Bible activity for kids: Fruit of the Spirit vs Good Behavior

Bible study for kids: Fruit of the spirit vs Good behavior


Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to teach the children in our home group.  I asked God earlier what I should teach them and the word "behavior" popped to my mind. My children sure could benefit from God's teaching on good behavior.

I searched the Internet the next morning and came across a bible craft activity for good behavior. As I read the craft I sensed it was wrong because good behavior is not going to get us to heaven. Worse still the craft included a height chart to show how we measure up to God. This is crazy! This is on the net! I realized only much later that the craft activity was trying to show us how far we fall short from God's glory. The words they used were sure deceiving.

I decided to convert the height chart to a red cross cum height chart! Height chart for ice breaker before the real lesson on what Jesus did on the cross for us and about the holy spirit.

The children were very active and the ice breaker height chart didn't work out. Sigh.  I gave them each an empty green card to write down what were some of their friends' behavior that upset and bothered them at school. This was really interesting because I finally got their attention. I got to hear their difficulties with friends in school like some who ridiculed our God and they say their god is more powerful, getting smacked in school, being told lies, bullied etc. Even little Ethan wanted to share. I told them that all these sins have been nailed on Jesus on the cross 2000 years ago. And if all our sins are on the cross how does Father God see us now? Clean! And we should be so thankful to God.

They sure had fun nailing (with blu tack) all the sins on Jesus. I thought the red cross would do to symbolize Jesus and his blood shed for us but Nic volunteered to be Jesus and other kids stuck the green "sins" on him. What a sight! And then little Ethan followed suit, head flopped one side, eyes closed.

When Jesus rose from the dead, He sent us the holy spirit and I shared Nic's testimony of how he was prompted by the holy spirit to press B1 of the lift even though I told him not to and the lady in the lift was so thankful to Nic because she had forgotten to press any button. Their eyes opened wide and Steffi asked "Why is it that the Holy spirit only happens in your family?". I replied that we can hear God for the bible says we are his sheep and his sheep hears His voice.

I introduced to them the fruit of the spirit found in Galatians 5:22. We then had a little drawing activity. Using their thumb print as the heads of people in a story board, they were to show how they are transformed from without the holy spirit to with the holy spirit showing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control in real life situations.

Then, there was also the "transformer keys" that switches on the fruit of the spirit with the power of the holy spirit. The idea was that they could take back these keys (different colored paper key stating each fruit of the spirit held together with a real key chain) back to their homes and if their siblings were to behave badly we could remind them of the fruit of the spirit using the transformer keys. But the bottom-line was that they demonstrated the fruit of the spirit as a result from listening to the holy spirit.

I pray the bible study made a difference in their lives. I think I grew up just learning the 10 commandments and about "right doing" not really being able to understand in practical terms what was the consequence of jesus' death and victory in our lives. I pray they will hear from the holy spirit as a result from "being right' with God because of what Jesus has done in their lives. And that their lives would be transformed from inside out.  

Nic and Ethan Speaks in Tongues

Nic and Ethan Speak in Tongues

...or at least they had a go at it. The boys often hear me pray in tongues in the car more often because they are quite hyper and when they fight it can get pretty ugly. When I try to mediate and it doesn't work, it turns to shouts and then I get angry. It gets stressful and so I break out in tongues for my sanity. It's my way of asking God for help, spirit to spirit. Last week, Nic heard me praying in tongues in the car and he heard familiar words like my previous maid's name! "Suniah". I don't think I said it but he heard it. So I asked Nic "Do you want  to speak in tongues" and he said "yes". At least, it is easier for a child to receive the gift than an adult who have heard certain doctrines about this gift. I don't have the answers to all the disagreements and Henry's friend was amused that we still ask questions about it because he thought most of us have agreed to disagree.

Well questions aside, praying in tongues have helped me draw near to God and I am blessed with this gift once I was opened to receive it. It started with trying to reach 5 minutes and then trying to go beyond 20 minutes. It starts with a desire to speak in tongues unless God just zaps you the gift but more often than not we have to open our mouth to speak it.

Mark 16: 15-17
He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 

So, I told Nic that if he wanted to speak in tongues he will have to say a prayer and repeat after me, "Holy spirit, come into me, help me speak in tongues. In jesus' name i pray". I think it is a simple prayer to invite the holy spirit for the gift of tongues. Then I said "Open your mouth and babble, think of Jesus. Let the holy spirit give you the words and don't copy mummy's words". He started to speak and was doing quite well. At least it sounded right! After a few seconds, I asked him again "Are you still thinking of Jesus" and he replied "yes". I did this over a few times until suddenly I heard "kakak Suniah" and "kakak Sadiah". Roll eyes. I quickly told him to stop because he was playing a fool. Then, Ethan wanted to speak in tongues too and he was serious. So he repeated the prayer after me, opened his mouth and spoke. I checked on him every few seconds whether he was still thinking of Jesus and he was just doing fine. 

I think that night they understood the holy spirit a little better. So far Nic understands that the holy spirit can prompt him to do what is right and He can also reveal things that we do not know. Last Saturday, Henry told Nic to pass to his teacher a boys brigade cap that was found lying on the floor. That night, the holy spirit must have prompted Henry because he sensed Nic did not do what was asked of him.  Henry acted out the possibility that Nic just flinched at the cap and dropped it on the floor again but Nic confessed that he dropped it in someone else's bag because he was too afraid to look for the teacher and there was no teacher around as well at that time. 

I told him in future to tell us honestly before we ask him as the holy spirit helps reveals things to us parents even though we are not there with him! And Henry also explained to Nic what he should have done. That was really an eye opener for me as well and I learned how the holy spirit can guide us in parenting as well if we allow Him.

Healing

In the bible, Jesus never turned away anyone who came to Him for healing. This observation alone gives us hope in God for our healing. The lady with blood issue for 12 years, she really believed that if only she could touch Jesus' garment, she would be healed. She came to Him for healing, she reached out to the Healer. Earlier on in this journey I asked God "Are you willing to heal me?". and God in the bible says "i am willing". It is written in Luke 5:13

"Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" And immediately the leprosy left him."

I have come to realize it is all about rhema and receiving God's word. Really, the bottom-line is not our faith that heals us but it is the power of His word that sinks deep into our spirit man. 

Ephesians 3:16
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

The lady with the blood issue for 12 years must have heard about Jesus and she knew deep in her inner being, her heart, her spirit man, that Jesus is where her healing lies. It is the word of God that speaks to our heart so real that it becomes God's rhema to us that gives healing to our bodies. Ever since I had the experience of Isaiah 7 with God, I am like jumping with joy because now I understand!

It is about believing and receiving. Just like it isn't a deep concentration that we believe that Jesus died on the cross so neither is it about chanting "I believe, I believe, by his stripes I am healed". Neither is it a 'que sera sera whatever will be will be' attitude for if that is the case how do we apply any of the promises in the bible? It is like baby faith of this lady with the blood issue who just heard and believed deep down in her heart for Jesus to heal her.

The only reason why we say that God heals some is because statistically we look around us and see friends and relatives who are Christians who were not healed. There is so many questions I want to ask God but Jesus in the bible never turned away anyone who came to him for healing. God sees our heart, our motives, our compassion, our tenderness etc. We can talk to Him about our desires. He knew us before we were formed in our mother's womb. He had a purpose for each of us and sometimes we don't realize it until trials come.

Sherri Lim of Elpizo shared that she wasn't ready to die and she negotiated with God. She asked what she should do to be healed and she heard from God to write a book and to start a cancer support group and she did all that while still not healed. She did it believing. But today she said her eyes have opened and she has no more fear to die and today she is completely healed. 

So let us not judge those who come to God for healing or for those with fear to die for ultimately God our healer doesn't because Jesus has already paid the price for us. God loves us so much. He knows we are on this journey of knowing Him if we believe in Him. Even if we are afraid to die for whatever reason he will prepare us and in the journey we may find our calling in life.

I was not ready to die not so much for my family but all I had wanted to do for Him, I have not done because I was just too afraid of everything even babies at Sunday school. The strange thing is He is now opening doors again for me in areas he wanted me to serve years ago, like a beginning of a story book! VBS, Sunday school and my work place. Even though there is a tinge of fear, I will say I am bold as a lion and let his holy spirit guide me.

So let us not say that God does not heal some but to say the positive, to speak life, to speak hope to those who are believing God for healing from the little they have heard about this Jesus for really, Jesus NEVER turned away anyone who came to him for healing in the bible.

Thank You Lord for Big Peace Dove in the Sky!

Before I can even finish writing yesterday's thoughts, something else came up this morning which I must share with you. Again, as soon as I woke up this morning, I had this terrible urge to spit out phlegm and I coughed out blood again. This time Henry saw it. It was much more this time, I coughed blood out at least 4 to 5 times. I wasn't so afraid this time as I am beginning to get the hang of 101 with God. First, cry out to him what you want to say and then praise him and sing praises to him.The verses that came to my mind were from Isaiah 7 that the nodules will not rise up against me, that it will not take place.

Then I recalled Psalm 121:

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills—

where does my help come from?

2 My help comes from the LORD,

the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot slip—

he who watches over you will not slumber;

4 indeed, he who watches over Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The LORD watches over you—

the LORD is your shade at your right hand;

6 the sun will not harm you by day,

nor the moon by night.

7 The LORD will keep you from all harm—

he will watch over your life;

8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going

both now and forevermore.

Indeed my help comes from God alone. The lord will keep me from ALLL harm and he will watch over my life. He never sleeps so he won't let my foot slip. "The good shepherd counts sheep, He never sleeps, He never sleeps. So now I can go to sleep knowing he loves me". I sang this song over and over until I felt at peace.

The other verse was one shared by Sherry Lim at Elpizo:

Matthew 15:13

He replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots."

That includes the cancer, the cough, the muscle spasm pain. Praise the Lord! Sing praises to Him! Then I decided to go for a jog. It must have been 10 days since my last exercise.

As I got out into the open, I asked God to show me something in the sky to encourage me. As I looked up there wasn't anything so I just started my brisk walk. After one round, I looked up again and this time I saw a biiiiiiig dove across the sky but what caught my eye first was a stream of wind across the sky and when I tracked it's source it came from the mouth of a bird.

And immediately I had this verse from John 14:27

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you"

(but I couldn't remember the verse correctly as you can see from the above sketch).

Thank you Lord for your encouragement. Thank you Lord for the peace dove in the sky and such a big one too! I praise you Lord, I glorify You, I magnify your name!The I started to jog because my spirit lifted and I exercised even harder doing 40 squats too. :) I was prompted to read Ephesians 4 and Philippians 4. When I reached home and checked out the bible these were the words that spoke to me.

Ephesians 4:1

"then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received."

As I return to work to serve God in the market place, this verse now has deeper meaning to me which I will share more later.

Philippians 4:6,7

"Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."

I thank you O Lord that you have issued your command to destroy the cancer cells. I thank you O Lord that you have part heaven and came down and sent forth your lightning to smoke the cancer cells and you have shot your arrows and killed the cancer cells. I praise you and I thank you for healing me. I shall stand on your word and will not let my heart be troubled or be afraid for you are my helper. You never sleep and you will not let me fall. I hear your calling o lord and i need your strength to go back to the world. I thank you for your word. I thank you most of all for the peace you have given me confirmed by the big dove of peace in the sky. O God you are mighty and loving indeed! In jesus' name I pray amen.

Burdock soup recipe

Finally, I made my very first burdock soup. It was first introduced by a nutritionist friend shortly after I was diagnosed but my sister started making the soup for me. As I got better the soup got lesser so I decided it is time to take charge and learn how to make it. This quote has been taken off some other website which says "Burdock root has often been used to purify the blood by removing toxins that can build up in blood. It can be taken orally or used topically as a remedy for skin disorders. Also, burdock root can be a diuretic or soothe aching joints. Traditional Chinese healers used burdock root in combination with other plants to make cures for colds, measles, throat pain, and tonsillitis. Burdock root was also popular in Japan as a source of vitamins and other nutrients. In modern times, burdock root has been employed in the treatment of certain cancers. However, this use of burdock root still needs to be systematically tested."

The soup is really delicious without any salt or soy sauce or meat. Try it if you can:

You will need:

1 long burdock root from wet market or Just life at ikano. Peel off the skin and slice thinly.
2 small carrots sliced thinly
1 big radish (look for one with healthy leaves) sliced thinly
6 dried shitake mushrooms
6 -8 dates

Chuck all into crock pot. Cover with water and more. Wait till it boils and let it boil for 30 minutes before reducing heat to low and leave overnight.

I drank throughout the burdock soup and even had a bit left over for dinner where I made noodle soup with mee sua, broccoli, cauliflower and bitter gourd. I just blanched the vegetables to retain the enzymes. A successful first attempt. Praise the Lord!

How the holy spirit guides

I sometimes wonder what God has in store for me. How will I know his will for me. Do I return to work? Do I go into mission trips. How will I know the right time? These few days I have seen God preparing me to go back to the world. I am amazed at the timing of everything and wanted to share with you. It all started last Saturday during the silent retreat organized by Pantai Baptist Church Ladies Fellowship group. In my quiet time with Him amongst a few questions I asked Him how I was going to go back to normal life again. How do I live the rest of my life? How do I juggle family life and career again with all the stresses in life. My mum feels I will deteriorate fast if I go back to work. At home I can spend a lot of time with God and how I treasure those times for I have learned so much from Him. I get to meditate upon His word which gives me life. He even gave me rhema and how wonderful it is to just stand on His word and watch His deliverance.

So I was crying buckets "How O Lord do I sustain without You. What if I get so stressed again and I fail to go to You because of lack of time? How would I survive in the world back to reality?". He led me to the following verses :

Psalm 42:8
By day the LORD directs his love,
       at night his song is with me—
       a prayer to the God of my life.

Psalm 63
 4 I will praise you as long as I live,
       and in your name I will lift up my hands.

 5 My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods;
       with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

 6 On my bed I remember you;
       I think of you through the watches of the night.

 7 Because you are my help,
       I sing in the shadow of your wings.


I know I should praise Him as long as I live. My life really depends on Jesus and need to spend time with Him early in the morning so I can praise him, so that his love will direct by day and by night (during bedtime) I shall remember all He has done for me and be grateful. I picture myself doing a jiggly dance singing a little praise song under his wings where I can take refuge from reading Psalm 63:7!

As soon as I got back after the retreat there was a letter from my boss saying that they will pay me full salary up to end of October after which I would be on unpaid leave. I could not sleep that night but having now understood how I should respond as a child of God I cast all my care upon Him and started praising. I had only wanted to return to work after I received a clean bill of health but as I discussed with Henry and Karen, they told me to just talk to my boss to negotiate. I did not quite agree and felt i just had to accept not being paid until i recovered. Yesterday as I was listening to a cd by Ps Margareth Falls a verse she quoted from the bible stood out:

Isaiah 58:11

11"And the LORD will continually guide you,"

I received so much assurance for He said "continually". He will continually guide me so I just need to be close to Him and hear Him speak through his word or prompting. As I was praying in tongues, I had a strong prompting of calling my boss without any qualms or fear. So I made an appointment to see him and I sought prayers from my friends for the holy spirit to guide our discussion.

Interestingly it was 2 am that Audrey and my Ipad arrived in KL. My birthday gift from hubby. So sweet. Anyway, as I did my devotion this morning, I had a prompting to disrupt my devotion and call Audrey to pick up the Ipad from me. I did wonder if I was not giving God due respect but now I know He loves me so much that because Audrey came over we started talking about the negotiation and that's how God sends angels amongst our midst! I had to cut her short to make my way to work to meet my boss. My company would continue to pay me my full salary and I get to return to work in January 3 days a week! Praise the Lord!

This is only one instance how God has once again showed how He speaks to me but I really need to tune in. If I had not followed his prompting things would not have fallen in place so easily. Come January when stress resumes I must remember to apply all I have learned about hearing from God.

Yesterday during DLS class, we were taught that to be sharper in hearing God or spiritual discernment or understanding, we must first obey all that He tells us to do so that our ways are aligned with His ways.

Psalm 119: 100-102

I have more understanding than the elders,
for I obey your precepts.

I have kept my feet from every evil path
so that I might obey your word.

I have not departed from your laws,
for you yourself have taughtt me.


What I have learned is that is more important to obey God for we need Him so much for our life, our sanity depends on Him. He is able to deliver us from ALL our troubles. Whenever I have any anxiety attack, I find this verse calms me down:

Psalm 34:17

 17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them;
       he delivers them from all their troubles

I just say over and over again "Father God will deliver me from ALLLLLL my troubles". I leave the how to him but for this round I saw how and I am sharing with you. All glory and honor to God. Now I just pray that I am absolutely strong to go back to work in January. :)

I thank You Lord You showed me once again how You delivered me from trouble. I am learning more and more how I really need You and how I can call on You anytime. I thank You for Your guidance, my hubby and friends you sent to me to help me out. I thank You for Your Holy Spirit guiding me and even my boss. Thank You for your favor upon me. Thank You for all my friends, relatives and cousins iinterceeding for me. Bless them O Lord and the people they are close to. Keep them safe O Lord and protect them from the evil one. in Jesus' name I pray.

Is it Possible to Love God and Not Obey Him?

Luke 6:46
Why do you call me, “Lord, Lord “ and do not do what I say?

Is it really possible to love God and not do what He says. I say “Yes!” I loved God very much even during my back slidden years. I remember telling God in my twenties “You know I love you but I just need to do things on my own without your laws” and so I did consciously push God aside so that I can taste “life”. Yup, nothing rewarding came out of those years, that much I can tell you – just misery, discouragements and depression.

When I finally accepted Jesus all over again in 1998, I was told that fruit of the spirit can be seen in me. Still, I don’t know that I do it. I just feel loved being in God’s presence and I could talk to Him personally every night behind closed doors. But when the kids came along and studying His word became lesser, we grew more distant, Yet, I still loved God very much but I didn’t hear His words very much except Sundays and Fridays and even that would be difficult because I taught Sunday school and looked after the kids during cell group. The opinions of the world started rubbing in and soon I really thought if I do good, I will get “good” and if I do bad I will get “beat”. I didn’t know or had forgotten that following Jesus is not about “doing” the laws and I do get confused between obedience to God and “doing” the laws. There does not seem to be any difference to me. There seemed no difference between a good Christian and an unbeliever who does much good except that we believe in Jesus and somehow by believing Jesus, we get to go to heaven. I didn’t know anything about the tabernacle and how God had spoken through many prophets of what He was going to do long before Jesus came. Heck, I didn’t even know that righteousness meant that everything is alright between God and I. If I knew I would understand that Jesus had done it all for me and that meant I would not have to feel condemned and guilty again each time I did something wrong because all that guilt and condemnation has been borne by Jesus on the cross 2000 years ago. To feel condemned and guilty again would be like persecuting Jesus all over again and that His blood meant nothing to me because how bad I felt were more important that His blood! Then at that low point we just cry out to God to forgive us and then WE try to be better persons. That is self justification. I see that happening to my friends and yet I am at a lost how to share because the similarities are so close between legalism and understanding why Jesus died for us.

But this morning while doing devotion these words sprung out from the bible “Why do you call me, “Lord, Lord “ and do not do what I say?”. At that low point in my life, I should have listened to His words of life and put it into practice so that He can pull me out of the pit. Revelation from God of the wrong things that we should right in our lives are USELESS if we just call on Him and NOT do what He says. As we lean on Him when we cry out to God, we ought to hear from Him what we should do and obey. It is only by obeying His commands that the revelation he shows us becomes alive and we receive God’s blessings.

Deuteronomy 8:6-10
6 So keep the commands of the LORD your God by walking in His ways and fearing Him. 7 For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with streams of water, springs, and deep water sources, flowing in both valleys and hills; 8 a land of wheat, barley, vines, figs, and pomegranates; a land of olive oil and honey; 9 a land where you will eat food without shortage, where you will lack nothing; a land whose rocks are iron and from whose hills you will mine copper. 10 When you eat and are full, you will praise the LORD your God for the good land.

I’m beginning to understand what “walk in His ways” means. It is this kind of obedience that brings us God’s love, joy and peace into our hearts daily no matter what the situation or circumstance. And then He encourages us by blessing us and when we have eaten and are full we will praise the Lord for all He has given us! It is the Holy Spirit that guides us what we hear from Him and we are to obey His voice be it through sermons, bible reading, dreams, visions etc. So, if we do not hear from Him (sleeping or twitting/smsing in church, or reading the bible without listening), it is a sign that death has already started seeping into our lives.

We want to step into God's eternal life. Our lives depend on Jesus, this bread of heaven, His words of life. For the bread of God is Jesus who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. He is the bread of life. Jesus said "No one who comes to Me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in Me will ever be thirsty again. But as I told you, you've seen Me, and yet you do not believe.” I loved God so much yet I did not believe His words for my life. It’s amazing but true. It really IS possible to love God and not do what He says until we face total destruction in our relationships, our health, our emotions, our possesions etc. It is so wrong to cry out to God in our low points and then just try to “be better” by our own strength without getting into His word to hear what He says and do His way.

Father God, thank You for showing me Your word this morning that it is possible and it is wrong to love You without doing what You say. My life depends on You daily. Renew my mind O Lord as Your Spirit leads me to read Your word and what you have to say for me today. Strengthen me to do Your ways, to obey Your words little by little, Your words of life, Your life that brings me love, joy and peace and that You may bless me once again so that I may praise You and glorify You again and again. In Jesus’ name I pray.

Refreshing Springs Resort at Kg Gumut - Part 3

We joined Uncle Allen's home group from Metrotabernacle for a spiritual renewal getaway at Refreshing Springs Resort. It's such a beautiful place, it is so easy to find God everywhere. Just look at His creation. It was wonderful to see the boys play with the older children. Even little Ethan gladly ran all over to pick up ping pong balls. Poor guy, he worked up such a sweat! Nic played his first table tennis with Andrew and Benjamin. They sat around the fountain at night for a night cap, night chat. The place is very well lit even at night, even along the streams and at the hot spring. I brought a giant torch light just in case it would be pitch dark in the jungle in the middle of nowhere but the owners thought of everything. Even fans on trees!

Refreshing Springs Resort at Kg Gumut - Part 2

Our boys looking for mimosa, Nic's favourite plant.

I love their concept of chalets. This one looks like an igloo. Very clean because it is brand new!

Great place to show kids fruits grown on trees. We saw nangka, kedodok (some sour mango) and rambutans

Lovely stream, so tranquil and cold..

Refreshing Spring Resort at Kg Gumut - Part 1

We stumbled upon a great place for a nearby relaxing getaway. It's only 45 mins from KL, between Tg Malim and Kuala Kubu Bahru at Kg Gumut opp the Caltex Station (yup that's your only land mark!). It's brand new, opened only for about 2 months. It's called Refreshing Springs Resorts. It occupies about 32 hectares and perfect for a quiet, close to nature getaway. Perfect even for church camps (though max capcity is only 112 pax for now). They have a dining hall, a conference hall, dorms, little chalets, plenty of 'pondok' and benches for morning devotion and lots and lots of streams and hot spring to soak in!

We had crabs, sama (jap) fish, hot dogs, chicken wings for bbq served with fried rice and curry chicken. I brought my multi grain rice with quinoa and had it with curry chicken. My, was it so hot and spicy for I haven't tasted curry chicken for a year!

Nic enjoying being towed along by the girls, Rachel and Amelia

Ooooo, nice hot spring to soak in. This pool leads to another pool which is less hot. That's the one Nic is in above. Ethan learned to blow bubbles underwater in this very hot pool. Thanks to Aunty Tracy from Uncle Allen's cell group.

This is another part of the resort. A cement beach leading into a pool where the waters can be controlled up to 12 feet deep at the deep end for diving lessons. The water is collllld here!

Refreshing Springs Resort, Kg Gumut Tambahan, Ulu Selangor
http://www.refreshingspringsresort.com.my/

Directions to Refreshing Springs Resort:

Take PLUS highway. Turn off at Tg Malim. After toll, turn right towards Kuala Kubu Bahru/ Kuala Lumpur again. This is the old road to KKB. Drive straight. You will pass a little Caltex sign that says 5 km away. Keep an eye for this Caltex station on your right. Once you reach it, turn to your left into Kg Gumut. The road gets bumpy, not tarred. Follow a tiny sign that says "RSR" until you find the resort.

Ethan's concert night on 30 Aug 2010

Me and my mum waiting patiently for the star to show his thang! He has been practicing so hard even Nic was excited for his brother saying "Ethan, tomorrow's your concert day!".

Finally the moment he waited for...

It's so easy to fall in love..shake shake, 1,2,3,4,2,2,3,4..it's so easy, it's so easy yeh yeh...

Warhammer at Sunway Giza

A bit surreal, open space, winter lights, cafes everywhere, it sure didn't feel like I was in Malaysia. We were at Moe De Cafe at Sunway Giza.

Look at this Warhammer statue (froma fantasy wargame). It felt like we were at Disneyland. Ethan took a liking to this giant robot? immediately and even noticed it had green eyes!

They have waitresses dressed like in anime cartoons and there's even free comic reading. We just hung around outside enjoying the breeze that passes through this mall. Food is simple Henry says and the portion is small. I brought my own food so I have nothing to complain..he he..

Sunway Lagoon - Part 2

Wagon Wheel ride - i think God blessed us with an additional round because I saw the lady say whoops as our cart missed the exit mark so they had to let us go another round. Praise the Lord!

The raft cost us RM15. A lady tried to steal it from us but Henry caught her in time. They return a RM15 deposit to you when you are done. There's also a RM10 in the wrist band so we do not have to carry cash around.

This is the most awaited event at the wave pool. Everyone huddles below the pot of water and waits for the pot to fill up with water and all shout together as they get splashed. Ethan got up and ran away and never came back for more. Poor thing! That's Nic at the foreground.

Sunway Lagoon Part 1

this time we made it up to the amusement park to try the ferry's wheel but we could not go onto the Lost City of Gold (roller coaster) ride because Ethan had not met the minimum height of 110 cm yet.

After the heavy shower, came a cool day. We even caught the surfers at the main beach. Wish I were a kid again! We noticed they have a new feature, a Scream Park which opens at 7pm. Entry is only RM10. Still we did not want to expose them to all the horror like Pontianak and other ghostly pictures. They did have 'Night of the Museum" and "Terminator salvation" but we weren't sure whether the kids would have to pass Pontianak before they could get into the "museum".

Happy 10th Wedding Anniversary!

The boys were equally surprised when they walked into the house on 8th September 2010 to look for the surprise that Henry left me with. It was a giant basket of flowers! My mum said it's so heavy it feels like it contained a vase inside the basket. It was our 10th Wedding Anniversary. I really wanted to celebrate with my friends but with all the coughing and muscle spasm, it just wasn't to be. But it was an anniversary of celebration, celebrating love, love for each other, for God, celebrating the wonderful scan results the day before, celebrating that our boys have grown much closer to each other, celebrating that our boys now take healthy juices (whatever potion mummy comes up with), a celebration that our whole family has grown much closer to God. Praise the Lord for everything He has blessed us with! He came to give us LIFE and LIFE more abundantly. Amen!

God is our Healer

God has given me a certain boldness. For the first time after receiving the news from the last ct scan, I wanted to give my testimony at Elpizo which I had attended once before. After His wondrous work on me and how clearly I heard from Him, it can only be God at work. I was hoping I could give my testimony and as soon as I got to Elpizo last week, I showed Sherri Lim the scan report and immediately she said I should give my testimony. Praise the Lord!

I hadn't planned what I wanted to say because this journey has been so wonderful and His wondrous work so numerous I just did not know where to start. I prayed for the holy spirit to guide me and He sure did. There were a few that came up to tell me they were blessed and even while on holiday there was a call who heard the testimony and wanted to find out more. All glory to God!

Psalm 105 says to "Give thanks to God, call on His name, tell all the nations what He has done, sing to Him sing praise to Him, tell all of His wonderful acts".

She gave these bible verses to chew on:
Matthew 15:13
1 Peter 2:24
Psalm 119:17
John 6:63
Psalm 27:13-14
2 Corinthians 12:19
2 Corinthians 5:7

When I reached home, I received a sms from Ying Chee who was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer spread to her bones and brain. She thanked Jesus for the recent scan which showed that her lungs is now completely clear! Praise the Lord! Ying Chee contacted me early this year after reading my blog. She was to me a complete stranger. I was so burdened for her because she spoke to me with a heavy heart. She cried, she was fearful and did not have God's peace in her. I was completely lost not knowing what to say to her. I just closed my eyes and surrendered to God to minister to her. She said she felt peace after our conversation. Praise God! Her journey is nothing short of a miracle because Dr Foo called her a bad patient ie not listening to her advice. She deliberately missed her last chemo treatment! She eats what she likes - pork and mangoesteen which caused her to cough more. She prays to God to bless and sanctify the food that she eats. She goes for Jean Lim's ministry although I warned her to be careful as her situation deteriorated when she did not take any nutrients or go for any treatment earlier and Jean Lim's ministry would strictly tell her not to take medication. But interestingly she told me she went not so much for the "no medicine" talk but for the presence of God. She felt while she was there that even her voice cleared and she could praise God again. God works in mysterious ways. There is really no one way of healing from God. My mum wished that it was my good news instead but I told her God's ways are perfect and He has his own timing.

God is our healer, even if we use nutrients or chemo treatment, it is God working through those means that bring about healing but for Ying Chee it was none of that but just finally learning to trust God until the spirit of fear and death left her, until it sunk within her spirit that she is completely healed. Even then, physically she wasn't completely well yet though the scan report showed otherwise! Praise the Lord! All glory and honour belongs to Him!

You can read more about Elpizo in this latest Star clipping. Elpizo is at DUMC, Dream Centre, Section 13 PJ. Next session is on Sep 23rd at 10 am. Lunch (organic food) is provided.

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2010/2/22/lifefocus/5614490&sec=lifefocus

My Creator King

I wanted to jog this morning but God sent showers of rain so it was time to praise God instead and I had such a good time. :) I was singing the doxology (the one everyone has to stand up in church again after singing worship and I always hear chuckles because they forgot to remain standing). It's a beautiful song and each time I sing it, it's like the lyrics, I just want to praise Him. I just found out that the lyrics to this song was written by Thomas Ken in 1674! Wow!

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heav'nly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2fynpR6u-4

Anyway, while singing this song, I flipped the bible pages to Psalm and immediately landed on Psalms 148. It was as if the lyrics were plucked out from this Psalm, I am sure it was. But there is so much more to praise God as Psalm 148 shows:

1 Praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD from the heavens, praise him in the heights above.
2 Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his heavenly hosts.
3 Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars.
4 Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies.
5 Let them praise the name of the LORD, for he commanded and they were created.
6 He set them in place for ever and ever; he gave a decree that will never pass away.
7 Praise the LORD from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,
8 lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding,
9 you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars,
10 wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds,
11 kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth,
12 young men and maidens, old men and children.
13Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted; his splendour is above the earth and the heavens.
14 He has raised up for his people a horn, the praise of all his saints, of Israel, the people close to his heart.
Praise the LORD.

What caught my eye was verse 8 "...stormy winds that do his bidding" and I praised God because over the weekend we were at Sunway Lagoon and while we were at the wave pool, it started to pour heavily, the wind was blowing strongly, there was lightning and all of us were asked to leave the pool. Ethan, Nic and I squatted using the big raft as our shield and I told the boys to start praying because God loves us so much, He will hear our prayer! As Nic repeated after me and the prayer ended, I said to Nic, "Now watch God at work". It's just that I have seen God's glory over last week that such faith has rised up within me. I just know that He loves us so much that he would make the rain stop just a little while for the boys to enjoy themselves.

As soon as the prayer ended, the wind almost stopped and Nic said "The rain is getting lesser mummy, the air stopped". He meant the wind that brought the heavy rain has stopped blowing hard. Even then it took another 5 to 10 minutes before the rain finally subsided and the guard finally blew the whistle for all of us to get in again!

The good part was that the crowd became lesser since many left the pool area. We were the second family to jump in again. Praise the Lord! Stormy winds do listen to Father God who loves us so much and hear our prayers. Praise the Lord all ye heavenly host, all creatures here below!

Who am I that you are mindful of me?
Who am I that you set Your love on me
my Creator King

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tE6weABW-I&feature=related sung by Don Moen

Gazing at Father God

Somehow, somewhere from reading the bible, I have this perception that God is at my right hand and I also know that I am seated with Jesus at God’s right hand. I would then get confused. Hey, which is which now. However, last week while reading Psalms 16:8, I suddenly received revelation. Yay! I finally figured it out!

"I have set the LORD always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken."

So, I just wanted to share with you what I saw suddenly! Imagine - I am at God’s right hand. Initially, it seems like I am reigning with Him and I am looking out at others as well. But these past 2 weeks have been so heavenly, I kept gazing at Jesus. That’s it! See, when we gaze at Jesus while seated on his right, our body is turned towards him and now in this position, God is at our right hand. Furthermore, God’s promise is this – “I will not be shaken”. How true it is – I saw the blood coughed out but because He said to me in Isaiah 7 that the nodules will not rise up against me, it will not take place, I calmed down and as a result, I was not shaken. Praise the Lord for this wonderful revelation!

I shared it with Henry but he thought I read Psalm 16:8 in the wrong context. I said it is such simple reading, it can’t be wrong. Anyway, I checked the bible lexicon to check whether I had read Psalms 16:8 wrongly.

Amazingly, the bible lexicon confirmed even further my understanding! The sentence “I have set the Lord always before me” means to avail God, to agree with God who is in front of us, in sight of us, opposite to us. In this position, our eyes are fixed on Him with Jesus in our heart. We are gazing at Father God with Jesus in our heart.

So, Henry was right, it’s not just that He is at my right hand but I have to set the Lord before me first before He is at my right hand.

Praise the Lord for this understanding. Praise the Lord indeed! :)

Update -My Rhema Came True!

Isaiah 7:4,7

"Do not lose heart because of these two smouldering stubs of fire...It will not take place, it will not happen...will be too shattered..."

Thank you so much for praying alongside me for today we saw His deliverance. We went for a ct scan again at SJMC today. The nurse was wide eyed that a ct scan was scheduled again only after 2 months. That was because the last ct scan showed 2 nodules marginally larger and although the doctor was not alarmed it still meant I had to come back for early testing again just in case it progressed.

The past 2 months had its ups and downs - down because physically I was trying to recover from cough which Ethan infected me twice, down because I was struck with massive back pain twice, two weeks ago and again only last Sunday night, down because I coughed blood which initially scared me. Up because I grew closer to the Lord. His words to me have been very encouraging and preparing me. He told me to be strong in spirit, he told me Isaiah 7 and I was encouraged so much so that when I coughed blood I put 2 and 2 together, it could mean that I coughed up the tumour.

I read 2 Chronicles 20 and God said the battle was His and all I had to do was to give thanks and sing praises. The passage showed that the 2 armies that came after the Israelites started destroying one another after they finished slaughtering the men in Seir. All this happened while the Israelites were singing and praising God! How amazing is that?!

I was filled with new confidence. Yesterday, there was rain storm at my area for only 15 minutes. My back was aching, I was feeling weak, I could hardly even pray in tongues or sing praises but when the rain came, my spirit soared. I asked God to show me lightning that he would send lightning to smoke the mountain, to shoot his arrows and rout my enemies. And He did, just once. The lightning was pretty near followed by a mighty loud thunder and I jumped and then I praised God and thanked Him!

Today as we went to the hospital I just started singing praise songs. The ct scan showed that the MAJORITY of the nodules have reduced in size. For the first time, the report said that I am responding to treatment. Praise to the Lord! He is forever faithful and nothing is impossible for Him.

Henry and I are just jumping with joy and continuing in praise. Praise the Lord, we extol You, we declare your wondrous works! And to Jesus be praise, glory, honour and power forever and ever!

It will just take a minute

Sharing a prayer with you....

Dear Lord, I thank You for this day,
I thank You for my being able to see
and to hear this morning.
I'm blessed because You are
a forgiving God and
an understanding God.
You have done so much for me
and You keep on blessing me.
Forgive me this day for everything
I have done, said or thought
that was not pleasing to you.
I ask now for Your forgiveness.
Please keep me safe
from all danger and harm.
Help me to start this day
with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude.
Let me make the best of each and every day
to clear my mind so that I can hear from You.
Please broaden my mind
that I can accept all things.
Let me not whine and whimper
over things I have no control over.And give me the best response
when I'm pushed beyond my limits.
I know that when I can't pray,
You listen to my heart.
Continue to use me to do Your will.
Continue to bless me that I may be
a blessing to others.
Keep me strong that I may help the weak...
Keep me uplifted that I may have
words of encouragement for others.
I pray for those that are lost
and can't find their way.
I pray for those that are misjudged
and misunderstood.
I pray for those who
don't know You intimately.
I pray for those that don't believe.
But I thank You that I believe
that God changes people and
God changes things.
I pray for all my sisters and brothers.
For each and every family member
in their households.
I pray for peace, love and joy
in their homes; that they are out of debt
and all their needs are met.
I pray that every eye that reads this
knows there is no problem, circumstance,
or situation greater than God.
Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight.
I pray that these words be received
into the hearts of every eye that sees it
in Jesus' name. Amen!

Update - Next ct scan

Oh, do pray for me. My next ct scan is on Tuesday September 7 2010. This is an exciting time for so many things have happened the last 2 months. I am just waiting upon the Lord and even though the report may not be great, I would still walk by faith and not by sight.

I will also be joining Deeper Life Seminar 4 next week onwards for 8 weeks so that I will be near the Lord and praying that He will reveal new things to me. Classes start on September 6 and those who wish to join or just come for a trial class can do so next week, Monday and Tuesday at 8 pm. You have to come slightly earlier to sign up because classes start punctually. It is at the Renewal Lutheran Church 51A/221 PJ.

Update - I coughed blood

Matthew 13:21 nlt
“But since they don't have deep roots, they don't last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God's word.”

I had a chance to experience this verse from Matthew 13:21 this week. The past 2 weeks I have somehow grown closer to the Lord and I find it easier than ever to be in His presence so much so my prayer for Him is not to let me go. Last Thursday night during my quiet time with the Lord, the word “Isaiah 7” suddenly popped up in my mind so I decided to check it out. I was so encouraged when I read it because it had an instruction to me from the Lord as well as a promise that He would not let the 2 smouldering fire shrubs to rise up against me. In fact, He said, it will not take place and it will not happen and they will be too shattered”. To me, the verses related to the 2 nodules that the last ct scan report said was marginally larger. Here is a promise from God and I was so encouraged that I memorized His instructions to me to “Be careful, keep calm, do not be afraid, do not lose heart”.

My cough had been slowly dwindling away. It actually disappeared last Tuesday but came back awhile and died down quite a bit last Sunday. I was recovering quite well this week. Each time I coughed, I would confess aloud His word from Isaiah 7 and the cough would go away.

However, I got a scare on Wednesday morning (just 2 days ago). As soon as I woke up, I felt an urge to cough and spit out and to my horror I spat out blood! I have never coughed blood before! Then fear just flooded me and I was shaking like a leaf. I knelt and asked God what is it and he brought back to my memory all the verses he has shared with me the past week – to be strong in spirit, to be careful, keep calm, do not be afraid, do not lose heart, that the 2 nodules would not rise up against me, it will not happen, it will not take place, that they will be shattered, to just rest in him and flow down the river of life with Him”. I also used my own spiritual authority to bind and break whatever was disturbing me in Jesus’ name.

Then, I began to calm down and made a call to Doreen to tell her that I won’t be visiting my colleagues because I just wanted to stay calm and see what happens. Then I called Henry to pray for me.

A few hours later, Henry called and asked if I was alright and I said “Yes! No more coughing of blood”. It has been 2 days now and still clear. Everytime I cough and spit something clear out, I would say “Thank you Jesus, praise the Lord!”.

It got me thinking that it could be a tumour that I coughed up because it was like dark red gunk of clot about the size of 10 sen. It could be spiritual warfare to scare me which it did initially but God has over the past 2 months prepared my hands for war and my fingers for battle. If not, I would have fallen to pieces just like the verse from Matthew 13:21. I would have fallen away as soon as I had problems for believing God’s word.

I just want to encourage you to hold on to whatever verses that God gives you because the rulers of the air, the devil will want to bring us down. But we know we stand from the position of victory. We know that Jesus has defeated the powers of the enemy and we just need to stand firm in our faith. We have nothing to fear from the enemy.

Thank you Father God for preparing me for battle. Thank you that You are a mighty warrior who promised that You will be with me in battle. I often wondered how you would do it but these 2 weeks I saw You in action. I saw how the battle indeed belongs to you. I saw how you prepared me with Your words of life and I need only follow Your words and You bring me out of the pit as I cling on to those words. Thank You Lord for all you have shown me. All glory to You Lord, King of all kings, King above all rulers and powers and principalities. In Jesus’ name I pray Amen.

Isaiah 7:4-9
Say to him, ‘Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart because of these two smoldering stubs of firewood—because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah. Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah’s son have plotted your ruin, saying, “Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it.” Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘It will not take place,
it will not happen,
for the head of Aram is Damascus,
and the head of Damascus is only Rezin.
Within sixty-five years
Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people.
The head of Ephraim is Samaria,
and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah’s son.
If you do not stand firm in your faith,
you will not stand at all.’”