'Fright' then Flight...

Deu 32:10b-11

He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye, like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on its pinions. =)

Drawing strength and motivation from this verse over the past few weeks.. =) Thank God for the timely verse and new perspective which He gave when I went to the BSF intro lecture sometime ago..

Hmm, a lil discouraged for sometime and doubting my competency...think it doesn't help as workload is almost peaking as the later half of the year is coming, many times, not sure what to do for roles assigned, but just try to figure my way around.. guess i don't like the feeling of uncertainty maybe.. (though think my tolerance for tt is higher now =P).. what i'm doing is really out of my comfort zone.. most of them are not exactly my strengths.. which makes it more 'draining' .. at times wld wonder if i have made a wrong choice.. n how come God wld open door if He knows that it wld not be easy or might not be my SHAPE? Heh.. then I got my 'answer' in a way from the verse.. =)

From the lecture, got to know that parent eagle will actually take the nest apart in its' attempt to teach an 'eaglet' to fly! One stick, at a time, they will toss parts of the nest into the valley which is thousands of feet below. Next, when the nest is almost gone; they will shove their unsuspecting chicks over the edge of the cliff!

BUT, just in the nick of time, the parents will swoop under the eaglets and carry the panic stricken eaglets back up to the nest. After awhile, the parents push them over the edge again! This continues time-after-time until the young ones, after repeatedly falling and fluttering down thousands of feet alongside the cliff toward the jagged rocks below, almost accidentally - begin to fly and their flight training is complete!

Likewise, God wld at times shove me out of my 'nest', comfort zone, in His midst to teach and able me to soar to greater hts and i can be assured that He wld be there to uplift me in due time!

As I type and reflect, thought there are so many things to thank God for in what i'm doing:

- a more globalised perspective, allowed me to interact and get acquainted with people of different nationalities, who knows, perhaps it's a preparation ground for me for missions or even to reach out to different nationalities in Singapore.. =)

-providing a training ground for me.. as the wrk i do is quite out of my comfort zone, though it will take more effort on my part, but guess tt's precisely how i will learn much more.. it will 'train' me in a way on how to present myself when speaking to different people as i observed how my boss, colleagues do it.. networking skills.. planning for events.. thought that these would come in useful in case when i'm tasked to be say a church camp planner? or a wedding planner? heh.. will have the network and skills to do so.. have to seize the opportunity and learn as much as possible!! teaching me to be humble as well.. there are so many things which i dunno or never come across, some of the life experiences of ppl there are qt rich and they r knowledgeable..

-providing me with resources for me to do what i like, thru this wrk, tt's how my french classes can be subsidised and tt's how i can afford the fees =)

-then, i rmb tt time when studying , had a discussion with daisy, mich about the possibility of setting up a cg there.. if we happen to wrk ard there.. think tt was when i was in yr 2 or 3?? cannot rmb, but as i look back, amazed hw i was brought bck to e same place.. (ha tt time when studying, was a goal to wrk there in a way.. =P) tgh no cg was set up.. bt encouraged to know tt there's a grp of Christians there who is very committed to a wrkplace ministry! I thank God that He used them to refresh me at times when i'm really tired!

When things are out of my control, I can be assured that God is in control! =)

Praying that He will guard my heart, not let a complaining and complacent spirit dwell in me, instead, help me give thanks continually and uplift my spirit! To learn fast and give my best, as if working for the Lord and bring glory to Him! Help me see things with His perspective and see where all these might lead to.. need to be refreshed by Him too and praying for more new insights from His Words! =)

Trust in the Lord Lyrics

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
Lean not on your own understanding
In all of your ways acknowledge Him
And He will make you paths straight
Don't worry about tomorrow
He's got it under control
Just trust in the Lord with all of your heart
And He will carry you through Lord, sometimes it gets so tough
To keep my eyes on You when things are going rough
But when I turn my eyes up to the sky
And I hear Your voice it says to me
So child do not be weary with the troubles
Of this world I have overcome

Sixpence None The Richer Trust lyrics

Tioman...=)

Je vais a Tioman en vacance pour trois jours, du Vendredi au Dimanche. Je suis contente et je me amuse!Je vais avec mon cheri et mon amies.On prend en bus jusqu'a Mersing ensuite on prend en bateau pour un heure avant de arrive a Tioman .. Merci Dieu pour beau temps! =)

On fait de la natation a Tioman dans la mer..et on voit beaucoup poissons! Ils ont tres jollies!! Notre hotel a cote de la plage, c'est tres sympa aussi! Je voudrais visite a Tioman encore une fois a l'avenir. =)

*learnt about talking about vacation in class, so try typing as a practice*

I really enjoyed this trip as it's a much 'coveted' one.. haha thanks to dear, mich and qp..Blessed by their presence.. Thank God too for the sunny weather! It only started to rain on our last day.. thank Him for the stars in the sky.. there were alot alot of them..(took alot of 'mental pictures' of the 'stars-studded' sky haha) Then during our return, the ferry was delayed and our bus left without us.. just muttered a prayer together with mich n qp, asking God to help us resolve by 5pm.. amazingly there is a ic for another bus who agrees to let us board his bus.. we were the first group to leave (there were some groups who had waited there for hours wor..) and when we checked the time, it was 4.30pm.. and the bus started its' journey at 4.45pm! =) Thank God!

il fait tres beau... =)

Merci mon cheri pour totoro et ponyo.. =)



Finally has this long awaited gathering.. =) from cny arrange until march.. *faint* Thank God for all of them! To really not give up meeting together..




Saw this blue bird.. snuggling at the grass patch while i was walking to the mrt station.. Whipped out my phone..oh man i was so thrilled that it did not fly away as i approach it!! =D Think it's a young kingfisher learning to fly.. not sure, but thought that it really look like one..=P haha anyway, seeing this bird brightened up my days! Beautiful creation of God!

Doodling may help 'memory recall'

Article below was published in BBC Health .

It's actually proven now doodling really can help one be more alert wor..haha tt's what I told people haha when they 'caught' me doodling in my notebook or study notes and say that I am not paying attention..=P Woah.. Interesting research that ppl do nowadays...n tt means i should doodle more to keep my mind alert =P


Doodling 'may help memory recall'

Doodling may look messy, but it could in fact be a sign of an alert mind, a study suggests.

Plymouth University researchers carried out memory tests on 40 volunteers, asking them to listen to a phone call and recall names and places.

Doodlers performed 29% better than non-doodlers, the team found.

Experts said doodling stopped people from daydreaming, which was a more taxing diversion, and so was good at helping people focus on mundane tasks.

During the study, half of the volunteers were asked to colour in shapes on a piece of paper while they listened to a 2.5 minute telephone message.

The other half were left to their own devices while they listened. Both groups were told the message would be dull, the Applied Cognitive Psychology journal reported.


“ Daydreaming distracts them from the task, resulting in poor performance ”
Jackie Andrade, lead researcher "

Afterwards, both groups were asked to write down eight specific names and eight places mentioned.

The doodlers on average recalled 7.5, while the non-doodlers only managed 5.8.

Lead researcher Jackie Andrade said: "If someone is doing a boring task, like listening to a dull telephone conversation, they may start to daydream.

"Daydreaming distracts them from the task, resulting in poor performance.

"A simple task, like doodling, may be sufficient to stop daydreaming without affecting performance on the main task."

Professor Alan Badeley, from the British Psychological Society, said: "Doodling is a relatively undemanding task so this makes sense.

"The temptation during meetings or telephone conversations that you are not particularly engaged with is to start thinking about things. You visualise things such as holidays.

"That then takes you away from the task at hand. Or you may even end up nodding off.

"However, by comparison, doodling is not that taxing and keeps you more alert so you are more likely to absorb what is being said."

Rainbow

God knows... =)

Thank God! He blessed me with a rainbow today! Pity that I did not see that rainbow, but I heard about it..=) Thanks YA for sharing with me.. it really uplift my spirit when I receive that msg about the rainbow in amk..=)

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is ending le.. tomorrow's the 15th day.. hee yuan xiao..did a random google search and came upon this explanation which I find it quite interesting.. did not know that yuan xiao is actually another name for tang yuan??

"Chinese started to celebrate the Yuan Xiao since the Han Dynasty (206BC-221AD), and then it became popular during the Tang and Song Dynasties. This is a festival for people to have fun. On the night, people go to streets with a variety of lanterns under the full moon, watching Lion or Dragon Dance, playing Chinese riddles and games, enjoying the typical food called Yuan Xiao and setting off firecrackers. There is really a lot of fun for the young and the old.

Yuanxiao is the special food for the Lantern Festival. It is believed that Yuanxiao is named after a palace maid, Yuanxiao, of Emperor Wu Di of the Han Dynasty.

Yuanxiao is a kind of sweet dumpling, which is made with sticky rice flour filled with sweet stuffing. And the Festival is named after the famous dumpling.
It is very easy to cook - simply dump them in a pot of boiling water for a few minutes - and eaten as a desert "

Some photos too from CNY..family and friends... =)

Thoughts...

I was just pondering about some issues which I had read recently..then happened tt i recently read these 2 passages in the bible.. Eph 4 and 2 Tim 3..

It just struck me that in the bible, it's recorded quite definitely that as the last days approach..Godlessness will be more and more apparent... no one.. can said to be said to be 'immunized' from it...not even leaders/pastors.. i thought that the acts and attitudes described in v1-4 are really quite terrible.. but what is even worse i thought would be v5..'to have a form of godliness but denying its power'..saw the msg version also for v5 'They'll make a show of religion, but behind the scenes they're animals'..

That's even more terrible because if they claim to be 'Christians'.. they will be 'hiding' behind the name of God to carry out wrongful acts.. and that not only affect themselves, but it could actually affect other believers as well as cause pre-believers to become more skeptical and cynical of God...

Quite upset when I think of that because there are so many friends and my family whom I hope that they will get to know the wonderful God I've known..who will love and bless them the same way which He has done for me..but because of a few bad 'apples' who might have existed.. it might create an 'excuse' for people to disregard the Christian faith..

But believe that God cannot be mocked.. as v9 said they will be exposed and their folly will be clear to everyone.. just pray that even as that happens, God will protect and guard the faith of His believers and those who have yet to believe in Him, help them not to have their hearts hardened because of that.. but rather help them see the goodness of His people who are living according to His Word and be drawn closer to Him!

2 Timothy 3
Godlessness in the Last Days
1But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
6They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. 8Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth—men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. 9But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.

Read Eph 4 too.. v13-15 struck me that in order to stand firm in what I believe in and not be caused to waver by whatever I hear from the 'Godlessness in the last days' is to 'reach unity in faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God'.. thought this might mean to 1) continue to have new experiences with God (pray more.. not just bank on past experiences) and 2) grow in knowledge in WOG.. hmm thought shld be more inquisitive to discover what God really mean in His Words and to try to apply WOG to the happenings around.. think need to delve deeper n deeper..hope to do it tog with bro n sis around.. think only as iron sharpens iron,one man sharpens another..

Eph 4:13-16
13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Pray that God will guard my heart.. my life.. not perfect and is sinful too, but pray that as best as i can, God will help me be blameless before Him..

'Le Chauteur'

Je vois un oiseau un matin..je suis contente! Il est petit,jaune et il est beau!
(I saw a bird one morning, i am happy! it is small and yellow and it is beautiful!)

Faith Is…

Thought that this is quite a good article that talks about the much discussed topic.. Faith...=)

"Faith is believing what you want to believe, yet cannot prove."

Sadly, many people, including some Christians, live with this definition of faith. For some it feels liberating. It means being able to believe in anything you want to believe. No explanation is required, indeed, no explanation can be given; it is just a matter of faith. For others, such a definition is sickening. Embracing faith means you stop thinking. As faith increases, reason and meaning eventually disappear. No explanations can be given, and none can be expected. Thus, living in faith is living in the dark.

For both groups, the problem is the same. By starting with the wrong definition of faith, they have asked the wrong question, are dealing with the wrong problem, and so have ended up with the wrong answer. Faith is not wishful thinking. It is not about believing in things that do not exist. It neither makes all things believable, nor meaning impossible.

So what is the right definition of faith? "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen," writes the author of Hebrews. A few verses later faith is similarly defined as knowing that God exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

Perhaps the best word we can use to translate the Greek word “pistis” (usually translated faith) is the word "trust" or "trustworthy." Suppose you tell a friend that you have faith in her. What does that mean? It means two things. First, you are sure the person you are talking to actually exists. And second, you are convinced she is trustworthy; you can believe what she says and trust in her character.

It is in this way that the writer of Hebrews talks about faith in God. Faith is knowing that God is real and that you can trust in his promises. You cannot trust someone who isn't there, nor can you rely on someone whose promises are not reliable. This is why faith is talked about as the substance of things hoped for and as the evidence of things not seen. Both words carry with them a sense of reality. Our hope is not wishful thinking. Faith does not make God real. On the contrary, faith is the response to a real God who has made Himself known to us:

"I am the LORD, and there is no other;
apart from me there is no God.
I will strengthen you,
though you have not acknowledged me,

so that from the rising of the sun
to the place of its setting
men may know there is none besides me" (Isaiah 45:5-6).

Ever since the Church began, the refrain has always been the same: Come, believe, follow the light of the world. It has never appealed for people to leap into the dark; no such invitation is found anywhere in Scripture. Instead, we are called to step into the light. The Christian gospel is not a message that revels in ignorance. It is the revelation of God in the person of Christ, so that we might know there is none besides Him. The Christian is called to see things as they really are, and not as he would simply like them to be. We trust in a God who has revealed Himself. We believe because God is real.

The Christian gospel invites you to delve into reality. It commands you to be honest in your commitment to know that which is true. Is Jesus real? Who did he claim to be? Is he really alive today? Faith comes in response to knowing the answers to these questions, even as Christ is calling you near. But don’t stop after the initial introductions! Just as you are able to put more trust in someone as you grow to know him, so faith increases as you grow in your relationship with Christ. There is a God who is real and true, and He is calling you unto Himself. The great joy of the Christian faith is found in the person who invites us to trust and believe.

Michael Ramsden is European director of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in the United Kingdom.

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Had penned down my resolutions awhile back and reflected thru 2008
2009.. may it be a year which I grow in faithfulness and faith.. =)

2Tim1:6-7 "For this reason I remind you to fan into flames the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hand. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline."

(this will be one of my M&M verses for the year =))