John 13:35

08-01-12 (Sunday) “The ‘N’ Word”

2012-01-08T16:18:00.001+08:00

It has been brought to a whole new level in this day and age.

We blog, penning down our thoughts and daily activities.
We record videos of our performance, a walk down the street with live commentary, sitting in front of the computer with live commentary, our singing, our pets, our backyard.
We can make reviews about the restaurant down the road, the eastern coast of the United States, the newest Nook tablet.
We make sure others know our English is better by correcting every grammatical mistake we see online.
We update our status, let the whole world know what we’re doing, how we’re feeling.
We post comments equating up to essays within a week.
We post photos of where we went last Saturday, thinking others will find it interesting.
We check-in to every single place we went.
We tweet.

One smile-ey dog

I think it has even become a common answer to say, “Why do I have to care what they think? As long as I’m right with God, then its fine.” When we consider some of the things we do in front of others. I mean, it does sound natural. It doesn’t sound exactly wrong, does it? My actions shouldn’t bother others. And if it does… Then they should stop being busybodies.

But the fact is that its involuntary, most of the time. I don’t wanna hear what others say about my friend but they’re talking right next to me. I don’t wanna be distracted by how you both behave as a couple but you’re sitting right in front of me. I don’t wanna be bothered by what you do on your phone/tablet but you keep tapping away on it the whole time. The very same goes to myself as well in what I wear and do. I have to be conscious of what might be drawing attention away from God and to me, ESPECIALLY when I’m serving.

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
~ Phil 2:3,4

Its a constant struggle for me to put this into practice. How do I even begin to consider others better than myself when everything that the Internet lets me do is telling me that “Its all about you. Everyone cares about what you do. Everyone wants to know.”? I’m sure people in the past had different struggles with this but I think with our generation, everyone CAN make themselves a star, or at least… Make themselves FEEL like they’re a star… Such a dangerous snare to fall into. And such difficulty to get out of it.

Thankfully, the Bible doesn’t just leave us at that.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin.
~ Hebrews 4:15

Its always a lot easier to catch something when we have a role model to look up to, to imitate. And that model is none other than Jesus Christ himself.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!
~ Phil 2:6-8

I think I’m pretty good with my achievements and talents, garnered and groomed over my short life. But to be GOD?!?!? And to not even consider it?!? Try THAT!

Are your actions edifying others? Or are they just to bring attention and glory to yourself?

3-1-12 (Tuesday) “This is for God”

2012-01-03T19:59:00.001+08:00

Praise the LORD, O my soul,
O LORD my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with splendour and majesty.

God, I can’t even begin to articulate Your greatness, Your splendour in all the earth, Your majesty that makes all things bow down before You in worship.

He set the earth on its foundations;
it can never be moved.

We try to make new things every day, every way to make life easy for ourselves but You are the one who made everything in the first place.

You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains,

We take years and years and to build up a dam to control a little bit of water and yet

at your rebuke the waters fled,
at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;
they flowed over the mountains,
they went down into the valleys,
to the place you assigned for them.

He makes grass grow for the cattle,
and plants for man to cultivate –
bringing forth food from the earth:

You are the one who breathes life into everything around. Everything that chirps, barks, moos, rustles, crawls, swims, shuffles… EVERYTHING! There is no end to Your creativity!

The moon mark off the seasons,
and the sun knows when to go down.

The lions roar for their prey
and seek their food from God.

You provide for the beasts of the earth. What more us? I am eternally grateful in having You that provides for all my needs, I need not fear. I need not worry. I need not be anxious. Because You are faithful. Your love endures forever. My joy and my satisfaction is in You. You are the ultimate satisfaction. Not other people. Not material goods. Not achievements. You.

How many are your works, O LORD!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.

Billions upon billions of creatures. Each different from any other. How mindblowing is that?!

I will sing to the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
May my meditation be pleasing to him,
as I rejoice in the LORD.

Because You deserve it. And even more than I can offer. What is my praise worth? It came from You to begin with. I only return to You what is rightfully Yours. Its not much but its what I can offer. God, You be glorified.

24-12-11 (Saturday) “More Than We Know”

2011-12-24T20:27:00.001+08:00

Quite a number of things have happened to me recently which could have been well-deserving of complaints. There are also many that just leaves me with a high inside, speechless because of what God has done.

I was gonna list down all the things that happened but I think I would not do any justice to how God works so many mighty things in His own ways, in His own time. Hmmm… I’ll just give it a shot off the top of my head. A missed flight, a good friend moving away, a visit by my mom’s sisters and a cousin, a dream with more-significant-than-I-thought implications, conversations with siblings-in-Christ…

How do I know why the thing that is happening now is happening for some other reason? I don’t. I just trust that God has got something up His sleeve. And its definitely greater than any kinda idea that I would’ve had.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
   neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the LORD.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
   so are my ways higher than your ways
   and my thoughts than your thoughts.
~ Isa 55:8,9

Like a boss

God is much, MUCH greater than I can ever comprehend. Where do I even start probing into this…?

Not to us, LORD, not to us
but to your name be the glory
because of your love and faithfulness.
~ Ps 115:1

18-12-11 (Sunday) “Dung” edited 24-12-11

2011-12-18T11:20:00.001+08:00

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. ~ Phil 1:21

“In chains”

I always had a pretty smooth life. I always think of how blessed I am, having achieved much since my childhood up till now. I always thanked God for these achievements.

I’ve recently come to ponder what Paul was saying to the Philippian church. I used to find my worth in my achievements. I found it necessary to flaunt all these achievements to others and then feel all smug, high and mighty inside. Childish thoughts would run through my mind:

“Hah. Wish you had my kinda abilities, eh?”
“Don’t you wish you were single now?”
“Yeah, ‘Whoa’ is the right response... Aren’t I awesome? “

BAM!

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so , somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. ~ Phil 3: 7-11

Paul was clearly addressing people like me when he came to Phil 3:4b-6. We were brought up in a community where our worth depended on how well we are in achievements in life.

Now, I’m come to realize why he calls them “loss for the sake of Christ” (Or “dung” in certain translations!). With all these scrolls and paperwork in my hands, I’ve grown to let these things define me instead of the Lord Jesus! All this while, I’ve been busily garnering more and more achievements so that I feel more complete, more valuable. These “profits” in the past have always been a distraction to the knowledge of Christ in me!!

I’ve never been able to see how there is fullness in Christ (Col 2:10). In other words, there is no need for anything else to complete me with Christ in me! I am still learning to turn that into reality. Will you?

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. ~ Col 6:14

Lord, it belongs not to my care
Whether I die or live;
To love and serve Thee is my share,
And this Thy grace must give.

If life belong, I will be glad,
That I may long obey;
If short – then why should I be sad
To soar to endless day?
~Taken from “Knowing God”, J.I. Packer

13-12-11 (Tuesday) "How does one love so much?"

2011-12-13T16:48:00.003+08:00

I tried so hard and got quite far but in the end it doesn't really matter. No food compares to mom's home-cooked food. I think its just the "mom" element that makes it what it is. I can try cook the very same dish the very same way with the very same stuff but it just won't be the same. You know what I'm talking about, right? :D

Then, I realized what a challenge it must've been for my parents, bringing up 4 kids. I think about how hard it is to love just ONE other person and yet they had to do so to 5 different individuals, with their spouse getting a bigger share of their love, of course... But to split the rest of their love evenly between 4 very different people...??!?! How does one do that?! If it were 2 kids, maybe its possible. 3... Probably still can do it... But FOUR...?!?!?!

Even crazier still...

How does One love ALL the (almost) 7 billion people on the earth now? How does One love them all the VERY SAME WAY despite their VERY DIFFERENT characters?

To make things even more absurd...

How does One love ALL THESE disgusting living beings, tarnished with sin, the very antithesis of One's holiness, destined to be One's enemy?

But God DOES do it! And I don't understand how He does it. But He DOES!

... God is love ~ 1 John 4:8b

That does help a bit. It is His VERY NATURE! He IS love! But it still is mind-blowing. How does one even begin to wrap one's head around this love?!

"May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully" ~ Eph 3:19a (NLT)

Paul wasn't being sarcastic or funny there. It really is incomprehensible, this crazy love! It has gotten hold of me now. I hope this love engulfs you as well soon enough!

25-11-11 (Friday) “Oh great… Now I’m gonna be late for…”

2011-11-25T20:49:00.001+08:00

Something unforeseen happened to me a few days ago that got me stuck in it for quite a while.

In that moment, I thought through how the scenario happens to many and how the “normal” reaction is. The first thing that came to my mind was the title of this post.

Given this period of post-exam break where nothing much happens and my schedule is pretty clear, things are different and hence that thought wasn’t my main thought. However, if it had been on any other day of the year, I believe that thought would be the very first thing that comes to mind.

We claim or think that mankind’s quality of life and standard of living has never been better in any time before the present. We have all these gadgets and devices that make life easy for us, saves us time and effort so that we are able to do ten times the work we would have done in a same period of time a decade ago. Yet, we end up having not enough time to do all that we wanna do.

“Darn it, forgot to pray/do my quiet time today. I’ll just go through two readings tomorrow.”
“Looks like I’m gonna need that (insert energy-boosting drink) tonight!”
“Can you drive faster, please? I really have to be there in ten minutes.”

Can we all please slow down? Can we spare at least 1 hour a day for people and not activities? Maybe another hour for God too, for us believers? To just read His Word and think about things to thank Him, to adore Him? Can we afford to be more patient?

Can I?

07-11-11 (Monday) “Time heals…?”

2011-11-06T23:09:00.001+08:00

We hear it over and over again when hit with some painful event.

“Let it heal with time.”
“You’ll be fine as time goes by.”

I can bear testimony to the time healing bit, having experienced healing over time but… Is it really time that heals?

A waiting place

Or is it God that heals us in time?

Sure… Most things will feel less painful over time… But I’ve heard of cases where instant healing takes place. No more pain. No more wound to show.

Ultimately, God is in control.

That’s right… Time heals. But God is in control of time. He is over and above time. Its like… Time is so out of God’s league. God pre-dated time. He owned time.

God is the one who heals. Period.

The Promise

Lamb fat is the best fat ever.

30-10-11 (Sunday) “I don’t mind having a bit more…”

2011-10-30T18:48:00.001+08:00

… Do you?

To have a bit more money to spend when I go out into the world to work. If I’m given a job with a decent pay, by God’s grace, I wouldn’t complain at all. I’d probably indulge in good stuff every now and then. Get myself high quality gadgets at home. Nothing wrong, right? I’d probably give a portion of my money away to charity and tithe 10% before spending the excess on the said nice stuff. That should be alright.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ~ Matthew 6:19-21

It does sound harmless but I realize the danger this kinda attitude poses. Its like wading in the seawater, you’re just ankle deep in the water. Then you wade a bit further, you’re knee-deep in water. Before you know it, you’ve accidentally walked into a riptide and you’re swept into the water, in over your head.

I’m not earning my own money but I’ve been buying bits of stuff here and there occassionally. Never really in mass quantities. Now I’m in serious trouble in 4 weeks when I have to pack. :S

“How d heck am I gonna pack all those stuff up?”
“What should I bring back home to Malaysia?”
“How did I end up with so much stuff in my one tiny room??!”

How many of your possessions would you happily throw/give away? What about those things that you don’t even use much but just stays stowed away in the storeroom the past year?

I realize that the more things I have, the more things I have that are chaining me down to this earth.

“Are my games being properly taken care off?”"
“Is my camera still working properly?”
“Is he reading the book I lent him?”

Come the day I have to die, will I be at peace to leave everything behind? I mean… Its not like I have an option of checking in 25kg of luggage and carrying 10kg hand luggage to my next destination.

I dare not even start reading “Money, Sex and Power” by Richard Foster because I saw the chapter entitled “The Vow of Simplicity” under the index. That IS a calling for every Christian, no? To live simply. No need for fine dining. No need for a mansion. No need for the comfort of a Lexus. Just a Perodua will do. No need for Rolex, Adidas nor Marriott. Just Casio, Asadi and YHA will do. No Max Brenner and Koko Black. Just Milo and Kopi-O will do.

Yes. Thank you for asking me how I’m faring in this area. This is another major challenge to date and I’m not even at the starting line yet. Just started the 1st lap for warm up. What about you? Dare you take on the challenge? What are you willing to give up first?

11-10-11 (Tuesday) “The Other Way Round”

2011-10-11T20:57:00.001+08:00

We’re used to the idea of focusing on studies/work and occasionally making time for a meet up/activity with friends when our schedule frees up. In other words, we work and study full time while our part time commitment is to people.

Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Romans 12:10

I think there is something wrong with the upbringing of how we have things prioritized.

I think people should be the main priority and the other things come in after people. When I’ve got time, I should probably spend some time with people rather than trying to bury myself in a book (Or surf through Facebook, hmmm…?). I’ve realized how often and how natural it is for the thought to come to my mind after spending some time chilling around or hanging out with friends that “Oh my… I’ve wasted so much time doing nothing.”

Is it, really? Isn’t the time invested in chatting with people or just sitting together at a table gonna be the memory that comes up when I’m 45 years old and telling some young guy to live a proper life? Will I not be missing the times I had some laughter with my other pals in the warm, lovely spring sun? Will I not be thinking back on the Skype sessions with my family and smiling? Or will I be reminiscing the times I had spent reading some gossip on some cricket agent asking for millions of pounds or the Ukrainian ex-PM’s incarceration? Will I be so proud of having run 10km one lovely afternoon?

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. ~ James 1:27

07-10-11 (Friday) “Its Humbling”

2011-10-07T12:41:00.002+08:00

I dare to dream sometimes of how there are so many amazing things lying in the future for me. I dream of graduating and finding a steady, well-paying job with a comfortable house in a comfortable little town/city. I dream of maybe even having a lovely family that is just perfect, that everyone loves and I look forward to seeing them every single day. I dream of jetsetting all over the world, experiencing different lifestyles and cultures, taking many breathtaking photos of the various places and people to document these adventures. I dream of how awesome my life would be…

“… in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ…” ~ 1 Peter 4:11

How would all of that be glorifying to God, though? If I live a good life, with not a trouble or a worry to mess my head up… That would only please one person. Me.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. ~ 1 Peter 5:6

Its scary to think that in actual fact, it really isn’t important whether or not I have my high distinctions(HDs) or I get a fancy car or I get a cozy house in the safest suburb… Its humbling to know that my life actually isn’t THAT important, if not for the glory of God. It really is a scary thought. And we don’t like to think of it.

But its true. And that’s what makes it hard to accept for most of us. We don’t wanna think that we’re living for Someone else. We wanna think that we’re living for ourselves.

“Live life to the fullest”

“Doesn’t matter how long you live to enjoy, as long as you enjoy while you live.”

But that’s not what we’re made for! We were made to live for God! I still wonder about that thought every now and then but it becomes very liberating after a while!

Marriage is the best thing that ever/never happened to me. It can work both ways.

05-10-11 (Wednesday) "Be Careful What You Wish For"

2011-10-05T13:16:00.002+08:00

Nobody beats You when it comes to humour, God. Its hard to believe that You bother to inject all these small things to humour me in life. Heheh.

03-10-2011 (Monday) “Should we be so afraid of it?

2011-10-03T20:14:00.001+08:00

I just finished reading this a while ago.

It makes me wonder. From a Christian point-of-view… Should we really be so afraid of being single? Matthew 6:26 gives us confidence that we have God watching over us and caring for us. Do we really need that other person in our lives? Sure, there are practical advantages of having a partner in our walk with Christ but there are clear disadvantages as well.

1. Our partner will support us in our lowest hours – Support can also come in the form of friends and family beyond just that special person. In fact, if that one person is our sole support, its probably a sign of ourselves not having a healthy community life. Let’s not forget the times when that person is the very reason we are in those low hours.

2. Our partner will encourage/complement us in our ministry to God – Two sides to this coin. With the same vision, a couple can be very powerful in a ministry together. However, if the callings are different, then it can be very disastrous. Also, we can become too engrossed in having to make our partner happy that we expend energy and effort that would otherwise be used for God’s glory!

3. Having a partner will bring great joy to our lives – Isn’t the relationship with God even more important? That should be way more fulfilling than any other relationship we can have on this earth.

4. Having a partner completes us – I’m sure you can rebut this yourself. We are completed in Christ. We find our identity in Christ. Not in the other person. I am no less sinful after getting married. I am no less complete when I am yet to be attached.

I’m saying all these while being absolutely clear of my own desires of one day getting married as well(God-willing) but my struggle now is with how obsessed we all are with getting attached. We forget to focus on living for God with the gift (the situation) of being single right now. I’m trying to control the thoughts like “maybe she’s the one” or “we would make a good couple” and replace them with “she’s my sister-in-Christ and I respect her” and “she’s a nice sister-in-Christ to hang out with”. Something like that… Can work on refining that.

Sometimes I really DON’T know what to say when someone asks, “What’s up?” There really isn’t much happening sometimes… :S

11-09-2011 (Sunday) “Love Enough”

2011-09-11T16:28:00.001+08:00

This is something I’ve been thinking about over past experiences.

We’ve heard the message over and over. “Love is not that mushy, warm feeling you get inside. Its an action. Its a verb. Something you do.”

Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting. ~ Ephesians 5:25 (The Message)

For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her ~ Ephesians 5:25 (New Living Translation)

Focusing on the words in bold, love is marked by giving, yeah? Okay. So you say it doesn’t apply to you because that love is only between husband and wife.

So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” ~ John 13:34-35 (NLT)

Now this is Jesus speaking. And that obviously trumps everything. Love one another as He loved us. How did He love us? He gave. He didn’t get. He just kept giving.

What I’m thinking about is this: So if love is marked by GIVING, if I actually love someone, I will be giving and not be so concerned about GETTING. Sounds right? I think so. But what about the point where I come to a point where I just don’t have enough within and can’t give anymore? Does that mean I have stopped loving the person? Then begs an even greater question: Have I actually been loving the other person? If I truly loved, should it have its limit? Or does the limit just mean its not really love? The best answer I can think of is that this love was not PERFECT love because I’m not perfect.

Sounds a bit sad and sniffy but I think we can and should consider this same fact regarding our love towards God. Are we only limited to giving of ourselves when we feel like it? When our pockets are full, when we feel so blessed, having just received a promotion/scholarship, when something that we prayed for came true? How does our love compare to the one we receive from Him?

Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens.He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. ~ James 1:17

04-09-11 (Sunday) “You Do All Things Well”

2011-09-04T16:11:00.001+08:00

This has been the theme song of my day so far. :)

Mountain maker
Ocean tamer
Glimpses of You
Burn in my eyes
The worship of heaven
Fills up the skies

There are so many things to be upset over and complain about this season. Mid-sem exams are just around the corner, the water and gas distribution system went wonky over the past two days, certain things don’t turn out as desired, I could probably list a few more things.

You made it all
Said, "let there be"
And there was
All that we see
The sound of Your voice
The works of Your hands
You do all things well
You do all things well
You do all things well

Everyone else have their own set of problems they face, possibly similar to mine and they can say the same. But no, I choose to be thankful and praise God in this season. I realize that its not really that hard if you give it a try! Today, in particular, I thank God because He doesn’t grow weary of showing me all that He has created and set into motion from Creation Day One.

Star creator
Wind breather
The strokes of Your beauty
Brushed through the clouds
Light from the heavens
Touching the ground
Imagination runs wild
And breathes the breath of life
Across the fields
Across the miles

It is not my 3rd year here at ANU and my 3rd season of spring already. I am still unequivocally amazed by the beauty this season brings along with it. The colours of spring make the city look like a masterpiece of an artwork. And what an Artist He is! I went for Ultimate Frisbee League in the afternoon and the sun, combined with the green grass and all the patches of clouds in the light blue sky… I’m no good with words but how I wish I could show you how BEAUTIFUL it was! I was just “wow-ing” my afternoon away!!

Won’t you join me in giving thanks in this season, no matter what you’re going through?

LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory
in the heavens.
Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?

~ Psalm 8:1-4

3-8-11 (Wednesday) "Less Time, Less Pain"

2011-08-03T22:49:00.004+08:00

Grey's Anatomy brought up the issue of miscarriage and it got me thinking of how things would be different for a miscarriage at 1 month into the pregnancy and another at 8 months. It would definitely hurt more at 8 months, wouldn't it?

In the same way, losing a child aged 12 years would hurt more than losing one aged 2, wouldn't it?

The more time spent together with another causes one to be dearer to one. It would hurt more to lose someone you've spent more time with than one whom you've spent less time with.

Not an excuse to stop spending time with people though... So not my point.

24-03-11 (Thursday) “Psalm 46”

2011-03-24T19:49:00.001+08:00

Its been a while… And I haven’t been as motivated and inspired as I have, after reading today’s devotion passage, to post something. Its been quite a calamitous month for the whole world, to say the least. Queensland floods, Western Australia bushfires, Christchurch quake, Japanese quake and tsunamis. If the news is right, there was just another 6.1 quake again at the northwestern side of Japan just today.

God is our refuge and strength,

an ever-present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam

and the mountains quake with their surging.

How amazing is that? Could this has come at a better time than this? Its hard to figure out where God is in all this and what to answer people in this time. But we are not alone in all this. We stand with many others in the midst of history gone. It has happened before. And God has proven Himself faithful. “Ever-present”. “Refuge and strength”. Have we been looking properly?

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

the holy place where the Most High dwells.

God is within her, she will not fall;

God will help her at break of day.

Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;

he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

The LORD Almighty is with us;

the God if Jacob is our fortress.

Turn your cries to Him. He can take it. He won’t smite you just because you’re in pain and you need Him more. Tell Him your pain. Tell Him you wish things were better. Do you think He doesn’t think the same? Did you ever stop to wonder whether God ever had the thought of just removing man’s freedom to choose in the beginning when He created man? That way Adam and Eve wouldn’t have sinned and He wouldn’t have to have gone through HIS pain of separating from us, His loved ones! But would that be called ‘love’?

Come and see the works of the LORD,

the desolations he has brought on the earth.

He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;

he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,

he burns the shileds with fire.

“Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth.”

The LORD Almighty is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Whether YOU choose to exalt Him or not, He will still be God. Its just a matter of whether He becomes the God of YOUR life or not. He WILL be exalted. Just because HE IS. Notice how the psalmist repeats the last line? He IS with us! He IS our fortress.

Sometimes a fortress is just so big that we can’t see its walls that are keeping out the rocks, arrows and fire being thrown at us by the enemies. We stand in the centre of it all, so secure but feeling vulnerable because we can’t see the protection all around and wonder what harm comes to us in the distance. Just because we can’t see that far.

04-02-11 (Friday) “Traffic Lights”

2011-02-04T17:21:00.001+08:00

While I was travelling in Singapore, I came across one of the common sights in this metropolitan city and something that I have come to associate the city-country with.

Yes. Traffic lights.

I just got to think about how traffic lights work(in layman terms).

Green means “Go”. Yellow means “Get ready to stop/Speed up or you’ll get fined when it turns red/A different shade of green”(depending on which country you are in). Red means “Stop”.

I think our lives have to follow the pattern of the traffic light more. To have regular intervals of green, yellow and red. But the problem is that we’re either always on green or on red.

Always on green

We tend to overwork ourselves, trying to make every second count. To rush past every intersection in life as fast as we can, in case we hit our ‘deadline’ too soon (excuse the pun). Because of that, we end up missing the details along the way. We forget to savour the journey. We forget to enjoy the people that are on the ride together with us.

Slow down. Have a drink with your friend/partner/siblings/parents/cousins. Watch a comedy. Take a break from work every year or two. Go somewhere away from home. Doesn’t have to be far away, over the oceans. Stay at a local hotel/inn, even. Just get yourself out of your home for a bit, physically preferably.

Always on red

We’re trying our best to relax all the time. We waste the best part of the day(morning). We take things too easy.

Start small. Try to do something productive for a short time(5 minutes?) when you’re slacking away. Make it a point to carry on with it for a while(2 weeks). Don’t regret not having done what you’d have liked to have done earlier.

Yellows would be the transitions when we burnout or are very close to getting there. Strike that balance. Have your fair share of “Go!”s and “Stop!”s

15-01-11 (Saturday) “We Do”

2011-01-15T13:25:00.002+08:00

I think we do care a lot more about others than we express or care to admit. We get angry with them, can’t stand their habits, deal with their periodical tantrums, get annoyed by their need for our attention and many other little things.

Think about it, if we didn’t care about them, we wouldn’t even care what they did. All they do will just zip by our heads into insignificance oblivion. But we ARE affected! And the only reason we’re not working on restoring our relationships is PRIDE! We’re too proud to admit that someone else matters to us and that they mean something to us. As if your self-importance will diminish because you make someone ELSE feel important. Trust me, you will never have a problem telling yourself that you’re important.

So, I tell you now. YOU ARE IMPORTANT. To me or not to me. But you ARE important. To someone. You just gotta let someone ELSE know that they’re important. And then the chain effect brings it around. Right back to you. And YOU’LL know who YOU are important to.

I dare you.

Elle est ma copine.

12-01-11 (Wednesday) “What are YOU made of?”

2011-01-12T00:32:00.001+08:00

“… For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. “

We try to disguise our real selves by carefully choosing our words so that others like us for that. Alec Judd writes in his book “Love Is The Key” that “Our words provide windows into our hearts… When we are full of something, the mouth takes the overflow… oue carefully chosen words, like windows of frosted glass, may reveal very little. Our most revealing words are unpremeditated.”

So… What you say really DOES reveal what you think and what you are inside, whether you like it or not. So… Think about what you want to be known as to people. Then think about that more. Let it become part of you. So that when the words DO come out unpremeditated, they may be words of love, words that build up and words that encourage.

… What are you like inside? Just talk to me more and it shows.

28-12-10 (Tuesday) “For readers above 18 yrs old only”

2010-12-28T11:12:00.001+08:00

… But who are we kidding? The more restrictions there are, the more you’re inclined to cross it, right? So even if you’re NOT 18 years old, you’re still gonna read ahead. I think this probably will be of some concern to you nowadays since we all do a lot of stuff illegally, before we hit the legal age.

This is all about SEX.

It would’ve caught your attention even without me putting in capitals, right?

I’m just gonna be saying what many people have said before me. If you haven’t heard it before, I hope you ponder over it and decide its truth for yourself. If you have heard it, I hope this serves as a reminder to you.

I believe sex was made BY God. Therefore, sex was made to be good.

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it… ~ Genesis 1:28

God made it for the main purpose of reproduction. Sex was for the making of babies, of families. The problem now is that the purpose of sex has been warped. Sex has become a form of… recreation, (forgive me if this offends you but this is what it is now in my opinion.) a favourite pastime for some, if you will.

That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. ~ Genesis 2:24

I believe that God made that statement regarding ALL aspects. In becoming “one flesh”, these two individuals are united physically through sex, their emotional bond is strengthened and their mental and spiritual beings are merged through marriage over time. This is where 2 Cor 6:14 comes into play but that’s for another whole entry. I think that the good feeling from sex was made by God so that two individuals would have something that strengthens their emotional bond in marriage. They would share intimacy between them. That is why a physical affair outside of marriage hurts so much. Its like your best friend shares a secret with you (that ONLY YOU get to know) and you go on to tell another person about. (That is quite an understatement but its the closest I can think of.)

It saddens me to see how sex is portrayed by the media nowadays:

Myth 1: Sex is just part and parcel of dating/seeing someone. (“seeing someone” at more than the common level then, eh?)

Myth 2: Getting laid becomes a measuring stick of one’s popularity/hotness/desirability/attractiveness/bla bla bla…

Myth 3: Having sex regularly OUTSIDE OF MARRIAGE is ONLY healthy and good for one’s being.

The sanctity of sex is jeopardized. Sex is defiled as it is brought outside of marriage, just like how fresh meat rots away as it is brought out of the freezer. IT STINKS!!!

The thing is… This defilement comes in many forms as well.

Pornography degrades sex into becoming an audio/visual entertainment for people. The joy of sex that was meant to be shared between a man and a woman is reduced to one person’s self-absorbed stimulation without the responsibilities that come with it. It is because of our selfishness that we want to get that thrill, to satisfy our own desires without involving a second party. This selfishness extends to masturbation as well. More often than not, these 2 come hand-in-hand. The worst part of these is that it infiltrates our minds and tarnishes it just like graffiti on a white wall.

Vulgarities/Obscenities with references to sex/genitals. I dunno if you noticed but most, if not all, the vulgarities involve sex and/or genitals. The interesting thing is that we all know its not something nice to say those things. That’s why its called “FOUL language”, right? So what exactly are we doing? We’re making sex and our own genitals out to be something dirty/foul/bad. But its not! God made them, remember? So how can we say that its bad? Its only because of our sin that its corrupted!

So what CAN we do about this?

Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. ~ 1 Corinthians 6:18

FLEE, the Bible says! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!! If we take on sexual temptation face-to-face, we usually end up the loser! (I dare say at least 90% of the time) Knowing people from the past and wise people living in the present happen to give the same advice from their own experience… I don’t doubt its truth!

I wish for you that you do not have to endure these disgusting things especially in this world controlled by the media. But if you do/have encounter(ed) it, remember that God is still ready to forgive you as long as you repent and there is still a way out of it! Look for someone you can trust to keep you accountable in this area as well! You CANNOT deal with it alone!!

24-12-10 (Friday) “Just The Way You Are”

2010-12-24T10:10:00.002+08:00

Seeing that Christmas comes tomorrow, I thought I’d share something on Christmas together with my thoughts on this song that has been playing over and over in my head recently. Pretty sure it has been ‘bugging’ some of you as well…

Bruno Mars – Just The Way You Are

Some ladies would LOVE to have a guy sing this song to them and mean it. I believe some guys would like the same idea being said about them. The cool thing is that there IS One who would sing such words to us if we would listen! God has already shown His unconditional and impartial love to us despite us taking it for granted! I’ll try to back up my points with some verses below.

Oh, her eyes, her eyes, make the stars look like they're not shining
Her hair, her hair, falls perfectly without her trying
She's so beautiful, and I tell her every day

God … also made the stars. God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth… And God saw that it was good.

~ Genesis 1:16-18

Then God … created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them

…

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

~ Genesis 1:26-31

What are the stars compared to what He had made in us? Even though we marvel at their beauty in the skies, its pretty crazy to think that God thinks they were just “good” while we were “VERY good”.

Yeah, I know, I know, when I compliment her she won't believe me
And it's so, it's so, sad to think that she don't see what I see
But every time she asks me do I look ok, I say

… “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

~ 1 Samuel 16:7

Isn’t it quite true that many of us can’t really TRULY accept the compliments that people tell us? We doubt the authenticity of their remarks. EVEN MORE when its coming from God and He gives us far greater compliments, expecting us to do so many things, to face so many situations that we do not consider ourselves capable of. And that we don’t see what God sees in us… I don’t think that even needs any explanation.

When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change
Cause you're amazing, just the way you are
And when you smile, the whole world stops and stares for a while
Because girl you're amazing, just the way you are

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

~ Psalm 139:13-14

God made us just the way we are. He did not forget to extend your foot by an extra cm. He did not lose His balance and end up spilling some ink over your body. He did not get drowsy and accidentally knock you on the head, making your growth stunted. He made no mistakes. He wouldn’t even consider reversing any bit of that creation.

Her lips, her lips, I could kiss them all day if she’d let me
Her laugh, her laugh, she hates but I think it's so sexy
She's so beautiful, and I tell her every day

I can’t really find anything for this bit but…

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

~ Proverbs 17:22

So… Laugh more.

Oh, you know, you know, you know, I'd never ask you to change
If perfect's what you're searching for then just stay the same
So, don't even bother asking if you look ok
You know I'll say

God made him who had no sin to be sinfor us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

~ 2 Corinthians 5:21

There’s not much we CAN do to become perfect, cos’ we’re already tainted with sin. But God sent Jesus to die on behalf of our sins so that we become righteous THROUGH Him! We’re still called to do good but its only because of Jesus that we’re made perfect! Nothing else!...

… And that’s the whole purpose of Christmas! To celebrate the birth of Jesus that allowed us to go back to God!!!

So the next time you hear this song, remember that it is being sung over you as well! I hope you enjoyed. :) Merry Christmas to you!

23-12-10 (Thursday) “Forget Not”

2010-12-23T10:16:00.001+08:00

Devotion this morning challenged me. I’m gonna address Christian readers first before the non-Christians. Read up Deuteronomy 8.

When the days go well, when our finance is stable, our results come out better than expected, our relationship with others are smooth-sailing, we just got our promotion… “We become proud and convinced that our goods and great success came about by our ‘own strength and energy.’(vv 14, 17). Its a subtle change that happens as we leave humility(caused by humble circumstances) and embrace arrogance and self-reliance(prompted by prosperity).”¹If things don’t go our way, “thank God for this ‘wilderness’ that can cause you to seek and depend on Him. Although we sometimes forget His face, He never forgets ours.” All circumstances are useful to draw us closer to God, if we choose to do so. God deserves our thanks every single day. Its the least we can do.If you DON’T believe in God, at least remember the people that have been behind your getting to where you are now. Thank your parents, your siblings, your friends, extended family members, teachers and mentors. If you’re not used to verbalizing it, thank them silently in your heart first. Do it over and over, maybe write a card to them and then decide to say it out someday. In the bad times, remember the ones who have been through your bad times together and stayed on despite all odds.

“But remember the LORD your God,

for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth,

and so confirms his covenant,

which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.”

~ Deuteronomy 8:18

¹ “forgetting faces” – Tom Felten, Thursday December 23, Our Daily Journey

11-12-10 (Saturday) “Gratitude: Journey Mercy”

2010-12-11T09:31:00.001+08:00

The media constantly has some breaking news of some train’s head-on collision or derailing, plane engines bursting, multi-vehicle carnage on some highway or a sinking of a certain ship splat across its front/main page. Finding such news is as easy as calculating the probability of it raining in a span of 24 hours here at this time of the year(100%).

I’ve been looking back on all the trips I’ve made over the past decade. There have been many. Way beyond what I would’ve imagined at the start of the decade. I used to take all these trips for granted. Now, I actually imagine the worst case scenario for most of the trips that I make as I embark on it. Coming out of it unscathed at the end of the journey makes me grateful for just that – that I came out unscathed. I’ve been through several incidents where I was SO close to becoming the next day’s headline.

This applies ESPECIALLY for the short, 2-minute trips to somewhere closeby. These trips are the ones that lead to saddest accidents.

Don’t take your safe trips for granted.

09-12-10 (Thursday) “Boundaries”

2010-12-02T11:36:00.001+08:00

So I just got back from a trip including a mission trip and visits to my grandparents’ place. I’ve learnt and thought about a lot throughout this trip.

I realize how the people in Rumah Tatom are quite… Pristine, if I may use the word. Reminds me a bit of the movie “Avatar”. They are not bothered by keeping up with the latest iPhone, they need not have a laptop with the latest Intel processor technology, they need not eat like kings as much as possible(although the wild boar must be quite a treat. I wish I could testify but it wasn’t a festive season so they had no reason to slaughter boars. “Praise God!”, say the animal activists and vegetarians. )

I also think about how they’re kinda missing out on the comforts offered by air-conditioners, flushing toilets, freezers(ICE!!!), automatic toothbrushes, automatic can openers, automatic dishwashers, automatic butt-wipers and whatever else that we have managed to automate so far.I believe this is where they collect rainwater. For use in brushing their teeth and drinking.

Frankly, I don’t know whether to feel sorry for them that they’re missing out on so much goodies that can make their lives so much more comfortable… Or for us that we’re all so tied down to this world with so many things that make our lives comfortable that we don’t wanna let go of this pursuit for more nor let go of what we have. Without the distractions of having to provide every means of “home-improvement” for their families, the people have an AMAZING sense of community. I’m pretty sure THEY got it right when the focus is more on the PEOPLE rather than the SATISFACTION of people.

I think that the only gift we DO bear to people in missions like this is the Gospel. Everything else is THEIR gift to us. The gift of hospitality, the lessons on generosity, the warmth of community, the purity of seclusion from the snares of the world.

“Boundaries don’t keep people out. They fence you in.”

28-11-10 (Sunday) “It All Gets Smaller”

2010-11-28T19:31:00.001+08:00

Do you remember when everything used to be so small? When a loaf of bread looked like it would last a whole year; When the car seemed to be this monster that you had to climb into; When mom and dad seemed like giants with immeasurable strength and would pick you up like a toy…

As the years went by, everything seemed to shrink when in actual fact, it was us growing. A loaf of bread barely lasts half a week; the car is subject to our control with the steering wheel; we grow to the same height as mom and dad(and maybe even taller/bigger)…

At the same time, the world just seems to get smaller and smaller. Just thinking a few days back, I traversed across 4 difference cities in less than 48 hours, crossing 4 state borders, stepping foot on 3 separate pieces of land mass. The world just seems to have shrunk with technology. On the one hand, I think its pretty cool but on the other hand I think its pretty scary as well. Are there anymore places where man has not invaded? Are there still pristine forests as we saw in ‘Avatar’? I’m pretty sure its as limited as the number of outsiders who love durian, most probably even less than that.

Also, with the advent of Facebook and the Internet, I think everybody on the Earth is not separated by six degrees of separation. Its more likely to be four or something lesser now. At the same time… We might be keeping in touch more often but our closeness would probably be distanced by the barrier of the cyber world, suppressing our ability to express ourselves.

16-11-10 (Tuesday) “Ultimate Healing”

2010-11-16T19:00:00.001+08:00

What Cancer Cannot Do

Cancer is so limited…

It cannot cripple love.

It cannot shatter hope.

It cannot corrode faith.

It cannot destroy peace.

It cannot kill friendship.

It cannot suppress memories.

It cannot invade the soul.

It cannot steal eternal life.

It cannot conquer the spirit.

- Author unknownThere are many things that can take the place of “cancer” above. We make it out to be far greater than it is. There are still many things that exist in spite of these trials. Its just a matter of choosing our approach. Of course, that being said, its a totally different story when one is directly affected by these.I remember a preacher once saying, “many people make their weaknesses to be greater than God’s strength.” Guilty as charged.

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”

~ 2 Corinthians 4:7

04-10-10 (Thursday) "Between Here and Then"

2010-11-03T15:16:00.005+08:00

As the time for home draws closer, I'm slowly becoming more nostalgic instead. I'm starting to think of the things that I will be missing here in Canberra. There's quite a lot to be missed after having spent practically two full years here.

Don't get me wrong. I do look forward to going home. I'm just also thinking of the things that I will be missing here. From the homely B & G, to the different facades of the university campus throughout the year, to the people here who are dear to me.

I'm torn between the two "worlds" right now.

At the same time, I'm torn between the world we live in and the future of eternity. There's so much in this mortal life that I have yet to experience, yet there's so much pain and suffering that is all gonna be gone AFTER this life. Its not easy trying to sort these emotions out sometimes.

Living in the present with eyes set on eternity!

There are times when one just needs people around

and there are also times when one just needs to be alone.

31-10-10 (Sunday) “Sometimes, I Wish…”

2010-10-31T21:22:00.001+08:00

That I could reason like ~~Barney Stinson~~ Sheldon Cooper.

That I could speak like Martin Luther King, Jr.

That I could play the piano like Artur Schnabel, the guitar like Sungha Jung, the drums like the drummer from ZZ Top (youtube this!!) any string instrument like the ladies from Bond.

That I could handle a basketball like Jason Williams, a football like Lionel Messi or a shuttlecock like Taufik Hidayat.

That I could jump like Jonathan Edwards or Carl Lewis or Stefan Holm, run like Usain Bolt, swim like Michael Phelps.

There are many things I would imagine how it’d feel to be able to do different stuff every now and then. I would imagine most of you would have similar thoughts at certain points of life.

I’m actually glad I don’t get to do those things above. I thank God for making me the way I am. Normal. Even being normal, my pride is so inflated. Imagine how things would be if I could do some of those crazy stuff.

And in any case… If I COULD do any of those things… I would probably be wishing I could do some OTHER thing. They would never satisfy, I’m pretty sure. There is always more to go for if I can’t even be contented with the things I HAVE been blessed with now.

There are better things to work on that are within reach, in my opinion.

I could learn to love and care for the needy like Mother Theresa.

I could learn to be a real friend, especially in their hard times, especially when it costs me.

I could learn to live less for my own desires, to stop buying unnecessary stuff, to give what doesn’t belong to me in the first place anyway.

I could learn the ways of Jesus in the way He lived, the way He treated people, the way He conducted Himself.

We’re constrained by the time we have.

Therefore, I think its wiser to build bridges for people sometimes.

We can try to love as many as possible but it is not an individual’s ability to take on EVERYONE.

Hence, bridge one person to other people that one would get along well with, I say. :)

26-10-10 (Tuesday) “Home”

2010-10-26T08:43:00.001+08:00

As the time approaches for us to be heading back home, I start to day dream of home and look forward to it. And I think of how great it is to have a home to go back to. I imagine how people who have no home to go back and how it feels. I thank God even for the room I have that I can return to every day after class. The feeling of walking into Central Block, to smell the kitchen and have it permeate my clothes and stay on them doesn’t diminish its loveliness. I remember the days when I leave Canberra and head for home, the very smell of the kitchen invokes some nostalgia. The same when I just come back.

And now I think of the smell of the grass on our lawn; the smell of dirt from all the potted plants lining the driveway at home; the mankyness of the house after being shut off for a long time; the rays of sunlight streaming through the clefts between the curtains, illuminating the dust particles floating in the air. I recall the noise of the neighbour singing(I’m sure that IS what they’re trying to do) karaoke over their home speaker system. The occasional release of the pressure in the brakes of the bus as they pass by our house. The shouts of the other neighbour’s kids on school holidays, playing with their siblings. The barking of pet dogs around the neighbourhood.

Home is close. Home beckons. Home is where the heart is. The eternal home is worth looking to even more…

I think you probably heard of it already. There’s always this “ooOOooOOooo…!!” when it comes to a new relationship, both to those involved and those observing around. I think we gotta be careful cos’ infatuation brings one out-of-this-world but once it lets go of you, you do come crashing back to earth with a whole lot of potential going to waste! I just ask for support from you. We can’t do this alone.

21-10-10 (Thursday) “Who Knows…?”

2010-10-20T23:25:00.001+08:00

“For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him?…”

~ 1 Corinthians 2:11a

It scares me. It scares me a lot how much we don’t know about others. How much is hidden beneath layers and layers of veils.

Behind the smile lies the hurtful words said before…

Behind the heavy eyebags lie many sleepless nights, involuntarily reliving the moments passed, imagining how things could have been done differently…

Behind the wave “hello” lies the intangible but impassable barrier formed between us that we try to climb over, to burrow under, to walk around…

Behind the blank stare lies the many discouragements that compress one to become unable to find a way to love oneself…

Behind the brief introduction lies the many stories that have hurt and cut one so deep the scars BECOME the veins and arteries the heart pumps through…

Behind the many triumphs lie the insatiable need to prove oneself worth something.

Behind the many questions lie the dire need for attention, to remind the self that others MIGHT notice one’s (in)existence…

Behind every laugh at a joke lies a “if only you knew…”

Behind the commonplace, taken-for-granted cheerfulness lies the torment of trying to appear strong, the desire to put others’ needs before one’s own.

Behind the workload accumulated lies the use of distractions to steer one away from crazy, senseless thoughts that otherwise cloud the mind.

Who dares say they have come to grasped what people go through. I myself get lost in all these sometimes, trying to pry my way out as I walk towards my bed, hoping my dreams reveal the “EXIT” sign. There is so much that can be done. But there is only so much I can do. If sth HAS helped, I really dare not take credit for it. My abilities are limited, to say the least. Thank God that He decided to use me in any way that He did. If I make things worse… I am as human as you are. Please do not expect any more of me than you would anyone else. “Me” is not as dependable as is “God”.

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.”

~ Philippians 3:12,13a

13-10-10 (Wednesday) “Chile Mine rescue”

2010-10-13T14:25:00.001+08:00

I write this while watching the 4th man, Bolivian Carlos Mamani, being brought up into the Chilean fresh air.

Just imagine, the suspense building up inside them as they watch their colleagues being reeled out, the anticipation of meeting their family members waiting for them outside, all the “what if…”s going on in their heads as they are elevated at about 1 meter per second, the euphoria these people experience to see light at the top.

I see how emotional the whole scene gets and I think of how I complain when the sun goes behind some clouds some days. I think of how grateful the miners are to see the dark night and I think of how ignorant I am of how blessed I am, to live each day as normal as it can be.

Mamani is out. He looks well. :)

69 days… I think the number of people and their unity played a major role in their survival. Any less people and the chances would’ve been way slimmer. Imagine being apart from all your loved one for that long. Hmmm…

I’m not rejoicing in the disaster but in the triumph over the doom and gloom over the past 2 months and more. Its nice to see the world stop and just watch together, holding onto hope that it turns out for the best. :)

19 years old, the next rescuee…

12-10-10 (Tuesday) “For The People”

2010-10-12T12:31:00.001+08:00

All too easily we start getting used to the people around.

This post I dedicate to the people in my life once again. For the company you have provided. Be it through face-to-face contact, emails, SMSes, MSN or over the phone.

For the wise counsels you have shared.

For the laughter we’ve brought to each other. For the sad moments that you’ve been there for me.

For the activities we’ve done together.

For the motivation and encouragement you’ve showered.

For the silly and candid moments you’ve let me catch on digital film. :P

For the pain that you’ve alleviated through the medicine of empathy. For forgiving me in my worst times.

I think I’ve included every single person in at least 1 category above. I’m sure you’ve done at least 1 of the above. Lemme knw if you really need me to jog your memory. =P

And the people in the photos are not the only people I refer to. There’re just too many people to be squeezed into a frame that no lens is ever wide enough. :)

“I really only love God as much as I love the person I love the least.”

- Dorothy Day

26-09-10 (Sunday) “Sama-sama”

2010-09-26T21:33:00.001+08:00

(Malay)

Arif: Hei, semalam kamu datang hantar hadiah untuk saya, terima kasih banyak-banyak, ya?

Aqmal: Sama-sama. *Senyum*

(English)
Arif: Hey, last night you delivered a gift just for me, thanks a lot, yeah?

Aqmal: You’re welcome. *Smiles* I like the Malay version of “You’re welcome”. Literally translated, it means ‘same same’ or ‘same to you’. It portrays how the opportunity to help someone/make someone’s day itself is something worth being thankful for. Over the years, I have come to realize that it IS really a privilege when you can help someone and that we actually ought to THANK the person who gives us a chance to help them. Thus, “Sama-sama”.On the other side of the helping, I think the Asian upbringing teaches to be less dependent on others, in order to lessen the burden we are imposing on others. I think in terms of manners, that is quite practical but not when we bring to an extreme that we starve others of any opportunity to assist as at all, we put around ourselves a wall of self-sufficiency, telling others that we don’t need them. The process of helping/being helped also opens up a period of connection and communication between two parties, I believe. That’s how people get to know each other at a deeper level, when they help each other out. I think we should offer our needs to others wisely.

Terima kasih kerana membaca sampai habis, ya? ~ Translated: Thanks for reading all the way to the end, yeah?. :)

17-09-10 (Friday) “To My Fellow Malaysians”

2010-09-16T23:12:00.001+08:00

This comes a bit late but I thought its still in the Malaysia Day period anyway. Racism and discrimination has been a major issue in Malaysia all the while, if not more recently. The Malays insist their privileges should not be questioned at all, the minorities complain there is no equality at all. Some claim that Malaysia is the only country that discriminates openly. The government hunts down people who become a threat to them… It is has almost become daily news now. Reading “What’s So Amazing About Grace?” by Philip Yancey, I can’t help but think of how much ungrace there is in Malaysia. We all demand for our rights to be preserved. We claim that we have been treated unjustly. We insist the government isn’t doing its job, to improve the welfare of the citizens.

They insist that they earned their privileges as “Sons of the Earth”. They claim that they are already being very tolerant, letting us stay on in the country. They also lambast the government for unnecessary actions.

I think both sides have their valid points in the argument and there can never be a conclusion to an argument as such. The problem, therefore, lies not in the validity of each sides’ arguments but on whomever is willing to yield first. Martin Luther King, Jr sparked a big change in America through peaceful strategies. Nelson Mandela used no hurtful words to achieve unity in South Africa. I hope Malaysia can go through a similar change in the sentiments of its people. I dream of the day when we stop complaining, talking each other down, pointing fingers, backstabbing, putting on fronts and cursing each other. I dream of the day we CHOOSE to love one another, to see each other as fellow countrymen, not as people of different races, to embrace our differences as the very reason we’re the same, that we’re Malaysian.

Do you think its possible? Don’t use the “I’ll do it if THEY do it first” line… Its like using a vote to decide who wins when you only have 2 different parties with separate opinions voting! Are YOU willing to do it first? Will you choose NOT to complain about the government, to stop talking down Malaysia as the worst country around whenever someone asks you how your country is like? Will you stop talking negatively about other races but tell of how beautifully diverse our country is culturally? … And if I may, DARE you sound like you are proud to be Malaysian? Its not about IGNORING the “evils” of our country. I’m just saying that if its so bad already, there’s no point making it worse, right?

I hope I did not offend anybody. I have no intention at all to do as such. If you are offended, you have my sincere apologies.

I will try to walk that talk I just did earlier. But you have to help me here. I have strong hope in my country and my fellow countrymen.

Happy 47th Malaysia Day, Malaysia + our former countrymate, Singapore.

15-09-10 (Wednesday) “You know you’re in love when…”

2010-09-14T22:42:00.001+08:00

… When uh… You’ll know. Or you already do. You don’t even need me to tell you that. That was just to catch your attention. :)

I like the comparison of ourselves to seeds. Seeds only produce when they’re buried underground, when their own significance is covered under a pile of dirt. Then, they die to themselves in order to produce sprouts, which eventually turn into the trees that cover the earth. If a seed just stays as it is, no changes to its circumstance whatsoever, that’s all its gonna be – a seed. It could’ve turned into a massive fruit tree that produces fruit for the animals around, shelter for the birds of the air and even resource for mankind. It would produce a hundredfold in its return through all the seeds it produces! Its potential is endless! But only if it dies to its “seedyness'”

When WE start letting our SELFISHNESS die away and consider others better than ourselves(Phil 2:3). We unleash a whole chain of happenings. We make others feel loved, significant, appreciated… They start realising that they themselves aren’t too bad after all and so they move away from having gratify their self-esteem and they in turn start to encourage OTHERS… Its a lovely cycle. But it HAS to start somewhere. The starting point’s usually the hardest point to find in a cycle. The points AFTER that starting point may not necessarily work in favour of the cycle but I’d like to think that they usually do. :)

I can see why wisdom is one of the spiritual gifts. It is not easily obtained and it is priceless.

11-09-10 (Saturday) “The Eucharist”

2010-09-10T23:50:00.001+08:00

For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. ~ 1 Cor 11:26

A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. ~ 1 Cor 11:28

During the Bible Study today, I think of how The Lord’s Supper is done back home. Only those who’re baptized and are above 12 years old can partake of this sacred communion. I think of the year I turned 12, of the first time I took the Holy Communion in church. All the time I was thinking: Oh yeah… I’m finally old enough to do this. Take that, you little primary school kids! Too bad you’re not old enough yet. You only get to get some ‘words of blessing’ from the pastor. It sure sucks to be you. I think it IS a good thing to have an age limit to the whole thing just so that people don’t make little of the whole sacrament but I think its not justified in that the whole point is not explained to those who do not know. I think it kinda backfired for me all the time instead, taking the Holy Communion as a ‘rite of passage’, if you will, a CHRISTIAN ‘rite of passage’ instead. I am quite ashamed of my attitude all those years. I think it just too easy to get used to the whole gift of salvation. I don’t realize how much was sacrificed for my petty, little life. How a man who lived perfectly, without sin, had to suffer pain, persevere through embarassment, endure separation from One loved as the Self, for no logical reason but love.Even more than that, the whole idea of God coming down to the humble that He CREATED, to walk on the dirt-paved paths, to breathe in the musky air, to come into contact with germs… The very God who created everything!! All for me! All for you!!

It IS good to remind myself of the extent of this love every time I partake of the Holy Communion, even every single day that I wake up to!

06-09-10 (Monday) “Pride”

2010-09-05T22:53:00.001+08:00

Oh why are you so common everywhere?

You make us swear at each other. You do not let us back down. Convincing us that it is HIM/HER/THEM that is/are at fault. Why should I apologize/admit I’m wrong when I clearly am not?

You make us insist that the whole thing should run according to what we planned it out to be and not following that silly, disorganized plan for this.

You make leaders treat their subordinates more like their servants, ignoring their suggestions as pish-tosh and their cries for kindness as laziness.

You make our wives submit to us because we are superior and not because we have laid down our lives sacrificially as Jesus did for the church.

You make Peace sound like a kid, resorting to childish and senseless actions in its making.

You cause us to avoid face-to-face resolutions, determined to let the other person suffer in loneliness, wrecked with guilt. You stop us from just resolving the whole issue with a simple, honest, down-to-earth conversation.

You tell us that we deserve all that glory and praise. That we’ve earned it. “All those crowns, those trophies, those certificates… Its all you. Never mind those ppl who supported you along the way. They didn’t have to go through all the toiling YOU went through.”

You tell us we’re better. Better than that guy who is struggling to form a proper sentence. Better than them who clear up the waste that we left in our wake. Better than them who have to sleep on the benches in the cold every single night.

Occupied vs Available (My paparazzi skills being tested out here. :D)

You know who/what I’m talking about? I wish everyone would be able to struggle and overcome Pride. The more one denies having it, the more one has of it. The worst thing is that we don’t realize it working in us most of the time. I can say that from my own experience and perspective. *Sigh*

“There is perhaps no one of natural desires so hard to subdue as pride. Disguise it. Struggle with it. Stifle it. Mortify it as much as one pleases. It is still alive and will every now and then peep out to show itself…. Even if I could conceive that I have completely overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility.”

~ Benjamin Franklin on his 13 virtues

(Couldn’t have put it in better words…)

29-08-10 (Monday) “Thank You”

2010-08-30T21:19:00.001+08:00

This song rings true right now. I just felt the urge to share this with you. I hope that you share my sentiments. :)

Thank You for Your kindness
Thank You for Your mercy
Thank You for the cross
Thank You for the price You paid

Thank You for salvation
Thank You for unending grace
Thank You for Your hope
Thank You for this life You gave

There is no one like You
There is no one like You, God
All my hope is in You
Jesus, Jesus

Thank You for Your promise
Thank You for Your favor
And thank You for Your love
And everything You've done for me

To Your name
We give all the glory
To Your name
We give all the praise
You're alive
Our God everlasting
So let Your face shine on us

Have a great week ahead. :D

29-08-10 (Sunday) “Grateful For The Darker Days”

2010-08-28T22:07:00.002+08:00

This may sound a bit morbid and weird but I really DO thank God for the days that were hard, the days that were challenging. Without them, I would not be as appreciative of the here and now as it is. Its so easy to be praising God when everything’s turning out fine, when all your applications go through, when all your work has been given recognition and good feedback, when there aren’t any worries in life, pretty much… Then when the hard times come… THAT’S when its all revealed. What is your response to all the bad things, all the hard things? It is only the things that hurt that make you remember harder and to learn a stronger lesson from it. And it is those very things that don’t feel nice that wind up strengthening you and moulding you.On a side note… Spring is coming! Praise God for the wonderful weather! Praise God for clear, blue skies with the warm sun shining down on us. Reminds me how God is constantly watching over us!

24-08-10 (Tuesday) “A Spirit of Thanksgiving”

2010-08-24T23:08:00.001+08:00

“Dear God, can You please help me with my plans for the summer?”

“Please, God. Help me concentrate while I study and help me do well for my exams.”

“Oh God, please do something in his/her life. Show him/her that You’re in control and take away all his/her suffering.”

I think that sounds like the prayer pretty much all of us do everyday. I’m not saying its wrong to ask for stuff. The same way parents enjoy pampering their kids as far as they can without spoiling them nor giving them a false ideal of the world, I’m quite sure God enjoys blessing us with certain desires of our hearts too.

I just think that things would be very different if we start PRAYING differently. I think our constant prayers of request might end up clouding our vision of what God HAS been doing so far in our lives. We cross out the things that God has answered from our prayer journals then move onto the next point, praying fervently for those points thereafter!

Our parents have rightfully taught us to say,”Thank you” whenever we receive something. There’s no reason this can’t be applied to the One who gave us life, right?

Here’s my challenge: Change your petition-heavy prayers to GRATITUDE-heavy prayers. Start small. If you can’t give thanks for a lot, try just give thanks for 2 EXTRA things that you haven’t given thanks for regularly. The change in your prayer changes you from being focused on wanting God to fulfil more to being more aware of what He HAS helped you achieve. This doesn’t just apply to Christians. If you don’t believe in prayer, then just be grateful for 2 things that has happened today. Then another 2 tomorrow. See how your OWN perspective change.

16-08-10 (Monday) “Freedom in the lack of it”

2010-08-16T15:42:00.001+08:00

As I walked to class this morning, I was a tad early so I decided to slow my pace down and have a good look around.

The clear blue skies take on a hue of grey as the rain clouds gathered…

The trinklets of rain pattering all over my jacket…

The female duck quacking away intermittently, as if shivering from the cold…

The lone magpie watching me walk by as it picked away at the ground…

I imagine how care-free life is like for those avians. Wake up when the sun rises, starting looking for food, eat their fill, attack(or threaten to, at least( the annoying humans that zoom past quickly, find a mate, fertilize eggs, fly back to nest, rest, repeat with slight adjustments to their schedule here and there…

Does sound like a good life, without having to go through all the stress and worries and frustrations we humans endure pretty much day in and day out, eh? We get one break every half or year (or every year for those of you working), they get a break pretty much their whole life!

Before you start thinking about karma and how you’d like to be a bird in the next life, consider this as well:

Remember the last exam you took, how you had to toil for a whole 2 months and (most likely) more just for the few days of exam papers? Now think of the days AFTER that. Think of the joy and the feeling of liberation upon completing the very last paper! Maybe you didn’t do too well. It just gave you greater reason to do better for the NEXT test, no?

And the trying times when a loved one had to undergo heavy medical treatment for a disease/ailment s/he did not deserve at all? If s/he hadn’t gone through that, would you have treasured her/him as much as you do now? Would you have stopped that “Nah… Its only happening over there, its not gonna happen to me.” mentality?

What about all the frustrations you had to endure with your friends? Look further down the road and you realize that it was in those hardest times that your most faithful companions could show their support! If life were ALWAYS smooth-sailing and stress-free, then we’d start getting so full of ourselves we start wondering WHY we need friends to begin with, no?

I think God is just amazing in the way He created us and how He set life out for us. Sure those birds have nothing to worry about. But it also means they have nothing much to rejoice about, right? They get their fill everyday without knowing it cos’ there’s not much suffering(maybe not the case for the birds at the Gulf of Mexico after being smeared with petrol though). We go through tears and pain and hardships but what we get out of it, especially regarding our personal growth, makes it all worth it. We just can’t see it through our teary, red eyes.

Emotions. God made it. He came down and had a go with it. Now you can’t complain that He doesn’t know what you’re going through.

15-08-10 (Sunday) "Who Am I?"

2010-08-15T16:44:00.003+08:00

I am constantly and continually encouraged by this song.

Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt
Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are

I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
A vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours, I am Yours

Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt
Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart

Who am I, that the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love and watch me rise again
Who am I, that the voice that calmed the sea
Would call out through the rain
And calm the storm in me

Whom shall I fear?
'Cos I am Yours

There's no further place I have to look if I'm looking for love.

I hope you remember that YOU are loved too. Be blessed.

12-08-10 (Thursday) “How He Loves Us”

2010-08-12T22:50:00.002+08:00

Jesus died not just for those who were grateful and repentant. He also died for those who are still ignorant of Him.

We, in the same way, are not to only help those who will be grateful to us. We are not called to help only those who look like they WILL appreciate our help. We are called to help ALL the needy and NOT to expect anything in return. Not even gratitude. We are called to love and to help even those who dislike us the most.

I’ve said it before and this applies still. If it were easy, it needn’t have been a commandment. It’d be no big deal if EVERYONE could do it. It would be plain normal.

He is jealous for me
Love's like a hurricane, I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy
When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory
and I realize just how beautiful You are and how great your affections are for me.

09-08-10 (Monday) “No Man Is An Island”

2010-08-09T14:40:00.001+08:00

I can’t deny the truth in it but I find that saying quite scary sometimes. Like now. We have to depend on other humans, who falter and disappoint at times, to go on with life and there’s really not many alternatives to it. Sure, God is the solid rock we rely on… But He still made us to need each others’ companionship to function properly. Its scary cos’ its true.You know what’s worse? That I’m one of those faltering and disappointing ppl that others depend on as well. Its not an easy burden to bear. I’d like to be of better “use” (for lack of a better word) than that, really.

And I still wonder…

08-08-10 (Sunday) “Everything”

2010-08-07T22:48:00.001+08:00

I remember back in primary/secondary school when our teachers taught us some tips on writing essays/compositions. One of the tips given was that when we ran out of things to write for a list of things, we should just use “etc.” or “… dan lain-lain” in Malay.And then I think of how I’m used to write cards for others, thanking them for something, or just for their birthdays… And I realize that when I dunno what to say to them, I end up just saying “thank you for EVERYTHING!” That sounds very similar to “thank you for etc”, no? Not very personal, is it? The same thing goes into my prayers too. “Thank You, God. For… For everything! You’re just amazing! You’re… You’re… EVERYTHING! You… Made EVERYTHING!!” I think God deserves even MORE specific praise. Why not thank Him for the cross? For your breath of life right now? For the warm and cosy place you call home, where you avoid the elements of the world? For that friend who helped you pick up the books this afternoon? For the teacher who spends time correcting all your mistakes in calculation? For the clear, blue skies?

You are God alone
From before time began
You were on Your throne
Your are God alone
And right now
In the good times and bad
You are on Your throne
You are God alone

04-08-10 (Wednesday) “Thorn In My Flesh”

2010-08-04T07:59:00.001+08:00

2 Corinthians 12:7-10

“To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

My prayers have sounded something like this for a long time now. That “the Lord will take it away from me.” Now, I’ve come to realize how even these things have been for my benefit though it may not seem so in the present. I thank God for the weaknesses in me. Those are what keep me in check. They are constant reminders that I have plenty of work to do with myself, that I am far, FAR (in fact, light years away) from being perfect. Way to the moon

I’m still not at the level where I can say “I delight in weaknesses, in hardships and in difficulties” but I can say that “I delight in having a God IN THE MIDST of all these. A God Who cares and Who watches over.”

“For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

30-07-10 (Friday) “What would the ‘up’s be?”

2010-07-30T01:20:00.002+08:00

.“Life is a rollercoaster so don’t fight it, just gotta ride it” sang Ronan Keating.I absolutely agree with that. There’re always times where things just go great in life. And then there’re those times where things just roll down the hill like the cheese in Gloucestershire, South West England. It is in those downward spiral times when we sigh and say,”C’est la vie…”A beach at the Bays of Fire, Tasmania.

But I say, “C’EST LA VIE!!!” Bays of Fire, Tasmania

What’s the point if life were all just mountaintop experiences?! I say thank God for such a blessing in the form of those sad times and the trying times! If there were no falling down, we would have no idea how high up we were, right? And as they say, “The bigger they are, the harder they fall”. If the fall hurt a lot, it probably means there’s a lot in you to have had such a tumble! It just means you had HEAPS of potential energy that got converted into kinetic energy, which was converted into hurt energy. Praise God for having brought you high up there.

Bays of Fire, Tasmania

What WOULD those “up”s be if there were not “down”s, right? :)

The Quadrangle at the University of Sydney

p.s Its also interesting that the downhill analogy suits this statement as well. Its so easy to just keep going downhill instead of trying to stop the momentum in order to go upwards again, eh?

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,

because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete,

not lacking anything.

~ James 1:2-4

21-07-10 (Wednesday) “How Much Removed or How Much Left?”

2010-07-21T20:47:00.001+08:00

While sweeping up at Subway a few days back, I thought to myself, ‘Wow, that’s quite a lot of dirt I managed to sweep away’, staring at the pile of dirt while beaming to myself. And then I looked back at where I had already swept. I noticed that there were still specks of dirt here and there. chemist = pharmacy

Don’t we do the same with our own selves sometimes? We think: Hmmm… I’ve managed to change this habit here, and that one there… *pats self on the back* Good job! *slacks off* Isn’t the state of the floor more important than how much dirt was removed? If I went to a dirty place and managed to only clean it a bit, isn’t it still worse than the cleaner place that I only touched a bit? If there has been progress in life, good on you! Keep it up!! Its never safe to stop somewhere in life, thinking we’ve gotten there already. Look back on the state of your character and determine to clean up all the tiny specks of dirt. And trust me… If you’ve done sweeping before… There will ALWAYS be something that you missed.

17-07-10 (Saturday) “Departure”

2010-07-17T15:41:00.001+08:00

Its that time of the year when people are leaving Canberra as they graduate or have finished their time on exchange here. Its always sad seeing people leave but now its been happening so often, one just gets used to moving on with life. That doesn’t mean one gets desensitized to ppl leaving. It just means one has come to realize how this is just a normal phase of life that happens over and over again.And in the same way, one starts learning to appreciate the ppl one has around. Instead of counting down to the days that are left together, one enjoys every moment that can be spent with the ppl around. One stops to think how those little squabbles really weren’t that big a deal, that if one took a step back and admits one’s wrong, its definitely worth the “shame” rather than having regret not spent more time with others. I think I’ve learnt the same lesson.

03-07-10 (Sunday) "All Over" updated

2010-07-04T12:10:00.002+08:00

Just been away on a vacation for the whole 2 last weeks with Steve, Jasper, Kar Wei, Michele Chai and Andrea.
Now I'm at Sydney Airport waiting for my flight that's not in another 2 hours to Coffs Harbour.
All I've got to say is this. taking a break can be quite tiring as well. We men really ARE creatures of routine. Lose that routine for a long period and it starts feeling quite lousy.So... For those who're busy in the routine of the studying life and working life, do count your blessings as well. Its not necessarily a bad thing to do the same thing constantly. :)

19-06-10 (Saturday) "Orchestra"

2010-06-18T22:48:00.002+08:00

Went for the Canberra Youth Orchestra concert last night. Pretty cool stuff. They had harps!!!

In some ways, life is like an orchestra, isn't it? We're all individual players of various instruments, with everyone contributing to different parts of the whole piece.

On our own, the sound can be pretty normal and even plain annoying at times. When we work together, the music produced is easily majestic and jawdropping.

We make mistakes along the way but the others cover up for us in those times. They help us out. Our mistake goes by almost unnoticed but yet when everyone works together properly, the harmony is clear. The melody is soothing to all those present. And more importantly... People don't really notice what every individual does but gives their attention to the Conductor, eh? That's who is running the show, keeping everything in line.

p.s. All the best, England. I think you'll be needing it...

13-06-10 (Sunday) “Testing”

2010-06-13T19:36:00.001+08:00

James showed me how to use “Windows Live Writer” so this is just a trial.

Here’s a picture from when Mom and Dad came over to Canberra. Part of Lake Burley-Griffin.

11-06-10 (Friday) "Pleading Not Guilty"

2010-06-11T19:32:00.013+08:00

You know that feeling when someone accuses you of something you didn't do and you just HAD to shout it out that you didn't do it?

Like the time your brother/sister lied to mom/dad that it was you who started the fight
Like the time when someone puts someone else's eraser in your bag and told the teacher it was you who stole it
Like the time when you did your own homework but the teacher found two similar answers in the homework and your good ol' pal insists s/he asked you to do your own work but decided to just let you copy HIS answer instead?

Its only right that we speak up for our innocence, don't you think so? How can we let that other person get away with this bad thing s/he did? If we let him go, he might just go on doing MORE bad stuff until it becomes part of his character so we better stop it earlier on by pleading for justice on our behalf, right? I would think that's only the RIGHT thing to do.

But here comes a whole different story told 2,000 years ago when a Man free from any blame decided to take all the rubbish and fallacy thrown His way and yet not speak a single word of retaliation. Here was Jesus, whose perpetrators "testified falsely against Him, but their statements did not agree." (Mark 14:56) Everyone was throwing unproven claims against Him with no basis on truth at all... "but Jesus gave him no answer."(John 19:9b)

"Jesus answered, 'You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above." (John 19:11a)

It takes quite a lot of humility to silence oneself to accept such insults and yet keep quiet about it, just taking as it is. It takes REAL love to take on another's punishment. And punishment SO severe. The only thing I could think of, putting myself in Jesus' shoes reading this, was "I don't have to take all this crap!" but yet Jesus did! For me. For you. For the love of us. Can you see it yet? Does it remind you of how it was when you first came to Him?

I do not believe in stopping living just because of exams coming around the corner.
The closer exams are, the more I live life. :)

01-06-10 (Tuesday) "3 Magic Words"

2010-06-01T21:28:00.007+08:00

Its week 13 already. Final week of the semester. Its quite scary how the whole semester just passed me by like that. Yet through it all, its always such a good feeling to look back and just see how God has been faithful to me.

I was just thinking of how the phrase "I love you" works. It seems to me that this phrase only comes out when the other party does something nice to us.

I help cook you dinner... "I love you".
I buy you some milkshake when you are not expecting it... "I love you".
I get some cookies and hang 'em on your door when you're feeling down... "I love you".
(All 3 of my examples somehow happened to involve food but those were the only examples I could think of now, sorry.)

What about when I am tired and I say some nasty words?... No "I love you"?
What about when I am a total jerk and just brush past you amidst our 'cold war'?... No "I love you"?
What about when I hang up all your calls and ignore your messages?... No "I love you"?

Its easy to love others when they're in their top form, when nothing wrong can be found in them. But love doesn't just happen when they're at their peak, right? Its in the deepest, darkest, lowest, ugliest moments of their lives that one's love is tested.

"I love you" now for sure... Who wouldn't love me when I am such a gentleman? But what about the times when I uttered not a single loving word? Try saying "I love you" then. Have a think about whether you actually love the person or just that small deed that s/he did.

"Would you love yourself if you were someone else but you knew every single detail of yourself?" quoted Andy Low from his pastor. Yet God chose to love us still. Every single detail of us. Even the bad and the ugly.

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth
so that you have sincere love for your brothers,
love one another deeply,
from the heart
~ 1 Peter 1:22

2010-06-01T09:18:00.003+08:00

I just wanna thank God that I have managed to NOT lose anything for quite a significant period already. That alone is enough to testify His faithfulness. :)

23-05-10 (Sunday) "First to throw a stone"

2010-05-23T12:32:00.003+08:00

"... 'If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.' "
~ John 8:7

I find that very true. I find it so easy to be finding faults in people, to judge them for what they've done, how they've behaved. Its almost EFFORTLESS! And then this verse comes to me.

*Quack Quack, Quack!*
translated: "Stop taking pictures, I tell you!"
How easy it is for anyone to find faults in me for all the things I'VE done too. But noooOOoo.... Often (Pretty much all the time) they opt NOT to do it. Or they bring it out in a constructive way. I wish I could say the same for myself.

*QUACK... QUACK QUACK!!!!*
translated: "I SAID... STOP TAKING PICTURES!!!! "
Don't you agree that this world would be such a peaceful place if we stopped pointing fingers at others and start examining OURSELVES when a moment arises that tempts us to judge others? Our self-examination would more than suffice to shut us up, done honestly. Quarrels would diminish, strife would cease, anger would fade away. Ahhh... bliss...

16-05-10 (Sunday) "I've Missed You."

2010-05-16T06:01:00.007+08:00

I've missed you.

I miss the days back in Malaysia,
When I see you every day, literally.
Sometimes, from the very moment I open my eye ah,
I can feel you already. No, really!
(Sounds very "Avatar"-ish but its okay lah)

I miss the days when I didn't have to work so much,
When you were always by my side, making me glow.
Then, I came over to Aus, you increasingly elude my clutch,
I remember having to run miles, a few days ago,
just to see a glimpse of you, to feel your touch.

Many of the other girls hate you to the core
And I can fully understand why.
You make me wet and sticky and sometimes want more
"There're some things money can't buy"
Some, like you, that I just adore.

Your appearance always made me feel good
To give me assurance that my work was gold
You were there when some things get misunderstood
You were there when I was scared, albeit a bit cold
Back home, you were always there, whenever you could

I miss you more and more as it gets colder, this season
Its been quite a while since we last met
I think of you when I play sports, such as badminton
I think of you in the sunshine, where on the grass, I sat
I think of you even when there is no reason!

... I've missed you sorely, my dear, my sweat.

:) Come on... I'm sure you never saw that coming.
Hope it brightens up your day! =D

09-05-10 (Sunday) "A Subway Post"

2010-05-08T22:25:00.003+08:00

While at work at Subway a few weeks ago, my colleague, Joel Arthur, said some words of wisdom without realizing it.

While cleaning up the serving unit, Joel came over to check on my progress and noticing some stuff left behind, he asked me to clean it some more, saying, "Its not that its not clean. Its just that the cleaner it is, the more obvious these small little dirt and leftover stuff are."

Now, isn't there just so much truth packed in that statement? Think of it applied to our lives too! When we start cleaning up the acts in our lives, we can't neglect those small things that still stain it. Once the major bits are cleaned up, the small faults in us just become all the more obvious, don't they?

Now take that for some all-in-a-day's-work wisdom!

For those of you who like taking pictures
and would like to practise your smiles,
I recommend working as a Sandwich Artist at Subway.
All that "Cheese?" surely helps train up your smile. :D

30-04-10 (Friday) "Accents"

2010-04-30T22:19:00.004+08:00

I've just come to realize that I've started to love accents a lot. I like how people from different countries all speak English different.

Its just so lovely how you can tell where a person is from after hearing them speak a few sentences. Its just awesome how it causes differentiation between us.
I just love how God made us all different. And different we all are. And that difference makes us normal. (Ironic, eh?)

Yet sometimes its these differences that make "LOVE" such an impossibility. We can't seem to love certain people because they're different. Because they can't live up to OUR expectations.

... And other times because they just remind us of bits of ourselves, though we don't realize it, eh?

Then again, why would it have to be a commandment if it were that easy? It would barely be a teaching then. 物以稀为贵, they say in Mandarin. Translated, The value of something is in its rarity. If love were so easy to find, then we wouldn't make much of it, eh? That's why I truly value and cherish my loved ones. That's probably you. :)

I hope this doesn't affect your faith.
You have my prayers.

25-04-10 (Sunday) "Opinions"

2010-04-25T11:52:00.006+08:00

I've been seeing lots of getting together and calling it quits over my short period here.

Ducklings getting all lovey-dovey.
It sure can be quite a sweet scene seeing people get together but sometimes there's just that feeling that says to yourself "Nah, that is not gonna work out." and I wish I could just tell people that at times and save them all the pain and negative stuff. But... what's the point of saying such things?

Come to think of it, if I myself were to get into something and my "gut feeling" tells me "Nah, this is not gonna work out", I wouldn't even listen to myself!

From a different point of view, if I told you that s/he is worth it, you might be led into putting too much effort into something that wasn't gonna work out anyway. On the other hand, if I told you to let her/him go, I might've caused you to lose hope in a relationship that could very well have been the one you were looking for!

I'm saying this regarding relationships but in fact this kinda relates to everything we have opinions on, whether it be reviews of movies (Clash of the Titans ~ Worst movie I have watched in "3D". Barely 3D at all, Kraken is unleashed after centuries and dies within minutes. -.- Forgot to warm up ah?), a certain restaurant's menu, recently released songs, lecturers... Pretty much anything you can comment on, really.

My point? Be cautious. In what you say. Even if its a passing comment. Extra weight may be put onto your words by the other party. More than you know.

... And this is why I really mean "No comment" at times.

I hope my obsession with the ducklings isn't TOO obvious. :D

21-04-10 (Wednesday) "You know things have changed..."

2010-04-21T19:16:00.006+08:00

... When you had to think of things to do when you're free and now Facebook is always making you run late.

... When you can say whatever you want, whenever you want and not have it held against you and now you have to think through your words carefully before saying them, sometimes having to rephrase your whole thought.

... When 400 meters used to seem never ending and 42.195km is the real challenge now.

... When you used to wonder how guys can remotely like girls and every one of them make you turn your head now.

... When it would hit sub 10 degrees Celsius in mid-summer and now its still 20 degrees Celsius in the middle of autumn.

... When you woke up at 5 or 6 am just to beat the rush hour to reach school on time and now 8 am is considered insanely early to wake up for class.

... When mobile phones used to be a luxury, VGA camera phones were a VERY rich kid's toy and now 3.2 MP camera phones are the norm with smart phones starting to appear in everyone's hands.

... When there were just Power Rangers, Captain Planet and Sesame Street and now there's Man Vs Wild, How I Met Your Mother and Two and A Half Men.

... When your parents drove you everywhere and set the limits for attending any event and now you're the one with the keys (though parents still pay for the fuel) and "curfew" becomes a myth.

Life is full of changes. Many "firsts" appear along life's way every now and then. I still remember many "firsts" but I shall save that for next time.

Change can be desirable. Change can be good. But you know what? Sometimes, its good to always have a constant. And that constant is God and His Words.

:)

Yes, I am absolutely in love with those ducklings!!

20-04-10 (Tuesday) "Sorry for this ranting"

2010-04-20T21:07:00.005+08:00

Sometimes... I just feel repulsed...

This is shit. Small shit it is. But it still is.
... Seeing certain just makes me go... "Whaaaaatttt.....??! Are you serious....?? *sigh*"

I think its more because of the more recent turn of events and stuff that have popped up? Anyway... Wanted to end on a better note, so...

THE DUCKLINGS ARE BACK!!

18-04-20 (Sunday) "A Speech For You"

2010-04-17T22:16:00.004+08:00

It didn't come out exactly as I planned but this is what it was supposed to sound like, with the context adjusted to fit here.

"There's a saying that goes: You don't know what you have till its gone. I believe that this is usually the case but I don't believe that it should stay that way. We always stop to think about all the good times we've had with the people we had around us only when they're no longer around. In every season of life, there are always people leaving us as they move on and we only start to dwell on the memories we had with them after they've left.

For a change, I'd like to do that while they're still around. I'd like to appreciate all the people around me. And what better occasion to do it than on a birthday, which, instead of being focused on me, can be centered around my dear friends and family for a change. After all, my birthday is the anniversary of my birth and what would my life be if I did not have the people that I have had or still have around, right?

Every one of you have helped shape me into who I am right now and I have only gratitude to express to all of you. This post I dedicate as a form of celebration of your presence in my life.

Similarly, I'd like you to appreciate all the people in your own lives as well. Think about your own family members, your parents, the friends who've played different roles in your life, like friends who drive you to shopping every week and let you drive their car even though its illegal, friends who play sports with you and show you how its done, friends who get scared by you and bear with it, friends who become closer than siblings, friends who challenge you to foosball when you're bored, friends who play computer games with you and scold you for being a noob and of course, friends who just make your day better by being who they are.

Having been shown so much love from God above, its only natural that this love overflows. Therefore, I wanna say to you now that sincerely, I love you, my friend/mom/dad/bro/sis/cousin/grandma/grandpa! Even though I may not seem very loving at times, It IS actually true!

The more I go through,
the more I realize it should be less gone through for myself.

16-04-10 (Friday) "Different Capacities"

2010-04-15T21:51:00.003+08:00

I just wanted to share this. 1 John 4:12 reads "No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us." Refer back to verse 8 - "Whoever does not love does not know God, because GOD IS LOVE."

The Life Application Study Bible adds something that struck me. "John isn't telling us how many people to love, but how much to love the people we already know. Our job is to love faithfully the people God has given us to love, whether there are two or two hundred of them."

OCF Cookout 2010! Massive eating and fellowshipping!!
I like the truth in that. If everyone were an extrovert, then everyone would split their attention among so many other people. Whereas because of our differences, introverts show individualized love to the blessed few. I'm glad God made us all different and I believe we all should celebrate our differences. You needn't be super-friendly and super-outgoing to be effective for God. In fact, there are definitely a few who can't help but give thanks for your coming into their lives! God gave us all different capabilities and doesn't expect more than we can offer. So... Just do what you can! :)

I make a mean Mongolian Lamb dish. BAAAA-AAAAAHHH!!!! Nola, actually cheat one. Use those packet sauce.

Hmmm... Yeah, that was probably a mistake.

11-04-10 (Sunday) "Easy to Say, Hard to Practise"

2010-04-10T22:21:00.004+08:00

Love is something infinitely hard to actually fully grasp hold of.

It is said that when we love someone, we wanna find out more about people. And in finding out more about people, we're supposed to end up loving them more.

One thing I'm struggling with is this. We're all flawed in some ways, whether people know it or not, right? So, when we get to know someone else deeper, we spend more time with them... We eventually see more and more of their other side that probably is hidden from normal "acquaintances", right? That would mean their image in our mind becomes tarnished. They become less likable. Most probably less lovable as well. So does that mean we end up loving them less instead?

Do you get my argument there?

For instance, the very first people we love are obviously family, right? But home is usually where all our negative traits are shown. We put on a perfect kid image outside but we hurl insults at our siblings, retaliate disrespectfully to our parents... How is it possible to even be loving someone like that? I can imagine myself being very unloved by my siblings back in the past but only making it so far on our blood relation alone. I mean... How DO you love in those circumstances?

"Love is patient, love is kind." Patience is not a strong trait of mine. Kindness.... Hmmm... To a certain extent? Still working on it though. :\

"It (Love) does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud." Not envy your siblings? Friends?

"It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs." Sarcasm counts as rudeness, I believe. Self-seeking... I dare say this is one of my biggest weakness! Not easily angered eh... That one already failed like umpteenth time dy. Keeps no record of wrongs. Don't think that's achieveable by own efforts.

"It always protects, always trusts..." I hurt more than I protect and I doubt people easily.

"(it) always hopes, always perseveres." This one I don't really understand.

I realize that I haven't shown my true colours to most people too. If you find me very lovable and likable (not saying that I AM, just saying "IF"), you probably only know me skin deep. Once you reach the point where you're starting to have a hard time liking me... You're probably getting there.

I'm glad that GOD is Love and we're not the ones defining it. Where would we be headed if Man is Love, eh?

I've finished reading P & P by Elisabeth Elliot. She touched on the point of how when we "fall in love" with someone, the person becomes perfect in our eyes, we just can't see any faults in the person. She ties it in with how this is good in the sense that we should view them as they would be when the day comes when s/he is transformed into the glorious body just as Christ's is when He comes again. Good point eh?

Love is easy to say but hard to put into practice.

I don't think I will be pursuing any for a while. Don't think I am capable. Yet.

2010-04-08T12:43:00.002+08:00

I feel some evil rising......

07-04-10 (Wednesday) "Is there room?"

2010-04-07T21:20:00.004+08:00

After all this while, I begin to wonder... Is there room for selfishness?

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is NOT SELF-SEEKING, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs." 1 Corinthians 13: 4,5

Reading "Passion & Purity" has reminded me that the answer is really "No."

... But inevitably, our humanity(i.e. sinfulness) gets in the way and causes us to constantly bring ourselves to the front of the whole picture. We ask things like, "Surely, I deserve at least SOME form of repayment, no?" or "The least he could do was (insert whatever pleases self at the moment), what's so hard about that?"...

Its no easy task. We can't manage on our own. Give us the strength to do this, God!

"Love interprets things in favor of the one loved...
The trouble, of course, is that we must learn to love people.
People are sinners.
Love must be patient when it is tempted to be impatient.
Love must not be selfish, even if other people are.
Love does not take offence, though people are offensive sometimes.
There are wrongs, but love won't keep score."
~ Elisabeth Elliot
Passion & Purity

02-04-10 (Friday) "Are you here, oh love?"

2010-04-01T21:59:00.004+08:00

I've been reading this book "Passion & Purity" recently. I gotta say, it challenged my thoughts in more ways than one.

I think its quite safe to say that the majority of single people always ponder upon marriage and love and wonder when and where theirs is gonna come.

I think I should change to the pronoun "we" here...

So uh... WE think that love is something so beautiful, with our hearts skipping multiple beats over the period of having seen that special someone every time. We think that entering into a relationship is such an experience beyond words, where everything becomes way better than it is now.

And we think that this special relationship, that special someone is what is gonna complete our life. Once we find that person, settle down, get a steady life... THEN we can breathe a sigh and say, "Ahhh... NOW, life is perfect!"

Elliot challenges us/me that we should be comfortable the way we are and not be yearning for love just because WE want it. We tend to think that God wants us to have a life abundant and that means He would will ALL of us to get attached, get serious then get married. Like now.

But what if God has a different plan for you? He very well could have a different one for me. Is it my right to pray against it? To insist that God prepares that lady for me? To prepare me for that special lady? Not at all!

The apostle Paul had a point with what he said about serving God in singlehood compared to being non-single in 1 Cor 7:32-34. A relationship carries with it a heavy load of responsibilities and not everyone enters into a relationship realizing that, especially their first relationships. Yes, I'm generalising but I trust it applies to many. And yes, I DO think that relationships also bring along lots of good stuff, too. I'm just pointing out that the other side of it is usually unthought of UNTIL issues arise.

Anyway... That's all I wanted to share before I leave for OCF EASTER CAMP TOMORROW!!!! More like later, actually. So uh... Have a good Easter break, everyone! And ignore those Easter eggs and bunnies and remember what Easter really means!

"Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires."
~ Song of Solomon 8:4b
The Holy Bible

"The only place outside Heaven where you can be
perfectly safe from all the
dangers and perturbations of love is
Hell."
~C. S. Lewis
The Four Loves

26-03-10 (Friday) "I Smile..."

2010-03-26T07:57:00.005+08:00

I just wanted to express some gratitude for once. I want to show some appreciation for all that has happened/ is happening around me.

I smile when I get something in my mailbox, especially if its from someone I know. (eBay stuff is pretty good too but they don't make me AS happy.)

I smile when I get a msg in the middle of a busy day from friends/family, just asking me how things are like, checking on my existence.
I smile when I tease/bother ppl (in a fun, joking manner, of course). And they don't get angry. Emphasis on latter.

I smile when I'm approaching a junction on my bike and the road just happens to clear up.

I smile when I hit a perfect smash across the court/table or when my shot goes past all the foosballers into goal. :D

I smile when I see duck families waddling in single file on University Avenue.

I smile when I see those lovely flowers in full bloom all around me.

I smile when I notice the leaves changing colour as autumn approaches.

I smile when I get a French sentence/phrase correct.

I smile when I taste something new and awesome. Like sucking warm milk through Tim Tams with both ends bitten off. GAAAaaaaAHHHhhhHHH!!!! Craving!!!

I smile when I think about how amazingly different people can be. How no 2 persons are the same and that is just what makes them, them!

Wen Hui is perfectly normal. I just happened to upload his pic.
I smile when people show concern and love at the times when I LEAST deserve it.

Sometimes... I smile when I don't mean it. But I choose to believe that the outward action affects the inner feelings and that things happen for a reason beyond my finite understanding.

There IS more to life than all that we have now...

p.s: Where HAVE all the ducks gone...?

24-03-10 (Wednesday) "Now"

2010-03-24T09:00:00.003+08:00

Changed. Things have.

... And I wondered why my family never really went around to other people's places when I was younger.

The reality of adult life has unveiled itself to me.

21-03-10 (Sunday) "Marley & Me"

2010-03-20T22:50:00.002+08:00

Just finished watching "Marley & Me". Very sweet and touching movie. For those of you dog people out there, I highly recommend this movie.

It moved me to tears. More than any other movie has so far.

15-03-10 (Monday) "Attention, anyone?"

2010-03-15T19:56:00.003+08:00

Haven't posted anything in a while. Here goes anything...

I think a lot about how it'll be like when I see God. There're so many people who'll be together with me and with God that day.

... Then I think of how class is like in uni, in JC, in Chung Hua, in CH Pujut...

With so many(well, not many relative to the number in heaven one day but still pretty many) people in a class, it is easy to just blend into the background and not be noticed by the teacher. Just sit behind and copy everything the teacher writes, don't bother asking questions and score average marks and your teacher will forget me within 3 months of me leaving his/her class.

How different it is with God, no? He'd be able to name your favourite food, favourite travel destination, every single story behind your scars, all the girls you've ever had a crush on(... and those who've had one on you... *ahem*). He genuinely cares. He gives you His time. He gives you His attention.

He gave you His Son.

At least I have been living out the truth in THIS part of the Bible faithfully...

"... treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy,
and where thieves break in and steal."
~Matthew 6:19b
The Holy Bible

07-03-10 (Sunday) "A Plea"

2010-03-07T15:13:00.002+08:00

I have a plea.

I am shaving my head in the World's Greatest Shave, which raises funds for the Leukaemia Foundation, this coming Thursday (11/03/10). That's 4 days away!!

It may not seem much to some of you but I'd like to make this worth my effort.

I'm aiming to raise AUD500.00 for the cause.

And I'd like you to help me out in this.

Just click on this link - http://my.imisfriendraising.com.au/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=341542 and click on the green 'Sponsor Me' button and donate any amount you'd like to donate. EVERY LITTLE BIT COUNTS!!!

... Who knows... I might even post my picture up on the Internet if I hit my target. :)

04-03-10 (Thursday) "Avoiding Awkward Ah"

2010-03-04T19:16:00.006+08:00

These few years or so I've somehow picked up a rather non-practical but still interesting skill.

Avoiding those awkward moments when you cross paths with people whom you kinda know yet don't really know and you dunno whether to say "hi" or not, to strike up a short conversation or not.

Here you go:

1. Realize that something might have slipped out of your pocket and start reaching into your pockets and searching frantically. (Doesn't work for outfits without pockets or pockets on front of shirt as your head would still pretty much facing up.)

2. Remember that you heard your phone's message tone went off earlier and decide to read the message then.

3. Hear someone calling from behind or across the street and turn to the direction quickly until you walk pass the person.

4. Your love for nature kicks in suddenly and you have the urge to appreciate the flowers by the roadside, the birds in the air, the lovely clouds or even the dead cockatoo on the road.

5. Decide to call your mom right there and then realize that your parents aren't awake in their part of the world only when you're past the person.

If all else fails... be nice and at least give a smile. :)

p.s.: Note the feeble attempt at assonance in the title. -.-

24-02-10 (Wednesday) "Possible?"

2010-02-24T20:42:00.002+08:00

Hmmm.... I was wondering...

Is it possible to say that it is easier for one to love than to like?

In other words...

Is it possible that when I say "I like you", it means more than me saying "I love you"?

... Hmmm......

23-02-10 (Tuesday) "French Is Nasal"

2010-02-23T19:57:00.005+08:00

Sometimes, I just wonder how much we as the church is lacking when it comes to practising 1 Corinthians 13. Not the whole "Love is this, love is that" thing but the first part of it.

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing." ~ 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

I only just wonder. I don't know whether it applies to many of the members of the church but... I'm sure we all still have more to learn about loving others above ourselves, above our God-given abilities, no?

On another note, I have become rather sensitive to the prosperity gospel, always pricking my ears when I hear anything that seems to suggest the speaker is teaching that everything suddenly becomes awesome and life is a sweet joy ride the moment you decide to ask Jesus to be your personal Saviour. (which is not true, life is still life. One still goes through everything everyone else goes through. One just has a Greater Someone that one can go to and rely on in those hard times.)

However, I do have to ask this: Is it wrong to say that one will be BLESSED upon accepting Jesus? I don't mean "blessed" in terms of striking jackpot in the lottery draw or getting a sudden promotion, upping your pay to 3 times your original or all your debts are no more and never will exist again... I think we might have become over-sensitive to the word "blessed/blessings" already.

Why do we have to put it into the context of monetary wealth? Why can't it be that we become blessed in our relationships with others, in our new lifestyle, in our new character/personality?

Is being rich the real measure of being blessed?

Of course you say "no". But are you sure you mean it inside your head? Honestly...

Victoria in Singapore
There are other schools we know...

13-02-10 (Saturday) "Home Out of Home"

2010-02-13T19:20:00.005+08:00

Chinese New Year eve and I'm not home once again. This year, I don't really feel like I'm missing out much even though I usually am in some festive atmosphere back home around this time of the year.

This was even before I knew there was gonna be stuff on. The Singaporeans in B & G organized a steamboat and I was honoured by being invited.

I did not expect to be in such a Chinese-New-Year-ish mood over here. Been busy doing stuff here and there it hasn't really sunk in. Then, this dinner came along and it all felt homey and warm again.

I just love how wherever we go, there will still be a family of friends around, no matter where we're from. Just goes to show how we're all connected as a species. Humans are all just humans. We can connect. We can understand. We can interact.

Most of all...

We can love.

Yes.

We can.

"By this all men will know that you are my disciples,
if you love one another."
~ John 13:35
The Bible

p.s. Thank God for people everywhere

10-02-10 (Wednesday) "Back..."

2010-02-10T18:22:00.003+08:00

I thought that after all the times I've gone through parting with friends and family, I would've been used to it and be all cool about it already.

But that just wasn't the case this time, coming back from New Zealand. Its pretty much the same sadness knowing that I won't be seeing the same ppl in the near future.

I guess its good to know that I'm still human and that warm blood still runs through me, giving me all these feelings.

Anyway... Its good to be back in Canberra! I know I've said it many times over everytime I go somewhere but I just HAVE to say it. ITS GREAT TO BE BACK!!!

Why are we just so full of ourselves eh? Why can't I "consider others better than myself"(Phil 2:3). Why is it so hard? Being human can be quite hard, sometimes. You wanna do something but your humanity doesn't give you any chance to.

Negaraku
tanah tumpahnya darahku
rakyat hidup
bersatu dan maju
rahmat bahagia
Tuhan kurniakan
raja kita selamat bertakhta
I had to recite that, in case I've forgotten my own national anthem.

07-01-10 (Thursday) "Saling Mempengaruhi"

2010-01-07T17:23:00.004+08:00

Last 2 days now...

Everyone shapes everyone else. My family, friends and everyone around me have been the ones shaping and moulding me into who I am now. At the same time, I influence people around me as well, whether knowingly or not.

How do people influence? Very simple, right? When I am unsure whether I should go for that party, a friend comes along and says, "Just go la. It'll be fun. Can't eat oso nvm. Jz go for the fellowship." And then inside, I was actually thinking: 'Okay, if someone else other than the host asks me to go, I'll go.' So, I go.

How do I influence people as well? While that friend may be asking me to go, s/he may be thinking inside as well: 'Okay, if he goes, I'll go as well.' So, I say,"Very well! I will go!!" And s/he goes too!

We are all connected. Whatever we do affects everyone else around us, whether we know it or not. (in fact, it also affects our environment as well!) So... Once again... Do not underestimate what your actions entail. Remember The Butterfly Effect. Live for more than yourself. More than that, live KNOWING that you're living for more than yourself.

01-01-10 (Friday) "... And It Begins..."

2010-01-01T11:31:00.006+08:00

It just went by like... *SHHHHWwWWwwooooppppphhhh* that!

Now, when we write the date, its XX/XX/1X liao. No more "0X" but its "1X" already. (Where "X" is an unknown ranging from 0 to 9.)

People usually take this time to think of what they have done the past year and whatnot but no... I just wanna say that God has been absolutely faithful and I continue to be showered with blessings from above.

He showed the way to go by leading me to ANU, to Burton & Garran and ultimately to another family of friends there.

Despite not having my favoured option of ministry, He still opened up many areas for me to serve in. Such privilege, it really is.

He lets me know that wherever I go, there His love always is. Shown through the love of others around.

One of the blessings of coming home is knowing that there'll still be friends there to make me feel like I've barely been away...

... And that home will always be home.

28-12-29 (Monday) "Gluttony"

2009-12-27T23:36:00.006+08:00

Christmas was spent back in Sarikei, place of origin of dad, and then in Sibu, mom's place. Its nice to spend some time back with the relatives once more, especially with the grandies.

This trip back got me even less liking of overeating. I had to go through quite a fair bit of this in my short stay back, which wasn't the pleasantEST of experiences but... You know how its like with grandparents. =\

Eating till one is full is definitely fine by me but when it gets to the point of feeling bloated and STILL shoving it in, I think its just plain wrong. To eat till one is full is more than enough for one's survival. To eat beyond that is just wasting food as the utility gained is pretty much negative already and it does not contribute to a healthy lifestyle nor survival. It is as much of a waste as throwing it away, it appears to me now. Just think of the plenty of ppl out thr who're struggling jz to GET RID OF THE FEELING OF HUNGER... And I'm suffering from too MUCH food. Felt so guilty stuffing myself there back home. Will stop it from now on. *Repentant & determined grin*

If only... The food that I DON'T overeat on could somehow be channeled to those in needy countries... Hmmmm......

Going back to kampung really brings one back to the reality of the bare necessities of human survival. Its really just water, food, lodging and company. Water doesn't have to be sweet nor unique, just clean from bacteria; food doesn't have to be tender and juicy, just cooked and edible; showering water doesn't have to be warm and lovely, just to have water is more than enough... Anything beyond those is just plain luxury. Makes me count all my blessings that I have all around. =)

Awaiting
Anyway... Hols coming to an end soon for me. Looking forward to the start of the new year and new academic year!!

I've thought of some things to achieve this coming year.
Have you? You still have the next 3 days! =)

21-12-09 (Monday) "God loves... you??"

2009-12-21T09:43:00.002+08:00

Been listening to some Christmas songs over the last few days. I somehow miss the atmosphere in Singapore over Christmas, how everyone gets all Christmas moodyish n… its just so Christmas.

I recall the song saying that “Christmas isn’t Christmas till it happens in your heart” and also that Christmas is about giving. I realize that Christmas over the past decade has mostly been about receiving more than giving. I guess I still haven’t experienced a REAL Christmas yet.
But yeah… I just miss that Christmassy feeling, even if there’s no snow outside, no turkey roasting in the oven…

Since I’m talking about this… I think back upon the OCF Convention a week back and about this video we watched of the pastors in Singapore repenting publicly on behalf of their nation for mistreating foreigners in their country during the Global Day of Prayer.

*Sparkle*
All this while I’ve been telling myself that God loves me so much and telling others tha God loves them. I hafta keep telling myself often times that no matter what I’ve done, God still loves me. That His love is greater than any love I will EVER know or experience. And it is ONLY bcos of that love of God’s that I can love others.

However, it is only then that I realized… God loves others AS MUCH as He loves me!! No matter what they’ve done, God loves them the same!! I mean… Sure I knew that. But I never realized the truth of that till that moment. Its like… Actually, I can’t think of any analogies. :S I’m sure you know what I mean.

The gravity of that fact made me realize how much God WANTS others to know that they ARE loved and that He longs for their love back towards Him! Don’t you know that feeling? The feeling you get when you’re in love with someone and you wonder whether s/he feels the same towards you and you just wish it was happening both ways?

18-12-09 (Friday) "For Him"

2009-12-18T23:03:00.003+08:00

Made For Him.

Hence,

Living For Him.

Cut down on living for self, thinking of self.

=)

16-12-09 (Wednesday) "Airports"

2009-12-16T11:24:00.010+08:00

To me, this is what airports are.

The interval between one chapter of life and the next. It is at airports that we say our goodbyes to certain characters in our lives as we discover other new characters elsewhere.

It is where we temporarily physically lose someone dear to us, who has been there for us and around us for the past period of time, no matter how long it is.

It is the starting point of the test of relationships, whether the physical and geographical distance would be stronger than the bond that was forged in the short time together.

It is the period of suspense when one has pretty much left one place but has yet to see what is on the other page. That short pause is filled with anticipation and excitement, mixed with feelings of sadness and missing people.

It is... Quite a lonely and quiet place to be in despite the hustling crowd around. Especially when the trip is made alone.

16-12-09 (Tuesday) "Relationships"

2009-12-16T00:45:00.009+08:00

Just got back from KL/Melaka/KL just now.

This trip was a bit of a 1st time for me not bcos of Melaka. This trip was the first time I had to bid farewell to 2 separate groups of companions almost back-to-back. First it was the pals that I've made in OCF Convention, followed by my pals from back in VH in Singapore.

Having sent them(VH pals) off by 1pm, I headed to LCCT to waste away the 6 hours to my flight. You know how when you just have so much free time, with no one to msg, no one to call, no one to chat with... Well... I just couldn't think of anyone then, at least... Anyway, what I was gonna say was that... In moments like those, one starts to think about life.

That moment being an emo moment... I recalled the times that I have wept/cried/felt sad in the past. I realize that most of them were for people. For the sake of relationships. I recall having cried back in primary school when this dear teacher moved 2 another place. Can't rmb who she is now, tho. Then there was the Youth Convention - AG Flame leaving... Then... all those camp goodbyes... Apphia... Leaving Singapore... Leaving Canberra...

Its always been concerning people. Relationships. Never about things. If there was ever, it'd be bcos that something reminded me of someone greatly.

Life IS a lot about the relationships that take place, no? That's why I really thank God for all the friends that He has blessed me with wherever I go. I especially felt that throughout this trip in West Malaysia. =)

Dunno whether u all noticed by now yet or not... Hmmm...

02-12-09 (Wednesday) "Chapters"

2009-12-02T12:48:00.008+08:00

I was going through my treasure chest of memories this morning. I looked through all those cards that I received in the past.

stuff from Form 4, I think
I find it really cool how every phase of my life is like a chapter of a book, written with unerasable ink. Each chapter brought with it new twists and turns, new developments in my life. And all this under the control and within the plan of God. As each chapter ends with great memories, another one starts with a whole new dimension of unforged incidents.

Gifts and cards from Form 5
I also thought about how Galatians 6:7b is played out throughout my life. There were times when I would bless others and in return be blessed greatly... And of course there were times when I sow bitterness and be returned the same. Of course, I'd like to focus more on the positive side of things so... yeah.

Singapore
I've learnt that the truth of that saying is so... smack-in-the-face! You wanna be blessed? Bless. You wanna make friends? Be friendly. You wanna be trusted? Practise integrity.

3 separate chapters.
Also, I realize that all the people and incidents along my life have inevitably shaped me into who I am right now(and STILL ARE shaping me...). And I thank God for all of them. Always.

All those tags collected along the way...

I found some primary school exercise books.
I didn't realize I knew stuff like 天有不测之风云，人有旦夕之祸福 and 座无虚席.
My goodness. I barely even know what they mean now. Heheh.

"A man reaps what he sows."
~ Galatians 6:7b
The Bible (NIV)

27-11-09 (Friday) "Smell Your Own"

2009-11-27T19:38:00.008+08:00

Can I just say... It feels GREAT to be back home. Now, as I think of my home country, I am reminded of this commercial in Singapore.

Most of the time, it is not JUST the good things that make you miss someone/thing. Coming back home, I realize that I even miss all the dirty and worn out toilets in town, the small(er) shopping complexes, the lack in variety of shops and even the low level of hygiene at eateries around Miri. Those are what make Miri home to me.

In the same way, I think of how we tend to talk bad abt the ppl in our lives, how they annoy us, the petty little things they do that just bothers the pee out of us. When we separate for a while, those are the very things that we miss the most.

On another note, I was thinking of sth "coincidentally" in the toilet. Our faeces doesn't smell as bad as others' faeces. Ever realized that?

Same thing: When 2 parties do sth wrong, ourselves and someone else... The other person's wrong thing is usually wrongER than ours. Or... At least it SEEMS that way, eh? I think the problem is that we don't like to see the bad thing in us surfacing in someone else such that it kinda reflects us.

Big banana. BIGNANA!!
So, I think we should try to work hard on ourselves rather than start placing judgment and destructive criticism on others. Bear with me, I am working on it as well.

God has everything in control and His timing is really absolutely perfect. =)

26-11-09 (Thursday) "Greatest Club In The World?"

2009-11-26T13:39:00.002+08:00

Sorry Liverpool fans... I just had to post this. Saw this off a friend's friend's pic in Facebook. =P

Pretty smart stuff, whoever came up with this... Heheh...

25-11-09 (Wednesday) "2012"

2009-11-25T23:30:00.003+08:00

"who is this that rises like the Nile,
like rivers of surging waters,
She says, 'I will rise and cover the earth;
I will destroy cities and their people.'
Charge, O horses!
Drive furiously, O charioteers!
March on, O warriors -
men of Cush and Put who carry shields,
men of Lydia who draw the bow.
But that day belongs to the Lord, the LORD Almighty-
a day of vengeance, for vengeance on his foes.
The sword will devour till it is satisfies,
till it has quenched its thirst with blood..."
~ Jeremiah 46:7-10a
The Bible (NIV)

That was the passage that kept going thru my mind as I watched the movie. Well... not exactly this passage but one of these passages which carries the same theme.

Armies and military strength stand useless against God. Pretty evident through this movie, don't you think so?

I like how the movie makes me think: What will I be like when the end of the world comes? Will I still be frantically striving to save my life when I know I can't make it, like those who were trying to run away from a tidal wave? More importantly, when the end arrives... Will I be letting go easily? Or would I have gathered so much on earth that I just don't wanna leave yet?

I like Adrian's father's approach to life, that its d ppl n relationships in life that matter more. =)

Hope you watch and enjoy the show too. But even more, I hope you leave the cinema thinking about stuff. =)

23-11-09 (Monday) "1Malaysia"

2009-11-23T18:53:00.019+08:00

Finally... Home... Its been... 40 weeks and 6 days...

I'm glad to be back.

Back to the land of squatting toilets.

Missing those corridors actually...
Back to having to pay for entry to toilets in public areas.

To undrinkable tap water.

To where the colours of the birds around are just limited to black or brown.

To where the coins aren't so massive they tear the coin compartment in my wallet apart every. single. time.

Back to having fixed time. The hours don't change every half a year.

To where practically everyone speaks at least 2 languages and many speak 3 or more languages (including dialects), not to mention the dozen dialects that're spoken all over the place.

To where we don't bother with proper English. We somehow understand broken English better. Better yet... Throw in all the other languages/dialects/expl*tives to make it clearer.
"Eh, this one you sure boleh ah? Cannot simply one, you know. You say one ah? Cincai la..."

"&^!#(^!$"
To the place where there are 2 options to cleaning up after some massive bodily disposal in the toilet. Its tissues or water hoses with high pressured water. "Brrrr...."

It just feels awesome to be back home after all this while...

"This is 1Malaysia."

... And for more than this one reason... ;)

21-11-09 (Saturday) "Gone"

2009-11-21T14:48:00.004+08:00

Tomorrow... I head back home to Malaysia.

I look back on the past 10 months and think of all that's been said and done...

And I thank God.

I thank God for the chance to rediscover myself in a new place.

I thank God for revealing Himself to me in a new place.

I thank God for the many new influences He's put in my life over here.

I thank God for has been and what could've been.

I thank God that much that seemed unlikely to happen, I have been given the privilege to try out.

I thank God for teaching me lots and lots, day by day.

Most of all... I thank God for Life. I thank God that I am still alive.

13-11-09 (Friday) "Daniel 3:25"

2009-11-13T17:14:00.003+08:00

I was reading the verse when it occurred to me...

What were they talking or doing in the furnace then, eh? What was the fourth person conversing with them about?

"Hey, how ya doin'? Its pretty hot in here, hey mate?"

"He said, 'Look! I see four men walking around in the fire,
unbound and unharmed,
and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.' "
~ Daniel 3:25
The Bible (NIV)

13-11-09 (Friday) "Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder"

2009-11-13T06:09:00.003+08:00

Today, I woke up to my list of things to do:

1) Nothing

Ahhhh.... How I have missed the feeling of guiltlessness for being idle.

08-11-09 (Sunday) "Ran... Wait for it... domness"

2009-11-08T13:13:00.006+08:00

I don't get how "faster" works. Everyone runs and some just end up ahead of others. How come they can move their legs faster and push off harder? Their quads and calves? Yeah, sure but... I still dun understand how it works. We all try hard to be fast, no? Heheh... Weird question, sorry.

2 weeks to going back now...!!!! SO EXCITED!!! First, there's kampua... Then, rambutan, mangosteen n "mi4 gan1"(Honey mandarins) n maybe durians. I should try and be more productive this time round going back. Anyone need help with stuff over the break? Hmmm.... Maybe start off at home first. Okay... No movies or computer games...!! Well, at least not TOO much.

Something feels different about going back this time. Feels like there is much to happen, much to be done, much to achieve. Doesn't matter that its gonna be short. Its more a matter of what one sets out to do in the time given. Anyone in with me on this?

I will miss Canberra when I go back. But for now, I miss Miri.

Dang I just love this color accent feature on Canon IXUS!

Greatest love that anyone could ever know
That overcame the cross and grave to find my soul
~ "Till I See You"
Joel Houston
Hillsong

30-10-09 (Friday) "Reflection of a Future Life"

2009-10-30T21:05:00.005+08:00

Having gone through almost a full year of university now, I've come to see that our lifestyle in university is a good reflection of how our lives will be in the future when in the workforce.

There're those who can't be bothered to cook, so they just eat out a lot (This applies more for self-catered hall residents).
Then there are those that spend most of their time trying to settle their work and try their best to avoid contact with other humans with work as an excuse.
Not forgotten are those that just find an excuse to not exercise or do anything physically demanding.
Also, there are those (albeit classified under 'Endangered', closing in on extinction) that work on their assignments the moment they're made available, and NOT a day or two before the due date.

Which leads me to my next point... God does not deserve the treatment we give Him.

How much time we give to God shows how high we rank God on our 'Priority List'. My heart cries out for those of us who only spare our excess time for God. When something of a certain level of significance pops up, we happily let it take over our "God-time". I am NOT saying this with a judgmental tone as I am in no position to do that. I am honestly pained by seeing my brothers- and sisters-in-Christ and myself in such situations and I pray that we eventually outgrow this, together.

After all... Which one is the one that will make you think, "I'm glad I spent more time on this back then" a few decades/centuries down the road?

I look forward to the day when I step off the plane and take you in slowly and firmly...
... Treasuring EVERY.SINGLE.MOMENT. With you...
... KAMPUA/KOLOK MEE!!!!

30-10-09 (Friday) "Thank God for Pain & Suffering"

2009-10-29T21:21:00.005+08:00

Sometimes, I thank God for pain. (For simpleness sake, I refer to both "pain" and "suffering" when I mention "pain" in this post.)

If not for pain, I wouldn't be looking ahead to a better future.
If not for pain, I wouldn't have hope, as I would already be having an awesome time, pain-free. So why would I even have to hope?

If not for pain, I would not have learnt many of the things that I learnt.
If not for pain, I would not appreciate many of the things I am blessed with.

If not for pain, then heaven would be pointless, since we would already be having a blast here.
If not for pain, I wouldn't know that I'm human.

If not for pain, I wouldn't be able to tell others, "I know how you feel".
If not for pain, I wouldn't be taking care of myself as much as I should.

All in all... Thank God for pain and suffering. =)

I asked God for wisdom and I think the answer's sprouting inside my mouth.

25-10-09 (Sunday) "Lack of Control"

2009-10-24T21:00:00.004+08:00

I enjoy the fact that the more we learn, the more we realize we don't know. Together with that, I enjoy how refreshing it feels everytime to learn something new.

That aside, most of us try to be in control of our lives. We control what we eat, what we do in our free time, what to say at our next interview... Or do we?

Anyway... We all try our best to get everything sorted out and under control. That's what I'm getting at.

Scene of "daisies" blooming at B & G on a bright, sunny spring day. Lovely, yes.
I just felt a relief just now when it dawned upon me that some things are just out of my control. I can plan an event so perfectly and then the weather just cracks things up. I can have my perfect studying schedule and suddenly some incident happens that interrupts everything as it takes precedence over my academics.

Scene at 12 Apostles, Victoria.
On the other hand, I can be having the worst possible day of my life and decide to just let the rest of the day rot away and someone just does something extraordinarily awesome that makes my whole day seem perfect. I can be all broke and in dire need of food for the next day or two and I am suddenly offered meals/excess food by others.

Also at 12 Apostles
I'm glad we don't have everything under our control. :)

24-10-09 (Saturday) "Spring Aggression"

2009-10-23T22:31:00.004+08:00

Seems like its not just the ducks and birds getting all aggressive and protective come spring because of the mating season...

It seems like EVERYONE is busy pairing up right now... B & G (or probably ANU in general) is like some matchmaking haven as spring arrives!

Its crazy I tell you!

Hmmmm.... I think all the blossoming flowers and pollen in the air are doing something to people's feelings and hormones. Hmmm...

20-10-09 (Monday) "Time Period Reversal"

2009-10-19T19:54:00.004+08:00

Thinking back 5 years ago...

Wow... I was Form 3 only back then. Probably sitting for/just finished my PMR, enjoying myself totally, making fun of all the Form 5 seniors of ours... Maybe still having some crush on some random person... Still the obnoxious, annoying little brat...

Much has changed. Much. In that 5 years, God has taken His sweet time to mold and shape me into who I am now. My friends have changed. My circle of friends have changes depending on where I end up in... So much change...

Now, I imagine myself being 45 or 50 years old and THEN think back 5 years or so...

Over the same period, I'd imagine that things wouldn't have seem to have changed much. I'd probably still be working the same job, everyone in the family are about the same (unless there're children around...),

It IS relative to how long you've lived, isn't it? When I was kid back in primary school, a year seems like its never gonna end. Heck, sitting down in church for an hour would seem even longer than anything I had to endure.

Now... Hours just fly by without me realizing... Suddenly I'm at the end of my 1st year. Gonna be 21 years old in no time... My goodness... If only time would slow down for me catch up.

Onto the MAIN point... Think of our lifetime in view of eternity. We live to 60, 70, maybe 80 plus years old. Change seems to happen over a longer and longer period of time. When we were young, we learn to NOT do something within 10 minutes of doing it (parents spank us straight after we do it ma...). Then, it probably takes a few days to learn from a mistake we did in some relationship... Following that, it would take up to weeks or months to change an attitude or perspective... Eventually... Our whole lifetime is spent on correcting(hopefully) our character. When we start living into eternity... This short lifetime of non-stop correction would seem relatively short, just like how we learned from that first spanking. And we start appreciating all that happened in this "short period".

Are you living this lifetime to improve yourself? Feels like you're getting nowhere? Don't give up on yourself yet... It just takes time. Keep at it. "Fight the good fight". You'll start to appreciate all that happens in this "short period of time" soon enough.

Most importantly...

You're not alone. =)

"Fight the good fight of faith."
~ 1 Timothy 6:12a
The Bible

John 13:35

08-01-12 (Sunday) “The ‘N’ Word”

3-1-12 (Tuesday) “This is for God”

24-12-11 (Saturday) “More Than We Know”

18-12-11 (Sunday) “Dung” *edited 24-12-11*

13-12-11 (Tuesday) "How does one love so much?"

25-11-11 (Friday) “Oh great… Now I’m gonna be late for…”

07-11-11 (Monday) “Time heals…?”

30-10-11 (Sunday) “I don’t mind having a bit more…”

11-10-11 (Tuesday) “The Other Way Round”

07-10-11 (Friday) “Its Humbling”

05-10-11 (Wednesday) "Be Careful What You Wish For"

03-10-2011 (Monday) “Should we be so afraid of it?

11-09-2011 (Sunday) “Love Enough”

04-09-11 (Sunday) “You Do All Things Well”

3-8-11 (Wednesday) "Less Time, Less Pain"

24-03-11 (Thursday) “Psalm 46”

God is our refuge and strength,

an ever-present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam

and the mountains quake with their surging.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

the holy place where the Most High dwells.

God is within her, she will not fall;

God will help her at break of day.

Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;

he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

The LORD Almighty is with us;

the God if Jacob is our fortress.

Come and see the works of the LORD,

the desolations he has brought on the earth.

He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;

he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,

he burns the shileds with fire.

“Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth.”

The LORD Almighty is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress.

04-02-11 (Friday) “Traffic Lights”

15-01-11 (Saturday) “We Do”

12-01-11 (Wednesday) “What are YOU made of?”

28-12-10 (Tuesday) “For readers above 18 yrs old only”

24-12-10 (Friday) “Just The Way You Are”

23-12-10 (Thursday) “Forget Not”

11-12-10 (Saturday) “Gratitude: Journey Mercy”

09-12-10 (Thursday) “Boundaries”

28-11-10 (Sunday) “It All Gets Smaller”

16-11-10 (Tuesday) “Ultimate Healing”

04-10-10 (Thursday) "Between Here and Then"

31-10-10 (Sunday) “Sometimes, I Wish…”

We’re constrained by the time we have.

Therefore, I think its wiser to build bridges for people sometimes.

We can try to love as many as possible but it is not an individual’s ability to take on EVERYONE.

Hence, bridge one person to other people that one would get along well with, I say. :)

26-10-10 (Tuesday) “Home”

21-10-10 (Thursday) “Who Knows…?”

13-10-10 (Wednesday) “Chile Mine rescue”

12-10-10 (Tuesday) “For The People”

26-09-10 (Sunday) “Sama-sama”

17-09-10 (Friday) “To My Fellow Malaysians”

15-09-10 (Wednesday) “You know you’re in love when…”

11-09-10 (Saturday) “The Eucharist”

06-09-10 (Monday) “Pride”

29-08-10 (Monday) “Thank You”

29-08-10 (Sunday) “Grateful For The Darker Days”

24-08-10 (Tuesday) “A Spirit of Thanksgiving”

16-08-10 (Monday) “Freedom in the lack of it”

15-08-10 (Sunday) "Who Am I?"

12-08-10 (Thursday) “How He Loves Us”

09-08-10 (Monday) “No Man Is An Island”

08-08-10 (Sunday) “Everything”

04-08-10 (Wednesday) “Thorn In My Flesh”

30-07-10 (Friday) “What would the ‘up’s be?”

21-07-10 (Wednesday) “How Much Removed or How Much Left?”

17-07-10 (Saturday) “Departure”

03-07-10 (Sunday) "All Over" *updated*

19-06-10 (Saturday) "Orchestra"

18-12-11 (Sunday) “Dung” edited 24-12-11

03-07-10 (Sunday) "All Over" updated