Monday, October 30

attended my first guitar lesson at believer music today...totally enjoyed the class environment and teaching style there...really kept me focused and reminded of my purpose in learning..

felt that now i'm transiting into a learning phase in my life as my ord is drawing near..i wld term this phase from oct to next yr before i enter uni...my mind might have become a bit rusty through army but its time now that i'm beginning to learn new skills...learning guitar, driving and even learning character development and personal experiences through my various commitments....and there's many more things which i hope to take up lessons on through the upcoming months ahead before i enter into uni..but i dun wish to push myself too much in that the desire becomes a chore, so i'm taking a step at a time, walking as the Lord provides the opportunity for me to learn...

i am really excited abt this period of learning which i'm in now and i definitely want to be able to glorify Him in whatever i learn.....

jel; 9:44 pm

Sunday, October 29

just thankful for what i'm been going through today...the Lord has helped me through much of what i've been experiencing for the past few days...

haven been really focused on the things which i had to do these few days..and i sort of lost myself as a result..maybe my brain has been a bit rusty after such a long time and i sort of didn't anticipate the influx of responsibilites which came along...somehow i became busier as i'm ord-ing..such an irony..haha...

but i'm trusting the Lord to help me for now..to take all these as a challenge for myself...and i believe things will not be too unbearable for me to handle..most imptly, i need to stay focus on the vision and recognize all these are opportunities which the Lord has entrusted me with..i'm taking responsibility as a gd steward to handle these responsibilities with care and utmost seriousness...

and that brings back the joy which i always have in undertaking these responsibilities...

jel; 8:40 pm

go check out this new product from creative- xmod...apparently it restores the compressed music files of cd and mp3 to its original form and gives you an awesome full aurround sound experience...i experienced the music today at hmv and indeed its pretty amazing...check out the x-fi website to have a demo on the sound...

jel; 12:27 am

Thursday, October 26

its down to the final 10...the last days of my nsf life...

cleared my cupboard today...somehow there was a slight sad atmosphere in the bunk as the rest bid farewell to me although its not my last working day yet...yet was the keyword...and i really wonder how i'll be able to handle the emotions on the big day....i was telling wj to face it with a different light...the end of my journey here is the start of another great one...so be happy for me ya?

its also the start of a long and lasting journey of our friendship..a stronger one in fact as it tests the friendship we have that even when we don't spend the time tog in camp, our friendship will continue to grow...so cheer up and smile!

jel; 10:17 pm

Tuesday, October 24

An excerpt from an NSF friend's blog:

I was thinking whether to type this:

For what you do in camp, you can avoid as many arrows as you want..
But when it comes to serving the LORD and arrows from leaders, you jolly well be enthusiastic to volunteer.

The problem is this does not sound correct! Its double life!!

My solution to this:

Be wise and volunteer when you think you can,
You will never know what benefits awaits you.
Its part of being salt and light as well.
But please do not throw everything unto yourself,
You may not be able to handle it and end up signing extras.
As for serving the LORD, it takes priority
But our attitude towards people should never change,
We are here to serve.

It sounds so ideal right? But I have really seen people done it. Its not impossible but it takes the extra mile. Do not worry, if you think you are struggling in this. What about you?

was reading through his blog and it reminded me of a certain period of my nsf life when i struggled with this prob of leading a double life...why am i not applying my values and believes in my workplace? i ask myself...it seems lk army life and civilian life are separate entities...but it was also that point in time when i was taught abt doing the best in everything i do, in every aspect of my life..and that includes being a soldier...

no matter how much u may dislike army life, u can't deny that it is part of your life...and since its part of your life, wldn't you do your best too?...always rmb the position you are in...as a child of God, you are a christian in whatever position you are...so i always remind myself that i am a christian soldier..a soldier who represents Christ and thus in everything i do even in camp, i reflect His glory...thats how we are different from others...

this reminder has helped me through the rest of my days in ns and has allowed me to cope better with my relationship with the army as a whole and my relationships with my campmates...and i do hope it'll help others reading this too..it applies to all areas of your life, not only the army but your workplace, sch and family as well...

jel; 10:39 am

Monday, October 23

this is the bandofbrothez photo which we took yest....new pple ard...praying that we will stay close and united as one body in serving Christ...

jel; 10:01 am

Saturday, October 21

watched the prestige yest afternoon...abt 2 professional magicians who used to work tog but became rivals in trade after a miscalculated accident and from that day on, their lives become webs of deceit and exposure, secrets and revelations, as they feud to outwit and destroy one another...their rivalry takes them both to the peak of their careers, but with terrible consequences...but want to reveal too much of what happened in the end, but its definitely a worth-watching one...
not very used to christopher nolan's style of directing initially...its hard to catch the entire pic in the first half of the movie, but i agree with shawn that other directors may not be able to direct a similar plot in this manner as well as him...its was towards the next half of the movie that everything pieces tog but of course u need to pay attention to every details of the plot in the beginning to fully comprehend the reveal at the end..
the movie is very thought-provoking..it leaves much to speculate and deduce certain actions carried out cause it doesn't explain in details reasons behind every action carried out...i wld say its one of the better movies which i've watched in quite some time..anw, i love the chemistry between hugh jackman and scarlet johansson, esp after watching scoop last week....
watched death note last night...obviously i can't compare the 2 movies tog since they're of diff genres and furthermore prestige has left a high expectation and standard...i can understand why its such a popular manga in the first place..an original storyline with an intriguing plot...abt a high sch student who chanced upon this notebook which can be used to kill people whose names are written in its pages and this guy decides to use it to 'cleanse' the world of evil and hold the scales to judge criminals based in his discretion..
its much of unrealistic settings with imaginary characters and happenings which could not happen in real life...of course, sometimes thats how movies captivate us, by bringing us to an imaginary world..but i took the storyline with a pinch of salt...the highlight of the movie wld prob be how the investigation is being carried out abt the mysterious deaths of the criminals...i've always enjoyed detective stories and case-solving plots and this fulfills this part of my interest....
the greatest disappointment from this show was not from the movie itself but the 'missing' trailer of the sequel at the end of the movie...it was supposed to be screened as of written in the advertisements but apparently we waited to no avail...maybe its just cathay cinemas..

jel; 7:16 pm

watched the prestige yest afternoon...abt 2 professional magicians who used to work tog but became rivals in trade after a miscalculated accident and from that day on, their lives become webs of deceit and exposure, secrets and revelations, as they feud to outwit and destroy one another...their rivalry takes them both to the peak of their careers, but with terrible consequences...but want to reveal too much of what happened in the end, but its definitely a worth-watching one...

not very used to christopher nolan's style of directing initially...its hard to catch the entire pic in the first half of the movie, but i agree with shawn that other directors may not be able to direct a similar plot in this manner as well as him...its was towards the next half of the movie that everything pieces tog but of course u need to pay attention to every details of the plot in the beginning to fully comprehend the reveal at the end..

jel; 11:55 am

Learning esp how to step back and not be controlled by the plans which i have for myself...sometimes its hard but i have a habit of planning my itinerary out and follow rather rigidly to it..i guess its a way to make my feel safe and secure and it sort of trouble me when there are uncertainties in the plan...but i learning these few days to allow myself to follow the plan that the Lord has for me and not what i have for myself..sometimes i tend to forget...i'm still learning even at this moment..esp certain issues which happen these few days, when i realise i'm beginning to start worrying abt certain issues, i realize i'm not allowing myself to surrender these issues to Him...

and its only when i've learnt to take my rest in Him then i truly learn how to relax and allow myself to follow His plans for me....and i've went through these 3 days learning and experiencing His grace upon me as i chose to leave my worries with Him..there were unexpected moments which occurred and surprised me cause those were answers to my worries which i've chosen to leave with Him...

thank you for your grace...

jel; 1:20 am

Wednesday, October 18

finally, i've changed my blog template...took some time to find smthng which i lk...i think its an improvement from the previous one...anw, i've only copied and past most of the stuff from the previous template, so didn't really update much of the contents...will do when i'm free...

jel; 9:12 am

Monday, October 16

photo taken at swenson's at p.s on sat...a rare time as we gather as a family for dinner...and we also take this opportunity to celebrate esther's birthday, although its still some time away...thank God for this family and may there be more of such outings....

jel; 10:24 pm

preparing for my ftt tmr...more or less done by now, just a bit more of final reading...
my days have been kept pretty busy lately, but i still have to remind myself to find the joy and purpose in the midst of all these commitments..its really pointless if i just go through everything and miss the true spirit behind all the activities...knowing my purpose in each and every event i go through will allow me to be fully committed and give my best and in a process, i seek the joy in doing all these...

as i went through service learning for the past 2 weeks and prepare for my cambodia osl, the Lord brought me back to the purpose of going through all these preparations and the cambodia trip...its a reminder of how impt it is for me to keep the purpose close to my heart, such that in whatever i do, i will not grow weary but instead be full of passion and love...

just as how Jesus humbled Himself to serve the others even though He Himself is the Almighty One, He has called us to be lk Him, to be servant leaders...and in this trip, He has given us the opportunity to serve the nations, to bring His love to those He has designated...Its not merely an act of community service to the needy, its an act of love for God's pple...that we are armed with His love such that everything we do, we do them out of love for others...

and even as the service learning course came to a closure, the Lord has reminded me to let go of past bad experiences as a result o serving others and to renew and prepare my heart of serving...and this time round, i'm confident it'll be a great learning experience of serving unto the Lord..i'm excited over it and definitely looking forward to it...i believe as i embark on this serving journey with the right attitude and with a clear purpose in my mind, i'll be able to serve with the renewed passion and love which i have found...

jel; 10:22 pm

Tuesday, October 10

look forward to my next change of blog layout...have been using this for some time already...hoping to find something more calming and laid-back..felt the current one looks a bit intimidating...

jel; 8:14 pm

Monday, October 9

went out for a full day today...accomplished the stuff which both me and yk planned...went to various areas today, ended up rushing quite a bit in order to complete our itinerary...basically we went from suntec to millenia to marina square, esplanade, bras basah, sunshine plaza, plaza singapura and finally ended at vivocity...

we were very focused in what we were doing and looking for...basically, my purposes were getting art materials and checking out prices for printing banners/tees...ended up getting a pool of art resources from art friend and spotlight..haha..but they'll come in useful for my ord+birthday+christmas gifts...yup...banner cum t-shirt search was rather fruitful..found a shop which provide very reasonable prices...in fact its so low that we can't believe our ears when we heard it...

went to watch scoop with shawn at gv vivocity's cinema europa...not very used to dry humour but the movie soon caught on with me and i felt it was a refreshing change from the typical hollywood comedy films...although i didn't catch all their jokes, nevertheless i appreciated scoop as a film and i nv felt a dull moment throughout...

bought 2 shirts today...one from bods...its dri-fit and i thought it'll come in useful in these few months to come, so i've invested in this...bought an abercrombie polo at a cheap price...its so cheap that i wonder whether its authentic..but i guess that's not much of an issue here cause i really lk this one and it doesn't really bother me...

been very tired these few days due to a lack of sleep..i guess i need to sleep more tonight...

jel; 10:55 pm

Just wanted to share some thoughts after yest's cambodia meeting...

really treasure this opportunity to serve the nations..to extending a serving hand to the community elsewhere in this world...all through these years of community service which i've done, this is the first time i'm going overseas to serve...and this time round, its Him whom i'll place as the focus of my heart as its only when i know my purpose of going for this project and keep my focus and point of reference right that this project will be a success...

i'm praying that He show me the purpose of sending me there and allow me to experience what He intended me to...i'm also praying that He'll prepare my heart and passion to serve and when i'm there, He'll shine His light there as we attend to the needs of the community and to commit all our hearts to them....

jel; 9:08 am

Saturday, October 7

this is the lastest photo for my tribe taken last sun during family magic...not the full strength but with lotsa new visitors...and all of us are decked in our latest new pink tribe tee...that day is also the launch of this tee...the symbolism of the next phase our tribe is stepping into...

and also our sub-tribe family! haha..its always great to take family photos...esp this time with esther's girls...it makes this family complete....

jel; 10:23 pm

Today was the first session of service-learning..its part of a course conducted by touch youth services and the reason i'm involved in this course is due to my involvement as a mentor in a student leadership course at new town sec in nov...it was a valuable lesson on how learning is integrated during the process of serving others..how to facilitate discussion, reflection as well as to draw parallel comparisons with their daily lives...its indeed skills useful and comes in handy when conducting small group discussions...and its definitely very applicable in the upcoming events..sch camp, encounter weekend guide(unconfirmed), cambodia and christmas choir...it requires a lot of time and commitment for all these and i really do treasure all these opportunities to learn and serve at the same time...

that really brings me to the point of the current pace of my life...today during S-L, we learned that the pace of our lives is determined by our priorities in life which is in turn determined by our purpose in life...and indeed i reflected upon that...am i walking so fast in life that i neglected the so called 'outcasts' in our society? Why don't i have time to serve them? Am i focusing too much on my own progress in life that i've left them behind? It just narrows down to where i place my priorities in life...is it for others whom i serve or for myself? And even before i can finally decide what my priorities are, am i fully aware of my purpose in life? My purpose will ultimately decide where i put my priorities...

for the answers to life, i'm glad i've found the source and the answers i'll always rmb it well in the heart, as a reminder to the reason why i'm doing all these....

jel; 10:08 pm

Wednesday, October 4

just started to clear my leave bit by bit..it was a great start today....managed to go ard town and done all the chores which i had planned...had to rush quite a bit but at least i did complete everything in the end..

ended off with dinner at holland v with ch and leo...being some time since i've last met them and i'm really glad i met up with them..the times spent with them were memorable and going through so much tog really left a singnificant impact in my life in brigade...yup

having less time to blog nowadays with so many things going on at the same time...i'll slowly adjust my time and till i'm convinced that the publishing has no prob, i'll constrict to shorter entries...yup...

jel; 12:20 am

Sunday, October 1

somehow i can't seem to publish my last few entries...really wonder whats wrong with blogger..now i have a few unpublished entries...sad....

anw, now i can officially declare that i'm busy...somehow i can't seem to really slow down in the things i'm doing now...quite a few commitments at this moment...choir duty in oct, service learning, cambodia trip, next muar experience and choir@orchard at christmas...

its getting exciting in the months to come and i'm really learning a lot as time passes by...

jel; 8:23 pm