galilee kindergarten graduation concert 2005
praise the Lord! it's finally over! thank God for seeing us thru this evening's graduation concert. all the effort we've put in has been worth it all :) God answered our prayers by granting us good weather too...and He answered mine by taking away my fear whilst playing the piano! as parents came to tell me i played well, i was really thankful to God for His grace & allowing me to serve Him in this area. i would have made a great deal of mistakes if not for Him...
thank God for grateful parents who taught their kids to come to me to say "thank you" and some, to even take photos :) it's encouraging to know tt there ARE parents who appreciate their kids' teachers...i pray tt these parents would continue to teach their children in a manner tt's pleasing to the Lord :)
altho the concert's over, i pray tt each parent would have felt the presence of the Lord during our concert and seriously consider Christ even as they're at home now...may they not forget how the Lord has blessed galilee kindergarten throughout the year! God is Jehovah-Jireh - the Lord Who provides. indeed, all good things come from Him, and no one else!
thanksgiving, yet again!
thank God for seeing us through our full-dress rehearsal this morning! was actually not expecting many ppl to help but thank God for bringing in parents frm my class to help! things went pretty smoothly with their help, esp since i had to leave my class to my asst teacher most of the time to play the piano for the other classes. normally, when i play up there in front of ppl, esp strangers (except during worship service), i normally get very anxious. so anxious tt i'd tremble till my legs are too weak to step on the pedal! before playing, i prayed and God answered my prayers! whilst playing halfway, i suddenly realised tt hey, m not nervous at all!~ God is good, very good, and sovereign!
had my first tuition session with a k1 boy this afternoon. m really grateful to God for my colleagues (mrs ng, mrs yeo, mrs choo) who were so ready and willing to help me. they offered me advice, encouragement and even teaching materials! m so glad i've got their support...thanks to mrs yeo too, who recommended me to the boy's mother :) also, m really glad & grateful tt God gave me a tuition kid whose mother's really friendly & wonderful to talk to...instead of staying one hour, i spent at least 2 hours at their home! i just pray tt the Lord would give me wisdom as i teach this boy not only to read, but also abt our Almighty God Who loves & care for us. God is gracious and Jehovah-Jireh - my Provider! :D
despite rehearsal and tuition today, i still wasn't tired to go for ff class this evening...really thank God for the strength He's granted me. when i was sms-ing with mrs ng, i told her i was gng for bible study soon, she was surprised i still had the energy...i wanted to tell her ["i can do all things thru Christ Which strengtheneth me." Phil 4:13] but well, she'll read this anyway :b
had a wonderful time catching up with nelson over dinner this evening after ff class. it's been a long while since i got to sit down and have a chat with him like tt! just wanna thank God too, for this wonderful bro-in-Christ :) thanks nelson! even as he's struggling to cope with all the projects at sch while honouring God, may the Lord grant him proper time management, discipline & grace to do so!
wat a sweet way to be reminded : )
lately, we've been practising for our concert items at sch & one of my students was assigned to take on anor role tt was supposed to be taken by a boy from anor class. each time before rehearsals, he'd come to me to assure himself by telling me "miss van, later you will come and take me?". so each time, i'd tell him "yes, i will...now be good, and listen to mrs teo & mrs phua while you're over there. i'll go get you when we're done with practising". in fact, he's been doing this lately. like when i've gotta excuse myself from class & anor teacher comes in to relieve me, he'll run out of class after me, grabbing my hand while asking me "later you will come back for me?"
today, he said the same thing to me. i did too. i even said he was "loh-soh" (long-winded). but today was different. it was a rather hectic day. i had to juggle between being with my own class & making trips to the sanctuary to play the piano for the other classes. anyway, when the pre-nursery kids (which means my class too) were almost done with their washroom trip, i was walking over to get them when a teacher from anor class came up to me with tt student, telling me he was throwing tantrums and scolding anor teacher in the loo. to spare you the details, anyway, i decided to ask him why he was doing tt.
looking like he was trying to fight back his tears, he said to me "becos, becos...i couldn't find you."
i'd broken my promise to a lil kid.
anyway, i shared this not becos m proud tt i'd broken my promise to a kid. i just wanna thank God for this precious reminder to keep my word. mean it when i say something, and say something only when i mean it. also, i thank God for giving me such a wonderful class, and for the growing bond between my students and me.
thank You, Father, for bringing these lovely children into my life, and for all the joy You've brought me, through them...
praise God, sat well-spent : )
thank God for a well-spent saturday. i usually prefer to sleep in a lil longer on saturdays becos it's the only day i don't have to be up before 7.15am! but m glad i met up with lydia for breakfast at Macs this morning...thank God, too, for my darling bro who joined us later : ) i sure hope we'd get to have more breakfast sessions like this, altho it means sacrificing sleep!~ haa...
today's precepts study at YF was good. it's a reminder tt in this world, many ppl can claim to be children of Light (christians) yet live in darkness...we should not be decieved for the bible clearly states tt fornicators, idolaters, adulterers,effeminate, homosexuals, thieves, the covetous, drunkards, revilers or swindlers will not inherit the kingdom of God. they are described as children of disobedience & children of wrath, for the wrath of God would be upon them. as children of God, we should:
learn to please God, by reading His word
not participate in unfruitful deeds, but instead expose (admonish) them, and on top of tt, don't talk abt the unfruitful deeds of others for it becomes gossip
not be immoral and not particpate in silly talk or coarse jesting, but rather giving thanks
not be decieved (joanne dear's favourite! lol) by reading God's word
reflect in our lives, the 3 fruits - goodness, righteousness & truth
went to visit daniel at hospital after YF this evening. recieved news on thu evening tt he broke his thigh bone during training...altho it's not easy to comprehend God's reason behind this 'accident', m glad to see tt daniel acknowledges the fact tt God has a plan for him. i pray tt daniel would wait upon the Lord patiently, as our Sovereign God slowly reveals His marvellous plans to daniel in His own perfect timing. quite a no. of us were there (his family, myself, cher, dear, alex, youren, fiona, jonathan & stanley) altho only 2 were allowed to visit at a time! it's wonderful to be able to comfort daniel with verses & hymns...and this time, we sang as softly as we could so we wouldn't disturb others, but i noticed this other patient behind daniel's bed trying so hard to listen to what we were singing! praise God :)
those of us who went to visit, went to BK at changi airport for dinner. o how i've always loved being at the airport!~ anyway, thank God for the sweet time of fellowship we had...it seems like it's been a while since i enjoyed myself like this on a sat evening (",) thank you ppl, for this evening...and of cos, thank You, Lord for the wonderful ppl You've placed in my life...
homecall of mdm goh chut eng
thank God for His mercies on this 75-year-old lady. mdm goh only decided to put her faith in our Lord Jesus and by the grace of God, was baptised on 18th oct 2005, just before the Lord took her Home to be with Him. i thank God for the opportunity to play the piano at the vigil services on all 3 nights as well as at the funeral this morning becos it has taught me much. i've come to realise how selfish i was when rev ong first approached me on wed morning in my class, to ask if i could play for all 3 nights. i was unwilling to commit myself becos it would mean i'd have to forgo any appt tt comes along later in the week. but i thank God for changing my mind after the 1st night. i was surprised, and pretty disappointed to see tt so few galileans came to comfort the bereaved family...as a result, i saw ppl like auntie joyce, auntie may san, auntie elsie & mommy coming down almost every night...well, like what rev ong shared with me & auntie joyce: our work for the Lord will not be in vain. this just reminds me of our duty as beacons of Christ.
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see our good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matthew 5:16
only the late mdm goh chut eng, her second son & daughter-in-law are in the fold of Jesus...but i pray tt thru the homecall of mdm goh, the rest of the family would come to know the Lord as their Saviour. one thing's for sure - mdm goh had placed her faith in Jesus & she's now up in heaven, safe in His arms, rid of all the pains & sufferings of this world...and the only way for the rest of her family to see her again, there is no other way except thru Jesus...
those of us (like the aunties who came, cher, nelson, alex, josiah) have done our part by giving the tracts, showing christian love by coming to comfort the bereaved, and in fact, auntie may san presented the gospel to mdm goh's 5 grandchildren on the last night. i pray now, tt the Lord would work in their hearts and if it's in His will, move them to place their faith in Him...
God is Jehovah-rapha
i couldn't help but kept tinking abt the k1 boy who hurt himself at sch last fri. i've never seen so much blood gushing out of a kid...images of him sitting at the playground floor, with blood constantly coming down his face, soaking his uniform, teachers applying pressure on his wound to try stop the bleeding, flooded my mind the whole time i was in kor's car today...i tried not to tink abt it, but i just couldn't...and i really don't know why. the boy was bleeding non-stop, we called the ambulance...he was brought into the fellowship hall, and tt was when i held on to him, trying to comfort him...telling him tt everything's gonna be fine cos God would be taking care of him...as i fought hard to hold back my tears, i begged for God to be merciful to him and stop the bleeding. when i opened my eyes, i saw my colleague's eyes well-up with tears too...and at tt instant, one of the teachers went "it has stopped bleeding!".
wanna testify of God's goodness...m really so grateful to God for His mighty hands on tt young boy. if God hadn't stopped the bleeding, he might have bled to death. m not exaggerating...there was a great deal of blood. wanna thank God also for giving the doctor wisdom to decide not to give him stitches as he was already traumatised enough. wow-wee, technology sure is advance, there's this thing called the tissue glue leh... o.O anyway, thank God too, tt the doctor was understanding enough to allow us to come back and pay later cos we forgot to take our wallets along! indeed, God is the Great Physician, Who is able to heal...and m reminded tt we are His children, and altho we're as vulnerable as tt little boy, our Heavenly Father's there to care for & protect us. God is Jehovah-rapha (the God Who heals)!
a rainbow for me :)
God never promised a life all smooth-sailing, but He promised to be there for me thru each trial, each step of the way, and He definitely kept His promise. it's been a trying (and of cos tiring) week for me. was really disheartened & frustrated with how someone treated me, or rather, almost every other person at my workplace. many times, i cried, or teared...esp when my student was wronged & i tried standing up for him but got yelled at. honestly, i didn't cry for myself...as i looked at my student standing there, with tears flowing down his cheeks, i couldn't hold mine back either...and this qn kept ringing in my head "we're all sinners. why won't you give him a chance?" i wanted so much to say tt to the person who wronged my student, and for always labelling him as "the bad boy". i was sad, and really angry.
but God is good. God is gracious. He used a colleague who called me tt evening to comfort me. i was really touched by the christian love this colleague has shown me. she actually noticed i've been down, and bothered to call up to find out wat's wrong. tt evening, i told her wat happened & cried it out, and i felt so much better...shelia dear, too, called up to check on me at night, becos i had sent her a sms earlier in the day during work, to request for prayer...tt God would give me grace & tolerance.
today, a K1 student came up to me with a drawing.
"miss van, this is for you..." when i asked her abt wat she had drawn, she explained her drawing...and after i told her i'd definitely stick it up on the wall in my room, she said something tt really made me smile.
pointing to a brown, green & orange streak at the top of her drawing, she said to me "and this is a rainbow."
what a wondrous God i have, Who loves & cares for me. although God didn't show me a rainbow in the sky, He had a little girl draw one - just for me.
Who will remember me?
according to Thy gracious word, in meek humilty,
this will i do, my dying Lord, i will remember Thee.
Thy body, broken for my sake, my bread from heaven shall be;
the testamental cup i take, and thus remember Thee.
Gethsemane can i forget? or there Thy conflict see,
Thine agony, and bloody sweat, and not remember Thee?
When to the cross i turn mine eyes, and rest on calvary,
O Lamb of God, my sacrifice, i must remember Thee.
remember Thee and all Thy pains and all Thy love to me;
yea, while a breath, a pulse remains, will i remember Thee.
and when these failing lips grow dumb and mind and memory flee,
when Thou shalt in Thy kingdom come, Jesus, remember me.
when i came to the last stanza during holy communion this morning, i couldn't hold back my tears. i was so touched by tt very last line of the hymn: Jesus, remember me. there, all i need is for Jesus to remember me...i tot abt how, like in this hymn, my physical body will start failing and how my memory might fail me & cause me to forget everything, even Jesus! it's scary, but when i read the last line again, i was no longer afraid. for i know for sure tt my Jesus will never forget me...even if everyone in the world forgets me, or vice versa, all i need is for my Jesus to just...remember me.
.jpg)
