God is good all the time! :D

How I wish the retreat did not have to end.
How nice to just wake up, praise and worship Him, get to know Him better, experience Him, sleep, then start the cycle the next day. There's just so much I wish to know about Him!

Anyway, thrown back into reality again... into the busy world... all the piled up assignments, projects, tests, homework... (God, SOS. hee thanks!)

This retreat was refreshing and rejuvenating! :) I'm so glad that God had cancelled the Sapphires' performance for Waikiki, so that I could attend all the sessions & really retreat. It was a great time to run back to Him, to go back to the heart of worship, after a hectic half-sem that just zoomed past. I thank God for His healing touch upon me & for His reminder to me to remember to keep in check the priorities in life.

I could see God's Hand in the preparation and the entire retreat proper. Although we all agreed that the entire retreat was very last-minute, it was still a success. God was with us the entire way! *so extremely grateful* He has made all things possible even when we thought we could not see through to the end! Praise God!! :)

In preparing for my Praise & Worship, I knew God was with me.
One day before the retreat, I needed a tambourine, and the first friend I called had one. *Praise God!* To go to her house I had to take the LRT, and guess what? When I reached my LRT stop, the officer there told me that the LRT was not working, and that they had hired buses to ply between the LRT stops. And they were free services!! & so I did not have to pay for the expensive LRT ride! Hahaha. So amazing!! *Haha... Praise God again!*
This friend of mine was with me in the Praise Ministry in St Joseph's church, a gifted keyboardist. When I reached her hse, she so warmly invited me into her home and started helping me with the P&W… helping me with the arrangement, running thru the entire list of songs with her on the keyboard, etc... helped me big time.

The way my friend had so warmly welcomed me into her home, so willingly helped me, and had given me so much support I needed... I saw Christ in her. He was using her to help me. Like what I mentioned in my last entry. The importance of having friends in the Lord!
(Love ya, Mich!! :D You rock dear! -hugz-)

During the retreat, He'd healed me deep deep deep inside. His healing touch, so strong yet so gentle. Everything that was surpressed and swept under the rug was being resurfaced... His healing touch working through me, cleansing me & reassuring me.
How could I forget His personal promise to me?

"I will be with You till the ends of time."
As I spent time alone with Him, this song came into my head, and I felt God speaking to me through it -- through every single line. Wanna share this song with you guys...

"You're softening my heart
To the knowledge of Your love
And opening my eyes,
You light the way.

To love you,
Words alone cannot express
All the hope that You have placed within me
In between each heartbeat Lord,
I surrender...

I surrender to You
I surrender to You
Everything I am, and ever hope to be
I surrender to You

You gently lift me up
Wash me in Your blood
And opening my ears
You speak the word

Healing--
releasing all the hurts and fears
By the hope that you have placed within me
In between each heartbeat Lord,
I surrender to You

I surrender to You
I surrender to You
Everything I am, and ever hope to be
I surrender to You"

And I believe that it was not by coincidence that I chose the song "Trading my Sorrows" for my P&W session. It linked up with mission ("Yes LORD!") and also with the theme of casting away all our hurts, sins, worries, concerns. And for myself, it was also a song that God used to speak to me:

"I am pressed but not crushed,
Persecuted not abandoned
Struck down but not destroyed
I am blessed beyond the curse
For His promise will endure
For His joy's gonna be my strength

Though my sorrows may last for the night
His joy comes with the morning!"

Oh how I love to praise and worship You O Lord,
For only You are worthy of our praises!!! :) :) :)

Yes, I want Jesus to be in the centre of my life, the core of my very being! :)
Yes, I want to be a witness for Christ to others, of His Love and His Grace! :)
It's all these little things that, when put together, just overwhelm you and leave you speechless -- raptured in awe, wonderment and fascination for Him. WOW! :D

Vanessa :D
"We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose." -- Romans 8:28

Friends in the Lord

Sometimes I find it hard to feel God's presence in my life.
Many times have I questioned why God has chosen -- out of the zillion people He created -- to give me certain "bad lots" in life, and make me suffer in the darkness and confusion.

But reflecting upon these, I believe it's through these trials that God has taught me the importance of being in a community of believers of the same faith. Looking back, I see God's hand always guiding and helping me, through my fellow Catholic friends. Whenever I feel down, a church friend of mine will so-coincidentally text me something to cheer me up. Whenever I have difficult decisions to make, one of them will happen to text me a bible verse that helps me make my decision. Through these friends, He has also shown me that He fully understands whatever I'm going through, whether good or bad (& esp the bad times).

We are never alone in our journey through life and God will never leave us in the lurch. If He gives us anything that He knows we can't handle, it's only because He wants to teach us to place greater trust in Him.

To quote something a dear friend of mine said to me recently,
"Friends in the Lord share a special blessing like no other force of this world can give."
How beautiful... Hahaha... I cannot agree more :D

So, sometimes, when you think you are all alone in this world, remember that this Fides community is always here for you! God may be working through this people! :)

Dear Lord, I pray that Fides will continue to grow strong in faith and in love for you, together as a community of God's believers. Please teach the rest of the Fides members the value and importance of being in "a community of God's followers" -- just as you have so lovingly shown & taught me. Thank You and AMEN!

Vanessa :D
"How Great is our God! Sing with me how Great thou art..."

RETREAT --- STOP

Never judge a Catholic by what you see

I never imagined myself to be contributing to any blog but here I am. Blogs might seem voyeuristic in nature where people reveal their innermost opinions and feelings to the world for their view and comment. I think it is a good form of sharing something that is exciting, the joy of being a Catholic.

Perhaps the reason why I don't have a blog is because there's nothing proud to show in my life. I wonder whether it's the same for my Christian life i.e. I don't dare to proclaim that I am a Christian. Is it because I'm too scared of the requirements? Remember that announcing that you're a Christian means you've to live like one. That means no more strong language, no more bitching about people and faithfulness to live the Gospel life amongst other issues I've to grapple with.

Do you dare to live like a Christian? Does this entail wearing a Crucifix on you or carrying a Bible in your hand? These outward gestures are good but what's better is if you live your actions. I wish that at certain length in time of my friendships, my friends will tell me, "Nick, I don't know what it is that makes you different from the rest.. How can you tolerate......" And I look them at the eye and say," I never could BUT with God everything is possible!"

I hope to leave you with some thoughts for you to ponder: If you were to stand before God right now to account for your deeds, would you pass the test? If so, why? If not, why not?

Bite of the Day - 2nd Feb 2006

The Creator gathered all of Creation and said,
"I want to hide something from the humans until they are ready for it.
It is the realization that they create their own reality."
The eagle said, "Give it to me, I will take it to the moon."
The Creator said, "No. One day they will go there and find it."
The salmon said, "I will bury it on the bottom of the ocean."
"No. They will go there too."
The buffalo said, "I will bury it on the Great Plains."
The Creator said, "They will cut into the skin of the Earth and find it even there."
Grandmother Mole, who lives in the breast of Mother Earth, and who has no physical eyes but sees with spiritual eyes, said,
"Put it inside of them."
And the Creator said, "It is done."