Rooted In the Word

For those of you keen in reading the New Testament in a year, this site may provide a little inspiration and guidance. (:

sofagang.wordpress.com

comments are welcome, please give me a hand as well (:

Remember, it’s important to know the Word of God well, it’ll keep you afloat in the years to come!

obs

it came and went like a passing breeze
and i left wishing i
had found a way to say
“i’ll miss ya”

expect

sometimes i wonder.

i don’t expect it of someone else.
i realize it’s not possible.

so why must i be expected of it.

sighs.

—

haha in other news, the music video for Thriller was a little disconcerting.

heartless

some people think that i’ve become heartless.
that i feel that i don’t need people anymore.
living my own perfect, stuck up life.

i don’t know if that’s what you think
but if it is
i hope you’ll tell me why.

why can’t people just be more direct
and not leave you second-guessing
what went wrong

—

maybe i’ve been more cautious
but honestly, i still care.

friends

In the business of everything, I sometimes forget that I’ll be gone in 3 months time, in a new faraway land, distant from the familiar faces of home. For all the coldness I may have exhibited, deep down inside I’ll really miss every single person I’ve come across – especially in those 6 years of schooling together. In those cold chilly nights of winter, I hope that the photographs pinned up on a humble corkboard will bring warmth to my heart, that the smiles of yesteryear will bring comfort and joy.

In life, it’s rare that you spend more than 10 years with a friend. God has plans, and eventually friends part, walking along separate paths to the different destinities He had ordained for them. Parting is such sweet sorrow – sorrow for we can never be physically there again, but sweet for we know that we our dispersal, the fragrance of Christ will be carried all the more further, to the far ends of the earth.

What does it mean to be friends forever? I’ve often been puzzled at this idealistic phrase, a childhood promise. Because, I’ve never thought it possible to always be in contact with someone, or to always be physically present. Honestly, friends are brought together because of similar circumstances and struggles, because of proximity, because of difficulty. But as circumstances change, as we move apart to different environments – the truth is, that we’ll have less to talk about, less to identify with, and eventually, the friendship will ‘fade away’.

But it doesn’t have to, it doesn’t have to be that way. Friends forever doesn’t have to mean always in contact, always making time to meet up and talk. Friends forever means much more than that…

And friends are friends forever
If the Lord’s the Lord of them
And a friend will not say “never”
‘Cause the welcome will not end
Though it’s hard to let you go
In the Father’s hands we know
That a lifetime’s not too long to live as friends.

The Chinese used to say that no matter how far we are apart, we gaze at the same night sky and the same full moon. For us Christians, no matter how far apart we are, we pray to the same Lord, and we serve the same God…

My friends,
I can’t promise you that I’ll always be there
Can’t promise that I’ll always be available to talk
Can’t promise that I’ll always pray for you (I will try! but i know at times I will fail and forget too)
Can’t promise that I’ll always write to you…

but i promise one thing

that at the gates of Heaven, if i get there first…
i will be there with open arms to embrace you
and i will greet you with joy, saying:

“my friend, i’m so glad we made it here together…”

growing up

two primary school girls, one question – that’s what it took me to realise that the years have passed me by.

“have you heard of Westlife?” one asked the other.

“of course, who hasn’t?” i thought rhetorically.

but then i realised, that time’s passed, a new era has dawned – one where Westlife has become a thing of the past.

—

there was a TIME featured article on how 1989 was a year where the world shifted on its pivot, where earth-rattling changes which impact the world till this day occured. 20 years ago, the Berlin Wall was breached, Tiananmen was in chaos, the religious Supreme leader of Iran drifted away to death.

20 years. so much has changed.

—

the sandwich machine took one side of the pillar.
the pillar where i used to sit each morning.
haha and i pointed out to emil the place i used to do qt at each day.
those little steps next to the toilet

—

i don’t really like growing up.
the working world seems to parade a culture which i can’t agree with
no longer innocence, no longer genuine friendships and bonds.

—

i’ve been praying.
for a heart that will not look at others with
a holier-than-thou attitude
but for one that will truly love
from the inside out.

—

i’ve realised.
that 2 years have passed since the first journal entry.

as i laid down three books worth of pages
a tearful realisation
that you’ve always been the same
thankfully.

you’re no superhero

sometimes i grow up feeling like i can save the world.
i look around me, there’s so much pain and sadness ):
broken people
broken families
broken dreams
i wish i could help them all

and i feel guilty that i can’t help everyone.
and i feel bad that i’m not in an appropriate position to be there for some
and i feel bad that sometimes i just stand and watch.

—

but You reminded me today
“you’re no superhero
don’t feel bad about everything
after all, it’s me who makes things beautiful in the end
sometimes you’re part of the plan
sometimes you’re not
trust me more
and stop trying to do everything by yourself”

there’s so many problems
only the Lord can solve
so many wounds
only the Lord can heal

I’m no superhero
but He is the one and only
Savior King.

He will come and save you
say to the weary one
your God will surely come
He will come and save you

smile

when the Spirit surges through
the winter of the soul breaks into
the vibrant warmth of spring anew.

once our hearts were cold
but Spirit ignite us once again
to love and to care
to pray and to expect
to sing and shout with exuberance!

it can only be the Spirit’s work (:

why He puts people in your life

why Lord. why do you place people in our lives -
just to take them away?

so that we could learn to love

so that we could be a blessing

and when it ends

so that we could all turn back to you.

—

the mantra ‘friends forever’
doesn’t quite always work out

—

it’s ok for people to come and go
that’s the way life is isn’t it?
we just need to trust that He will take charge
let us meet the right people when He wants us to
and let us part with those same people when it’s time to.

—

if one could let go.
i wonder why another can’t.

maybe i’m just too soft.

who packs your parachute?

there was a story told once of a paratrooper who survived an eventual airplane crash because he had jumped out of the flailing plane in the nick of time. His parachute bloomed and carried him to safety, just the way it was supposed to. Many years later in a bar, a stranger went up to him and asked if he was the airplane crash survivor. Surprised that the stranger knew his identity, the ex-paratrooper asked the stranger to identify himself.

the stranger gave a restrained smile, and said – i’m the man who packed that parachute for you.

—

a week back we had all just returned from section field camp. Our equipment – field packs and all – were muddy and dirt-ridden. We were supposed to ensure that everything was clean in 48 hours. However, there wasn’t enough time to achieve it (as with most things in the army haha)

my buddy booked out, along with the rest of the company. I was confined for that week. I felt the urge to perform an act of service, so i helped my buddy to wash his field pack. (:

when he returned for the next week – it’s as if he never noticed. he never once exclaimed in surprise that his field pack was clean. he never once asked me if i had cleaned it. he never once said a word of thanks.

well, i’m not in it for the gratitude, but it illustrated a point – sometimes, we don’t realise the things that people do for us (:

—

so often, we forget the people in our lives who pack our parachutes for us.

so often, we forget that God’s there providing for us behind the scenes.

everything seems so ordinary. everything seems routine.
we ask God: “Where are you?”
nothing spectacular happens
we assume that God isn’t there…

But He is. more than ever.
He’s there
packing our parachutes
covering our backs
protecting us from evil
walking beside us
going before us

it’s time to be more grateful.

Silence [Jeremiah 8]

I listened and heard,
But they do not speak aright.
No man repented of his wickedness,
Saying, “What have I done?”
Everyone turned to his own course,
As the horse rushes into battle

Emerging from my 1o day long Section Field Camp, I’ve been experiencing somewhat of a spritual drought – a parchedness where God’s voice seems so distant and far off. Whenever I pray about it, I find that God leads me to the same conclusion – I’m not listening to Him enough.

I used to think that I was a good listener, but as of late, I’ve thought otherwise. Just last night, I was speaking to my parents over the phone. I truly love my mum and dad, and my bona fide intent of last night’s call was to catch up with them – yet when the call finally materialized, I found myself too tired and distracted to pay full attention to what they were saying. Our conversation was punctuated by my constant asking of, “can you repeat that again?”

Thankfully, my mum was understanding – yet I knew she must have felt really frustrated with the fact that I wasn’t listening.

In Jeremiah 7, I realised that God also felt that same frustration with his wayward chosen people Israel. Just look at the feelings He expresses in the following verses:

“…I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear, and I called you but you did not answer”

Jeremiah 7:13

And listening isn’t simply about hearing, it’s also about obedience, that’s why God says:

Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walkied in the counsels and imaginations of their evil heart…

Jeremiah 7:24

Who says that God doesn’t speak? I think God’s trying to speak to us all the time – He desires a conversation with us, but we never set aside the time to listen to Him, or obey what he says. When we listen to Him, we just brush aside His words as superficial. We carelessly lay aside the precious gems of wisdom that He tries to offer to each and every one of us.

—

And God inclines His ear, as in the verse at the beginning of this verse. But the response he hears is startling. There is no man who is truly repentant, and who truly realises the waywardness of his heart. All there is are superficially utterings of “Peace, peace!” [Jeremiah 8:11] and “The temple of the Lord are these” [Jeremiah 7:4]. The people, instead of repenting, are comforting themselves with lies.

I think we need to ask ourselves if we too comfort ourselves with lies. Maybe there’s something God has already told us that we haven’t acted on. Maybe there’s a sin we’ve yet to repent of, and we’ve been putting it aside, comforting ourself with the lie that God is loving and it’ll be ok.

Be silent, and listen.

Listen instead of always talking and giving excuses.

—

the people were like horses that rushed in battle. They carried out their own plans – they executed what they thought was right without first consulting God’s wisdom. I know many people, including myself, tend to do this. We’re so spontaneous sometimes that we forget to consult God in prayer and consider if what we’re doing is right.

In our rashness, we sometimes go ahead with our good intentions, only to ruin God’s perfect plan. We need to know ‘the judgment of the Lord’ [Jeremiah 8:7]- His good timings, His intents.

And the only way to know, is to listen.

—

That’s why we all need silence…

For the Lord our God has put us to silence…
Because we have sinned against the Lord

Jeremiah 8:14

Let [a man] sit alone and keep silent
Because God has laid it on him…
There may yet be hope.

Lamentations 3:28

Sometimes God imposes silence on us.

Sometimes He just forces us to listen to Him.

Him shutting up is a way of forcing us to start seeking His voice again.

Him shutting up is a way of telling us that we need to repent of our lack of listening.

—

O Lord, please help me to listen to you better
and let me hear your sweet voice again.

I’m sorry.