Great is Thy Faithfulness

download

I designed this recently and have it as my desktop wallpaper right now. Its great to have truth displayed in front of us so that we can meditate on it!

Jolynn's Back!

Aren't we glad to have her around again! :)

Abi and Aunty Sek Jen planned a surprise tea party for her which we had instead of Bright Lights, and we had a good time eating donuts, fruit and shortbread, drinking tea, and catching up with what has happened in each others' lives for the past six months.

It will be great to have her at Bright Lights again! And I think Abi did a great job while she was gone. :)

A True Iowa Experience

It was truly a blessing to attend the 10th Annual Turning Hearts celebration at the Bontrager family's farm on labour day. I don't think I've ever attended anything quite like it! Seeing so many large families, being on a farm, the ten degree weather, sitting on a hay bale, petting calves that live in "kennels". Hmm...any way we can re-create the experience in Singapore??

One thing that was really different for me was the music. Bluegrass type music is definitely not something we get back home! But I really enjoyed hearing the Bontrager and Bates family singing and seeing all the unique instruments they were playing:)

The Lord has blessed me in so many ways,
That I could not begin to tell you how good He has been.
He's my Friend, He's my Guide, He's my Shepherd, my Light,
The Lord has blessed me in so many ways.

Internship Memories

Discussing our convictions...searching our Bibles for verses relating to the current (often very random) topic...cooking meals...sharing family stories...painting the guesthouse...planning Bright Lights meetings (and having a unusual amount of disagreements while planning a meeting on loving difficult people:)...travelling on conferences...emailing links...laughing just because we were tired...going on impromptu shopping trips...shrink-wrapping and packing orders at the Bright Lights office...our weekly wal-mart trips...becoming a little family of sorts...all our inside jokes...

So many highlights! I wasn't expecting my favourite part of the internship to be the people...but it definitely was:) I miss you all my fellow interns!

In Quietness and Confidence

"For thus saith the Lord God, the holy one of Israel; In returning and rest ye shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not."  - Isaiah 30:15

There are many promises in God's word that are so comforting. This is one of them. Sadly, in reading it in context, we find that it was one that the Israelites did not claim. They chose to trust in men instead of God.

I was reminded to trust in God's promises as we started the Strong in the Lord conference here in Pennsylvania. To rely on His strength that comes in quietness and confidence.

One conference down and three more to go! I love reading through response forms after the conference.

The girls write such interesting comments and it is encouraging to hear the ways the conference has impacted their lives. Anyhow, this one made my day...

How did you hear about this conference?

Answer: From my computer

He Is Faithful

Thank you so much for your prayers. We are finally back in Cedar Rapids after doing four Bright Lights conferences in the last two weeks. It is good to be back "home" :)

As always, I really enjoyed helping out at the conferences. Sharing my heart with the girls during small group, giving testimonies in the main sessions, playing the violin to accompany the singing, setting up the book table, enjoying good fellowship with the other leaders...I could go on and on! 

It was also challenging at times. Through those times, I saw the Lord's  faithfulness as I brought my requests to Him in prayer. Let me share with you two of such circumstances...

The day before the Nebraska Strong in the Lord conference started, I read this verse:

"Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long." - Proverbs 23:17

As I usually do, I copied the verse into my journal and also wrote some thoughts about it. Looking back I'm surprised that they even made sense since I usually write when I'm tired or in a hurry! 

Excerpt from my journal:

The paradox of us being told to love the Lord but also to fear Him. How can we possibly do both? Because we love the Lord, we should fear doing things that we know will displease Him. If our fear of the Lord comes out of our love for Him, it will be a healthy fear that brings us closer and not farther from Him. 

What was so neat was that during my Strong in the Lord small group, one of the girls in my group asked me that question: how can we fear the Lord and also love Him? A few days later in my Radiant Purity small group, another girl asked me that same question again in the course of our discussions! 

Another circumstance through which I saw the Lord's faithfulness was during my Radiant Purity small group. Our discussions on the first night of the conference went really well and I expected the next day to be the same. However, the next day brought some unexpected challenges. My team doubled in size and one of the new girls had some special needs. As a result, my small group was distracted throughout our time together despite my best efforts. To make it worse, in the middle of our discussion, one of the girls said: "So, how many of you want to date....and how many of you want to court?" She then proceeded to get my whole group to vote based on a show of hands. I was discouraged to see that about half of the group raised their hands to indicate that they would choose to date. Well, as I ended my last small group with the girls on this note, I wondered if the girls had benefited from anything in my small group . It certainly didn't seem so to me! Later on, as I read through their response forms, I couldn't stop smiling as the majority of them said that they enjoyed the small groups the best and many indicated specific commitments in the area of purity that they were going to make!

Sometimes, even after we spend time in prayer and do our very best preparation, things will not turn out the way we planned. In such situations, we have to remember that God's definition of success is different from ours. His ways are higher than our ways! Through it all, HE IS FAITHFUL!

Morning by morning, I wake up to find

The power and comfort of God's hand in mine

Season by season I watch Him amazed,

In awe of the mystery of His perfect ways

All I have need of His hand will provide

He's always been faithful to me.

Honouring Your Parents

So we had yesterday's Bright Lights meeting at Abi's beautiful house!

Thanks for letting us meet at your house Abi :)

Our lesson was on honouring our parents, so, can all of you think of ways in which we can honour our moms and dads?

Well firstly, why do we honour our parents?

Because God has placed them in authority over us, and another obvious answer is because we love them!

Ways to Honour Your Parents:

1. Commit yourself to wanting a good relationship with them your whole life.

God puts us in our specific, individual families for our good. Honour your parents at all times, not because they are perfect (they're human too!), but because God has commanded you to.

2. Honour their authority - they are God-given!

Be thankful for them.

Be willing to submit to them.

Recognize the value of your parents' advice. There is much wisdom in the "hoary head"!

3. Maintain a clear conscience with them.

No secrets!

4. Avoid doing things that dishonour your parents.

Don't spread "funny jokes" about your parents.

Don't be disrespectful, don't complain.

Personally I feel that oftentimes I complain and murmur about my parents and their shortcomings without even realizing. So I think it would be good for us to be more sensitive to our parents' feelings just as they try their best to be sensitive to ours.

5. Encourage your parents.

We could honour them in little ways e.g. thanking them for their cooking, praying for them and with them, being cheerful around them (how many of us pull long faces when we're at home?), serve willingly and volunteer to help around the home, and take initiative! Don't wait for your parents to ask you to help; volunteer your services first!

Compliment and praise your parents. Don't we feel happy when others praise us for something? Our parents are people too!

Remember their special occasions - birthdays, anniversaries, etc.

Write notes and give them special gifts to encourage and show your appreciation to them.

Treat your parents as your best friends!

Give your heart to them; make them feel important.

Make what is important to them important to you.

Enjoy your parents as one of God's greatest blessings to us.

Be proud of your parents!

For those of you who couldn't attend our last meeting, do try to do this activity in your own personal devotions!

1. Write down three specific things you appreciate about your mom.

2. Write down two things you can pray for her.

3. Write down a word of encouragement for her. (And tell her about it! :))

4. Do the above three things for your dad!

After we did that activity, we went upstairs to share what we wrote...

And yes... Some of us were up on the roof... Shhh :)

Ming Hui and Natasha got the best spot in the garden.

And this is all of us who were there!

Plus Danielle, of course, who was taking this picture. So...

Here's a picture specially dedicated to you, Danielle! :)

And this was Madison's last Bright Lights :(((

We will miss you and will all be praying for you Madison!

All the best in your studies and in whatever you do, always seek the Lord first!

Deuteronomy 5:16 "Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee."

Proverbs 1:8-9 "My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck."

Remember to pray for Madison. And for all those who are away too!