Response

Hey. Tim here.

Seriously, thanks a lot for your b'day wishes. It made my otherwise plain day very, very happening. I'll keep it in my heart for the times, years, and perhaps my lifetime to come. Honestly, i've never had such a happening b'day. And that's inclusive of last minute butt-numbing work. It was truely amazing.

Just a note, a personal email will be sent from me to most JS 2009-ers very, very soon. It'll contain alot of PnC information that is to be shared exclusively with only you. It also contains information that is gonna be potentially destructive to many parties if handled the wrong way. So, when you recieve it (my best guess, given my suddenly hectic schedule, by the end of this week), PLEASE do not, at all, spill the beans to anyone outside the JS '09 circle (including the counsellors). And please do be weary of your surroundings if you do talk about this to other JS '09 mates, as i do not want this precious information to be overheard by accident to others in anyway as it (i know i'm repeating this) might outright destroy the life of many individual and parties. Relax as it regards something i have wanted to share with all of you people to encourage and edify as that is my best interest. Thank you once again for your birthday wishes and prayer. I was truely blessed.

Sincerely,
Timothy (middle name Ignatius) Lewis
a.k.a TOMATO!!!!

Tomorrow is someone's birthday!!!
Blessed birthday to Timothy Lewis!!!!
Have a wonderful time being 18,legal age
So continue to shine for God in whatever you do!!
May God be with you always and enjoy your day.

A Story

She jumped up as soon as she saw the surgeon come out of the operating room. She said: 'How is my little boy? Is he going to be all right? When can I see him?' The surgeon said, 'I'm sorry. We did all we could, but your boy didn't make it.' Sally said, 'Why do little children get cancer? Doesn't God care any more? Where were you, God, when my son needed you?' The surgeon asked, 'Would you like some time alone with your son? One of the nurses will be out in a few minutes, before he's transported to the university.' Sally asked the nurse to stay with her while she said good bye to son. She ran her fingers lovingly through his thick red curly hair. 'Would you like a lock of his hair?' the nurse asked. Sally nodded yes. The nurse cut a lock of the boy's hair, put it in a plastic bag and handed it to Sal ly. The mother said, 'It was Jimmy's idea to donate his body to the University for Study. He said it might help somebody else. 'I said no at first, but Jimmy said, ' Mom , I won't be using it after I die. Maybe it will help some other little boy spend one more day with his Mom .' She went on, 'My Jimmy had a heart of gold. Always thinking of someone else. Always wanting to help others if he could.' Sally walked out of Children's Mercy Hospital for the last time, after spending most of the last six months there. She put the bag with Jimmy's belongings on the seat beside her in the car. The drive home was difficult. It was even harder to enter the empty house. She carried Jimmy's belongings, and the plastic bag with the lock of his hair to her son's room. She started placing the model cars and other personal things back in his room exactly where he had always kept them. She lay down across his bed and, hugging his pillow, cried herself to sleep. It was around midnight when Sally awoke. Lying beside her on the bed was a folded letter. The letter said: 'Dear20Mom , I know you're going to miss me; but don't think that I will ever forget you, or stop loving you, just 'cause I'm not around to say 'I Love You'. I will always love you, Mom , even more with each day. Someday we will see each other again. Until then, if you want to adopt a little boy so you won't be so lonely, that's okay with me. He can have my room and old stuff to play with. But, if you decide to get a girl instead, she probably wouldn't like the same things us boys do. You'll have to buy her dolls and stuff girls like, you know. Don't be s ad thinking about me. This really is a neat place. Grandma and Grandpa met me as soon as I got here and showed me around some, but it will take a long time to see everything. The angels are so cool. I love to watch them fly. And, you know what? Jesus doesn't look like any of his pictures. Yet, when I saw Him, I knew it was Him. Jesus himself took me to see GOD! And guess what, Mom ? I got to sit on God's knee and talk to Him, like I was somebody important. That's when I told Him that I wanted to write you a letter, to tell you good bye and everything. But I already knew that wasn't allowed. Well, you know what Mom ? God handed me some paper and His own personal pen to write you this letter I think Gabriel is the name of the angel who is going to drop this letter off to you. God said for me t o gi ve you the answer to one of the questions you asked Him 'where was He when I needed him?' 'God said He was in the same place with me, as when His son Jesus was on the cross. He was right there, as He always is with all His children. Oh, by the way, Mom , no one else can see what I've written except you. To everyone else this is just a blank piece of paper. Isn't that cool? I have to give God His pen back now He needs it to write some more names in the Book of Life. Tonight I get to sit at the table with Jesus for supper. I'm sure the food will be great. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. I don't hurt anymore the cancer is all gone.. I'm glad because I couldn't stand that pain anymore and God couldn't stand to see me hurt so much, either. That's when He sent The Angel of Mercy to come get me. The Angel said I was a Special Delivery! How about that? Signed with Love from God, Jesus & Me.

SHOCKING!!!!

Something damn interesting i witnessed juz now... Please do have the patience to read this.

In the course of doing a sound and music business, resource n redundancy is important. You'll need to have access to all the brands n type of equipment (or at least their contacts lar) and have, at best 2-3 suppliers to a certain type of equipment to prevent embarrassing moments, since d market in Malaysia is abit, erm, monopolized by some unscrupulous people who can 'main-main' with you when you desperately need stock. A substansial sound company can have up to 8-10 different suppliers (by suppliers i mean with an open account)

So juz now, my dad sent me n my mom to get some stuff from a big-time veteran (one of those not so unethical ones) supplier in Klang. We used the car, since we were only getting connectors n a small smoke machine. since d stock had 2 be taken from the store upstairs, we waited abit. And checked out some new products that just arrived at the showroom. Like good old Hokkien buisnesspeople, they were staunch Buddist people. Proof of it lies in a HUGE shrine at the back of the showroom with incense smoking 24/7.

That shop was as packed as usual with customers coming to sent their spoilt goods (mostly caused by idiotic handling) for repair or for a warantee claim, customers collecting their repaired goods, interested customers coming to grab some stuffs, n juz some plain window shoppers looking for the best bargain. One of them is from a surau, coming to pick up an amplifier tat had some warantee problems (he bought cheap stuff, in all honesty, which isn't realible). So the salesman on duty plugged in a CD player to test the guy's amp in front of the guy to show him that the amp is repaired. I saw him plugging it in, since, i was about 4 feet away from those two guys, just bored and nothing to do. He loaded a CD-R, which was lying on top of a stack of similiar looking CD-Rs, which in my millions of times going there in the course of my life, knew what they were - Test CDs containing a compilation of nice-sounding songs, seperated by genre per CD, so that they can test the sound quality of whatever PA system that is plugged in.

I turned around and walked away, knowing that these salesman would play whatever that CD contains REALLY LOUD. I wanted to protect my ears from bleeding. And that salesguy punched play. I turned around in shock at the song that was being played back.

The song was Break Free. Played in public by a non-christian supplier, in front of many Malay and Chinese customers, through an amplifier meant for a SURAU. At rock concert levels. For 2 full minutes.

Cool, eh? This shows that God's word is being broadcasted even further and wider than we can ever imagine due to the popularity and universal appeal of music. The best part is, even if those guys (by those guys i mean overly-sensitive Malays) didn't like it, they cannot do anything about it. Why?

Because the song didn't contain the ever-so-sensitive words Jesus, Christ or Allah. And that's the thing, you can't prosecute a person for playing back something religiously sensitive even IN THEIR FACE, if, it doesn't contain any words that are deemed religiously specific. Have a Christian song without those three words broadcasted all you want, and as long if you have a public music broadcast license, they can't put a hand on you - especially songs like God is Good, Break Free, etc, etc, etc...

So, having any ideas, people???

It's now two months from the day we graduated from JS...

Hieeeeeeeee to everybody!!!!!!!!!!!
Well each of us have a season of the bad and good times.
Never give up on yourself!!!
Same as how God never gives up on you!!!
I know it's hard standing strong at times when the strong wind blows at different directions, but hold fast to your faith in God and in what you believe in!!
Let's hold hands and help each other when one person falls, at least we have the other person to pick us up.
Keep trusting in God!
We can run this marathon and win the prize for God!

People..

hey guys, guys. we'll alwiz keep in touch no matter wat okay. i noe its hard, n i miss all of u too. it's not like i'm not coming back. i promise i'll come back, den can hav reu again. if u all r wondering whn my holidays r here's d link to my academic calender: http://www.np.edu.sg/aa/Pages/calendar.aspx so continue to keep in touch n keep each other in ur prayers. and to sy, mike n alfredo: alwiz rmb (u noe wat i mean).. =) so, yah. i will treasure everyones frenship for life. so, till we meet again.

Hey, how’s everyone? I've got mixed feelings about jun arn leaving . sad to see him leave but its a way better education there i guess.

anyways, lately I've been in quite bad shape in terms of my walk with God? is anyone going through the same? oh well. hope everyone’s doing fine.

Everything by Lifehouse

Find me here
And speak to me
I want to feel You
I need to hear You
You are the light
That's leading me
To the place
Where I find peace again

You are the strength
That keeps me walking
You are the hope
That keeps me trusting
You are the life
To my soul
You are my purpose
You're everything

And how can I stand here with You
And not be moved by You
Would You tell me how could it be
Any better than this
(Ahh Yeahhh)

You calm the storms
And You give me rest
You hold me in your hands
You won't let me fall
You steal my heart
And You take my breath away
Would You take me in
Would You take me deeper, now

And how can I stand here with You
And not be moved by You
Would You tell me how could it be
Any better than this

And how can I stand here with You
And not be moved by You
Would You tell me how could it be
Any better than this

Cause you're all I want
You're all I need
You're everything, everything
You're all I want
You're all I need
You're everything, everything
You're all I want
You're all I need
You're everything, everything
You're all I want
You're all I need
Everything, everything...

When how can I stand here with You
And not be moved by You
Would you tell me how could it be
Any better than this

Oh And how can I stand here with You
And not be moved by You
Would You tell me how could it be
Any better any better than this

And how can I stand here with You
And not be moved by You
Would You tell me how could it be
Any better than this

Would You tell me how could it be
Any better than this....

It's here~ ^^

aaaaaand of course i saved the best for the official JS blog (giving face 2 stone 4 his hard work)
hmm i guess u guys have already seen the black & white version on facebook (aah, tim spoilt d surprise, LOL)
but oh well, here it is.. *teng teng teng teng*
another piece of work, dis time inspired by mike.. Mike: i didnt 4get!! lol..

i kinda messed up a few parts along the way..
and if u guys r wondering whr sibu n rosh is..
sibu's d island (duh) n rosheen is.. well.. the darkest part of the picture. xD
other than dat i guess it's quite obvious who's who..

sooo...

hope you guys like it, have fun & remember to think back about those times in JS once in a while..

the long sessions.. the late afternoon eager-ness to play captainball.. the one who wakes you up every morning.. that rainy evening where we had to walk to the canteen with that plastic sheet & the river was flooded.. and that awesome journey that we shared TOGETHER..

Long live JS 2009~!

Smile

Guess who is who...

Brings a smile to my face.

Edit: Credits to Han Yun for drawing this (it's quite obvious, isn't it?). Apparently, there's a coloured version coming up. I, honestly, have lost touch with everything happening in this Christmunity. Please do me a favour by keeping me updated, please, as i'm not on facebook. I don't have the time to managed another account. I've got a company to run. 2 email inboxes and 2 blogs is the limit i can handle.

-------
Jun Arn leaving tomorrow. Have a safe trip man. Good luck and God bless. REMEMBER US!!!

Memories

Credits: Stone for posting it on youtube.

Reminds me of alot of stuff.

Blessed Easter :)

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin'."
I'm whispering "I was lost,
Now I'm found and forgiven."

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble
And need Christ to be my guide.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak
And need His strength to carry on.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed
And need God to clean my mess.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible
But, God believes I am worth it.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I still feel the sting of pain.
I have my share of heartaches
So I call upon His name.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner
Who received God's good grace, somehow!

Written by Maya Angelou.

God's love is the ultimate and final love.
Blessed Easter my dearest brothers and sisters. :)

If some of you even read my blog, you will know that i strained my back.
Anyway please do pray for me
It will take a while for it to fully get heal.
And i need to take a good care of my back.
Need to strengthen it by maybe exercise or drinking milk!
Ah ha!!
Please pray that i will be fully heal and that it won't cause me any problem in the future.
Thanks people!

Nehemiah

Wanted this to be in time for the Holy week but anyways... It's extremely long, so if no time, don't read this (yet)! Ming Han has an important notice below. Read that first.

My (rather inconsistent) morning devotion has a program of the same old one chapter a day thingy, alternating with a NT book (remember that incompleted assignment anyone?) with a random book from the old testament, preferably a prophet/historical book to challenge meself. So after finishing Ecclesiastes and 2 Thessalonians, I landed in Nehemiah, which i thought rhymes with Zechariah, as such should be a great continuation of the challenge and 'torture' i had back in JS - just one step harder.

And did Nehemiah speak to me indeed. Hope this sharing blesses you guys. (The reading was done in somewhere around MYPC, FYI)

I'm no bible scholar, as you all would have known by now, and such, you can read up the story yourself. Instead, i will give out the thing that hit me and what i can challenge us with.

Chapter 1
Many of us is in trouble and some even shame caused by people, our own faults and many other factors when we arrived in JS. Me, for example, was near suicide and had doubts about God. One of my problems in mixing with you all was a case that happened in August which unfortunately can't be shared over a public website. Our reaction was to pray and give God one last chance (for me, at least). We were willing to sit down and weep. And this was exactly what Nehemiah did. The result? God spoke. In individual ways to us as individuals. Like how He used you guys to speak to me.

Chapter 2
verses 10: Since we are now restored, healed, and equipped to start serving in God's Kingdom once more, Satan will get disturbed. So do keep caution on what the father of all lies has in store. He will hit us hard, as some of us are already hit by him. Do remember that God's on our side.

Inspecting the walls: Our temple, or what i would like to describe as heart, might be healed. We are filled with overflowing joy and peace, but sometimes the rest of our city, or life, is still in disarray as what v.12-15 tells us. Some of us it might be our line of defense - any intruder can enter and wreck havoc. So we must inspect it and rebuild the parts that are broken - despite mockery (v.19). Some of us it might be self-esteem. Some of us might be the ability to resist certain tempations, for example pornography or BGR. Some of us it might be anger or pride. This must be fixed, or Satan has a foothold in our lives - and can make it 7 times as bad (remember Jesus words).

Sometimes this appiles to us in our local Christmunity or TRAC youth. Something that hit me as i was typing this.

Chapter 3
As each person rebuilt the wall placed in front of their own house, we should remember to strengthen the community around us, in unity, so that Satan is kept outside. Unity, obedience to God-ordained leaders is important, or we cannot be intergrated and complete the wall of defense against the troubles and corruption of the world. Likewise, we must remember is our lives must be in intergrity (remember our course on Spritual Warfare) so that no holds is available for Satan to invade our lives. All holes must be plugged.

Chapter 4 and 6:1-14
Remember to constantly be on guard against Satan's schemes! Do pray for strength (6:9) from God to handle whatever Satan throws at us. Make sure we do not fail in anyway as stipulated by '7 steps to freedom'.

Chapter 5
We must never lose the fear of the Lord in our lives. If not, corruption and lust will set in. A lot of fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, many of them leaders are now living in a lifestyle that is in a mockery to God's name. We must not follow so, or we will be judged someday - severely. A serious issue to take note of.

Chapter 6:15ono and Chapter 7
Perserverence and Patience pays. If we sow in pain, we will reap in joy. Remember that - always.
Also, do remember that the leaders who are here and that came before us did put up the rules and regulations for a purpose. Which reminds me of a book all of us Methodist people HATE... :-p
On a serious note, orderly work is important.

Chapter 8
Remember to give thanks to God no matter the circumstances. It is important as even us being alive is a miracle.

Chapter 9
Remember to confess and repent sincerely whenever we fall. We are human - let's face it.

Chapter 10
UNITY~!!!!

Chapter 11
verse 2, in context of verse 1. Read it for yourself. Note the words.

Chapter 12
Remember to base whatever we do in Christ. It's not only about us giving our all. Even in rebuilding our lives when it falls apart.

Chapter 13
STAY PURE!!!! Do not conform to the patterns of the world, and let it corrupt us. And in all things, do not find for the praise and regconition - let God do the rewarding.

-------

This is what i feel personally (hey, it really applies to me, ok!). Hope it blesses you guys. Amen. Sorry for being 'preachy'. That's how i 'torture' myself.

Tim

Prayer request

By the time you read this, I'll most probably be on Hong Kong soil. Nevertheless, please pray that God will grant me and my dad journey mercies on our way to Hong Kong and whilst we're there. Please pray too that God will give me the right words to speak, as part of the interview is in Cantonese. How much, I have no idea. Pray too that God will grant us protection and journey mercies on our way back.

Will be back on Maundy Thursday (if you haven't noticed, it's Holy Week, people) and will start posting when I've pried myself off Caesar 4 :).

Fast & Furious 4

Reminds me of fun memories :)

News (about me lar...)

i'm seriously dead tired now...

let me give all of you an update to what i've been up to.

i'm now officially working full time in my dad's company. pay cheque's coming end of the month, if my dad's financial situation allow. my studies are put on hold due to financial and staffing problems. Since my dad's health is rapidly failing (as in he can't work as hard as last time, and always sick), i'll be taking over the reins of the company, Major Seven Music, very soon - probably end of next year or so, depending on the situation. As it is, i'm already starting to take charge of some of the workload my dad used to handle. it's not a easy task, as my experience is limited and it's quite a big responsibility (thankfully my brother, micheal lewis, is joining me in July) to be a breadwinner for the extended family of 5 which has a lorry, a van, 2 cars and 3 (one for the store of equipment and one for grandmom) houses plus a study loan to maintain rental/installment. i'm trying my best to get a driving license in by the end of May/June to make it a little easier. And also so that i can be more free to serve in the youth and also visitation of friends (school and you guys lar)

Business is unstable but thankfully income is coming in to pay up the bills and the debt caused by the 11k+ investment we made recently. One of my top goals is to reduce the overheads of the company from the staggering 7k+ a month (it's normal for a sound company this size) to a more managable 4-5k or so. An impossible task, but by God's grace, i can suceed. Studies wise, i'm honestly not sure what course i take come this december, but sound engineering and some bible course is one option. However, if funds do not allow, then i'll not further my studies - not good.

Grace Sentul's MYF is getting on to be pretty vibrant. The young dudes there (most of the older guys have gone overseas to study, or just have moved on from the church) are astounding me with their unity and desire to see the group grow. I really get fired up everytime i see them - so much so i start shaking inside. The only thing is their pretty inexperienced - so it's up to me, sheng yong (who, honestly, looks like he's buried in college duties to me) and my MYF president (some of you know him), Andrew Wong. We are now very small (take Faith, Cheras to be identical in size for those who went there), but revival can break out, with God's will. I can only pray hard, and serve whatever i can as a Missions Coordinator (Sheng Yong's Fellowship Coordinator).

Personally, i see God at work in my life. Like just just now in the service, i see that God has been talking to me since i entered Grace Sentul about 5 years back. He's also challenging me to things i have never dreamt of doing even 2 months back - like being a intercessor in the youth. Also, i'm finding it hard to keep a regular disipline due of the busyness i'm being buried in. Also, i'm really finding the temptation to return to what i was before JS like a ton of bricks. Past addictions (yes, i'm naming it past) is haunting me. I'm trying to meet up with Austin to continue my counselling sessions so that i can really BREAK FREE from what has happened last August (some of you already know what happened, others in JS, i don't mind telling). It's not that i can't break free or anything, but i need additional help to be free, earlier. In fact, i can tell you that God used August 2008 to get my attention, and, that was just one of the reasons why He did that.

So, for those who have been having difficulty in their walk on the real world, you are not alone and do not despair. If He managed to touch you in anyway in JS, it's clear that He has a plan for you and all you have to do is do your best and leave the results to God. I'm not sure on what bible to give you guys, except to echo Jesus' words on 'come to Me and I will give you rest'. May you find rest in God and stay strong. Also, do uphold each other in prayer and stay in touch. Lets make sure we continue to be a community of believers who will be a blessing to each other, so that we, as individuals and as a group, can bless our neighbours and society. God is moving, only that we don't realize it. And we need to realize it.

A fast, impromtu but sincere note from,
Timothy

Edit: I really miss you guys!!! for those that are now in KL, can we all meet up someday???

i had youth earlier, and we were watching this paul washer video by paul washer. i feel like i’ve like, seriously gone astray since JS. but not only after JS but even during. the questions like AM I A REAL CHRISTIAN? its more than doing good deeds, its about lifestyle and all. and, i know that i’ve fallen so short. but, i duno. mixture of guilt and confusing at the moment.

Mr Woo Jun Arn is in Singapore. Anyway just for laughs.
Remember we tied his hair using the telephone wires?
And he insisted we tie using all we got.
This is just another side of him...

The Little Things

Hey all! :)

Just wanna share a funny snapshot with you guys. Something I saw during class today. It made me smile to myself, thinking of all the wonderful and comical moments we had together.




It's amazing how the little things you see everyday remind you of our JS memories, and what those little things mean to us.
(Not only the funny jokes of course :D)
Have a fun weekend and I love you guys! :)

Running on empty

***NOTE: If you don't have enough time or inclination to read whatever I've written here, please don't. Jun Arn has an important notice in the post immediately preceding (chronologically) / after (positionally) this one. Read that one first if you have no time. Thanks.***

Every action we do on Earth requires energy, regardless of whether it is a monkey climbing up a tree, a plant synthesizing a glucose molecule, a human thinking of a joke to crack or a car moving up a slope. And everything which does work has a reservoir of energy. The monkey and human derives its energy from glucose in the blood, then from glycogen in its liver, and then from its fat deposits. The plant gets its energy from the sun while a car has its gas tank.

Throughout JS, I found that this kept thought kept on coming back to me: Running on empty. The first time I encountered this thought was when a group of eight of us crammed into an Unser Uncle Herbert had borrowed and made our way to EMC, PJ.

The Unser didn’t have a full tank; it was probably only one-quarter full. So after travelling for a while, the gauge started going down real fast. This was hardly surprising: Unsers are known for being gas guzzlers. Then, of course, it hit “E” and then after that, the low petrol light came on.

I didn’t know exactly when or where it was when the tank light lit up, but I thought that Uncle Herbert would have realized it. Later, however, he asked me when or where did it light up, and asked me how much farther could the car travel with the light on. To be honest, I had no idea. I come from a family which tops up its petrol tank when the needle reaches the quarter mark, and thus I have only seen the low petrol light on once or twice in my life. This was probably the first time I was in a car with the light on for such a long period of time.

Nevertheless, we were in an unenviable position. We had no idea as to where the next petrol station was, we were low on gas, and we had a deadline to meet. Uncle Herbert joked that maybe for us, we would have to multiply petrol to graduate from JS.

But I digress.

Somehow, the Unser made it to Rawang with the low petrol light on from, if I remember correctly, at the nearest, Slim River. Throughout the trip with the light on, we were hoping that we would have enough petrol, not only so that we would arrive on time, but also so that we could avoid the embarrassment of calling on the Peronda PLUS for some petrol.

Somehow we did. Or maybe we didn’t, but Someone else decided that we did. So somehow, we had enough fuel for the journey…enough to reach Rawang, and go pretty deep into Rawang before refueling at a petrol station.

After that, we stopped by for tea at Uncle Herbert’s house, and there I had my first contact with his family…at least in my living memory. For some, they had met and remembered Uncle Herbert’s family; I believe it’s obvious who. For others, it was their first time as well. So after tea, and a bit of rest, plus time to stretch our legs, we went down to Kelana Jaya and I got the closest I have been to my house in days.

One can say I was pretty pampered during JS; I got to go home during the first weekend, and during the second one, I was closer to home than most people. Sure, Mike probably was even closer, but then again, he didn’t actually get to set foot in his house.

I wasn’t left with another running on empty situation until we went to Penang. After the good lunch we had at the food court, the Penang Trinity group rushed to, where else, Penang Trinity. After going for their MYF meeting, and then having a barbeque, I was left pretty run down. I wasn’t starving, even though I didn’t eat much during the barbeque, but I was just plain tired. Somehow, I found the strength to walk and eat around Gurney Drive, even though, very frankly speaking, I was dead tired.

However, walking and eating was not the end of it. There was also the strength to stay awake until much later at night then I had originally planned, and as such, I only got 5 hours of sleep rather than the 6 I should have.

The next day, Michael wanted to wake me up at the usual time, meaning half past six in the morning. However, I could hear Sheng Yong telling him to let me sleep. I didn’t manage to get any sleep after that, no matter how hard I tried, but the “damage” had already been done; I had had less than enough sleep, probably somewhere around four to four and a half hours sleep.

Immediately after breakfast, and whatever time I had for cleaning up, we all went for service. Surprisingly, even after so little sleep, I managed to stay up during both sermons. Running on empty again? I would have to say yes.

Normally, if I’m dead tired, six hours of sleep won’t cut it; I need seven or eight. I normally prefer to get six hours of sleep; during school term, I used to get by on five, but I had naps in the afternoon. If I don’t sleep in the afternoon, I would be tired by eleven. But if I’m dead tired, and I don’t get enough sleep, I normally find myself sleeping during the pastoral prayer and struggling to stay awake during the sermons.

So when I managed to stay awake all the time, I found it absolutely amazing.

But that wasn’t the last of it. During mission week, on Thursday, I decided to hang my clothes instead of eating lunch first. By the time I had finished doing that, I didn’t have enough time to eat lunch, so I went to St. George’s on an empty stomach. However, I didn’t feel hungry, which was surprising, because whenever I fast, I would nonetheless feel hungry at some point.

I had one more experience, but that was not during JS per se, so it wouldn’t really fit here. On top of that, it was in…errmm…err...Pangkor, so the files (and my lips, figuratively and literally) are sealed. Maybe some other time…

Running on empty…hmm….were we really drawing on the last of our resources, or were we drawing on someone else’s resources? Were we scraping the bottom of the barrel, or was our barrel being refilled by someone else? Were we squeezing the last drop of wine from the cup, or was someone shoving an overflowing one into our hands when we wanted it most?

My brother came back from driving school one day, saying that the “E” sign on the petrol meter did not mean “empty”. He said that his driving instructor told him that it meant enough. Most cars, when the petrol gauge hits “E”, have enough fuel to take them another forty kilometers or so. So maybe we weren’t running on empty.

We had enough.

But then again, why do we think we’re running on empty, when we have enough? It’s because the gauge is pointing at the bottom of the range. It’s because our bodies tell us enough is enough, and it is time to take a rest. We see it as the end of the line. However, it is not, because while our senses tell us it is, there is still a little bit more in us which we don’t know was there.

We tap into it when we need it most, and we get it whenever we need it, especially when it is to do His work.

2 Corinthians 12:9 says, “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (KJV)

His grace is sufficient; not excessive, not abundant, but sufficient. Moreover, His strength is made perfect in weakness. We know Him most when we are down, we feel Him most when we truly reach out to Him, when all our hope is truly in Him. And, sadly, we are only in that kind of mood when we are dead tired or down for the count, physically, emotionally, mentally, socially or spiritually.

So the next time you’re dead tired, feeling like you want to crash, that you’re running on empty or don’t have enough rest, whether you’re expanding His kingdom or doing whatever activity He has called you to in the secular world, remember:

The One who can give strength in measures more than we can ask or imagine is with us.

Amen.

Happy April Fool’s Day.

News about me..

Hey guys (n girls). I've got news that I'm offered a place at the Ngee Ann polytechnic in Singapore. So I'm going to Singapore this Thursday for registration and orientation and will be back only next Thursday (1 week). The course is starting on 20th April. Please pray for me that I would be able to adjust to the environment and that God would prepare me to go there. By the way, if i have the time I might take a trip down to KL before I leave Malaysia for studies. I'll tell you KL people if I'm going down. Thanks for your prayers.

p/s
This is NOT an April fool joke as it is April Fool's day already. It's serious stuff. =)