The Lord is my shepherd (Psalm 23)

Thank God for the joy of worship and fellowship again in church today. We also partook of the Lord's Supper together, and remember afresh our Lord Jesus Christ's great sacrifice on the cross of calvary to redeem us from sins, and our union together in Him as a church.

I thank God that He is with me through all the changing scenes in life. The past years have been difficult but the Lord's grace has been sufficient for me. The Lord has provided for all my needs (both temporal and spiritual) in His many wonderful ways, assuring me that He is my Shepherd, I shall not want (lack).

What a comfort to belong to the Lord and to know His love and goodness daily. Though coping with bipolar with its manic and depression can be very trying and difficult, the Lord has sustained and delivered me time and again. Sometimes I do fear the future as I fear relapses of severe depression again but I reminded over and over again that the Lord is in control. He will take care of me as I strive to take care of myself. Should I suffer a relapse again, despite all medical and other help, He is still with me. He will guide and lead me, and deliver me in His time. And I can serve Him even in my difficulties or sufferings, as I learn to rely more and more upon Him, and testify of His goodness and deliverance, so that all His people may put their hope in Him too.

Thank God that He is our Shepherd.

Psalm 23
(King James Bible)

1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Psalm 23 (Scottish Metrical Psalter)

1 The Lord's my shepherd, I'll not want.
2 He makes me down to lie
In pastures green: he leadeth me
the quiet waters by.

3 My soul he doth restore again;
and me to walk doth make
Within the paths of righteousness,
ev'n for his own name's sake.

4 Yea, though I walk in death's dark vale,
yet will I fear none ill:
For thou art with me; and thy rod
and staff me comfort still.

5 My table thou hast furnished
in presence of my foes;
My head thou dost with oil anoint,
and my cup overflows.

6 Goodness and mercy all my life
shall surely follow me:
And in God's house for evermore
my dwelling-place shall be.

You will enjoy Psalm 23 recited by this cute little girl posted by brimo on Youtube :-)

This Psalm 23 is posted by tsaiwaiming at Youtube.

Trust in God, believe in yourself and dare to dream

Found this card among my collections of cards. Yes, I collect cards besides quotes and short stories :-)

I am going through a big change now in my life, at the age of 42. After so many years of dreaming a life like this, I have finally and providentially, taken the step to do it.

I have always wanted to do freelance work in which I can make use of my skills and earn a decent living. And have time to serve God, more time to spend with my family and to reach out to others.

Through a relapse of severe depression in July last year in which my employer decided to scale down her businesses, I was led to leave my job of 4 years and to look for a new one. Bipolar, depression and other mental health disorders are very much a stigma in Singapore. I have difficulty finding a fulltime job. I did temp job for a short while, my depression worsened and then I took time off to recuperate.

It was during this time of break that I was able to learn to understand my condition better and how best to manage it so that I can be more functional. I began to enjoy brisk walk, photography, catching up with friends and making bookmarks and other crafts.

When I was ready to return to work in February 2008 this year, God provided me with a part-time job. It was short term but this part-time job provided me with freelance opportunities with them. I am thankful to God that through this freelance assignment plus helping my friends, I am able to earn some income to support myself and my mother. Freelancing do have its own stress in terms of instable income and tight project deadlines, and I do have so much more to learn on this and much patience to wait for progress. But I am grateful, very grateful as I can learn to manage my condition better this way when I can work at my own pace and take breaks as and when necessary.

I am so happy to use my skills in typing to do my freelance typing and transcribing work. And also to use my skills in making bookmarks and other crafts together with photography, to give to my friends, and maybe one day to sell these items too. I enjoyed these very much.

And by doing freelance work, I have been able to continue to serve God through some small work for my church as well as writing and visiting some church members. I have been able to take better care of my mother and spend more time with her as I usually works from home.

I am also grateful to God that I can continue to share God's goodness and mercies to me on this blog as it is therapeutic to me. And it is so wonderful to know so many friends through our blogs. Several kind people also wrote to me and now I have a handful of penpals from several parts of the world!

All these are so wonderful and amazing. I never thought my dreams can come true! Thank and praise God.