8th August 2005 - Monday

Just a normal day at work….actualli was sort of looking forward to this Monday…rare eh? The Monday blues are gone!
Hahah it was a refreshing time at church yesterday…just so psyched me out for the week..
When Ps Dinah Lee shared about “Faith That Rocks the Boat”, I was personally touched and nearly cried out at all the testimonies shared especially on the last testimony whereby there was a couple who was out to pioneer a church at the US, the couple’s ministry house has burnt down and was left with very few things…God blessed them by growing the church and given them people to help develop the church. This is really God looking out for His children even though in the most adverse situations!

I was personally inspired again by CN’s testimony also when Ps Dinah shared about his determination to give more to God. He had planned out his finances on an Excel spreadsheet for the next 21 months..he actually realized that he could give more to God! I could really identify with him cos when I was in NTU,
I had a hard time controlling my finances…being a “hard-core” shopper, I would always scoot off to buy stuff….clothes lah, CDs lah..the worst was CDs..i would always invest in CDs and music books if I know that they are good..you people reading this…ask me to show you my wallet…all the discount cards inside!!
My shepherd then, Jeannie had asked me write down EVERY SINGLE thing that I spent on for the day…

I remember I had a really complaining spirit then…cos it’s such a hassle to jot down every single cent that you spent! I had a small notebook with me that I would carry it around and write down example of a day’s entry would be like this:-

Coffee= 4 x $0.35
Transport= $1.80 x 2 (MRT) and $1.20 (Bus)
Food = (Lunch) $2.00
Notes= $0.60 (Geotechnical Engineering)

I would really scrimp and save such that my entries at the end of the week would not look too horrible…hahah

But this tool has really helped me…now I have knowledge of where my money went and how much money there is in my account.
I used to go through the month by spending money like water…hahah..

So then, I have been keeping an Excel file with all my expenses now since my first pay at DHL…really wanna give more to God!
I even downloaded the budgeting tool from the Hope website and its cool I tell you…you could plan everything inside and you would realize that you have more money at hand than you can imagine.. you could also note that you may have spending more at certain items or aspect for the month! I think the church has really blessed us with great tools to disciple us and to make us grow!! :D

I am determined to keep and manage my finances well…so if you see me eating “grass” hahah you know what’s going on eh?

I responded to the sermon…went down to the altar and asked Guang Rong to pray for me in two areas : regarding my finances and stewardship and my tendency to have negative thoughts…let’s look onwards to growing more in faith!
Hehe :)