i have learnt so many lessons over the past few weeks, and the Lord has reinforced each one many times over either through a friend/teacher or prayer or the reading of the Lord's Word. i am so disappointed with myself, I HAVE LEARNT ALL THESE LESSONS BEFORE AND I HAVE TO LEARN THEM AGAIN. tsk. but well better again than forgetting them forever.

Lesson 1: the preeminence of Christ in your life
- yvette says: out on the edge with You as my centre, the point around which all my world revolves (song)
- Pastor Mitch says: will you let Him take first place in your life
- jus says: focus on Him, be strong in Him and learn to do without (her motto of life haha)
- auntie says: having is a blessing, but without it your sufficiency must be found only in Him
- (the book im reading) the doctrines of grace, james boice & philip ryken: 'evangelism desperately needs to denounce this ultimately self-centred view of faith and place Christ and his cross at the center of its vision again.'
- grandma says: we must love the Lord with ALL your heart, soul and mind. everything.
- Hebrews 11:8 when God called Abraham to leave the Ur of the Chaldeans and go to a land that he would afterward inherit, Abraham "obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going" (this has been my meditation for most of this week, and i read it again in the doctrines of grace just an hour ago (:

Lesson 2: practical ways to ensure He is the centre of your life
- teens worship, t li yen says: hide God's Word in your heart psalm119
- Pastor Mitch says: memorise the Lord's Word and hide it in your heart

Lesson 3: THE HEART IS DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS
- auntie says: jeremiah 17:9 9 “ The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it?
- the doctrines of grace: quoted exactly jeremiah 17, and i read it like a few hours after auntie pointed me to that verse. haha

Lesson 4: YOUR EXPECTATION MUST BE FROM THE LORD ALONE
- psalm61:5 My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my expectation is from Him.
- yvette says: the only person we can expect anything from is GOd and GOD ALONE
- auntie: work on yourself, expect from Him alone.

Lesson 5: to live is Christ and to die is gain
- (during sunday school) t chen kee says: what is the PURPOSE, VALUE and IMPACT of your life? why do you wish to waste your time being enslaved, enraptured and troubled by something else (she spoke in the context of relationships, since, according to her, we are her bunch of -very eligible young ladies- *cough* i beg to differ. hahaha)
- Philippians 1:21 "for to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain"
- jus says: Christocentric.
hey tina; says:
Paul could have chosen that road of darkness by taking his life becos of His present sufferings
hey tina; says:
but He didnt because He developed the mind of Christ and yet to be able to say
hey tina; says:
"to live is Christ"
hey tina; says:
whooaa powerful.
hey tina; says:
i couldnt think of what to say at sss1 today
hey tina; says:
but that's all i thought about
hey tina; says:
that He had the mind of christ
hey tina; says:
and it was whoa i also want!

YEA I ALSO WANT.

- yvette says: is anything in the whole wide world comparable to what we have in Christ? it is only that BIG a deal when we PERCEIVE it to be.

today was a very special day, and so many things happened that made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside (:

met becky while queuing up for lunch and i listened to her as she went on about holidays and her sisters and well shes such a sweet girl. haha. that was number one. during lunch, for the first time in a long time, beth grabbed my arm and hugged it real tight. haha i think she sensed that i needed it (awww). and rayne decided to copy her, so he gave me a huge hug too. beth turned to me and said "we are going for chinese chalet today" (in my mind i was thinking. chinese chalet?!) and rayne went "me too me too im going for horrrryeeeedayyyy (holiday)!" and started jumping on his chair with his mouth full. ahahaha.

but, the best part of the day was dinner with grandma, really. she finally agreed to baptism! and baptism before i leave for canada, no less. ay YAYEEEEE i am so, so, so happy. and listening to her speak about the Lord and the work He's done in her life, i cannot but give thanks with my whole heart. for years she didnt believe, years after that it was a half-hearted belief. now she tells me Jesus is her Savior and she would have it NO OTHER WAY. this is one strongheaded old lady, and yet the Lord has broken through all her defences and here she is testifying of the grace of God.

and so yaye, i am glad that i have found my balance in life- to live IS Christ. (: