Sunday, October 14, 2007

Striking A Conversation Takes Effort

I made it an attempt to talk to one of the church members this afternoon. I have seen him for as many years as I have been in church. I have never made a deliberate move to speak to him though there were a couple of occasions where I wanted to.

Though many see me as an outgoing person, it is actually quite hard for me to approach someone and strike a conversation out of the blue. Anyway, this brother-in-Christ was waiting for his wife to finish a meeting. I decided to just put aside the usual me and converse with him.

Well, it was not that difficult and I praise the Lord for knowing this dear brother better now and hope to know him more in future. He is actually a very quiet and shy gentleman but I am glad he too opened himself up and we had a wonderful time of fellowship.

I hope the Lord will help me to be more chatty especially to those in church whom I have been meeting week after week, to go beyond the "Hi" and "Bye" and really know about the life of the individual. It takes effort but I think it would be worth the while to do so.

I led in the praise and worship session for the 11:15am service. Well, overall it was okay except that I mis-timed certain entries of the songs. They were not very obvious but I felt I could do better. I have been a worship-leader for more than 10 years already and I still get the jitters every time when I need to lead a praise session. I do not know whether this is due to me using my own strength and understanding.

Anyway, I am still learning and I hope the Lord will continue to be my Coach in this area. A brother-in-Christ played the trumpet (his first time) and I thought it was wonderful as it added colours to the whole feel of the songs. Praise the Lord for giving the brother this talent!

I am actually very tired now. After service, I rushed home to change as I had to go for a dinner appointment with the running gang to bid farewell to one of the members leaving for an overseas project for two months.

Then it was back to church again to conduct the mission training for the Missions and Vacation-With-A-Purpose teams. Praise the Lord all went well and both teams now know what they would like to do when in Cambodia.

I stayed back in church to send out some emails and also chatted with a dear sister-in-Christ over the MSN. Once all that were done, it was off to the farwell dinner.

Anyway, I shall end here.

To God be all thanks and praise for all that He has done today!

"Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:9-21

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