I must say I've had a rather good Easter weekend. And actually pretty much a great week last week as well. :) It's been a really hectic and busy week, with Assignments and research to do and everything... Also been meeting up with and hanging out with quite a few friends.


Played badminton with A and Ken on Tuesday, had dinner with A on Wednesday, hit the gym with Gavin on Saturday and breakfast after, then tennis on Sunday after service + lunch with the group... Etcetera.. Thursday was probably my longest day due to the OB group assignment meeting, and the extra lecture due to good Friday and lifegroup meeting after. I left my apartment at 9.15 in the morning and only got home at almost 11pm that night. It was such a tiring night - but the lifegroup meeting was so worth going for. It was a really good sharing that day.. and I guess the fact that it came on the busiest day of the week really made it more relevant as well.


I have come to realize lately that I do actually have problems saying "no" to people. Friends have pointed this out as well, and after much thinking I realized it was true. To a certain extent, at least. As a result I tend to overpack my schedule with social events even amidst my assignments - yes i do get things done, but it results in less time for myself; less time to rest; less time to sit and just spend time waiting on God.


So that brings me back to sharing on Thursday at lifegroup... We watched this short video... And basically, in a nutshell, it said - Do you find it difficult to say no? What is your direction, where are you headed? Jesus knew His direction - he was headed for Jerusalem, he knew he had to die on the cross, he knew the Father's plan for Him and He obeyed. What have you said yes to today? Learn how to say yes to the Father's will, that you might say no to other things in the way that were unnecessary. Reorganize your priorities - so you can be able to say no because you've already said yes to something greater. In Mark 1:35 we see that Jesus retreated to spend some time alone with God, He needed to check himself and pray to God and keep focused on God's direction for Him. Jesus didn't stop moving. People expected him to stay and perform more miracles, but He knew He had to go to Jerusalem, he knew He had a calling there, he had to be there for the Father wanted Him to be there. And He kept moving on his journey headed toward Jerusalem. He stopped here and there to attend to people who called upon Him but He never stopped moving.


And you know what, these things that he said no to - staying back in Capernaum to heal more and do more good - they weren't bad things. They were good things. But Jesus knew his direction and purpose, He knew where he was going - to Jerusalem. So he kept on moving, kept on journeying, kept on getting nearer and nearer to his destination. Sometimes what holds us back is the good, not necessarily the bad. Sometimes things we have to say no to might be good things, not necessarily bad things. That is why we need to say YES to God's instructions and directions, so we can say no to other things that don't bring us towards that destination that God has for us.


The guy sharing in the video told a story of his kids on the beach... They were picking shells, and his son had a whole handful of shells in his hands. They weren't really pretty shells, mostly fragments as it's pretty difficult to find full shells on the beach unless you really look carefully. Then they saw - in the water - a beautiful starfish, and apparently it was HUGE and really really really beautiful. His son wanted to go and pick it, so they said "go get it!" and the son ran out into the water... stopped for awhile, then ran back. He said "why don't you go and get it? go and get it!" and this time the son ran out a little further, stopped again, and ran back again... And the dad said "what's wrong? Go get the starfish! you were really close the last time! Don't you want the starfish?" and the son wants it, so he runs back out again, and this time even further... and stops... and comes back again.. and the dad asks "what's wrong?" and the son says "i can't take the starfish cos my hands are filled with shells!"


Think about it - have we learnt to let go of the shells so that we can take the starfish? Or are we holding on to so much that we can't get what's better? The shells were pretty - but nothing comparable to the starfish right? What do you have to let go of? For me, I think it boils down to reprioritizing things in my life. What can wait? I need to choose not to let the expectations of other people dictate what I do, but instead do what brings me nearer to that one thing/one place God wants me to be. One of the quotes from the video that stood out was - Sometimes, the enemy of the best is not the bad, but the good. It's quite true, isn't it? It isn't always the bad things that hold us back - even the good can. Do we get too caught up in doing good for others that we don't see where God is calling us to go? What keeps you on the track and what pulls you away? What is it that God is calling me to?


These are things we find out as we spend more time with the Lord, waiting on Him and talking to Him.

Ephesians 5:15 - 17
Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.


This morning as I spent time with Him, I read this verse in Isiah - 43:18 - 19
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. Last half of verse 20, and 21... because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I have formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise . God has forgiven my sins, and God has greater plans for me. Even in my "wasteland" and times of desolation, God has a plan. God has "a way" and "streams" for me. God will provide, and God will guide.


So. I shall end here with a song :) Today is the beginning of some changes in my lifestyle. :) I want to spend more time waiting on Him. I want to learn to say yes to say no.I want to know what God's plan for me is. I want to know where my path is; where I should walk. I want to be who God wants me to be. :)


Doen Moen - No Eye Has Seen
No eye has seen
No ear has heard
No mind has conceived
What the Lord
Has prepared
But by His Spirit
He has revealed
His plan to those
Who love Him

We've been held
By His everlasting love
Led with loving kindness
By his hand
We have hope for the future
Yet to come
In time we'll understand
The mystery of His plan

the waterfall neva stops --- we should never stop movin on too
at 10:10 AM

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