Pauliney Exploration....

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When two or three are gathered together in His Name,

Jesus is in the midst of us.

Had such a wonderful time praying with my leaders, I couldn't believe it myself.

After that several of them shared that they were touched by God, I didn't tell them that I was too.

It has been a long time since all of us can come together and share about their  lives, ministry and praise God for the good things He has done in all of our lives. Even right from the beginning when we were waiting for everyone to come, God was already present.

I was nervous at first, because it has been a while since I get to pray with and pray for my leaders. Will I be clear in speaking to them? Is God going to manifest here? What will God tell us as a subzone? Questions flood my mind but I decided to just be contented with what God has placed in my hands and the moment and go with the flow. It was wonderful...

First up, I thought let's give thanks through our testimonies. I purposely skipped the "at the count of 1,2,3..." Then I realise everyone paused and don't know what to do? Krys shouted, "hey, it has been a long time since we do that... I want to be like a member leh...." Well, there you go, after that 1,2,3.... almost all the hands went up.

All the testimonies shared about how much God is responsibile for all the goodness we experience in our cell groups and personal lives. Tremendously touched that these leaders have grown.

After which God spoke to us on Jesus who came to Peter after resurrection. Peter could not remember how to have the net breaking results while he was fishing, worse of all, he could not recognize Jesus when He was standing there in front of him.

We realise that Jesus was always there, He has already placed the tool in our hands. All along, the calling to be a fisher of men has not been taken away. Even at times when we feel that circumstances and people have failed us, the calling and ability are still there.

The greatest thing of all is that Jesus did not reprimand Peter for not remembering, He only gave him the same instructions and he let down the net, catching 153 fish. Jesus did not remind him of his failure but told him what he can become. Thank God for that...

Let's pick up our tools and fish souls today! =)

Back from Indonesia.

It was a fruitful time at Indonesia. Together with my students, we went to Sidoarjo to help an orphanage reorganize their place. My students moved many cupboards, remove rats, maggots and dog shit... really tough for many of us... simply too pampered while in Spore. But thank God for abundance, we went with just enough and end up having more than enough, we manage to buy keyboard and guitars for the kids in the orphanage. Looking at the smiles on the children's faces was so rewarding.

Still, being such a typical Singaporean, it was not easy to stay in Indonesia under such conditions for 10 days. Wah, how I miss the hot showers and food in Spore. End up having gastric problems because of the oily and hot food there. They taste good but too bad my stomach is not that strong. Cannot take it. Finally once I touch down in Spore, quickly went to a local doc to get my medication. All of us teachers tried so hard not to fall sick during the 10 days when our students started  to fall sick one by one.

I'm grateful that I was given the opportunity to bring my students to make a difference in the lives of the underprivilaged and also the lives of our students. One of the things that the director of the orphanage said that impacted me was, this was the first time the kids in the orphanage has such an experience. We do not just bring in money but we brought about a change in their mindset. And as our students work hard to remove the rubbish in the orphanage, the youths in the orphanage joined in as well. I hope they begin to take ownership of their own place from now on...

Thank God for the opportunities that He has given me, love everything about Singapore.... and now it is time for me to get well.... for us to get busy for Xmas and... heeheehee.... my own wedding..... =)

Applauds to all my members! All the uni students attended more than one service in this Asia conference! And you have exams on the following week! You guys are amazing... My army guy goes to hall 10 without complains day after day... Those who honours God will surely be honoured! God bless you all with tremendous results!!! You guys are about to step into the marketplace in a few years' time. I believe if you continue to keep this attitude, humility and hunger... there is nothing God cannot do through you!!!! =)

The same goes for Angel, Krys, Sarah, Leila and Xinhong. Thanks for being such committed leaders even in the midst of your Uni exams... love you all.... I'm very blessed!! =)

Before the Asia Conference, I really wanted God to give me and my cell group a vision for Asia. It was the vision and destiny of CHC that led me to desire a life bigger than myself. I know it has to be God.

Sun's contributions have really touched my heart. I saw what it truly mean to love God and love people. It is carrying the selfless love of Christ INTO the world, without despise and prejudice. What is the purpose of prosperity if it cannot change lives? It is such a blessing to be taught how to give. Our giving has blessed us with more than enough and it allows us to use this blessing to further touch others. It is amazing how God loves to use His people to touch lives.

Sometimes, we ask why God did not stop poverty? Little did we realise that God has already placed the blessings against poverty in our hands. He simply wants to work through us. So that once again, the love of God is being revealed in flesh.

Dr Bernard shared we are unafraid to engage the world because we are insulated by prayers and spiritual disciplines. That makes pastoral work ever more important as we engage the marketplace. We need to teach members how to equip themselves so they do not end up wounded and disappointed by the wolves as they are being sent out as sheep. Yes, we need to pray for our cell group members and our leaders.

Wow... there is no way to engage the marketplace until we come to know the Creator of the marketplace. But knowing more of God has a purpose, and that is to bring restoration of all things to His glory. All of us need to rely on God more so that we do not miss this Kairos moment in Asia. God is bringing a new wave of revival in Asia, in Singapore, in all our cell groups!

A friend wrote this. Found it appropriate for the season. Hope you find it refreshing!

When talking about living the rich life, we think about owning houses, cars and/or luxury-branded clothing/bags/shoes. Sometimes we think about the quality of life.

Have a look at how poverty is defined below, and see how poor or rich we are:


• Poverty is untested potential, resulting from self-imposed limitations.
• Poverty is working a lifetime doing something you don't like, so you can retire and do something you like after age 65
• Poverty is having many acquaintances and not knowing any of them well.
• Poverty is having so many clothes, you "haven't a thing to wear".
• Poverty is eating so well you have to think about going on a diet.
• Poverty is having every pill imaginable to cure your body's ills, because you "can't afford to be sick".
• Poverty is being loaded down with toys at birthdays and Christmas, and then being bored silly because there's nothing to do.
• Poverty is having three degrees and feeling unfulfilled in your job.
• Poverty is having two cars, three TVs, and a dishwasher, and then "roughing it" by going camping to "get away from it all".
• Poverty is going, day-to-day, from one building to the next and never stopping to see the beauty in the world outside.
• Poverty is spending money on make-up, deodorants, colognes and designer clothes, and still being worried about the image you are projecting.
• Poverty is never being curious about the world around you and never wanting to explore it or the people in it.
• Poverty is as much the soul, as it is the body.

– Adapted from Verse by Waitley, Mallinnix and McDonald appearing in God Mind seminar Workbook, Denver 1983

Here’s God’s perspective on living an abundant life:

1 Timothy 6:6   
But godliness with contentment is great gain.

Luke 12:15
Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

Matthew 16:26   
For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

2 Corinthians 3:5
Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency [is] of God;

John 10:10b   
 I am come that they might have life, and that they might have [it] more abundantly.

Matthew 6:19-21
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

May God bless you through His word.

"Hold a canary in your hand... Bring it to the left... Now to the Left... Now drown it!"

It is immoral of us to put an animal in an environment that is contrary to its basic nature!

It is atrocity to let a child of God live in poverty and lack! We are meant to be blessed to be a blessing.

The seed must fall to the ground and die for multiplication of life. Economists call it the multiplier effect? Sow more, multiply more...

5 SMSes came in this morning...

"Morning pauline, the morning prayer meeting was great."

"Good morning pauline, the morning prayer meeting was great!"

"Hi Pauline, the morning prayer meeting was great!"

"Morning pauline, the morning prayer meeting was great."

Good morning, the morning prayer meeting was good."

Hmm.... guys, did you all synchronise your SMSes before sending to me? haha.... ;p

Pst Tan: "Like a tree, when you run dry, your roots got to go deeper to draw from God..."

Romans 15 (NLT)

13 I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 12 (NLT)

 1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

These few weeks I was very encouraged through one of my members because I have seen her grown so much since the first day she met the Lord. I remember she was not easy to convince and one of her biggest concern is that CHC is not the right place for her. In fact every week when I meet her, I had to fast and pray because some of the things that she said gives me very little faith that she is going to be committed to this house. And some other typical doubts like, speaking in tongues, giving, style of praise and worship, having to come for cgm apart from church.... on top of that she has a few friends who go to other churches that are slightly different from ours. Praise God, they were really nice friends who do not cause her to waver in her commitment. During this period of time, she also missed some cell and svc and also visits other church. All these seemed to indicate that CHC is not the right place for her.

I must say, it is through prayers that God helped me to have a vision for her. To see that there has to be reason why she did not get saved elsewhere but here. Through those times in prayers, I visualise her needs and find it much easier to meet those needs and answer those questions easily each time we met. And before I knew it suddenly "CLICK" she became committed to every cell group meeting, svc, bible study and churchwide prayer meetings! Now every saturday she will travel to my house for bs 1030am in the morning, we will pray for her friends to get saved and she is really eager to give to the building fund.

One thing that I really learn from this encounter and among the many similar ones, is that we really need to insist on having a vision for the people who are newly converted. It may take a month or two before they become committed, but if we really take good care of them during this time, they could potentially become agents of change in the kingdom! And I tink back on some of those whom I did not persevere. I wonder how things would be different if I did. I suppose this Arise and Build season is a time of Open Heaven. God is speaking to me to be more patient and to see hope in people. I need to start calling those backsliders and those whom I deemed to have bad attitude. Sometimes a life of sacrifice is not just about giving money, it is giving away your pride and ego to connect with those whom you feel were not worth your time. Thank God Jesus gave Himself as an example when He receives sinners and forgive his own disciple Peter who betrayed Him.

One thing I discover myself doing as I grow older as a Christian is that I began to tell the new believers to really enjoy their journey in their walk with God. Last time I used to tell the new believers how important it is to DO certain things in order to be come SPIRITUAL. Just on thursday I was surprised that I told a new believer that she has to ENJOY her salvation. Don't feel bad that she overslept on her service for the first time. I told her " I believe someone will be willing to do anything to come for church and serve God if this person is truly TOUCHED by the love of God, no amount of words or instructions I give will ever achieve that" And I encouraged her that the same thing will happen to her. She will truly see what's most important to her above her school and life. All we want to do as a cell grp, is to help her in this journey.

Thinking about what is "COMMITMENT" lately. As I was praying late one night, I felt that commitment is like a marriage. It is a covenant and we got to keep on trusting God who is in the center of the relationship, to DO WHAT'S RIGHT even when all the FEELINGS of love has faded away. PASSION will leak and therefore we need to pray even more as we grow older so that it surpasses our EXPERIENCES. People lose interest in relationships because experiences tell them that there is no longer anything new under the sun. I realise PASSION has to be relighted each time we go through this kind of season. Therefore it is so so so..... important that God is in the center of every relationship we have, family, friends, ministry and of course in our own relationship with God our Father! Then at any stage of our life, we can say that we love Him more today than we did yesterday.

Wonderful.........! =)

Yesterday all our leaders gathered at Siloso beach. Pastor YK loves fellowship and always made it a point to gather the people together. It was fun and led me on a few thoughts.

Vic was saying that it is a privilege to be able to be out together with Pst YK. I thought, that's very true because one of the reasons why we did not end up serving in other ministries was really because being a CGL gives us the privilege to draw near to God's servant and the privilege to be discipled. I wonder if our church's senior pastor is the one organizing the outing, would there be a different response? Haha.... Well, perhaps it's Pst YK's nature, so relational sometimes it is easy to be over familiar and never realise how he is so much sought after in missions field.

I remember that time when I was in Taiwan, the cell group leaders and members will do anything, give up any appointments just to hear Pst YK preach and spend time with him. He had a bad throat, and within 24 hours, the members brought him sweets and some herbal drink for him. Hmm... that's really something to learn.

Well, I suppose to be a great is not just being able to grow ur cg. Why not? Though all glory goes to God, ur name is still attached to the cg. It is being able to do this and still stay discipled by your spiritual father. I remember when I was in HCGL, Pst Tan shared, discipleship cannot happen in a meeting, it can only happen in natural circumstances.

Like to really praise Sarah Teo... but also must scold her for not learning to get help. Just the night before, she was suppose to finish up her project and couldn't do so because people were calling her regarding the outing the next day until 10pm! And this dear girl still wants to carry a red pail, along with 20 chicken wings and flour to travel on the MRT to Sentosa. Good thing I found out and she ends up not having to take the pail onto the train.

She has projects lining up for submission, I know she is stressed out but still put on a smile to conduct the outing games. I know she will always try her best to be there for Pst and the zone... Thanks Sarah....

Poor angel, gotta rush to school for project at 4pm after all the dirty games! Dreadful....

And praise the Lord, the people loved our chicken wings. Well done Angel and Sarah, didn't know you can cook too. Haha... the funny thing is even though all 3 of us cooked different batches , they all tasted the same because it was the same Lee Jin Kee marinating sauce. Hahaha..... Well, I cheated, BK's mum offered to help and so.... I brought the chickens over and she baked it..... Well, we all had a jolly good time... Praise God!

Our "60s of fame" event is on CityNews!

Log on to read all about it!!!!!

Most of the citynews writers are our friends, let's support them!

http://www.chc.org.sg/citynews/?p=224

In economic downturn,

1. Invest when times are bad

2. Do not invest based on emotions but facts

3. Plan your investment in the long run

4. You will never catch the economy when it is at it's best. It is the consistent investor who will reap highest profits in the long run, as compared to the ones who run out when times are bad and run in when times are good. By the time you receive the information, you are already late.

In spiritual downturn,

1. Sow your love, faith, hope, time, energy, finance, commitment when times are bad. Sow in people that doesn't seem to deserve it. So when times are good, God is glorified and we reap heavenly rewards through sacrificial giving and commitment.

2. Do not commit or run away based on emotion. Commit to the Lord and trust in Him based on the truth. Commit and sow even when you don't feel Him.

3. Commit to the Lord in the long run. Don't belittle a single moment spent with him, a single cell group meeting, a single church service, a single bible study, a single prayer meeting, a single outreach.... Don't be distracted because of a friend, a momentary pleasure that may take away your greatest rewards!

4. You will never catch the kingdom economy at its best. By the time you receive 100% information, you would already be late. Don't think that you can wait before deciding to be committed to the Lord. While you oversleep on an important appointment with the Lord, while you are distracted during a service, while you choose to treasure your worldly friendships at the expense of your relationship with Jesus, while you choose to keep while it is the season of giving. You would have already missed your greatest destiny.

Rev 22:12 “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.

By the time we see Jesus before we want to make a decision to follow His ways, it is often too late.

Let's not wait anymore, reach out to those whom God has given to you, serve with the little time and talent you have, seek the Lord while He can be found...

I read, "Creativity must start with Something"

I thought "God created something out of NOTHING?" I think not...

In the beginning there was nothing physically present.

In the beginning, there was Something intangible... God is love, faith and hope.

Out of that love, He created man and woman. Out of that faith, he believed man has the ability to take care of His creation. Out of hope, he redeemed us even though we left Him for sin.

When we believed in Him, God gave us a measure of love, faith and hope. We apply them to our lives, our relationships, our friends, our work, our ministry... We see that we need not be disappointed with results that we see, feel or touch. We become creative and see that people can change for the better, wealth is not limited but it can be created, those who seemed hard to reach can come to the Lord, growth can be created... We don't require results to tell us what we can have, we create what we want with what we have, faith, hope and love....

"Sing, barren woman, who has never had a baby.
   Fill the air with song, you who've never experienced childbirth!
You're ending up with far more children
   than all those childbearing women." God says so!
"Clear lots of ground for your tents!
   Make your tents large. Spread out! Think big!
Use plenty of rope,
   drive the tent pegs deep.
You're going to need lots of elbow room
   for your growing family.
You're going to take over whole nations;
   you're going to resettle abandoned cities.
Don't be afraid—you're not going to be embarrassed.
   Don't hold back—you're not going to come up short.
You'll forget all about the humiliations of your youth,
   and the indignities of being a widow will fade from memory.
For your Maker is your bridegroom,
   his name, God-of-the-Angel-Armies!
Your Redeemer is The Holy of Israel,
   known as God of the whole earth.

From a friend...

Dear Pauline,

Recently there was an article on Warren Buffett in the Sunday Times. I've
attached it here for your reading pleasure. Given the volatile market situation
we are in today, here are ten things I've picked out from the article which
we can learn from the world's second richest man. We might have already
known some of these principles but forgotten them along the way as emotions
consume our thinking. So this is a good time to revisit them.

1. The world is now in a mess, it will continue to be in the near future and
headline news will scare your wits out! However, bad news is an investor's
best friend.

2. In the midst of all these bad news, and with the anticipation of all these
bad news, Warren Buffett is now buying stocks. So what makes you think it's
a good time to sell your investments now?

3. Be greedy when others are fearful. Be fearful when others are greedy.

4. Long term growth of major companies are solid. It's just about making
sure that you're in the market.

5. Warren Buffett even admits he can't predict the short term movements of
the stock market. So what makes any of us think we can? It's buying on value
and long term strategy that's important!

6. If you're waiting for the good news before you start investing again, by
then the market would have already recovered substantially.

7. If you still want to time the market, then look at the history records. The
market usually picks up at the point when nobody has the slightest clue. By the
time you realise it, you would have missed the boat.

8. With two world wars, the Great Depression and several cycles of recessions
in the 20th century, the Dow rose from 66 to 11,497. So if you think long term,
the evidence is compelling and concrete.

9. To make money in the market, you must start to focus more on logic and less
on emotions.

10. People who hold cash today may feel comfortable. But it the next decade,
equities will almost certainly outperform cash by a substantial degree.

Atmosphere was very nice. We sat at the restaurant above the pub. It could have been better if there is a nicer scenery outside the window. All we could see was Suntec Convention Centre. Haha...

Realised that the food are mainly for carnivores. Nevertheless they were rather unique to us so....

He ate and.....

I ate.....

And because Paulaner Bräuhaus is famous for its homemade brew... BK ordered a glass of beer..

"Posing" with the beer...

Apart from the Blackberry, he got me a nice card... Won't reveal the contents... but was surprisingly touching! =p

Because both of us were so lousy in drinking, sharing one glass of beer made us kinda of tired very easily, he sent me home at about 9pm. Funny cos usually I reach home much later than that. Nevertheless it was meaningful time spent... =)

Celebrated our 1-year dating anniversary at Paulaner Bräuhaus. Had a lot of MEAT! Lovely atmosphere... More photos coming up =)

Bk and I went to choose our wedding photos last night.

Hmm... I am still not very used to seeing myself so "made up". Well, it is a good thing. Lesser excitement = choose fewer photos = saves money!!

The lady there kept telling us to choose more, but we are determined to stick to the quota.

Lady: "Choose more so that your kids can view ur photos next time."

We laughed, cos the reasoning simply don't make sense... In respond to their hard work and persuasion, we bought 1 more extra photo, $84.50.

Yeah! A great sense of achievement especially after hearing so many couples tell us they regret choosing above package quota.

Felt very blessed that with the 35 photos we choose, we still managed to have nice series and sequence... Praise God! =)