Monday, July 30, 2007

30-07-07 (Monday) Gathering of Thoughts

Had some thoughts to just let out all at once.

Why are some ppl(like me) so... hypocritical? I'm referring to those of us who go to church. We can accept the loud/weird/annoying laughter of our pastor or elder and just say,"they're only human, why expect perfection?" but when it comes to other ppl in our lives, we just can't accept them as they are but have to condemn them to eternal(as long as are mortally alive, that is) damnation in the 'Hell of Embarassment". Why? We can accept the occasional mistakes in grammar and pronunciation some senior in church makes but when we're in the world outside, we just grab every opportunity to humiliate others when they make the slightest mistake. Can you tell me why? So many ppl just keep God in their lives on Sunday. It's like a Sunday-pass thing. When Sunday comes, you go around doing everything showing this pass to everyone that "Hey, it's Sunday and I'm a Christian today!"

For those who aren't so, I thank God for your being a role model for the 'less fortunate'...

The sermon Rev. Edmund preached the previous Sunday mentioned sth that struck me. When Jesus was being baptised, usually big occasions like that would be marked by lightning striking a tree nearby, or the clouds all turning dark in a split-second or maybe just some massive flower blossoming session to happen.(Maybe these just happen so much in movies that God decided NOT to go for cliches but..) However, I only came to realize the significance of what God did to show that Jesus was His beloved Son. He sent the Spirit down on Jesus in the form of a dove! Not an eagle with a lightning scar across its forehead or some roaring lion pouncing into the water but a DOVE! Rev. Edmund went on to say that this shows how God wants us to be gentle in everything that we do. In a world full of revenge and tempers raging, it really IS quite inspiring to think of sth like this. What have you done lately to show some gentleness within you?

Just finished reading "The Problem of Pain" by C.S. Lewis last week.

He put in a lot new insight that I never really thought of. He's really quite a thinker. It really takes a lot of understanding to read his writings though. I tried to read his book here and there like on the bus while going somewhere and even while waiting in a queue(which Singaporeans LOVE to do...) but the stuff really got to the point of being processed fully except for the times when I was just sitting silently reading it. I recommend this book to all those out there who like reading stuff that just makes you go,"Hey! I never thought of it that way!"
Two lines from the book that struck me the most was this...
"God whispers in our pleasure, speaks in our conscience, but shours in our pain."
"A man who admits no guilt can accept no forgiveness."


And finally...
I just find English really peculiar. How can two words which SUPPOSEDLY should be antonyms turn out to be totally different? "in" is the opposite of "out", right? Isn't it cool that "income" has nothing to with being the opposite of "outcome" at all?(Except that income only comes as an outcome of input becoming output... Sth like that...) I'm sure you can come up with many more examples. Don't mind sharing, yeah?

Friday, July 27, 2007

27-07-07(Friday) El Nino

I apologize for not updating for so long. It's been a rather dry period recently with not much inspiration to tal about.

Now I only urge all brothers and sisters reading this to just stop and pray for the 22 S. Koreans captured in Ghazni as hostages by the Taleban. It just feels so sad that ppl go to such extremes to achieve what they desire.

"Local police said the South Korean man's body had been found with multiple bullet wounds in the Mushaki neighbourhood of Qarabagh district in Ghazni province - where the Koreans are being held.

South Korean media identified the man as Bae Hyung-Kyu, 42, a church pastor and leader of the group."

~From www.bbc.co.uk

Read the full article here.

May God forgive these merciless ppl.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

15-07-07 - Sunday - Cool Multiplication for Large Numbers


Some cool stuff! I have NO IDEA how to REPRODUCE that!!

Saturday, July 14, 2007

14-07-07 Can a true Christian lose his salvation once and forever?

Just came back from Care Group(CG) and got really inspired to share sth with you out there.

Can true Christians lose his/her salvation forever?

According to Hebrews 6:4-6, a true Christian CAN lose his salvation. Salvation is a very precious gift. We must not take it lightly but protect it safely.

But seriously, if one has ALREADY tasted the wonders and greatness of God, why in the material world WOULD one turn away from God? Unless... It's a DELIBERATE ACT to test God, right? And clearly Jesus has also told us NOT to do that in Matthew 4:7b and Luke 4:12b "You shall not tempt the LORD your God."

I mean, sure... You say,"But God is a merciful and loving God who's very, VERY forgiving!!!"

Of course, He is. But does that mean you are ALLOWED to push Him to see far you CAN go until you WON'T be forgiven?

My CG leader gave quite a good analogy. Imagine you're being swept down some rapid river of life by temptations and worries of the world and Jesus comes along and throws you this Rope of Salvation. It's only up to you whether or not you WANT to grab the rope or not, right? The fact of the matter is that if you opt NOT to grab that rope, it's your loss but the rope will STILL be there, right? Salvation will always be there, available for you to grab onto.

Okay, next situation. This Ezrah and I came up together while having a wonderful discussion just now. Let's say you decide to grab onto this Rope of Salvation. While Jesus pulls you onto the Shore of Eternal Life, free of all the sins and hardships of the world. Then, while He's pulling, you suddenly, for your own reasons, decide to throw away the rope... It'd be out of your reach should you want to grab on to that rope again, right?

John 3:16 ~
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[a] that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." Right? According to my CG leader, the original Greek version goes to say that whoever CONTINUES BELIEVING in Him will CONTINUE TO have eternal life.

So... Guys and gals and aunties...(Uncles all too busy working, won't be here reading one...) I urge you all to ponder on this thought and to take your gift of salvation seriously and do NOT, I repeat... Do NOT take God for granted. Our imperfect humane self has a limit to our patience which we tends to be pushed often but do NOT try to push God's limit... He IS God.

Here, I hafta give lots of credit to Ezrah Nyanat and Chung for their wonderful insights on the topic as we pondered on it tonight. They unceasingly provided many quotes from the Bible that I had no idea existed before... My hats off to you both!

"It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, becauseto their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace." ~ Hebrews 6:4-6
Verses courtesy of www.biblegateway.com

14-07-07 "Alamat Hari Kiamat Makin Hampir..."

Flipping open the Straits Times this morning, I just felt sad and sorry for the stuff that I find...

Indonesia again eh? This ain't much news...

Well, with all the amount of pollution they're making, this ain't surprising too...

But... Japan??!! This I don't recall much though...

You may see this is some normal phenomenon with the change of the typhoon and directions of the monsoon but... '12m-high' waves don't happen every year, okay... At least, not much in places other than Indonesia...

I just start to wonder again whether or not God actually had in mind for us to leave Him no choice but to come back and deal Judgment on us faster as we destroy the earth so hard, so fast...

On a different note... I got bored in class last few days and did something 'bimbotic'

You girls pay so much for those fancy nail polish and I can get such sexy and funky designs for practically free...!(Oh shoot... It won't go away...!)

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

11-07-07 Because I hate you...

I just happened to read VJC's own blog and got to this interesting post on Aaron Hall. If you wanna know what happened to him, click here.

It's pure brutality what ppl do to achieve their goals nowadays. Just this morning, I read news of the Lal Masjid and all the violence that took place there. Is there ONLY violence in the world nowadays? Why do we human just INDULGE in others' pain? Why is it that accidents are the ONLY thing that makes us slow our vehicles down to poke our noses into and those courteous drivers letting drivers drive out of busy junctions only get a simple wave and the ppl behind just honk away at the 'good Samaritan'?

Why is it that when fights break out in school, 70% of the student body turn up within half a minute and 30% of the staff appear within the next half a minute but when some student helps pick up some rubbish or helps carry some kid who took a fall, everyone just turns away and stares with the "omg-look-at-that-silly-lil-kid-doing-good-stuff" look.

This attitude of ppl nowadays is the very reason why the media focuses mainly on the nasty stuff happening around us, causing great hype that last weeks on stuff like Cho Seung Hui's massacre, Altantuya's murder and China's faulty products.

I guess this is what God meant by not focusing on appreciation in this worldly realm for our reward is in heaven. Do not be dismayed at being sniggered at for picking up those Milo cups at the stadium, my brothers. Ignore the stares while you guide the old lady across the road.

I think the lack of good public transport has caused us to lose out on many possible chances of helping ppl out when walking along the streets. Stuff like giving your seat to those who need it more is no longer present when you're driving your own car or just have your own transport.

Just a chain of thoughts after reading Cosiety's post and the news. Lastly, speak up for the weak. Defend those who deserve it. Let justice continue to breathe in our world...!

Monday, July 09, 2007

09-07-07 VJC Sailing Team Deserves Their Win!

At assembly today, my school's sailing team made their announcement of their proud triumph this previous week. I was very touched when we got to the part where they were thanking everyone who have contributed to their success. They actually rounded off with "Finally, we would like to thank God for giving us all this. All glory to Him!"

This is the very first such statement in our assembly!(Since I came, that is...) I'm sure God gave you this win despite all the odds cos' He KNEW you all would give glory back to Him! My hats off to you, VJC Sailing!

Sunday, July 08, 2007

08-07-07 Randomnity VIII

Time for some picture-tell-story time...!

Went to Carl's Jr. not too long ago. Stupidly ordered a large meal because I thought I was REALLY hungry...

Can you tell how big this is? Oh, and this is before the FRICKIN' EXPENSIVE HAIRCUT!! Looked so 'guai zai' and innocent then, eh?


Can tell here?

It was stupid because... I can get FREE REFILLS!

My supidly LARGE meal... McD's fries still rule...

Sexy bacon.. I just loved this huge burger. And NO the burger is NOT huge because I ordered a stupidly LARGE meal...!


And here's Arvind eating with me, totally unaware that I was taking a picture of him only until NOW as I'm posting this... Awww... Don't he look so innocent..? Oh... That 1 L nalgene bottle's there to let you see how big the drink is too!

Okay, enough of the sinfully, pleasurable sinful stuff...

I went cycling with my senior, Xing Ji yesterday evening at ECP.

That's Xing Ji in white in front there...

We got to this jetty with a pretty nice view...

I think that's St John's Island or something further to the left... Hey! I can see my roommate waving from our room from here!

Not very long later, we saw this towering structure and...

Can you guess what it is? I'm gonna tell only in the next post... Winner gets... a 'HADIAH MISTERI'!


I dunno why but I think this pic would look nice... What say you?

As we turned back, the sky was dark already...

This pic, IMHO, is kinda impressive with the light rays and all that... I like it...!

The bunga-bunga, gesi-gesi, showoff-showoff version of it. Actually, not very gesi oso la ho... Only senget nia ma... What's so gesi...??

Now for a thought.

Human greed and desire is insatiable. We desire to be able to fly in the skies like a bird(not on a massive air polluter like the Airbus A380 or BOEING-787) one day if given the chance. Then, it just came to me that if we were SOMEHOW given the opportunity to do so, we wouldn't stop there. We'd want MORE! We'd wanna be able to travel to outer space freely! Like the debris and asteroids floating out there! This is just a comparison to money. We can NEVER have enough. Get your first million by 45 years old and then you think: 'Can get a million, the next million won't be hard, right? At most also die trying what...' Then, earn another million, try to save money by giving some money to charity so that you get taxed less... 'Just another million will be enough la' you say... Enough is NEVER enough.

Hmm... Come to think of it... It's like what men AND women want for their bodies too. You know what I mean... Bigger is better? Some just keep wanting bigger or maybe a smaller... Body shape... Yeah, that's the word...

08-07-07 Frickin' Haircut!

I'm getting ready for my jumps this coming Tuesday so I decided to get a haircut yesterday 'in conjunction' with it. I figured to try out the professional shops around for once, just to 'live the good life' for once. Thus, I went searching high and low at Parkway Parade for a LESS COSTLY barber shop. Besides that S$10 in-the-open express barber 'stall'... The cheapest rate I could get was... A FRICKIN' S$25!!!

I told myself: "This is just a one-time thingy so just do it and get over it. Don't think. Do."

... So I heavy-heartedly agreed to get a haircut at his place called 'Team Salon' and sat down on that chair I love to sit on so much... The barber chair. heheh... Anyway... It just felt different sitting there while that very professional-looking lady with nice hair(of course la... hair salon wat... Expensive one again eh...) cut at my hair... It must've been because I'M PAYING LIKE 4 TIMES MORE THAN I USUALLY PAY...!!!


This is sth new... They bring some tea and UP-TO-DATE magazines to me while I wait for the pro-lady to give me my due service... I guess the tea must've been included in the $25 too... Hmm... Should ask whether they'd cut the price if I DIDN'T drink it... (Man, I'm starting to sound like some kiasu Sgian now...)

Following that, I guess I must've been pretty satisfied with the haircut... Since I HAD to be. (Frickin' $25, okay?!!)


Took this pic after I went swimming yesterday.

What do you think? After such a PRICEY trim... I SHOULD be making full use of it so... I camwhored a bit lo. What's the cam and cam-phone around for, if not...


Some MORE cam-whoring before church this morning... In my room... That lil' pimple on my left cheek very obvious, right? Darn it... ARRRR...!!

For those of you whom I took your pics off for the previous post on cam-whoring... Do NOT take this opportunity to strike revenge on me...

"
Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord." ~ Romans 12:19

Peace:P

Saturday, July 07, 2007

07-07-07 "Chinese News"

I used to think that the people in China eat almost everything they could find when I found out that they actually eat dogs. Then, earlier this year, I read abt some restaurants in Shanghai serving up crocodiles on their menus. I mean... Wow... they're actually eating one of the longest surviving predators now. That officially makes them the very TOP of the food chain, right? But NOooooOooooOOO... Why stop at crocodiles? There're BIGGER and BETTER stuff this world has to offer...

"Chinese eat dinosaur bones as medicine"

wow... Something new eh? They really eat EVERYTHING! Even the stuff that are ALREADY extinct. My my...


AP Photo: Visitors look at the leg bone of a dinosaur believed by Chinese scientists to be...the 'dragon bones' from the dragons flying in the sky

Following that, this following news I have been following over the past few weeks...

Another consumer product disaster in China: exploding mobile phone batteries


“Right after I powered on the cell phone and pressed the button it exploded. My nipple got burned so badly from the explosion”.

Ouch...! This is like the 5th or 6th such incident in China already! Really makes you consider sticking to the REAL stuff for a GOOD reason, yeah? I guess Malaysia's government discouraging piracy is REALLY meant for the good of its citizens then.

Imagine just lying on the bed in your nighties or just topless(for guys, of course) and you just realized your handphone that's lying on your chest isn't on. Then, you turn it on and *!!!KABOOM!!!*................

"YEEEEEOOOOOWWWWW!!!!!"

I'm NEVER gonna turn on my handphone when it's in the pocket of my pants anymore...


Last Sunday, he(Mr Jiang, King of BBQ in Jiangxi, China)BBQ’d 128 whole lambs with a 40 meter long grill all by himself and it only took him 2 hours to cook them.

Food, glorious food...! I'
m only wondering why the number...? 128? He must be some geek mathematician in school or maybe just another computer nerd obsessed with binary numbers. His next attempt would probably be 256 crocodiles? or maybe 512 dinosaur bones?

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

04-07-07 Mathematics

I'm not sure whether anyone is born a math genius but one thing I'm quite sure about is this... No one can be very good at maths WITHOUT practice. If one is willing and actually puts in effort into practising, I'm sure almost ANYONE can become good at maths.

Sigh... Just got back my maths paper for our mid-years exam. I did terribly... Like REALLY terribly terrible! This is quite a blow for me... I guess this is God's way of bringing me back to earth... To remind me to be humble and do my work consistently...!!!

Sunday, July 01, 2007

01-07-07 I do NOT deserve them...

I just finished reading YN's entry on friends and then happened to flip to KW's blog. No new entries but as I scrolled to the links to other ppl's blogs, I noticed that she entitled it "MY PALS"... That got me thinking of how many friendships and maybe other relationships I never really deserved all along...

I did not deserve Kar Wei's friendship for being so pampered and temperamental in 2006. I did not deserve her friendship for always being the one getting angry at little matters and pointing fingers at her all the time. I owe her for standing my childish ways.

I did not deserve Chung's friendship for all the way back in the year of 2004 when I rejected his application for being an AJK in Orientation '05. I owe him for always putting him down and shoving my ego up his face.

I did not deserve Michele Chai's friendship for always causing all sorts of quarrels and strife to emerge between us. I did not deserve her friendship for the many lies I told to her despite her knowing the truth even before I tried covering it up. I owe it to her for my hypocrisy. I owe it to her for bearing with my ego and having to let go of hers.

I did not deserve Gareth's friendship for always having a go at him at every opportune time. I did not deserve his friendship for always belittling him and trying to p**s him off. I owe him for bearing with my naughtiness and 'jio'yness.

I did not deserve Janice Wee's friendship for not being there for her at many times but instead only able to make things worse for her when things aren't going her way in the first place already. I did not deserve her friendship for forcing her to make choices she does NOT need to make. I owe it to her for keeping it in her and not getting angry but finally coming clean and being honest to me.

I did not deserve Aaron Wong IH's friendship for uh... Not being cool enough.

I did not deserve Esther Lu's friendship for some really stupid stuff I've teased her about. I owe it to her for forgiving me for the silly little 'I'm-angry-you-told-others-abt-the-gift-I-gave-you' incident in... 2000.

I did not deserve Alvin Tan's friendship for always making him feel noobish. I did not deserve his friendship for not making him realize how wonderful God has created him and the gifts that God has actually blessed him with. I owe it to him for giving my words so much credit.

I did not deserve Louise Lu's friendship for my really childish days. I owe her for the 'cold war' period, having caused her to become upset.

I did not deserve Leonard Lu's friendship for not being able to stand on his side for many times. I did not deserve his friendship for not being able to cover for him sometimes. I owe him for standing up for me at many occasions.

I have many more to record but it's getting very early now(12.23 AM) and there's church later! I really thank God for these many blessings I have had and for many cases, still have. I really regret letting such friendships rot away and not making effort to retain them. For all my acquaintances and companions out there, I say this...

Forgive me! I am only human and imperfect. Let my letdowns be drowned in my apologies...!!