PSALM 48 ~ 17 FEBRUARY 2008

By The Sons of Korah

God Is Our God Forever

“For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end. Psalm 48:14

Psalm 48 tells us that God can protect Zion, a city in Jerusalem. Verse 1-3 of Psalm 48 talks about the beauty of Mount Zion. God is the fortress for Zion. He is the defence for Zion. God protects Zion.

Verse 4-7 records for us the futile attacks of the nations. The enemy fled in terror (vs5) when they saw that the great King was in Zion. God is Zion and the people’s security – verse 8. From verse 9-11, the people were able to worship and praise God with gladness because of God’s mighty saving acts.

Because of God’s unfailing love, he will protect His city and His people. He will be our defence when there are attackers. He is our refuge and fortress. He is our strength. God is the everlasting God and His promises to His people will stay.

Application:

God comes to our defence because He loves us. Recall a time where God delivered you from an impossible situation. Praise God for His deliverance. May gratitude fill your heart with thanksgiving.

Take a few minutes to praise God for His unfailing love. Give thanks to Him for great is the Lord and He is most worthy of your praise. God Loves you and His love is unchanging. Receive His great love for you now. Ask God to touch you and fill you with His love today!

PSALM 47 ~ 16 FEBRUARY 2008

By The Sons of Korah

The Lord Reigns

God reigns over the nations; God is seated on

his holy throne. Psalm 47:8

The Lord reigns over all the earth. Nations are called to rejoice in God. We are called to praise the Lord. Let’s celebrate the King.

God is worthy of all praises. He is an awesome and a great King. Victory has been won on Calvary. Jesus has triumph over death.

At the name of Jesus, every knee must bow and every tongue confesses that Christ is Lord. Phil 2:10-11

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again rejoice - Phil 4:4

Application:

Take a moment now to rejoice in the Lord.

Sing praise unto Him for He is worthy.

He has triumph over death and victory had been won. Declare God’s victory through His son Jesus now.

Throw away all the feelings of defeat. You can have victory in the Lord.

Allow God to take charge of everything. Come before Him and invite Him to take control for He is the God of power and authority.

PSALM 46 ~ 15 FEBRUARY 2008

By The Sons of Korah

God Is Our Refuge And Strength

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1

Psalm 46 is a song of hope. Psalm 46:1-5 encourages us to take comfort in God when things seem gloomy. Glory is given to God both as king of the nations as well as king of His people in Psalm 46:6-11.

When in distress, God is our help. We can triumph through distressing and fearful moments when He is with us. God is our present help in times of trouble – Ps 46:1.

His presence with us brings us to triumph over darkness moment of life.

To triumph over the greatest dangers faced, God is our strength and our help. His strength is sufficient for us. Therefore do not be afraid. God will help you out of your troubles.

The sovereign Lord is with us. He will never leave us. His is a God of power against all enemies. He protects the nations and His people.

Application:

Have you ever become fearful because everything seem to be falling apart?

Take heart that God is your refuge and strength, your ever-present help when in trouble.

Release all your fears and anxiety to God. Take time to be still before God and acknowledge Him as the God of power and authority over these circumstances.

No problems and difficulties are too big for God.

Bridge to Once Upon a Time

Something unexpected happened a few weeks before Chinese New Year.

My paternal cousins whom I’ve not met for about 10 years decided to meet up. And so came about a meeting that gathered all of us together.

We spent our childhood together in our Grandmother's house. Our parents would go off to work, and it was the place we would go back to after school, be it after the "morning-sessions" or before the "afternoon-sessions" for the whole bunch of us. You could say we spent most of our early school years there.

Fast forward to 2008, meeting again 10 years down life’s road, this time with a plastic white McDonald's table between us (instead of the warm brown wooden table we were so used to), we were looking at faces that were familiar and yet foreign, defined by certain characteristics that each of us had since taken on.

I was surprised. We were initially hesitant and afraid that we would not know what to say, or how to start. So many years of our life we could share. But somehow, our conversation flowed. It would bore you to be told of what we talked about exactly :) But for us, those were milestones and symbolic, because they were topics that we knew existed in our lives once upon a time... and they’ll always be part of us.

I thank God for bringing us together again after the many years. I thank God for relationships that were built effortlessly - relationships built through silly games played as kindergarden kids, relationships that somehow remain a part of your life, though people may drift apart… and ignore each other for the longest time. But when we have the chance to look at each other again, we’ll somehow find the ability to smile, and look into the pair of familiar eyes you once knew so well and say…

“nice to meet you, cousin.”

Is there someone like that you know? Maybe all it takes is just an SMS or email to build that bridge. May the Lord bless the relationships of your life.

A Blessed New Year to Everyone!

Shuyan

Growing In True Devotion- Buzz for 10th Feb

Psalm 40:4, “Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.”

As we seek God’s face by reading the Psalms daily, we can discern differences in how we relate to God, using a structure shared by Ps Edmund Chan at the Love Singapore Pastor’s Prayer Summit.

The Psalmist through his writings reveals a FUNDAMENTAL dependence upon God – he cannot live for one moment without being sustained by the breath of God. Not a single day apart from God’s guidance and direction, not just when he is under siege. He actively puts aside false gods to turn to the Lord.

There is the person for whom devotion to God is merely ORNAMENTAL. Even though he or she may come to church and read the Bible, life goes on relatively unchanged and independent of God.

Yet there are others for whom devotion to God is INCIDENTAL. From time to time, he runs across an inspiring touch of the Holy Spirit through the word and is encouraged by the grace and goodness of God.

Then there is also the man who reads the word, draws from Him intentionally, but that inspiration is only SUPPLEMENTAL to all other sources of support in his life.

Whatever position we are in, let’s press in to drink deeply from God, to have Him as our FUNDAMENTAL source and sustenance. It requires tasting of the deeper things of God and a humble thirsting for it, renouncing all other sources of dependence. We find rest when we find our sufficiency in God alone.

Psalm 27:5, “For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.”

Experience on A-Psalm-A-Day (Feb: Week 1)

When approached to share about A-Psalm-A-Day, I was quite reluctant initially because of the amount of things I knew I had to complete piling up. And, even though I have been faithfully reading a psalm a day, I know something wasn’t really right about the way I did it. As the Lord revealed later on to me, this was because, instead of coming before God each morning, and saying “God, I want to learn something from you through this”, I often rushed through the psalm for that day, eager to finish so I could get my day started.
Even though this is the Year of Sabbath, it has been a year in which I have to learn to cope with many things, especially in school. But yet, it is not about my studies.
In my first semester last year at University, I joined my school’s Business Faculty Club as the director of Corporate and Alumni Relations. This was what I asked the Lord for, and by God’s favour, He granted it.

A month into the New Year however, these past two weeks grew increasingly harder because of an upcoming event we had to organise. Because of the event, I have to work with the Business School alumni and I felt they often put me down critically. This was a first for me because previously, my teachers and mentors have always been the ones affirming me of my abilities and talents. God used this incident to break my heart and all my pride. Through this process, I finally understood what the phase “the end of man is often the beginning of God” meant. Last Saturday, after having to cope with serving in Young Arrows, volunteering with a Youth Congress project and my Alumni school event, I felt I had reached the end of myself.
Overwhelmed, I cried out to God… God highlighted to me Psalms 20, a word that he had released to me prior to this incident. It was during service 2 weeks ago, that I asked the LORD if he remembered me. And Pastor Eugene released a word saying “God remembers your sacrifices and burnt offerings”. At that time, I didn’t know that it was a verse for me and so I did not take much notice of it.
On that very same day, one of my friends blessed me with this same verse from Psalm 20,
“May the LORD answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion. May he remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offerings. May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. “
Through the entire pride breaking incident (distress), the LORD has still protected me and indeed “saves his anointed”. God has blessed me with a committee made up of a group of selfless and endearing people, who often encourage me through this difficult season. Also, he reminded me once again, that even as He blessed me to be a Marketplace Minister in school, He will remember all my sacrifices and make my plans succeed.
He also reminded me that I have to consciously depend on His strength, and not on my own strength, which is why I was really running on ‘low fuel’ over the past 3 weeks or so. Even as I decide to commit my event to the LORD, I had a prayer meeting in school just praying for the event, and proclaiming that Jesus is the event organiser and not me.
I thank God so much for his grace and mercy through this learning journey. Indeed, the joy of the LORD shall be my strength. May He be yours too!

Jia Li.

Reflections on Psalm 1..

While meditating on the very first Psalm on this first day of the year in 2008, God showed me a new meaning in Psalm 1. Usually what I would do during QT while reading His word would be to just paraphrase the things that “jump out” at me. For me, verses 2 & 3 are the crux of this psalm.

2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

But today, I was very motivated to move beyond just doing this. I chose to meditate on these 2 verses. I learnt from Rick Warren’s “Bible Study Methods” the definition of meditation - to think over and over about a thought. I also read somewhere in the book that one way to meditate is to put yourself in that situation described in the chapter. Since verse 2 was about a tree by the river, I imagined a tree next to a river in lush greenery and then imagined myself walking towards the tree. As I walked closer to the tree, I observed that the tree has big strong roots. At the metaphorical level, simply by reading the verse one would know that we are the tree, and our source of life is the river, who is God. But upon meditation, God showed me as I looked closer at the roots of the tree that:

1) Water enters the tree by the roots first, so the roots will receive the nutrients first. Which is important because the tree needs to develop a strong foundation before anything else can occur. In the same way, when I seek the Lord’s law, His word nourishes me by first establishing my foundation in Him, before I can bear any fruit. And when I am firmly established in His word, no wind can move me, no rain can drown me.

2) The tree takes time to grow and as it grows, the roots continue to grow bigger as well, thus making the tree stable and grounded. In the same way, I need time to grow and I will bear fruit in season. My passion and obedience in doing all that is pleasing to Him and according to His will, will also take time to show fruitfulness, which is why trust and patience is a must.
The most exciting thing was the fact that as I found new meaning in His word, I became very fascinated by what I read and meditated upon. I realized that when I really desire to seek Him, He speaks to me in such clarity that I know it is Him. The new knowledge I’ve gained is because of He chose to reveal it to me. And I even want to give more glory to Him because of what happened next.

Because we are doing A Psalm A Day as a church, a covenant that we’ve made with God, we have planned out devotional materials that will equip us in reading the 150 Psalms. When I finished meditating upon Psalm 1, I opened up the devotional material that was given to me. Lo and behold!! This was what was written about Psalm 1 - “To take delight is to be thrilled - imagine how your eyes suddenly widen, your face beams into a happy smile and your heart feels a nice fuzzy warmth. Yes that is how God wants us to feel when we approach the Word. What we like, we would think more about it, BE FASCINATED AND AMAZED BY IT: and that’s the very meaning of meditation. Meditation was never meant to be a deliberate, laborious chore, it’s a natural connection to what we are drawn to.“

Tears rolled down my cheeks at the delight of knowing I found delight in His word. God is GREAT! I desire for my fascination with His word to grow even stronger tomorrow morning. But I also pray that in the next 149 days, if I don’t feel like God has revealed anything to me on any of the days, I will not be discouraged but to trust that He will reveal to me in due time.

Xiuting.

BRIEF thoughts about the year of Sabbath...

To me, this new year is really a continuation of what God has been teaching me in 2007. Just before my preliminary examinations last year, God prompted me to start practicing ’sabbath’ on Sundays meaning that I would not study but take the day off to rest and spend time with him.

It was definitely not easy, especially during the prelims and the A-levels when I had papers on Monday mornings. But each Sunday I was forced to commit and recommit my exams to God, and to remember that he alone is my source of security - not how much time and effort I put in. That helped me to tackle every paper with a spirit of victory, regardless of how (under)prepared I felt. It also took me to a new level of depending on God and holding on to his promises. Each time, it got a little easier because I could look back and see how good and faithful God had been to me in the past.

I was truly amazed when 2008 was declared the year of Sabbath, and even more so when “remembrance and reliance on the Lord” became the first focus area of the year. It was exactly what God was teaching me in the second half of 2007, and I believe that last year was only the beginning. In this year of Sabbath I know that God will bring me to an even deeper understanding of these principles, and they will be put to the test in my life (in fact, they already have). This year will be even better than the last, and I am really excited to see what God has in store as we all make the effort to draw closer to him.

Natalie.

Buzz for this week...

Dear All.. Here is the Buzz for this Week:

Let us read the word of God and be bless in our mind, heart and soul..



Yoznet.

Thanksgiving for Gkidz 2008

Sarah Choo’s Testimony

Gkidz- The children’s ministry, holds a special position in my heart and this year, I am excited about having an opportunity to serve in the Gkidz ministry, and look forward to how God can use me as I serve Him in this Year of Sabbath 2008!

The desire to serve God in this area was not a sudden decision, but was birthed about one year ago, when I asked myself if I should serve in this ministry. However it never materialized and I thought “Maybe it was not the right time yet.”

In Dec 2007, my spiritual grandma, Lay Leng, asked me whether I wanted to be a leader in Gkidz and to give serious thought to it. I felt that it was definitely in God’s timing to serve in Him in Gkidz for 2008, as I am also serving concurrently in Touch Young Arrows. (TYA) The experience in TYA in 2007 gave me the confidence, experience & skills to work with children that will come in handy while serving in Gkidz.


6th January 2008 was the first time I met my children at Gkidz. Initially, I was quite fearful as I did not really know what to expect and was unsure about how the children would respond to me and whether I would be able to teach the children in a way that they can understand Jesus and the bible clearly. In James 3:1, it is written that teachers need to tame their tongue as those who teach will be judged more strictly. However I prayed to God against all my fears and trepidation and asked that the Holy Spirit will be my counselor and director in my interaction with the children.

Indeed God answered my prayer! and after interacting with the children, joy welled up in my heart even as I shared with them about my life and vice versa. The children allowed me to see things in a new perspective and to be in touch with my younger self! I thank God for the chance to mingle with the children. The children are so innocent, real and charming!

I currently have six children in my care, and they are Elisa, Clarissa, Hui Li, Jieying, Genevieve Khoo and Genevieve Goh. All of them are in Primary Four currently. They are really special to me and I am glad that they are such a warm group. One of the children, Elisa, is from Metta school, a school for intellectually disabled children. There was some difficulty trying to get her to pay attention and integrate her into the rest of the group. It did not help that the other children were all rather jubilant and knew each other from Timothy Club. As for Elisa, she is rather quiet and has a short attention span. However I believe that there is a reason that God has placed her under my care and I pray that he will grant me wisdom and patience in interacting with Elisa.


I want to thank God for every opportunity given to me to serve his Kingdom and I pray that he will use me mightily even as I learn about what it is like to mother a group and discipline, teach and input into these children lives. May the Lord grant me humility, wisdom, courage, love and perseverance as I pour out myself into the children’s lives.
All glory and praise to our almighty God!

Sarah Choo .

My Understanding of Sabbath...

God’s provision during Sabbath Leviticus 25:2-7

As I meditated on this passage Pastor Yo assigned end 2007, there was another understanding of Sabbath [rest] – God’s higher ways and His provision.

This deeper appreciation came from verses 4-7 : “Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards. Do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the grapes of your untended vines… Whatever the land yields during the sabbath year will be food...

My first response to “do not sow … or prune..” : protest! Goodness!! As a teacher teaching agriculture I’m well aware of the preparation of land and the amount of work needed in order to yield a harvest that will feed the people – IF the farmer has sufficient fertilizers to provide nutrients for the crops to grow well, especially when the land has been cultivated for six years continuously. Yet God is saying “Don’t do anything”! The intellectual in me couldn’t accept and comprehend. Will there be enough food ???? Could almost see the farmer’s sad face at the meagre crops that could be picked up for consumption…

Then God spoke.

It’s not doing what you know can be done or should be done, based on experience and knowledge of the world you live in. It’s depending on Me and trusting that I’ll lead you.

Ok, God. Sorry. It’s not about effort. It’s all about You.

My application – not going about my life [as a teacher, G12 leader & worship leader] using my own human wisdom and effort but to allow God to show the way to go and as I walk, I’m to rest and not fret.

God bless you abundantly in this Year of Sabbath. Amen.

Sally Wong

Have you heard?

The Wedding Bells Are Ringing! Weizhen and Alan are going to be united in holy matrimony next week. Come and celebrate this joyous occasion with our spiritual sister and be part of this milestone in her life. The details are as follows:

Date: 19th January 2008, Saturday
Time: 11am sharp
Venue: Touch Centre (at Marine Parade, opposite the NTUC)

Here is what Weizhen has to say to Yoztribe:

Finally, Alan & I are going to tie knot on 19 January 2008. The reason why we chose Touch Centre for our church wedding is because this place brings a lot of great memories to us. This is the place where we know each other. Alan & I always believe in our heart that as we dwell in God’s well, God will helps us to find our right partner. God is our best matchmaker. We encourage you to continue pressing on to dwell in God’s well & in God’s timing He will makes all things beautiful for you. Come & join us, as we want to enthrone God & Give Thanks to our Maker on our big day. See you there. God bless you!!!

A Day A Psalm...

I usually did my quiet time after dinner every night, and so didn’t have the habit of waking up early to read God's word. After making an appointment with God during service last Sunday to meet Him first thing in the morning every day, I was very excited and really eager. Excited at the idea of waking up to a most important appointment every morning; eager to start every day speaking with, and more importantly listening to Him. I really pray, and I believe, that this excitement will last through all 150 days!

God is really good! Even as I sought Him with eagerness and excitement, He spoke to me and His presence was with me the whole day. It truly is different, not only does God speak to me as He meets up with me in the morning, His word accompanies me throughout the rest of the day and He would use situations to give me a better understanding and interpretation of what He told me in the morning.

When I meditate on Psalm 1, there was no big booming revelation. I was simply reminded of how He is a God who "watches over the way of the righteous" and destroys "the way of the wicked". As I read the chapter, I was very comforted to be reminded that it really does not matter if the world scorns or even punishes the way of the righteous; it is enough to know that God will watch over us and our righteous way. This is the only thing that matters :)

Blessed is the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord and who meditates on His law day and night. As I am excited about a-psalm-a-day, I will go beyond the pure excitement of meeting God every morning and make deliberate and conscious efforts to see the interpretation and application of what He tells me every morning, in the rest of the day.

Ruo Cheng.

Countdown Party to 2008

“10… 9… 8… 7… 6… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… 0…. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!”
Amidst the roars and the shouts of well wishes with everyone’s clapping, cutting through the whistle of the pyrotechnic fireworks that burst forth with enthusiasm much to the delight of the audience, the people standing around me, myself included, were getting hyped up to launch into the song, “I Follow the Son”. It was an awesome awesome feeling to be up there on stage, and such a privilege to be able to serve God in the choir by singing & dancing zealously before Him, into the New Year.

Don’t know about you, but have you ever wondered why we feel exhilarated counting down to something we look forward to, instead of counting numerically upwards? If we counted from 1 to 10, it would seem more like the numerical recording of something taking place.

There is something thrilling about counting down towards a known destination or place. It brings a sense of comfort, a sense of destiny towards what is ahead of us. As I saw the throngs of people out there dancing in freedom and singing with the choir in great exuberance. I felt our hearts sang and thumped together as one because we know why we can celebrate at the Countdown.

The reason why we can feel excited about what is yet to come is because we trust that God will lead & guide his people in the uncharted paths in front of us. And the most beautiful part of all is that we are not alone. Just like how God provided for his people, the Israelites, when they were coming out from slavery in Egypt, when He sent a cloud in front of them to guide them by day, and a pillar of fire by night, He will guide us as we enter each new year.

Even in the midst of the raging storms and fiercest battles, will you still feel the peace of God within your heart? Will you surrender your smallest to the most insurmountable problems to the Lord, and Trust that He Will come through for you in His time?

Let’s decide today, that as we learn to truly Rest in Him for each new day in this New Year of Sabbath in 2008, we can be sure that we can testify and look forward to Counting upwards by the end of Year 2008. Count the number of times God came through for you, count the number of blessings.
We can countdown because we have something to count upwards to every new day. And we’ve only just begun the year. How great is that?
Hallelujah!

“The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” – Isaiah 58:11

Have a Blessed New Year!
God Bless You & let His face Shine Upon You!

Stephanie Zeng
Pastor Yolanda’s daughter

Enjoy the pictures below.. Look out for the slideshows too..

Last Choir Duty of 2007

Today is a really exciting day! Many of Pastor Yo’s twelve - Mabel, Stef Zeng, Karen, Sally, Sharon, myself - were on stage doing the last choir duty of 2007 together. We had so much fun worshipping the Lord together with the rest of the tribe people and people from Pastor Lawrence Tribe. Sally and Sharon, in particular, were on a high. The two of them were the oldest in this week’s choir but their enthusiasm and energy were really an example for us young ones! 

I guess the difference for me today is to be able to serve the Lord and the congregation together with my sisters and brothers in Christ, dancing and praising God with all our hearts and our souls. Although there are times when many of us do feel really tired (We have to clap and jump most of the time during Praise Songs), but the spirit in us is not tired at all! We were actually praised by the trainer for our energy and how prompt we are in doing things. Thank God – it makes me so proud of us as a family.

I felt blessed serving the Lord in the choir because it was an opportunity to lead the congregation to worship! And the congregation included the pre-believers too! I believe when the pre-believers see how excited we are for God, they will want to know this God more too! How great is our God!

Jiarong & Karen.

Mark your calendars - Nick is coming to town!

"If God is a God of Love, then why would He let something this happen?"

When Nick was born, the whole church mourned over his birth and his parents were absolutely devastated. Nick was born without limbs. It was a trying time for his parents. His father, a pastor of a local church, and mother asked all the 'why' and 'how' questions possible, in particular, they questioned why such a thing would happen to them, people who loved the Lord. Understandably, they thought the child would not survive long. But God's miracle had just begun - Nick was a healthy baby even though he was without limbs.

In God's grace, Nick and his parents gradually overcame the fear and frustration in their lives. Today, Nick has shared his life testimony to millions around the world, to Christians and non-Christians alike.

I was struck by his testimony. If I be in his position (he is my age!), what would my story be like? We all have our struggles, and our share of challenges. And so often, I end up grumbling and complaining, wishing that I had more, could do more... So often I get caught up with the difficulties in front of me and fail to understand God's hand and heart - that if He allowed something to happen, it is because He has something in store. As I read his testimony,I was stirred my heart to again believe and hold onto who God is - a God who truly loves us and will use us just as we are, if only we are available.

May this portion of his testimony ring in your heart as well:

I had that wake up call around the age of twelve and realised just how much I was blessed with. I take my foot for granted, my family and all blessings that God had freely given and I still complain? I came across;

Romans 8:28 - "And we know that in all things God works for the best for those who love Him."

That verse spoke to my heart and convicted me to the point where that I know that there is no such thing as luck, chance or coincidence that these "bad" things happen in our life. In;

James 1:3&4 - "...know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

I had complete peace knowing that God won't let anything happen to us in our life unless He has a good purpose for it all. I completely gave my life to Christ at the age of fifteen after reading John 9. Jesus said that the reason the man was born blind was "so that the works of God may be revealed through Him." I truly believed that God would heal me so I could be a great testimony of His Awesome Power. Later on I was given the wisdom to understand that if we pray for something, if it's God's will, it'll happen in His time. If it's not God's will for it to happen, then I know that He has something better. I now see that Glory revealed as He is using me just the way I am and in ways others can't be used.

Nick will be coming to our Youth service to speak on 2 Dec 07. Take this opportunity to invite all your friends. I believe his sharing is going to touch many lives for God. Get the word out so they have a chance to hear God's goodness through him!

May this video of his testimony minister to your heart.

Tribe T-shirt

Curious what the t-shirt really looks like after last sunday's shirt-sizing frenzy? It will of course be red and on a polo t-shirt. We don't have to go red-shirt hunting just for Youthnet events anymore, yippee! Well, the design is below, copyright of Yoznet and Denise Lim - enjoy and rejoice that the shirt has come into being :)

God-given opportunities

This is what Mel Choo shared at the dinner:

Firstly, I want to thank God for the many opportunities to serve in both gkids, young arrows and GCYC. I really learnt alot from Him and learnt more of depending on Him for every of my needs. He taught me the importance of always coming back to Him to refresh my spirit and to spend time with Him. He really blessed me alot this year, for example, giving me strength when I really need it. I really didn't think I could handle kids well. But through gkids and YA, I really understand why God has such a big heart for the young children. He also taught and blessed me with patience and His love, especially during gkids and YA. He helped me to understand what it means to give out of my heart, and not expecting anything in return. There are many trying times in gkids and YA, but that's when His love and patience came through for me and this allowed me to hang in there. I may not be able to see the fruits of my labour now, but I believe that God has already planted the seeds of His love and kindnes in the lives of the kids.

Secondly, I want to thank God for answering my prayer for GCYC. Last year during GCYC, I thought to myself how great it would be for me to serve more in GCYC by hosting someone. But I thought that it would be impossible because I don't have my own big house to host the delegates. So when I heard Ps Yo asking us during the leaders' meeting before GCYC to help host the delegates in GBC this year, I was really pleasantly surprised! God really is good.

Thirdly, I want to thank God for giving me a few opportunities to step out of my comfort zone for Him. I remembered that during the gkids' encounter, I wasn't sure what to do as this was my first encounter as a leader and I wasn't able to attend the briefing before the encounter. But the Holy Spirit really guided me throughout the camp and used me to minister to the children.

Year of Victory in Yoznet II

Jia Hui shared her testimony that day during dinner too. If you missed it, this is from Jia Hui herself:

I thank God for the platform to rise up as a Gkidz leader. Indeed, The Lord has used Gkidz to mould my character and to build me up as a leader and spiritual mother. I have learnt to not fear rejection but to speak the truth in love, I have learnt to be firm with them, I have learnt to minister with excellence and pray for the needs of my girls, I have learnt to give up my personal desires and dedicate my time to them, I learn to grow in love and see them as my spiritual daughters… You know, I believe that as I ministered to these girls, the Lord was beginning to heal my fears and past hurts that I had.

Rising up as a leader made me begin to understand the heart of the church leadership. I learn to be good soil for my spiritual mother to sow on - to be accountable, to support her in whatever way, to be honest and open, to understand her heart behind the things she does…

I thank God for my spiritual daughters… 2 of my girls wished me “Happy Mothers’ Day” as well! Indeed it made me start to see myself as a spiritual mother. I thank God for the paradigm shift… indeed G12 is not just a system for multiplication, but it is truly about family.

As part of the year of victory, one of my ASK BIGS is that I’ll have 12 by September 2007, and I thank God that indeed He has given me 12 girls in my open cell! God is a God who answers prayer!

GCYC! :D

I thank God for being able to serve the nations by hosting the Vietnamese delegates for GCYC! Indeed it has been a time where I receive much much more than I gave. =)

I thank God for opening my eyes and my heart to love the nations with action. I learnt to go the extra mile just like Jesus went the extra mile to die on The cross for us that we may have eternal life =) (Matthew 5:41-42)
On the last day, I was really tired after 6 days of running on little sleep and hectic and demanding schedules at school and GCYC. And after we came back from the dinner at expo, they asked to go shopping at Kovan! Wah, we had to walk a fair bit from GB campsite to heartland mall… And it really took all the perseverance and strength that I had left to walk there with them – because I know that that is what Jesus would have done!

I thank God for the opportunity to step out of my comfort zone to lead a group for the blessing of the families at Bukit Merah. Haha. I have never done anything like that before, but I believe that my excitement in blessing the families has indeed rubbed of on my group members and they begin to see that it’s actually very easy to be a blessing! Haha.

I thank God for using the nations to continue His healing work in me. I have been struggling to receive the truth that I am fearfully and wonderfully made by God. Amazingly during the conference, He used 3 different people to tell me three times that I am beautiful – on the very first encounter that I had with Vy, she said sincerely to me, “you’re very beautiful and kind”… I’m really touched by the love of God that He would bring people from overseas just to bring that Rhema word to me.

Indeed, I will continue the year with the 3 victorious attitudes – always thankful, always victorious in Christ, always a blessing to all… and with the 3 key strategies of going deep, looking far and asking BIG! =) We’re all warriors of light who will stand and fight, guarding my heart, mind and emotions at all times in this warfare! All glory to GOD! :D

Year of Victory for Yoznet

Yoznet had a family dinner for tribe members who had served in ministry in some way or another this year. It was a short but good time. Through the worship and the testimonies we could see God working in our midst - speaking to us, teaching us, growing us. Denise, who leaves this week, shares her journey with God this year below:

Serving this year as a cell leader and in Young Arrows has been very exciting. Through it all God has shown me that the 3 attitudes: always thankful, always victorious in Christ, and always a blessing to all are really choices that I have to make daily.

Serving hasn't always been easy. Working with the kids in YA can be quite hard because you don't see the fruit of your labour immediately. I also felt that I wasn't making a lot of difference since I will be leaving for the UK soon and it felt like I was leaving behind unfinished work. However, upon reflection about the 3 attitudes, I realised that it's simply my job to have the attitude of a winner, and God will give the victory.

In cell group, it was also quite hard because a lot of my girls can't come for church due to parental objection. So I ended up having to meet them separately because trying to find a common time for cell group was impossible. As a result this was very time consuming. At times, I was very tired and felt like giving up.

But God reminded me of Exodus 14:14 - The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still and 2 Chronicles 20:15 and 17 - 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's. ... You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.'

God reminded me that the battle belongs to him. So when I felt like giving up, God helped me to remember that I was not alone but that he was fighting for me and with me. He reminded me not to try to fight the battle with my own strength but to just maintain an attitude of victory and the victory would come.

After the last Encounter, God showed me this about the 3 attitudes and I wrote it down: “I think I'm beginning to see everyday that the 3 attitudes that Ps Khong keeps talking about are really choices. Attitudes don't depend on circumstances or feelings, they're just difficult choices that deny our flesh and call upon the most painful, inertia-laden parts of the spirit. Attitudes that force us to commit our burdens to God. Attitudes that force us to push the extra mile on faith in God's word, even when we don't see. But ultimately they are the attitudes that bring victory, that bring us back to the cross, that apart from him we can do nothing, apart from him there is no choice, apart from him that life is really not worth living.”

Now, God has shown me that an attitude of victory really does bring victory. When we make the choice to be winners, God makes us winners.

Tribe Dinner at TC

Hmm. Why has Yanying been called out?




Because it's her birthday!











Praying for Yanying:







Time for icebreakers! (led by JIARONG)




Happy Yoznet People:

Thanking God for the 100K

When I first started this 100k challenge, I thought it was easy, hence I didn’t think much on praying really hard for myself in terms of protection, fear etc. However, during the first week of this challenge, I didn’t do very well. It was then that I realized that i was actually afraid of approaching others, which is not right. If you know me, I’m quite an easy-going and friendly person, hence with this “not right” feeling, God showed me that I must really start praying for myself and I really need to pray for protection and against fear etc. I thank God that God heard my prayer and forgave me for not taking prayer before that.

After I came back from Shanghai, I fell even further behind in my 100k and did not reach the number of people that I should have, and I started to pray really hard again.. Thank God, on 28^th July, I’ve invited a number of my tuition kids (ranging from primary 4- sec 1) to come for the walkathon, but in the end only 1 student turn up. I wanted it to cancel at first, but somehow I just felt God prompting me not to as I can include Joanne into my 100k blessings after the walk. After the walk, I brought her for lunch and after lunch I immediately share the 100k blessings with her. As I was explaining each blessing to her, I came across forgiveness and eternal life, hence I took the opportunity to share the gospel with her. After sharing the gospel, I asked her this question, “Joanne, now you know that Jesus is God and He is a God who can help you to solve all problems, He is a God who loves you so much that He is willing to die for you on the cross. Do you believe this Jesus?” To my surprise and great delight, she said “Yes!” I was super happy.

In the evening after the walkathon, I went to give private tuition and I took the opportunity to talk to this Primary 6 boy call Hong Xun. I wanted to bless him with 100k blessings too, again when I reached forgiveness and eternal life option, I took some time to share the gospel to him.. In the end, I asked him if he believe in this Jesus who died for his sins and want to accept Him as his God? He said, “Yes”. We then say the sinners' prayer together. I was really blessed that Saturday. 2 salvations in one day.. I then sensed that God wanted me to do a follow-up with these 2 students and not just these 2 students but believing that more will come to know the Lord.

The best thing that came out of this campaign is the possibility of using my tuition centre as a means to reach the Bukit Merah community. After sharing with Pastor about the open doors I had at the tuition centre, I’ve decided to take it further by opening a club called Issac Club for the children to have free tuition. The first hour will be used for tuition, and the next half an hour will be a time of worship, bible story telling and games time for the children. God had in fact even pre-planned the tuition schedule for me. Three months ago, I restructured the tuition timetable and left a slot for any activity that the Lord may lay on my heart to conduct without any clear idea of what I will be doing.. I’m really excited to see what God is going to do when this club is open. I believe God can transform Bukit Merah.

Ps. After seeing the 2 salvations, my faith increased and begins to pray for all my students. On Monday when I went back for tuition, I’ve blessed whoever came for my class that day. A P3 student even asked me, “Miss Ng, can you bless my friends, my papa, my mama, my grandparents and my brother?” of course I say yes! And I asked him to invited them to come down and I’ll bless them.

To God be the glory!

God uses the small things!

It is the the period of the 100K has gone full steam ahead and truly I am so much more sensitive to people now, what kind of people are around, what needs they have and how open they are. It is a matter of blessing and knowing them, and from there to pray with them that the gates of heaven will open and they cannot help but be drawn to our God! Here is a testimony from Nicole, from Jiarong's cell as an encouragement for us all.

I prayed for my friend, like Jiarong challenged us, on sunday morning, before I came to church. At first I was quite nervous, because I don't know how to get around to asking the person if I can pray for them. so I prayed before I called my friend. For wisdom to know what to say and so on. Then when I called I didn't straight away ask if I could pray for him. We just started talking about everyday things. One reason why I had decided to call this friend particularly is because his relationship with his mother is very bad. In fact, she sort of kicked him out of her house and told him to go back to live with his grandmother. His grandfather, whom he was very close to, passed away last year and he was really very grieved. So I wanted to bless him. anyway, he is one of my quite close friends.
So I called him, and only at the end when he needed to hang up, then I told him I wanted to pray for him. It was very rushed, because he needed to go help his aunt with something. So I just said, dear God, bless Zhong Han. help him and his mom not to fight. Give him a good day. In Jesus' name, amen.

After that I felt that it was a bit wasted. to say such a short prayer. I didn't think it made much impact. and when you asked me if I had anything to share during the combined cell, I said no, because I really didn't have anything to share.

But when i reached home my friend smsed me and said he wanted to ask me a question. He asked, 'Why must you pray for people before you go to cell?' I think that's a misunderstanding. :) anyway I told him, it's not a must. but we wanted to call someone to bless them. And then he said, 'I want to understand more about being a Christian'. And so I asked him what he wanted to know and he said 'everything'. although he hasn't accepted Christ yet, I believe this is really a miracle because although he knew I was a christian for quite long, he never asked about christianity. So I hope that God will continue to work in his heart and so on. One thing to pray is that his grandmother is a very strong Buddhist and won't allow him to go to church even though he wants to go.

So I just want to testify that God sometimes works when we think we have failed or disappointed him or ourself. yeah. I think God is really building my faith, even in the first few days of the 100K campaign. :)

As we seek to bless the people around us, let us trust that every blessing will spoken will not return void!

Found by His love! - Xiuting's Testimony

My mum brought me to church since I was a little kid and I received Christ when I was 8. I had attended church regularly until Secondary 1 when I started to walk away from God. I came back to Him in Secondary 3 when Yoke Yeong brought me to FCBC in 1999. I persisted in Him until 2001 when I backslid.

But praise the Lord! For I have a friend like Yoke Yeong, who never gave up on me. In October last year, she asked me to return to FCBC. I obliged and I am so happy that I did. I needed a breakthrough in my life and felt that it was time for me to return to God. That I had enough fun and it is time for me to do the things that God wants me to. Yoke Yeong introduced me to Sharon, my funny and funky spiritual mother, and my fellow sisters-in-Christ, who treated me with such warmth and love on the very first day I got to know them. From Jia Hui and Joanna, I learned that chronological age does not translate into one’s spiritual maturity. I was so surprised by the steadfastness of their faith in God, despite their youth. Jia Hui, especially, showed much leadership and maturity in quite a few situations. Through Jingyi, I’ve learned that I could be freely open about my opinions and experiences with God.

These few months have been exciting for me because I've attended quite a few church activities in which God had shown His purpose & love for me.

During our network retreat, through Mabel, God pointed out to me and reminded me that before I was even born, He was already thinking of me, knew and understood who I was. That I was chosen (along with many others) and He is confident that I would be a good warrior of His light. He touched me so much with Jeremiah 1:1-10. How amazing is His love that even before I was born, He already knew me and had me in His mind?

During Encounter Weekend, God showed His immense love for me. The Holy Spirit revealed to me the anger that I had been accumulating because of my earthly father. He gave me this vision through which I was brought back to my grandfather's house where I spent most of my childhood. It was a very warm and touching scene. I saw myself as a small tiny baby wrapped in cloth as my earthly father gently picked me up from my pram and cradled me in his arms. Then he put my body to his shoulders and patted my back. It was a heart-wrenching moment for me. All these years I've been building a pile of anger because I felt that my father was very useless in contributing to the family. I've failed to see that he has been working so hard for us, I had never been there to see how difficult it is for him. All these years I've never told my father that I felt that he was useless. But God knew that I had to resolve my anger toward my dad. I believe He gave me this vision to remind me of my dad's love for me. So I'm really thankful for that.

The Holy Spirit also reminded me of the unkind things that people said to me. He also reminded me of times when I said to myself that I was ugly and fat and times when I didn't even dare to face the mirror for fear that other girls in the toilet would say things like "So fat and yet she wants to look at herself in the mirror”. It was a very painful process for me as I recalled these things. I just wept and released all of my hurt, pain and anger when my encounter guide ministered to me. Through her, God told me that I am beautiful and precious and He created me to be so, right from the start, in my mother's womb. That I am the apple of His eye. That He was always there for me by my side when I was hurt by other people even though I didn’t realize. That I no longer need to be afraid and no longer can be hurt by the words of man for what matters is what God thinks of me. I broke down even further when I heard these because I was touched through and through by His gentle words.

Now I know that I have a purpose in life because of God’s plans for me. Upon reflecting on all of these, I know I am so blessed because I can never ever escape God’s long long arms because of His deep deep love for me.

More than just pull-ups

MY STUDENTS were posed a challenge by their coach the other day. They had been working on their pull-ups at a pair of pull up bars for some time already and had been pushing themselves a bit already. What the coach challenged them to do then was considered almost laughable; only one of thirteen people dared to try it at first. His challenge for them was to cross from one pull up bar to the other. The bars were about 50-80cm away from each other. He showed them it was possible: positioning your hands right, kicking of the wall, then transferring hands from one bar to the next.

One by one they tried, some more than once. They learnt from each other and some of them managed to do it. One guy in particular, had tried, but could not reach the other bar because he was afraid to let go of the bar he was holding onto and as a result of the reluctance and split second delay, he fell onto the mat. But he fell reluctantly letting go of the bar he was holding onto. He was afraid to let go and and trust himself to move. Yet at the same time, he did not want to give up, he did not want to fall. I related so much to that boy. So many times my heart is there wanting to do something, and I am not wanting to give that up, but at the same time, I do not give my all and have faith to move out. My coach used the word, comfortable. We get to comfortable with where we are; we know we must move, so we try, but our hearts are too used to the comfort and find the risk to big to overcome.

It was all in the mind, the coach said. How you tell your body to go on that is important - whatever skills needed, that will come later if your mind is set on it. The coach posed a final challenge to them: to move from one bar to the other by letting go of the bar completely; it meant that one literally had to jump from one bar to the other. He showed it could be done and after that told us he had never done it before.

The battle first starts with the heart of the mind - not the knowledge part, but the part of the mind that echoes what our hearts think.

Lord, help our unbelief. We want to see the victory; we want to see the multitudes.

Depending on God

This is something I have always wondered about: how will I know that I'm trusting God? How will I know that I'm relying on him and not my own strength? Will it feel any different?

There's no easy answer, but there are several symptoms of a dependent heart that we can look out for:

(from dictionary.com, one of my favourite websites! Haha)

To rely, especially for support or maintenance: Children must depend on their parents.

We Don't Worry
This means that we depend on God the same way we depend on our parents. We depend on our parents (ok, at least I do) to provide and for guidance. When I depend on my parents, I mean that everyday when I come home from school I expect my key to still fit in the lock and my bed to still be in my bedroom etc. I don't think twice about it. I don't worry that my house will have disappeared, or that my electricity will be cut off. I don't worry because I rely on my parents to take care of these things.

In the same way, when I rely on God it means that I don't worry about the things he has promised to provide. I don't worry that my sin is too big for God to forgive:

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

I don't worry that I won't have enough sleep for tomorrow (something I have been feeling very passionate about lately, hahahaha)

In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
for he grants sleep to those he loves. (Psalm 127:2)

I don't worry that God will forget about me and leave me alone

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:6)

We're Always Thankful

(okok but it's true!)

If you trust someone to do something for you, the natural response is to thank them, right? So one of the symptoms of depending on God is a thankful heart.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever. - 1 Chronicles 16:23

The alternative is pretty gruesome:

Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. - Acts 12:23

Like Job, we ought to give thanks whether in good or in bad:

"Naked I came from my mother's womb,
and naked I will depart.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised." - Job 1:21

We Pray!

We pray because (not as if) our lives depend on God.

Look at the example of Hezekiah:

Hezekiah trusted God. We know because God says so:

Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. - 2 Kings 18:5 (It doesn't get much plainer than this)

In chapter 19, we see what Hezekiah did in the face of opposition: he prayed! If we depend on God, we would cast all our cares on him. We would trust him with all our problems and pour out our concerns to him, and plead with him to deliver us. This is because we know that our lives depend on him!

In the same way you plead with your teachers to extend deadlines (haha I'm a teacher now so I get a lot of it!) because they have the power to (ok not always), if you trust that your lives and family situations depend on God, you will plead with him to deliver you.

- Denise -

Friends or Family in Christ?

Pastor Yeang Cherng shared at our last leaders' meeting a question which I am sure would have crossed the minds of many in our church. One of my friends who joined our church in the last year framed the issue nicely: Why is it that even though we meet at least once a week in church, that we do not get as close to each other as we would with other friends outside of church? The question was simple but cut straight to the heart.

In his sharing, Pastor Yeang Cherng compared how the differences between the role of the family and that of the friend affected the way we related to our friends and our family. Friends are formed based on common grounds - it can be hobbies, interests, lifestyles, age group - and are often to our choosing. Family is given to us. We had no choice, but because of the commitment and responsibility that we have towards each other in the family, the environment is stable and secure and we grow as a result.

Our relationship with Jesus is, in fact, based on similar concepts. Jesus calls us His sons and daughters because before we even knew him, before we were born, He made a deliberate decision to die for our sins. As Eph 1:4-8 says,

For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.

He did not even have an emotional bond with us and was not even be able to have shared experiences with us since we did not even exist then. But He chose to redeem us still, regardless of how we responded to Him. For Him, commitment came first. Getting to know us and for us to know Him would come later.

He shows he expects the same of us too. We might first be drawn to Him because He understood what we went through, because He delivered us from difficult circumstances or simply because we are 'wowed' by His work on the cross. But He tells us in the bible that we would only be considered His friends if we do what He commands. Sounds absurd to associate friendship with obedience eh? But that is what it says in John 15:14,

"You are my friends if you do what I command."

God wants to test our commitment to Him. It is like the way we test to see if friends are worth keeping, in the effort they put in to keep in contact especially if the common grounds are lost. God does it by testing our obedience, because our response to that test would show Him if we trusted Him and believed that He will fulfill His promises and has our best interest at heart.

Christianity has always been different from all other religions in the sense that being part of a Christian community is one of our key principles. We meet each week in church because we have a common belief in God. Very often, we would not know many people well enough before we enter church and interests, hobbies, things which would bind others together in the secular context take a back seat as we focus on activities that is meant to stimulate our spiritual growth or church/tribe events. Is closeness sacrificed as a result? I would think it sometimes is. But does the lack of feeling mean that there is a lack of love? Perhaps love is better felt in actions than in feeling, in commitment rather than common grounds. Maybe the question to ask is whether we have been the friends that Jesus has called us to be - committed, tested and centred on the development of the other.


karen :)

Yoznet Tribe Meeting - Not Just Knowing the Armor, It's WEARING the Armor

I thought what Ps Yo shared during tribe meeting was very applicable to what was preached on sunday about the armor of God. I thought of some application to what was preached. Indeed, lets' learn to wear the armor, not just know the armor.

I was mediating on God's Word in Ephesians 6 when God brought my attention to the word, "FULL armor". The word "full" was repeated 2 times from Ephesians 6:10-13. The Lord reminded me that we must remember not just to put on selective parts of the armor, but the FULL armor!

The 5 strategies of the evil one in attacking God's people and how we can WEAR the FULL armor of God to fight against the attacks:

1) Deception
Thus we buckle the belt of truth: A COMMITMENT TO KNOW THE TRUTH

Application: Am I reading God's Word consistently and memorizing Bible verses so that you know God's Word?

2) Corruption (causing one to sin)
Thus we put on the breastplate of righteousnes: TO LIVE OUT THE TRUTH

Application: Am I obeying and doing God's Word?

3) Opposition
Thus we put on the sandals of the Gospel of peace: TO ADVANCE THE TRUTH

Application: Am I sharing God's message and the Gospel?

4) Intimidation
Thus we take up the shield of faith: TO BELIEVE IN THE TRUTH

Application: Am I putiing my trust in God's promises and not entertaining doubts?

5) Discouragement (which bring forth helplessness)
Thus we put on the helmet of salvation: To HOLD FAST AND REMAIN IN THE TRUTH

Application: Am I following Jesus faithfully and claiming the power of His Word steadfastly?


- Mabel-

Happy Chinese New Year!

This year's Chinese New Year is more festive than the previous years with Valentine's and Chinese New Year falling on the same week. It also meant that the week was a more hectic one. Pastor's 12 met up for a gathering at Mabel's house (it was quite an experience to have 5-6 people preparing for dinner in a small a kitchen! The other 5--6 people were shaking leg, keke...) and had a time of gift exchange. It was fun we had enough spaghetti to feed two football teams (Lijun had 3 servings in valiant attempt to help finish! We managed to only finish half heh...), soup and our homemade fondue which was really really yummy. The food was definitely good, which was not surprising since we had a good cook (our dearest Pastor Yo!). But more than that, it was the fact that we took time out out to spend with each other and to show each other that we were thinking about each other that made the night special. There was of course the fact that we were spending what most people would see as a romantic night with the spiritual family that made it unique too.

Even though Valentine's is originally a festival that celebrates sex and fertility, I think in choosing to celebrate it the way we did was gave the day a new and different meaning and added value to ourselves by celebrating it. We went beyond just gift-giving or romance, but expressed love that was deliberate, committed and sisterly.

Chinese New Year too is rooted in myth and originated because of the need to chase away a fearsome beast called 'Nian'. But even just like we celebrate Valentine's in a positive way, let's do the same for Chinese New Year. This festival has become for us an important day for families and friends to visit and bless each other. May you think of your families, and ask for a blessing for them and commit to be a blessing to them as well.

Happy and Victorious Chinese New Year people!