criteria v2..
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
this season in my life has been amazingly awesome because of the many things God is doing in, around and even through me. my walk has taken on an exponential growth and I'm deeply grateful to God for His grace and faithfulness, and I pray this growth will only get better and better, more and more with time. I want to explore the full depths of intimacy with my Lord and experience what it means to live life at God-speed, with God-power and in a God-plan. many more exciting things coming up ahead for me!
it just occurred to me today as I was sharing that as God has been changing my heart and shifting my paradigms, my criteria for a future partner for life has also changed and "simplified". I now have only 2 major criteria, though my previous list is still preferred. they are:
1. a godly heart that seeks after the Lord and is focused on learning and applying God's word to life
2. a man I can and am willing to submit 100% to for the rest of my life, as the church submits to Christ
sounds a lot simpler than my previous list, but the implications and application points are so much deeper. that's the way God works =P
Bersih and the Christian Me
Friday, July 01, 2011A year or 2 ago, I was a lot different. I didn't read the newspapers, I didn't pay attention to what goes on in our nation, I didn't really care. Yeah I know I have to fulfill my responsibility and vote in the elections, but then again, I'm so far away from home, and voting will cost me maybe RM500 or more to buy the plane tickets, bus tickets etc, not to mention the time, how long should I go back for, do I have to take leave etc.
Nowadays, as evidenced by my facebook and twitter feed, I'm vastly different. I pay close attention to the happenings of our nation, esp in the arena of politics. How did I get here? I'm not entirely sure myself. Probably from reading what other people post on their twitter feeds, and from there the concern for the nation started and snowballed til what it is today.
Today, I had time to let my mind wander, and wander it did, to what the church should do or respond in such a time as this. A few days ago, when I first heard about the Bersih rally in Kota Kinabalu, I was wondering whether attending is the right thing to do. I wanted to, for sure, but before God, is it lawful? The Bible says we are to obey the laws of the land and the rulers of the land.
Romans 13:1-2 (NLT)Respect for Authority[13:1] Obey the government, for God is the one who put it there. All governments have been placed in power by God. [2] So those who refuse to obey the laws of the land are refusing to obey God, and punishment will follow.
Now even though the next few verses say the authorities are put there to frighten those who do wrong and not those who do right etc, and in the case of BN that does not apply as we can see from their whole reaction to the people wanting to have a peaceful demonstration for fair and clean elections, but still, it does not make the command of God any less than what it is. God says obey the laws of the land, so that is what I must do. Now the law of the land says that we have a right to peaceful assembly as stated in Article 10 below (amazing what can be found on Wikipedia these days..)
Subject to Clauses (2), (3) and (4) —(a) every citizen has the right to freedom of speech and expression;(b) all citizens have the right to assemble peaceably and without arms;(c) all citizens have the right to form associations.Parliament may by law impose —(a) on the rights conferred by paragraph (a) of Clause (1), such restrictions as it deems necessary or expedient in the interest of the security of the Federation or any part thereof, friendly relations with other countries, public order or morality and restrictions designed to protect the privileges of Parliament or of any Legislative Assembly or to provide against contempt of court, defamation, or incitement to any offence;(b) on the right conferred by paragraph (b) of Clause (1), such restrictions as it deems necessary or expedient in the interest of the security of the Federation or any part thereof, or public order;(c) on the right conferred by paragraph (c) of Clause (1), such restrictions as it deems necessary or expedient in the interest of the security of the Federation or any part thereof, public order or morality.
Now I don't think parliament has imposed any new laws against the Bersih rally or their tees or the yellow colour, so I can conclude that going for the rally would not be disobeying the law of the land or God. The main problem settled. Now, reading the article above does give me some concerns though. If we have a corrupt parliament and we leave them in power, they can freely impose laws even though the constitution says we have a right to assemble peaceably. If the parliament thinks the Bersih march is a security hazard and a disruption of public order and pass a law stating it is, then it would be unlawful to have it or go for it. What's to say they can't say everything else under the sun is a security hazard and a disruption of the public order? Now I'm not a lawyer, but from just reading those few lines, the implications and possibilities of what CAN happen should we allow corrupt, power hungry people with no regard for justice or the rights and welfare of the citizens to stay or be in power are HUGE. Very dangerous to have bad leaders..
Now the church is called to be SALT and LIGHT to the world. The church is called to stand for truth, righteousness, justice and all the good in the world. If so, can the church afford to be silent on this issue? Can the church remain silent and not stand up for fair and clean elections? Can the church by it's inaction allow corrupt leaders to stay in power? I strongly believe that the answer is NO. NO NO NO NO NO!
The church HAS to speak out. The church HAS to add our voices to the thousands of people who are now joining the movement for Bersih elections. The church has to be loudly heard. The church in fact, should be the FIRST ONES to act, because this is what it means to be Christians, to hate evil, to love justice, to be reflections of Jesus in the world. We must NEVER compromise on our stands, on our integrity, but we also must NEVER compromise on our love: for our nation, for our people, for our leaders.
I will be going to walk on the 9th of July. In faith I say I will go, even when I have a full day's training to facilitate. I will negotiate so that I will be able to go. Because I love my nation. Because I love my people. Because God demands that I stand. And because this is one of the most important things I can do for my nation.
Will you walk with me?
new directions..
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Guess it's time I posted 2 emails I've sent out to ppl. These emails will show what's been going on with me in the recent and coming days. Enjoy (?)!
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Dear All,
Thought I'd update you all on what occurred in the past 3 days and how it affects my life from this point on. But before that, some background..
As most of you know, in the last quarter of 2010, I decided to leave my job because I wanted to find a job that would be able to impact lives, focusing on the lives of children in need. I left KK and went back to Ipoh to take a break, spend time with family and look for something new. Fast forward a few months, there was no opening anywhere, until I interviewed for an NGO in Ipoh. Everything seemed to be heading to the direction of me moving back home to serve in the youth here and to work here, giving me the freedom to be able to find a job that could impact lives but yet offering a lower salary.
Because of the short length of time between the interview and possibly starting the new job, I decided to take one week to go back to KK to pack and ship all my things home. Returning to KK was bittersweet, but there was a peace to leave KK. I knew that my wanting to stay in KK was due to my selfishness in not wanting to let go of an awesome church and ministry and the community that I've thrived in for so long.
Everything changed on Sunday morning in church. After being prayed for and blessed in front of the whole church and released to return home, Pastor Philip called up a lady called Rumba to share with the whole church the work God called her to do. She felt a burden given by God to start a project called Project Bangkit (Arise) to build Christian preschools under the SIB church to give the local bumiputra Christian parents a place to send their kids that would not teach and implement Muslim values and habits into their children. The parents needed and wanted a place to send their children to that would teach Christian values and habits into their young children as they noticed that their children who were sent to government schools returned home in a mere 2 months having Muslim habits like reciting the Muslim prayer before eating.
Being a work that was in line with what I wanted to do, I of course took note of this and was asking God what He was trying to say, but right after the short sharing, Pastor John sent me a text saying that he sensed that I am meant to hear this sharing. Right after that text, my mind was in turmoil. It was so bad that I could not concentrate on the sermon (sorry Pastor..) and had to go out of church to cry and pray and try to calm myself. After barely calming myself, I met Aunt Margaret outside and shared with her what happened. She in turn told me that when Rumba was sharing, she thought of me. (Note to the young: when 2 godly people you trust say the same thing, ignoring it is not wise.) That restarted my inner turmoil and though I tried to return to listen to the sermon, I couldn't. I decided to stay outside to cry out my heart to God and question Him about this. I decided after the service I would speak to Rumba, and see where it went.
So after service I approached Rumba and shared my situation with her and told her I did not know if God meant for me to help her, but I am open to it. She said she would pray about it and get back to me the next day. Only hours later when I got a short half hour to just rest alone and pray did I finally let go of making the decision and all the emotions and stress that came with the morning and had the peace that whatever happens in the next few days, I'll just see where it leads and not feel rushed to make a decision.
On Tuesday morning, about 15 minutes before my meeting with Rumba, I received a call from the NGO in Ipoh offering me the job with them. I said I would think about it, get back to them later and went for my meeting. We met in the SIB Pusat and she shared the background of this work and also a few other very interesting things. The first was that she wanted to share this work with Skyline since the end of 2010 but there had not been an opening then. She said that out of the blue, Pastor Philip told her to share about her ministry on this particular Sunday. The second was that the work in this project was adding up as more and more preschools were started with her doing about 3/4 of the work. Recently, someone offered to sponsor a helper for her in the work and she had not yet found a person since the offer was made. She offered me the job to help her, not even knowing my background or qualifications. She then shared what work I would be needed to do and I found that all of the skills needed for it was exactly the skills that I had acquired in my two previous jobs. Talk about scary, how things line up..
During her sharing, I did feel an agreement of sorts in me, I don't know if it was a resonance in the spirit, because I don't think I've experienced it enough to recognize when it happens, but I left the meeting feeling that this is right for me. She merely told me to pray about it, seek the Lord and get back to her when I was ready. I didn't make a decision there as it is a hard decision that cannot be made lightly, but I found that during the rest of the day, especially in my packing, my mind was already operating on returning to KK.
I am now back in Ipoh, praying and seeking direct confirmation from the Lord on which job to take. Working in Ipoh will give me security but in many other ways it will be hard, especially when it comes to my walk. Working in KK will be easy for me in that I have my community and support there but will be very hard in that I will not have a lot of security and would have to rely on God for providence. Painful as it may be as I anticipate the future, my heart is leaning to return to KK, but I am hesitant to officially make the decision yet.
Would appreciate if you all could keep me in your prayers as I seek the Lord and plan the next few weeks. It looks like time is very short to make the decision and then move accordingly. Thanks!
Love
Jo-Hanna
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Dear All,
As a lot of you would know or can guess by now, I will be heading back to KK on the 26th of this month. Nothing has been confirmed as yet with work, but I will get more info by the end of this month and hopefully start working by mid April.
For a person who likes to plan ahead, I'm pretty much jumping in blind right now, but I've kind of gotten to the point where I think even if God doesn't say YES directly to me, I'm still going ahead because in a sense, He has ALREADY spoken via the crazy amazing intricately and perfectly timed plan that the Master Planner dropped me into. There are so many things ahead that needs to be sorted out for me to be able to stay in KK and work, but whatever it is, I know God will sort it out as it is His call I'm following.
There has also been a lot of assurances that following the Lord's call is the right thing and of His providence both in words from people and Words from the Lord from the last few days in KK til now. I've also gotten reminders from God not to chase after material things, which I really do worry and struggle a lot about, and to live life as the Bible says literally. I'll truly get to live out my own version of literally denying myself, picking up my cross daily and following Him. At times it will be hard and I will struggle I'm sure, but as long as my foundation and rock is right, I'll be ok. In light of God and eternity, what is there to fear right? =D
Love
Jo-Hanna
love..
Thursday, November 18, 2010
can anyone say that God does not love them? after the events of the past few days, I absolutely cannot believe that God does not love ANYONE more than can be expressed and described.
the past day has been a reminder of the love of God for His creation, His creatures. let me give u some background.
yesterday morning, a little puppy wandered into the church compound and my mom saw it. it was going back out the gate and my mom decided to just let it go, but just at that moment, a car came through the gate and scared the puppy back into the compound. my mom decided to catch it and lock it up while she went for a meeting. after the meeting, she bathed it and fed it, and because the puppy was in such bad shape, she decided to nurse it back to health. i spent a big portion of yesterday walking the dog, caring for it, watching the little thing.
today we took the little fella to the vet and she confirmed that the doggie was in bad shape, health-wise. besides that, he also has a flu, probably from the constant rain this past few weeks. he's now sleeping comfortably in a little box in the wet kitchen, away from the cold and wet of tonight's storm. every time i look at the little baby sleeping comfortably, it breaks my heart. he's now in a safe place, sheltered and loved.
life can change in one day. my mom concluded that God directed the little puppy to wander into the compound, so that it could be found by us, protected and cared for. we very hardly have any animals wander into the compound, but yesterday, a sick, malnourished, defenseless little puppy managed to find its way here. God brought it here, and watching it move and eat and wag its little tail fills me with wonder and brings tears to my eyes.
Matthew 6:26 - Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?
all of us are of immense value to God. know it and believe it and rest assured that He will always love u and care for u, much much more than the love He has shown to my little puppy.
the past day has been a reminder of the love of God for His creation, His creatures. let me give u some background.
yesterday morning, a little puppy wandered into the church compound and my mom saw it. it was going back out the gate and my mom decided to just let it go, but just at that moment, a car came through the gate and scared the puppy back into the compound. my mom decided to catch it and lock it up while she went for a meeting. after the meeting, she bathed it and fed it, and because the puppy was in such bad shape, she decided to nurse it back to health. i spent a big portion of yesterday walking the dog, caring for it, watching the little thing.
today we took the little fella to the vet and she confirmed that the doggie was in bad shape, health-wise. besides that, he also has a flu, probably from the constant rain this past few weeks. he's now sleeping comfortably in a little box in the wet kitchen, away from the cold and wet of tonight's storm. every time i look at the little baby sleeping comfortably, it breaks my heart. he's now in a safe place, sheltered and loved.
life can change in one day. my mom concluded that God directed the little puppy to wander into the compound, so that it could be found by us, protected and cared for. we very hardly have any animals wander into the compound, but yesterday, a sick, malnourished, defenseless little puppy managed to find its way here. God brought it here, and watching it move and eat and wag its little tail fills me with wonder and brings tears to my eyes.
Matthew 6:26 - Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?
all of us are of immense value to God. know it and believe it and rest assured that He will always love u and care for u, much much more than the love He has shown to my little puppy.
reflections..
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
what are you living for? what is the big cause in your life? what are you created for? what are you created and called to do? are the things you're striving for going to be of any worth at the end of your life?
the answers to these questions will very much determine how you live your life and how you make the choices in life.
i dont have the full and specific answers to each of these questions in this point in my life, but of this one thing i am sure: i live for Him, i will go where He says to go, and i will do what He says to do. following Him has brought me to where i am now. in the mid of my form 5 year, i instinctively felt that i was to go for form 6. even though i had good enough results to probably get a scholarship somewhere, i decided to just go to form 6. after form 6, God caused me to be sent to Sabah to study, and that's how i ended up here. after my 3 years, i felt that i still had things to do in KK, and i did not feel the leading to leave, so here i am, and God has put me in specific places for specific reasons.
sometimes i feel that life would be a lot easier if i didnt follow His leading. i would be a lot "happier". but ultimately, i know His plans are better and greater than anything i could come up with. and i know because i've chosen to live the way He determines, i'm living for something that's bigger than me, and will last for eternity. it will not be easy, but He is all i need to be able to go through anything that happens.
i am made for something epic, not for mundane meaningless life. and even if right now, my life doesnt feel epic, as long as i follow Him, i know i'm on an epic journey that that is unfolding as He has mapped out, and He will be with me each step of the way. an epic journey with an epic God. at the end of the day, i think that's what life is all about..
pa..
Monday, June 21, 2010
it's a day late i guess, but i wanna write a little tribute to my dad for father's day.
my dad has been my hero since i can remember. he is the man i respect most in my life, and the man i look up to the most also. all through the years, my dad has been a man who was always kind, always wise, always giving me gifts, always someone i could go to if i had any questions that needed answers. my dad has always been fun and funny (i remember him always scaring me from behind when at scary / full of suspense parts of a movie -.-), always mind mannered, reasonable and logical.
he has taught me the value of giving freedom within reasonable boundaries, of being able to make my own choices without abusing that privilege, of how to serve others selflessly and consistently, of being reasonable and thinking things through.
my dad and i share a lot in common, from our looks, our habits (which drives my mom nuts sometimes), and the way we think. i guess thats why i get along with my dad so well.
being separated from my dad and my family sucks really bad, and i miss them all a lot. whenever i meet any one of my family, leaving them is like heartbreak all over again. but i know once day we will all be together again and i will look forward to the little periods we have together and to spending eternity with the ppl that i love so much.
to my beloved Pa,
you are everything i've wanted and needed in a father and i thank you for the man that you have been to me all through these years. because of who you are, i can be who i am, both with you and with God. i can see God so much as a loving Father because you have been that loving father that has shown me what it is like. i really miss you and i wish so much that i could stay with you once again, but we all have our different calling and purpose in this life. i look forward every time, to being with you and spending time with you. i love you pa.
pain..
Sunday, May 16, 2010
the past month or two have been one of the worst for me.
today has been one of the top 10 most painful days of my life.
feels like i've been made to sit for SPM when i'm only form 1, and have not been given the the chance to study or even to look at the syllabus.
dealing with the failure is bad enough, having to face the occurrences which resulted was even worse.
i was given an apology after and i appreciate that and have forgiven, but still i continue to hurt badly.
i hope when i wake up tomorrow, the wound would be healed or at least healed enough to not bleed. i've been crying on and off for about 6 hrs and even the slightest brush against the wound will still cause blood to ooze.
i really hope one day i will be able to look back on all this and say it was all worth it.
i really really hope.
AWEsomeness..
Monday, February 01, 2010
I've been working in Louis Pang Studio for an exact week! It has been a very busy week, work-wise but it has truly been awesome! I'm currently in KL helping to run the Hot Shoe Diaries workshops and Let There Be Light seminar by Joe McNally. It has been really fun and though I SHOULD be tired out from all this, I find that I'm not!
I just wanna praise God for this because I truly believe that God has led me to this place, in this company, with these people to serve them and to serve together with them. This position and place is pretty much what I want in a job: to be at a place with wonderful people, to be able to use a lot of the God-given skills and talents I have, to develop in my skills and to learn new things, to gain new experiences. Truly this is a great blessing and a gift from my Daddy and I'm VERY grateful to Him for this opportunity.
In just a few days, I've met and gotten to know so many awesome people! Louis & Jasmine are such inspiring and great people and they make such a great team! I pray I will also be a great partner one day =) They're inspiring in the way that they live and relate to people even though Louis is such a renown photographer. Jasmine is also showing me how to be more street-wise and how to connect with different people. The rest of the team in LPS are also very awesome! Its really fun being with them and watching them and their work. Its also great to get to hear Melvin share about what he is passionate about and how God has led him to this point and how He's leading him from here. Haven't spent time with all of them yet, but I'm sure I'll get to hear their stories one day. I've also met Joe McNally and Drew Gurian, who have come all the way here to teach and inspire the photographers of Malaysia. I'm looking forward to spending more time with these awesome ppl and getting to know them and their stories =)
Besides this, my Daddy has really shown me how much He loves and cares for me this trip. I've been looking for a few items for some time in KK but did not manage to find them. When I got to KL, He has led me to places where I could get everything that I was looking for and MORE!
Today I've also got to share more with Philip Ong, who is our supplier of Lastolite for the event and Choon Ean, who runs (I think) Live Wire Media. It is AMAZING(!!!!!) what God is doing in the media circles and also in Malaysia! Philip was sharing his story of how God led him to this job and this place, and at just the first day of the seminar, God-led connections were made! Its like God bringing different people who love Him and want to do His will, and like the pieces of an intricate puzzle, He has led us all to this place to meet and journey on together in partnership in the future for something BIGGER! Its hard to describe what has happened today, but I'm really awed by God and His great plans! I have had a sense that God is going to do something BIG from a few years back. That's one of the reasons why I've chosen to remain in KK to work and now I think God is slowly revealing His plans. I'm really excited and at the same time grateful that God would involve me in something so amazing.. How can one NOT worship before such an AWESOME and AMAZING GOD?!
I pray is that I will be faithful in the things God has entrusted to me, and that I will demonstrate His love to the people around me.
Lord, grant Your rest and strength to the whole team involved in running and assisting the workshops and seminars. Cause them to overflow with Your joy and love and strength! I'm so looking forward to the next few days and I don't want them to end!!
Goodnight! Gotta rest for tomorrow!
timeless..
Friday, January 22, 2010
Beautiful lyrics from a beautiful song that always makes my heart soar and makes me worship the Lover of my soul..
Timeless
By Selah
Time, it's changing me
It's hard to see who I am
Touched, I'm touched by many things
So many things I don't understand
But seasons pass and I discover
Above all this there's another
Helping me to hold on to what is timeless
So the autumn can colour me gold
And the winter can dress me in snow
But it's You I see
The timeless part of me
In the spring time I'm young once again
In the summer I dance on the wind
But it's You I see
The timeless part of me
Change, whether it's good or bad
You know I'm glad You're in control
Oh, Lord, if I don't understand
I know Your hand will shield my soul
Seasons pass and I discover
Above all this there's another
Helping me to hold on to what is timeless
It's hard to see who I am
Touched, I'm touched by many things
So many things I don't understand
But seasons pass and I discover
Above all this there's another
Helping me to hold on to what is timeless
So the autumn can colour me gold
And the winter can dress me in snow
But it's You I see
The timeless part of me
In the spring time I'm young once again
In the summer I dance on the wind
But it's You I see
The timeless part of me
Change, whether it's good or bad
You know I'm glad You're in control
Oh, Lord, if I don't understand
I know Your hand will shield my soul
Seasons pass and I discover
Above all this there's another
Helping me to hold on to what is timeless
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