Category: the otnaicus daily

Yesterday night, I went to another cell group to help Pst. Aries play guitar for that cell. It turned out to be a fantastic time. The sermon preached was awesome. I guess in this season of time, where Pst. Kong is teaching on the Sermon On The Mount, it has made me realize the condition of my walk with the Lord. And I was impacted by this week’s cell group message. Talked about brokenness and how being broken before the Lord can bring in a greater presence of the Lord into us. And that’s something that I really want to see in my life. And that’s something that I need to definitely put effort into. The walk with God is a relationship, and relationships require effort.

Another interesting happened during cell group yesterday night. In the middle of the sermon, a tune came into my mind. It was the worship song that starts with the line “I want to sing until I am lost in Your love”. And it quickly hit me that I’d better prepare for this song during the ministering time at the end of sermon. Not long after that, Pastor started singing that song as part of the sermon. By then I was pretty sure that we’re going to sing that song and I started rummaging through my guitar bag for a old book of chords that I had. And lo and behold, Pastor did sing that song during altar call. Thank God that I listened and prepared.

Moving away from cell group, I’ve just got word that when I leave for Taiwan this time round for the kickoff meeting, I’ll be staying there for the long term already. I should be coming back every month or so, but when I heard it, I almost had a panic attack. And I’m trying to fight one now actually. But I’m going to lift up everything into God and trust that He’ll protect me. I refuse to be defeated in this battle. If this is what God has planned for me, I will accept it. It is definitely going to be a very interesting season of my life. A quote from Debbie: “We’ll be conquerors!!” AMEN to that!!

Well, at least I’ll be here for Emerge. And I should be there for Taiwan Emerge!!!

Had a meeting yesterday with one of my bosses. At least there’s a more definite plan about my impending trip to Taiwan. And God is good! I can stay for Emerge 2007 before heading off for Taipei for a kickoff meeting. And after that, I’ll should be back in Singapore for a while before heading back to Taiwan for the long haul.

I’m feeling a bit worried about going away for such long periods at a go. One may argue that I have done so before but it wasn’t for a month at a time. So I argue that this is a first time for me. And what worries me the most at the moment is how things on the relationship front is going to work out. And right next to that is the amount of work that’s laid out in front of me. I’m not getting bad panic attacks as last time, but there are still some attacks.

Well, all I can do is trust God to provide for me. Things ahead are pretty uncertain and they’ll remain uncertain until I go for the first time. I pray and hope that God will prepare the ground ahead of me and help me make the transition into this season of my life. I know that there will be plenty of trials, plenty of tribulations and plenty of everything else bad that one can think of, but like the Bible says, God will never put us through trials that we cannot emerge from. And through all this, I still want to praise God for the opportunities that He has presented before me.

I got to get back to work for now. Until the next time, cheers… :Þ

Yup, another week has come and gone. Sometimes it just feels like a routine with time flying by. Other times, the week seems to pass by so glacially. This is one of those fly-by weeks. Hardly spent time at home this week as I’ve had appointments and what-not after work. Feel pretty tired out. The times that I do have at home, I spend it editing, or rather creating a photo montage for a weddding, which has to be completed by this weekend.

Went to Heart of God Church yesterday night to attend as session they had with Pst. Kong. Supposed to be my cell group meeting since my cell leader had to be there. They had video coverage of the meeting, partly because they had overflow rooms. And so I discovered that the case of occupational hazard is pretty severe for me. I was grimacing at almost every “mistake” that they made. Tried very hard all night long to not express it outwardly and it was very difficult.

Having said that, a desire rose within me to want to train these guys to do what we at CHC do, and maybe even to surpass us. Watching the video feed in the overflow room made me realize how “us” the shots were. My guess is that they’ve been learning from what CHC does and they definitely show the potential to do so much more in terms of media for God. And believe me, they’re a bunch of on-fire youths!

The weekend is here. Should more or less the same as another other weekend, except I get to relax a bit during duty this week. Speaking of which, I have to meet up with my Operations team to work out the ministry SOPs and stuff.

That’s all for now. Until the next time, cheers… :Þ

It’s been a pretty eventful start to May. Parents are in town, church had a family day yesterday to appreciate everybody and directing for my third concert. And I foresee it to be a pretty eventful month ahead.

It’s funny how time flies by so quickly. Almost half the year is gone and before you know it, it’ll be Christmas all over again. Sometimes I wonder how did all that time just go by. It seems like yesterday that we embarked on something and with a blink of an eye, the year has gone by. All the more we should treasure the moments that we have right now and make every second count.

Yesterday, I directed my third concert, which was Sun’s mini concert during the CHC Family Day yesterday. It was a more fun as it was home ground and I had 8 cameras and an experienced TV Ministry crew to boot.  The only downside was the crowd was chaotic. There was absolutely no room for the cameras on the floor area to move and all the nice shots we got to see during rehearsals were not possible. But we made do and it turned out to be quite a fantastic production. Kudos to the crew!!

May also arrives, bringing with it a bit of fear and uncertainty. Most of you know that I’ll be headed to Taiwan to work again. Although I’m feeling a bit encouraged by the word shared by Robb Thompson last Thursday and Saturday, there’s still a fair bit of fear in me. The scope of my responsibilities have been revealed to me and it’s a lot. I’ll be taking the lead in the development of the web user interface and, frankly speaking, I’m worried. Worried why? Worried because of the fear of not being up to the task, worried about not being able to perform, worried about a tonnes of other things that I have not begun to worry about. I definitely feel honoured that I’m given the responsibility, but it’s gonna take a lot of hard work, pain, sweat and tears. And I will definitely God’s guidance, strength and determination is this. He is definitely going to be my pillar during this time, not only in work but in the personal areas of my life as well.

For now, I’m headed back to work. So until the next time, cheers… :Þ

It’s been a while since I last posted.

Benny Hinn’s conference has come and gone by and it was a fantastic and power-filled weekend. The TV Ministry, except for some staff, had a good break over the weekend as the media side was handled almost entirely by the crew from Benny Hinn’s team. But what was the most touching thing about the entire weekend is the group of people (the country from where they are will remain unsaid) that were present in the meeting on Sunday. Benny Hinn invited them on stage and you can see their hunger for the Lord even as the worshipped and prayed in their native language on stage. They were all tearing and you can just sense their hunger from all around the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

All that just makes me wonder what am I doing with my walk with Christ. Can I ever be so hungry for the Lord? Must I be in a situation where there is no freedom of religion before I can be that hungry? I really want to regain that hunger for the Lord and not be complacent with where I am. Yes, I’m serving and attending service and cell group but sometimes it feels like I’ve just fallen into a routine. Gotta get things right. Can’t give up. Must go on. Lord, grant me the determination and strength and hunger to be once again on fire for you.

On another topic, I’ve just got word that I would be going to Taiwan again. This time, I’ll be more involved in the project, right from the get go. The projected time line is 5 months and I should be flying up and down during during that period of time. It makes me wonder why we cannot do the project here and then fly up when we need to. Doesn’t that save cost for the company? Does our presence there really help? Well, I’m not exactly looking forward to the extended period of time that I’ll be away from Singapore. But I guess it’s a good opportunity for me to prove myself and shine for the Lord. Sacrifices has to be made. And right on top of my mind is church and of course, Debbie. I’m trying very hard to put a positive spin to all this, but somehow it’s still hard. Again, Lord, grant me the strength for this.

Gotta head off now. Got stuff to do as I’m now in the office. Until the next time, cheers… :Þ

Six months after buying the tickets, I finally went to watch Phantom yesternight. It was a fantastic production. The sets were beautiful, the effects stunning and the cast performed admirably. As a person from a technical background in these things, I was paying particular attention to the technical aspects of the production. I was impressed by the chandelier that they hoisted up at the beginning of the show and the way they dropped it at the end of  act 1. They used blanks to simulate gun fire. They made the stage look real deep by using optical illusions. Simply powerful visual effects. It was my first time watching Phantom live so I couldn’t compare it to previous performances in Singapore. But it was good and I would seriously consider catching it again the next time it pops by Singapore.

On a side note, after reaching home from Phantom, I watched a DVD entitled Facing The Giants. Having rented this DVD because it’s one of those weak-turned-victorious themed shows and I’m quite a sucker for this type of movies. No big names in the show, just that the show was very Christian. Apparently, it’s produced by a church in USA. Talk about impacting the world through the arts!!

But it’s not just that. The movie reminded me of the goodness and faithfulness of God all over again. This American football coach, married without kids, was facing a tough time at work (he’s the coach). Never having achieved much results in the 6 years coaching with this high school, he was on the verge of giving up. On top of that, he and his wife have been trying for kids but were unsuccessful. And to add salt to an already bad injury, they’re pretty cash-strapped. The short version of things is that he turned to God and everything turned out fine.

What really hit my heart about the show was at the end when his football team finally won the championship. He came into the locker room and asked his team questions. The question always ended with “Is there anything impossible with God?” It just reminded me that how we can forget about how God can make the weak strong, the poor rich, and make the impossible possible. And we always forget that until we come to our wit’s end. God is always there for us, no matter what we go through. We just have to learn to lean on him through good times and bad. A quote from the movie: “We praise Him when we win, and we praise Him when we lose”. Another quote: “God wants to rain on your life but you have to prepare the fields for it”. In other words, we have to always be righteous in what we do and always honour Him. I would recommend you to watch that movie. It touched me and I’m sure it would touch you too.

That’s all for this edition. Until the next time, cheers… :Þ

The title is a line from the Easter drama I use every year after the last run of the production. It is also a line that Jesus said when He died on the cross for us.

The weekend was great. Tiring, but a whole lot of fun and excitement and maybe a couple of painful ears from all the shouting the director and assistant directors did. The runs started off with quite a bit of hiccups technical hiccups but we finally got a perfect run during the last service. I’m just so proud of the camera crew for the drama because they performed so well under the pressure that the directors piled on them. I’m sure they’re pretty tired out but I’m also sure that they gained something from all this, especially the first-timers on the team for a drama production. From the looks of it, we’re going to have quite a number of drama productions coming up, both big and small…

It’s back to work tomorrow. And another exciting weekend to look forward to. Benny Hinn is in town from Friday to Sunday. There’s going to be a service every night from 7.30pm at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. I’m expecting huge crowds and although I’m looking forward to all the wonderful miracles that will happen in the services, I’m not too excited about the crowd. I think I have a mild case of enochlophobia (fear of crowds). Nonetheless, I’ll be there at most of the services helping Benny Hinn’s production crew in the services.

I’m off to bed. Hope the week won’t be too busy. I’m sure there are stuff waiting for me to attend to at work, plus the project to complete. So until the next time, cheers… :Þ

This afternoon marks the first day that Easter drama rehearsals goes into full gear. From today onwards, we expect long hours and late nights. But it will be a fun time; a lot of hard work, but fun.

After much planning, the Easter 2007 is ready to go. Thank God we managed to fill 99% of the positions for the services and after a bit of pull-hair sessions, the drama team is ready to rock too. And we’re definitely going to cross 50,000 in attendance this weekend.

The drama looks complicated with a lot of frontal shots required for every scene. It’s definitely going to tax the drama team, especially since the amount of time we have for rehearsal is shorter than last year’s Easter production. Rehearsal time is even shorter than what we had for Christmas 2006. All in all, it’s shaping up to be a fantastic production indeed. I can’t wait till I see the set for the production. Two levels, one 4-feet and one 6-feet off the ground. I’ll post some pictures, but not until after the first service.

I’ll probably go MIA for the rest of this week because of the late nights I’m expecting. So until the next time, cheers… Þ

For those of you who didn’t know, I’ve started a jogging routine. I might have mentioned it in an earlier post but I forgot. So I’ll mention it here again. Think I’ve come to a breakthrough in my jogging. My endurance is up because I don’t feel as breathless during the jog, although my calf still hurts during the jog. I wonder why. And then I weighed myself yesterday night. Think I dropped a kilo. Haha. Sounds little, but a minor achievement in itself, I guess. At least, there’s some tangible results to the work I’ve been putting in.

Easter is around the corner. To be exact, it’s a week away from tomorrow. Was planning the TV Ministry’s Expo Operations Roster yesterday and I almost started yanking my hair in frustration. Seems like the ministry is stretched thinner and thinner every time we have Easter or Christmas celebrations. Why? Because not only do we have extra services to run, we would need to have a separate crew for the English service drama, Chinese and Dialect church, Children’s Church and JAMs church. Believe you me, that’s stretching it pretty thin. Added to the fact that not everybody would be available, you tend to put up a who’s-most-available crew rather than a the-best-team-I-can-find crew. And this would also mean that the faithful few would have to serve multiple services. Is this fair? To many, it may seem not. But I guess the faithful few would be handsomely rewarded by God. To them, that’s reason enough. But the roster is shaping up fine (praise the Lord), except for the drama team, which still needs to fill up some vacant positions. By faith, and hard work and ingenious persuasion, we’ll fill it.

And if anyone is interested in coming for the service, everybody is invited. You can check City Harvest Church’s website for more information. Trust me, it’ll be worth your 2 hours. Gonna be a fantastic service and you’ll definitely enjoy it.

By the way, there are still some broken links in this site that I’m trying to find time to fix up. And I intend to change those graphic banners that you see near the very top of the page. So please be patient with me.

My lunch hour is over and I got to get back to work.  So until the next post, cheers… :Þ

Before you go harping about where’s Edition 164, that’s the last post that appeared in the old site. So I’m starting with Edition 165 here.

Took this test that my sister showed me. It bases your personality on the pictures that you choose and it’s pretty accurate. Take a look and the explanations are below.

Read my VisualDNAâ„¢ Get your own VisualDNAâ„¢

Moods – Sofisticat
You’re a romantic, sophisticated and love the beauty of wide open spaces. You can be a little nostalgic and love revisiting familiar places and memories. When it comes to art, you appreciate flair and precision. Highbro and in the know, you’ve got an eye for fine detail. As for music, it’s the soundtract to your world. It gives you focus, and concentration – you might find it hard to switch off. Your choice of treat reveals either real exhaustion, or maybe a bit of laziness? Either way, you’re never happier than when you are rugged, and snuggled up, eyes shut.

Fun – Conqueror
You like simple pleasures – sometimes there’s nothing more relaxing. You really value your “quiet time” – time to recharge. For kicks nothing beats an adrenaline rush. You like to take risks and push limits, you’re confident and brave – life is for the living. When it comes to holidays, there’s not stopping you once you’ve got the taste for adventure… It’s a chance to explore activities that you don’t have the time for in day-to-day life. What grosses you out? You like people to be well groomed, with a tight bod and heaps of sex appeal. Wobbly bits and hairy areas are a complete turn off.

Habits – New Wave Puritan
Even if you have a healthy approach to life, you still have your vices and a craving hunger drives your needs! So you’ll supersize it, you love convenience and that taste… Clean and pure – your choice of drink shows that on the whole you care about your health and make sure you’re putting the right stuff in. As for the home, you have very cool and contemporary taste and see yourself as a bit of a trend setter. You like your surroundings to be simple and as stylish as you.

Love – Love Bug
For you, love is about long-term commitment. You love the idea of commitment and the whole big day! When you think of freedom – you think of living for the here and now. You’re pretty fearless and take any opportunity given to you.

For those who know me, pretty accurate right? Not all are true of me of course, but most are. Try the test. The link is in the picture above.