Clearing our Annual Leaves

Wifey and I have been clearing our annual leaves this month on the Mondays.
They were much welcome breaks as we spent time with each other to just relax.

On the 16th December, we visited Tim Ho Wan at Plaza Sing. This famous tim sum restaurant has received much publicity for being Michelin star rated so we wanted to try it at least once.

Before leaving for THW, we saw the kids playing at the badminton court. And they were racing! So of course this kooks wanted to show who is the fastest man around. I challenged my nephew to a race and in the final sprint, my legs went soft, off balance and I fell on my fours…. Scrapped my toe and blood was oozing out… oh man what an embarrassment.

Went up, wash my wound and put on a band aid and then finally set off for PS, fully regretting the race earlier on.

We arrived at PS a bit later than expected because of what happened and a rather long queue has already formed at the entrance of THW. Wifey queued while I visited the toilet and when I came out, it was nearly our turn. We chatted with the lady and her daughter in front of us and they would later sit next to us to as we enjoy our food. We ordered their 4 heavenly kings which included Char Siew Bao, pig liver chu chang fen, malay cake and carrot cake. We also ordered pork ribs and steam chicken in fish maw.

The food was quite nice although the space was a bit small. Not a place to hang around for too long. After our brunch, we walked around PS and see if there is any interesting movie to catch. We also had a cuppa at Starbucks because wifey was having a bit of migraine so we took the chance to rest a bit longer at SB. I bought a box of English Breakfast tea from here as well as one of the present.

When she is slightly better, we went to get the office Secret Santa present from Faceshop and we went over to Vivo City. Wifey wanted to get her flip flops but in the end did not manage to get it. We went for dinner at Seah Inn. Wifey had fish slice soup and we had 2 plates of the delicious roast pork rice with a plate of vegetables.
After dinner, we used a pair of my free movie vouchers to watch Captain Philips

It was a very engaging movie which kept us at the edge of the seat throughout. I love the last 10 minutes of the show when Tom Hanks was being rescued and the traumatised Captain Philips let his bottled up emotions all out.. it was a poignant scene, very touching and fully deserving of the Oscars


On 23rd December, we went for breakfast at Funan Centre’s McDonald’s. After breakfast, I walked over for my complimentary facial at Touche at Bugis. Had a good session of treatment and felt very relaxed after that although my eyes were feeling tired and my face a bit painful. After my treatment I walked over to meet wifey at City Hall and then we had a late lunch at zhen zhen. We shared a plate of yee mee and potato leaves. We then walked over to shop at Bugis Street and before leaving for mother in law’s place for dinner, bought some bed sheets from OG.

This is how we spent 2 days of our annual leaves.

Better , Make it Happen

As we approach the end of 2013, 2 words/phrases have been in my mind quite often. One is “Better” another is “Make it Happen”. I believe that if there is a theme for the coming year, those 2 phrases sums up nicely what I hope to be.


Better… because I want to be a better person than before. I do not want to compare myself or be compared to another person but I want to compare myself with who I was a year ago. I want to be a better son, husband, brother, son-in-law, LGL, friend, employee than I was before.

Danny always tells us that if we were to focus on just one or two area to improve on every year, than we will become a much better person over the years. I truly believe in that concept and will work on 1-2 area in my life. It may be an attitude, a skill, a habit or way of doing things. If I can commit it to God, God can help me to be better.

Make it Happen because many times, I have allowed plans and ideas to die off. I have lacked the discipline, courage or necessary expertise to do certain things and I did not even want to start on it. A couple of months ago, during the GLS, Bill Hybels mentioned something on this area. That many God given ideas or inspiration were being killed off prematurely and as a result it did not get out to the intended recipients of those ideas. That is bad stewardship. So I have to believe that if God wants me to do something, he will provide me with the necessary help to accomplish it. The statement If God brings you to it, He will brings you through it have to be internalised within me.  

Christmas 2013

Christmas this year was an intimate affair with wifey and folks. Deb’s family were on their Malaysia road-trip so we decided to spend time with mom and dad.


On Saturday (21st Dec) wifey treated me to a delicious sushi dinner at the basement of 313 after a whole day of household chore. The restaurant is called Sushi Express and it’s a new place to me although she have already tried a couple of times with her colleagues.

One thing about wifey is that she is always excited to bring me to places which she have patronised and found the food nice because she does not want me to miss out… haha. Appreciate her thoughtfulness. We had about 18 plates of sushi @$1.50 per plate and tried many interesting dishes like abalone, scallop which normally cost much more at other places. So it was a very worthwhile deal.

After dinner, we went for some more Christmas Shopping at Takashimaya. Before that, I also bought a birdie ring in secret for her at Stroberi.

I love Takashimaya during Christmas as the atmosphere is always so festive and we spent quite a bit of time at the Watson’s and event hall which is selling their usual Christmas stuffs. After getting the presents, we strolled along Orchard Road and stopped by to listen to some carols.

Although the crowd was swell, the nice balmy weather makes it so comfortable to just stand there and relax. I gave wifey the ring in the midst of the performance but she already suspected… aiyah. We left the place about 11 pm after the last song and took a bus back home.

Sunday (22nd Dec) , woke up early and had breakfast before bringing folks to attend our Christmas Service. This year’s drama was very touching as usual and folks were tearing as they watched the story of how God intervene and did a miracle in the life of one of our church member who was addicted to gambling. Really respect and thank God for Uncle Xu De Cai for his willingness and courage to share his testimony to be used in this year’s drama. I am very sure there were hardly any dry eyes during the service. I believe and hope that God has planted a seed into my parents heart as they listen and think about the message which was being shared on that day. May they be able to come to know Jesus eventually.

After service, we went for lunch at Army Market. It was a cosy lunch as I have my parents joining my LG people for this meal. We went home soon after and I did some drawing with wifey as she did some wrapping… it was a lazy afternoon

In the evening, we brought folks to Seah Inn for dinner. This time round we asked dad not to drive. We all took a bus down and he was visibly more relaxed as he got to just enjoy the ride without having to worry about the traffic, finding lots etc… they had the famous Yong Tau Foo while wifey and I had duck rice. We also shared a plate of fried oyster. After the meal, we went over to Vivo to walk a bit before heading home. Very satisfying day spend with my parents.

On Christmas eve, we walked over to Stew Kitchen for our dinner. I was feeling a bit upset initially as there were some confusion over seating. I had initially wanted to sit outside as it will more windy but they were insisting that we sit inside and gave us a small table. Eventually we settled for a slightly bigger table inside. There were also some confusion when we ordered the food… anyway we manage  to settle everything and still have an enjoyable meal.

We had spaghetti, rosti, chicken chop, salmon, spring roll, ceaser salad and a seafood stew

Dad and I also shared a tall beer. When we finished our dinner, we presented the presents to folks. Dad got an Alex Ferguson Autobiography and mom got an Innisfree Green Tea Facial set. Hope they both like their present. Thanks wifey for getting the gift for mom after work.

Season of Thanksgiving

Whoa, the past couple of weeks has been more than interesting and full of thanksgiving , with the following activities ; Bangkok vacation, “You are the Reason”, clearing of annual leaves and Christmas happening one after another, bumper to bumper. I have yet to sit down and blog about them but I shall do that soon, probably starting with the latest one first since those heart-warming memories are still fresh…

Stay tuned !


 

A Quietly Brilliant Weekend

Last week was a very productive weekend for me personally.

On Saturday, I woke up earlier to finish up painting the sealer for my toilets and part of my master bedroom.

Then the toilets were also washed and finally I got the repairmen to fix up my leaking tap! Looking at him doing the repair, I conclude that it may be beyond me to change my own basin tap as it’s not as easy as it seems.

He was using something like a metal tubing with holes around it and even had a spanner which was specially sawn shorter so that it can be used easily in confined spaces. Tools of his trade.

Uncle Ah Seng also very kindly drilled a hole on my wall so that I can hang up my clock and sprayed some WD40 on my window which wasn’t moving smoothly due to wear and tear.

So, 1st coat of sealer for moulding ceiling painted checked, toilet washed checked, leaking tap repair checked, hole in a wall drilled checked, Smooth window checked.

Wifey was pleased as a punch!

As Ah Seng took longer than expected to arrive and finished up the job, we couldn’t make it in time for Saturday service as originally intended. So we went to have our dinner instead at Seah Inn. As usual, wifey ate from her favourite fish Soup stall, and I had my Orh Luak as a reward for doing the household chores… plus a bowl of Yong Tau Foo.

on the way to Vivo

After dinner, we went over to Vivo for a walk, intending to take some nice pictures using Priscilla’s Canon G15 but the deco this year seems a bit boring (like previous years’) so we didn’t take any. Ha.. then we went to Daiso, it was very crowded there as people are shopping for Christmas already.

I got quite tired after walking for a while so we went to St Marc for dessert before heading home.



wifey enjoing her cuppa


Sunday service was special. There was no sermon being preached but Pastor Andrew Yeo led worship for the whole service. He also shared a testimony of hope, of how he and his went through a tough journey before finally having children. It was touching and authentic. Worship got even more intimate after his sharing and the tangible presence of the holy spirit was really moving in the auditorium


After service, we went to meet folks at Lido to catch Thor. Every November, Dad’s company will give out 4 free movie tickets as their yearly tradition so we took the opportunity to catch the movie together. Dad was zzzz after about 20mins. Ha-ha, guess he couldn’t really appreciate the show. After the movie, we went to grab a bite at Takashimaya basement before heading to M1.

We spent a whopping 3 hours waiting for dad’s turn to re-contract and he finally got the HTC Desire 601 at no cost at all as he has loyalty points which can be converted to $50 voucher. Personally, I felt that the phone is really impressive and value for money. Specs are good and looks classy too. It’s also quite user friendly… what more can one ask for?

We had our late dinner at ML market that night before retiring into the night, it was very fulfilling to have spent time with our parents just doing simple errands because they really need our help in certain matters, especially with regards to technology, health etc. I guess they appreciate the time spent together as much as me. Want to also thank wifey for waiting patiently together with us as it was really tiring.

** I really like HTC's tagline "Quietly Brilliant". Don't we all want to be quietly brilliant in all that we do? being modest despite having a spirit of excellence... that's the way to go ;o) 

One Week to Bangkok

So … we are exactly a week away from our Bangkok trip.


Yeah… excited but the recent protest makes us rather nervous too.

Let’s hope that protests will cease completely so that we can holiday in peace.

This is our first trip together to BKK and our main objective is to eat, shop and relax.

Thank God that wifey’s company allows her to claim part of the air-fare, so a significant amount was actually being subsidised.

I booked the Berkeley Hotel this time round and after reading all the mixed reviews, I really don’t know how it turn out to be. Hope it will be worth the money.

Our itinery has been tidied up so now it’s just some packing left and waiting for the departure….

Oh and we created this journal specially for the upcoming trip… love it!

“God we commit this holiday unto your mighty hands. May you keep us safe and grant us a great retreat so that we will be refreshed and ready to start a new year with you. In Jesus name, Amen”.  

A Birthday Weekend

Last weekend was a “Birthday” weekend.

On Saturday, we attended Kairos’s 2^nd Birthday Party at Connect Room 802.

It was a slightly different party to those I have attended before in that there were praise and worship and some meaningful sharing at different juncture by Michael throughout.

For example, in one segment, Kairos gave away 4 of his favourite toy buses to the some pre selected people including Ps Jeff, his grandparents and a couple of their close LG members. I believe that Michael wants to inculcate an attitude of sacrificial giving in his son’s young impressionable heart at every opportunity and this is one of such. At the end of the day, Mike also took a picture of Kairos surrounded by presents illustrating the fact that we can never out-give God. Kairos gave away 4 of his favourite buses but he got back so much more in return.

It is indeed possible to make use of every opportunity to share some biblical principles and spread the gospel. You just require some inspiration and a dose of creativity. Something which I believe Michael has, in abundance.

After Kairos’s Birthday party, we attended Saturday service and it was another huge birthday celebration because it was a water baptism service. Many people experienced their spiritual birthday on that day as they emerged from the tank (symbolising a new birth) and will be living this new life closely with Jesus from there on.

CN shared about the 3 Keys for our faith prior to the water baptism

a) The reason for our faith is Grace

b) The evidence of our faith is Growth (2 Cor 5:17)

Some areas we grow in is our obedience to God (step by step), our thought life, our love for people (love more people and love people deeper)

c) The nurturing ground for our faith is our life group (Heb 10:24-25)

The points look simple enough to understand but we tend to forget and many drift away in our journey through life. Hence this is a reminder of what life should be like when we are truly being born again.

*I was water baptised on 3^rd March 2001 and I believe God was actually preparing my wife at the same time. Theresa was just standing a short distance away from me back then, having her water baptism too. Back then, we didn't really know each other. (the whole process can be seen from her water baptism CD where accidental glimpses of me can be seen. I was just a calafare back then but now have become the main lead in her life. Ha-ha)

After service, we went to OG at Orchard to get a bubble machine for Emmanuel and had our dinner at Le Meridian. Oh how we missed that place and the fish soup there…

On Sunday, we celebrated grandpa’s 86^th Birthday at Hung Kang Teochew Restaurant. Food was nice but the same cannot be said of their service and cramp sitting area. Anyway, that is not that important. Most important is that my dearest grandpa enjoys blessings, good health and joy in the years ahead.  I hope he will, too one day experience the love of Jesus and accept him as his personal Lord and saviour. That would be a most wonderful day indeed. 

Hope Leadership Training 2013

Yesterday was a Public Holiday and it was also the day my church arranged a whole day training for the leaders (and their spouses)

As mentioned in my earlier post, Leadership is a topic that interest me a lot, hence,  I was rather looking forward to a fruitful time of learning.

A leader has to keep learning. When a leader thinks he/she has known enough, he knows nothing.

Indeed, the whole day training did fill my tank and I was energised by the different teachings. Thank God. And thank my church for always putting great emphasis in developing its people.

I would like to post the notes in this platform so that I can be reminded of the important points when I look back. Although due to some formatting issues, they may appear rather messy here but these are treasures to me.

Leaders Needs to Be Predictable 

As an introduction to start off the Leaders Training in the heavy rain Pastor Jeff very aptly shared that

-       Leader need to be PREDICTABLE ( for example if it rains, we do not turn up) . God cannot entrust us if its otherwise. If we allow the weather to dictate whether if we will turn up for something.

-       Being predictable does NOT mean boring.

-       We need to be predictable in terms of our emotions. ( think of some parents who are unpredictable in their mood. One day the child gets to enjoy chicken drumstick when the parent is in a good mood, on another day the child gets a beating. The child will live in an atmosphere of fear and anxiety)  

-       We need to be predictable even in small tasks

-       God is predictable, the sun rises every morning

-       It is not a sexy concept but it is very important.

-       Being predictable in every area. Not just in work, it applies to all our roles. If we are only predictable in our job and for ministry, it reflects our values.

• Session 1 - From Leading to Being Led - Craig Groeschel‏
  session 3 - Wayne Cordeiro‏
  
  Wake up one day and do not feel like leading anything, tired of preaching, staff , sharing his life

  Winning the ministry game but losing my first love. The way I was doing the work of God is slowly destroying God’s work in me – Bill Hybels.

   3 Obstacles

  1.    More concerned with what people thinks than what God thinks.

  It will keep us from being led by the spirit

  People are too big and God is too small

  Honour God even if it displeases people

  I cannot please everyone but I can please God

  
  

  2.    More concerned with my public image than my private devotion

  Sometimes leaders study the bible just to prepare for preaching/teaching

  We are like a full time pastor/leader and just a part-time follower of Christ

  We do not mean it when we tell people “ I will pray for you” just paying lip service

  IT’S THE THINGS THAT NO ONE SEES THAT RESULTS IN WHAT EVERYONE WANTS.

  Be faithful to Jesus when no one is looking than when everyone is looking

  
  

  3.    More concerned about bringing people in than bringing glory to Christ

  When you give free beer, you can also draw a crowd

  If you tie your identity to figures and numbers you will feel like the biggest loser.

  (think about it) If you take the blame for the decline than one day, you will take the credit for the increase

  Do not be obsessed by numbers, when we are truly doing God’s work, God’s way, HE will build the church

  
  

  From the book Tribal Leadership (3 levels of leadership motives )

  Lowest Level: “I want to make a NAME for myself”

  Underlying concept: “I AM GOOD”

  Thus the enemy is anyone or anything that competes.

  
  

  Middle Level: “We want to make a difference as a team”

  Underlying Concept: “I cannot do it alone, WE ARE GOOD”

  Enemies are our field, we do not wish to lose to “them” other churches

  We overestimate what we can do in a short time but underestimate what God can do through us over a lifetime a faithfulness

  
  

   Highest Motive : Make History

  Underlying Concept: “God is good”  

  Only enemy is satan

   ITS not about us, its about HIM

   

  
  

  
  

  • [Evangelism]

    Celebrate people coming to Jesus, not bigness

    Evangelism is a heart set, not a programme

    
    

    [Disciplship]

    Eph 4 Pastor, teacher, evangelist etc.. 5 fold ministry

    Pastor equipping his people to do the work

    Use proper measurement to measure spiritual work. How many am I discipling actively, name them….

    Who is shadowing? Do not just hire people who can do it well but hire those who can facilitate others to do it well.

    Culture of servant hood instead of leadership  

    
    

    [Family]

    Make relationship with spouse right first before ministering

    The darkest palce of the lighthouse is the base (our home) . Make sure God’s floodlight is on them !!!

    My family is my ministry. If I do not have a good family, I do not have a good ministry

    
    

    [In a nutshell]

    -       Evangelism is  a culture , not a programme

    -       Practice Intentional discipleship

    -       Family is of paramount importance (do not do ministry at the expense of family in the short run we may think we win, but in the long run we lose and when we lose, the Kingdom lose.

    [Discuss]

    ·         How can I cultivate a culture of evangelism ?

    ·         How can I be more intentional in discipleship?

    Session 4 - Tim Keller
    Not 1-1 relationship but immersing community
    discipleship is public and private , individual and community
    importance of discipleship in the context of community thats why we keep LG strong. One anothering is vital 
    
    
    
    

    The Last session of the day was an interview with Pastor David Lim.

    I just took down some points that I think is important.

    Faithfulness until God says something else. If God wants me to do it. Do it with ALL our heart

    Giftedness vs. Servanthood

    Do not specialise yet when you are young, broaden your base

    Disappointment, conflicts and failures are integral to success

    We are in spiritual warfare, well intention people who are trying to do their best

    Keep loving and pressing on

    Love for work of jesus (love), other people are also hurting (need) , family relationship must be strong (family)

    Callings can lead to calvaries in our life

    Quickest way out of the wilderness is to learn the way of the wilderness

    Ask ourselves “what is God saying to me in this situation?”

    Too often we fight Mickey Mouse battles

    Seek advice of older leaders.

    More info is not equal to more wisdom

    
    

    Pitfalls of leadership?

    Charismatic leaders who depend on themselves

    Too much dependence on myself. Servanthood and humility (if we do God’s work, we will be lead through situations where we will be humbled)

    Growth, preach every sermon as if it’s your last

    Look to other leaders and draw from them

    accountability (we are not superheroes, we are human beings after all) we belong to each other

    
    

    Lessons

    If God gives you a vision , you got to take one step at a time

    God is very active in church, learn to release it to God. Doesn’t matters what people think of me. It matters only if the KOG grows

    What you will do in the future days will be greater than what you have done in the past

    
    

    It’s not about you but God

    
    

    ---------------------------------- The End--------------------------------------------------------------------- 

    
    

    
    

    
    

    
    

A Sweet Victory

Recently, I took part in a (parent-child lookalike) contest organised by my company .

this pic with dad in Genting was the one i chose

The final result will depend on how the rest of the office staff voted and also partly on how the panel of judges voted.

However, there was a loophole in the staff voting system in that it is not one vote per staff.

Hence, it is possible to have a person casting multiple votes for  themselves

Though I was a wee bit disappointed that it is not the fairest of system to decide the competition I just cast a vote for myself and left it as that without thinking too much into it. 

I want to believe that ultimately it is important to adhere to the spirit of fair competition even if others around me may not be doing that. And I hope deep within my heart that somehow, righteousness will prevail.

Today, I got a call from the organiser asking me to go to the meeting room and lo and behold I saw this…

That’s right, I have won the 2^nd prize and I was told I just missed out on the 1^st by the slimmest of margin about 1%..  I know I got a low public vote count but I believed the panel of judges gave me their endorsement ;o) hence I was able to get 2^nd position.

 At the end of the day, It was a sweet victory for me because I know I have won it fairly and that is the most important.

Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice. Proverbs 16:8

BUSTED!

This morning, I came across this article in the newspaper.


It was reported that a thief in London tried to steal a car which has been set up by the police with dye trap.

He was later on being arrested and although he tried denying his crime, the evidence was strongly against him because photos showed his face covered with green liquid which was visible only under ultraviolet light.

This incident made me think of our sins. Like the thief in this report, many times, we may have committed sins which are unseen to others around us and sins which we tried to deny.

However, God is like the ultraviolet light that is able to detect our hidden sins easily.

God knows that Adam ate the forbidden fruit and God see David’s covetousness for Bathsheba

There is no hiding, we can only repent.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

IOS 7

Recently, I did an exercise to upgrade my iphone platform to IOS 7.

Finally, I am no longer being shown the frustrating message “ this application need IOS 5 or higher ”

I am never someone who is very tech savvy or someone who is always on the lookout for newer and better versions of technology but I do acknowledge and accept that many a times, what happens outside forces us to at least keep up.

In this case, If I keep using the IOS 4 platform, my iphone is not working at its potential and is limited in many areas though no fault of the device or user.

It’s just the progress of technology that makes my device more and more obsolete.

Lesson Learnt

In our walk with God, there are some similarities too. Many of us are living and operating in IOS 4 platform faith when in fact we can be that much higher.

That is because the Holy Spirit is so powerful, if we were to allow it to work in our life, he can give us greater capacity to love, more wisdom, more power, more spiritual gifts, better leadership, greater understanding, more humilty etc...

But first, we must first allow for the “upgrade” to happen by having a holy discontentment of our current state and recognise that there must be more that God can do in our lives.

Then, we ask the Holy Spirit to work in the various areas in our lives that need a major transformation. By doing this, we are effective upgrading our platform to a much higher one.

However, many of us are contended to just live in our old platform because we are comfortable there, we are familiar there and we do not see the need to move out of that zone.

By doing that, we short-change our own potential and limit what God can work in and through us.

Sadly, many are keeping up so closely with technological advancement but are contended to allow their faith to stagnate at a much older platform.

Be the best platform that God can use, Give God our very best so that  God may give us HIS very Best.

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us"  Ephesians 3:20

What Makes Marriage Works

Yesterday, Pastor Benny Ho came over to preach, starting the first of the 4 part family life series.


I ( and I am sure many others ) was greatly blessed by his very interesting and useful sermon entitled What Makes Marriage Works.

I have to post the sermon points because I want to remember it clearly and do not want to be complacent in my marriage, which, according to pastor Benny is our 2nd most important decision after our faith. If we have a good marriage, we have a good life…

So here goes…

Preacher: Pastor Benny Ho

Date: 29 September 2013

Title: What Makes Marriage Works (Family Life Series 1/4)

Text: Ephesians 5:21-33

4 Observations

1) Marriage is built on the foundation of mutual submission (v21-22)

2) Submission is ultimately unto Christ NOT man (v22)

3) We are equal in standing, value, worth but not in function (Gal3:28) Man are wired to lead and woman are wired to follow

4) The bible focuses on responsibilities and not rights. Marriage is 100% each way and not 50% even if the other party is not doing their part. Because it is a covenant and not a contract. Ultimately it is unto the Lord. It is not just the coming of 2 worlds to become one. It is the forsaking of 2 worlds to form a new world.

Ephesians 5:31 Woman treat man as the head. Man treat woman as the body.

Man greatest need is to be honoured and respected. Woman greatest need is to be loved and feel secure. If we both do what the bible says our greatest needs are both being met.



Responsibilities of the wife (Ephesians 5:22-24)

Its counter cultural at that time of writing, so there is no cultural pressure/influence in the words being written

3 areas to watch

1) Attitude (1 Peter 3:1-6)

Continue to do what is right so that your partner can be won over. People respond to attitude. If your marriage is not in the ideal state, make sure our attitude is right with God (still)

2) Adaptability (Genesis 2:18)

3) Acceptance

Allow our pain to drive us to God but do not struggle in the place of desperation if life is in danger. Have acceptance first and work through problems.



Responsibilities of Husband (Ephesians 5:25-30)

1) Sacrificial love (V25)

Take dedicated time to romance our wife. Fill the tank. Guard our time with our time with our life

2) Sanctifying Love (v26)

We are responsible for our wives countenance (inner beauty/glow) when our wives are well inside spiritually, emotionally than it will reflect outwardly. Sanctify our wives with our prayers. Is our wives becoming more Christ like? Are our candles burning strongly for Christ after we come together?

3) Sustaining Love (v28)

Many marriages are not bad but they are no good also. God wants our marriage to have a sense of delight.

3 practical ways

1) Tell your wife “I love you” as often as we can. Wive can be forgetful so do remind them.

2) Do something nice for her regularly. Be as creative as you were while in courtship. You don’t do nice things because you feel romantic. You will feel romantic when you do nice things.

3) Choose to praise her continuously (proverbs 31:28-31) Affirmation is very important to our wife.



Conclusion: Meditate on the mystery of leaving of old world and cleaving with each other and fusing of a new world in the presence of God. In a wedding there are tears because of the leaving (children from parents) but there are also laughter because of the cleaving (husband and wife)

Spiritual parallel: Jesus leaving Heaven and cleave to us, His church and radiant bride.

12 magic words to keep our marriage going : I was wrong, I am sorry, Please forgive me, I love you.



After the sermon, I brought wifey down to respond to the alter call to recommit our marriage to Jesus once again. As we stood before His throne and prayed together, the tangible presence of the holy spirit envelops us and tears flowed freely.. bringing me back to the same place I stood 6 years ago where I held her hand and where our hearts were invisibly bounded by a vow that cannot be undone. Thank you Jesus for blessing me with Theresa, I will love her with all the love you have poured unto me so that her countenance will ever reflect your love, not mine.