Sleep training

I must admit, I had enormous expectations for Owen, even before he was born. But now that he is 7 weeks old, my expectations starts to grow even more. One of which is sleep training. Through countless books on this topic, JJ & I feel so confused and weary about letting Owen cry out to sleep. At first, 5 minute felt like 5 hrs. And then 10 minutes felt like a whole day. After few attempts using Ferber method, we concluded that Owen is not like other kids that can sooth himself to sleep, hence, we will wait until he is older. But I'm very thankful that I went through this process of sleep training because I got to learn more about Owen. Some good, some, well, let's just say I hope that he will love the Lord as much as cries at night (and sometimes day). :)

I'm so thankful for Owen despite his tasmania cries and his uncontrollable kicks during his fuzzy hours. Thank you Lord!

O Happy Day

I’ve been waiting and wanting soooo badly to introduce this song for our local Church (Wellspring Church) about a year now since the Worship God conference 08 (where I initially heard the song). When I first listened to this song I thought it would be more appropriate for youth group audience since the tune/melody appear bit…I don’t know “yippidy do?” (sorry for the lack of relevant terms). I mean, when was the last time you sang the words, “happy day” especially in worship song without thinking of Fonzie with his black leather jacket being cool like that. But when I carefully read the lyrics and realized that despite its simple words to song, they paint an awesome picture of what has already happened 2,000 years ago when Christ died for our sins on the Cross and three days later rose again! Without resurrection of Christ, our forgiveness of sins and righteous standing before God would deem insufficient because we would still be enslaved to sin and consequently our sins would still hold us captive. But in the light of Pastor Sam’s sermon last week regarding centrality of the Gospel and its “First importance” of Christ’s death and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:3-5), I think it’s MORE than appropriate to sing this song with a LOUD shout of joy!

So will you join me in listening and learning this song in light of upcoming Easter this year? And it’s totally okay to shout aloud with one voice “O happy day!”

Link to the song:
http://www.myspace.com/timhughesmusic

O Happy Day by Tim Hughes

Verse 1:
The greatest day in history, Death is beaten
You have rescued me
Sing it out Jesus is alive
The empty cross, The empty grave
Life eternal You have won the day
Shout it out Jesus is alive
He's alive

Chorus:
Oh happy day, happy day
You washed my sin away
Oh happy day, happy day
I'll never be the same
Forever I am changed

Verse 2:
When I stand, in that place
Free at last, meeting face to face
I am Yours Jesus You are mine
Endless joy, perfect peace
Earthly pain finally will cease
Celebrate Jesus is alive
He's alive

Bridge:
Oh what a glorious day
What a glorious way
That You have saved me
Oh what a glorious day
What a glorious name


And yes, Wellspring Church, we WILL (well, most likely…hopefully) sing this song in next few weeks. Lord willing! :)

Questioning God?

We cannot remain faithful and question God’s own faithfulness. His love for those who are in Christ is beyond question. His character is a constant and his love never fails. He is not loving and gracious toward believers at one moment, only to turn into a malevolent deity the next. He never changes.

In this light, it would be sin to question . . . whether God really loves us, or if He is really faithful to his promises. This is not the questioning worthy of a believer, but of an unbeliever.”

- Albert Mohler, “Is it Legitimate to Question God?“

Grace is Jesus!

Grace is Jesus

“There is no such ‘thing’ as grace! Grace is not some appendage to Christ’s being. All there is is the Lord Jesus Himself. And so when Jesus speaks about us abiding in Him and He abiding in us – however mysterious it may be, mystical in that sense – it is a personal union.

Christianity is Christ because there isn’t anything else. There is no atonement that somehow can be detached from who the Lord Jesus is. There is no grace that can be attached to you transferred from Him. All there is is Christ and your soul.”

- Sinclair Ferguson on John 15 at the 2007 Banner of Truth Ministers’ Conference in Grantham, PA.

“Rest in the glorious fact that we are loved”

“If we are to change we must be regularly preaching the gospel to ourselves and believing it. We must be continually showing ourselves, and those we counsel, the depths and greatness of God’s love for them. We must stop wasting our time trying to convince ourselves that we are lovable, and instead rest in the glorious fact that we are loved. It is this message which God uses to change us at the motivational level.”

—Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Fellowship Group Handbook, 9

Chapter 11 Responding Humility to trials

This chapter raises several provoking questions to all Christians when faced with battle of sufferings:

“When you encounter trial and suffering, what’s the content of your prayer?” And in turn, how do you respond?

CJ insightfully points to Habakkuk’s experience with suffering through his bleak circumstances to his transformation from despair to rejoicing in the Lord. But how does this happen?

The book of Habakkuk is relatively short (only 3 chapters) yet there is a clear view of the sanctification of a man who was absolutely disheartened by his dark situation, where he doubted God’s goodness and had forgotten about His salvation. The story continues to unfold as Habakkuk’s man-centered approach turns to God-centered approach through remembering and acknowledging what God has ALREADY done and what He will continue to do through His promises and faithfulness, and ultimately placing his trust in God and rejoicing in Him. That is the nutshell of it.

But this chapter had things that provoked my thoughts and my sinful patterns when facing difficult circumstances: do I ultimately want God to remove my sufferings for the sake of relief or is it to earnestly seek God in patience and humility? In other words, is my greatest desire God Himself or my well-being? While it is NOT unbiblical to pray for relief during sufferings or times of trouble, often times my initial reaction and greatest desire are relief from these tough circumstances. Outwardly, this may look somewhat spiritual because I may be praying to God and that is a good thing. However, my attitude is often filled with entitlement and pride as though God is not doing His job of making my life easier. There is no sense of remembering what He has done for His continual provision for me. Thus, in many ways, there is this false implication that God is ignoring me and He isn’t good anymore, and He simply cannot execute His sovereignty over my situations. Thus, not only am I forgetting God’s great salvation in Christ, there is also the deceiving heart that is ultimately man-centered prayer.

BUT thank God it doesn’t end there. I love what CJ says about what Habakkuk learned through his trials:

“Those who know true joy in the midst of suffering are those who recognize that, in this life, our suffering is never as great or as serious as our sins.”

And the quote from J. Edwards:

“How far less [are] the greatest afflictions that we meet with in this world…than we have deserved!”

Indeed, that is the divine and Biblical perspective of suffering that I need to remind myself daily. So practically what can we do?

1) We need to remember what Christ has accomplished through the Cross. We need to go here again and again to explore how great our sins are and how great His mercies and grace is to us in Christ!

2) Actively waiting in patience. CJ says waiting is NOT resignation but an active trust in God to provide fulfillment in His perfect timing. Remembering that God is indeed sovereign over every path that I take on earth and He will forever be in heaven! (Phil. 1:5-6)

3) That I may find comfort and rest in that sovereignty and in turn, leading to rejoicing. We should all read Habakkuk 3:17-18 and pray through this Scripture together because it is amazing that one can actually and genuinely rejoice when he is about to face great desolation. Habakkuk isn’t insane nor was he part of the Moonies. God was so gracious to Him as Habakkuk remembered God’s promises and thus engaged in God-centered faith (which I really believe that it is the only way to battle through).

Sorry folks, once again I’m too verbose here but I would like to hear your thoughts on this chapter. So please share! God bless.

A great blog regarding suffering...

by Tim Challies. I highly recommend reading this post.

I was recommended by a friend to read Tim's blogsite and I've been blessed and encouraged through his writings and posts.

I also recommend Sam Shin's site (if you don't have it linked). Another great resource for your soul!