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Haha... I did a collage of my family's baptism and wanted to upload it... only to find that I'd already done so previously and named it the same way I just did. Haha well. Since I've already done it again so might as well put up a new version. :)

Today I witnessed Christina's baptism alongside Char and the rest of the discipleship and cell group members. She's a dear sister in Christ who's gone the distance... we're from the same founding cellgroup seven years ago when the young people's ministry was at its infancy stage... gosh. It's been long. :)

Thoughts and memories flooded back as I sat through the baptism service... especially when the lady from the chinese ministry was giving her testimony, reading off her script. I remembered how mom gave glory and praise to God so naturally on stage that day seven years ago, how He'd so miraculously caused Dori's cancerous cells to drop to 0% a day before our postponed baptism, how He's led our entirely family into His family... cliche as it sounds, life really hasn't been the same ever since the commitment was made to follow Jesus.

It's not so much of the forsaken television time on Sundays... or the opportunities to feed the tortoises and eat free vegeterian bee hoon whenever we visited temples in the past to ask for protection and blessings... or wear shirts with red seal chops on their back. Hur. :)

Saying this for the millionth and one-th time (haha...) - I really can't imagine how life will be without Pa in my life now. Sure, there were many days of rebellion against Him, many days when I would simply while away time... it's only be His grace that He'd draw me back time and again.

Thank You my good and gracious Lord... my Pa... my best friend. :)

2's elder brother's baptized today as well. Still remember the burden that he once shared with me regarding him... I think 2 must be really glad and happy. :)

Four years. When that day comes... I will want to be there to witness... and Lord willing, that He'll let me be the one alongside the pastor giving you that dunk of your life. Press on, my little brother. ;) Lord willing, let it be even less than four years... :)

Oh yes. I was talking about Jonah in my previous post about how God is a God who pursues... Today when I received the service bulletin, I came across a section where they'll usually place missions sharing. This week, somehow, it had something different.

I didn't go wow or freak out or something... just gave thanks in my heart for how He does His thing all the time, how He affirms the things He speaks, usually in more ways than one. :)

THE GOD WHO PURSUES
John Chambers and building on Christ the foundation

The book of Jonah begins and ends with God talking to Jonah, signifying the presence of God with Jonah. This is an amazing fact because Jonah defies God three times in the narrative, taking the compassion of God for granted, believing that no matter how much he sins, God will forgive him.

Surprisingly, God not only forgives Jonah but uses him mightily. Right in the middle of Jonah's sin, when he is on the boat running away from God, Jonah tells the sailors about God of heaven and earth, and the sailors soon repent. And when Jonah finally reluctantly tells the Ninevites about the coming judgement of God (a specific message God gave to Jonah), the entire city repents, even the king. It wasn't because Jonah had the greatest love - far from that; it was because God was pursuing the people Jonah spoke to, just like He pursued Jonah. Which is the same way that He pursues you and me, and all the people we know.

This Christmas, God is pursuing us. Just like Jonah, God commissions us to go and share glad tidings of a Saviour and Lord. May we make room in our hearts for God to use us as His channels of love to reach out to our lost friends this Christmas season!