Category Archive

SNACKTIME WITH JESUS

life is hard, but God is good.

last night, i heard one of the most encouraging messages on Jesus and the feeding of the 5,000. Louie Giglio shared his insights with us during the final session of the Worship Together Conference. he explained that when Jesus asked his disciples how they thought the people would be fed, He was merely testing them. the disciples wanted to come up with some brilliant plan to save the day, but in the end, they only managed to present a meager snack of bread and fish (which they’d probably bullied off of a poor kid in the crowd). it’s what Jesus did with the snack that was the most interesting. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. (Matt. 14:19) Jesus blessed it, broke it and multiplied it. the blessing and breaking happened together before it could be used to nourish the people.

in the same way, Jesus sometimes asks us how we propose to feed the multitudes. we want to say we have these mind-shattering plans, and we come to realize all we have is embarrassingly little. but He graciously accepts whatever “snack” we can give him – even if it’s nothing but ourselves. then, He blesses us and breaks us and sends us out there to feed the crowds. the best part is that from the very first moment, Jesus already knows what He is going to do. He doesn’t need us for anything yet He involves us anyway.

LIVING LIFE | LOVING LIFE

this evening, i attended a memorial service for one of my profs. he died unexpectedly last wednesday of a brain aneurysm. i had him for one semester in first year, but i never really got to know him. being there at the memorial and hearing all the stories about him sort of made me regret not dropping by to see him more. whenever he saw me in the halls, he’d always tell me, “don’t be a stranger now!” but i guess i kept myself a stranger.

anyway, from the reflections of all the people who shared tonight, it was obvious that this man lived his life well. he had a passion for living and his positive attitude radiated out to touch countless numbers of people. person after person went up to share about how he had believed in them and by doing so, he taught them how to believe in themselves. they mentioned that he was so proud of all his students but he had a really humble heart (before becoming a theatre professor, he’d studied both medicine and law). he stood for things he believed in and he encouraged everyone around him, whether they were his students or his colleagues. he was a Jewish man, and although i didn’t know him well, i would not be surprised if his qualities came from being close to God (but i don’t know that as a fact).

here was a man who was unafraid to invest himself in the people around him. here was a man who knew how to love. here was a man who had actually lived.

i was challenged tonight. challenged to love the people around me more. challenged to seize each opportunity to connect. challenged to stand by my convictions. challenged to give my life away for the sake of Christ. why? ‘cuz i saw the truth; that in giving my life away, i gain more than i could ever get by keeping it. ‘cuz giving my life away gives rise to other lives.

one last thought from the service, it was spoken by one of the students:

SUN WITHOUT LIGHT PART II

so i did my lighting presentation today. it went over very well. my original idea was to build a flower that was black on the outside that would open up to reveal layers of coloured material – reminiscent of how sunlight slowly allows colour to be seen. i spent most of my weekend trying to find a way to build the flower so that it would close like a bud and open like it was blooming. by 11:30pm last night, i still hadn’t found a way to construct it to my liking so out of desperation, i tried to think of other approaches. actually, by sunday night, i was already quite frustrated, but monday morning, i thought i came up with a solution (which later proved to be no good). anyway, while i was packing my stuff to go back to res, i happened to grab a coloured scarf and a yellow rose made of ribbon, just in case i could use it to fill my flower.

so last night, in my state of exhaustion, i ditched the flower idea and thought i’d keep it simple; i’d use my hands to hold the scarf and slowly open them to reveal the “sunrise.” i have to explain my scarf, though. it’s a chiffon-like shimmery material that gradates from purple to light purple to white to orange. so as i held the yellow rose, i wrapped the scarf around it so that when i opened my hands, it initially would be purple, then it would slowly progress to show the orange and finally, the rose.

the second component to my presentation was music. just like the scarf idea, the music was also God-given. on sunday, i met with a bunch of girls at my church to rehearse a body-worship we’ll be presenting at tccc this coming sunday. the song we’re working with is Shout To The Lord, a version by Chris Tomlin. while we were rehearsing, i realized that the introduction sounded like a sunrise(!). so i decided to include it with my presentation. in the end, the audio and visual elements connected beautifully and i was just so relieved and thankful when it was over. :>

in making this project, i was reminded of a couple things about God:
1. His creative powers are just soooooooooo great. while it took me three agonizing days to figure out i can’t make a flower, He makes millions of them in a moment.
2. in using my hands to reveal the sunrise, i caught a glimpse of how God does that every morning when He opens His hands to reveal each day.

for all the frustration that went into it, i think that the experience was worth it. so i’m glad. :>

SUN WITHOUT LIGHT

second post in a day! (can u tell i’m bored?)

project of the moment: make a representation of a sunrise without using light. it’s my first assignment of the year. ironically, it’s for my lighting design class. ideas are very slow in coming. suggestions?

BABY STEPS

took my very first singing lesson this morning. man, i never knew i was so weak! or should i say, i never knew one had to be so strong to sing well! in any case, i have a lot of physical conditioning to do. my breath is short, my circulation is poor (which i always knew, i just didn’t think it would affect singing that much) and i have no control over how much air i let out when i’m singing. blech. it’s gonna be hard work, but i know i can’t let myself stay at this skill level when i know there’s such a long way of improvement in front of me. excellence for Christ, no?

SILENCE

sometimes, God takes us to a place where it seems like everything is dark and we feel all lost and lonely. and then, contrary to what we expect him to do, he remains silent. the only thing we have to hold on to is the hope and assurance that in spite of everything, we have the promise of grace forever. the promise that he knows what he is doing.

this week has been one of those times for me. there’s been a deep aching and emptiness in my heart that has washed over me in waves. true, there have been moments of happiness, but the prevailing emotion has been quite sombre. i do not know how to explain it, or what to attribute this pit to, but it’s as if God has brought me here to deal with the bare essentials – namely, Him and me. in my weakness, i am forced to face the power and jealousy of God. He desires to be my strength, and my only strength. the challenge here is to die to myself.

will i dare to live with just Jesus?

being refined by God is painful. but i pray that i will endure like Christ, for the joy set before me.

KICKOFF

first CCF meeting of the year. it was awesome seeing new faces and really nice seeing all the familiar faces. the scavenger hunt went swimmingly but i think the dinner was the best part. getting to chat and connect with the new people was the highlight of my night (and possibly my week!). i think that even though my role as chairperson is to be there for the people, i was the one who needed the fellowship the most tonight. i am so undeserving of this love. :)