Monday, January 28
went for a dinner celebration just now with some of my army friends...went to music dreamers live cafe...its a place with live band which usu performs mandarin pop songs..we went there with the hope of relaxing ourselves and listening to some gd music..but lest to our expectations, today is the once-a-month audience night...which means the audience are expected to come up and sing instead of the regular singers...we were super taken aback by this..and the worst was every table was expected to 'send' pple up to sing...us being a grp of 6, we were expected to have 2 songs at least...so after much persuasion, we had to force our ways up to the stage to sing..such a nerve-wrecking experience!..my very first singing performance in front of the public...i think among all those who came, we were lk the worst..it seemed lk the rest were regular customers who were gd in singing came especially for this night...why in the world are we in the wrong place at the wrong day??
but its a really fun experience...after the first attempt, it didn't seem that bad afterall...and the atmosphere was friendly and relaxed..so i guess it was a memorable birthday for me...what a way to celebrate..haha...
one thanksgiving for my birthday is that God really blessed me with His love on this special day...when in fact i usu put little regard to my birthday, He showed me how impt He regards this day for me...how this day is significant for me..for it is the day He destinated my birth into this world..and its a cause for celebration...and i experienced rather tangibly His showers of love for me in the form of the many calls and smses sending their well-wishes...these well-wishes mean so much to me because i felt God showing me the pple who cares for me and that this day is indeed marvellous...in fact, this yr is the highest number of celebrations i have with diff grps of pple..3 which has past and 3 more to come...i really thank God for allowing me to understand so much abt His love for my birthday and for me and more imptly to experience it in a real way..indeed, i'll nv want to forget what He has taught me...
jel; 11:39 pm
Saturday, January 26
had a farewell dinner for joel yest..leaving for australia for further studies...it was a rare s15 gathering as well..has been quite some time since so many of us gather tog for a meal lk this...though time spent yest was short but i guess it helped us catch up with one another since there have been minimum contact for many of us..
took these pics along the riverside at clarke quay...someone noticed that the moon was particularly 'low'...was quite a sight at that moment, so i cldn't help but capture a few photos...its not full moon but its still quite bright..
went through some battlefield of the mind today...but at the end of today, i can proudly say the battle has been won...simply because of my trust in the Lord, quoting from Psalm 26:1 that my trust in Him is never wavering...and i pray that my trust in God will bring me from glory to glory...and indeed i claim the complete healing of this troubled mind so that eventually i can emerge free from any circumstances, praising God among the assembly of pple
jel; 11:15 pm
Wednesday, January 23
Casting Crowns - Who Am I Lyrics
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 wondering 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.
Chorus:
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 told me who I am.
I am yours.
I am yours.
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 calm the sea,
Would call out through the rain,
And calm the storm in me.
Not because of who I am.
But because what of youve done.
Not because of what I've done.
But because of who you are.
the lyrics of this song caught of attention recently as it affirms me of who i am in God..my worth in life is not based on how i look, what i wear, what i have but is due wholly to Him who is in me..and it touched me to experience the magnificence of the Lord and more so, that a God who is the Lord of all creation would care and love me, a small being who might have been so insignificant..but because i am His child, thats where my life is meaningful...
Lord, i pray that i will always understand the significance of your magnificence and be reminded that my life is worthy solely because of You and who i am in You...
jel; 8:13 pm
Saturday, January 19
had renuion dinner today...rare opportunity for us all to gather tog as an extended family to have this meal tog...and we took this opportunity to celebrate my birthday as well...i think its the first time in my lifetime which i can rmb that every single one in my family (well, every possible one at least...) is present to celebrate my birthday..felt so super weird..just not used to pple celebrating my birthday...but still quite touched just to see everyone present...thank God for this time together..may He watch over us and bless us with a fruitful new yr ahead!
jel; 10:45 pm
Wednesday, January 16
this is one of the last scene of the one of the landmarks of orchard if it is being destroyed...i wld say this is indeed one of the most significant non-building icon of orchard and its sad that it had to 'suffer' this fate in the face of the impeding development of ion orcahrd...well, a small sacrifice will make way for a greater improvement...may this orchard icon walk down memory lane...
went for a dinner celebration for sl's birthday...so fast, he's already in his 22th yr of his lifetime...soon everyone will be old...must really starting behaving more maturely..haha..but i really need to thank God for this friendship...we're already in our 6th yr of friendship...went through different phases of our lives but yet we nv fail to recognise this friendship we share...may this yr be a fruitful yr for us and our friendship!
jel; 10:26 pm
Saturday, January 12
got my second birthday present just now..well, have not received it literally but it was bought already..cause i was with sl just now and the topic on what to get for my birthday came up..i suggested a piece of clothing and somehow it became an num tee..after that when we were looking through the tees there, somehow chose a tee to try out and somehow it looked gd and i kinda like it, so sl suggested might as well get it on the spot for my birthday...but the tee is with him now..i will get it one day soon...
received 2 birthday presents so far when my birthday is not due till 2 weeks and on both occasions, its tees and they were bought in my presence...well i wldn't mind tees since there's no harm in having more options to wear to sch being a uni student...i'm already more than satisfied with having these 2 tees...they're presents which i appreciate a lot...
jel; 11:27 pm
Friday, January 11
a great testimony to share with everyone..
yest which i received my last module for this coming sem...the worst time happened when i realized the tutorial slots clash, meaning i have to drop this mod and bid for another one today which is lk the last bidding round before sch starts on mon...got got panicky as well cause its very hard for me to find a suitable mod and any suitable ones wld barely have any vacancies by this round and when i checked, most of the mod which i find have only 1 vacancy left..was really very lost at that moment....being caught in such a situation is quite bad...
right at that moment, happened to ask lj on msn which mod she taking..out of desperation, i checked out a part mod which she is taking and somehow, everything fits in perfectly well, the exam dates, lesson times and suitability of module...i can't believe how i actually missed out this mod when i was browsing through all the mod...and the gd thing was there were still 25 vacancies..though not a lot but at least its better than 1...
but there's still worry abt a high demand for these vacancies cause usu demand will increase at the last round..despite that, there was a peace in my mind, peace which comes from God as i trust in Him that this situation will be settled...
the following morning was the same as well, leaning my trust on Him and i carried on with my plans for the day..when i got back home and check the bidding status, was so surprised to realize only a few pple bidded...and thus the story goes and in the end, i managed to get my mod for only 1 pt...it was a great relief and a huge burden lifted off...i can't imagine how it feels if i'm left with only 4 mod and having to wait one week for the appeal...
most importantly is how i see God's hands at work all these while and indeed, i can be safe at the work of His hands in my life as i put my trust in Him...what a great joy in my heart..all praises to You Lord!
jel; 10:01 pm
Thursday, January 10
我的一生在祢手中
在主面前 細細數算神的恩典
我才明瞭 祢的奇妙帶領
我等候 願能摸著祢的心意
未來的路 願走在祢旨意中
獻上我最愛 在祭壇前不帶走
帶領我前往祢所應許之地
我的一生 在祢手中
驚滔駭浪 主與我同在
我的一生 在祢手中
勇敢前往 向標竿直奔
我的一生 在祢手中
甘心順服 得最終獎賞
我的一生 在祢手中
我深知道 我的一生在祢手中
if you can understand the lyrics of this song, its a beautiful song speaking of the acknowledgment that my life is in the hands of the Lord with the hope of running with Him towards the goal at the end of my journey..its a song which i first heard when i was at a church i visited in taiwan 2 yrs back and this song left a deep impression in me, bringing such strong convictions of my life with the Lord...
if there's any chance, do listen to this song..i'm sure the worship will bring abt more understanding of your walk with Him and how you need to lead your life..may you be blessed through this song.
jel; 10:00 am
Wednesday, January 9
went to the gym just now and had my orientation session with the personal trainer...oh my gosh, nv have i felt so weak before for gym sessions..as in sets which he asked me to do really pushes my physical limits..i almost felt lk collapsing towards the end of everything..was really an short yet very intense session...but i can feel my muscles all tensed up and tight but i almost use my limbs properly immediately after that...
thankful that i didn't sign up for a personal trainer if not i'll prob be going through similar stuff although i do agree that the introductory session which i had just now was really gd...had a relaxing day so far..went to look for my hair stylist after that after he has been relocated to a new salon...though its more exp over there but i still lk the way he pays much attention to every detail of the hair...
sch starts next wk...really want to be very focused this coming sem..prob have to be very disciplined when sem starts..and all these are part of entering into this yr of sabbath...have to continuously remind myself that..
jel; 5:47 pm
Tuesday, January 8
received my first birthday present from tim today..was quite pleasantly surprised cause i tried on this tee last month and almost bought it but because he lk it, i offered it to him instead...well long story cut short, there were some moments i thought i cld own it and in the end, he bought that for me..
lk this gift a lot..appreciated him for this early birthday gift..
jel; 8:06 pm
Monday, January 7
Isaiah 58:13,14
13"If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot
From doing your own pleasure on My holy day,
And call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable,
And honor it, desisting from your own ways,
From seeking your own pleasure
And speaking your own word,
14Then you will take delight in the LORD,
And I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;
And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
the qoute for the yr of sabbath..and its my desire to stay focused in this yr, ensuring that i do not occupy myself with activities which simply just take up too much time and amounts to nothing beneficial to me..thus i've been rather cautious over the activities/prog which i decide to involve in..and its definitely a necessity to pray for wisdom to know which are impt and which are just futile...indeed, i will keep myself from doing what are my own pleasures but instead seek the Lord's pleasure...
the three promises for those who obey: gladness in my heart, growth in my ministry, global impact..the promises which i claim from the Lord as i take these steps to honour the yr of sabbath..
jel; 7:51 pm
Saturday, January 5
had a chalet for the past 3 days at aloha loyang...it feels very different having a chalet during a non-peak period, where there're no sch students..but its better in the sense that its much quieter and less packed everywhere...
though there're wasn't much planning, but everything fell into place when we were there but i'm thankful for how the activities flow, from the bbq to the mahjong, www, cycling to changi village and the fun we had throughout the night...and though there wasn't as many pple who turned as expected but there was a sense of cosiness in the smaller number..
went out alone to pasir ris park in the morning on the last day..cycled to some quiet area and did my quiet time there..it was refreshing with the sea breeze and the vast view of the sea...what was more significant was the quality time spent with the Lord with this being the first time i'm doing quiet time at the sea view...i treasured the moment and i'm definitely look forward to more of such opportunities and also to draw even nearer to Him..
jel; 10:38 am
Tuesday, January 1
at the countdown party yest, was reminded of the same day in 2006 when i was standing next to taipei 101 where He showed me the vision of soaring greater heights in the yr 2007...and at that moment i was touched by how faithful He is indeed...there were personal victories in my life this life, lk the teaching award and what i've shared yest...and i believe it is a journey that He has set me forth..that the peak is yet to come as i continue to aspire to reach even greater heights in my life...
yest's countdown party was really a blast..has been very long since i've been so high, just jumping, shouting and totally enjoying myself...and i always know the only reason i can totally let loose of myself and enjoy the moment is because of Him..i can't appreciate dancing to club music or even enjoy myself in those environment cause the type of fun derived from clubbing is empty and meaningless...but yest the fun we had was really true joy from our hearts as we danced unto the Lord..the experience was one unforgettable one as i felt united as a family unless any differences we might have...i thank the Lord for such a special way to bid 2007 farewell and welcome 2008, the yr of Sabbath...
Year of Sabbath: Rest- worship that acknowledges that it is the one God who created all, that we can trust Him to sustain both ourselves and His world..
jel; 1:51 pm
