New Beginnings

Hey frens! I've been feeling kinda restless with blogspot of late, especially with the lack of innovation with its features. It has served me well for 5 years and 7 mths (since Nov 2004!!) but its time to retire my very first blog. Even as I do so, it is on a bittersweet note. Looking back, this was where I posted some of my first poems. (OMG, and even back then, I was quoting Fluffy songs!!! Its a sign.) Sigh...yes, I'm a sentimental creature.

Well, the time has come for a brand new chapter! So if you'd still like to follow my nonsensical/emo/random musings, you can head over to my new blog at http://michelle-lea.tumblr.com/ Better still, start a Tumblr blog so I can follow you too. haha! :)

Alrite farewell jazzymoo.blogspot.com. I'll see you guys over at Tumblr!

Mid-afternoon Break

Stumbled upon this video of Michael Gungor shredding wood and totally reinventing Doxology while I was taking a break from writing/editing. It's always cool to see a muso having such fun!

Things That Make Me Happy

1. Catching up with a good fwen. It feels like a warm blanket around the heart. :) (mental note: Need more of those.)
   
2. Singing in the shower
   
3. A whole bunch of free Biotherm skin care products!! (I forgot this is why I used to love buying stuff from Biotherm. They're not stingy like other brands.)
4. Having my Personal Trainer tell me I've lost a good bit of weight (body fat % going down, metabolic rate and muscle % going up! Yays!!)
5. Listening to Fluffy songs on my iPod and smiling to myself on public transport
6. Tomato soup, chix caesar wrap & sweet watermelon juice from Mescluns Sandwich/Salad Bar (yummy, fresh and wholesome ingredients!)
7. Private Practice Season 2 (I've finished all of Grey's Anatomy already what!)
8. Counting down the days to Sydney 2010 (less than a month!!)
   
9. My purple flip flops. I love them so much, I'd wear them everywhere, and I'm thinking of getting another pair. Pity I can't wear them to work or to Sydney cos it's gonna be freakin' freezin' there in July.
   
10. Space for my soul to breathe, time to read and connect with my Maker. :)
    

Church@Work: Love On The Move

The youths performing a song item for the elderly at Peace Haven Nursing Home. They spent 7 rehearsals preparing for the song items/mime/ dances and testimonies.

Last Weds was probably one of the most fun and rewarding days at work. I've never really liked intensive desk bound work, so when I heard that the video crew was gonna spend 2 full days filming MegaLife's (RiverLife's youth ministry) new project, "Church@Work," I jumped at the opportunity and hopped on to the church van for a fun 'excursion.' :)

Church@Work is all about tearing down the four walls of our church building, getting out into the community, to show God's love in action, hence the tagline, "Love On the Move." The kids planned for weeks for their cell-based projects, and from the 31 May to 5 June, they went to various voluntary welfare organisations to bless the poor, underprivileged and those forgotten by society. They packed and distributed food to the elderly; they ran camps for youth-at-risk and the kids of prisoners; they took Down Syndrome patients to Marina Barrage to fly kites; they spent time with patients at IMH/ the disabled and more.

It's kinda like our own version of the I Heart Revolution...which got me really excited, cos its about time we see past ourselves to serve and love a world in need. And its just fantastic that our youths are leading the way in this movement. I hope and pray the rest of the church catches on too.

It was heartwarming to see the kids stepping out of their comfort zone, getting past their fears to share the love of Christ. It took a lot of courage for them to visit and chat with people they were not naturally comfortable with or had language barriers with...but they did it with such compassion and a cheerful spirit. I'm so proud of our MegaLifers! :)

Joshua and Cassandra filming Benedict (L) and Zac (R) in a video interview

I think they were also surprised to have a full media crew tagging along behind them (writers; art director; photographers + video crew) but it probably encouraged them too. Quite a few of the youths whom I know from worship ministry surrounded me excitedly with wide-eyed smiles, "Michelle, what are you doing here?" (And even those who didn't know me personally, just randomly came up to me saying, "Hey, you look familiar!" And some other kid would go, "She's a vocalist in the worship ministry lah!" haha! Wah, not shy these kids. Gotta love them!) And when I chatted with them/interviewed them to capture their testimonies based on this experience, they were even more excited to share. It really touches me when I see them opening up like that...our youths are such a great bunch, and sometimes, they're just waiting for us to express our interest and concern in their lives. :)

Well, this video shoot was a wonderful experience I must say...made quite a few new friends too. Like Benedict and Zac (both 13 years old) who really cracked me up. They were like a pair of stand-up comedians. They even asked for $ to buy drinks from the vending machine as 'payment' for the video interview. And when Cass passed them the coins, they were SOOOO happy they were bopping up and down. Now if only all of us could be that easily contented? haha!

MegaLifers outside Peace Haven Nursing Home at the end of their project

Finally, this video shoot was a wonderful opportunity to spend some time 'in the field' with my youth writers/photographers who are covering Church@Work for a new youth-driven publication. Yeah, it was like overnight, God entrusted me with this new bunch of youth writers/photographers. And its so much more than getting the writing/photography done or helping them to grow in their talents, I've come to realise that its about shepherding them. They're a real promising brunch...some of them are kinda shy or have low self-esteem, and it seems like this seed effort for a Youth Creative Arts ministry could really be a platform for us to draw them out of their shell, to flourish as artists in the house of God, and to pull them into deeper community.

I'm beginning to realise that its the pastoral element of my job, the relational aspect that makes me feel fulfilled, more than the operations side of it. I'm thankful for opportunities like these..and I'm praying that God continues to grow my heart for His people. :)

Moving Forward

After sitting in for Every Nation Church Singapore's band rehearsal, Dawnie & I fell in love with this groovy and hopeful song. Somehow, it also reminded me of this beautiful verse in Joel (the most anointed book in the Bible. I'm not biased. Just sayin'), which speaks about God's promise to restore unto us our wasted years. This is our God.

"And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you" (Joel 2:25)

And so everyday, I'm learning to let go of my past disappointments, hurts & regrets...to lay them at the feet of Jesus and find solace in His arms. Its still a daily struggle, but a choice I have to make. For it is when I have faith in Him, and trust Him to write the story of my life, that I love Him best.

Lord, help me to recover my passion for worship, for YOU. Help me to move forward into the fullness of the destiny that You have for me.

Moving Forward (by Israel Houghton & Ricardo Sanchez)
==================================================
Verse 1:
What a moment
You have brought me to
Such a freedom I have found in You
You´re the Healer
Who makes all things new
Yeah yeah yeah

Bridge:
I´m not going back
I´m moving ahead
Here to declare to You
My past is over in You
All things are made new
Surrendered my life to Christ
I´m moving moving forward

Verse 2:
You have risen
With all power in Your hands
You have given me
A second chance
Hallelujah hallelujah
Yeah yeah yeah

Chorus:
You make all things new, Yes
You make all things new
And I will follow You
Forward

The Vision and the Reality

Wise words from Ozzie Chambers...

"We have seen what we are not, and what God wants us to be, but are we willing to be battered into the shape of the vision to be used by God?

We have to learn to live in reliance what we saw in the vision, not simply live in ecstatic delight and conscious reflection upon God. This means living the realities of our lives in the light of the vision until the truth of the vision is actually realised in us." - Oswald Chambers

Divine Detours

Photo Credit: Liew Tong Leng

Sometimes, you get a gut feeling, a sense of the right decision to make, or how things are going to pan out. You feel it in your bones, see it in your dreams...its whispered by your heart when all the other voices are silenced. But God knows better and wants better for you...so He takes you on a divine detour. Because to live your life on a hunch is just not good enough. You need to know, and know and know.

If You're Gone (by Matchbox Twenty)

I love how Rob Thomas shares the story behind this song...kinda funny actually.

OOOM @ SAM 21st May

L-R: Neli Atiga on keys; Abiel Pascual on cajon; Howie Tan (back row) on bass; Jon Chong (LV and guit); Jonathan How the organiser; me on BV

It was my first time participating in OOOM @ SAM (Originals Only Open Mike), supporting Jon Chong on BVs again. It was also the first time we had a band that was entirely from Every Nation Church Singapore!! I had such a blast performing with these guys and an even greater time just hanging out with them before and after the gig. They've got a real wicked sense of humour these dudes! :) Here's to gd times & new frens!

Drummer Boy

Happy 19th Birthday Johannes (aka "Nurse")!! Dawnie and I had a simple zi char dinner at Punggol to celebrate Johannes' birthday, and we presented him with a GAP t-shirt with a drum set design on it. Nurse impressed with his ever so gentlemanly ways - picking me up from church and sending me home (after just passing his driving test. haha!), and slipping off quietly to pay the bill while Dawnie and I were chatting. Looks like this birthday treat thingy is going to be a tradition with us.