sunrise on easter.

Colour Your World.

2009-05-21T09:59:00.003+08:00

I was reading my QT (quiet time) material this morning... We've often heard that we're here to be the "salt and light of the world" (Matt 5:13) . After a while the phrase tends to get cliched and loses its saltiness. Well, here's another way to put it:

The Message says,

"Let me tell you why you are here.
You're here to be the salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavours of this earth.
Here's another way to put it:
You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colours in the world.
God is not a secret to be kept."

Having gone through a culinary science module in poly where our chef instructors used to extol the wonders of salt to bring out food's natural flavour, this made more sense than other "explanations" I'd heard before. Then the part about colours: I love colour. Being the light so that colours can be seen, or painting the world... That's just lovely. Mm. I must really remember this one...

Unveiling.

2009-04-22T18:57:00.002+08:00

Hello. Exams are over. :)

Today, I had a revelation. It happened whilst I was out with Jianyue, in the restroom (of all places!). I realised... That... Without really knowing it, I've been jaded for the past... Well, on and off for more than a year. Hopefully, that's all behind me now and I'll see things without the jade glasses.

I'm just really thankful for a whole bunch of people in my life now - Joanna, my dear dear mentor, Kong <3, Jianyue, Eldon, Pedro, Mag, Quirt, Luddy, Nicky - you guys are the best.

That time of year.

2009-04-10T10:17:00.002+08:00

Well well. It's that time of year again - Good Friday and Easter. It's a grand total of 3 days to exams, after which I'd have survived Year 1 of uni. And it's been frustrating at times, but the overall experience has still been happy. Hmm.. And.. Though this horribly irritating project has to be dealt with today and the exams are literally looming very scarily round the corner, all this pales in comparison to what Jesus did for me; and what, then, my goal is: heavenward, eternity.

Earlier today I read about Solitude - how we all need time to be alone. Alone, not lonely. Partially because the busy-ness of life and all its allure can just pull us down a whirlpool of worldly self-absorption. Ok, that's putting it in a very glossed-over, generalized way. But you know it's true. All too often I forget what I gained during those times of solitude: after learning something, or knowing God more, or promising Him something, you end up behaving as though it never happened.

Taking a look back at my time at poly, I realise why it was often easier (in a way) to follow God. Truth be told, I didn't fit in with most people there. That made it even easier to lean on God alone, having no distraction in terms of friends. Disclaimer: I love my friends; friends are wonderful. But, being wonderful, they also have the power to influence and distract. How does one balance both sides? Some people end up living their whole lives just surrounded by their "church friends" and cut off from "everybody else". The whole "us" and "other" kind of mindset. No doubt you need fellow believers - they are important and essential. But perhaps just as important is being able to relate to "everybody else". Yet doing that and taking care to lead the victorious and holy life that we are called to is so difficult. Indeed, I struggle and keep failing, especially when I try to do it on my own strength. But we all know the model answers. ... This is the whole "being-in-but-not-of-the-world" thing, yeah. Man. I bet by the time I get it right it'll be time for me to go. But maybe that's the whole point. :D

2008-11-09T15:38:00.002+08:00

Exams start in... 3+ days! Argh. It's seriously killing me; I particularly want to murder my linguistics notes (if that were possible).

It just occurred to me how wonderful some music really is. I realised that some of the songs I've been listening to whilst studying date wayyyy back to studying for O levels. Amazing! And you look back and go, oh my, that was so long ago. You've been through so much, grown in all aspects... yet still relate to the same music. Or rather, the same music still relates to you. :)

On another note, I've discovered that my dear friend Jianyue (aka Mr Moon) has really great ideas for stories and the like. Who knows, one day we could all be reading his books! (And to that end, I reserve the position of Editor for myself :D ) Then dear Pedro can come along and turn those books into films.. and then Eldon dear can advertise them. Whee! :)

Alright, back to the dreaded linguistics notes. I'm sure they'll make good campfire fuel after this. :)

2008-10-12T16:00:00.002+08:00

Well well. Time flies, and here I am at the start of the 11th week of term.
By God's grace, I'm now in NTU (yes, the very place I thought I'd run faaarrr away from) and studying (can you say "reading"??) Communication Studies. Which I'd now like to proclaim as *the* best place to be in NTU. ...Aside from, maybe, ADM, but well, I believe we have a better school culture...

I've been well and truly immersed in school activities; and find myself hopping between Dancesport, SpectrumTV, and now, Paparazzi. News of CS FOC is yet to come. Praise God, for I've found a lovely friend, Yufan; and together we've started our very own weekly prayer/worship session. So far it's just been the two of us, but hey, more peeps are always welcome!

Sigh. I'm not getting younger man.... Even tho I'm pretty happy in school, I find I'm drifting further away from YM. Age + infrequency of appearances = great big fat gulf. But there's still YM camp in Dec, and I'm looking foward to it! :D Yay. I'm glad that God has given me a heart for the youths... and being able to watch them discover Him is just amazing. :)

Alrights, I've gotta go pick up my mommy from the airport, yes? Yes. Smile!!

CBD Area Combined Prayer Meeting

2008-04-17T22:10:00.000+08:00

Hello. Yes... Even in getting temp jobs, God's hand is evident. He is truly with us in whatever we do.

I was hankering after a sales-oriented job for a local bank. The plus points: Very Good Pay, and short working hours from 7.30am to 12 noon. What more can one ask for? Then I got a call from a recruitment agency asking me to go for an interview with Starhub. I was reluctant. Pay - lower. About $800 lower, as a matter of fact. (which is a lot, considering it's only a temp job!!) Working hours - longer. Five hours longer per day, for $800 less a month. It doesn't take a genius to figure out which job I'd rather have.

But God said to go for the interview. So I sighed, packed my stuff, and went. To cut the long story short, I am now happily working there. My supervisors are darlings, the job is an almost no-brainer, and my colleague Victoria opened my eyes to the work God is doing in the marketplace.

A lunchtime prayer group recently started in the Somerset area; and on Wednesday, a combined meeting of the groups from Tanjong Pagar, City Hall, Raffles Place and Somerset was held. Apparently the get together happens every 3rd week of the month. I was so encouraged by the people who, perhaps, made it a point to "get away" from everything else to be in the company and fellowship of other believers; to worship, learn, and pray during their precious lunch times. Needless to say, I'll be going back for as long as I'm in Starhub.

I'm Baaaccckkk!

2008-03-21T20:11:00.000+08:00

Oh Hello!

Yes I'm back! After a terribly long absence. Ho-ho! Went to Penang with Kong for a week. That was a really well-deserved break man. :) Hmm maybe I'll post the photos another time..? Yeah, well. AND~!
I have ordered a Macbook! Mua-hahahaha... Yes, it's the new Macbook... the newer, cheaper Macbook. Now I can take it off my wishlist. heh heh.

This Cleansing Streams course that I've been attending is coming to an end... it was really good and I'd encourage everyone to go for it. It's actually a deliverance ministry. But it's none of that "turn-up-one-night-and-have-people-shouting-at-you" things. It brings deliverance into your personal spiritual walk. Yup.

Other than that... I've been singing with the Wesley Singers, the a capella group in church. :) poly's over and I thank God for my results... :) Now to see if a local uni accepts me. lalalala.

RUSHRUSH!

2007-12-16T21:24:00.000+08:00

Ahhhhhh! Quuiiiiick! Type SOMETHING! okok. hello. yes, i'm still on internship, and there's only about... ONE MONTH LEFT!!! (excluding holidays and weekends etc etc). Just wanna say that i'm really glad to have made better friends with my dear fellow interns! :) WE WILL GET THIS DARNED VIDEO DONE!!!!!! wah-haaaaa. *flaps about* Anyways. Today we welcomed new members to our church.. It was a confirmation service actually. Served as a good reminder for the vows many of us took however long ago - that we will indeed do our best to serve the church and its ministries; and uphold and support our brothers and sisters in Christ. I can say that I haven't really been doing my utmost; and so... I will *try*. Next year will bring more challenges and more choices to make. Tough ones too. But, God help me, I'll get through it. Skittles is having a retreat in January, which we hope will serve to bring everyone closer together as loving children of the same great God. Think it'll be great :) And lastly, this is one of the songs we sang today.. this is just the first verse and the chorus:

Your Name
As morning dawns and evening fades
You inspire songs of praise
That rise from earth to touch Your heart
And glorify Your name

Your name is a strong and mighty tower
Your name is a shelter like no other
Your name - let the nations sing it louder
Cos nothing has the power to save
But Your name

God bless.

OooHH.

2007-11-16T11:10:00.000+08:00

Hello everyone. Ok.. I havent written for ages and ages.. Sighs. Been having internship and thus have little time for such trivial pursuits. Yes? Ha. K you know what? I shall just shut up and put some pictures up.

Ben & Charlotte's phone ad

Janie & her Hot Chocolate

Kellyn & her cake

Chris & Mun having fun at cell

Pretty pretty at East Coast Park

exams and sunday

2007-08-28T02:02:00.000+08:00

Sigh. Exams are over. Just wanna thank God for helping me through them; and now I leave the results in His hands. Though it's really my fault for one of the papers if it doesn't go too well, ....whatever the case, thank God anyway.

Sunday was combined service and Adriel talked about defeating the giants in your life. It was a pretty uplifting message and something that really spoke to me in my time of (exam) need. Eric sang this song which we did for Just One Hour some time ago and I'd like to share it with you:

Voice of Truth
by Casting Crowns

Oh,what I would do
To have the kind of faith it takes
To climb out of this boat I'm in
Onto the crashing waves
To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown
Where Jesus is,
And he's holding out his hand

But the waves are calling out my name
and they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
time and time again
"Boy, you'll never win,
you'll never win."

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says "do not be afraid"
And the voice of truth says "this is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

Oh, what I would do
to have the kind of strength it takes
To stand before a giant
With just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound
of a thousand warriors
Shaking in their armor
Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand

But the giant's calling out
my name and he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
time and time again
"Boy you'll never win,
you'll never win."

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says "do not be afraid"
And the voice of truth says "this is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

But the stone was just the right size
To put the giant on the ground
And the waves they don't seem so high
From on top of them looking down
I will soar with the wings of eagles
When i stop and listen to the sound of Jesus
singing over me

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says "do not be afraid"
And the voice of truth says "this is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

threadless & giuliano

2007-08-22T12:26:00.000+08:00

Ok, so Threadless shirts are pretty nice. Trouble is, now too many people know about it - even the people you thought wouldn't be interested in that sort of thing. lol. I think the only reason I'll keep buying from them is that they make full use of people's talents to churn out lotsa new designs. Oh, their customer service is a plus too.

Just found out that my music tutor in school actually goes by the alias amberhaze and is in a French band and is putting out his own EP. Sigh. And I thought all he did at home was run around looking after his cute lil kids. But he is a really cool guy and all..(how can you not be with a name like "giuliano", right???) haha.

Bah. Anywho, I shall go hunt down my lunch now. :)

ah. yes.

2007-08-21T10:09:00.000+08:00

Hello hello!! Yay i finally have time to put these up. From like, half a month ago. sigh.

Kong & me at Brewerkz..with the rest of my family...

Outside Brewerkz

With my bro

And finally, with my dad.

Anyway, last week was pretty good. Went for Kong's cell and had.. an interesting time. :) God spoke to all of us there, and I thank Him for the wonderful plans He has for all of us. Thinking of going for this dance thing at the Esplanade in October with a couple of friends.. Let me know if you wanna come along, yes? They feature different dances every night: you watch the pros, then there's a demo session so you can learn then dance along. Haha. Meanwhile, I shall be content with my Russian ballet. meow.

2007-08-07T06:23:00.000+08:00

Hello hello.. Ok this is yet another pretty random post.. it's 6.23am and I'm sitting here waiting for 6.30 so I can drive my brother to Turf City for his cross country run. Sigh. Anyways. The past few weeks have really been hectic with all the projects.. and it's not over yet. But thank God for seeing me through all the same; and for always lifting me up in times of need. And I just realised a couple of days ago that next week is the last week of school, with yet another project due and a dreaded test, then comes the study week, then exams! Oh NO.. Everything's moving too fast man. But to anyone in htm reading this, come on.. keep going... ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

birthday pics! finally!

2007-07-31T10:15:00.001+08:00

Woot finally have the time to upload these...

Flowers from Kong & my Godma

The Tapas platter @ Convo

One of the lights at Convo

I had another birthday dinner at Brewerkz with my dad and stuff.. those pics will come later. :)

you HAVE to watch this...

2007-07-30T02:02:00.000+08:00

Hallo hallo!! okok so i haven't uploaded the photos yet! Sigh. *guilty as charged* BUT!! i have very good reasons. :) i've been too absorbed with doing projects. ha! Anyway. If you haven't already watched this video, do click on this lovely lil link here and watch it!!!

Btw, it's a vid of this 6 year old girl, Connie, who totally blows Simon Cowell's socks off at a British talent search. Sigh the lil kid is sooo cute and her singing made me tear... *sob sob*

Oh yeah. I am convinced that I've read far too much HP (h-a-r-r-y-p-o-t-t-e-r) and I shall refrain from touching it for a long long time. (why?? cos too much of it ees no good. mm-hmm!) But kong gave me a book for my birthday called Twelve Extraordinary Women. It's a sequel to Twelve Ordinary Men and so far, it's pretty good. :) Anyway, this book focuses on 12 women from the bible.. all of whom were extraordinary in their own way. An interesting "general" point to note for those who don't know, is that in biblical times, women in most cultures were looked down upon. They were practically their husbands slaves and husbands were allowed to divorce their wives on almost any grounds and could take on more wives etc etc without bad consequences. However, we see that the bible, in contrast to popular practise elsewhere, portrays women in a good and respectable light. They are used as role models for others and play key roles in "stories". Sigh. I can't summarize everything here.. Ask me for the book and I'll gladly lend it to you. :) (after i'm done!!)

okok i've really got to go. project time. byeee!

once again in ticketing class...

2007-07-26T10:14:00.001+08:00

Hello. Yeah ok. Once again, I'm in ticketing class.. Super busy with projects now, so hopefully I'll have some time to upload the pics I took on my birthday sometime soon. Was super happy cos my godma sent me lovely pretty bee-yoo-tee-ful flowers. :) and chocolate. (she lives in Moscow, btw.) And! I drove my mommy's car without her for the first time.. drove myself and Kong to dinner and dessert after. :) Thank you, kiepkiep, for the lovely dinner. :) The tapas we had and the steak i ordered was reeeealllyyy yummy-licious. It was at Convo at Greenwood Ave, btw. Walked past all the other restaurants which belong to the Les Amis Group, and actually, those are so popular and busy that I think I'd rather go to Convo. Yup. Erm. Hmm. I think I'll say more when the pics are up. And this time!! I'll put some of them here. Hoho! (yes, Christmas is coming!)

HEE.

2007-07-05T09:26:00.000+08:00

hello!!! YESS I'VE PASSED MY DRIVING!!! woot. haha drove my mommy's car for the first time yesterday. And yesyes, janie likes BMWs. Grins.

Anyways... Finished the George Muller book. Really amazed by his faith man. He just lived literally from day to day, trusting God to provide him with money and food to survive the next day without telling anyone about his needs. He was eventually called to start Orphan Houses and was able to support (in the end) over 1000 orphans by prayer alone. By prayer he got money to buy the land, to build and furnish the houses. By prayer people volunteered their services, donated food and money. Note that this guy never specifically asked for donations or anything. He just prayed. And God was faithful in providing whatever he needed day by day.

And... now I've started on another book Kong lent me.. It's called Mental Illness or Demonisation? Haha.. I know. Sounds a bit.. yeah. But the point is.. Sometimes people mistake those with mental illness to be demonised instead and vice-versa. On the other hand, there are those who are both mentally ill and demonised. The book is written from a Christian standpoint which asserts that only Jesus can set the demonised free, and that going for other religious "treatments" like going to see a medium and drinking holy water opens the doors for demonic influence in the person's life. Pretty interesting.. haha. After reading the book's description of personality disorders, seems I know a couple of people who might have just that.

Yesyes. Ok I shall go since I'm actually in ticketing class in school. Just finished the exercises early, that's why.....

Gahhhh

2007-06-25T22:04:00.000+08:00

Ok, yes, hello. Sigh. Not many new photos, but still. Enough. Heh. Ahh. Yes. I shall put a picture here. In the meantime, I shall start ranting about stupid internet connection and Flickr. IT REFUSES TO UPLOAD MY PHOTOS!!!!!!!!! haha Luddy and I are now discussing the possibility of becoming a gigantor - living so close to good food and all. It'd be like, "Roar... 1 mushroom and cheese prata! 1 milo dinosaur! NOWWWWW!!! ROAR!" yeah.... OK. that's it. I've had it with this whole picture uploading business tonight. Even the blogger connection got reset for that. HMPH. Anyway I wanted to upload a photo of this pretty rosie kong gave me recently.. :) oh wells.

You know, I'm really really very tempted to ramble on about what's been happening and how my brother's "band" dragged me.. NEVERMIND. ok. I shall shut.up. BUT. I'm not supposed to, right? This blog is not for that purpose. So!!!! *Filled with new motivation and perseverance*

I've just started reading this autobiography (yeah, I know. "super boring" yadda yadda) on George Muller. Yes, he's one of those famous Christians who have long died-ed.. and I thought it'd be really dry and bad but so far it's pretty good reading. Haha. Also reading this other book called The Jesus Conspiracy. It's basically a dramatization of Jesus' life, and the author explains the political situation etcetc at that time. Some of it's really drama-mama but oh well. And it's pretty heavy reading, so. hm.

Okok.. Shall go now. Nite!

ahhh! finally!

2007-06-06T18:47:00.000+08:00

Hellohello!!

Finally man! My modem is back up and working! Sigh. Look what technology has done to us... modem spoils = "ahhh! i can't go onnn..*wails.. claws at curtains...*"
phone gone = "kill me!! kill me now! NOW!!!" Seriously.. non-techno geeks like me would probably agree that if everyone didn't have all these gadgets, we'd be a whole lot less stressed.

But anyway. New photos are up! Most of them were taken on a walk I took with my family through an estate in Seletar. Pretty nice getaway place if you ask me. :)

These few weeks have been.. overall, pretty good for me. My heavenly Daddy's been meeting with me.. as He faithfully does whenever I want to. And I've been wanting to. God's indeed nearer and closer than most of us think.. He's right there to talk (and I mean having a two-way conversation) wherever and whenever.

YA's having this hang-out sorta night called Served Chilled. It's on 16 June, 8pm at The Third Place, which is near Outram mrt. There's gonna be good food and lovely chill-out music, so do come along. :) And... Admission with hat. Yup, hat. Cos (as they say), Hats R' Friends. Haha. Drop me a line if you're coming and we'll go together! :)

poof.

2007-05-29T00:33:00.000+08:00

poof. I'm really sleepy. Just to say that I've uploaded another whole bunch of photos. Went for iHope Conference at ACJC which addressed issues faced by youths in a Christian context. The workshop by Sy Rogers was pretty eye-opening and I think I've learnt one really important thing from there:

that.. When people fall, they don't need condemnation or sermons. What they do need is to know that you understand the pain they're going through, and that you care. This means you value the person; he/she has meaning and worth in your view. And that makes all the difference in the world. It helps the person get back up whilst keeping him/her feeling secure. Thank you, God, for always holding me in your arms and keeping me safe when I needed You.

Hmmmm

2007-05-27T23:32:00.000+08:00

Wa-ha! and Argh! I am so super tired - haven't had a good long sleep for ages PLUS I'm hungry. Yes, that's right. 11.28pm and janie is Hungry with a capital H. ohboy. Anyways, just *in case* you haven't noticed, I've started uploading photos using Flickr and the link to my photos is over there with the rest of the links to other pages. Ok, I haven't uploaded a whole bunch of photos yet, but I will keep adding to them and anyway I don't really wanna put up stuff that's too super-ly backdated unless I really like it or something. But don't fret!! Janie's camera is here to the rescue!!! I per-rom-is(e) I will take more photos. Sigh.

Kong!

2007-05-19T23:09:00.000+08:00

Hello everyone. I'm just writing this post to say that I love Kong, and I hope that we'll always be best friends even after we get married. He's such a wonderful, sweet, caring guy and I know that he loves God (which really makes me happy).

Kong, even though it may seem like you're in this alone, I'll always be there to support you in heart and in prayer. Love you, and I'll wait for you for as long as it takes.

Polina Semionova

2007-05-18T12:58:00.000+08:00

AHHHHHH!!! I found out who the dancer in the youtube video is! (ok, so maybe i'm just a teensy bit slow and very very blur, BUT! Now I *know*!) and SHHH about this! Cos *apparently*, the video "belongs" to Viacom International (now CBS Corp.) and youtube took off some of these videos cos of their claims. Anyway back to the main point: the dancer there is Polina Semionova; Oh yeah. A picture of Polina. She's pretty, isn't she. *Sighhh* And she dances sooo beautifully. *another sigh* and the song is Demo (letzer tag) by Herbert Gronemeyer. Yesyes so he's German. And some people prefered the video without his singing. But I personally think the singing enhances the feel of the music. (If you're wondering what on earth I'm blabbering on about, the urls are http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzCs2VwJqTw [with the singing] and www.youtube.com/?v=Uz2Gp7a38DM [without the singing]. And, hopefully, when you click on those links, the videos'll still be there!!)

yessss. finally. grins.

2007-04-17T04:34:00.000+08:00

Oh hiphiphooray - I'm finally done adding all the backdated stuff. (In case you didn't know, I've just moved EVERYTHING here from tagged and friendster.) Good gracious. To be extremely frank and honest, I don't know how long this thing'll last because methinks it'll die once school starts. How people have the time to spend hours online is something I'll never figure out. Until my retirement, maybe, then I'll have all the time in the world to sit on my aching butt and squint at the computer screen trying to figure out what on earth's going on.

But till then, I believe my blog will be different from the majority: I've since taken up the same opinion as Kong - that blogging allll about yourself and your humdrum life doesn't really do yourself or anyone else much good. Unless, of course, you happen to have a stalker and you actually want him or her to know as much about you as possible. Then please go ahead and reveal every delicious tiny detail. Moreover, if you bring blogging about yourself to the extreme, (this is IF and ONLY IF) it could become some sort of self-glorification, which is on the path to proclaiming one's own greatness over all others, including God, who is the only One deserving of all glory and praise.

Alrighty then. Now that I've made my official starting post, I can go plonk myself at the piano till lunchie. GRINS.

SKITTLES!!

2006-12-15T06:25:00.000+08:00

Hello again everybody!!

Doesn't it feel SoOoOooOo good to be in the festive season once again? :) Haha.. My cell group, Skittles, is gonna have a Christmas dinner AND a retreat this year! Woot. Some of you may say "so what? It's just a dinner. And a retreat where you have to be all holy and pray the whole time." But let me just say that there is something about getting together with a whole big group of friends to have good fun, share about our lives and love each other. It's an entirely different thing from getting together to gossip or talk about the latest fashion trends. And I'm proud to say that I'm completely contented with this kind of fun.. which is without all the flirting and getting drunk. Anyway. Just wanna wish everyone a Merry Christmas. (: And remember that Christmas is only Christmas because of Christ.

The Answer

2006-11-13T09:33:00.000+08:00

Hi guys.. I just wanna share another song with you. It's called The Answer by Corrinne May. The gal's a Singaporean who went to live in the US, but don't look down on her! Haha.. Anyway. We're doing this song as part of our musical worship session this Sunday at my church and it's just beautiful.

The Answer
I believe You are the answer
To every tear I've cried
I believe that You are with me
My rising and my light

Give me strength when I am weary
Give me hope when I can't see
Through the crosses I must carry
Lord, bind my heart to Thee

That when all my days are over
And all my chores are done
I may see you risen glory
Forever where You are

you're the closest i'll ever get to heaven

2006-10-19T16:14:00.000+08:00

Ok, so today I was sitting there in my dad's car.. getting all bored and stuff when I catch some of the lyrics of the song playing. The guy's singing about some girl he loves and he goes, "you're the closest I'll ever get to heaven".

That got me thinking. If you believe that heaven and hell actually do exist (like I do), then you probably believe that heaven is wonderful and hell is somewhere you really dont wanna go. So firstly, that guy's saying that the closest he'll EVER get to heaven [and to eternity with God (I believe that being saved in Jesus means living eternity with God)] is being with this girl, a human. Ok, yes, the poor singer probably didn't think this far when he agreed to sing/wrote this song. But I do believe that there are some who equate something on earth to heaven, or the closest thing they can get to it. And that is just crazy. None of us will ever be able to compare with Him; He's just beyond our comprehension.

I suppose the reason why anyone would think that another human is like heaven is because that person loves them to a degree that they have not experienced before, and that produces a resulting sense of emotional bliss. It is sad, really. It means that that person has not experienced God's love for him. "But if God loves us, why is it that I've never felt it before? Does He only love me if I believe in Him?"

The answer is this: God loves you, always has, always will, regardless of whether you believe in Him. Think of it this way... God made the world, so everything in it belongs to Him. We take each breath because He allows us to. Everything in our lives is therefore a gift from Him. What about all the bad things that happen? Let's keep it simple for now and say that He has His ways and plans; we'll never know the full extent of them.

Some of us have never consciously experienced God's love for us because we don't allow ourselves to. We go on with our lives, wanting this and that, rushing from place to place. When an obstacle comes our way, we try our best to solve the problem with our own resources. What's wrong with that? Isn't that what I should be doing? ...You see, God is also a caring God. He says to cast all your cares on Him - He is willing and able to help you with your problems. If we were to open our lives to Him and let Him have a say in it, we would indeed experience His love.

And then there are those of us who have yet to hear of what God has done for us. Let me put it in as few words as possible. God is a holy God; He can't stand sin (bad things against His will, e.g. stealing, murder, lying etc.). When the first man God created (Adam) sinned, he was separated from God and had to die. God wanted desperately to be able to commune with man (who he loved dearly) again, so he came up with a plan. Much later on, He sent His one and only son, Jesus, to earth as a man to take on the blame and sin of everyone in the world, including those who had already died and those who weren't even born yet. Jesus became the sacrifice for all of us by dying on the cross. On the third day after His death, He rose again and now sits at the right hand of God. Jesus' death reunited man with God, and those who accept Jesus as their savior are forgiven of their sins and will live for eternity with God.

So now you know what God did. He didn't do it for Himself, for fun, or for something worthless. He did it for you. ...Ok, I know I've gone a little off-track, but I'm happy I got that out. Kk it's bedtime. Night people. Sweet dreams!

at the cross

2006-10-18T14:19:00.000+08:00

Hello hello... Sigh. I'm pretty sad now cos tonight my darling's leaving for Taiwan as part of his NS training. But that's besides the point. I wanted to share with you guys this song we sang at church on Sunday. It's called "At the Cross"... For some reason, I didn't realise how meaningful it was till like, last night. I hope it speaks to you and you see for yourself just how much God loves each and every one of us.

At the Cross
Oh Lord, You've searched me - You know my way
Even when I fail you, I know You love me

Your holy presence surrounding me
In every season
I know You love me
I know You love me

At the cross I bow my knee
Where your blood was shed for me
There's no greater love than this
You have overcome the grave
Your glory fills the highest place
What can separate me now?

You go before me; You shield my way
Your hand upholds me - I know You love me

You tore the veil
You made a way
When You said that "it is done"

And when the earth fades, falls from my eyes
And You stand before me
I know You love me
I know You love me

hahhh!! take that, you fussies!

2006-10-04T09:08:00.000+08:00

FREAKING FUNNY-
ok you *HAVE* to watch this. It is so damn freaking funny. It's abt speaking English as a "native speaker". http://www.youtube.c om/watch?v=QCsZdbfBu SY&mode=related&sear ch= Thanks loads to Colin Goh and Woo Yen Yen for founding TalkingCock. Heh.
Oh yeah. I was reading in the newspapers in the blogspace (i think) section - someone was blogging about that whole bf-pushing-his-gf-on to-the-mrt-tracks thing. His use of Singlish was absolutely classic. A real stunner! :) I was particularly delighted-ly amused when he said that the guy almost made his girl "kena pancake". :) :) I shall remember that for life.
10.12.06 3:34 pm
Hm. You know what? I'm really grateful for lovely generous people - like the one who just dropped tickets to the Toyota Classics on my family. God bless them. :)
One of my good friends was sharing his views on bgr and extra-bgr stuff with me. It struck me once again how different the world view can be from the one God wants us to have. To my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, press on. Things probably aren't gonna get any easier, but truly, His grace is made perfect in our weakness.

first post!!

2006-09-24T02:52:00.000+08:00

Hello!!

Hiphiphooray, my first entry ever. Right now, I'm pretty happy cos I've started learning how to drive. *grins!* Ha. My dad once said that I'd be a hazard on the road, but hey, so far it's been good. :) (if you couldn't tell that I'm determined to prove him wrong, this is for you: I'm determined to prove him wrong!!!! Wa-hahahaha...)

Ok, so you probably can tell that I like ballet. Nevermind if I'm not that good at it; but watching other people dance can be breath-taking. There's this lovely lovely lovely vid of someone (yes, I have no idea who it actually is) dancing to a German song. You HAVE to watch this. http://www.youtube.c om/watch?v=CjbiQvkin pc or http://www.youtube.c om/watch?v=FC5-fbjAx GA The first URL's vid is better in quality, but there are some fuzzy parts - just like if a tv in the 1960s lost its reception or something. The 2nd one's really low quality and grainy, but there aren't any fuzzy bits. So you can just go ahead and choose whichever. If anyone knows where to get this vid please please tell me!!! Just a tip - it's better to let the whole thing load before you start watching. Heh.

Then there's this super arty-farty vid they shot of Sting and Alexandra Ferri. (http://www.youtube. com/watch?v=Gi4uJsXI mNE) Takes quite a while to load tho, and be patient cos the her-dancing-to-Sting 's-music part comes later in the vid. Although.. I much prefer the first vid to the second one. Heh. :)