So how I got this gig was pure favor. One fine day, I received an email and insta-message from Kult offering this opportunity to be one of their artist doing live mural in Singapore Night Festival 2017. When I saw "Kult" on my phone screen, my eyes dropped to the ground. HOLY JESUS.









For all of you who are not familiar with the name, Kult is a renowned brand in the design industry in Singapore. They are most well-known for their quarterly magazines which curate the sickest (in the healthiest way) artworks from artists all around the world. To be working with them was truly truly an honor! Maybe for them, it could've just been anyone filling in the spot, but to me, it was such a pause moment o,o

*lets pause together.*

So I got "wood" and "orange" as the theme and color that I had to work with. Since the start, I wanted to create an artwork that is Jesus-centered, yet also keeping it from being too obvious (I couldn't just put a cross there right LOL. Or could I?? HMM) So after praying, thinking, and consulting a few friends (thanks Jac and Naresh if you guys are reading!) about what wood signifies, here's the final concept.

Zoom in on a cross and you get woodgrains.
Zoom in on the cross with Jesus on it and you get woodgrains with Jesus' blood on it, which was why the wood portion in the artwork wasn't just orange. The red needed to be there.

The chair represents "rest".
For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. - Ephesians 2:6
Sitting is a posture of rest (contrast it to the high priests of the old testament who never sits down) and the book of Ephesians says that we are (present tense) seated with Him!

The black pattern behind the chair represents the world and all forms of death that comes with it: stress, disappointments, heartaches, sadness, calamities, and all the stuff that you are against and are against you.

So the sum of all these elements are:
Because of what Jesus has done on the cross, you can have rest through the chaos of the world!

This event has been such a blessing and a blast. Kult took back the mural to their studio and I have no idea yet what is gonna happen of it. But there you go, the meaning of the orange chair!

Be blessed and at rest, people! :) See you in the next post!

Sometimes a little reassurance of your identity is all you need!

"There is no misery like a lonely heart," said my pastor.








And I agree. It sucks.

I'm no stranger to the feeling. It went from always being there (entire early teenage years), to sometimes being there (after becoming a Christian), to almost never being there (after knowing Grace), but regardless of the frequency of appearing, it's always.. there. I don't know how common this is. Looking at people with a lot of friends, I often wonder if they ever felt the same. Who knows. I would love your input on this.

But lately, it came back and it came back STRONG. A lot of changes are happening in my life and I kind of was left in a place where when I look at my circle of friends (boyfriend not included), it's painfully empty.

It's been going on for months now, yet I'm here to share with you that one moment Jesus kind of spoke to the situation, and it was beautiful.

I was at John 9 in my Bible reading, and I've heard this story countless times. But that night I saw it in a new light.

So basically Jesus just healed a man blind from birth. The Pharisees were unhappy about it because they were jealous of Jesus. They didn't really believe that he was actually blind to begin with, and called his parents for proof. And here is where the story interestingly spoke to me.

19 They asked them, Is this your son, whom you reported as having been born blind? How then does he see now?
20 His parents answered, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind.
21 But as to how he can now see, we do not know; or who has opened his eyes, we do not know. He is of age. Ask him; let him speak for himself and give his own account of it.
22 His parents said this because they feared [the leaders of] the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should acknowledge Jesus to be the Christ, he should be expelled and excluded from the synagogue.
23 On that account his parents said, He is of age; ask him.

So here are the parents of this man, the 2 people who essentially made him, the 2 people who are supposed to love him the most, yet due to fear of their status in society, washed their hands of the case and tried their best not to be associated with their own flesh and blood, leaving him to handle it alone.

Now, if I were to be blind my whole life and now I see, I would expect those who love me to be happy for me! Yet, his parents are too busy saving their faces; his supposed leaders are too legalistic, self-centered and jealous to care; and his neighbors were more interested in how he got to see. Nowhere was it written that he had the chance to celebrate the miracle. They even threw(!!) him outside the synagogue. (Seriously what is wrong with these people.)

What a sad sad feeling it is, to be happy yet feeling like nobody is there to be happy with and for you. Like there is no one to share that happiness with. The misery is real.

But Jesus and His love for us are also real.

Hearing what the Jews did to Him, Jesus actually came back to find him.

Now, He really didn't have to. Healing his blindness was already nice of Jesus. Even if He just left, this blind man surely wouldn't have anything to complain about. Still, Jesus came back, revealed who He actually was, and this guy didn't just end up with an eyesight, but also the eternal presence of a Savior.

Isn't it like God to go the extra mile for us? He's done enough on the cross, hasn't He? Yet, He cares about our day to day events and worries. He knew this daughter would feel lonely and sad one day, and so He has paid the price for us never to be lonely again by dying alone on the cross without friends and loved ones so that we shall always have friends and loved ones around us – a promise I'm holding on to.

Jesus revealed to me that in situations where I can't find anyone to celebrate with me, He's there. When my friends and families fail, He doesn't. He is interested in what makes me happy, what makes me sad, what my wants and needs are. He revealed to me that He actually wants to be with me, that He enjoys my presence!

And when (if) I go and make ready a place for you, I will come back again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also. - John 14:3

He is coming back for me, to take me with Him, because He wants me to be with Him. And beloved, He feels the same way about you too!

I learned that feeling lonely goes deeper beyond how many friends I have. In the end, only one friendship matters the most, and it's with the One who loves you most. Prioritize on that one first, and trust Him to make everything else fall into place.

Jesus told me to take a look once again at my circle of friends. And hey, there He is :)

Friends for 7 years, lover for 1.

As a friend, I figured out quickly that he was a very very good listener. He's the furthest thing from being judgmental, and just a very good and cool person. We had such fun being friends!

And then came the transition period, the awkward phase where I often question if he really was being extra nice to me, or if I was just imagining this, as I thought anything more than friendship was impossible because we were so platonic. Kim and Bern together was very very weird. Yet after a while, he made it pretty obvious that he was serious about this, and I had to make the decision if I was willing to risk our beautiful platonic friendship. Turned out I was.

We've been through a whole series of obstacles. Even before we officially got together, there were already hardships and crying to sleeps. Things didn't come easy for us. It came to a point where I broke down before Jesus wondering why it had to be so hard, often faltering and contemplating if all the hardships were worth it. Yet, he held on strong and fought for me, and we got through it together.

Again, I don't know what made him hold on. I don't know what he sees in us that's worth all the fight. I guess that's favor.

He loves me in such a way that I never had had the slightest doubt that he loves me. I never tried to make him love me, he just does. Not that I am a lazy bum in the relationship, but it's more of when I cook for him, or pick him up from the airport, or get him his favourite basketball jersey.. It's all to see that cheeky smile on his face. It was simply because I love him too and never for the hope that he will love me more.

I wouldn't say our relationship is the smoothest ever, but one thing obvious is that there is so much favor in it. On fights so bad he had to leave the room and I had too much pride to chase after him, I prayed to God for him to come back in and he actually did! On other days, Holy Spirit would work in me, enabling me to do things I know I can't (like approaching him first even though I was piping mad. The normal me would be too prideful to do that.) It is beautiful to see the fingerprint of God in us :)

I've always wanted an older guy. He is 3 weeks younger.
I've always wanted a guy who's taller then me when we sit down. He's not.
I've always wanted a caucasian guy. He's asian. (And I even have a suspicion that he's mixed because of those huge eyes.)

But my dear Bern, you're more important than all that.

You have the qualities that I've never really asked God for (which I should've). You're kind, hardworking, and faithful. You don't take life too hard, and always so trusting of Jesus like a child. You are my biggest supporter, and you believed in me more than I can ever believed in myself. You are a strong tower that is always there for me, and you are very patient with me. You laugh easily, love (me) easily, forgive easily. You always want to try to become a better version of yourself and are open to criticism. You're fun, funny, and my days with you have always been an adventure. And most of all, you have always been my best friend.

I know that this year will be such a blessed year for you, and I know that God will take you to where you need to be and be with you throughout. I pray that we both pursue Him more, and as we do that, He will bring us to love each other more than we ever can by ourselves.

Happy Birthday, love! I love you!

<3

Who you are precedes what you do, and what you believe about yourself eventually becomes who you are. Or as my pastor famously puts it, "Right believing produces right living".









So I believe almost everything we do in our life and our perspective of things stems out of what we believe. So the question is, what do you really believe of yourself?

I'll go straight to the point. Go for God's opinion for you. Make that what you believe of yourself. The world's opinion of you changes. Your opinion of yourself changes. God's doesn't.

I used to believe that I'm a rare talent in art. Others say that of me, and I totally agree with them. But you know, my world back then was only.. school.. Sure enough, adulthood hits and I realize that there are millions of others better than me, and I'm just a puny speck in the art industry. My pride was crushed and I took it pretty hard. My identity felt like it's been taken away.

On the days when I believed I was Picasso incarnate, I was very confident (and arrogant). On the days when I believed I wan't that great, I was sheepish, drawing myself away completely from art. How unstable and fleeting, placing our values and identities on what we can do, how much we earn, or how we look. My suggestion, again: Go for what God says about you! It's eternal!

When drawing this, the Jesus speech bubble was left empty for a while because I didn't know what to put in. Not because I didn't know what Jesus says about us, but amongst the lot of them, which one do I pick? I searched the Bible (.. or Google), but there were no one definitive answer, or at least I didn't feel the Lord revealing anything to me. So I left his speech bubble blank and pondered and prayed about it.

The final decision? Since God's thoughts towards us outnumbers the grains of sand, I guess we'll have to make this a series. The "Jesus Thinks You Are:" series! *clap clap clap*

Now, maybe these are what God wants to reveal to me personally based on my past and background, but I'll share them anyway :) The first word that grew in my heart is:

Accepted.

(Background story. You can skip this part if you wanna) 

Kids with traditional Asian parents would probably understand. I suppose to most Chinese parents, comparison and pressure equals to motivation. It has been going on from my early days of, "she's diligent and tidy. If she can do it, why can't you?" to the more recent "ask your boss for a raise! You need to earn at least $xxxx!" 

Almost nothing is ever good enough, which made me believe that I am not good enough. Not a good enough daughter, not a good enough friend, not a good enough woman worthy to be fought for by a good enough man, not a good enough Christian.. All in all, not a good enough human being. Being myself was not passable, so I needed to perform, to behave. I grew up to be very hard on myself. Legalistic. Scared to speak up. Full of self made rules that I (eventually know that I) can't meet, all for the need to be accepted. If not by my parents, by everyone else. 

It wasn't a happy life. 

But then Jesus came barging in. For the first time ever, in church 9 years ago, I felt that there is a God who knows me through and through, all the bad and ugly, and yet still loves me. I was broken as can be, deep in sin, and yet weirdly felt that I finally belonged. God Himself wants me. God Himself wants you! 

That moment, I vowed to God to prioritize Him over everything. I was going to obey all the laws that He has given, be as holy as possible, and make Him proud, and all these out of good intentions: because I felt His love for me and I loved Him back. But of course, I failed. And after failing, it was a cycle of condemnation, promising to never sin again, and breaking that promise eventually. "Am I still God's beloved?" I would wonder. 17-years-old Kimberly didn't know. 

But 25-years-old Kimberly does. And the answer is a resounding YES.

Praise be to God, the truth of the bible is: It's not about us. Not about me, not about you. It's about Jesus. Only Jesus.

"To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he has made us accepted in the beloved." - Ephesians 1:6

Guys. He made us accepted! It's not our job to make ourselves acceptable, it's God's own doing! He accepts us not because we are worthy to be accepted. We are accepted because He decides so. How is this so? Because the way He accepts us is in the Beloved, referring to Jesus.

"Once you were alienated from God and were hostile in your minds because of your evil deeds. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault." - Colossians 1:22

Christ died carrying ALL our sins with Him, and He rose without any of them! We can now be forever accepted by God even when we fail because for that very failure, a payment has been made. In Christ, we stand before God holy and blameless, without a single fault and therefore, we are forever rightfully accepted by God, even when we don't feel so!

The world and our flesh are experts in telling us that we are not enough. There are days where we might be weak and buy into the lies of needing more, looking more, earning more.. But God is telling you that the Creator of the universe likes you as you are. We don't need to please Him, He is already pleased at us as is, thanks to Jesus. We can find security in the truth that in our good days and our not so good days, His commitment towards us is never shaken. He is going nowhere. We always have a place to fall back to.

Let me share with you a revelation that I just received while writing this. Most of us know the parable of the prodigal son. Now, where was the father while the son was out partying? Home, waiting.
Where was the father while the son was out with prostitudes? Home, waiting.
Where was the father when the son was poor and alone? Home, waiting.
Where was the father when the son was devouring pig food? Home, waiting.

The son can be doing whatever, it didn't affect the posture of the father. Did the father not know what the son was doing? Well what the son did to him at the start was the worst of them all. Asking for your inheritance while your dad is still alive is basically saying "I want you to die". But did it falter the father at all? We all know the answer.

The son always has a father and a home. No matter which prodigal sin he is committing, the father and the home doesn't budge.

The same goes for us. Forever, in good times or bad, whether well behaved or not, gaining weight or losing weight, earning 3 digits or 10 digits, there is always, ALWAYS a place for us in the Father's heart :)

I pray and hope, even for myself, that the more we know we are forever accepted by God without anymore need to perform, we can care less about what the world and people thinks of us and just be secure in The Lord.

Be blessed, people!

"For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ."
- 2 Corinthians 11:2

We were friends for 5 years before we decided to take the risk of evolving our friendship into something more. Now, he has been my boyfriend for 1 year 3 months 25 days, and for us, the next step is for him to get down on that one knee of his with *coughs* a ring inside an open box (no hint intended).

But nope, this post isn't about my boyfriend proposing. It's about another Man's.

When a man proposes, he is offering himself to be a husband, and with it, a set of husbandly commitments and responsibilities, to name a few:
• Love her (Ephesians 5:25)
• Sanctify her (Ephesians 5:26)
• Forever be with her (1 Peter 3:7)
• Lead her (Ephesians 5:23)
• Provide for her (1 Tim 5:8)
• .. and more..

Now Jesus' relationship to the church has been likened to that of a bride and groom. Therefore, being your bridegroom, Jesus is offering to do to you the things a husband would do to his wife!

All these wasn't so easy to get back then. First of all, this bride-bridegroom kind of relationship was only available to the nation of Israel, and even for them, the needed to obey the law and sacrifice all the sacrificial offerings without fail for them to qualify to receive these blessings.

But now, it's freely given to us! "He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things?" - Romans 8:32

Did you catch that? FREELY! For us to be fully taken care of by our heavenly Groom, all we need to do is to say a simple "yes!" to Him. How gracious! And yet, free doesn't equal to cheap. For Him to be able to "freely" give, Jesus needed to pay dearly. His very own God-life, scourged, beaten and tortured for hours before eventually dying a gruesome death on the cross.

A man needs a ring to prove his love for a woman. Jesus did it with His nail-pierced hands, crown of thorns, and a beaten body. All so that He can be a husband to you.

So friends, He has made His loving proposal a long time ago.

What will your answer be? :)

Be blessed!

Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life].
- 2 Corinthians 5:17

(This quoted section is the background story of how I came to the revelation. You can skip this and go straight to the main part if you wanna :) )

One night I was lying awake pondering about about why I am the way I am (narcissistic huh?), mainly about why I am not a stronger personality. Do you know this type of person whom when they talk, people would naturally listen? Yeah, that's not me. Heck, I'm so used to being ignored that it's no longer offensive. So I wondered, why am I like that? 

Then my thoughts went to my childhood. 

My dad was borderline abusive. Each time I said or did something wrong, that belt (or cane or feather duster) would come flying. My mom was a different form of the same treatment. When I displeased her, she would just plainly ignore me. Won't talk to me for hours or even days! I would tail her and kept apologising and be met with silence until she felt like talking again. The beatings and cold shoulders would come first, and the explanations (if there were any) would come after. Which means, during the beatings and ignorance, I wouldn't know what mistake I have committed.  

So it dawned on me, no wonder I'm this timid. I grew up scared of whether what I say or do would be 'wrong'. I have no confidence in anything because I would just question everything. And I know I'm no longer in primary school and I now can discern right from wrong but I guess I affects the way I eventually carry myself.  

So I thought, oh my God, if who a person is is shaped by their past, then isn't it set that I would stay like this forever? I mean, I can improve on my speech and confidence but deep down, would I always be that girl who has no alpha quality?

Immediately, the Holy Spirit reminded me of 2 Corinthians 5:17. The old things have passed away. New things have come. It's true that our past shapes us one way or another, but the moment we have Jesus, we are a new being! A new creature, the AMP version says.

Having Jesus in the equation changes everything. Everything works in a new way. And it's not even the fact that you are a better version of yourself, it's the fact that you are a new being, a completely different one from that person a second before you accepted Christ. Whoever that person was has been crucified with Christ immediately, has died, and now, the life that you have is Christ living in you!

"My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." 
- Galatians 2:20

This gives us hope. Whatever happened in our past is not a done deal. It no longer has to define who you are and what you will be. From now on till we meet Jesus, our fate is: by "beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." (2 Corinthians 3:18)

And the way that we are now? The person that is not perfect, who sins, makes mistakes, and in a state of continually being transformed?

Jesus looks at us and says, "You are altogether beautiful, my darling, And there is no blemish in you." - Songs 4:7

:) Be blessed!

So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 
-John 11:3 


I'm gonna share with you a mantra of some sort. It grew into me during the period when the events of this post was happening.

It instantly calmed me down, brings peace to my heart, and puts everything into perspective.

Say it as many times as needed. No overdosing, no side effects, just effectiveness. Ready? Here goes. 

(Now, you have to actually say it, or at least whisper it, for this to take effect.)

Imagine Jesus asking you: "Who are you?"
Then answer the question with: "I'm the one whom You love."

.
.
.

My guess would be that you just read that. Now, actually try DOING it. Ask yourself, then answer yourself.
.
.
.

BAM!! Did you not just feel better instantly? (I did!) Every time my heart starts getting restless, or my mind starts getting chaotic, or when fear comes visiting, any form of my heart being away from that state of rest, the Holy Spirit would just nudge me to mutter these words, as many times as needed, and without fail, it always brings me back to rest.

When it started, it was "who are you?", "I'm the one whom Jesus loves". But then after a while, it grew to "I'm the one whom YOU love", because one day, while muttering it, I realised that Jesus was right there too. He was (is) close enough for me to talk to, and the best thing you can do at all times is to talk TO Him.

Calling Him in second person pronoun instead of third person gives you this sense of nearness. He's not somewhere out there saving the world, He's right in front of you, where you are.

You might be a designer like me, or a sales person, or a minister in church, a business person, a chef, a marketing person, a teacher, a mom, a good student, a failing student, unemployed, looking for a job, single, married, waiting to be proposed.. These statuses of yours can change. So know that these are never your true identity.

At the end of the day, when your laptop is off, when the pen is down, when the kids are asleep and the lights are off, when you are just.. yourself..

That person will forever be "the one whom You love."

Be blessed, beloveds!

1 O Lord, you have examined my heart 
 and know everything about me. 
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
 You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. 
3 You see me when I travel and when I rest at home.
 You know everything I do. 
4 You know what I am going to say
 even before I say it, Lord. 
5 You go before me and follow me.
 You place your hand of blessing on my head. 
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
 too great for me to understand! 
-Psalms 139


I keep my thoughts mainly to myself. I think and analyse a lot (not good), and I'm really fine being left alone with my thoughts and God. I'm what you might call an introvert.

Now, the end of 2016 was a very tough period. It was one bad news after another. Zits were popping all over my face due to stress, and it got so bad that after one particular bad news, I immediately threw up and got a fever. Like, I've never been under so much stress that it affects my physical body. It was one of the toughest moments of my life and it came to a point where I questioned whether God was awake. If He even cares.

This is when it gets really tough. Because I don't feel that God is on my side, I put Him out of the picture, and I'm just left with my thoughts. Being an introvert, I have no desire whatsoever to reach out to people, and my thoughts on its own is a RIOT.

(To be clear, it's not that I'm uncomfortable with people finding out. If they ask, I would happily open up! It's just that I feel like I don't have the energy to initiate a conversation about all the thoughts in my head for there are many and I might not be doing a good job expressing them due to my being socially awkward.)

My mind was like a vomit of words. Words after words after words. Plans over plans and questions over questions. Then fear and worry kicks in. Anxiety joins in. I depended on myself and it was bleak and heavy and unclear. After days -- maybe even weeks -- my mind had enough and it can't think anymore. All I could do was break down in anger towards God and cry.

I cried for a good chunk of time until I eventually got tired, until my mind eventually stops. And only then, my heart felt a soft voice.

"Your thoughts don't overwhelm Me."

Then it was suddenly a rush of revelation.

God knows that going through this process would include me getting upset at Him. But He wasn't afraid of that. He still lets me go through it because He knows He will still be with me anyway.

God knows it will be tough on me. He knows I'll cry. He knows I'll have zits and fever. But He wasn't intimidated by that because He knows He has healed me, and is protecting me all the time anyway.

God knows that in the end of all this, He will provide a way out. (1 Cor 10:13)

He's not intimidated by my worries, fears, or anxieties. He can handle it! In fact, in the end, it was Him who sorted out my jumbled thoughts. He was the one who reminded me of His own words. He was the one who made it all.. alright.

In the scripture above, verse 1-4 shows that God knows everything about us: our thoughts, what we're going to say, what we're going to do, and everything else there is. And they are definitely not perfect. And yet in verse 5, He still says He goes before us and follows us, and His still places His hand of blessing on our head. That's crazy.

My story is not done. The situation hasn't changed, but I'm much better now. I don't really know the details of His ways of working, but somehow He drove the fear away and replaced it with faith (this line sounds cliche but its true!). Through His ways (and Words), He made me able to believe that in the end, my life is still in His hands and I am always going to be fine.

And so are you :)

Be blessed!

27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
...
31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

- Matthew 6

Life is a series of not knowing what will happen.

Our planning can only get us so far. In a heartbeat, things can change.

This is my reality of working as a freelancer.

There is this girl which is my ex-colleague, and she is giving me projects from her current company. One fine day, she suddenly told me that she was leaving that company, which to me is a little scary because there is a possibility that I would lose projects from that company altogether since she is my usual contact person. Hopefully not!

But that's life! New needs and demands appear as they wish. But the thing is, it doesn't catch our Daddy God by surprise.

God's new supply comes with every new demand. When the children of Israel gets hungry in the wilderness, that's when the provision of manna starts (Exodus 16). When they got thirsty, God turns bitter, undrinkable water into SWEET (without all the artificial flavoring) water (Exodus 15)! When 5000 men are left without food, Jesus performed a miracle so significant it was the only miracle recorded in the 4 gospels: The multiplication of 5 loaves and 2 fishes into an amount that feeds 5000 men to their fullness.

It's like with every new demand you face, a new aspect of God's grace is revealed.

Lamentations 3:23 says, "Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning."

He never runs out of mercy. It is fresh every morning. So when you face a need, take heart! There is a new and fresh grace specifically for that need, and it is timely! (God didn't multiply no loaves and fishes when Noah's arc was floating. Who will eat?)

And remember, God is a Daddy. If an earthly daddy would want to see their children happy, moreover our heavenly Daddy! (Matthew 7:11)

In this picnic called life, He prepares the basket. When it's lunch time, He'll bring out the lunch basket. When it's tea time, He'll bring out the tea time basket with macaroons and stuff. So worry not. He's got you so covered.


Be blessed!

“After a long day of work, the best thing a father can have is his kid running into his arms.”



“The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need.” - Matthew 6:7-8 (MSG), emphasis mine 


The quote written above is what my pastor said in one of his sermons. It brought me to tears. Yes, He is God Almighty. Yes, He created the sun and the moon and the galaxies. Yes, He heals the blind and raises the dead, died on the cross and rose again on the third day and floated to the heavens. Yes, He is God, Healer, Creator, Provider, King, and all that.


Yet, Jesus during His earthly ministry revealed a persona of Him that was unheard of in Israel until then:

Father.

Daddy. Pops. Papi. Papa.

In fact, the word that Jesus used, “abba”, has no perfect equivalent in our language. It’s so intimate, affectionate, and close that he closest english translation to it is not “father”. It’s not even “dad”.

It’s “daddy”.

Doesn’t it make you feel like a kid again? Doesn’t it make you come as you are?

“Daddy, I don’t know what to do.”

“Daddy, this makes me so angry!”

”Daddy, what do I wear today?”

“Daddy, Bern is such amazing guy. (giggles and hugs bolster and roll around)”

The love of an earthly father that you see all around, God’s is a gazillion times more! If an earthly father longs to see his child after work, moreover God! If an earthly father delights in the presence of his children, moreover God! If an earthly father desires for his children to be alive and well, moreover God!


Recently, in our family group chat I asked my parents about how to handle invoicing because I was having a bit of trouble and I thought my parents would have the insight and experience. Almost immediately after I sent my question, my dad came calling, attending to my question.

Now, a text reply would suffice (I would actually much prefer texting), but he bothered taking the time to call me (or maybe he’s lazy to text. Which would be anticlimactic) If my earthly dad would zoom to my rescue (and we really don’t have that super warm and fuzzy father-daughter relationship. We are both rigid asians), moreover our Daddy God!


He longs to have a relationship with you, to spend time with you. To listen your heart out. To talk and converse you. To be involved in your life and to make sure you know you are loved.

So why don’t you give a Father what He wants? He’s already there with you anyway.

Tune in to Him. Exhale. Be conscious of His person.

Ready?

“.. Hi Daddy.”


(Wasn’t that nice? :) )

“He makes me lie down in green pastures…” - Psalms 23:2

The bible tells us that God sends us like a sheep in the midst of wolves. (Mat 10:16)

Now, lets imagine ourselves as sheep, and wolves are all around us. I believe you would agree with me that bending our (sheep) legs together and sunbathe would be suicidal. How does God expect me to lie down when I have problems to settle, heartaches to handle, responsibilities to fulfil, and things to worry about?

I’m grateful the Word says that He “makes” me lie down. When I can’t do it for myself, He does it for me! Now when I imagine a scene where a shepherd makes his sheep lie down, I imagine the shepherd being next to the sheep with his hands leading it to lie down (or however the method is). My point is, the fact that the bible says He “makes” me lie down shows that He is near!

God makes us lie down by telling us, “Hey, I’m right by your side. You are safe. I’m protecting you. Don’t worry, be at rest.” The wolves are the Shepherd’s part. The sheep’s part is to lie down!

And Jesus doesn’t make you lie down on a patch of grass. He makes you lie down in green pastures. Everywhere you look, it’s GREEN! Everywhere you turn, it’s an abundance of provision! 

So with provision all around us, and The provider next to us, can we lower our guards, be at peace, and rest?

(YES!)