Cell @ Kembangan

God is good isn't he? So exciting to open up the cell blog and read non-pet posts! First it was Gabriel..then Daniel...and now Ian! I enjoyed how it was personal and sincere. Thank you guys. (yoohooo girls...where are youuuuuu?)

Cell is at Kembangan this week 1-3pm. 9 Taman Selamat.

For details on how to get there...check your e-mail!
Do give yourself 10minutes to walk especially if this is your first time at Gabriel's place.
Snacks will be served at 12.50pm.

Girls....remember to bring the designs & T-shirt printing details!
Guys...come and give your thoughts on the design!

Serving us this week:
Snacks - Lydia
Icebreaker - Esther
Worship - Gabriel

See you on Saturday!
pet

How God works

Heys to everyone,

This is my first post here, and I sure hope that it won't be my last

I do encourage more of you to blog here about your weekly affairs,

'cos this gives all of us something to talk about whenever we meet!

And we don't wanna waste all of Petrina's time and effort put into this right?
It's very good already that you are actually reading this blog

so take a few minutes to just post something. :)

Maybe after exams at least?

Anyways, I thought that it would be meaningful to share with you guys what happened this week at school. Especially as the exams are coming round the corner, the teachers don't seem to be giving us an easier time either, with countless presentations on our 'To-Do' list. I had an english literature presentation scheduled for Tuesday. However, I've been getting home pretty late this week and often couldn't keep awake to complete my presentation. So it happened that I wasn't ready to present on Tuesday. Miracle#1 came when my teacher mentioned that he would postpone my presentation to Thursday (today) as he was unable to make it for the lesson. I was very grateful for the extra time that God gave to me to prepare, but unfortunately my fatigue crept in again on Tuesday night and little was done yet again.

Now, last night I was getting really worried that I may not be able to finish my presentation. As I was about to give in to my weariness and retire to my bed, I happened to check on biblegateway.com for the verse of the day. That's when Miracle#2 came along. The verse came from Isaiah 46:4, with God assuring me that "Even to your old age and grey hairs I am He, I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you."

These words were so empowering that I felt tired no more. Although this may not be like some big thing, it still meant a lot to me, because He showed me that even after I took His mercy for granted, He still loved and never forsook me, that helping hand still well stretched out to pick me up. Well, to cut the long story short, I finished my powerpoint slides on time, and had a good presentation today. :)

I guess what I'm trying to say here is not that you should try looking out for signs of God speaking to us, but to simply marvel at the wonders of God's promises to us.
When He says He'll carry you, and you, and everyone else, He really means it.

Have faith in that.

And it's just so amazing how God works in ways that Man will never be able to comprehend, be it at the very last moment when you're about to succumb to the pressure, or at the start of the school holidays when you're deciding whether or not to go out with friends, instead of studying. But one thing's for sure, is that He's always there, and there for you.

So I hope that in the midst of all the hustle and bustle of your busy studying lives, you'll be able to reside in the comfort of His promises, and cast all your burdens unto Him, for He is bigger than every single one of them. To end, here's another verse that hopefully inspires you to keep working hard for God:

for "I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13

ian:)

Cell @ Upper Bukit Timah

Have you finished your 10chapters of Deuteronomy?

Cell meeting resumes this Saturday! 1-3pm. This week, it'll be at Upper Bukit Timah. For directions, check your e-mail.

I want to take this moment to commend Esther, Gabriel and Wilson! They have been our VERY faithful GIL-lies. No matter where cell has been...they have been there! *applause* Let's set our hearts to gather together every time there's cell meeting okay?

Serving us this week:
Clare & Audrey - light snacks
Esther - icebreaker
Wilson - worship


learning to love you,
pet

Flag day!!

So how did you guys find the flag day? I am sure the attendance of our cell proves it well. There were 11 of us in total. Ups for the 11 garung soldiers, well done! As for those who couldn't join us today, you guys have missed out alot, hope you could join us the next time round.

I must say that today's flag day allowed me to see that GIL-lies are really growing up one level in love. You guys were submissive to follow the groupings and to return back to church together. Sorry, siblings are not allowed to be in the same group. Haha.

One group was pretty impressive as they got one member of the public to be interested to come to our church. There were stories that the person talked to them and was following that group. We may be teasing that group about it but I believe they deserve some credit. It must be the behavior of that group that made him want to following them. So what is so special about that group? I believe he must have seen the ukniT(sorry wrong spelling) love of the group, that made him to be interested to follow them. Love is sometimes being shown in the most subtle way. Romans 12:9 Love must be sincere...A sincere response rather than a hostile response to a stranger is an act of love.

My group was zealous in their collection of money, they refused to take a break even after 2hrs of standing. I kept at nagging them to take a break but they were reluctant. One of them even commented she didn't know time past so fast. Wow, being zealous as stated in ROMANS 12:11 is also a trait of love. I know you guys are zealous to collect as much as possible :)

At the end of the day it is not about how much we collect for the flag day. I believe it is a learning process for everyone, we've seen how different people treated us when we approached them for donation. Some donate, ignore you, smile and walk away, donate with a black face, take out handphone and stare, walk far away from you... the list goes on. Do have mercy on those who treated us unfriendly. We need to keep a conscious effort in treating others with love even on small things.

Now, I have a simple question for everyone; How will you treat the person the next time when he/she approach you to donate for flag day?

P.S: I hope you guys had fun and get to know our fellow GIL-lies better today.

daniel

20-10ve Project

When God talks about love, it is very different from what the world tells us. It's not just that His standard is higher or that it is deeper than the world's. It is COMPLETELY different. And this is the standard that we should adopt because what the world tells us is fake so let's not waste our time pursuing it.

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strenght. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Matthew 22:36-40

Remember....Love is not a feeling. Love is a decision to act in a certain manner.
From Romans 12 & 1 Cor 13, we find out what it means to "love one another"...love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud....
Now let's find out what it means to "love God"!

20-10ve Project. What is this?
Deuteronomy is full of explanations on what it means to "love God". In fact...we find in this book a COMMAND to love! So what better book for us to read as we learn what it means to love God!
Everyone of us will spend the next 20days reading 10chapters of Deuteronomy.

Chap 6-15: Audrey, Clare, Ian, Norman, Genevieve
Chap 13-22: Emily, Esther, Lydia, Hardy, Wilson
Chap 20-30: Daniel, Samuel L, Samuel S, Gabriel, Wei Ping

In these chapters, we will find all the details of what it means to love the Lord our God! Spend the next 20 days (half chapter a day) and jot down the "Do" and "Do Not" in loving God.
We'll compare notes on 13Sept in cell and discuss this topic in depth :)

learning to love you,
pet

All set for cell this week....? I AM!

Wow. What a quiet blog! Seems like God hasn't been doing much in our lives hey? Well....maybe after the exams we'll warm up and start sharing more! *hopeful smile*

Cell this week...1-3pm Saturday...is at Blk 128 Ang Mo Kio Ave 3 #09-1841.

For comprehensive directions on how to get to the cell venue, check your e-mails! If you are arranging to meet each other at the Ang Mo Kio stn, remember to meet early. I estimate that it'll take you about 15min to find your way to Blk 128. Snacks will be "served" at 12.50pm so come early!!

A few of us need to go down to church for worship practice at 4pm. 1 hour is just about enough time for us to get there. If we start cell late...it's likely that we will end cell late and it'll be hard for us to get down to church in time. Let's practice honouring others above ourselves (= love) by being ON TIME! If you cannot come for cell or you know you will be late this week, let me know beforehand okay?

Serving us this week:
Wei Ping - snacks
Samuel Soh - worship

learning to love you,
pet

Cell at Kembangan ++

HAHA~ I'm first to post XD

We had a great time at cell today at my place, even though there were only 7 people... (7 is a complete number so its not really a bad thing)
Well, next week is going to be at Ang Mo Kio!!! YAY!~
I really hope to see more people coming for cell as it is not only more fun, and you also learn things, and is a lot more encouraging for Petrina as she spends lots of her busy time preparing for the word sharing. The least we can do for her is to attend and listen right?
(Ok, i can't write as long as Petrina so this should be enough for starters. :) )

-Gabriel-

Welcome to GIL online!!

Dear GIL-lies,

We are going ONLINE! Now, you don't have to sign into your hotmail account, scroll through the nonsense junk mail JUST to read the weekly cell e-mail. All you have to do is type the following URL http://gil-growinginlove.blogspot.com and you will find ALL the information you need on GIL!

That's not all...we can now share pictures & videos of our cell AND and, be intentional in looking out for each other even during the week! For starters, I want to know when your exams/tests/presentations are, so that I can pray for you. As we go along, I hope to read about the fun things that happened to you during the week, what God taught you recently, questions on what you read during your QT...I want to see us sharing in each others lives not just on Saturdays & Sundays, but also during the week.

Some instructions before we get started. I have only one rule for what is posted in this blogspot - LOVE. Before you hit the "publish post" button...ALWAYS ask yourself: Is that loving? If you are not sure, read Romans 12:9-21 & 1 Cor 13. OR you can send a copy to me at petpatpetpat@hotmail.com and let me vet through before you post it. If you are posting a picture of someone else, be sure that it is not offensive to the other person. Check in with him/her if you are not certain. And yes, you should sign off at the end of each post!!

This blogspot will be a journal of our journey together as we learn to love God with all we are and love each other. I look forward to the time when we can look back, read this blogspot and say...."we HAVE grown in love!" So let's post away....

learning to love you,
pet