2/14/2010
A short Testimony about Weakness
This short new video is a work in progress with Andrew Silk. Interview w/me during a CRM Asia Staff Cofnerence in July 2009.
2/13/2010
My New Year’s Story About Contentment
Chinese New Year, February 14, 2010
Heaven's home, life's a field trip
When we moved back to Singapore in July 2008, we found our new apartment. It suited our two important criteria: 1. Within our budget in a ballooned housing market and 2. Walking distance to amenities and the boys’ school. For weeks we had scouted all the neighborhoods and looked at many options, and had determined that Block 356 Clementi Avenue 2 was the exact building that was the best. When we discovered that unit #277 (a rare rental in government housing) was in good condition with tasteful décor, we prayed for it even though someone else had already made a deposit. We weren’t all that surprised when that first offer fell through. It was even on the perfect floor: high enough to have a view of both the sky and the green of the treetops. It was clearly a gift from God.
However, after we’d moved in, I felt that the neighborhood, though convenient, was a bit creepy. I took to grousing about this gift, and it took a long time to get motivated to get all the boxes emptied, or frames up on the walls.
My husband Jim liked the rustic charm of the gritty stalls of fresh foods in the wet market (an open air daily market yards from our apartment), and that the Malay Barber would cut his hair for only $6. In the first few months of finding my way around for banking and shopping and the post office I wrestled yet again with my sinful sense of entitlement. I didn’t like the way the old men sitting around the shops stared through their cigarette smoke as I walked past on my way to do marketing (an effort of going to multiple stores to get everything on my list). I didn’t like the rats and the roaches on the sidewalks or in the children’s playground, or the way neighbors piled trash in the lobby. I developed a black ungrateful heart about this gift.
Early in January 2009, I truly repented. I resolved to find things to be thankful for every day and to love this new home & neighborhood. I knew from settling in our 3 other previous neighborhoods since 1999, that Singaporeans are not cold, they are just shy city dwellers. I need to resolve to be the one to take the first step in greeting them, and they almost always light up and are pleasant and friendly. I stopped brewing my beloved morning coffee at home and took to going downstairs every day to practice my Chinese with the Kopitiam staff. I started chatting with the checkers in the grocery and hardware stores. I’d sometimes get my hair washed & blow dried for $8 at the beauty salon next to the Malay Barber.
I even realized that the 3 male Creasmans don’t mind eating cafeteria-style Chinese food called Mixed Rice. Since it’s 1/3 the cost of making dinner at home (and I’m not a great cook), we started heading downstairs at 6PM every night. I pretty much stopped cooking and started getting to know the Chinese immigrant stall owners, fruit sellers and bakery girls.
We got a puppy, and Jack Bauser (we love the TV show 24) soon opened up friendly chatting with all of the dog owning neighbors, and pram pushing grandmas. One of the cigarette smoking men in a wheelchair even began holding Jack on his leash every morning as I went to buy my coffee.*
By mid-November, as a last minute decision, I decided to have an open house for Thanksgiving. We wanted to introduce our favorite holiday to as many neighbors and friends as could come.
We had 52 that night. Somehow it was still comfortable in our 1,050 square foot apartment. The guests all brought dessert or drinks, and got a taste of turkey and candied yams, the warmth of Christian hospitality and a bit of reflecting on the things we have to thank God for. Stuffing was popular! It was the only thing that we ran out of. It was truly like the loaves and the fishes and Jesus feeding the 5000. Instead of 12 baskets full, I only had enough leftovers to make a modest lunch!
Today as I put these little Chinese New Year’s
“coffee-to-go” gifts together, there are 6 neighbor girls helping me. We had our own little tea party before setting up the production-line. Honestly I’m loving my home. It finally has some color on the walls, and joy and laughter in the atmosphere.
Lately I’ve been thinking of this small flat as our island vacation home.** Living in our crowded city suburb among Singaporean heartlanders may not be the 5 Star atmosphere I admit I prefer, but I grew up camping for family vacations. I actually do like roughing it, too. As long as it’s not forever!
So, this gift & story is sent to you with a loving prayer as we start the Year of the Tiger:
Heavenly Father, as my friends in the USA try out
this Taste of Singapore, may they know how loved they are by you, and how appreciated they are by us. I pray that through their prayers and giving, they’ll feel a part of what you’re doing here.
We know that our common enemy the Devil prowls around like a roaring lion (or Tiger!), but we pray we will have the strength to stand firm in Jesus and resist his tailor-made temptations. If there is a spirit of discontentment or sin of entitlement taking root in their heart, I pray that you’ll gently help them to remove it, and replace it with a heart of gratitude and thanksgiving.
Lord, no matter what awaits them in 2010, I pray that this will be their best year yet. AMEN.
Life is but a breath. Breath deeply!
Blessing and joy,
K!Mberly Creasman
Church Resource Ministries
http://charminfullbloom.blogspot.com
*Mr Ng in the wheelchair got sicker last month. Yesterday, one of the other men passed me the address of his Convalescent Home. Jack and I will go visit him soon!
**Wait till you see the permanent homes we have waiting for us in heaven! I look forward to having you over to tea many, many times!
2/09/2010
Dear Friends,
My mom, Sue Coventon, had a massive surgery the first week of December and wasn't expected to be recovered for 6 weeks. Instead, she was out of hospital in 2 days and tests show she's cancer free now. We are all thrilled.
BUT I stop myself from instantly writing, "God is good" as the epilogue to this news.
WHY?
In reflecting recently on my notes throughout this past year, my big take-away from 2009 is:
Culturally, or even humanly, we have a faulty spiritual default:
Blessings come because of God's favour, thinking "God must really love me" when things go our way.
But this is false.
The fact that mom's surgery was successful is not a sign of God's love for her. He wouldn't love her any less if they'd opened her up and found her body riddled with cancer. Over and over again in 2009, my notes from sermons and quiet times and talks and studies was: Don't base your confidence in God's love for you on your life's circumstances. These fleeting, temporal blessings are secondary blessings. Gifts from his hand, surely, but not to be focused on in any way as "signs" of his love.
The primary blessing is that Almighty God loves us and has made an amazing sacrifice to make a relationship possible. Period. He doesn't need to do anything else to prove it.
Ah. You already know this. I'm preaching to the choir. It's just that this is what I want to cultivate this new year - a sense of gratitude and awe at the basic truth that we can have a relationships with ALMIGHTY GOD. He didn't have to bother, and yet I'm the apple of his eye.
So are you.
Hope you're entering this second month of the new year with anticipation and hope! 2010. It's going to be the best year yet.
K!Mberly
home address:
Blk 356 Clementi Avenue 2 #05-277
Singapore 120356
What I'm Reading:
Jim - Bill Hybels, Axiom, 1 Corinthians
Kimberly - Hebrews,
Partner in our ministries by praying with us in February
1 & 11 & 18 Jim leads all-day monthly mentoring networks with Singaporean Christian leaders. Please pray for them to grow in their mentoring of others. Three other networks meet throughout the month without Jim's involvement.
3-6 Jim and staff member How Beng travel to Penang, Malaysia to lead a two-day spiritual leadership seminar for the Asia leadership team of an evangelistic ministry. Pray for good rapport and new insights and resolutions.
11 Jim leads a monthly businessmen's Bible study, this month looking at the themes and lessons of 1 Corinthians.
11 CRM Singapore holds a one-day seminar on coaching skills. Please pray for our Singaporean facilitator, Joel, to grow in his teaching skill and for the lessons and exercizes to equip Christian leaders for more effectively developing their followers.
14 Chinese New Year! A two-day holiday in Singapore, it is a time for visiting family and friends to eat and talk and deepen relationships.
19-20 Hundreds of Singaporean Christians are performing in a National Parade, and a new musical on the life of George Meuller. Kimberly's has had a small part behind the scenes in each of these. Pray that these events will bring great glory to God and proclaim truth, his salvation and the joy of walking by faith to our Nation!
21-28 One of our staff, Andy, chairs the Asia Sports Coalition, which holds their annual meeting this week with 150 leaders from 26 countries. Pray for them to be inspired and equipped and connected to use sports as a ministry tool in their countries.
23 Kimberly's Birthday. The three Creasman males thank God for the wonderful gift she is to us and everybody that knows her! She brings life and love and creativity wherever she goes. Pray for a joyful, fruitful year for her. (Awkward. Jim wrote that part!)
The Lord has turned my heart toward home this year, saying no to production related ministry requests and having a term off from teaching. My focus for this month: abiding in Christ, these three men I love, the women in my Thursday Bible study, and the people in our home group from church.
25 Jim launches a new mentoring network. He is asking God for 6 facilitators and 12 participants.
Thank you for your prayers in January. Update:
1-8 Chiang Mai, Thailand. We had one of our best family vacations ever, visiting two missionary family friends and doing lots of outdoor activities - hiking waterfalls, biking, walking a beautiful park, motorcycle day trip, riding elephants, bungie jumping, foot massages, shopping the night market, lots of good thai food, watching episodes of 24 together. It was a fun, memorable week!
12 Tyler turned 17! Thank God for this mature, bright boy. Pray for the Lord to guide him in college and career decisions and keep growing him deeper in knowing and loving God. Our family will travel to the US in June to visit college campuses to try to get Tyler excited about college in 2011.
14 & 28 Jim's mentoring networks, other times through the month were personal coaching appointments with participants.
18-21 Jim joined 450 others at the annual Singapore Pastors' Prayer Summit for the 8th time in 10 years here. This year, his staff and volunteers wore CRMS polo shirts and offered free coaching appointments to participants. It was a refreshing week, with good connections with leaders from many churches.
23 Jim spoke to a church men's fellowship on spiritual success.
Will you consider CRM in your giving
and partnering with us financially in our work here?
We pray that you'd have great joy
in these kind of investments!
(whether is it with us or with other good work around the world!)
Charitable Giving thru CRM
for the Creasmans' ministry based in Singapore:
Donation questions (in USA) 1 (800) 777-6658
"Creasman-acct 5651"
CRM- 1240 N. Lakeview, Suite 120, Anaheim, CA 92807-1831
"For he has rescued us from all that is really evil and called us to a life of holiness - not because of any of our achievements but for his own purpose."
2 Timothy 1:9
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