Semper Fi

Three interesting things have happening since i last posted and i thought i should share it with you all



· First of all, I recently presented to my cell group regarding money. It was a subject close to my heart and i belive close to hearts of many as well. I had not spoken in cell for some time now and i was exceedingly nervous when i started. When i started though, all my training from Civil Defence took over (yes, that's right). I think Clarence noticed this immediately coz my very first phrase was something i *always* say when i start the lesson. But i digress. I enjoyed the session immensely and regretted that we did not have more time to discuss some very interesting points. Two very important points that we touched on was that we should not borrow. This sparked off alot of points such as lending out of need, lending to friends, etc. What i learnt from it all was this: Do not borrow, if you need to borrow, you don't need it and you're obviously living beyond your means. Next, don't borrow, if you must, whether to help a friend or family then don't expect to get it back (This does not mean we become walking ATMs but rather, we don't let the money get in the way of the relationship. A friend owes me money right now and i expect it back. Not anytime in the future of course but i want it back.... eventually) Lastly, never never ever charge interest.



· Another thing we spoke of was that we should not live for ourselves but live for God. Moreso, does this mean we live a small life and force ourselves to be happy with whatever we have? Of course not! One of the cell group members said something that i found very true. We said that all of God's 'elite' as i'd like to call them; Job, Abraham, Joseph, et al were mindnumingly rich. They weren't just rich, they were so rich that i don't think they even knew how much they owned. Yet, they were God's people. So utterly devoted to God that neither disaster (Job), self sacrifice (Abraham) nor Vengeance (Joseph) stood in the their devotion. I believe that everything belong to God and we are called to be stewards for his stuff. At the end of it all, all of us have to tell Him what exactly did we do with all the stuff he left in our charge. "Yes Lord, I invested the money you gave me and trusted in You to tell me what to do. It grew into a Fortune 500 company and now that you're back, here are the keys to the company" God doesn't want us to lead small lives, He wants us to lead HUGE lives. Stop worrying about money today, stop worrying you can't get that next big thing, stop worrying right now coz it all belongs to God and our job is to be good responsible managers of what we're given and let Him do the work.



· Phew... that was alot, another thing that happened the most recent Sabbath was that i was called "Daddy". By accident of course but it felt soooo sweet and I had a good feeling inside me for the longest time. Now i'm bad with names and faces so please forgive me if i'm wrong but i think it was Mikaila, Micheal Chee's daughter that accidentally called me daddy. She only saw my back and from behind i look like him so she called me daddy. When i turned around she realised she had called the wrong person and drank from the bottle to hide her embarassment. I don't laugh at her, not at all. I did the same thing a very long time ago. It was in a shopping centre and i held the hand nearest to me. Turns out it was a total stranger and not my dad. Sooooo embarassing. But i digress. I think Michael Chee (So uncomfortable calling him that, uncle Michael is tons more respectful, yet also seems wrong. Confucious would be proud) is a really handsome dude. All his children have some awesome genes and i think they'll grow to be some great people. I think he and i have a similar dress sense (Pastel shirts and khaki pants for the win) and to be mistaken to be him is kinda an honour. I don't think i've spoken with him much but he seems like the kind of guy i think i might be when i grow older (Look pass the naivete please). Good role model, strong Christian and everything else (don't forget the dress sense ^^) I didn't feel good because Mikaila called me daddy, i felt good coz i felt like i was moving in the same direction as uncle Michael, which in my opinion, ain't such a bad thing.



· Last thing... i've ridden past some of my procrastination and finally registered for driving lessons with the driving centre. I figure it'll cost me at least $1500 unless i have the motor skills of Ayrton Senna which i strongly doubt. The darndest thing is this: i have $1500 in my bank account. More money that i ever had in my entire life. I spent my entire NS life living from one paycheck to the next, trying so desperately to save. I ORD, decide in my heart to tithe and even give a bit more for offering AND feel good about it. Suddenly i get job offers being thrown into my face. I have 2 tuitions jobs, a 3rd one for a community centre. For the last one i didn't go for an interview or send a resume. They called me coz they knew my mum. Amazing grace! Also, I helped Youngberg with some work and was paid pretty well too. Every month i tithe more and more coz that 10 percent keeps getting bigger and bigger. I'll admit though, the fact that all of it will disappear coz of driving makes my heart hurt a little. But i know that if God didn't want me to learn driving i would have alot less than $1500 in my account. Live within your means He says, my means let me learn driving. Also, since its all tuition work i work 24 hours a MONTH and get $600. Woot~!



Part of Malachi 3:10 says "...throw open the floodgates of hraven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have enough room for it"