NUSB2

thanks :)

2008-08-28T18:35:00.002+08:00

i ve been very blessed by ming han and mj, who has been blessing me and taking initiative to ask about my life and care for me. ming han has been a really thotful brother and i just wanna affirm the two of u here :) wanted to do it over cg but yest was quite late already. hahah.... ve been gg thru a rough time and e support tt u guys ve given me thru gifts, encouragement cards or just asking me how am i or affirming me really comforts me and encourages me alot :) I am really thankful for u two and i thank God for u guys for being sensitive to my needs.

I ve been really blessed so wanna encourage each and every one of us to grow in caring and loving one another :) i think we all do, but maybe we can grow in being more expressive and taking initiative. I am also growing in this area of being more sensitive to ppl and meeting one another's needs instead of always being the one talking... haha....

Rem for the last 2 cgs tt we had? we did on love lang? maybe we can start by remembering each other's love lang and love them according to their love lang :) haha... some of us, our love lang is touch. bro and sisters a bit hard to express in such a manner ah... so we can work on the second or third love lang.... anyway if it's sincere, i dun think any one of us will mind also... ahahah....

hope to see us growing in care and love for one another :) i am trying to grow in writing affirmations which i tend to be super lazy to do... hahah.. so prepare to receive cards from me SOOONNNNNNNNNNN... :)

Human rights, conversion and apostasy

2008-08-21T22:51:00.007+08:00

Hi peeps! Haven't been posting here for quite some time, I really miss talking to you guys actually. Anyway, I am really in love with my GEK1045 module, Intro to World Religions. It's so exciting and makes me think. Sometimes, I wonder why I didn't become an Arts major; I like writing essays, and I like readings on certain topics, if they interest me.

So anyway, I digress. Coming back to the point, I just want to discuss about certain things here which I hope to get some views on this. I'll just give a basic background beforehand. We're currently on Judaism this week, next would be Christianity. So anyway, about Judaism, the lecturer told us that babies of 8 days old have to be circumcised. According to him, it's a really painful procedure, and may have psychological effects as well (he said he went to google it and found that circumcised kids have a low threshold for pain).

As you know, circumcision is a permanent thing - you can't reverse it. He later went to the topic of the freedom of conversion and apostasy (converting out), which links to the aforementioned topic of circumcision. In Judaism, it's a sign that you've been welcomed to the Jewish community and have accepted the Jewish faith, ie you're officially a Jew. However, at the age of 13, young males (and females, I think) are required to go through a ceremony, where they are asked to declare their devotion to the Jewish faith (not sure if they are allowed to say no).

Question he posed to us was: since circumcision is a permanent one, does it violate the human rights to one's own body? Does it also violate the right of one's freedom of choice to a religion?

It's interesting to see arguments in relation to this, and I wonder what the Bible says regarding this controversial topic. On one hand, is human rights and freedom of choice. On the other, tradition.

I would also like to end off with a court case brought up in Finland in 2006, where a father sued the other parent for ordering the son's circumcision. Judge in this case ruled that "even a life-long tradition does not invalidate a child's right to his own body."

Interesting.. I wonder what does the Bible say about this?

sick sick sick

2008-08-14T19:31:00.002+08:00

Think many of you have been quite concerned with my health. Thanks ppl and sorry to keep u all worry. Thanks for all ur prayers and blessings from fruits to drinks and prayers. thanks alot :)

ve been sick for one month... quite xin cu also. Dun worry ppl i ve been taking care of my health just tt my immune system is really abit weak. Since young ve been falling sick like monthly already, so quite used to it. If i m healthy for a few months is like God's blessings and a miracle already.... heee....

went to the doc yest and i m currently on antibiotics, caught some really nasty bacteria and tt's y i m sick for so long and its hard to kill the bacteria. After i recover from this, the doc is gg to try to build up my immune system by taking more vitamins.

ppl really need prayers so do keep me in prayers. Honestly i dun know why i m falling sick and take so long to recover. yup....

We Need Models and Mentors

2008-08-12T23:08:00.000+08:00

We Need Models and Mentors
by Rick Warren
(From Purpose Driven Daily Devotional

Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. Philippians 3:17 (NIV)

*** *** *** ***

For us to mature, we need models and mentors.

Many people make the mistake of thinking all they need to grow spiritually is God’s Word and prayer. But the truth is, we need people to help us grow.

Christlike character is built through relationships, not in isolation. There are many things God wants you to learn about life that you’ll never learn on your own. You’ll only learn them in community.

We always grow faster and stronger with living, breathing examples who can model for us what a purpose driven life looks like. We need more than explanations, we need examples.

Paul realized the power of a pattern when he advised, “Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you” (Philippians 3:17 NIV). To grow, we need to see principles in practice. We need to see what beliefs looks like when they are translated as behavior in everyday situations.

When Paul would travel to a city to start a church, he would begin by simply living among the people. He was a “living Bible,” echoing the life of Jesus, where “the word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14 NKJV).

After Paul left a city, he would write back, “Keep putting into practice all you learned from me and heard from me and saw me doing, and the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:9 NLT).

Who are your models for following Christ? Who are you watching and learning from?

Here’s a tougher question: Are you an example for anyone else? In elementary school, you probably enjoyed “Show and Tell.” As believers, we’re often better at “telling” than “showing.”

In today’s culture, the world desperately needs people who can show us how to love our spouse and make a marriage last, how to relate to our kids, how to do business with integrity, how to handle conflict in the way Jesus would. These are lessons we learn by watching others.

Not only do we need models to grow, we need mentors. Mentors are people who’ve followed Christ longer than we have and are able to share their life lessons. You’ve heard that it’s wise to learn from experience, but it is wiser to learn from the experiences of others. Life is too short to learn everything by experience! And some painful experiences can be avoided if you’re smart enough to learn from mentors in your church family.

Ask yourself this: “What’s been the greatest positive influence on my life?” Most likely it was not a sermon, seminar, or small group lesson. It was somebody who shaped your life through a personal relationship.

Can you see God’s wisdom in creating the church, a family full of mentors and models for our benefit?

That’s why being connected to a small group is so crucial to spiritual growth. It’s a regular opportunity to learn from each other.

Today, spend a few moments getting intentional about this. Write down the names of people in your church and small group that you’d like to learn from. Then identify what you’d specifically like to learn from them. Remember, they don’t have to be perfect to be a model or mentor.

To grow spiritually, you must also be willing to be a model or mentor to others. That may scare you but all it takes is being one step ahead.

People don’t expect you to be perfect – they already know you aren’t. What they want you to be is honest! So let them see your struggles, not just your successes. We usually grow as much from others’ weaknesses as we do from their strengths.

Beijing Olympics 2008

2008-08-12T11:13:00.002+08:00

So proud of God's atheletes!
Check out this article that Yufen sent me (for those who know her):
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/05/AR2008080503315.html

God is closer than you think

2008-08-02T16:55:00.002+08:00

Just finish reading God is closer than you think by John ortberg, can understand but still feel lost in some areas....God speaking thru ppl, how do u know? u know if its align with God's word aka bible, anyone in da family finish reading? lets have some discussion on it soon!!!

Mh

guitar lesson number 2

2008-07-31T10:24:00.002+08:00

so happy to learn guitar from bobo on tues, sida came n join us, he has gr8 sensitivity to music, thanks to their patience in guiding me, if not i will forever be playing only heart of worship. Learning a new strumming now, n learning bar chords now........so difficult !!
Huili says if we desire to grow, our growth will be like a stock market trend, i pray that God will allow us to grow up like this uptrend straight line( / ) and not the zig zag uptrend as he present constant challenges to grow us :D

aspire to be like bobo to feel the music, thank God for him n sida

Mh

Spiritual Habit of Worship

2008-07-28T12:56:00.001+08:00

Hey bros and siss, i just thought of re-capping the things we have learnt during caregroup on Saturday. As i have said before, although the teaching on worship seems "back to basics", there are still insights to be learnt as we re-visit the truth.

What is not worship?

-Slow music
- Happens once a week
- Raising of hands and kneeling down
- Must be singing songs

What is worship?
- Glorifying and Edifying God
- A lifestyle
- WORTH-SHIP: Telling God the worth he holds in our lives

Why worship?
- Worship simply comes out of a relationship with Jesus
- Worship causes us to be more like God

How is your relationship with God recently? Do you have the habit of worship?

How to worship?
( John 4:20-24)

- In spirit (allow our emotions to come alive)
-In truth (in response to the biblical truths in the Scriptures)

In the passage, Jesus was telling the Samaritan woman at the well that worship is not about the location, but IT'S ABOUT THE ATTITUDE.

God is not trapped on the altar or locked in the temple.

Our body is the temple of God, in which the Holy Spirit given by God takes its dwellling. (1 Cor 6:19-20)

I have found a video clip about worship!

Remember, Worship is not what we can gain from God, it's about coming to the cross daily, to cry, to surrender, to laugh, to be humbled, to confess, TO GIVE OUR LIVES BACK TO GOD!

Spiritual Habits: Word of God, Prayer, Worship
These are the habits we have covered so far during caregroup recently. Let us really put action points to follow thru our understanding.

M&M this week . . .
~ Memorise & Meditate ~

God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.
(John 4:24)

My heart is steadfast, O God;
I will sing and make music with all my soul.
(Psalm 108:1)

everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial and constructive

2008-07-18T02:25:00.011+08:00

Haven come here in quite awhile!! :( Partly lazy to post things here... oops... thanks for trying to keep this place alive!!! Haha..kudos to all who blogged recently!! Haha...

I’m so glad to see posts about how people are concerned about each other’s well-being, problems and even spiritual needs. In fact I’m encouraged to read how we are making sense of our lives, growing in our understanding of God, and sharing about burdens for people around us. Truly, I feel so heartened that we are learning to love each other more despite each others’ weaknesses and differences.

Just a reminder, we ought to be sensitive about some of the things that we post on the blog as much as we want to be open with each other in the blog.

Afterall, it’s a public blog.

That means, anyone actually can have access/ read the blog. NOT forgetting, this place can be traced and googled quite easily. Considering there’re many “real names” used here, I’m worried about some of the contents that are posted being read, or worse case MIS-understood or MIS-read by some third parties, or especially by the affected people themselves.

So I shall mercilessly remove and edit some of the contents that are not suitable for posting on such public blog. (if you r wondering, i only edited 2 posts, didnt touch much the rest...)

I do hope all of us have the same understanding that the more that we’ve knowledge of, the more is expected of us in handling such things with much care. So one important thing that we have to take extra extra note is the responsibility to handle these info with care and much sensitivity, especially when it pertains people’s lives. It can be about the struggles in their lives; it can be things that they are concerned with the most at the moment, etc etc. We need to exercise wisdom and care in sharing on such public blogs.

To take it even further, let’s learn to love and protect our beloved community by filtering and exercising control of what to blog here ok?

SO, I'm hereby setting some ground rules...

Please, no language that is not edifying. I dont think colorful languages looks "nice" on a site dedicated to Jesus agree?

We can certainly share our lives, the many things of our hearts or our thoughts here on this blog. But it is certainly not the best to share some of the things, esp concerning the others here. If we want to do so, let's rather share it in a setting that is during CGs, or with trustable bros & siss..definitely not a public blog yes yes yes?

Oh my, AND please don't leave your personal details like HP number here as well. What if some wierd person got your number when surfing through the blogs? :S protect ourselves too kaz...(You know I'm so worried seeing some of the posts as much as I'm happy to see the reflections!!)

“Everything is permissible” – but not everything is beneficial.
“Everything is permissible” – but not everything is constructive.
Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.
1 Cor 10:23-24

Current Affairs - Legalise Organ Trading?

2008-07-17T00:47:00.003+08:00

In the first place, do we even have the right to sell our organs?

photo from: network.nationalpost.com

Recently i have been quite interested in the debate on whether to legalise the trading of organs.

After the CG we had last week discussing on this issue, i continue to follow the news for the past few days, I was quite disappointed with the response of our Health Minister pertaining to this issue.

Here is part of the article and my inner response to some of the points:

Let's not rule out organ trading yet, says Khaw

The Straits Times - 15 July 2008

SINGAPORE is not ruling out legalising organ trading.

The surprise comment from Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan yesterday is bound to re-ignite the fiery debate on the benefits and dangers of allowing the buying and selling of human kidneys, lungs and other organs.

The Government has stood firm so far on enforcing the present laws, which prohibit organ trade.

Recently, five people were taken to court in the country's first kidneys-for-sale deals.

But yesterday Mr Khaw said that organ shortages and a black market in the region made legalising trading an option.

(Is it? Should we compromise our values to go along with the waves/or so call FORCE? Should we keep shifting the position of the goal post, changing the dimensions? This is chaotic man! This is not a matter of multiplication, where -ve x -ve = +ve. If we allow trading of organs in Singapore, we are adding up negatives with negatives, where -ve + -ve = even more negatives! Selfish minds and Bad policies give us a society that we can't live in.)

'I think we should not write off or reject the idea of selling organs. But I think we need to study it carefully,' he said.

There are no immediate plans to change the law, as there are practical reasons why overturning the ban could backfire - like shrinking the current donor pool, he added.

He said yesterday: 'I remain of the view that organ trading is not the way to go, but we should not reject any idea given the reality.'

(OH man! we shouldn't even think about it)

Meanwhile, the Singapore Medical Association (SMA) has come out steadfastly against legalising the organ trade, following an emergency meeting on Saturday.

Its spokesman, Dr Tan Sze Wee, said organ sellers face an array of short- and long-term medical risks. The sellers, almost always desperately poor, could also be abused and exploited.

Mr Khaw said the best approach is still one of prevention, such as better control of diseases like diabetes.

(Of cos right? Who don't agree? Common sense mah...)

Singapore should promote altruistic donations through the Human Organ Transplant Act (Hota).

Mr Khaw added that he hoped to find a solution that protects the interests of the donor and the patient.

'How? I don't know. But if we do not force ourselves to think out of the box, then we will never be able to find a better solution,' he said.

(And what makes us think that we will be able to find a better solution if we force ourselves to think out of the box. Yes, I know, thinking out of the box mah!, we keep hearing it in schools also. However, I believe this issue can be discussed, and MUST be discussed and solved within the 'Morality Box'. Many times, we still need to confine things into a box, or else things will be in a mess! OMG!)

- My thoughts -

Legalising organ trading would mean . . .

Every piece of human body, whether alive or died, becomes a money machine - cheapening the value of human lives.

A leh-long of organs in the 'market place', whoever can match up with the price gets it. The POOR poor patients can only wait til the day of their death. - Sigh . . .

Blood banks need to buy blood from people (at market rates) to deal with demands for blood transfusion during surgeries (accidents, operations, giving birth.). There might be a strike by this greedy generation, trying to create a uproar for blood price hike. - Terrible! You just need blood (that is supposed to be free) to save lives yet some people are demanding for a blood price hike to offset the rise in fuel and oil. OMG!

Having the possibility of you feeling pain when a knife is stabbed into your body while you are walking on the road . . . and you find yourself with only 1 or none of your kidneys left when you wake up... - Pain + Shocked!

Having the possibility that young children are kidnapped by criminals to obtain their kidneys. - Oh no!

Having the possibility that all your family members are left with 1 kidney, and unable to donate their kidney (which is more compatible to yours to obtain higher success rate) to you when you need a transplant. - Desperate!

With only 1 kidney in your body, your kidney will be overworked, and you are more susceptible to diabetics and high blood pressure.
.
.
sorry if it sounded offensive to you. Not my intention. Really. But definitely something that is very possible to happen if we legalise 'Organ trading'
.
I can continue to paint this picture, but it seems too ugly and unsightly and unbearable, EVEN before the full picture is reviewed.

Why tear apart this box and will allow the 'rats and cockroaches' to run wild in this house?

Even movies and drama serials mentioned that a child is a gift from God. Wonderfully conceived at the moment the sperm fused with the egg and continue to form and take shape in the mother's womb.

Since it is a GIFT, what makes us think that we have the right to profit from something that is given to us without a price.

How ungrateful would that be?

fri 13/7

2008-07-13T18:54:00.004+08:00

here's my review for the week: was really quite down the entire week, plus I didnt go for the service/unit/cg the week before. During the week, I thought back about my walk/growth in Christ. I couldn't help comparing with others, esp ppl who are spiritually stronger than me. Using them as a yardstick, I felt my own walk with God was alright, but growth was too slow, esp since the cg seems to be quite short-handed. I couldn't wait for my growth, and I couldn't see myself growing. It didn't seem like I was growing right, or at the right pace either.

Basically, for the entire week, my mood was off-the-mark. I was discouraged, self-esteem and confidence took a dive. I thought about how I'm still not disciplined enough to want to read my bible, qt and pray everyday; I have to drag myself to do it at times, and I will honestly forget to do it sometimes and only to realise it the next day or the day after. I also reminiscenced about my past; thinking of how much time I had wasted, how little knowledge/wisdom I had accumulated when I could have made full use of the time that I had in the past to do so. I was apprehensive about how I could contribute to the cg etc.

Thank God for calyn that day. She called, and we talked. Started out quite surface, but as I was bored in my uneventful job, we continued to talk. As the conversation grew deeper, we touched on the topic of my worries and doubts.

I had quite a number of worries on my mind, though many a times the verse "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself" (Matt 7:34) popped up into my mind. Not only was I worrying about how my relationship with God has (not) been growing, I was dan xin for Meiyi as well. She doesn't seem to be receptive to the idea of going to the poly group, and has been avoiding that qn since the beginning of time (just kidding). There are also a number of issues I hope to bring to attention to her, but I do not know how to put them into words, such that they may not hurt her, yet rivets her focus back to these issues, and gravitate her centre to God.

There's also the time problem. I need more time, Lord!! 24 hours for a day, 7 days a week is simply not enough for me! Free time for the both of us seem to be always clashing, what with her CCAs, meetings, school and tuition work. I need to meet up with her to talk regularly, but we cant even find time to talk on the phone anymore. =((

As aforementioned, I worry about the amount I'm able to contribute to the cg. We have phantom members, hotel/hosp/holiday-resort members, visiting members and incoming members. I'm worried for lyndia, simin, meiyi and jasmine, for now. I want to talk to them, connect with them, and hope to see them grow in Christ, but I find it difficult to meet up with them. Now I think I will have more time on my hands, so I'll have truckloads of time for them! However, one-to-one is a bit scary for me, so I need free ppl to come with me --> volunteers pls! =)) Or, if any one of you is meeting up with any of them for unofficial reasons and do not mind me tagging, pls call 9******* and mj will be happy to answer! =) Oh, this applies to any of the freshmen too =)

Oh, I digressed. Hmm, so on fri, calulyn called (love the nickname lily came up with). We talked, and I told her about how I think I've been stagnant. She gave me plenty of examples that showed me how she thinks I've grown, and little by little, I grew less apprehensive, more encouraged, more confident that my walk with God has not been fruitless, more determined to persevere and grow further. =))

Yeap! I think that's what might have sparked the numerous games ideas that I had =D

WWWWHHHHEEEE!!

Okay, I shall end with something God just reminded me about.
[Paul's] Call to Persevere
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another..."
~Hebrews 10:23-25a

Shall end here!
This is MJ reporting live, from NusB2, Hope Church Singapore.

See you guys soon! Can't wait to play the game =DD

for i am weak, then i am strong

2008-07-13T00:45:00.005+08:00

I felt an urge to write this post in the middle of the night after seeing my dear sister who has been very busy juggling with her troubles and work to pay for her own expenses and handling family problems. Indeed troubles come to everyone n every person tinks that he or she is in the deepest valley. it is definitely a long story to share and we cannot share it to everybody cos of certain reasons like parents forbidding or too lazy to say (thats me)haha...

We may not know wads going on specifically in one another's issues but we know that we r having some challenges in life, and jus this knowledge alone is enough for us to help n pray for them to overcome wadeva obstacles there mayb ahead.

im worried about 2 sisters....both of them so sweet and helpful(just like every hope member). despite each of them having their own troubles, they wanna help each other out. And I broke off with my gf, with her mum harassing me with her sms every now and then, i feel bitterness and sadness and pain (thnks to calyn hu says i onli use my mind and strength to do tings instead of my heart and soul)breaking up is not as issue but its abt myself, i cannot accept myself to be like that, i wun turn bak to a failed r-ship n yet i feel bitter if she gets together with someone, in short, im selfish....and of cos many other inner strugglesi had with myself da past mth. Whose prob is worse? ALL r as bad, to us ourselves.

we have 2 choices now: either we can indulge in melancholy mood, or choose to pick ourselves up n face all odds. I chose the latter, for i m glad n sad that our bros n sis have been helping me, glad to know they r around, sad to know im imposing on them, esp calyn, hu onli knows how to share swts with me, yet i always give her problems.

so come on sisters, let us pick ourselves up, instead of indulging ourselves in mel mel mode, why not tink of things we can do to bless ourselves n bless ppl. Women are getting stronger these days, stronger than men in fact(just look at our church), and da 2 of u r strong WOMEN rite?wads more we have unlimited help from our bros and sis in christ 24/7 =D if this journey cannot be any easier, we shall and we must get stronger...and all this i pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

ps:can post such tings on da blog? oh well, i already posted it

Sat 21/6

2008-06-23T23:07:00.002+08:00

Hey, here I am again. Hadn't had the time to post till now. Anyhow, Sat was a great great great day! =)) We had the cycling event, followed by lunch, and service. Cycling was great, though the bike was terrible. Lunch was even better, we got to talk =) Service was the best, and the after-service was even even even better! =DD

A few of us stayed after service, I was debating if I should be on my way home, since it was way past 10pm. I wanted to stay, not only because of simin, but also because I thought the content of the talk was so good, I felt I had to stay. I wanted to stay and listen to Derrick, Calyn and Simin, their thoughts, opinions, lives etc. It was a wonderful time of fellowship, and real fellowship at that.

I guess that day was a day when I really got to know them, to see them for who they were, especially Simin and Derrick. You know Derrick is like, funny, wacko and all that, but his deep is like... really deep. It's comparable to the deep questions Huili would throw sometimes. -scary- Calyn and Derrick were talking about Minyi, this freshie, whom they had lunch with that day. They were discussing something about God, His existence and all that. I think someone said Minyi's issue is why she needs God in her life, as in, she doesn't know why, doesn't think she needs God in her life right now.

And.. my mouth just had to open and say, "Oh yeah, I thought of that too before coming to church." Right after that, Calyn had that evil glint (haha just kidding) in her eye, and out of her mouth came, "So do you know why?" Hmm, I sort of know, but not really. As in, it's a feeling that I couldn't explain, at that point of time. So I resolved to come back to this, and tucked it into the back of my head.

Slept on the way home, so couldn't think. But I think I sort of got my answer, as in, it's a personalised answer, for me. I think it would definitely be different for you guys.

While thinking about it, I could come up with all sorts of random answers, for instance, security, love, peace, joy, hope, forgiveness, etc. However, what I think is really the issue at hand when one encounters this question, is are you really satisfied with your life now? Are you fully peaceful and at rest with your heart and soul now? Are you able to maintain composure for most times, least to say at all times? Are you truly grateful and glad you're 'alive and well' in this world?

I guess it's really quite a self-centred question. It's like asking what do I get from acknowledging God. Likewise in business relations/transactions, CEOs/project managers would always ask, what do I get if I sponsor/oversee this project of yours? What do I stand to gain?

However, a relationship with God goes far far far beyond that. It goes beyond the boundaries of defining what you can get, what you stand to gain from, because what God can give you, is something that we can never foresee or measure. It is unthinkable, it is beyond our abilities.

I guess if someone asked me Minyi's question, I would shoot back "Why do you think you do not need God in your life?", then see what the reply would be. For myself, I decided to look to God for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I wanted to repent from my sinful ways; essentially, what I wanted was a U-turn in life. My second reason is that I wanted my innocence as a child back again. I wanted to be free. I wanted answers, guidance, truth, in my walk in life. I wanted to know more, beyond this world; I wanted to know if there was more to life than what I had experienced or heard.

I got more than what I asked for. Along the way, I picked up a peace of mind, restfulness, love, joy, forgiveness, patience, truth, perseverence, and much much more - all these are invaluable. I made a handful of friends who truly care, a bunch of like-minded peeps, who really love each other and care for one another - priceless. I gained a Shepherd, a Teacher, Father etc, one whom I could look up to and at, at any point of time - that's truly amazing. He's not afraid to rebuke me, guides me to the Truth, shows me the Way when I'm lost, and gives me Life. =)

Basically, my answer to Minyi's question can be better expressed in the song by Hillsong, How could I live, one of my favourite songs. =)

Oh! Haha I don't know if this is like imagination of mine that's working overtime, but I was listening to Lincoln Brewster's Lord I lift Your Name on High, and I was tracing Jesus' route from Heaven to earth to the cross (on a hill), to the grave and back to Heaven, and I realised it forms a 'W'! Haha so cool.

Yeep! I'm off, it's going to be a busy busy busy week! =) See you guys tmr! =)

Sat 14/6

2008-06-16T13:59:00.004+08:00

Hey peeps. Huili called for us to share our lives freely with one another, and I guess I will.. though a bit paiseh. But since it's on a blog, I'm hidden from public eyes! But still, as I'm typing, your eyes and images of you guys are so clear... Crap! Get out of my mind, guys! Haha okay I'm being crazy =P Anyway, here goes..... *blush*

Sat 14/6 was a day of great meaning to me. Not only was it the poly ess, it was the day both God and the devil became so clear to me. You guys know I went for netballuxion in the morning helping edmund do saikang, lugging cans and packs of 100 plus and bottles of water here and there, giving out goodie bags. Here are all the things you guys didn't know about..

I went home, fell asleep, woke up at 6pm without an alarm. First thing in my mind was "Die! mingjiao you're so late you're so dead!" Next thing that popped out was "Don't go larh. Don't go, it's only the poly ess, no use to you." So this went on, the debate so alive in my mind. Still, my feet dragged me out of the house, as this lively debate was stuck in my mind. Right after the bus came, God 'left' me. He quietened down, He didn't utter a word. The devil spoke so much, he was so loud, noisy, clear, taunting and tempting, eg "See, you should have gone home" when I found out I had my monthly reminder that I'm a girl at Woodlands (40 mins to somerset). So there I sat, totally still with fear, with those thoughts of going home still in my head.

Reached somerset, went to the toilet to see if it was a dispensing machine, but there wasn't. Irritated. Went 7-11, saw that it was selling at an exorbitatnt amount and got irritated again. By this time, I was not only irritated by the situation, but with God too. I was irritated with Him for not letting me go home, for waking me up, for not putting a dispenser in the toilet so I can just pay $1 instead of $4.20. I was irritated, annoyed, pissed and dejected. I was annoyed with my head (not because it's small, minghan), kept telling myself to stop it, to hold those thoughts, to take captive of them and make them obedient to Christ like in 2 Cor _:_ (dont rmb where). But I couldn't.

Dragged myself to service, saw the ushers armed, aimed, took their best shot at and pulverised me with their smiles and warm happy 'welcome!'. Immediately the horrible thoughts were silenced. As I climbed up the stairs, I remember having a thought pop into my mind "Lord, save me"; till now, I don't know where that came from. The moment it was rooted in my mind, the evil thought took place yet again.

Sat in my seat, I was too late for praise and worship; I was glad the play started so I could concentrate on something else. The start was nothing much, I was too occupied stoning, I was basically just sitting there, tired out from all that debate, stoning, glad for the silence in my mind. Nothing though, touched me like the song from Lifehouse, Beautiful. The lyrics were so meaningful, it drove right to my heart. I could see how horrible I've been, how horrible I can be without God in my life. I could feel God's love, his care and concern for me again. I saw how terribly tempted I was, how weak and small I am. But He was with me. I was so undeserving, yet He is still with me. I was so upset with God for nothing, for my selfishness, yet He brought me back. Yet He loves me. Tears welled up, face scrunched, heart touched, softened, as I stared at the lyrics on the screen. I was so upset with myself, disappointed, ashamed; I let Him down again. However, as tears streamed down, pouring, an image of the Lord floated into my mind. He was saying "It's alright, it's alright, I'm here now"...

I thank God for that. I felt Him there so much, it touched my heart, warm and soft. It was a lesson, a whole new experience like never before. The rest was history.
I thank God for everything I went through, for pulling/seeing me through all these. I thank Him for Him.

I guess I could write an essay about this, but I would like to just leave it at that. (Don't wanna bore you guys to death.) God is so amazing. See you guys later! I hope we win!! =))

2008-06-04T20:26:00.002+08:00

Hey peeps! Calyn lent me this book called Traveling Light by Max Lucado, and I want to share with you guys something really really cool in it!

In this book, Russ Blowers, a preacher, was a minister in Indiapolis. He knew he would be questioned about his profession at a Rotary Club, meeting and he said this,

"Hi, I'm Russ Blowers. I'm witha global enterprise. We have branches in every country in the world. We have representatives in nearly every parliament and boardroom on earth. We're into motivation and behaviour alteration. We run hospitals, feeding stations, crisis-pregnancy centers, universities, publishing houses, and nursing homes. We care for our clients from birth to death. We are into life insurance and fire insurance. We perform spiritual heart transplants. Our orginal Organiser owns all the real estate on eart plus an assortment of galaxies and constellations. He knows everything and lives everywhere. Our product is free for the asking. (There is not enough money to buy it.) Our CEO was born in a hick town, worked as a carpenter, didn't own a home, was misunderstood by his family and hated by his enemies, walked on water, [turned water in wine], was condemned to death without a trial, and arose from the dead. I talk with him everyday."

Cool right! =))) So cool. I can't get over it. =DD

uni camp'08

2008-05-29T21:58:00.002+08:00

PEOPLE!! This blog looks totally dead, I'm doing something about it =D Whee! By the way, Guanrui, your tag on the last "olympics" photo is totally funny!

Okay, I digressed, as usual. Coming back to the point, Uni-camp was totally fun and cool! I learnt so much, had so much fun and got to know a few people better! That's not the point, I digressed again. I think Uni-camp pulled me so much closer to God. He made me understand how deep and great His love was/is for us, the importance of pnw and qt, as well as the ppl around me. He humbled my heart then, filled me with guilt, a heart of repentance, awe for His love, glory and grace, as well as understanding.

From there, I xia ding jue xing to follow Him, to be more God-centred. Placing Him in the core of my life has been one of the rare right decisions I’ve ever made in my life. For once, I felt like my life was going alright, I was making the right decision: to follow God, His Ways, and everything He tells me. I may seem a bit extreme, but I even asked Him if I should quit.

I think what God wants me to do is simply, basic things. It’s totally back-to-basics for me. This reminds me, on thurs, minghan asked how long I’ve been a Christian. I said 9 months, and he said “Huh? Really? Then why are you still so noob?”

His words hit home, for once. [You know how he usually sprouts funny/rubbish things.] I was about to bellow a huge “NO!”, but I stopped myself and reflected. In that split moment, I realized, yeah, I’m a noob, and it’s sort of sad considering my 9 months (pregnancy). My progress has been minimal, if at all. That day, I thank God for minghan. [haha that day only! Okie, kidding, mingjiao don’t be so bad.] I still do.

I have many many many points to pray for, in terms of growth. I think I have too many faults and shortcomings to overcome, some of them are things which I thought I had overcame, which in fact I was just blocking out. Basically, I should grow in:

Forcing myself to keep up my QTs and M&Ms and prayers [the lousy wasabi and vinegar game was so demoralizing and motivating at the same time. By the way, I had mild diarrhea yesterday and today, thanks to the wasabi and kangkong that was so spicy I turned red after it touched my tongue!]
Prayer Stamina
Heart, mind, body and soul after God!
Humility
Patience/Understanding

Yeah well, as you can see, I’m the equivalent of a noob. Haha, but then again, it’s a form of motivation for me, for I hate being noobish when I’m not supposed to be noob. I want to do a lot of things, like serve, like having a sheep, but I know I’m not good enough, and that’s a huge persuasion point for me.
Before I end off, can I tell you guys something? You guys must scold me whenever I do something wrong kae? Or I’ll never learn. I’m the equivalent of a stubborn mule, one that keeps repeating the same mistakes, unless someone or God hits me hard on the head. So you guys must scold me okay! Guanrui! You must kae! You’re always so polite. Jasmine! You also! You are too nice! But I definitely do not need to say this to minghan. Bleah.

Hmm. I will miss you guys. And lily.

Irritating. =((

Bless you all.

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” ~Hebrews 11:1

UNI Camp'08 : Points to Follow -Thru

2008-05-25T15:50:00.001+08:00

Yeah! I finally found time to sit down to update the blog and add some new photos i have!

Even I've already shared my learning points from the UNI camp @ St. John's Island, i would like to also post them on the blog. Please feel free to post yours too! And we can keep each other in prayer, and really see how God will lead us thru these points we have reflected upon.

I believe God wants me to . . .

1)Be ready to share about His love to people who want to know more about Him. I would need to grow strong in the understanding of the Word, so that when i speak i do not speak with my voice and might, but by God's authority and His Spirit in work.

2)Approach God with boldness instead of timidity, with confidence instead of fear.

"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline."
2 Tim 1:7

I will not be hesistant in doing what God wants me to do, giving Him my very best in growing up his sheep/s, and serving Him with the gifts and talents given to me. I need to grow in courage and trust in Him that no matter how difficult i perceived what is ahead of me, it is God who is going to grow and lead me, and He will definitely help me, because He loves His people.

He accepts me as I was when i received Him into my life. He doesn't want me to remain as i am.

3)Not be envy of the abilities of others, but be faithful with what i already have. I must understand that it is not about whether i am good at everything, but whether i am able to work in a team, like a mini gear in the watch, a part of the body of Christ. I need to pour in my best as a part of this Body.

4)As I am learning to be a praise and worship support singer, i need to learn to lead myself to worship into God's presence to hear from God. Seeing myself as a minister used by God to lead people to draw people to God thru singing and praying to Him. End of the day, it is not whether the music is perfect or voice is wonderful, but whether everyone met God during the time of praise and worship.

Hao ba! That's all from me right now!

Olympics? Shouldn't the 3 circles be on the top row instead? Hmmm... haha

ready to meet God at anytime?

2008-04-04T10:15:00.005+08:00

Adam and Eve were called to "be fruitful & multiply", they had a big lobang from God Himself, to work as a King & Queen of the animals, land and everything on Earth. S, for their first full-time job as a gardener and ruler, were they sucessful? Not too bad I say, Adam managed to name every animal God gave to Him at first. But Eve screwed it up after seeing the supposedly juicy and delicious fruit the serpent showed her.

An average joe'll spend a large part of his time & effort on either studies or work, depending on which life station he's in. doing a simple calculation, i may well be spending half my "awake" time for studies, going lectures, doing tutorials, etc etc. It's really not easy being fruitful, the challenges of a student is not less that Adam..You face the teacher who cant teach well, or rather, dont even know if he know what he's talking about..you face peers who mug 24/7 and tells you that he didnt study enough..you've tutorials, projects and assignments that never seem to cease for some reasons..

BUT, while we try our best in whatever we can, excelling in all that we know best..an important question to ask ourselves amidst all these..are we consistently, continually walking right with God?

When the Creator "happen to walk in the garden", which state are we often ccaught in?
1) in the act of sinning, such that we had to hide when we hear His footsteps
e.g. compromising on the standard of our Christian faith in face of the serpent, we give in too easily to the easier way out, to do the things that does not require us to sacrifise..only to find so much guilt within that we cannot face God, sometimes even man..

2) standing firm in our faith, such that we're all-ready to jump on Him and say a big "HI GOD!! whazzup yo?"
(imagine the serpent being so angry he evaporated into the air..weessh..)

What is the BIG juicy fruit in our lives that we're likely to give in to?
C.A.P. 5? handsome man to marry us off? (I know the bros wont look at the exterior rite? ;p) spectacular resume to show to our future employers? Slacking and watching TV all day long if we're not required to take on any responsibilities?

just as it is a constant struggle for all of us, we can be assured that God's grace and love is all-abounding and ever so deep and great, we can be granted full forgiveness. But let us not take His grace for granted. seriously, it hurts God most whenever we compromise on our faith. it's like a father who told a child not to jump around in the garden..the child refuses to because it's really fun! when the child knocks into a pot of flowers, toppling the soil and destroying the flowers and evrything..the father rushes to catch the child and hug him, "boy, are you hurt?" As he says these words, the father was feeling hurt and worried, "you shouldnt have jumped around like that.."

Submit yourselves, then to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. (James 4:7-8a)

scary hairy not-funny

2008-03-25T01:57:00.002+08:00

Hey peeps. Been a long time since I blogged. Anyhow, I was on a super crowded bus one day, and I heard some scary news, which reminded me of what Huili said about the things that will happen just before the Second coming of Jesus. It seriously scares me, and I want to share the scare with you.

Please read:

Jesus tomb found, says film-maker
A documentary claims this is the ossuary of Jesus ChristJesus had a son named Judah and was buried alongside Mary Magdalene, according to a new documentary by Hollywood film director James Cameron.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6397373.stm

CBS, USASep. 12, 2006 Ileana Varela
• Followers Claim Doral Man is God On Earth
• Jose Luis deJesus Claims There Is No Heaven, No Hell
• Followers Believe All Other Religions Must Be Destroyed
The Man Who Claims To Be Jesus

This Man Thinks He's Jesus H. Christ!
And a lot of people agree with him
By Keith Plocek Published: November 30, 2006
http://www.houstonpress.com/2006-11-30/news/this-man-thinks-he-s-jesus-h-christ/

All these seriously scares me, man. I'm getting the freaks while copying and pasting these for you guys. You guys are smart enough to know what these means.....

Easter

2008-03-12T10:47:00.002+08:00

It's going to be Easter very soon!!!! Let's celebrate the death and ressurrection of Jesus, whom so by overcoming the grave saved our souls for eternity. Hope to see us inviting friends for the coming 2 special Easter Services too. :)

"He was delivered over to death for our sins, and was raised to life for our justification."
Rom 4:25

re-looking at John 9:1-12

2008-03-12T10:20:00.006+08:00

a devotional that i received, hope it will bless u.. :) Even though we've QT on the passage before, i thought it was written in a rather new and refreshing perpective-that of the blind man, and how his heart was obedient despite the ridicules and difficulties. If at any point in time we faced difficulties, or even struggles, are we any far off away from a blind man? I pray that we'll learn the valuable attitude of obedience and enjoy the sweetness of experiencing our LORD Jesus Christ through obeying Him.

Jesus Sent, The Blind Man Went
by Jon Walker

His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, "Is this the same man—that beggar?" Some said he was, and others said, "No, but he surely looks like him!" And the beggar kept saying, "I am the same man!" They asked, "Who healed you? What happened?" John 9:8-10 (NLT)
*** *** ***
And so Jesus came upon a man who’d been blind since birth. The man was begging on the streets of Jerusalem, just to survive until the next day. Although people were all around him, he sat in isolation. No one could truly understand his fears and his frustrations; People passed by, some even spoke to him, some even gave him money, but no one could really understand his situation.

Just then, a man knelt next to him and, perhaps, said quietly, “If you do exactly what I tell you to do, you’ll be able to see. I will heal you.”

The blind man was desperate to be healed; he was desperate for change; he was desperate for a sign from God, desperate to know he hadn’t been forgotten. The blind beggar may have turned toward the voice, expecting the one speaking – the one they call Jesus – to command his eyes to open, expecting that Jesus would speak light where there had only been darkness his whole life. Just speak, Lord, and it will be done.

But Jesus didn’t give the command. The blind man may not have even been aware of what Jesus was doing in that moment – working his saliva into the mud, which Jesus then spread across the man’s eyes like a mask.

Then Jesus said, “Go and wash in the pool of Siloam.” (John 9:7, NLT) At first, the blind man may have hesitated, confused about how going to Siloam would give him sight. But his desperation pushed him onward toward the pool.

As he stumbled to Siloam, he may have been wondering, "Why would Jesus make me do this, when he could have simply healed me back there?"

He may have heard the laughter and ridicule as people watched him slowly walk toward the pool: “Look at that fool with the mud in his eyes. Don’t you know even we can’t see with mud in our eyes! Are you crazy enough to think you’ll really be healed?”

But the blind man could not be shamed from doing whatever it took to be healed. Jesus told the blind man to do exactly what he was told to do, and if that meant washing his face in the pool of Siloam, then he would wash his face in the pool of Siloam, no matter what anyone else said. Siloam means "sent" – Jesus sent, and the man went, and when he’d washed his face the man could see!

As he walked back to the place he had been, those who had ridiculed him saw a very changed man, a man born blind who now could see.

Since the beginning of the world, no one has been to open the eyes of someone born blind. (John 9:32) But now there is Jesus! Praise God!

The blind man now has eyes that see, but those around him can’t believe their eyes. He can now see, but they are blind to the ways of Jesus.

What does this mean?
· Do what Jesus tells you do – The blind man’s experience shows that Jesus uses our obedience to heal our hurts and to strengthen our faith. Think of a challenge you now face or an issue that needs godly resolution: What is Jesus telling you to do?

· Do exactly what Jesus says to do – Jesus gave specific instructions to the blind man. He didn’t say, “Wipe the mud from your eyes.” He didn’t say, “Go to the nearest well for water and then wash your face.” He said. “Go to Siloam.” When Jesus tells us what to do, we need to pay close attention to the details. He may be asking more than you think, but listen carefully – he may be asking you to do less than you think in a specific situation.

· Do what you know to do – If you’re struggling to hear from God, wondering what he wants you to do in a situation – think through what you already know you should be doing and do that. In other words, if you’re waiting on God to tell you whether you should go on mission to Vietnam or Brazil, you can still do the things you know God wants you to do: prayer, Bible study, developing the fruits of the Spirit, and so forth.

· Our obedience becomes our witness – Jesus uses our obedience to help others see the power of God. “The beggar’s neighbors began to ask, ‘Who healed you? What happened?’”(John 9:10, NLT)

© 2008 Purpose Driven Life.
All rights reserved.
Pastor Jon Walker is a writer for http://www.gracecreates.com/.

M&M #4

2008-02-18T22:26:00.002+08:00

Deuteronomy 11:18

Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.

Psalms 1: 2-3

But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

just a tip for helping us to memorize these verses. personally, memorizing things (including verses) is a very difficult thing to do, a better way of doing this would be first to think through and reflect about what the verses are talking about, and see what God has to say to you in those verses. Then, after understanding and personalizing these verses, it would be much easier to do remember the verse :)

some things that maybe you can ponder about when you do M&M on the above 2 verses.

1) What does it mean to "tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads"? How can we apply it to ourselves?

2) PSA1:2-3 talks about delight in the law of the LORD. Do we desire and look forward to spending time with God, or are we always too pre-occupied with other things and just rush through a time of personal QT? Are we claiming the promises in verse 3?

Do post any comments, thoughts or even reflection points you have. We can share them in the next QT meeting too =)

Being brothers and sisters in Christ . . .

2008-02-17T01:50:00.003+08:00

Hey brothers and sisters,

I thought of sharing to you all briefly on what i have gained from the business venture with Calyn during Valentine's Day period this year.

Both of us came together with the idea to try out this business of selling fresh flowers and my handmade cards together for the first time. We were not really sure of what/how much profit we can expect.

However, we decided to use this chance to fulfil our dream of setting up this business yet at the same time, wanted to use our blog to mention about God's love above all the relationships we have. We committed our prayers to God, asking for His guidance and blessings, protection over our small business, and we pledged to set aside half of our profits to fundings for our Uni ministry events such as Alpha course this year.

Throughout this whole period of pouring in 'sweat and blood' into this business, above the things God has blessed us with, (profits, publicity, people who worked with us, brothers and sisters who encouraged and support us), I thank God for this friendship I have with Calyn.

Such a friendship is something that i looked forward to, being able to be frank to one another about the things we feel unhappy/uncomfortable about each other. When there is conflict/clash of ideas, both of us seek to trash it out before one another. Such actions involve risk-taking in our friendship, but because we chose to take risk, our understanding of each other's characters and way of handling things grew much more, and leads to an open channel for feedback and correction if necessary.

Just want to encourage all of us to continue work towards building 'trust' and 'love' in your relationship with the brothers and sisters in the group, seek to resolve conflicts/issues/misunderstandings/hurts, reconcile this relationships that will place a smile on God's face. Afterall, all these things will follow us during our life on earth, and even much more longer when we see each other on the other side of Heaven.

Unit B CNY House Visiting 2008

2008-02-17T01:30:00.000+08:00

CG timetable

2008-02-13T21:26:00.003+08:00

I would love to upload the exact excel spreadsheet..but suaku me dont know how to..so for the time being we'll just stick to this pathetic pic..:)

NEWSFLASH CONT.

2008-02-11T08:11:00.000+08:00

so its catholic? is it the same as christianity? bsides the mother mary part, so did he call on God's power or Mother mary? hmmm.......

NEWSFLASH!

2008-02-09T11:11:00.001+08:00

NEWSFLASH!!

Filipino Catholic priest's healing touch cures thousands

MANILA: A Catholic priest in the Philippines is said to have cured thousands of sick people just by touching them. As early as six in the morning, thousands of sick people lined up outside a small Catholic church in Mandaluyong, just to be touched by Fr. Fernando Suarez. The Filipino priest has reportedly been able to heal any form of sickness in Canada, where he's been assigned for the past six years.

This is his first time to hold his healing masses in the Philippines. Many of those who came here said, they suddenly became well after Fr. Suarez laid his healing hands on them. Gerardo Palma suffered a stroke two years ago, and had difficulty walking. Alice Togra lost her eyesight due to meningitis complications when she was a child and she said she couldn't believe that she has regained her eyesight. Some would refer to Fr. Suarez as having supernatural powers, but for the healing priest, his healing abilities come from the Lord above.

The priest always begins his healing sessions with a mass. Fr. Fernando Suarez the healing priest, said: "The healing that I'm offering is not only physical. That's why I take time to explain and let the people know that physical is only one aspect of healing." “There are spiritual, psychological, emotional healing, and moral healing that we also need to be attended to and that's what this ministry is offering," he added. But the priest is also facing criticism at home. The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines said, though they acknowledge his special gift of healing, they still have to investigate the reported miracles.

Many bishops have also raised questions over the raising of funds for Fr Suarez' vision of a mega shrine, which would include a statue of Mother Mary as tall as the Statue of Liberty. The priest said donations are not mandatory, and that the planned five hectare site will serve as a pilgrimage site. Aside from Canada and the Philippines, Fr Suarez plans to spread his ministry to the United States and Asia. -CNA/vm

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southeastasia/view/327693/1/.html

kong xi fa cai!

2008-02-09T10:02:00.000+08:00

Hello ppl
long time no see
bet you guys miss me!

Heehee don't you all just love my poem! anyway, it's been long long long due since the start of the year, and I've been meaning to post, but my memory failed me. Bleah. Here goes!

C - career/studies
Caps this sem: 4.0
I am going for all tutorials and lectures (even the b law one with the slow lecturer).
I am doing all tutorials, including extra questions.
I am going for more 'touch-up' workshops, classes, etc.
I am writing down impt things, notes and deadlines in my pink nus diary! (keep track of schedule, for I depended on my friend too much last sem.)
I am completing all the compulsory readings for fna, bsp, philo.
I am participating more in class discussions and in tutorials. (confidence must therefore be built.)
I refuse to push my project to the last min, even if it means nagging at my team mates at all expenses.

Okie! So, with that said, lets go on to...

R - relationship

Family
Current basic overview: With dad, it's fine. With bro, it's getting distant. With mom, it's on and off.

So I guess what I really need to work on is r/nship with mom and bro. Bro's in puberty stage (the act-cool stage) so he's just basically keeping to himself and all that, which I guess can't really be helped, so there's not much there to it that I am able to do. Still, I've been trying to talk to him at selective times, but he seems determined to maintain that distance. (Everytime I go to his room to talk to him, he tells me he just farted, and I do not dare to take the chance.)

With mom, it's so on and off. She's basically weird at times, complete with weird logic, behaviour and actions. When she comes to ka-jiao me (haha what a pun), I used to get really irritated and a quarrelling match occurs. Then, I adopted a 'ignoring you' stance. She continues her ka-jiao-ing. I really do not understand what she wants, and what I am supposed to do. Now, I am trying my best to do my work as she nags at me. It's working fine, so far. She gets what she wants (nagging, or what she calls talking to me), I use it as an exercise to try and do work while tuning out the 'noise'.

Friends
Okay, I guess I am fine with who I have now. So I think I will just improve my attitude towards all my friends, both close and not so close.

I have decided to open up more acquintances, be more friendly, less shy and more bold. Again, confidence comes in. I would have to be less judgemental, esp to those who seem like 'material girls'. I would also be more willing to listen, increase my sensitivity and be more considerate. =)

R/nship with jw is fine, thank God for that. =) yay.

E-economics
Hmm. I'm doing fine for this. Though a little tight recently due to Mom's illness. Five dollars a day is my budget, so I just have to eat lesser. A blessing in disguise? Heheh.

S-spiritual
I am praying everyday.
I am reading my Bible at least every other day.
I am listening and obeying Him when He speaks, not doubting it is Him and not me talking to myself.
I am doing my M&M's!

H-health
Okay, another touchy topic on trainings. (touch rugby only.)
Basic overview: I used to be really really good. I could play really well, doing my own stuff, listening and doing what others tell me to do, and all that. I could defend, attack and cover for others.

Well, it deteriorated during the hols. My passion for trainings drained off, faster than the speed of light, due to pressure. Pressure from team, coach and especially, myself. Expectations too high to be met, to the extent that I refused to allow a single mistake. Result? I got worse. Slow reflexes and speed, ball handling and all else cannot make it.

So, I've decided. No pressure, go for trainings just to play. Play and listen at the same time. I will listen to my instincts more on defense, listen to team mates on attack. As much as possible, I am doing 30-30. 30 crunches/sit-ups and 30 push-ups everyday. This is to train core muscles, to be more flexible, and to train arm strength to pass further. As for speed and stamina, I am going all out to 'kill' during trainings. Watch out! =P haha. No more reserve, no more 2nd team.

So yeah! That's all folks! Guess you guys will see lesser of me at hq this sem. I've got a lot of readings and extra homework, online and off, to do. Got to attend workshops too. Bleah. See all of you later today! I am going for steamboat, shun bian collect angbaos too!! YAYS!

Labour in ur walk with God

2008-01-21T09:45:00.000+08:00

Yest morn, while i was reading e bible, i was reminded by God abt labouring in our prayer/ walk with god/ relationship with god.

What does it mean to labour? Jasmine mentioned in one e services abt labourin in prayer and last sat's service, think shirley melinda also mentioned abt labouring in our prayers, our walk with god.

I was reminded of this as i was reading Joh 6:27.
It says "do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the son of man will give you. on him God the father has palced his placed of approval"

I wanna share with you my thoughts on "do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life"

What is food that spoils? To me it represents physical things that i hold important in my life, which will cause me to compromise God (spending time with him), things such as my studies. I was just reflecting about my life, abt my attitude towards my studies. It is true that i labour for my studies. I study really hard fr pri sch until now. And i want to do well in my studies. I do my homework and when exams come, i really mug for it. I spend time studying and doing tutorials and spend time studyin for tests and exams. Time is spent on it and I want to do well.

The second part of the verse talks abt "but for food that endures to eternal life"
Here it simply means that we have to work for food that endures to eternal life. I was thinking eternal life means my relationship with God. So with the same attitude towards my studies, i was thinking if this is my attitude towards God too.
Do i spend time with God as much as i spend on studyin? Do i want to do well in my relationship with God as much as i want towards my studies? Sadly the ans is no and yes.

No i do not spend as much time nor am i always faithful in growing my relationship with God. But yes i desire for our relationship to deepen, to understand God more, to know Him more, to experience more of Him in my life. So, what do i have to do? I will have to work on this relationship. Like any other relationship, to understand the person more, to love the person more, i need to spend time with him/her, so as to know him/her better, so as to love him/her more.

Sat's service was abt loving God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength (mark 12:30). I think it is really timely and appropriate for me at this point. This is the start of 2008 and many of us (including myself) have set our new year resolutions. But is one of our new yr resolutions abt lovin God more? Loving God more will lead us to Love God in action and our relationship with God will Grow (and this is food that will endure to eternal life!!!!)

Personally, this is a very good stop-check for me to set my heart straight and my eyes fix on God. Not that i neglect my studies and just be a person who day-in and day out hallelujah. The point is that am i that faithful towards God as i am towards my studies? Am i that passionate towards God as i am towards other things? Do i spend as much time with God as i do with my studies?

My answer is no. I always hurried my quiet time and prayer time. I myself my guilty of not spending time with God, using things around me and being busy as an excuse. This yr my everyday prayer will be to experience God every single day and I am going to labour in my prayer and labour in reading God's word.

For it is through prayers and through God's word which is living and active that life is transformed, that life is touched, that healing comes about, that breakthrough happens, that we find peace, that we find strength, that we grow to be more n more christ-like, that we find purpose and destiny.

Want to encourage all of us to realign our focus back to God and to really love God with all our heart,soul,mind and strength. If we can labour/work for the things in our life that are not eternal (such as studies, relationships, sports, money), then why don't we starting from today, labour/work for things that are eternal (our relationship with God).

Want to end of with this verse that i am memorising and mediating on:
"... your work produced by faith, your labour prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our LORD Jesus Christ." 1Ths 1:8

new yr resolutions

2008-01-16T22:39:00.000+08:00

I want everything to remain the same except for my studies basketball and trading
studies, i must maintain my 3.5 or get better
I must train up to be like my Coach, esp shooting so i can look more frenly playing with anyone, i can play serious n have fun BUT when i play serious ppl feel im too tough, i may hurt them, so to be able to play with ANYONE, mus be gr8 shooter, GR8 SHOOTER
I MUST DO MY BEST to become a CONSISTENT trader by the end of the year

i know this journey is tiring, the Lord will give me strength, and personally, if i cannot do well, i might as well just go heaven sooner

either do ur best or not do at all,
Minghan

2008 - a 16 day late post

2008-01-16T22:16:00.000+08:00

long time since i posted anything, think since the birth of this blog space. today was the first day of school. somehow made me think a lot and also fine-tuned some of my resolutions for 2008. lemme share my new year goals/objectives/resolutions/whatever-else-you-call-it.

the CRESH framework seems like a good way to plan for myself in this already started year. so i decided to plan according to it.

C aka Career/Studies. i prefer to call it C for CAP, since thats like the most important tangible thing we need/get from university. reflecting back a bit, i set the goal of attending every lesson 2 sems back, and failed miserably as expected and set the goal of attempting at least every other tutorial last sem, since setting the goal of attending every lesson is like mission impossible, similar to how running weekly is impossible too. Thus for this sem, to deal with the issue of consistent work throughout the sem, i set for myself to attend 90% of ALL lessons, be it lectures or tutorials (labs are take-home and do at your sleep-time for SOC), and attempt every single tutorial for my core modules, and attempt at least every OTHER tutorial for my non-core mods aka EC1301 n PH1101E. :P another thing i want to set out and do for this semester would be to do up "helpsheets" or summaries for each module as well, which helps in extracting the main points of each chapter and might me to know what im studying better too.

Goal of this sem. 4.0+ (aka at least B+ average) for this sem alone. and 3.5+ CAP score.

R for Relationships. there are many aspects in relationships. and i haven had any real breakthrough in this area for quite some time. firstly would be for family ba. what i would strive to do is to spend more time with my mum and my sis since they are living alone. i also pray for myself to be more willingness in my attitude to do things for them or spend time with them. in terms of r/s with fellow brothers n sisters. i pray for a when dealing with everyone to allow for deeper and more meaningful relationships to be nurtured. also, may God helps to strengthen relationships with certain ppl as we all continue to serve Him. another aspect would be my r/s with my shepherd aka bowen. looking back at the past sem, i would say that the friendship has indeed grown, but i believe God wants more than just friendship in such a r/s. may God help me to grow in my more patient and accepting heartwillingness to be more open n vulnerable to share lives to him.

E for Economics. first thing that came to mind is finances. well it was off to a bad start this year though. for the month of january i'm left with like 20-30 bucks. thinking back about 2007, i spent like almost every single cent of my allowance, and justifying it with the excuse of needing to pay for car expenses and stuff. deep down i know those are just excuses, and at the very minimum i would stil be able to save at least 200-300 for the entire year. certainly a very bad steward of money. my goal for this year would be to save $1000 bucks. that would be like around 20% of my allowance for the whole year. what to do with this money, i shall decide at the end of the year, be it to go for overseas holiday, buy a new computer/ps3, or even just throw it into my savings acct for future use. i pray for God to assist and guide me in my management of money in this year. if i can't even manage my meagre allowance properly and wisely now, how am i going to manage my 4 or even 5 figure pay in future next time? :P another aspects of economics would be my time management. with 2 free days this sem and 6 modules, as well as first hand experience from a tiring wednesday today (even though w/o tutorials), i can safely assume that time management would be a crucial factor to determine my health as well as my academic performance for the next 4-5 months. one thing i want to do would be to force myself to sleep at latest 1am every day.

S for Spiritual. most tangible, i want to finish reading the Old Testament. more than half-way there now. but need to discipline myself to really go in-depth and not lose focus on trying to extract God's truth in the Word instead of just reading through. I pray for eagerness in this aspect and to focus really to understand instead of the goal of finish the bible once. On a more personal note, i pray for God to reveal to me in His timing direction and guidance in certain aspects of my life that i've been praying for. one such aspect would be simply what He wants me to do in this year for Him. even for the upcoming 3 month holidays, im praying for Him to show me what would be better for me, be it going for an internship, or just simply avail myself fully again for e annual matriculation season. (internship need to apply early one, so need to start asking Him for ans alr :P not ganjiong spider haha) Also, one thing i really want this year would be to have a deeper intimacy with God, and to experience Him more real than ever before in my life. wanna finish reading the books "Experiencing God", "Every Man, God's Man" and "Boy Meet Girl" too. as i shared during CG at parkway, i want to really grow in my M&Ms and put into practise the verse from 2 Tim 4:2 - Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. why so? i realised how inadequate i've been in sharing my faith as well as explaining/answering questions about my faith, and thats simply not the way things should be.

H for Health. as i said earlier, aiming to run weekly is close to if not totally impossible heh. let me start from a more realistic goal. gym/run/bball every week. so far for the first 3 weeks of this year, i managed to do it. may God provides me with the determination and strength to continue on this workout journey. An end goal would be to lose some weight in this year. hopefully to the extend where i look like what i am when i finish BMT. that would be good lol. it will makes my life easier too when i go back for reservist. haha. Also to at least pass my IPPT and aim for silver timing in my 2.4km run.

super wudi long post of mine. haha. as we commit our resolutions/goals/objectives/watever for 2008 to God, may He help us in every aspect we pray for and be with us as we strive towards achieving these goals.

just a verse i thought we should hold on to when we make resolutions. PHI 4:13 I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.

=)

2008 prayers :)

2008-01-09T10:12:00.000+08:00

Firstly I really want to dev a prayerful and fasting habit. Not just fasting for 'special'occasion such as easter and christmas but to dev a daily fasting habit for myself and also for ppl. this has been lacking in my life and really want to grow in this area. Thru this i believe i ll draw closer to God, my eyes fix on Him and that there will be even greater breakthrus in my life.

1) grow in self control towards food (hee.. i always feast on choc and chips even when i m sick, not good for my body and when i m sick i m not effective!)

2) emotional maturity (refer to the way i handle situations and ppl. tend to be easily upset and unsettled by happenings and ppl. REally praying for God to help me in this area, want to grow to be a strong woman for God :)

3) love and grace. (God has beeen speaking to me abt these 2 areas in my life. Lack love and grace and would easily be upset with ppl or ve unreasonable expectations of ppl which isn't healthy. Praying for God to help me grow in my understanding of ppl too, help me to love and accept them for who they are)

4) exe once weekly (jogging): sun evening (improve on my health, cause i fall sick easily)

5) read papers at least once weekly (build up on my knowledge on daily affairs. Need to be relevant to the world)

Just to share briefly, these are some of the areas and things that i wanna grow in and God has convicted me to grow in. Will be committing all of them as prayers to God :) Excited for 2008. Not sure what God has installed for me but i m excited to grow in Christ and for more breakthrus in come :) Breakthru comes when we put God first in our life and allow Him to lead us. Obeying His word and His ways. Without 'sacrifice' (for example time for other things), there will not be breakthrus.

In 2008, i really want to grow to be a strong woman of God who knows God as He knows me and to love his people :)

Reflections of 2007/ last semester

2008-01-09T10:08:00.001+08:00

Generally feel that i ve grown in the way i'm managing my life and handling things around me, as well as relationships with people. Especially in the area of managing my time such that while serving God, I still ve time for my family, studies and also very important --- my personal time and space with God. Over the past sem, started to be a shepherd and from there, think i ve grown to understand the heart of a shepherd and the roles (which serves to guide/help them to God). Another area which i felt that i ve grown in is disciple, especially in the area of studies and my relationship with God. More faithful and desire to be excellent in the things that God called me to do or be. Because of this change of attitude, last sem was the only sem i really enjoyed mugging n found joy in it even. I enjoyed studyin and learning n also relying on God for wisdom. I experienced wisdom fr God for 1 paper and got an A- for it. Really thank God for showing me such kindness and grace.

Last yr was a big change for me. 1st time change cg, change shepherd, jitsy left, becoming a shepherd. Challenging and many times i felt down. But i really thank God for these changes. Jit leaving has pushed me to draw closer to God and to rely on Him more rather than my ex-shepherd. Changing cg, challenged me to relate with the brothers and learn to be more sensitive to brothers. Changing shepherd was really cool, not initially though. ahhaha...

A new style of teaching, shepherding and huili isn't afraid to scold me manz. Really learned alot of things fr her esp in the area of skills. REally thank God for her in my life, pointing out truths to me and helping me grow, teachin me to take care of ppl and how to grow them.

Becoming a shepherd was also another challenge. hahaha... i definitely drew closer to God and found myself praying more. Many times i felt super inadequate and lost, did not know what to do with my sheep and even with myself. The relatiionship btw me and my sheep was really sweet (hahha) i should say bitter sweet :). There were downs moments but there were moments whereby there were breakthrus too. Can see that God is workin in her life and am truly encouraged to see that. God is indeed faithful and really wanna conclude 2007 with lots of thanksgiving towards God. Without Him, i think my life ll truly be lost and meaningless. God is my strength !!!! Amen :) hee...

As i was reflecting my 2007 new yr prayers/goals, i realised that some of them were fufil while some are still work is progress ... Wanted to grow to be a cg guitarist and also overcome the fear of evangelism which was hindering me alot in 2006. These two areas came to pass and Praise God!! Thank you GOd :)

Other areas such as overcoming bad attitudes such as procastination, pride, lack of self control and discipline. Found that i had breakthru and am still workin in progress :) there are still times when i fall to temptation but God would be there to pick me up and help me thru again :) 2 major breakthru were towards --- the lack of self control towards you tube and discipline towards studies and my relationship with God. God has helped me to grow in these two areas which was not pleasing to God. Esp the you tube part. You tube really drew me away fr God and i would watch endlessly the dramas. Thru prayer (asking God to help me overcome) and His grace, managed to ve breakthrus!! so really Thank God :) if not my life would ve really been meaningless, endlessly watching drama.

haha... i wanted to be healthier and set goals to exe. Hee... other than playing bball once in a blue blue moon... i failed . Hee... think i was feeling super lazy man. So in 2008, 1 of my goal is to exe once a week. Plannin to start jogging :)

another area is reading the papers. REally wanted to grow in my knowledge of daily affairs. I managed to sustain for 2 weeks den ...................... hahahah... So for 2008 wanna commit myself to reading the papers at least once a week :)

there are much more things for 2007, but think i will sum them up briefly here ba :) 2007 is indeed a breakthru yr in terms of my r/s with God, my growth in christ and also personal growth and fruits in my life. 2007 is alsoa yr whereby i understand God more and because of this understanding, i able to stand firm in Him and continue to trust in Him even when circumstances seemed hopeless and i was disappointed. No words can express the love i felt and the thankfulness in my heart. God is really good and now i finally understood what the verse means: It is when i am weak that i am made strong !!:)

Coundown to 2008

2008-01-02T23:36:00.000+08:00

Happy New Year!

On the last day of 2007, i spent it with my brothers and sisters at Nicholas house at Hougang. Although we didn't see fireworks that night, we had a whole lot of fun, spending time with one another over PS2 games, food, guitars, photos and games.

Our Dinner - thanks to the top chefs and some rising ones as well.

Looks like the sisters can't wait to eat. (top)

Brothers composed ourselves, keeping our hands away from the food before we give thanks to God for the food. (top)

The advanced version of poison ball was challenging and 'breath-taking'

A toast for the new year!

As I reviewed the past year 2007, I thank God for the experience i had and the people i met along the way. It has been a year where i had my ups and downs with God for quite a bit.

1) My small business - selling my handmade Valentine's Day cards. (UP! My NY resolution to commit 10% of my earning to God = i give all of it although the amount was not alot.) (February 2007)

2) My car accident - Banging onto a taxi along AYE on rainy day. (Down! Doubted God. Angry with God = making sense of my thoughts, understanding God's character and thanking Him for protecting my passengers on board.) (February 2007)

3) Water Baptism - an outward expression of an inward experience. (UP + Down! Struggled to come to this decision while facing some objections = but obeyed God and trust in His plans for me, having a greater conviction for God.) (March 2007)

4) Holiday to Phuket - a treat from my Da Ge. (UP! i didn't spend a single cent, just spending time = a time of retreat with my brother, enjoying the natural elements of God's creation, so beautiful!) (July 2007)

5) Participating in church drama production - acting as an average Joe seeking for an identity as a UNI freshmen. (UP! Gaining back confidence to act on the stage = looking forward to be used my God in this area.) (July 2007)

6) Physical Breakthroughs - running Army Half Marathon 21km and clearing my first IPPT as a NSmen with a SILVER. (UP! Keeping to another of my NY resolutions = keep my physical body in good condition, just regreted that i can't increase my weight significantly = wo 'shou' gou le!) (October 2007)

7) Involved in the planning of Christmas Party. (UP + Down! Struggle with my time spent at home vs time spent in serving God = Stretched and busy = re-visiting the meaning of serving God, finding Joy while serving God, people-oriented rather than task-oriented.)

Hey brothers and sisters in Christ, let's evaluate the year that has just past and take away points that will help us to walk with confidence in this new year. Pen down our thoughts and dreams for God to grow us strong this year.

Start the year right with God!

News Update!

2007-12-28T11:26:00.000+08:00

Straits Times News 1: Snatch thief tracked down through his sweaty shoe

Hey brothers and sisters, I just read the newspaper today, saying that a snatch thief was arrested after the police traced him by the DNA of the perspiration in the shoe he left behind at the crime scene.

The DNA of perspiration in shoe matched his sample provided a year later when he was convicted of another theft.
LIKE Cinderella, Mohamed Ali Abdul Ghani fled in a hurry, leaving not a glass slipper but a shoe behind.
Unlike Cinderella, there was no fairy-tale ending for the 35-year-old snatch thief, who had grabbed a purse from a 25-year-old woman in August last year.
He had escaped despite being pursued, but did not get away.
The perspiration from the sole of his foot, left in his shoe, was what did him in.
Police who arrived took away the shoe, had the sweat tested and obtained Ali's DNA profile.
Every individual's deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), which is easily obtained from blood, saliva, skin and semen, has a unique fingerprint.
But even then, the police had to wait more than a year before they could find the man.
In the meantime, Ali had been arrested for another theft, convicted and jailed for 10 weeks in July. As a convicted criminal, he had to submit a body sample to be included in a national DNA database that helps the police solve crimes.
His profile matched that obtained from the shoe, and Ali.
He is not the first criminal nabbed here with the help of DNA profiling.
In 2005, a 39-year-old man was jailed for eight years and caned six times after he killed a woman who had provoked him. The police tracked him down from DNA samples on 10 cigarette butts found at the woman's home.

Scientists say it is extremely difficult to erase these telltale bits of generic information. Even washed clothings retain enough semen and blood stains for forensic identification of who it beongs to.
Under the law, anyone who is under arrest, detention or police supervision will have body samples taken for DNA profiling, along with photographs, fingerprints and particulars.

My thoughts after reading this article:

Previously i wrote about my thoughts as a life science undergrad studying the mechanisms of a cell to such a depth and that "Life is so complex, human is so intricately made. Conditions have to be so precise in order for life to exist." I am so in awe of God's creation. However, this time I am more interested in the uniqueness of each and everyone of us. We are all so complex, yet very unique. Everyone of us has our very own set of fingerprints and DNA. It makes me think that all of us will have to account for the things we do. Even the policemen can use these 'fingerprints' to trace who is present at the crime scene, what less can the LORD our God see beyond all these, He who is 24/7 awake?

Everyone is responsible for every action he/she does.

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-28T01:12:00.000+08:00

Wow! This is my 3rd Christmas as a Christian, and each year i learnt and experienced this season differently. Still remember my first Christmas as a christian, i was still serving in the army. I spent the Christmas night watching 'Passion of Christ' movie in the bunk with my fellow instructors. Being a new believer then, I didn't know about bringing in spiritual conversation at that time, but i remembered all of us, christians and non-christians were so impacted by the graphics, loss of words.

This year, I was involved in the planning of the Christmas party. There were times when i really felt stretched by the work and alone in my family. In my mind, I was thinking and asking God when will i have a peaceful Christmas, whereby i can walk along the cool streets with my jacket, watching carols, stop by some coffee place and ponder on the things at the back of my mind over coffee. Thank God that I re-visited the meaning of Christmas and the reason for serving. I asked myself what does God wants me to do as a Christian during this festive season. I re-aligned myself to God, and gained greater understanding and joy of serving God and serving people who came for the party on that day. I realised that for a christian, all the more we should grasp this opportunity to share to people boldly, what Christmas is all about. Thank God for the National Council of Churches in Singapore, for bringing together a series of programmes and performance by various church groups - dance, choir, band, acapella... outside Tangs plaza, PS, Paragon... There was one night where Qiao Ping, Ian & myself sat down outside Tangs to watch the performances for 2 hours. I felt so blessed by the groups and the atmosphere of love and peace was really in the air. The hosts even share a bit here and there about God's love and the sacrifice of Jesus so that we can have eternal life, proudly proclaim the glory of God to the huge crowd there.

Through this Christmas, I have learnt more about what it means to serve God, joy thru serving, and what it means to celebrate Christmas as a christian. It is a big lesson i learnt from this season.

The year is coming to an end, perhaps we can take time to record down such experiences (things which we had made sense of) we had in our walk with God this year. Time to stock check our journey, before we step into the brand new year 2008.

2007-12-13T00:40:00.000+08:00

want to share with you guys.. =D

Heart-warming video:

This is super cool! No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted:

Scary-but-interesting video:

How to get into the Gates of Heaven?

2007-12-12T12:50:00.000+08:00

I came across this meaningful clip at Godtube, once again reminded of God's grace and mercy. Enjoy!

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

~ Eph 2:8-9 ~

Praise the LORD - It's Over!

2007-12-06T13:14:00.000+08:00

Yeah! So happy to finish my last paper!

Let me type down my reflections on this exam period here.

It's my 3rd time going thru the exam period with God, and everytime i have learnt different things about God and also myself. Frankly speaking, this sem is a hard sem for me - never been so worried for my exam. Because i have not been able to catch-up with my core mods all along, always lagging behind.

This exam preparation i experienced some really emotionally down time - tired, worried and a heavy heavy heart. I was not able to lift myself up at times, i found no joy in me.

Luckily, my shepherd recommended this place to me - EA rooftop.

(this is the place where i have my quiet time with God, enjoying the breeze quietly, looking at the cars, sometimes birds in the air, reading the bible, playing guitar plus singing out loud, ...)

Everytime i ask God for stamina to last thru this exam period, in return i am assured by God of His faithfulness and goodness, His promise to deliver me once again from this exam.

This sem I experienced the joy and blessings of sacrificing time for others. One night i was preparing for paper the next day, but after dinner at the 'Exam Wartime HQ' i chose to help my life science junior Xu Mei for his general biology, helping him to clear certain doubts on the chapter. Never did i knew that the particular issue we were discussing that night actually came out for my paper. Actually that issue was not something that was well explained during the lectures. Yeah!

This sem I met my primary sch friend started to see each other in NUS and he confronted me on several occasions to challenge my faith. But many times when i pray to God for someone He wants me to share about His love, this friend will happen to pop-out physically from nowhere, making me wonder if it was coincidental or I should stay confident and anticipate his 'questioning'.

Recently on the night before my last paper, i went on msn and decided to invite him for service.

he says:
i saying this cos i view u as a very close friend. why shld i attend sth i know for sure is false?
i say:
I am inviting you because i view you as a close friend also. of cos i respect your current decision and stand though.
I am not saying that u must take it or agree to what i say now, just wanted to invite u to look and hear it from the sermon for yourself.
he says:
thanks man, but not interested.
i say:
but i just want to pray that your heart will remain open to me sharing to you
i say:
(just to let you know i appreciate every conversation you have with me recently)
he says: ok, i let u know again! Nite!

Although it seemed that his heart is still very hard, i just want to continue to pray that he is still willing to explore God with me. Actively being challenged by people around me keeps me on the alert and pushes me to structure my thoughts and things that i would be sharing, whenever i am free. Let me end with a verse which i keep in mind.

I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.

- Philemon 1:6 -

An excellent chance to share with our friends! :)

2007-12-04T09:48:00.000+08:00

Thank God :) Testimonies to share!!!

2007-12-03T21:31:00.001+08:00

God has really blessed me and kept me safe throughout this period of exams. Really wanna give thanks to God for blessing me so much!! When you do your best by giving your 100% effort, God will do the rest and the outcome will be 200%!!

Wanna share my testimonies:
1) I fell down last week and it was a super bad fall. I slipped off the stairs and I landed on my back against the edge of the stairs. It was a truly bad fall because i landed on my back. Though I had bruise on my back but i think God has really kept me safe and protected me. If not i would have broken my back or seriously injure it. Really wanna give praise and thanks to God for looking out for me.

2) This is the first sem I experienced wisdom from God in my exams. It happened for my last paper, plant physiology. This module is a crazy module with lots of information to remember and also our prof is very demanding. She said that if we only quote from textbook can only get c. Hee... though i really doubt so but i think wont do very well like get A. Think even getting B+ would be hard too. I had 2.5 days to study for this module and think it was really torturous man. hee... cause i was really saturated from studying and memorising and reading. But think God really sustained me and helped to stayed focused despite my tiredness. For this paper, i managed to study my notes quite thoroughly, did only two chapters of textbook and never read research papers at all!!! scream....

hee.. but god's way is higher than my way and god really gave me wisdom for this paper. For my past exams, i experienced god through peace and strength and the assurance i needed. However, this time was true wisdom which i knew came from god.

As i was doing my paper, there was two parts which i wasn't very sure and god just gave me insight into it and so i just wrote my answers down. It's not that i do not know my stuff but its just that God added on to what i knew and the extra thing in fact, are things that you would know if you study the practical and read the extra research readings.

Another thing i wanna share is that before my paper shu yi actually ask me about a part of our notes which i knew briefly but not in detail (as in extra information from textbook). Den suddenly our common frien heard our discussion and came over and started explaining to me the everything to us about that chapter and guess what? he explained with extra diagrams and information.

Guess what? it came out for exams and it was 20% 1/3 of my paper already!!! Wow... thank you God :)

Think this sem my attitude towards studying is very different. In fact, I like studying this sem and i find myself being more focused and growing in faithfulness even towards my studies. Seeing meaning in my studies and not just seeing it as a chore just to scrap through to get good results. But now, god has showed me deeper meaning as in why He puts/ places me to study here in uni. This is my stage of life to help me mature and grow not only in my knowledge but also in my character :)

For example, through the many semesters i have learnt the meaning of being faithful in the things that God has called me to do (even if they are things that i do not fully enjoyed). Also, learning the meaning of serving God through my daily life which includes my studies and also to do my best in everything that God has called and placed me to do.

Honestly, if i cant even be faithful in the small things like studies that God has called me to do, then would God entrust me more?

Can read the parables of the Talents: Matt 25:14-30 :)

Let's serve and honour God through our daily life.

putting on out thinking caps!

2007-12-03T18:19:00.000+08:00

It' s been quite some time since I posted or looked at this site..;p Well, I'm only a last paper away..so thought of typing down some of my thoughts and reflections recently..since I'm in a rare mood to type on my PRESTIGO laptop (eh..though it's not exactly a fantastic brand, it's still usable and fine..=P) ..Here're some questions that maybe some of us may thought of before:

What if I can't find the "right one" before I reach 30yrs?
What should I do to win the favor and maybe approval of this person?
I'm so fearful to having to boldly tell others that God's real..What if they dont believe what I say? What if they look down on me as a "out-dated religious freako"?
Why on Earth am I supposed to do in and with my life? What if what I do is wrong?
....

So many of these internal dialogues and thoughts..have you ever had any one of such "conversations" with your heart? This inner struggle between even what you think you should know, and what you really feel and believe about? "I know God's good, but if that's so why did this and that happened to me?" "I know loving people is important and I want to do it, but why is it so difficult when it really comes to doing it?"

As far as our theoretical mind can make sense of, our heart sometimes cannot keep up with its pace..it falls behind, feeling strended and lost, feeling lonely and sad because it doesnt understand why it has to do the things it need to do..sometimes the mind takes a break because it's too tired of the struggle or it just gives up thinking..the heart takes control and do all it desires, only to find that it starts to do things that dont make sense when looking back..

God gave us brains to be intrigue by His powers, wonders and greatness..Hearts to feel His love, grace and mercy...But these two sometimes just dont work well together dont they?

Of the so many people that I've met and seen, there are people who think too much, only to end up very lost and even blurrer than before they started off (ironically..we should get clearer as we think and make sense more?) Some think so much that they just sit there to think everyday, but not do anything much constructively..(and I'm not refering to day-dreaming) Some people just dont think that much..they just live day by day as it gets by, emotions led by the ups and downs of triviality of life and circumstances..When asked why they feel the way they feel and why they do the things they do, they could only strug and not know why..

To a certain extent, I could feel and understand what all these people felt, because I've experienced them before. In saying so, I dont mean that I've overcame and make sense of all these things that I felt or do, but I think somehow or another, everyone would have experienced this too..

oops..dont mean to drown ya in my long long essay..haha..But in the quest of our search for meaning and purpose in life, what do we make sense of all these things that we're going through? To all the questions of "whys" and "hows", where do we look to find all the answers? Sometimes, we really just need to put on our shield of faith (Eph 6:16), to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7), to seek our Maker, and trust in God, for His ways are always higher and better (Isa 55:9)

About the issue of heart and mind struggle, my personal conviction is this..if we're able to really obey this verse,

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Cor 10:5)

so let the heart reconcile with the mind in line with the bible. Maybe at the end of the day, it's not a matter of how the mind and heart don't click well together..but rather, either one, or sometimes both, are not flowing in linel with the bible..

Fellowship before service :)

2007-11-18T11:25:00.000+08:00

Think it has been quite some time since all of us gather to share our lives with one another, complaining and encouraging one another.

Yest the time we had before service was indeed a refreshing one for me. Encouraged by MJ's, nicoles's and nicholas's testimonies of their lives and how God has been working in their lives and encouraging them.

Think in times of stressful period we need to be encouraged more and also to encourage one another more.

Yest, nicole and Mj both shared about prayers. MJ shared about answered prayers, she made a simple prayer. Prayed in faith and trusted God to work things out and God really did. It was really amazing and really very encouraged!!! Reminded me that God is boundless and all things are possible through Christ. Amen!!

Nicole prayed and God strength her and assure her through the prayer. Giving her strength and the peace and assurance that she needed. Think this is one breakthrough that nicole is experiencing and I'm really glad to see you taking that faith to pray and believe in God. Always, from nicole's sharing, we can be sure that God is relevant even in our studies!!!! Havin a relationship isn't just an another thing of our life (that just involves church and cg), but God is real in every single part of us and our lives. He is the air we breathe and the food we need. He is our everything and He is the reason for our existence.

Let's continue to spur one another on and encourage one another, keeping one another in prayer too :) A short passage to encourage us :)

Jas 5:13-16
13Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

We can always put our prayer requests here during this period and keep one another in prayer :)

Mark 11:22-23
22"Have faith in God," Jesus answered. 23"I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.

The Hammer

2007-11-18T01:01:00.000+08:00

Hello my bros and siss!

I want to share with you a testimony that i really really want to thank God for protecting my dad today.

Actually during service today, i received a message from home, telling me that my dad just got injured by a hammer that dropped onto his head in a factory, and was given 5 stitches above the side of the forehead. My heart really sank. I prayed heavily during worship time that he will be alright after the stitches. After service, i called home to ask about the condition of my dad, and thank GOD, my sis told me he is alright and still can watch vcd.... Waaahh... i started to pick my heart up again and put it in place. Thank GOD that after the worker on the upper level accidentally kicked the hammer off the ramp, the hammer hit a machine beside it before it landed on my dad's head. I really want to thank God for breaking the force of the hammer, or else things are going to turn out really bad.

Please also help me keep my dad in prayer, that my dad will recover soon and will not have any side effects after that. Praise the LORD! "God, I really want to thank You for the protection!!! I am so thankful"

2007-11-17T22:50:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone~ This is my first official post in this blog, wanted to share some of my brief thoughts about today's sermon.

I was very struck by the part where Pastor Jeff asked us whether we had experienced any growth as a Christian recently. Yah, that's one thing I definitely did not experience this semester. Think was quite affected by events during and before the term, and as a result have been drawing very very distant from God.. in fact this 12 weeks have been the driest period in my walk with God so far. o_o

Come to realise that during times when you face situations that are beyond your control in life, one can either draw closer or run away from God. Think it's human nature to blame God easily rather than to draw nearer to him. The book that I'm reading now The purpose driven life really helped me make sense of things - I find several parts of it very meaningful. Highly recommend the book to those who haven't read it yet :D

And oh yah, the discussion during wednesday's QT was a very meaningful and thought provoking one. Glad that I didn't miss it esp the topic Huili brought up the topic about how we feel about the CG.

Haha one of the things that I realised about myself is that I tend to share different sides of myself to different people. For example in church I tend 闲聊 only to certain people and spiritual things only to (other) certain people. From now on I will try to mix it up a bit.

And yay we have a new sister in Christ!

Jiayou everybody for the exams =)

'Corn flakes with Jesus'

2007-11-15T00:30:00.000+08:00

Haha... just now was playing on the guitar after i got home. This few weeks i have been picking up my guitar more often, spending time worshipping God and also brush up on my guitaring skills as well. For myself, i just found a good timing to play the guitar in my house - it's after midnight 12 o'clock! so exciting! i will take my guitar out of the room and sneak into the kitchen and close the kitchen doors, and then worship God in the kitchen. Wow! amazingly it seems like my guitaring skill has improved, with the help of the silence of the night.... nevertheless, the atmosphere then was really good.

Recently i picked up a habit of eating corn flakes and reading the bible in the middle of the night. i just enjoy the intimate and casual time with God over the corn flakes. Both the spiritual food and corn flakes = yummy!

Let us also get the habit of reading the Word daily, even as we are going into a period of preparation for the exams. Let us take time off from our revision once a while, to reflect and chat with God alone, with your favorite cup of hot coffee, and pour out to Him who is there to listen to our worries, no mater what time it is.

blessings

2007-11-13T09:57:00.000+08:00

Just wanna share some things with u guys :) i just finish my thai oral exam. Really wanna thank god manz... He has really blessed me with a good partner who really helped me alot. Yest she gave me a session to help me with my pronounication and also to teach me on how to use words. den today during the oral exam she helped me with my part during the short preparation period before our testing. Really thank God for her and for guiding me in studying the right thing. Though i did not say many long and fanciful sentences and my pronounication is abit off. But think I did a pretty good job, with the limited amount of time i had.

And i didn't cough throughout the oral exam at all!!! hee... now going to mug for my 2 tests tmr already. This week is a crazy week for me but hey God thanks for seeing me through manz!!!

the aftermath of a 5min thunderstorm

2007-11-10T05:25:00.000+08:00

heyy heyy! first time blogging here.... and its 5.23 am. weird eh?
just wanted to share about several things the Lord told me..
i believe he woke me up on purpose, and with a purpose.
you know whyy?

cos the "thunderstorm" only had thunder and heavy rain and it lasted for about 5mins.
!!!
a thunderstorm is suppoesd to last for about half an hour!
or at least it usually does at my house..
what with it being so close to the malaysia sea.

so anyway, i was praying to God about several things in my life.
indeed, he opened up the eyes to my heart,
as i was asking about whyy things between certain friends and i are so different from things between you guys and i.
the thing is.. im more reserved with them.

He told me, that i hold back sometimes, as im too conscious, too afraid of the things i might say, when instead, as long as they dont hold negative connotations, it should be fine.

i also prayed and ask him to help my family come to know about the gd news of Christ, through me or some other channels. i prayed and asked for my dad to be relieved of his burdens, to be able to enjoy the fruits of his life, instead of worrying about stuff all the time. he was sleeping, and his face was so wrought with wrinkles i was so afraid his face would get smaller with all that frowning. it was a miracle, cos immediately, his facial expression slowly started to relax.. =]]

He showed me things about my relationship with jiawei too. we were having problems, but its minor yet not minor... dont know how to say. He opened the eyes to my heart and showed me how to improve, both on our relationship and in myself.

im really glad for that 5min thunderstorm.
im glad i listened to the call for me to wake up.
(i was thinking if i should bring the clothes in.)

there's so many things to thank Him for, im just listing the few things that ran through my mind this early early morning..

Praise the Lord.
-trust, believe and follow

love you guys =D
study hard, and eat well!
see you later!

M&M #3

2007-11-05T20:19:00.000+08:00

Heb 12:2

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus,

the author and perfecter of our faith,

who for the joy set before him endured the cross,

scorning its shame,

and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Gal 6:9

Let us not become weary in doing good,

for at the proper time we will reap a harvest

if we do not give up.

Filling the open chair

2007-11-03T23:51:00.000+08:00

Today's sermon was really a good reminder for me to be urgent in sharing the love of God to ppl. PPl are impt to God and God desires to use us. Think just now during dinner many of us mentioned a few names here and there and some of us have shared how we were impacted by the sermon (especially the part on urgency and the part on not to be discouraged by rejection).

Let's really respond to God's word and take time to pray for the many names or faces that God has reminded us. Be it our 'just friends' or family or tutorial mates. Let's really commit these souls to God and take their lives seriously!!! It is about their salvation, eternity. As what Jasmine has said: the Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2pet3:9)

haha... I think many of us ve many names flashing across our mind, not sure where to go from here (do i invite all? do i work on all of my friends?) Let's focus on 1-2 of our friends or family members during this period and we can work towards bringing them to the Christmas service. In the meantime its exams time, its a good time to provide support not only within the cg and bro/sis, but also to our friends who could be very stress over studying. We can bless them in small ways such as cards or prayers.

After thinking and praying through for our friends, we can add onto this blog and share to one another our thoughts, and even fears or burdens for our friends.

Let's go in faith, love and power from God. Pray that God will empower us to share and the courage to go beyond our comfort zone. But we have to take the step out first. Let's really trust God in this area. While we can plant and water the seed of salvation in their hearts, it is God who grows the seed. Lets go plant the seed ba :) Cheers!!!!

Love the sinner, Hate the sin!

2007-11-03T00:17:00.000+08:00

I have been reading alot recently on the issue of repealing of the Penal Code Section 377A. Thought of sharing with u my thoughts after thinking thru these few days.

"377A. Any male person who, in public or private, commits, or abets the commission of, or procures or attempts to procure the commission by any male person of, any act of gross indecency with another male person, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 2 years."

I must admit that my initial intention was to beef up my knowledge on this hot issue, so that I can DEFEAT anyone who dares to challenge my stand on the retaining of 377A.

Pride and Judgemental are the 2 big bricks I have on my wall.

As Christians, should we discriminate the homosexuals? or simply disagree with their act?

Who are we to say what is morally right and wrong?

We believe that God wants us to live our live accordingly to His Word, to keep away from sins in this world.

In the beginning, God has created Adam to be in charge of taking care of the Garden of Eden.
In the bible, Genesis 2:18, The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
God made Eve, as a helper and companion for Adam.

This is the brief account of the creation of Man, and this relationship and union of men and women is something which God has constituted.

(take note that God created 'Adam and Eve', not Adam and StEve!!!)

In the bible, GOD has outlined the godlessness and wickedness of men in Romans 1:18-32

Yes, now knowing that homosexuality is detestable in God's eyes, what's next?

Does God also condemns the homosexuals, like what some of us are doing?

NO! God didn't leave us although we kept sinning, in big and small ways. He yeans to bring us back into a loving relationship with Him, our author and Creator.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16

This love and grace from God is not just restricted to us who are believers in Christ Jesus, but is also extended to those who are still far away from God. Its quite hard for me to comprehend such a love and grace that God has for his Creation.

Many times I would "stand-on-the-mountain" and pass judgement, deciding who should be saved by God and enter the Heavens.

Many times I ask God: "Huh? This guy also can meh?". But God recently answered me very clearly. He told me to think about how He accepted me to be a child of God, when I received Christ in 2005, even when there are so many flaws and brick walls I had built over the years of growing up.

I was humbled.

Indeed, when we acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God ( our Savior who died on the cross, bled and died and rose again, to wash away our sins with His blood ), God has assured us that He loves us and accepts us as who we are, as children of His who wants to live our lives right, according to His will and purpose for us. God wants us to reconcile back to Him. He wants us to lead a life that is confident and fruitful, turning away from sins.

He had sent His Son, Jesus Christ, for this purpose.

Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick." - Matthew 9:12

For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." - Matthew 9:13b

God sees hope in everyone of us, believers and non-believers, even the homosexuals. We recognise that they are in the midst of our society. Let us not be self-righteous. Let us, as brothers and sisters in Christ, not discriminate them or despise them, but learn to see the hope and love that God has for them to overcome this hundle in their lives eventually. If we choose to stay away from them, how can God use us to share to them about His love for them? Amen?

Debate on retaining of Section 377A in parliament?

Video Link (right click and OPEN IN NEW): http://video2.channelnewsasia.com/cnavideos/multiplevideos_206x220.asp?skin=player5.swf&bgskin=playerbackground_206x220.swf&filename=_Parl%20English_20071022_thioLiAnn_penal_lo.flv

You can click on the video link above and refer to a highlighted and edited version of short key remarks (below) of NMP Professor Thio Li-Ann’s speech in Parliament, on her stand on retaining 377A and outlining the dangers of appealing 377A. For a full version of the speech, u can refer to my blog @ www.artsfantasy.blogspot.com

NMP Professor Thio Li-Ann is currently a Nominated Member of Parliament (11th Session). She teaches in NUS Faculty of Law and has published widely in the fields of public international law, human rights law, constitutional and administrative law. She is a Christian.

‘Conservative’ here is not a dirty word connoting backwardness; environmental conservation protects our habitat; the moral ecology must be conserved to protect what is precious and sustains a dynamic, free and good society.

The real question today is not “if” we should repeal 377A now, or wait until people are ready to move. This assumes too much, as though we need an adjustment period before the inevitable. The real question is not “if” but “should” we ever repeal 377A. It is not inevitable; it is not desirable to repeal it in any event.

when we consider the moral issues related to 377A which require moral judgment of what is right and wrong - not to take a stand, is to take a stand!

Neither the majority or minority is always right – but there are fundamental values beyond fashion and politics which serve the common good. Religious views are part of our common morality.

The issues surrounding s377A are about morality, not modernity or being cosmopolitan.

Singapore is an independent state and we can decide the 377A issue ourselves; we have no need of foreign or neo-colonial moral imperialism in matters of fundamental morality.

while homosexuals are a numerical minority, there is no such thing as ‘sexual minorities’ at law. Activists have coined this term to draw a beguiling but fallacious association between homosexuals and legally recognized minorities like racial groups. Race is a fixed trait. It remains controversial whether homosexual orientation is genetic or environmental, perhaps both.

Homosexuality is a gender identity disorder.

While all human persons are of equal worth, not all human behaviour is equally worthy. We separate the actor from the act. In criminalizing acts, we consider the wrongfulness of the act, the harm caused and how it affects the good of society.

Public sexual morality must buttress strong families based on faithful union between man and wife, the best model for raising children.

While we cherish racial and religious diversity, sexual diversity is a different kettle of fish. Diversity is not license for perversity.

Law is a Moral teacher and makes a moral statement.

Repealing 377A will further batter the institution of ‘marriage’ which we must bolster!

Homosexuals as fellow citizens have the right to expect decent treatment from the rest of us; but they have no right to insist we surrender our fundamental moral beliefs so they can feel comfortable about their sexual behaviour. We should not be subject to the tyranny of the undemocratic minority who want to violate our consciences, trample on our cherished moral virtues and threaten our collective welfare by imposing homosexual dogma on right-thinking people. Keep 377A.

But if we don’t stand for something, we will fall for anything.

It is important in life not only to have a Brain, but a Spine.

The Wall by Gloria Jay Evans

2007-11-01T16:45:00.000+08:00

The Wall by Gloria Jay Evans

I don't know when I first began to build the wall. I suppose it was when it occurred to me that I could keep people out if my life by building a simple wall. The wall would be a kind of boundary - a kind of protection. At first the little wall was only knee high. It was really quite attractive, made of native stone I had found in my life. The wall was so small that some people didn't notice it and would stumble right over it and fall flat on their faces. Others saw it but would step over it and come very close to me. I found this very uncomfortable. So I built the wall higher.

This was really much better, but I found that some people would come and rest their arms on the wall while they talked to me. Some stayed too long. And some were not my kind of people. And even when I edged the top of the wall with sharp stones, they didn't seem to notice. One day one of them vaulted over the wall and stood right inside.

This made me angry. I decided to build the wall higher. As I continued to build, I became more and more self-sufficient... (and soon) no one could see in or out...

But then I realized that no one had stopped by to talk for sometime. Some walked by not seeming to notice me or my wall. Others stood sadly by and watched me build. I thought they were jealous of my wall, and I resented them - all of them...

Some of my stones were so dear to me that I polished them carefully several times a day. Then one day I realized the wall was so high that I no longer saw anyone go by...or heard anyone. "Is anyone there?" I yelled. There was no answer. It was dark and the air was foul. I stayed there fora long time. It was quiet and dark and lonely. Only the whispers of my memories could be heard...

One day someone yelled from the other side, "Your wall is ugly. It is twisted and gray and misshapen!" Now, I did not accept this willingly. I liked my wall. In fact, some of the stones from which I had built it were so dear to me...

It was the day the flower fell at my feet that I began to cry. I ran to the wall and climbed to see who had thrown it over.

By the time I reached the top, no one was there. I returned to the flower and sat for a long time looking at its perfection. I began to see the folly of my wall and its imperfection. Floods of tears brought me to my knees. "Oh, I am so alone. My wall is too high and too thick and ugly. ... I have nothing left. Won't someone help me... please? Then a strange thing happened. Something inside me stirred like a remembrance of peaceful times passed. And in the stillness of my broken world I knew... God was there, a blessed presence, that God would come to me, that my darkness had been penetrated by this blessed light... I stood in the joy of this presence. I knew that God had watched me build my wall and that God had waited patiently forme to see it was in vain.

Finally it occurred to me that the Divine Creator would know why my wall was so ugly. When I asked, God began to teach me... my error. God gave the stones names: "This stone is jealousy. You must remove it."

Sometimes I would... protest. This was my favorite stone. It was one I had saved and cherished for years.

When I was finally ready, God helped me remove the stone... (And so it went, through stones named envy, disillusionment, resentment, childishness, stubbornness, some with God's help, sometimes with the help of strangers...) As we removed more stones, the light came in. I felt a hand reaching through a small hole one day.

There was a stranger who walked in one day and told me he had let God tear down his wall. I told him how I had suffered so and that I would never forget how forsaken and lonely I had felt inside my wall. "Yes," he said, "self-pity is a terrible thing." When he left, I found my stone of self-pity in my wall. It was wet with my tears. I dried it off and laid it with the other stones I had taken from the wall.

Overwhelmed by all God had done for me and all God had taught me, I stood on a large remaining stone and began to tell anyone who passed by what God had done for me. I was appalled that no one seemed to hear what I was saying... I noticed others working on walls and ran over to plead with them to stop, but no one would listen. In my frustration, I lay face down on the stone I had stood upon. It was extremely large, highly polished... It was more than life size.

"Do you want the answer to your question?" God asked. "Raise your head, and look at the stone you are lying upon." I raised my head and gasped, for I saw my own reflection in the massive stone.

I knew the stone was pride. Quietly, we removed it.

Then God said a strange thing. "Now you must go. I will go with you and yet I will stay here." I protested, "There are still other stones to remove. I want you here."

"I said I would go with you. Do you remember the flower that fell at your feet, the hand that you clasped, the stranger who showed your self-pity?" "Oh, yes", I sighed, "Oh yes." "Then you must go and do likewise. For to whom much (grace) is given, much (grace) is expected. Wherever you go, I go with you. And whenever you come back here to be tempted, or to remove more stones I will be here for you." And so I went out. I saw the walls of others, and when I could, I threw a flower over, or reached my hand through. The walls were unbelievably ugly.

I heard great sobs behind the walls and my heart ached. "Won't you please help this person?" I cried out to God one day. I returned to my wall and God the Blessed Presence was there. Together we removed the stones of fear, mistrust, and indifference. Then God said, "Now you begin to understand love. Without love, the things I have told you would be meaningless. You will begin to live in peace and understanding of all those people around you whom you thought were not your kind'."

So it was that I went forth, reaching out - sometimes just waiting beside a wall, sometimes tossing a flower, sometimes grasping a hand.

The big bang theory

2007-10-31T12:02:00.000+08:00

This is something interesting that i have learnt during lesson today. So thought to share with u gus :)

The big bang theory : creation of galaxy and universe

Our galaxy/ milky way/ universe started from a point of compressed mass, high density, high energy and high temperature. The energy was so large that it could no longer be contained in that point and so it expanded (the big bang theory). As it expands, temperature decrease and this resulted in the existence of quarks. Quarks is the simplest makeup of anything. temperature continued to decrease and this allows the quarks to have the ability to combine and form neutrons and protons. Neutrons and protons then combine to form nucleus and then atoms and basic element, such as hydrogen. Which eventually leads to the deveopment of matter (which consists of many many atoms)

Although scientists have spent many years discovering this and it seems rather logical, scientists were unable to explain what happened before the big bang or what was in the universe before the big bang. Till today, this remains a mystery to many. From the big bang theory, we can see how systematic the formation of the universe was. Although the energy informed was so great, one incident led to another and one formation led to another. (There ought to be something bigger that is determining all these). If the big bang/ formatiom of the galaxy was mere randomness, under such high energy and temperature, things would have gone really wrong. Take for example nuclear fission.

From the big bang theory, we can see that the creation of the universe is very physical, consisting of quarks and mere 'dead' atoms. Bacteria, fungi, plants, animals and especially man who have life in them can never be created from the universe itself which is a makeup from energy and quarks. Especially man who has the essence of being in them and has feelings, thoughts, emotions and intelligence. How could man being so unique and personal be created out of the physical galaxy of energy and quarks?

you are the reason

2007-10-29T11:04:00.001+08:00

You are the reason, Written by Petrina Yim

You Are The Reason
(left click to listen, right click; save target as to download)

I pray that this song will encourage those who are going through struggles in their life, overcoming areas of sins in their life, which God has brought out. Lets continue to fix our eyes on Jesus who is the author and perfecter of our faith. Through the power of Christ we can overcome all things, and all things are made possible with Him. Amen!!

You're the reason

Written and composed by: Petrina Yim

Verse 1:

E A C#m A
Lord I come into your presence and humbly bow at your throne

E A C#m
You’re all I seek and you’re all I need,

A
And I will run to you

Verse 2:

E A C#m A
My guilt and shame lies in the cross and Your truth sets me free

E A
So with all my heart and with all my soul

C#m A
I will sing of your great love

C#m B
I will sing of your great love

Chorus

E A E
You’re the reason that I live

A E
You’re the reason that I breathe

A B A
You’re the reason I find my strength in

E A E
You’re the reason that I hope

E A E
You’re the reason that I have joy

A B A
You’re the reason I find my strength in

E A B A
You’re the reason I find my strength in

Bridge:

A E A E A C#m
Jesus jesus jesus

B/E A
you are my king

A E A E A C#m
Jesus jesus jesus

B/E A
you are my lord

A E A E A C#m
Jesus jesus jesus

B/E A
you are my guide

A E A E A C#m
Jesus jesus jesus

B/E A
you are my strength

God truly knows and cares for us

2007-10-29T09:57:00.000+08:00

Think I was really reminded of God's love for us in the last sermon.
Jon 4:11 "But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?"

God rebuked Jonah and I was reminded that God in fact truly knows every single one of us. Would you sometimes wonder if god truly knows his plans for you? Whether you are important to Him though you am just another "small" person on this earth and whether God truly knows your inner thoughts and my desires and my struggles. Have anyone of u ever wonder about this? Feeling insecure about ur identity in Christ?

This morning God reminded me that He truly knows!!!

In the NT, we can see that Jesus knows the life of not only his disciples, but also the sinful people and "insignificant" people who came to Him. Many instances, when these people just came to Him, asking Him for forgiveness, God knows what is going on in their life and would forgive them, giving them a new life.

Some instances include:
1) Zacchaeus the Tax Collector and Jesus (Luk 19:1-10), Jesus knew that Zacchaeus was up in the tree (even before Jesus saw him) and knew his heart for God. Although he had committed sins and was considered sinful in the eyes of man (because he cheated people of their taxes), but Jesus knew what was in his heart and that Zacchaeus acknowledge Him as Lord. What i am trying to bring out here is that God knows our inner thoughts, even if we are sinful and insignificant in this world. Every single one is important to Him. God's love is patient and kind. From this passage we can see that God's love keeps no record of wrongs and it is not easily angered. Thank God His love is 1corin 13:4-7, if not ..... hahah.... we would still be lost sheep without shepherds

1Sam 16:7 "But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
- God looks at the condition of our heart.

Matt 10:30-31 "30And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."

Psa 139: 1-4
"1 O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.

2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.

3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.

4 Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD."

Psa 139: 13-16
" 13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be."

Let's take some time to thank God for his love and really grow to understand this love that God has for us. So that we may continue to grow in our confidence and faith in God.

God, threatened by science?

2007-10-28T00:52:00.000+08:00

Hey bros and siss, wanted to share with you my thoughts after finishing the book "The Language of GOD"

I am so amazed by God's Creation.

I feel so fortunate to be able to study Life Science in university. Every lesson keeps me so excited!!! Life is so complex, human is so intricately made. Conditions have to be so precise in order for life to exist.

Recently i learnt from my lecturer that " if we unwound the 46 strands of chromosomes from a single cell, and link them end to end, the distance is 8000 times from Earth to moon and back to Earth" wait a minute..... take some time to try to visualise it.....Wah piang!!! For a moment I cannot comprehend such an analogy... all these 46 strands of chromosomes present in each and every cell we have, contains all the information that is needed for us to exist and grow from birth til death. Such a huge set of information/instruction, yet it has to be packed into a single cell nucleus, which an unaided human eye can't even see.

I just finished a book named " The Language of GOD - A scientist presents evidence for belief " - by Francis Collin. When I saw the book from TIMES bookshop, I was drawn by the name of the author. What has this director of the Human Genome Project got to do under the religion section of this bookshop?

Francis S. Collins is a pioneering medical geneticist who once headed the Human Genome Project, adapts his title from President Clinton's remarks announcing completion of the first phase of the project in 2000: "Today we are learning the language in which God created life."

Collins explains that as a Christian believer, "the experience of sequencing the human genome, and uncovering this most remarkable of all texts, was both a stunning scientific achievement and an occasion of worship."

This marvelous book combines a personal account of Collins's faith and experiences as a genetics researcher with discussions of more general topics of science and spirituality, especially centering around evolution. Following the lead of C.S. Lewis, whose Mere Christianity was influential in Collins's conversion from atheism, the book argues that belief in a transcendent, personal God—and even the possibility of an occasional miracle—can and should coexist with a scientific picture of the world that includes evolution. Addressing in turn fellow scientists and fellow believers, Collins insists that "science is not threatened by God; it is enhanced" and "God is most certainly not threatened by science; He made it all possible."

What is my stand then? Is Darwin's Evolution Theory outdated? How much was Darwin able to understand life given the kind of technology he had in 1879? Why is it still being taught in schools as if it is already a proven fact?

Being a Christian who happens to be a student in the Life Science field, i certainly believe in a God who created the earth, light, water, skies, stars, plants, water animals, birds in the air, and lastly, humans (yes, u and me included). I can't take it when some of my lecturers mentioned that we come from ape? Is there an option for the students here to consider between Creation and Evolution?

I believe science will draw Man to God eventually. As God's language of life - DNA, is being looked at by more and more scientists, under increasingly sophisticated machines, more and more people will tear away pages from their textbooks which attempts to explain life using BIG Bang theory or macro-evolution...

M&M #2

2007-10-25T13:11:00.000+08:00

2weeks ago, we heard the sermon about the truths and myths that we believe in our lives. Though sometimes we may unconsciously and subtly believe in some of the myths not of God, it is important to recognise that Jesus is the only way, the truth and the life. The one way that we can grow is really learning from the Word of God. Let the Spirit guide and teach us in all truths and understanding as we meditate upon God's words.

Let us pray that we may learn to grow in obedience and understanding of His Words as we embark 0n this journey of M&M (memorising and meditating)

"Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths;

guide me in your truth and teach me,

for you are God my Savior,

and my hope is in you all day long. " (Pslams 25:4-5)

===================================================================

Love

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Love is patient, love is kind.

It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Some questions and food for thought as we meditate upon the verse:

- What does it mean to say "love rejoices with the truth"?

- Are there times when God Himself first demonstrated such love for us? (Can be from personal experiences or from the examples of the Bible, e.g. Jesus dying on the cross)

- Who are the people whom I think I love in my life? Why do I love them? How am I loving them in the way that God intended it to be?

-Who are the people (or what kind of people, e.g. of certain character traits or personality, maybe) whom I can't bring myself to love in the way that is mentioned? Why?

- Which aspect of love that I struggle and find most difficult in? Why? How can I grow in it?

Let's post our responses and thoughts online, if not we'll find the chance to share in the next QT. :) (note: u may choose not to mention names, let's be sensitive to others even as we share openly)

Huili

WEEEEeeeeeeeeeeee...

2007-10-22T14:07:00.000+08:00

Thank God for Nic who set up this blog for us to be able to share our lives & thoughts together online! :) Let this place be filled with love, joy, testimonies, and even encouragements and affirmations!! let's post freely to spur each other on in our walk with God together as a caregroup! :)

I'm so blessed in many ways by God in my life, I really cant imagine what'll I be doing and how'll I be right now if I haven known God! Being in this CG has been a great and wonderful experience for me as well, be it serving as a leader, shepherd, fellow sis-in-Christ, or just a crazy friend who loves pure fun and laughter...though there may be many inadequacies and weaknesses, God saw me through it all as I peservered the race...He's the one who gave me the power and the confidence to walk through all the difficult paths and struggles...Let Him be your strength and only One whom u'll fix your eyes on everyday!

Here's a devotional that i wanna share with ya guys, I thought it's quite good..:)

It Starts in the Heart
by Jon Walker

For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all other sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. (Matthew 15:19 NLT)

We tend to think that if we clean up our behavior, then we’ve got a good handle on being like Jesus. But Jesus says behavior starts in the heart, so we need to be cleaned from the inside out. And once our hearts are right, godly behavior follows.

The Apostle Paul says one way to monitor the condition of our hearts is to track what comes out of our mouths – anger or acceptance, criticism or encouragement, bitterness or forgiveness. In addition, Paul explained, “If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.” (1 Corinthians 13:1-13 MSG)

Rather than trying to hide the condition of our hearts by being insincere in what we say or do, God wants us to hand our hearts to him so he can scrub them clean. King David, confessing the sin in his own heart, invited God to change its condition: “God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10 HCSB)

When you allow God to capture your heart, he’ll then set a guard around your heart: “And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7 HCSB)

You can maintain a vigilance over your heart by dealing with issues immediately, instead of allowing them to fester for days, weeks, or even longer.

What now?
· Daily questions for you – Andy Stanley, from North Point Community Church outside Atlanta, suggests asking these questions daily:

Is everything OK in my heart?
Am I waiting for someone to make things right with me?
Have I been having extended conversations (debates) in my mind with anyone lately?
Am I holding on to any secrets?

· Daily questions for your family – Andy Stanley also suggests you ask these questions of your family each day:

How's your heart?
Anybody broken a promise to you today?
Anybody been mean to you today?
Anybody hurt your feelings?

© 2007 Jon Walker. All rights reserved.

Hui Li

love song

2007-10-17T23:37:00.000+08:00

Love Song For A Savior

In open fields of wild flowers,
she breathes the air and flies away
She thanks her Jesus for the daises and the roses
in no simple language
Someday she'll understand the meaning of it all
He's more than the laughter or the stars in the heavens
As close a heartbeat or a song on her lips
Someday she'll trust Him and learn how to see Him
Someday He'll call her and she will come running
and fall in His arms and the tears will fall down and she'll pray,

I want to fall in love with You

Sitting silent wearing Sunday best
The sermon echoes through the walls
A great salvation through it calls to the people
who stare into nowhere, and can't feel the chains on their souls

He's more than the laughter or the stars in the heavens
As close a heartbeat or a song on our lips
Someday we'll trust Him and learn how to see Him
Someday He'll call us and we will come running
and fall in His arms and the tears will fall down and we'll pray,

I want to fall in love with You

It seems too easy to call you "Savior",
Not close enough to call you "God"
So as I sit and think of words I can mention
to show my devotion

I want to fall in love with You

My heart beats for You

M&M #1

2007-09-26T23:59:00.000+08:00

Heb 4:12

For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Jos 1:8

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.