Faith Noodles

Yesterday, I went to my friend's 23rd birthday. And this friend was my best friend from kindergarten when I was still a wee 5-year-old. I knew her even before we could add, subtract and spell, before we lost our twelve-year-old molars. Bizarre how we both ended up in the same town this year. What's cooler still is how much she's encouraged me in my faith and how well we still click, even though we grew up in different countries. Just love your timing and how generous You are, God :) And now I give you... a doodle I drew of Esther and I when I was 5. We must have had massive heads then.

I remembered asking God why.. so often while I'm singing or while listening to the pastor preach or when I'm at my small group, my strength is renewed, my cares are released and my faith deepened. But not long after, I return to my tasks and responsibilities with drudgery and I worry worry worry worry worry. I got my answer through this sermon I was listening to: it's because though I lay my burdens down while I'm at church, at the end of the church service - I pick up my burdens and take the whole pile with me out the door. Ha. And this little article I just read (below) is pretty much saying the same thing, really blessed by it! ‘Casting all of your anxiety on Him because he cares for you’ 1 Peter 5:7. The word casting means to throw upon. It’s a deliberate forceful throwing. Some suggest Peter used this term because he was a fisherman and that involves taking a fishing net and forcefully throwing it out from the boat. Peter is actually quoting from Psalm 55:22...

I was feeling really really low today about my research project. But these are a few insights and unexpected surprises God used to encourage me today.  Biiiiiiiiiiiiig thank you Papa for: - reminding me of how I allowed something as insignificant and earthly as my uni work to steal my focus from the joy I have in You when I repeatedly sang the phrase: 'Let the weak say I am strong; let the poor say I am rich; because of what the Lord has done, give thanks' - met a friend of mine (doing an honours in stats) for dinner who listened to the whole statistics design for my project, insisted on explaining foreign statistical concepts to me and shared valuable research tips with me even though it was supposed to be a catch-up :') - feeling so frustrated with the ambiguity of my research project, I tweeted: 'I feel.. crestfallen about my research :'(' and my friend who just submitted her honours project today read my tweet and sent me this super encouraging...

I was introduced to my favourite hymn everrr last night! (: As I was singing it, I felt like this was a really important song that I had to pray over and really live out, so I've since listened to it for like.. ten times! Listening is easy, but living it out is much harder - it's so encouraging to know that all I have to do is to have faith and make the decision to follow Jesus - He is the one who will be fine tuning the melody and rhythm of my heart! This song doesn't 'sugar-coat' the cost of following Jesus (e.g., 'giving up every fond ambition, all I've sought or hoped or known', 'go then earthly fame and treasure, come disaster, scorn and pain'). It's reminded me that living my lukewarm Christian life just isn't enough and showed me that there are many things in my life that I've put before God. Apart from reminding me of the cost, God's correcting me for being so discontented with the cost of following Him through EPIC line...

To be quite honest, sometimes I get just a little irritated (I'm sorry God for using this word, but this is how I feel sometimes) at God because there are so many things I can't do as a Christian with my friends.. and sometimes I think: - "Oh, if only, I could say some swear words and not use my 'wholesome' Christian lingo all the time, I'll be more accepted."  - "If only I could drink like a fish like all my other friends while I'm playing that drinking game so that I can join in the fun." - "If only I didn't have to think twice about going clubbing." I've always been someone who really seeks to be accepted, since I was a kid, I've always wanted others to approve of me. And even now, although God has previously shown me that knowing Him just doesn't match up to anything this world can offer and that I should not conform to what everyone thinks is "socially acceptable/admirable" (see Romans 12:2...

If God is "living and true" (1 Thes 1:8), that means all the other idols/things that I've ever loved more than God are all things "that will never bring life.. only death and are false/counterfeit/lies/fakes".