang pow into the box.

Here's Mumble taking his place at the dinner table! (That's Reggie's hand in the background).
My crazy fwen Berno, actually asked "Where's Mumble?" during her dinner walk-in as she passed by our table. This bride will never grow up. haha!

Andrea and I at the dinner table! We haven't caught up in a while...see the big smiles? :)
And yes, good job fwen! In Andrea's words: "Berno looked absolutely beautiful in her gowns from Amanda Lee. When I hugged her in church, she said "Thank you for the gowns!" Mich and I were congratulating ourselves for "saving" her from being decked out in potentially unmemorable "Precious-Moment-without-the-s" gowns..."

Jaymee and Berno in her rather Elvish evening gown. :)

I wish I managed to take more photos with the radiant bride, but she was quite busy dashing from place to place. :) Still, it was one of the sweetest, most moving and meangingful weddings I've attended ever. Most weddings are just run-of-the-mill, and routine you know. But this time, God's presence was SO REAL (as the wedding couple had prayed for) and I was so blessed by the church wedding although it was conducted almost entirely in mandarin. For those who know the journey they've been on individually and as a couple....you can see His sovereignty and His hand at work in their lives so evidently.

Thank you Berno and Henry....for being such a huge blessing to us...individually and as a couple. Thanks for involving me in your wedding song (yes, Berno wrote a song for the wedding..in mandarin. :))....allowing me to be your vocal coach. haha! You sounded so amazing on the recording, and it was so sweet, it really moved me to tears.

Through your lives, we've seen how beautiful it is to serve His heart, to walk in the centre of His will, surrendering all of our days, our desires and dreams to Him.
Through your journey, we've learnt how to trust in God and we've seen His goodness revealed.

Thank you for showing us a glimpse of how love should be....

Lovin' my Birkenstocks

Yes, I have a love affair with my Birkenstocks!! They're so comfy and pretty (there's a sweet floral motif on the baby blue background). I'd wear them everywhere if I could...they rock my socks!! I once smsed Shirley "My Birkenstocks rock!!"....cos I knew she'd understand, being a fellow Birkenstock wearer. haha!