Fruit of the Spirit vs. The Spirit

So... is it really the fruits that you want or is it The Spirit that you want?

We need to stop wanting just the fruit and start wanting the Spirit!

"So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature... But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law...But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control... Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit..."

Galatians 5:16-25

A gentle reminder :)

I felt like crap today and things just seemed like they haven't moved. But I knew the one thing I need was to hear the word of the Lord. So I quickly searched on Youtube and for some reason, I wanted to hear specifically from Francis Chan. No idea why. Like he's good, but I don't usually listen to his sermons. Anyways, I found one called "The Holy Spirit and Our Effort", based on 2 Peter 1:5-11. Have a listen if you like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Deuca-kXtnI

The part where he got to "Steadfastness" (endurance + perseverance), he said let's say Jesus walked in right now and let you choose either plan A or B to go into 2010 (sermon was done near end of 2009). Plan A is where everything will go the way you want (ie. good marriage, well paid job, no illness...) but you will not be closer to Jesus... things just stay the same between you and Jesus. Plan B is to go into the new year with steadfastness, it will be hard, but you will be so much closer to Jesus and will come out with strength you've never had.

On hearing this, I felt so much better. Not crappy anymore. Quite in awe of God and filled with thankfulness. The reason for this is because near the end of 2009 (I guess around the same time as when that sermon was preached), I remember telling someone that I want to be closer with Jesus when the new year comes. And 2010 SUCKED HARD! LoL! But, I know with confidence that I have the strength I've never had before and is definitely so much closer to Him :)

Sometimes when I feel like crap, I need a little reminder here and there :P But the ways God gently reminds you is just so uniquely insane :D Crazy how He did it this time!

THANK-YOU JESUS!

Yet another funfilled weekend =D

Annual Food and Drink Fest

This started Friday and I went with my friends on Friday. I've been looking forward to this for a whole month just because I found some coupons (lol! So Asian) and because there will be food sampling, wine/beer tasting, and random free stuff. I've never done thigns like this before so it was very exciting, I felt like I went around the world.

Admission was $15, but I had the coupons that takes $3 off. The sampling tickets were $10/ 12 tickets. And each sample required between 1-5 tickets... depending on how fancy it was supposed to be.

The most delicious item I tried was this French soup (forgot it's name... too busy eating). It had scallops, shrimps, and yes... lobster claws in it :) and is made from 2 different soup base put together when served.

The most disappointing was the Spicy Thai Chicken by McMaster food service. The portion was bigger than most samples but it was just plain spicy and I couldn't taste anything as I was in pain. I should have known better since the caterer was from a school.

Art Crawl

This happens every second Friday of the month and starts at 8pm. The art district of Hamilton (James St. North) showcase new series and themed art works in all their mini galleries. It was similar to the Nuit Blanche, but way smaller in scale. It was fun running around looking at stuff with hippies bwahaha.

There was a series on "Hands" drawn with charcoal. Most of them were blown up drawings of hands of old people so you can really see the veins, wrinkles, and the linings. It sounds really unattractive, but my favourite was one called "Mother". It was an old pair of gentle hands with lots of lining. And it put a smile to my face because it reminded me of all the hard works mothers have to put in to help everyone out in the family.... hence the lining and wrinkles.

On a lighter note, and as many of you may agree, sometimes "art" is just ridiculous. So one of the most ridiculous thing my friends and I overheard was "So what you're saying is that this painting is in constant conversation with this piece of clay." My friend couldn't stand it so he ran outside laughing LOL. So we ended up making fun of some $1200 "art" the rest of the night. We also saw a "trendy guy" with bunny ears on.

Settlers of Catan

I owned. Twice.

Church

I'll make another post on what I learned at the service.

Birthday Party

It was my friend PW's birthday weekend. It was actually his birthday week, thank goodness I only saw him 3/7 days of the week hahaa, I love how he shamelessly promotes his birthday hahaha. I actually love it. So a bunch of us were hanging out. Played some games (Deal, Catan, Bang etc.) It was fun. But I think the best part was the spontaneous worship on the porch. The weather was gorgeous and it was just a perfect setting :) And some people were quietly reading the Word. We ended the night by going to East Side Mario's for their half price appetizers :P

It was a very fun weekend. Haven't had such fun and eventful weekend in a while.

Yea... It was good :)