Saturday, December 31, 2005
Catholic Countdown
Hello people. Here I am again to share. Today's thanksgiving mass was really nice. Jes, anne, daniel and bt were there with me. A very solemn mass. Father Ho asked us whether we were ready to countdown to next year and only the second time he asked, did everyone say "yes" together. Well, i thought next year isn't something very great. Maybe at the stroke of 12 it would be judgement day. Ok, he then said he would teach us the catholic countdown. Which he explained during sermon, the counting of our blessings in the past year we have received from God and thank him for it. When I heard it, I really did not bother to count because I know everyday of this year, God has been with me. So I just closed my eyes and said thanks. This time I didn't tear but I saw daniel and BT bending forward with folded arms. We should always remember to thank the Lord for everything we receive in our daily lives because waking up in the morning is also a miracle! I was actually very tired and was on the verge of not going to thanksgiving mass, but then I thought, I think I really need to go and solemnly thank the Lord for what he has done for me. :D
Talking about this, at the chalet I went, there was this session that we had to plan a 15 min mock session in half an hour. So my group and I decided that we do prayer. I was tasked to do the majority of the talking -.-" Well, ok I was really quite jittery about sitting in front of 20 people and trying to teach them about prayer. When my group ended the discussion, we had a prayer together then we went out. We were the last group to present so I went forward after 2 groups presented and sat down in front of them. Then I said, I'm not going to ask who does not pray everyday because it is something we should be doing already. Then I moved on to explain what prayer is then had a skit to emphasize the correct way of praying. The skit went like this, I shall use A and B to represent ppl. first scene was A calling B and asking B for help, however, A does not allow B to reply at all but just wants B to listen only. Second scene was B calling A, but A does not seem interested to listen to his advice. Third scene is B and A talking and chatting heartily on the phone. Fourth scene is A pondering and hesitating whether to call B or not and finally decides not to, and throws the phone away. Each scene represents a scenario that I leave it to yall to decifer, should be easy la. So I got the people to reflect on this and I continued with my talk about prayer techniques, types of prayer, importance of prayer. Heh, too much to type here already, just a piece of this to let u reflect on. Thats all from me!
mark
allo loggers.
i've been thinking alot about that sharing session i had way back then in january. it was bothering me for the last 12 mths but only when jessica said that at marcus's house about the prayer part did i then realise some good actually came out of it. i dont know, sometimes i regret sharing all that at such an early time because loads were unprepared to hear it and we hardly knew each other and i should have waited awhile to know you all better first before sharing that. i used to look back and feel like that was the wrong time to share it but i guess whatever happened did for a reason.
log's probably the best thing that has happened to me so far, with getting to know all of you. so..uh. sorry for anything that i did and was unaware about it or if i freaked anyone out because of what i said. for every affirmation i recieved ive never forgotton anyone of them and they really mean alot to me.
well i want to share this. i recently recieved new test results about that whole eyesight thing and in the mildest way possible to place it, the condition isn't getting any better. but for the first time in my life when i saw the results i didnt feel all dreaded and hopeless like i did since i was a kid..and i guess it was because i finally understood that whatever was going to happen Jesus understood me. & better yet there were a group of people who actually knew about it and who told me that i could talk to them if i was going through anything and that i could trust them in it.
so. thanks for that.
uh. btw. i came across this picture and i thought it was really beautiful so. thought id just post it up as well. hope it shows up.
anne.
Friday, December 30, 2005
Ya. I agree too that when we praying together always feels special. Sometime back in the week, before a mahjong session, when Joan suddenly started crying. A few of us started praying for her and you could feel the spirit move. Each using their own gifts, Oliver started playing the guitar while Joel and I prayed over. Sometimes in tongues...
At the praying over during the retreat, I asked for the gift of tongues. But it was only during the next day after Terrence prayed over me did I encountered the Spirit flowing through me. I litterally lost control of my tongue, but I was afraid and didn't dare speak too loud. I huddled up in a ball, wondering if it were just me or was it really the spirit...
But through that experience, I am affirmed of God's plan for each and every single one of us. Sometimes, I find it hard to discern what in the world is happening in my life. Why am I feeling the way I am?! Why I am balding even?
But time and time again, God delievers. He sends good samaritians when your bent and broken, crying on the road. I thank everyone in LOG for being samritians in my life this year. God Bless.
Timothy Swee
hellos! jes here.
uh well,as promised, a sharing of some sort?
as the year comes to an end i guess it's really time i should give thanks for the whole year. it's been an incredible one,there were ups and downns but it's been one of the most meaningful and life changing years yet.
im thankful for a great deal of things i suppose, the experiences and the opportunities. i'm especially thankful for all of you LoGgers. you all have been a great support spiritually and socially too. haha. if i didnt have LoG, i'll still be a sad lonely little kid who has nothing to do, who has no body to share with, and doesnt do anything online but play neopets. ): haha. so PRAISE GOD!
like jessica mentioned, i think one of the special moments for me in LoG is when we pray. It's really God's presence and it brings a lot of togetherness and its just nice to see and hear people praying sincerely.
Lately, although the group isn't in particularly good shape spiritually im sure we will eventually do something about it to become christ centered once again? maybe we were always christ centered but with all the social activities lately that christ centeredness just doesnt reallyshow as much. an AGM perhaps? for the new year? just a suggestion.
anyways, thank you once again for being people i can trust and confide in. hope next year will be an equally good year for all of us as we get exposed to different enviroments (:
hello! i sorry i never come here.hahaha
well. this week, something struck me. when the priest breaks the host, he says "lamb of god you take away the sins of the world" and it just occurred to me that he's killing jesus when he does that. which actually touched me alot. cos its really about salvation. and its truly amzing how god can actually do that for us. for YOU and ME. then juzzy showed me his eucharist book! haha then padre pio cries when he breaks the host. i dunno it doesnt sound like what i felt. but yeah just sharing!
kris
THIS IS WHAT I HAVE BEEN TOLD TO SHARE. haha. aiya not that i've been forced to...just ya ok i'm sharing this...
ok this christmas...apparently my last post on my christmas was CHEAPSKATE. so ya here goes..well this christmas has been a wonderful one for me. i mean ok i heard that it kinda was like nothing much or kinda sucky for some people..but i don't know...it was my best so far. ok reason being...this is the first time that i have actually experienced christmas the way it should be experienced..i mean..as CHRIST's birth..birth of our saviour..the one who has saved the world..saved the world from EVERYTHING that was blinding us from anything good..saved us from sin. so i mean the thought of this just filled me with joy. i mean the mere thought of Jesus' birth kinda gave me this uplifting sort of feeling during my trip and perhaps yeah it's worn off a bit...but i like have a sudden urge to tell people about my God. which erm explains all the posts.
and ya WHY did i suddenly feel so joyful..i mean i guess as i watched the pageant on the actual performance itself...i mean i thought that you know that image of the sheperd boy and the three wise men at the "fall on your knees" part was so like WHOA. i mean i can't explain it but yes that baby there deserves all your respect..all your worship..adoration whatever. ya..and not only the pageant but the mass it all kinda added on to the whole thing...i mean...i felt surrounded by people who were just as joyful as me that Christ has been born to us and for us. and i guess that just made it all the better.
furthermore...despite getting scolded by my parents after feeling so happy and all..for making them wait so long..which ended up in a whole thing about how horrible a child i am...which is a wonderful thing to say to your daughter on christmas when you haven't even wished her merry christmas yet...where's the love man? haha. ok that's not the point. the point is despite all that...i still managed to find that joy in me from christmas. and the whole trip was actually quite ok.i mean the thing kinda was forgotten so oh well.
i can't explain it. i can only put it in one word. JOY. in a weird like nothing can take that away from me kinda joy. ya. perhaps. that's the spiritual christmasy feeling that me and jes were trying to figure. perhaps.
and now i don't think i'm exactly on a spiritual high.because yeah i don't think i am. it's not really that. it's more like i'm different? i am actually not aware of anything that i've been going through. i really don't know what happened to me la ok.
in fact, i wasn't aware that i had anything to share about christmas until mr. justin sim came and erm dug out stuff from me. yes. so here it is. my sharing! (:
clarice
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
hi there everybody.. yea, in address to clarice's question, many people who attended today's mass (except oliver who was sleeping) must have found what the priest said a little strange, if not wrong. i myself did. that's why after mass i went to ask jude, and what he said was that the priest was speaking in terms of relativity.. meaning that it is relatively better to pray with someone than to pray for someone. anyway, he told us to go and ask the priest if we were still unsure, so kristin, myself and some sec 3 kids (lol) went to ask the father.. and this is what he said..
he said that what he meant was that when you have the opportunity to pray with someone, it is better to do that than to tell the person that you will pray for him or her. for example, when your friend tells you that his mother is unwell in hospital, it is better to say "come, let's pray for her now" than to say "ok i will go home and pray for her." this is because in praying together, there is a certain presence of yout prayer that the other person will feel. whereas if you pray like at night before you sleep, the person may not know that you are praying for him or her (even if he or she trusts you a lot) and so this presence and connection through prayer is not established.
furthermore, and this is my personal input, as the bible so explicitly tells us, when two or three of His children are gathered in prayer, there he will always be. so praying together will further invoke the presence of god to give a stronger meaning to the whole prayer. and during the mass i was whispering to jonathan that how can the priest say that when even in the rosary prayer, we say all the "pray for us" thingies.. what i failed to realise is that mother mary, as well as all the saints and holy intercessors, are always with us. and so, when we ask them to pray for us, they are praying for us with us. geddit? lol. and so the contrast is that when we approach a person to intercede in our prayers, he or she cannot be present with us the way the holy saints can. yupp.
the priest also added that the reason why he used the phrase "life-giving" is because he wanted to make a contrast with the death the holy innocents endured. so the point here is that when we pray with someone, we can fully give life to the 'dead' aspect of that person (ie spiritually or emotionally), in contrast to the death that herod brought upon the holy innocents. when we pray for someone, however, basically the idea is that we cannot fully give this 'life' since we do not establish that connection i wrote about earlier with that person. so ya, as jude says, it is relative. of cos prayin for someone can be life-giving and all, just that we should always sieze the opportunity to pray with that someone so we may establish a divine relationship through our prayer in the sacred name of Jesus.
and here is what kristin has to say haha "basically what he said was that praying with someone gives life, bcos it gives ppl hope and stuff. but praying for the person is more of an intention so praying with the person is an active thing which is kinda like action vs intention. so actions speak louder than words!" yups.
well that's it.. hope im comprehensive enough clarice, and all with queries! =)
love,
justin
hello people!
well...can someone explain to me what the priest was saying during his homily? about praying for and praying with? hmm i didn't really understand...someone explain to me! thank you. whoever. haha.
oh well anyway i had a wonderful christmas. it was my most wonderful christmas despite other things. because it's the first christmas that i actually felt real joy. i mean the birth of our saviour! what joy. ah. yeah and mass was so like christmasy in the spiritual sense because it just felt so right. so joyous. yes. JESUS first. OTHERS second. and YOURSELF last. ah. yes. this is my first ever proper christmas! Praise God! (:
and like during my trip everytime i reminded myself of christmas i was just so filled with joy. hard to explain actually. but it's great. i hope it won't wear off just yet.
oh well new year starting soon. well prepared? how prepared can we be if we don't know what to expect haha. new school new environment new people everything...oh well i hope one day i will gain enough faith to entirely believe that everything will be fine because i have God with me. at least i know God is with me. YES HE IS.
ok hope to see everyone tmr at prayer!
rice
Sunday, December 25, 2005
First sharing
Ok, hi people. My first post here on the LOG BLOG. That day I shared something at Kristin's house but not everyone was there. Ok, so it was at this mass at St Anne's, i was very sleepy because it was 730am mass and I had to leave house at 630 to reach there. So I usually sit at the end of pew. So I could not stop myself from nodding my head in sleepiness. Then suddenly I heard Father Ambrose talking about people sitting at the end of the pew, sleeping and folding arms. Then I realised I was doing just as what he said, as well as several people around me. So everyone sat up and listened. Then he moved on to talk about some mistakes that most people commit during masses. Genuflecting when entering the church is to pay respect to God because this is his temple, as well as when leaving the church. Most people do not do that, but they bow when the priest bows at the front of the altar. But thats because the priest just entered the church and also needed to bow to pay respect to God. So ya, dun be extra haha. Then this one I mentioned, the part about giving each other a sign of peace. It is meant to signify reconciliation with the people around you and as well as forgiving your peers for anything they have done wrong so that you are ready to receive the Holy Communion. Then he said its not a time to show love and affection coz couples kiss and hug and blah. Haha, but its ok to just hug people around with that thought in mind.
Woots, ok end of my sharing. And also an interesting you want to know, I got damn scared of meeting Father Ambrose after that. Haha.
Mark (edited this)
Saturday, December 24, 2005
hallo!
LOG cake :
LOGgers :
okie dokes.
merry christmas & God bless.
anne.
Friday, December 23, 2005
hi again to all!
some of you may have seen this, for for those of you who haven't, enjoy!
here's wishing you a merry blessed christmas!
http://www.syfc.org.sg/christmas05/hokkien.htm
- jonathan
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Friday, December 16, 2005
Wasn't it 3000?
Anyway, I want to affirm Denise on her sharing, and I'm really glad that we're taking time to reflect on our relationship with God. One thing I've always been afraid of when I look at us is that we've become insincere and are now in it for reasons that aren't God-centred. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but sharings like this really help to ease my worrying.
maybe some sharing from myself later on. I need to think
adam
23,530,581!!! the amount of money I need. erm. 23,530,581 in rupiahs that is...
STILL, $4000!! fundraising for serangoon district youth rally, please brainstorm!!
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
hellos everyone! great to see honest sharings being posted on this blog for the benefit of the community. so to all those who had to courage to answer the calling to share their feelings and experiences, THANK YOU! =)
anyway, the purpose of this post is to share a little.. ermm.. derivation i made. i just read an email, and using the analogy presented in it, i have come up with something i hope will mean something to each of us.
"in times of darkness, prayer is the way to ask Jesus to be a candle for us. while the candle will not get rid of the darkness, it will light up a way for us, and keep us safe."
i would not dwelve into it cos ya.. i can take forver haha. but mebbe people can share what they think of it? i dunu haha. just a suggestion (:
cheerio then
love
justin (the real one.. not the kong one.. hee hee =D jk lah)
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
hey guys!! i mean err....gurls and guys XD hello!!! haha....this is my first time bloggin...heard tt it's quite dead....hmm...no wad...mine's worst =X anywayz....to all those hu dunno....i'll be away in bangkok frm 13 to 18...yupz...soo see u all at x'mas mass XD....oh...and happi watchin saw2 on e 13th...*tmr* tell me how u all find it kkz...(nuthin much to share abt retreat)...ciao XD
*kiara*
Monday, December 12, 2005
hello pple...er watched saw just now..er..im gonna share about retreat! er...im not good at sharings..you know.but i thought that i should cos...er...so yeah..
*Breathes in deeply...here goes...
ok well at first i thought this camp wasn't going to be a good one for me..honestly..because i was really distracted and all..i just couldn't concentrate and my realtionship with God wasn't as strong as it should be..i kept sleeping in talks and didn't take things seriously...i didn't feel the confession was good either because things just became routine for me..this was also because whenever i tried to grow closer to God..like lifting my hands or saying a prayer or just prasing God..i felt what i was doing wasn't sincere or genuine because of how far a had drifted away from God and did them halfheartedly feeling unworthy this whole time..but sharings are the only part i really liked...because someone told me to just try..just keep trying..no matter what..things may not always be easy but God is always waiting there with open arms if you are just willing to try and reach out to him...so i did..i tried..
I tried my hardest during the praying over to open up to God..to surrender myself but i felt nothing...in fact i only felt scared and confused and worst of all disappointed with myself..i felt i wasnt trying hard enough and i was just not important in God's eyes..i felt neglected and i was super depressed..and sad...in fact i felt horrid because...i didn't feel..well..loved... .all around me pple felt God presence and love...i was happy for them..but still... i know i shoudn't have any expectations but i couldn't help it...at night i couldnt help singing to my self the planetshakers song..."jesus please don't pass me by"... maybe i'll use that as the next blog song..
so on the third day...when i heard there was a sudden praying over after the evagelisation talk (which i slept through halfway) i was like ...oh no...i dun wanna go..i didn;t wanna feel disappointed again..but something urged me to go for it... so i prayed to God before i went up about how much i felt deep inside and what my heart really desired you know..to grow closer to him and all...then when terence prayed over me...i could feel the holy spirit flowing through him as what i had just prayed to God...terence had just said it out too..and even the things which my heart so wanted to cry out to God but felt i just couldnt say... he did... woah did i feel my eyes smart as they swelled up with tears..then as i sat back down...it all sank in...God was always there walking with me every step of the day and he knew me so well even the feelings that i could not put into words he knew..every bit of me..i felt so...loved...then woah drip drip goes my tears and in my heart the song "even though you know" came to me and i started to sing it to myself inside as it really reflected how i felt inside... then what do you know the same song just happend to be our closing song so as we started to lift our hands and sing it..i tried to..i just couldn;t sing it..if i did i wanted to cry it out instead as it then meant so much to me...to me it was a real sign of God's love for me and how well he knew me...and so i bawled...ok you guys know the rest.. haha
well i guys...i hope my sharing helps...just know that no matter how you feel inside...God does know and cares as he loves you so so much...and he is always there waiting for us with open arms ready to embrace us with a big divine hug if we just accept him and ourselves for who we are and keep trying...trying to reach out for him, he will be there without fail...we must find him in our hearts...because no matter who we are or what ever we have done...he will love us all the same....no matter what..
And for those who are scared or unsure whether or not to reach out to the Lord..just remember..he will never close the door...and he will wait for you all your life...but don;t wait too long till your dead! hehe.. just trust in the lord with all your heart and he will love you with all of his....
phew! that was long.... if you notice in the second last paragraph i used a commar for the 1st time... ive gotta stop this bad habit with all the dots..............
im gonna post the "don't pass me by song on my blog...so if u ever want to hear it..maybe it has a message for those who felt the same as i did...hehe
Nise-
hello hello. well this is kinda my first few times visiting and my first time blogging. so i am here under jes' erm shall we say reminding? ok.
retreat. oh well i think it was OK. i mean i really did get really distracted. sigh. i hate distractions. stupid thoughts that can't leave your mind alone. AH WELL.
i thought maybe you guys should know i really do have a phobia of praying over. i mean i'm not sure if i'll be able to handle another one. but it's sth that i know i have to overcome. but i just don't know how. oh well i guess it's between me and God.
i thought that our sharing was really special :) i mean really special. praise God.
i am just thinking why i spend my whole life doing things that aren't important at all. and yet. i know i can't stop me from doing it. but i shall spend more time doing fruitful stuff like travelling down to gardens for mass? i'll try la. i'll try. while i still have the time before school starts and all.
i guess it's kinda hard for me because i always wished that i could go for mass with you guys every day. it does make a difference i know it. but i live so far away. and i don't want to stay for the wrong reasons. if you know what i mean.
OK. hope you guys have fun watching saw later! sorry can't join you guys i forgot i am supposed to go out with primary school friends. oh well. it's a good show! pretty exciting. i can just imagine you girls screaming and making a lot of noise haha.
i guess i'll try to make it down tmr k. i don't see why i wouldn't be able to la. hai. i really really pray that one day i might be able to stay near church.
anyway for everything...PRAISE GOD.
hope to see you guys soon!
rice :)
Sunday, December 11, 2005
haha this blog still lives! Save it pple!
RETREATTTTTTTTTTTtttttttttttt!! *insert proper sound effect. :P*
anyways I thought the retreat on the whole has been quite fantastic. I know expectations are just bad but I kinda forgot that point and besides... I didn't prepare myself spiritually for this retreat so I did get disappointed .
recon was quite good. I can still remember fr ho saying "I like to look on the bright side of things..." This statement really struck me because I've been looking on the DARK SIDE of things... *dramatic sad music*. I always thought of myself as a rather positive person... Till now. haha.
praying over as I said was definitely not what I expected. I really did think I spoilt it when I peeped !): the temptation was so great! The sharing at night was good,really glad the group is just a support and all, it's encouraging...Really.*big smile* (:
actually I dunno if it was by the spirit and all but initially after the praying over and all it was because I was disappointed deep down (my attempts trying to convince myself that I really shouldn't expect anything failed. Sigh) then trying to look on the bright side of things, I felt better .then after sharing thoughts just rushed into my head and then I kinda cried quite a bit. Apparently jess claims im girlier now. haha., now im feel tons better! yay.
things still feel kinda messy, haven't really thought the whole camp through... So... Yea that's about it.
I LOVE LOG (:
PRAISE GOD.
-jes*
The retreat was really an eye opener from God. Though I didn't expect/want to be a facil, I still became one. So one thing that bugged me was expectations. It really weighed on me on the second night, and I thank all of you for being there for me.
Something I learned from the Sec3s confirmation camp, expectations lead to disappointment. But trust in the Lord will get you strength and his plan will be fullfiled in you.
For those expecting a spiritual high, do not be disappointed. For everything has its reason. God has a plan for Us. Since we were woven in our mother's womb, he has written down a plan for us. So Trust in the Lord with all your hearts, all your minds and all your soul.
Praise God!
-TiM
Friday, December 02, 2005
Our Spiritual Journey
"Even youths will faint and be weary, and the youngwill fall exhausted; ...
For the next week, til the retreat starts, I think we should reflect upon our spiritual jouney.
Where we started from,
Where we have been,
Where we are at,
And where do we want to be.
We as in Jesus and I.
May we never lose sight of what our faith truely represents. (So also reflect on what our faith truely means to us)
Pray
... but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."
Isaiah 40.30-31
Catholic Countdown
Hello people. Here I am again to share. Today's thanksgiving mass was really nice. Jes, anne, daniel and bt were there with me. A very solemn mass. Father Ho asked us whether we were ready to countdown to next year and only the second time he asked, did everyone say "yes" together. Well, i thought next year isn't something very great. Maybe at the stroke of 12 it would be judgement day. Ok, he then said he would teach us the catholic countdown. Which he explained during sermon, the counting of our blessings in the past year we have received from God and thank him for it. When I heard it, I really did not bother to count because I know everyday of this year, God has been with me. So I just closed my eyes and said thanks. This time I didn't tear but I saw daniel and BT bending forward with folded arms. We should always remember to thank the Lord for everything we receive in our daily lives because waking up in the morning is also a miracle! I was actually very tired and was on the verge of not going to thanksgiving mass, but then I thought, I think I really need to go and solemnly thank the Lord for what he has done for me. :D
Talking about this, at the chalet I went, there was this session that we had to plan a 15 min mock session in half an hour. So my group and I decided that we do prayer. I was tasked to do the majority of the talking -.-" Well, ok I was really quite jittery about sitting in front of 20 people and trying to teach them about prayer. When my group ended the discussion, we had a prayer together then we went out. We were the last group to present so I went forward after 2 groups presented and sat down in front of them. Then I said, I'm not going to ask who does not pray everyday because it is something we should be doing already. Then I moved on to explain what prayer is then had a skit to emphasize the correct way of praying. The skit went like this, I shall use A and B to represent ppl. first scene was A calling B and asking B for help, however, A does not allow B to reply at all but just wants B to listen only. Second scene was B calling A, but A does not seem interested to listen to his advice. Third scene is B and A talking and chatting heartily on the phone. Fourth scene is A pondering and hesitating whether to call B or not and finally decides not to, and throws the phone away. Each scene represents a scenario that I leave it to yall to decifer, should be easy la. So I got the people to reflect on this and I continued with my talk about prayer techniques, types of prayer, importance of prayer. Heh, too much to type here already, just a piece of this to let u reflect on. Thats all from me!
mark
0 Comments:
______________________________________________allo loggers.
i've been thinking alot about that sharing session i had way back then in january. it was bothering me for the last 12 mths but only when jessica said that at marcus's house about the prayer part did i then realise some good actually came out of it. i dont know, sometimes i regret sharing all that at such an early time because loads were unprepared to hear it and we hardly knew each other and i should have waited awhile to know you all better first before sharing that. i used to look back and feel like that was the wrong time to share it but i guess whatever happened did for a reason.
log's probably the best thing that has happened to me so far, with getting to know all of you. so..uh. sorry for anything that i did and was unaware about it or if i freaked anyone out because of what i said. for every affirmation i recieved ive never forgotton anyone of them and they really mean alot to me.
well i want to share this. i recently recieved new test results about that whole eyesight thing and in the mildest way possible to place it, the condition isn't getting any better. but for the first time in my life when i saw the results i didnt feel all dreaded and hopeless like i did since i was a kid..and i guess it was because i finally understood that whatever was going to happen Jesus understood me. & better yet there were a group of people who actually knew about it and who told me that i could talk to them if i was going through anything and that i could trust them in it.
so. thanks for that.
uh. btw. i came across this picture and i thought it was really beautiful so. thought id just post it up as well. hope it shows up.
anne.
0 Comments:
______________________________________________Friday, December 30, 2005
Ya. I agree too that when we praying together always feels special. Sometime back in the week, before a mahjong session, when Joan suddenly started crying. A few of us started praying for her and you could feel the spirit move. Each using their own gifts, Oliver started playing the guitar while Joel and I prayed over. Sometimes in tongues...
At the praying over during the retreat, I asked for the gift of tongues. But it was only during the next day after Terrence prayed over me did I encountered the Spirit flowing through me. I litterally lost control of my tongue, but I was afraid and didn't dare speak too loud. I huddled up in a ball, wondering if it were just me or was it really the spirit...
But through that experience, I am affirmed of God's plan for each and every single one of us. Sometimes, I find it hard to discern what in the world is happening in my life. Why am I feeling the way I am?! Why I am balding even?
But time and time again, God delievers. He sends good samaritians when your bent and broken, crying on the road. I thank everyone in LOG for being samritians in my life this year. God Bless.
Timothy Swee
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______________________________________________hellos! jes here.
uh well,as promised, a sharing of some sort?
as the year comes to an end i guess it's really time i should give thanks for the whole year. it's been an incredible one,there were ups and downns but it's been one of the most meaningful and life changing years yet.
im thankful for a great deal of things i suppose, the experiences and the opportunities. i'm especially thankful for all of you LoGgers. you all have been a great support spiritually and socially too. haha. if i didnt have LoG, i'll still be a sad lonely little kid who has nothing to do, who has no body to share with, and doesnt do anything online but play neopets. ): haha. so PRAISE GOD!
like jessica mentioned, i think one of the special moments for me in LoG is when we pray. It's really God's presence and it brings a lot of togetherness and its just nice to see and hear people praying sincerely.
Lately, although the group isn't in particularly good shape spiritually im sure we will eventually do something about it to become christ centered once again? maybe we were always christ centered but with all the social activities lately that christ centeredness just doesnt reallyshow as much. an AGM perhaps? for the new year? just a suggestion.
anyways, thank you once again for being people i can trust and confide in. hope next year will be an equally good year for all of us as we get exposed to different enviroments (:
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______________________________________________hello! i sorry i never come here.hahaha
well. this week, something struck me. when the priest breaks the host, he says "lamb of god you take away the sins of the world" and it just occurred to me that he's killing jesus when he does that. which actually touched me alot. cos its really about salvation. and its truly amzing how god can actually do that for us. for YOU and ME. then juzzy showed me his eucharist book! haha then padre pio cries when he breaks the host. i dunno it doesnt sound like what i felt. but yeah just sharing!
kris
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______________________________________________THIS IS WHAT I HAVE BEEN TOLD TO SHARE. haha. aiya not that i've been forced to...just ya ok i'm sharing this...
ok this christmas...apparently my last post on my christmas was CHEAPSKATE. so ya here goes..well this christmas has been a wonderful one for me. i mean ok i heard that it kinda was like nothing much or kinda sucky for some people..but i don't know...it was my best so far. ok reason being...this is the first time that i have actually experienced christmas the way it should be experienced..i mean..as CHRIST's birth..birth of our saviour..the one who has saved the world..saved the world from EVERYTHING that was blinding us from anything good..saved us from sin. so i mean the thought of this just filled me with joy. i mean the mere thought of Jesus' birth kinda gave me this uplifting sort of feeling during my trip and perhaps yeah it's worn off a bit...but i like have a sudden urge to tell people about my God. which erm explains all the posts.
and ya WHY did i suddenly feel so joyful..i mean i guess as i watched the pageant on the actual performance itself...i mean i thought that you know that image of the sheperd boy and the three wise men at the "fall on your knees" part was so like WHOA. i mean i can't explain it but yes that baby there deserves all your respect..all your worship..adoration whatever. ya..and not only the pageant but the mass it all kinda added on to the whole thing...i mean...i felt surrounded by people who were just as joyful as me that Christ has been born to us and for us. and i guess that just made it all the better.
furthermore...despite getting scolded by my parents after feeling so happy and all..for making them wait so long..which ended up in a whole thing about how horrible a child i am...which is a wonderful thing to say to your daughter on christmas when you haven't even wished her merry christmas yet...where's the love man? haha. ok that's not the point. the point is despite all that...i still managed to find that joy in me from christmas. and the whole trip was actually quite ok.i mean the thing kinda was forgotten so oh well.
i can't explain it. i can only put it in one word. JOY. in a weird like nothing can take that away from me kinda joy. ya. perhaps. that's the spiritual christmasy feeling that me and jes were trying to figure. perhaps.
and now i don't think i'm exactly on a spiritual high.because yeah i don't think i am. it's not really that. it's more like i'm different? i am actually not aware of anything that i've been going through. i really don't know what happened to me la ok.
in fact, i wasn't aware that i had anything to share about christmas until mr. justin sim came and erm dug out stuff from me. yes. so here it is. my sharing! (:
clarice
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______________________________________________Wednesday, December 28, 2005
hi there everybody.. yea, in address to clarice's question, many people who attended today's mass (except oliver who was sleeping) must have found what the priest said a little strange, if not wrong. i myself did. that's why after mass i went to ask jude, and what he said was that the priest was speaking in terms of relativity.. meaning that it is relatively better to pray with someone than to pray for someone. anyway, he told us to go and ask the priest if we were still unsure, so kristin, myself and some sec 3 kids (lol) went to ask the father.. and this is what he said..
he said that what he meant was that when you have the opportunity to pray with someone, it is better to do that than to tell the person that you will pray for him or her. for example, when your friend tells you that his mother is unwell in hospital, it is better to say "come, let's pray for her now" than to say "ok i will go home and pray for her." this is because in praying together, there is a certain presence of yout prayer that the other person will feel. whereas if you pray like at night before you sleep, the person may not know that you are praying for him or her (even if he or she trusts you a lot) and so this presence and connection through prayer is not established.
furthermore, and this is my personal input, as the bible so explicitly tells us, when two or three of His children are gathered in prayer, there he will always be. so praying together will further invoke the presence of god to give a stronger meaning to the whole prayer. and during the mass i was whispering to jonathan that how can the priest say that when even in the rosary prayer, we say all the "pray for us" thingies.. what i failed to realise is that mother mary, as well as all the saints and holy intercessors, are always with us. and so, when we ask them to pray for us, they are praying for us with us. geddit? lol. and so the contrast is that when we approach a person to intercede in our prayers, he or she cannot be present with us the way the holy saints can. yupp.
the priest also added that the reason why he used the phrase "life-giving" is because he wanted to make a contrast with the death the holy innocents endured. so the point here is that when we pray with someone, we can fully give life to the 'dead' aspect of that person (ie spiritually or emotionally), in contrast to the death that herod brought upon the holy innocents. when we pray for someone, however, basically the idea is that we cannot fully give this 'life' since we do not establish that connection i wrote about earlier with that person. so ya, as jude says, it is relative. of cos prayin for someone can be life-giving and all, just that we should always sieze the opportunity to pray with that someone so we may establish a divine relationship through our prayer in the sacred name of Jesus.
and here is what kristin has to say haha "basically what he said was that praying with someone gives life, bcos it gives ppl hope and stuff. but praying for the person is more of an intention so praying with the person is an active thing which is kinda like action vs intention. so actions speak louder than words!" yups.
well that's it.. hope im comprehensive enough clarice, and all with queries! =)
love,
justin
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______________________________________________hello people!
well...can someone explain to me what the priest was saying during his homily? about praying for and praying with? hmm i didn't really understand...someone explain to me! thank you. whoever. haha.
oh well anyway i had a wonderful christmas. it was my most wonderful christmas despite other things. because it's the first christmas that i actually felt real joy. i mean the birth of our saviour! what joy. ah. yeah and mass was so like christmasy in the spiritual sense because it just felt so right. so joyous. yes. JESUS first. OTHERS second. and YOURSELF last. ah. yes. this is my first ever proper christmas! Praise God! (:
and like during my trip everytime i reminded myself of christmas i was just so filled with joy. hard to explain actually. but it's great. i hope it won't wear off just yet.
oh well new year starting soon. well prepared? how prepared can we be if we don't know what to expect haha. new school new environment new people everything...oh well i hope one day i will gain enough faith to entirely believe that everything will be fine because i have God with me. at least i know God is with me. YES HE IS.
ok hope to see everyone tmr at prayer!
rice
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______________________________________________Sunday, December 25, 2005
First sharing
Ok, hi people. My first post here on the LOG BLOG. That day I shared something at Kristin's house but not everyone was there. Ok, so it was at this mass at St Anne's, i was very sleepy because it was 730am mass and I had to leave house at 630 to reach there. So I usually sit at the end of pew. So I could not stop myself from nodding my head in sleepiness. Then suddenly I heard Father Ambrose talking about people sitting at the end of the pew, sleeping and folding arms. Then I realised I was doing just as what he said, as well as several people around me. So everyone sat up and listened. Then he moved on to talk about some mistakes that most people commit during masses. Genuflecting when entering the church is to pay respect to God because this is his temple, as well as when leaving the church. Most people do not do that, but they bow when the priest bows at the front of the altar. But thats because the priest just entered the church and also needed to bow to pay respect to God. So ya, dun be extra haha. Then this one I mentioned, the part about giving each other a sign of peace. It is meant to signify reconciliation with the people around you and as well as forgiving your peers for anything they have done wrong so that you are ready to receive the Holy Communion. Then he said its not a time to show love and affection coz couples kiss and hug and blah. Haha, but its ok to just hug people around with that thought in mind.
Woots, ok end of my sharing. And also an interesting you want to know, I got damn scared of meeting Father Ambrose after that. Haha.
Mark (edited this)
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______________________________________________Saturday, December 24, 2005
hallo!
LOG cake :
LOGgers :
okie dokes.
merry christmas & God bless.
anne.
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______________________________________________Friday, December 23, 2005
hi again to all!
some of you may have seen this, for for those of you who haven't, enjoy!
here's wishing you a merry blessed christmas!
http://www.syfc.org.sg/christmas05/hokkien.htm
- jonathan
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______________________________________________Sunday, December 18, 2005
The Serenity Prayer, by Rienhold Niebuhr
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
this is quite a good prayer. pray as often as you can. god bless you all =)
- jonathan
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______________________________________________Friday, December 16, 2005
Wasn't it 3000?
Anyway, I want to affirm Denise on her sharing, and I'm really glad that we're taking time to reflect on our relationship with God. One thing I've always been afraid of when I look at us is that we've become insincere and are now in it for reasons that aren't God-centred. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but sharings like this really help to ease my worrying.
maybe some sharing from myself later on. I need to think
adam
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______________________________________________23,530,581!!! the amount of money I need. erm. 23,530,581 in rupiahs that is...
STILL, $4000!! fundraising for serangoon district youth rally, please brainstorm!!
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______________________________________________Wednesday, December 14, 2005
hellos everyone! great to see honest sharings being posted on this blog for the benefit of the community. so to all those who had to courage to answer the calling to share their feelings and experiences, THANK YOU! =)
anyway, the purpose of this post is to share a little.. ermm.. derivation i made. i just read an email, and using the analogy presented in it, i have come up with something i hope will mean something to each of us.
"in times of darkness, prayer is the way to ask Jesus to be a candle for us. while the candle will not get rid of the darkness, it will light up a way for us, and keep us safe."
i would not dwelve into it cos ya.. i can take forver haha. but mebbe people can share what they think of it? i dunu haha. just a suggestion (:
cheerio then
love
justin (the real one.. not the kong one.. hee hee =D jk lah)
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______________________________________________Tuesday, December 13, 2005
hey guys!! i mean err....gurls and guys XD hello!!! haha....this is my first time bloggin...heard tt it's quite dead....hmm...no wad...mine's worst =X anywayz....to all those hu dunno....i'll be away in bangkok frm 13 to 18...yupz...soo see u all at x'mas mass XD....oh...and happi watchin saw2 on e 13th...*tmr* tell me how u all find it kkz...(nuthin much to share abt retreat)...ciao XD
*kiara*
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______________________________________________Monday, December 12, 2005
hello pple...er watched saw just now..er..im gonna share about retreat! er...im not good at sharings..you know.but i thought that i should cos...er...so yeah..
*Breathes in deeply...here goes...
ok well at first i thought this camp wasn't going to be a good one for me..honestly..because i was really distracted and all..i just couldn't concentrate and my realtionship with God wasn't as strong as it should be..i kept sleeping in talks and didn't take things seriously...i didn't feel the confession was good either because things just became routine for me..this was also because whenever i tried to grow closer to God..like lifting my hands or saying a prayer or just prasing God..i felt what i was doing wasn't sincere or genuine because of how far a had drifted away from God and did them halfheartedly feeling unworthy this whole time..but sharings are the only part i really liked...because someone told me to just try..just keep trying..no matter what..things may not always be easy but God is always waiting there with open arms if you are just willing to try and reach out to him...so i did..i tried..
I tried my hardest during the praying over to open up to God..to surrender myself but i felt nothing...in fact i only felt scared and confused and worst of all disappointed with myself..i felt i wasnt trying hard enough and i was just not important in God's eyes..i felt neglected and i was super depressed..and sad...in fact i felt horrid because...i didn't feel..well..loved... .all around me pple felt God presence and love...i was happy for them..but still... i know i shoudn't have any expectations but i couldn't help it...at night i couldnt help singing to my self the planetshakers song..."jesus please don't pass me by"... maybe i'll use that as the next blog song..
so on the third day...when i heard there was a sudden praying over after the evagelisation talk (which i slept through halfway) i was like ...oh no...i dun wanna go..i didn;t wanna feel disappointed again..but something urged me to go for it... so i prayed to God before i went up about how much i felt deep inside and what my heart really desired you know..to grow closer to him and all...then when terence prayed over me...i could feel the holy spirit flowing through him as what i had just prayed to God...terence had just said it out too..and even the things which my heart so wanted to cry out to God but felt i just couldnt say... he did... woah did i feel my eyes smart as they swelled up with tears..then as i sat back down...it all sank in...God was always there walking with me every step of the day and he knew me so well even the feelings that i could not put into words he knew..every bit of me..i felt so...loved...then woah drip drip goes my tears and in my heart the song "even though you know" came to me and i started to sing it to myself inside as it really reflected how i felt inside... then what do you know the same song just happend to be our closing song so as we started to lift our hands and sing it..i tried to..i just couldn;t sing it..if i did i wanted to cry it out instead as it then meant so much to me...to me it was a real sign of God's love for me and how well he knew me...and so i bawled...ok you guys know the rest.. haha
well i guys...i hope my sharing helps...just know that no matter how you feel inside...God does know and cares as he loves you so so much...and he is always there waiting for us with open arms ready to embrace us with a big divine hug if we just accept him and ourselves for who we are and keep trying...trying to reach out for him, he will be there without fail...we must find him in our hearts...because no matter who we are or what ever we have done...he will love us all the same....no matter what..
And for those who are scared or unsure whether or not to reach out to the Lord..just remember..he will never close the door...and he will wait for you all your life...but don;t wait too long till your dead! hehe.. just trust in the lord with all your heart and he will love you with all of his....
phew! that was long.... if you notice in the second last paragraph i used a commar for the 1st time... ive gotta stop this bad habit with all the dots..............
im gonna post the "don't pass me by song on my blog...so if u ever want to hear it..maybe it has a message for those who felt the same as i did...hehe
Nise-
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______________________________________________hello hello. well this is kinda my first few times visiting and my first time blogging. so i am here under jes' erm shall we say reminding? ok.
retreat. oh well i think it was OK. i mean i really did get really distracted. sigh. i hate distractions. stupid thoughts that can't leave your mind alone. AH WELL.
i thought maybe you guys should know i really do have a phobia of praying over. i mean i'm not sure if i'll be able to handle another one. but it's sth that i know i have to overcome. but i just don't know how. oh well i guess it's between me and God.
i thought that our sharing was really special :) i mean really special. praise God.
i am just thinking why i spend my whole life doing things that aren't important at all. and yet. i know i can't stop me from doing it. but i shall spend more time doing fruitful stuff like travelling down to gardens for mass? i'll try la. i'll try. while i still have the time before school starts and all.
i guess it's kinda hard for me because i always wished that i could go for mass with you guys every day. it does make a difference i know it. but i live so far away. and i don't want to stay for the wrong reasons. if you know what i mean.
OK. hope you guys have fun watching saw later! sorry can't join you guys i forgot i am supposed to go out with primary school friends. oh well. it's a good show! pretty exciting. i can just imagine you girls screaming and making a lot of noise haha.
i guess i'll try to make it down tmr k. i don't see why i wouldn't be able to la. hai. i really really pray that one day i might be able to stay near church.
anyway for everything...PRAISE GOD.
hope to see you guys soon!
rice :)
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______________________________________________Sunday, December 11, 2005
haha this blog still lives! Save it pple!
RETREATTTTTTTTTTTtttttttttttt!! *insert proper sound effect. :P*
anyways I thought the retreat on the whole has been quite fantastic. I know expectations are just bad but I kinda forgot that point and besides... I didn't prepare myself spiritually for this retreat so I did get disappointed .
recon was quite good. I can still remember fr ho saying "I like to look on the bright side of things..." This statement really struck me because I've been looking on the DARK SIDE of things... *dramatic sad music*. I always thought of myself as a rather positive person... Till now. haha.
praying over as I said was definitely not what I expected. I really did think I spoilt it when I peeped !): the temptation was so great! The sharing at night was good,really glad the group is just a support and all, it's encouraging...Really.*big smile* (:
actually I dunno if it was by the spirit and all but initially after the praying over and all it was because I was disappointed deep down (my attempts trying to convince myself that I really shouldn't expect anything failed. Sigh) then trying to look on the bright side of things, I felt better .then after sharing thoughts just rushed into my head and then I kinda cried quite a bit. Apparently jess claims im girlier now. haha., now im feel tons better! yay.
things still feel kinda messy, haven't really thought the whole camp through... So... Yea that's about it.
I LOVE LOG (:
PRAISE GOD.
-jes*
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______________________________________________The retreat was really an eye opener from God. Though I didn't expect/want to be a facil, I still became one. So one thing that bugged me was expectations. It really weighed on me on the second night, and I thank all of you for being there for me.
Something I learned from the Sec3s confirmation camp, expectations lead to disappointment. But trust in the Lord will get you strength and his plan will be fullfiled in you.
For those expecting a spiritual high, do not be disappointed. For everything has its reason. God has a plan for Us. Since we were woven in our mother's womb, he has written down a plan for us. So Trust in the Lord with all your hearts, all your minds and all your soul.
Praise God!
-TiM
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______________________________________________Friday, December 02, 2005
Our Spiritual Journey
"Even youths will faint and be weary, and the youngwill fall exhausted; ...
For the next week, til the retreat starts, I think we should reflect upon our spiritual jouney.
Where we started from,
Where we have been,
Where we are at,
And where do we want to be.
We as in Jesus and I.
May we never lose sight of what our faith truely represents. (So also reflect on what our faith truely means to us)
Pray
... but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."
Isaiah 40.30-31