Tuesday, March 31, 2009
1. being late, and yet still accorded the blessing to be praying at midday. not sure how nominations and AGM will turn out, but precisely due to that i, and by extension us, need to rely on God wholly for this then.
2. meeting up with CF-ers at the deck, having lunch and dinner and doing work together. to have brothers and sisters around and always there for me is... indescribable. playing on my itunes now so yeah apt description haha.
3. CG! time for sharing and prayer. am reminded from ruiz about my own sm3 kids, and what i need to be doing about it. lots of laughs too la, but somehow my skill of bantering (reminds me of Stevens in Remains haha) is never as cold as dean and allan haha. and getting to know simon a lil better! =)
4. supper! i've never laughed so much in quite awhile haha. and yes simon, it's really my first time having heard a prayer in german, so thanks for that. =)
5. that my testimony that i wrote for my baptism last easter has yet another use for this year's easter haha! which means that my 2nd spiritual birthday is just around the corner... =)
manchesterunited 1:50 AM
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Sunday, March 29, 2009
1. a very fantastic service today, being able to serve in choir and rendering so many hymns at one go. it's true that no matter how many times you practice and sing a particular song, it's always very different the instant you sing it during service, the rendering of the hymn to God's just like how a priest would have presented a sacrifice upon the altar; different feeling altogether.
2. and the message today, a reminder once again that one does not serve God based on his own talents, but the gifts that God has bestowed upon one.
3. practice for good friday in the afternoon! again, very very fun times with guan laoshi and the other 3 guys. =) we sing sitting down, drinking coffee and eating guazi and biscuits la, where else can find? and for table soccer =D
4. well the title didnt say that the blessings must be personally experienced right haha! and so chingmeiyun's recovery's here as well! had the privilage to be driven around by marcus (or maybe he shld feel blessed that he can give darius my sister and i a ride haha!) to CDC to visit her, and judging from the amount of nonsense that's coming out of her mouth, i'm sure it's plain for all to see that she has made a splendid recovery =D i hope weiling can tahan marcus' driving tho hehh
5. online blessings! having a good laugh at emails! joanna's interpretation of "Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss..." and sien's "very salty salt and very blinding lights" =D and the hot discussion on my FB status haha. and jiaming's encouragements on ytd's note. and reading everyone's daily 5 blessings, which is almost (but never haha) too much to read la! haha. God is great. =)
tml! CG! yay =)
manchesterunited 10:19 PM
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Saturday, March 28, 2009
1. being able to play soccer again with the usual bunch!
2. to realize that it is not pleasing to God when i shoot my mouth off while at #1 above. the tendency to abuse pple with vulgarities is still there when i don't watch my tongue, so, tsk at myself. but it's a blessing from God to know that i know where i've fallen short, and to be given a second chance to move on from there. =)
3. being able to shower in church! sometimes i may think that our present office is small and maybe a tad inconvenient, or maybe i've taken it for granted. but God, being faithful, has given us everything that we need la, so i shld learn to give thanks for it now, rather than lament only when i lose it. =)
4. a very good choir practice! and all the bantering that goes on before/during/after. lots of laughs with my choir brothers, oh man i love the three of you so much haha. and i don't mean it in the "he has shown you, OH MAN, what is good" kinda sense ahahhahaa. esp jiajun the 'pseudo-tenor', a million thanks for lowering yourself to my level and to help me out, and to go through this when you would be much happier, not to mention comfortable and enjoyable, singing bass. may God see all the things that you give up for His sake and bless you richly in eternity. =)
5. time to catch up on work/readings tonight! i could see it as nobody wanting to ask me out on a sat night, or i could see it as a blessing to have time to surround myself with PS research materials and poco texts and readings, and so i chose the latter. =)
exciting day tml! woosh.
ps. suddenly remember a lot of people has been asking me today and last 2 days how many pull ups i can still do, have i deteriorated that much etc. to find out, i went to the pull up bars downstairs when i was on the way home just now... there were a lot of lil kids running around and their maids were having their chit-chat sessions la. so i pulled 8 standard ones. i could have went on to do 12, but they would have been quite unglam. and by now the kids were pointing alr so hahahha. yup =)
manchesterunited 8:51 PM
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1. brit lit tutorial! being not toooo late, not sounding too stupid during tutorial (yay to zouu), and the validation from damien after the tutorial, thanks bro! =D yes ed, we'll take renaissance.
2. good lecture about coetzee: making mental links in my head, altho i'm not sure if they'd be strong or valid, but at least the process has started. man oh man i have so many things that i need to read, so far behind!!
3. being able to get all the books i want for my PS essay! now to read them and organise my thoughts... and being able to see lester and jonas and joanna and shao at the library. and yes ruiz, i want a card too haha.
4. dinner with shao and sister. even tho we didnt have ice cream at the end, i hope those two ladies had a good time of bonding, cause obviously they didnt want to have anything to do with me, but they were too nice to make it too explicit. haha. and oh engaged in impulse buying again... "the four loves" by CS Lewis =)
5. good music to spend the night in! (thanks ruiz and guan laoshi)
cosmo twin! will be praying for you, get well fast!
manchesterunited 12:15 AM
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Thursday, March 26, 2009
even when i'm busy (like now) i try to still do this la.
1. meeting bryan on the bus this time haha, catching up a lil. =) i wanna crash sci friday CG man so happening!
2. not missing out on too much, being not so late for lit lecture haha.
3. being able to catch up just a lil with ruiz during the break at the deck. where i ate too much for my own good haha. and looking at eeli mug for her LAJ, poor thing.
4. after the lecture, sitting with shao and see hwei (i hope i got your name right haha!) and zou at the upper deck! i love upper deck. and the coffee. air con and power plugs. and on good days, sofas, normal days, comfy chairs, most jialat also the chair has a backing to lean on. =D and limmy waving to me when she went off from upper deck haha!
5. good dinner before a good choir practise. with jiajun around hitting the right notes just got easier. but of course i must take care not to be the one bringing him off notes instead hahaha. and yes we are all keeping meiyun in prayer.
quote of today!
"Nadir couldn't hit the spittoon!" -zouuu; followed by crazy laughter from us haha.
"I like to hear a man dwell much on the same essentials of Christianity. For we have but one God, and one Christ, and one faith to preach; and I will not preach another Gospel to please men with variety, as if our Savior and our Gospel were grown stale." -Richard Baxter.
(using his textbook for WBS in church, so mildly surprised to his name on the quote. but it's a nice quote so yay.)
manchesterunited 1:15 PM
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Wednesday, March 25, 2009
1. being able to reach school at 8 for run! think it's the earliest i had to reach school for a while. but i didnt regret it la! hui-en and lester can run man. i'm so unfit.... oh man... so early pang-zeck... haha. and also limmy and ruiz for the company =) didnt know west coast park is just there haha. and for meeting zong hua on the bus, and gao min on the train! =) and hui-en for being super nice, letting lester and i dump our stuff at the room and shower at RVR. i wanna stay in RVR too.... haha.
2. being able to go hang out with shaffy and limmy! (and i'm jerry. hmm. our names just sounds good being put together HAHA) at chinatown! brought shaffy around, walking around chinese herbal medicine shops haha. taught me how to see my own country from a foreigner's perspective, and also, upon a lil reflection, feel proud of the little local traditions that we still have and being able to share them with friends! and also being blessed with a lil wealth to be able to afford treating the 2 of them dessert, as well as zr, mx, and bimin to takeaway pomelo mango sago =D
3. poco tutorial! well firstly being on time (thanks to limmy for walking that extra distance to make the delivery), then being able to not look stupid despite not having read a single thing or know what's going on haha! more importantly for friends that i've made in class la, even tho we dont see much of each other outside class but i'm glad for the free-flowing interactions we have every week. =)
4. break between poco and philo tut! went to the deck, met sien and bx and later sengwee to play "once upon a time" very very cool game haha! so sorry to sam and khor and joe tee la, you'll understand when you learn the game next time HAHA
5. prayer meeting in church. great dinner, in the form of chicken rice! and for the priviledge of prayer la. being off duty from translating today helps me to really think through the message that Rev Lai wants to instill in us, in this period leading up to Good Friday. and also realizing that when God has blessed me with such a environment where i'm being blessed with good biblical education, i cannot be proud, but must be burdened to try and share what i know with other brothers and sisters la. and so CF-ers come to mind haha. my church is going to prepare a small devotional for the ten days just before Good Friday, so that it'll help in meditating about Christ's work and ministry in His last days on earth. most likely it's in chinese, so ruiz i'll take a copy for you. the rest of you, if you think your chinese is up to scratch, please ask from me! and oh sheryl is going to china for g-cube right, i think you need to start forcing yourself to read chinese too =P
living life on the edge tml, need to always remind myself to trust in my God. =)
"He's able, He's able, i know He's able,
i know my Lord is able to carry me through!" =)
manchesterunited 11:33 PM
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Tuesday, March 24, 2009
changing the format a lil today, cause i really want to give thanks to God for all the different people that He has put in my life today. =)
met up with HUIYI for lunch today. it was great! altho SHERYL and MINRUI claimed to help her look for seats but still... haha. glad for the chance for us to catch up and update a lil, then i'll know how to be praying for her too =) and yes for 3SG(NS) J.LO to call when i was queing for food! yes the call-up's here. all the army songs coming back to my mind haha.
then went up to upper deck to get my coffee and start essaying. and SHAO's presence made the process alot funnier haha! lasagne sauce on face and hair LOL. but the laughing got me along, and i managed to get 600 words down in two and a half hours! thanks be to God. =) it's funny how huiyi was like "WHAT you still have so much more left!" but i just wasn't panicky at all. yay to God's faithfulness.
and when CHRISTINE came to find shao for their project group meeting, 3SG(NS) DARYL BOEY waltzed by to wait till 5 for his own project grp meeting, so he could jaga my stuff while i print and submit my essay! and waving hi to IMRAN along the way, and seeing NECHAN to ask for DAMIEN's number to ga-jiao him hahahaha! yeah keep the title simple, and live life on the edge =P
then LESTER came along, then we went off for sunset prayer! there was SIEN, PATRICK, PAUL, DOM, BX, KY, HANNAH, HUIEN, GRACE and WEI SHIENG too, and it was just a very good time to be able to have fellowship and be praying together la. and also the reminder, that our Jesus is our Saviour, and not just the Lord that we always have on our lips. and to have dinner! well maybe i wont buy fries the next time i have macs with them (haha joking!) and it's funny how patrick and huien started the competition to type down psalm one when PTE JAMES TAN msged to say that he forgot to bring his Bible for guard duty (how could you! more important than your rifle can!)
and for the bus ride home! meeting MARDI darling on the bus, and for being able to catch up with grace too (yes i must rmb to send you my philo of religion and burma-related notes) and for LIMMY's call too! (i'm not THAT disappointed that it's not a date anyway, but tml will be a chance for us to have a common ministry tgt so it's better than a date i guess?! LOL =P) and YIT SIONG's call too haha, second night in a row that an army fren has called =)
okay yes it's 12. hmmmm. exciting day tml! God is indeed sovereign and wholly-good. =)
with all the army tunes in my head, i guess i'll let this one out:
training to be soldiers, fight for our land.
once in our lives, two years of our time.
have you ever wondered why must we serve
because we love our land, and we want it to be free, to be free, yah!
looking all around us, people everywhere.
children having fun, while we are holding guns.
have you ever wondered why must we serve
because we love our land, and we want it to be free, to be free, yah!
manchesterunited 11:45 PM
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Monday, March 23, 2009
1. monday CG! =) and the many lessons learnt la. indulge me as i elaborate on the many subpoints coming up haha.
1.1. lai's birthday! well had to run to get the sewing machine haha but yeah it was just very nice of us to do that? self-praise i know hahha. and allan's quote of the day la power "be careful, not to rip (reap) what you sew (sow)" which IMHO was simply brilliant lah =D but i do really think that the present is not the most awesome thing that we can do for our wondeful CGL la, but the fact that we can actually pray for her, thanking God for all that she has done for us and that all of us can just come together to pray for God's blessings to be upon her. how cool is that la haha. =)
1.2. a lesson on humility and humbleness and being discerning la. (thanks superuiz) i had a mental struggle going on for a while, cause yes well i concede that "motif" might be a literary term, just as sociologists have a technical term for what is essientially peer pressure, "typology" and "type", as in "Boaz and Ruth is a type for Christ and His church" or "Abraham sacrificing Isaac is a typology for God the Father sacrificing His Son" is a theological idea that i felt was apporopraite for the setting, which was a gathering of mature Christians who studies in a university and thus will have higher chances of talking to an intellectual. so what's all this things about keeping it simple? if it was an evangelistic setting or we're talking to a non-believer here, then yes i understand that need, but during a CG BS? but after i've cooled down a lil i realise that there is the need for me to be humble and to be able to read the "mood" of the moment, to know what is needed la. i regretted opening my mouth at the wrong moment, and also not opening my mouth at the right moment, when the idea that "it is the mind that is filled with the Holy Spirit, but the body is the one that keeps sinning." that was something that i should have immediatly spoke up against, cause when we accept such a position we are opening ourselves up to very serious, and even heretical, implications. are we thus ready to acknowledge that the Catholics are right, that it is the body that transmit original sin, and thus it is the virgin birth that makes Jesus sinless? or are we to end up like the gnostics, who thinks that whatever is spiritual is good and whatever that is bodily is bad? or are we to be like the Docetist (who denies the human nature), the Nestorian (who denies the union of the two natures), or even the Appolinarian (who denies the human spirit) when we try to work around the fact that Jesus did have a human body, but yet is still sinless? i didn't speak up when i should have, and that's something that i have to repent for. so just to recap, i give thanks for the reminder that i need to be discerning, and if necessary, to shift a gear down and get an idea across instead of using words that should rightly belong in a seminary.
1.3. that once again, the reminder that this "count your blessings" thing is really a good way of living out our faith. =) as 1Th 5:16-18 says "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
1.4. the need for repentence and for God's forgiveness, and yet awestruck by the fact that God will choose to blot out our iniquities and not, as becca says, "bring us on a guilt trip" =)
2. being able to meet up with janet! yay head prefect haha. yea i've seen her around in school before, but hey it's rare for primary school classmates to still be in touch after so long? coolness. =) and she knows johanna and minrui as well! what a small world.
3. kok hwa's call! hardly get to catch up with army buddies. this sounds weird, but i might even be looking forward to reservist just so i can catch up with all the rest of them =)
4. midday prayers had ten people attending today! yeah like break record haha. after missing out on the prayer times last week, i was really happy that i could be back praying together with BASIC (very useful acronym heh) on campus =)
5. okayy. that Miss Teo Min Xun has brightened up my daaaayyyy. (go awwwwww.) managed to catch up a lil during soci lecture (sorry prof tan. hoho.) and i'm just feeling happy for her la. =) army training has taught me information discipline, so yes i'll keep quiet about this. but will be praying for you =) and yes i'm marked by her. hoho.
"We ought to give thanks for all fortune: if it is good, because it is good, if bad, because it works in us patience, humility and the contempt of this world and the hope of our eternal country." - C.S. Lewis.
manchesterunited 3:07 PM
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Sunday, March 22, 2009
1) for the breath of life, waking up in the morning. =)
2) reminders in church today. especially during sunday school, when i realised that 1) g-cube has really allowed me to grasp the idea that everything that is allowed to happen are all meant for God's glory, and thus all we do are to, for its chief end purpose, to manifest the glory of God, and 2) this thanksgiving exercise is something that i should continue, because this pleases God, for Paul says:
"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." -Colossians 3:15-17
3) jiajun! for becoming a tenor and helping me out, even tho he'd be really be much happier singing bass. thanks so much brother =)
4) dinner with the Kuans again! and just to spend time talking over dinner and to watch funny youtube vids at church while waiting for the reciters to finish practising. and for being able to witness some amazing piano playing! =)
5) for having a great day to look forward to tml! i love monday CG =)
manchesterunited 10:12 PM
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Saturday, March 21, 2009
well this never stops does it! not running out of things to give thanks for is in itself something to be giving thanks for. =)
1. soccer today! well scored a goal, a couple of decent saves, getting the opposition a lil flustered (one of the signs that your goalkeeping's good is that people will get irritated, people will start to swear at each other a lot, and well, i'm just glad for their recognition?) haha. and jiaming came along with me today! yay =)
2. lunch at uncle jonathan's house! although i missed the extra choir practise that the guys are suppose to have haha but it was very nice! considering how random it was that we went up to eat korean instant noodles because we didn't know where else to go haha. giving thanks for how the Loos never complained one bit and were extremely hospitable. =)
3. WBS. reminder that while we're reading genealogies in the Bible (and maybe find it boring/pointless), that our names are also now in the genealogy of Christ as well. =) and learning that Boaz and Ruth is actually a typology for Christ and His bride, the church. and that the book of Ruth, coming after the book of Judges, can be seen as the Bible giving voice to the subaltern as well! (yay that's why the poco pple are tagged here =D)
4. dinner with the Kuans at sarpino's! and hearing about baby blues. charis is one quirky girl la haha. and they managed to pay the bill when i was in the toilet. sneaky. =/ haha.
5. a reminder from a sister that i should be emulating the kind of leadership that i hold in school/church back in my own home. hmmm.
brit lit essay's humming along nicely, usual schedule for tml and monday should not be affected. yay. =)
manchesterunited 4:02 PM
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Friday, March 20, 2009
1. even though it's only 0137, i already have my number one on the list!
thank God for samantha's encouragement on g-chat! yes i know i need sleep and so i'll try as much as i can to. and yes i'll be praying for you too. =)
2. for my G3 group mates who met up today (john wu and andre), and yes while we grapple with the idea of the KOG, we just remember that we shall always live for only one purpose: soli Deo gloria!
3. damien, for being able to talk a lil about my brit lit essay, running my idea through him, and him giving me some extra pointers too. thanks dude! =) now, if only i could get myself to start writing it out...
4. everyone who has been praying for my nose! it's so much better now. thanks be to God. =)
5. liz, with a very very big smile for me in lecture. awwwww. =))
manchesterunited 1:36 AM
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Thursday, March 19, 2009
1. for the reminder that i serve God only with the right attitude of service la. indeed, "forbid it Lord, that i should boast". being sick, and thus not being able to serve God in both translation ytd and in choir today as best as i can, just goes to show that it is not on my own ability that i rely on as i serve the ever-living God, but a humble spirit that seeks to rely on Him for strength and wisdom whatever i do la. many thanks to the brothers too for their many encouragements, even though i really suck at this. =)
2. for prof gilbert yeoh, who puts up with all my emails when i keep asking about my possible essay topics. i would have lost my patience long ago if i was him la, so thanks be to God for giving me such a nice prof. =)
3. the many friends that i could wave hi to while sitting at a bench at as1! lianglin, jasmine, bridget, yinghui, marianne, huiyi and sengwee ("do your essay lah!"), a lot a lot of people la. for melanie (my cosmo twin that i knew like super randomly haha) who met me for lunch and mug. =) for yuan giving me febs in the middle of the day. it worked. for a while. haha!
4. that i met bryan on the way to school on the train! and he got me to star-dee.... i admit it's bad, for me to be wasting the time of the trip to school everyday playing FIFA 09 on my psp so yeah. i shld be reading my notes! thanks for the guilt trip, altho you didnt mean it i know haha.
5. i was validated. that will suffice. yup. =D
manchesterunited 10:30 PM
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Wednesday, March 18, 2009
i guess i wont be doing this everyday, but since darren has started... HAHA
1. for ytd's sunset prayer and today's midday prayers. even though i wasn't there for both of this, i realise that i wasn't really missed. which is a good thing, thanks be to God. i remember last sem there was this particular incident when i was taught the lesson that in the Kingdom of God (KOG! g-cube terminology haha) no one is indespensible. am reminded of this lesson again through this so yup. =)
2. getting to know jaslyn a lil better in poco tutorial today! it was quite funny la, her giving us 2 pages worth of notes when everyone else gave one, and mine last week was like 3/4 of the page only, but i'm reminded of the fact that there is nothing wrong with going the extra step la. (so don't keep saying sorry, you! haha.) the fact of the matter is that, a lil accidentally in the process, she has borne a good testimony for Christ in class what. and also a timely reminder for me to buck up in my own schoolwork as well.
3. being able to serve God in translating during prayer meeting today. off day la, there were a lot of times when i blanked out. or struggled for words. i could blame it on my nose, but... thanks weiwu, for pointing out that 新派神学 is "liberal theology" and not "new-age interpretations" as i made it out to be. but every screw-up for me is a good reminder for me to humble myself and learn to rely on God for knowledge and wisdom la. (coming back to the PH2211 theory of "an evil which generates a greater good" ahha!)
4. being able to lunch with joel today, and to just catch-up/talk cock! shall not reproduce here our opinions on mock vegetarian meat HAHA =P
5. thanks for God's healing in my illness, and being well enough to pull off the philo presentation. i just hope that my performance wont drag the group's grades down.
manchesterunited 11:35 PM
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Saturday, March 07, 2009
the lack of sleep last night really showed this morning; not scoring any goals, letting in a few soft ones. but oh wells, the company is really good. and i'm really thankful for this bunch of friends that i can play soccer with every saturday yup =)
manchesterunited 3:33 PM
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Wednesday, March 04, 2009
pick-up line, courtesy of joe tee:
"can i borrow your phone? i want to call my mother and tell her that i've met the girl of my dreams."
well done hahaha.
manchesterunited 2:40 PM
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just finished reading Midnight's Children, and the Brass Monkey got me thinking. a woman who scorns whoever that tries to love her. now where have i seen this before? haha.
and ytd evening, in a conversation with shaffy, limmy and grace, i've no idea how, but we started talking about the songs we sing in the army. memories man!
purple light, in the valley
that is where, i wanna be
artillery, close companions
with my rifle and my buddy and me
booking out, see my girlfriend
saw her with, another man
kill the man, and my girlfriend
with my rifle and my buddy and me
ORD, back to study
got degree, so happy
can't forget, in the army
with my rifle and my buddy and me
purple light, at the war front
that is where, my buddy died
so if i die, would you bury me
with my rifle and my buddy and me.
6 more days to my 1 year ORD anniversary! but too bad FT on that day so, sorry tekong friends. till next time!
manchesterunited 11:42 AM
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