Yesterday night at youth service and cell group was a huge encouragement and a very very big testament of how God works in marvellous ways through each one. During testimony giving time, it was just person after person after person thanking God for something in their lives, and it's not very frequent that we've had such forthcoming responses. It was to the point where my iPod played finish one entire Hillsong album, and we're still not done. But what made it particularly satisfying and edifying to me was how quite a lot of those from my old/new cell group came up to share! If somewhere throughout the week something good happens in one of their lives that makes them excited enough to tell me, I will usually tell them go up and give testimony on Fri, and then they will be like "oh nooo cannot I shy I scared blah". But most times they do anyway, as long as I make the right bargains like buy them bubble tea heh!

Standing up and being visible and displaying thankfulness is something that some of my friends firmly believe in, it kinda rubbed into me overtime throughout the years. But nothing beats seeing your own cell group people gathering courage to stand up there and testify of the Lord's goodness. Okay la it only works for me and my cell haha because I'm so old and they're so young. But I have to say, even though I always encourage and force and coerce and plead and bargain with them to give testimony, when they eventually stand up there in front, none of them has ever said anything resembling Guan You told me to come up. Okay it's unexplainable the joy and elation that I feel haha.

Vivian's testimony included being happy to come to church and looking forward to Fridays and Sundays. I need to start going about in that same attitude too, not that I pull a long cucumber face in church, but I need to keep reminding myself to be expectant of God's miracles.

Alright here's one tiny confession about reading and books. I quite like receiving books for presents, and I do enjoy reading. But thing is, the books that I usually leave on the shelves unread are the ones that I get from presents! And they usually stay there for months and months until I need something to read, then I will remember that I have that book and hence the birth of a new read. Those are my "low priority" books, my high priority ones tend to be school-related or I need to finish this literature novel for my class or this textbook. Then the middle and in-betweens tend to be the books that I buy for myself, because when I spend money on something then I will have a higher impetus to make it worthwhile.

And when I do buy books for other people, I tend not to get familiar books or books that I've already read before. That's cos I am usually bewildered whenever I step into any library or bookshop, there's too many books at my choice disposal, so I usually end up getting books which I am interested to read, or books that look interesting. In that process I'm also hoping that when this particular friend finishes the book, they can lend it to me!

Now you know what to do if you received books from me before, or if you receive books from me in future!

Something I never got around to blogging, was the previous combined territorial youth service's worship. For all of last year, every combined meeting or camp that the Youth Dept organised, I was among the musicians/leaders singing and playing. That in itself is a pretty amazing opportunity which I had the privilege to be a part of. And ministry work always works out into huge blessings for me; I sing and I hear the congregation singing back to God, which kinda makes worship leading such a pivotal role to me. But at the same time I don't get to be part of the congregation and most times I don't get to experience worship from the pews! So it was with much relish and delight that I wasn't part of the music team two weeks ago, presumably cos I was already giving a short sharing. And I've gotta say, whoo hoo! Great atmosphere, it was just electrifying. That's not to say that the normal Sundays and Fridays and whatever other services have lacklustre atmospheres, cos I am trying to learn how to worship from the heart and not from the music I hear now, hence I can't put myself down to such comparisons.

School's into its second week, I gotta start to focus now.

Ten or eleven days into this side of the 2011 new year, and nary a blog post! Surely my life isn't that uneventful. Okay, the last things I recall doing over the weekend that just passed included a 10-minute message at territorial combined youth service, and leading worship on Sunday service. I haven't shared any messages or sermons in a long time, so to foreground a 10 minute speech I have to prepare like 10 hours? And same goes for leading worship; of late I have been forgetting lyrics and getting the jitters when I'm midway singing. But again, it's always His grace at work, and my words and my songs are not worshipful if they are not His, so ughhh more preparation more planning more practice.

I am, in most manner of things, excited about the new things this year. New cell group, new lessons in school, new books, new ventures... I am also trying to plan a holiday in June or July! Hahaha shall see where that will take me.