Time to Arise!

I've recently been back from the Ignite Conference held at Cornerstone Church and boy, was it a timely refresher for my tired and thirsty soul. The speakers were wonderful, and they gave so much good advise on how to make your church youth group grow numerically and spiritually. No one has ever spoken specifically on this kind of subjects and it was fantastic. I was seeminglg the only one wolfing down the information on my notebook though. Most of the other youths who attended were just purely listening to the jokes and anedotes that the speaker told. Maybe they were too young, too immature or something. I don't know... I'm just happy I got the information I need.

And have you heard the new Hillsong United Album United We Stand? That's one really fantastic album! I got it free of charge during the Ignite Conference and it opened my eyes to what youths can do through worship. Don't just get the CD, get the version with the bonus DVD track. Watch the record of the concert and you will see youths jumping about and praising God! The music is pulsing and really catchy. I highly recommend you to listen to it. Before long, you'll be singing along with the CD. And ladies, I think you'll agree with me that Joel Houston, one of the worship leaders, there is really good-looking too!

My favorite song in the album is "From The Inside Out". Lead by Joel, it is a slow and powerful worship song that depicts how God can lead and thus change your life. Beautiful song. The other really nice songs include "The Time Has Come" and "Take It All". The Hillsong United band has been blessed over the years under Darlene Zschech and recently they have officially been labelled the church's youth band.

From these two incidents, I have obtain a vision and a goal for the Agape Youth and I really hope that the youths, especially the leaders, will rise to the occasion. If any of you are reading this, please post some of the ways the youth can improve over the next few months. I will also be holding a meeting some time soon to discuss the changes that I hope to implement. Will be looking forward to your imputs!

The Thing about Love

Love is a many wonderous thing. God is love. Every religion either embraces love or renounces love. It is an emotion, an action, something physical, spiritual and invisible. Nobody goes through life without having his share of ups and downs, high and low points in life. Look through yours again. The highest peaks and lowest valleys in your life have an inextricable connection to love, and the most monotone part of your life is also a huge lack of it.

Have you ever been in a broken relationship before? If so, have you really recovered from it? Actually, deep down in us, there is always a piece of our last relationship/s that affects us in small little ways that we might not know. The effect doubles if you were the rejectee.

Let not human relationships disconnect us with our heavenly Father. The Bible says that wisdomwise, God's foolishness in greater than men's cleverness, and His ways greater than

men's ways. So come to Him whenever, whatever your situation.

A broken (human) relationship in our lives is a time when we become admittedly more sensitive to our own feelings, when we think about where we could have gone wrong, when we hope that someway, somehow everything will be right again. Sadly, we don't have the ability to turn back time. However, we do have a God who can mend broken hearts. This reminds me of a lovely song by the Bee Gees "How can You Mend a Broken Heart". Read the lyrics and go download the song. You won't regret it. The chorus is as follows:

And how can you mend a broken heart?

How can you stop the rain from falling down?

How can you stop the sun from shining?

What makes the world go round?

How can you mend a this broken man?

How can a loser ever win?

Please help me mend my broken heart and let me live again.

Don't we so feel like dying after it's all over? Doesn't it feel as if the entire landscape surrounding you has transformed into something cold and haunting? If the saying goes that Love puts us on Cloud 9, the fall back to earth (reality) is a painful one? The whole world's emotions seem incomparable to the love you've just experienced. The agony, the sorrow, the hopelessness.

Speaking from experience, depending on how stubborn you are, it won't be long before you get over it. Serious. Not many of us have Yang Guo's ability to hang on to Dragon Girl for 16 years before they finally reunite. No matter how much you can protest, it's high chance your love life wasn't THAT spectacular anyway. I'll suggest a few ways that you can keep your mind of the situation. It certainly did help me.

1. Go shopping with friends who'll make the outing exciting. (eg. Gina, Andrew Hui, Dylan) i.e. Meterosexuals. Look for nice things to wear. If no one commented on how good you look in that shirt/dress before, it's time to switch fashion senses. Your friends may be able to give you a few tips here and there in exchange for you giving them a few comments.

2. Go KTV and belch out all the love songs about broken hearts (eg. Heaven Knows, Right Here Waiting etc.) for the first 2 hours, and for the last 2 hours, sing songs of renewed strength (eg. I Will Survive, Mambo No. 5 etc.). LOL. There are few better ways to keep those haunting emotions exhausted and thus not disturbing you.

3. Go find a study group and get the A grade that seems so out-of-reach to you. Preoccupation of your mind with your studies after a period of sadness always sparked off an unmatched determination that may well become a lifetime habit.

4. Go read a long romance novel (try the actual version of The Condor Heros) or borrow a huge bunch of VCDs from friends. Watch the romance ones (eg. Pretty Woman, The Notebook etc.)first, then try those action movies of guys with a serious mental inability to love. (eg. Rambo, Terminator etc.)

5. If you haven't tried clubbing, give it a go. Find a few friends of similar gender and try Zouk on Mambo night. Enjoy the retro music (or R&B next door at Phuture) and flirt around. If you don't know how to, watch how other people do it. All in the name of harmless fun. However, don't drink anymore than the cups you're entitled to. And don't make clubbing a habit.

6. If you can't make yourself happy, try making your family members and friends happy. In so doing, happiness will reach you somehow. Watch "Love Actually" and keep your eye on the unbeautiful lady with a retarded brother.

7. Pray. God is the best counsellor in the world and there's no doubt about it!

Guess I've written alot already... Let me end off with Roxette's very famous song from the "Pretty Woman" movie entitled "It Must Have Been Love". Believe me though, if a friend tells you something like "if it was true love, it would have lasted", reply back with a "Only God's love is forever." Happy flirting! =)

Lay a whisper on my pillow,

leave the winter on the ground.

I wake up lonely,

there's air of silence in the bedroom and all around.

Touch me now,

I close my eyes and dream away.

It must have been love but it's over now.

It must have been good but I lost it somehow.

It must have been love but it's over now.

From the moment we touched 'til the time had run out.

Make-believing we're together,

that I'm sheltered by your heart.

But in and outside I've turned to water like a teardrop in your palm.

And it's a hard winter's day, I dream away.

It must have been love but it's over now,

it was all that I wanted, now I'm living without.

It must have been love but it's over now,

it's where the water flows, it's where the wind blows.