CHC Candlelight Services 2013

It is my most favorite service of the year. :)

What makes it extra special this year is because my parents and mother-in-law also attended the service with my family. It was my parents’ first candlelight service since my dad got saved a few months back, so I was really looking forward to attending the service with them. Little things bring more joy than the salvation of our family members, I believe.

For the uninitiated, a Candlelight service is a Christmas service with the usual works of a normal church service, but ending with the lighting of the candles. It’s been a tradition of my church for as long as I can remember – Everyone’s given a candle. At the start, all lights are switched off in the hall with a trolley of candles lit on stage. The pastors and senior leadership would light their candles with these candles, then go into the congregation to light the candles of the rest of the members. As the candle light gets passed on from one person to another, the entire hall get lit up with candles. You can try to imagine how beautiful that is. :)

There are many meaning behind a ‘light’. It dispels darkness and brings hope to a world of despair. We are all called to be the light of the world – to bring that hope into the lives of those who are hopeless. Every year during Candlelight service, the atmosphere of love and hope in the air is so amazing. It is also the only service in the year where Pastor will encourage everyone to take out their cameras and mobile phones and take photos with one another. This year, I’m glad I could do that with my parents. :)

 

Merry Christmas, Papa & Mummy. I pray you will be healthy and strong for many, many years to come. I love you so much.

Merry Christmas, Mom. Thank you for your love for me and for the kids. Without you, how would I manage?

Merry Christmas, cell group friends! Thank you for giving me such a wonderful spiritual family with your faithfulness and tenacity. Yes, even all of you who were not in the picture!

Merry Christmas, darlings. You are the sunshine in my life. You know how much I love you girls.

 

Merry Christmas, hubby. My pillar of strength, my support, my confidante. My life will not be complete without you. Love you most!

Thankful for yet another year in City Harvest Church. Together, we’ll ride the storms and emerge stronger in 2014! :)

 

Technorati Tags: CHC Candlelight Service 2013,City Harvest Church,Christmas

Welcome Home, City Harvest Church!

I am really proud to be a member of City Harvest Church, and over the weekend that just passed, we moved back home to Suntec City Convention after nearly a year of AEI (Asset Enhancement Initiative) renovation works!

Even though the whole shift was a mad rush with some furniture shipment coming in really late, the whole move-in was made possible by the committed volunteers and the hard work of the church staff who worked tirelessly round-the-clock. And really, that's what the Church is all about. It is more than a building or a gathering place - It is made up by a body of believers united by one purpose and vision.

Suntec Convention Halls 601 - 604 now forms the main worship hall for the congregation. I love the new stage design, all-black ceilings and the lighting and acoustics in the hall. Makes for a wonderful worship experience.

At 9.30am on Sunday morning, happy members getting ready for a great church service at 10am. :)

Hall 605 now forms the gathering and fellowship place for the members before and after service. The visitors' lounge, members' lounge and The Ink Room (our bookstore) are all located here. I love this hall - So beautifully furnished!

I also love how creative our renovation team was - Many of the materials used are low-cost, but after putting them together, a rustic and edgy feel was created. See the tables? They were made by nailing wooden crates together! Pretty awesome stuff.

The Hot Spot is where new visitors can get to know the Church better. Our friendly greeters are on hand to welcome them, serve them drinks and basically, make them feel at home.

I like how the lightings played an important role in the whole space - This photo was inspired by a fellow greeter who said this was a great angle to shoot!

Lots of seating areas for mingling, chatting and just hanging around at.

And City Radio has got a spanking new home - What an eye-catchy red container! =D

And Bernard, who's the genius behind City Radio. Proud of you, my friend. :)

How come we forget the little people who come to church every week?? The Children's Church has a new look with its own corridor leading to the rooms! I saw so many kids (including mine) who went, 'WOW!' when they saw this. And every age group now has their own room that's spanking new, spacious and really nice. I love it that my kids can attend Church in such a great environment every week!

Really love the new Suntec Hall 6. Even greater things will come - Thank you Jesus! :)

Technorati Tags: City Harvest Church,Suntec City Convention,Suntec City Mall,CHC new hall

A Gift That Guides Her Life

Disclaimer: Not a sponsored review.

In my church, the kids are told to bring along their bibles for Children's Church once they turn 7 years old. So Papa Isaiah went to buy a bible for Joey, and in my opinion, it's probably going to be the best gift he can ever give to Joey. It is a gift that will guide her entire life. :)

We were advised by the Children's Church teachers to get her a NIrV bible (New International Reader's Version) for easy reading as a start. I didn't even know there is such a version, haha! Joey's bible is a study bible, so it is very thick and heavy. But I reckon since she only needs to bring it to church once a week, it should be fine?

There is a introduction of every book in the bible - I like it that it's in simple English and easy-to-understand phrases.

At various sections of the bible, there are also prompt questions inserted to aid the child in thinking deeper into the stories and verses. I was initially a little worried that a study bible would be too complicated for a kid just starting out, but the questions are catered to the level of the kid. It also provides a good platform for us to have a bible discussion with Joey - Such a great idea.

Apart from the discussion questions, there are also snippets of information everywhere about the lives of the people during the time when the bible was written. Pretty interesting to read them. :)

Of course, being a kid's bible, there are colourful illustration pages inserted here and there - All to help the kid stay interested in the Word of God. :)

If you are looking for a bible for your kid, I would recommend this NIrV Study Bible. :)

Our prayer is that our little girl will grow in her love and understanding of the Word of God, and grow up to be a great woman of God. :)

Christmas Is LOVE

My most favourite church service of the year has got to be the Candlelight Service. You got to be inside the hall to fully appreciate how beautiful it is. As we light up our candles one by one until the hall is filled with people carrying lighted candles, we thank God for a wonderful year and we thank our family members and friends for being a part of our lives. The candlelight service is always a heart-warming service as we fill our hearts with gratitude and love. :)

It is also the only service in the year when we are allowed to whip out our cameras and take photos during the candlelight segment. So I'll always let the girls sit in service with me so that we can capture the moment together as a family. :)

I am truly thankful that I belong to such a wonderful spiritual family. :)

And of course, always blissful to have these dearest ones in my life.

What are you thankful for today? :)

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Year-End Thanksgiving

It is my cell group's annual tradition to have a thanksgiving gathering at the end of every year. It is a time when we have a fun get-together with good food, give thanks to God for the whole year and for each other. I look forward to it every year! This year, we had the thanksgiving at a very beautiful British colonial house that belongs to one of the members. They graciously opened up their house for us to have a gathering there, and it was so amazing!

There's a huge compound for the kids to run around and play, and the adults had fun feasting over good food and BBQ. I really enjoyed myself with these great bunch of friends in my life. :)

Inside the house, there is a 'play alley', where the kids spent a great deal of time playing in.

One of our highlight dishes for the evening was fried turkey, and our member's friend came along just to help cook this dish for us! It was so amazing witnessing how the whole dish was cooked. First, the container was filled up with peanut oil and boiled to 350 degrees celsius. Then, two mighty men lowered the well-marinated turkey into it like this.

They had to do it really slowly so that the oil won't splash out. I won't even attempt to describe how good the smell was.

The host also made yummy side dishes like this one: Baked sweet potatoes with roasted marshmallows. My 1st time trying such a dish for sure, and it was SO GOOD.

Sweet & appetizing lemonade that was such a crowd-pleaser!

The host also made cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes to go with the turkey. Way too good.

We also couldn't stop munching on these tortilla chips with salsa - Love these chips shaped like a scoop so that the salsa can be scooped up easily!

Our ever-willing men, who helped to BBQ for us to eat! =D

After about an hour, the turkey was done!! Look at the beautiful glaze & colour!

It was absolutely delish. I am not a fan of turkeys because they are usually tough and has a weird smell that I don't like. But this fried version is soft, tender, juicy and super yummy. It actually tasted like a very well-marinated chicken, except that it's much bigger! It went so well with the cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes. Salivating.

 

The food was awesome, but I guessed the fellowship was more amazing. There was so much to chat and laugh about when we gather together. The kids played like crazy that day - Both my girls were drenched in sweat from all the running around. But I was glad to indulge them - It must be really fun for them. :)

The kids rode bicycles and scooters, played badminton, skipping, catching.... Then they watched cartoons, played Wii and the toys in the play alley. I was glad that the kids were well entertained so that the adults could focus on fellowshipping and feasting!

She was so thrilled to drive this Barbie Jeep! =D

After one round of dinner, we gathered in the house and had a short thanksgiving cell group meeting where hubby shared a word of encouragement, and we all gave thanks for the year and shared about our plans for the coming year. I love spiritual family time like this. :)

As with every year, we prepared a gift for every member in the cell group. This year, hubby even wrote personal notes to every single one! I really hope everyone is blessed and touched. :)

I am really thankful to God for blessing me with such a wonderful spiritual family, who loves me and my family. I thank God especially for everyone who chose to stick close and stand by the Church during this period of time. So grateful for these people of faith and loyalty in the cell group, and I know God will bless everyone with an extraordinary 2013!