frankly, my dear

i am testimony to dispute the belief that being christian means receiving the magical solution to the problems of this world.

you know that you're in too deep with a church when you start getting irritated by your fellow church mates. i was just sharing with the oikos about a certain emotional leech who has been trying to stick to me in church.

i admit, on my part i am not a particularly patient person when people seek my advice, subsequently reject it and continue whining about the same problems. when you abuse the listening ear i provide as a friend, you deprive yourself of that privilege.

i don't appreciate people unreasonably haggling for my attention when 24 hours a day is barely enough for me to settle the things i need to do. and i definitely have problems if someone starts saving my entire gallery of friendster photos for goodness knows what. and no, i don't think it's polite to interrupt the conversation to get my attention when i'm talking to my pastor about my missions project.

i am feeling extremely drained and very suffocated because it reminds me of the time when i was with my ex-boyfriend.

kat tells me not to take offense. i try not to. but sometimes, too much is too much.

this period is a rather sensitive period for me. i'm feeling the heat - maybe God is putting me through His refining fire, or i'm under spiritual attack - whatever it is, i am running on a really short fuse and i really would appreciate it if people around me would cut me some slack.

and while i understand that friends might be concerned, please refrain from contacting me unnecessarily. if i want prayer or anything, i'll ask. i'm really sorry but i do not have any patience to entertain anyone and i certainly do not want to have a reason to yell at people when their correspondence is well-intentioned.

the ride barely started and i'm drained and broke. maybe this is a sign that i am to fully depend on Him for strength.


as a postnote, i would just like to make a shoutout to my oikos. i have been really blessed by you guys and i thank God that He brought this group of wonderful friends into my life. thank you.

trusting God

the exams are finally over at long last. this is one of the toughest semesters i have had so far, and i thank God it's over.

new challenges await for me this coming holidays: 2 mission trips and possibly catching up with friends and following up with a new christian friend i got to know over the meta camp.

"I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. 22If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." - Matthew 21:21-22

the task ahead looks daunting, especially the support raising i have to do for my mission trips. but i told God i'll trust Him, it's time to remind myself of this promise i made to Him.

theparablejourney blog was not, and will not be created in vain.

Jesus at the window

Dear J,

You asked me about forgiveness. I hope this story would be a blessing to you.

- M


A little boy visited his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play with in the woods. He practiced, but couldn’t hit the target.

Getting discouraged, he headed back to dinner. As he walked back, he saw Grandma’s pet duck. Out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head, and killed it. He was shocked and grieved. In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the woodpile, only to see his sister watching. Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.

After lunch that day Grandma said, “Sally, let’s wash the dishes.” But Sally said, “Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen.” Then she whispered to Johnny, “Remember the duck?”

So Johnny did the dishes. Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing. Grandma said, “I’m sorry but I need Sally to help make supper.”

Sally smiled and said, “Well that’s all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help.” She again whispered to Johnny, “Remember the duck?” So Sally went fishing, and Johnny stayed to help.

After several days of Johnny doing his chores, and Sally’s, he could stand it no longer. He went to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck. Grandma knelt beside Johnny and said, “I know: I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing. Because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.”

Thought for the day: Whatever is in your past, whatever you have done that your conscience spirit won’t let you forget, (lying, debt, fear, hatred, anger, unforgiveness, bitterness, etc.), whatever it is, Jesus Christ was standing at the window and saw the whole thing. He wants you to know that you are forgiven. He wonders how long you will let the past make a slave of you.

Remember, God not only forgives you, He forgets.


Post taken from Kev's blog

respecting the sanctity

i hate it when parents let their kids loose in the library. they will start talking loudly, whining, crying, screaming, running, God-knows-what. and it irritates me all the more because i was a librarian and have been taught to respect and keep the silence in the library.

similarly for the sanctuary. there are just some places where public displays of affection are totally not appropriate. call me legalist, but these people don't realise how much they are affecting the spiritual atmosphere by acting as if a sunday service is a pop concert or a movie theatre.

today i had double eyesores presented in front of me. one girl was hanging on to her boyfriend (husband?) like a baby koala hanging on its mother. a lady sitting behind them had to tell them that it's ministry time and they should stop hugging (thank God!). another guy further in front can't seem to keep his hands of his girlfriend (wife?) throughout the service. they were holding hands and waving them in the air even while worshipping. any non-believer might have thought he walked into some taiwanese singer's concert in the middle of a ballad or something.

we're talking people who are older than i am. i am appalled at the lack of common sense and respect shown by these people.


in other ridiculous soundbites,

"Christians believe that Jesus rose three days after His death, mocking His crucifixion" - channel newsasia

mocking? bad choice of words, cna.


this easter has turned out to be quite... ridiculous.

the Great Banquet

The Parable of the Great Banquet

When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God."

Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.'

"But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.'


"Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.'

"Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.'

"The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.'

"'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.'

"Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.'"

- Luke 14:14-24


it's ok if they don't want to come. i'll just keep on praying and keep on trying.

forerunner

i had this uncanny feeling that our guest speaker from yesterday would be talking about prayer... but what i did not expect was to catch a vision from what he said.

he tells us that "young people are at the front of every revival", he calls the young people "forerunners", maybe because we have the energy and the time to devote to God.

i felt very encouraged by what he told us. and there are signs that there will be a spiritual revival at least on my campus.

the crusade leaders were called together for a meeting today and tony shared about how our ministry has grown. indeed, i could still remember how we used to be able to squeeze into one small lecture theatre and everyone knew one another because we were that small a group. one year later, i see new faces and crusade has the rather good problem of finding venues big enough to accommodate us.

some things we see, we cannot deny that God is indeed working amongst us.


another thing pastor chee shared was the fact that over 100 campuses in america has intercessors covering the campus in prayer 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. it is a nice surprise and it is a very commendable effort. God knows how hard it is for me to even set up ONE prayer meeting for my school. =(

i wonder if God will use me greatly within the next two years... that's how little the time i have left on campus. i know God has placed me in a good position, with access to the support and resources that i might need to get something started. all that's left is to take the first step to initiate that breakthrough...

i want to be a forerunner. will God use me?