This is it

As we celebrate Christmas, let's be reminded that

the greatest gift we can ever receive is Jesus

Experiences and events can shake us for a moment or for a lifetime
even if it is a lifetime
it is considered temporal

"it is the word of God, received, and believed, that will cause us to abide forever - bevere"

where does obedience start?

Psalm 43:5 (NKJV)
Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.

I never wanted to do this but it's Pastor's call
all I hoped for is for us to move forward
now, I wonder if it's the right approach

feeling incompetent
this feeling is all too familiar

What does God want me to do
What does he want you to do

Only you can answer it

I can't answer it for you

What should I do?
What can I do?

Life has no meaning when it is all about us

I thank God for my NIE results for the past year
as well as all past 3 semesters

It has been hectic, learning to manage my time well and priorities
the lowest grade I've gotten thus far is a B-

For someone who's never quite academic
I give God all the glory for what he has blessed me with

I just received an email with an attached pdf from my dive buddies from NDU
with detailed dive locations and costs
and some personal messages that absolutely cracks me up

The incredible nonsense that will only come from this bunch of ppl

dive trip invitation

now awaiting missus approval
she think it's not a fair deal cos her ho chi minh trip is way cheaper

"Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;" Phi 2:12

I was reading newspaper to get to sleep (yep, reading makes me sleepy)
and the pages on ms Lo's funeral service caught my eye

as I read
I can't help but was gripped with fear

I know it sounds stupid
but the thought I had was
"If my heart were to stop beating this moment, where would I be?"

and then I thought of the people close to me
and my family & friends

it's really scary
not death


but eternal separation from God



I've got to admit and say this,

the busyness of our lives has buried the fear of the Lord way too deep

Col 2:5-6
Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.
Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

Matthew 8:5-10 (New King James Version)

Jesus Heals a Centurion’s Servant

Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.”
And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”
The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!

Everything Changes
Kathryn Scott

Mercy to the brokenhearted
Life for those who grieve
Joy to those whose dreams are stolen
Imprisoned souls released

Chorus:
When You come everything changes
When You speak even the darkness hides
When You step into our frailty, Jesus
You restore every broken life
Everything changes

Blessing to the poor in spirit
Grace for all in need
Sight to those who live in darkness
Innocence redeemed

[Chorus]

This is the Kingdom come
This is the Kingdom (4 times)

Similar to my friendster sign up experience
I finally signed up facebook, after like, probably a year of its existence
just to find out what the buzz is

well, all I can say is
it's more irritating than friendster

the first thing I did was to go to my account settings
removed sensitive information that I do not wish to disclose
and unchecked almost all notifications

some thoughts
- it certainly taps on the human cravings for acceptance
- it's really scary looking at the pace of globalisation, and how we can get information so instantaneously and how easy it is to be connected



----
and the danger lies
when we are so connected to the world
that we get disconnected with God
for eternity

Matthew 7:21
Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.

With Everything
Joel Houston

Open our eyes
To see the things that make Your heart cry
To be the church that You would desire
Your light to be seen

Break down our pride
And all the walls we’ve built up inside
Our earthly crowns and all our desires
We lay at Your feet

Let hope rise
And darkness tremble
In Your holy light
That every eye will see
Jesus our God
Great and mighty to be praised

God of all days
Glorious in all of Your ways
Oh the majesty the wonder and grace
In the light of Your Name

With everything
With everything
We will shout for Your glory
With everything
With everything
We will shout forth Your praise

Our hearts they cry
Be glorified
Be lifted high above all names
For You our King
With everything
We will shout forth Your praise


-----------

I took out this DVD of the latest hillsong album and was listening to this song to find out "what's new"
but God spoke and ministered
I broke down into tears at the end of this song and worshipped
was brought to the following passage


-----------

Philippians 2
Unity Through Humility
1 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

The Humbled and Exalted Christ
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Light Bearers
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
14 Do all things without complaining and disputing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.
17 Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18 For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me.


To God be all Glory

Beautiful song by Chris Tomlin and Watoto Children Choir
Titled "Love"

Added this into my wedding CD compilation tracks

I'm so proud of myself, managed to sieve through and short-listed 18 songs for background music/march out for the wedding service
7 slow/moderate songs
6 instrumental
5 march out/ upbeat songs

Wheeeeeeeeeeee ;)

Last night, before I sleep, I resolute to wake up this morning to dwell in God's word

A few thoughts came to mind:
1. Our minds are often preoccupied with the things we call as "we need to do"
2. Then our minds struggle to put God's word as our priority
3. After a wrestle for a moment, we often justify that we will seek God once we are done with what "we need to do"

And I admit that more often that not, I will choose to worship God when I am free based on the extend of the number of items on my "need to do" list

This morning, it happened to me too as with many times
I've an assignment due this Friday which I needed precious time to work on, after spending a weekend on a draining leaders' retreat
I wrestled like mad, I tell you

I thought, probably I can spend just 5 minutes fulfilling my responsibility as a Christian - read through some inspiring verses and "believe" that God has spoken

God spoke - Shallow conversions will only result in shallow relationships

I was brought to Romans 8 this morning again - surprisingly, the passage which I shared with some of the music team members last week

This particular verse jumped up at me

Romans 8:5-6
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit

For to be carnally minded is death,
but to be spiritually minded is life and peace

Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be

another translation for "carnal mind" is the mind set on the flesh

because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, (NASB)

very often, the mind of the flesh dictates and controls my life
and that is reflected in the choices I make
down to the minute details

for example, my house renovations
there were lots of hiccups and our interior designer began to be lazy and thus caused some inconveniences for ivy and I
Many a times, I was furious and fuming, not willing to compromise because of "customer rights"
and I realised the Spirit behind it is a selfish mind - a mind set on pleasure for myself

I always tell Ivy that the theme for our home is Joshua 24:15
And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

It became very clear to me that I am serving... me
it becomes all about me
it becomes what I want first, then to God

it doesn't mean that for every defect I will just go "praise the Lord"
but rather, we really need to examine our minds, that it does not dictate our actions according to the flesh

Put it this way
When we set our minds on God,
we become less dependant on what we CAN do
we focus our attention on the things that pleases God
obeying, serving God, serving His people
and God comes in to DO the things that we "need to do" for us - where more often than not, the things we "need to do" may not be what God wants us to do - or to focus our attention on
and when God's in control, the end result, God is glorified - NOT US

we often come to God,
doing everything
then when things work out
it's 90% our effort - 10% we attribute to God
I'm convinced it does not glorify God - even if we give our testimony
in fact, it contradicts and is insulting to Him because of our unbelief in His strength

in verse 28 it says
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
For whom He forenew,
He also predestined, to be conformed to the image of His son
that He might be the firstborn among many brethren
Moreoever whom He predestined, these He also called;
whom He called, these He also justified;
and whom He justified, these He also glorified

God says "all things"
not church things, not only difficult things, not only insignificant tasks but - ALL
from this verse, we see that God is at and should be at the beginning of the chain

it requires a paradigm shift in our mindsets especially for us in Singapore
the way we prioritise needs a change
and when we are trained by God and led by His Spirit in this manner, we can be sure that ALL THINGS will fall in place

when the tough gets going,
what would you do then?

Psalm 40 (The Message)
A David Psalm
1-3 I waited and waited and waited for God. At last he looked; finally he listened.
He lifted me out of the ditch,
pulled me from deep mud.
He stood me up on a solid rock
to make sure I wouldn't slip.
He taught me how to sing the latest God-song,
a praise-song to our God.
More and more people are seeing this:
they enter the mystery,
abandoning themselves to God.

4-5 Blessed are you who give yourselves over to God,
turn your backs on the world's "sure thing,"
ignore what the world worships;
The world's a huge stockpile
of God-wonders and God-thoughts.
Nothing and no one
comes close to you!
I start talking about you, telling what I know,
and quickly run out of words.
Neither numbers nor words
account for you.

6 Doing something for you, bringing something to you—
that's not what you're after.
Being religious, acting pious—
that's not what you're asking for.
You've opened my ears
so I can listen.

7-8 So I answered, "I'm coming.
I read in your letter what you wrote about me,
And I'm coming to the party
you're throwing for me."
That's when God's Word entered my life,
became part of my very being.

9-10 I've preached you to the whole congregation,
I've kept back nothing, God—you know that.
I didn't keep the news of your ways
a secret, didn't keep it to myself.
I told it all, how dependable you are, how thorough.
I didn't hold back pieces of love and truth
For myself alone. I told it all,
let the congregation know the whole story.

11-12 Now God, don't hold out on me,
don't hold back your passion.
Your love and truth
are all that keeps me together.
When troubles ganged up on me,
a mob of sins past counting,
I was so swamped by guilt
I couldn't see my way clear.
More guilt in my heart than hair on my head,
so heavy the guilt that my heart gave out.

13-15 Soften up, God, and intervene;
hurry and get me some help,
So those who are trying to kidnap my soul
will be embarrassed and lose face,
So anyone who gets a kick out of making me miserable
will be heckled and disgraced,
So those who pray for my ruin
will be booed and jeered without mercy.

16-17 But all who are hunting for you—
oh, let them sing and be happy.
Let those who know what you're all about
tell the world you're great and not quitting.
And me? I'm a mess. I'm nothing and have nothing:
make something of me.
You can do it; you've got what it takes—
but God, don't put it off.

I have a silly grin

and probably, a bad smile
which, some times it feels unnatural

Taylor GA Fall Ltd Cocobolo

$250, 24 month installments, 0 interest by DBS credit

ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

My God Jesus
Your breath will move the mountains
Your hands break down my fortress
With your perfect love

My God Jesus
You fill my heart with gladness
Removed my fears and tears
I will live every day
Overwhelmed by your perfect love

"Thirsty hearts are those whose longings have been wakened by the touch of God within them." - A.W. Tozer

Ivy is studiously scribbling down notes

She is sitting in front of my tv

She is watching "永远吃不肥 buffet buffet" on channel 8

She's the girl I am marrying

oh, everyone believes
from emptiness to everything
oh, everyone believes
and no one's going quietly
-John Mayer "Belief"

I don't listen much to the radio
this is a musically nice song
but these few lines jump out at me

and no one's going quietly

so, where are you headed for?

Monday blues at work?
A reminder for all of us who are working

Psalm 37:7-8
Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.

Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret—it only causes harm.

Lord, give me a clear and sound mind

Stronger - By Delirious
We're getting stronger everyday,
We're getting braver in every way,
Hallelujah here we come.

We're getting stronger everyday,
Push through the rains that fall our way,
Hallelujah here we come.

We're much stronger when we're one,
Hallelujah here we come.

Oh, I love You from the depths of my heart,
And nothing here will tear us apart.
Everything's beautiful with You,
Everything's beautiful, when You invade my life.
And I'm living just to say that 'I love You'.

We're getting closer everyday,
Chasing the dreams that heaven gave,
Hallelujah here we come.

We're getting closer everyday,
Into Your arms I'm here to stay.
We're much stronger when we're one,
Hallelujah here we come.

His family are facing great personal pain - and if we are people of faith, we would do better to use our words to pray for him and for them, than talking to friends about the situation at every opportunity.

I remember the days where I first started running "properly" in NDU
it was really painful, the side stomach stitches
the perspiration and fatigue

the one I remember quite vividly is my 2.4km route around the camp grounds
We have to complete 3 and 3/4 rounds

For every 200 metres, I would fix my eyes on a particular tree, building or structure
there's this coconut tree at the entrance

despite the pain and all
I would keep telling myself
"I will reach that tree"
"It will be an achievement"
"Lord, help me admire this tree that I will forget the pain"

well,
it may seem stupid or dumb
but it does work
from a 13min 2.4 timing to 8min50s in a year

focusing on the little victories in life is a step forward to greater successes that God has in stored for us

the active conversations with God or small talk is so lacking in my life I realised
we love all the chill sessions with our friends but we don't really come before God as a friend
our image of God is often limited to the miraculous or the "high and lofty one"
I'm reminded this morning to talk to God as a friend

and ya,
God speaks to me most clearly when I am down on my knees scrubbing my toilet
no joke

I thought this is worth a mention
I finally finished this bottle of hair gel

what's so interesting you may ask
well, this bottle lasted me 4 years
actually, not really, cos the last bit, I find that it smells funny, thus I decided to stop using

yes, I'm not sure if others would have used their hair gel for 4 years or more

oh ya, I have short hair plus 1 year botak in NS
maybe that explains it

Time and again, I wonder if it’s a vicious cycle
Whether it’s something I have control over
Whether it’s something I could do something about it

It’s that time of the year, as I spoke to Arlene yesterday
Where people are super busy, either with exams or work commitment
Maybe less of work commitments as the worship team consist of mainly schooling teenagers

How we manage our time and commitment - Is that something that can be revolutionised?
I guess not, after all, all of us are created differently.

But perhaps, what I’ve learnt, is that how we cherish ourselves does affect the people around us, be it whether it’s intentional or not.
Or maybe, I got to admit, sometimes we are just too numb with ourselves to even care or bother what others think. Does that actually mean anything to us?

Deep down within, I know that I am able to keep a good hold of my feelings and to dispel negative thoughts. But sometimes, it’s really hard not to feel disheartened at the way things are.
Negative thoughts such as why should I bother?
Why is it that it must be always me handling things alone?
Why can’t others feel a little more passionate in this ministry?

Whenever I entertain these thoughts, I feel depressed.
Because I am looking at what I can do
Because I am looking at what I hope I can do
Because I am not looking at what God can do

Being understanding and considerate versus being autocratic
I’ve also come to accept that I cannot reach out to every single one person
I often find myself choosing to remain in my own comfort shell, in fear of being hurt when things don’t turn out the way I would like them to, especially when I’ve tried to
But I also know that's not the way it should be
And I should look forward to what God has purposed for me

What really makes a good leader?
What I realised that I can do, is with my limited small hands and energy, to show care towards whoever I can.
And what I do know is that through my little obedience, God can do greater things
And at the end of the day, I know that it’s not that I have achieved something, but because God enables me

I thank God because I guess I do know the answer to my frustration.
It’s a moulding process
It’s painful
I feel alone at times
But I guess God doesn’t mould clay with cement at the same time

Not being totally fluent in my thoughts, but I will be fine
I am sure, because my Father cares and what I need to do is to put down my defences and welcome Him to care for me so that I can learn better how to care for others

powerful series of teaching by pastor

Renewal of mind
Grace & truth
Getting a grip of emotions

Oh boy, I'm learning so much
Apply apply apply!

we can choose what we want to magnify

when we magnify something, we see it more clearly
just like an ant, under a microscope

when we magnify our problems, do we really see it more clearly?

when we magnify God, what do we see?

Made to worship

To teach with wisdom

To care for the people around me

To lead as I'm being led

To develop and use my abilities for his purposes

---
He knows my name
Tommy Walker

I have a Maker
He formed my heart
Before even time began
My life was in his hands

I have a Father
He calls me His own
He'll never leave me
No matter where I go

He knows my name
He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls
And He hears me when I call

Knock it down - SAF...lol

The Beginnings of Soul Survivor

“In the early 90s, I (Mike Pilavachi - ed.) was the youth worker at St Andrews Chorleywood, an Anglican church in Hertfordshire.

In my youth group there was a 15-year old kid called Matt Redman who worshipped his heart out at the back of meetings.

When he began to play the guitar, I encouraged him and he started to lead our worship.

Both of us were longing to grow in our own understanding of worshipping Jesus and one day we said, "Wouldn't it be great to worship the lord together without the feeling that we've go to lead the group and do this and that…?"

So Matt said, "Why don't we spend an evening a week just worshiping the Lord? Saturday is the best night of the week - why don't we give God Saturday night?" I agreed.

So for a few months, Matt and I would go into the church on a Saturday night for a couple of hours.

He'd get his guitar out and the two of us would sing songs to Jesus, pray, read the word and sing in the Spirit.

Gradually other young people started joining us and that's how Soul Survivor started. It was all by accident.”

Wedding Photoshoot

Renovation 3D drawings are out..
and!!
some snapshots by mao of our photoshoot yesterday!
=)
Thanks to mao, gladys and the unusually-polite-and-friendly uncle pooh!

And the biggest thanks to our Heavenly Father for granting such an amazing fine weather!
Seriously, perfect!!

One of the highlights:
We were in botonic gardens and walking towards another area when we hear this little girl from a distance away, pointed in our direction and gasp, "a princess!"

Won't blog more cos Ivy's going to post a more detailed one I'm sure
=)
Things are going at a rather fast pace but thankfully, everything's still running pretty good!

and yup, I spend quite a bit of time on renotalk.com these days
more than guitar4christ.com

2 Corinthians 3:7-18

Glory of the New Covenant

7 But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. 10 For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. 11 For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious.
12 Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech— 13 unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. 14 But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. 15 But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. 16 Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Went for our final gown fitting 2 days back and on that evening, we walked down city link and to suntec and back, to look for white shoes
Not easy looking for a pair of white leather shoes which would be suitable for day wear other than being formal for wedding day.
I initially wanted to get a pair at everbest - which I've always favoured their leather shoes to be one of the most comfortable but there weren't much white selections.
And after much thought and walk, we decided on a pair of pedro.
For the price tag we paid for, well, I better make sure that I wear it more than once!
Was purchased with the intention for my suit solely, but the more I look at it, woooo - nice!

Here's some pics - My white shoes






And this arrived too, Audix OM5, got it off ebay at a steal
it's sort of a risk that I bought it without first trying and based solely on online reviews
but thank God, it sounded sweet!


With the mic clip and pouch


And here it is, audix OM5


And here, my first try at making a compensated saddle from a piece of camel bone blank
the below piece is the original uncut piece and the above has been sawn/filed/sandpapered extensively by yours truly


Fitted this first trail piece onto the church's old takamine, woots, more defined tone!
And I was pleasantly surprised that the density is quite similar to fossilised mammoth ivory (which cost like 5 times as much!)


And yes, it's been some time, mimi's grown up
Biting, sleeping in strange positions and stretching


He sure knows the comfortable spots


prowling position as I prepare to play catch with him
All eyes on the string ball! And yep, his mitten paws are still pearly white!


Holidays been pretty cool so far
Settled quite a fair bit for my new flat

And yes,
Ivy's gowns and my suit are ......
oh well, you will see ;-)

From the guy who brought you super mario drumming

this time, to nokia monophonic ringtones



LOLLLLL

Guitar hero for praise and worship in church anyone?



dig that "super mario" button!

DING!!!

started off with a remix of "bittersweet symphony"
followed by three renditions of "Amazing grace"
One by Marty Sampson, one by Hillsong's choir, then followed by a Chris Tomlin and Jad Gilles duet

It's like watching a movie trailer! haha!
can't believe this is the opening to the Hillsong conference 2007
rather elaborate but really really creative bunch of ppl!

the earthquake in China really shook many and I am convinced that God is trying to say something to us

Even as I read the newspaper on reports on how many have tried to explain the recent events, one thing is very clear - God is God, His ways are higher

Curious, I am attempting to find more info about communism in China and how it relates to God's plans for the country
I stumbled on this article and it talks about how Christianity struggled to make an impact in China as it seems to the Chinese that they have to forsake their 5000 years of history to follow Christ

and this article cites this
"Evidently, to separate China and her 5000-year history from God's control is not the intention of the Bible. However, the notion of separation has produced obstacle after obstacle along the road to the spread of the gospel in China."

This made me think hard
as I relate this to my life
I think we need to constantly ask, "are we willing to give God the control?"

The very fact that we try so hard to maintain that control and self worth and by trying to justify the good and values of our actions, at times, may be the very thing that hinders us from the intimacy with God

when it becomes all about - us

Undoubtedly, a Chinese person who has become a Christian is still Chinese, but he is a newborn Chinese, a Chinese, who is enlightened about China's past, present and future in perspective and who has a new awareness of his new mission. Being such a Chinese, I should not, and dare not conceal what God has let me see. Except for the love and righteousness of God and His light of life, nothing in this world can disperse the shadow of hatred, bitterness and death, which has been overshadowing the Chinese people as long as three thousand years. This awareness, which surpasses all the principles of political factions and theological denominations, comes from the call of love from the Cross, the Cross produced by Pilate and the high priest.

This song touched me greatly. May this bless you too.

【仰望恩典】
诗集：赞美之泉-让爱走动，14

每一天，每一夜，
每一分钟，我仰望你的恩典，
患难时，在我喜乐时，
你双手领我进入你恩典，

主耶稣你宝血，
洗净我一切的罪孽，
为我死，为我而流泪，
赐给我无尽的恩典。

我能有什么给你啊，能报答你付的代价，
每当我定睛你十架，眼泪不禁潸然地落下，
我的心不要忘记啊，他鞭伤换来新的生命啊，
从此不再忧伤，不再挣扎，
在耶稣怀里我有平安自由、希望。

The last time I remembered waking up like a dead fish is back in NS days..
Clad in our long 4s, we walked down in the dim orange street lamps to the armoury

No one speaks a word except the occasional swearing by some grumpy tired men

The only sound you hear is the rifles clicking as we checked our barrels to ensure no live rounds present

ready for war?
that's just the beginning

pray for us
Huiling, Gladys, Pui Yi, Pamela, Becky and yours truly

1 John 1:5-10
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives"

Psalm 119:9-16
9 How can a young man cleanse his way?
By taking heed according to Your word.
10 With my whole heart I have sought You;
Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
11 Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You.
12 Blessed are You, O LORD!
Teach me Your statutes.
13 With my lips I have declared
All the judgments of Your mouth.
14 I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,
As much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on Your precepts,
And contemplate Your ways.
16 I will delight myself in Your statutes;
I will not forget Your word.

I am pretty exhausted from today's meetings and missions prep
but I can't sleep at the moment

thus, I decided to do my marriage prep course homework though I won't be around this week for the course.

My character type is ENFJ

Extraverted - Intuitive - Feeling - Judging
Strength of the preferences %
1 12 25 22

Qualitative analysis of your type formula
You are:
* slightly expressed extravert
* slightly expressed intuitive personality
* moderately expressed feeling personality
* slightly expressed judging personality

Career Choices

http://keirsey.com/handler.aspx?s=keirsey&f=fourtemps&tab=3&c=teacher

http://typelogic.com/enfj.html

What really satisfy us?

John 4:13-14
Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

A familiar passage for many of us

We often see and recognise that we need to read the bible, pray and seek God, because that is living water, which is well, true!
but a point that we often overlook is that are we still drinking from external sources?

In this passage, when the Samaritan woman asked Him in the following verse
"Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.", Jesus begin to deal with the "external sources" that she has been drinking from

notice that Jesus didn't say: "Here it is! Drink up!"
or to even spell it out: "You have to read the word of God and have a relationship with Him"

nope... the first thing he did was to get the woman to deal with those "external sources"

what's wrong with drinking from external sources?
and do they quench our thirst?
of course they do!!!
for me, I find that if I am the woman, I have no problem keep going back to that well and fetch water again, no matter how tedious it is
after all, I get to drink!

but now, this is where we often fail to see this

Jesus is saying "This water that I am offering you has been purely treated, don't even require chlorine, all 100% natural, better than your expensive evian or perry, and I will have PUB install a direct pipe straight to your home,

AND FREE OF CHARGE"

now, with such an offer,
would you take it up?
or would you continue to head down to that well and drink from it,
while your family members are flushing the toilet bowl with that most pristine water


what should we do then?
we have to stop going to that well
In vs 29 to 30 of that passage, it says:
Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.


though many times, we may be somehow blinded to believe that the well's water is "better"
in the same way, the devil strives to spread lies
even lies such as
"Oh well, you can continue to drink from the well, even if you have that top quality water at home.
That well's water won't kill you that fast"

personally,
I find that there's many struggles I face in this fast pace society and to recognise that the living water that God provides is way better - is something that I find myself often blinded - thus resulting to external sources of water

Today, is there something that you often turn to to satisfy your thrist?
It may be love, friends, family, work, entertainment?

So why turn to Jesus?
Start to ask yourself why you love Jesus and why He loves you
Just like when NeWater first released in Singapore, what is the first thing that people ask? - whether it is bad for the body, whether there are any health benefits

but of course, the living water that Jesus offers - no negative points, only eternal life
I think it would be a good start to discover what its contents are
in fact, I'd think that we need to discover it DAILY - afterall, it's living water, it's not exhaustive!!
but first off, would you be interested? or that well still interests you more?

I don't want to allow the well water to kill me some day
so, I'd better start to cherish that living water!

Isaiah 55:1 - 3
Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
2 Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.
3 Give ear and come to me;
hear me, that your soul may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
my faithful love promised to David.

And what's the result of drinking in the Word of God?
Your soul delights in what you are taking in

one final thought
we are made for eternity - thus, only what is eternal would be able to satisfy us

The Glory of God in our lives

What drives our motivation for change?

wanting to break free from our own bondages?
so that we can be "Holier" and "better children of God"?
yes, even work, wanting to "spend more time with family/God", "more time for ministry"?
guilt? to be better christians?

but what is the core motivation of it all for many of us?

as I meditate on this, it can be summarised in very simple terms: living our lives for our own glory
and I believe many of us christians live in such ignorance or self denial

when we live for our own glory, we are attempting to rob God of His Glory
and that is really serious and severe stuff

thus, when we desire change for our own glory, we can not expect God's assistance
Judges 7:2
"And the LORD said to Gideon, 'The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, 'My own hand has saved me.'"

for the start of a new life
we must must must have a correct understanding and genuine desire for His Glory

Ezekiel 20:7
"And I said to them, 'Each of you, get rid of the vile images you have set your eyes on, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. I am the LORD your God'"

Psalm 115:1
Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us,
But to Your name give glory,
Because of Your mercy,
Because of Your truth.

2 Corinthians 3:16-18
"16 Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord"


Some songs that came to mind:
I have decided to follow Jesus
Chris Tomlin - Not to us
Matt Redman - Living for Your Glory

Dear Lord,
To live for Your Glory is such a simple but yet profound lesson in my life
Help me in this aspect to see things your way and to know you much much much more intimately.
In Jesus name I pray,
Amen

There is a glass of pure water, but a fly got into, now, you cannot use that water because the fly is there. But if you continue pouring new pure water, the fly will finally finish getting out of the glass.

Pour into yourself spiritual things. Read the bible, listen music, pray even more.


Romans 6:14 (Amplified Bible)
14For sin shall not [any longer] exert dominion over you, since now you are not under Law [as slaves], but under grace [as subjects of God's favor and mercy]

I m feeling so frustrated and tired that I want to scream

I was just typing out a whole list of things that I was feeling unhappy and frustrated about, which I keep trying to justify that I have a reason to be unhappy
cos I've tried to do my best

But I just highlighted that whole chunk and hit backspace

Phillipians 2:14-16
Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.

To my guitar and then to bed
God help me

When we talk more about God and less of ourselves

we become more clear minded

and not living out deluded selfish agendas

Proverbs 27:1
Do not boast about tomorrow
For you do not know what a day may bring forth


another verse for the day from the same chapter

Proverbs 27:5
Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed

gosh, I didn't know this existed
come to think of it, that is so evident in Jesus' life
a no nonsense attitude towards the truth
has my life been evident even in this aspect?

Came across this article as I was flipping through looking for references on Col 3:23-24
this article helped me to focus on the major, hope it's of a blessing to you too

Work - Blessing or curse?

I will be posting more often during this period leading to the mission trip at http://jesusair.blogspot.com

I know, the blog address sounds strange

anyway, quite alot of thoughts at the moment
grandma's departure taught me many valuable lessons
I will find time to post some stuff here

assignment buggers
was just surfing around acousticguitarforum and stumbled upon this thread on pics of their kids with their guitars




now, who says kids are too young for a taylor?









my fav pic of the lot

interesting discovery

I was trying to google "problems children face when learning division"
when I type in problem, google auto completes and this is top of the list:
"Problems with vista"

2nd in list is "Problems with windows"
3rd is "Problems in Africa"
4th is "Problems in the world"

LOL

just realised that I've never posted the song which I presented during my baptism back in 2003
been 5 years man

thought I always have a soft copy, but when I wanted to send it to Andy I realised I don't have it, thus I dug out the hard copy and copied into doc

the edits which Arlene took a day to come down specially to help Sier and I out went down the drain when Sier's laptop crashed
thus, I looked through this set of lyrics and did some touch up
anyway, here's it
Original title was "Just want to" but I thought it was too "bratty".. hahaa :p

so here's the revised title: "Just for You" - for my only Lord and Saviour


JUST FOR YOU

VERSE:
The sky above, The sea of love
The grass, the morning dew and all
Surrounding me and touches me
I open my eyes and see you Lord

The birds are singing
The morning glory
You have made things beautiful
In everything your love makes all things new

CHORUS:
I just want to praise you
I just want to love you
I just want to reach out for your love
I just want to sing of
How you took up the cross
How you thought of me and gave it all

Jesus, here’s my heart
Let it be in time with everything You’ve planned right from the start
I just want live each day and every moment just for you


BRIDGE:
Nothing else matters
When I know you love me most
Now my life is burning just for you
For you

alright, here's it
need to raise awareness

I was conned 2 days back

yep. while on my way back home with my loy kee chicken rice in my hands,
this van popped over by the side of the road and this ah beng asked in chinese "eh, want to buy hifi anot? i got extra from warehouse and I don't want to bring it back to my boss."

Oh well, curiosity killed the cat

I entertained that fella and his friend
they showed me the back of the van with loads of boxes of speakers
showed me invoices and brochures that those speakers cost 1,999
and that the loading guys loaded extra stock into their van, which if they bring back, the boss will swallow the goods, so they rather sell it cheap for some kopi money
so he asked me to just give an open offer, I shot $300
after negotiation, went to $350 and before I knew it, I was following this guy to the atm and withdrawing the cash to him

at the back of my head, I was suspicious, but I guess part of me also was thinking, eh this is quite a steal

you know, we've been educated much through news and warnings from friends and family, but somehow I realised through this personal encounter that it's really a different story when u come face to face with these fellas

these guys are pro
they are a registered company, with warranty and all, business reg. no.
they even setup a website to showcase their products, except that no specs, no prices, just nice pictures, very professionally done
http://www.cleoacoustics-uk.com/
at first glance, this look like a company based in uk, but as I scrolled to contact us and saw the singapore address, it became really clear

good thing though, I mentioned I was a student
after reaching home, I hit google and realised that I've become one of the many conned. hardwarezone returned a 39 pages long thread of people screaming their grievances
some even paid $800 to 1k for a set of speakers that are worth less than $100

I tested the speakers, yes, working, but the quality is nothing to rave about
just eye candy...

actually, a big part of me was considering that this is a good investment for my new house. the guy also mentioned I can get laptops and HDTV at good price from him too, and I still do have his number and did try to call him and he entertained me, even proposed that I get a $200 amplifier for the speakers

they are not exactly doing an illegal business in the eyes of the law
afterall, an official invoice has been issued and the dealer can sell his product at any price he wants

I'm really surprised that even I, who consider myself to be rather street smart, can be conned.
These guys are really good, convincing
as for the speakers, I asked my dad see if anyone wants them to give away
don't think I can tahan looking at it at my new place even though it's working

oh well, a lesson learnt that I thought it would be good to share with my friends who
reads my blog
be weary of such "too good to be true" deals,
don't even entertain these guys,
just give a flat "no"

a little upset abt the whole thing
but well, it helps when I shared this with Ivy and my parents
an expensive lesson nonetheless
always be mindful, and not to take things with an attitude that "hey, this won't happen to me. I'm too smart for that"

humbling experience I would say
In any ways, I still thank God for this lesson! =)

anyway, here's the detailed thread for you guys to take a look
Scam alert

The proposal - 02 Feb 08

11am - collected flowers from plaza which I ordered a week prior
custom ordered as there's nothing in the catalogue that is really nice, plus Ivy's fav flower is baby's breath, which er, can't expect me to order a bouquet of that right? Good thing it turned up well


got grandma to accompany me down to fosters to setup
here's a sissy pose


The board with felt letterings which took me quite some time over the past couple of weeks to design (considering I can only do it up when no one's at home and ivy's not around, and with tutorials to do and worship sets to prepare)
oh yes, the fiat punto which I rented over the weekend
it's a super fuel economy car.


at fosters', tying up with steve and checking out the menu


grandma snapping away




nice mirror shot


retarded




back in WCRC to standby as Arlene was having a fever
after that, since there was time, I hanged around for youth and Jan took more pictures






just for laughs




this is pretty well taken



alright, no more DSLR, only my simple digi cam
Soup at fosters, lobster bisque and special mushroom
asparagus with mushrooms (p.s. both of us love mushrooms!)




fishy fishy


dessert time - and as planned the waiter brought out the flowers and the board I made
ok folks, I went on my knees (strange, everyone think I'm too macho/gunho to go on my knees)


yes? of course la!


met a BB friend, who happened to be part timing at fosters,
he helped to hold up the board behind us for this shot


my baby with the first bouquet I have ever bought her
we had a pact 5 years back that the only time I will give her flowers is when we are getting married


the fast eater waiting for the coffee to cool




the goldfish with popping eyes


petals strewn over the floor by the staff at fosters when I popped the question


fosters - an english rose cafe


off to harbourfront after dinner - playing around with mirror pillars


more flower shots




ok, a decent shot of me holding the flowers (without monkey faces)


kids damaging our ozone with balloons


piggy and Ivy (vice versa)






the oversized ring


us