Back to my stay home days!

My contract with the church office ended on 11 Nov. Since then I have been enjoying my free time at home with Joshua, as his school holidays had started. It was really a good break for me, a well-deserved break after the intense 4.5 months of part-time work. The part time assignment was rather overwhelming for me as I was covering a full time job. But once I started, there was no turning back, I had to press on till the lady who was on maternity leave comes back. I enjoyed working there with the interaction with my colleagues but I just find that it was too rushed for me everyday. I had to rush back home to pick Joshua up from the school bus.

But I guess more importantly I didn't have enough time to spend with The Lord and I felt that I really missed Him a lot. I was in a dilemma because the pastors really hoped that I could continue with my part-time work with them next year but I didn't feel the peace nor the desire to work. I just felt like I needed a break because it had been a hectic time for me, rushing here and there. Although God gave me the grace to see me through the entire assignment, I still felt like fish out of water during the assignment. I was tired and thirsty for more of the living waters. During my part-time work, I so yearned to go back to my stay home days, of leisurely time spent with The Lord.

I do believe that I will be back to full-time work in the church office in future but for now, I just want to do the one thing needful, like Mary, that is to sit at the feet of Jesus and feed from Him. I know that the way I receive manna from The Lord will change in future, for I will not always have the luxury of time spent with Him if I work full-time. But anyway, right now, in this season, I shall not worry about that. I am sure He will cause me to adjust well when the time comes. And my desire to work will be there for it is God who works in us, to will and to work for His good pleasure (Phil 2:13). As always, the desire has to be there before the working out. This is how I know that it is the correct decision as the presence of peace is evident in my heart.

For this past month of staying home, I thank God that I re-gained my equilibrium and came to the place of peace and rest. I was refreshed and recharged by His word. I often made myself happy in The Lord because there is always joy in His presence. I am enjoying this time of staying home and I tell myself I will not grumble or complain that I am too bored because everything comes in seasons. The key is really to enjoy every season for they are unique and once it has passed, it will never come back again. I also enjoy spending time with Joshua, bringing him to various places like playgrounds, library, museums during the school holidays. It is a good bonding time for mummy and Joshua. I really thank God for His goodness in our lives.

Praise God for Heng's promotion!

I just like to give thanks to God for Heng told me this piece of good news last week. He had just crossed his probation period of six months and was confirmed in his employment. His bosses were happy with his performance. He had also just moved into a bigger cubicle after 'camping' with the HR department for the past six months. With this move, we know that God is enlarging his territory. What he didn't expect was that the senior management had unanimously decided to promote him to Director. With that promotion effective from 1 Jan 2014, his pay will also be adjusted accordingly. Wow! God is so good to Heng. God had accelerated Heng's progress in the company because according to his boss, it would usually take at least a year for someone to be promoted to Director. But God did it for him in half the time, what favor! It can only be God.

God is really so good. Earlier this year Heng was rather disappointed that he missed his promotion in the previous company and his career prospects did not seem too good. There was some overt favoritism in the department and Heng was overlooked in the promotion. We knew it was God causing the nest to be pricky and uncomfortable for He was preparing to move Heng out. Heng also started to have the desire to look for another job. And God eventually opened the door for Heng to work in this company. Now as we looked back, we saw that all things work together for our good. If Heng was promoted early this year, he might not even think about leaving. And if he stayed on in that company, he will never know how much more God has in store for him in this new position. This new position is not just a job but a position of influence, where Heng not only gets to decide on his staff's increment, he also participate in the decision making of who to hire or to fire. Sometimes this new position can be a stretch but Heng just continued to rely on God's wisdom to do his work. After all, God was the One who put him there, so His grace will be available.

As for me, I am really happy for Heng, more so than if I was the one being promoted. If it were me, I might have some control over my performance but definitely not if it was Heng. This is purely His grace. Besides, I am so proud of my hubby. When we first started working, he was not yet a degree holder but I was already a degree holder. But along the way Heng studied part time and finally got his degree in accountancy. For many years his pay was below mine but it didn't affect him a single bit. But in my heart, I secretly hoped that one day God would cause him to excel in his career, more so than mine. Even when we made the decision for me to stay home, I was still earning more than him. Thank God that now he has far surpassed my last drawn pay and this is just the beginning. I also saw how my staying home helped in his career progress. Heng said that my staying home to take care of household matters gave him the peace to progress in his career.

God is so good. He will never shortchange us when we take a step of faith to do His will. He not only made sure we are never in lack financially, now He is causing us to be in abundance. I used to hear people say that if you choose to stay home then be prepared to cut back on your standard of living. Because now there is only one income as compared to two incomes previously. Yet God's ways are not our ways. He has a thousand ways to cause the wealth to come to us. After three years of staying home, I can testify that we are never in lack and we didn't have to cut back on our expenses. We continued to eat in restaurants as and when we desire. We bought the things we wanted and we went on nice holidays as usual. Yes I am boasting but I am boasting in the goodness and the riches of our God. For we know that it can never be due to our smarts or our hard work. It has to be the hand of God in our lives.

In short, I just want to exhort you, my beloved friends, to believe that God can do exceedingly and abundantly more than what you imagine. We serve a big God, so we can afford to have big dreams and desires because ultimately all these blessings had been paid for by Jesus. God is no respecter of man, what He did for us, He will do for you too! All we have to do is to believe and receive! And when the blessings come, give Jesus all the glory!

Pastor Prince is going to US next month!

Dear friends and supporters from America, I am happy to inform you that Pastor Prince is going to preach at conferences near your home next month! He will be preaching in Newark, then in Los Angeles, in Houston, at Pastor Joel's Lakewood Church and finally in Dallas. Pastor Prince will be there to promote his new book called 'The Power of Right Believing' published by Faith Words, one of the top publishers in U.S. This book will debut in the month of November. More details can be found on this website http://events.josephprince.org/events/

So hurry! Get your tickets for Pastor Prince's conference before they are all snapped up! The tickets in Dallas are already sold out. I trust that you will have such a blessed time feeding on the truths that Pastor Prince preached. You will go in one way and come out in another way! You will not be the same! Be highly favored, greatly blessed and deeply loved by Jesus!

It has been a long while

I have not been blogging for more than 2 months because I have been busy with family, work and ministry commitments. So many things were happening in the past months but I thank God that it had been a busy but fulfilling time. Someone asked me if I had stopped blogging, I said I did not have the intention to stop, just that for this season, I might not be blogging as frequently as before.

Well, even though work was meaningful, I missed my time with The Lord. Times when I could spend unhindered fellowship with Him was really a great luxury. I know that I would not be forever staying at home but I really cherish this season. And it was only after working that I felt like I had unfinished business at home and that it was not time for me to go into full-time work yet. But I am sure that when the time comes, I would have the desire and I would know.

In any case, even though I had not been blogging, God is still able to use my past entries to bless my readers. Recently I had a comment from a reader who commented about my plant experiment and said their church will try it out. I was so encouraged when I read that. God widened my influence from impacting individuals to entire churches.  I thank God for causing even my past blog posts to bless others. To God be the glory!

Blessed Dental Visits

I used to have this fear in my life - seeing a dentist. I do not know whether it was because of the painful and nasty experiences I had when I was schooling. I remember the school dentist was always fierce, angry and blaming us for not brushing our teeth so she had a hard time cleaning them up. In those days, the technology was not so advanced, hence the dentist had to use a sharp scalpel to scrap out all the tartar and plaque. It was a horrible and painful experience. Not only was it unpleasant, I often times felt condemned because my teeth were always so dirty. And so as I grew up, I had an aversion to dentists and I told myself to stay away from them whenever possible.

In my adult life, I again had a nasty experience with dentists. That time I had to let a dentist extract my imbedded wisdom tooth if not it would cause me problems in future. What happened was the anesthetic wore off towards the tail end of the surgery and I could feel the dentist sewing up my gums. The recovery process was also painful and I cried out to God asking why I had to go through this painful surgery. Well, as I grew, I would delay my visits to the dentists as much as possible. I only visited the dentist once in a few years. The last time I went three years ago, the dentist gave me a shock when he told me that one of my upper wisdom tooth was decayed beyond repair and had to be pulled out. He wanted to pull out my tooth there and then but I refused. I didn't feel any pain or discomfort so why should I take out my tooth? I didn't quite believe what he told me. And so I left it as such.

But as the years passed, I often have this niggling fear that what he said was true, yet I did not dare visit another dentist because I did not want them to tell me to extract my tooth.  So when I started having gum infections, swollen gums and gum pain, my fears were confirmed, yet I did nothing about it. Every time I had gum infection I would believe God to heal my gums and when the pain was gone, I would put this issue aside and try not to think about it. But this problem recurred once in a while and I also started feeling sensitive about drinking hot and cold stuff. I knew that I had decayed teeth but I still didn't want to face my fears.

Until June this year, I brought Joshua to his dental visit in school. The dentist complimented him, saying that it was so brave of him to put up with the extensive scaling since it was his first time. Then after I saw how clean his teeth became, I suddenly found the motivation to see a dentist. Somehow this time round, the motivation of getting my teeth cleaned outweighed the fear of extracting my teeth. I told myself even if the dentist said to extract my teeth, I would be mentally prepared. I wanted to get down to the root of my recurring gum infection. If my tooth was badly decayed, I rather have it out of my mouth than to leave it there to cause problems in future.

And so I finally did visit the dentist last Monday and she extracted two decayed wisdom tooth. It was rather painless and my gums recovered the next day. I really thank God for helping me overcome this fear and I was really relieved when my teeth were extracted. Finally this cannot cause me pain in future. I couldn't have my teeth cleaned last Monday so I went back for another appointment yesterday. It was a little painful when she was cleaning the tartar but I was happy when the whole process was over. Finally I got it out of the way and I not only got clean teeth, The Lord also restored the pain and stigma of visiting a dentist and I overcome this fear. Praise Jesus!

Patterns in divine shifts

I have noticed over the past few years, that there are similarities in what God told me, how I felt and the events that happened leading up to a divine shift in season. After a few times of observing this pattern, I am more apt to discern the shifts in seasons. Firstly, God will usually prepare me with verses that speak of Him doing a new thing like Isaiah 43:19 or messages that speak of change coming. He will then tell me to let go of the past for it is no more. The old has gone, the new has come.

 Secondly, God would usually tell me to prepare for action, no more waiting, arise and go, get ready to move on, be on the expectant lookout for the new things months before the season change. He would also enlarge my vision, stretch my tent curtains and renew my mind to prepare me to embrace the change that is come in up. The key is to remain flexible and close to The Lord for He might do things in a different way. New wine cannot be poured into old wineskins.

Thirdly, just before I step into the Promised land, The Lord will bring me through a review of the past journey taken. This is an important step, looking back before He moves me forward. In doing so, He will show me that I have finished that chapter well and He is pleased with me. Hence He is now ready to move me on, He promises to complete the good work He started in me for that season. Looking back also serves the purpose of setting up memorial stones as signs of His faithfulness. He will also tell me to remember that it is The Lord who caused this to come to pass. I am to give all the glory back to Jesus. Let he who boasts boast in The Lord. He will also remind me to meditate on His word, to be strong and courageous in the days ahead.

Fourthly, just before the divine shifts take place, I find myself undergoing a lot of pressure and opposition. Many distractions also occur to take my focus off what The Lord is doing in my life. I would feel like a woman about to give birth, with all those labour pains or contractions, making me feel so uncomfortable, restless and vulnerable. I would feel like a door has closed behind me, there is no turning back and yet the door in front is not opened yet. I would feel so stuck and then I would cry out to The Lord asking Him to show me evidences of change, of the new things He spoke of. Yet The Lord is so good. He would assure me again that He will finish what He started and when He opens a door, no one can shut. The truth is the door is still open even though I may not feel it or see it yet. When I reached this tipping point, I would see the door ahead of me open or I would feel things falling into place.

Lastly, there is usually a step of faith required. The step of faith is to respond to His call to the new things He has began in my life. At this point, after the open door has been revealed, it is clear that a change has occurred, a divine shift has taken place. Yet this calls for a response for me to walk through that open door. This step is irreversible. When you walk through that door, it will be stepping into a whole new world. Everything will not be the same anymore. Yes, open doors are exciting yet the unknown changes ahead are unsettling. There will surely be adjustments ahead and you will wonder how it would be like.

At this point, there is no room for doubts or unbelief. The long-awaited change is here, the door ahead is finally opened and it really does not make sense to draw back now. You just got to trust God that since He has brought you thus far, He will surely bring you to cross the finish line. He will finish what He started in you. So don't think so much, just obey Him and walk through that open door. A whole new world awaits you and you will never regret it. He will cause you to successfully transit into a new season. Congratulations and rejoice for He has brought you up to another level, bringing you closer to your divine destiny.

When God opens the door, the changes would start to unveil one by one. This is when things started to move and there is a certain momentum. This is an exciting time of fulfillment in your life when you witness the power of His open doors and the manifestation of His promises. It's harvest time. The things that He told you in advance finally came to pass, one by one. When He opens the door of your heart's desire, you will feel so loved and so grateful. There is no time to wallow in past disappointments or pay attention to strongholds or distractions.

 There is just so much excitement in store and all your attention is caught up in preparing for the new things ahead. You can also be sure that even as a certain promise that you have been waiting for years has yet to be revealed, it doesn't mean that God has shut the door. It just means it is awaiting the appointed time to be revealed and the time is very very near. You know it in your heart because of the signs of the fig tree happening which are the events leading up to this open door.

In fact, at this stage, you are past caring when this door will open because you are pre-occupied with the new things God has done in your life. You know that as you get along with your daily chores, having the time of your life, this door will open unexpectedly. This is when you know you have truly gotten a breakthrough in this area, when you have totally let go of it that you become nonchalant about it. It has no power to grip your heart anymore...Christ has give you victory. You have finally overcome the age-old bondage. Rejoice and celebrate!

Open door to part-time work

Indeed it is true that what God opens, no man can shut. There were two doors that God opened for my part-time work since Apr 2013. I had been waiting on The Lord to confirm which is the right one. One was in the new company that Heng is working now and the other was in church office. It was actually a breakthrough because for the past two years I had periodically asked God for open doors to work part-time but no open doors. But somehow from this year, I had this desire to work part-time again. However, when I applied for part-time admin work in an educational institution early this year, I received a word during Sunday service and I knew it was a closed door. What I was not sure was whether God has closed the door to part-time work completely or that it was not my time yet. Or that was not the right place. 

It was interesting that this desire to work part-time came up again this year but when I thought about it, there was no heartache or pain associated with the thought. In the past, working part-time was like a compromise, like a stop-gap measure to feeling bored at home. It reminded me of the pain of waiting for my second baby, that because this promise had not manifested soon enough, so that was why I had to start looking for some work again. But this time round, when the desire to work part-time came, it was purely out of a desire in my heart. It had nothing to do with being bored at home. In fact, I was enjoying my free time at home with The Lord.

It is true that God works through our desires in the new covenant. God has made it so easy for us in the new covenant to be directed by His wisdom and love. We no longer have to run to prophets to find out His will for us. He Himself leads us with His prompting. In early Apr, when I was offered the part-time job to work in the new company that Heng is working, I was happy but I did not feel that was the right place. My heart's desire was to work in the church office. I waited for this open door till early May and I still did not see anything happening so I concluded maybe it was not time for me to work in church yet. Since there was no sign of an open door in that area, I thought God had closed the door to my part-time work.

I told God it was ok. Even if I did not work, it was ok. After all I was busy in end May and for June school holidays, I would have to take care of Joshua. Well, I felt there was no hurry to get to work now. I could wait for His timing. But the fact was: God did not close these two doors. He left them open. It was just a matter of time before I walked through the open door. What God opens, no man can shut. If it was His will for me to work in church, I did not have to use my self efforts or force open a door. I know that if God did not open that door, it would be useless to try to make it open. I was so dependent on Him for the open doors. Anyway, I thank God that I was not desperate to work part-time. I can rest at home anyway.

God is so good. He heard my prayers and He answered them. One day in mid May I felt impressed to send a message to my Pastor to tell him I prayed for him and the pastoral team.  My Pastor really appreciated my prayers and he said he was thinking about me the other day. He wanted to talk to me about helping out with care group matters in church office. Wow! I was so happy when I saw this. It was God's hand at work. God must be the One who impressed upon Pastor's mind about me. I am so grateful to Him for always opening the door for me. Be it the care group leader appointment or the desire to serve at the Star, or this desire to work in church office, it has always been The Lord who did all the work. I never had to force my way through an open door or try too hard. I really feel so loved when I see this open door and so honored that Pastor would be even thinking of asking me to help.

Yes, open doors in life meant opportunity, progress and promotion but at the same time, you would have questions about the changes. It was exciting to walk through an open door yet you wonder about what was ahead. Things that were unknown made us jittery. Most of these doubts were silly. Imagine you have been waiting all these years for things to change, for things to move in your life yet when it came, you get the jitters. But during this time these doubts appeared large and threatening. At this time if you start believing the doubts you will not enjoy the blessing of the open door. For destroying these doubts you will have to boldly say out loud that what God has opened for you no one can shut. You have to believe it with all your heart. Yes, shout it out loud that what God has opened no one can shut. 

That was how I felt earlier on. I felt that a door has closed behind me, although I did not know how. I felt like the old season was passing and a new beginning was on the horizon. I sensed that changes started occurring since Apr, yet I did not know what exactly were these changes and the magnitude of the adjustments I had to make. I also know that more changes were on the way yet I did not know when they would happen. I sensed an open door to part-time work is opening since Apr but I did not know what it was. I thought it was the offer to work in Heng's company. But it was not. Then in early May, when the call for recruitment for volunteers to work in church office came, my spirit leapt. I thought this was it. But when the church did not call for a while, I started to doubt if I sensed correctly. And I wondered if I was suitable to work in church office. 

Earlier before God's plan was revealed to me, I was feeling jittery with the thoughts of all these imminent changes in my life, Heng's job, growth in care group numbers, part-time work etc. My doubts were whether I could handle all these changes for I already felt stretched managing the increased care group size. But God was so good. He reassured me again and again that it was He who opened those doors and He would surely bring me to cross over to the new season. He who started a good work in me would bring it to completion. Jesus is the author and finisher of my faith. I would surely make it to the finish line. Indeed these doubts were silly. I wondered if I heard correctly from The Lord about the open doors and whether which was the right door for me. But His word was confirmed by the events that happened after He spoke. It was true that I sensed correctly and when I knew that it is His will, He is the One who opened the door, then I am confident that He will empower me to walk through that door. 

Why God closes doors

I came across this message on 'Closed Doors are a Blessing' which I felt it was very good. Below are highlights from the website http://www.lovesark.net/everlastinglove/closeddoors.html.

Sometimes, before God places an open door before us, He will close certain doors first. At times, the open door comes rather fast but often times it tarries. Do not be surprised at the closed doors; you should know for sure that it is God who opens and closes doors in your life. As long as you think it is some human being or institution that does it you are going to be sadly mistaken. If you trust in Jesus; He is the one who opens and closes doors in your life: "What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open'' (Revelation 3:7b NIV).

Therefore, be sure and fully convinced that the closed doors in your life are His doing. You need not blame anyone for that. You need not curse your circumstances. The best thing to do is to thank God for closing those doors in your life. Is that easy to do? Not at all. But that is the best thing you can do!

1. God closes doors so you can change directions

Many times you keep on doing what you do all your life. But God might certainly have better things in store for you. Since you are comfortable doing what you are now doing and good at it; you will never think about changing directions at all. You will never even give it a passing thought. So to get your attention, God will close doors in your face. He will not allow them to be opened again for you however hard you try.

It is only then that you will listen to what God has to say to you. He might whisper to you to try something new, to take up a new job, apply for a promotion etc. Now you are ready to hear and obey. Earlier, when the sailing was smooth, you were happy cruising along. Now that you are without a ship to sail; you will start looking for the next ship, maybe a small boat for the time being, that God has kept ready for you. So closed doors in your life are God's attention-grabbers. Thank God for them. He is pointing you to a new direction in life. It's going to be exciting. 

2. God closes doors so that you can pray more, depend on Him more.

Isn't it true that doors that are open never inspire you to pray much? That is simply because you take them for granted. You do not give it a second thought. You may be thankful for it; but not consciously giving thanks to God for it. But when the door closes, you suddenly become aware of how much it had meant to you. You feel with awesome helplessness the immovable strength of a closed door shut in your face.

Then, in sheer helplessness, you hit the dust on your knees. And you cry out, "O God, help me!'' The cry echoes in emptiness. You will feel the pain of rejection. You cry out: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Still no answer. All is darkness. You feel despair. You feel gnawing emptiness. But you have no other way. You continue to pray until there comes an assurance in your heart that God has heard. His peace settles in your heart. Now you can eagerly expect God to open some door for you.

But the moments just before the door opens are the toughest for it is said that the darkest hour is just before dawn. That means, that the time before you receive the answer to prayer is the darkest. It is then that you need to pray more. So closed doors teach you to pray more. They grip your heart with such force that you pray like you've never prayed before. And when doors open; you will thankfully realize that you have moved up another level in the prayer ladder. Therefore pray with all your might when doors close on you.

3. God closes doors so you can stop trusting in man

It is only when you have knocked at closed doors that you understand that the help of man cannot be trusted. It is during such times you come to know the true character of those whom you expected would help. You might have been given hope day after day by their soothing words of promise. Until one day you found them telling you not to trouble them anymore. Then you felt the pain of being let down; the pain of having been deceived into believing those words which gave you false hopes.

And now you are alone! But Someone stands alongside, waiting for you to realize that He is standing by. Closed doors do help you to see Him stand by your side. Many times He knocked at your heart to tell you that He is willing to help. But then your eyes and hopes were set on those men who had promised to help. So you never heard His knocking. You never opened the doors for Him.

Now that you find every door closed; you are ready to listen to Him. It is now you are ready to say along with the Psalmist: ``Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm'' (Psalm 20:7,8 NIV). Now you are ready to get rid of those chariots and horses in which you trusted. And now you are ready to see God open doors for you. So closed doors compels you to stop trusting in man. It helps you see that God alone can open doors for you.

4. God closes doors so that you can learn to wait for His timing

In the wisdom of this world any time is right. In the eyes of this world there is no concept like waiting for God's specific time. But when God deals with you, His child, He often closes doors so that you will wait for His right time.

You have to know that there are many reasons why God would do this. He does it to prepare circumstances. He prepares them in such a fashion that it will be to your best advantage when His time comes. If you act before His time it will be like plucking an unripe fruit. He knows when it is going to be ripe and ready to be eaten. He closes doors so that you will not pluck the unripe fruit. He will open them only when it is ripe. Then it will be to your best advantage.

In the Bible we see this in the life of Joseph. He was put in prison. There he interpreted the dreams of two men. He told one of them, the chief cupbearer of the king, to remember him when all goes well with him. Joseph also asked him to mention him to Pharaoh and to get his release from prison. Even though the chief cupbearer was restored to his position, the Bible says that he did not remember Joseph but forgot him.

Two full years passed by. Joseph might have lost hope that the cupbearer would get him out of prison. But then God's time came. Pharaoh had dreams. Nobody could interpret them. Then the chief cupbearer remembered Joseph. Immediately, Joseph was brought out of prison. And he became Governor of the land.

It all happened quickly. So also it can happen to you if you wait for God's time. Joseph tried to make his release come in his own time. But God closed the door then. He opened it after two years. This was because God had now prepared the circumstances. Now Joseph became the governor of the land.

Have you ever thought what would have happened if Joseph got his release two years ago? He would have got his freedom only to become somebody's slave again!

5. God is preparing you for the task ahead while you wait behind closed doors

This is a more important process that happens to you while you wait for God's time--God is preparing you for the task ahead. God knows what qualities and strength of character you need to be able to handle the honor that you will be given when He opens doors. For that He allows you to pass through difficulties behind closed doors.

All the waiting, all the hardships and all the misunderstanding and ridicule that you are facing now is building muscles of steely-faith in your mind. You are being molded and shaped by God to meet your glorious destiny. The more tough your closed door; the greater the exaltation God has planned for you.

You can know this lesson from Joseph's life itself: ``And he sent a man before them--Joseph, sold as a slave. They bruised his feet with shackles, his neck was put in irons, till what he foretold came to pass, till the word of the Lord proved him true. The king sent and released him, the ruler of the peoples set him free. He made him master of his household, ruler over all he possessed, to instruct his princes as he pleased and teach his elders wisdom'' (Psalm 105:17--22 NIV).

The dream of greatness was God's promise to Joseph. And He prepared him behind closed doors to give him the exaltation that was promised earlier.

So closed doors guard God's preparation ground to make you ready for the greatness that He has kept in store for you!

The End of a Season for Heng

Today is Heng's last day in this company. He has worked here for more than 5.5 years. This season in his company has come to an end. Late last year there were already some ripples, causing him to feel like he needed to move on to another job. He felt that his wings were clipped and there was not much room for him to develop further. He prayed for a confirmation from The Lord and that was if he was passed over for promotion in Jan this year, then he would know it was really time to go. 

Well, Heng started looking for a job since a year ago but he was quite selective about the companies he applied to. The interesting thing was even though his skills were marketable, no one called him up for an interview. Not even one open door in the course of the year. He was quite cool and nonchalant about this until early this year, he was really passed over for promotion. Ever since then, he felt the urge to quickly move on because he found it meaningless to continue in this company. The door was closing behind him yet the door in front has not yet opened. It was an extremely uncomfortable time waiting for job openings.

But since the theme for this year is 'Year of Open Doors', we trust that The Lord is closing the doors that are not good for Heng and opening doors that are good for him. We continued to confess that God is going to open a door of opportunity for Heng soon and it will not just be a job, but a position of influence and prominence. We could not see how this would come to pass at that time since Heng did not even have a single job interview. But we continued to trust The Lord. 

God is so good. In March, Heng received an unexpected phone call from his old friend back in those days when we started working.  This friend made a pact with Heng some 15 years ago that one day, when he took over his father's business, he would get Heng to join him. Together they will conquer the world. Of course Heng did not take his word seriously because they were young then and who would expect a young chap to honor his promise. Well, this friend really did. He called to say that he was taking over as Chairman next year and the time has come for him to honor his promise. He wants Heng to join his company and help him. This position would be part of his management team, and Heng would oversee areas other than finance. Not only that, Heng would get a good salary increase. 

Well, Heng was so touched by the sincerity of this true friend. A few years ago he did call and ask Heng to join him but the timing was not right then. Heng was enjoying his time in this current company and there was still much to learn. God's timing is really perfect. Now we understand why there wasn't even a single interview all this while. God had closed all the other doors to prepare Heng for this open door. In fact, if this friend called any earlier, Heng would not be ready to move on. If he called any later, maybe Heng would have found another job. God may not be early but He is never late. He is the One guiding our steps. 

This is really God's grace. We are so overwhelmed by His love for us. The friendship between Heng and his friend reminded me of the friendship between David and Jonathan. Jonathan loved David and helped him escape when his father Saul wanted to take his life. David had a covenant with Jonathan. He promised to do good to Jonathan and his family all the days of his life. David eventually honored his promise to Mephibosheth, Jonathan's son. He sought this boy out and did good to him for Jonathan's sake. Who would have thought that a promise made by a then army boy would be made good by him years later? Besides, it is not just a job. It is truly a position of influence and prominence like what we prayed for. 

God took Heng from the back to the front, from being just a finance manager to being part of a management team, from being disqualified to qualified, from being seen as less than, to being promoted, honored, influential and looked up to. I am sure some people will scratch their heads and wonder 'How did he get there? It's not fair. I worked harder, I have more talent, I deserve more.' But the truth is favor isn't fair. It is the undeserved and unmerited goodness of God. God has put Heng in a position that he didn't earn, didn't qualify for, didn't have the seniority and not even next in line! When it sounds too good to be true, then it has to be God's grace! All glory to Jesus! 

Why Rejoicing is so Important

Recently I thank God for a joy inexpressible in my heart! Sometime ago when I was feeling tired and discouraged, I asked The Lord to grant me His joy because I know the joy of The Lord is my strength. After that, I kept seeing messages that tell me to rejoice, to celebrate, to sing praises, worship Him and give thanks before I see my manifestation. 

Joy is a spirit and it is a force. It is the very power that breaks through the dam and causes your promise to manifest. Praise and worship will lift up your spirits and make you happy in The Lord. When you are happy and joyful, this power attracts all the good things of God. When more good things happen, your spirits get uplifted even more and you become more joyful. 

The joy of The Lord is your strength so when you are joyful, you are strong to not only withstand but fight back your enemy. Faith rises up within you causing you to exercise the authority Jesus has given you. You can then tell your enemy to buzz off and stop harassing you. When you do that, you have come to the position God wanted you to take.

Now I see it so clearly. All the attacks in my life previously are all attempts to take my joy away. The enemy cannot afford to let me continue to be happy because joy is a powerful spirit. He knows if I carry on rejoicing, celebrating, praising and worshiping The Lord, I will see my manifestation very soon! Already he cannot stop my appointed time from coming, at most he can only make me miserable, steal my joy before my manifestation comes. But now even this ploy is exposed and his power totally stripped! Praise Jesus for the victory! 

I really thank God for He is so good to me. No wonder He kept telling me to fulfill my desires whenever I can and don't postpone my pleasures anymore. Hope deferred makes my heart sick but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. He doesn't want my heart to be sick. He knows that when I do the things I like and buy the things I want, that makes me happy. I should also eat choice food and drink sweet drinks. He wants me to maintain this happy and joyful state no matter what. He wants me to feel pampered like a princess for indeed I am His princess. 

Something good is coming my way and all I have to do is to keep rejoicing in The Lord! One devotional I read said if only I knew what marvelous things the Lord has done for me, I would be rejoicing with tears of joy now! I should be doing things like watching funny cartoons, humorous shows that can make me laugh. Sing, dance, shout for joy and laugh for more good things are coming my way! 

G.I. Joe Retaliation

Yesterday Heng was on leave and we both went to catch a movie. It was 'G.I. Joe Retaliation'. I usually wasn't interested in such action movies because I thought they were quite violent. But I watched a bit of 'G.I Joe' on TV last week and I felt it was quite an interesting movie with good plot. So I decided to watch this sequel.

Well, in case I spoiled the fun of those who wanted to watch this movie, I would not reveal the details of the plot. All I wanted to share was my thoughts as I watched the movie. There were a few key points that I wanted to highlight:

1. Sense of Mission
From the start of the movie, there was already much action. What I felt strongly about this elite force was that these soldiers were missional. They had such a strong sense of mission and very focused on their assignment. Besides, they were really good in what they were doing, they were well-trained for the job. I hope to be like them. I wanted to be really good in what God has made me to be...a prayer warrior. I know God has been training me up for His assignment for the past two years and He is still training me. Besides, I am thrilled by the sense of mission that God has put in my heart and I want to be focused on the calling He has for me, like the Joes.

2. Team work
This movie was special because it was not the typical superhero kind of movie that Amercia loved to film. This show emphasized the intricate interplay of teamwork, directed and commanded by their captain. At the end of the day, when victory was wrought from the bad guys, you could not say which one played a dominant role, not even the one who stopped the nuclear bomb. All of them formed an essential part to the fruition of the plan. One could not function well without the other because they needed each other. Every one has their special giftings that the team needed. This is exactly what is like in the kingdom of God. No one is superior to another. We all need each other, that is how God made us to be interdependent. But as each of us take our place in the kingdom and play our part well, taking orders from our Commander-in-chief Jesus, we would see His victory plan unfold. I cannot even tell you how beautiful that would be.

3. Fearless
One other thing I observed about the soldiers was that they were fearless in the face of danger. They knew they would be facing an uphill battle but they did not draw back. They can face the enemy in the eye which had a look that says 'I am not afraid of you.' They were past caring about their own lives as they carried out their mission. They only had one thing in mind: to seek justice for those brothers who had been wrongfully murdered by the enemy. As far as they were concerned, they had already died in the air raid, perished together with the brothers. Hence they really had nothing to be fearful of. They were also very professional, not letting emotions get into their way. As I watched them in action, I thought of how The Lord has been trying to get all of us, believers to a place where we are fearless. A place where we know our dominion and authority over sickness, sin, dark powers and even the natural circumstances. Not only does sin has no dominion over us for we are not under law but under grace, we instead have dominion over sin and evil spirits. When we finally get to the point when we are not afraid, when we are not conscious of ourselves but Christ within us, that is when our emotions cannot get in the way. When we are truly liberated from our bondages, then we would be a great threat to the enemy. When we know the resurrection power lying dormant within us and we know how to exercise and tap into that power, hallelujah! No forces of darkness can pull us back!

Brothers and sisters in Christ, The Lord is bringing us to that place of dominion, the place of excellence in what we are created to do and the place where we are fearless. Are you ready to take your place in the kingdom of God? The Body of Christ needs you...hesitate no more and take your rightful place today! We have been stolen, bullied by the dark forces but Jesus says 'Enough!' It is time for us to fight back, to retaliate. All the heavenly forces are backing us up, God is on our side. The King, our Commander-in-chief is beckoning you...do you hear His voice?

Joshua's composition

Joshua and I loved the books on 'Mr Putter and Tabby' by Cynthia Rylant and Arthur Howard. We would borrow all the series on 'Mr Putter and Tabby' in the library whenever we could find them. Mr Putter is an old man who lives with his fine cat Tabby. Mrs Teaberry, an elderly lady who lives next door with her good dog Zeke is a good friend of Mr Putter. They liked doing things together and many cute adventures in the series came out of them doing things together.

After reading so many books about Mr Putter and Tabby, I encouraged Joshua to write a simple story about them, which he did. And here goes his story on 'Mr Putter and Tabby Fly the Rocket' (some grammar mistakes corrected by me)...

1. Good Things
Mr Putter and his fine cat Tabby were happy because they were going to the moon in a rocket. Mr Putter was going for a trip to the moon. He phoned Mrs Teaberry and told her that he was going to the moon. Mrs Teaberry was happy to go to the moon too.

2. Money
The rocket trip to the moon cost one dollar and forty-one cents. Two hours later, Mr Putter and Tabby, Mrs Teaberry and her good dog Zeke were in the rocket. And then the countdown began. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and zero...blast off!

3. Rocket Trip
Mr Putter and Mrs Teaberry were enjoying the ride. One hour later, they reached the moon. They had some moon rock shooters to shoot the rocks. They had shot ninety-nine moon rocks.

4. Back Home
By the time they finished shooting moon rocks, they had two hundred and ninety-six moon rocks. They got back to the rocket and flew back home. On the way home they ate some ice-cream soda. When they got home, they had a little nap.

The End.

Joshua's First Piano Recital

Today is Joshua's first recital. By God's grace, his teacher really favored him. She felt that Joshua was a bit shy so she wanted to give him the exposure through this recital. I am sure not every student of hers was chosen. Prior to the recital, he only had one lesson with her. Even though it was a simple piece 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star', which he had practiced a few times at home, I was more concerned about him having stage fright. I even asked CG members to pray for him to be bold. Hs teacher was so nice, she said if he is scared, she will sit beside him.

Thank God that Joshua performed well...even though there was a wrong note, I felt that he has already been very bold. He told me that actually he didn't need his teacher to be standing beside him...think he saw that all the other children also played by themselves. I was surprised that he went out alone to receive the certificate. He initially wanted me to accompany him. Actually there were other kids more shy than him...one boy even turned his face away from the audience when he played! 

When Joshua was playing at the piano, I really felt so touched. Here is my boy playing the piano...how much he has grown...how he made me feel so proud of him even though it was a simple song. I had a glimpse of how my Heavenly Father felt about me too. He already loved me the way I am, without my works or performance...yet when He saw me developing to my God-given potential, He must be so proud of me. He must be also telling the angels 'Come look at my daughter...see how much she has grown...I am so proud of my girl!' 

Beloved, if only we could see what He sees in us and hear what He has to say to us, we would often not be so hard on ourselves. I know we have all felt the need to perform at times in our life. Others have placed expectations and demands on us. When we perform at the request of others without having a heart of sacrificial love and kindhearted intentions, resentment can easily form. This robs our rest in the Lord, making us feel the need to perform for Him also. It is not to be so. All service to others comes out of time with Him or it doesn’t bear the fruit of patience, mercy and love. Today The Lord gives us the grace as we come into the quiet place and abide within the very presence of a Holy God. 

Aussie Trip

Thank God we were able to go on a trip to Australia Gold Coast over the March holidays. I had wanted to bring Joshua to Gold Coast since last year but I felt it was too expensive to head to Australia. Recently we saw a promotional land package to Gold Coast and coupled with a lower-priced airfare from Scoot Airlines, we made the decision to go just the week before the holIdays started. 

We went to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, Movie World, Dreamworld and Skypoint. We stayed in Surfers' Paradise which is home to a beautiful beach. We loved the beach...Joshua had so much fun at the beach. The weather was very good, about 26 degrees in the day and about 21 degrees at night. It could get a bit chilly at night because of the breeze. But the cool weather in the theme parks made our experience very pleasant. The Australians are generally friendly and the best part is they are more leisurely rather than rushed. The pace of life there is slower and the people there are more pro-family. 

Joshua liked the rides in the theme parks. He was quite brave to try all the roller coasters. He said it was fun and not scary at all. I was surprised because when he was younger, he was even scared of the merry-go-round...can you imagine! Of all the holidays we had gone, Joshua found this one the best. He is also of this age that he can understand, appreciate and remembers the things he has seen and played. Maybe next time we would explore a farm stay...either in Perth or Taiwan or even Bangkok! 

Gold Coast Beach 

Key characteristics of open heaven

I just like to share some of the key words associated with open heavens:
1) Increased revelation from God, visions and dreams
2) Open communication (hear God clearly)
3) Increased angelic visitations and activity
4) Rejoicing and celebrating
5) Breakthroughs, victory over strongholds
6) Dreams come to pass, even unspoken desires
7) Power of God manifested
8) Things move faster, acceleration and momentum
9) Open doors (especially for those shut for a long time)
10) Lesser resistance, hand of God move freely on earth
11) Harvest time for seeds sown previously into the Kingdom of God
12) Flood of His blessings, favor and goodness
13) Financial prosperity, transfer of wealth
14) Increased time of prayer and worship, thanksgiving
15) Open wombs, barrenness no more
16) Dominion over evil spirits and diseases
17) Increased frequency of good news in your life
18) Holy Spirit moving freely in our midst
19) Speedy answers to prayers
20) Coming up to another level of His anointing
21) Spirit of faith and expectancy heightened
22) Signs, wonders and miracles happening

It is now happening!

I remember a story told of an astronaut on the moon. He was a carnal believer who did not pray much, let alone could hear the voice of God. But on one expedition to the moon, he realized that the Lunar Rover was not working. No engineer was around to repair the vehicle so he had to do it. The problem was this vehicle is a highly complicated machine and he would not be able to know how to repair it. Out of desperation he prayed to God for help to repair the Lunar Rover. Amazingly he was able to hear God's voice clearly and step by step, The Lord led him to successfully repair the vehicle and he was able to complete his mission. When he came back to earth, the people were amazed at how he could repair the Lunar Rover. To this, he explained that The Lord spoke to him and guided him to do so. 

From this story, we learnt that the principalities and dark forces covering the atmosphere of this earth which we cannot see are very real. That is why many believers claimed that they cannot hear God's voice or don't know that God is speaking to them. The truth is He speaks all the time and He longs to communicate to us. That was how the astronaut on the moon was able to hear God's voice clearly because there is no resistance in that atmospheric realm. But I believe a time has come when The Lord is creating an open heavens scenario. An open heaven is when there is least spiritual resistance and the Spirit of God moves freely in the affairs of the world. It is a time when prayers get answered speedily and The Lord pours out His blessings on us like a flood (Deut. 28:12-13).

I get excited when there is open heavens for I have witnessed certain periods of my life when there is open heavens. It is amazing. The things which were in inertia for a long while all started to move and there is a momentum. All the breakthroughs happened suddenly and good things come out in the natural. I kept receiving good news after good news. When there is open heavens, all your dreams come to pass and you find that you hear the Lord more clearly than ever. You will have an increased revelation of His word and dreams and visions come to you. You also start to see open doors to areas you have been praying for: be it career, children, doors to service, salvation of loved ones etc. Supernatural occurrences, signs and wonders become a commonplace under open heavens. 

You would be so amazed and overwhelmed by the marvelous things happening in your life to be fearful or depressed. You will witness the power and glory of God in your life. Sometimes He answered your secret desires even when you did not ask Him for it. You just wish for something to happen and it did. You will be so excited, so expectant of good things happening and you will be constantly giving praise and thanks to The Lord. Your frequent mood will be that of joy and calm delight. You will be led forth by the Holy Spirit to do things you never even imagined because under an open heaven, the Holy Spirit is outpoured. We will also experience increased financial blessing for the sake of the gospel when a transfer of wealth occurs from the sinners to the righteous. It is also a time of harvest when we reap the fruits of the seeds previously sown into the kingdom of God. 

Beloved, it is happening, it is happening, it is happening right now even as we speak. And this open heavens scenario is not just happening in Singapore but all over the world. Get ready, get ready to witness the glory of God and the power of God! Be prepared for a great harvest of souls this year! All glory to Jesus!

Blessed 12th Wedding Anniversary!

We celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary on 3 Mar 2013 with a 2D1N hotel stay at Hard Rock Hotel, Singapore. I have been wanting to stay at one of the hotels in Resorts World Sentosa except that I felt the room rates were a bit expensive. Thank God that Heng managed to book Hard Rock Hotel at a 50% discount during promotion! It was a desire fulfilled for me! We checked into the hotel on Saturday and the first thing we did was...we went for swimming, Joshua's favourite sport!

The hotel has a very nice swimming pool that is filled with sand...the feeling is almost like swimming in a beach. It was rather hot and sunny when we went to the swimming pool but the moment we stepped into it, God sent a big cloud to cover the sun so that the weather became cooling. As I floated and relaxed myself in the pool, I thanked God for the good life He has given us to enjoy. As time went on, the skies started to get darker and we knew it would be raining soon. But God held the rain for us so that Joshua had enough time to swim. Then it started pouring and we headed back to the hotel room to clean up. We had an early dinner at Sentosa then took the monorail to Vivocity for shopping. When we came back to the hotel, we had supper and caught a late night movie in the hotel.

Thank God for 12 great years of marriage! It really did not feel like 12 years to us. Heng said it felt like only yesterday that we got married! I really thank God for this blessed marriage which would not be possible if not for Jesus, who held our family together! I thank God for my romantic hubby who never fails to plan something special to celebrate these occasions like wedding anniversary and birthdays. And while we are celebrating and enjoying our lives, God is working behind the scenes to bring on more blessings to our family, of which one great blessing is new addition to the family! Praise Jesus for we bring forth fruit while enjoying our love and our marriage!

Plant Experiment

Recently we conducted a plant experiment to see the power of our words. Proverbs 18:21 says 'Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.' There are two seeds that we planted in the cotton wool in two cups. One plant we bless daily and the other plant we curse daily. We called them the Blessed Plant and the Cursed Plant. We gave the plants same amount of water and sunlight everyday and see them grow.

For the Blessed Plant, we would tell it to grow healthy and strong in Jesus' Name, that it is blessed, it is lovely and beautiful, that we love the plant. For the Cursed Plant, we would curse it in Jesus' name and say it will not grow healthy and strong, it is very ugly and no one loves it. One week later, we observed the results of our daily blessing and cursing. The seed that was blessed grew much faster than the one that was cursed.

We observed the plants for another week and we saw that the Cursed Plant started to grow very fast after the first week, somewhat catching up with the Blessed Plant. We decided to curse it in Jesus' name, that it will shrivel up and die from its roots. At the moment when we cursed it to die, nothing seemed to happen. The leaves were still as green and healthy. Initially I was still concerned that the Cursed Plant will overtake the Blessed Plant in its growth but after one day of cursing it to its death, we were amazed to see that the plant really withered.

This plant experiment taught us a very powerful lesson. Firstly, we were made conscious of the fact that we are king-priests and there is power in our words. We should be aware that everytime we speak God's word, it is not dissipating into thin air but that once we speak His word, everything is set into motion in the spirit realm. Secondly, like how we cursed the plant to shrivel up and die, even though nothing seemed to change on the surface, the truth was that the plant was also cursed in its roots, which we cannot see. The results of the withering would eventually manifest because the moment we cursed it to die, the plant was starting to die.

I was reminded of the incident when Jesus cursed the fig tree and the next day it really shriveled up and died. Jesus then told the disciples in the famous Kenneth E. Hagin's verse in Mark 11:24 'Whosover says to this mountain: Be removed and be cast into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.' I have come across this verse countless times but this time when I looked at it again, God is saying a new thing to me. He is telling us that if we can believe, all things are possible (Mark 9:23). All things mean all things. Jesus knows that it is our faith that overcomes the world and hence He is always building us up in our faith.

How many times have we declared His promise and when it took a while to manifest, we start to wonder what is happening or is God's Word still powerful? I have...many times, especially when the outward circumstances still did not seem to change a bit after I have spoken His word many times. Yet God still encouraged me that everything has changed and He is still working behind the scenes. Well, He knows I need help so He gave me this vivid illustration of how everything is set into motion once I cursed the plant to die. And when I saw this in the natural, my heart was so encouraged and I was reminded to continue speaking His word and not give up. For it would only be a matter of time that what we say will come to pass. Maybe you would like to try this experiment and experience the power of your words? You will be so encouraged.

Push Buttons

As I ministered to some sisters recently, I saw how they were holding on to their issue so tightly they could hardly breathe. That issue had become the point of obsession in their lives even though it was clearly not a life or death matter. Their problem became so big that it was all they could think of and all they could talk about.

I know how it feels because I have been there before. It is so painful and when you are trapped in that cycle of disappointment, pity and depression, it is no fun at all. You feel so helpless and angry at yourself for not being able to walk out of that mountain. You are sick and tired of being sick and tired. You hope things would change but you don't see any change happening, at least not on the surface. You are frustrated because you don't see any progress...that every time you thought you turned the corner, the next moment you find yourself at the same old place! It's a terrible feeling.

The more we dwell on it, the bigger it becomes until it turns disproportionate. Very soon you will be so disappointed and bitter that you find it harder to latch on to hope, settling for a less than fulfilled life, lest the disappointment overwhelm you one more time. You will find that in spite of God's repeated assurances and His word that your time has come, you have more 'faith' in the distance between you and your desires than you do in God's supernatural ability to fulfill them.

You will start to shun God's people because you fear condemnation and you feel lousy because after so many years, you still have not seen your breakthroughs. You even blame God for allowing such things to happen to you. You start to wonder why these struggles don't happen to other people except you. Why the rest have it easy when you kept struggling over your challenges? Now most of the times we don't know the challenges of others because they don't share with us. Even if it doesn't happen in the same manner to them, they also have their own struggles albeit in a different area. Everyone of us have our challenges but only in Christ can we overcome them.

Well, I have my own challenge. It's in the area of childbearing but I know the time has come for Him to cause me to overcome this. I have also asked God why other ladies seem to have no problem conceiving except me. But I came to a point I realized complaining and murmuring is not going to help me. God has already declared that a shift has occurred and what used to be a struggle is not a struggle anymore. Like Paul and Silas, I choose to worship and praise Him in the midst of my challenges, instead of complaining. When all hope seemed lost, I will still praise Him because He is a good God. Instead of looking at my chains and prison doors, I look to the One who is not bound by prison doors. I believe God is going to suddenly cause the breakthrough and open doors to happen as I sing and praise His name.

No wonder God does not want us to say that the longing of our heart is far off, because the time of our deepest desire has now come. He wants our hopes to be renewed and believe once again that the season of fulfillment is upon us. God beckons us to take it one more time than we think we have strength for. I also realized that there are always two sides to a coin. I can choose to see the positive and give thanks to God for it or I can choose to see the negative side of our 'lack'. God opened my eyes to see how much I have progressed and the marvelous works He has done in my life, compared to the seeming lack I have.

No wonder God says in everything give thanks to Him. A thanksgiving heart is a receiving heart. And the devil doesn't want us to be grateful to God. He knows how powerful thanksgiving, praise and worship is. He knows that when we shift our focus from ourselves to Jesus, something powerful happens to our spirit. Our faith rises up and as we continue to see Him perform breakthrough after breakthroughs, our faith is reinforced and it is an upward cycle.

Besides, God has taught me to guard my thoughts and my heart. Do not let my heart be troubled and let not the devil steal my peace, my rest, my joy and my song. Precisely because I hold it too tightly, the devil can keep pushing this button. The Lord told me 'Don't let him do it anymore, it is actually very simple. Just be nonchalant about it, let go of any cares to me. Have a bo-chap attitude and hold things lightly.' Be ever ready to praise God for big and small things and be expectant of the good things He has in store. Blessings are really hunting us down because it is open heavens and God is raining over us right now.

God's Shifts

One day while travelling, I was standing in one of the MRT cabins. Someone just left and I got a seat. Then I saw a mum and a small girl walk in, so I stood up to let them have my seat. I was standing in front of them and then I thought why not shift nearer to the door since there is a panel for me to lean against. From that place I saw a few more seats in the next cabin so I walked over to sit down.

There and then the Holy Spirit spoke to me. He said sometimes you cannot see the doors of opportunities if you stay put in one place. But when God moves you, it's like you have a new perspective and opportunities start opening up to you. These opportunities were out of your sight while you were at your former position. It's only when you moved that you saw them.

But the opportunities were there all the time. This reminds me of what Pastor Prince said...the potential was there all the time but it takes God to open our eyes and cause us to see those open doors. Sometimes it is waiting for the right season to manifest. This is the season. Now is the time! It's amazing as I thought about the move for me to serve at the Star and for Heng's office shift to another location.

These shifts were not coincidental but God-ordained. Surely God has more and better things in store for us at the new places. Those doors of opportunity which were not open or not in sight before were suddenly opened to us. Wow! I began to feel that when God tells us to shift, wonderful things are happening! God even told us to shift the furniture at our bedrooms for change is good for us. We would be able to see things we never saw before.

The enemy has been trying to get me to believe that I am still stuck at the same old place, with no progress. But it's not true. On the contrary, God said I have made so much progress that I cannot imagine. I have gone further than I think. God want my eyes to be opened to the fact that I am no longer circling the same mountain, that I have finally moved on. God is making a point that a change has occurred and I have come into His divine shifts. It has happened. I am no longer at the same old place. Everything has become new in my life.

I recall last Feb, the enemy also taunted me about things remaining the same even after God told me to 'arise and go' in Dec 2011. The enemy kept telling me that nothing has changed and I remembered feeling so blocked in all areas: ministry, book and childbearing. I felt so frustrated that nothing seemed to move in my life. But the fact was God told me things have changed and that something new was coming my way.

Indeed what God said proved to be true. In the same month things started to move, with an offer from a publishing house. Then early the next month, I signed a contract with Creation House. Afterwards things also moved regarding my ministry and in Apr 2012, I was already leading the CG. These areas were moving faster than I imagine. By mid July, I was already serving in the Prayer and Healing Room.

In Feb this year, when we sat at the front few rows in the Star, I saw that we have really progressed so much, so much that we could not imagine when we first stepped into this church. It was a big fat lie that the enemy was trying to feed me with: that I have not made any progress all these years. As we sat there worshipping at the Star, we marvelled that God had brought us so far...it is only by His grace that we can be where we are now. In Nov 2008, we were just visitors to this church. In July 2009, we had just crossed over to NCC and now, God has positioned us as leaders of this great church. If this is not the hand of God, what can it be? All glory to Jesus for He is the One who makes all this possible!