New Wallpaper! :)

I'm soooooooo pleased with my new wallpaper. :) Now I smile each time I start up my Mac. haha! If you can't tell....that's Joel playing his guitar and lifting his hand in worship. I got the pic off the cover of the Hillsong International Leadership College Prospectus. What a gorgeously designed cover right? It so captures what Hillsong College is all about. And yes, I still really wanna go.

The Journey Thus Far...

I'm so glad to have a short breather now in the midst of my jam-packed week. It's my first week as a full-time church worker....and as it is, I'm learning so much from the leadership, and being stretched like never before.

By the middle of the week, I think I was a bit stunned at the new projects thrown on my plate. It's definitely going to be a year where we have to go places we've never gone before. It's not comfortable, it's a bit stressful and tiring, but at least we're gonna grow and the ride isn't gonna be mundane. Yeah, so thank God for that! And I remember Sarah, my director, telling me, "Don't be afraid of making mistakes." Wow! What an amazingly refreshing tip coming from a leader. Well, I'm probably gonna make quite a few mistakes along the way...but I'm learning to laugh it off and then try again. :)

Am also grateful to God for bringing together fellow musos who have a love for acoustic music! (Yeah, Acoustikers United!!) :) I've found my musical soul mates in Dawnie and Nigel. haha! Can't wait to get together properly to jam and do some recordings. Nigel actually did a beautiful acoustic recording of "None But Jesus" this week...and he used his fish food as the shaker, cos his real shaker got stolen in hall. HAHA! But it sounded pretty alrite in the recording.

Oooh! And my condenser mike arrived in gd time! Jeremy bought it back from China, only $50 for professional quality. It's a steal. :)

"Yearn"

Bethany Dillon singing Shane and Shane's "Yearn," one of my fav songs by them. No wonder Shane married Bethany. haha! Her vocals are absolutely beautiful on this number.

The Stand

Lately, I've been getting backaches cos of more intensive work on the Macbook. And as Dawnie says, "One of the big reasons for neck and shoulder aches is having to bend our heads downwards to see the laptop/notebook screen. The screen should always be at eye level so that you don't have to strain your neck/shoulders unnecessarily." So in the name of good health, I went out and got myself one of those inclined laptop stands from Challenger. Afterall, Dawnie got one too and it seems to work pretty well for her.

Well....stupid Michelle actually BROKE the laptop stand while attempting to figure out how the whole plasticky contraption worked (no instructions included). Brilliant stuff. So now the height is no longer adjustable (it supposedly has 6 gears.) BUT luckily for her, she only needs the laptop stand to be at its minimum height cos she's not very tall.

Ok so just when she thought all things were working out afterall, she started typing from her laptop stand, and realized that while her backache woes have been relieved, her wrists are starting to ache cos of the curved base of the laptop stand, that protrudes out and holds the Macbook in place. AHHHHH!!!

Somemore, the silly thing didn't turn out to be black as shown on the box. BLEAHH!
Dawnie: what brand was your stand, and where did you get it from?? Let me know k?

Ice Cream Delight with The Fongs

Yesterday, I had a different sort of Sunday as I was on leave, so took the opportunity to visit Glenn's church, St James Church, at Holland V. (The Anglicans mocked the RiverLifer who didn't know what to do during their Holy Communion.) After svce, I met up with The Fongs for lunch. It was quite a refreshing change, as I got to catch up with Winnie, play with the kids whom I've not seen for some time, and fiddle with expensive Winnie's SLR. :p

Liza and me having dessert.

Jessi's mouth dripping with Bubblegum blue ice-cream. haha!

Tania, the youngest, has grown so much now!

The girls are proud of their freaky blue tongues!

Tania wants in on the fun, and insisted that I take a pic of her pink tongue! (she had strawberry ice-cream)

Liza is obviously better at this game than me. haha!

Smiley faces with ice-cream treats!

"Your Love Broke Through"

Today's my last day of leave before I officially begin a new season as a full-time staff worker at RiverLife Church. To be honest, I've been wrestling with some struggles about stepping into this new role- especially with regards to adjusting to a totally different lifestyle and level of ministry commitment. Part of me recognises that I'm incredibly blessed to be working in such a vibrant church, and yet, part of me is still asking "is it gonna be worth it? giving up so much of yourself?"

I guess those questions surfaced the deep, underlying issues within me that God had to dig up and deal with. And during this short break, He's surprised me by revealing several issues to me in the most mundane moments (often when I'm lying on my bed reading a book or watching 24, trying to avoid any confrontation with Him at all. haha!).

At the start of my Dec break, I was feeling really tired, and simply at the end of myself. I just didn't know how to give anymore. And I stubbornly didn't want to give anymore. Trouble was, I didn't like feeling that way. I didn't like who I was becoming. I didn't really know why I was in this state, and it was very frustrating.

As God spoke, He made me see that
- I badly need to recuperate from running so long and hard in BMI.
- I still need healing from past relationships, ministry and work experiences where I've given so much of myself, and yet, gotten burnt at the end.
- I need to rediscover my beauty in the Lord.
- I need to remember that I can never outgive the Giver.
- It's high time to start carving out "creative time," and to start working on my craft seriously to be a good steward of the talents He's given me.

God gently sought me out, even when I was trying to escape. Like Keith Green, I would much rather be hiding under my keyboard. But His love broke through, and prompted me to unburden my heart before Him. He ministered deeply to me in those quiet moments in my room. As I worshipped Him on my keyboard. I could feel my teardrops falling on my keys and fingers...and it was a queer but almost definitive moment. I want to be the Psalmist who is totally surrendered and broken before Him. I'm laying down the desires of my heart, my gifts, my time, my fears, my doubts unto Him.

After God has washed away my bitterness, poured His heart into mine, and renewed my vision, I feel more ready to cross over into this new season. I just need to constantly look towards the Rock who is higher than I.

This song has been on my iPod for several nights, and articulates all that I'm praying for right now.

SURRENDER

by Jeremy Camp

Purify this tainted soul

I'm tired of living life a fool
Soften up this hardened clay
To be a servant, this I pray
A reflection of You, I long to be
So Your kingdom I will seek

I surrender to Your throne
Oh, I surrender to Your throne
I will make my heart Your home
Oh, I surrender to Your throne

I've taken things I thought my own
Only to reap what I've sown
You've given back the years I fought
Unending love and grace You've brought
Eternal hope and peace You bring
And forever unto You I will sing

Forever unto You I will sing

Worship & Music Min Thanksgiving Dinner 2008

The relaxing view from the RiverLife Roof Terrace, where we held our Thanksgiving Dinner in Dec 2008.

I love this pic...Nigel creatively uses Arun as a tripod!

Greenies! So cute how so many came dressed in festive colours. :)

Andie enjoying the food from Breeks.

Jem definitely enjoying the turkey that Jerome is diligently carving! haha!

We had a crazy time of Bogus Awards after dinner....Seng and Jem tied for "Best Hairdo Award"...erm, for not having any hairdo ironically. haha!

Noisy cheers and laughter all round! :)

Woh-oh-oh!! :)

My 2 fwens, Glenn and Joel, at Hillsong Conference 2006! Glenn wanted to annoy me by posting this pic of him with Joel (my fav worship leader/song-writer/bassist/preacher/revolutionist in the world!) on his blog. But I actually got pretty excited about the idea, and requested he send me the pic so I could splash it on my blog instead. Guess he wasn't expecting that reaction. haha!

"Like You Do"

(Photo Credit: Abigail Chen)

"If it takes a lifetime to know You

A lifetime I'm willing to spend
Cos only You can disarm me
and search me and know who I really am
Cos my heart is pierced
and my soul is parched
and nothing here can ever play the part
of loving me endlessly, like You do

Chorus:
Only You can saturate me
Envelope me and hold me like You do
Cos everything I know
Falls down to You"
- 'Like You Do' by Alarice

Possibilities

Danny my fwen called me on Sun afternoon, and pulled together a totally last min New Year's Eve gig at the S'pore Flyer that brought together many close frens (most of whom were my dear ex-colleagues in BMI). We only had 1 rehearsal hours before the actual gig! And the 2 days leading up to the gig was a mad rush with preparations keeping me and Danny up till 5am in the morning!

This was the final set list:
======================
1) Everlasting God (Linc Brewster version)
2) Fields of Grace (Big Daddy Weave version)
3) You are the One (Linc Brewster)
4) If you didn't love me (Corrinne May)
5) I belong ((Dawn Wong)
6) Made to worship (Chris Tomlin)
7) You are good (Israel Houghton)
8) Dreamer (Bethany Dillon)
9) Who am I (Casting Crowns)
10) Let the praises ring (Linc Brewster)

Can't believe we pulled it off, but well, Danny didn't call this bunch the "Kilat Band" (malay for skilled) for nothing. Yeah, we were blessed with AMAZING musos! :) The sound was quite sucky at the 2 venues, and we weren't exactly technically polished...but I think we all had a blast. And what better way to step into 2009, than by worshipping God and creating awesome music with your close frens? :)

Its interesting how events unfolded, and this rare opportunity to play praise & worship/CCM songs openly in public landed in our laps. It also reunited old friends, brought together new ones, and created exciting and beautiful musical partnerships. :) I'm very thrilled about the possibilities and journey(s) ahead. :)

As we cross over into 2009...I'm gleaning a few precious lessons- to remember that He is the God of the seasons, and that I need to let go.....and at the same time, allow Him to prepare and excite my heart with new possibilities. :)

And since we're talking about possibilities, allow me to leave you with a hopeful message for the new year with a song from our dear Corrinne May. :) Looking ahead with you my frens....

"You can be a witness You can be a prophet
You can make the whole world believe
Break the strongest fortress, Change the way the world thinks
You can build a bridge where foes can meet
Hope for the future
Shout it, don't whisper, dreams are what you make them to be
There is hope in every heartbeat
Tiny as it seems
You're a beautiful seed"
- 'Beautiful Seed' by Corrinne May

Quite a surreal experience, singing praise & worship songs in a pub!

Introducing the Kilat Band- Danny on lead vox and acoustic guit, Andrea on keys, Reg on bass, Daniel Wilson on electric guit, Oliver on drums, Dawn and myself on lead/backing vox.

This is what they were doing mid-way through our set. During countdown time, Dawnie, Marcus and Erica ran out to catch the fireworks!

Find the joy in your life. :)

Dawnie decided to come back in to get ready for her song. haha!

Singing Corrinne May's "If you didn't love" with Dawnie and Danny on back-up vocals.

2nd set at the Greek Amphitheatre. Can't believe we had the opportunity to glorify God by singing songs of love, hope and truth in such a public place. And the audience was like a snapshot of S'pore society with a multi-racial/religious mix. I think even if we touched just one soul with our music, that would have made it all worth it. Reminded me of how Hillsong celebrated their anniversary by holding a worship concert at Darling Harbour. :)

Marcus and Erica, our groupies cum hardworking roadies having a gelato break! Thanks fwens for your support!! :)

It was great fun singing with Dawnie on the 3 songs we did together- Dawn's original song, "I Belong," Bethany Dillon's "Dreamer" and Corrinne May's "If you didn't love me".

The infamous Flyer....and no, its still not moving. haha!

The lights make the backdrop look like some UFO.

Ericaaaaaa my fwenny!

The Kilat Band!
L-R: Oliver, Danny, Daniel Wilson, Reg, Andrea, me, Dawnie

View the rest of the photos here