Slowing Down

About two weeks ago, Monte and I were on our way to MacRitchie Reservoir.  On our way, two beautiful cats caught our attention.  While we took their pictures, we were amazed that they kept still and gazed at us.  Whenever, we see a cat, Monte will love to pat and cuddle it.

In the hustle and bustle of living in Singapore, we take time to chill out.  We make a deliberate attempt to slow down.  We make time to smell the flowers, time to soak in the beauty of God’s creation.  Very often, we will lie down on a beach somewhere and gaze into the night sky.  These moments are moments when the Lord will flood our hearts with His goodness and greatness.

We love to enjoy a good cup or Kopi-C Siew Dai or Teh-C Siew Dai (coffee or tea with evaporated milk and less sugar) along with good reading materials at Toastbox and coffee shops.  We just find it relaxing.

We love to walk in the nature reserves like the board walks in Changi, Lower Seletar Reservoir and MacRitchie Reservoir.  Besides that, we love to take long walks.  Oftentimes, we will be praying while we are walking.  God is so good.

Happy Birthday, Monte

Today is Monte’s birthday.  I am very encourage and thankful for every birthday greeting on Monte’s Facebook wall.  I thank God for the blessing of journeying with Monte all these years.  I am blessed with a God fearing man.  Our life together is simple yet so rich.  Our life is rich because of the Lord’s involvement and work in us.  We know that as long as He is with us, nothing else really matters.  All we want to do is to abandon ourselves into His loving embrace.

I pray for the Lord’s favour, grace and strength on Monte as He pursues God with all of His heart, mind and soul.  And that the consuming love of God will envelop and empower him to reach out to all that God has in store.

Lou Hei

This Lunar New Year is a memorable one, Monte and I had two sessions of Lou Hei.  This is where Yu Sheng, raw fish (e.g. raw salmon) is mixed with shredded white radish, carrots, red pepper, ginger, lime tree leaves, Chinese parsley, ground peanuts, toasted sesame seeds, Chinese shrimp crackers and five spices powder.  The dressing such as plum sauce, honey and oil is spread liberally on top of all the ingredients.

Our first session took place at a former cell group gathering and the second after Monte preached at His Sanctuary.  We have enjoyed ourselves having fun in tossing the ingredients in the air.  What we appreciate most is the time of fellowship with people.

God is the Strength of our Heart

Yesterday, we had the privilege to minister at His Sanctuary.  We had a great time of ministry.  God is the strength of our heart; we continue to depend on Him.

We were caught by surprise when the church took a special offering to meet the cost of Monte’s upcoming conference in Virginia, USA.  You may read more on it at http://jeefong.blogspot.com/search?q=conference

God has gone beyond our wildest imagination.  He continues to lead us on the path He has laid before us.  As we thread on it, we can only say that God is amazing and His mercies endure forever.

How Great is Our God

 

“The earth is tilted at an angle of 23 degrees to its orbit, which produces our seasons.  If the earth were not tilted just so, vapours from the oceans would have moved both north and south, resulting in uninhabitable continents of ice.  Evidently, if the moon were only 50,000 mile away form earth, instead of 200,000, the tides would be so huge that all the continents would be under water.”

Christina Rees, "The Divine Embrace: Discovering the Reality of God's Love.

Our master designer, the maker of heaven and earth is so awesome.  How great is our God!  This world will never produce a better designer than our great God who holds all things together.  He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, and in Him we find all that we need in life.  When we go through rough terrains, all we need to do is to focus on the Lord and He builds faith in us to conquer every battle.  Our smallness and frailty vanish and we magnify Him who is invincible, majestic and strong. 

Monte and I love to sit on the beach and glare into the night sky and soak in all that God reveals Himself to be.  In the tranquillity and stillness, the Lord comes through to us as our dependable, reliable, loving and unfailing God who is ever faithful.  He is invincible, majestic and strong.

Embracing God

In the fable about the blind men and the elephant, the first blind man grabbed hold of the elephant’s trunk and announced that an elephant is like a snake.  The second man felt the elephant’s leg, and declared that an elephant is like a tree.  The third caught hold of the elephant’s tail, and exclaimed that an elephant is like a rope.  The fourth leaned against the elephant’s side, and swore that the elephant is like a wall.  Who was right?

They were, of course, all right, and yet their partial understandings about the elephant  did not add up to the whole truth about the elephant.  In fact, their individual perceptions did not even add up to a realistic description of an elephant.  In a way, that could be said to be like theology; blind men telling each other about the bit of the elephant that they have got hold of and making suppositions about the rest of the elephant.

It’s awfully difficult to describe the whole truth about God.  Some descriptions might be more true or accurate than others, but all descriptions are incomplete.  The truth of God is always greater than what we can say about God.  If anyone tries to tell you that they have got God all sewn up and neatly packaged, don’t believe them.  God is infinite, as love is infinite.”

Christina Rees, "The Divine Embrace: Discovering the Reality of God's Love."

Whenever I think about this powerful parable, I am reminded of the importance of being open to hear and learn from others.  We are different and we see things from different angles.  God also reveals Himself to each of us in His special way.  Knowing God is an unending pathway and journey.  As God unfolds Himself to us, we learn to submit and position our hearts to embrace Him and all that He pours lavishly into our lives.

Eliska

This is a photo of my lovely niece, Eliska, at birth on 9th Nov 2011.

Wounded Heroes

Recently Monte encouraged me to read the book Wounded Heroes by Elizabeth R. Skoglund.  It is a wonderful book.

In the book, Skoglund shared on how God’s servants triumphed over emotional pain.  The secret laid in discovering how God enabled His children to deal with situations that faced us in this life.

A great man of faith that Skoglund included is Charles Haddon Spurgeon.  Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-92) was England's best-known preacher for most of the second half of the nineteenth century.  In 1854, he became the pastor of London's famed New Park Street Church.  He preached to audiences numbering more than 10,000.  Spurgeon was also known for his printed works.  Nearly all of Spurgeon's printed works are still in print.

Though Spurgeon was so prominent in the ministry, he was plagued with deep depression.  It surfaced when the church was on fire one time.  Skoglund recounted:  ““The service began, ran a few minutes, when suddenly a cry, “Fire!  The galleries are giving away, the place is falling!”  A terrible panic followed; seven were killed, many seriously injured.  Spurgeon’s grief over this almost unseated his reason.  He was immediately hidden from the public; spent hours ‘in tears by day, and dreams of terror by night.’  A depression deepened upon him form which he never fully recovered.”

Another giant of faith that Skoglund cited is Amy Carmichael.  Amy Carmichael (1867–1951), a Protestant Christian missionary in India founded the Dohnavur Fellowship.  She gave a home to over one thousand children   She gave them a future in their bleak circumstances.  God used Carmichael greatly; we would never have imagined that she had struggled with health problems and loneliness in her time.  She persevered and kept her faith strong in the Lord.

There were other great men and women that Skoglund shared in her book namely Hudson Taylor, C.S. Lewis, Isobel Kuhn and others.  They were people who possessed great faith and yet there were areas in their lives that reveal their humanness and vulnerability.

The book reminds us that God is awesome.  He is at work in every person’s life.  We may have our weaknesses, inadequacies, shortcomings, failures, discouragements, depression and setbacks.  Some of us are plagued with constant discouragement and depression.  Fear, doubt, anxiety and insecurity hound us furiously.  Others lack faith in our walk with God.  Seemingly, we struggle to reach our full potential in Him.  However, the beautiful thing is that the Lord works through our vulnerability, weaknesses or even physical handicaps.  No challenge is too great for God.  He breaks down every barrier and helps us to overcome and triumph in dire situations and conditions.  All He wants is our brokenness, humility and willingness to love and serve Him with no reservation.  The baby steps we take today will lead us to great mountains and deep valleys all for the glory of the risen King.

Gratitude

Monte and I are thankful to family and friends who have been a part of of us.  We appreciate every person that God has brought into our life.  They are people who believed in us, people who maintained links with us, people who took time to be with us.  We are thankful for the trust and bond that the Lord graciously blessed us.  In our tough times, God sent people into our life and helped us. 

Gratitude is one of the main characteristics of a believer.  When our hearts are thankful, it certainly leaves no room for cynicism, worry, anxiety, anger, jealousy and other undesirable feelings to clog up our systems.  In its place, praise, worship, prayer and intercession flood our hearts when we meditate on God’s goodness.

My Adorable Two-Month Old Niece, Eliska,

Embracing 2012

Monte and I look at the onset of year 2012 with expectancy and joy.  God has been so good and faithful to us.  When we recount what the Lord has done and is still doing in our lives, we can only say that God is awesome.  With complete reliance and faith, we soldier on victoriously for the Lord is our banner of victory.  We embrace 2012 because our future is in God’s hands.

Our hearts are all ablaze when we live with hope and assurance of the Lord’s abiding presence.  There is no greater joy than to hear the voice of the Lord.  There is no greater fulfillment than to walk and live in His purposes.  We count it our gain to love, know and serve the King of kings and Lord of lords.  As we abandon ourselves to the Lord’s bidding and call, we are keenly aware that we have many areas of lacks and weaknesses.  Nevertheless, these will not stop us from pursuing the God who has given everything He has to pursue us.

Vocal & Singing Techniques Workshop

Saturday,17 March 2012

Time: 2.00 – 4.00pm

Cost: $30 per participant

Topics:

Body posture

Breathing

Voice projection

Expression

Singing Confidence

Tone

Diction

Resonance

Vocal Phrasing

Placement

Pitching

Voice control

Voice care

Balancing the ears

To register, please visit my vocal training website at

http://vocaltrainingjeefong.tripod.com

(Kindly note that the workshop will commence with a minimum of four participants.)

**************************

Here is what some people have to say about Jee Fong's vocal training sessions:

"Dear Sister Jee Fong, Your lessons benefited me tremendously, especially for someone like me who sing each Sunday without previous training. I tried hard but could not identify areas which needed fine-tuning. Your vocal training sessions helped me understand myself better. I have yet to grasp everything you taught us but I am more confident already.  You are a conscientious trainer. I am sure every of your students have gained greatly from you.”

Betty Yeo

His Sanctuary

"Jee Fong is a very committed teacher and comes prepared for every lesson.  With her engaging and bubbly personality, she makes lessons interesting and fun and inspires one to try and do more.“

Shauna Law

His Sanctuary

"Sister Jee Fong came well prepared for each lesson. Her tips and techniques are very useful and enriching. I did not even know the "ahem" will spoil our vocal chords!  All in all I had gained lots of knowledge and techniques.  Thank you Sister Jee Fong."

Simon Loh

Chapel of Christ the Redeemer

“The vocal training class was very interesting. I have benefited a lot. I have learnt to have expression when I sing, put in emotions when I sing and also on voice control.  All these techniques have helped me to be a better back-up singer in my church.  I would encourage those who have not attended any such training to go for it."

Joycelyn Lee 

Chapel of Christ the Redeemer

“Jee Fong is an articulated and resourceful trainer.  Although I had attended vocal training before, I had picked up many new information and techniques which help to enhance my vocal health.” 

Randall Goh

Chapel of Christ the Redeemer

“I never realize how we can easily spoil our Vocal Cords without knowing it until it’s too late.  I now know that taking care of our Voice is quite simple if we were taught the proper Vocal & Singing Techniques. Some of the Techniques you shared with us during your Demo Session was quite simple to practice & proved to be effective. Thank you for sharing and I wish you success in your vocal training workshop.” 

Richard Tan

Chapel of Christ the Redeemer

“After the vocal training, I am now more confident in singing, at least I dare to sing louder then before and with more expression.  Thanks for teaching us the techniques of singing.  May God continue to bless you and your work.”

Rosie Lee

“Hi!  Your vocal training has helped me in singing properly and with confidence.  I will continue to use the techniques to improve on my weak areas.  I used to have sore throat after two hours of singing.  I have learnt that I have exerted on the wrong muscle and lack warming up.  Now with proper practice and knowledge of taking care of my vocal cord, I am able to speak properly after 2 hours of singing.  I must thank Jee Fong for her Marvellous GIFT in Vocal Training."

Hong Demei

Chapel of Christ the Redeemer

"I can feel the passion that Jee Fong has in wanting to impart all the knowledge that she has to the participants that come to her class.  Personally, her desire to make sure that her participants understood and grasped what she was teaching touched me the most"

Lilian Lee

Chapel of Christ the Redeemer

“Indeed I felt that the training is fruitful and useful to me.  Sis Jee Fong has made it so interesting and practical that I can put into practice right away.  After attending the training, it has given me more confidence in delivering the songs and able to express better.  Thank u Sis Jee Fong.  Hereby, I would like to give thanks and praise to the Lord for giving me the opportunity to attend this training.  God bless one and all!” 

Cheralyn Lim

Chapel of Christ the Redeemer

“A committed and dedicated teacher to her craft, Jee Fong believes that everyone has a singing voice that just needs the correct techniques to bring it out.  I thoroughly enjoyed the training sessions with her and gained a better understanding on how to "stretch " my voice.”

Michelle Chau

Chapel of Christ the Redeemer

“We have definitely learnt a lot through this course.  It has helped us to project our voice better and we have also discovered many new insights.  We will surely look forward to attend such courses in the future. Cheers to you our coach!!”

Janet Koh

Chapel of Christ the Redeemer

“I begin to enjoy singing with a louder voice.  Thank you Sister Jee Fong.”

Paul Png

Chapel of Christ the Redeemer

“My greatest achievement is knowing Christ.  And that He loves me and you.”

Goh Hong Eng

Church of Our Saviour

“It is most liberating to be able to sing with confidence without getting hoarse or worse, a sore throat. Now I can worship with greater joy!”

Frances Goh

Church of Our Saviour

“After several meetings, I can sing loudly and confidently.  It is an enjoyable experience to work with you.”

Clifford Mario

Anglo Chinese School (Secondary)

"Jee Fong's classes enabled me to learn how to use my voice better and to realise that good speech not only included using one's voice correctly but that it was necessary to have the right posture and use correct breathing techniques as well. Jee Fong's personality is also warm and engaging which made the personalised classes all that more enriching to attend." 

Bhawani

"It was an eye opener for me.  I was not aware of the intricate details of maintaining vocal quality. A great help for me, as a trainer."

Selvarajoo Vadivelu

"I've attended the voice training sessions with hopes of improving my foundational techniques and I have improved since.  Now when i sing for longer periods of time, my voice does not feel the strain and tiredness.  Praise God!"

Vincent Kwok

 Living Faith Church

"Thank you for coaching us in vocal and singing techniques. It had been a fun time.  We found the sessions refreshing, enjoyable and relaxing as we’re comfortable with you.  You have been very helpful and patient. 

May the Lord bless and extend this area of your passion and ministry for His glory."

Nancy Choo, Michelle Pillai & Pearl Yeo

St John’s St Margaret’s Church

Liberating Ministry

Yesterday evening, Monte and I had a wonderful time ministering at J-Gospel, the Japanese fellowship of St Andrew’s Cathedral.  The Lord graced us with His presence.  As we gathered in His name, He revealed Himself to us as our ever-present God who is powerfully at work in our lives.

We came away encouraged, enriched and empowered.  The Lord has graciously allowed us to partner with Him and we are awed by His greatness and wonder.  We entrust every opportunity and occasion to allow Him to work in and through us.  We worship a miracle working God who looks impossibilities in the eye and declare that all things are possible to those who believe.  We pray for an enlargement and extension in our capacity to allow God to lead us to unchartered waters and unclaimed territories.  We believe the Lord for mighty victories as the Lord triumphs over the enemy.  The Lord has overwhelmed us over and beyond what we could ever dream or imagine.  He has put within our hearts a quest for a liberating ministry that sets men and women free to worship our living God in spirit and in truth.  The Lord is raising fearless people who will pursue Him with every fibre of their beings.

Vessels for Him

In preparation for today's ministry at J-Gospel, the Japanese Fellowship of St Andrew's Cathedral, Monte and I spent some time to pray at the Lower Pierce Reservoir.  We cherish these precious moments when we can seek the face of the Lord together in prayer.

Monte will preach and I will be ministering in songs.  We thank God for each opportunity to serve God and His people.  We are mindful that God is the one who has graciously opened the door of ministry; we serve from hearts of gratitude for we are merely His vessels.  We cannot do anything apart from His grace and empowerment.  We give Him all glory and praise.

Amazed by the Lord

By the Lord’s providence, I embarked on the Advanced Certificate in Training and Assessment (ACTA) programme in October 2010.  I have learned so much from the programme and what is good is that I am already able to put what I have learned into practice in my current training work.  It is only by His grace alone that I have completed four out of the six modules.  I have to pay a higher fee as I am not company sponsored.  Somehow, the Lord has sovereignly provided the finances needed.

Recently, a Christian couple, who are Monte and my friends in the ministry, expressed their desire to help see me through my two remaining ACTA modules, which total close to six hundred dollars.  We are very grateful to their involvement in our life.  The Lord has brought people into our life and helped us in so many ways.  When we list them down, we are amazed at the wonder working God who is faithful and true in every way.  He looks after us and keeps us in His loving embrace as we purpose in our hearts to follow Him no matter where He leads us.  We desire to live in His will and we want His Spirit to have full reign in us.

Thankful

Monte and I live simply.  Since we were married in March 1999, we have never bought a television.  From time to time, when my parents and brothers upgraded theirs, we will take over their old ones.  Last September, we were so shocked when my older brother, Nicholas, bought us a Samsung Smart TV.  We found out the cost later, we learned that he had splurged on us.  God has blessed us with wonderful family members in both the States and here in Singapore.

We are thankful for the Lord's providence.  He supplies all our needs.

Utterly Blessed

The goodness and grace of the Lord overwhelms us daily.  The more the Lord unfolds His plan and purposes to us, what comes on is not burden but unspeakable joy.  We are mere mortal beings who are here today and may be gone tomorrow, yet the Lord treasures us and make us partners in His plan.  Having faith in God is to believe when everything else tells us that it is impossible.  When the odds are against us, we run with His promises firmly tucked in our heart of hearts.  The Lord teaches us the greatest lessons when we abandon ourselves completely into His hand.  Knowing the heart of God is a lifelong endeavour because we will never stop learning for He is infinite, endless and boundless.  What He does in our lives supersedes what we desire to do for Him.  We can never out give Him.  We are utterly blessed.  We embrace His purposes and allow Him full reign for the Lord who sits on the throne is worthy to be praised, worshipped and adored.

The Battle Belongs to the Lord

The Christian life is a life of constant battle.  We are in it to win it for the battle belongs to the Lord.  We do not fight a physical battle for ours is a spiritual battle.  Just when the going gets tough, we may experience another sudden avalanche.  There are times when we get weary and worn out and in the back of our minds we are wondering how we will ever pull through, God will somehow meet us at the tail end of eleventh hour.  He helps us to draw strength from Him to go on another arduous mile.  He helps us to persevere in the toughest situations and circumstances.  We live on to fight yet another battle.  We live on to experience powerful miracles in the heat of the battle.  We are battle ready soldiers who are at His bid and call 24/7.  We are not quitters, we are fighters.

All our experiences in this amazing journey shape and make us more like Him.  He gives us hope to live and thrive because God, the life giver has not just saved our souls, but He wants to live through us.  He lives through our weaknesses, our brokenness and humility.  We become carriers of His presence and we saturate ourselves in every nook and corner.  The fragrance of Christ is released and all will be drawn to our loving and gracious God and Father.

Divine Providence

This little update is a follow up on my earlier post on Miracle Working God http://jeefong.blogspot.com/2011/11/miracle-working-god.html

“When Monte and I received news that the Society of Pentecostal Studies (SPS) had accepted a paper he had earlier submitted for the upcoming 2012 SPS Annual Meeting, our hearts leapt with great joy. The theme is on "Pentecostalisms, Peacemaking, and Social Justice/Righteousness".  You may view this link for more information on the meeting http://sps-usa.org/meetings/meeting.html

We know that the Lord has opened this door. We know that God is in this.  While we were overwhelmed with great joy, our immediate response was that it will take a big miracle for Monte to go to Virginia, USA in March 2012 to present his paper.  However, we were quietly confident that God would come through for us.

Our God is a miracle working God.  He miraculously provided the air ticket through a missionary couple who came by Singapore on route to another country for ministry. We are very thankful for their generosity and help. Deep in our hearts, what has transpired is not a small thing; it is a significant move of the hand of God.

In our last home fellowship about a week ago, Monte held the air ticket in his hand and testified of the Lord’s providence.  It was a very significant and touching moment. The Lord challenged us to trust Him for other necessary expenses for the conference. God is so good.”

Monte and I are speechless; the Lord continue to touch our hearts with His love and presence.  He is not a figment of our imagination but a faithful God who hears our heart cries.  To date, he has not only provided for the air ticket but also covered all the necessary conference fees.  Monte has linked up with a fellow participant to share a room in an inn, as this will help to bring down the cost.  God is our helper.  His divine providence is all we need.

God has come through for us and we use it as a stepping-stone to propel us to a deeper level of faith in Him.  He never fails us.  We remind each other that as long as we have breath, we will hang on to His promises.  Our journey with our Maker may be challenging but it brings us the greatest joy and fulfilment.

We would like to say a big thank you to our family and friends who have given generously to us.  We appreciate and thank each one of you from the depth of our hearts.

Humble Beginnings

In the Azusa Street Revival, we witnessed the amazing power of God revealed to common people of that day.  In Richard Foster’s book entitled Streams of Living Water, Foster relates: “For three days, this little prayer group of cooks, caretakers, labourers, railroad porters, and washwomen carried on in exuberant celebration and ecstatic worship.” 

God revealed Himself to the lowly people, people who have so little in life.  He poured into their lives; He sought them out and poured His Spirit on them.  People who were insignificant in man’s eye were elevated before the Lord.  God chose the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; He chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.  He zeroed into the humble and defenseless people and raised them up to carry His word.

The Lord majors in small and humble beginnings.  We see it when Foster related: "Within days this jubilant, raging group was joined by huge crowds of both black and white, necessitating a larger facility.  Quickly an old two-storey building was secured.  Clearing out the debris and sweeping the dirt floor clean, parishioners placed a pulpit – two large wooden crates – in the centre of the room with a prayer altar in front of it.  The pew, forming circles surrounding the pulpit and altar, were redwood planks laid across nail kegs and old boxes.”

Such is the simplicity of the Lord.  There were no stained glass windows, no posh carpets, no chandeliers, and no top end furnishings and furniture.  The church gathered in the barest and simplest setting that one could ever imagine.  Their hearts were full of gratitude merely for the availability of a place for them to gather to worship God.  It is amazing that the Azusa Street Revival has such a humble and yet powerful beginning.  No riches, glories, sophisticated gadgets and gizmos of this world can usher in the presence of the Lord.  He dwells in hearts that are wide open to His lordship. He dwells in the lowly, the unassuming and the simple.

The Lord never despises our humble beginnings.  He cherishes the weak, poor, lowly and insignificant people, whom the world despises.  He gives grace and upholds the needy and births dreams into their shattered lives.

His Hand of Love

For a long time, the Lord laid someone on my heart and I brought him before the Lord.  Recently, I have seen some changes in his life and I thank God for His hand of love.  This is no coincidence for God works actively in our lives.  He works through our prayers and intercession.  There are many times and in varied situations where we are seemingly left on a waiting mode.  Doubts and fears loom large and we get restless and anxious.  Nevertheless, the Lord sustains the weary and He comes through for us in our hour of need.  He speaks into our lives and circumstances.  His hand is never too short and His ears are always inclined to our cries.  He works on our behalf and shows us His might and wonder.  We declare that to see His hand of love and to lean on His safe arms bring us the deepest joy and consolation.

Joyful Jubilation

Today, millions of people all over the world are celebrating Thanksgiving.  It is a significant day for us who call Jesus Lord.  The eternal damnation and degradation gave way to hope and rejoicing to anyone who calls on the name of the Lord.  We have every reason to celebrate.  We celebrate Jesus, we celebrate life, we celebration each day because of the newness of life in Christ.  We once lived in shame, ruins, misery and hopelessness.  Our lives were dark, bleak and sorrowful.  But the Lord has illuminated our lives and give us meaning for our existence.   So we give thanks to the most high for He alone deserves all our praise and honour.  We thank Him for sustenance, salvation, grace, mercy, restoration, joy, hope and everything promise He  has birthed in our hearts.  We also thank the Lord for difficult times, challenges, setbacks, failures and humongous mountains because through them we experience the reality of knowing God who is bigger than any conceivable challenge that life throws at us.  We rise up in faith believing the Lord in things that we do not see with the naked eye but what is more important is to see all things through the spiritual eyes that He has endowed us with.  We rejoice in joyful jubilation because the God of hope lives in our hearts for all eternity.

Never too Busy

We live in such a busy world.  We are so busy with our lives that we miss out important things in life like family and friends.  Besides being busy, another characteristic of modern people is we want everything instant.  Instant noodles, coffee, services of all kinds and even instant results in everything.  We become impatient and insensitive to people whom we deem slow.  We become immune to the glaring needs of people around us as we become more absorbed in ourselves.  We serve our immediate needs before we give a thought to others.  We are increasingly hesitant to share our time and resources with people whom God has put on our hearts.

When we examine the life of Christ, we see an opposite picture.  His heart is always leaning towards the needy.  He fed the hungry, He quenched their thirst, He comforted the heavy-laden, He ministered to the outcast of society knowing that His reputation is at stake.  The life of Christ oozes with love and compassion this world has never known until He appeared.  He showed us the way to live.  He showed us how to give unconditionally.

We long to hear the heartbeat of the Lord.  We want to respond to what is important to Him.  We pray for the Lord to sensitize our heart and spirit to respond to His prompting to reach out to people.  We cannot be too busy to care because His love compels us to love and serve.

Suffering Produces Compassion

The Lord uses the circumstances in our lives to shape and mould us.  The scripture tells us that Jesus is a man of sorrow; a man acquainted with suffering and pain.  As Christians, we take after the footsteps of our master.  We go through unexplainable pain, deep anguish, and unutterable suffering in different intensity at different times.  Some women lose their husbands very early in their marriage and they are left to care for their young children on their own,  others have to cope with their young children dying from diseases.  Cancer may strike a family and bring tremendous pain and anguish to the sufferers and their loved ones.  Sometimes, our loved ones die tragically in freak accidents.  The list is endless and torturous.

The Lord knows our pain, suffering and helplessness.  He went through far worst circumstances than any of us.  He was beaten, betrayed, ridiculed, isolated and abandoned.  He lived through us to show us what He is able to accomplish when we allow Him to work through us.  He uses our experiences; they are never wasted.  When we come through the fire, He opened our eyes to see.  He caused our hearts to understand His purposes through it all.  He produces compassion in us.  We now feel what the sufferers feel, we now identify with one with deep depression.  Some of us can identity with the excruciating pain that a cancer stricken person goes through.  His compassion overflows from our lives to touch people who are desperately in need of His love and assurance.  We become His extension.  We become a channel that His love can flow.  His compassion compels us to take yet another step in availing ourselves to reach out to people in dire needs, people who are ever ready to throw in the towel.  Nevertheless, we have the answer and we will rise up to heed the call of God with no reservation.  For He first loved us with an everlasting love.

Our Home Fellowship

On the 30^th September this year,  Monte and I started our home fellowship.  We have been in prayer for some years now and when the go-ahead sign came, we launched out in simple faith and committed it to the hands of the Lord.  It is an honour to partner with the Lord in this endeavour.  The Lord’s unfailing love and constant leading overwhelm us.  He is our faithful and dependable God.  In the natural, we feel that we are launched into deep waters but in our spirit, we sense an excitement and expectation.  We know that God is with us and He will carry the home fellowship, we are not alone.

If you are not a Christian but open to experience Christian fellowship, or if you are a Christian but currently not settled within a fellowship - you are welcome to visit our Thursday evening home fellowship at our house (Sengkang area; 8pm). Currently, this small group fellowship involves breaking of bread, worship choruses, sharing of stories, sacred Scripture reading (currently, we are reading through the book of Ephesians), and prayers for one another.  You may reach us at montejf@singnet.com.sg

Thankful

Dearest Wife,

Happy birthday.

The wonder of you— this I treasure.

The beauty of your spirit— this I cherish.

Your welfare— I seek.

Your life and honour— these above all else I defend.

On this day I call on God to bless and keep you;

May God today shine His face upon you;

May He be gracious to you;

May He lift up his countenance upon you, and endow your peace.

For this new year—

May there be a performance of all He has spoken;

May He today remember all desires of your heart;

May He endow you with all fullness of His blessing;

With every good and perfect gift—

May today God smile on you; on your birthday.

Monte posted this poem on my Facebook wall on 5^th November.  I count it a privilege to journey with a wonderful and loving husband for these past 12 years.  It is an awesome journey in tasting the goodness of our faithful God.  United as one, we pushed boundaries and explore some of the most amazing things that God has allowed us to experience.  We continue to seek His face and know His heart cry.  We know the shortness of life, we live each day longing for more of the Lord and less of us.  We learn to live life to the fullest; we learn to seize the day and allow the Lord to do anything He wants to accomplish in and through us knowing that our lives are not ours but His.  We give Him the pre-eminence and glory for He alone deserves our praise, worship and adoration for all the days of our lives.

Miracle Working God

When Monte and I received news that the Society of Pentecostal Studies (SPS) had accepted a paper he had earlier submitted for the upcoming 2012 SPS Annual Meeting, our hearts leapt with great joy. The theme is on "Pentecostalisms, Peacemaking, and Social Justice/Righteousness". You may view this link for more information on the meeting http://sps-usa.org/meetings/meeting.html

We know that the Lord has opened this door. We know that God is in this. While we were overwhelmed with great joy, our immediate response was that it will take a big miracle for Monte to go to Virginia, USA in March 2012 to present his paper. However, we were quietly confident that God would come through for us.

Our God is a miracle working God. He miraculously provided the air ticket through a missionary couple who came by Singapore on route to another country for ministry. We are very thankful for their generosity and help. Deep in our hearts, what has transpired is not a small thing; it is a significant move of the hand of God.

In our last home fellowship about a week ago, Monte held the air ticket in his hand and testified of the Lord’s providence. It was a very significant and touching moment. The Lord challenged us to trust Him for other necessary expenses for the conference. God is so good.

The Ministry of Love

The work of the ministry is fulfilling, wonderful and often challenging. The Lord pours His grace on us who serve Him with His divine empowerment and strength. We cannot accomplish anything with human strength and wisdom. We are completely reliant on the Lord in our quest to serve Him.

With ministry, one is most vulnerable because when we share our lives with people, we share our hopes and disappointments, our successes and our failures, our joys and our sorrows, our mountain top and valley experiences. We open our lives to people, and allow the Lord to grow them as we share openly and willingly on how we grow and grapple with daily Christian living. When people see the reality of Christ in our lives, the Lord can use it to help them in their spiritual growth.

Sometimes in the course of ministry, things may turn sour. A person may turn away from their faith, misunderstanding may arise, relationship may get sour and ugly or a person may be divisive. At other times, people that we minister to may hurt us intentionally or unintentionally.

Knowing that we are vulnerable, our response remains constant and stable. For this ministry is a ministry of love. It is love that is poured out from the throne of grace and the Lord enables us to persevere in love and faithful service. We purposed in our hearts to serve no matter what comes on. The same God who has given us everything that we need will not just sustain us but He makes us stronger and pliable in His hands. We love because He first loved us. We cannot stop doing what we are doing because the enormous and pressing needs are always around us. We as the Lord’s willing vessels fully submitted and committed to the Master will carry the baton to the next generation of leaders all for the glory of the risen King.

Eagles Need A Push

The Lord teaches us constantly through His creation. We can learn precious lessons from the eagle. Join me in this amazing clip on the Eagles Need A Push at http://www.eaglesneedapush.com

The day would come when the mother eagle have to push the young eagles off the face of the rock. She may seem cruel to the helpless eaglets but she knew that if she does not take action; her children will never know their potential and the meaning of their existence. The eagle have been blessed to take to fly in the sky. It will be sad if the eagle never get to experience the joy of soaring in the air.

Sometimes we go through tough times when we feel just like the little eaglets. We feel helpless, hopeless, loss and anxious. These can be heart-rending moments when we feel that God is far away. Doubt and fear creep in. The enemy bombards our minds and paralyses us with crippling fear.

We persevere and wait patience for the storm to end. The beauty unfolds when we cry out to the Lord for deliverance and help. He rescues us from doom and damnation and gives us hope again. He opens our eyes to see though His eyes. We begin to see the light at the horizon. His peace that passes understanding comes upon us. We stand firm on His word and declare His everlasting love and mercy. Above all else, He has given wings to fly and He takes us on amazing journeys of faith. Breaking and making us more pliable in His hands, never taking any short cuts to make the journey easy. Rather, through the difficult terrain and tough situations, we build our spiritual muscles to conquer the many humongous mountains in our lives so that what comes forth is the fragrance and beauty of Jesus.

Meaningful Vocation

I am thankful for the opportunity that God has allowed me to bein the training industry. I see the faithfulness and goodness of the Lord.

He is involved in every area of our life. He is in the centre of our vocation. He gives meaning to why we are doing what we are doing. We can certainly enjoy our work for God wants to enrich and bless our vocational life. We carry the presence of the Lord right into the market place and God begins to minister to people around us.

I stand amazed at the Lord's grace in helping me to complete every project. Before every training session, I pray to the Lord for His grace and help. I ask for wisdom, creativity and the ability to gel with the teachers and students that I meet in each school.

The following are my past-completed projects:

Title / Topic	Date	Site / School
Critical Thinking Skills	19 July - 27 Sep 06	Chai Chee Secondary School
Speech & Drama	Oct - Nov 06	Maha Bohdi Primary School
Personal Etiquette	10 - 11 Jan 07	Boon Lay Secondary School
Servant Leadership	21 May 07	Bedok Green Secondary School
Study Skills	24 - 26 Sep 07	Raffles Girls School (Primary)
Servant Leadership & Service Learning	11, 16 Oct 07	Bukit Panjang Government High
Stress & Conflict Management	9 Nov 07	Teck Whye Primary School
Graduation Preparatory Enrichment Programme (Orientation programme for transition from kindergarten to Primary One)	21 - 23 Nov 07	Happy Camper Kindergarten
Speech & Drama	18 Jan - 4 Oct 07	Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Primary School
Speech & Drama	Jan - Oct 07	Methodist Girls School (Primary)
Speech & Drama	2 - 30 Apr 07	Radin Mas Primary School
Oral Communication	Jan – Mar 08	Bedok Green Sec School
Storytelling	17 Jan – 28 Feb 08	Anderson Primary School
Basic Poetry Through Drama	28 Jan 08	Temasek Secondary School
Personal Grooming	7 Mar 08	Compassvale Secondary School
Motivational Skills Workshop	12 Mar 08	River Valley Primary School
Speech & Drama	18 Mar – 23 May 08	Kong Hwa Primary School
Sound Right (Speech Training Programme)	19 Mar – 21 May 08	Rivervale Primary School
Storytelling	20 Mar – 24 Apr 08	Anderson Primary School
Speech & Drama	24 Mar – 21 Apr 08	Lian Hua Primary School
Thinking Skills	2 - 4 Jun 08	Balestier Hills Primary School
Literature - Charlotte’s Web	10 Jul - 29 Aug 08	Kong Hwa Primary School
Speech & Drama	2 Jul - 27 Aug 08	Ang Mo Kio Primary School
Oral Communication	11 Jul - 31 Oct 08	Hong Wen Primary School
Public Speaking cum Hosting Workshop	3 - 4 Nov 08	Blangah Rise Primary School
Speech & Drama	10 - 11 Nov 08	Maha Bohdi Primary School
Mental Wellness Workshop	12 Nov 08	Princess Elizabeth Primary School
Mental Wellness Workshop	13 Nov 08	Radin Mas Primary School
Speech & Drama	11 Feb - 11 Mar 09	Kong Hwa Primary School
Literature – Wizard of Oz	17 Feb - 14 Apr 09	Kong Hwa Primary
Speech & Drama	5 Feb - 30 Mar 09	Singapore Chinese Girls’ School (Primary)
Sound Right (Speech Training Programme)	25 Mar - 27 May 09	Rivervale Primary School
English Enrichment Programme (Debating)	9 Jul - 14 Sep 09	CHIJ Toa Payoh Primary School
Character Development Programme	30 Mar - 5 Oct 09	New Town Primary School
LAMDA (London Academy of Music & Dramatic Arts) Exam Preparatory Class	23 Oct – 11 Nov 09	Opera Estate Primary School
Western Dining	25 Nov 09	West Grove Primary School
Debating Course (In preparation for students to participate in inter-school debating competition ‘Wits & Words’	26 Feb – 15 Mar 10	Kong Hwa Primary School
Oral Communications	15 – 19 Mar 10	Xingnan Primary School
Public Speaking	1 – 22 Apr 10	Seng Kang Primary School
Speech & Drama	24 Mar – 26 May 10	Ang Mo Kio Primary School
Comprehension & Oral	1 – 29 Jul 10	Guangyang Primary School
Speaking Right Programme (Reader’s Theatre)	24 – 30 Aug 10	Kranji Primary School
English Bridging Course (International Students)	5 Aug – 30 Sep10	Guangyang Primary School
Tuning In Programme (Programme for At Risk Children)	6 Sep – 10 Nov 10	Naval Base Primary School
Oral Communications	7 Feb – 4 Apr 11	Qiaonan Primary School
Public Speaking	14 Jan – 15 Apr 11	Seng Kang Primary School
Debating cum Presentation Skills	10 Feb – 26 May 11	Tampines Primary School
Storytelling	19 Feb – 21 May 11	Telok Kurau Primary School
Motivational Workshop	5 April 11	Bedok Green Primary School
Public Speaking	23 – 30 Apr 11	Geylang Methodist Primary School
Speech & Drama	4 – 25 May 11	Bendemeer Primary School
Leadership	16 May 11	Methodist Girl’s School (Primary)
Public Speaking	29 Jun – 14 Sep 11	Punggol Primary School
Debate Skills	14 Jul – 25 Aug 11	East View Primary School
Oral Conversation	12 – 19 Sep 11	Xin Min Primary School
Financial Literacy	31 Oct 11	West Grove Primary School

Along with enrichment training, I am also conducting vocal training. I learn through every session I spend with my trainees. I am thankful for every person who has made it possible for me to continue my work. I am especially thankful to people who have given me testimonials for my vocal training website http://vocaltrainingjeefong.tripod.com

"Dear Sister Jee Fong, Your lessons benefited me tremendously, especially for someone like me who sing each Sunday without previous training. I tried hard but could not identify areas which needed fine-tuning. Your vocal training sessions helped me understand myself better. I have yet to grasp everything you taught us but I am more confident already. You are a conscientious trainer. I am sure every of your students have gained greatly from you.”

Betty Yeo

His Sanctuary

"Jee Fong is a very committed teacher and comes prepared for every lesson. With her engaging and bubbly personality, she makes lessons interesting and fun and inspires one to try and do more.“

Shauna Law

His Sanctuary

"Sister Jee Fong came well prepared for each lesson. Her tips and techniques are very useful and enriching. I did not even know the "ahem" will spoil our vocal chords! All in all I had gained lots of knowledge and techniques. Thank you Sister Jee Fong."

Simon Loh

Chapel of Christ the Redeemer

“The vocal training class was very interesting. I have benefited a lot. I have learnt to have expression when I sing, put in emotions when I sing and also on voice control. All these techniques have helped me to be a better back-up singer in my church. I would encourage those who have not attended any such training to go for it."

Joycelyn Lee

Chapel of Christ the Redeemer

“Jee Fong is an articulated and resourceful trainer. Although I had attended vocal training before, I had picked up many new information and techniques which help to enhance my vocal health.”

Randall Goh

Chapel of Christ the Redeemer

“I never realize how we can easily spoil our Vocal Cords without knowing it until it’s too late. I now know that taking care of our Voice is quite simple if we were taught the proper Vocal & Singing Techniques. Some of the Techniques you shared with us during your Demo Session was quite simple to practice & proved to be effective. Thank you for sharing and I wish you success in your vocal training workshop.”\

Richard Tan

Chapel of Christ the Redeemer

“After the vocal training, I am now more confident in singing, at least I dare to sing louder then before and with more expression. Thanks for teaching us the techniques of singing. May God continue to bless you and your work.”

Rosie Lee

“Hi! Your vocal training has helped me in singing properly and with confidence. I will continue to use the techniques to improve on my weak areas. I used to have sore throat after two hours of singing. I have learnt that I have exerted on the wrong muscle and lack warming up. Now with proper practice and knowledge of taking care of my vocal cord, I am able to speak properly after 2 hours of singing. I must thank Jee Fong for her Marvellous GIFT in Vocal Training."

Hong Demei

Chapel of Christ the Redeemer

"I can feel the passion that Jee Fong has in wanting to impart all the knowledge that she has to the participants that come to her class. Personally, her desire to make sure that her participants understood and grasped what she was teaching touched me the most"

Lilian Lee

Chapel of Christ the Redeemer

“Indeed I felt that the training is fruitful and useful to me. Sis Jee Fong has made it so interesting and practical that I can put into practice right away. After attending the training, it has given me more confidence in delivering the songs and able to express better. Thank u Sis Jee Fong. Hereby, I would like to give thanks and praise to the Lord for giving me the opportunity to attend this training. God bless one and all!”

Cheralyn Lim

Chapel of Christ the Redeemer

“A committed and dedicated teacher to her craft, Jee Fong believes that everyone has a singing voice that just needs the correct techniques to bring it out. I thoroughly enjoyed the training sessions with her and gained a better understanding on how to "stretch " my voice.”

Michelle Chau

Chapel of Christ the Redeemer

“We have definitely learnt a lot through this course. It has helped us to project our voice better and we have also discovered many new insights. We will surely look forward to attend such courses in the future. Cheers to you our coach!!”

Janet Koh

Chapel of Christ the Redeemer

“I begin to enjoy singing with a louder voice. Thank you Sister Jee Fong.”

Paul Png

Chapel of Christ the Redeemer

“My greatest achievement is knowing Christ. And that He loves me and you.”

Goh Hong Eng

Church of Our Saviour

“It is most liberating to be able to sing with confidence without getting hoarse or worse, a sore throat. Now I can worship with greater joy!”

Frances Goh

Church of Our Saviour

“After several meetings, I can sing loudly and confidently. It is an enjoyable experience to work with you.”

Clifford Mario

Anglo Chinese School (Secondary)

"Jee Fong's classes enabled me to learn how to use my voice better and to realise that good speech not only included using one's voice correctly but that it was necessary to have the right posture and use correct breathing techniques as well. Jee Fong's personality is also warm and engaging which made the personalised classes all that more enriching to attend."

Bhawani

"It was an eye opener for me. I was not aware of the intricate details of maintaining vocal quality. A great help for me, as a trainer."

Selvarajoo Vadivelu

"I've attended the voice training sessions with hopes of improving my foundational techniques and I have improved since. Now when i sing for longer periods of time, my voice does not feel the strain and tiredness. Praise God!"

Vincent Kwok

Living Faith Church

"Thank you for coaching us in vocal and singing techniques. It had been a fun time. We found the sessions refreshing, enjoyable and relaxing as we’re comfortable with you. You have been very helpful and patient.

May the Lord bless and extend this area of your passion and ministry for His glory."

Nancy Choo, Michelle Pillai & Pearl Yeo

St John’s St Margaret’s Church