Flying Off To Nessieland

After wrestling with a difficult video script (it's completed, YES!), and literally wrestling with my suitcase (to make everything fit. It's still exploding...shall try again tmrw)...I'm more or less ready to fly off to London/ Scotland.

The period leading up to this trip has been pretty stressful in every sense of the word...but I do hope that once I'm there, I'll be able to take my mind off things and enjoy myself. *Breathes in and out* Thanks btw, to all the wonderful souls who prayed for me during my meltdown.

Well, I'm flying off on 21 Aug (Fri), 0740 (I have to be at the airport at 6am. Help me God!) and I'll be back 30 Aug (Sun), 1935 on a Thai Airways jet plane. I've got roaming, so I'm still contactable by sms/phone. And there's always email/Twitter/ Facebook cos Abi brought along her Macbook. Feel free to drop me a note yeah...would love to hear from home while I'm on the road. :)

I'll miss you my fwens! RiverLifers: have a fabulous 18th Anniversary svce + "Defining Moments" young adults outreach.

Please pray for journey mercies, protection from H1N1 and that Abi will not 'lose/loose' me, our money, our phones or our luggage etc.
Glenn...you know what to do if something happens. ("Solution" + "With Everything" + "From the Inside Out.") Marcus...yes, you can have Hedwig.

Farewell my fwens! Till I see you again...

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Random thought: Who's taking care of Fluffy's puppy, Danger, now that he's in the US for the Hillsong United Encounter Conference?? Hmm...

Fluffy got a fluffy

Introducing "Tupac Danger Flash." Joel's new pet puppy. :) Look at those eyes and that chocolate fur! 

Danger is making sounds for I Heart. So cute can die. Today Glenn commented, "Great..now she's crazy about the dog too." haha! Oh c'mon...Joel + doggie is like a lethal combination can? *meltz*

Ouchies for Nigel Hendroff! Danger is gonna grow up to be monster of a dog. haha! 

Hedwig

I'm immensely chuffed. I finally found Hedwig (Harry Potter's owl) at a toy shop at Taka today. Look at her, looking all regal next to my anthology of John Donne poetry, Medieval English lyrics, Celtic fairy tales and Jane Austen collection. :) I believe Hedwig is what every home library should have. :)

Of course, my mum had quite a differing opinion. When she pulled Hedwig out of the plastic bag, she went, "You think you still small kid ahh?" Bleahhh!

Acoustikers United @ Eliz's Wedding

On Sat, we had our first public performance as Acoustikers United at Eliz's wedding. We performed a song item, "This Day" by Jadon Lavik, for Eliz and Thomas. :) Here's Dawnie and I, before the wedding @ Trinity Methodist Church. Quaint little chapel with pretty stained glass. It made for a great venue for our acoustic worship set and song item. :)

About to start...Dawnie on lead vocals, myself on backing, Johannes on cajon, Nigel on guit.

People seemed to like the song we selected and our acoustiky arrangement. Am glad. :) Hopefully got more lobang in future. haha!

Band photo

What is "Yo-har-nurse" doing??

Fooling around with Dawnie's handbag. haha!

The RiverLife Worship & Music Ministry. Eliz looked gorgeous in her Ted Wu gown! :)

Everlasting

I read this from Glenn's blog, and thought it was the best blog post I've read from him ever, so I'm hijacking it and pasting it here in its entirety. What beautiful and powerful reflections on one of my favourite worship songs, "From The Inside Out." Yes THAT one....which makes me cry every.single.time. 

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"Everlasting" by Glenn Chan

“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world,

from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” (Psalm 90:2)

“I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times not yet done” (Isaiah 46:9-10)

Hidden deep within the recesses of the human soul, MY soul, lies a longing. A longing…

for eternity… (Ecc 3:11)

for life and a sense of permanence…

for the everlasting…

This, to me, is proof enough that we were made for so much more. This is living proof of Ecclesiates 3:11. The divine hallmark within us leaves us with this longing. But because of the depravity of our lives, we end up living out this insatiable craving for immortality in all our various sinful ways.

We seek an unattainable perfection in things and in people. Unattainable, impossible, but we do it anyway. This is the way of destruction. It is tearing humanity apart. Just open up the newspaper or turn on the new on TV, and there you see it. Humanity making a mess of this world. Killing, stealing, destroying…

But for your Grace…

We were made for eternity. Yes we were. But if not for the Grace & Mercy of the Almighty, we would never make it.

Oh, that my eyes may be opened to see the things that really matter, Lord. May I live with eternity in mind and purpose. Break me, change me form the inside out.

The time is NOW… I SURRENDER.

.

.

.

A thousand times I’ve failed

Still your mercy remains

And should I stumble againStill I’m caught in your grace

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades

Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame

In my heart in my soul

I give you control

Consume me from the inside out Lord

Let justice and praise

Become my embrace

To love You from the inside out

Your will above all else

My purpose remains

The art of losing myself

In bringing you praise

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades

Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame

In my heart in my soul

I give you control

Consume me from the inside out Lord

Let justice and praise

Become my embrace

To love You from the inside out

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades

Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame

And the cry of my heart is to bring You praise

From the inside out, Lord my soul cries out

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades

Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame

And the cry of my heart is to bring You praise

From the inside out, Lord my soul cries out

From The Inside Out

by Joel Timothy Houston (Hillsong United)

Amelia's Birthday & the Parfait Incident

About a month back, we celebrated Amelia's 21st birthday at "Sun & Moon" restaurant at Wheelock Place. Here's a pic of Cheryl & Amelia with their yakiniku kamameshi (rice and cow meat served in a steel pot). Such pretty & quaint presentation....it came with an hourglass timer too. 

I think this was the soft shell crab sushi roll. We finished it pretty quickly...

The full group with Darren &  Nigel posing with our yummy matcha parfait. We had such huge laughs because we were daring each other to order a "matcha par-fart" when the waitress came. 

Everyone say "par-fart"

It was all gone pretty fast with 5 peeps sharing one dessert. 

Gotta love this shot!

At Coffee Club having beers

Cheers to the birthday gal! :)

Sick

What kind of sick person came up with this idea??? Seriously. 

Faith + Hope + Love

One of the funniest reviews of the new Hillsong album that I've read. This is taken from Tony Morgan's blog...as part of the Hillsong "Faith + Hope + Love" blog tour. Yes, you heard that right....BLOG TOUR!! Basically everyday, a blogger writes a review on the album and posts a new video from the album, and links to the next blogger after him/her. What a cool concept eh? 

Start the Hillsong "Faith + Hope + Love" blog tour here.

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By Tony Morgan

Heard people talk about Hillsong for years…but was leery of the hype.

Heard Brian Houston speak in Dallas…and recognized he’s a gifted leader with a humble heart.

Heard Joel Houston lead worship live at a conference in SoCal…and realized the whole stinkin’ family is gifted.

Heard my wife say she still loves me…even though I can’t play guitar or sing or speak with an Australian accent.

Punk'd

Mich: *Mich's hp rings...unknown number is displayed. Picks up phone* Hello?

Caller: Hello...this is Michelle right? I'm Jon calling from Wee Lee Music.  Is this a good time for you to speak?

Mich: Wee Lee Music? Er...what is this regarding? *a bit distracted as she's lugging around a huge backpack and 2 jkts for her Scotland trip* 

Caller: Well, I heard from Andrea that you're singing for Bob Fitts at FOP. And Michael W. Smith is coming to town, and I was wondering if you'd be keen in singing back-up for him.

Mich: *short pause* Oh....er, when is Michael W. Smith's coming?

Caller: Actually...I also don't know. THIS IS JOHANNESSSS!!! hahaha!

(Johannes is our 18 year old drummer from church.)

Mich: WARRAU!!! I FEEL SO CHEATED!! 

(I was seriously considering singing for Michael W. Smith. Blehh. This boy ah...just a few mins earlier, he cheated Dawnie into thinking he wanted to produce an album for her. We're gonna get back at Johannes man. haha! But ok lah....that phone call really made me laugh.)

When Fluffy Came To Town

This is a teaser trailer for the 2nd installment of the I Heart Revolution dvd that Fluffy screened during his workshop on Sat, titled "From the Inside Out." Very honest and provoking, it really tore me up inside while I was watching it. 

Joel at the workshop, quoting Mother Teresa, "Truth is humility"

During his excellent workshop, Fluffy preached about being a people defined by truth, love and justice. It's such a challenge, rising to that call. It's really going to cost us. During the Hillsong United concert, we sang, "with everything, we will shout for Your glory, with everything, we will shout forth your praise." That moment was when I came undone. 

"With EVERYTHING"....that's a scary thing to sing. Made me realize that I've got such a long way to go in the journey of radical surrender, obedience & commitment to Christ. I don't think I've ever come away feeling so burdened or broken for God from a worship experience before. And honestly, I didn't expect it from the Hillsong United concert at Expo. But I'm really glad that it was a lot more than a night of Ra-ra, hype, jumping around, bright lights and fantastic music. As Joel said, "if our worship has no effect on the streets outside, infiltrating the dark places, then perhaps we've missed the point."

I've come away with a whole new level of respect for Joel Houston now after seeing him preach and lead worship....he leads with such humility, integrity and depth. Dawnie approves of my Fluffy too....she thinks he's so real. :) 

So how was the Hillsong United workshop/concert for you? Leave a comment with your thoughts! 

Soundbites:

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Cheryl and Darren (via sms): Happy Fluffy Day!!!

Mich: *warm and fuzzy feelings*

Andie (to Nigel while he's talking to Morris during Joel's workshop): *sternly* Don't disturb people's Fluffy time!! 

(That's so funny coming from Andie!) 

Dawnie to Mich: *during the intro of "The Stand" This one Fluffy song! :)

Mich: Wah you know ah? 

Dawnie: Of cos lah! *smiles proudly*

(I'm so proud of her. haha!) 

Glenn: *after the concert* Are you the happiest woman alive on the planet? 

Abi: *on her blog* michelle met her fluffy and is totally smitten. worse than chris smitten. worse than jason smitten. she’s totally for fluffy. she has palpitations. seriously. damn cute.

(The palpitations are absolutely true. I had to sit down and fan myself to calm down.)