This is the view of the stage from the very back of the worship hall, the place where I usually stand on Sunday morning for a brief 10 minutes worship.

For the past five years, I have not been able to sit through any single worship service from beginning to end due to my Sunday ministry duties. And whenever there were special events or conferences with good speakers, I always had to skip that to take care of the children's program. You bet that there were times when I felt very left out; and there were times when I heard the beautiful worship songs in the adult's sanctuary and I wish I could be there worshiping with the congregation experiencing God's presence. I believe this has been a very real challenge for all children's minsters.

That "left-out" sediment remained as a challenge until a special encounter in October 2014. I remember it was a Monday morning on my day off and I was watching a GIC DVD with Peter Tsukahira's talk while ironing shirts. At the tail end of that talk, Pastor Peter talked about the building of our personal altar and these words caught my attention.

The fire of God's presence fell on the altar that Elijah had prepared and the sacrifice that he had offered. It was very targeted and very purposeful.
Real revival is not something so mysterious that nobody understands
You want revival, build God an altar. Make a place, pick a time. When we come to that place, we are going to bring the best we have and we are never going to take it back

I was so touched and my heart was fired up. And I felt like God was reassuring me that "I know your challenge, but when you come to me with an open heart, I can meet you where you are, even down to your living room; at the very moment when you are doing household chores. And my presence can be just as powerful, more than enough to make up what you lack of on Sunday." I feel so reassuring. Isn't this so true? Our God is a personal God, One who always welcomes us with open hands. But we need to take the step to build up the personal altar, a place to bring our very best as we enter into His presence.

May this sharing be an encouragement for all who have duties on Sundays and are not able to sit through the whole services. Remember God sees your heart and knows your challenge. 祂會在暗中記念的！But never let go of the corporate worship moments, no matter how brief it may be.

May this also be an encouragement to all the worship team leaders. God's powerful presence is manifested through the music you lead and it pierces through my heart bringing forth nourishment! It is this 10-minutes Power Worship that sustains me through every busy Sunday morning for the past five years! THANK YOU!❤