feed yourself

i realise a lot of people are quite tired this hols. it's not just me after all. all these camps, church stuff, cf stuff is taking quite a toll on people, been reading quite a few blogs and chatting with friends on msn. many are quite tired by all these activities.

for me to type this entry out coherently, is all thanks to the much over-dued 3 hour nap i caught this evening. been so tired, too many activities, that it has actually taken a toll on my health(and note, even the period where all schoolwork was at an all time bad didn't make me flinch). i succumbed to the flu bug, lost my voice on tue n wed, took all (and many) desperate measures to regain my voice. the flu has hence progressed into a whopping cough. and to make things worse, my mom( and grandmother) are reminding( to put it mildly) me to eat this, don't eat that, do this, don't do that. it drives me insane.

i'll blog about youth ee soon( it was a really eye-opening experience for me), the new youth cg i'm sheperding(the youths are actually really adorable and encouraging), my dear brother in army( who is being used mightily by God over at tekong^ ^), all the planning for the coming prc camp. how soon, depends. heh. but in the mean time, i'd encourage everyone to get ample rest, both physically and spiritually. just spending one day, even one afternoon, in the bed and with God does wonders. reminds me of what i'm actually here for.

Imagine if you will. You visit a new bakery near your campus. You love going there because the chief baker has created new recipes for breads, pastries and cinnamon rolls that are better than any ou have ever tasted in your life!

Soon, word gets out about this bakery. Crowds start forming lines each day, waiting for the new confections to come from this baker's marvelous kitchen. The baker doesn't have enough help, and ends up trying to serve all the customers himself. He is scurrying back and forth, busy with all the requests of the people --but oblivious to what's happening to him. His exhuastion is quickly becoming burnout. What's worse, as you watch him for a few weeks, you see a change. this man is getting thin. Very thin. It almost seems like he is shriveling up.

You sit down and observe, and the problem becomes obvious. This man never stops to eat. The irony is, he is busy serving bread to everyone else, but never stops long enough to feed himself.

So many leaders forget to tend to themselves, and eventually are unable to really serve others. They are starving intellectually, emotionally, spiritually and even physically. When they do read their Bibles, or listen to CDs, it is always for someone else. They are always preparing Bible study for a group or message for others. They read for "programme", not for personal growth, and neglect to consume nourishment or apply it to their own lives. Their "talk" is great, but their "walk" is fake. They go through the motions, but aren't really spending time eating the "bread of life" (John 6:35). They are spiritually starving.... so close to food, yet never eating.

read this from Habitudes, homework for the coming youth clg x-training coming this thurs:) i'm actually quite excited by it, looking foward to having God speak through Pastor Shern, and tapping on the wisdom and experience of the others who are there.

so, go rest, especially when you know you cmi already:) praying for you!

p/s btw thanks to all who've been praying for me the past 2 weeks^ ^