God's Kitchen

It is way past midnight (oh yes, my BEDTIME too!) and I’m still wide awake. The reddish grey cloud outside is already hinting that rain is inevitable while the accompanying cool breeze is saying amen to that! Lovely…

I can’t help myself from munching the hot potato PIK-NIK “Shoestrings” while writing this…it is so addictive I’m beginning to think that if I don’t stop now I’ll continue eating it like an Eat-To-Sleep Chewing Machine! Oh don’t worry, I don’t do that all the time…and my current weight is still bearable…so it’s okay…

By the way, there’s a SMALL bowl of Cruzer’s Daybreak Salad waiting for me in the kitchen!

Hmmm…anyway, I’m just thinking…

If again tomorrow night I can’t sleep, despite the perfect weather, will I drug myself with more junk food or will I turn to the solid spiritual food? Shhh…I know…

Yes; lately, I’ve been so challenged and healthily bugged by the word of God written in Joshua 1:8. It says…

“Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful”. (NIV)

You see…too many of us, me included, I’m pretty sure we’ve came across this scripture too many times we overlooked the lamb-chop-like juice of truth it contains. Often time I realize I’d focus more on the “God’s Promise” part of the scripture neglecting the “My Action” part. It is as though I was too hungry I couldn’t wait for my lamb chop to cook I ate it raw – far off from His plan for me to enjoy the meat well done.

The thing about me (and probably you too) is that I don’t really love waiting and I want what I want right here right now. That’s how I am sometimes. I wanna be prosperous and I wanna be successful and I want them both fast, minus having to go through any hurdles. It is like I’m demanding for the profit but totally choose to forget about the investments! It doesn’t work that way, right?

But God being the fair Boss, His strategy is different – always! Not that He loves to withhold His promises, but in my own opinion, He is just not a fan of having to fork out salary advances to any of His servants. Unless faith actions are constantly and sincerely shown, He can choose to delay in delivering the desires of my heart…and He will not surprisingly do just that!

The whole experience of being enlightened by this simple verse has really caused me to dig in whatever I read so much deeper with the quest to find a fresh revelation and the whole package that comes with it. Like those who serves in the oil and gas industry, they dig deeper not with the goal to find out more about dinosaurs or fossils they knew ever existed; their prize – the oil and gas itself! Likewise, my attitude is not to just read whatever that is visible but beyond.

That’s just one of the things I learned…would love to share more juice with you again next time…perhaps in one of my other sleepless nights. Til then, enjoy what I’m leaving behind for you…

Cruzer’s Daybreak Salad Recipe:

Chicken Sausages with Cheese and Chili – raw, sliced to your hotness;

Onions, sliced thin enough to remind you of the unnecessary fat you might gain;

Tomato, sliced to the number of hours you have left in bed;

Carrots, sliced enough to shut your Parrot mouth;

Coral Leaves/Lettuces, generously green enough to remind you Jude is a vegetarian;

Sprinkles of coarse Black Pepper, as desired as you would tiny sweet moles on your face;

French Dressing, poured to perfection to romance your taste bud.

*would be nicer with Parmesan Cheese & Croutons!

Best paired with: Iced Lemon Tea chilled at -2°c.

Total Preparation Time: 7 minutes

Accompanying Soundtracks:

Nightminds by Missy Higgins

Water Feels Warm by Electralow

Hide Me by Grandad Bob

Change Your World Tour - Teaser

Guys! GO TO YOUTUBE AND COPY THE URL OR EMBEDDED THIS VIDEO TO PLAY ON YOUR BLOG, WEBSITE OR MYSPACE.

SPREAD IT OUT AND TOGETHER LETS BRING CHANGE!!!!

Sound of Silence

I don't really have a title watsoeva but this is basically wat i went thru d last 2 weeks o so...d 1st is me, d 2nd part is when God came into d picture...



Engulfed by total silence I didn't know what to say…

Jotting my thoughts down on paper was totally outta the question…

As though it's gonna help translate what's exactly been piling up in the core of my dented heart...

If it could be a color, pitch black would have well painted my disturbed mind…

Saving precious words for deep conversations seemed to be a valid excuse for the prolonged silence...

The silence I befriended and grew fond of…

Who would have thought the lowest decibel could be far greater in volume than the sound of a roaring thunder?

Unexpected occurrence…you left me baffled…

Silence…

Uninvited yet persistently it came, breaking the silence…

As though written in the air I heard every word whispered…

Tearing the separating veil this gentle voice reached for my reshaped heart…

A tone so calm coated in shades of the bluest deep ocean…

Words of comfort and hope it bestowed upon me without restraint…

None of which came cheap but I got 'em for free…

So real were they silence was kept at bay, waiting to just fade away…

Who would have thought silence could effortlessly be erased simply by letting the voice speak?

Predictably unusual…I'm mystified…

You broke the ice…

Cuz1am

RISE of the LEADER

So it was a Friday afternoon, I had an Intro to Business class and my word, did I enjoy this class.

A little side note here.... when I was in high school I purposely chose the science stream coz I hated Business. Who would have known that I'll be learning a bit on Business in college again...wahhhhhhhhhhhhh ... definitely not me.

I kinda felt like Jonah where you like try to run away from what your suppose to do or face only to find yourself submit to whatever you are running from =)

Anyway, You got to love God coz for whatever reason you think ain't worth knowing is worth knowing In God's Eyes!

In other words, just move with the flow knowing that God is in Control!!!

We had this game which the teacher kinda like asked us to play in a room with 5 students (The rest must be running away... hehehe). It was a "Survival simulation game".

Now I don't know if it’s true but it’s the same game that companies use when hiring managers. In short the scenario is that you along with your people where in a plane, crashed landed somewhere up north of Canada (How north can you get?!?! =p), its cold, 25 below zero during day time, 40 below zero at night, the nearest town 20 miles away. So you and your surviving buddies manage to salvage a couple of things in the plane....

WHAT DO YOU DO?

The list are (not in order)

A ball of steel wool

A small axe

A loaded .45 Caliber pistol

Can of Crisco Shortening

News papers (One per person)

Cigarette lighter (Without Fluid)

Extra T-shirt and pants for each survivor

20x20 ft. piece of heavy duty canvas

A sectional air map made of plastic

One quart of 100-proof whiskey

A compass

Family-size chocolate (One per-person)

Try doing this and see whether you are manger material =) (Comment or email me personally if you want to know the answer to this)

Anyway, I did mine... And guess what?!?!?!?!

I'll be the first one to die in the COLD!!!! Oh man, that just dropped the nuclear bomb in me and I can hear God say "..... ... ..... . . . . ..."

In other words, sometimes (or most of the times) I get the best of me (overconfident side) to act upon my life rather than listening to Him first and consider the thoughts of others.

When I thought about it, ask me whether my fellow "plane crashers" where part of my survival plan, I'm ashamed to say "NO".

Wow that was an eye opener, heart opener, can opener (however you want to call it) for me. I can see my "humble status" rising as it left a scar in my heart and mind as it’s gonna be one of those memories that you'll never forget. I can be very selfish.

But you know what.... Praise God! He reminded me that He is the perfector of our Faith!

Don’t ever think “that because things are going great for you everything is ok”. We need Jesus all the more.

I'm still amazed with this scene in my life. I still have a lot to learn. I thank God that He's never given up on me despite how many times I feel like giving up.

“A thousand times I failed still your mercy remains,

should I stumble again, I'm caught by your Grace" (plays at the back of my mind when writing this =) )

So I "died" in managerial skills but that’s all part in Leadership training so I guess I'm in the right class in life.

To be a leader is to go through failures not because you’re destined to fail but destined to learn so that you can be a better leader not for yourself, but for God and others.

Rise up!

Neil1am

P.S HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!!!

F(e)asting to CHANGE!!!

Happy New Year to all those that are a bit slow on the dates. Like me, my new year was postponed due to a fever that I got from my younger brother. A day before New Year! It’s sad but I loss a lot of weight, so that’s something to be happy about.

Year 2009 started with a 7-day prayer and fasting, we do this every year but I decided to do something different, I’m going for the Daniel fast, not because my name is Daniel, but because Pastor Timothy the senior pastor of our church made an awesome statement that got me thinking (and also because I rarely eat vegetable. LOL). Seriously.

He said (I quote, not the exact words) Jesus fasted 40 days because that was what needed for His ministry, and Daniel (the dude in the bible) fasted for 21 days because he wants to change that nation. So my question to myself was this,

1. What am I fasting for and in what capacity of fasting does it require?
2. What is the amount of magnitude do I want to see change in me and around me?
3. Am I going to do it? yeEEEAAAAaaaRR~~~~

Take Zack Hunter for an example, he is a 15 year old dude that take the extra mile so abolish modern day slavery. Just like Bono, helping people in Africa. Why do these people go the extra mile to help others? Why don’t they just live in their own comfort? That you ask yourself and find out whether you want to be a world changer or a person just going to pass by without a legacy to pass on (rock and roll hand motion). This reminds me of john Meyer’s song Vultures.

Anyway, back on track, by fasting we die to our body and what seems comfortable for us. I’m not going to say that fasting is easy for me; in fact it is the hardest thing to do for me. I love to eat, hence the body size. I like to play computer games, sleep and yeah… you get the picture. But if I want to see change, a sacrifice of the flesh is sufficient to bring me to another level of my life.

I believe that everyone is meant to live so much more (switchfoot?) than what we are living for. We cannot do great things if comfort is what we desire and not change.

We as a team in 1AM is looking forward to our tour this year, and we pray that we can change your world.

Cheers. Dan1am

2008 ..... The year that passed - Neil

The year that passed ….

2008 I believe was a year where the Lord has been doing a lot of maintenance in my life. Honestly I feel I haven’t done much but if I am going to base my year on the things I do physically (no wonder I’m growing in size) then I’ve missed the point on what God has been doing internally.

Unlike 2007, we didn’t travel much but like I said, MAINTENACE!

It has been challenging as a musician, a leader and a discipler but I believe it’s for the good for the year 2009.

Musicianship – I believe there has been growth in 3 areas. First is my songwriting/arrangement abilities. I remember praying to God about really bringing me to the next level in terms of my writing. I struggled as I worked my way through in writing not just worship songs but mainstream song where at the end of the day I wrote more than I expected this year. I’ve been also listening to a lot of today’s music, just to know what’s in and out. With that, I’ve been open to a bit of Jazz and classical music which so broaden my creativity. There has been so much soul searching adding depth to what I write so yeah….Praise God!

2^nd and 3^rd, my vocals … hmmm… became better, rockier according to Daniel and my guitar skills… well I bought an Electric Guitar (GRECO 79’) so that should answer my abilities. I still play rhythm though.

Leadership – Wow…. I had to step up a lot in situations I felt needed the most. You have to understand that I’ve always labeled myself as the “Laid Back Leader”, just chillin’. I’ve been reading a leadership book where what struck me was that “A leader is one that steps into the uncertain. You as a leader can afford to be uncertain but cannot afford to be unclear in terms of moving forward.”

Personally, I feel I’ve used my brain so much this year in terms of thoughts, thinking of a clear direction. I may not know the outcome but so far there has always been a direction with a positive outcome. And even if it didn’t turn out right, it gave room to grow and learn. This goes out in all the areas I lead may it be as an assistant to Kelvin in terms of our 1a.m. ministry at church, the main band whenever Kel and PC is not around on tour, the youth band(Relent), Creative life, Discipleship etc.

Discipleship – Well I didn’t reach my faith goal in this area but I’m happy that the people I follow up grew the next level whether it’s their walk with God or serving. I had an additional friend added up in the group and he’s been doing great so far!

To see them serve in more than their natural ability is a blessing. I am determine to raise leaders who does not serve where they find comfort but push them to areas where I believe will help them grow and even so determine to raise people who loves God, fueling their passion to serve.

Relationship with the opposite sex – FAILED! Hahaha. Let’s see what 2009 has in-stored! I guess I’m still searching. I saw one but I maybe looking at the wrong one. I don’t know. Well whoever it may be, I hope she’s looking out as well. Bottom line is, what I feel, should be from God.

Enough said.

Overall God has been great in my life. He filled every void that needs to be filled with love and poured so much grace even when I don’t deserve them.

What do I mean by that?

Well being foreigner and living in Malaysia away from my family (miss you guys. Dad take-care of yourself, praying for you! I’ll see you guys soon) and friends I grew up with can be tough. It’s not like I can pay a few hundreds to go back home, I would need a few thousands for the flight and that’s a lot so I really thank God for being there always and giving me friends here to grow with.

Grace? How truly sweet the sound of grace is! I am not perfect as a worker at the office, a minister in or out of church, a friend. I mean I didn’t graduate as a business man, a good communicator, a super talented guitarist. At times I really feel inadequate with what I do. To be honest there are times I feel I am not the smartest, on top of that I have my challenges. But again, Praise God for it is Him who sustains me, in my weakness He strengthens me and pours out that sufficient grace, that amazing grace I so need everyday in my life.

Serving God, serving the church, serving the people has been a pleasure. I find no regrets.

I’m excited for next year. Everything that took place personally in my life was so that I can step into a bigger picture that God painted for 2009. I know its going to be bigger, better and greater. All for His glory and I know that YOU all are in it!

RELENT is coming soon. Don’t know what I’m talking about?… stay tune!

2008 Briefly - Cuzario

Looking back, 2008 was like a roller-coaster ride for me personally.
There were lotsa ups and downs almost everywhere all the time.

Compared to the year before, there weren't many tours in 2008 but itdoesn't mean we didn't do much this year. What I personally perceive is that God kept us for a season just to prepare us for a greater year ahead.

Through this time of confinement God truly have brought us as a band to really dive in deeper into the ocean floor, understanding a new level of what worship is all about. Finding new revelations about how great God really is was almost like having an incurable brain tumor! Even mind-boggling doesn't come close to describing the magnitude of this God we are serving!

Generally, especially in the 2nd half of the year, we enjoyed our time ministering, empowering, equipping & training a few worship teams from some local churches around the country. Besides, we also prioritized to strengthen our own worship teams at home.

Personally, it was and still is a very emotionally-challenging year for me as relationships with friends turned rocky and all that. Worst, I had to fight with time as God welcomed some (in the last 2 years) of my dearest home to be with Him forever a bit sooner than I
could imagine.

In my brokenness facing the reality of life I'm thankful that God is still so ever faithful in having so much interest in every area of my imperfect life. I cannot but keep thirsting for more of Him each day. It's His grace that fuels me to lift my heavy feet as I drag my own cross daily knowing that in my weaknesses I'm always made strong. More than often His comforting living Words has never failed to keep me sane and grounded each time unexpected storms came by, which in some desperate moments made me feel as though I'm clinging for my dear life on a sinking boat only to realize He's always there to grab me from sinking deeper into the troubled waters.

Overall, the journey this year wasn't easy at all but definitely rewarding. Surrendering everything to Him is still the best choice and the right thing todo. As I lay here waiting for a better tomorrow, all He's asking me to do is to be still and let God be God! So...I'll just stick to that in obedience. After all, He's the One who's in control over this broken
life.


~cruzer~

Philippines Tour Day 12 and 13

Philippines Tour Day 11

Philippines Tour Day 10

Philippines Tour Day 9

Philippines Tour Day 8

Philippines Tour Day 7

Philippines Tour Day 6

Philippines Tour Day 5

Philippines Tour Day 4

Philippine Tour Day 3

Philippines Tour Day 2

Malaysia Shouts Your Praise - Music Video/ Testimony

Here is 1a.m's new music video

This just came out last week. A collection of pictures showing what Malaysia's all about. A reminder that we should love our country. God Bless Malaysia!



Testimony of Malaysia Shouts Your Praise

The story behind the song: Malaysia Shouts Your Praise

The story behind the song: Malaysia Shouts Your Praise

I have met many Malaysians leaving the country for "greener" pastures. While there may be valid reasons for them to migrate, it saddens me whenever I hear negative comments made towards their own country.

They remember very little good or only the bad things that made them leave. That often makes me question myself, "Are we not responsible for our own nation? God cannot be making a mistake by placing us in the nation we were born in. If we leave, then who is going to reach this nation for Jesus?"

Many of us have forgotten that God has a purpose for placing us in a certain country. We often complain about the ills and forget the great things He has done in our country. We must believe that God is sovereign and HE can transform our nation.

We need to stir our hearts to love and begin to pray for our nation that God will bring revival to our streets, towns, cities, state and our country. Let us stand together united in ONE ACCORD and declare "Every Nation Shouts God's Praise."

I pray that the song will bless and inspire you to pray for your own nation.

God bless

Kelvin Lim
1a.m. director