You are currently browsing the monthly archive for December 2014.
2014 was an amazing year for me.
It’s the year I got healed of all my allergies in a miraculous incredible way by Jesus, and ate donuts, takeways, caramel slice, pavlova and so much more! Because I can.
It’s the year we ran our pilot year of Set Apart School, a gap year programme for young adults #watchthisspace2016
It’s the year I got hired to be the 2015 Acting Youth Pastor @ The River #hkcyouth #dreamlaunch
It’s the year I spoke at Collision Youth Camp.
My girl had an awesome year at ballet, was a flower girl and passed a baked milk food challenge.
My son had his first year at intermediate school, and his first ride in an ambulance.
I had my first hospital visit and overnight stay, including first iv lines put in (4 of them)
I dreamed, built, hustled. I launched out.
Bring on the adventures of 2015.
Here’s what went on in the world, via google in 2014….
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 100,000 times in 2014. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 4 days for that many people to see it.
i love how God puts us in family
not just the people we marry and the children we have, the parents we were born to and the siblings by blood
but family by the blood of Jesus
brothers and sisters in Christ
often we live island lives
instead of embracing the gift of community
of wise voices
warm embraces
shoulders to snot on
experience to draw upon
people to walk alongside
people who we CAN be real with, honest with, authentic with
people who are there to support us
to lift us up
to encourage
to give grace
we are called to be a family who accepts and loves with truth and kindness
who challenges and gives of each other
adopted together, bound together, united together
this family loves
this family laughs
this family grows
and what a gift is this for women
created for community and relationship
lets be brave
lets be family
if you want to go fast, go alone
if you want to go far, go together
from where i sit i can see a messy lived in desk, kids artwork, school certificates, photos of the ones i love
i can see my chunky rings, identity definers
my ipod, charging for whatever my night brings
sunscreen and leave in conditioner – the essentials for summer and swimming
i see my life, in micro
things and things that represent doing and purpose, dreaming and potential, destiny and promise
i see grace and gratitude, God’s hand at work in and through my life, His great tapestry and master craftsmanship
there are times when i don’t see, where i feel distracted and discouraged
when the clutter and the things choke creativity and confidence
it takes refocus and refixing my eyes upon God
(and sometimes a desk tidy!)
Psalm 121:1 I lift up my eyes to the hills— where does my help come from?
2 Corinthians 4:18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
i will see the unseen. i will see and trust.
i will look past the today’s into tomorrow.
i will see the testimony of my past and the promise for the future.
i will see God, my loving heavenly Father, creator of heaven and earth.
i will see hope. grace.
from where i sit i can see i am not alone. Jesus is near.
“Research assistants posed as jam suppliers and set up sampling tables at a gourmet store. In one condition of the experiment, six flavours of jam were available. On another condition, twenty-four flavours of jam were featured.”
This experiment proved to be an ideal method of understanding career choices. By giving the customers a variety of options, they noted how the quantity subconsciously affects the pattern of purchase more than the variety of options.
After laying out the choices, the researchers noticed that the twenty-four-flavour table have attracted more attention from the customers, but very few went on to purchase from the set. While, at the six-flavour set up, more customers were able to pick their choice easily and proceeded on buying a jar of jam.
Twentysomethings hear they are standing in front of a boundless array of choices. Being told they can do anything or go anywhere.
Based on the study, Meg Jay explains that one of the reasons we feel stuck on our dilemma is because of the overwhelming thought that we can do anything we want, if we want to. “Twentysomethings hear they are standing in front of a boundless array of choices. Being told they can do anything or go anywhere.”
But she elaborates that the idea of a ‘twenty-four-flavour table’ is just a myth. This much amount of options hardly exist even for those gifted with multiple talents. At best, each of us is choosing from our own six-flavour set.
So how do you begin to decide, really?
Well, “you’ve spent more than two decades shaping who you are. You have strengths, weaknesses, experiences, interests, diplomas, hang-ups and priorities…You’re standing in front of six flavours of jam and you know something about whether you prefer kiwi or black cherry.”
You’re standing in front of six flavours of jam and you know something about whether you prefer kiwi or black cherry.
Each bottle of jam represents bits and pieces of your ‘self’ reflecting your past, present and desired future. Choosing your options is merely just laying out the flavours of jam in your life and picking the one that tastes best for you. You can even go back to pick another variety next time.
from CHOOSING A CAREER IS LIKE PICKING A BOTTLE OF JAM by Dreamlist
and first read in Meg Jay’s book THE DEFINING DECADE
::: check out her TEDTalk HERE
We played this clip at our Christmas Eve service on Wednesday night…. I’ve fallen in love with the song and its heart!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all! Praying God’s richest blessings for you and yours at this time!
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“The incarnation of God in the person of Jesus Christ is a history-altering, life-transforming, paradigm-shattering event.” Tim Keller
“The Christmas story: The new born baby comes to keep what people have broken and to bear the penalty that should fall on them.”
“The Christmas story: Diseased hearts. Divine Grace. Willing Son. Acceptable Sacrifice. Eternal hope.”
“The Christmas story: Grace comes to earth. Grace lives righteously. Grace hangs on a cross. Grace rises again. Grace freely flows.”
“The Christmas story: The King who lies in a manger has come to do what is needed, but unthinkable; bear our guilt and carry our shame.”
“The Christmas story: The glory of God’s grace meets the tragedy of sin in the redeeming work of the Word in the flesh, the Messiah Jesus.”
“The Christmas story: Sin has a penalty, redemption has a price , the baby in the manger came to settle the account so we’d be forgiven.”
Paul David Tripp
One Passion One Devotion 